Understanding the etiology of violent juvenile offending is critical for prevention and intervention efforts. The risk factors examined included marital status of parents, marital conflict, substance use, age of first substance use, learning difficulties, and school failure. The protective factors assessed included parenting styles, academic achievement, attitudes unfavorable toward violence, having a mentor, positive relationships with peers, and being involved in extracurricular activities. One hundred and twenty-four participants between the ages 14 and 18 years were assessed. A discriminant functions analysis revealed that multiple risk and protective factors were significant in predicting group membership. The nondelinquent group had significantly more protective factors than the other two groups. Significant gender differences were also found.

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The authors conducted a field study to examine the female body image preferences of young women and young men in a rural northern province of Thailand and in central California. The Thai participants did not have stronger body image preferences than did the U.S. participants overall. However, the young women preferred a significantly more slender body image than did the young men, F(1, 80) = 14.98, p < .001, and the Respondent Gender x Nationality interaction was also significant, F(1, 80) = 4.42, p = .039. Thai men, as expected, exhibited preferences for figures that were heavier than those preferred by their U.S. counterparts. Thai women, in contrast, exhibited preferences for figures that were thinner than those preferred by their U.S. counterparts or their male countrymen. These results are explained in terms of traditional Thai and U.S. values and in terms of Western cultural influences in modern Thailand.

Based on recent on visual support for memory in the elderly, a simple mnemonic was developed. Respondents retained a visually distinctive plastic plate in a prominent place in their homes, and used it as a base for items to be recalled and for reminder notes of future activities. Specific instructions were given for the use of the plate and notes. In two experiments, this system was shown to reduce the frequency of everyday memory.