Five independent studies were used to test the hypothesis that a reliable 2-factor structure underlies the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ) items and that the 2 scales show distinct patterns of association with personality and bullying behavior measures. Study 1 (N = 1,447) gave evidence of a clear 2-factor structure of RPQ items…

Background: Psychopathy is characterised by profound deficits in the human tendency to feel and care about what other people feel, often known as "affective empathy". On the other hand, the psychopath often has intact "cognitive" empathy skills, that is, he is able to describe what and why other people feel, even if he does not share or care about…

Concerns about social rejection can be disruptive in an academic context. We set out to train a positive cognitive habit that would buffer against social and performance threat thereby making students less vulnerable and more resilient to rejection. Participants from adult education centers (n=150) were first trained to inhibit rejection using a…

During the past 2 decades the provision of basic education courses in public 4-year universities has been scrutinized and debated by state officials, higher education executives, educators and the public. This cross-sectional study examined academic and psychosocial characteristics of entering fall 2008 students in relation to their persistence at…

Research suggests that numerous factors affect community college attendance. Therefore, when students choose to attend community college, those factors often are key aspects of their decisions. Nonetheless, limited information exists that identifies which particular traits affect community college choice and how the background characteristics of…

Approximately 2.6 million students are diagnosed with a learning disability (LD) in the United States. There are many negative psychological and psychosocial consequences that can be attributed to having a LD, including a decrease in self- esteem. Low self-esteem has been shown to be liked to depression, suicidal ideation, and anxiety. Early…

Providing effective administrative leadership that has a positive impact on student achievement often is problematic for school principals. Research suggests that collaboration and shared decision making are functions of effective leadership, and according to the premises of effective school instructional leadership, leadership should change with…

Have you ever wondered what character traits you need in order to be an effective teacher? This article discusses the findings from a 15-year research study of what in-service and preservice teachers have determined are the 12 characteristics of an effective teacher. Over his collegiate teaching career, the researcher has engaged college students…

This study examines whether disagreeable youth are distinct from aggressive youth, victimized youth, and withdrawn youth. Young adolescents (120 girls and 104 boys, M = 13.59 years old) completed personality and adjustment inventories. Aggression, withdrawal, and victimization scores were derived from peer nominations (N = 807). Cluster analyses…

Increasingly, higher education institutions are realising that higher education could be regarded as a business-like service industry and they are beginning to focus more on meeting or even exceeding the needs of their students. Recent research findings suggest that the factors that create student satisfaction with teaching ("teaching…

Many schools attempt to implement multiple programs to promote positive young adolescent development; however, these programs are often fragmented and lack coordination. The authors describe an initiative designed to help schools coordinate their social-emotional and character development (SECD) efforts to improve school climate and help students…

United States National Guard and Reserve units--including their college student members--increasingly are deployed, resulting in students' abrupt withdrawals from college and subsequent re-enrollments after their return. This study explored student veterans' transitions from deployment back to their prior status as full-time college students at…

Personality traits of coeducational students have been shown to correlate with early withdrawal intention from college (Lounsbury, Saudargas, & Gibson, 2004). The current study investigated the relationship between the Big Five personality traits as well as seven narrow personality traits in relation to withdrawal intention among 103 female…

The phenomenon of spiritual bypass has received limited attention in the transpersonal psychology and counseling literature and has not been subjected to empirical inquiry. This study examines the phenomenon of spiritual bypass by considering how spirituality, mindfulness, alexithymia (emotional restrictiveness), and narcissism work together to…

The coping styles of four ethnic groups of older adults in response to negative life events were analyzed in a population-based study of 1118 residents of Brooklyn, New York. Using a molecular approach, data regarding the context of events and the corresponding coping responses was obtained. Open-ended semi-structured interviews allowed…