Measured the food intake and observed the playground behaviors of Kenyan school-age children. Well-nourished children were more active and happier, showed more leadership behavior, and were less anxious on the school playground than poorly nourished children. Amount of time spent in school was related to decreases in children's solitariness. (BC)

Reports two studies of adolescent perceptions of playful and aggressive fighting. Results suggest that some bouts of playful fighting are used during adolescence to settle disputes about dominance and that aggression may be introduced into playful fighting to settle dominance disputes. (LB)

Evaluated anger-aggression management curriculum using cognitive-behavioral techniques for effects on urban, at-risk middle school students (n=22). Following 10-session curriculum which used video symbolic modeling, self-instruction, problem solving, and self-monitoring, significant differences between treatment and placebo-control groups were…

Variables found more often in a group of severe fire-setting children than in a group of minor fire-setting children were clustered. Results disclosed a more primitively organized personality structure on the part of severe fire setters. This personality structure was poorly defended against expressions of aggressive or sexual impulses. (BB)

The impact of a modified wilderness program on the cooperative and aggressive behaviors of seriously emotionally disturbed adolescents was evaluated in the context of self-efficacy theory. Results indicated that participating adolescents showed a significant increase in cooperative behaviors and that direct observation procedures were more…

Two studies examined the development of display rules for anger and the relationship between the use of display rules for anger and aggressiveness as rated by school peers. Findings indicate that the phenomenon of display rules for anger is complex and depends on the way display rules are defined and the age and gender of the subjects. (GLR)

Examined the interrelations of group contextual factors and the occurrence of aggressive behavior in 22 experimental play groups of 7- and 9-year-old African American boys. Found that negative affect, high aversion behavior, high activity level, low group cohesion, and competitiveness were related to the occurrence of aggressive behavior. (MDM)

Attitudes of adolescents about the justifiability of sexual coercion under certain circumstances are examined for 118 suburban high school students (65 percent females) who heard a date rape lecture and completed pretest and posttest surveys. Gender is the most salient variable explaining attitude about sexual coercion and rape. (SLD)

Relations among dominance, sociometric preference, and social behavior were examined in groups of unacquainted first and third grade boys meeting in play sessions. Younger groups with high aggression showed less coherent organization than did others. Dominance was associated with social preference in younger groups, and with leadership in older…

A functional analysis of the aggressive behaviors of a 14-year-old boy with moderate mental retardation found that aggression occurred during instruction on difficult tasks. Researchers taught both a high-efficiency/low-effort and a low-efficiency/high-effort response using communication devices. The high-effort response was used regularly, was…

Two studies of three youths (ages 12-14) with severe mental retardation, who used aggression and self-injury to avoid difficult instructional situations, found that simple commands interspersed among more challenging instructional trials were effective at increasing the learners' responsiveness to instructions and decreasing levels of problem…

The author of EC 607 583 responds to questions about her research on mainstreamed behaviorally disordered aggressive adolescents' perceptions of helpful and unhelpful teacher attitudes and behaviors. Issues relevant to future research in this area are noted. (JDD)

Examined generalization of treatment effects of social learning family therapy for families with aggressive boys to child's classroom, parental level of marital satisfaction, general family relationship environment, and parental level of depression. Results showed that teachers reported improved child behavior following treatment. Parental level…

A study involving 265 Australian parents of children enrolled in preschools found most preferred informal sources of support on child management. Inconsistent management techniques, greater use of punishment, lack of confidence, and a need for help with coping strategies were found in families experiencing more aggressive behaviors in their…

Examines racial/ethnic differences in a sample of 436 African-American and 387 Latino elementary school students in the mean levels of children's internal beliefs, fantasies, and attributions about aggressive behavior; interpersonal negotiation strategies; and psychological symptomatology. Looked at relationships among these factors. Differences…