Positive Illusion of exemplary altruists

This paper examines the relationship between altruism and positive illusion, as formulated by Taylor and Brown (1988). It was predicted that, compared to the non-exemplary, general population, exemplary altruists would exhibit a higher level of positive illusion, which, in turn, suggests a higher level of mental health. Forty exemplary altruists and forty non-exemplary altruists were assessed in terms of positive illusion and compared with each other using Hotelling T²followed by univariatet-test. The results supported the prediction that exemplary altruists showed higher scores in terms of positive illusion than that of the non-exemplary general population. The implications of the results are discussed.     

A longitudinal study of the role of children’s altruism and forgiveness in the relation between parental aggressive discipline and anxiety of preschoolers in China

Using data collected over a 1-year period on a stratified random sample of 368 parents with children studying in nurseries (mean age = 3.97 years), this study assessed the predictive effects of parental corporal punishment, parental psychological aggression, preschoolers’ altruism, and preschoolers’ forgiveness on preschoolers’ anxiety symptoms in Hong Kong, China. Results of hierarchical regression analyses showed that parental psychological aggression, preschoolers’ altruism and preschoolers’ forgiveness at Time 1 significantly predicted preschoolers’ anxiety at Time 2, when controlling for the initial level of preschoolers’ anxiety and important demographic variables that co-vary with preschoolers’ anxiety. Moreover, preschoolers’ altruism moderated the predictive effect of parental psychological aggression on preschoolers’ anxiety symptoms. The study has several significant contributions. First, the study supports the predictive effect of parental aggressive discipline on preschoolers’ anxiety. Second, we provide evidence that preschoolers’ altruism and forgiveness negatively predict preschoolers’ anxiety symptoms. Third, preschoolers’ altruism and forgiveness are shown to protect them against parental psychological aggression. A dual-focus approach to intervention and prevention is proposed to reduce aggressive discipline by parents as well as to enhance altruism and forgiveness in children. Parent training programs could be provided to teach parents positive discipline strategies. Home-based or school-based interventions could be designed for preschool children to foster and enhance their altruism and forgiveness.     

Evaluation of a social contextual model of delinquency: a cross-study replication

The present study empirically examined three theoretical approaches designed to predict risk for delinquency during adolescence: an individual difference perspective, a social interactional model, and a social contextual approach. Hypotheses derived from each perspective were tested using two independent samples of early adolescents followed over a 4-year period. Six-hundred sixty-seven children (in sixth grade at Time 1), and their parents comprised the first sample (Project Family); and 451 children (in seventh grade at Time 1), their parents, and a close-aged sibling made up the second sample (Iowa Youth and Families Project). Results from a series of structural equation models suggested that a social contextual approach provided the best fit with the data across both samples and genders. Consistent with the social contextual approach, results indicated that a lack of nurturant and involved parenting indirectly predicted delinquency by increasing children's earlier antisocial behavior and deviant peer relationships; child antisocial behavior also predicted similar decreases in nurturant parenting over time. Both child antisocial behavior and deviant peer affiliations at Time 2 predicted delinquency 1 year later. Implications for theoretical development and future research priorities are discussed.     

The Adolescent Relational Dialectic and the Peer Roots of Adult Social Functioning

The long‐term import of a fundamental challenge of adolescent social development—establishing oneself as a desirable peer companion while avoiding problematic behaviors often supported within peer groups—was examined in a community sample of 184 adolescents, followed from ages 13 to 23, along with parents, peers, and romantic partners. The dialectical nature of this challenge appeared in findings that autonomy vis‐à‐vis peer influences predicted both long‐term success avoiding problematic behavior but also more difficulty establishing strong adult friendships. Conversely, being a desirable peer companion in adolescence predicted more positive adult relationships but also greater alcohol use. Adolescents who established themselves as both desirable companions and as autonomous vis‐à‐vis peers were rated as most successful by their parents at age 23.     

The Early Socialization of Aggressive Victims of Bullying

This study reports the first prospective investigation of the early family experiences of boys who later emerged as both aggressive and bullied (i.e., aggressive victims) during their middle childhood years. It was hypothesized that a history of violent victimization by adults leads to emotion dysregulation that results in a dual pattern of aggressive behavior and victimizaion by peer. Interviews with mothers of 198 5-year-old boys assessed preschool home environments. Four to 5 years later, aggressive behavior and peer victimization were assessed in the school classroom. The early experiences of 16 aggressive victims wre contrasted with those of 21 passive (nonaggressive) victims, 33 nonvictimized aggressors, and 128 normative boys. Analyses indicated that the aggressive victim group had experienced more punitive, hostile, and abusive family treatment than the other groups. In contrast, the nonvictimized aggressive group had a history of greater exposure to adult aggression and conflict, but not victimization by adults, than did the normative group, whereas the passive victim group did not differ from the normative group on any home environment variable.     

