Perceived parental social support and academic achievement: An attachment theory perspective.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 66(4) of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (see record 2008-10478-001). This article, which appeared in the Personality and Individual Differences section was accepted for publication by Guest Editor Irwin Sarason. We wish to thank Professor Sarason for his help and to apologize for our oversight in not acknowledging this contribution.] Tested the extent to which parental social support predicted college GPA among undergraduates. A sample of 418 undergraduates completed the Social Provisions Scale—Parent Form (C. E. Cutrona; see record 1990-01422-001) and measures of family conflict and achievement orientation. American College Testing (ACT) Assessment Program college entrance exam scores (American College Testing Program, 1986) and GPA were obtained from the university registrar. Parental social support, especially reassurance of worth, predicted college GPA when controlling for academic aptitude (ACT scores), family achievement orientation, and family conflict. Support from parents, but not from friends or romantic partners, significantly predicted GPA. Results are interpreted in the context of adult attachment theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The joint and differential perceived contribution of parents to adolescents' cognitive functioning.

Administered the Personality Research Form (PRF) and the Parent Behavior Form (PBF) to 301 female and 101 male undergraduates; American College Testing Program (ACT) scores were also obtained. Analyses revealed that PRF scales indicative of intellectual orientation and approach to tasks (Understanding, Achievement, and Endurance), as well as ACT scores, were related principally to parental cognitive behaviors (the parents' encouragement of intellectual independence, competence, and curiosity) for both males and females. In addition, differential and joint effects of parents were obtained depending upon the sex of the child. Findings suggest that parental cognitive behaviors, which have received little experimental attention, are saliently related to child intellectual characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Locus of control, consistency of vocational interest patterns, and academic achievement.

Administered the SVIB, the W. James I-E Scale, and the American College Testing Program Examination (ACT) to 356 male university freshmen. Ss were classified as internals or externals on locus of control and as consistents or inconsistents on vocational patterns based on J. Holland's classification schema for scales on the SVIB. ACT scores were used to control for ability. Internals had a significantly higher GPA than externals; consistents had a higher GPA than inconsistents, but no significant interaction effects between vocational interest patterns and locus of control were found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investigating the antecedents of perceived social support: Parents' views of and behavior toward their children.

College students' perceptions of generalized social support were investigated from a developmental perspective. 262 undergraduates completed questionnaires concerning general and relationship-specific social support. Questionnaires were mailed to students' parents and a sibling. Student reports of past and present parental relationships predicted parents' questionnaire return. Parents' views of students' personal characteristics predicted students' general perceptions of social support. Relationship-specific social support perceived from father but not mother was predicted by that parent's view of the student. Students' self-views and feelings of parental acceptance, variables theoretically associated with general social support, were also predicted by parents' views. Parental views of siblings did not in general predict student variables. Results are discussed in terms of relationship-based family antecedents of social support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental conflict and dominance in late adolescent maladjustment: A triple interaction model.

52 male and 40 female undergraduates were administered the Psychological Screening Inventory and a list of issues to measure conflict between the Ss' parents. Indices of neuroticism and major psychopathology were predicted by parental conflict, but they were better predicted when the gender of the S and the gender of the dominant parent were also considered. More neurotic daughters came from high conflict families with dominant fathers, whereas more neurotic sons came from high conflict families with dominant mothers. The triple interaction of conflict, parental dominance, and gender of the child adds significantly to the prediction of adolescent neuroticism and major psychopathology but not to the prediction of social nonconformity. Social nonconformity was significantly predicted only by parental conflict. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction of 4-year college student performance using cognitive and noncognitive predictors and the impact on demographic status of admitted students.

