Help seeking and problem perception among Asian Americans.

Compared the presenting concerns of 3,050 counseling center clients (undergraduate and graduate students) as those concerns varied by ethnicity, gender, and previous counseling experience. Asian-American clients were much more likely to perceive themselves as having educational or vocational concerns, whereas White clients were disproportionately more likely to admit to personal or emotional concerns. The comparison among 7 different Asian-American groups revealed that Filipino-American and Asian-American/White mixed clients were more likely to endorse personal or emotional concerns than other Asian-American groups. Gender and previous counseling experience were found to be related to the presenting concern, but the effects were the same in each ethnic comparison. Results are interpreted with respect to (1) what counselors should be aware of in interacting with Asian-American clients and (2) how they differ both from White clients and among themselves. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Help seeking as a cultural phenomenon: Differences between city and kibbutz dwellers.

Investigated how individuals living in Israeli kibbutzim and cities differ in their willingness to seek help. 110 kibbutz-resident and 56 city-resident high school students (aged 16–18 yrs) responded to pencil-and-paper measurements and actual behavioral experiments. Differences were hypothesized due to the cultural emphasis on individual versus communal achievement in city and kibbutz societies, respectively. Ss responded to a pencil-and-paper measure in which they were asked to indicate the likelihood of help seeking in several daily school situations. Ss then performed a task on which they could seek help. Analyses indicate that on pencil-and-paper measurements, kibbutz dwellers tended to have higher help-seeking scores than did city dwellers. On the behavioral measure, kibbutz dwellers sought more help to accomplish a group task, whereas city dwellers sought more help to accomplish a personal task. Need for achievement was correlated with help-seeking behavior for kibbutz dwellers on the group task and for city dwellers on the personal task. Implications for the help-seeking and achievement literatures are discussed. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction of academic achievement using the Edwards need Achievement scale.

A study of the utility of the Edwards need Achievement scale (n Ach) as (a) a supplement to academic aptitude tests, and (b) a predictor of over- and underachievement. Ss were 61 male college sophomores. A correlational analysis was carried out among the following measures: Edwards n Ach, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), grade-point average (GPA), and a derived measure of over- and underachievement. The results indicated (a) no increment in prediction of GPA when n Ach scores were added to SAT scores in a multiple regression equation, and (b) little success in predicting over- and underachievement from n Ach scores. Implications for the construct validation of the Edwards n Ach scale were discussed. The use of individual course grades as alternative criteria of academic achievement was explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Creativity and the need for novelty.

An experiment designed to demonstrate the reinforcing properties of associative novelty for creative Ss. 60 undergraduates were separated into high (HC) and low (LC) creativity groups on the basis of their scores on the Remote Associates Test. Ss were then presented with a series of pairs of words (each pair containing a noun and a nonnoun) and asked to choose the word they preferred. The choice of a noun was followed by a novel association to that noun. Nonnoun choices were followed by common associations. The HC group significantly increased and the LC group significantly decreased the frequency of their noun choices over the series of pairs. The results support the need for novelty hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Environmental press and psychological need as related to academic success of minority group students.

Investigated the relationship between environmental press and psychological needs for both the most academically successful and the least successful black, Mexican-American, and American-Indian undergraduates (N = 138). Ss completed the College Characteristics Index (CCI) and the Stern Activities Index as measures of press and psychological need. Scores on the Taylor Manifest Anxiety scale and the Rotter Internal-External Control Scale were used to study the extent to which anxiety and achievement motivation affected academic success. Scholastic Aptitude Test scores were used as measures of academic success. Congruent relationships were found between nonintellectual environmental presses and psychological needs on emotional expression and dependency need factors for both academically successful and least successful Ss. Significant negative correlations on the Ego Achievement and Play-Work scales of the CCI suggest a press in the campus atmosphere for intellectualism without a corresponding psychological need. Implications for counseling minority students are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Creativity and the need for associative novelty.

Based on J. P. Houston and S. A. Mednick's experiment (see record 1963-06699-001), the differential reinforcing properties of associative novelty were assessed for high-creative and low-creative Ss. 80 undergraduates, the top and bottom 26% of a pool of 156 Ss who had taken the Remote Associates Test (RAT), participated in a 2*4 factorial experiment. The independent variables were creativity, measured by the RAT, and type of reinforcement of nouns; the dependent variable was the number of nouns chosen over blocks of 40 trials. Each S saw 180 cards with 2 words, a noun and a nonnoun, typed on each card. If S chose the nonnoun, E responded with its most common associate. If S chose the noun, E responded with a very common associate, a moderately common associate, a very uncommon associate, or a similar-sounding word, depending on the experimental condition. Neither main effect of creativity nor type of reinforcement was significant (p > .05); only the effect of trials was significant (p     

Financial assistance for master's degree students.

A survey of 23 psychology departments suggests that funds for master's level psychology students are inadequate and that provisions for greater financial support are needed. (0 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aging and variety seeking.

The authors examined the influence of age on variety seeking in 3 experiments. When given choices among jellybeans or music, age differences in variety seeking emerged. Younger adults selected similar levels of variety when choosing what to consume immediately and what to consume later. In contrast, older adults consistently chose less variety when making choices to be consumed at a later time than when making choices to be consumed immediately. This pattern may be related to an increased focus on regulating future emotional experience that is associated with age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Desire for control and academic performance.

