PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S S Feldman

Publications and source records attributed to S S Feldman.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Control over uplifts and hassles and its relationship to adaptational outcomes.

The relationship of perceived control over daily uplifts and hassles to depression and restraint was examined in a sample of 140 middle-class sixth graders. Results indicated that greater control over uplifts was associated with better functioning and lower control over hassles with poorer functioning, even after partialing out the respective number of uplifts and hassles reported. Moreover, when directly compared, control over uplifts showed more powerful associations with adaptational outcomes than did control over hassles. In a separate analysis, the number of uplifts over which children reported high control showed opposite relationships to adaptational outcomes than did the number of uplifts over which children reported low control. A different pattern appeared for hassles. Although the number of hassles with low control was associated with poorer functioning, the number of hassles over which children had high control was unrelated to adaptational outcomes. The possibility that control operates somewhat differently for positive and negative events is discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1990

The acculturation of Chinese immigrants: perceived effects on family functioning of length of residence in two cultural contexts.

In two studies, conducted in Australia and the United States, first- and second-generation adolescents of Chinese descent, together with adolescents from the host culture (Anglo-Australian or Euro-American) and from Hong Kong, were asked about their family environment. In both studies, an autonomy-promoting family style differentiated the host culture from the Hong Kong Chinese, with the Chinese immigrants occupying an intermediate position. Chinese immigrants of both generations reported more structured, controlling family environments than did the nonimmigrant groups. First-generation Chinese-Australians reported a more organized family pattern than that of their second-generation peers, whereas second-generation Chinese-Americans perceived more family regulation of adolescents than did the first-generation respondents. The two studies yielded remarkably similar results in spite of differences in the Chinese communities' positions in the host culture. There was evidence of somewhat rapid change in the first-generation families toward individualistic norms but little shift in family environment as a function of length of residence.

Acculturation↗
PubMed1990

Preadolescents' social-emotional adjustment and selective attrition in family research.

Researchers often ask subjects to commit considerable time and effort to completing tasks that are not especially enjoyable. In a multistage investigation of sixth-grade boys and their families, we hypothesized that boys who were prone to high levels of distress (i.e., anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and low well-being) but only low or moderate levels of self-restraint (i.e., consideration of others, impulse control, suppression of aggression, and responsibility) would be particularly unlikely to agree to participate. Consistent with this hypothesis, boys from 33 classrooms who were nominated by their peers as high in distress and moderate or low in self-restraint were significantly less likely than other boys to take part in an in-class survey. In addition, the families of boys who scored high in distress and moderate or low in self-restraint on the Weinberger Adjustment Inventory (WAI) were less likely than other families to agree to an observation session in their homes and to a series of telephone interviews about daily events in the boys' lives. Across the 3 phases of the research, the cumulative attrition rate of these at-risk boys was approximately 80%, compared to only 50% for those low in distress and/or high in self-restraint. These results suggest that the children of greatest interest in studies of social competence and family interaction may often be among those least adequately represented.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed1988

Mothers' internal models of relationships and children's behavioral and developmental status: a study of mother-child interaction.

Interactional behavior of mothers and preschool children was studied in light of mothers' internal models of relationships and select child characteristics. Children with behavior problems who were developmentally intact (n = 20) and developmentally delayed (n = 20), and a matched nonclinic group (n = 24), were studied in a problem-solving session. Mothers' help and support, and children's approach to tasks, relationship to mother, and overall experience were scored. Mothers' internal models of relationships, based on descriptions of childhood relationships, were characterized as detached, preoccupied, or secure (attachment classifications). Results showed children's behavioral and developmental status, as well as mothers' internal models, to be associated with dyadic behavior. Children's behavior corresponded to mothers' internal models and to behavioral and developmental status even with the effects of mothers' behavior removed. Discriminant analysis correctly classified 93% of the sample into clinic and nonclinic groups and into the 3 attachment classifications.

Affect↗
PubMed1988

Changing perceptions of family cohesion and power across adolescence.

Adolescents' perceptions of family relationships were studied using the FAST, a spatial technique in which wooden figures were placed on a board to represent cohesion and power. 150 subjects, drawn equally from sixth, ninth, and twelfth grades, portrayed the family in 2 representations: as perceived typically and ideally. Father-mother, father-child, and mother-child dyads were analyzed. Perceptions were strongly influenced by age, type of representation, and dyad. In accord with a developmental perspective, older adolescents portrayed less cohesion in parent-child dyads and smaller power differences in all dyads than did younger adolescents. In accord with family systems theory, the father-mother dyad was depicted as the most cohesive and as near egalitarian in power. At all ages and in both representations, parents were perceived as more powerful than their children. The family was generally portrayed as cohesive, significantly more so in the ideal than typical representation. Furthermore, in the ideal representation there were no significant power differences between the parents but moderate power differences in the parent-child dyads. Results were interpreted from both developmental and family systems perspectives.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

The effects of different modes of verbalization on the recognition of object detail in pictures.

The effects of different modes of verbalization on recognition memory of object detail were examined in first- and third-grade children and adults. The results indicated that both age of the subject and the type of verbalization used during initial picture viewing influenced recognition accuracy for object detail. When compared to nonverbal viewing groups, only specific types of verbalization increased recognition accuracy for third-grade and adult subjects. None of the modes of verbalization was effective in increasing first-grade recognition scores. The results indicate that general statements concerning the facilitating or inhibiting influence of verbalization on recognition memory must be qualified. In addition, the results showed that developmental differences in recognition accuracy are contingent upon the type of strategy used during the encoding process.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Attachment behavior: a validation study in two age groups.

To assess the validity of attachment scores derived from the Ainsworth "strange situation," 56 1-year-olds and 79 2-year-olds accompanied by either the mother, the father, or a brief acquaintance were studied. Proximity to the adult, duration of play, crying, activity, and the incidence of looks and distance bids were measured. 1-year-olds were more secure with their parents: they were more active, played more, cried less, and stood closer to their parents than to an acquaintance. 2-year-olds accompanied by their parents were less settled in the presence of a stranger than children accompanied by the acquaintance. The adequacy of current conceptions and measures of attachment was discussed in light of these results.

Adult↗