Semistructured interviews with 14 high school students who had lost parents to death or divorce disclosed some important findings. School was deemed a place of security and safety. Students with divorced parents received more teacher support than those who had lost parents to death. Students basically wanted to be accepted and considered no…

Although at-risk children develop more problems than the general population, many become healthy, competent young adults. Resilient children usually possess social competence, problem-solving skills, autonomy, and a sense of purpose and future. Families, schools, and communities protecting children from adversity are characterized by caring and…

Evaluated newsletter intervention for recently divorced mothers. Assigned 92 women to treatment and control groups with pre- and posttests given regarding the extent to which newsletter was used and changes in mothers' coping skills and psychological well-being. Results indicated that, although newsletter was well received, it did not result in…

Learning from program failure hinges upon acknowledging that everybody fails and having the ability to cope. Coping techniques may include accepting blame, denying failure, analyzing failure, blaming others, talking and sharing, remaining objective, using stress management techniques, and taking another risk. (SK)

Describes writing process of student-authored books, I Am the Author Books (ITAB), designed to move children through therapeutic process by assigning them to be experts in their own problem areas. Describes process of creating ITAB by narrating actual book guided by one of the authors working with fourth grade girl whose preschool-age sibling had…

In 3 experiments, 123, 70, and 60 college students indicated that others might reduce effort in a situation where they expect failure as a strategy to protect their perceptions of ability, but that they themselves would not. Reduced effort when threatened by failure may not be intentional. (SLD)

This study of 78 mothers of mentally retarded children and adults found that respite care acts as a differential service that can enhance coping resources and is of most benefit to high self-esteem mothers of young developmentally disabled children, especially as a home-based model. (Author/JDD)

School administrators, like politicians, ministers, and police officers, inevitably draw critics because they hold highly visible jobs. Their Achilles heel is their children, who frequently suffer physical and emotional abuse, unreasonable scrutiny, and even anxiety attacks resulting from controversial decisions reverberating through the…

The key to coping successfully with a school tragedy rests with the principal's leadership and a well-developed crisis response plan. One middle school's response to a field trip tragedy involved several stages: keeping communication flowing, meeting with crisis-management team, informing faculty and students, providing counseling, helping with…

Today's students face more stressors than ever before with fewer resources to handle them. Curriculum designers and teachers can help counselors and parents alleviate psychological stressors for middle schoolers by offering creative coursework alternatives for exemplary behavior, special units on assorted topics, experiential communication…

The study, with 54 mothers and 54 fathers, found parents of children with disabilities reported more caregiving requirements and stress in all domains. Significant differences between mothers and fathers were found with mothers generally reporting more stress than fathers. Stress was negatively associated with amount of informal support for…

Identifies demands that may pose a dilemma for elementary school counselors, categorizing these demands by their source: school principals, teachers, and parents. Provides specific examples for various types of demands presented by each source. Guidelines are provided to help counselor cope with dilemmas at the workplace. (NB)

Describes the coping responses of three administrators who dealt with various school tragedies, namely, a senior's suicide, a classroom hostage situation involving a bomb explosion, and a tornado that collapsed a cafeteria wall. A sidebar outlines one district's crisis plan. (MLH)

Examined how male (n=44) and female (n=35) farmers reacted to stressors of farm crisis. Depressive symptomatology for men was correlated with lack of confidence in problem-solving ability and emotion-focused coping, whereas women's stress and depressive symptoms were most strongly correlated with lack of vocational identity and perception of…

A counselor describes feelings and attitudes of two young adults who see their marital problems as having begun with the birth of their severely disabled child. Counseling led to improved communication, better coping, and shared planning for the future. (DB)