The continuity of behavioral adjustment from preschool through elementary school and junior high school years was examined. 541 children aged 9-15 years from a preschool epidemiological study were relocated and behavior checklist data obtained. Analyses focused on the relationship between internalizing and externalizing behavior dimensions from the preschool to follow-up periods. It was found that preschool externalizing symptoms were positively correlated with later externalizing and internalizing symptoms in the entire sample. Preschool internalizing symptoms, however, were predictive of later internalizing symptoms only for 2-year-old girls and 5- and 6-year-old boys. Similar results were obtained for clinically disturbed preschoolers. Results are consistent with previous findings regarding the longitudinal continuity of externalizing behavior but are at odds with reports of equal or greater stability of internalizing behavior. Given the magnitude of obtained correlations, even when significant, the results support the view that discontinuity rather than continuity in behavioral adjustment from preschool to later ages is the rule. The importance of examining other mediating variables in the prediction of behavioral adjustment and the need for models of development that encompass both stability and change are discussed.

The continuity of behavioral adjustment from preschool through elementary school and junior high school years was examined. 541 children aged 9-15 years from a preschool epidemiological study were relocated and behavior checklist data obtained. Analyses focused on the relationship between internalizing and externalizing behavior dimensions from the preschool to follow-up periods. It was found that preschool externalizing symptoms were positively correlated with later externalizing and internalizing symptoms in the entire sample. Preschool internalizing symptoms, however, were predictive of later internalizing symptoms only for 2-year-old girls and 5- and 6-year-old boys. Similar results were obtained for clinically disturbed preschoolers. Results are consistent with previous findings regarding the longitudinal continuity of externalizing behavior but are at odds with reports of equal or greater stability of internalizing behavior. Given the magnitude of obtained correlations, even when significant, the results support the view that discontinuity rather than continuity in behavioral adjustment from preschool to later ages is the rule. The importance of examining other mediating variables in the prediction of behavioral adjustment and the need for models of development that encompass both stability and change are discussed.

Factors associated with the employment status of students with and without handicaps were investigated in a sample of 133 youths from nine Vermont school districts. Students with handicaps who exited high school in 1984-85, and who had been receiving special education services, were identified and compared to non-college-bound, vocationally oriented students without handicaps. Two sets of interviews were conducted, one in 1986 and one in 1987. During these interviews, information was obtained on current employment status, employment and training history, social service utilization, and residential status. Additional information regarding educational history, age, and community demographics was obtained through individual student records. Employment, educational, and residential experiences were compared across both groups of former students.Results indicated that students without handicaps had more favorable post-high-school employment outcomes than students with handicaps. Across groups, males were more likely to be employed than females and employment was positively associated with paid work experiences during high school. Vocational class experience was positively associated with later employment for handicapped but not for nonhandicapped students. Although some changes in employment status over the 2-year period did occur, the majority of former students remained in the same employment status (full time, part time, or unemployed) for both years. The results of the study help to put the employment status of youth with handicaps into context and suggest both similarities and differences between students with and without handicaps in employment correlates.Over the past two decades, there have been substantial changes in the organization and delivery of educational and other developmental services to persons with handicapping conditions (Laski, 1985;Singer & Butler, 1987). Efforts have been made to provide such services within less restrictive settings, to enhance the ability of persons with handicaps to participate more fully in the life of the community (Biklen, 1985; Heal, Haney, & Amado, 1988). Within this context, an important social policy objective has been to increase the employment opportunities afforded to such individuals. Recently, a number of follow-up and longitudinal studies concerned with the postschool employment status of students with handicapping con-

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