Creative thinking and juvenile delinquency: a study of delinquent and nondelinquent youth on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking.

Using the T.T.C.T. this study examined the creative thinking of 32 delinquent and 32 nondelinquent adolescent males. The delinquent group was composed of juveniles on parole status. The nondelinquent group was composed of public school students. On the variables of IQ, age, and socioeconomic class, t-test results indicated no significant differences, except on socioeconomic class, between the groups. Analysis of variance procedures were performed to determine the possibility of an interaction between levels of intelligence and delinquent status with regard to verbal and figural creativity test scores. There were no significant main effects or interaction between IQ and adjudication status with respect to figural creativity. There was a significant main effect due to adjudication status for the dependent variable of verbal creativity scores, respectively while blocking on the intelligence variable. The results were parallel to the ANOVAS which did not specifically control for the intelligence variable between the two groups.     

Leadership Practices of Non-Traditional Seminary Students

The purpose of this study was to determine differences in Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI-Self) scores between masters-level seminary students based on the independent variables of student age, class load, gender, marital status, and parental status. The 1,254 masters-level seminary students enrolled on the main campus of Dallas Theological Seminary for the fall semester of 2003 received a survey packet, consisting of the LPI-Self, a demographic survey, and a cover letter. Three hundred thirty (330) survey packets were returned and a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to analyze statistical difference. Statistically significant differences were found in the LPI-Self scores between groups based on age (Wilks' lambda = 0.905, F = 2.182, p = 0.006). Non-traditional age students, especially age 40 years and older, scored significantly higher in Challenging, Enabling, Modeling, and Encouraging. Other indicators of non-traditional student status (class load, gender, martial status, and parental status) were found not to be significant.     

Rorschach Characteristics of Mothers of Incest Victims

Investigated the Rorschach characteristics of 28 mothers of incest victims, using the Rorschach Comprehensive System. Their characteristics were compared to those from a control group of 28 women, matched with the target group for socioeconomic status (SES), age, education, marital status, and the presence of children. Chi-square, analysis of variance, and a stepwise linear discriminant function analysis were used to evaluate Rorschach differences between the control and target groups. Major findings indicate that mothers of incest victims demonstrated significantly greater weaknesses in reality testing, more frequent signs of depression, and greater interpersonal guardedness than control group mothers. Discriminant function analysis, based on scores from the schizophrenia index (SCZI), conventional form (X + %), and texture responses (t), yielded an overall accurate classification rate of 87.5% for placement of women into the target and control group categories.     

Relationships between vocational development and self-concept in sixth grade students

Super, in his self-concept theory of vocational development, indicates the existence of a strong relationship between vocational development and the development of self-concept in adolescent and adult subjects. This study was designed to test for this relationship in preadolescent subjects. The study investigated the relationships among a measure of career maturity, self-concept, socioeconomic status, race, sex, place of residence, and age. The research sample included 300 randomly selected sixth grade students enrolled in 22 public schools in the state of Georgia during the fall quarter of 1978. Data were obtained by the administration of two instruments, the Career Maturity Inventory-Attitude Scale (CMI-AS) and the Piers-Harris (P-H) Children's Self-Concept Scale. A multiple regression analysis was utilized to analyze the data. Results of this study indicate a positive but low correlation between the total scores on the CMI-AS and the P-H Scale. All six of the self-concept factors on the P-H Scale were found to be significantly correlated to the CMI-AS score. Socioeconomic status was found to be significantly correlated to the CMI-AS score. Although race was not found to be a significant source of variance on the CMI-AS, the interaction of race and socioeconomic status was found to be significant. Sex, place of residence (urban and rural), and age were not found to be significant sources of variance on the CMI-AS.     

Dream recall frequency by socioeconomic status of Chinese students

Whereas the effect of sex and age on dream recall have been studied widely, socioeconomic status has rarely been investigated. However, two studies reported that higher socioeconomic status was related to greater frequency of dream recall. In the present sample of 612 Chinese students from three different schools, one elite (high socioeconomic status), one rural (low socioeconomic status) and one intermediate, analysis of variance indicated no significant association between frequency of dream recall and socioeconomic status. Researchers could investigate whether "dream socialization," e.g., encouragement of a child to remember his dreams, depends on socioeconomic background, whether these processes are mediated by culture.     

The emotional adjustment of children with Tourette's syndrome

We investigated the predictive value of family reaction and illness severity with respect to the emotional adjustment of Tourette's syndrome patients. The subjects included 30 children with Tourette's syndrome and 30 control subjects matched on age, sex, race, and socioeconomic status. The predictor variables included the child's perception of parental behavior, family adaptability as perceived by the mother, mother's self-concept, and illness severity. The results indicated that the children's perceptions of their parents' behavior explained the most variance in children's self-concepts and anxiety for both groups. These findings highlight the importance of the parent-child interaction in predicting the child's emotional adjustment to Tourette's syndrome.     

Turkish adolescents' loneliness

The goal of this study was to characterize loneliness among adolescents with respect to socioeconomic level, sex, and mothers' and fathers' education. General information about the 400 adolescents and their families were obtained. The UCLA Loneliness Scale was administered. Results of a hierarchical multiple regression showed that mothers' educational level explained a slight but statistically significant amount of variance in adolescents' loneliness scores while sex, socioeconomic level and fathers' educational level did not.     

