An exploratory study investigated the relationship between loneliness, coping strategies, and cognitive styles in a sample of 52 gifted students from rural Nebraska (mean age 17.25 years). Assessment measures consisted of the Woodward Loneliness Inventory, the Kalyan-Masih Coping Inventory I, and the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT), which…

As part of a larger research effort, a study was conducted to determine the coping strategies used by families undergoing unemployment. Data were collected from a 95-item questionnaire (developed and tested at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln) that was mailed to 150 persons and/or their spouses who were currently unemployed or had been…

The goal of this practicum was to increase school-based interventions for children of divorce in an elementary school. The school psychologist implemented two faculty workshops with 13 faculty members attending the first and 7 attending the second workshop, and 6-week developmental groups for grades one and two, three and four, and five and six,…

This study examined whether the personality characteristics associated with sex-role self-concept and field dependency might be related to the coping behavior used with everyday hassles by university women. Female college students (N=40) completed the Rod and Frame test, a questionnaire to define subjects' dominant coping behavior, and the short…

A practicum on the control of burnout was developed for an inservice training program for special education professionals at Oxnard College (California). A review of current literature on the control of burnout was presented to an expert panel of special education faculty members who compiled a list of suitable topics for the practicum. Four major…

These workshop sessions were designed as a series to assist low income parents to deal more effectively with the primary sources of stress in their lives, with particular attention given to issues of parenting, self-care, and the reduction of isolation. Sessions were field-tested by highly qualified and experienced trainers, each of whom also had…

Research has shown that social support is psychologically beneficial to cancer patients, with support from families being especially important. A survey of the social support needs of 407 cancer patients and an in-depth interview study of 55 of those patients were conducted to examine issues concerning family support and cancer patients. Results…

There is a common perception that stresses tend to increase and accumulate with age, but there have been no definitive studies of differences in perceived life stress among different age groups. To study these differences, a quasi-random sample of 215 adults completed a 41 item life-stressor questionnaire, modified from the Paykel (1971) and…

Although research suggests that highly test anxious subjects are often motivated to escape from situations in which they are being evaluated, many persons in experimental situations do not see escape as an option. To examine the behavior of test anxious persons in aversive test situations, 60 college students, who were assessed as being high or…

Strategies that may be used by schools to prevent teacher burnout suggested in this paper are: (1) increasing staff input in decision making; (2) improving the work environment; (3) increasing the flexibility of the school structure; (4) providing opportunities for individual time-out; (5) increasing the sense of individual work significance; and…

This paper provides general guidelines for psychiatric mental health workers who work with children and adolescents in a residential treatment center. Twenty-four questions commonly asked by therapists in these situations are posed and answers are discussed for each question. Topics covered include why some patients appear perfectly normal, the…

Recent research suggests that circumstances surrounding the death of a loved one and the characteristics of the survivor may affect the grief reaction. To investigate the effect of race and type of death (sudden or anticipated) on the bereavement experience, a true-false questionnaire and the Grief Experience Inventory were administered to 74…

Retirement may have a negative effect on a person's health, and may even accelerate death. To determine the validity of this effect, time intervals between reported retirement date and death date were tabulated for retirees from a large petroleum corporation. A regression analyses was performed to control for physiological factors, job status, and…

The following pointers are made for agencies providing opportunities for risk-taking recreation: (1) there are individual differences and distinct motivations for various levels of risk expression; (2) actual (objective) risk should be finely calculated; (3) agencies need not necessarily provide actual high-risk activities to satisfy a desire for…

Programs to help individuals stop smoking have shown disappointing results since many quitters resume smoking within six months. A closer study of motives, personal styles and subjective cognitive schema that maintain smoking behavior might provide useful clues to helping individuals stop smoking permanently. Male patients in a VA Medical Center…