Upset among youth in response to questions about exposure to violence,sexual assault and family maltreatment

To assess whether youth are upset by being asked questions about sensitive kinds of abuse, victimization, family maltreatment, and sexual victimization in the course of standard epidemiological surveys. A national sample of youth aged 10–17 were interviewed on the telephone by experienced interviewers as part of the National Survey of Children Exposed to Violence. At the end they were asked whether answering questions had upset them. Of the youth interviewed, 4.5% reported being at all upset and 0.8% reported being pretty or a lot upset. However, only a minority of those upset, .3% of the total sample, said they would not participate again had they known about the content. But even in this group, the regret about participation was mostly due to the length of the survey, not the types of questions being asked. Thus, asking about exposure to abuse and sensitive kinds of victimization in standard interview surveys is associated with low levels of respondent upset due to the nature of the questions.     

Learning styles of the open university students of Sri Lanka

Conclusions This study presented an analysis of learning styles of a sample of Sri Lankan Open University students using the LSI. Results indicate that the program of study is more likely to influence learning style than gender. It could also be assumed that the older students who were employed specifically in the PGDE program were influenced by the type of employment they were engaged in, as well as by the type of program they were enrolled in. Although the use of the LSI with this population was not incongruent, one of the questions that remains to be answered in order to better understand learning styles is related to the appropriateness of the LSI for this cultural context. It is hoped that the completion of the larger study described earlier will yield more useful information in this regard. The authors wish to thank Dr. Buddhi Weerasinghe, Director of the Educational Technology Division, OUSL, for supporting this study, and Mr. S. Somaratne of the Department of Botany, OUSL, for statistical analysis.     

Perceptions of tutoring roles and psychological distance among instructors,tutors and students at a Korean university

This study explores issues related to the tutor’s role when initiating tutoring as an institutional strategy at a conventional university. Based on a pilot tutoring program implemented in four college courses, we investigated the perceptions of instructors, tutors and students regarding the role of tutoring and whether it affected the psychological distance between the different types of participants. The results indicated that instructors’ perceptions of the tutor’s primary role and the psychological distance from the students and the tutors differed from the perceptions of the tutors and the students, perhaps because the instructors perceived tutors as a source of instructor support rather than student support. Implications and suggestions are discussed.     

Social support and the relationship between family and community violence exposure and psychopathology among high risk adolescents

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the protective effect of social support in the relationship between exposure to violence and psychopathology. Exposure to violence in the family and exposure to violence in the community were examined separately. Exposure to violence was further divided according to whether violence was experienced as a victim or as a witness. Internalizing and externalizing forms of psychopathology, as well as post-traumatic stress symptomatology were examined. METHOD: Participants consisted of 65 high-risk adolescents admitted consecutively to psychiatric inpatient units. Data were collected by means of individual interviews, self-report questionnaires, and hospital charts. RESULTS: Social support emerged as a protective factor with respect to the maladaptive effects of family violence, experienced as either a victim or as a witness. In contrast, social support did not appear to buffer the maladaptive effects of community violence, regardless of whether violence was experienced as a victim or as a witness. In fact, the relationship between community violence and psychopathology was found to be generally nonsignificant regardless of social support status. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that exposure to family violence may affect development differently than exposure to community violence, allowing social support to effectively buffer the effects of family, but not community violence. This finding highlights the importance of examining violence exposure that occurs within the family separately from violence exposure that occurs within the community.     

School violence roles and sociometric status among Spanish students

This study examines the relation between the social adjustment in the classroom and the role of aggressor or victim, in school violence situations. Participants were 1,635 students （aged 14-18 years old）, from a representative sample, with different levels （compulsory secondary education, specific/initial training courses and vocational programs）. Students filled out a questionnaire that included measures of types of violence （exclusion, verbal violence, physical violence）, from the point of view of the three roles that are implicated （aggressors, victims and observants）, and a sociometric questionnaire. The variables measured were： frequency of school violence （exclusion, psychological violence and physical violence） and the peer status （rejected, controversial, neglected, average or popular）. The statistic analyses used were χ^2- and F- tests. From the results we can point out the importance of these variables in the school violence situations. The implications of these findings and the relevance for preventive programs are discussed.     

Cognitive distortions and autonomy among Chinese university students

The purpose of this study was to examine the roles of university students' cognitive distortions in their sense of autonomy. One hundred and three third-year university students from Shanghai, The People's Republic of China, responded to the Cognitive Distortion Scales [Briere, J. (2000). Cognitive Distortion Scales: Professional manual. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.] and to the Iowa Developing Autonomy Inventory [Jackson, L. M., Hood, A. B. (1985). The Iowa Developing Autonomy Inventory. In A. B. Hood (Ed., 1997), The Iowa student development inventories (2nd Ed), (pp. 32–43). Iowa City, IA: HITECH Press]. Results suggested that in general, cognitive distortions have a significantly negative impact on Chinese students' sense of autonomy. However, there was also an indication that cognitive distortions could play the roles of psychological defense mechanisms, which provided some support to Bowins' [Bowins, B. (2004). Psychological defense mechanisms: A new perspective. American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 64 (1), 1–26] recent argument that cognitive distortions may not always be dysfunctional. Implications of the present findings are discussed in relation to students, faculty members, and university counselors.     

