Interviews with university students selected as high or low in either self-handicapping or defensive pessimism identified personal perspectives on the nature of self-handicapping and defensive pessimism, the perceived reasons why they engage in these strategies and the perceived advantages that follow from them, and the extent to which ego goals…

Scapegoating in group counseling may be understood from the perspective of three levels of group functioning: intrapsychic, interpersonal, and the group as an entity. This article reviews a progressive three-stage conceptualization of group development that contributes to a more complete understanding of the means to initiate therapeutic change in…

Describes the therapeutic use of video therapy in the treatment of childhood sexual abuse. In video therapy, the patient is directed to independently view video recordings of therapy sessions to help correct cognitive and affective disorders. How these distortions develop and their connection with conditioning and programming are discussed. (JPS)

Investigated psychological effects of teammate's exercise-related sudden death on 10 remaining team members at end of collegiate careers (4 years later). Findings indicated initially similar responses from teammates (shock and disbelief); mixed reactions concerning influence of event on individual lives; deep emotions during interviews; and…

This study examines the reliability and validity of a newly developed self-report measure designed to assess children's coping strategies in response to everyday rejection experiences. The Survey for Coping with Rejection Experiences (SCORE) was administered to 225 children and factor analysis of responses resulted in the conceptually meaningful…

According to the hedonic treadmill model, good and bad events temporarily affect happiness, but people quickly adapt back to hedonic neutrality. The theory, which has gained widespread acceptance in recent years, implies that individual and societal efforts to increase happiness are doomed to failure. The recent empirical work outlined here…

This article focuses on the impact of schooling on teachers through an exploration of the teaching of Science and English to Year 10 pupils in a metropolitan area in the north of England. Data was collected from 15 case studies through semi-structured interviews with the teacher, a lesson observation, and a post-observation interview with a sample…

Findings of the Danish Adult Education Research Project reveal adults' ambivalence about learning. Many adopt defensive strategies to avoid learning that challenges identity, are not inclined to learn unless it is personally meaningful, and take as much responsibility for learning as they want. These characteristics are not reflected in programs…

A scale to measure denial among sexual offenders was developed for male incest offenders (N=265). Validity and reliability were tested. Four subscales correspond to the domains of denial: facts, awareness, impact, and responsibility. Development strategy and psychometric analysis are reported. Recommendations for further research are included.…

In an effort to encourage dialogue and reflection on matters of common concern and interest, this journal invites responses on selected articles from other educators, who engage the text critically and offer some reflections about its utility and validity. This paper presents responses from Daniel F. Curtin, Gwen Byrd and Dominica Rocchio to the…

Some adults and children exhibit defensive behaviors to tactile or auditory stimulation. These symptoms occur not only in subsets of children with ADHD, autism, and Fragile X syndrome, but also in the apparent absence of accompanying disorders. Relatively little research explores the correlates and antecedents of sensory defensiveness. Using a…

Examines the relationship between racial identity attitudes and the use of ego defense mechanisms by White counselor trainees during cross-racial counseling and supervision dyads. Results indicated that White counselor trainees at less mature statuses of racial identity attitudes relied on more primitive ego defenses to manage the anxiety…

Examines the expectancies, beliefs, coping patterns, and psychological adjustment associated with loss due to death, parental divorce, or illness and the level of disability in a college population. Results indicate that loss groups did not differ from each other or from a no-loss group on cognitive variables, coping, or psychological adjustment.…

Three studies, involving 100, 202, and 254 college students, respectively, examined the effects of positive self-presentational set on the revised edition of the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R). Findings suggest that the NEO PI-R is clearly vulnerable to faking and support the condition that profiles derived under socially desirable…

A multitude of published books and papers on child sexual abuse (CSA) describe symptoms, long-term effects, and therapy for survivors of abuse. However, the parallels between the nature of the sexual trauma event(s) as originally experienced by the victim and the therapeutic process into which the survivor later becomes engaged have not been…