Karen M. Zabrucky

Perceived Stress and Coping Resource Availability as Predictors of Life Satisfaction in Young, Middle-Aged, and Older Adults

Global satisfaction with life across three age groups (18 to 40 years, 41 to 65 years, and 66 years and above) was investigated. Multiple regressions were computed to examine the separate and joint effects of per ceived stress and coping resource availability upon life satisfaction across the three age groups (N = 189). Age differences in perceived stress, coping resource availability, and life satisfaction, were also investigated. Results of this cross-sectional investigation indicated that self-appraisal measures of perceived stress and coping resource effectiveness served as moderate predictors of global life satisfaction, and that for the total sample the combined effects of perceived stress and coping resource effectiveness were better predictors of life satisfaction than either variable considered separately. Perceived stress was found to be a better predictor of life satisfaction for younger adults, and coping resource effectiveness was a better predictor of satisfaction with life for middle aged and older adults. Significant age differences in life satisfaction, perceived stress, and coping resources were also found. The assessment of perceived stress and coping has important implications for life satisfaction among all age groups, and has particular significance to older adults. By identifying age differences in variables associated with satisfaction with life, more effective efforts can be made to promote physical and psychological well-being in late adulthood.Global satisfaction with life across three age groups (18 to 40 years, 41 to 65 years, and 66 years and above) was investigated. Multiple regressions were computed to examine the separate and joint effects of perceived stress and coping resource availability upon life satisfaction across the three age groups (N = 189). Age differences in perceived stress, coping resource availability, and life satisfaction, were also investigated. Results of this cross-sectional investigation indicated that self-appraisal measures of perceived stress and coping resource effectiveness served as moderate predictors of global life satisfaction, and that for the total sample the combined effects of perceived stress and coping resource effectiveness were better predictors of life satisfaction than either variable considered separately. Perceived stress was found to be a better predictor of life satisfaction for younger adults, and coping resource effectiveness was a better predictor of satisfaction with life for middle-aged and older adults. Significant age differences in life satisfaction, perceived stress, and coping resources were also found. The assessment of perceived stress and coping has important implications for life satisfaction among all age groups, and has particular significance to older adults. By identifying age differences in variables associated with satisfaction with life, more effective efforts can be made to promote physical and psychological well-being in late adulthood.

Children's Comprehension Monitoring and Recall of Inconsistent Stories.

ZABRUCKY, KAREN, and RATNER, HILARY HoRN. Childrens Comprehension Monitoring and Recall of Inconsistent Stories. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1986, 57, 1401-1418. Third and sixth graders (M age = 9.13 and 11.92 years, respectively) were videotaped reading inconsistent stories presented 1 sentence at a time. We assessed childrens comprehension evaluation with onand off-line measures (reading times and verbal reports) and comprehension regulation by measuring look-backs during reading. All children read inconsistencies more slowly than control information, but sixth graders were more likely to look back at inconsistencies during reading and report inconsistencies following reading. In addition, recall and recognition memory were affected by text inconsistencies. Individual difference analyses revealed that evaluation measures were not related to each other and were related to regulation only for younger children. Evaluation measures were also related to recognition and recall of inconsistencies and to overall passage retention for older children. Results highlight the sensitivity of different comprehension monitoring measures in assessing childrens skills and the importance of treating comprehension monitoring as a multidimensional process.

Children's Ability to Use Three Standards to Evaluate Their Comprehension of Text.

THIS STUDY examined the ability of children in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades to evaluate their comprehension of text using three standards. The authors measured childrens ability to detect nonsense words, which requires use of a lexical standard; their ability to detect falsehoods (violations of prior knowledge), which requires a standard of external consistency; and their ability to detect inconsistencies, which requires a standard of internal consistency. Childrens age, reading ability, and the kind of instructions they were given all affected their comprehension evaluation performance. Children more often used the standards of lexical and external consistency, which required integration of the information in the text with prior knowledge (either vocabulary knowledge or factual knowledge), than the standard of internal consistency of the text. Different developmental and reading ability patterns were found for the three standards. The authors also included several commonly used verbal report measures, but the results from most of these measures were inconsistent with the results of the performance measure. The authors suggest that results from verbal reports should be interpreted with caution.

ADULT AGE DIFFERENCES IN COMPREHENSION AND MEMORY FOR COMPUTER‐DISPLAYED AND PRINTED TEXT

Younger and older adults’ reading performance for texts presented on‐line and texts presented on a printed page were examined. The younger adults spent less time reading the texts and recalled more information from the texts than did the older adults. Age differences were not affected by the method of presenting texts. On‐line presentation of texts resulted in superior comprehension evaluation and recall for both younger and older adults. Although the participants spent more time reading texts presented on‐line than printed texts, the extra reading time did not account for the superior comprehension evaluation and memory found in the online condition. The present research does not provide any evidence that age‐related deficits in reading performance are attributable to on‐line methods of text presentation, but it does suggest that some on‐line presentation methods result in improved comprehension and memory for adults.

