Interdisciplinary Research Group on Poverty: IRGOP Reports. Volume 1.

The 4 reports contained in this document present the results of a pilot study of differential coping behavior among siblings. The IRGOP researchers proposed to investigate the factors related to why some children achieve well in school and thereby take the first step in moving out of poverty. Four areas of concern -- human development, sociology, education, and home economics -- are combined in this interdisciplinary approach to study teenagers' school coping behavior. The reports address themselves to data gleaned from the pilot study in which 196 single-parented teenagers from Tompkins County, New York, were interviewed. The paper by Nellie Brodis explores child-rearing practices which may cause dissimilar school achievement among welfare and non-welfare children. Michael Rogoff's paper describes in detail the measurement of academic achievement used for this IRGOP study. Rose Anne Negele attempts to identify the kinds of maternal behavior and aspirations which are essential for high academic performance in fatherless adolescent girls. The final paper, by Philip Lewin, discusses the importance of teenagers' housing satisfaction and school success. (DK)