In Brief: Dec. 25, 2000

BEST FRIENDS A study at the University of Maine proves what unpopular children have always known: it's more important to have a few close friends than it is to be popular with all your peers. Kids without one or more close friends in grade school are at higher risk for depression, anxiety and low self-esteem as they grow up. They are also more likely to have relationship problems as adults.

AGING GRACEFULLY According to reports in Psychology and Aging, older adults are more likely to live longer if they feel that they have control over their lives or fulfill roles that they find important. In a national study, elderly Americans who strongly identified with being a parent, grandparent or care provider tended to adopt more healthful behavior and took better care of themselves. Folks who felt that they had no control were more likely to smoke, drink and suffer from obesity--all risk factors for early death.

JUNIOR FIX-ITS Children as young as eight are replacing parents as the modern household's repair experts. New surveys show that the technological generation gap between adults who grew up with simpler appliances and the e-generation of computer-game-literate kids has grown to the point where three out of four parents admit that they depend on their children to program new phones and stop VCR clocks from blinking.

--By Lisa McLaughlin