Stress and Social Support in Parents whose Children are Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Carriers: A Comparison of Three Groups in Guangzhou

The present study compared the moderating effect of social support on parental stress variables and mental health among three groups of parents: parents of HBV (Hepatitis B Virus) children who attended the special health kindergarten, parents of HBV children who stayed at home, and parents of healthy children who attended the ordinary kindergarten. These families resided in the city of Guangzhou. A set of questionnaires measuring parental stress and social support were given to the mothers after a one-hour interview. Results showed that parents of HBV children were significantly more stressed and psychologically at risk than parents of healthy children. They also sought help from social resources more often than the parents of healthy children. Parents of healthy children who attended the ordinary kindergarten reported the highest levels of overall social support, i.e. the number of very close friends and relatives with whom they could form close emotional attachments. Although they reported a lower number of acquaintances available, they also reported the most satisfactory relationships with the support provided by their acquaintances, lower levels of stress, fewer somatic problems, more adequate general health, and more perceived meaning in life than did parents of HBV children, and social support is one of the main influences on stress or parental health. The findings call for further research to focus on parents' well-being and social support that is helpful in addressing the needs of the family.     

Motivational effects of teachers' ability versus effort feedback on Chinese students' learning

Schunk (1983) found in his study with U.S. students that teachers' ability feedback (“You're good at this”) had a stronger motivational effect on students' learning than that focusing on effort (“You've been working hard”). The present experimental study examined such differential effects of attributional feedback on 386 elementary and high school Chinese students who were brought up in a culture where effort and endurance were strongly emphasized. Generally, the results with elementary students (Grade 4) replicated Schunk's findings. Mutual reinforcement effects also showed that effort and ability feedbacks combined led to the highest perceived effort expenditure. This research was supported in part by the Hong Kong Institute of Educational Research at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kit-Tai Hau, Faculty of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong.     

Structure and Semantic Differential Placement of Specific Causes: Academic Causal Attributions by Chinese Students in Hong Kong

The present study explored the structure and dimensional meaning of causal attributions for actual academic performance. Chinese high school students were asked to rate the importance as well as dimensional meaning (along locus, controllability, stability, and globality dimensions) of thirteen specific causes. A principal components analysis of the importance ratings generated four factors among which three were loaded on partially overlapping dimensions and the fourth was unrelated to any dimension. Results also revealed that effort, interest in study, study skill, and ability in study shared common characteristics in that they were the most important causes and were very internal, controllable, stable, and global. The findings were discussed in terms of socio-cultural values in the Chinese culture.     

Parental stress, coping styles, and social supports in chinese families with hepatitis-b-carrying children

The purpose of the study was to examine the hypothesis that parents’ psychological well-being can be affected by a child’s illness and their social situations. In this study, we discuss the roles of coping, social support and situational context related to stress. These factors cannot only affect stress levels but can also influence whether the individual adopts a certain type of coping style for stressful events. Parental stress, coping styles and social support were compared between groups of parents of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) carrier children or healthy children. Results showed that parents of affected children were significantly more stressed and psychologically at risk, and tended to mobilize personal resources and to rely more on themselves to solve stressful life events. They also sought help from social resources more often than did parents of healthy children. Parents of healthy children had a higher number of close friends and relatives available to them. Ninety Chinese parents and their HBV or healthy children participated in this study. These families were all living in the city of Guangzhou, China.     

ADOLESCENT PERCEPTIONS OF PARENTAL POWER: DO FAMILY SIZE AND ORDINAL POSITION OF THE CHILD MAKE A DIFFERENCE?*

The literature suggests that parent-child interactions differ in relation to both birth order and family size. There are arguments in the literature concerning whether observed effects should be attributed to structural factors or to such demographic variables as SES and parental education. The present research attempts to deal with some of the theoretical questions and methodological problems encountered in determining mediators of birth order and parental interaction effects. Reports of parental involvement, or indices of such involvement, in 34 interaction areas were collected from 189 Iranian high school students from families of at least 2 children, and were analyzed using multiple regression procedures. In general, results showed birth order effects were mediated by size of family. Respondents from ‘small’ families (of 2–4 children) differed from those from larger families. In large families, first-borns had the most paternal (or the least maternal) orientations. In small families, last-boms had the most paternal (least maternal) orientations. Middle-borns were not significantly different from the first-boms in small or in large families. It is concluded that further cross-cultural studies of differential parental interaction with different birth orders are needed before a theoretical framework can be offered to explain birth order effects.     

Reliability and validity of a measure of emotional intelligence in an Iranian sample

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test, Version 2.0, in the Iranian culture. The sample included 353 students (168 male, 185 female) from senior high schools in Shiraz, ranging in age between 16 and 18 years (M=17.1), SD=.5), and 394 students (113 male, 281 female) from Shiraz University, ranging in age between 19 and 25 years (M=21.3, SD= 1.7). The subscale-total score correlations were in the upper fifties. Cronbach coefficient alpha was .86 for the full score and ranged from .58 to .86 for the 4 subscales of the test. The factor analysis supported 1- and 2-factor solutions of the emotional intelligence domain. The results generally supported the reliability of the test at the total score level for research in the Iranian culture.     

Levels of emotional awareness scale among Iranian gifted and nongifted high school students

The purpose of this study was to investigate emotional awareness among Iranian high school students and to examine possible sex differences in emotional awareness. The participants were 388 gifted and nongifted students. They completed the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale-A. Analysis showed girls had significantly higher scores than boys in the total sample. The mean score on emotional awareness of gifted girls was significantly lower than that of nongifted girls. Potential implications of these findings are offered.     

Determinants of achievement motivation for women in developing countries

A number of studies on women compared with men in Iran (as an example of a fast developing country) relating to achievement and vocational behavior showed results quite similar to those reported on American women. Iranian women emphasized external attribution of cause of success/failure, and were less sex discriminatory than men. Femininity scores correlated with social desirability scores, and women who scored higher on masculinity also had higher risk taking scores. Socioeconomic background besides sex differences affected vocational aspiration. It is suggested that while the psychological make-up of women in developing and developed countries might be similar, the different social environment and concrete opportunities available to women in different societies more significantly affect their actual vocational behavior.     

Achievement and morality: a cross-cultural analysis of causal attribution and evaluation.

A recent study by Weiner and Peter has considered the emergence of certain patterns of attribution and evaluation in achievement and moral situations. According to their analysis, judgments should generally follow a Piagetian sequence in which younger children are influenced more by the outcome of an episode and older children by the intent of the protagonist. With a sample of U.S. subjects they found overall support for this analysis. A major of the present study is to determine how sociocultural factors may influence the judgmental patterns outlined by Weiner and Peter by essentially replicating their study in the manifestly different cultural context provided in Iran. Important discrepancies with Weiner and Peter were found which can be attributed to sociocultural factors. However, the cognitive-developmental framework proved generally valuable in working toward a comparative understanding of socialization patterns extant in the two cultures.