A longitudinal exploration of the continuity of children's social participation and social withdrawal across socioeconomic status levels and social settings

The major purpose of this study was to determine the stability across time and social setting of children's social participation and social withdrawal. We followed a sample of Canadian children, aged five years at the beginning of the study, for two years. Children from lower‐SES homes were less involved than those from the higher‐SES in group play after school and during outdoor recess. Across the full sample, social withdrawal was not very stable. There was, however, considerable stability across setting and time among extreme groups of withdrawn participants. Social withdrawal was largely unrelated to parents' initiation of peer contacts for their children. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Examining Direct and Indirect Mechanisms of Parental Influences on Youth Physical Activity and Body Mass Index

Journal of Child and Family Studies - This study used social cognitive theory to compare the direct versus indirect effects of parent physical activity, sedentary behavior, and body mass index...     

Whither Goest Personality at Work?: Overview of the special issue on Work and Personality

En s'appuyant sur les articles présentés, cette discussion insiste sur le fait qu'un programme de recherche sur la personnalité doit inclure, mais aussi dépasser, la sélection du personnel et le modèle en cinq facteurs. Les sujets suivants sont briévement abordés: (a) le rôle central que joue le comportement dans la compréhension de l'impact de la personnalité et des relations situation-personnalité; (b) le rôle de l'adaptation personne-environnement dans la compréhension du comportement au sein de l'organisation et de la liaison validité-critères; et (c) l'intérêt de faire appel à des concepts individuels, tel que l'identité, pour enrichir les études portant sur le thème personnalité et travail. La conclusion de ces commentaires est qu'un bilan approfondi des recherches sur la personnalité, comme celui de ce numéro spécial, débouchera sur un champ d'investigation vivant à l'avenir assuré.
Using the contributed papers as a base, this discussion proposes that an agenda for research on personality should include, but go beyond, personnel selection and the five-factor model. The following topics are briefly discussed: (a) the central role that behaviour plays in understanding personality-outcome and situation-personality relationships; (b) the role of person-environment fit in understanding criterion-related validity and organisational behaviour; and (c) the usefulness of adding individual constructs, like identity, to the issues studied at work under the personality rubric. The commentary concludes with the thought that a broad research agenda on personality, like the one represented in this special issue, will produce a vibrant and long-lived field of inquiry.     

Perfectionism, intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation, and motivated strategies for learning: a multidimensional analysis of university students

We investigated the interrelations between dimensions of perfectionism and measures of academic motivation and learning strategies in university students. When partial correlation analysis was employed to examine the unique relation between specific perfectionism subscales and motivation/learning scales, self-oriented perfectionism was significantly related to students’ motivation and learning strategies in positive, adaptive ways whereas socially prescribed perfectionism was related in negative, maladaptive ways. Self-oriented perfectionists were motivated primarily by extrinsic compensation for their academic work whereas socially prescribed perfectionists were more motivated by recognition from others. Self-oriented perfectionism was significantly positively associated with self-efficacy for learning and performance, adaptive metacognitive and cognitive learning strategies, and effective resource management. Socially prescribed perfectionism was associated negatively with these measures. In addition, self-oriented perfectionism was associated positively with intrinsic goal orientation for a specific course, task value, and critical thinking whereas socially prescribed perfectionism was associated with test anxiety and a decreased likelihood of help-seeking. The theoretical importance of these findings and the implications for devising strategic counseling interventions are discussed.     

How do personality disorders modify suicide risk?

There is a lack of psychological autopsy studies assessing the influence of axis II disorders on other risk factors for suicide. Therefore, we investigated if the estimated suicide risk for axis I disorders and socio-demographic factors was modified by personality disorders. Psychiatric disorders were evaluated by a semi-structured interview including the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I (SCID-I) and Personality Disorders (SCID-II) by psychological autopsy method in 163 completed suicides and by personal interview in 396 population-based control persons. Personality disorders modify suicide risk, differently for affective disorders, substance use disorders, smoking, life events during the last three months, and socio-demographic factors such as being single. Estimated suicide risk for socio-demographic factors and life events is not substantially altered following adjustment for affective disorders or substance use disorders. These findings suggest that treatment of personality disorders is essential for suicide prevention.