The purpose of the present study was to test a specific path model. It was hypothesized that the relationship between the impact (amount and valence) of stress and an outcome (expressing violence toward a partner) would be mediated by an individual's cognitive appraisal of stressful events. Multiple regression procedures were used to test the model. Standardized beta coefficients indicated the strength of the relationships among the variables. Significant findings indicated that the strength of specific relationships among the ten variables (impact of events, three types of primary appraisal, four types of secondary appraisal and the expression of threats and acts of physical violence toward a partner) differed depending upon subject sex and whether the impact of the events was perceived as positive or negative.

The present study is a comparison of music and non-music students with respect to their response patterns on the Brief Symptom Inventory as well as several demographic questions. The sample consisted of 148 non-music students and 141 music students at three levels: (1) freshmen/sophomore; (2) juniors/seniors; and (3) graduate students. Music students consisted of volunteers from several different music classes and non-music students were volunteers from non-music classes. There were no significant differences found among or between groups for the BSI subscales. However, music students were significantly less likely to have gone to counseling in the past and to seek professional counseling for future problems. Recommendations for psycho-educational interventions with musicians are discussed as well as suggestions for future research.

One of the most perplexing problems in the psychology of aging is whether there are characteristic changes in aspects of personality over the life course. This study attempts to address issues relating to changes in the self-system believed to take place as individuals grow older. Of particular interest is what age differences exist in the four components of the objective self described by Atchley (1982): the ideal self, self-concept, self-esteem, and self-evaluation. In order to examine the differences in these components of the self between younger and older adults the following predictions are made: 1) the ideal self for older adults will be more highly interrelated to their present self-concept than will that of younger adults, 2) issues of self-esteem will be more salient in older versus younger adults, and 3) issues of self-evaluation will be more salient in older than in younger adults. A questionnaire developed by Dittmann-Kohli, (1990) containing 30 incomplete sentences asking for fears, desires, goals, time perspective, self-evaluation, and self-description was given to 110 individuals ranging in age from 17-43 and 89 persons ranging in age from 61-96. Results indicate only partial support for age changes in the self-system.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between exercise duration and level of disordered eating, physical self-esteem, and endorsement of societal mores about attractiveness. Two hundred twenty-nine female college students completed the Bulimia-Test Revised, the Physical Self Perception Profile, the Beliefs About Attractiveness Questionnaire, and a demographic questionnaire. Subjects were classified into one of four levels of exercise duration based on the number of hours they reported engaging in planned exercise per week. Significant differences were identified among the four exercise groups in relation to physical self-esteem. The amount of exercise activity individuals engaged in per week, however, was not indicative of their eating disorder symptomatology or beliefs about attractiveness.

Personality characteristics of spousal and adult children and active potential caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's Disease were studied in order to better predict caregiver burden and aspects of well-being. Contrary to prediction, no differences were found between spouse and adult children active caregivers on measures of well-being. Additionally, adult children potential caregivers indicated feeling less control over their lives than spouse potential caregivers. When social desirability was controlled, active caregivers reported greater fluctuations in affect than did potential caregivers. As predicted, personality characteristics of individuals were found to have the biggest role in determining which individuals experience stress or burden.

The Ecological Q-Sort was developed specifically for the measurement of self-concept in older adults. Self-concept is defined as individuals' perceptions of themselves in relationship to their environment. Consequently, self-concept is contextual, multidimensional and varies with the situation. The Ecological Q-Sort was subjected to convergent and discriminant validational procedures in the present study. Correlational analyses provided support for both convergent and discriminant validity, suggesting that this instrument measures ecological, domain specific self-concept in older persons. However, multivariate analysis of variance did not yield significant main effects or interactions for sex, marital status, and health as observed on the sets of ecological and non-ecological self-concept measures.

The Marital Interaction Dimension Inventory (MIDI) is an assessment that evaluates marital relationships on seven dimensions; sexuality, self disclosure, emotional affiliation, conflict resolution, power outcome, commitment, and identity. The MIDI provides scores on and individual's actual and desired relationship.

This study was designed to explore the cognitive-perceptual roots of attrition from substance abuse treatment. Previous research on interpersonal issues among substance abusers and attachment theory suggested areas for investigation: the perception of early parental care, current interpersonal functioning, and perception of the substance abuse treatment program.

