Kuhl's (1985) theory of action control focuses on the processes that protect a current intention from competing action tendencies. Applied to the educational domain, the theory would predict that students who are action-oriented would be better equipped to deal with various challenges, such as failing a test, thereby increasing the likelihood of…

This fact sheet points out that knowledge of the process of grief (defined as one's own personal experience of loss) and ways of helping individuals and families cope with their loss experiences can be an invaluable asset to crisis nurseries and respite care programs and their service providers. The fact sheet lists the emotions of grief, and…

This study identifies stressful events in the lives of high school students in a rural region of Tennessee. Questionnaires were completed by 240 high school students (144 female and 96 male). The questionnaires included 19 statements to which the participants were to respond concerning their belief about the stressfulness of the situation…

Increasingly, young American women are engaged in multiple roles, combining job and family responsibilities. To investigate the links between role groups (employment, marriage, parenthood), and pressures, satisfactions, and physical health among young women, a subsample of 162 white women, aged 18 to 34, drawn from the 1978 Health in Detroit…

Conventional research strategies typically emphasize behavior-determining tendencies so strongly that the person as a whole is ignored. Research strategies for studying whole persons focus on symbolic structures, formulate specific questions in advance, study persons one at a time, use individualized measures, and regard participants as expert…

The causes and consequences of stress experienced by college faculty were investigated. Stress was defined as any characteristic of the job environment that posed a threat to the individual--either excessive demands or insufficient resources. In addition to identifying stressful job situations, attention was directed to ways that faculty members…

Traditionally, coping and adaptation have been considered synonymous in individual's responses to illness and other stressful situations. The Illness Adaptation Scale (IAS) is a 12-item instrument which was designed to assess adaptational outcomes in illness situations as well as four coping modes (instrumental-self oriented, instrumental-other…

While most lifespan developmental theories of personality predict age-related changes in coping, little direct evidence exists for determining whether age differences in coping style are due to intrinsic developmental processes or to age differences in the kinds of stresses encountered. To evaluate age differences in coping strategies and whether…

Since 1979, over 300 adults have participated in writing anxiety workshops at Northern Virginia Community College. The self-identified, self-diagnosed sufferers of writing anxiety have had problems in one or more of the following areas: letter writing, memo and report writing, writing for academic purposes, writing demanded of women reentering the…

Individuals can produce good stresses that will inhibit or eliminate the bad stresses of anxiety, depression, resentment, and hopelessness. This can be accomplished as individuals learn to include in their lifestyles these nine approaches: self-talk, commitment, self-control, challenge, interpersonal relations, time management, relaxation,…

First-year experiences in administration can color one's perceptions of the job, the career, and life goals. Ineffective socialization and assimilation during this period can also have serious consequences for staff, students, and community. This paper attempts to identify the significant issues, conflicts, and experiences occurring during the…

The paper examines the effects of stress on children and considers ways in which teachers can help them cope. Three major sources of stress are identified: (1) normal developmental stress, such as pressure for academic success; (2) endemic social stress, resulting from such social trends as rising divorce rates and the general erosion of the…

This study considered broadly the problem of homelessness by examining the housing difficulties of one at-risk population, the elderly, who presented needs to one city emergency service agency. A random sampling of some 500 emergency case files identified the prevalence of a wide range of emergency situations affecting the city's elderly. At least…

This booklet discusses child abuse, targeting pre-teenagers and teenagers. It describes what child abuse is, why it happens, and what a teenager can do about it. These topics are covered: (1) definition of child abuse and types of child abuse; (2) differentiating between child abuse and discipline; (3) sexual abuse; (4) family types of child…

This exploratory study examined children's sense of control as a cognitive and perceptual context for responding to the expression of interadult anger. Children's cardiovascular, electrodermal, and self-reported emotional responses to the angry interaction of adults were measured. Perceptions of control were manipulated in two ways: by giving…