This study examined mother-child interaction as a predictor of mastery motivation (i.e., persistence on a problem-posing task) in 3-year-old children who were born premature and had either motor impairment or developmental delay (n = 34). Two aspects of mother-child interaction were hypothesized to predict for mastery motivation: response to…

Reports of adolescents' coping with recurrent pain, symptoms of anxiety/depression, and somatic complaints were obtained from a sample of 164 adolescents with recurrent abdominal pain and their parents. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that coping consisted of 3 nonorthogonal factors: Primary Control Engagement Coping (problem solving,…

Evidence indicates that psychological dysregulation is an integral component of the liability for substance use disorder (SUD). This report discusses the rationale underlying the Dysregulation Inventory (DI), methods employed in item selection and scale construction, and preliminary results regarding psychometric properties. Results indicate that…

Investigates relationships among spirituality, social support, childhood maltreatment and symptoms of distress among a sample of college students. Significant associations were found for maltreatment with high symptoms of distress, low spiritual well-being, and low social support from family; and symptoms of distress with low spiritual well-being…

What is meant by principal burnout is explored, and predictors of burnout identified in the research literature are examined. How school district personnel can assist in alleviating and preventing burnout is discussed. Recommendations center on recognition of stress, support systems, training, and enhancement of professional growth opportunities.…

Examines self-handicapping and defensive pessimism, the factors that predict these strategies, and the associations between these strategies and a variety of academic outcomes. Findings reveal that task orientation negatively predicts both self-handicapping and defensive expectations and positively predicts reflectivity. Students high in…

The relationship between grief and depression in caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease has not been clearly defined through empirical research. This pilot study examined the relationship between these two variables and determined the strength of their relationship. A racially diverse sample of caregivers was drawn from an urban…

In this article I empirically examine the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and subjective well-being (SWB). It is important to know more about this relationship, because a growing body of research indicates that EI significantly contributes to human performance whereas SWB reveals our overall level of satisfaction with what we are…

Undergraduate students routinely rated science-related courses such as biopsychology as intimidating and very difficult. Identification of factors that may contribute to success in these types of courses is important in order to help increase performance and interest in these topics. To examine what variables are related to performance, we studied…

Objective: To understand low uptake of breast cancer screening through exploring the personal reasoning underlying women's attendance or non-attendance, and identifying differences between those who attend and those who decline. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Community and home environments of women eligible for breast screening aged…

A number of psychological models may explain why people vary in their satisfaction with various life domains (e.g., family, or grades). Six of the models are: (1) positive affect (the degree to which one experiences joy or happiness in each life domain); (2) negative affect (unpleasant emotions associated with domains); (3) social comparison (how…

Psychological researchers continue to debate the relative contribution of ability and effort to feelings of self-worth. To investigate student preferences for ability or effort and their relationship to self-worth, and to assess the relative contribution of ability and effort to affective experience, two separate studies were undertaken. In the…

Recent research suggests that circumstances surrounding the death of a loved one and the characteristics of the survivor may affect the grief reaction. To investigate the effect of race and type of death (sudden or anticipated) on the bereavement experience, a true-false questionnaire and the Grief Experience Inventory were administered to 74…

An extremely unpleasant film was shown to one group of students, while another group served as controls. Results suggest that, under conditions of stressful emotional arousal, learning outcomes are influenced predominantly by the combined effects of personality traits, motivational dynamics, and emotional states, which outweigh the influence of…