This study was conducted to determine the validity of noncognitive and cognitive predictors of the performance of college students at the end of their 4th year in college. Results indicate that the primary predictors of cumulative college grade point average (GPA) were Scholastic Assessment Test/American College Testing Assessment (SAT/ACT) scores and high school GPA (HSGPA) though biographical data and situational judgment measures added incrementally to this prediction. SAT/ACT scores and HSGPA were collected and used in various ways by participating institutions in the admissions process while situational judgment measures and biodata were collected for research purposes only during the first few weeks of the participating students’ freshman year. Alternative outcomes such as a self-report of performance on a range of student performance dimensions and a measure of organizational citizenship behavior, as well as class absenteeism, were best predicted by noncognitive measures. The racial composition of a student body selected with only cognitive measures or both cognitive and noncognitive measures under various levels of selectivity as well as the performance of students admitted under these scenarios is also reported. The authors concluded that both the biodata and situational judgment measures could be useful supplements to cognitive indexes of student potential in college admissions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Role of adolescent–parent relationships in college student development and adjustment": Correction.

Reports an error in the original article by D. E. Schultheiss and D. L. Blustein (Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1994[Apr], Vol 41[2], 248–255). Tables 1 and 2 contain incorrect data. The corrected tables are printed here. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1994-31480-001.) Tested the hypothesis that the conjoint variance of psychological separation and parental attachment is more strongly related to college student development and adjustment than either set of variables in isolation. Measures of college student development, college student adjustment, psychological separation, and parental attachment were administered to 73 female and 66 male students (mean age 19.1 yrs) attending a large state university in the Northeast. For college student development, there was support for the conjoint hypothesis for the women but not for the men. For college student adjustment, there was no support for the conjoint hypothesis for the women and limited support for the men. The implications of these findings for theory, practice, and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between theoretical values and the efficacy of a new self-counseling procedure.

Predicted that Ss possessing moderate theoretical values would do better using a new self-counseling procedure apparently emphasizing rational, logical processes than Ss possessing low or high theoretical values. Written personal problems of 125 college students were rated on the degree to which they represented "dilemmas." Ss with problems most closely resembling dilemmas were given "dilemma self-help counseling." To measure outcome, an evaluation questionnaire and a 1-wk follow-up were used. Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values scores were collected for 46 Ss and American College Testing Program (ACT) composite scores were available for 44. Results indicate both significant linear and curvilinear relationships between Theoretical scores and therapy outcome, as predicted. ACT scores showed significant positive relationships with several of the evaluation measures. Results indicate that particular client variables may be influential depending upon the particular type of counseling involved. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relations of temperamental effortful control and anger/frustration to Chinese children's academic achievement and social adjustment: A longitudinal study.

The prospective relations of temperamental effortful control and anger/frustration to Chinese children's (N = 425, age range = 6.6–9.1 years) academic achievement (grade point average, or GPA) and social adjustment (externalizing problems and social competence) were examined in a 2-wave (3.8 years apart) longitudinal study. Parents and teachers rated children's temperament, and parents, teachers, and/or peers rated children's externalizing problems and social competence. Effortful control positively predicted children's GPA, controlling for prior level of GPA. Analyses examining the potential mechanisms underlying the temperament–achievement associations suggested that effortful control positively predicted social competence, and social competence positively predicted GPA. Moreover, anger/frustration positively predicted externalizing problems, and externalizing problems negatively predicted GPA. Mediational analyses suggested that the relations between temperament and GPA were mediated by social competence and externalizing problems. Evidence for the reciprocal relations between externalizing problems and GPA was also found. The study suggested that there are complex interplays among temperament, academic achievement, and social adjustment for school-age children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do Psychosocial and Study Skill Factors Predict College Outcomes? A Meta-Analysis.

This study examines the relationship between psychosocial and study skill factors (PSFs) and college outcomes by meta-analyzing 109 studies. On the basis of educational persistence and motivational theory models, the PSFs were categorized into 9 broad constructs: achievement motivation, academic goals, institutional commitment, perceived social support, social involvement, academic self-efficacy, general self-concept, academic-related skills, and contextual influences. Two college outcomes were targeted: performance (cumulative grade point average; GPA) and persistence (retention). Meta-analyses indicate moderate relationships between retention and academic goals, academic self-efficacy, and academic-related skills (ps = .340, .359, and .366, respectively). The best predictors for GPA were academic self-efficacy and achievement motivation (ps = .496 and .303, respectively). Supplementary regression analyses confirmed the incremental contributions of the PSF over and above those of socioeconomic status, standardized achievement, and high school GPA in predicting college outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in sources of social self-esteem.