Examined the relationship of desire for control (DFC) and academic performance. 65 undergraduates completed the Desirability of Control Scale. The Ss were asked to estimate their grade point average (GPA) for the current quarter and entire academic year, to estimate the number of hours they studied per week, and how important grades were to them. Two years later, the academic records of 54 Ss who gave permission were examined. High DFC Ss had higher grades than low DFC Ss. 84.6% of the students in the sample who achieved a GPA of 3.0 or better during the 2-yr period were high DFC students. High DFC Ss indicated they placed greater importance on grades and studied more per week than did low DFC Ss. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Help seeking for mental health care among poor Puerto Ricans: problem recognition, service use, and type of provider

OBJECTIVES: This study examines the effects of health, predisposing, and enabling factors on recognition of a mental health problem, use of formal mental health care, and contact with a specialized mental health provider. METHODS: Interviews were conducted with a probability sample of 3,435 adults. The variables examined include measures of mental health; social and demographic factors; and enabling factors relevant to the help-seeking process. RESULTS: Subjective and objective measures of mental health were associated with the recognition of a mental health problem. The objective assessment of definite need for services was relevant for the use of formal services. However, the subjects' perception of poor mental health was strongly related to receiving care from a mental health specialist. Although interaction with social networks is associated with use of formal services, low economic strain is related to receiving care from the specialty sector. CONCLUSIONS: The results support the importance of using multiple measures of mental health problems. The finding that individuals' perceived economic strain increases the likelihood of receiving specialized care suggests that studies of economic barriers to the use of mental health services might benefit from the adoption of measures that assess perceived economic circumstances.     

The need for cognition.

Developed and validated the Need for Cognition Scale (NCS). In Study 1, a pool of items was administered to 96 faculty members (high-need-for-cognition group) and assembly line workers (low-need-for-cognition group). Ambiguity, irrelevance, and internal consistency were used to select items for subsequent studies. Factor analysis yielded one major factor. In Study 2, the NCS and the Group Embedded Figures Test were administered to 419 undergraduates to validate the factor structure and to determine whether the NCS tapped a construct distinct from test anxiety and cognitive style. The factor structure was replicated, and responses to the NCS were weakly related to cognitive style and unrelated to test anxiety. In Study 3, 104 undergraduates completed the NCS, the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, and a dogmatism scale. Results indicate that need for cognition was related weakly and negatively to being closeminded, unrelated to social desirability, and positively correlated with general intelligence. Study 4 (97 undergraduates) furnished evidence of the predictive validity of the NCS. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of sensation seeking.

Tested 63 new items for the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS) in an attempt to develop new scales representative of hypothesized dimensions of sensation seeking. An experimental form was given to 332 and 92 undergraduates at 2 universities. Data from the 1st university was factor analyzed separately for males and females. Besides the general factor running through diverse items, 4 factors were extracted from the rotated factor loadings: thrill and adventure seeking, experience seeking, disinhibition, and boredom susceptibility. The 1st 3 factors showed good factor and internal scale reliability in both sexes and samples. Since boredom susceptibility was not well defined in females and was of minimal reliability, it was retained as a subscale for males only. (24 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing the need for a new group journal.

The need for a new journal dealing with group psychology and group psychotherapy was documented for the Publications & Communications Board of the American Psychological Association. The authors examined the output characteristics of existing journals that published articles about groups and group work between 1980 and 1995. Although articles about groups were published in 1,042 journals, 35% of the group articles were published in 23 journals. Although the 23 journals seemed to provide thorough coverage of general and specific aspects of group dynamics and group interventions, including psychodrama, few journals attempted to integrate diverse topics in group dynamics and group intervention. Trends in the number and kinds of topics published were also examined across the 16-year interval. The main implications of this survey were that (a) the study of groups, as reflected by the rate and number of publications, is a central concern in various fields in psychology and mental health; (b) researchers' and practitioners' publications dealing with group-level topics are distributed widely across many diverse journals, which makes it difficult for group psychologists to keep abreast of the literature; and (c) a single journal is needed to provide a focal point for basic and applied studies of groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Help for women refugees

A randomized crossover study was designed using the chronically instrumented pregnant sheep preparation to study the possible effects of epidural injection of adrenaline as a single compound on the circulation of mother and fetus. Three consecutive identical doses of adrenaline were administered epidurally with a 30 min interval between treatments. In a randomized crossover fashion two dosages (10 and 15 micrograms) were tested on different days. The day after the last epidural experiment the same doses of adrenaline were given intravenously (i.v.). Between the two i.v. doses a 30 min interval was allowed for values to return to baseline. Twenty-seven experiments were performed in eight ewes. Epidural administration of adrenaline did not affect maternal mean arterial pressure, maternal heart rate, uterine blood flow, fetal mean arterial pressure, fetal heat rate, or maternal and fetal blood gases and acid-base status. After i.v. administration of adrenaline the uterine blood flow decreased in a dose-dependent fashion, but the other haemodynamic variables were not affected. In conclusion, this study indicates that consecutive epidural injections of adrenaline have no significant effect on maternal and fetal haemodynamic responses, uterine blood flow, blood gases and acid-base status in the gravid ewe. However, an i.v. injection of 10 or 15 micrograms adrenaline decreases the uterine blood flow and could compromise the fetus.