The current study investigated the associations between the influence of parent and peer characteristics and adolescent involvement in different types of out-of-school leisure activities using a structured versus unstructured activity dichotomy. Questionnaires completed by 1280, 12- to 17-year-old, Western Australian metropolitan, high-school students were analysed. It was found that perceived parent strictness, connectedness to adolescents, and parenting style were positively associated with adolescent participation in structured leisure activities, but negatively associated with time spent in unstructured activities. Hours of involvement in structured and unstructured leisure activities were negatively associated with perceived susceptibility to peer pressure. Peer connectedness was positively associated with hours spent in unstructured activities, but there was no significant interaction with participation in structured leisure activities. These findings suggest that peer influence is not always a dominant force in all aspects of adolescents' lives and also endorse the continued influence of parents as per Individuation and Relatedness theory in which it is argued that individuals' transition through adolescence is optimised if they remain connected to parents while concurrently developing their autonomy.

This study explores whether social sensitivity influences children’s problem solving skills or learning after collaboration with a peer. Most research into the impact of collaborative problem solving on individual skills demonstrates that the problem solving skills an individual brings to the collaborative process are a key factor in predicting the presencelabsence of cognitive change. Only recently have other attributes and/or skills, such as social or interpersonal sensitivity, been considered within this framework. This study investigates whether interpersonal sensitivity contributes to differential outcomes in learning after collaborative problem solving. One hundred 8-year-old children participated in a pre-test/collaboration/post-test design study where four groups based on pre-test problem solving ability (high/low) and pre-test social sensitivity scores (high/low) were constructed for the collaborative problem solving task. Low ability/high sensitivity children showed pre- to post-test improvement in their problem solving when paired with high ability children. Social sensitivity only predicted final problem solving in high sensitivity children. Pre-test and collaborative problem solving levels predicted post-test problem solving for children classified as high problem solving/high sensitivity. Results are discussed in relation to how social sensitivity may differentially affect the problem solving skills of children with different patterns of ability.

This review proposes that Bloom's linkage of word meaning with more general cognitive capacities could be extended through examination of the social contexts in which children learn. Specifically, the child's developing theory of mind can be viewed as part of the process by which children learn word meanings through engagement in social interactions that facilitate both language and strategic behaviours.

The Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist (AEDP) has been in continuous publication for 15 years.This paper describes the history of this publication and presents some interesting facts and figures about the topics, the authors, and the Journal itself over the past 15 years. Some reflections and reminiscences add a personal flavour and Interpretation to the facts.

The Western Australian Child Health Survey (WACHS) surveyed 4- to 16-year-olds and their families. In a pilot study of 189 households, one in five children reported mental health prob1ems.A clinical calibration trial confirmed a link between morbidity on the Child Behaviour Checklist and DSM-III-R diagnosis in clinical interview. In the main study of 1462 households, one in six young people showed at least one mental health problem. Adolescent risk behaviours were associated with developmental coping issues and some behavioural problems. Poor parental health and mental health and some school environments were factors related to adverse health outcomes for young people.

The attitudes of 144 11-and 12-year-old primary school children to contemporary health issues were measured by a specially designed questionnaire. Levels of agreement and disagreement to the health-related statements indicated that the children held positive attitudes to health and fitness, were anti-smoking and anti-drinking and generally were prepared to accept responsibility for their health. The importance of monitoring children’s attitudes and changes to them as a result of educational and media campaigns discussed.

In this paper we wish to put forward the argument that when one is considering the development of literacy in children, it is essential to consider both spoken and written language within the same integrated perspective. We also intend to argue that examining literacy from this perspective implies educators must meet the challenge of avoiding major discontinuities of experience for children. Further, given the large individual differences in children's development, we argue that the actual age of school entry is of little inportance. Of far greater importance is the provision of educational programmes that take account of the different experiences of individual children.

In considering specific aspects of the transition from primary school to high school, children's expectations were sought prior to their making the transition. This paper examines the expectations 335 students had of five aspects of high school, elicited by means of a questionnaire. The five aspects were: (a) the high school building; (b) the rules and discipline at high school; (c) the work; (d) the teachers; and (e) the other, older, students. The attitudes and expectations were found to reflect the degree of contact the students had had with the high school, itself dependent on the policy of the high school with respect to induction programs for in-coming students. A call is made for greater liaison between educational institutions, in the form of greater continuity and sequencing of curricula and transition programs in order to allay the expressed anxieties and to dispel any misconceptions.

What do adolescents “do” in their spare time? What activities do they engage in when not at school or in employment? Questions such as these are continually of importance since planning and provision of facilities for the pursuit of leisure activities for individuals of all ages are required. Society must make available resources and expertise for leisure time pursuits for adolescents, ranging from sporting activities to discos, from educational programmes to providing places where teenagers can meet and talk away from home.

Firstly however, two brief definitions are needed – one of “interest” and one of “leisure”. Dusek, Kermis and Monge (1979) define interest as “(being) related to, and may be the end result of, attention toenvironmental events that stimulate curiosity which, in turn, leads to the application of already acquired skills” (p.44). Connell, Stroobant, Sinclair, Connell and Rogers (1975) claim that “an interesting person is, basically, an interested person” (p.167), implying that to have a wide education and a wide range of interests enhances one as a person. Clearly therefore, it would be to our (and society's) advantage to make provision for stimulating leisure pursuits and encouraging many different recreational interests in our adolescents. The breadth and depth of action and motivation established before adulthood must then be beneficial to society in the long term.