Examines whether self-verifying feedback may lead to decreased depressive symptoms. Results, based on 138 married women and 258 dating women, showed full mediational effects in the married sample and partial effects in the dating sample. Findings suggest that partner self-verifying feedback may intensify the effect of self-esteem on depression.…

Describes the direct effect between the way school grounds are designed and managed, and the behavior and attitudes of the pupils. Discusses several countries' initiatives regarding school grounds, the "Learning through Landscape Trust" program of the United Kingdom, and findings from a conference regarding the importance of school grounds in…

The meaning of low scores on some Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) scales was examined by comparing therapists' descriptors of 669 mental health patients with high, normal, or low scores on each scale. Results show that for most scales both high and low scores provide potentially important information. (SLD)

This paper describes the development and empirical investigation of two new paper-and-pencil measures of elementary cognitive tasks (PP ECTs). In three empirical studies involving 333 adults, the PP ECTs proved reliable. They were substantially correlated with other measures of psychometric intelligence and they displayed convergent validity with…

Utilizes the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale to examine 230 high schoolers and juvenile offenders. Youth were categorized as nondelinquent, noninstitutionalized delinquents, and institutionalized delinquents. Results indicate a strong connection between negative self-concept and delinquency, suggesting that these two variables are tightly…

Students' drinking, gender stereotypes, and alcohol expectancies were examined in relation to three living arrangements: living either at home, on-campus, or independently. The results highlight the importance of gender stereotypes and living arrangements as influences on drinking behavior and sex differences within the student population. (EMK)

This study examined aggression and psychopathology in 70 persons with severe or profound mental retardation. Most aggressive episodes were directed toward other clients; aggression was positively correlated with self-injury, stereotypic behavior, and being ambulatory. Aggression was most consistently predicted by dependent personality and…

Administered untimed Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) to 173 African and 136 White college students in South Africa. In comparison with the 1993 U.S. normative sample, African students scored at the 14th percentile, and White students at the 61st percentile. Differences were greater on SPM items with the highest item total correlations,…

Evaluates the similarity of six statistical association measures in information retrieval by comparing the relationship and behavior they demonstrate in analyses of a test corpus. Highlights include comparisons of ranked term pairs and term clusters, multidimensional scaling, and the impact of term frequency on the association values by means of a…

Describes a study that examined perceptions of African American librarians regarding discriminatory practices and attitudes in the workplace and how they influence job satisfaction. The development of the questionnaire used is described, and results that show no significant correlation between job satisfaction and perceptions of racism and…

Compared coping styles in 178 delinquent adolescents versus 91 controls from a region of Northern Russia and tested for possible interactions with personality traits and parental rearing factors. Discusses the specific correlational patterns discovered between coping styles and both personality dimensions and parental styles. (SLD)

Computed person-fit indices derived from Item Response Theory and used them to identify misfitting examinees using responses to cognitive ability and personality tests from 180 and 198 college students. Results suggest that person misfit may be related to the motivational set of the examinees. (SLD)

Compares the scores of elementary education majors at a state university and those of the national population for the SAT and three sections of PRAXIS II: communication skills, general knowledge, and principles of learning and teaching. Relates these scores to the education majors' overall grade point average and grade in a Measurements and…

The present study examined the relationship between characteristics of neighborhoods (with set physical boundaries and relatively homogeneous populations) and personal well-being as mediated by sense of community and neighboring behavior. A randomly selected representative sample of 345 residents living in non-apartment dwellings in Winnipeg,…

This study discusses whether adolescent occasional smokers form a distinct subgroup in comparison with daily smokers, in terms of smoking motivation, confidence in ability to quit and social and cultural characteristics. In a sample of 2484 adolescents aged 16-19, 22 per cent (n = 552) were daily smokers and 20 per cent (n = 495) were occasional…