Ego development, authoritarianism, and social status: an investigation of the incremental validity of Loevinger's sentence completion test (short form)

This study presents two sets of analyses designed to evaluate the relation between a 12-item form of the Washington University Sentence Completion Test of ego development (Short Form; SCT-S) and socioeconomic status (SES). The subjects were a large national random sample of adolescent and young adult men and women who were stratified into three artificial age cohorts. The first set of hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that SES accounted for 8% to 13% of the variance in SCT-S scores. Incremental validity of the SCT-S in predicting social attitudes, beyond that predicted by SES, was generally supported for authoritarian aggression and partially supported in predicting masculine sex role expectations. Findings suggest that research on ego development with subjects over age 18 might use level of education as a rough index of SES. For younger subjects, parental factors and education are both important. This study also provides revised age-specific national norms for the SCT-S.     

Hostility patterns and health implications: correlates of Cook-Medley Hostility Scale scores in a national survey

Correlated Cook-Medley Hostility Scale (Ho) scores with sociodemographic variables in a national survey of 2,536 adults. Multiple regression models revealed that Ho scores were associated with race (p less than .0001), years of education (p less than .001), sex (p less than .001), occupation (p = .0002), and income (p = .0025). Higher scores were found in non-Whites, men, and those of lower socioeconomic status. There was a Race x Income interaction (p less than .005), such that the greatest Ho score differences between the races occurred among those with the lowest incomes. Age was related to Ho scores in a curvilinear fashion: higher scores in the youngest and oldest age groups than in the middle-aged groups (p = .025). Marital status was unrelated to Ho scores. These patterns of hostility are similar to the patterns of health indicators in the population. Because hostility has been found to be associated with adverse health outcomes, hostility may account for some of the demographic variations in health status. However, it is argued that research must first establish the generality of the hostility-health relationship across subgroups of the population.     

Depressive characteristics of physically abused children

Physically abused and nonabused children were compared on child-completed measures of depression, hopelessness, self-esteem, and locus of control. Results indicated that, in comparison with nonabused controls, abused children evidenced more depressive symptoms, heightened externality, lower self-esteem, and greater hopelessness about the future. Group differences in depressive symptomatology were not accounted for on the basis of differences in age, sex, race, gender, IQ, or socioeconomic status. Results replicate the results of Kazdin, Moser, Colbus, and Bell (1985) derived from a sample of physically abused psychiatric inpatients and extend the generality of these findings to abused children of nonpatient status. Implications of the findings for clinical interventions, theoretical models of child depression, and future research are discussed.The authors wish to thank Alvin Hadley and the staff of Franklin County Children Services.Appreciation is also extended to Dr. Charles Wenar.     

School adjustment of children with observable disabilities

This study investigated school behavior and achievement of children with mild degrees of observable physical disability. Children from two different disability types (cleft palate and cerebral palsy) were compared with each other and to a control group in order to determine potential similarities across disability types. Children (N=78) from each of the two disability groups were individually matched to each other and to a normal control group (N=39) by sex, IQ, socioeconomic status, age, and grade. They were compared on the basis of teachers' behavioral ratings and achievement test scores. All children attended regular public school classrooms. The two disability groups displayed significantly greater inhibition of impulse and lower educational achievement than did the controls. The implication of similar school adjustment across mild but observable subtypes is discussed.Parts of this article were presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C., September 1976. The study was supported in part by PHS Grant DE-00853, the National Institute of Dental Research.     

LOCUS OF CONTROL IN INDIA: A CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE*

A study of 376 high school graduates representing equal numbers of male-female, age groups of 20–30 and 40–50 years and Hindu, non-Hindu Indians were examined on Rotter's I-E Scale. Contrary to earlier reports (Carment 1974) the group was not more internal than previously reported scores of other cultures. A 2 times; 2 times; 2 ANOVA revealed that sex and religion contributed significantly. Belief in the theory of Karma and socioeconomic status also contributed significantly. Similar analyses of three subscales of I-E, Personal Control, Control Ideology and Systems Control showed some reversals of results of total I-E.     

Verbal Communication,Nonverbal Communication,and Private Speech in Lower and Middle Socioeconomic Status Preschool Children

Three types of communication—verbal, nonverbal, and private speech—were investigated in 4- and 5-year-old children. Multiple analyses of variance (MANOVAs) without IQ controlled and multiple analyses of covariance (MANCOVAs) with IQ as a covariate were computed and followed by ANOVAs and ANCOVAs to determine the effects of sex, age, and socioeconomic status (SES) on each of these types of communication. The ANOVAs and the ANCOVAs yielded the same conclusions. Results indicated that age and SES, but not sex, influence the use of the three communication types. From age 4 to age 5, private speech decreased for middle SES children and remained the same for lower SES children. Although lower SES children had more nonverbal communication at both age levels than middle SES children, nonverbal communication decreased for middle SES children and increased for lower SES children between the ages of 4 and 5 years. Both lower and middle SES groups increased in verbal communication between the two ages. The middle SES 4-year-olds used more verbal communication than their lower SES counterparts, and the difference was maintained at age 5. Although IQ is related to verbal communication, statistically controlling for the effects of IQ did not change the conclusions.     

