An Examination of Disclosure of Nonsuicidal Self‐injury among University Students

Despite the widespread prevalence of nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) among community‐based samples, little is known about which self‐injurers disclose their NSSI or the factors that promote disclosure among self‐injurers. To address this gap in the literature, we examined whether disclosers could be differentiated from nondisclosers on the basis of NSSI characteristics (e.g. frequency of NSSI and severity of NSSI), NSSI motivations (e.g. interpersonal and intrapersonal motivations) and psychosocial factors (e.g. suicidal ideation and self‐esteem). Participants consisted of a large sample of 268 self‐injuring undergraduate students (M_age = 19.07 years, 70.3% women) at a Canadian university. Results indicated that 57% of self‐injurers had never disclosed their NSSI to anyone. Self‐injurers were most likely to disclose to peers and romantic partners. Logistic regression analyses revealed that pain during NSSI, severity of NSSI, interpersonal motivations for engaging in NSSI, higher suicidal ideation and higher friendship quality were all associated with a greater likelihood of NSSI disclosure. Our findings suggest that individuals with severe NSSI and suicidal ideation may be more likely to disclose. Moreover, our findings underscore the importance of equipping friends and romantic partners with effective responses to NSSI disclosures to promote more formal help‐seeking behaviours among self‐injurers. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

社会转型时期大学生的价值优先性

本研究以Schwartz开发的价值观量表(SVS)为工具,以北京地区1077位大学生为被试,运用结构方程模型、方差分析等方法考察社会变迁背景下大学生价值观的内容和结构。研究结果发现(1)大学生价值观由4类高阶价值和10类基本价值构成,在总体结构上不存在性别差异。(2)大学生的价值优先性呈现出三个基本特征:价值取向多元、利益指向多元、现实性。鉴于对研究局限的认识,本研究亦对后续研究方向提出建议。     

An Examination of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms among Maltreated Multiracial Youth

Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common among maltreated youth removed from their homes. These symptoms might be particularly evident in multiracial youth, although little research exists on this vulnerable population. A model whereby depression, dissociation, and posttraumatic cognition symptoms contributed to symptoms of PTSD met goodness-of-fit criteria in 160 maltreated multiracial adolescents. Enhanced model fit was found for females and for adolescents 11 to 13 years old. Analyses further revealed that the best predictors of PTSD symptoms were negative cognitions about the world and anhedonia. The findings are discussed within the context of existing theoretical models of PTSD. The results further highlight the importance of ethnically and racially sensitive approaches to assessment and treatment of youth with PTSD symptoms.     

Stress, Cortisol, and Externalizing Behavior in Adolescent Males: An Examination in the Context of Multisystemic Therapy

Stress and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation have been associated with externalizing behavior in adolescence, but few studies have examined these factors in a treatment context. This study investigated the relationship between stress, cortisol, and externalizing behavior among 120 adolescent males (mean age?=?15) receiving Multisystemic Therapy (MST). To examine the differential relationship of cortisol with various types of stressors, self-report measures assessed lifetime stress, current episodic stress, and daily hassles. Morning and afternoon cortisol samples were collected to examine whether the relationship between stress and treatment outcome depended on the youth's biological stress levels. Regression analyses indicated that awakening cortisol levels moderated the relationship between daily hassles and externalizing behaviors at post-treatment. More specifically, higher levels of daily hassles predicted worse outcomes only among adolescents with high levels of morning cortisol. In addition, lifetime stressors and afternoon measures of cortisol interacted to predict changes in caretaker reports of externalizing problems and youth arrests following treatment; lifetime stressors were positively associated with externalizing behavior when adolescents had low levels of afternoon cortisol. Implications for theory and future directions for evidence-based treatment are discussed.     

认知评价、心理控制感、社会支持与高考压力关系的研究

采用问卷法,随机选取河北省三类中学(重点、普通、私立)324名高三考生为被试,考察了学生对高考的认知评价、心理控制感、社会支持与高考压力的关系.结果表明:(1)重点中学、普通中学学生心理控制感显著高于私立中学学生,女生在社会支持的寻求上显著高于男生;(2)积极认知评价、心理控制感和社会支持与高考压力有显著负相关,而消极认知评价与高考压力有显著的正相关;(3)消极认知评价、心理控制感和社会支持对高考压力有直接影响;而积极认知评价通过心理控制感和社会支持间接影响高考压力.     

Research Note: Happiness among Kuwaiti College Students

Happiness was assessed in 140 Kuwaiti students by means of a single item self-report. Its retest reliability after one week was good (r=+0.86). It is argued that single question suffices for measuring states like happiness. Average happiness appeared to be quite low compared to students in other countries. Possible reasons for the low level of happiness among Kuwaiti college students are discussed. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Cyberbullying Victimization among High School and University Students in Ghana

ABSTRACT

This study sought to establish the extent of cyberbullying among students in Ghana, its consequences on the victims, and the characteristics of the victims. The study found that nearly all participants had experienced one form of cyberbullying before. Victims of cyberbullying were not very different from non-victims in psychological wellbeing. The effect of cyberbullying on psychological wellbeing was small, and no clear profile characterizing victims emerged. The present findings should be an eye-opener for Ghanaian parents, educators and health professionals and set the stage for further studies to understand the Ghanaian situation.     

