In order to assist trainees in preparing for brief family therapy interventions, the following domains are discussed: knowledge of brief treatment research, clear decision-rules for problem assessment and task intervention, skill-building in service delivery, and practice in adapting to idiosyncratic responses from the client family system. (JPS)

Examined aggressive and non-aggressive young adolescents' attributions of intent in hypothetical teacher-student interactions. Found that when teachers' intentions were ambiguous, aggressive adolescents were more likely than non-aggressive adolescents to attribute hostile intentions to teachers, were more likely to blame teachers for the outcome,…

Argues that little research has been directed toward exploring cognitive variables that characterize students with poor school attendance. Presents the findings of a pilot study that compared a small sample of truants and non-truants on locus of control and attributional style. Finds that attributional style is a significant factor in explaining…

This study compared the strength of competing causal models in explaining the relationship between perceived support, enacted support, and social anxiety in adolescents. The social causation hypothesis postulates that social support causes social anxiety, whereas the social selection hypothesis postulates that social anxiety causes social support.…

Educational research places emphasis on the fact that individuals who have experienced repeated failures may develop an attribution profile characterized by a bias towards primarily external causes. The aim of this study is to compare the attribution style of adolescents with Down's syndrome with that of normal children and adolescents matched for…

A painstaking investigative report by the Washington Post describes pre-massacre Columbine as filled with social vinegar. The high school was dominated by a "cult of the athlete." In this distorted environment, a coterie of favored jocks, who wore white hats to set themselves apart, consistently bullied, hazed, and sexually harassed their…

Wage equations using cross-sectional data typically find an earnings premium in excess of 10 percent for married men. One leading hypothesis for the premium is that marriage facilitates specialization that enables married men to become more productive than single men. Another is that the premium is attributable to an unobserved fixed effect,…

The aim of this article was fourfold: first, to determine whether there are significant differences between students with (N=173) and without learning disabilities (LD; N=172) in the dimensions of self-concept, causal attributions, and academic goals. Second, to determine whether students with LD present a uniform attributional profile or whether…

In group-allocation studies for comparing behavioral, social, or educational interventions, subjects in the same group necessarily receive the same treatment, whereby a group and/or group-dynamic effect can confound the treatment effect. General counterfactual outcomes that depend on group characteristics, group membership, and treatment are…

Theoretically, prospective memory retrieval can be accomplished either by controlled monitoring of the environment for a target event or by a more reflexive process that spontaneously responds to the presence of a target event. These views were evaluated in Experiments 1-4 by examining whether performing a prospective memory task produced costs on…

The Criminal Attribution Inventory (CRAI), drawing upon attribution theory and criminally-related domains, measures criminal responsibility and blame. The CRAI's six scales measure criminal responsibility (Psychopathology, Personality), external criminal blame (Victim, Alcohol, Society) and the attribution of crime to random factors (Random). The…

This study examined relationships among components of attributional style and trait anxiety for 428 English-speaking boys and girls, grades 4-6, from primary public schools in New South Wales, Australia. Students completed general measures of attributional style and trait anxiety. Results showed a small but significant relationship between…

Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent psychiatric problems in children and adolescents. The present article summarizes the main evidence that has accumulated on the pathogenesis of childhood anxiety disorders during the past two decades. Various risk and vulnerability factors (e.g., genetics, behavioral inhibition, disgust sensitivity,…

The impact of diatheses, stress, and their interaction on depressed mood was evaluated to determine the appropriateness of cognitive diathesis-stress models of depression for adults with mental retardation. We also tested hopelessness as a mediator in the prediction of depressed mood to evaluate the hopelessness theory of depression. Seventy-three…

In this review, we scope the role of interpersonal relationships in students' academic motivation, engagement, and achievement. We argue that achievement motivation theory, current issues, and educational practice can be conceptualized in relational terms. Influential theorizing, including attribution theory, expectancy-value theory, goal theory,…