Near-death experiences (NDEs) are subjective experiences at the threshold of death which can include strong positive affect, dissociation from the physical body, and paranormal/transcendental phenomena. Empirical investigation of NDEs has typically relied upon retrospective reports and personality studies of individuals who have come close to…

Recent research on women's lives has emphasized the complex interactions between situational constraints in the family and the workplace. To examine the relationship of situational variables and personality characteristics to career-related self-efficacy expectations and life satisfaction in women, 94 college women completed a questionnaire…

Research indicates that the family roles of men are slowly changing, with a small minority of those sampled having primary childcare/household duties. To examine the background, life satisfaction, motives, and personality traits of such men, 16 married, male adults, whose wives were employed outside the home, and who had over 50% of the…

According to previous research, achieving women display nontraditional personality traits and are influenced by affiliative motives. To examine the needs exhibited by professional women who have made significant achievements, 23 career women (physicians, attorneys, veterinarians, business women, politicians, and artists) completed the Edwards…

Investigated the role of memory development, especially the developmental change in reported general and specific memories, in children's and adults' concepts of themselves. The proportion of general responses was found to be high and stable across all ages; the proportion of specific responses increased with age. (PCB)

This study compared scores of adults (n=34) with blindness and sighted individuals on the Holland Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI) and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Findings indicated a higher incidence of unusual vocational codes selected by people with visual disabilities on the VPI and few differences between visually impaired…

A seven item Likert-type scale was developed to measure self-righteousness, defined as the conviction that one's beliefs and actions are correct, especially in contrast to the beliefs and actions of others. The Self Righteousness Questionnaire (SRQ) measures three components of self-righteousness: belittlement, acceptance, and uncertainty. The…

The study examined longitudinal data from the Louis Terman study to identify risk factors predicting likelihood of committing suicide by gifted women. Discriminant function analysis predicted group membership (suicide, natural death, or living) of 100 percent of the suicides, 93 percent of the control group who died, and 88 percent of the living…

Self-destructiveness can be viewed in two ways: as performing an act which one knows cognitively is not conducive to one's welfare but nonetheless leads to some pleasurable affect (e.g., overeating, smoking); or not performing an act one knows one should perform but which has some negative affective consequences (e.g., dental checkups, saving…

Traditionally, coping and adaptation have been considered synonymous in individual's responses to illness and other stressful situations. The Illness Adaptation Scale (IAS) is a 12-item instrument which was designed to assess adaptational outcomes in illness situations as well as four coping modes (instrumental-self oriented, instrumental-other…

This study explored traits that adult television audience members perceived to be linked to positive and negative portrayals of women on television, and whether respondents' gender is linked to perception differences. Contemporary criteria for evaluating positive and negative images were linked to most responses. No significant gender differences…

Subjects who self-reported episodes of abusing a child were compared to those without a history of child battery. It was concluded that self-identified child abusers have increased lifetime rates of antisocial personality disorder, alcoholism, and depression. (DB)

Because the factors which influence parent functioning have not been extensively researched, a study was conducted to determine the relationships among marital adjustment, child temperament, locus of control, and parent satisfaction. Participants included 93 volunteer couples who had at least one child at home. Parents averaged 35 years old and…

Research on trait descriptions of interpersonal behavior tends to converge on a two-dimensional representation in which descriptive variables are arrayed in a circular fashion around the major axes of affiliation and dominance. Wiggins' self-report adjective checklist (1979) reflects this theoretical ordering. To explore the utility of Wiggins'…

Two levels of education (high school or less, or training beyond high school) and nine content scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 were used to predict employment-related outcomes of 109 blind adults. Education, anger, cynicism, obsessiveness, and family problems were significant predictors of employability. Self-esteem,…