Data from portable heart-rate monitors and work diaries were used to relate Mintzberg's "nature of managerial work" to physiological stress in small number of working principals over three complete work days. Principals found to be working under extreme stress for long hours, and certain activities were more stressful than others.…

Wong has argued that the role of the teacher/researcher is full of conflict in that the pull of either students or research may affect commitment to the other. It is argued that research is not inherently conflictual, but that one teacher/researcher's tension is another's intention. (SLD)

Discriminant analysis significantly differentiated between 120 older adults needing and seeking mental health services and 120 older adults not needing services. Prior to having sought help, help seekers demonstrated poorer psychological well-being, more physical health problems, higher levels of unpleasant stressful events, and greater deficits…

Notes that internal and external threats could squeeze ranch and farm families out of business. Offers six-step Consensus Management Model that combines strategic planning with psychoeducation/family therapy. Describes pilot test with intergenerational ranch family that indicated improvements in family functioning, including reduced stress and…

Comparison of 72 middle and 72 low socioeconomic status (SES) families of infants with developmental disabilities, on measures of maternal stress and infant development, found that regression analyses predicted 81% of the variance in later developmental level from initial Bayley Mental Age, initial Mental Development Index, SES, initial maternal…

Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) profiles of 91 adult female Caucasians were examined to see if significant differences existed between those who reported abuse in childhood or adolescence and those who did not. Significant differences were obtained on several PAI scales and subscales. (SLD)

Presents some guidelines for art activities that teachers can use to help their students work through their feelings following a natural disaster. Includes some personal observations of art expressions created after a tornado struck. Explains how art produced by students in response to catastrophe seemed to fall into three major categories:…

Data from three Nebraska surveys containing a large panel component were used to examine rural-urban differences in mental health during the farm crisis of the 1980s. Prevalence of psychological symptoms was related both to community context and to level of economic stress. Contains 67 references. (Author/SV)

Coping and correlates of psychological distress of 174 Chinese parents of children with Down's syndrome, language delays, or no disabilities were compared. Down's syndrome parents more frequently used avoidance coping style. No differences were observed between Down's syndrome and language delay parents on psychological distress, optimism,…

A measure of quality of life called PALS was developed, focusing exclusively upon subjective psychological dimensions. The measure contains 4 scales (Perceived stress, Affect, Loneliness, and Satisfaction) and was normed with 100 individuals with mental retardation residing at a large facility. Potential uses and limitations of PALS are discussed.…

Outlines a family stress and coping model that can be used to guide counseling interventions. Families are considered as to where they fall along a variety of continua; e.g., how cohesive the family is, and according to the coping and problem solving each family employs. (LKS)

Examined children's feelings about, and emotional reaction to, violent and distressful television programs. Suggests that coping with distressing experiences, in this case with television, involved making sense of them. Children used complex knowledge to do this, related to the media and to their own experience. When this processing led to…

Assessed ways attachment styles affect young adults' reactions to stressors associated with four-month combat training. Results show that, compared with secure trainees, ambivalent trainees reported more emotion-focused coping, appraised the training in more threatening terms, and considered themselves less capable of coping with the training.…

Proposes an accepting attitude toward all crying in young children. Notes that crying has been found to be an important and beneficial physiological process that helps children cope with stress. (BB)

Special education teachers often feel frustrated because of paperwork overload, unrealistic expectations for pupil progress, perceived lack of success as teachers, ongoing contact with difficult students, and isolation from colleagues. Principals can help these teachers by streamlining paperwork, placing special education classes in the school…