George F. Kawash

Self-Esteem in Children as a Function of Perceived Parental Behavior

ABSTRACT Shortened versions of Coopersmiths Self-Esteem Inventory, SEI (Coopersmith, 1967) and Schaefers Childrens Report of Parental Behavior Inventory, CRPBI (Schaefer, 1965a, 1965b) were administered to 126 fifth- and sixthgrade children. The mean levels of SEI and CRPBI scores for both parents were similar, as were the patterns of intercorrelations among these variables. A multiple regression analysis confirmed a similar pattern of CRPBI predictors to the SEI for both boys and girls, with Acceptance and granting of psychological autonomy (Control) being the key predictors. An analysis of combined perceptions suggested that boys who perceived both parents as high in acceptance had significantly higher SEI scores than those who perceived both parents as low in acceptance. Boys who perceived both parents as lax in discipline had higher SEI scores than those reporting firm discipline. In contrast, the Control factor was significant for girls but not for boys. Girls who perceived both parents as high in...

A factor analysis of a short form of the CRPBI: are children's perceptions of control and discipline multidimensional?

ABSTRACT Researchers who have conducted factor analyses of Schaefers (1965) Childrens Reports of Parental Behavior Inventory (CRPBI) have uniformly applied the Kaiser-Guttman (K-G) rule when estimating the number of factors, and have relied almost exclusively on orthogonal rotations. Because there is a substantial body of evidence noting the tendency of the K-G rule to underestimate the number of factors when the number of scales is moderate to small, many researchers believed that the factor structure of this scale should be reanalyzed in the light of an alternative procedure. In the present study, we analyzed the responses of a combined sample of 222 elementary school and 128 high school students. All of these students completed a short form of the CRPBI. Analyses of various subsamples (i.e., by gender and age) were consistent with analyses of the combined sample in suggesting that, whereas the specific rotation procedure applied was not critical, a five-factor solution may be more appropriate than th...

Evaluation of an affective-based adult nutrition education program

Abstract Nutrition educators have had limited success using cognitive approaches to effect behavior change. This study evaluated the effectiveness of an affective-based program in changing the nutrition attitudes and behavior of a group of adults, using pre-, post-, and retention test measures of nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and dietary behavior. The sample consisted of a treatment group (n = 59) and a control group (n = 58). The treatment group participated in a five-week nutrition course offered at a public health unit. At the conclusion of the program the respondents had improved nutrition knowledge, maintained positive attitudes, and improved reported nutrition behavior. Nutrition knowledge scores rose significantly from the pretest to posttest situations for both groups. However, only the treatment group showed a rise in knowledge scores from the pretest to the retention test. No significant changes in scores occurred on the attitude scale, which measured flexibility-rigidity in nutrition attitudes. Pretest scores were very high for both treatment and control groups, suggesting a possible ceiling effect. Nutrition behavior was measured by 24-hour recalls which were scored qualitatively. The mean behavior scores rose significantly from pretest to posttest and pretest to retention test for the treatment group only.

A structural analysis of self‐esteem from pre‐adolescence through young adulthood: Anxiety and extraversion as agents in the development of self‐esteem

Three personality scales designed to measure similar dimensions in different age ranges--the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF), High School Personality Questionnaire (HSPQ), and Childrens Personality Questionnaire (CPQ)--were administered along with varieties of Coopersmiths Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI) to three samples aged (on average) 21 (N = 71), 15 (N = 91), and 10 (N = 89) years. The results indicated considerable stability in the personality correlates of self-esteem at these ages. Consideration of these personality dimensions at the second-order level indicated that it was anxiety and extraversion factors that consistently appeared as significant correlates. These observations were considered in light of the source trait-surface trait distinction made by Cattell (1957). One hypothesis is that children raised in a warm and accepting environment develop lower levels of anxiety and higher levels of extraversion. This leads to increased interpersonal contact and more opportunity for social feedback and enhanced self-regard. While the precise order of events is uncertain, the literature reviewed is consistent with the proposal that anxiety, extraversion, and self-esteem can be related to similar home environments.