Distinctive national patterns of career motivation(123)

The possible existence and stability of different national patterns of career-values in eight countries was tested by administering an Occupational Values Inventory to 6,400 urban children in seven of the countries in 1965, and to a sample of 3,600 in 1969. The samples were stratified by age (10 and 14), sex and socioeconomic status (upper-middle and upper-lower). A four-way analysis of variance revealed distinctive national profiles which were stable across the two samples except for some changes in three countries. Each country's value profile is briefly described and possible relations to different national patterns of economic growth are discussed.     

A Developmental Comparison of Social Class and Verbal Ability Influences on Piagetian Tasks

Summary

The present investigation attempted to evaluate the respective influences of socioeconomic status and verbal ability levels, as determinants of performance on Piagetian concrete operations tasks. A sample of 160 subjects (kindergarten to fourth grade) were matched on socioeconomic status and verbal ability levels. A battery of Piagetian tasks was administered, including a relational terms pretest, provoked and unprovoked numerical correspondence, unidimensional seriation, height and width, multiple seriation, and conservation of surface area. Results of factorial (grade level × sodoeconomic status × verbal ability × sex) analyses of variance indicated (a) an absence of significant socioeconomic status effects for any of the Piagetian tasks, (6) a significant main effect for the verbal ability and age-grade level factors on the majority of tasks excluding unidimensional height seriation, (c) a general absence of sex main effects or higher order interactions. The lack of difference with regard to socioeconomic-status levels indicates that the previous research which revealed notable socioeconomic-status influences may have had socioeconomic status confounded to varying degrees with differences in underlying verbal skills.     

Perfectionism and ethnicity: implications for depressive symptoms and self-reported academic achievement

Ethnic differences in perfectionism were examined among Asian American, African American, and Caucasian American college students. Analyses revealed that Asian American students scored significantly higher than the other groups on 3 of 6 perfectionism subscales. Minority students reported significantly higher parental expectations than Caucasian students. Significant correlations emerged for all 3 groups between depressive symptoms and concerns about making mistakes, perceived criticism from parents, and self-doubt. In regression analyses, perfectionism explained significant variance in depressive symptoms for Asian Americans and Caucasians and explained significant variance in cumulative grade point average for Asian Americans and African Americans. Self-doubt emerged as a robust individual predictor in these analyses.     

Rorschach characteristics of mothers of incest victims

Investigated the Rorschach characteristics of 28 mothers of incest victims, using the Rorschach Comprehensive System. Their characteristics were compared to those from a control group of 28 women, matched with the target group for socioeconomic status (SES), age, education, marital status, and the presence of children. Chi-square, analysis of variance, and a stepwise linear discriminant function analysis were used to evaluate Rorschach differences between the control and target groups. Major findings indicate that mothers of incest victims demonstrated significantly greater weaknesses in reality testing, more frequent signs of depression, and greater interpersonal guardedness than control group mothers. Discriminant function analysis, based on scores from the schizophrenia index (SCZI), conventional form (chi + %), and texture responses (t), yielded an overall accurate classification rate of 87.5% for placement of women into the target and control group categories.     

Performance of children with epilepsy and normal age-matched controls on the WISC-III.

Research findings regarding the effects of childhood epilepsy on general intelligence have produced variable results. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of epilepsy, age of seizure onset, and Antiepileptic Drugs (AED) on intellectual ability as assessed by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 3rd Edition (WISC-III; Wechsler, 1991). This study included children with epilepsy assessed with the WISC-III who achieved either a Full Scale, Verbal Scale, or Performance Scale IQ score >or= 70. A clinical sample of children diagnosed with epilepsy (n = 32) were age- and gender-matched with subjects from the normative standardization sample for the WISC-III, yielding a total sample of 64 subjects. Comparison using a MANOVA revealed significant differences across WISC-III Index standard scores (p = 0.0005) and subtest scaled scores (p = 0.0013), with control participants performing better than epileptic participants. Secondary analyses were also conducted considering monotherapy (n = 14) versus polytherapy (n = 11), and age of seizure onset (<6 years, n = 12; 6 > years, n = 15). MANOVA comparisons revealed no significant differences between groups across WISC-III Index standard scores.     

Happiness among adolescents in The Netherlands: ethnic and sex differences

A nationwide sample of 2710 Dutch adolescents and 518 ethnic minority adolescents living in the Netherlands was used to examine ethnic and sex differences in happiness. Analyses of variance were conducted with ethnic background, sex, and length of residence in the Netherlands, as variables. Socioeconomic status was included in the analyses as a covariate. Adolescents from ethnic minority backgrounds, as compared to the Dutch, had significantly lower scores on a generalized estimates of life satisfaction and on a measure of hedonic effect. Both differences, however, explained only a very small amount of variance. Girls (from all ethnic groups including the Dutch) had lower scores than boys on both measures. There was no significant effect for length of residence on either measure.