This study examined environmental stress, family, and child variables that differentiate resilient children and adolescents from those with mental health problems following the death of a primary caregiver. The community-based sample included 179 bereaved children ages 8 to 16 years and their surviving caregivers who completed a test battery of…

The purpose of this study was to explore the risk, protective factors, and resiliency characteristics of students selected to participate in the Police, Public Educators and Peers Utilizing the Leadership Skills of Students At Risk/As Resources (PULSAR) program. The study is significant as it employed qualitative methods and a resiliency-focused…

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…

In this study 251 Australian university students, with a mean age of 26.46, indicated their preference for different types of reading material. A subset of 136 participants additionally reported how many hours per week they typically engage in recreational reading and non-recreational reading, indicated their motivation for recreational reading,…

Objectives: To prospectively examine demographic background, personality, perceived environment, and behavior as violence perpetration predictors in emerging adulthood among high-risk adolescents using problem-behavior theory as a conceptual perspective. Methods: Self-report questionnaires were administered 5 years apart to 676 participants.…

Skin color in relation to perceived attractiveness, personality ratings, and perceived life success of African Americans was investigated in a 2 (sex of participant) 2 (skin color of stimulus person) 2 (sex of stimulus person) design. Based on prior research, Skin Color Sex of Stimulus Person and Sex of Participant Skin Color interactions were…

Despite a substantial body of research suggesting genetic influence on educationally relevant behavioural traits, it is not clear how the nature-nurture question is perceived by teachers. In order to answer this question, we surveyed 667 UK primary school teachers, and for comparison also surveyed 1,340 parents about their perceptions of genetic…

Career counselors frequently encounter clients who are at high risk for career and life development difficulties. Research suggests there is a connection between resiliency and successful career development in high-risk clients. Many high-risk individuals have poor decision-making skills and lack motivation to succeed in life and career…

This article examines cultural influences on child temperament, including how broadly shared cultural values influence parents' socialization goals for their children. Nearly 40% of children in the United States are being raised in families that may espouse somewhat different socialization goals and may value different "ideal" traits…

There is a taken-for-granted acceptance that sports stars have responsibilities as "role models", yet the concept of a "role model" is unclear. The present study addressed the choice of "role models" amongst elite young British rugby league players, and the reasons for their choices. During the summer of 2002 under-13…

Background: Previous research has suggested that adult psychopathic behavior and child callous-unemotional (CU) traits are uniquely related to low emotional reactivity. Salivary cortisol is a promising biological measure of emotional reactivity that has been relatively overlooked in research on CU traits and antisocial behavior. The current study…

Approximately seven years after completing a photographic essay about the self, 44 adults were surveyed about their lives, current creative activities, and their work values. In accord with prediction, those who devised richer, more multidimensional and creative photo essays--the more individualistic--were engaged in more creative lifestyles as…

Counselors working with adults in transition can integrate the principles of character development with talk therapy, creating a framework for dialogue about the relationship between clients' character identity and their personal struggles and successes. Intervention strategies are proposed focusing on developing character identity for more…

In this study, the authors tried various methods to measure and conceptualize curiosity. A sample of 369 education students (103 men, 266 women) who were attending universities on the East Coast of the United States completed 5 paper-and-pencil curiosity measures in 1 of their classes. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the authors found that the…

Two important sources of information for social judgments are personality dispositions (traits) and social norms. Existing research suggests that young children do not find traits salient. To what extent might they rely on a different source of information? Two experiments explored how information about preferences (what someone likes) and rules…