No abstract

To foster better academic achievement in female college students, and especially for those who are overweight and obese, strategies for improving self-efficacy and adaptation to college should be implemented.

This study aimed to identify and rank the personal, family-related, social, and academic correlates of depressive symptoms in first-year college students. A questionnaire that included the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) was administered to 389 first-year college students (mean age = 18.9; SD = 3.38; 59.4% female). Eight variables contributed uniquely to the variance of depressive symptoms and were, in decreasing order of importance: (1) the absence of personal goals, (2) a high level of anxiety and (3) of dysfunctional thoughts regarding success, (4) a lack of emotional adjustment to college, (5) being female, (6) receiving little warmth and encouragement of autonomy from one’s mother and (7) from one’s father, and (8) being attracted to members of the opposite or both sexes. These results suggest that a multimodal intervention is required to support students’ mental health.

This study documents how the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting containment measures affected family members. It is carried out with 127 parents with at least one child aged between 5 and 17, who have previously benefited from a parenting support program due to difficulties in raising at least one of their children. Through a questionnaire completed before and after the pandemic, one year apart, this study reveals some deterioration in the psychological health of the parents (reduction in parental self-efficacy, increase in psychological distress), but an improvement in the psychological health of children (reduction in depressive and anxiety symptoms). Parents also reported a reduction in prosocial behaviors in their children and a stability in their behavioral problems, hyperactivity and inattention. Finally, the results show a stability of parental stress and parenting practices, including the exposure of the child to psychologically and physically violent parenting behavior within the home. These results illustrate the resilience of families in times of crisis and the effectiveness of parents in protecting the psychological integrity of their children. However, they highlight the risk of deteriorating parental mental health and their need for support in these troubled times.

Prior research has been devoted to understanding how to facilitate the integration of gifted young people (Intelligence Quotient, ≥130) into classroom settings. This study investigated a typology of self-concept in gifted French high school students. Eighty-four participants, between the ages of 13 and 18 (mean age, 15.5; SD, 1.04), enrolled in heterogeneous classes completed the Genèse des Perceptions de Soi (genesis of the selfconcept (GPS) technique (L'Ėcuyer 1990), the Self-Description Questionnaire II (Marsh 1992), and the self-evaluation questionnaire concerning the perception of self and of giftedness (Guskin et al., Gifted Child Quarterly, 30(2):61-65, 1986). Using Descending Hierarchical Classification analysis (Alceste software), this study revealed five main types of self-concept for gifted young people. This study demonstrates the importance of considering the personal points of view of gifted adolescents in order to better comprehend the heterogeneous nature of their self-concept and emphasizes the need to use the specific profiles of these youth to adapt the way in which we respond to them.