Gerald D. Nunn

Concurrent Validity between the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children

The present study examined the concurrent validity of the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. In all, 267 students (131 males and 136 females), in grades five through eight participated. Pearson product-moment correlations indicated significant relationships between these measures for both males and females. Implications are discussed.

Perceptions of Personal and Familial Adjustment by Children from Intact, Single-Parent, and Reconstituted Families.

The present study investigated childrens (N=566) personal and familial adjustment, and sought to determine if this varied as a function of familial configuration and gender. More specifically, these children were surveyed across a broad range of adjustment measures, including self-concept, perception of school adjustment, home adjustment, peer relationships, state and trait anxiety, as well as their evaluations of mother, father, and family. The results from these measures revealed: (a) less positive adjustment among children from divorced families (whether the remaining parent remarried or not) as opposed to children from intact families; (b) mixed findings regarding comparisons of psychosocial adjustment between single-parent and remarried groups; and (c) a pattern of effects related to significant interactions of family type and gender in which males appeared to be favorably affected within the single-parent configuration, while females were more favorably adjusted within the reconstituted family.

Effects of Marital Status and Parents' Marital Status on Evaluation of Self and Parents

Summary A total of 980 college students from Kansas State University were asked to take part voluntarily in a study to determine whether or not marital status and prior family structure affected the way one evaluated self, mother, and father. The outcome suggests that evaluations of this triad tended to replicate those obtained in earlier studies upon populations whose ages ranged from about 10 years through young adulthood. Specifically, children from broken homes were found to rate themselves and their parents less favorably than did children from intact homes. Findings from the current study imply that these negative feelings, with respect to self and father, continue to have puissance regardless of the respondents marital status.

Children's Self-Concepts and Evaluations of Parents as a Function of Family Structure and Process.

Summary The present study examined relationships between childrens (N = 132 fifth- through eighth-grade students) self-concepts and their evaluations of parents in families where father loss had occurred either through divorce or death. These correlations were further analyzed in regard to whether children perceived their present family situation as “happy” or “unhappy.” Results indicated significant correlations between self-concepts and evaluations of parents in “unhappy” and “divorced” family units. Nonsignificant relationships were obtained in both “happy” and “father loss through death” configurations. These findings may lend support for the hypothesis of lessened parental ability to provide for childrens basic needs in both “unhappy” and “divorced” families resulting in greater dependency on the part of children in these families.

Equivalence and Concurrent Validity of PPVT-R Forms L and M for School-Age Children with Special Needs.

The PPVT-R and the WISC-R were administered to 101 special needs students; 55 of the referrals were new and 46 were reevaluation. Concurrent validity within the moderate range (.53 to .67) was established; however, when form L and form M were correlated with the WISC-R, form L yielded consistently higher correlations than did form M. Level of performance as reflected by average performance on the PPVT-R and WISC-R was comparable. No significant difference between instruments was observed except, as anticipated, for the PPVT-R and the WISC-R Performance Scale. No sex differences were observed. Further research focusing on the equivalency of forms L and M and the PPVT-R is recommended, particularly since such equivalence or “lack of” may interact with age of student or nature of classifying condition.

Locus of Control as a Function of Family Type and Age at Onset of Father Absence.

Summary In the present study 644 American undergraduate students completed the Rotter Internality-Externality Scale and provided information on their family background. They were then grouped according to whether or not they had experienced father absence, cause of this absence, and their age at the time this event occurred. Results indicated that locus of control varied markedly as a function of these variables.

Concurrent Validity of the Personal Attribute Inventory for Children with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children and the Behavior Rating Profile-Student Scales

The present study examined the relationships between the Personal Attribute Inventory for Children (PAIC) and each of two other widely utilized psychosocial indices, i.e., the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) and the Behavior Rating Profile-Student Scales (BRPSS). A total of 628 children (352 males and 276 females), in grades 5 through 10, voluntarily participated in this study. The scores of respondents on the PAIC were found to be significantly correlated (p < .0001) with their scores on the two subscales of the STAIC as well as with the three subscales of the BRPSS. These results provide evidence of the validity in using the PAIC as an educational, clinical and/or research instrument.

An Investigation of the Relationships Between Children's Self-Concepts and Evaluations of Parent Figures: Do They Vary as a Function of Family Structure?

Abstract The present study investigated the relationship between childrens self-concepts and evaluations of parent figures. The subjects were elementary school children (352 males and 280 females; Grades 5 through 10) who came from intact families, divorced families, or families in which one or both parents had died. Significant relationships were obtained between childrens self-concept ratings and their evaluations of their natural father and mother for both intact and divorced families. This relationship was not significant, however, for families in which a parent had died. Furthermore, childrens self-ratings were not significantly correlated with their evaluations of stepparents.

Students' Perceptions of Parental Practices and Evaluations of Self, Mother, and Father

The present study examined perceptions of parental discipline and associated evaluations of self, i.e., self-concept, mother, and father by 55 undergraduate college students attending a large midwestern university. Significantly more positive evaluations of self and father, but not mother, were associated with restrictive than with permissive parenting practices. The implications in regard to acceptance of parental authority are discussed.