Many have observed the increasing severity of mental distress among college students over the past several decades. Very little, however, has been said about what has contributed to this increase. The purpose of this opinion piece is to highlight a trend that the author has witnessed as director of a university counseling center and social justice…

This article reports on a study that examined the subset of qualitative cases in the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education where students experienced substantial self-authorship shifts over the first three college years (N = 30 students, 90 narratives). Engagement in experiences and roles demanding more sophisticated, internal meaning…

Factor analyses of semantic differentials completed by 445 college students produced two factors for self concept and three factors for ideal self concept, with no simple correspondence in scale loadings. These results raised doubts about computing differences between self and ideal self concepts. (Author/DHK)

College students and working youth between the ages of 18 and 21 were approached in public places and asked to volunteer for an interview. A total of 57 participants responded to a semistructured Ego Identity Status Interview and an Ego Identity Incomplete Sentence Blank. (JMB)

The personality constructs of self-esteem, self-reinforcement, and locus of control were found to be related in a sample of college students. (ST)

A total of 141 staff at residential summer camps and 31 university students attending summer school completed personality measures at the beginning of their summer experiences and 8 weeks later. No significant differences were found between groups, although camp staff shifted somewhat toward androgyny and internal locus of control. (SV)

Reports study of possible determinants of sibling deidentification, or judgments of being different from one's sibling. Subjects were 383 university students from two-, and three-child families. (MS)

Hypothesized that women who were more profeminist in their attitudes toward women's roles would score significantly higher on a measure of identity achievement than women whose attitudes were more traditional. Measures were administered to a random sample of 300 female college students. Results strongly supported the hypothesis. (Author)

In 2 studies (125 college students and 51 adults), 2 forms of growth goals (exploratory and intrinsic) were compared with 2 forms of personality development (social-cognitive maturity and social-emotional well-being). Participants whose narratives of major life goals emphasized conceptual exploration were especially likely to have high levels of…

Provides empirical evidence supporting Erikson's postulation of two ego identity status groups (identity achievement and identity diffusion). Shows that persons high in ego identity development demonstrate higher levels of intrapersonal and interpersonal psychological adjustment than persons low in ego identity. (RL)

Examined whether performance on scales reflecting problem-solving dimensions of personality could predict ego-strength in college students (n=348). Findings did not support statistically significant relationship between all problem-solving scales and ego-strength. Individually, evidence supported hypothesis that ego-strength can be predicted from…

Data from a sample of 57 female preservice teachers indicated that the experience of some preservice teachers can be characterized by the passive image of the traditional, functionalist perspective, while the experience of other preservice teachers fits the active image of the phenomenological perspective. (Author/RC)

Investigated the integration of social selves during late adolescence. Findings indicated that the social selves of fourth-year college students were more related conceptually and were more differentiated than the social selves of first-year students. Difference suggested that hierarchical classification procedures could be used to address…

The relation of moral reasoning to moral behavior has been the subject of a substantial number of empirical studies; it may be more productive to employ a configuration of characteristics to predict moral behavior. To investigate the relation of moral reasoning and personality variables to moral behavior, 74 undergraduates, 30 males and 44…

A study examined the relationship between the personality constructs of self-concept and communication apprehension and the use of self-confrontation (self-viewing of videotaped speeches) as a potential self-concept enhancement strategy. The question of whether the constructs of self-concept and communication apprehension overlap was investigated…