Abstract The current theses is concerned with the Upper Secondary School students school contentment as it functions in total personality and its connection to values. Personality is seen as a combination of cognition, emotions and actions. Contentment is the functioning of personality. The three basic components mentioned above appear on all levels of personality: concepts, manners, attitudes, norms and values. Primarily in this reseach, the connection of values is regarded in the relation to the school contentment of the upper secondary school students. The third main task is to examine if contentment can be supported by general ?humane values, i.e. if humanization can improve the contentment in the upper seconday school. Humanization is seen as a process of growing up as a human being. The subjects of this research are 799 second class students of upper secndary schools. The cognitions and life values of upper secondary school students are already getting differentiated. Thus, the part that values play in the school contentment is examined in the current report. The aim is to examine whether school contentment apprears as total personal or whether some component is more dominent than the others. Values are national and universal. The aim is to find general human factors of different values, which would be the basis for building the realization and contentment of total personality. According to the research results, school contentment appears threefold and on layers. The strongest area of contentment is emotions, the weakest cognitions. The emotional area of contentment is an expression of ego, cognitions express clearness and cognitional content and action expresses the realization of cognition and emotions in practice. Thus school contentment is the realization of total personality. Contentment is shown by cognitive clearness, receiving and allowing emotions and the realization of these mental basic areas in actions. Those who are contented with upper secondary school favour politically conservative and universal values. Self realization is limited by the norms and culture of the community. Values dont appear, however, balanced but their components, cognitions, emotions and action are even partly illustrations. Mostly, this is due to social pressure to act in accordance with general permission. Values, too, appear in three parts, so that in all value groups, the main areas are congnitions (human dignity), emotions (tolerance) and action (ethics). School contentment is not much explained by the school progress of the student and the basic education of his or her father. Contentment is equal with girls and boys. It is, in general, similar in all upper secondary schools. About 40% of the upper secondary school students have quite good contentment, one third poor. According to this research, school contentment can be built, with good reason, on general human values. Therefore, the functions of information have to be revealed and the emotions connected with them have to be accepted. The condition for this is that school socialization is built in a general, human direction. The attitude to learning has to be cognitive. Emotions will be connected in time with the meanings of words, with the spontanous experience of the individual, naturally weak. The safegarding of learning abilities and learning equipment is of primary importance. Students themselves look for experiences in the culture they face. Upper secondary school studies have to be scholarly. The personal contentment and action of