The purpose of this study was to compare self-concepts of Negroes and Jews. The historical background conditions influencing the development of the Jews and Negroes are beyond the scope of this work and are therefore mentioned only incidentally. Two aspects of these two groups are under consideration: (1) How well or poorly do Jews and Negroes function in contemporary American society? (2) What sort of family life is characteristic of Jews and Negroes? These two aspects are considered important in connection with self-concepts, for the first is at least in part a manifestation of the self-concept, and family life is considered important as the major factor in the development of the self-concept. The self-concept and its development are treated more fully in a later part of this paper.

This study deals with the following question': "Who is most 'trainable' as an effective empathic communicator?" In the process it will attempt to determine if self-concept is significantly correlated with communicative ability, specifically the ability to respond empathically to others. Measurement of self-concept will employ the Tennessee Self Vie Scale which will be administered to the members of an undergraduate speech course, Speech 360. Tests measuring the levels of empathic discrimination and empathic communication will be given to the same population in determining empathic communicative ability scores.

It is important for students to engage in adequate deliberate practice in order to develop programming expertise. However, students often encounter anxiety when they begin to learn. This can present a challenge to educators because such anxiety can influence practice behaviour. This thesis situates this challenge within the Control- Value Theory of Achievement Emotions, emphasising a need for domain-specific research and presenting new research tools which can be used to investigate the area. Analysis of data collected from three cohorts of introductory programming students on web programming (2011-12) and robot programming (2012-13 and 2013-14) courses show that programming self-concept and programming aptitude mindset can predict programming anxiety and that programming anxiety is negatively correlated with programming practice. However, levels of anxiety remained consistently high across this period. A method to enrich these psychological constructs through a multimedia-rich learning environment is proposed. Drawing upon the interplay between narrative reinforcement and procedural rhetoric that can be achieved in a fantasy role-play, students' self-concept can be enhanced. A double-blind randomised controlled trial demonstrates promising results, however small effect sizes suggest further research is needed.

by Tong Sau Lan. / Thesis (M.S.Sc.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-75). / abstract --- p.ii / statement of originality --- p.iv / acknowledgements --- p.v / table of contents --- p.vi / list op tables --- p.vi i / list of figures --- p.v iii / list of appendices --- p.ix / introduction --- p.1 / Chapter chapter i - --- understanding of the illness leukaemia --- p.3 / "Leukaemia: its symptoms, treatment and side effects on children" --- p.3 / The changing outlook of treatment --- p.7 / Chapter chapter ii - --- RESEARCH STUDIES ON LEUKAEMIC PATIENTS --- p.10 / Previous and changing research studies emphasis with leukaemic children --- p.10 / "Psychological and behavioral relevances: social adaptation, self-esteem, and anxiety" --- p.14 / Research studies on Chinese leukaemic children --- p.27 / Chapter chapter iii - --- method --- p.30 / Chapter chapter iv - --- results --- p.40 / Chapter chapter v - --- discussion --- p.56 / references --- p.68 / appendices --- p.76

Internalizing disorders cause serious psychological problems for many adolescents. The effects can be both debilitating and long lasting. However, assessment of internalizing disorders has been plagued by limited measurement strategies. Historically, individual measures were developed to assess the narrow-band symptoms that are subsumed under the broad construct of internalizing disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, somatic complaints, and social withdrawal). Recently, the Internalizing Symptom Scale for Adolescents has been created. The Internalizing Symptom Scale for Adolescents is a short screening measure that includes newer models of affect such as the tripartite model of affect. Additionally, there has been limited research on the relationship between self-concept and internalizing disorders. Although the inverse relationship between depression and self-concept is well documented, the relationship between self-concept and other internalizing syndromes is essentially unknown. The present study addressed the underlying factor structure of the Internalizing Symptom Scale for Adolescents. A factor analysis using principal axis extraction with varimax rotation was conducted. A two-factor solution was identified as superior to any other factor solution considered. The two factors accounted for 34.2% of the total variance in the Internalizing Symptom Scale for Adolescents scores and were identified as Factor 1, Negative Affect/General Distress and Factor 2, Positive Affect. The two-factor solution of the Internalizing Symptom Scale for Adolescents provided some support for Watson and Clark's tripartite model of affectivity. The present study also considered the relationship between the Internalizing Symptom Scale for Adolescents and the Multidimensional Self-Concept Scale. Bivariate correlations were run to evaluate the relationship between internalizing symptoms and self-concept. The correlations ranged from moderate to large (-.42 to -.78) and were inversely related as expected. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine if the Multidimensional Self-Concept Scale subscales could predict internalizing symptoms. The combined predictors accounted for 62% of the variance in the Internalizing Symptom Scale for Adolescents. These findings indicate that self-concept is a robust predictor for internalizing disorders. The study provides evidence for the use of the Internalizing Symptom Scale for Adolescents a s a pscyhometrically sound measure for assessing internalizing disorders in adolescents. Implications of this study for clinical practice and directions for future research are discussed.

