Dynamic interplay of depression,perfectionism and self-regulation on procrastination

This study aimed at investigating the intercorrelation among affective, cognitive and behavioural components on procrastination. A total of 402 undergraduate students (115 males, 286 females, 1 not indicated) participated in the study. Students completed the General Procrastination Scale, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale and Self-regulation Inventory. A constructed hypothesised model was tested by utilising path analysis. Overall, the analysis indicated that the model sufficiently explained the data. The findings showed the multicorrelation among the variables, ranging from 14 to 58. Squared multiple correlation coefficients (R²) of procrastination revealed that endogenous and mediator variables explained 33% of the total variance in procrastination. The results demonstrated the importance of affect, cognition and behaviour on problematic delay referred to as procrastination.     

Reducing Academic Procrastination Through a Group Treatment Program: A Pilot Study

The present study assessed a short-term group treatment program using cognitive interventions focused on students’ procrastination. A structured 90-min session program was used with 10 students (5 female, 5 male; M _age = 21.8, SD = 3.2) across 5 weeks. In the first and last session of the program participants completed a two reliable and valid procrastination scales, and then 8 weeks later in the follow up sessions filled out the same questionnaires. During the group sessions, participants identified their irrational thoughts as well as cognitive distortions associated with their procrastination tendencies. Results of a non-parametric Friedman Test revealed a significant decrease in participants’ academic procrastination score and general procrastination scores from the pre-test to follow-up test suggesting that the program was deemed to be successful.     

The Impact of Participatory Research on Urban Teens: An Experimental Evaluation

Although there is much practice of community-based participatory research in economically-developing countries and increasingly in North America, there has been little systematic assessment of empowerment effects. Youth-led participatory research holds particular promise for fostering positive development and civic participation among economically disadvantaged urban youth. The present investigation uses a clustered-randomized, within-school experimental design to test the effects of youth-led participatory research on the psychological empowerment of 401 students attending urban public schools. We find that attending a participatory research elective class during the school day was associated with increases in sociopolitical skills, motivation to influence their schools and communities, and participatory behavior. We found no significant effects for perceived control at school. The implications for participatory research and related youth development interventions are discussed.     

A case of camptocormia (bent spine) secondary to early motor neuron disease

Camptocormia is a gait disorder, characterized by hyperflexion of thoracolumbar spine which increases on walking, and disappears in the supine position. A 48 year-old man developed progressive gait deterioration for one year and slight weakness and tremor of both hands for five months. It eventually became apparent that the patient had motor neuron disease, as well as symptoms of extrapyramidal disorder.     

Personality out of proportion?

The field of personality assessment has evolved the normative practice of centering scores on their means, evaluating associations among measures with Pearson correlations, and using factor analytic methods to reduce redundancy and provide putative explanatory variables. At least some of these explanatory variables, or factors, have become well-known elements in trait theories of personality structure (e.g., the Five-factor model). Hofstee and Ten Berge (2004/this issue) suggest an alternative set of procedures arising from treating the midpoints of bipolar rating scales as true zero points. These procedures lead to a very different view of personality structure in which one factor provides a nearly sufficient summary of personality judgments. I scrutinize the methodological choices implied by these procedures here. This evaluation leads to the conclusion that Hofstee and Ten Berge provide methods and results that cannot serve to replace normative practice and well-known findings but do provide insight into important questions not typically addressed by personality assessors.     

Scaling‐Up Youth‐Led Social Justice Efforts through an Online School‐Based Social Network

The exploration of social networking sites (SNS) in promoting social change efforts offers great potential within the field of community psychology. Online communities on SNS provide opportunities for bridging across groups, thus fostering the exchange of novel ideas and practices. Currently, there have only been limited efforts to examine SNS within the context of youth‐led efforts. To explore the potential of SNS to facilitate the diffusion of social justice efforts between distinct youth groups, we linked three school‐based youth‐led participatory action research projects involving 54 high school students through a SNS. This study offers an innovative methodological approach and framework, utilizing social network analysis and strategic sampling of key student informants to investigate what individual behaviors and online network features predict student adoption of social change efforts. Findings highlight prospective facilitators and barriers to diffusion processes within a youth‐led online network, as well as key constructs that may inform future research. We conclude by providing suggestions for scholars and practitioners interested in examining how SNS can be used to enhance the diffusion of social justice strategies, youth‐led engagement efforts, and large‐scale civic organizing.     

Participatory Action Research (PAR) in Middle School: Opportunities, Constraints, and Key Processes

Late childhood and early adolescence represent a critical transition in the developmental and academic trajectory of youth, a time in which there is an upsurge in academic disengagement and psychopathology. PAR projects that can promote youth's sense of meaningful engagement in school and a sense of efficacy and mattering can be particularly powerful given the challenges of this developmental stage. In the present study, we draw on data from our own collaborative implementation of PAR projects in secondary schools to consider two central questions: (1) How do features of middle school settings and the developmental characteristics of the youth promote or inhibit the processes, outcomes, and sustainability of the PAR endeavor? and (2) How can the broad principles and concepts of PAR be effectively translated into specific intervention activities in schools, both within and outside of the classroom? In particular, we discuss a participatory research project conducted with 6th and 7th graders at an urban middle school as a means of highlighting the opportunities, constraints, and lessons learned in our efforts to contribute to the high‐quality implementation and evaluation of PAR in diverse urban public schools.     

From types to typological thinking: a reply to Asendorpf

We continue to disagree with Asendorpf ( 2006 ) on the best way to analyse Q‐sort data and on our priorities for personality research. We believe on statistical grounds that the large first factor found in inverse factor analyses of raw CAQ items tells us much about response norms, but little or nothing about individual differences. These emerge more clearly in analyses of standardised items, which show the familiar dimensions of the Five‐Factor Model. Based on our research on types and the mixed results reported by other researchers, we do not believe that replicable empirical types are likely to be found, and suggest that a more profitable line of research would focus on the heuristics of types and the configural interpretation of traits. Published in 2006 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changing and diverse roles of women in American Indian cultures

This article explores traditional and contemporary sex roles of Indian women. It emphasizes the renewing power of the feminine—a creative, healing balance that arises as traditional and contemporary strengths are brought together. The survival of the extended family throughout two hundred years of governmental policy attests to Indian women's resilience despite continuous role readjustment, value conflict, and economic pressure. Tribal diversity and predominantly egalitarian structural similarities are affirmed in this work through reviews of ethnographic studies addressing the roles of Indian women prior to European contact. The conventional and alternative roles of Indian women in traditional times are examined with an eye toward the spiritual source of Indian women's strength. Studies outlining the emotional and spiritual costs of contemporary Indian women living bicultural lifestyles, especially those pursuing advanced educational training, highlight the continued use of traditional Indian coping mechanisms. Finally, the current movement toward retraditionalization of roles of Indian women as caretakers and transmitters of cultural knowledge is posited as an effective means of overcoming problems and achieving Indian self-determination.We would like to thank Myra Strober and Janet Sorrel for their helpful comments concerning earlier versions of this article.