Administered R. Ziller's social self-esteem measure, the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale, and a scale rating self, mother, and father to 40 female and 37 male undergraduates. As predicted, the relationship of need for approval, grades, and family sibling structure to social self-esteem was different for each sex. Ss high in social self-esteem were: males with high need for approval; females with low need for approval; males with grades of A and B; females with grades of C; and male firstborns when the 2nd-born sibling was female. No relationship with perceived parental identification was found. Results support the hypothesis that males must succeed in culturally masculine roles to maintain self-esteem. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Perceived social support among college students: Three studies of the psychometric characteristics and counseling uses of the Social Support Inventory": Correction to Brown, Brady, Lent, Wolfert, and Hall.

Reports an error in "Perceived social support among college students: Three studies of the psychometric characteristics and counseling uses of the Social Support Inventory" by Steven D. Brown, Theresa Brady, Robert W. Lent, Jenny Wolfert and Sheila Hall (Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1987[Jul], Vol 34[3], 337-354). In Table 5, the reliable change (RC) values for Clients 1-7 on the UCLA Loneliness Scale and the College Student Satisfaction Scale were incorrect. The corrected values are presented in the erratum. In addition, a note should be added to Table 5 that reads: "Posttreatment scores used in the calculation of RC are means obtained from the sum of posttreatment and follow-up scores." (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1987-32914-001.) Perceived social support has been shown to relate to psychological distress and well-being. However, measurement of the construct has been limited by a failure to embed perceived support in a body of psychological theory that would suggest how perceived support is produced and modified. In three studies we assessed the psychometric characteristics and counseling uses of a theory-derived measure of perceived social support, the Social Support Inventory (SSI). Results of the first study indicated that the SSI possessed excellent internal consistency reliability and concurrent validity, and it performed in theoretically predicted ways in a series of construct validity analyses. Results of the second study suggested that the SSI may not be influenced by mood state or demand characteristics. The third study concerned a counseling intervention developed from the SSI's theoretical base. Reported outcomes are from the first 7 consecutive college student clients exposed to the intervention for difficulties in their social transition to college. We also describe the person-environment fit theory from which the SSI was derived and discuss future conceptual and research needs on the theory, instrument, and intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some personality and aptitudinal correlates of the "A-B" therapist scale.

On the basis of prior research showing similarities between practicing therapists and undergraduates varying in A-B status, 12 scales from the Omnibus Personality Inventory and the 4 component scores of the American College Testing Program battery were related to A-B status of about 2400 undergraduates. A stepwise discriminant analysis showed that the present set of measures significantly discriminated male As from ABs (middles) and Bs, and that the differences between As and Bs involved the joint effects of masculinity-femininity, verbal aptitude, and natural science aptitude measures. As and Bs differed in a way consistent with previous reasearch on "cognitive style." Correlational and factor-analytic data indicated that the A-B variable cannot be regarded as linearly related to those measures which discriminated As from Bs. A quasi-typological interpretation of the A-B variable was proposed and methodological implications were drawn. (20 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do comparative self-appraisals during young adulthood predict adult personality?

Archival data from the University of North Carolina Alumni Heart Study were used to assess whether positive, neutral, and negative social comparisons assessed during college predicted the expression of personality during adulthood. College students in 1966 rated themselves relative to peers on several personal attributes. For men and women, these attributes produced 3 similar yet distinct variables reflecting gregariousness, achievement striving, and expressiveness. These students were contacted 20 years later and completed the NEO Personality Inventory and M. Rosenberg's (1965) self-esteem measure. In general, persons with comparatively positive self-evaluations during college viewed themselves as possessing more positive and less negative personality traits during adulthood and were also less likely to report poorer self-esteem during middle adulthood. The implications of social comparison processes for personality development are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Co-occurrence of eating disorders and incest: The role of attachment, family environment, and social competencies.

