Brief method for assessing social-personal orientation

Predictive Roles of Thinking Styles in Coping Strategies Among Mainland Postgraduate Students in Hong Kong

The primary objective of the present research was to explore the statistical predictive power of thinking styles in coping strategies beyond demographic factors. One hundred and forty-eight mainland postgraduate students were administered to the Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised II (TSI-R2) and the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE) Revised. Results indicated that Type I thinking styles primarily predicted adaptive coping strategies, while Type II thinking styles positively contributed to maladaptive coping strategies. Results in the present research were largely in the expected directions beyond the influence of demographic factors. Furthermore, thinking styles varied as a function of age, gender, gender-role orientation, and marital status. Implications for postgraduate students, academics, university administrators, and the limitations of the research, are discussed.

The Measurement of Three Lifestyle Values: Resourcefulness, Responsibility and Relationships to others

A theory proposing three distinct, effective types of family systems [1] guided the definition and operationalization of three lifestyle value constructs. A simple, reliable and valid measure of three aspects of living – resourcefulness, responsibility and relationships to others – was developed. In a first study, 216 graduate students in six fields rated themselves on a list of thirty-six adjectives selected to comprise the three scales. Factor analysis supported the constructs. Scores were independent of gender and bore expected relationships to program affiliation. In a second study, eighty-three adults completed a forced-choice form of the instrument, rating both themselves and their spouses. They also completed the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and a semi-structured individual interview. Scores from the four measures were entered into a multitrait-multimethod matrix which demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity for the constructs. The usefulness of studying the priorities that people assign to the three aspects of living is explored.

Relationship between Preference for a Type of Sport and Two Aspects of Personality: Social Alienation and Self-Esteem

96 casual sport participants took part in a study investigating the relationship between sport-preference and social alienation and between sport-preference and self-esteem. 32 subjects were primarily involved in individual sports, 32 in team-of-two sports, and 32 in larger team sports. Males and females were equally represented in each group. Preference for team sports was related to lower levels of social alienation in male and female participants. Higher levels of self-esteem were found among males involved in individual sports and females participating in team sports.

Gender, depression, and ankylosing spondylitis

Depression has been established as a common reaction to rheumatoid arthritis but has rarely been investigated among people with other forms of arthritis. The present study examined the prevalence and determinants of depressive symptoms in people with ankylosing spondylitis, focusing on gender differences and set in the context of widely held medical views concerning the psychosocial nature of ankylosing spondylitis patients. Results showed that approximately one third of the ankylosing spondylitis patients reported a high level of depressive symptoms and that women reported more depression than men. No evidence was found to support the stereotype of the "typical" ankylosing spondylitis patient as being less depressed than people with other forms of arthritis. Pain was found to be a major determinant of depression for women, but was of lesser importance for men. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Sex-role concepts and flexibility on measures of thinking, feeling, and behaving

Tests selected to measure orientation toward others, interpersonal relations on behavioral and feeling levels, and creative thinking were administered to 163 persons. Scores were examined for differences between males and females (on the basis of gender alone) and among sex-role concept groups (on the basis of scores on Bem's test) to test the proposition that androgynous persons are more flexible in interpersonal relations than are either masculine or feminine persons. Androgynous persons are more flexible in a range of interpersonal situations but not in creative thinking tasks. Both the extensions and limitations of the androgyny construct are discussed in view of that finding. The usefulness of Bem's test of sex-role inventory for clinical and research purposes was noted.