This study is an investigation of stress and coping among African American students at a predominantly White college/university (PWCU) and a Historically Black College/University (HBCU) and their relationship to academic performance. Participants were 203 African American students (101 from a mid-size predominantly White midwestern state university and 102 from an HBCU located on the East Coast). Perceived stress, minority status stress, and coping behaviors were measured. Multivariate comparisons revealed that African American students on the PWCU campus experienced higher levels of minority status stressors compared to their counterparts at the HBCU. Participants from both universities were generally similar in their use of coping strategies and in their levels of overall perceived stress. An exploratory model and an alternate model of stress and coping processes were tested. Both models highlight the unique contribution of minority status stressors to academic performance.

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The development of the Perceived Stress Model of Caregiver Burden (PSB) is described, based on data from 135 spouse caregivers of persons with brain injuries. A theoretical model based on an integration of stress theory and the findings of previous burden research was tested, using structural equations analysis, against an atheoretical model containing relationships among variables previously reported in the burden literature. The initial theoretical model was not an adequate fit to the data. The atheoretical model did not fit the data by chi-square criteria and contained a number of relationships that were not significant. The PSB, derived by combining the empirical findings with the theoretical model, fit these data as well as the atheoretical model, and it is a more parsimonious representation of the relationships among the variables.Illness and injury can have a profound effect on the family of the patientparticularly on the spouse, who is generally the primary caregiver (Horowitz, 1985). Previously healthy spouses often find themselves developing a variety of physical and mental health problems within two years of the onset of an illness or injury in the family. In fact, this pattern has been so frequently documented that spouse caregivers have been called the "hidden patients" (Fengler & Goodrich, 1979), yet relatively little attention has been paid to understanding their experiences and developing interventions to meet their needs. Spouses of persons with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) represent a particularly large group of those hidden patients.The often misunderstood nature of TBI and subsequent societal response adds to the stress experienced by spouses of individuals with brain injuries. The spouse is not "permitted" to mourn the losses associated with the injury, because the person with the injury is still alive (Lezak, 1978). Spouses of persons with brain injuries also

Qualitative research methods have much to contribute to theoretical and applied knowledge in rehabilitation psychology. However, as a discipline, rehabilitation psychology has been behind the curve in employing qualitative methods. Objectives: This article is a summary of the state of qualitative research in rehabilitation and an introduction to various methodological dimensions to consider in implementing qualitative rehabilitation psychology research. Types and examples of qualitative rehabilitation research are presented. Criteria for evaluating qualitative research are discussed. Finally, the majority of this article is devoted to presenting the various methodological dimensions on which researchers must make decisions in designing and implementing rigorous qualitative research (e.g., paradigms, methods, data collection strategies, data analysis procedures, reliability/validity). Conclusions: Rehabilitation psychology has much to gain through qualitative research, and success in incorporating qualitative evidence will be ensured by rehabilitation psychologists learning and rigorously implementing qualitative methods.

A study was conducted to evaluate the roles of account-making (i.e., story-like constructions involving explanations, reported memories, description, and emotional expression) and confiding in empathic others as facilitators of recovery for survivors of sexual assault. Twenty-five women and one man anonymously participated in a questionnaire study that asked them to provide accounts of instances of sexual assault, their own and others' reactions to the assault, and their perceptions of the impact of the assault on aspects of their lives. Respondents' reactions were coded and classified by independent raters. Consistent with parts of the theoretical conception, included among the findings were the following." (1) account-making was positively associated with successful coping and with helpful confidant reactions; (2) empathic confidant reactions occurring early after the assault led to more successful coping than did nonempathic reactions occurring either in the first twelve months or later after the assault; and (3) incest survivors indicated that they had more difficulty in coping and in their close relationships than did nonincest survivors. The data are discussed in terms of the value of story-construction activities and confiding as vital to the recovery process.