The family of origin scale: A construct validation study

Data from 69 women and 63 men along with ratings from a panel of expert judges were used to assess the construct validity of the Family Of Origin Scale as a measure of family health. Loevingers conception of construct validity, focusing on the substantive, structural, and external components of validity, was employed to organize the research procedures followed and the data analytic techniques used. Results showed that the instrument appears to be a useful measure of a warmth-coldness affect dimension in the family of origin, but the multi-dimensional structure of the test, as a measure of family-of-origin health, could not be validated. Suggestions for use, score interpretation, and further development are discussed.

Correlates of nutrition knowledge in Canadian businessmen

Abstract We studied 195 men employed in management and executive positions in the insurance industry to determine their level of nutrition knowledge and to examine the relationship of social, demographic, and personality variables to nutrition knowledge. The respondents, who ranged in age from 18 to 72 years, scored 59% on a validated 20-item multiple-choice test of nutrition knowledge. Higher nutrition knowledge, correlated with increasing age, higher education, and higher socioeconomic status. Knowledge was also related to participation in nutrition-related activities in the home and to several personality dimensions as measured by the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire. Between men high and low in knowledge were several personality differences, including differences in imaginativeness, emotional sensitivity, and extraverted orientation. The study reaffirmed some established demographic factors and added new variables, including participation in nutrition-related activities and personality factors, as contributors to understanding nutrition knowledge.

Parallel Short Forms of the Family of Origin Scale: Evidence of Their Reliability and Validity

Two parallel short forms of the Family of Origin Scale were developed from data provided by 69 women and 63 men who completed the full Family of Origin Scale along with a variety of measures of family-of-origin characteristics. Data on the reliability and validity of the short forms are provided and discussed. The results indicate that both short forms are strongly and significantly correlated with each other and with the full-scale version of the FOS and that they share its reliability and validity characteristics to a very high degree.

Self‐esteem, locus of control, and approval motivation in married couples

The authors feel that the two observations in this study of greatest importance to researchers and practitioners alike are the sex difference observed in homogeneity of self-perception and the significant correlation between SEI and MCSD. In the case of the former observation further research will be necessary to clarify this difference, but a good starting point would be to establish whether it can be replicated on college students. There may be a generational shift in this phenomenon, and it will be necessary to establish this observation before further analysis is possible. The implications of the second observation have been discussed. Of course, independent confirmation is necessary in order to substantiate the observation that MCSD is a measure of defensiveness. If so, researcher and clinician alike can begin to work toward an important refinement of this very basic phenomenon of self-esteem.

Personality Correlates of Selected Elements of the Health Belief Model

Summary One hundred and ninety-five men with an average age of 38 years and employed in sedentary work [and thus statistically at increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD)] replied to a questionnaire assessing the degree to which they felt susceptible to CVD, their expectations regarding the severity of an attack, if they should have one, and their perception of the benefits to be derived from engaging in appropriate preventive behavior. These three elements of the Health Belief Model (HBM) were correlated with the primary source traits of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF). A total of eight 16 PF factors correlated with one or more elements of the HBM, five of them contributors to the second-order factor of anxiety. There was a clear tendency for anxiety dimensions to correlate with perceived susceptibility and severity, but not with benefits. These findings were interpreted as having implications for both researchers and practitioners. On the one hand, such data should encourage ...

Effects of Administration of Cannabis Resin during Pregnancy on Emotionality and Learning

Injection of cannabis resin as a saline-Tween 80 solution to pregnant rats resulted in pups having lower body weight, higher emotionality, poorer learning capacity, and paradoxically higher brain weight and DNA content. The cannabis appeared directly to have caused the inferior growth rate of the pups which in turn affected emotionality and learning.