Respiratory function in the morbidly obese before and after weight loss.

The morbidly obese are known to have impaired respiratory function. A prospective study of the changes in lung volumes, carbon monoxide transfer, and arterial blood gas tensions was undertaken in 29 morbidly obese patients before and after surgery to induce weight loss. Before surgery the predominant abnormality in respiratory function was a reduction in lung volumes.

The search for effective prevention programs: what we learned along the way.

Efforts by an American Psychological Association task force to identify model prevention programs for high-risk groups throughout the life span are summarized. Criteria for selection and program content are described, and implications for the construction, implementation, and evaluation of effective programs are discussed.

Resilient children, psychological wellness, and primary prevention.

The concept of heightened resilience or invulnerability in young profoundly stressed children is developed in terms of its implications for a psychology of wellness and for primary prevention in mental health. Relevant literature is reviewed, a skeletal model for studying resilience is outlined, and needed research directions are considered. The latter include expansion of the construct's nomological definitional net, inquiry into the antecedents and determinants of resilience, and the application of such generative information to frame preventive interventions for young, profoundly stressed children.

Children's judgments of event upsettingness and personal experiencing of stressful events.

Five-hundred and three urban and suburban 4th- to 6th-grade schoolchildren judged event upsettingness and reported the occurrence of 22 life events. Judgments of event upsettingness ranged considerably, some corresponding to, others differing from, adult judgments. Children reported experiencing an average of seven events during their lifetimes.

Teacher ratings of children's problem and competence behaviors: normative and parametric characteristics.

Teacher-rated adjustment differences among young elementary school children from (a) a recent sample and a 1974 cohort, and (b) urban/suburban, male/female, and grade-level subgroups were examined. A problem behavior checklist (Classroom Adjustment Rating Scale) and a school competence measure (Health Resources Inventory) for 974 children from 5 urban and 5 suburban schools were completed by 101 first- to fourth-grade teachers. Children from the more current cohort were rated as significantly more maladjusted than those from the earlier sample on 8 of 10 adjustment variables.

Preventive intervention with latency-aged children of divorce: a replication study.

This replication study assessed the efficacy of a school-based preventive intervention for latency-aged children of divorce. The Children of Divorce Intervention Program (CODIP) emphasizes support, identifying and expressing divorce-related feelings, training situationally relevant communication, problem solving, and anger control skills, and enhancing self-esteem. Fifty-four children of divorce participated in the 11-session program conducted in small groups.

The development and implementation of a rural consortium program to provide early, preventive school mental health services.

This article describes the development and implementation of a rural consortium of school-based programs for early detection and prevention of maladjustment. The program expanded considerably the reach of early services to young children. It also stimulated communication, interaction and support among professionals in participating districts.

The effects of peer-teaching on student perceptions of class environment, adjustment, and academic performance.

This study explored the effects of a social studies peer-teaching intervention on student perceptions of class environment, adjustment, and academic performance. There were 45 students in the experimental group (E) and 46 controls (C) from four fifth-grade classes in a suburban, predominantly white, middle-class school. The Classroom Environment Scale (CES) and a School Opinion Survey were used to assess student views of the classroom.

Social environmental predictors of children's adjustment in elementary school classrooms.

Relationships between qualities of the perceived social environment and children's adjustment were examined in 30 second- to fourth-grade classrooms. Based on Moos' conceptual framework, social environment was assessed from both teachers' and children's perspectives. There was little agreement between the two views.

Recent stressful life events and young children's school adjustment.

A group of 211 first-to fourth-grade children who had experienced one or more recent stressful life events were compared to a demographically matched sample of 211 children who had not experienced such events on measures of school adjustment problems and competencies. Stressful life events were found to be associated with the presence of more serious school adjustment problems and fewer competencies. Those associations were strongest for children who had experienced multiple recent stressful events.

Person-centered approaches to primary prevention in mental health: situation-focused and competence-enhancement.

This article considers two families of person-centered approaches to primary prevention in mental health, i.e., situation-focused and competence-enhancement.

Differentiating attributes of children referred to a school mental health program.

A group of 275 first- and fourth-graders referred to a school mental health project were compared to a demographically matched sample of 509 non-referred classmates on the frequency of occurrence of 39 background descriptive variables reflecting four clusters: (a) physical and health characteristics, (b) recent critical life-events, (c) concurrent school activities and special services, and (d) current family status. Referred children had more serious problems of coordination and health and were judged to be less attractive physically. They experienced many more recent critical life-events, were involved in more problem-related special services and fewer extracurricular activities, and evidenced more signs of familial disruption.

Risk and resource indicators and their relationship to young children's school adjustment.

Relationships between risk-magnifying life situations and events, as well as resources, and school adjustment were explored in a large sample of first through fourth graders. Also studied was the extent to which the presence of resources moderate the effects of risk. Children's risk and resource factors were determined from background-identifying information provided by teachers in four domains: physical and health characteristics, recent critical life events, special school services and activities, and family background variables.

Student perception of school environment and its relationship to mood, achievement, popularity, and adjustment.

This study examined relationships between student perceptions of classroom environment and mood, achievement, popularity, and adjustment, both for students in general and for "problem" (i.e., acting-out, anxious, and unpopular) children.

Perceptions of classroom environment and their relationship to children's mood, achievement, popularity and adjustment.

This study examines relationships between: (a) teacher perception and (b) student-teacher convergence of perception of environment, and student mood, achievement, popularity and adjustment, for students in general and for "problem" (i.e., acting-out, anxious, and unpopular) subgroups.

The evaluation of a kindergarten social problem solving program.

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a Social Problem Solving (SPS) competence training program for kindergartners, and examined relationships between SPS skill and adjustment gains. Subjects included 63 suburban middle-classSs from three classes, who participated in the 42 lesson program, and 46 comparisonSs from two classes, who did not. Subjects were evaluated on problem solving, peer sociometric and teacher adjustment ratings.

Relationships between family background problems and social problem solving skills of young normal children.

Relationships between family background problems and social problem solving (SPS) skills were studied in normal third grade children. Twelve urban and suburban classroom teachers provided information about the presence of six family background problems for 243 children. Three problem solving skills were assessed: 1) alternative solution thinking, means-end thinking, and 3) social role taking.