The current study examined the joint effects of stress, social support, and self-esteem on adjustment to university. First-year undergraduate students (N = 115) were assessed during the first semester and again 10 weeks later, during the second semester of the academic year. Multiple regressions predicting adjustment to university from perceived social support (friends and family), self-esteem (academic, social, and global), and stress were conducted. From the fall to winter semesters, increased social support from friends, but not from family, predicted improved adjustment. Decreased stress predicted improved overall, academic, personal-emotional, and social adjustment. Increased global, academic, and social self-esteem predicted decreased depression and increased academic and social adjustment. Results are discussed with respect to potential mechanisms through which support and self-esteem may operate.

Articles published in several prominent educational journals were examined to investigate the use of data-analysis tools by researchers in four research paradigms: between-subjects univariate designs, between-subjects multivariate designs, repeated measures designs, and covariance designs. In addition to examining specific details pertaining to the research design (e.g., sample size, group size equality/inequality) and methods employed for data analysis, we also catalogued whether: (a) validity assumptions were examined, (b) effect size indices were reported, (c) sample sizes were selected based on power considerations, and (d) appropriate textbooks and/or articles were cited to communicate the nature of the analyses that were performed. Our analyses imply that researchers rarely verify that validity assumptions are satisfied and accordingly typically use analyses that are nonrobust to assumption violations. In addition, researchers rarely report effect size statistics, nor do they routinely perform power analyses to determine sample size requirements. We offer many recommendations to rectify these shortcomings. Data Analytic Practices 3 Statistical Practises of Educational Researchers:An Analysis of Their ANOVA, MANOVA and ANCOVA Analyses It is well known that the volume of published educational research is increasing at a very rapid pace. As a consequence of the expansion of the field, qualitative and quantitative reviews of the literature are becoming more common. These reviews typically focus on summarizing the results of research in particular areas of scientific inquiry (e.g., academic achievement or English as a second language) as a means of highlighting important findings and identifying gaps in the literature. Less common, but equally important, are reviews that focus on the research process, that is, the methods by which a research topic is addressed, including research design and statistical analysis issues.Methodological research reviews have a long history (e.g., Edgington, 1964; Elmore & Woehlke, 1988 Goodwin & Goodwin, 1985a, 1985bWest, Carmody, & Stallings, 1983).One purpose of these reviews has been the identification of trends in data-analytic practice. The documentation of such trends has a two-fold purpose: (a) it can form the basis for recommending improvements in research practice, and (b) it can be used as a guide for the types of inferential procedures that should be taught in methodological courses, so that students have adequate skills to interpret the published literature of a discipline and to carry out their own projects.One consistent finding of methodological research reviews is that a substantial gap often exists between the inferential methods that are recommended in the statistical research literature and those techniques that are actually adopted by applied researchers (Goodwin & Goodwin, 1985b;Ridgeway, Dunston, & Qian, 1993). The practice of relying on traditional methods of analysis is, however, dangerous. The field of statistics is by no means static; improveme...

Articles published in several prominent educational journals were examined to investigate the use of data-analysis tools by researchers in four research paradigms: between-subjects univariate designs, between-subjects multivariate designs, repeated measures designs, and covariance designs. In addition to examining specific details pertaining to the research design (e.g., sample size, group size equality/inequality) and methods employed for data analysis, we also catalogued whether: (a) validity assumptions were examined, (b) effect size indices were reported, (c) sample sizes were selected based on power considerations, and (d) appropriate textbooks and/or articles were cited to communicate the nature of the analyses that were performed. Our analyses imply that researchers rarely verify that validity assumptions are satisfied and accordingly typically use analyses that are nonrobust to assumption violations. In addition, researchers rarely report effect size statistics, nor do they routinely perform power analyses to determine sample size requirements. We offer many recommendations to rectify these shortcomings.

Objectives:To evaluate a eight-session cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) intervention tailored to adaptation in implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) patients; and to test for treatment group by gender interaction effects. Methods: Patients receiving their first ICD implant were randomized to CBT or usual cardiac care. Primary outcomes measured at baseline, 6-month, and 12-month follow-ups were symptoms of anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (Impact of Events Scale-Revised), and phobic anxiety (Crown-Crisp Experiential Index). Secondary outcomes were quality of life (Short Form-36 Physical Component Summary and Short Form-36 Mental Component Summary) and ICD shocks or antitachycardia pacing therapies. Results: Of 292 eligible patients, 193 consented and were randomized to CBT (n ϭ 96) or usual cardiac care (n ϭ 97). Eighty percent were male; mean age was 64.4 years (standard deviation ϭ 14.3); and 70% received an ICD for secondary prevention. No baseline differences were observed between the treatment conditions; however, women scored worse than men on all psychological and quality of life variables (p Ͻ .05). Eighty-three percent completed follow-up. Repeated-measures analyses of covariance revealed significantly greater improvement with CBT on posttraumatic stress disorder total and avoidance symptoms for men and women combined (p Ͻ .05) and significantly greater improvement in depressive symptoms and Short Form-36 Mental Component Summary only in women (p Ͻ .01). No differences were observed between treatment conditions on ICD therapies over follow-up. Conclusion: A CBT intervention to assist adaptation to an ICD enhanced psychological functioning over the first year post implant. Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00152763. Key words: cognitive behavior therapy, implantable cardioverter defibrillator.ICD ϭ implantable cardioverter defibrillator; ATP ϭ antitachycardia pacing; CBT ϭ cognitive behavior therapy; UCC ϭ usual cardiac care; QL ϭ quality of life; SCD ϭ sudden cardiac death; IES-R ϭ Impact of Events Scale-Revised; PTSD ϭ posttraumatic stress disorder.