The rationale for this study was based on the application of the cycle of domestic violence theory to elder abuse. It examined the effect of history of experienced childhood violence on tolerance, behavioral intentions, and past behaviors of elder abuse toward general and specific elderly targets. The effectiveness of educational interventions for altering tolerance and behavioral intentions of elder abuse was examined. Two hundred and twenty-five undergraduates were assessed for aging knowledge, general aging attitudes, aging anxiety, elder abuse attitudes, and elder abuse intentions and past behaviors. Participants were assigned to a High or Low Experienced Violence group and participated in an educational group or control group. Posttest and one-month followup measures were obtained. No differences were found at pretest between High and Low Violence. Level of Violence did not impact intervention efficacy. Elder abuse education altered attitudes, intentions, and behaviors of elder abuse at posttest significantly more than did aging education or control groups (p < .001), but these effects were no longer significant at followup. Elder abuse attitudes had higher relationships with elder abuse intentions and reported past behaviors than did global aging attitudes or aging anxiety (p < .05). General elderly targets yielded more tolerance, intentions, and …

The present longitudinal study examined the effects and interactions of several variables thought to affect adjustment to conjugal bereavement. Questionnaires were administered to 147 conjugally bereaved subjects and to 46 persons bereaved of close relatives other than spouse. Independent variables included experienced competence (self-esteem, locus of control, coping self-efficacy, and prior coping strategies), impact of loss (anticipation and preventabillty of loss, centrality of relationship and life change), and perceived resources. All of the independent variables were found to be important predictors of adjustment in conjugal bereavement. However, hypothesized interactions among variables were generally not found. Experimental variables were better predictors of adjustment in conjugal bereavement than were demographic variables. Contrary to prediction, widowed subjects tended to become more lonely and showed increased bereavement adjustment difficulties over a six month period of time. However, post hoc analysis suggested that levels of adjustment do not decline over the long term in widowhood. The present study supports a view of widowhood as a multidimensional event, characterized by seemingly contradictory feelings, experiences, and behaviors.

Double standard effects in inferences about quality of parenting and adult sexual outcomes for children were investigated under five conditions of single-parent sexual behavior. The sample comprised six hundred married parents from three major metropolitan areas in Texas. Subjects were administered a scenario about a hypothetical single parent family. The scenario varied with respect to parent gender, child gender, and type of parental sexual activity (e.g., abstinence, limited affairs away from home, involvement with a live-in lover, frequent partners spending the night, and a control condition containing no sexual message). Subjects were asked to rate a parent from the scenario on quality of parenting and predict the adult sexual behavior of the child. Hypothesized double standard effects did not emerge. A double standard in judgments about sexually active single parents and parenting did appear. Main effects were found for child gender and sexual lifestyle of the parent (e.g., parents with boys rated less favorably than parents with girls; promiscuous fathers were rated lower than promiscuous mothers). Several interaction effects among parent gender, child gender, and sexual lifestyle condition were also found (e.g., promiscuous parents were rated lower as parents and seen as negatively influencing the child's sexual development). Recommendations for …

Personality patterns of sexually abused female adolescent runaways are compared to personality patterns of physically abused female adolescent runaways. Eighty-six female adolescents from 13 to 17 years of age completed a self report inventory to determine personality traits. To test the hypotheses of the study, a multivariate analysis of variance was conducted, followed with univariate tests to find differences on separate dependent measures. Results indicated that on the Jesness Inventory there may be a common personality pattern associated with abuse. Univariate tests yielded data which indicated that although there may be a general personality pattern for abused adolescents, there were significant differences between the physically and sexually abused adolescents on some personality variables. Results were evaluated taking into account the selective sample from which the population was drawn. Recommendations for future research included the use of projectives, a more comprehensive personality inventory, and selected demographics.

