The issue of credit-card debt among college students has received increasing attention. This study explored factors hypothesized to be causes and effects of credit-card debt in 448 students on five college campuses. Students reported an average of $1,035 (SD 5 $1,849) in debt, including students without credit cards or credit-card debt. Lack of financial knowledge, age, number of credit cards, delay of gratification, and attitudes toward credit-card use were related to debt. Sensation seeking, materialism, the Student Attitude Toward Debt scale, gender, and grade point average were not unique predictors of debt. Students reporting greater debt reported greater stress and decreased financial well being. Results highlight the need for comprehensive financial literacy education among college students.Credit-card debt among college students has become an increasing concern in recent years. Newspapers and magazines cover the topic on a regular basis, and legislators seek ways to stem the tide of indebted students. Although there is a great deal of data indicating that students are in debt, little is known about why students fall into debt. The present study explores the relative weight of personality factors, attitudes toward money and possessions, and financial knowledge as predictors of credit-card debt among college students.

This group of studies describes the development of a 200 item, self-report, 4-point true-false inventory (Coolidge Axis II Inventory [CATI]) to assess personality disorders according to the criteria established in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev. [DSM-III-R]; American Psychiatric Association, 1987). The 13 personality disorder scales of the CATI had a mean test-retest reliability of .90 and a median internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) of .76. There was a 50% concordance rate with clinician's diagnosis for 24 personality disordered patients. The median concurrent validity (raw score sums) between the CATI and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II for the 13 personality disorder scales was .58. Preliminary studies also support the reliability and validity of Depression, Anxiety, and Brain Dysfunction scales.

This study assessed the relationships among the accuracy of grade predictions, actual grades, self-enhancement bias, and attributions about academic performance. As a group, students anticipated higher grades than were earned. Individual differences in selfenhancement bias were measured using the discrepancy between anticipated and attained grades. This self-enhancement bias was negatively correlated with effort attributions and positively correlated with luck attributions. Students with higher American college testing (ACT) scores made more accurate predictions of their actual grades, demonstrating less self-enhancement bias. Students with the highest risk of performing poorly in class (lower ACT scores) were at greatest risk of overestimating grades, assumed external attributions for grade attainment, and were less likely to adopt positive learning strategies. Implications for teaching are discussed.

Personality characteristics of 150 morbidly obese patients (100 pounds or more over ideal weight) were investigated. The patients were given the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and a new, self‐report personality disorder inventory. The study attempted to determine whether particular personality variables could predict success or failure at weight loss six months post‐surgery. Multivariate analyses of variance revealed no significant differences on any of the personality variables when the patients were divided into “good,” “fair,” and “poor” success categories. Rank order MMPI scale profiles and personality disorder profiles are presented and implications discussed.

Twelve measures commonly used to assess attentional processes were examined in a sample of 120 outpatients referred for neuropsychological evaluation. A single factor solution emerged. A second analysis partially replicated factors derived by Shum. McFarland, Bain, and Humphreys (1990). Classification rates (impaired vs. unimpaired) for the measures are presented. The implications of these findings for clinical assessment of attention are discussed