This grounded theory study was designed to investigate the factors that influenced 20 "traditional" university freshmen to withdraw prior to the end of their first year at two Midwestern universities. A two-hour audio- taped interview was conducted with each of the participants, and the grounded theory method was utilized to analyze the interview data. Eighteen of the twenty participants had strong high school GPAs and ACT scores, and would not have been identified as being at-risk for attrition. The grounded theory that emerged from the participants' data indicated that an absence of clear educational goals, as well as individual and institutional distractions, interacted to contribute to the participants' withdrawal from their universities.

This article reports the results of a study to determine what mothers of children with disabilities considered important social goals and valid measures of success for their children concerning friendship development. Three focus groups were convened, consisting of 11 mothers of elementary-age students with various disabilities. A thematic analysis suggested 9 peer-specific friendship goals for children with disabilities and 3 broader goals to which friendship was perceived to contribute. Assessment of outcomes would be expected to include indicators of both types of goals, and specific indicators were suggested along the dimensions of (a) quantity and breadth of contacts, (b) affect or quality of relationships, (c) duration and stability of relationships, (d) level of independence of action, (e) consistency with parental expectations, and (f) contribution to overall adjustment. Implications of this research are discussed for teachers, administrators, program and curriculum developers, and researchers. The authors conclude that efforts to affect the peer relationships of children with disabilities in meaningful ways should consider the impact relative to these parental goals and should be based upon indicators that parents consider relevant and credible.

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The goal of this study was to utilize a phenomenological case study design to investigate the individual and social identity development of an adolescent male who had been placed in a high-security group home setting. The participant had been identified with emotional disturbance (ED), and 48, XYYY karyotype. The participant described his social and emotional development as being impacted by his environment, his level of personal control, and his view of the future.