This book provides an in-depth exploration of psychological phenomena affecting language learning within a social learning space. Drawing on the literature from identity in second language learning, communities of practice and learner beliefs, in conjunction with other individual difference factors, it uncovers perceptions and assumptions that…

Early adolescence represents a particularly vulnerable period of development during which young people are susceptible to establishing lifelong behavior patterns associated with poor life, health, and educational outcomes. Previous research demonstrates older adolescents and young adults often experience negative life events (NLEs) prior to…

Objective: This study assessed the unique and interactive effects of child maltreatment and mothers' physical intimate partner violence (IPV) status on low-SES African American children's psychological functioning. Methods: Mothers were recruited from a large, inner-city hospital, and those who met eligibility criteria were asked to complete a…

Parents in 16 families of children with autism spectrum disorders or Down syndrome participated in a qualitative study examining family (i.e., all caregivers in the home) belief systems. All families had children who had recently entered elementary school or who were in the early years of high school. As a result of their experiences, families…

The high-tech environment of the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) may seem a million miles away from the classroom, but the baby who has been born prematurely, wired up in an incubator in the former, will in five years' time be a learner in the other. The journeys through our education system of children who have survived premature birth to become…

For more than two decades, the concept of student engagement has grown from simple attention in class to a construct comprised of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components that embody and further develop motivation for learning. Similarly, the goals of student engagement have evolved from dropout prevention to improved outcomes for lifelong…

Gifted students sometimes camouflage themselves behind a facade of underachievement. Causes of underachievement include: (1) social and emotional conflict due to societal misconceptions, expectations, and stereotypes; low self-concept; and family instability; (2) a stifling or inhibiting academic environment; and (3) physiological and neurological…

Suggests that chronic pain is a unique disability requiring the expansion of rehabilitation principles to include assessment and treatment. Identifies the components of pain, describes the impact of these factors on functional capacity, defines a process for rehabilitation planning, and reviews the literature for applications to rehabilitation…

Current models of acculturation and cultural identity are primarily devoted to identifying the course or the levels at which it takes place, but they are severely limited in describing how a sense of self is fashioned out of multiple social and cultural contexts. The acculturative process is impacted, for example, by the reasons for immigration,…

Learned helplessness is an insidious condition involving undeveloped executive functioning, lack of persistence, and an undeveloped sense of connecting new words or concepts into a web of meanings. Remedial teaching in most small-group, diagnostic/prescriptive settings encourages continued learned helplessness because students are dependent on the…

The stress and illness paradigm is expanded by empirically testing social interest as a personality variable influencing somatic health. Examines stress using an instrument that measures daily hassles. Compares the usefulness of this measure to the life experiences methodology. Findings related to these variables are not consistent with previous…

The present paper discusses some of the current issues confronting practitioners and researchers in understanding gender differences in children's adjustment to divorce. Gender differences in children's developmental adjustment to divorce are influenced by pre and post divorce development processes, parent expectation and children's coping…

This new and expanded Third Edition analyzes blindness within the context of two overlapping theoretical constructs: the development of self-esteem and the process of adjusting to social and/or physical trauma. The book is divided into four sections. The first section, provides an overview of blindness and the essential background for subsequent…

Psychological predictors of self-concept, behavior problems, and social competence of 55 siblings of developmentally disabled children were compared with those in 55 siblings of nondisabled children. Distinct psychological predictors for children with developmentally disabled siblings included parental stress and resources, perceived family social…

Progress in understanding and developing effective responses to work-related stress has been elusive, patchy, and inconsistent. The reasons for this are reviewed, and the inadequacy of traditional stress management techniques and organisational interventions to tackle it are examined. Although necessary, clinical responses to distressed…