The direct and interactive effects of temperament and parenting were examined in the prediction of early adolescent externalising behaviour problems (conduct disorder and hyperactivity), internalising problems (depression and anxiety), and substance use, using data on 1,402 13- and 14-year-olds. Significant direct effects were found for four temperament factors (negative reactivity, task persistence, activity, and approach), and four parenting factors (warmth, power assertion, physical punishment, and monitoring). For those high in persistence, low in negative reactivity, or low in activity, problem outcomes were generally very rare, regardless of parenting. Prevalence of behaviour problems was generally elevated among those low in persistence, high in negotive reactivity, or high in activity, even in cases where parenting was high in positive qualities such as warmth and monitoring. Prevalence of certain behaviour problems was substantially elevated when low persistence, high negotive reactivity, or high activity occurred in combination with lower parental warmth or lower monitoring. The results suggest that parenting can play an important moderating role in the relationship of particular temperament characteristics to behavioural problems.

Temperament qualities of 308 Australian children are flrst described and then compared with 3623 children in the United States. Australian children display considerable balance in their preferences for extroversion-introversion and organised-flexible styles. However, more prefer thinking than feeling styles and imaginative than practical styles. Gender differences exist on thinking-feeling and practical-imaginative styles. Compared to their USA age peers,Australian children, both boys and girls, are more likely to prefer thinking as well as flexible styles.Australian and USA children generally do not differ in their preferences for extroversion-introversion and practical-imaginative styles.

Year 9 students from a Melbourne metropolitan secondary school (N = 176) completed the specific version of the Adolescent Coping Scale and a Resources Questionnaire on 10 resources valued by young people. Having and valuing of the 10 resources was associated with productive coping by adolescents. Having fewer resources and greater resource loss was related to use of nonproductive coping. Girls and boys managed their resources differently as part of their coping efforts. Investing in and gaining resources was reported by girls who coped productively and focused on solving their problems, but not by productively coping boys, nonproductively coping girls, or girls who reported avoiding negative emotional states when dealing with problems. The indications are that in counseling and in designing interventions aimed to improve resilience in young people, gender may have an impact on particular resources of value to the person, and the approach taken to developing resources may similarly vary.

A modified version of the conservation of Resources Evaluation (CORE) developed to measure adult resources to cope with stress was applied to young people. In this exploration of the relationship between the resources identified by young people and their coping styles, a sample of 172 secondary students completed the modified version of the Conservation of Resources Evaluation (CORE) and the long version of the Adolescent Coping Scale, focussed on a specific concern (ACS). The modified instrument was validated in the study, and a relationship was found between the degree to which students held the resources under consideration and the coping styles they used. Young people high in resources tended to use productive ACS strategies, while those young people with fewer resources report using fewer and more nonproductive ACS strategies. A resources approach to young people's adaptation to their circumstances has educational and therapeutic implications.

Few studies exist that address the relationship between the higher order factors of fluid (Go and crystallised (Gc) intelligence and Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) outcomes. In this study, for each of five cohorts, longitudinal data have been collected over a six-year span, consisting of results from standardised achievement and ability tests and ending with achievement outcomes.Two factors, interpreted as Gf and Gc, are derived from the standardised measures. In Year 7, these measures were the Progressive Achievement Test Mathematics (PAT Moths), Progressive Achievement Test Reading Comprehension (PAT Comprehension), and the jenkins Test of Nonverbal Ability. In Year 10, the measures were the subtests of the Differential Aptitude Test (DAT).These factors are investigated in order to identify whether they are differentially important in regard to VCE Performance. The standardised measures and final VCE results were collected at a Melbourne independent girls' school from 414 exiting Year 12 students, in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002. Both Gf and Gc accounted for a significant amount of the variance in VCE performance, with Gc being the most significant indicator.

A key aspect of the work of many educational and developmental psychologists is the diagnosis of literacy learning disability. One component of this disability is learning to read words automatically. This difficulty is attributed to the gradual development of phonological decoding and the related acquisition of orthographic knowledge. Unfamiliar letter strings can be decoding either overtly, by saying aloud systematically parts of a written word and then blending the parts, or subvocally. Subvocal decoding is assumed to be more mature develapmentally and to be a key acquisition. The present study examines aspects of the acquisition of subvocal decoding by monitoring the reading of pseudowords by average and low achieving third to fifth graders. Subvocal phonological decoding ability was correlated with the accuracy, comprehension, and rate components of prose reading for both categories of reading ability and was higher for the average readers. Its accuracy was influenced by the number of letters in a pseudoword and its sound structure. Low achieving reoders showed a greater sensitivity to subvocal phonological decoding than average reoders. The implications for the diagnosis of reading disabilities by educational and developmental psychologists are discussed.

Auditory processing is an essential communicative function. However, some children do not develop language and learning as effectively as expected. Educators have been aware of this deficiency in listening and related communicative skills but are not able to identify the underlying specific deficit or set of deficits. A specialist audiology assessment can help to identify specific auditory processing deficits. Appropriate educational objectives can flow from such a diagnosis.