Development and validation of a measure to assess head start children's appraisals of teacher support

In this study, we present data on the development of Young Children's Appraisals of Teacher Support (Y-CATS), a measure designed to explore children's perceptions of their relations with teachers along dimensions that comprise warmth, conflict, and autonomy. Three cohorts of Head Start children and prior Head Start attendees (N=364) served as the sample. Cohort 1 children (n₁=108) were in first grade, cohort 2 children (n₂=123) were in kindergarten, and cohort 3 children (n₃=133) attended the Head Start program. Factor analyses supported a three-factor solution, with acceptable internal consistency, along hypothesized dimensions. Males, compared to females, reported more conflictual relationships with their teachers. Conflict scores were particularly pronounced for African American males. Children's reports on the Y-CATS were significantly associated with academic achievement and with teachers' ratings of social skills and behavior problems.     

Distress Tolerance and Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy: A New Role for Behavioral Analogue Tasks

Rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT) is a widely utilized treatment approach for many mental disorders, but it has been “relatively neglected in the professional scientific literature” (Ellis 2003b). This neglect has been attributed in part to a lack of solid REBT outcome studies, which in turn stems from the difficulty of measuring constructs of interest in REBT, such as irrational beliefs, via self-report measures. In light of these concerns, the current paper aims to identify the potential utility of behavioral analogue laboratory tasks for advancing the understanding of mechanisms in REBT, as well as treatment outcome using this therapeutic approach. Specifically, we focus on the utilization of behavioral measures of distress tolerance and their application to the key REBT construct of frustration intolerance. In identifying the parallels across distress tolerance and frustration intolerance, we consider how the incorporation of distress tolerance tasks into REBT research can be useful in evaluating the role of frustration intolerance in the initiation, maintenance, and treatment of disordered behavior across a broad range of clinical disorders.

Maternal and Paternal Depressive Symptoms as Predictors of Toddler Adjustment

In this study we explored the relation between maternal and paternal depressive symptoms and toddler adjustment in a community sample, testing direct, additive, and interactive models of parental depressive symptoms and child adjustment. Participants were 49 families with 30-month-old children. Data were collected on maternal and paternal depressive symptoms and marital quality, as well as on toddler internalizing and externalizing behavior. The data supported an additive, but not interactive, model of prediction to externalizing behavior, such that maternal and paternal symptoms each accounted for unique variance in the prediction of toddler externalizing. Models predicting toddler internalizing were not significant. Maternal reports of marital quality, but not paternal reports of marital quality, reduced the magnitude of the relation between symptoms and child externalizing when entered as a covariate. Implications for depression screening of parents are discussed.     

The effects of predictive ability information,locus of control,and decision maker involvement on decision aid reliance

This study examines several factors that influence decision makers' willingness to rely on mechanical decision aids. The first experiment examined the effects of predictive ability information and locus of control on decision aid reliance. The results indicate that decision makers were more likely to rely on a decision aid when its predictive validity was not disclosed. Further, decision makers with an external locus of control relied more on the decision aid than those with an internal locus of control. The second experiment expanded upon this result to examine the interactive effects of decision maker involvement and locus of control. The results suggest that involving decision makers in the aid's development enhanced reliance. However, decision makers with an internal locus of control were more strongly influenced by this form of involvement (in terms of increasing their reliance on the decision aid) than decision makers with an external locus of control. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Causal attributions, perceived consequences of unemployment, and perceptions of employment prospects among adolescents in New Zealand

The present study investigated the causal attributions and perceived consequences of unemployment, as well as perceptions of employment prospects, among high school students in New Zealand. A sample of Form 4 (Grade 9) boys (M age 14.3 years) and girls (14.4 years) and a sample of Form 6 and 7 (Grades 11 and 12) boys (16.9 years) and girls (16.6 years) were tested. No sex or age differences were found in students' causal attributions about unemployment. Societal factors were judged as the most important cause for unemployment. Luck was considered the least important reason. Form 4 students placed a greater emphasis on economic consequences, whereas Form 6 and 7 students regarded social consequences as more important. The consistency in the present findings and those from studies in other countries suggests that cross-cultural similarities do exist in adolescents' perceptions of unemployment.