Relationships are examined between support types (emotional, instrumental, and nonintimate social participation), gender, sex role orientation, and stress level. Dependent variables include need, perceived availability, and satisfaction. Effects of sex role orientation on perceptions of social support appear circumscribed. (MCK)

The author examined the theory of rational beliefs as a moderator between life events and illness using a sample of 283 college students. Results suggested that rationality functioned to prevent stress and illness when there were few stressors, but did not reduce the effect of high levels of life events. (Author/MT)

Climbers' perceptions of risk are influenced by psychological and sociological phenomena that cause them to accept higher levels of real risk without awareness that risks have increased. Groups, for example, make riskier decisions than members would recommend individually. By recognizing risk affecting phenomena, climbers can avoid many…

Excerpts from law students' journals illustrate themes of their early experiences with law school, including idealism, high expectations, exhilaration, frustration, stress, conflict, boredom, alienation, and despair. (MSE)

Researchers are investigating how emotions affect the ways in which children think and interact with others. The Minnesota Preschool Project used observation measures for general types of positive, negative, and inappropriate emotional expression. "Social competence" was found to be highly correlated with the number of positive expressions minus…

The stress and illness paradigm is expanded by empirically testing social interest as a personality variable influencing somatic health. Examines stress using an instrument that measures daily hassles. Compares the usefulness of this measure to the life experiences methodology. Findings related to these variables are not consistent with previous…

Considers the acquisition of native language and foreign language as complementary aspects of one basic cognitive-affective schema, interacting and conflicting with each other in a variety of ways. In addition, an illumination of the psychological processes impinging on one can shed light, in a reciprocal way, on the other. (SL)

Discusses relevant considerations in counseling the unemployed, such as job search skills, assertiveness training, and relaxation training. Reviews studies on the social and psychological impact of unemployment. Discusses ways to help employed and unemployed career-plateaued workers regain a sense of personal investment, motivation, and…

Compared eight lower socioeconomic status abusive mothers with eight matched controls and eight middle class controls on three measures of emotional and somatic distress. Abusive mothers showed far greater depression and physical distress than controls and used more physical punishment. (BH)

Compared three groups of people (N=134) facing midcareer crisis using a structured interview. Suggested that Hopson and Adams' (1977) model can provide a framework for understanding emotional factors in voluntary career transitions. Janis and Mann's (1977) conflict model describes where in the decision-making process the groups chose alternative…

An extremely unpleasant film was shown to one group of students, while another group served as controls. Results suggest that, under conditions of stressful emotional arousal, learning outcomes are influenced predominantly by the combined effects of personality traits, motivational dynamics, and emotional states, which outweigh the influence of…

Described the development of the Mental Health Inventory, a measure of psychological distress and well-being, which was fielded in four large samples having different characteristics (N=5,089). Results provided strong psychometric support for a hierarchical model and scoring options ranging from five distinct constructs to reliance on one summary…

Two experiments were conducted to isolate the trait-anxiety-reducing effects of transcendental meditation (TM) from expectation of relief and the concomitant ritual of sitting twice daily. The results strongly support the conclusion that the crucial therapeutic component of TM is not the TM exercise. (Author)

Females who differed on a measure of parental identification discussed public and private areas of experience during dyadic interviews. Supporting the assumption that fathers are crucial to the expressive-role development of daughters, subjects who identified primarily with father were more personally disclosing overall and talked longer and…

A psychological consequence for children physically abused in their own homes is a pattern of behavior that perpetuates their role of scapegoat with peers and adults outside their homes. (JH)