Does Adolescents' Disclosure to Their Parents Matter for Their Academic Adjustment?

The role of adolescents' disclosure to their parents in their academic adjustment was examined in a study of 825 American and Chinese adolescents (mean age = 12.73 years). Four times over the seventh and eighth grades, adolescents reported on their spontaneous disclosure of everyday activities to their parents, the quality of their relationships with their parents, and their parents' autonomy support and control. Information about multiple dimensions of adolescents' academic adjustment (e.g., learning strategies, autonomous vs. controlled motivation, and grades) was also obtained. Both American and Chinese adolescents' disclosure predicted their enhanced academic adjustment over time. However, when American adolescents disclosed in a negative context (e.g., a poor parent–child relationship or controlling parenting), their autonomous (vs. controlled) motivation was undermined.     

Factors associated with successful and unsuccessful intervention with child abusive families

The authors conducted a treatment outcome study on 79 patients engaged in a program for maltreating parents. Treatment modalities included individual psychotherapy and counseling, group therapy, home visiting, and telephone advocacy with the duration of treatment ranging from 6 sessions to 36 months. On the basis of ratings by the primary therapist consensually validated by other staff, $\text{2}\text{3}$ of the sample demonstrated at least symptomatic improvement, whereas 28% improved significantly. Overall improvement was highly correlated with more subtle indices of childrearing, perception of the child, object relations, insight, and capacity for self-observation. The profiles of those maltreating parents who improved and those who did not emerged with respect to the impact of critical demographic, psychological, and therapeutic variables. Favorable outcomes were unlikely among parents who themselves had a history of maltreatment, who inflicted the more severe injuries, who entered the program involuntarily or who terminated against advice; while positive results were more prevalent in those parents with a less abusive childhood experience and who perceived a need for involvement in the program. Home visiting and advocacy appeared to enhance the potential for improvement.     

The influence of childhood sexual abuse,physical abuse,family environment,and gender on the psychological adjustment of adolescents

OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of the current study was to examine the contributions of sexual abuse, physical abuse, family cohesion, and conflict in predicting the psychological functioning of adolescents. Additional analyses were conducted to determine whether adolescent victims of child sexual abuse and physical abuse perceive their family environments as more conflictual and less cohesive than nonabused adolescents. METHOD: Participants were 131 male and female adolescents, ages 16 years to 18 years, receiving services at a residential vocational training program. Participants completed well established psychological assessment tools to assess abuse history, family environment characteristics, and current adjustment. RESULTS: Physically abused adolescent females perceived their family environments as more conflictual and less cohesive than females without physical abuse, and sexually abused females perceived their family environments as more conflictual and less cohesive than females without sexual abuse. Physically abused adolescent males reported more conflict than males without physical abuse, but did not differ with regard to cohesion. Adolescent males with and without a sexual abuse history did not differ on the family dimensions. Multiple regression analyses revealed that both conflict and cohesion, in addition to a history of sexual and physical abuse, predicted depression and distress. Separate analyses by gender revealed these variables differentially impact adjustment in male and female adolescents. Results of a power analysis indicated sufficient power to detect these differences. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that in addition to child sexual abuse and physical abuse, family conflict and cohesion are risk factors for the development of psychological distress and depression in adolescence. Implications for treatment and directions for future research are discussed.     

Volunteers in the classroom: Guidelines for orientation

Fortunate child care directors have many volunteers in their centers. Parents, grandparents, student interns, and other community volunteers may work occasionally or regularly in the child care center. Directors should be prepared to host these volunteers by planning in advance for their orientation. This will make the director's task easier and the volunteers' work more meaningful to them and more useful to the children and staff. At the University of Tennessee's Child Development Laboratories we regularly host volunteers with little or no prior experience in child care. Volunteers from the Foster Grandparents Program, from other departments in the university, parents of the children enrolled in the program, as well as our own majors in the beginning stages of their field work, are frequent participants who require orientation and guidelines for working with young children in group care. Because it is not unusual for some volunteers to leave after a semester, training and orientation for new volunteers occurs regularly throughout the year. The information below is offered to directors to promote meaningful involvement of volunteers in their center.Jan Allen is Associate Professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies. Kathy Carlson is a Master Teacher in the Child Development Laboratories. They work together at The University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN. The authors wish to thank Dr. Carol Catron and Anne Miller Farmer for helpful comments.     

