Perception of visual illusions in a sample of Nigerian children

This study examined the effects of cultural factors on perception of 15 boys and 21 girls in Nigeria. The five geometric illusions of Segall, Campbell, and Herskovitz were shown in booklets. Previously tested Afghan boys gave evidence of greater illusion than the Nigerian children. The findings also supported previous research on perception of illusion.     

Pre-retirement anxiety: Development and validation of a measurement instrument in a Nigerian sample

Two studies were conducted to develop and provide evidence supporting the construct validity and internal consistency of scores from the Nigerian Pre-retirement Anxiety Scale (NPAS). The measure comprises three dimensions: financial preparedness, social obligation, and social alienation. In the first study, data collected from 424 civil servants supported the proposed dimensionality of scale scores and internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha for the full scale = 0. 83). In the second study, data collected from a total sample of 216 employees who were also civil servants from different government agencies likewise supported the internal consistency of scores from the NPAS (Cronbach alpha for the full scale = 0.73), as well as validity. Scores from the NPAS appear to have evidence for research purposes.     

Assessment of executive functions in a Brazilian sample of bipolar subjects

Research has demonstrated impairments in executive functions in Bipolar Mood Disorder patients. Evidence shows that this impairment is present in both periods of active symptoms of the disorder, as well as euthymic stages, and is compounded by mood episodes, especially manic phases. The purpose of this study was to compare the executive performance of a sample of Brazilian bipolar patients in depressive episodes, (44 participants), euthymia (37 participants), and in controls (43 participants). The main instrument for evaluation was the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Significant differences were found in performance on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test between Bipolar subjects (Type I) (both in depression and euthymia) and the controls. No significant correlations were found between the number of manic episodes and the performance on execute measurement variables. The findings suggest that the executive dysfunctions in Bipolar Disorder may be related to both transitory and permanent deficits.     

Predicting attitudes towards seeking medical care among Nigerian immigrants in the UK

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the relationships between acculturation, religion, and coping styles; as well as their predictive potentials in relation to socio-demographic factors, on access to medical help among Nigerians in the UK. This is a cross-sectional study using questionnaires for data collection (N?=?297). Results revealed negative correlations between assimilative behaviours and religious behaviours and between religious behaviours, denial and religious coping. High levels of religiosity and coping through behavioural disengagement and self-blame predicted poor attitudes to medical help; but those who used instrumental support, emotional support, and active coping showed more positive attitudes to medical help-seeking. No gender differences in medical help-seeking were found, but older people sought medical help more than those who were younger; while affiliation to the Christian religion predicted positive attitudes towards medical help seeking. These findings have implications for policy development towards tailored interventions that can enhance healthcare utilisation among immigrants.     

Predicting personality disorder traits with the Defense Style Questionnaire in a normal sample.

This research examined the efficacy of the 40-item Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40), measuring mature, neurotic and immature defense styles, to predict DSM-III-R personality disorders. The Coolidge Axis II Inventory, the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II, and the MMPI personality disorder scales were used to measure 11 personality disorders in a nonclinical sample. The results show that most personality disorders are positively associated with the highly maladaptive immature defense style, and negatively associated with the mature defense style. Multiple regression analyses reveal that the combined variance accounted for by the defense styles range from 12% to 42% on the CATI, 3% to 42% on the MCMI-II, and 2% to 32% on the MMPI-PD. However, specific personality disorders cannot be predicted with the defense styles on any measure.     

Counseling in a Nigerian University

This study describes and evaluates the first two years of a student counseling center in a Nigerian university. The study revealed that the counseling center was hampered by lack of space, lack of staff, and by the ignorance and suspicions of students and lecturers. The study also indicated that there was a great need to investigate various parameters of the counseling situation to determine their effects in the Nigerian milieu.     

