The purpose of this two-study project was to determine the effects of cognitive bibliotherapy for the treatment of depressive symptoms in jail and prison inmates. Participants in both samples were randomly assigned to either a treatment group that received the 4-week bibliotherapy program or a delayed-treatment control group. In the jail sample, which served as a pilot study for the more detailed prison study, the treatment group showed greater improvement on the A. T. Beck and R. A. Steer Beck Depression Inventory, 1993, Psychological Corporation, San Antonio, TX and the DAS (M. M. Weissman, & A. T. Beck Development and validation of the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale: A preliminary investigation; paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, November, 1978, Toronto, ON, Canada). In the prison sample, results indicated that the treatment group showed greater improvement on the HRSD (M. Hamilton, Development of a rating scale for primary depressive illness, British Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology, Vol. 6, 1967, pp. 278-296) and the A. T. Beck, R. A. Steer, & G. K. Brown Beck Depression Inventory (2nd ed.), 1996, Psychological Corporation, San Antonio, TX. Approximately half of the treated participants achieved clinically significant change. Analyses of the follow-up data revealed maintenance of treatment gains in the prison and jail samples. In the prison study, significant changes were also observed on a general measure of psychological distress. Overall, results suggest that cognitive bibliotherapy may be efficacious for depressed inmates.

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Background: Professor–student rapport and a sense of mattering to others are associated with several college student outcomes, but no study has examined the relation between these two variables. Objective: This study sought to examine associations between professor–student rapport, mattering, and college student outcomes including grade data and students’ ratings of a course and an instructor. Method: 149 college students completed the Professor–Student Rapport Scale (PSRS), the General Mattering Index, and the Interpersonal Mattering Scale. Students’ ratings of the course and the instructor were collected as well as institutionally-reported GPA. Results: Professor–student rapport was related to mattering to the psychology instructor. Professor–student rapport was predictive of students’ ratings of the course and the instructor but was not associated with grades. Measures of mattering were not related to student outcomes. The brief version of the PSRS was not more predictive of student outcomes as compared to the full PSRS. Conclusion: Professor–student rapport and mattering are related, but only rapport is associated with some student academic outcomes. Studies that go beyond students’ perceptions and focus on more objective student outcomes are needed in this area. Additionally, experimental studies that examine methods of fostering rapport are warranted to more fully understand the influence of faculty behaviors and qualities on students.

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