The United States Army battalion that suffered the heaviest losses (189 soldiers killed) in the December, 1985 military charter airline crash was studied longitudinally over the 6-month period following the disaster. Extensive interview and observational data were collected at approximately monthly intervals. The purpose of the study was to…

The Dependable Strengths Articulation Process (DSAP) is a systematic intervention which enables individuals to recognize, articulate, communicate, and use their Dependable Strengths. Dependable Strengths are those personal strengths that are clearly established and owned by the individual. They can earn the Dependable Strengths designation by…

This study maintains that social support systems alleviate the physical and psychological effects of stress; however, the school administrator often has no peers in the same building and therefore stands apart from any of the built in support systems developed by the subculture within his school. Further, as discovered through interviews with 35…

This study was conducted to examine the influence of medical, psychological, and familial factors on the coping of pediatric cancer patients. Participants were 36 pediatric cancer patients and their families under active treatment at Roswell Park Memorial Institute, a comprehensive cancer research and treatment center in Buffalo, New York. The…

Women have been entering into religious leadership positions in larger numbers, although the field is still male-dominated. Stress and strain of both men and women in the field of religion has been experienced from the impact of such change. In this study, Roman Catholic nuns, who have not been seen by their own church as clerical workers or even…

Flight phobia is an area which has received little controlled investigation, even though between 10 and 20 percent of flight passengers report a fear of flying in airplanes. A study was conducted to examine the efectiveness of a minimal therapist guided form of stress inoculation training (SIT) for flight phobia. Flight phobic volunteers (N=28)…

This paper addresses the theory and data from differing disciplines regarding the generic aspects of nonnormative crises (those unrelated to ontogeny or stage of the family life cycle) in order to increase understanding of the underlying processes involved. The first part of the paper reviews the literature on the study of family crises,…

This paper recognizes murder as a major cause of mortality among adolescents and young adults and addresses the need for research examining the effects of murder on the victim's surviving family members. The information contained in this report was obtained from surveys completed by 237 members of the Parents of Murdered Children support group.…

Although thanatologists agree that grieving is essential in adjusting to the loss of a loved one, numerous questions about what facilitates the grieving process remain. To examine the relationship between funeral and post-funeral ritual and grief adjustment, 50 widowed persons (47 females, 3 males) were interviewed and completed two life…

American society is moving from an industrial age to an electronic, information age, and during the next decade both individuals and industry will have to cope with this transition. Effectiveness in dealing with the impact of technology will depend upon the ability of individuals to address four issues: (1) preparing for increased work…

Divorce can be viewed as a multi-faceted, interactive process which represents a dislocation in the life cycle of a family. A set of critical developmental tasks must be met and mastered for a family to cope with the transition through the divorce experience. The first of these developmental challenges facing the children of divorcing parents is…

Most studies of stress and coping processes among patients with serious illnesses have focused on acute illness states. Far less research has involved systematic examination of the types and frequency of illness-related stresses experienced by individuals living with chronic illness. To compare the nature and degree of illness-related stress posed…

The findings from a study of 42 administrators in a large metropolitan school district supported the hypothesis that the use of privacy regulation mechanisms is deliberate and dynamic. The researchers considered the age and sex of the administrators, the length of time they'd held their current jobs, their tendencies toward Type A or Type B…

Autobiographical sketches of four Australians living with physical handicaps are presented in this Australian early childhood resource booklet. Life experiences in school and out are reported by a blind man, a young woman who was brain damaged due to injuries in an automobile accident, a mother of a child with spina bifida, and a Doctor of…

The booklet provides the families of disabled persons, as well as those involved with such families, information to aid in coping more effectively with disability, and thereby minimizing its disruptive impact on the family. Following an introductory chapter is a chapter on inner factors (such as physical and emotional health of family members) and…