Characteristics Of Girls Research Articles

Vision, Cognition, and Developmental Characteristics of Girls and Women with Rett Syndrome

Vision, Cognition, and Developmental Characteristics of Girls and Women with Rett Syndrome

Home correlates of aggression in preschool

Is aggressive behaviour in preschool more closely related to individual characteristics of the child as assessed at home, to aspects of mother-child interaction, or to the motherchild relationship? The issue was studied in three replications. Aggression in preschool was related to temperamental characteristics in girls but not boys, and to Self-esteem. There were very few significant correlations between aspects of mother-child interaction and hostility in preschool, but hostility with peers was related to the absence of positive or presence of mildly negative interactions with the sibling. Aggression in preschool was related to an aspect of the mother-child relationship; least aggression was shown by those childred whose mothers used warmth and control more or less “in balance” (authortative Mothers). Such children also differed in other aspects of the mother-child relationship, and these provided some explanation of those children who appeared to be exceptions to the “balance” hypethesis. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Sex and the Quiet Schoolgirl

Abstract The article is based on a year's ethnographic work at a West Midlands comprehensive school, which is described. The usual genderising pattern of subject choice and behaviour are identified, and used as the basis of an analysis of the differences, real and imagined, between boys and girls and their expectations of secondary schooling. Having identified quietness as one of the distinguishing characteristics of girls at Cator Park school, I relate this to their own assessment of how they accommodate to the demands of school. This highly selective adaptation is suggested as one reason why the boys are puzzled by the behaviour of girls in school, and it is suggested that it allows the girls to retain their private identity outside school. The conclusion is that quietness is a successful adaptation to the situation of girls in school, and should not be viewed as a weakness.

Experiences with psychiatric services in a program for pregnant school-age girls

This paper describes the characteristics of girls referred to a consulting psychiatrist by the Young Mothers Clinic, part of a comprehensive service program for school-age mothers in New Haven, Conn. This program provided obstetrical, educational, and social services to the study group, which consisted of 180 patients who entered the clinic over a two year period. All of the study group were under 18 years of age and unwed when they registered for the clinic, and most were nonwhite. — Twenty-five of the 180 girls were referred to the psychiatrist. Common reasons for referral included lack of attention, delinquency, learning difficulties at school, withdrawn behavior, depression, suicidal threats, and chaotic home situations. Those referred were found frequently to have 1. a history of contact with juvenile court and/or 2. low scores on the Wechsler intelligence scales and poor scores on the Bender Gestalt test. — White girls were more likely to be referred than were nonwhite girls. Girls 15 years of age or under were more likely to be referred than older girls. These two groups (i.e. the younger group and the white group) tended to come from extremely disorganized homes. — Clinically, the psychiatrist was impressed by the repeated history of maternal deprivation among the referred patients. She hypothesized that the girls' unfulfilled yearning for closeness with their mothers may have driven them toward early physical relationships with boys, resulting in the pregnancies. Therapeutic recommendations were difficult to implement primarily because the girls, for various reasons, did not follow through with referrals to other sources of care.