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A young child's knowledge of 40 dinosaurs was elicited from two tasks. The data gathered from these knowledge-production protocols were used to map two interrelated semantic networks of dinosaurs, viewed as concept nodes connected by links. The two mappings corresponded to two sets of dinosaurs (20 each), partitioned on the basis of external criteria: mother's subjective judgment of the child's knowledge of each dinosaur and the frequency of mention in the child's dinosaur books. Comparisons of the structure of the two mappings were based on three attributes: (a) number of links, (b) strength of links, and (c) the internal cohesion of the network in terms of higher order groupings and specific patterns of interlinkages. The validity of the differential structures of the two mappings was verified by the corresponding differential memory performance. The better structured set of dinosaurs was more easily remembered and retained by the child over a year than the less structured set of dinosaurs.

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Overweight preadolescenis and parents from 76 families were assigned to one of three behavioral treatment groups: parent/child target, child target, or nonspecific target. Percent overweight changes at the end of the 8-month treatment and 13-month follow-up were equivalent for children in the three treatment groups, but parents in the parent/child group lost more weight during treatment. Weight changes for parents and children increased through the 8-month treatment. Patterns of maintenance showed that 40% of the children were within 20% of their ideal weight by the end of treatment, achieving nonobese status. One hundred percent of the newly nonobese children in the parent/child group maintained nonobesity during follow-up, whereas only 30% in the child-alone group and 33% in the nonspecific group maintained nonobesity. In addition, weight losses for parents and children in the same family correlated positively at the end of treatment but not at follow-up. Results of this study suggest that parental modeling may be important during treatment, but long-term results probably are due to parental reinforcement or child self-regulation.

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In a four‐wave panel study the coping styles of case managers hired to work with seriously and persistently mentally ill clients were measured at entry to the job. Workers' degree of stress, strain and negative consequences, such as burnout, job dissatisfaction, physical symptoms, intention to quit and life dissatisfaction, were assessed at subsequent time periods (three, 12 and/or 18 months later). Depending on time period and outcome variable studied, the effect of coping was examined in between 39 and 51 workers. The results showed that control‐oriented coping strategies clearly acted as work stress buffers, and that those who relied exclusively on avoidance coping strategies reported higher general levels of negative consequences three months later. Implications were discussed for (a) the measurement of coping, (b) conceptions of coping styles and flexibility, and (c) programmes for assisting workers to deal with burnout arising from challenging work environments.

This article presents an evaluation of the construct validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). The authors base this critique on previously published findings and data collected through five studies carried out during an eight-year period, for which 328 social workers acted as respondents. Factor analyses and correlational studies designed to test predictions provided fairly consistent evidence for the utility of the MBI subscale measures of emotional exhaustion, personal accomplishment, and depersonalization. Additional analyses supported a reconceptualization of burnout and the MBI, one that regards exhaustion as the essence of burnout and treats accomplishment and depersonalization as related variables, but not as elements of burnout.

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