The Support Development Group is an approach which explores and develops a theory for the relationship between network characteristics and notions of psychosocial adaptation. The approach is based on the assumption that teaching people to view their social world in network terms can be helpful to them. The Support Development Workshop is presented…

This paper describes a conceptual model of staff burnout in terms of independent, intervening and dependent variables. Staff burnout is defined, symptoms are presented, and the epidemiological approach to burnout is descussed. Components of the proposed model, which groups determinants of mental health into three domains, consist of: (1)…

This study undertook to develop an improved conceptual system for explaining effective behavior; to build reliable measures of the components of that behavior; to develop and apply the measures internationally; and to validate the measures and concepts against objective criteria of achievement. An eight-nation team defined three sets of components…

Awareness and acknowledgement of stress-related overeating and loss of control tendencies may facilitate subsequent weight loss efforts, provided that alternative stress-coping resources are available to aid adjustment to major life changes. College students with weight concerns, particularly those susceptible to "mood" eating and binge…

Much of the research on bereavement and its consequences fails to account for social network factors. A sample of widows participated in a comprehensive national study to determine factors that enhanced or lessened their psychological well-being shortly after the death of their husbands, and over time. Two groups responded, those in the Crisis…

People exposed to stressful experiences should be less negatively affected if they receive higher rather than lower levels of social support. This proposition was tested by investigating the "stress buffering" role of social support in a way that allowed comparison between conceptually different measures related to the construct of…

Hospice care differs from traditional medical care in that it aims to optimize the quality of the patient's remaining life rather than to maximize its duration. The Hayward Hospice project, begun in November of 1977 as a pilot project to evaluate whether hospice quality care could be provided within manageable costs and thus be included as a…

Traditional approaches to family stress theory have underscored the importance of the family as a reactor to stress, as a manager of resources within the family system. In contrast, the active process of employing coping strategies within the family and in transactions with the community have received limited consideration in both research and…

The training of teachers in the use of six "classroom management schedules" designed to match the behavioral characteristics of various types of students is described. Treatment schedules are detailed, and results of their application by classroom teachers in eight case studies are discussed. (JMF)

A pilot support group established at Boston City Hospital deals with the personal and professional issues arising from stresses of internship. This report describes the functioning of this group, including a statement of goals, content of weekly meetings, and evaluation by group members. (Author/LBH)

Discusses the interrelated problems of burnout and substance abuse facing professionals in admissions. Contributing conditions include their tremendous responsibilities, their onerous schedules, dual responsibilities of recruitment and administration, absence from home, and then having to handle piled-up work. Advocates continuing education,…

Medical residency programs that offer student support groups and have taken other steps in support of residents' adjustment are reviewed. Options for program development that are flexible and convenient and offer psychological and social support are suggested for programs not already offering them. (MSE)

Since no school district is immune to death, the concepts of death and dying, stress management, and suicide should be worked into the curriculum beginning in the fourth grade. Advice is given concerning planning for potential tragedy, responding to a student's or staff member's death, and establishing memorials. Two figures cite teenage suicide…

Outlines a complex research agenda for understanding the contributions of informal social support to the quality of later life. Suggests a conceptual model for investigating informal support networks and well-being for the elderly and offers suggestions for operationalizing the model. (NRB)

Responds to the critical evaluation of Coyne and Anderson in the previous article, of "Psychosomatic Families: Anorexia Nervosa in Context" (Minuchin, Rosman, and Baker). Asserts that indeed certain very specifically defined diabetic patients' physiological disturbance serves a function in their families, an assertion strongly supported by…