Gender differences in the effects of exposure to intimate partner violence on adolescent violence and drug use

Objective

This study investigated the long-term effects of exposure to intimate partner violence in the home on adolescent violence and drug use and gender differences in these relationships. Although the general relationship between exposure to IPV and negative outcomes for youth has been demonstrated in past research, gender differences in the effects of IPV on adolescents have been rarely assessed using longitudinal data.

Methods

Longitudinal data was obtained from 1,315 adolescents and their primary caregivers participating in the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN). The sample was 51% female and ethnically diverse (45% Hispanic, 37% African-American, and 14% Caucasian). Two waves of data were assessed to examine the effects of exposure to IPV, reported by caregivers when their children were aged 12 and 15, on violence and drug use, reported by adolescents 3 years later. Multivariate statistical models were employed to control for a range of child, parent, family, and neighborhood risk factors.

Results

Exposure to IPV did not significantly predict subsequent violence among males or females in multivariate analyses. IPV exposure was significantly related to the frequency of drug use for females but did not predict drug use among males. This gender difference was not statistically significant, however, which suggests more similarities than differences in the relationship between exposure to IPV and subsequent violence and drug use.

Conclusions

This study supports prior research indicating that exposure to IPV can negatively impact adolescent development, but it suggests that these effects may be more likely to influence some outcomes (e.g., drug use) than others (e.g., interpersonal violence). The findings also emphasize the need for additional research examining the overall impact of IPV on adolescent problem behaviors and gender differences in these relationships, including longitudinal studies and investigations that control for a range of other important predictors. A better understanding of these relationships can help inform intervention efforts aimed at ensuring that adolescents living in violent households receive timely and appropriate services to help prevent the occurrence of future problem behaviors.     

贫困大学生人际适应不良的心理咨询案例报告

本文通过对一位贫困大学生人际适应不良问题进行诊断和分析,采用认知疗法、合理情绪疗法等帮助其重新认识自我,树立人际交往的自信心,建立良好的人际沟通模式.经过四周咨询和心理辅导,来访者认知观念与行为方式有了明显改变,显示咨询效果良好.     

Thinking styles and conceptions of creativity among university students

This research aims to understand university students’ thinking styles and the relationship with their views of creativity. The Thinking Styles Inventory‐Revised II was used to measure 13 thinking styles as defined in Sternberg’s theory of mental self‐government and the Conceptions of Creativity Scales was used to inquire students’ views about the conditions for evaluating creativity from six aspects: intelligence, knowledge, style of thinking, personality, motivation and learning environment. Significant relationships were identified between thinking styles and conceptions of creativity. This research contributes to the understanding about the relationship between conceptions of creativity and thinking styles, and brings insights for educators about educational innovations, as one of the key objectives of educational innovations is to develop creativity of the younger generation.     

Predicting school violence: A comparison of violent and nonviolent male students on attitudes toward violence,exposure level to violence,and PTSD symptomatology

This preliminary study examined the relationship of use of violence to exposure to violence, attitudes toward violence, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology in 45 adolescent male perpetrators of school violence and 45 nonviolent control participants from inner‐city schools. Participants completed the Exposure to Violence Questionnaire, Attitudes Towards Violence Scale, Checklist of Children's Distress Symptoms, and Use of Violence Scale. The perpetrator and control groups differed in use of violence, exposure to violence, and PTSD symptomatology. Use of violence demonstrated a unique relationship with attitudes toward violence, PTSD, and exposure to violence for the perpetrator sample, with the relationship between exposure to and use of violence remaining significant after controlling for attitudes and PTSD. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 591–598, 2006.     

Adjustment to university and academic performance among disadvantaged students in South Africa

Adjustment to the university environment is regarded as an important factor in predicting university outcomes. This study explores the pathways taken by adjustment and other psychosocial variables (help‐seeking, academic motivation, self‐esteem, perceived stress, and perceived academic overload), in relation to the success of economically and educationally disadvantaged students at university. Participants were 194 first‐year students on need‐based financial aid at a South African university; they completed questionnaires that measured these psychosocial variables, and their final first‐year academic results were obtained via the university’s records office. Path analyses showed that adjustment did not function as a pure mediator on academic performance as the dependent variable. Furthermore, the psychosocial factors explained much (59%) of the variance in the students’ adjustment and 20% of the variance in their academic performance. Hence, the psychosocial variables better explained the students’ adjustment to university than academic performance.     

