The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter articles from December 1991

The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter archives from December 1991

TV and video shape the developing brain.
December 1, 1991... Should we be concerned about dramatic increases in time children spend with TV and video? Could a heavy diet of visual immediacy and externally directed attention, coupled with reduced time for self-generated play, conversation, reading, and...

Parents angry over relaxation programs in schools.
December 1, 1991... School programs that use relaxation techniques such as breathing and guided imagery are reaping both praise and scorn. In Michigan, a parent's group fought a health-education plan that taught students to breathe deeply to help them relax. In...

IQ scores not as stable as generally believed.
December 1, 1991... IQ Scores Not as Stable As Generally Believed A recent review of data suggest that IQ is not a fixed quantity as has been believed. IQ tests are used to predict academic performance, job aptitude and even the likelihood that someone will...

Females in college show imaginary audience behavior.
December 1, 1991... Females in College Show Imaginary Audience Behavior Researchers have believed for some time that imaginary audience (IA) behavior may explain the extreme self-consciousness of adolescents: if they believe that everyone is evaluating them,...

Mother's diabetes may affect offspring.
December 1, 1991... Mother's Diabetes May Affect Offspring The offspring of diabetic mothers risk neurological impairment which can lower their IQs. However, proper treatment can prevent fetal damage and result in healthy babies, according to the results of...

Daycare children face higher risk of infection.
December 1, 1991... Daycare Children Face Higher Risk of Infection A recently completed long-term study compared the frequency and severity of children's illness in home care, group care (two to six children) and day care (seven or more children). Family...

No Place To Be a Child: Growing Up in a War Zone.
December 1, 1991... No Place To Be A Child: Growing Up In A War Zone James Garbarino, Kathleen Kostelny, Nancy Dubrow Lexington, MA: Lexington Books 177 pages, $22.95 (hard), 1991. The president and two research associates of the Erikson Institute in...

Primate hand preference and link to human speech.
December 1, 1991... Primate Hand Preference and Link to Human Speech The evolutionary path toward human speech may have begun when primates began walking on their hind limbs and freed both hands to do complicated tasks. Early primates relied on their right...

Number of preschool programs triple since '70s.
December 1, 1991... Number of Preschool Programs Triple Since '70s The number of early education and child care centers in the United States tripled between 1976 and 1990, according to a study commissioned by the U.S. Education Department. The study reports...

Name change from retarded citizens group. (Association for Retarded Citizens now called "The ARC")
December 1, 1991... Name Change from Retarded Citizens Group The Association for Retarded Citizens is now officially known as "The ARC." At its October meeting in Oregon, delegates to a business session voted to eliminate the word "retarded" from the...

Depression, hopelessness in suicidal adolescents.
December 1, 1991... Depression, Hopelessness in Suicidal Adolescents A study conducted by psychologists Suzanne Spindler and Paul E. Thetford in the Dallas Independent School District designed research to distinguish between suicide attempters, suicide...

Recommendation for measles revaccination.
December 1, 1991... Recommendation for Measles Revaccination The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control have recommended a routine two-dose schedule of measles vaccine....

Racial differential in infant death rates.
December 1, 1991... Racial Differential in Infant Death Rates On a national level, black infants are twice as likely to die before their first birthday as white infants, but the difference may not be simply a matter of the socioeconomic status of members of...

Scientists clone cocaine receptor gene.
December 1, 1991... Scientists Clone Cocaine Receptor Gene Scientists recently gained new insight into treating drug addictions when they were able to clone the gene for the rat brain protein that is susceptible to cocaine's effects. Researcher's say this...

Lithium's effect on youths' aggressive demeanor.
December 1, 1991... Lithium's Effect on Youths' Aggressive Demeanor Lithium carbonate, a drug normally prescribed to treat symptoms of manic-depression, also may reduce the fiery, aggressive behavior often exhibited by children with conduct disorder,...

Screen children for blood lead levels.
December 1, 1991... Screen Children for Blood Lead Levels In response to the accumulation of evidence that smaller amounts of lead in children's blood can do more damage than previously believed, the government recently lowered the safety threshold for lead...

Childhood experience and subsequent resiliency. (Editorial)
December 1, 1991... Childhood Experience and Subsequent Resiliency Do stable, secure conditions in one's early life assure growing up in fine psychological condition? Must very difficult, stressful experiences in childhood compromise one's later ability to...