Social identity, the pursuit of possible selves, and psychological adjustment: Comment on Cameron (1999).

This article comments on J. E. Cameron's (1999) (see record 1999-03790-001) empirical examination of the relationship between aspects of social identity, the notion of possible selves, and the psychological adjustment of college students. The theoretical implications of Cameron's study, the application of the findings to real-world phenomena, and recommendations for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Racial identity, academic achievement, and the psychological well-being of economically disadvantaged adolescents.

The relation between racial identity and personal psychological functioning was examined within the framework of the "racelessness" construct proposed by Fordham and Ogbu (S. Fordham, 1988; S. Fordham & J. U. Ogbu, 1986). These researchers have proposed that academically successful African American students achieve their success by adopting behaviors and attitudes that distance them from their culture of origin, resulting in increased feelings of depression, anxiety, and identity confusion. Studies 1 and 2 describe the development of the Racelessness Scale (RS) designed to test these assumptions. Study 2 also investigated Race?×?Achievement level differences in students' responses to the RS. In Study 3, correlations between the RS and measures of depression, self-efficacy, anxiety, alienation, and collective self-esteem were assessed. The pattern of results in Study 2 suggest that the behaviors and attitudes described by Fordham and Ogbu are common to high-achieving adolescents and not specific to African Americans. However, racial differences in the pattern of associations between the RS and measures of depression suggest that racelessness may have important psychological consequences for African American adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Academic motivation in university: The role of basic psychological needs and identity formation.

This study was an investigation of the relationship between psychological need fulfillment, psychosocial development, and academic motivation in university students. Two models were tested. The 1st model, derived from developmental theories, proposed that basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness would predict identity and intimacy achievement, which would, in turn, predict academic intrinsic motivation. A 2nd model, based on self-determination theory, proposed that identity and intimacy would predict academic motivation and that this relationship would be mediated by basic psychological needs. Results from path analyses supported the model derived from self-determination theory over the model derived from developmental theories. Competence and identity were found to be the 2 constructs most strongly associated with academic motivation. These findings support the view that identity formation plays a critical role in facilitating academic motivation in university. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self and possible selves during the transition to fatherhood.

In this short-term longitudinal study, the social psychological concept of possible selves was integrated with constructs of adult development to examine differences in aspects of self and parenting among fathers-to-be and fathers of infants. Men's actual and possible conceptions of self were measured during their wives' last trimester of pregnancy and again when their infants were about 1 year old. Data are reported on 56 first-time fathers who completed pre- and postnatal assessments; main analyses focused on a subset of 32 men who completed a postnatal measure of the self. Men's ages ranged from 20 to 47 years (M?=?30.61, SD?=?6.57); most were White (83.5%) and middle class. Data were collected through interviews and questionnaires. Results indicate that how men view themselves before and after the birth of their 1st child is relevant for understanding their motivation for role change, their own psychological well-being, and their involvement with their infant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The comparison of White racial identity attitudes among faculty and students: Implications for professional psychologists.

Research on the influence of racial differences in multicultural therapeutic relationships has shown racial identity attitudes to be a critical factor in determining therapeutic relationship quality and therapeutic outcomes, such as premature termination (J. E. Helms, 1990). The Racial Identity Interaction Model was proposed to explain cross-cultural relationships in social dyads and groups where power differentials exist (Helms, 1990). Results are combined from 2 previously published studies to determine whether differences in racial identity exist in the faculty–student relationship. White racial identity attitudes of faculty and students were examined, and differences were obtained. Gender differences in attitude were also found. Implications for providing psychological services in an environment with increasing racial tensions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distinctive late-life challenges: Implications for coping and well-being.

Two distinctive late-life challenges, community relocation and caring for an adult child with mental retardation, were studied to determine their influence on coping and well-being. These challenges differ in terms of their normativeness, duration, and whether they were expected. Data from 2 ongoing longitudinal studies (N?=?449) were used to test the hypotheses that women experiencing residential relocation would report higher well-being and use problem-focused coping more frequently than women with long-term caregiving responsibilities. As predicted, more positive changes in well-being across time were reported by the relocation sample, which also showed more problem-focused coping. Women in the caregiving sample, however, showed stronger relationships between coping and well-being, underscoring possible gains in expertise that accompany challenges of lengthy duration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-schemas, possible selves, and competent performance.