A comprehensive model covering prospective teachers’ technology use: the relationships among self,teaching and learning conceptions and attitudes

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to propose and examine a comprehensive model embracing prospective teachers’ beliefs about self, teaching and learning conceptions, and attitudes towards using instructional technologies. Prospective or inservice teachers’ beliefs (from central to peripheral) and attitudes may empower the support of teacher training related to using instructional technologies. Participants were 1208 Turkish prospective teachers from five different universities who participated voluntarily and were selected using convenience sampling. Structural equation modelling analysis showed that prospective teachers’ beliefs about the autonomous self and autonomous–related self positively related to both their constructivist beliefs about teaching and learning and attitudes towards using instructional technologies, whereas the same beliefs negatively related to traditional conceptions of teaching and learning. Moreover, participants’ constructivist beliefs about teaching and learning positively predicted their attitudes towards using instructional technologies. Furthermore, their beliefs about related self positively and unexpectedly predicted their constructivist conceptions and attitudes. Implications are presented considering these results.     

集体训练对大学生品德的影响

集体训练对大学生品德影响的相关研究结果显示:群体凝聚力指数在集体训练后有显著提高;在协变考虑对照组的前提下,“人性哲学量表”上的“利他”、“意志力与理性”、“独立性”几项分量表也都有显著变化。显然,集体训练对于改善大学生品德状况有效,是一项深受学生欢迎又易于操作的方法。     

Volunteer services for vulnerable families and at-risk elderly

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of the volunteer with vulnerable populations, specifically, new parents and their infants and at-risk elderly. As demand for volunteer services increases due to budgetary and personnel reductions, a better understanding of volunteers as service providers is imperative. METHOD: A review of the literature related to volunteers who work with these two populations was conducted. Volunteer characteristics, roles, needs of populations served, recruitment, and training issues were addressed, specifically as they relate to the two populations. RESULTS: Studies indicate that the socio-demographic range of volunteers is wide, as are the motivations for volunteering. Similarities between the needs of new families and the elderly exist, and volunteers for both populations often provide supportive and pragmatic services. Volunteers for both populations are further challenged to maintain a client-focused intervention, a task which may be more difficult in the home. Training of volunteers was found to be both client and volunteer driven, with the needs of the population being served and the role of the volunteer within a specific service domain of prime importance. CONCLUSION: Similarities between infant and elder populations exist, as do volunteer interventions with these populations. A theoretical framework for defining motivation, designing need-based training, and addressing the role of volunteers is discussed. The use of volunteers as compassionate and cost-effective service providers for populations across the lifespan not only provides an increase in the number of skilled workers involved with these vulnerable populations, but also allows professional staff to expand the care which they are able to provide.     

The effects of continuous nurturance and nurturance withdrawal on children's behavior: a partial replication.

This research replicates and extends a study by Hartrup (1958) of the effects of continuous nurturance and nurturance withdrawal on children's behavior. Kindergarten and second-grade children interacted with either a continuously nurturant adult or an adult who was initially nurturant and then withdrew nurturance. A questionnaire was administered to assess children's perceptions of thier experiences and their perceptions of the reasons for the adult's withdrawal. Sessions ended after an assessment of the adult's social reinforcer effectiveness. The results indicated that the adult's social reinforcer effectiveness was an interaction of the effects of sex, children's frequency of verbalization, and nurturance condition. The results partially replicated Hartrup's (1958) and are discussed in terms of suggestions for future research on less complex contrasts between adult interaction patterns.     

试论汉语方言词典的编写原则

汉语方言词典编写存在诸多问题,基于这些问题,汉语方言词典编写应注意四条大原则：利他性原则,即编写词典应该充分考虑受众的层次,以方便读者使用为目的;全面性原则,即词典包含方言点全面、收录词语系统、义项完备;差异性原则,即方言之间存在一定的差别,不能为了便于比较,有意抹杀了方言间的差异性;规范性原则,即词典注音、释文和举例要规范,语言要简洁、准确,以共同语训释方言词语。     

语篇衔接视角下的大学英语阅读教学(英文)

了解语篇的衔接与连贯有助于阅读理解能力的提高。以语篇衔接理论为支撑,构建衔接分析模式,通过对大学英语课文中语篇衔接手段尤其是词汇衔接的分析,探索一种新的教学模式,以帮助学生明确语篇线索、掌握语篇模式、推导语篇主旨。语篇衔接的讲解与训练可以作为阅读教学的一个重要组成部分,还可以被纳入自主学习策略培训课程中,这有助于学生自主学习能力的提高。     