The influence of an individual's dress practices on his/her sense of self has been studied for many years. Courses such as the Dress and Humanity course at Utah State University have been developed to educate students on the impact of dress on society. In this study, students in the Dress and Humanity course were given a pre-course and post-course survey to determine if self-perceptions related to dress practices underwent a change over the duration of the semester. Significant differences were found in the categories of body image, evaluating self-esteem, and communication of self to others. A relationship was found between survey responses and gender, degree of importance of clothing purchases, and how much money participants spent in the 365 days previous to the pre-course survey.

The purpose of this thesis was to explore the relationships between perceived feminine role orientation and positive self-concept, as measured by scores attained on the Inventory of Feminine Values (IFV), and the Total Positive Self Scale of the Tennessee Self Concept Scale (TSCS). Three objectives were established. First, to gather current information on women's realistic and ideal self-perceptions of their feminine roles, and determine whether these are liberal, traditional, or neutral in orientation. Second, to determine if there are significant differences in self-concept as measured by the TSCS among women who see themselves as either traditional, liberal or neutral in perceived feminine role. Third, to determine if differences in self-concept as measured by the TSCS are related to discrepancies between Real Self and Ideal Self scores on the IFV. Both instruments and a demographic questionnaire were completed by 87 undergraduate and graduate women at Utah State University. It was found that women in the sample as a whole saw themselves as neutral in perceived feminine role orientation, on both the Real Self and Ideal Self forms of the IFV. The mean attained on Form A (Real Self) was 4.011, while the Form B (Ideal Self) mean was 2.931. There was no significant difference between these two scores. An analysis of variance test was done to determine if there was a significant difference in positive self-concept for women who saw their feminine roles as liberal, those who saw their roles as traditional, and those who had a neutral role orientation. There was no significant difference. All three groups had Total Positive Self scores (TSCS) above the norm mean. The Pearson product-moment correlation technique was used to ascertain the degree of relationship between perceived feminine role orientation and positive self-concept. It yielded a coefficient of -.11, which did not reach significance. The Pearson product-moment correlation technique was used to determine the relationship between discrepancies in Forms A and B scores (IFV) and positive self-concept, as measured by scores on the Total Positive Self Scale of the TSCS. A coefficient of -.319 was obtained, significant at the 1% level. This verified the hypothesis as stated, evidencing that as the difference between scores attained on Forms A and B increases, positive self-concept decreases. Results were discussed in terms of the significance of the findings, mainly, that regardless of how a woman sees herself, as either traditional, neutral, or liberal in feminine role, she may have high or low self-concept. However, the more congruent she is in her realistic self-perception and in her idealistic self-perception, the higher her positive self-concept will be. Recommendations for future research were suggested. Among these were recommendations that research be undertaken with women who are not primarily college students; measures of other variables, as anxiety, be used in future research in conjunction with the IFV to explore relationships between perceived feminine role and other variables, as anxiety; and, research be undertaken to investigate whether there is a significant positive correlation between self-directedness on the IFV and graduate school attendance in a randomly selected sample of university students.