College students were classified as either schematic for being a good problem solver (i.e., they believed they were very good in this area, and this ability was very important to their self-evaluation) or aschematic for this ability (i.e., they believed they had moderate ability in this area, and this ability was of moderate to low importance to their self-evaluation). In Study 1, schematic and aschematic Ss performed equally well in an initial problem-solving test; however, aschematic Ss did not enjoy the task and had negative possible selves related to logical ability active in working memory. In Study 2, aschematic Ss maintained competent performance on a problem-solving test only when given failure feedback on an earlier test. The results point to the importance of the self-concept in the development and maintenance of competence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Health-related possible selves in young and middle adulthood.

The construct of possible selves was used to examine when, in the adult life span, health-related goals become dominant. It was predicted that by middle age most adults would have health-related possible selves and that the strength of self-regulatory variables associated with health-related possible selves would be related to reported health behaviors. Data collected from 171 young (aged 24–39 yrs) and middle-aged (aged 40–59 yrs) adults showed that health-related possible selves become predominant in midlife. In addition, both young and middle-aged adults reported more feared than hoped-for selves in the realm of health. Perceived self-efficacy and number of goal-oriented activities to avoid feared health-relevant selves were significant predictors of health behaviors. Results are discussed in relation to theoretical perspectives on self and health processes over the life span. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comprehensive provision of psychological services to students on a university campus.

A conceptual framework for a total delivery system of psychological services on a University Campus was proposed. In relation to the implementation of the Kirk Committee Report on "Standards for University Counseling Services," the objectives of intervention by provision of service were described as a) achievement by the student of a developmentally more mature level of homeostatic relationship with his environment or b) returning the student to autonomous functioning. Some of the issues involved in implementing such a system were considered, and the provision of trained staff capable of operating such a system discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Paid employment and women's psychological well-being.

Examines research by psychologists, psychiatrists, and sociologists within a 3-component conceptual framework that suggests that the association between employment status and psychological well-being is mediated by a woman's occupational involvement, the quality of her nonoccupational environment, and the quality of her employment relationship. These 3 features are operationalized at the group and individual levels to show that in certain circumstances psychological well-being is significantly associated with having paid employment but that this association is not a general one. For example, the relationship is strong for single women but rarely observed for married women in general; it is more likely to be found in working-class than in middle-class samples. The conceptual framework is advocated for more sophisticated research in this area. (61 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A socially contextualized model of African American identity: Possible selves and school persistence.

Schooling, critical to the transition to adulthood, is particularly problematic for urban and minority youths. To explore predictors of school persistence the authors propose a socially contextualized model of the self. Strategies to attain achievement-related possible selves were differentially predicted for White and Black university students (Study 1, n?=?105). For Whites, individualism, the Protestant work ethic, and "balance" in possible selves predicted generation of more achievement-related strategies. For Blacks, collectivism, ethnic identity, and low endorsement of individualism tended to predict strategy generation. In middle school, performance was predicted by "gendered African American identity schema," particularly for females (Study 2, n?=?146), and the effects of social context appeared gendered (Study 3, n?=?55). Balance in achievement-related possible selves predicted school achievement, especially for African American males (Study 4, n?=?55). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between women and their parents: Implications for midlife well-being.

The rapid changes in women's roles during the 1970s gave the graduates of the Radcliffe College class of 1964 opportunities for life experiences markedly different from those of either their mothers or their fathers. This longitudinal study of 89 Radcliffe graduates examined the ways in which women in midlife find continuity with their parents and the implications of experiences of continuity for women's relationships with parents and for women's self-esteem and well-being. Support was found for a model linking women's educational and occupational similarity to their parents to later perceptions of parental influence, perceived parental influence to parent–daughter relationship quality, and parent–daughter relationship quality to self-esteem and subsequent well-being. The quality of women's relationships with their fathers did not predict subsequent well-being, perhaps because of fathers' decreased involvement in their adult daughters' lives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aristotle and epistemology: Implications for professional psychological training.

In this article I propose that epistemological considerations are crucial to effective training. Present-day epistemologies have arisen in response to social and economic forces rather than to an a priori consideration of psychology's understanding of knowledge. Aristotle's epistemology can be used as an example, and the implications for psychology and training are explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex roles and psychological well-being: Perspectives on methodology.