individuals is made possible by the humane athmosphere of the school community. Humanization is a good basis for contentment. The lack of contentment appears as defensiveness, which would be a suitable theme for further research. / Tiivistelmä Väitöskirjatutkimuksessa selvitellään lukiolaisten kouluviihtyvyyttä kokonaispersoonallisuuden toimivuutena ja sen yhteyttä arvoihin. Persoonallisuus nähdään ajattelun, tunteiden ja toimintojen muodostamana kokonaisuutena. Mainitut kolme peruskomponenttia ilmenevät persoonallisuuden kaikilla tasoilla: käsitteissä, tavoissa, asenteissa, normeissa ja arvoissa. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään lukiolaisten kouluviihtyvyyden suhdetta arvoihin. Kolmas päätehtävä on tutkia, voidaanko viihtyvyyttä tukea yleisin, humaanein arvoin eli voidaanko humanisaatiolla edistää lukioviihtyvyyttä. Humanisaatio nähdään ihmiseksi kasvamisen prosessina. Koehenkilöinä on 799 lukion toisluokkalaista. Tiedot koottiin kyselylomakkeilla. Halutaan tutkia, esiintyykö kouluviihtyvyys kokonaispersoonallisena vai onko jokin viihtyvyyden alueista muita hallitsevampi. Arvot ovat kansallisia ja universaaleja. Erilaisista arvoista pyritään löytämään yleisiä ihmistä koskevia tekijöitä, joiden varaan kokonaispersoonallisuuden todentumista ja viihtyvyyttä voitaisiin rakentaa. Tutkimuksen tulosten mukaan kouluviihtyvyys ilmenee kolmijakoisena ja kerroksittain. Vahvin viihtyvyyden osa-alue ovat tunteet, heikoin ajattelu. Viihtyvyyden tunnealue ilmentää itsetuntoa, kognitiot kuvaavat selkeyttä ja ajatuksellista tyytyväisyyttä sekä toiminnot ajattelun ja tunteiden todentamista käytännössä. Kouluviihtyvyys on siis kokonaispersoonallisuuden todentumisen ilmentäjä. Kognitiivinen selkeys, tunteiden saaminen ja salliminen, sekä näiden henkisten perusalueiden realisoituminen persoonallisina aktioina ilmentävät viihtyvyyttä. Lukiossa viihtyvät suosivat oikeistolaisia ja universaaleja arvoja. Toimintayhteisön normisto ja kulttuuri rajaavat itsensä toteuttamista. Arvot eivät ilmene oppilaan mielessä kuitenkaan tasapainoisina, vaan niiden komponentit, kognitiot, emootiot ja toiminta, ovat osin jopa erimerkkisiä. Useimmiten tämä johtuu sosiaalisesta paineesta toimia yleisen suotavuuden suuntaisesti. Tunteet hallitsevat ajattelua liikaa. Myös arvot esiintyvät kolmiosaisina. Kaikissa arvoryhmissä painoalueina ovat kognitiot (ihmisarvoisuus), emootiot (suvaitsevaisuus) ja toiminnot (eettisyys). Koulumenestys ja oppilaan isän pohjakoulutus eivät juuri selitä kouluviihtyvyyttä. Tytöt ja pojat viihtyvät yhtä hyvin. Kouluviihtyvyys on yleensä samanlaista kaikissa lukioissa. Noin 40 % lukiolaisista ilmaisee viihtyvänsä aika hyvin, heikonlaisesti viihtyviä on kolmannes. Tämän tutkimuksen mukaan viihtyvyyttä voidaan rakentaa perustellusti yleisten humaanien arvojen varaan. Tietojen funktiot tulee siksi paljastaa ja niihin liittyvät tunteet hyväksyä. Tämä edellyttää koulun sosialisaation kehittämistä yleiseen, inhimilliseen suuntaan. Opittaviin asioihin tulee suuntautua kognitiivisesti. Tunteet liittyvät aikanaan sanojen tarkoitteisiin yksilön oman kokemuksen myötä luonnollisen laimeina. Oppimisvalmiuksien ja oppimisen välineiden turvaaminen on ensisijaista. Opiskelijat itse hakevat elämyksensä kohtaamastaan kulttuurista. Lukiossa on syytä opiskella tieteellisesti. Kouluyhteisön humaani ilmapiiri mahdollistaa yksilöiden persoonallisen viihtyvyyden ja toiminnan. Humanisaatio on hyvä viihtyvyyden perusta. Viihtymättömyys ilmenee defensiivisyytenä, joka olisikin sopiva jatkotutkimuksen aihe.

