Pre-service teachers’ defensive pessimism in situ: Two case studies within a mathematics classroom

In this study, defensive pessimism is reviewed in relation to anxiety, self-esteem, expectations, self-regulation, and self-handicapping. Then, two case studies of American pre-service teachers in a mathematics classroom are provided that move the research beyond survey and correlational studies. In the case analyses, defensive pessimists’ discourse and behaviours are examined and additional characteristics are noted, e.g., expressions of humour and self-congratulations. In connection with teaching, teachers are encouraged to support defensive pessimists’ learning strategies, such as perseverance and the use of multiple representations, so that the focus is on meaningful learning instead of the negative self-talk.     

Depression and anxiety symptoms in Russian-speaking skilled immigrants living in Australia: A comparison with Anglo-Australians and Russian-speaking non-immigrants

Data and systematic research on Australia’s diverse immigrant population have been sparse. This study is the first empirical analysis of anxiety and depression symptoms in Russian-speaking skilled immigrants living in Australia. We compared levels of depression and anxiety symptoms in Russian-speaking skilled immigrants to Australia, Russian-speaking non-immigrants residing in one of the countries of the Former Soviet Union (FSU) and Anglo-Australians. 65 Russian-speaking immigrants from the FSU, 65 Russian-speaking non-immigrants residing in Russia, Ukraine, or Belarus, and 63 Anglo-Australians were recruited through social clubs, community web forums, churches, schools and universities. Participants completed online versions of the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List, the Perceived Stress Scale and socio-demographic questionnaires. Results indicated that levels of anxiety and depression were higher in Anglo-Australians compared to the Russian-speaking immigrant and the Russian-speaking non-immigrant groups after controlling for age, gender, relationship status, highest educational level, employment and health status. The outcomes of this study provide valuable insight into the mental health status of this under investigated group and can serve as the first step towards culturally informed mental health service delivery. Future research should address the limitations of the current study such as employing better sampling methods and using more culturally relevant scales to measure depression and anxiety.     

Gender differences in the effects of childhood maltreatment on adult depression and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Child maltreatment has well-documented long-term, adverse effects on mental health, but it is not clear whether there are gender differences in these effects. We conducted a systematic review to investigate whether there are gender differences in the effects of maltreatment on adult depression and anxiety. Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Lilacs were searched for relevant studies published up to May 2016. Eligible studies included population-based studies (with a cohort, case-control or cross-sectional design) which assessed maltreatment during childhood or adolescence (≤18 years) and its association with major depression or generalized anxiety disorder (DSM/ICD diagnostic criteria) in adulthood (>18 years) separately for females and males. Meta-analysis was performed to estimate the association between each exposure and outcome using fixed and random effects models. Pooled odds ratios (OR) were estimated separately for women and men and compared. Five studies of physical and sexual abuse were included in the meta-analyses. These provided twenty-two effects sizes estimates (11 for men, 11 for women) for associations between physical/sexual abuse and depression/anxiety. Exposure to each kind of abuse increased the odds of depression/anxiety. Associations were larger for women than for men, however, these gender differences were not statistically significant. Physical and sexual abuse in childhood/adolescence are risk factors for depression/anxiety in adulthood and the effect could be larger for women; however, currently there is insufficient evidence to definitively identify gender differences in the effects of maltreatment.     

Math Anxiety,Need for Cognition,and Learning Strategies in Quantitative Communication Research Methods Courses

To understand student learning in undergraduate quantitative communication research methods course, this study examined relationships between perceptions of course topic difficulty, course topic understanding, and their relationship with students’ level of math anxiety, need for cognition, and learning strategies. A total of 196 participants voluntarily took part in this study. Results revealed that a higher level of math anxiety leads to a higher level of perceived learning difficulty for topics in the course and leads to a lower level of content understanding of the topics. For topics related to “Research Methods and Measurement,” a higher level of need for cognition results in a lower level of perceived learning difficulty and results in a higher level of content understanding. Use of critical thinking learning strategy has a significantly positive effect on perceived content understanding of topics related to “Research Methods and Measurement,” as does elaboration learning strategy on that of “Statistics.”     

