Hiromi Fukada

Stress and Social Support in Mental and Physical Health of Chinese Students in Japan

This study examined the influence of stress and social support on mental and physical health and happiness of 175 Chinese students enrolled in 13 Japanese universities. Needed support accounted for only 10% of the variance in reported stress, indicating that the relation between the two variables was not strong and they were generally independent. With greater scores on stress or needed support and lower scores on perceived or received support, depression and somatic complaints become more severe. The higher the scores on perceived or received support, the higher the reported happiness Both perceived and received support showed a buffering effect on somatic complaints. Finally, stress and needed support had an interesting interaction, indicating that only among students reporting more stress did students who experienced greater need for support report more severe depression than those who experienced less need for support.

Effects of Social Support on Adjustment of Chinese Students in Japan.

Abstract The present study examined the effects on adjustment of three dimensions of support (needed, perceived, or actual) and the gaps between those dimensions. Ninety-two Chinese students in Japan responded to questionnaires that included a social support scale and items measuring adjustment. Correlational analysis and multiple regression analysis consistently indicated that the relation between needed support and adjustment was strongly negative and that the relation between actual support and adjustment was positive but that there was no association of perceived support and adjustment. Perceived support had a positive effect on adjustment for students who had a high need for support but not for students with a low need for support (a buffering effect), and actual support had a positive effect on adjustment for all students (a direct effect). All of the support gaps were negatively related to adjustment, indicating that insufficient support was linked to poorer adjustment.

The Causes and Influence of Transitional Stress Among Chinese Students in Japan

The structure, characteristics, and influence of stressors among Chinese students in Japan were examined. One hundred seventy-five Chinese students completed questionnaires that included stressor items from Holmes and Rahe (1967) and Yo and Matsubara (1990) and mental-physical health items that assessed depression, somatic complaints, and happiness. Stressors among Chinese students in Japan were classified as 5 factors: Interpersonal Problems, Academic Problems, Health/Living Problems, Financial Anxiety, and Environmental Problems. These 5 factors accounted for 35%, 18%, and 4%, respectively, of the variance in depression, somatic complaints, and happiness. Thus, the factors were clearly detrimental to mental health but had a limited influence on physical health and happiness.

Effect of Social Support from Various Sources on the Adjustment of Chinese Students in Japan

The effect of source of social support on adjustment was examined, using measures of needed support, actual support, and the disparity between the two. The possible sources of social support were Japanese professors, Japanese students, other foreign students, and Japanese friends off-campus. Sixty-four Chinese students in Japan answered questionnaires that included an abbreviated version of the Social Support Scale for Chinese Students in Japan (Jou, 1993) and items about adjustment. The Chinese students who needed more support from Japanese students reported being more poorly adjusted. The Chinese students who received more support from Japanese professors reported being better adjusted, and the Chinese students who thought the support they received from Japanese professors was less than what they needed reported being more poorly adjusted. Thus, the effect of social support on adjustment varied according to source of support.

The Relationship Between Leadership and Sociometric Status Among Preschool Children

In the present study the relationship between leadership behavior and sociometric status among preschool children was examined. Leadership behaviors of 24 6-year-old Japanese children were observed during free play and scored on the basis of a 2-dimensional leadership scale (facilitation of play and consideration-evaluation of playmates; Fukada, Fukada, & Hicks, 1994). Participants were categorized into three sociometric-status groups. Children who had high sociometric status showed higher scores on both leadership dimensions than those with low sociometric status.

A Comparison of Four Causal Factors of Embarrassment in Public and Private Situations

Abstract In this study the authors investigated which of 4 causal factors of embarrassment is most characteristic in public and in private situations. University students (N = 288) were presented with 2 scenes representing public or private situations and were asked to rate 17 items related to the 4 factors causing embarrassment. The results indicated that in the public situation the causal factors were ordered as (a) disruption of social interaction, (b) apprehension of social evaluation, (c) inconsistency with self-image, and (d) loss of self-esteem, and in the private situation causal factors were ordered as (a) loss of self-esteem, (b) inconsistency with self-image, (c) apprehension of social evaluation, and (d) disruption of social interaction. From these results, new models for the mediating mechanism of embarrassment are proposed.

Structure of Leadership Among Preschool Children

The purpose of the present study was to examine the structure of leadership among preschool children. Leadership behaviors of 18 five-year-old Japanese children were observed during free play and scored on the basis of a 15-item leadership scale. A factor analysis of the items indicated two factors: facilitation of play and consideration-evaluation of playmates. Children who had a central role in group play showed more leadership behaviors on the consideration-evaluation of playmates dimension than those on the periphery. For the dimension of facilitation of play, however, no significant difference was seen between the two groups.

Comparison of Four Factors Related to Embarrassment in Nontypical Situations

To assess the particularities of four factors in assessing embarrassment (i.e., apprehension of social evaluation, inconsistency with self-image, disruption of social interaction, and loss of self-esteem) in four nontypical situations in Japan (i.e., nervousness about others, uneasiness with others, self-consciousness, and sexual circumstances), 109 university students were presented descriptions of 8 scenes and rated 17 items to measure factors related to embarrassment. Analysis indicated that disruption of social interaction was rated as characteristic of every situation. This result suggests that disruption of social interaction model is a valid premise of embarrassment in nontypical situations.

にこにこルームの学習支援が小学生に及ぼす効果(5) : 平成22年度の小学生と保護者を対象とした調査

広島大学大学院教育学研究科附属教育実践総合センターでは, 学習支援を実践するための学生の力量形成と, 地域の小学生に対する学習支援サービスの提供に取り組んでいる。本研究では, 平成22年度前期・後期の学習支援プログラムに参加した小学生31名とその保護者31名を対象に, 学習支援プログラムが小学生に及ぼす効果について検討した。小学生には2種類の質問紙調査を実施し, 保護者には1種類の質問紙調査を実施した。小学生の「算数に関する自己効力感」「算数に関する学習観」の, 事前調査の得点と事後調査の得点との間に有意な差はみられなかった。また, 小学生も保護者も, 大学生の力量による効果を高く評価しており, 学習支援プログラムに参加したことに満足していたことが確認された。また, 大学生の力量による効果が高く評価されるほど, 小学生の算数への関心が高まり, 学習支援プログラムに対する満足感が高まると, 小学生も保護者も認知していたことが明らかとなった。

にこにこルームの学習支援プログラムが学生の力量形成に及ぼす効果(4) : 平成22年度の学生を対象とした質問紙調査

広島大学大学院教育学研究科附属教育実践総合センターでは, 学習支援を実践するための学生の力量形成と, 地域の小学生に対する学習支援サービスの提供に取り組んでいる。本研究では, 平成22年度前期・後期の学習支援プログラムに参加した大学生を対象に, 学習支援プログラムが大学生の力量形成に及ぼす効果について検討した。実際に学習支援を行った担当群のべ36名とそれを観察した観察群のべ34名に, 学習支援プログラムの開始前と終了後に, 質問紙による集合調査を行った。調査時期(開始前・終了後)と群(担当群・観察群)を独立変数とし, 力量および教育・教職への態度を従属変数とした2要因分散分析を行った。その結果, 力量の「アセスメント」「知識の保有」「指導技術」に時期の主効果が確認され, 学習支援プログラムを通してこれらの力量が形成されたことが示唆された。また, 「保護者との関係」に群の主効果が確認され, 観察群に比べて担当群は, 保護者との良好な関係が形成できていることが示唆された。