This study investigated the relationship between creativity and conformity (social conformity and impersonal conformity) with 45 preschool children. Findings support the hypothesis that highly conforming and highly nonconforming children do not score as highly on creativity measurements as children in the freedom of expression group (i.e., not…

Looks at coping skills that carry people through life and why some have them and others do not. Suggests that resilience is a reflex, a way of facing and understanding the world, and that resilient people and companies face reality with staunchness, make meaning out of hardship, and improvise. (JOW)

Describes efforts by one rural elementary school to help children from poor families succeed in school, especially those aimed at improving their reading skills and making them more resilient. Also lists names, addresses, and telephone numbers of some reading programs that have been effective in helping children in rural schools. (PKP)

This study investigates whether low to moderate levels of childhood oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) behaviors contribute to the development of clinically diagnosed CD in adolescence, in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Participants were 207 White boys (ages 6-12) with ADHD free of conduct…

School leaders remember the good old days when resources were adequate, school boards were stable, superintendents stayed a while, and forces outside the school district trusted those inside the school district to do the best job possible educating students. It used to be such smooth sailing! Whether this version of history is fact, illusion or…

Much of the literature on the effects of conjugal bereavement has focused on the detrimental effects of losing a spouse. Although it is very important to be aware of the emotional, physical, and social problems often associated with bereavement, these difficulties are not universal accompaniments of grief. Accumulating evidence suggests that…

A growing body of literature on risk and resilience, school engagement, and positive psychology offers school psychologists new perspectives with which to consider students' progress through school. This literature emphasizes the importance of monitoring student internal and external assets. In this article, a framework is reviewed that highlights…

This essay intends to examine the moral character of learning and teaching and the concomitant implications for educational leaders. With the academic curriculum in mind, I ask the basic question: why should young people learn the standard academic curriculum that schools confront them with? Although the expected answer might be, in the present…

In this paper I explore the role of manners and morals. In particular, what is the connection between emotional demeanor and the inner stuff of virtue? Does the fact that we can pose faces and hide our inner sentiments, i.e., "fake it," detract from or add to our capacity for virtue? I argue, following a line from the Stoics, that it can add to…

The genetic endowment underlying giftedness may operate in a far more complex manner than often expressed in most theoretical accounts of the phenomenon. First, an endowment may be emergenic. That is, a gift may consist of multiple traits (multidimensional) that are inherited in a multiplicative (configurational), rather than an additive (simple)…

We examined the Big Five (De Raad, 2000) personality traits of Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Extraversion, and Openness, plus the narrow personality traits of Aggression, Career-Decidedness, Optimism, Self-Directed Learning, Sense of Identity, Tough-Mindedness, and Work Drive in relation to intention to withdraw from…

A case is described of a patient who has a compelling and persistent desire to become deaf. She often kept cotton wool moistened with oil in her ears and was learning sign language. Living without sound appeared to be a severe form of avoidance behavior from hyperacusis and misophonia. She had a borderline personality disorder that was associated…

In this article, the author describes three major temperament categories of infants and toddlers, and why each calls for particular insights and attention. For infants, the temperaments are cautious, fussy, and easygoing. For toddlers, the three most prevalent temperaments are fearful/shy, irritable/active/fussy, and easy. This paper also contains…

A mediational model of grief intensity (Meuser & Marwit, 2000) was examined in a population at risk for complicated grief. Coping strategies (emotion-oriented, task-oriented, and avoidance-oriented coping) were hypothesized to mediate the influence of personality factors (neuroticism and extraversion) on grief. Bereaved mothers (N =138)…

This study examined longitudinal associations between child temperament (fearfulness, irritability, positive emotionality, self-regulation) and parenting (acceptance, involvement, inconsistent discipline) in predicting children's internalizing and externalizing problems using a community sample (N = 92) of children (ages 8-11) and their mothers.…