Middle graders today are under more stress than in the past and are less prepared to cope because they have not been given the time and guidance needed to acquire a healthy sense of self-esteem and self-identity, which is the best defense against stress. Counseling approaches and strategies to combat stress are given. (Author/BL)

A study of the 18 "most effective" high schools in California uses analysis of questionnaires completed by administrators of the schools to identify eight recurring general factors of effectiveness. (DCS)

Stress among accounting educators was investigated and relationships between stress levels and work satisfaction levels, personality traits, and stress-coping techniques were examined. The most important personality charcteristics of higher stress individuals were impatience, assertiveness, workaholism, and idealism. (Author/MLW)

Assessed clinically test anxious students (N=14) who had been administered a treatment program consisting of relaxation skill training, cognitive restructuring and systematic desensitization. Results indicated a maintenance of decreased levels of test anxiety and continued reductions in trait anxiety and irrationality at a 12-month follow-up. (LLL)

Describes a therapy group for cancer patients, conducted by cotherapists in an oncology waiting room. Group members provided mutual support and shared concerns and coping methods. Medical staff members became more involved and were more able to address the affective needs of the patients and their families. (JAC)

Reviews research on the vulnerability of the elderly to consumer fraud. Patterns of consumption, situational characteristics, education and product knowledge, psychological losses, social isolation, and psychosocial transitions influence the elderly's vulnerability and ability to cope with consumer abuse. Higher educational attainment and greater…

Creating a classroom of attentive learners takes more than swift discipline. "Difficult Behavior" can help inspire positive behavioral change and healthy, productive development. Following Acknowledgments, About the Author and Introduction, the book is divided into five sections. Part I, The Role of Discipline, includes: (1) Discipline in…

Trustees find themselves in the middle of an ongoing battle over accountability and autonomy. Government officials accuse the academy of being more interested in autonomy than accountability--more interested in demanding financial support than in serving public priorities. Business leaders question the responsiveness of colleges and universities…

This study investigates 311 first-year students' psychological and behavior adaptation to college and the mediate role of coping strategies and social support. The investigates reveal that: (1) first-year students who are from countryside, live in poor families, speak in dialects or major in science and engineering have poorer adaptation to…

Noting that the death of a loved one brings grief to children as well as adults, this Digest draws on research to examine how children respond to death and the role of parents and teachers in helping children cope with loss. The Digest delineates children's "tasks" during mourning that are essential to their adjustment to loss, such as…

In an effort to recognize, define, and measure the capacity of the individual to endure and develop in the context of adverse conditions and to recognize the individual's ability to recover from adversity, the behavioral sciences have introduced and advanced the construct of resilience. Resilience has become a popular construct encompassing many…

Conditions in the U.S. have created a situation where some middle aged white males are experiencing a stalled career; they perceive they have plateaued in career progression while at the same time women and minority peers continue advancing. Based on phenomenological research methods, individuals who have experienced the non-event work transition…

This essay proposes that stress has been misused in traditional adventure education and presents a new model of risk taking based on the literature on stress and feminist perspectives in adventure education. Proponents of the traditional adventure perspective state that the intentional use of stress is central to the change process in wilderness…

This book presents 30 first-person accounts by teenagers that tell how they overcame major life obstacles. Many aren't the everyday problems most kids encounter, which makes their stories especially compelling-and their successes especially inspiring. The young writers wrote their stories to help teenagers with similar problems and stresses. The…

This book examines the divorce experience firsthand-through the eyes and voices of children and adult children of divorce. People from various ages, ethnic groups, and backgrounds share artwork, essays, and their personal stories of divorce. The book contains practical suggestions for coping with the challenges of double-households, long-distance…