Despite numerous interventions, Australian Technical and Further Education (TAFE) students continue to display extremely high rates of attrition. Typically these students are mature-aged and work full-time while studying part-time. The mature-age part-time student is considered by attrition researchers to be at the extreme end of high-risk for non-persistence in courses, having intrinsic characteristics (e.g. a long period of absence from the educational environment) and an exposure to external influences (e.g. family and work commitments) that generally make them vulnerable to dropout. Whilst there have been recent advances in self-concept theory and research, studies examining the role of self-concept in relation to attrition remain rare. The primary purpose of this research was to capitalize on recent advances in self-concept theory and research to identify the relation of the self-concept construct to attrition in the TAFE setting and the nature of self-concept for working adults. The findings provide support for : the salience of the self-concept measurement instrument used in this investigation and the research and theory on which it is based; the effectiveness of the interventions used in the present investigation to enhance persistence; and the important role of self-concept in relation to attrition / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This study explores the development and rigorous testing of a new self-concept instrument designed specifically for nurses for use in a longitudinal, multicohort study on self-concept, job satisfaction and retention in nursing.The outcomes of this study are that nurses' self-concept can now be measured by a new theoretically and empirically substantiated multidimensional instrument. This will provide potential new directions for nursing research on which to build specific self-concept enhancement and retention strategies. The transitional period of student to graduate nurse can be the subject of ongoing assessment by utilising the new self-concept instrument in conjunction with a valid measure of nurses' job satisfaction. The findings of this study have raised an awareness of the importance of self-concept in the retention challenge for all nurses and in particular the newly registered graduate nurse / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Resilience (positive adaptation despite exposure to risk or adversity) is a widely researched construct, yet it has not been examined systematically with Australian Indigenous adolescents despite their high level of risk. Indigenous adolescents experience disproportionate disadvantage and associated poorer health and well-being compared with their non-Indigenous peers. Thus the protective factors or predictors of resilience that ameliorate the negative effects of risk in this subgroup are important to explore. Adolescence is a critical period for examining resilience given the increased vulnerability to mental health problems during this time. Of interest to this thesis are the psychosocial predictors of resilience (protective factors), which act to ameliorate the negative effects of stress. Three widely established protective factors were examined: Coping skills, social support, and multidimensional self-concept. These protective factors were compared in a sample of 304 Australian non-Indigenous (n = 245) and Indigenous (n = 59) adolescents, aged 12-18 years. Using a methodological framework developed for this study resilience was assessed by examining stress (negative stressful life events and daily hassles) and adaptation (internalising, externalising and other mental health symptoms). Participants were classified into four resilience groups based on their stress (high or low) and adaptation (positive or negative): resilient (high stress, positive adaptation), negative expected (high stress, negative adaptation), positive expected (low stress, positive adaptation), or poor copers (low stress, negative adaptation). Results were examined separately for non-Indigenous and Indigenous participants. The two cultural groups were then compared. Results revealed that higher stress was strongly associated with more internalising, externalising and other mental health problems. The impact of daily hassles was a strong predictor of adaptation, particularly for Indigenous participants. Indigenous participants reported higher levels of stress and more negative adaptation than non-Indigenous participants. Three coping methods were examined: Solving the Problem, Reference to Others and Non-Productive coping. Solving the Problem coping was a strong predictor of positive adaptation and resilience for non-Indigenous adolescents but not for Indigenous adolescents. No cultural differences in Solving the Problem coping were revealed. Reference to Others was found to be a maladaptive coping method in relation to resilience. Non-Productive coping (e.g., avoidance and substance use) was also found to be maladaptive, and used more by Indigenous than non-Indigenous participants. Social support only predicted resilience for non-Indigenous participants in conditions of very high stress. Contrary to expectations, social support did not discriminate among the Indigenous resilience groups and no significant cultural differences were revealed. Self-concept was strongly related to resilience and positive adaptation for non-Indigenous participants, although not for Indigenous participants. Cultural comparisons, however, revealed that positive self-concept was associated with positive adaptation for both groups. While differences between non-Indigenous and Indigenous participants on several self-concept domains were revealed, the total self-concept of non-Indigenous and Indigenous participants did not differ. The results of this study revealed both similarities and differences in the relationships between the three predictors investigated and the resilience of non-Indigenous and Indigenous adolescents. The findings make some progress toward informing culturally appropriate interventions to promote and strengthen the resilience of Indigenous young people.