Stress and Student Job Design: Satisfaction, Well-Being, and Performance in University Students

It is imperative that the university environment be supportive and capable of nurturing optimal learning and performance in students. Using job design and work stress theories, the study assessed relationships between psychosocial work characteristics, well-being and satisfaction, and performance in a random sample survey of Australian university students (N = 176). Methodological improvements were a time lag between survey and performance measures, an objective measure of performance, and LISREL structural equation modeling. Results showed high levels of psychological distress and low levels of satisfaction, both linked to high demands combined with low control. In accord with the happy-productive student hypothesis, satisfaction mediated the impact of the work environment on performance. Reengineering the design of the student work environment may therefore improve performance outcomes (student grades) through enhancing satisfaction.     

Roles of Leisure in Coping with Stress Among University Students: A Repeated-Assessment Field Study

This article reports findings of a study to examine the effects of leisure coping on various stress coping outcomes including: immediate outcomes (perceived coping effectiveness, perceived satisfaction with coping outcomes, and perceived stress reduction) and distal or long-term outcomes (physical and mental ill-health and psychological well-being), above and beyond the contributions of general coping - coping not directly associated with leisure. A repeated-assessment field design was used to examine ways in which university students cope with stressors in their daily lives. The study found that leisure coping beliefs (leisure-generated dispositional coping resources) significantly predicted lower levels of mental and physical ill-health and greater levels of psychological well-being above and beyond the effects of general coping. Also, the use of leisure coping strategies (situation-specific stress coping strategies through leisure) was significantly associated with higher levels of perceived coping effectiveness and stress reduction when the effects of general coping were taken into account. Significant contributions of specific leisure coping dimensions were found as well.     

中学生创造性内隐观的调查研究

本研究运用社会效度的方法,对中学生的创造性内隐观进行了调查研究,结果发现:1.中学生的创造性内隐观所涉及的范围广泛,涵盖了认知、人格等许多方面;2.在创造性内隐观上,高中生和初中生差异显著,重点中学和非重点中学的学生差异显著,男生和女生差异显著,这种差异不仅表现在总体上,还表现在许多具体的特征上;并且,各因素间交互作用显著,一种因素对创造性内隐观许多方面的影响通常会随其他因素的变化而变化。这些发现不仅加强了我们对中学生创造性内隐观的了解,还使我们认识到创造性内隐观的可塑性,这对我们培养中学生正确的创造性观、培养学生的创造性和创新精神将具有重要的意义。     

大学生幽默风格与精神健康关系的初步研究

目的:测试幽默风格量表在中国大学生中的信度和效度,探讨幽默风格与精神健康之间的关系。方法:354名大学生接受幽默风格量表和症状自评量表(SCL-90)的问卷调查,4周后74名大学生重新填写幽默风格量表。结果:幽默风格量表所提出的4个因子结构在中国人的样本中也存在,该量表的信度和效度可接受。中国被试在4个子量表的得分均低于加拿大被试的得分。亲和型幽默、自强型幽默得分与症状自评量表的子量表以及总体症状指数得分全部呈现负相关,而嘲讽型幽默和自贬型幽默得分与症状自评量表的子量表以及总体症状指数得分全部呈现正相关。结论:(1)该量表的初步测试效度和信度可接受,但须结合中国文化作进一步的修订;(2)亲和型和自强型幽默有益于精神健康,但嘲讽型和自贬型幽默有害于精神健康;(3)中国人与加拿大人在幽默风格、幽默对精神健康起作用的方式上存在一定的文化差异。     

Women's Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action: Putting Actions in Context1

Although women typically favor affirmative action, they do exhibit a range of reactions to affirmative action programs. To understand the diversity of reactions, the present study proposed an examination of various forms of affirmative action in the context of the discrimination problem such actions were designed to address. In Study 1, 60 female university students were presented with one of six scenarios describing a situation of discrimination against women, followed by a series of potential affirmative action response options which participants rated in terms of their level of endorsement. Analyses of variance showed that, despite the range of discrimination scenarios, some of which presented extreme cases of discrimination against women, respondents consistently endorsed nondiscrimination measures, and opposed affirmative action strategies involving preferential treatment. Study 2, which preselected 43 women who valued social equality, replicated this finding and found that these results were not due to women not perceiving the presence of collective discrimination. Study 3 examined the attitudes of women in a law and security police training stream (n = 19), whose vulnerability to employment discrimination, both as a group and personally, would be salient. The women in this study endorsed all forms of affirmative action, including explicit preferential treatment in the hiring of women police officers. The implications of these results for the consideration and implementation of affirmative action programs are discussed.     

Promoting Service Leadership Qualities and Well-Being among University Students: Evaluation Findings in Hong Kong

Service leadership education initiatives have been launched in Hong Kong to meet the emerging demand for service leaders and enhance university students’ well-being through nurturing not only competence but also good character and caring disposition. However, rigorous evaluation work based on validated assessment tools has not been adequately carried out to examine whether student well-being and service leadership qualities would increase after the learning process. Using a one-group pretest-posttest design, this study investigated the effectiveness of a credit-bearing subject entitled “Service Leadership” implemented in one university in Hong Kong. Based on the responses of 114 participants (49.1% boys, Age = 20.21 ± 2.96 years), it was found that students showed improvement in service leadership knowledge, attitude, and behavior after taking the subject. In addition, their life satisfaction and positive youth development attributes as indicators of well-being also significantly increased. Furthermore, the increase in well-being among students was closely associated with their attitudinal and behavioral changes but not knowledge acquisition. The present findings imply that a formal curriculum-based leadership course can be a promising way to promote student service leadership qualities and well-being.