Throughput and retention are important issues in higher education in South Africa mainly due to the stronger emphasis on accountability from funding agencies like the Department of Education. This study, which is set in a distance education institution, was aimed at understanding why students cancel courses early on in the academic year. A…

Examines relations among adult attachment orientations, maladaptive problem coping styles, and a composite measure of current distress within a sample of 55 undergraduates. Results indicate that each adult attachment orientation and each problem coping style measure was related in expected directions to students' distress. (Contains 39 references…

Explores the problems associated with parental divorce for adolescents of college age. Analyses of the responses of 83 clinical directors of college mental health counseling centers revealed that adolescents of parental divorce seen for counseling displayed greater behavioral and affective difficulties than counterparts from intact families. (JAC)

Surveyed first year doctoral students (N=33) regarding life events. Found that the majority of the students experienced a major crisis and were highly susceptible to emotional or physical illness. Proposes a system that may help first year students cope. (Author)

Those who have dealt with students over a period of years have come to realize that an increasing number of them are disruptive. This book offers alternatives for responding to disruptive students. Solutions are offered from the perspective of a mental health professional with years of experience on a college campus. A code of student conduct is…

Ten University of Montevallo (Alabama) students diagnosed as having learning disabilities were interviewed concerning their feelings about being labeled learning disabled, their strategies for coping with the disability, their outlook for the future, advice for other learning-disabled students, and services offered by the university. Eight of the…

Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of using paraprofessional trainers in teaching students with tension headaches to relax, thus reducing the frequency of their headaches. A technique for automated self-instructed relaxation training was compared to a paraprofessionally trained group and a no-treatment control group over a 3-week…

This annotated bibliography contains abstracts of 99 studies conducted in the area of test anxiety. Evaluations of the studies are presented in a format which allows comparison of the studies to be made. Information about each study includes: (1) a description of subjects; (2) the type of intervention or treatment used; (3) the dependent measures;…

A weekly discussion group for first-year medical graduate students to discuss stress in their lives revealed three major sources of stress: (1) high expectations of themselves under conditions of high time and professional pressure; (2) loss of control over one's life; and (3) ambivalence about dependence versus independence. (MSE)

Psychologists have long been interested in the causes of student success or failure in college. In the late 1950's, investigators began to examine behaviors beyond the cognitive realm as crucial elements in the student's adaptation to college life. Research on adolescents' transition from high school to college identified several components of…

This document presents a handbook for high school and college counselors and teachers who work with students who have school anxiety. Chapter One defines school anxiety as a strong physical and psychological reaction to specific situations in school that seriously impairs the ability of the student to perform. General anxiety is described, along…