Search

Little empirical attention has been given to the academic stress experienced by Native American undergraduates. This study explored the relation of self-beliefs, ethnic identity, and cultural congruity with academic stress among 158 (65 males and 93 females) Native American university undergraduates. Participants completed instruments assessing self-esteem, academic self-efficacy (grade and task), ethnic identity (centrality, public regard, and private regard), cultural congruity, and academic stress. Hierarchical regressions revealed that self-beliefs (specifically task self-efficacy), ethnic identity (particularly public regard), and cultural congruity predicted academic stress, accounting for 23.7% of the variance. Each of these constructs was negatively related to academic stress. These findings are discussed in light of the literature, and ideas for college-based interventions are given.

Latinos, particularly Mexican immigrants, are the fastest-growing population in the United States but lag behind others in educational attainment. Parent involvement in their child's education has been linked to positive student academic outcomes, but few studies have focused specifically on Latino/a parents. To identify and promote culturally salient parent involvement approaches for Mexican immigrant parents, this qualitative strength-based study investigated motivations, actions, and culture of 11 Mexican immigrant parents of students who attended a selective college preparatory high school. The study found that a parent's effort to help their children succeed is not dependent on high levels of parent education or income. Rather, the home-based strategies, many of which are rooted in the Latino culture, and specific outreach by educators influenced parent involvement.

Based on Tinto's model of academic persistence, this study explored background and personal factors that theoretically impact the academic persistence decisions of college freshmen. The factors studied were (a) parental educational attainment, (b) parental valuing of education, (c) high school grade point average, (d) residential status (on- vs. off-campus), (e) personal valuing of education, (f) perceived academic preparation, (g) academic self-expectancy, (h) educational self-efficacy, and (i) self-esteem. The study sample consisted of 378 (135 male and 243 female) freshmen who were 18 and 19 years old. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that more positive academic persistence decisions were predicted by residential status (living on-campus) and self-beliefs, specifically greater educational self-efficacy, self-esteem, and personal valuing of education. These findings suggest that researchers, counselors, and college policy makers consider residential status as well as students' beliefs about themselves when making decisions related to increasing retention of college freshmen.

This study examined the reliability and validity of scores from the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity with 550 Euro-American, 112 Latino, and 41 Native American undergraduates. Data for the Centrality, Private Regard, and Public Regard scales indicate that these scores have construct validity. Scores have acceptable Cronbach alpha internal consistency reliabilities across the 3 groups. (Contains 2 tables.)

The relationships of four types of career goals (job related, school related, value related, and unknown) with factors of school retention, academic performance, self-esteem, educational self-efficacy, and school and career commitment are studied among 401 first-semester college freshmen. Differences in types of goals based on gender are also considered. Students reporting job-related goals are more likely to make positive persistence decisions than students reporting unknown goals. Men are more likely to report value-related goals than women, whereas women are more likely to report job-related goals than men. Implications of these findings for those working in college settings that help foster students' career development and academic success are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationships among suicidality, substance use, self-esteem, family structure, and eight personality characteristics (harm avoidance, impulsivity, aggression, social recognition, cognitive structure, succorance, abasement, and achievement) with 337 talented, at-risk, adolescent girls. Results indicated that girls with histories of suicidal ideations and/or attempts had significantly higher levels of substance use, impulsivity, aggression, and social recognition, and significantly lower levels of self-esteem and harm avoidance than girls without such histories. Girls without suicide histories were also more likely to come from single mother families. Consideration of these factors, by both researchers and clinicians, in assessing suicide risk is encouraged.

Although gifted girls are closing the gap in math and science achievement, they continue to lose interest and drop out of math/science careers. An intervention was developed for talented at-risk young women that emphasized enhancing career identity and exploration, building science self-efficacy and self-esteem and reducing risky behaviors. Self-esteem, school self-efficacy, and future self-efficacy increased from pre-test to the 3- to 4-month follow-up. Girls significantly increased their seeking information about career and were likely to stay with nontraditional choices. The risk factor suicidality also decreased over this period.

Using a five-year longitudinal study, examines psychosocial factors related to the academic persistence of 288 American Indian college students. Findings indicate that academic preparation and aspirations, academic performance, and interactions with faculty and staff best differentiated between students who persisted in school and those who did not. (RJM)

The relationship of sex, gender role attitudes, and sexual orientation to blame attributed to rape victims by 168 male and 220 female undergraduates was examined. Participants responded to a scenario that depicted the rape of a heterosexual male or female, a gay male, or a lesbian and completed the Case Reaction Questionnaire, the Attitudes Toward Women Scale--Short Form, the Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale--Short Form, and the Male Role Norm Scale. Men assigned more blame to victims than did women, and they assigned greater blame to male than to female victims. Traditional gender role attitudes were positively related to victim blame and to more negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians, which in turn, was related to more blame being assigned to homosexual victims. KEY WORDS: rape; victim sex; perceptions; homosexuality.