Effects of Reading Ability on Children's Comprehension Evaluation and Regulation

Good and poor readers in the sixth grade (M age = 11.92 years) were videotaped reading inconsistent stories presented one sentence at a time. Childrens comprehension evaluation was assessed with on-line (reading times) and verbal report measures; comprehension regulation was assessed by examining look-backs during reading. All children read inconsistencies more slowly than consistent control information but good readers were more likely than poor readers to look back at inconsistencies during reading, to give accurate verbal reports of passage consistency following reading, and to recall text inconsistencies. Results highlight the importance of using multiple comprehension monitoring measures in assessing childrens abilities and of treating comprehension monitoring as a multidimensional process.

METACOMPREHENSION AND COMPREHENSION PERFORMANCE IN YOUNGER AND OLDER ADULTS

On the basis of metamemory assessment research and theories of discourse comprehension, the Metacomprehension Scale (MCS) was designed to assess multiple dimensions of metacomprehension. In a sample of younger (n = 30) and older (n = 30) adults, we examined age differences in self‐assessed components of metacomprehension and the relation of the MCS to comprehension performance and general verbal ability. Younger adults reported greater use of strategies to resolve comprehension failures (i.e., regulation) and placed higher value on good comprehension skills than older adults. The MCS revealed a substantial amount of variance in comprehension performance and verbal ability, with the regulation dimension of metacomprehension being a reliable and consistent predictor of performance. The results provided support for domain‐specific assessment of metacognition and for the critical role of regulation in comprehension performance.

A program for comprehension monitoring of text using HyperCard for the Macintosh

We describe a program using HyperCard for the Macintosh that allows the collection of several different types of text processing data in a realistic, natural, and unobtrusive experimental setting. The program allows a sentence-by-sentence presentation of text and allows unconstrained movement forward and backward through the text. Subjects can, at any point during reading, look back at individual sentences presented previously, or review all previously presented sentences at once. All sentence readings and rereadings are timed, and the sequence of readings, rereadings, and reviews is recorded. Following passage reading, questions are asked to examine comprehension and memory of the passage. The program is well suited for the examination of comprehension evaluation and regulation in readers, as well as for the examination of other comprehension and memory processes.

Evaluation of understanding in college students: Effects of text structure and reading proficiency

Abstract An error detection paradigm was used to examine the ability of college students of different reading proficiency levels to evaluate their understanding of texts. Students read passages containing inconsistent sentences varying in referential coheslveness and were asked to find the textual problems. Error detection was measured by both a performance measure (recording the inconsistent sentences) and a verbal report measure (rating passage understanding following reading). Students were more likely to detect Inconsistent sentences when they were referentially cohesive and good readers were more likely than poor readers to detect Inconsistencies. Students rated passage understanding high regardless of whether they detected problems, resulting In what Glenberg, Wilkinson, and Epstein (1982) have termed Illusion of knowing. Results suggest that college students frequently fail to adequately evaluate their understanding of texts and that Instruction in evaluation strategies would benefit many students.

Imagery Induction Processes Differentially Impact Imagination Inflation

Imagining a fictitious childhood event can lead to a false belief in that event’s occurrence, an effect called imagination inflation. However, the nature of imagery induction can vary considerably and such differences have not been systematically addressed in the literature. In the current study, participants provided confidence ratings for a series of events before and after imagery exercises. We manipulated imagery instructions (guided vs. prompted, a between-subjects factor) as well as event valence (positive vs. negative, a within-subjects factor). Results revealed inflation effects only under guided imagery instructions with negative events being the most susceptible to inflation. Interestingly, a portion of our sample (24%) experienced decreases in confidence following imagery or imagination deflation. Content analyses of imagery reports provided a more thorough understanding of inflation and deflation effects within a source monitoring framework.

Elaborations in Adults' Text Recall: Relations to Working Memory and Text Recall

We examined differences in the elaborative statements produced by younger (mean age = 22.19) and older (mean age = 76.56) adults during text recall as well as relations between elaborative statements and text recall and working memory. Three types of elaborative statements were examined: personal (reactions to a text), inferential (inferences derivable about a text), and metacognitive (statements concerning understanding or memory of a text). Older adults made more personal elaborations during text recall than did younger adults. Younger and older adults did not differ in the amount of inferential or metacognitive elaborations they made, although all adults made more metacognitive comments when texts contained problematic information. Personal elaborations were negatively related to recall and accounted for a substantial portion of the age-related variance in recall. Personal elaborations were also negatively related to processing efficiency, and relations between personal elaborations and working memory and storage capacity were mediated by processing efficiency. The results are consistent with the view that an age-related increase in non-goal-path thoughts, due to inhibitory problems or a different style of text processing, may be related to age-related deficits in text processing.