A Longitudinal Study of Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder Before Age Three: School Services at Three Points Time for Three Levels of Outcome Disability.

This study follows 70 children determined to have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) before age three (Time 1). Parents filled out questionnaires and standardized measures about their child when he/she was school-aged (Time 2), including information about their children's preschool, kindergarten, and grade school educational settings. At Time 2, the researchers placed children in three diagnostic groups of No ASD, ASD-Higher Functioning, and ASD-Lower Functioning.

School safe driving climate: Theoretical and practical considerations for promoting teen driver safety in school settings.

Objective: The aims of this study were to extend the current literature on school climate that is focused on understanding how teacher, administrator, and student perceptions about driving-focused aspects of the social, educational, and institutional climate of schools can affect students' achievement, behavior, and adjustment toward the development of the concept of a school safe driving climate (SSDC) and initiate the development of tools and processes for assessing SSDC.

Methods: A mixed methods approach was used to develop an initial version of a survey-based measure of SSDC that involved self-report surveys (students) and in-depth interviews (teachers). Exploratory factor analytic procedures identified SSDC constructs and a regression framework was used to examine associations among SSDC constructs and self-reported driving behaviors.

Sociomoral Reasoning, Empathy, and Meeting Developmental Tasks During the Transition to Adulthood in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This mixed methods study investigated sociomoral reasoning, empathy, and challenging and supportive factors during the transition to adulthood in emerging adults (18-27-years-old) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to better understand how these variables facilitated positive developmental outcomes. Same-aged ASD (n = 22) and typically developing (TD) (n = 22) groups completed quantitative and qualitative measures assessing these constructs. Compared to the TD group, the ASD group had significantly lower sociomoral reasoning and perspective-taking, significantly higher personal distress, but similar empathic concern.

School-aged functioning of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder before age three: parent-reported diagnostic, adaptive, medication, and school placement outcomes.

Eighty children with early autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses (under 36 months) were identified using a chart abstraction protocol applied to early intervention charts. Parents filled out questionnaires by mail when the children were school-aged (ages 6-16 years). Similar to previous studies, approximately 20% no longer had ASD diagnoses; the other participants were assigned to Moderate/Severe versus Mild ASD outcome groups.

How adolescent empathy and prosocial behavior change in the context of school culture: a two-year longitudinal study.

To study changes in empathy, prosocial behavior, and school culture, 30 students were examined twice within two years.Two samples were employed to ensure a wide range of school culture perceptions; students were in a traditional high school or a Just Community School. Nonparametric bootstrap resampling methods were used to test for differences between schools and between years one and two.

Adolescent empathy and prosocial behavior in the multidimensional context of school culture.

The authors investigated whether students' positive perceptions of their high school's culture were associated with higher levels of empathy and prosocial behavior. The authors collected information from 2 samples to ensure a wide range of school culture perceptions. As expected, empathy and prosocial behavior were correlated.

Quality of life in young urban children: does asthma make a difference?

The purpose of this study was to determine whether asthma status and severity have an impact on the quality of life of urban elementary school children. Participants were 1292 caregiver-child dyads from six schools serving low-income, ethnic minority, urban families; 53% of the children were female. Caregivers provided data on the children's asthma diagnosis and frequency in the last 12 months of asthma symptoms, use of medication for asthma, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations.

Attitudinal and normative predictors of alcohol use by older adolescents and young adults.

A model of alcohol use based on the theory of planned behavior, expectancy theory, and the developmental literature on the influence of parents and peers was examined with 87 eleventh grade students, 105 college freshmen, and 107 college juniors. Specifically, the influence of attitudes about the positive and negative consequences of drinking, perceived parental and peer norms about alcohol consumption, and perceived control over drinking predicted self-reported alcohol use. The results suggest that, during adolescence, decisions to consume alcohol are rational, based on the consideration of the positive consequences of alcohol use and perceptions of control over drinking; however, the negative consequences of alcohol use are discounted.