Goal Internalization and Persistence as a Function of Autonomous and Directive Forms of Goal Support

Two prospective studies examined the relations of autonomy support and directive support to goal internalization and goal persistence over a year. Study 1 examined the role of support and internalization in semester‐long goals set by college students and whether the goals were reset in the following semester. Study 2 examined semester‐long goals and long‐term developmental goals. Study 1 showed that autonomy support was not only significantly associated with greater internalization and goal success in the fall semester, but it was also significantly associated with actually resetting and subsequently succeeding at goals that one had failed to reach. Study 2 showed that autonomy support was significantly associated with progress for short‐term goals over the semester, whereas directive support was unrelated to progress. For long‐term goals, autonomy support was significantly related to greater internalization of goals and to greater goal satisfaction, whereas directive support was significantly negatively related to these outcomes. These studies point to the beneficial effects of autonomy support on goal internalization and resilient persistence. The effects of directive support (null vs. negative) were moderated by the timeline of the goals.     

Physical Activity Among Urban Children with Asthma: Does Sleep Matter?

Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings - The present study examined associations between sleep and physical activity among a diverse sample of 97 urban children (ages 7–9) with...     

Treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in U.S. combat veterans: a meta-analytic review

Among U.S. veterans who have been exposed to combat-related trauma, significantly elevated rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are reported. Veterans with PTSD are treated for the disorder at Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals through a variety of psychotherapeutic interventions. Given the significant impairment associated with PTSD, it is imperative to assess the typical treatment response associated with these interventions. 24 studies with a total sample size of 1742 participants were quantitatively reviewed. Overall, analyses showed a medium between-groups effect size for active treatments compared to control conditions. Thus, the average VA-treated patient fared better than 66% of patients in control conditions. VA treatments incorporating exposure-based interventions showed the highest within-group effect size. Effect sizes were not moderated by treatment dose, sample size, or publication year. Findings are encouraging for treatment seekers for combat-related PTSD in VA settings.     

Newsworthiness of Missing Persons Cases: An Analysis of Selection Bias,Disparities in Coverage,and the Narrative Framework of News Reports

Media coverage varies as a function of demographic and situational characteristics such that more “newsworthy” cases feature greater exposure. This study examines case characteristics associated with various levels of media attention for missing persons cases, as well as the framing of news reports. Including missing persons cases that received media attention as well as those that did not allowed for a greater understanding of the factors related to the degree of media exposure. Disparities in coverage were seen based on race and age. In addition, the narratives of the reports were framed as cautionary tales and victims were seen as active participants in their disappearance.     

Autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and goal progress

Although the self-concordance of goals has been repeatedly shown to predict better goal progress, recent research suggests potential problems with aggregating autonomous and controlled motivations to form a summary index of self-concordance (Judge, Bono, Erez, & Locke, 2005). The purpose of the present investigation was to further examine the relations among autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and goal progress to determine the relative importance of autonomous motivation and controlled motivation in the pursuit of personal goals. The results of three studies and a meta-analysis indicated that autonomous motivation was substantially related to goal progress whereas controlled motivation was not. Additionally, the relation of autonomous motivation to goal progress was shown to involve implementation planning. Together, the three studies highlight the importance for goal setters of having autonomous motivation and developing implementation plans, especially ones formulated in terms of approach strategies rather than avoidance strategies. The present research suggests that individuals pursuing goals should focus relatively greater attention on enhancing their autonomous motivation rather than reducing their controlled motivation.     

Developmental and sex-related differences in preschoolers' affective decision making

This study investigated developmental and sex-related differences in affective decision making, using a two-deck version of Children's Gambling Task administered to 3- and 4-year-old children. The main findings were that 4-year-old children displayed better decision-making performance than 3-year-olds. This effect was independent of developmental changes in inductive reasoning, language, and working memory. There were also sex differences in decision-making performance, which were apparent only in 3-year-old children and favored girls. Moreover, age predicted awareness of task and the correlation between the latter and decision-making performance was significant, but only in 4-year-old children. This study thus indicates that there is a remarkable developmental leap in affective decision making, whose effects are apparent around the age of 4, which according to our results, also marks the age when the correlation of declarative knowledge and decision-making performance becomes significant.     

Experiences of Forgiveness Among Nonclergy Clients Receiving Residential Psychiatric Treatment

In response to the growing importance focused on forgiveness in clinical work (R. D. Enright, 2000), the relevance of forgiveness to 54 clients receiving inpatient psychiatric treatment was examined. The authors used a reflective questionnaire developed by M. J. Brenneis (2002) to gain a qualitative understanding of forgiveness in the sample. Results indicated that participants primarily defined forgiveness in affective terms, but a sizeable number included behavioral and cognitive components. Some respondents included motivations to forgive and not to forgive as well as the positive impact of forgiveness on relationships. Results are contrasted with the results of M. J. Brenneis's study on clergy. Implications for treatment are discussed.