Data from Scottish adults (41 new participants in further education, 15 continuing participants, 33 nonparticipants) illustrate the complex process of reengaging in learning. The data demonstrate the influence of social milieu (Bourdieu's notion of habitus)--the personal, institutional, and structural factors that support or limit an individual's…

Interviews exploring the personal epistemology of 14 Malaysian women of various ethnic backgrounds depict how ways of knowing manifest themselves in ways of being. One's personal model of the self produces behavior and action that correlate with ways of knowing. (Contains 32 references.) (SK)

Naquin and Holton report how the NEO Five-Factor Inventory and Positive and Negative Affectivity Schedule were used to measure motivation to improve work through learning of 239 trainees. Positive affect, work commitment, and extraversion were significant antecedents of motivation. Invited reaction by Rodney A. McCloy and Lauress L. Wise raises…

Study applies family stress theory to the influence of personal, child, and familial factors on a mother's parenting stress during the first 3 years of her infant's life. Mother's personality was most predictive of parenting stress. Counterintuitively, mothers who were more satisfied with work or school choices were more likely to be chronically…

Using family resilience theory, this study examined the effects of work-family conflict and work-family facilitation on mental health among working adults to gain a better understanding of work-family fit. Results suggest that family to work facilitation is a family protective factor that offsets and buffers the deleterious effects of work-family…

Assessed relation between conceptual system functioning and expectations about counseling by linking client expectations to a stable personality dimension and providing the conceptual system model, rather than the conceptual level, as the theoretical rationale in 60 counseling clients. Results support need to consider influence of conceptual…

Presented potential areas of social interaction to college students (N=420) to judge their likelihood of desired interaction with argumentative or nonargumentative person. Found preference for association with nonargumentative person in situations low in conflict and nonaggressive. Males and females responded in similar fashion in reporting…

Investigated effectiveness of paradoxical and nonparadoxical interventions with clients (N=53) possessing a high or low sense of humor. Found low sense of humor subjects improved significantly more with a paradoxical intervention than did high sense of humor subjects. (Author/ABL)

Interviewed 301 grandparents concerning their relationship with one grandchild. Findings revealed no differences in relationship associated with grandchild gender or with maternal/paternal grandparent status; nor were there significant interaction effects. Grandmothers expressed greater satisfaction than did grandfathers; grandfathers stressed…

Randomly assigned 42 men and 34 women classified as having avoidant personality disorder to one of three treatment conditions or to control group. Treatment subjects displayed significantly greater improvement on self-report and behavioral measures than did controls. Inclusion of skills-training procedures did not contribute to effects of…

Explores role played by personality attributes of family therapist in facilitating and or inhibiting one's adherence to variety of approaches to family practice using experienced family therapists (N=156). Found personality attributes of family therapist did play role in predicting adherence to belief and action systems unique to particular…

Investigated differences among women and men (N=151) employed in traditional female occupations (staff nursing, elementary school teaching, librarianship) who took the Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI). Findings on the VPI Social, Investigative, Conventional, Enterprising and Artistic scales showed women, when compared to men in the same…

Reviews previous approaches to the study of successful ageing and details an alternative approach. Discussion of new ways to investigate successful ageing concentrates on the complementarity between quantitative and qualitative research strategies. (RJC)

The Leadership Opinion Questionnaire, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and a demographic questionnaire were administered to 115 student organization officers. The level of relationships between leadership attributes and personality preferences as well as differential leadership attributes and/or personality preference patterns were investigated.…

Used archival data on individuals identified as shy and reserved in late childhood in 1954 to trace the continuities and consequences of the individuals' behavioral style for the subsequent 30 years of their lives. Childhood shyness did not produce pathological or extreme outcomes, but did have significant consequences for later development,…