Biomedical subjects

A Furnham

Publications and source records attributed to A Furnham.

122 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

PubMed1983

Dimensions of assertiveness: factor analysis of five assertion inventories.

Five self report assertiveness inventories were factor analyzed. In each case two major factors emerged, accounting for approximately one-quarter to a third of the variance. The findings emphasize the multidimensional nature of current measures of assertiveness, and suggest the construction of a more systematic and psychometrically evaluated scale that would yield subscale scores assessing the separate dimensions of assertiveness.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1983

The A type behaviour pattern, mental health and health locus of control beliefs.

Despite the fact that a considerable amount of research has considered the relationship between A type behaviours and specific aspects of physical health few studies have looked at the relationship between A type behaviours, mental health and health beliefs. This study set out to determine the relationship between type A behaviours, psychological disturbance and various health locus of control beliefs in a heterogeneous population. It was hypothesized that although A type individuals would have higher disturbance scores, they would have higher internal locus of control beliefs across all subscale scores. The results showed that A type individuals had significantly higher mental distress scores than B types, however there was no relationship between health locus of control beliefs and the A type behaviour pattern. The findings are discussed in terms of the coping strategies of the A type individual.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1983

The mental health of foreign students.

Because of the psychological stress associated with university life and the physical and mental stress associated with migration, researchers have become interested in psychological problems of foreign students. In this study four groups of foreign students from different parts of the world were compared with two British groups on a self-report measure of mental health. No sex differences were found yet the overseas students, as a whole, showed significantly more disturbance than either British control or first-year subjects. However, despite many differences between their countries of origin there were no significant differences between any of the overseas groups on the total scale score or any sub-scores. Further, with the exception of Malaysian students, the British subjects were significantly more satisfied with their social lives than the other groups. These findings are discussed in terms of the literature on life events and illness, culture shock and migration and mental health.

Cultural Deprivation↗

PubMed1983

Political knowledge and awareness in adolescents.

Although some work has been done on adolescents' political attitudes, very little work has been done on their political knowledge. This study aimed to replicate a large study carried out eight years ago (Stradling, 1977) to see whether recent political changes altered adolescents' political knowledge and secondly to investigate the determinants (demographic, media usage, interest) of this knowledge. The results were strikingly similar to those of Stradling despite the smaller sample and the changes over time. The subjects appeared to know most about responsibility for public services and party political leaders and least about party political or parliamentary procedure. The canonical variable that best predicted overall knowledge was interest in politics and current affairs and to a lesser extent TV news watching and discussions with adults. The results are discussed in terms of political socialization and limitations of this work are considered.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1983

Self-image disparity, ethnic identity and sex-role stereotypes in British and Cypriot adolescents.

This study was concerned with the actual and ideal self-perceptions and intergroup stereotypes of male and female British, British Cypriot and Greek Cypriot adolescents. It was predicted that the three cultures would have a different self-image disparity because of the different socialization experiences of the three groups. The British adolescents had the largest disparity scores and the Greek Cypriots the smallest, with the British Cypriots intermediate between the two. A number of sex differences were also found which supported the prediction that various sex-role stereotypes influenced the self-concept. Finally, all three groups showed strong evidence of preferences for members of their own group by rating the in-group stimuli as more positive than out-group stimuli. The results were discussed with reference to minority groups and their attempts at maintaining an ethnic identity.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1983

Sex and personality differences in self-reported social skills among British adolescents.

Despite the fact that a considerable amount of research has been done, both in America and Britain, on social skills training and assessment, few studies have looked at either sex differences or personality correlates of social skills. A homogeneous group of over 200 normal British adolescents were administered a standard British personality and social skills questionnaire. Although there seemed very little evidence of sex differences in self-reported social anxiety, two personality variables--extraversion and neuroticism--were clearly related to social anxiety. Factor analysis of the social skills scale produced five clearly interpretable factors. The results were discussed in terms of social skills assessment and training.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1983

Cross-cultural differences in the perception of female body shapes.

Whereas in Western societies there is an inverse relationship between high social class and low body weight, the inverse is true of less developed, non-Western societies. It has also been shown that the longer immigrants have been in Western societies, the less obese they tend to be. This study examined how Kenyan Asian, British and Kenyan British females from similar backgrounds perceived female body shapes. As predicted, the Kenyans rated larger figures more favourably and smaller figures less favourably than the British. Also, as predicted, it was found that the Kenyan Asian British were more similar to the British group in their perceptions. The results support the view that social and cultural factors play dominant role in the perception of one's own and others' body shapes. In addition, the results reveal that in Britain preferences for small body shapes to the point of being anorexic are not uncommon.

Adult↗

PubMed1983

Attitudes towards the mentally and physically disabled.

This study set out to determine lay people's attitudes towards disabled people while specifically avoiding some of the major methodological problems of previous studies. One aim was to determine whether attitudes towards disabled people differed as a function of whether the handicap was physical or mental, and whether it was observable (visible) or not. A second aim was to determine whether the sex of the respondent or the type/amount of contact that he/she had had with disabled people affected their attitudes towards the disabled people. The results showed consistent differences between people's attitudes towards the physically as opposed to the mentally handicapped, with the former being seen more positively than the latter. However, the sex of the respondent and contact with the handicapped/disabled failed to show many significant differences. The results are discussed in terms of social interaction with disabled people.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1983

The assessment of social skills deficits in the elderly.

This paper tested the hypothesis that a sample of elderly people compared to a matched sample of younger people reports an increase in difficulty and social anxiety in dealing with a wide range of everyday social situations. The literature on assertiveness and social skills training with the elderly was first reviewed. Then an assertiveness and social difficulty scale was administered to a group of eighty participants divided by age and sex. It was found that older people experienced less discomfort in situations requiring assertiveness, yet were less likely to respond assertively. Older people reported higher incidence of social anxiety across forty everyday situations. In general females reported more difficulty than males, though there were no interaction effects. The results are discussed in terms of the assessment and training of social skills in the elderly.

Adult↗

PubMed1983