大学生参加健身、健美运动的心理效应探因

利用文献资料法，调查访问法对大学生参加健身、健美运动的心理效应进行探讨，从中发现健身、健美运动具有悦体与审美效应、移情与宣泄效应和交往效应。健身、健美运动将会为大学生在追求体形健美、体魄强健的同时，达到心理的最佳效应奠定基础。     

大学生人际关系心理探析

大学生的很多烦恼表现在人际关系上,因此关注大学生的心理健康问题,培养学生为自己创造一个良好的人际空间是必须而紧迫的问题。本文试图从人际交往主要的健康标志,人际交往障碍产生的原因及调节人际关系的途径和方法三方面对大学生人际关系心理作出探析。     

A sense of belonging among Australian university students

ABSTRACT

This study was designed to explore what students perceive as essential factors influencing their sense of belonging. Gaining insight into what students perceive as influencing their sense of belonging enables design of interventions to foster that sense of belonging. Two hundred and nine students from a university in Sydney responded to the question: ‘What would help you to feel that you belong at Macquarie University?’ Results showed students most frequently identified people as instrumental in feeling that they belonged at university. Students also reported that places where there is respect, and where others are accepted, contributed to their feelings of belonging. Lastly, opportunities to interact with other students, such as within clubs, societies and at events, were reported by students to contribute to their feelings of belonging. Findings of the current study are discussed in relation to existing literature, to develop approaches that may enhance university students’ sense of belonging.     

Perceived employability and ability self among Finnish university students

Employability is an increasing concern for university students. Our survey set out to examine university students’ perceptions of their employability and the ways in which these perceptions relate to positions that subsequently connect students to working life: students’ self-representational position or “ability self”, and students’ life-historical positions such as chosen field of study, phase of degree and working life experience. The participants comprised a sample of students (N = 1819) from two Finnish universities, representing diverse fields of study. It was found that apart from the field of study, the perceived proximity to graduation and working life was associated with the perception of employability. Furthermore, a set of self-attributed capabilities was associated with students’ perceptions of employability, particularly extroversion, ambitious competitiveness, mental strength and the desired characteristics of a good employee; however, the attribution of academic skills showed opposing effects. It was concluded that both self-representational and live-historical positions are part of the construction of students’ optimism regarding their employability.

     

高校家庭经济困难学生的心理特征及教育引导

当前高校中的家庭经济困难学生的数量与日剧增,家庭经济困难学生问题成为我国高校普遍存在的一个突出问题,这不仅仅是物质问题,更重要的是精神问题。因此把握他们的心理和思想特点,通过思想教育、心理疏导、真诚的关爱等使他们深刻的体会到我国社会主义制度下高等教育的指导思想和工作特色,对学校的整体发展乃至整个社会的繁荣稳定有着深远的意义。     

当前做好高校心理健康教育工作的几个问题--教育部社政司负责人答本刊记者问

本刊记者:最近,中共中央、国务院发出《关于进一步加强和改进大学生思想政治教育的意见》。在《意见》)中,对加强和改进大学生心理健康教育提出了明确要求,充分体现了以胡锦涛为总书记的党中央对全国大学生的亲切关心和爱护。近年来,高校、学生家长、新闻媒体和全社会都在关注大学生心理健康教育问题,大家普遍认为,大力推进大学生心理健康教育工作,是摆在高校面前的一项重要任务。您认为,当前高校应如何认真学习贯彻《意见》精神,进一步提高对加强和改进大学生心理健康教育工作重要性和紧迫性的认识,切实增强做好大学生心理健康教育工作的责…     

Coping strategies and psychological well-being among teacher education students

The coping strategies used by students play a key role in their psychological well-being. This study examines the relationship between coping strategies and psychological well-being in a sample of 98 undergraduates aged between 19 and 42 years. Coping strategies were evaluated by means of the CRI-A (Moos, 1993), while psychological well-being was assessed using the BSI (Derogatis and Spencer, 1982). The results show a relationship between coping style and psychological well-being. Approach coping strategies as problem solving in teacher education students had a beneficial effect on symptoms of depression, phobic anxiety and overall level of psychological distress. In contrast, cognitive avoidance coping are associated with greater presence of psychological symptoms indicating distress. And behavioural avoidance strategies (search for alternative rewards and emotional discharge) were associated with negative psychological well-being. Coping strategies may help to reduce psychological distress in university students. Specifically, approach-oriented coping is associated with positive scores for psychological well-being, and avoidant emotion-focused coping—above all, behavioural avoidant coping—may be a strong predictor of psychological distress.