L’individu est en interaction permanente avec son environnement et tente de s’y adapter sans cesse. En cas d’échec de cette relation transactionnelle (Lazarus), l’individu développe un stress qui peut s’exprimer de différentes façons.Le stress a été largement étudié en population générale, mais il existe peu de données sur les liens entre stress et psychopathologie.Nous nous sommes attachés à intégrer l’ensemble des informations qui pourraient rendre compte du stress au travers de la création d’un questionnaire intégrant à la fois les stresseurs (d’ordre personnel, professionnel et environnemental), les manifestations de stress et les cognitions inadaptées. Ce nouveau questionnaire a bénéficié d’une validité de face, d’une étude de ses validités convergente et divergente, ainsi qu’une étude de ses propriétés psychométriques.Les résultats en population générale (n=2298) montrent de façon nette une expression de stress différente selon le sexe et qu’il existerait des facteurs protecteurs (vie en couple et présence d’enfants).Ce questionnaire a été étudié sur des populations d’hommes et de femmes suivies en ambulatoire, présentant un trouble anxieux (trouble obsessionnel et compulsif, trouble panique avec agoraphobie, trouble anxiété généralisée, trouble anxiété sociale) et comparé aux populations générales.Chacune des populations présente des spécificités d’expression du stress et en particulier la population masculine souffrant d’anxiété généralisée.Les données retrouvées amènent à une réflexion sur les stratégies de coping utilisées par les patients anxieux pour rendre compte de ces différences existant à la fois entre les troubles anxieux mais aussi entre sexes. / Individuals are constantly interacting with and adapting to their environment. When the transactional model (Lazarus) is not met, stress manifests itself in a variety of different forms. While stress has been widely studied in the normal population, little is known about the relationship between stress and psychopathology. The current work attempts to evaluate stress using detailed measures of stress manifestations, daily stressors (personal, work-related, and environmental), and stress-related cognitions. The resulting questionnaire was analysed in terms of face validity followed by a larger study examining its convergent and divergent validity as well as different psychometric properties. The results from the general population (n=2298) show that males and females have significantly different experiences of stress; results also suggest that significant relationships (couple, family) can serve as protective factors. The questionnaire was then used to assess the stress experience in four ambulatory consultation samples of individuals diagnosed with anxiety disorders (obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder with agoraphobia, generalised anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder) and compared with results from the participants in the general population. Stress manifestations differed according to psychological disorder; of note was significant and meaningful differences demonstrated by the male participants suffering from generalised anxiety disorder. The data provide insight into the different types of coping strategies that seem to be used by patients suffering from anxiety disorders.

La douleur chronique est souvent associée à la dépression et l’anxiété. Ces pathologies entretiennent des liens complexes qui ont été largement étudiés. Cependant en France, nous manquons d’informations permettant d’améliorer la prise en charge psychothérapeutique de ces patients. Le but de ce travail est d’améliorer la compréhension de l’influence des facteurs psychopathologiques et cognitifs dans la douleur chronique.Étude 1 : Une étude quantitative a été réalisée auprès d’un échantillon de 228 étudiants. L’analyse des croyances associées à la douleur a permis de mettre en lumière une perception positive du vécu de la sensation douloureuse. Ainsi, ils ne perçoivent pas la douleur comme étant un phénomène stable dans le temps ou mystérieux ; de plus, ils ne manifestent pas de sentiment de culpabilité lié à la douleur. Les résultats indiquent également que les participants ont des perceptions rationnelles des médicaments. Ils considèrent cependant qu’il y a une surconsommation des médicaments. Étude 2 : Une étude quantitative a été réalisée auprès d’un échantillon de 247 personnes atteintes de fibromyalgie. Dans cette étude, 93 % des participants présentaient des symptômes dépressifs, et 94 % présentaient des symptômes anxieux. En outre, des symptômes dépressifs sévères sont retrouvés dans 25 % des cas et 43 % des participants présentent une anxiété sévère. Les différentes analyses de régression réalisées ont montré que la relation entre la symptomatologie anxio-dépressive et la douleur est partiellement médiatisée par les croyances associées à la douleur.