Compared Russian and American early adolescents' self-reported stress, coping, and depression. Russians reported: (1) more everyday life stress; (2) being less likely to use externalizing coping and more likely to use social support and problem-solving coping; (3) being more depressed. However, analyses revealed that both groups coped with stress…

This article discusses the consequences of labeling individuals with high functioning autism and Asperger syndrome. It describes three ways people respond to a diagnosis: with energy and improved confidence, with a retreat into the disability and withdrawal from relationships, and with resentment for being singled out. (Contains three references.)…

Studies the effects of a 12-session educational group intervention program for people with generalized chronic musculoskeletal pain. Results reveal that participants came out significantly better than the control group with respect to pain and pain coping, taking care of themselves, life satisfaction, and health care consumption. (Contains 69…

A study of 20 Vermont secondary principals and ex-principals examined what induced some to stay and many others to leave the profession. There are four significant issues: role definition; shifting power and authority; work relationships; and respect, recognition, and rewards. Survivors manage to maintain perspective, detach themselves, and escape…

Examined the significance of three objectively defined characteristics of life events (positivity, negativity, and chronicity) for understanding the relationship between stressful life experiences and adolescent adjustment. Subjects were 176 adolescents and their mothers. Found that events independent of the adolescent's behavior had lower…

Data from 1981, 1983, and 1991 to 1993 permit an analysis of the changes in stress, social resources, coping, mental health, employment, English proficiency, family reunification, consumer practices, and traditional and Canadian customs over the first decade of resettlement for Southeast Asian refugees in Canada. (SLD)

College psychology students rated 18 books on children's fears according to their potential impact on children's socioemotional growth. During a training program, they coded the books based on story grammar and specific categories of children's fears. Students then rerated the stories. Interrater reliability increased significantly from initial to…

Adopted a structural perspective in examining life events in the context of an individual's life story. Ten men and 10 women at each of 3 age groups identified personally significant life events from their past and anticipated future. Women identified more life events and reported a younger age corresponding to their first event than men.…

Two studies tested the prediction that prior experience with a need increases empathy for those experiencing that need. In study 1, subjects (n=48) reported feelings of empathy after observing a same-sex peer endure mild electric shocks. In study 2, subjects (n=88) reported feelings of empathy after reading a transcript describing a same-sex…

Discusses influence of mothers' transitional behaviors on their infants' and toddlers' transitions to out-of-home care, emphasizing how caregivers can support mothers. Addresses three concerns mothers have in placing children in day care: the view that a mother's place is at home, the issue of trusting the caregiver, and the cost of high-quality…

This article presents data showing that two of the four forms of neuroplasticity, homologous area adaptation and map extension, are relevant to recovery from aphasia. It discusses factors related to neuroplastic activity during language recovery, including neurophysiological, subject, and environmental treatment variables. (Contains references.)…

In this article, a women with autism discusses the gifts, enrichments, and inner strength of her autistic personality. Her experiences growing up and being tormented by peers are described, along with her realization that being "weird" is better than being "normal". (Contains one reference.) (CR)

Reviews data collected by the Oxford Monitoring System for Attempted Suicide in teenagers between 1985-1995 to determine trends in acts of deliberate self-harm. Notes substantial increase in number of episodes of deliberate self-harm for both males and females. Discusses implications for hospital and counseling professionals and well as…

A study interviewed 28 Vietnamese refugee families in St. Louis (Missouri) to determine difficulties in adjusting to the United States and to assess the prevalence of child abuse among this population. Findings were inconsistent and suggested that common methods of identifying child abuse may not be valid among populations reluctant to admit to…

Parental stress was examined in socioeconomically matched mothers and fathers of children with Down syndrome (n=41) and typical children (n=58). Parents of children with Down syndrome perceived more caregiving difficulties, child-related stress (distractibility, demanding or unacceptable behavior), and parent-related stress (incompetence,…