初中生认同的亲社会行为的初步研究

通过对8名11～14岁初中生的深入访谈,初步探讨了处于初中阶段的青少年认同的亲社会行为。发现:(1)初中生最认同的亲社会行为是帮助行为,其次是交往行为。此外,安慰行为、公益行为、礼貌行为和遵规行为也被他们认同;(2)初中生对不同行为主体间发生的亲社会行为的认同有明显差异,他们更关心发生在他们之间的亲社会行为;(3)普通学校、打工子弟学校的初中生对帮助行为和交往行为认同的比率差异明显;(4)初中生认同的亲社会行为的种类不存在明显的性别差异。     

Mothers' Overreactive Discipline and Their Encoding and Appraisals of Toddler Behavior

The relations of observed overreactive discipline with mothers' tendencies to notice negative, relative to positive, child behavior (preferential negative encoding), and mothers' negative appraisals of neutral and positive child behavior (negative appraisal bias), were examined in mothers of toddlers. The mothers rated both their own children's and unfamiliar children's behavior. Negative appraisal bias with respect to mothers' own (but not unfamiliar) children was related to mothers' overreactivity, independent of child misbehavior. Overreactivity was not related to mothers' preferential negative encoding either of their own or of unfamiliar children's behavior. However, in the case of mothers' own children, preferential negative encoding moderated the relation between negative appraisal bias and overreactive discipline, such that the negative appraisal bias-overreactivity relation was significant only in the context of high preferential negative encoding.     

Advancing our understanding of intergenerational continuity in antisocial behavior

This commentary reviews the major findings of this set of 4 papers on intergenerational continuity in antisocial behavior; it identifies strengths and remaining challenges, and discusses potential policy implications of the research. As a group, these researchers have raised the methodological bar for future work in this area, using prospective designs with multiple informants and methods to test the influences of G2 parenting and adolescent antisocial behavior in mediating continuity between G1 parenting and G3 early disruptive behavior. The pattern of findings is discussed with respect to gender of G2 and social context. The inherent challenges of conducting intergenerational research are also highlighted, within the context of offering recommendations for improving future intergenerational investigations and their feasibility.     

Pathways to Risk Among Inner-City African-American Adolescent Females: The Influence of Gang Membership

Differential rates of participation in three categories of risk behaviors (i.e., sexual activity, substance use, violence) were explored, comparing gang members to nonmembers, within a sample of 1,143 inner-city African American adolescent females. The relationship between gang membership and risk behavior also was examined, by exploring the association between a variety of microsystemic influences (e.g., gang, family, school) and participation in risk behaviors. MANOVA analyses indicated that gang members, relative to nonmembers, reported higher rates of participation in each of the three categories of risk behaviors. Stepwise linear regression analyses indicated that gang membership was the variable with the most consistent predictive ability, across all categories of risk, as it entered early in all equations and remained in all three final models after controlling for other statistically significant contextual variables. Findings suggest that intervention efforts aimed at reducing adolescent females' participation in sexual activity, substance use, and violence should consider the influence of gang membership on the participation in these behaviors.     

Effect of Make Parenting a Pleasure on Parenting Skills and Parental Depression

Abstract

This paper explores a feasibility trial examining the effects of the Make Parenting A Pleasure (MPAP), a 12-week parent training program designed to promote family resilience by strengthening the following factors: parental resilience, social connections, concrete support in times of need, knowledge of parenting and child development, and social and emotional competence in children. Fifty-nine (59) participants were assigned to either a treatment group (n?=?32) or a waitlist control group (n?=?27). Results showed that participants in the MPAP treatment group demonstrated an increase in parenting skills and child development knowledge as well as a decrease in parental depression when compared to waitlist control group participants. Results emphasize the importance of promoting resiliency by supporting parents through direct instruction and skill development.     

How young adults address their parents reflects their perception of parenting

A speaker's use of a title for the listener shows the speaker's deference to the listener. Previous studies suggested that the use of kinship terms in the family also shows deference to the listener. The present study focused on young adults' use of kinship terms for their parents to investigate whether their use of kinship terms reflects their perception of their parenting. The participants were 329 Japanese college students, who answered a questionnaire about their forms of address for their parents, perceived parental emotional accessibility, and perceived parental control. They also reported their satisfaction with their parent–child relationships and the frequency of parent–child communication. The results suggest that young adults who use kinship terms for their parents perceive their parents to be more emotionally accessible and communicate with their parents more than those who do not. Young adults who use kinship terms for their father are also more satisfied with their father–child relationships than those who do not. Young adults' use of kinship terms might signal not only their deference to their parents, but also their acceptance of their parent–child relationships.     

Lay Beliefs About Developing Countries in Relation to Helping Behaviors

ABSTRACT

We study the beliefs in a developed country about the attribution of responsibility for the situation in developing countries, in relation to helping behaviors and level of commitment. Two samples were used: one for the synthesis of knowledge (N = 527) and a second for the synthesis of beliefs (N = 287). From the results, we analyze the synthesis of beliefs and obtain the structure of beliefs. The synthesis of beliefs sample was made up of 137 individuals who help developing countries and 150 who do not. ANOVAs show that developed countries activate three implicit theories as beliefs to explain poverty in developing countries. Attribution external to the actor is more significant at higher levels of commitment to help. The implications for social communication campaigns in the developed world are discussed.     

The relationship between performance-based self-esteem and self-reported work and health behaviors among Danish knowledge workers

Since knowledge intensive work often requires self-management, one might fear that persons who are dependent on work success for self-esteem will have difficulties in finding a healthful and sustainable balance between internal needs and external demands. Accordingly, we examined to what degree work-related performance-based self-esteem (PBS) was linked to work and health behaviors in 392 knowledge workers (226 women, 166 men). In the women group, multiple binary logistic regression analyses with repeated measurements showed that the PBS score was associated with 10 of the 17 examined work and health behaviors. For men the corresponding figure was 3 of 17. In both men and women, higher PBS scores were positively associated with reports of efforts and strivings for work as well as attending work while ill. In conclusion, statistically significant relationships between PBS and work and health behaviors were more clearly visible among women than men. Whether this gender difference is dependent on the study design, or on true inherent differences between women and men, cannot be concluded with any certainty. However, persons who described themselves as being relatively more dependent on work accomplishments for a high self-esteem, as expressed by the PBS score, seem to display work behaviors that may lessen their restitution time. In addition, they also seem to be more prone to work while sick.     

The multi-factor structure of the Brief Self-Control Scale: Discriminant validity of restraint and impulsivity

The Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS; Tangney, Baumeister, & Boone, 2004) was developed to assess dispositional self-control as it is conceptualized by contemporary theoretical perspectives; however, concerns regarding its unidimensionality and validity remain. This article addresses these concerns using three samples to define, confirm and test a multi-factor version of the BSCS. Results of Study 1 (n = 909) identified two factors of the BSCS: restraint and impulsivity. Results of Study 2 (n = 364) confirmed that the 2-factor structure fit the data well and performed better than 1-factor structures. Finally, results from Study 3 (n = 175) demonstrated the utility of the multi-factor BSCS in predicting self-reported affective and behavioral outcomes. Implications for research and theoretical development are discussed.