Research has already demonstrated the impact of positive and negative social interactions on one's self-efficacy. In particular, empowering or degrading messages from school teachers may have a significant long-term effect on students' self- efficacy. This is especially pertinent to students with ADHD symptoms, since they face increased challenges…

The goal of this study was to explore maternal stressors, needs, supports, perceptions, and self-identity as expressed by mothers of children with learning disabilities and/or attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in electronic messages posted on an Internet discussion board. The sample consisted of 316 mothers of children with learning…

Positive and negative mood have often been considered indicators of wellbeing, affecting behavior and adjustment. This study evaluated the personal and familial predictors of positive and negative mood among 1,024 Israeli students (children with learning disabilities [LD]: 302 boys, 198 girls; children without LD: 308 boys, 216 girls). They were…

Mothers (N=67) of moderately mentally retarded children perceived their family climate as not encouraging such intense relationships in expressiveness or as much personal growth in independence and recreation orientation as six mothers of nondisabled children. (Author/CL)

Five paraprofessionals (students of special education and psychology) worked with families of learning disabled (LD) children to promote better communication, help family members deal with each other, help the LD child express himself or herself, and act as mediator between the schools and parents. (CL)

To investigate stress among parents of mentally retarded children (aged 6-17) who demonstrate behavior disorders, 17 children who demonstrated disruptive behavior and 22 who did not, and their families, were assessed. Levels of children's pathology and aspects of family climate predicted the parental stress, pinpointing different variables for…

Four subtypes of family climate were identified through analysis of the Sense of Coherence Scale, Family Environment Scale, and Global Measure of Satisfaction from Family, using 77 mothers of disabled children in Israeli kibbutzim. The four subtypes emphasized personal growth orientation, conflict orientation, nonsupportive disorganized…

Compared perceptions of hyperactive children with those of a nonhyperactive matched control group on sense of coherence, life satisfaction, and perceptions of parental roles. Results indicated hyperactive children demonstrated lower levels of sense of coherence: their environment seemed to them to be less ordered, to be less manageable, and to…

Questioning of teachers and mothers of 84 Israeli students (ages 7-10) classified as either hyperactive, learning disabled, both, or neither, found higher distractibility and hostility among hyperactive children whose families were also reported as less supportive. Learning-disabled students were characterized by dependent interpersonal relations…

The social skills and family climate of 53 Israeli behaviorally disordered adolescents were compared to 56 nondisabled controls. Subjects viewed themselves as socially adequate, but viewed their skills as highly interrelated, whereas controls revealed a more differential concept. Subjects' teachers viewed them as less socially competent than…