Eighty-seven single custodial fathers were surveyed to test the validity of previously developed typologies and/or construct a more empirically valid framework with implications for adjustment to the role. Mendes1 (1975) aggressive seekers, conciliatory seekers, conciliatory assenters, and aggressive assenters were compared to O'Brien's (1980) hostile seekers, conciliatory negotiators, and passive acceptors. In addition to demographic variables, relationship to ex-wife and child, and reasons for becoming single and obtaining custody, several personality variables were included along with measures of adjustment. One year follow-up measures of adjustment were collected to evaluate implications of typologies in adjustment. Two nearly equal groups were established in a Q type factor analysis of continuous data. Factor loadings of individual cases suggest a continuum of the two types of single fathers, rather than two distinct groups. Group differences were evaluated in a series of MANOVA and Chisquare analyses. Analysis included six factor scores from a supplemental R factor analysis of selected variables. Type I fathers are characterized as older, more passive, selfreflective, and aloof in interpersonal relationships. They are somewhat less oriented toward a relationship with their children and had felt satisfied with their wives* care of them. Alternatively, Type II fathers are younger, active, assured (not …

The experiment examined negative social reactions to bereaved parents from unrelated others. Both the behavior displayed by the parent and attachment style of the perceiver were expected to influence reactions to bereaved parents. Undergraduates at a southern university (N = 239) completed both attachment measures and measures of reactions to videotapes of bereaved parents. Results indicated that bereaved parents do indeed receive negative evaluations from unrelated others, in the form of decreased willingness to interact in various roles. However, a nonbereaved parent displaying depressive symptoms also received negative evaluations. Depressed targets in the present study did receive negative evaluations, supporting the predictions of Coyne's interpersonal-process theory of reactions to depressed individuals. Contrary to the predictions of interpersonal-process theory, a bereaved parent displaying loss content without depressive symptoms also elicited negative evaluations. Coyne's hypothesis that the amount of induced negative affect in the perceiver leads to negative evaluations was not supported by the data. Subjects appear to react to a complex set of factors when forming these evaluations, including both personal and situational information. Two factors may have undermined the present study s ability to adequately test this theory. Subjects may have perceived depressive symptoms in loss content in the present …

In an effort to determine whether job satisfaction and expectations in a group of workers undergoing major change in the workplace differ from groups of workers not undergoing major change, data were collected from three groups of workers at the operator level in a major U.S. electronics manufacturing company. Two of the groups were not undergoing a major work redesign and served as control groups. A group undergoing the early stages of a major work redesign, characterized primarily by their formation into a self-managed work team, served as the experimental group. The experimental group and one control group were located at the same manufacturing plant, while the other control group was located at another plant. It was hypothesized that the group of workers undergoing change would differ in job satisfaction and that over time, the difference would grow. It was also hypothesized that the group undergoing change would have different expectations about the nature of their jobs in the future. Data were collected from members of the three groups using a modified version of Hackman and Oldham's (1980) Job Diagnostic Survey, with two administrations of the survey seven months apart. Data were analyzed using a 3 (Groups) X 2 (Perception: …

The purpose of this study was to explore factors which are predictive of parenting stress for first-time parents. Based on attachment theory and empirical research, the factors investigated were the responsibility for child care and housework, the current and retrospective relationship with the family of origin, the change in emotions related to parenthood, the marital relationship, and attachment and individuation.

Multipotentiality makes career counseling with gifted students difficult. High-flat vocational profiles give the impression that gifted students can develop a wide range of abilities to an equally high level. High-flat vocational profiles may be due to assessments that consider abilities and disregard interests and values, and ceiling effects from the use of age-appropriate, rather than cognitively-appropriate measures. Subjects included 170 gifted students from a residential, early college entrance program (M=15.9 yrs., SD=.361). Subjects completed the Scholastic Aptitude Test, Self-Directed Search, and Study of Values. McNemar's Test of Correlated Proportions shows the proportion of multipotential profiles decreases significantly when cognitively-appropriate measures of interests and values are considered, in addition to abilities. Pearson Chi-square shows no ethnic differences.

Traditionally, body image research has focused on young women. However, there are indications of cultural shifts which extend physical appearance pressures to both men and women, as well as to middle-aged and older adults. Two hundred and ten subjects were administered objective body image measures including the Figure Rating Scale, the Body Shape Questionnaire, and the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire, as well as projective measures including the Holtzman Inkblot Technique and the Draw-A-Person. The NEO-Five Factor Inventory and the Social Anxiety Subscale were also used to explore variables which might covary with body image. A 3 X 2 X 2 Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) was utilized with social desirability as the covariate.

