The Development of Same- and Opposite-Sex Social Relations Among Adolescents: An Analogue Study

The present study, utilizing an analogue procedure and a short-term longitudinal design, examined the relative strength of observed behavior in predicting mid- to late-adolescents' ratings of that behavior. Direct observations were made of 89 adolescents during videotaped problem-solving interactions with groups of unfamiliar peers. Within 6-member peer groups, counterbalanced for gender, the adolescents participated in a series of problem-solving and discussion tasks. Peer groups met one hour daily for six consecutive days. The interactions were coded with the LIFE code and three behavioral constructs were assessed: facilitative, problem-solving, and aggressive. Same- and opposite-sex peer ratings of three factors, sociable, aggressive, and withdrawn, were obtained at the end of the second and sixth days. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that same-sex sociability ratings were predicted by prosocial behaviors of both girls and boys whereas boys' aggressive behavior also predicted these ratings across gender. In contrast, aggressive behavior displayed by girls predicted boys' ratings of girls' aggression. Withdrawal ratings were related to low levels of all behaviors. The results provide further evidence that peer perceptions may be driven by characteristics associated with gender that have been determined by culturally proscribed practices and socialization efforts.     

Teachers’ Page

Encouraging elementary students to become aware of place and the role it plays in shaping their lives can provide them with a clearer sense of self and a greater appreciation for diversity. To support this premise, this article explores using six National Council for the Social Studies Notable Trade Books to assist primary students in their understanding of place. By using realistic fiction and nonfiction picture books that focus on children's lives in diverse locations, the suggested activities enable teachers to address the five themes of geography and promote cultural awareness to elementary students in meaningful ways. The author provides a summary of each book and describes student-centered activities to develop concepts related to the NCSS thematic strands of culture; people, places, and environments; and individual development and identity.     

The process and results of an evaluation of a nurse-managed, family-oriented health care center

This paper discusses an example of action research, the evaluation of a nurse-managed, family-oriented health care center serving a low-income, black population in an isolated section of a highly industrialized suburban community. The evaluation was the result of many necessary compromises, yet other than lack of cost effectiveness, it brought substantial evidence of the success of the agency. Patients had positive health attitudes, were knowledgeable, and practiced health-inducing behaviors. As compared to other community health centers, the quality of care was found to range from average to excellent. Notable gains in quality of care occurred from pre- to posttest, partially as a result of formative evaluation procedures. Despite the positive nature of the product evaluation, the Center was closed, raising questions as to the utility of evaluation in the decision-making process.     

Current Puelications Received

Abstract

Europe in Our Time: 1914 to the Present. Revised Edition. By Robert Ergang. Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 1953. Pp. 576. $6.00. Reviewed by Bernard C. Weber.

The Big Change (America Transforms Itself.) By Frederick Lewis Allen. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1952. Pp. 290. $4.00. Reviewed by Joseph M. Gottschalk.

Wellsprings of Democracy. By John M. Brewer. New York: Philosophical Library. Hallmark-Hubner Press, Inc., 1952. Pp. xii, 232. $4.50. Reviewed by J. F. Santee.

Crime in Modern Society. By Mabel A. Elliott. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1952. Pp. xvi, 874. $6.00. Reviewed by Jerry A. Neprash.

The Keystone State. Geography, History and Government. By Arthur D. Graeff. Philadelphia, Pa.: John C. Winston Company, 1953. Pp. xxiv, 380. $3.60. Reviewed by David W. Harr.

The Life and Times of Daniel Lindley. By Edwin W. Smith. New York: Library Publishers, 1952. Pp. xiii, 456. $5.50. Reviewed by Wilfred T. Grenfell.

Soviet Civilization, By Corliss Lamont. New York: Philosophical Library, 1952. Pp. x, 433. $5.00. Reviewed by Richard H. Bauer.

The Suez Canal in World Affairs. By Hugh J. Schoufield. New York: Philosophical Library, 1953. Pp. xvi, 174. $4.50.     

Mesopotamia

The author argues that in order to create space for authentic multicultural engagement in the face of Eurocentric norms, teachers should form discussion groups that follow five basic guidelines: engage, don't enrage; be comfortable with negative emotion; watch for and change unproductive language; talk about everything; and engage in classroom dialogue.     

The Teachers’ Page

Abstract

Inflation, by James D. Forman. New York and London: Franklin Watts, 1977. Pp. 128. Appended Sections. $6.90 Reviewed by Walter Krause.

Black/Brown/White Relations: Race Relations in the 1970s. Edited by Charles V. Willie. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Books, 1977. Pp. 235. Paper $4.95, Cloth $12.95. Reviewed by Thomas R. Frazier.     

The Economic Consequences of Child Sexual Abuse for Adult Lesbian Women

This study is designed to extend the investigation of the long‐term consequences of child sexual abuse (CSA) into the workplace and to consider the effects on the economic welfare of 1,925 lesbian women from the National Lesbian Health Care Survey. It seeks to develop a two‐stage, least‐squares model that considers simultaneously the effects of child sexual abuse on four spheres of a woman's life—her physical health, mental health, educational attainment, and economic welfare; and to investigate the differential impacts of diverse forms of child sexual abuse on the adult woman's functioning. The CSA survivors experienced adverse health and mental health consequences. The type of CSA experienced was also a significant predictor of a woman's educational attainment and annual earnings.