We examined the causal model of optimism, stressors, coping, and depressed mood for Japanese university students before their practicum of teaching. Before their practicum, a total of 411 university students (175 male, 234 female, and 2 unidentified; age, 19.3±0.6 years [mean±SD]) completed the questionnaires regarding optimism (the Japanese revised version of life optimism test; LOT-R), stressor (stress self-rating scale for university students; SSRS), coping (the Japanese version of brief COPE), and depressed mood (the center for epidemiologic studies depression scale; CES-D) in April 2009. Structured equation modeling revealed that a high level of optimism was directly and inversely related to a high level of depressed mood (β=-0.19, p<0.01). Moreover, a high level of optimism indirectly related to a low level of depressed mood by decreasing the level of stressors (β=-0.22, -0.34×0.64). A high level of approach coping tended to be directly related to a low level of depressed mood (β=-0.08, p=0.08). However, a high level of stressor and avoidance coping was directly related to a high level of depressed mood (from stressor to depression: β=0.64, p<0.01; from avoidance coping to depressed mood: β=0.15, p<0.01). This study implied that if students perceived their optimism as being higher, it would lower their tendency to feel threatened by stressors. Therefore, intervention on increasing optimism for university students before their practicum would be beneficial in stabilizing their mental health.

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This study aimed to examine the influence of external over-adaptive behavior and introspection (the tendency of noticing one's own feelings) on the sense of authenticity and to describe the ways to improve the sense of authenticity for over-adaptive people. Over-adaptive tendency is defined as "the tendency to lose the sense of authenticity due to one's excessive efforts to meet others' expectations rather than their own needs in interpersonal relationships or social groups." According to a questionnaire answered by 163 university students, "desire to be perceived as a good person" and "self regulation" in external over-adaptive behaviors showed a moderate degree of negative correlation to the sense of authenticity, while "introspection" presented a little positive correlation to it. This result indicated that while the behaviors of trying to meet others' expectations and to regulate oneself decrease the sense of authenticity, introspection increases it. Therefore, to increase the sense of authenticity for over-adaptive people, it is important to develop intervention plans to decrease these people's fear of abandonment, which may increase the external over-adaptive behavior, and to increase their introspection skills in case they face difficulties in decreasing the external over-adaptive behaviors.

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This study examines the effectiveness of preventing school maladjustment by establishing a cooperative transition system between elementary and junior high schools. We developed a specific form to exchange information between elementary and junior high schools about sixth grade students who missed more than 15 school days in a year. We also got clinical psychologists at elementary schools to put their professional comments on the forms about how junior high school teachers should handle the students' specific needs at the junior high school level. This system was first tested in Japan and was implemented in 6 junior high and 18 elementary schools in a city. The results were as follows: (1) the percentage of seventh grade students who missed more than 30 school days in a year significantly decreased compared with the percentages over the past three years. (2) At the two junior high schools that were targeted, the total number of students who missed school days in a year decreased after this system was implemented. (3) In particular, there was a significant decrease in the number of school days the students had missed more than 6 days in their sixth grade missed in their seventh grade. Thus, we showed the effectiveness of this cooperative transition system in preventing school maladjustment, and also identified the methodological problems of this type of study.

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This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of voluntary peer support on self development in junior high schools. In this study, a survey of 761 junior high school students was conducted. The questionnaire of the survey consisted of two main categories: (1) whether participants have some type of voluntary peer support experiences and (2) for those who had such experiences, we examined more details about what type of self development they gained through their peer support experiences. Two factors were found through the factor analysis of self development in the questionnaire: interpersonal attitude, called "attitude toward others," and "school life." The results of the modified-grounded theory approach for the qualitative data of this research showed that the effects of voluntary peer support consisted of four categories: self understanding, attitude toward others, concept of support, and school life. As a result of this study, voluntary peer support was shown to be effective for participants' self development.

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This study aimed to examine the association among adult attachment, social skills, social support from friends, and mental health for Japanese university students. A total of 650 participants (264 men, 386 women) completed the questionnaire survey. A cluster analysis was conducted for attachment measure, and three attachment groups (secure, ambivalent, and avoidant) were extracted. ANOVA was conducted to compare the degree of social skills, social support from friends, and mental health state among the three attachment groups. The results showed that (1) participants in the ambivalent group had significantly low abilities in terms of starting new relationships, assertiveness, emotional control, and maintaining intimate relationships, compared with those in the secure and avoidant groups, and had significantly low levels of skills in decoding and encoding compared with those in the secure group. (2) Participants in the avoidant group had significantly low abilities in starting new relationships, decoding, maintaining intimate relationships, and encoding compared with those in the secure group. (3) Participants in the avoidant group had significantly low level of social support from friends compared with those in the secure and ambivalent groups. (4) Participants in the ambivalent group had significantly high levels of adverse mental health state compared with those in the secure and avoidant groups. These results suggested that (a) enhancing assertiveness, emotional control, starting new relationships, maintaining intimate relationships, decoding, and encoding are effective in improving the low level of psychosocial adjustment for ambivalent group members and (a) enhancing new relationships, maintaining intimate relationships, decoding, and encoding are effective in improving the low level of social adjustment for those in the avoidant group.

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This study aims to discuss whether change talk can increase students' self-efficacy (SE) and reduce stress response indirectly, by conducting surveys based on motivational interviewing (MI) intended to increase the amount of physical activities. Change talk refers to the phrases implying willingness to change, such as "disadvantages of the status quo," "advantages of change," "intention to change," and "optimism about changing." Twenty-three female university students without regular exercising were randomly assigned to change talk (CT) group (n=11) and control group (n=12) according to the universities they belonged to. In the CT group, change talk was derived by conducting a survey regarding their current situation of physical activities and exercises, advantages and disadvantages of their current situation, and practically feasible health behaviors by using mainly open-ended questions. In the control group, a survey same as that in the CT group was conducted using closed questions. An IC-recorder was used to record the counseling conversation, and two evaluators derived the change talk from the verbatim record. General self-efficacy scale (GSES), self-efficacy for exercises (exercise SE), and stress response scale-18 (SRS-18) were measured before and after the counseling. There was no significant correlation between the number of change talks and the variations in GSES and exercise SE. Mann-Whitney's U-test did not show any significant difference in the between-groups variations in GSES, exercise SE, and SRS-18. It was unlikely that change talk would influence GSES and exercise SE. In further study, examination of the relationship between different factors included in MI and change talk is needed to garner results for more effective counseling.

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