This purpose of this research study was to identify key differences that distinguish stepfamilies from intact families with regard to individual members' perceptions of family environment and family functioning. Additionally, an initial look at how membership in a stepfamily impacts the young children's perceptions of interpersonal family functioning is offered.

The purpose of this study was to follow the development of children with reading disabilities only, reading disabilites and ADHD, ADHD only, and a comparison group from the ages of 3 to 18. Differences were examined on the following variables: (a) Antecedent variables- Reynell Developmental Language Scales, Temperament, and Family Adversity; (b) School-age variables- behavioral and academic self-concept ratings; and (c) Psychological adjustment variables at age 18- self-reports of delinquency. Children from the reading disabled groups exhibited receptive language deficits, were from families who during the early childhood years had less resources to cope with problem situations, exhibited difficult temperamental characteristics, and had negative academic self-concepts. Distinctions were also noted between a "pervasive" and "situational" presentation of behavioral problems. During late adolescence the reading disabled groups exhibited similar levels of delinquency as their non-disabled peers. The implications of this study and directions for future research are discussed.

Stress plays a key role in our daily lives, influencing our emotional state, productivity, and health. One particular role in life, being a parent, has attracted significant attention in the research world in terms of the amount of stress parents experience in relation to different aspects of being parents. A life change that many parents, particularly mothers, are experiencing in increasing numbers is their return to college. This study compared reports of parenting stress and perceptions of the family environment between two groups of mothers. The first is a group of 32 mothers who were working 30 or more hours a week outside the home and were not enrolled in college while the second group consists of 31 mothers who were in college full-time and working less than 10 hours a week outside the home. All of the mothers were between the ages of 25 and 45 and had at least one child between the ages 5 and 12 years old. In both groups the mothers verified that their child(ren) was (were) without any diagnosis of an emotional, behavioral, or learning problem. A series of one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVAs) were performed. Results indicated there were no significant group …

The purpose of this study was to describe the relative importance of aspects of the occupational environment in predicting personal strain and changes in the meaning of work (perceived changes in work role salience and work values) during the transition to parenthood. The aspects of the work environment under investigation were: work interference with family, family interference with work, supervisor support for combining work and family, and organization support (respect, separation, and integration types). Control variables were husband support, an important factor in adjustment during the transition to parenthood, and socioeconomic status. A sample of 118 women in dual career couples with one child under two years of age were recruited through childcare centers and newspaper announcements. The sample was predominantly Caucasian and middle or upper-middle class. Subjects completed self-report questionnaires. Hypotheses were tested using hierarchical multiple regression. Results of this study provided partial support for the hypothesis that workplace support and work/family interference would contribute to personal strain. Only family interference with work emerged as a significant predictor. The results of this study provided partial support for the hypothesis that husband support, workplace support, and work/family interference would contribute to change in work values. Only husband support was a …

The relationship between adult attachment style and romantic relationship quality in marriage relationships was explored. Romantic relationship quality was measured at the working model (or perceptual) and the behavioral levels. No previous research had investigated romantic relationship quality as reflecting specific attachment related perceptions of self and spouse or as attachment related behaviors. Two hundred and six married subjects were recruited from university campuses, churches, and on an individual basis. Most of the subjects were white, middle class, and had children. Subjects completed self-report questionnaires measuring adult attachment style, working model of self and romantic partner, and reports of relationship behaviors of self and romantic partner. The first hypothesis proposed that attachment style differences would be seen in specific attachment related working models of self and romantic partner. The second hypothesis proposed that attachment style differences would be seen in reports of attachment related behaviors for self and romantic partner. Hypotheses were tested using multivariate analysis of variance.

Age/cohort differences in several aspects of the self-system were investigated utilizing a sentence completion paradigm. Eighty-eight adults over age sixty and one hundred eight adults under age forty served as subjects. Subjects were asked to complete 30 self-referent sentence stems which were pre-structured to elicit information from the self-system. Responses were subjected to a content analysis utilizing a coding system which contained concepts used by subjects in their self-representations. Contents were coded for dimensions conceptually related to Physical Health, Autonomy, Self-Evaluation, Depression, Spirituality, and Altruism. Frequencies of codings were counted and subjected to statistical analysis for performing age group comparisons.