Conflict-Resolution Strategies and Adolescent Identity Development

I explored the influence of parent–adolescent conflict on identity development by examining the identity status of 278 migrant and mainstream adolescents in relation to methods of dealing with disagreements with parents. Results were generally consistent with Erikson's theory, with the 8% minority of teenagers who habitually disputed so violently with their parents as to attempt to inflict verbal or physical injury scoring higher on the diffusion maladaptive identity dimension, whereas the 26% who routinely avoided all forms of heated discussion or argument scored nonsignificantly higher on identity foreclosure.

Computer Interest Differences in Preschool Children According to Sex and Psychological Sex-Typing

The computer interest of 3- and 4-year-old children attending a university-affiliated day care center was assessed via their participation in self-selected computer activities. Computer participation involved a 3-step process culminating in terminal interaction: proximity, observation, and working. Results of 2-way analyses of variance unexpectedly indicated higher computer interest scores for females than males; however, no effects were found for age. Pearson correlations indicated a pattern of negative relationships between boys' preference for the adult male role and the computer interest variables.

Correctional Recreation and the Self-Esteem of Prison Inmates

Institutions of incarceration have always had some type of recreational program but the outcomes of these types of programs have not been well documented. Historically, they have been time fillers to keep inmates busy, and have been used as an element of social control. In this study, we examined the outcomes of a correctional recreational program, especially its impact upon prisoners' (N = 177) self-esteem. It was found that inmates use recreation as a coping mechanism for their incarceration because is the only time during the day in which they can freely express their personality and, thus, have some type of activity for positive development.

Perception of the Old by Young Adults in Nigeria

Using 21 bipolar adjectives, we aimed to identify the positive and negative perceptions of old people held by 375 young adults studying at a Nigerian university. Results showed that the young adults evaluated the concept of "old person" more positively than they did the concept of "young person"; specifically, the old person was rated as significantly more sincere, wise, fair, innocent, and predictable than the young person was. Further, we did not find any pervasive negative stereotypes of the old, as held by the young adults.

The Impact of Abortion on Social Interest

We examined the relationship between abortion and the Adlerian personality construct of social interest or gemeinschaftsgefuehl. The Social Interest Index was used to measure the social interest of women in the week before their abortion procedure (pretest), 2 weeks following the procedure (posttest), and 3 months after the abortion (follow-up). We hypothesized that social interest scores would be lowest just prior to the abortion, and the results supported this, showing a significant increase in scores at postabortion and follow-up. Furthermore, social interest scores at the 3-month follow-up did not differ significantly from scores obtained by a nonaborting sample of women from the general population. Our findings suggest that the effect of abortion on social interest is temporary and support the situational nature of social interest.

A Nepalese Investigation of the Antecedents of Self-Esteem

We investigated the antecedents of self-esteem in a sample of 398 Nepalese secondary school students by correlating possible antecedent variables with scores on facets of self-esteem from an instrument based on the Shavelson, Hubner, and Stanton model of self-esteem. Family structural and status variables showed weak relationships with self-esteem, whereas family psychological variables showed significant relationships with the family facet of self-esteem and with global self-esteem. However, previous school grade was, overall, the strongest predictor of self-esteem.

Locus of Control as a Predictor of Severity of Weight-Control Strategies in Bulimics

We investigated the relationships between general and specific measures of locus of control with severity of bulimic behavior. Two groups of participants who did and did not fulfil the criteria for bulimia completed measures of symptomatic behavior, internal and external locus of control, health locus of control, and weight locus of control. Results of a comparison revealed no significant differences between the groups. Generalized locus of control was a predictor of frequency of binges but not severity of weight-control strategies or weight fluctuation. The practical implications of and possible reasons for the results are discussed.

Cognitive Development, Integrative Complexity, and Logical Consistency of Personal Constructs

The integrative complexity and logical consistency of personal constructs were examined in groups of children with mean ages of 8.5, 13.1, and 16.1 years. Consistent with Piaget's theory, the 13- and 16-year-olds were similar and demonstrated greater integrative complexity and logical consistency than the 8-year-olds did. Our results support the predicted relationships among formal operations, integrative complexity, and logical consistency.

Development of Children's Sadness

We asked 96 children from first, third, fifth, and seventh grades to describe situations in which they were sad, and posed questions to assess the related causes, intensity, motives, and consequences. Results showed that sadness was caused by harm in the majority of incidents. There was a shift with age in the nature of the harmful causes of sadness, toward a greater frequency of harm to others as opposed to harm to self, as well as a greater frequency of psychological versus physical harm. Harm to pets, isolation, and prevention of goal achievement by another were causes of sadness and the latter decreased with age. Kindergarten children reported a lower intensity of sadness than did older children. As age increased, so did children's identification of motives for sadness. The most and least frequent of consequences of children's sadness were passive nonexpression and verbal expression of feelings, respectively. Finally, there was a decrease with age in children's redirective behavior (quick shifts towards happy activities) as a consequence of sadness.

Familial Factors and Relative Weight in Children

Ninety-five French-Canadian children and their parents took part in this study of the relationship between selected familial variables and children's relative weight. Results of a backstep regression analysis showed that socioeconomic status was the best single predictor for girls, whereas maternal rejection/hostility, duration of breast-feeding, and socioeconomic status were significant predictors for boys.