Suggests that, rather than exposing young children to media coverage of national tragedies and disasters, caregivers should read aloud to children from picture books that convey stability, calmness, and reassurance. Includes tips for helping children cope with tragedy, guidelines for selecting books, and an annotated list of 25 books that can help…

This study compared changes in stress scores of preservice teachers in a traditional teacher preparation program and a pilot professional development school (PDS). Data from the Teacher Stress Scale, taken before and after the field experiences, showed statistically significant increases in stress during the culminating field experience for PDS…

Tested two models of family economic problems and adolescent psychological adjustment. Found that the models did not differ according to age or gender, nor whether subjects lived with two parents or fewer. Found no support for coping as a moderator of stress. Reviewed implications and suggestions for future research involving coping with economic…

A study examined the variables that exacerbated or buffered the impact of child problem behaviors and/or physical differences on 16 Korean mothers and 16 Korean American mothers of children with disabilities. Overall findings from data analyses were consistent with qualitative findings that Korean mothers experienced more difficulties than their…

Examined cross-cultural variations in stress among Asian and Caucasian graduate students (N=204). Analyzed surveys measuring life stress, physical health complaints, and psychological health. Findings indicated some cross-cultural variations in stress and adjustment among graduate students, with Asian graduate students experiencing fewer stressful…

The mediation of family and peer social support and self-esteem in the relationship between chronic strain and psychological adjustment in children and adolescents with juvenile diabetes is investigated. Family support is more important than peer support for children, while the opposite holds for adolescents. Self-esteem benefits both groups. (AF)

Examined stress and coping symptoms of 258 children whose parents were divorced. Found that, in the cross-sectional model, avoidance coping partially mediated the relations between negative events and symptoms; while active coping moderated between negative events and conduct problems. In the longitudinal model, significant negative paths were…

Tested Jessor's (1987) model of three overlapping domains relevant to adolescent health promotion using multidimensional scaling analysis (MDS). MDS yielded three dimensions--labeled positive coping resources, conventional/unconventional, and underweight/overweight--that revealed clusters of behaviors largely coinciding with Jessor's three…

Suggestions are offered for teachers to help children whose school behavior and performance are being adversely affected by stressful family events. The strategy involves defining the problem, working with the child to develop coping strategies, making appropriate classroom responses, and working with parents. (JDD)

Examined relationships of measures of occupational and academic self-efficacy; vocational interests; outcome expectations; academic ability; and perceived stress, support, and coping to academic achievement of engineering/science majors (n=197). Self-efficacy for academic milestones, in combination with other academic and support variables, was…

Discusses seven steps that early childhood teachers and caregivers can take to help toddlers and their parents cope with the separation process. (BB)

Representations of conflict in reported dreams of 24 Israeli, 26 Bedouin, and 27 Irish children aged 8.5 to 11 years reflect characteristic coping processes of the dreamer. As such, dreams are a useful measure of culturally mediated ego processes. Cross-cultural differences reflect culturally related socialization processes. (SLD)

The complexity of perceived control is illustrated through the Life Events and Aging Project (LEAP), a 12-occasion assessment of predictors and correlates of the mental health of 246 older adults over nearly 5 years. Constructs of perceived control, internality, and personal mastery should be placed in a transactional framework. (SLD)

Explores contradictions between "workfare" and higher education that constrain the academic success of poor rural Iowa women: loss of welfare-related college support if temporarily denied AFDC, lack of child care funding, and constraints on transfer from a two-year to a four-year college. Recommends utilizing an "everyday…

Discusses a training program for youth counselors aimed to improve counselors' self-efficacy and ability to cope with stressful situations. Two versions of the program were evaluated: one based on participant modeling, the other on symbolic modeling. Self-efficacy of subjects on the participant modeling increased compared to that of the subjects…