Playboys
1 Apr 08 Boys play more than girls and study less while girls spend more time doing household chores and less time watching television, according to a University of Michigan research team that studied how children between the ages of 6 and 17 spend their time. Girls spend an average of 6 hours a week playing, compared to 10 hours a week for boys. Girls also spend nearly an hour more a week studying while boys spend a hour more watching television.
(University of Michigan)
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Ugly Schools Encourage Truancy
17 Mar 08 Students who attend well-maintained and physically attractive schools are less likely to engage in problem behaviors such as truancy, drinking and marijuana use than those who go to run-down or otherwise unattractive schools, controlling for other factors associated with student conduct. The effect of an attractive physical environment was greater for 10th grade students than for 8th or 12th graders, researchers from the University of Toledo and the University of Michigan report in the journal Environment and Behavior. (Environment and Behavior)
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Working Teens More Likely to Smoke
10 Mar 08 Many teenagers who get a job also get a cigarette habit. Rand Corp. researchers report that teens who start working when they're sophomores or juniors in high school are at least three times more likely to begin smoking than their classmates who didn't work. They speculated that working teens may use cigarettes to relax during breaks or to relieve the stress of balancing work and school. (Rand Corp.)
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Sinister Sisters and Drama Mammas
17 Dec 07 The holiday season can bring out the very worst in families. "Going home for the holidays? If so, you may witness versions of gossip, exclusion and other hurtful behaviors," says Cheryl Dellasega, a Penn State University professor, in her new book, "Forced to Be Family: A Guide for Living with Sinister Sisters, Drama Mamas, and Infuriating In-Laws." Among her recommendations for keeping the holiday peaceful: Avoid too much food, alcohol--and togetherness.
(Pennsylvania State University)
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