Using a 50-item, self-report questionnaire, 640 international students enrolled at an urban university campus provided needs assessment data based on the geographical region of their country of origin. Additionally, the students' perceptions regarding changes they experienced since coming to the United States are also reported. The authors conclude with a discussion of the study's implications for professional counsellors in higher education. Recommendations are proffered for the mental health services and programs needed by this special population of students based on the information obtained from the investigation.

Scientific study of gifted or exceptionally bright individuals began in the 19th century with the work of the English biologist, Sir Francis Galton (1869). During the course of his investigations on heredity, Galton recognized a need for measuring the characteristics of related and unrelated persons. In gathering information concerning the origin and development of the trait &dquo;genius,&dquo; he discovered that the incidence of superior intellectual achievement occurred more frequently in some families than in others, and thereby concluded that the trait of genius, like other traits, was worthy of scientific investigation.Terman initiated the gifted movement in the United States during the early years of this century with the introduction of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test and Genetic Studies of Genius (Terman, 1925; Terman & Oden, 1959). Yet it was not until the later 1950's, when Russia launched its first Sputnik, that American educators paid serious attention to instructional programs for the gifted. The desire to maintain the nation's military superiority by identifying and nurturing competent students for careers in the applied sciences provided the impetus that educators needed in order to establish formal provisions and procedures for the identification, selection, and placement of such students.The wish to create educational environments where the creative potentials of the gifted could be developed resulted in a broadening of the definition of giftedness, and an expansion in the approaches used to identify gifted students. Assessment procedures using data obtained primarily from standardized individual intelligence tests were the traditional techniques employed to identify the gifted. Hence, early definitions of giftedness focused exclusively on indices of measured high intelligence, e.g., intelligence quotient (IQ) scores of 125 to 140 and above (Terman, 1925). Subsequently, however, there were expressions of discontent with having the IQ serve as the sole criterion for identifying gifted children. Torrance (1962), for example, argued that conventional intelligence tests measure only a few of an individual's thinking abilities and largely ignore others, e.g., creative thought. Consequently, he believed children with such ignored abilities were often not labeled as gifted. A similar position was expounded by Guilford (1950) when he stated that not all of the primary abilities measured by intelligence tests are important for creative behavior, and some primary abilities important for creative behavior are not found in intelligence tests at all. He concluded, &dquo;We must look well beyond the boundaries of the IQ score if we are to fathom the domain of creativity&dquo;(p. 448).During the past quarter of a century, psychometricians have retreated from an exclusive reliance on intelligence tests for identifying gifted students, turning instead to conceptions of giftedness which embrace qualitative as well as quantitative dimensions. For example, Havighurst, Stiver, and DeHaan (1955) viewed the gifted...

This study assesses the needs of international students in higher education and examines their overall experiences since entering an institution of higher learning in the United States. More specifically, the investigation focuses on the similarities and differences of the students as a function of their geographical region and other demographic factors such as gender, degree objective, and field of study. Survey feedback was received from 640 volunteer respondents. The results indicate that female students typically have greater needs than the male international students for campus services and that the international students from various regions differ in their needs. The undergraduate international students reported a greater need for services than did the graduate international students. The findings also indicate that international students majoring in science fields have the highest needs. Students with higher grade point averages reported fewer needs. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.As we enter the new millennium, increasing globalization presents new opportunities and challenges for institutions of higher education in the United States. Chapman (1999) identifies three forces he believes will have an important impact on campus environments. Although there will be a continued enrollment of "traditional," or stereotypical, college students, the new millennium will also bring an increased enrollment of diverse, "nontraditional" students. Additionally, Chapman notes that along with this diversification there will be a "robust migration of students worldwide." These global trends along with the continued premium placed on higher education necessitate the development of 305

Levels of depression among rural Hispanic adolescents were assessed. Psychological factors affecting depression were examined. Included were family characteristics, measured by the Background Information Questionnaire; self‐esteem, by the Piers‐Harris Children's Self‐Concept Scale; perceived stress level, by the Hispanic Children's Stress Inventory; acculturation, by the Cuellar Acculturation Index; and depression levels, by the Center for Epidemiological Studies‐Depression Scale. Results revealed moderate to severe depression symptomatology among 33% of the subjects, and mild depression symptoms among 17%. Two family structure variables, birth order and number of brothers, were significantly related to depression. Gender was an important predictor of depression, as was self‐esteem. Higher stress scores were related to higher levels of depression.

Using data from 90 African American female medical and mental health patients, this exploratory study examined the reasons patients missed scheduled appointments at a low-income, urban healthcare center. Results indicated a clear difference between the two groups in their appointment-keeping behavior. Mental health no-show patients were more likely than medical no-show patients to cite external factors such as a broken-down car or a scheduling conflict to explain missed appointments. The article also presents a discussion of resistance and its possible role in the no-show phenomenon. Implications and recommendations for future research are also presented.