Presents a conceptual framework for understanding individual and group differences. Identifies biological, societal, and intrapsychic origins of difference. Discusses valuation of differences as a source of social status and power, and the psychological uses of differences by individuals. Suggests applications of the model in social work practice…

Explores quantitative and qualitative dimensions of rurality in pursuit of a definition. Distinguishes between rural education and education in rural areas. Discusses rural-urban differences in values and lifestyle. Advocates defining rurality from the rural resident's perspective, emphasizing diversity of social, cultural, and occupational…

Discusses (1) the place of Native American literature in the literary canon; (2) who determines Indian identity and images, and the emerging inter-American indigenous identity; and (3) children's literature as a means of portraying true Indian culture and identity, thereby improving self-esteem and school success of Indian children. (SV)

Interviews with 182 American Indians in Oklahoma examined the extent to which they were communicatively engaged within and outside the Indian community and the relationship between these two areas of communication and psychological and functional integration into mainstream society. Intraethnic and interethnic communication were positively…

A religion professor reflects on her approach and experiences in teaching an upper-level course on religion and sexual diversity, looking at conditions in the classroom that create the tolerance needed for discussion, the nature of subsequent classroom discussions of the relationship between body and spirit and about celibacy, and student…

Examines the adaptive strategies of institutionally marginalized students in an alternative high school setting. Uses Snow and Anderson's (1987) model of "identity work" to analyze how students symbolically distance themselves from features of their "home" school and embrace their alternative school. Presents findings and…

Describes the development of a pilot preventive mental-health intervention, the Personal and Racial/Ethnic Identity Development and Enhancement (PRIDE) program, designed to provide components of parenting that are necessary for promoting positive self-image in ethnically marginalized adolescents and that are typically lacking in the group…

A study of seven adults with developmental disabilities found that they commonly spent time in places designated for people with disabilities versus the general public, in public versus private places, and in places characterized by business transactions versus social interactions. Strategies for increasing opportunities for positive community…

Examines the ways Vietnamese Americans form ethnic identity through cultural ideology in interviews with 18 young-adult second-generation Vietnamese Americans. Findings reveal the fluid and complex interplay of culture and identity. These students used cultural ideology to form and recapture ethnic identity. Contains 71 endnotes. (SLD)

A study examined the influence of a structured curricular intervention on the personal and social identity development of college students, using a revised pretest/posttest version of the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status-2. Results supported faculty's role in developing students' capabilities beyond the intellectual domain.…

People experience mental incongruity when there is a discrepancy between a standard and their own experience of a situation or behavior. The influence of adolescents' standards and mental incongruity on the development of their identity (N=706) was studied in both work and relational domains using structural equation models. (Author/EMK)

Reviews conceptual background on atypical patterns of early attachments, including basic theoretical terms and constructs of attachment theory; the nature and function of the original classification system; notions of "exceptional cases" or "atypical patterns"; and implications of atypicality for both a classification system of attachment behavior…

Studied development of identity as street children in Montevideo, Uruguay. Found that children without income-generating activity lack self-definition as street children but recognize the street as a place of apprenticeship, knowing they can return to institutions or to parents. Working children view the street as a workplace and meeting place,…

Use of a "writerly" text, one that encouraged students to intersperse their own responses, assisted education students in negotiating the identities they brought to teaching and those they developed during teacher education. The importance of providing opportunities to examine cultural myths about teaching in the teacher education curriculum is…

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…