DOES PRESCHOOL HELP PREVENT DELINQUENCY IN BOYS WITH A HISTORY OF PERINATAL COMPLICATIONS?*

We examined whether a preschool intervention program moderates the effects of perinatal complications with a sample of boys from the most disadvantaged areas of Montreal (Canada). Some boys experienced the preschool program and some did not, which allowed us to test whether the program had any effects on the boys' risk for early adolescent delinquency given their perinatal histories. We hypothesized that perinatal complications would place boys at significantly greater risk for antisocial behavior during early adolescence and that participation in a preventive preschool program might circumvent this risk. Independent of maternal sociodemographic characteristics, boys with a history of perinatal complications showed no greater risk of reporting delinquency during early adolescence than their same-sex peers without a history of perinatal complications. Surprisingly, the program showed a beneficial effect on boys with no history of serious perinatal complications. Such boys were less at risk for delinquency. In the presence of a serious medical condition after birth, the benefits of the program decreased significantly to the point that it placed the boys at risk.     

Changing Trains

“Harmony” proves more than just a name for commuters on China's new high-speed train.LAUNCHED last April,     

NO DOGS, NO FEMALES

The lot of the female Chinese jobseeker gets no easier.S TREAKS of mascara trailed down her cheeks as Xiao Fei left yet another miserable interview in Shanghai. With a top-class post-grad in corporate f inance and a relevant internship in a foreign bank, Xiao Fei never imagined the competition could be so f ierce. But she never imagined that discrimination against females in the white-collar job market could be so real either. Though the social status of women in China has ostensibly bee…     

A PINK DAWN？

Most gays in China are still tight-lipped about their preferences, but their shouts are getting louder all the time. W HILE debate rages on in the West about whether homosexuals should be allowed to marry, here in China, talk is focused on whether they should be tolerated at all. Up until a few years ago, homosexuality was off icially regarded as a social disgrace and a mental disease. Though the formal stance has diluted signif icantly, how far off is an attitude change among the general p…