Discusses some sources of problematic methodology in recent research designed to relate current measures of sex-role orientation to indices of psychological well-being. Practices and procedures in sex-role research are examined in relation to orthogonal scales of sex-role orientation that provide independent measures of masculinity, femininity, and a newer assessment of androgyny. Directions for increased conceptual and methodological clarity include theoretical and psychometric definitions of androgyny, the relationship of sex-role typing to other aspects of interpersonal functioning, and varying procedures in sex-role and gender distinction, population sampling, and construct validation. Issues are raised concerning the generality of sex-role measures and the desirability of direct behavioral validation criteria. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Competence, delinquency, and attempts to attain possible selves.

The impact of impulsivity, possible selves, and social and communication skills on delinquent involvement in 230 inner-city high school and incarcerated boys (aged 13–17 yrs) was explored. Impulsivity, perceived attempts to attain possible selves, and balance in possible selves were hypothesized to directly influence delinquency. Social and communication skills were hypothesized to influence delinquency directly and indirectly through their effects on impulsivity, balance, and attempts to attain possible selves. These factors discriminated moderately well between high school and incarcerated youths. Impulsivity was an especially powerful predictor of self-reported delinquency among high school youths but not among incarcerated youths. The effect of other variables differed somewhat for different categories of delinquency (aggression, theft, hooliganism, and school truancy) and between subsamples, suggesting the importance of examining the subjective meaning of each of these behaviors for the individual in his social context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Employment status and psychological well-being: A longitudinal study.

Longitudinal observations are reported on 4 groups of young people, defined by their employment status on 2 occasions after leaving school. Questionnaires were administered to them in 1980 while they were at school and then again after intervals of 2 and 3 years when they were all in the labor force. Clear differences were observed between the unemployed and employed groups after the longer interval that were not apparent after the shorter interval. The unemployed showed lower self-esteem and greater depressive affect, negative mood, and externality in locus of control than the employed. The unemployed showed no deterioration on any of the measures since they were in school, but the employed showed an improvement. These results imply that although gaining employment produces an improvement in psychological well-being in school leavers, unemployment does not have the opposite effect. The clear differences observed after 3 years that were not apparent after 2 suggest that longitudinal observations after longer intervals may show evidence of deterioration in the unemployed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Being a Canadian: Aspects of national identity among a sample of university students in Saskatchewan.

Questionnaire data from 269 undergraduates show that Ss identified strongly with the country as a whole and with the prairies; strong regional sentiment is apparently not necessarily incompatible with a strong sense of national identity. Ss felt that the major division within Canada was between rich and poor but that the division between English Canadians and French Canadians was more important. In terms of correlates, Ss who felt a close attachment to their home community and to their parents also identified strongly with Canada as a whole. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

湖北省大学生身心健康状况调查分析

随着中国经济发展和社会转型,大学生的身心状况出现一系列新的变化,及时掌握这些变化并加以正确引导对国家发展至关重要.本课题组受共青团湖北省委员会委托,于2009年lO月11日对省内7所高校383名大学生开展身心健康状况抽样调查,旨在了解当前大学生的身心状况和目前存在的主要问题,促进大学生的健康发展.     

The structure of psychological well-being revisited.

A theoretical model of psychological well-being that encompasses 6 distinct dimensions of wellness (Autonomy, Environmental Mastery, Personal Growth, Positive Relations with Others, Purpose in Life, Self-Acceptance) was tested with data from a nationally representative sample of adults (N?=?1,108), aged 25 and older, who participated in telephone interviews. Confirmatory factor analyses provided support for the proposed 6-factor model, with a single second-order super factor. The model was superior in fit over single-factor and other artifactual models. Age and sex differences on the various well-being dimensions replicated prior findings. Comparisons with other frequently used indicators (positive and negative affect, life satisfaction) demonstrated that the latter neglects key aspects of positive functioning emphasized in theories of health and well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The meaning of the future: Toward a more specific definition of possible selves.

Possible selves are traditionally defined as conceptions of our selves in future states. The author discusses the way the theory is used in the literature and argues that there is a need for a clearer definition, because there appear to be a number of common misinterpretations regarding possible selves. Important features of possible selves are discussed, in particular their nature as experienced meaning, their relation with the rest of the self-concept, and their social and cultural nature. It is suggested that agency is an important aspect of possible selves and that they can be seen as narratives. The clearer definition suggested is that possible selves are conceptions of our selves in the future, including, at least to some degree, an experience of being an agent in a future situation. Possible selves get vital parts of their meaning in interplay with the self-concept, which they in turn moderate, as well as from their social and cultural context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)