This study examined whether a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), attachment to mother, father, and friends, and mattering were related to the coping behaviors of 171 male and 85 female, ethnically diverse, low-income, young adults. The 74 survivors of CSA reported lower attachment to father and less mattering to parents than did the 97 who reported no abuse. Compared to male survivors, female survivors reported greater use of problem-focused coping and also perceived their abuse experience, particularly the use of force, as having a more negative impact on them. Stronger attachment to mother and to friends predicted more positive problem-focused coping. Mattering to friends moderated the relation between CSA history and problem-focused coping, with the CSA survivors who reported the highest mattering to friends also using the most problem-focused coping strategies. The role of attachment and mattering in problem-focused coping among young adults, especially those with a CSA history, is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many counselors in non-school settings will work with children at some time during their practice; therefore, it is essential that they understand the legal and ethical issues relevant to working with minors. Major court cases and legislation are presented, and 4 critical ethical issues--counselor competence, the client's rights to confidentiality and informed consent, and duties related to child abuse--are addressed. Suggestions for working ethically with minors in order to limit legal liability are presented.

Postpartum depressive symptoms (PPDS) are likely to have a multifactorial etiology. The relationships among identified PPDS risk factors, however, remain inconclusive. A vulnerability-stress conceptualization of PPDS was tested with a sample of 144 U.S. mothers aged 18-46 years, who had given birth in the last 12 months. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Dysfunctional Attitude Scale Form A-17, Parenting Sense of Competence Scale, and Quality of Relationships Inventory were completed. The conceptual model and three alternative models were tested using structural equation modeling. A variation of the conceptual model yielded the best fit, ?2 (98) = 133.541, p = .0099, Standardized Root Mean Residual (SRMR) = 0.071, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.050 (90% CI = 0.026-0.070), Tucker Lewis Index (TLI) = 0.953, Comparative Fix Index (CFI) = 0.961. Dependency and partner conflict were positively related to PPDS, while maternal-efficacy was negatively related to PPDS. Dependency moderated the relationship between maternal- efficacy and PPDS, so that this relationship was stronger for mothers with higher dependency than for those with lower dependency. Dependency, partner conflict, and maternal-efficacy should be considered when building interventions that target the wellbeing of mothers in the first year after birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depression and college stress, major concerns among undergraduates, are potentially related to self-esteem and mattering. This study investigated the interrelationships among these four variables. Participants included college students (199 males and 256 females) between the ages of 18 and 23. Significant sex differences were found with women reporting greater depression, college stress, and mattering. Sex, self-esteem, and mattering accounted for 13.8% and 39. 4% of the variance in stress and depression, respectively. Accounting for 49.1% of the variance, the full model including sex, self-esteem, and mattering enhanced the ability of stress to predict depression. All of the study hypotheses were supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationships among personal and family valuing of education, self-esteem, academic stress, and educational self-efficacy for 530 female undergraduates. Personal and family valuing of education and self-esteem were related to educational self-efficacy; academic stress was related to self-esteem and self-efficacy. No differences existed between Euro-American women and women of color, and for both groups, personal valuing of education, self-esteem, and academic stress predicted educational self-efficacy. Implications for research and practice are introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the impact of racial stereotypes on counselor trainees' perceptions of the attributes and behaviors of ethnically male clients. Effects of racial stereotyping; Attitudes of counselors toward ethnic minorities; Application of studies to instigate counselor trainees' perceptions of African-Americans.

Examines menopausal symptomatology, negative mood states and marital satisfaction for midlife women classified as pre-, peri-, or postmenopausal. Prediction of menopausal symptomatology by depression and anger; Signs of depression among nonmarried women; Negative moods among married women who were unhappy with their marriages; Negative correlation between marital satisfaction and menopausal symptomatology.

This study examined the relationship of gender and professional status on attitudes toward rape victims. The Attitudes Toward Rape Victims Scale was completed by 74 upper-class undergraduates (20 males, 54 females), 78 beginning graduate students in counseling (18 males, 60 females), and 45 mental health professionals (22 males, 23 females). The 2 x 3 analysis of variance revealed both gender and professional status differences and a significant interaction. Male undergraduates had the most negative attitudes toward rape victims, and female professionals had the most favorable attitudes. All men still hold more negative attitudes toward rape victims than do their female counterparts, regardless of professional status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is scholarly disagreement about whether Asian Americans are more socially anxious and less assertive than European Americans. We examined this question by exploring the interrelations among race/ethnicity, social anxiety, assertiveness, and self-beliefs related to mood regulation and sense of self. Participants were 72 Asian Americans and 63 European Americans who completed measures assessing negative mood regulation expectancies (NMRE), self-construal, social anxiety, and assertiveness. Moderated regression analyses revealed that independent self-construal, a self-belief, predicted both social anxiety and assertiveness regardless of participant race/ethnicity. Also, less social anxiety predicted more assertiveness, regardless of one's NMRE, also a self-belief. The most powerful predictors of assertiveness were social anxiety and self-construal. These findings suggest that when working with clients experiencing concerns about social anxiety or assertiveness, mental health counselors should explore their clients' self-beliefs, regardless of whether clients are Asian American or European American. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]