Predicting Substance Abuse in a Sample of Nigerian Undergraduate Students: The Role of Core Self-evaluations and Delay of Gratification

Documented empirical evidence indicates that substance abuse among young people, especially students, is assuming an unprecedented upward surge worldwide. Substance abuse among students is associated with a myriad of negative physical, social and psychological consequences, including liver, cranial, and cardiovascular diseases, cancers, vehicular fatalities, mental and behaviour disorders, violence, declining grades, increased potential for dropout and high truancy rates, suicides, homicides, and accidental injuries. Indeed, substance abuse is now considered a leading cause of preventable deaths in many countries of the word. Although there is preponderance of studies on substance abuse among students, there is lack studies on personality and demographic factors. In this cross-sectional survey, we explored the extent to which capacity to delay gratification, core self-evaluations and demographic variable would predict substance use among students (n = 325) of a state-owned, non-residential Nigerian university. A structured questionnaire was used to collect relevant data. Results of multiple regression showed that a combination of the predictor variables jointly predicted substance abuse by accounting for about 22% of its variance. Independently, gender, age, family background (β = .23; p < .01), birth order, delayed gratification and core self-evaluations predicted substance abuse. It was recommended that youths should be taught the benefits inherent in delaying gratification. Psycho-educational and skill-building programmes should be used to re-orient students about substance abuse.     

Predicting school achievement from cognitive and non-cognitive variables in a Chinese sample of elementary school children

The present study had two aims: First, to investigate the joint and specific roles of working memory (WM) and intelligence as predictors of school achievement. And second, to replicate and extend earlier findings (Spinath, Spinath, Harlaar, & Plomin, 2006) on the incremental validity of non-cognitive over cognitive abilities in the prediction of school achievement. The present sample consisted of N = 179 Chinese primary school children in the fourth grade. All measures including working memory (WM), intelligence and motivational items were assessed in class. Teachers provided test scores for the domains of Chinese and Math. We found that WM was a good predictor of school achievement and comparable in predictive power to intelligence. Together, cognitive ability including both WM and intelligence explained 17.8% and 36.4% of the variance in children's Chinese and Math scores, respectively. The relative importance of WM and intelligence varied with school domains with greater predictive power of WM for Math while intelligence explained a greater proportion of the variance in Chinese although the magnitude of this difference was only moderate. Domain-specific motivational constructs contributed only marginally to the prediction of school achievement for both Chinese and Math.     

Inmate Subculture in a Nigerian Prison

This study of a prisoners' subculture in a Nigerian prison dealt with the prisoners' interactions among themselves and their adaptations to the subculture. It did not deal, except in passing, with the official or formal prison organization, which is unusually different from prisons in the United States and Great Britain. The focus was on the principal values and practices of the subculture and the vulnerability to them of different groups of prisoners. Striking similarities were found between the subculture and the world outside the prison. The prisoners' world, however, parodies the outside world rather than being a reflection of it.     

Adolescence: a growth period conductive to alienation

This paper clarifies the relationship of alienation to the period of adolescence by developing a portrait of the alienated and the at-risk adolescent. Current research on adolescent alienation follows two converging themes, the socio-psychological, where deviant behavior is viewed as evidence of adolescent estrangement from self and society, and the sociological, where alienation is divided into a series of dimensions for empirical assessment. These two perspectives converge to describe the alienated adolescent. The alienated adolescent is disruptive, rebukes authority, drops out of school or becomes a passive participant, is prone to suicide, abuses drugs and alcohol, and rejects the norms established by family, school, and society in general. Adolescence is a high-risk period wherein the adolescent experiences multiple environments which exacerbates higher levels of alienation. These environments include disorganized or disruptive families, schools that encourage students to become passive participants in the learning process, and a high-pressured pace of life. To lessen the at-risk nature of adolescents toward alienation, society can take steps to humanize their environment. These steps include the intergenerational integration of adolescents, their assimilation into responsible societal activities, providing them with a sense of meaning, and enfranchisement into the decision-making process.     

Predicting intended contraception in a sample of ethiopian female adolescents: The validity of the theory of planned behavior

Abstract

The purposes of the study were threefold. First, to test the validity of Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behavior (TPB) in predicting intended contraception in the Ethiopian cultural setting. Second, to examine the additional predictive roles of past behavior and perceived pregnancy risk in the TPB model. Third, to identify the salient contraceptive beliefs influencing intended contraception. Data stemmed from a community sample of 354 sexually active female adolescents aged 15 to 19 years. The findings of the study supported TPB as a robust model in Ethiopian cultural setting, with subjective norm being the strongest predictor of intended contraception. In addition, both past contraceptive behavior and perceived pregnancy risk demonstrated to have significant contributions in predicting intention over and above that explained by attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control elements of the TPB. Moreover, the study also identified salient and important contraceptive beliefs that need to be addressed in family life education and counseling programs designed for adolescents and the youth.