Psychological research and the popular media culture have repeatedly noted that self-esteem positively contributes to life satisfaction and performance indicators across a large variety of domains. However, while varying measures of self-esteem may be argued to have a positive influence on outcome measures, increasing evidence suggests that perceptions of racial discrimination may also have a negative impact across a wide variety of outcomes. The current investigation used structural equation modelling techniques to examine the potential impact of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian students' General Self-Esteem and their perceptions of racial discrimination on spelling and maths achievement. Results indicated that General Self-Esteem displayed little or no significant relations with the performance measures, yet perceived racial discrimination significantly and negatively predicted both spelling and maths achievement for the Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. In addition, no significant latent interaction between General Self-Esteem and perceived discrimination was identified, raising questions for the self-protective properties of General Self-Esteem, at least for achievement outcomes.

This article focuses upon the application of Carl Rogers' person-centred approach (PCA) by educational and vocational counsellors. The discussion of PCA in educational and vocational counselling raises several key issues that have received attention in recent counselling psychology literature. PCA has been criticised for its highly individualistic approach that overlooks relational issues, its limited clinical application, and lack of technical expertise to sufficiently produce change in persons with significant mental and/or mood disorders. Three vignettes are presented to illustrate that contemporary PCA is a less individualistic and more socially contextualised practice than originally formulated by Rogers. They highlight some aspects of the work of counsellors who utilise the primary nondirective components of PCA (congruence, unconditional positive regard, empathy) with directive interventions when requested by clients, who are responsive to their clients' diverse socio-cultural backgrounds, and who are prepared to work within a medical framework.

Adolescence is believed to be a highly problematic period when depression is prevalent. This study aims to investigate the relationship between adolescents' depression states and their feelings of guilt and shame in respect to gender, age, school performance and parental education levels. The participants consisted of 187 teenagers; 88 (47.1%) girls and 99 (52.9%) boys. Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI), the Guilt and Shame Scale (GES, Şahin), and a personal information form developed by the researcher were used as instruments. The study found a relationship between guilt and shame, that levels of depression were higher in 17-year-olds, and also that levels of depression, guilt and shame were found to be higher in girls than in boys. There was also a negative relationship seen between increased guilt and shame, and a decrease in mothers' education level.

Although several previous scales have been developed to measure the presence and effects of the stressful demands encountered by university students, most of these have been validated with samples drawn from US universities, commonly using only undergraduate psychology students. In addition, many of the items used are from scales designed for application within general adult populations, with little focus upon the specific stressors met by students. In order to identify what are the major changes these students encounter that they find stressful, a sample of 32 university students from different degree areas within an Australian university was individually interviewed using a standardised protocol. Results indicated that (unlike US data) these students found dislocation to family, friend and partner relationships most stressful, followed by the time demands of study and financial restrictions. Limitations of the study, future research directions and implications for counsellors are discussed.

Most children with autism exhibit a variety of behaviours, which may create considerable stress in families. Parents of children with autism have to learn many strategies to support their children. Understanding the experiences of parents of autistic children is crucial in the design and delivery of the appropriate counselling services. The present study attempted to investigate the impact of having an autistic child on the lives of Turkish mothers. For this aim, a Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) Approach was followed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 mothers of autistic children. The interview questions were designed to investigate many facets of the mothers' experiences. For the data analysis, steps of CQR were followed, namely transcription of data, identification of main domains and core ideas, identification of categories and subcategories, and cross analysis. The analyses resulted in a variety of domains such as the reactions to the disability of the child, experience of stress and burnout, involvement with the education of the child, and evaluation of the facilities of the special education centre. Recommendations for guidance and counselling were drawn based on the categories of each domain.

The purpose of the research was to examine the effectiveness of Conflict Resolution and Peer Mediation (CRPM) training on high school students' interpersonal conflicts. The CRPM training program was developed by the researchers as a 31-hour program that addressed four basic conflict resolution skills; understanding the nature of interpersonal conflicts, communication skills, anger management skills, and negotiation and peer mediation skills. The study was conducted in a high school located in Izmir, Turkey which served students from low SES families. During the two-year study, a total of 830 students received training, and following the training, 12 peer mediator students were elected from each classroom by their friends. These peer mediators handled their friends' conflicts during three semesters. Data were collected through the peer mediation forms filled by the mediator students following the mediation sessions. A total of 253 mediation sessions were held; 240 (94.9%) resulted in resolution and 13 (5.1%) in no-resolution. Results of the study indicated that CRPM training could prove to be effective in resolving high school students' conflicts.

The aim of this study is to investigate teacher candidates' attitudes related to sexuality and homosexuality and to determine the relationship between these attitudes and course attendance, gender and cultural background. The sample of the study consist of teacher candidates that have (n = 302) and have not (n = 176) attended the sexual education course during the 2006–2007 academic year at a faculty of education in Izmir — a city in the western coastal region of Turkey. The Sexual Attitude Scale (SAS) and the Homosexuality Attitude Scale (HAS) were used to gather data at pre-test and post-test levels. Results demonstrate that sexuality education has a positive effect on participants' attitudes towards sexuality. In contrast, the course does not have any influence on candidates approach to homosexuality.

The study investigated whether social skills and problem behaviours of preschool children differ according to their cognitive styles. The sample group included 366 six-year-old children who attend preschools in Konya. Form A of the Kansas Reflection-Impulsivity Scale for Preschoolers (KRISP), developed by Wright (1971), was used to determine whether the participants had reflective or impulsive cognitive styles, while Preschool and Kindergarten Behaviour Scales (PKBS), developed by Merrell (2003), were used to evaluate social skills and problem behaviour dimensions. Results found that impulsive children were less efficient than reflective children in regards to their social cooperation and social interaction skills, and they exhibited more problem behaviours like self-centred/explosive behaviours, lack of attention/hyperactivity, antisocialism/aggression and social withdrawal.

The associations between adaptive/maladaptive perfectionism and different dimensions of aggression among adolescents have seldom been made the focus of empirical research. Research in this area is important as only negative conceptualisation of perfectionism, proposed within the literature, represents a limited perspective of perfectionism for adolescents. The purpose of this research was to investigate the relations between adaptive/maladaptive perfectionism and aggression in a sample of 445 Turkish high school adolescents. The Almost Perfect Scale — Revised (APS-R; Slaney, Rice, Mobley, Trippi, & Ashby, 2001) and the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ; Buss & Perry, 1992) were used for data collection. The subdimensions of the APS-R were high standards, order (adaptive perfectionism), and discrepancy (maladaptive perfectionism). The subdimensions of the BPAQ were anger, physical aggression, hostility and verbal aggression. As hypothesised, the regression analyses revealed that, discrepancy was the positive predictor of anger, physical aggression and hostility while order was the negative predictor of anger, physical and verbal aggression. As predicted, high standards were found to be the negative predictor of hostility. However, unexpectedly, high standards were found to be the positive predictor of verbal aggression.

Despite state support for mass education in Turkey, there are many primary school children who do not attend school or who drop out before finishing school. This study is part of a project investigating the problem of school dropout in a district of Istanbul. Factors related to school, such as failure, non-acceptance by teachers and peers, poor attendance, and low levels of involvement, have been associated with increased likelihood of dropout. Modifying the instructional environment, strengthening school membership, and creating alternative schools have been suggested as means to prevent dropout. A questionnaire assessing attitudes toward school was administered to 480 students from 13 elementary schools for the purpose of identifying the characteristics of schools that lead to dropout. Factor analysis results indicated five factors of school-related attitudes, including attitudes toward learning; toward teachers; toward school and school facilities; and students' perceptions of parent-school relationships.