This paper reports a meta-analysis of the empirical literature on the effects of speakers' accents on interpersonal evaluations. Our review of the published literature uncovered 20 studies that have compared the effects of standard accents (i.e., the accepted accent of the majority population) versus non-standard accents (i.e., accents that are considered foreign or spoken by minorities) on evaluations about the speakers. These 20 studies yielded 116 independent effect sizes on an array of characteristics that were selected by the original researchers. We classified each of the characteristics as belonging to one of three domains that have been traditionally discussed in this area, namely status (e.g., intelligence, social class), solidarity (trustworthiness, in-group-out-group member), and dynamism (level of activity and liveliness). The effect was particularly strong when American Network accented speakers were compared with non-standard-accented speakers. These results underscore prior research showing that speakers' accents have powerful effects on how others perceive them. These and other results are discussed in the context of the literature along with implications for future research in this area.

Research shows a strong link between adult attachment and mental and physical health, but little is known about the mechanisms that underlie these relationships. The present study examined self-compassion and mattering, two constructs from positive psychology literature, as potential mediators. Using survey data from a sample of 208 college students, relationships among attachment, self-compassion, mattering, and functional health were explored. Correlational analyses indicated that attachment anxiety and avoidance were strongly related to the mental health component of functional health. Mediation analyses indicated that mattering and self-compassion mediated the relationships between attachment orientation (i.e., levels of avoidance and anxiety) and mental health. These findings suggest that individuals' abilities to be kind toward themselves and their sense of belonging and being important to others are pathways through which attachment orientation relates to mental health.

The authors used social cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) as the basis for examining the person and contextual variables of gender, ethnicity, educational and career barriers, and career-related parent support for incoming 1st-year African American, Asian, Latino, and White college students. Women, as compared to men, perceived significantly higher levels of career barriers but similar levels of coping efficacy in dealing with these barriers. Women also reported receiving more career-related emotional support from parents than did men. For all participants, career-related parent support accounted for a significant portion of the variance for perceptions of educational and career barriers and coping efficacy with educational and career barriers.