The role of psychological control,socioeconomic status and academic achievement in parents' educational aspirations for their adolescent children

The present study examined the associations between mothers' and fathers' psychological control, socioeconomic status (SES) and their role in parents' educational aspirations for their adolescent children. Moreover, we examined to what extent SES and psychological control predicted their child's grade point average (GPA) and educational aspirations. A total of 1,034 Finnish adolescents aged 15 to 16 and their parents (720 mothers, 542 fathers) were surveyed at the beginning of the last grade of compulsory school. The results showed that the use of psychological control was more common among parents with lower SES. Moreover, the lower parents' SES was and the more psychological control they imposed, the lower were their educational aspirations for their adolescent children and lower was their child's GPA. The impact of SES was partially mediated by psychological control. The effects were similar for mothers and fathers.     

Idiom comprehension in French children: A cock-and-bull story

Both theory and empirical evidence suggest that adolescents engage in risk behaviour to gain mature status, thereby becoming popular among their peers. Using a cross-sectional design with 20 school classes from higher secondary schools in Austria and the Netherlands, associations between risk behaviour and social status in late adolescence were examined (N = 408, M_age = 16.95, SD = 0.81, 50% male). Popularity and likeability were assessed as distinct facets of social status in adolescence using peer nominations. Self-reported risk behaviour included alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use, as well as sexual intercourse. Using a latent variable approach, results showed that in accordance with our assumptions, risk behaviour was strongly associated with popularity, but not with likeability. This study shows that in Austria and the Netherlands, associations between risk behaviour and social status among peers are in line with findings from outside of Europe. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed and proposals for future research are given.     

Positive emotion is associated with 6-year change in functional status in individuals aged 60 and older

Analyses examined both positive emotion (PE) at baseline and change in PE from baseline to follow up as predictors of change in functional status (FS). Initial models examined baseline PE, and change in PE, as predictors of change in FS adjusted for baseline PE, negative emotion (NE), FS, and age and gender. Final models included additional adjustments for frequency of social contact, marital status, body mass index, smoking status, drinking behavior, and comorbidity at baseline. Baseline PE was a predictor of change in FS, adjusted for NE, age, and gender (p?=?0.033). Additional covariates reduced the effect of baseline PE as a predictor of change in FS (p?=?0.115). Change in PE was a significant predictor of change in FS – increases in ratings of PE over time were associated with less decline in FS (p?=?0.001). The association for change in PE remained significant in the fully adjusted model (p?=?0.004). Results replicate our prior findings.     

God and Evolutionary Evil: Theodicy in the Light of Darwinism

Pain, suffering, death, and extinction have been intrinsic to the process of evolution by natural selection. This leads to a real problem of evolutionary theodicy, little addressed up to now in Christian theologies of creation. The problem has ontological, teleological, and soteriological aspects. The recent literature contains efforts to dismiss, disregard, or reframe the problem. The radical proposal that God has no long–term goals for creation, but merely keeps company with its unfolding, is one way forward. An alternative strategy to tackle the problem of evolutionary theodicy is outlined, with an implication for environmental ethics and suggestions for further work.     

中学生同伴交往接受和拒绝的归因研究

本研究参考国外相关量表的设计,结合我国实际,编制了中学生人际归因风格问卷,考察了人际归因风格和人格特征两个维度对中学生在同辈群体中的社会测量地位的影响程度。结果表明,这两者共同影响中学生的社会测量地位,被拒绝学生对正性事件的归因与其他学生存在显著差异,对负性事件的归因不存在显著差异。这提示我们,可以通过改变被拒绝学生不适当的人际归因方式来改善其同伴关系。     

关于儿童自闭症行为矫治法的几个理论问题

了解儿童自闭症行为矫治法有助于提高自闭症治疗的质量和效果。本文讨论了有关儿童自闭症行为矫治法的几个理论问题。作者还介绍分析了中外自闭症文献中记载的儿童自闭症行为矫治法的临床实验及其治疗效果。     

Fostering young children's representation, planning, and reflection: A focus in three current early childhood models

Many educators and developmental psychologists have pointed to the development of symbolic thought and representational abilities as a set of fundamental capacities that underlie the development of self-regulation, problem solving, planning, and higher level thought processes. While many early childhood programs value children's development of symbolic capacities, three approaches, High/Scope, Tools of the Mind, and Reggio Emilia, were analyzed in terms of one context from the array of strategies and experiences that characterizes the approach in order to examine the distinctive way that three different preschool programs apply the theoretical construct of representational development to pedagogical strategies.     

Women's Sexual Aggression Against Men: Prevalence and Predictors

In this study, we investigated the prevalence of women's sexual aggression against men and examined predictors of sexual aggression in a sample of 248 women. Respondents reported their use of aggressive strategies (physical force, exploitation of a man's incapacitated state, and verbal pressure) to make a man engage in sexual touch, sexual intercourse, or oral sex against his will. Childhood abuse, gender role orientation, ambiguous communication of sexual intentions, level of sexual activity, and peer pressure were included as predictors of sexual aggression. Almost 1 in 10 respondents (9.3%) reported having used aggressive strategies to coerce a man into sexual activities. Exploitation of the man's incapacitated state was used most frequently (5.6%), followed by verbal pressure (3.2%) and physical force (2%). An additional 5.4% reported attempted acts of sexual aggression. Sexual abuse in childhood, ambiguous communication of sexual intentions, high levels of sexual activity, and peer pressure toward sexual activity were linked to an increased likelihood of sexual aggression. The findings are discussed in relation to the literature on men's sexual aggression.     

Are Women Perceived as Engaging in More Maladaptive Worry Than Men? A Status Interpretation

Studies 1 and 2 addressed people's perceptions of women's and men's overall maladaptive worry. In Study 1, participants rated how they perceive women's and men's worry in general. In Study 2, participants rated the worry of either a woman or a man whom they know well. As expected in both studies, participants perceived women as experiencing more maladaptive worry than men. A second objective was to compare people's perceptions of women's and men's worry to their perceptions of low- and high-status individuals' worry to determine if a status model can account for the perception that women worry more than men. In Study 3, participants were presented a minimal instantiation of status (Conway, Pizzamiglio, & Mount, 1996). As expected, participants perceived low-status individuals as experiencing more maladaptive worry than high-status individuals. Findings are discussed in terms of gender stereotypes and theoretical models of gender.