Étude 3 : Une étude quantitative a été menée auprès de 247 personnes atteintes de fibromyalgie. Les analyses de corrélation ont montré un lien entre la symptomatologie anxio-dépressive, les mesures relatives à la douleur, les croyances associées à la douleur, la dramatisation, la flexibilité psychologique et l’optimisme. L’analyse de régression multiple indique que les croyances associées à la douleur, l’optimisme et la flexibilité psychologique prédisent 58 % de la variance des scores de dramatisation. Une analyse en cluster a permis de mettre en évidence trois profils cognitifs : les catastrophistes, les modérés et les flexibles optimistes. Des analyses de variance ont montré que ces clusters se différenciaient au niveau des scores de dépression, d’anxiété, d’intensité et d’impact de la douleur. Le profil catastrophiste obtenait les scores les plus élevés à ces différentes mesures. / Chronic pain is often associated with depression and anxiety. These pathologies have complex links that have been widely studied. In France, however, there are few studies that provide information on psychotherapeutic treatment of these patients. The overall objective of this work is to improve understanding of psychopathological and cognitive factors linked to chronic pain. Study 1: A quantitative study was carried out on a sample of 228 students. An analysis of beliefs associated to pain provided insight into the concept of pain sensation. The participants perceived pain as an instable phenomenon over time, were not likely to associate pain with mysterious origins, and did not link pain to feelings of guilt. The results also showed that the participants had rational beliefs about medication, although they tended to believe that medication was overused. Study 2: A quantitative study was conducted on a sample of 247 fibromyalgia sufferers. In this study, 93 % of participants presented depressive symptoms, and 94 % presented anxiety symptoms. Severe depressive symptoms were found in 25 % of cases, and 43 % of participants reported severe anxiety. Regressions analyses showed that the relationship between depressive symptoms, anxiety and pain is partially mediated by beliefs associated with pain.Study 3: A quantitative study was conducted on a sample of 247 people suffering from fibromyalgia. Correlation analyses showed a link between anxio-depressive symptoms, measures related to pain, pain-related beliefs, dramatization, psychological flexibility, and optimism. A multiple regression analysis indicated that beliefs associated with pain, optimism and psychological flexibility predicted 58 % of the variance in scores of dramatization. A cluster analysis highlighted three cognitive profiles in these patients: ‘catastrophics’, ‘moderates’ and ‘flexible optimistics’. Analyses of variance showed that cluster groups differed in levels of depression, anxiety, intensity, and impact of pain. ‘Catastrophics’ had higher scores on these measures.

Studies of alcohol expectancies have been equivocal regarding the existence of gender differences. A review of past studies suggested variables that could be useful for future studies such as investigating context-specific expectancies. The current study was designed to investigate the influence of context and item content on gender differences in expectancies. Undergraduate students who reported going to bars once a month or more (N = 321) completed an expectancy measure either while imagining themselves in a bar situation (Context condition) or with no contextual instructions (No Context condition). The expectancy measure consisted of expectancies that were "general" (Social and Tension Reduction expectancies) and those developed to be more "specific" to a bar context (Sexual Activity and Attention expectancies). It was expected that context and gender would interact so that gender differences would occur only for the endorsement of "specific" expectancies when context was specified; however, the gender x condition interaction was not significant for any type of expectancy and there were few main effects for condition. Main effects for gender were found partially following the hypothesized pattern. Men were more likely to endorse Sexual Activity expectancies, as expected, but women were not more likely to endorse Attention expectancies. Also as expected, men and women equally endorsed Social expectancies; however, women endorsed Tension Reduction expectancies more strongly than, not equally to, men. Additional gender differences were found for the evaluation of expectancies and when defining ambiguous expectancy terms ("hook up" and "sexual attention"). The findings of this study offer some evidence that the relationship between expectancies and context of drinking and the interpretation of items may be useful areas for continued research. There was also some suggestion that men and women endorse, evaluate, and interpret sexually related expectancies differently. It may be useful to further examine whether these different responses relate to differences in sexual behavior, sexual vocabulary, or the ways that men and women respond to sexually related items on questionnaires. Information on the ways that men and women endorse and evaluate expectancy items could be incorporated into prevention or intervention efforts to make them more successful.

