Exploring the Role of School Engagement in Predicting Resilience Among Bahamian Youth

In the simplest terms, resilience is doing better than expected, particularly given the presence of some disadvantage that threatens positive outcomes. Like many other countries worldwide, The Bahamas has areas of poverty that provide many challenges for families raising children. Although the consequences of poverty are rampant, not all the youth who are raised in these conditions succumb to these effects. This study sought to identify the internal and external factors that are predictive of resilience in a sample of 103 urban Bahamian students. Ninth- and 11th-grade students from two local public schools completed surveys. Of special interest to this study was the relationship between school engagement and resilience. Although school engagement was significantly positively related to resilience, it was overshadowed by other factors when included in the resilience regression model. Relationships with parents and nonparental adults, involvement in meaningful activity, and self-efficacy were significant predictors of resilience in this sample of urban Bahamian students

Motivational and Personality Predictors of Body Esteem in High- and Low-Frequency Exercisers

Active living is imperative to maintaining good health, and becoming involved in regular exercise at a young age is fundamental. The purpose of this study was to examine motivation for exercise among university students in relation to metamotivational dominance and body esteem. Participants in this study were 106 undergraduate students who were recruited from their psychology departmental participant pool and from the campus exercise facility at a medium sized Canadian university. Participants completed an inventory that included the Motivational Style Profile, Big Five Inventory-10, Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire, and the Body Weight and Image Self-Esteem Evaluation Questionnaire to assess personality, exercise motivation, and body esteem. High-frequency exercisers were found to be more paratelic dominant than low-frequency exercisers, and scored significantly higher on intrinsic, identified, and introjected regulation, indicating that they exercised for enjoyment, valued exercise outcomes, and wanted to avoid negative emotions associated with not exercising. Among high frequency exercisers, positive body esteem was associated with high intrinsic and low extrinsic motivation for exercise, paratelic dominance, negativism dominance, and low neuroticism. For low-frequency exercisers, significant correlates of positive body esteem were autic mastery dominance, low BMI, low neuroticism, and lower levels of extrinsic and introjected motivation. Findings are discussed in terms of healthy and unhealthy motivations for exercise, and recommendations are made for tailoring health promotion strategies to metamotivational dominance

Lecture Engagement and Metamotivational States: Tracking and Intervention

We studied the underlying motives governing students’ active learning in the classroom. Previous investigations indicate that during a standard lecture, student ratings of engagement decrease along with serious-mindedness (telic state). In each of two studies, a questionnaire packet was distributed to participants at the start of their 75-minute social psychology class. The instructor paused the lecture every 10 minutes (from Time 1 to Time 6) to assess the extent to which students were (a) serious-minded or telic and (b) engaged in the lecture. Results from Study 1 showed that both serious-mindedness and lecture engagement together dropped over the span of the lecture. In Study 2 we reasoned that by introducing a mid-lecture student group activity, both engagement and serious-mindedness would rebound. Between Time 3 and Time 4, students were given a group task to complete and discuss among each other. Compared to prior data (Study 1) without the activity after Time 3, engagement and serious-mindedness were significantly higher at Time 4 before falling again at Time 6. Educational implications and future directions are discussed

Embracing Diversity: The Dual Role of Gay-Straight Alliances

The social landscape has changed regarding public knowledge, perception, and acceptance of “alternative” sexual lifestyles. In recent years, public and political discourse around issues of non-heterosexual orientations has shifted significantly. Despite many legal milestones, society has not realized complete inclusion of individuals whose sexual orientations do not conform to the mainstream, heterosexual majority. Non-heterosexual Canadians still experience negative repercussions of heterosexism in both social and institutional realms. This article discusses one important avenue of advocacy—gay–straight alliances—and takes the position that these alliances serve a dual role: education and social activism

The Multidimensional Mortality Awareness Measure & Model (MMAMM): Development and validation of a new self-report questionnaire & psychological framework

For each of eight literature-identified conceptual dimensions of mortality awareness, questionnaire items were generated, producing 89 in all. 359 participants responded to these items and to questionnaires measuring health attitudes, risk-taking, rebelliousness and demographic variables. Multivariate correlational analyses investigated the underlying structure of the item pool and the construct validity as well as the reliability of the emergent empirically derived subscales. Five components, rather than eight, were identified. Given the item content of each, the associated mortality awareness subscales were labelled as: legacy, fearfulness, acceptance, disempowerment, and disengagement. Each attained an acceptable level of internal reliability. Relationships with other variables supported the construct validity of these empirically derived subscales and more generally of this five-factor model. In conclusion, this new multidimensional measure and model of mortality awareness extends our understanding of this important aspect of human existence and supports a more integrative and optimistic approach to mortality awareness than previously available

Embracing Diversity: The Dual Role of Gay-Straight Alliances

The social landscape has changed regarding public knowledge, perception, and acceptance of “alternative” sexual lifestyles. In recent years, public and political discourse around issues of non-heterosexual orientations has shifted significantly. Despite many legal milestones, society has not realized complete inclusion of individuals whose sexual orientations do not conform to the mainstream, heterosexual majority. Non-heterosexual Canadians still experience negative repercussions of heterosexism in both social and institutional realms. This article discusses one important avenue of advocacy—gay–straight alliances—and takes the position that these alliances serve a dual role: education and social activism

Metamotivational tendencies, sociocultural attitudes, and risky eating behaviors

Previous research has examined both sociocultural effects (e.g., Thompson et al., 2004) and personality influences (e.g., Cassin & von Ranson, 2005) on eating disordered behavior. However, comparatively little research has employed the theoretical framework of reversal theory (RT). The present study examined the relationship between reversal theory’s metamotivational personality constructs and risk of eating pathology, along with the mediating effects of sociocultural attitudes. A non-clinical sample of 123 undergraduate students completed the Motivational Style Profile (MSP), Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ-3), Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), and a demographic profile. Simple t-tests suggested significant differences between males and females and the sexes were analyzed separately. The RT construct of autic sympathy (desire to be attractive and liked by others; Apter, Mallows & Williams, 1998) was determined to be a significant predictor of increased eating pathology in the female subsample. This relationship was fully mediated by sociocultural factors. Rebelliousness was also significantly and positively related to risky eating behaviors. Findings are discussed in relation to the role of reversal theory in enhancing our understanding of risks associated with, and the ability to predict, the development of eating pathology. These results may contribute to the assessment and treatment of females who engage in risky eating behavior