TheInfluenceofAutonomous Learning TrainingonCollege Students’Listening Proficiency

Recently it is a focus to orientate students towards effective autonomous learning within the field of foreign language education at home and abroad. It aims to prove the effectiveness of autonomous learning training in stimulating students' awareness of autonomous learning and improving the application of learning strategies, so as to promote their listening proficiency.Along with a training, a questionnaire, listening proficiency tests, through analyzing the data collected from the questionnaires and the tests, it reveals the experimental class' s listening proficiency is apparently better than that of the control class. 80% students with different listening levels from the experimental class achieve progress to some degree. Autonomous learning training enables students to promote their listening proficiency as well as the awareness of autonomous learning.     

An evaluation of a support group for parents who have a sexually abused child

This study investigates the effectiveness of a parent support group for parents who have a child who has been sexually abused. The parents completed pre- and post-evaluation packages to assess the effectiveness of the group. The Louisville Behavior Checklist, the Parenting Stress Index, and a subjective evaluation using a rating scale and content analysis were used. The results indicated that there were significant decreases in some of the children's dysfunctional behaviors, and the parents found the group helpful and rated it highly stating that they learned coping skills and felt more confident as parents. The parents' stress levels did not change significantly. The implications of the results and suggestions for further research are discussed.     

Parents’ Negative Relational Disclosures and Young Adult Children’s Perceptions of Appropriateness and Feelings of Being Caught

This study tested the degree to which the perceived appropriateness of parents’ negative relational disclosures moderated the association between such disclosures and young adult children’s feelings of being caught between their parents. Participants included 241 young adult children who completed online surveys. Whereas negative relational disclosures received from both mother and father positively predicted children feeling caught, the perceived appropriateness of those disclosures inversely predicted their feelings of being caught. After controlling for divorce status, the positive association between negative relational disclosures and feelings of being caught depended upon the perceived appropriateness of the disclosures for fathers but not for mothers.     

The MMPI-2 profile of adults with learning disabilities in university and rehabilitation settings.

The primary purpose of this study was to compare the personality profiles of adults with learning disabilities attending a large state university (8 females, 8 males) to those participating in training programs in a rehabilitation setting (8 females, 18 males), in an attempt to identify affective variables that should be considered in transitional and postsecondary program planning. A secondary purpose of the study was to compare the performance of two groups of adults with learning disabilities (i.e., university and rehabilitation) to a normative group of college students. The mean age for all subjects was between 20 and 23 years. Findings from the study indicated that the personality profiles of individuals with learning disabilities in either a rehabilitation setting or seeking a university degree are significantly different from those of the normative population of normally achieving college students. The rehabilitation group in this study demonstrated feelings of social isolation, poor self-concept, self-doubt, and extreme restlessness. Somewhat different profiles were seen with the university group as they indicated feelings of fear, obsessive thoughts, lack of self-confidence, self-doubt, and extreme self-criticism. Both groups demonstrated profiles of individuals under extreme short- and long-term stress leading to anxiety. The study also reviewed the relevance and appropriateness of using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) that will have direct application for the assessment and intervention of adults with learning disabilities either in a rehabilitation setting or seeking a university degree.     

Childhood history of abuse and child abuse potential: The role of parent's gender and timing of childhood abuse

It has been suggested that being physically abused leads to someone becoming a perpetrator of abuse which could be associated to parents’ gender, timing of the physical abuse and specific socio-demographic variables. This study aims to investigate the role the parents’ gender, timing of childhood abuse and socio-demographic variables on the relationship between parents’ history of childhood physical abuse and current risk for children. The sample consisted of 920 parents (414 fathers, 506 mothers) from the Portuguese National Representative Study of Psychosocial Context of Child Abuse and Neglect who completed the Childhood History Questionnaire and the Child Abuse Potential Inventory. The results showed that fathers had lower current potential risk of becoming physical abuse perpetrators with their children than mothers although they did not differed in their physical victimization history. Moreover, the risk was higher in parents (both genders) with continuous history of victimization than in parents without victimization. Prediction models showed that for fathers and mothers separately similar socio-demographic variables (family income, number of children at home, employment status and marital status) predicted the potential risk of becoming physical abuses perpetrators. Nevertheless, the timing of victimization was different for fathers (before 13 years old) and mothers (after 13 years old). Then our study targets specific variables (timing of physical abuse, parents’ gender and specific socio-demographic variables), which may enable professionals to select groups of parents at greater need of participating in abuse prevention programs.