This edited collection provides a state-of-the art overview of research on willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second and foreign language. In particular, it includes innovative studies seeking to demonstrate the ways in which WTC can be examined within the framework of complex dynamic systems, how the construct is related to self-assessment,…

Among the many life transitions that individuals must master throughout their lives, the transition to adulthood ranks very high in terms of importance, complexity and uniqueness. It involves the completion of education, and the assumption of new social roles and responsibilities, at a time when previous institutional structures that guided…

Research indicates that mental health social workers risk being confronted with fatal and nonfatal client suicidal behaviors during professional practice. Although reactions to client suicidal behavior have been documented, there is little empirical evidence about coping behaviors and available supports following client suicidal behavior. This…

One hundred twenty mothers of children with autism, with mental retardation, or typically developing were assessed for effects of social support and hardiness on level of stress. Results indicated significant group differences in ratings of depression, anxiety, somatic complaints and burnout. Both hardiness and social support were predictive of…

Black women have been described as being in "double jeopardy" due to the combined effects of racism and sexism. To explore the multiple effects of institutional discrimination and prejudice based on race and/or sex, the experiences of 52 highly successful older black women were examined, using tapes from the Black Women Oral History…

Some research has suggested that positive life events may interact with negative life events during periods of high stress to buffer the effects of negative events. The relationships among positive and negative life events and positive and negative psychological status were examined in an investigation of the direct and mediating effects of…

Distress in response to brief maternal separations was examined in a sample of 93 predominantly home-reared infants using the Ainsworth strange situation paradigm. At 18 months, the age when separation protests begin to decline, securely attached infants are better able than anxiously attached infants to tolerate maternal separations. (Author/RH)

Research on interpersonal influence within counseling psychology has focused primarily on the characteristics of the counselor. There is a need to study the role of client characteristics in resistance or noncompliance. A review of the literature indicates that most client characteristics associated with noncompliance in therapy can be narrowed…

Freshmen college students often experience a dramatic change in activities, values, and personal demands compared to home and previous schooling. To investigate the relationship between psychological maladjustment and stressful life events, locus of control, and social support networks, 62 college freshmen in their first semester of school…

Narrative features of the life stories of child abuse survivors (n=23) and nonvictimized college student respondents (n=23) were compared. Narratives of survivors differed from the comparison group in both relative emphasis on the past versus present/future and on others rather than self. An emphasis on others by child abuse survivors emerged as…

While the relationship between stressful life events, social support, and health outcomes has received much attention, efforts to quantify social support and directly examine specific ameliorative effects have resulted in mixed findings. Direct and mediational effects of two psychometrically validated measures of perceived and received social…

Research on helping behavior has focused on help to elderly individuals rather than help by elderly individuals. To investigate the determinants and consequences of helping by older adults, 117 adults, from five Detroit senior citizen residences, with a mean age of 75.6 (67 percent female) completed a personal/demographic questionnaire, including…