Do emotions and prior performance facilitate the use of the learner-generated drawing strategy? Effects of enjoyment,anxiety, and intramathematical performance on the use of the drawing strategy and modelling performance

The use of self-generated drawings has been found to be a powerful strategy for problem solving. However, many students do not engage in drawing activities. In this study, we investigated the effects of the enjoyment of the drawing strategy, anxiety about the drawing strategy, and prior intramathematical performance on the use of the drawing strategy and modelling performance. We explored the role of the drawing strategy as a mediator between emotions and modelling and whether intramathematical performance moderated the effects of emotions (N = 220, mean age 14.5 years). Enjoyment and anxiety with respect to generating drawings and intramathematical performance predicted the use of the drawing strategy. Enjoyment positively affected modelling performance indirectly via the use of the drawing strategy. Anxiety negatively affected modelling performance via the use of the drawing strategy for students with lower intramathematical performance. Our findings demonstrate that experiencing activating emotions (i.e., enjoyment and anxiety) with respect to strategies and prior intramathematical performance are important for strategy use and modelling performance. Implications for the theory of self-generated drawing and the control-value theory of achievement emotions and practical implications for training and supporting the drawing strategy are discussed.     

Stress and cognitive functioning in sport

This paper considers the relationship between stress and cognitive functioning and discusses some of the concepts and methods that may be adopted to examine the relationship between stress and sports performance. It considers only that literature that may be relevant to, or furthers, the understanding of sports performance under competitive stress. One of the most popular approaches has been to explain the relationship in terms of the unidimensional inverted‐U hypothesis. The validity of this approach to explaining sports performances in specific situations is discussed and it is generally concluded that the inverted‐U hypothesis is too vague and simplistic. The discussion considers multidimensional approaches and discusses the suitability and implications of some more recent and more complex models of stress and performance which are now available in the psychological literature. It is concluded that the relationship between stress and sports performance is an extremely complex one and involves the interaction between the nature of the stressor, the cognitive demands of the task being performed and the psychological characteristics of the individuals performing it.     

外语学习焦虑和个体行为类型相关性探讨

通过问卷调查和统计学的方法,对大学生外语学习焦虑和个体行为模式之间的相关性进行研究。查结果显示,大学生的外语焦虑指数和个体行为类型有显著相关性：A型行为类型的学生的外语焦虑指数明显高于非A型的学生（P〈0.01）：针对学生的行为类型适当调节,可能是除学习策略研究外解决外语学习焦虑的另一有效途径。     

板鞋竞速运动员竞赛状态焦虑研究

本文采用CSAI-2量表,对参加第八届全国少数民族运动会板鞋竞速比赛的60名运动员进行竞赛状态焦虑测试。结果表明：运动员比赛前后的认知状态焦虑存在显著差异;不同性别运动员的认知状态焦虑和躯体状态焦虑存在显著差异;不同文化程度的运动员的状态自信心存在显著差异。教练员应依据不同的焦虑性质,采取不同的手段调控运动员的竞赛状态焦虑。     

孤独症儿童父母社会支持与焦虑的关系研究

本文采用社会支持评定量表(SSRS)和焦虑自评量表(SAS)对54名孤独症儿童的父亲或母亲进行测量,探讨孤独症儿童父母社会支持与焦虑的关系。结果表明:孤独症儿童父母的社会支持与常模无显著差异,不同性别、文化程度在社会支持各维度上的得分也无显著差异;孤独症儿童父母的焦虑水平显著高于国内常模,不同性别、不同年龄阶段父母焦虑水平无显著差异;孤独症儿童父母社会支持与焦虑水平呈显著的负相关。     

Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2): Evaluating the Swedish version by confirmatory factor analyses

The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) is one of the most frequently used instruments when assessing competitive state anxiety in sport psychology research. However, doubts have been expressed about the factorial validity of both the English and the Greek versions of the scale. Hence, a revised version of the inventory (CSAI-2R) has recently been suggested to be more psychometrically sound (Cox et al., ). In the present study, the aim was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the CSAI-2 using confirmatory factor analyses. A total of 969 athletes (571 men and 398 women) competing in 26 different sports completed the Swedish version of the CSAI-2. Three different factor structures were evaluated: the original three-factor model (with cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confidence), a two-factor model in which self-confidence was excluded, and a three-factor model containing 17 items (CSAI-2R). The results revealed that only the 17-item model displayed an acceptable fit to the data. Although some doubts remain about the amount of variance that can be attributed to error variance in the subscales, the results suggest that it is better to use the CSAI-2R rather than the original CSAI-2.