Lynda Henley Walters

Resilience Processes in Adolescents: Personality Profiles, Self-Worth, and Coping.

Trends in resilience research are shifting from identifying characteristics of children who are resilient in the face of adversity to identifying processes that promote resilience under normative conditions. The authors examined the potential for different associations of two correlates of resilience (self-worth and coping) with a third (personality dimensions). Specifically, the authors used cluster analysis to identify three discrete personality profiles using data from 181 11th-grade students (48% male, 78% White). Discriminant function analysis was then used to investigate the association of these three personality profiles with two variables that have characterized resilient youth: self-worth and coping. Consistent with prior research, the combination of being extroverted, agreeable, and open to new experiences was associated with high self-worth. Additionally, positive coping was also associated with compensatory mechanisms for adolescents who were high on disagreeableness and emotional instability. These findings suggest that there may be different compensatory mechanisms operating for adolescents with different personality profiles.

Adolescent satisfaction in family rituals and psychosocial development: a developmental systems theory perspective.

Adolescent satisfaction in family rituals and psychosocial development (E. Greenberger & A. B. Sorenson, 1974) were explored in the context of adolescent personality characteristics (International Personality Item Pool, 1999) and family environment characteristics (S. M. Gavazzi, M. J. Reese, & R. M. Sabatelli, 1998; D. H. Olson et al., 1983). Data were collected from 159 female undergraduates with the Adolescent Satisfaction in Family Rituals Scale (D. G. Eaker & L. H. Walters, 1999). Family ritual satisfaction was positively related to late adolescent psychosocial development and mediated the relation between family boundaries and psychosocial development. Furthermore, the relation between personality (measured as discontentedness, an aspect of neuroticism) and satisfaction with family rituals was found to be mediated by family boundaries in preliminary analyses. These results suggest that the relevance of family ritual experiences to adolescent psychosocial development is in part a function of an individuals personality and the family environment.

Differentiation of girls at risk of early pregnancy from the general population of adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to examine two psychological characteristics (locus of control and purpose in life) that have been associated with early pregnancy. The characteristics were examined first in samples drawn from a general population of adolescents and then in samples of ever-pregnant and never-pregnant adolescents. Ever-pregnant girls differed neither from the general population of adolescents nor from the matched sample of never-pregnant girls on the two psychological dimensions. Alternatives for conceptualizing risk are proposed.

A Cross-Validated Factor Analysis of the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children

The Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children (N- SLOCSC) is a test of perception of internal vs. external control of reinforcement that was developed for use with children and youth. As part of a larger study, the scale was factor analyzed and then cross-validated with two similar samples of high school students. Al though the authors assume their scale to be unidimensional, no one strong dimension emerged from these analyses. Only 8 of the 21 items used in this study were correlated similarly on the two factors for both samples. The two resultant dimensions appeared to mea sure Social Control (six items) and Self Control (two items).

Development of a Quantitative Measure of a Family from Self-Reports of Family Members

Researchers have known for decades that the study of individuals is not the same as the study of families. However, combining self-report information from three or more family members to form a score that represents a family has presented conceptual and statistical problems. The purpose of this article is to present a strategy for deriving a measure of a family property that (1) is originally obtained from individuals, (2) is different from the sum of the family members scores, (3) is reflective of the unique contribution of each family member to the score that represents family, and (4) is as idiosyncratic to an individual family as an individuals score on a measure is to the individual.

Trends Affecting Adolescent Views of Sexuality, Employment, Marriage, and Child Rearing.

The review presents a summary of (a) four changes within society i.e. sexual standards occupational goals of men and women commitment in marriage and changing standards of child rearing in terms of their impact on adolescents views of the family; (b) short- and long-term effects of adolescent marriage on their views; and (c) what can be anticipated of adolescents in the decade ahead in order to illustrate both the continuities and changes in adolescents views of the family. (authors)

Adolescents' Knowledge of Childbearing.

The study reported here is a preliminary one describing one phase of an Adolescent Pregnancy Project being conducted at the University of Georgia. Based on a sample of 1200 high school youth who participated in a state wide study this analysis focuses on their understanding of the consequences of child bearing during adolescence in terms of the health of the mother and the child and in terms of its impact on their family life. (authors)

Measures of Anomie and Locus-of-Control for Adolescents: Evidence of Factorial Validity.

Because of the lack of clarity of anomie and locus-of-control that has resulted from use of the same terminology in discussion of the two constructs, items from the Crumbaugh Purpose-in-Life Test (anomie) and the Nowicki-Strickland Locus-of-Control Scale for Children were submitted together for factor analyses. The first sample included 349 adolescents; the cross-validation sample contained 404 adolescents from the same population. Similar factor structures were found in both samples when principal axes were rotated to varimax solutions and to oblique solutions. No item from one instrument loaded above .30 on any factor characterized by items from the other instrument. It was concluded that the instruments measure different constructs and are factorially valid when considered together.

Use of Staff Development by Teachers and Aides with Emotionally Disturbed and Behavior Disordered Students

Staff development instruction to 45 teachers and aides with ED/BD students in 13 schools resulted in significantly improved classroom performance of participants in schools with adequate to exemplary administrative support. In schools with inadequate administrative support no participant attained the criterion performance level. Area of prior educational preparation and entry-level performance were related to outcome performance scores. Variables not related significantly to performance outcomes were prior teaching experience in special or general education, highest degree, instructional hours of lecturelworkshop, and instructional hours of individual classroom observation and feedback.