This study examined wellness profiles for 114 adolescents receiving counseling services at a local community mental health center. Participants were administered the Five Factor Wellness Inventory-Teenage Version and their responses were compared with a norm group (n = 1,142). Participants scored significantly lower on 13 of 23 variables assessed.…

Becoming a victim of verbal and social bullying in middle school can lead to illness, psychological stress, and maladjustment. The coping strategies that students utilize when they are bullied may influence the likelihood and severity of these negative effects. In this study, we examined the predictions made by students in two middle schools about…

This article proposes four key developmental stages and various underpinning factors pertaining to the practices of setting up and supporting group learning in the classroom setting. The discussion is mostly explained conceptually, with some compelling examples from the field. The authors subsequently advise that three elements of…

New Zealand men have poor health outcomes in a range of domains compared to women. They also report barriers (both personal and structural) in their information-seeking behaviors and processes to improve health and wellbeing. This paper reports a research project in progress that is investigating the information-seeking behaviors and processes of…

Focus group discussions with the youth living and working in the streets of Manila as well as interviews with key informants involved in intervention programs for these youth reveal several ways by which the youth may be protected from engaging in problem behaviors in and out of the streets. Findings reveal that conditions which promote the…

School-based mental health programs in America provide students with psychological services that have been found to increase students' academic and social success and overall well-being. Furthermore, teacher involvement in students' psychological well-being via awareness, psychoeducation, and/or rendering help and resources has been found to be a…

The purpose of this research was to explore the experiences of international students participating in the Cultural Connections Program at The University of Mississippi. A generic qualitative design was utilized using purposeful criterion sampling. The data was collected from two focus group interviews with 11 participants in focus group 1 and 10…

Many students, and the public in general, believe that drinking alcohol is a normal part of the college experience. Unfortunately, students' efforts to "be sociable" or "fit in" can escalate into substance use behavior that puts their health and well-being at risk: One in four full-time college students have experienced past year alcohol abuse or…

Research on the psychological help-seeking beliefs and behaviors of college students has provided evidence for differences among students based on demographic factors, with different variables being salient for different cultural groups. This mixed methods study focuses on understanding how common psychological help-seeking variables, including…

Based on data gathered through a household survey of 1,474 urban residents in Beijing, this study examines Chinese help-seeking behaviors in times of psychological distress and perceived barriers to seeking professional help. The results demonstrate that most respondents rely on informal means of seeking help whereas mental health and medical…

Despite the frequency of postpartum depression, little is known about the experiences of lesbian birth mothers and their female partners, or comothers. In this modest yet important exploratory investigation, 20 lesbian mothers completed a survey of self-reported postpartum depressive symptoms (PDS) and related risk factors. Results indicate that…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a behavioral skills training package on task engagement in six young adults with high-functioning ASD who worked in a regular job-training setting. Experimental sessions were implemented in a small-group training format in a therapy room using unknown tasks. Data were collected on participant's off-task…

Linking at-risk callers to ongoing mental health care is a key goal of crisis hotline interventions that has not often been addressed in evaluations of hotlines' effectiveness. We conducted telephone interviews with 376 suicidal and 278 nonsuicidal crisis callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline) to assess rates of mental…

Analysis of calls made to a northern Canadian Inuit crisis line in the territory of Nunavut between 1991 and 2001 revealed that the majority of users were adult females who called to discuss problems primarily related to relationships and loneliness/boredom. Younger callers tended to make prank calls. The volunteer staff used mostly empathetic…

This project studied the effect of individualized, voluntary learning contracts for 18 students who performed poorly in the first part of the semester. Contracts were hypothesized to increase commitment and motivation, and lead to changes in behaviors and course performance. Self-reported prioritization and learning-related behaviors (completion…