Childhood attachment, family environment, and adult social competencies were examined to explain the association between sexual abuse and eating disorders (EDs). Female college students (n?=?102) and female clients sexually abused in childhood (n?=?52) completed surveys retrospectively that assessed parental bonds, family environment, and sexual abuse, as well as current self-efficacy, social support, intimacy, adult attachment style, and ED symptoms. Client incest survivors had a higher ED rate (47%) than did sexually abused clients (22%), student incest survivors (24%), or nonabused students (17%). Significant associations were found between family environment, incest, social competencies, and eating disorders. Incest survivors had more dysfunctional families and lower social competencies than did nonabused women. Among incest survivors, those with the lowest levels of social competencies and poorest bonds with their mothers had more ED symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social conflict, social support, and psychological distress: Evidence of cross-domain buffering effects.

A longitudinal study examined the relative and joint effects of perceived social support and social conflict on psychological distress in 228 college students. Women had higher perceived social support from roommates and friends and less conflict with roommates than did men; there were no gender differences in level of conflict with friends or psychological distress. Roommate conflict predicted increases in psychological distress over time; this effect was attenuated by high levels of perceived social support from friends. Friend conflict also predicted increases in psychological distress over time; this effect was attenuated by high levels of perceived social support from roommates. These results show the importance of negative and positive aspects of social experiences to emotional functioning and the importance of compensatory social support for individuals facing social conflicts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality predictors of academic outcomes: Big five correlates of GPA and SAT scores.

The authors examined relations between the Big Five personality traits and academic outcomes, specifically SAT scores and grade-point average (GPA). Openness was the strongest predictor of SAT verbal scores, and Conscientiousness was the strongest predictor of both high school and college GPA. These relations replicated across 4 independent samples and across 4 different personality inventories. Further analyses showed that Conscientiousness predicted college GPA, even after controlling for high school GPA and SAT scores, and that the relation between Conscientiousness and college GPA was mediated, both concurrently and longitudinally, by increased academic effort and higher levels of perceived academic ability. The relation between Openness and SAT verbal scores was independent of academic achievement and was mediated, both concurrently and longitudinally, by perceived verbal intelligence. Together, these findings show that personality traits have independent and incremental effects on academic outcomes, even after controlling for traditional predictors of those outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transition from virginity to nonvirginity among youth: A social-psychological study over time.

A social psychology of behavior was employed to account for variation in an aspect of development-the transition from virginity to nonvirginity. Personality, perceived environment, and behavioral measures were collected by questionnaires administered annually to 186 male and 242 female high school students during 1969-1972, and to 78 male and 102 female undergraduates during 1970-1973. In cross-sectional comparisons, nonvirgins differed from virgins in the theoretically expected transition-prone direction on variables, including higher value on independence, lower value on achievement, greater social criticism and tolerance of deviance, and greater friends' models for deviance. In longitudinal comparisons, virgins who were to become nonvirgins in the subsequent year were already significantly more transition-prone on these antecedent measures than virgins who were to remain virgins. The results were stronger at the high school than at the college level, and for females than for males. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extreme academic talent: Profiles of perfect scorers.

This study provides information on characteristics of students who scored perfectly on at least one subtest of the American College Testing Assessment Program (English, Mathematics, Social Studies, or Natural Sciences). The sample consisted of 5,615 perfect scorers from a total population of 729,606 high school juniors and seniors. Boys had a higher incidence of perfect scores in each subtest except English. Asians and Whites were overepresented among perfect scorers, and all other ethnic groups were underrepresented. "Perfection" in one academic area did not assure comparable high performance in other academic areas. Few perfect scorers planned college majors or careers in the disciplines in which they attained perfect scores. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intergenerational Family Conflict and Coping Among Hmong American College Students.

Problem solving and social support, as different styles of coping with intergenerational family conflict, were examined among 86 Hmong American college students. Problem solving and social support were hypothesized to differentially moderate the effects of family conflict on psychological adjustment. Furthermore, the effects of attributions of blame on the adjustment of Hmong American college students were examined. Results indicate that social support buffered and problem solving enhanced the negative effects of family conflict on symptoms of distress but not on affect. Additionally, there were significant interaction effects between family conflict and self-blame on distress. Specifically, students who were more likely to blame themselves reported higher levels of distress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)