A Search for Systematic Personality Differentiae of the Only Child in Young Adulthood

The effects of the affective relationship between the model and the observer and locus of control on imitative behavior were investigated by exposing 28 boys to their most liked peer and least liked peer on a simple imitative task. Locus of control was determined by the Nowicki-Strickland (6) Locus of Control Scale for Children. More imitative responses were exhibited to the most liked peer than to the least liked peer, and a positive correlation between number of imitative responses and internal locus of control was found. Results were interpreted as indicating the need to control the affective relationship between the model and observer and as supporting Bandura (1) in that imitative behavior is primarily under self-reinforcement control.     

Maternal personality, parenting cognitions, and parenting practices

A community sample of 262 European American mothers of firstborn 20-month-olds completed a personality inventory and measures of parenting cognitions (knowledge, self-perceptions, and reports about behavior) and was observed in interaction with their children from which measures of parenting practices (language, sensitivity, affection, and play) were independently coded. Factor analyses of the personality inventory replicated extraction of the 5-factor model of personality (Openness, Neuroticism, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness). When controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, the 5 personality factors qua variables and in patterns qua clusters related differently to diverse parenting cognitions and practices, supporting the multidimensional, modular, and specific nature of parenting. Maternal personality in the normal range, a theoretically important but empirically neglected factor in everyday parenting, has meaning in studies of parenting, child development, and family process.     

Trauma awareness and preparedness: Their influence on posttraumatic stress disorder development related to armed conflict experience

This study examined influences of trauma awareness and preparedness on the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in civilian and military personnel with exposure to the civil war. Participants were 302 people with exposure to civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (civilians = 68%; females = 47%; age range = 16 to 76 years old, SD = 13.58 years). Participants completed the Posttraumatic Checklist Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and Traumatic Events List. The data were analysed to predict PTSD development from trauma awareness and preparedness, taking exposure to multiple traumas into account as a risk factor. Findings suggest that trauma awareness and preparedness play an important role among military personnel in moderating the risk of developing PTSD, more so than among the civilian population. Mental health professionals working with civil war survivors should seek to explore trauma awareness and preparedness as resources for minimising risk for PTSD in armed conflict situations.