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。     

The Cultural Adaptation of a Transition Program for Latino Families of Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder

During the transition to adulthood, effective and culturally relevant supports are critical for families of youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There is a dearth of documented program development and research on supports for Spanish-speaking Latino families during this life stage. The present work describes the cultural adaptation process of an evidence-based transition program for Latino families of youth with ASD. A model of the actions necessary to meaningfully conduct a cultural adaptation in this context is described. After implementing the culturally adapted program titled Juntos en la Transición with five Spanish-speaking families, parents reported high social validity of the program through surveys and interviews. The cultural adaptation process followed in this work is important for the further development of programs that address the transition needs of Latino youth with ASD and their families. Our impressions may also be useful to those who aim to develop culturally sensitive and ecologically valid multifamily group intervention programs for families from cultural and linguistic minority groups.     

Sense of humor, emotional intelligence, and social competence

Associations among sense of humor, emotional intelligence (EI), and social competence were examined in 111 undergraduate students using measures of humor styles, trait cheerfulness, social competence, and an ability test of EI. Emotional management ability was positively correlated with self-enhancing humor and trait cheerfulness, and negatively correlated with trait bad mood. Ability to accurately perceive emotions was negatively related to aggressive and self-defeating humor. Positive humor styles and trait cheerfulness were positively correlated with various domains of social competence, whereas negative humor styles and trait bad mood were negatively correlated with social competence. Finally, the emotional management facet of EI was positively correlated with several social competence domains.     

What is the Strength of the Link Between Objective and Subjective Indicators of Urban Quality of Life?

Urban quality of life is usually measured by either subjective indicators using surveys of residents' perceptions, evaluations and satisfaction with urban living or by objective indicators using secondary data and relative weights for objective indicators of the urban environment. However, rarely are subjective and objective indicators of urban quality of life related to each other. In this paper, these two types of indicators were linked using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to both locate respondents to the “2003 Survey of Quality of Life in South East Queensland” and also to gather objective indicators about their urban environment within the region with regard to services, facilities and overcrowding. Using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), the strength of the relationships between these objective indicators and subjective indicators was examined. The results show that relationships between objective and subjective indicators of urban QOL can be weak, and suggests care should be taken when making inferences about improvements in subjective urban QOL based on improvements in objective urban QOL. However, further research is needed into the links between objective and subjective indicators of urban QOL including examining other aspects of the urban environment, non-linear relationships, and moderating effects for individual differences.     

Examining social-cognitive determinants of intention and physical activity among black and white adolescent girls using structural equation modeling.

Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate components within the theories of reasoned action (TRA), planned behavior (TPB), and self-efficacy (SET) for understanding moderate and vigorous physical activity among 1,797 Black and White adolescent girls. Modest to strong support was provided for components of TPB and SET; weak support was provided for components of TRA. Perceived behavioral control was related to vigorous physical activity. Self-efficacy was related to moderate and vigorous physical activity, and it accounted for the effect of intention on physical activity. The observed relationships were similar between Black and White girls. Self-efficacy and perceived behavioral control are independent influences on physical activity among Black and White adolescent girls and warrant study as potential mediators in physical activity interventions.     

A global portrait of counselling psychologists’ characteristics,perspectives, and professional behaviors

Counseling psychologists in eight countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) responded to survey questions that focused on their demographics as well as their professional identities, roles, settings, and activities. As well, they were asked about satisfaction with the specialty and the extent to which they endorsed 10 core counseling psychology values. This article reports those results, focusing both on areas in which there were between-country similarities as well as on those for which there were differences. These data provide a snapshot of counseling psychology globally and establish a foundation for the other articles in this special issue of the journal.     

Humour styles,personality, and well‐being among Lebanese university students

This research examined the structure and correlates of the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ) in Lebanese university students. Four humour factors were found, as in the original Canadian samples: Affiliative, Self‐Enhancing, Aggressive, and Self‐Defeating humour. Scale reliabilities were generally acceptable, and inter‐correlations among the scales were low. Lebanese participants scored lower than Canadians on Affiliative and Self‐Enhancing humour and lower than Belgians on Affiliative and Aggressive humour. As in Canadian and Belgian samples, males reported significantly more use of Aggressive and Self‐Defeating humour than did females. Humour styles correlated differentially, and generally as predicted, with horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism, attachment styles, perceived health, and psychological well‐being. Overall, the findings support the cross‐cultural stability of the HSQ as well as the differential relationship of these humour styles with culture‐related personality traits and psychological well‐being. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Match Madness: Probability Matching in Prediction of the NCAA Basketball Tournament1

Every year, billions of dollars are spent gambling on the outcomes of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. This study examines how individuals make predictions for tournament pools, one of the most popular forms of betting, in which individuals must correctly predict as many games in the tournament as possible. We demonstrate that individuals predict more upsets (i.e., wins by a higher seeded team) than would be considered rational by a normative choice model, and that individuals are no better than chance at doing so. These predictions fit a pattern of probability matching, in which individuals predict upsets at a rate equal to past frequency. This pattern emerges because individuals believe the outcomes of the games are nonrandom and, therefore, predictable.