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Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

This dissertation involved the design and validation of the Obesity Cognitions Inventory (OCI) which was intended to quantify cognitions associated with obesity. An initial pool of 117 items was refined through expert ratings, a pilot test involving 59 subjects, and a major test and validation using 217 subjects. The resulting 56-item instrument contains scales measuring five types of cognitions: Personal Control, Dietary Restraint, Cost-Benefit Beliefs, Health Knowledge, and Self-Concept. Test-retest reliabilities for these scales range from .69 to .83 and Cronbach alphas range from .57 to .82. Concurrent criterion validity of the OCI was assessed through two methods (a) correlations with percent fat and percent overweight and (b) MANCOVA analyses. These procedures revealed that all scales of the OCI except the Dietary Restraint scale were capable of distinguishing cognitive differences among subjects of varying obesity levels. For males, Personal Control and Self-Concept showed significant differences across obesity levels. For females, Personal Control, Cost-Benefit Beliefs, Health Knowledge, and Self-Concept showed significant differences across obesity levels. For males, subjects of low obesity level were cognitively distinct from those of moderate and high levels of obesity. For females, just the opposite was true, with those of high obesity level differing most from those of moderate and low obesity levels. The only exception to this for females was the Health Knowledge scale where only those of low and moderate obesity levels showed significant cognitive differences. In general, it was concluded that the OCI shows promise as an instrument capable of quantifying the relationship between certain key cognitions and obesity level. The implications this has for cognitive-behavioral treatment of obesity are considered.

Culture has been recognized to play an important role in the formation of parental beliefs, but the question still remains of whether beliefs are maintained or revised over time, and how. The present study examined how proximal influences impacted parental beliefs in an immigrant sample of parents, the thesis being that distal influences have more to do with the formation of parental beliefs while proximal influences have more to do with maintaining or revising them. Effects of the proximal influences of education, occupation status, information networks, and parental agreement about childrearing, on parental beliefs of Mexican-origin fathers and mothers around cultural values of familism/respeto, simpatía, and individualism were tested longitudinally. The research questions were two-fold in nature, looking at within-time effects of the proximal influences on parental beliefs; as well as over-time effects of proximal influences on change in parental beliefs. The within-time questions were answered using hierarchical regression analyses while the over-time questions were answered using repeated measures MANCOVAs. Overall, the beliefs of parents in this study were seen to not change significantly over the course of the three years that they were assessed, and so the study did not yield the results expected in terms of the effects of proximal influences on parental beliefs. However, information networks and fathers' occupation status did emerge as promising proximal influences on parental beliefs, and the results also revealed maternal beliefs to be more responsive to the proximal influences of education, fathers' occupation status, information networks, and parental agreement about childrearing, than paternal beliefs.

Intrusive cognitions are a natural occurrence within our stream of consciousness, however, when they become repetitive, negative, distressing, and difficult to control, they may warrant clinical concern. Thought suppression is a common control strategy used to manage intrusive thoughts even though research suggests it may actually exacerbate the problem. Conversely, acceptance-based interventions have gained recent attention as an alternative strategy for managing distressing internal experiences. Only preliminary research has focused on the psycho- and neurophysiological bases of intrusive cognitions, and their relationship to cognitive control strategies. Evidence suggests that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) may be a brain region critically involved in this process. The present investigation compared the subjective, behavioral, and physiological effects of a thought suppression and acceptance strategy in a sample of university students with high or low obsessive-compulsive (OC) characteristics who were exposed to an emotion-evoking film clip. Participants were instructed either to suppress or accept any intrusive cognitions during a rest period after the film clip, while monitoring for the number of intrusions. Next, psychophysiological signals and reaction times were measured while participants performed a variant of the Stroop task. The commission of errors during a forced choice task generates an error-related negativity (ERN), which is believed to index activity in the ACC. Results showed that self-reported intrusions during the rest interval were greater for the acceptance group and the high-OC group. Correlations suggested that participants who reported more effort at suppression also indicated more distress about their thoughts, whereas those who reported more acceptance indicated less distress. During Stroop task errors, the ERN was apparent as a maximal frontal negativity, and was larger for the suppression group than the acceptance group at a frontal scalp site (Fz), but not a central scalp site (Cz). Correlations between self-reported intrusions at rest and ERN amplitude indicated that participants who reported fewer intrusions demonstrated enhanced ERNs, a marker for increased ACC activity. These findings may be interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that thought suppression is associated with increased ACC activity and greater self-reported discomfort with the intrusions.