The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology
Online ISSN : 2187-9346
Print ISSN : 0915-9029
Volume 26, Issue 1
Displaying 1-7 of 7 articles from this issue
Articles
  • Yuta Chishima
    2015 Volume 26 Issue 1 Pages 1-12
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The purpose of this study was to clarify the mental conflicts associated with expectations for the merits and demerits of self-change. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 1162 adolescents who attended either junior high school, high school, vocational school, or college, and participants responded to items concerning expectations that had been developed in a preliminary survey. The findings of the current study showed that the percentages of students whose responses fit into five clusters of expectations for self-change differed by educational level. Specifically, “low expectations” and “merits of self-maintenance” were common responses in junior high school, “avoidance-avoidance conflicts” was frequent for high school students, and “merits of self-change” and “approach-approach conflicts” were common among vocational school and college students. These educational level differences may be associated with developmental changes that occur with maturation of self-esteem and reflection.
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  • Yasuo Murayama, Hiroyuki Ito, Megumi Hamada, Syunji Nakajima, Wataru N ...
    2015 Volume 26 Issue 1 Pages 13-22
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Although previous studies in Japan have reported on the prevalence of bullying behaviors and peer victimization, little is known about the severity of internalizing and externalizing problems exhibited by students in Japan. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationships of bullying and/or victimization with internalizing and externalizing problems. Students (N=4,936, grades 4–9) completed a series of self-report questionnaires that assessed bullying behaviors, victimization, depression, self-harm, aggression, and delinquency. In addition, class teachers rated students' absenteeism, i.e., how many days students were absent during the previous spring term. The results indicated that about 10% of the students had experienced bullying or victimization more than once a week. Rational and verbal bullying reportedly occurred more frequently than other types of bullying. Compared to students who were not involved with bullying and victimization, victimized students more frequently reported elevated depression and self-harm. Furthermore, it was shown that students who bullied peers self-reported more aggression, and delinquent behavior was indicated by a higher percentage of those who had experienced both bullying of other students and peer victimization.
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  • Shinichiro Suganuma
    2015 Volume 26 Issue 1 Pages 23-34
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Research findings regarding the function of resignation (akirameru in Japanese) are inconsistent. This study clarified the role of being resigned in the mental health of adolescents by focusing on not only resignation behavior, but also on resignation as a process. Semi-structured interviews about past experiences of resignation were conducted with 15 participants (8 male, 7 female; age range=22–30 years). Twenty-nine episodes were analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach (M-GTA), resulting in 24 concepts. Preliminary analysis revealed the concept of “weakened desire” and suggested that weakened desire was related to the role of resignation in mental health. On the basis of this concept, the process of resignation was divided into three types: “regretful,” “indecisive,” and “bold,” and the results clarified the details of each of these types. The data suggest that being “regretful” negatively impacts mental health. In contrast, being “indecisive” (lukewarm and irresolute) and “bold” (decisive) can apparently be conducive to mental health. The limitations of this study and the need for further research are discussed.
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  • Kai Nagase, Mari Tanaka
    2015 Volume 26 Issue 1 Pages 35-45
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This study investigated the characteristics of humor in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), focusing on structural incongruity and stimulus elaboration. ‘Structural incongruity’ refers to the peculiarity of a situation, and it is considered necessary for one to experience humor. ‘Stimulus elaboration’ involves inferences and thoughts related to the situation and influences the amount of humor experienced. In the present study, 19 individuals with ASD and 46 typically developing (TD) control participants rated items for the humor variable of structural incongruity, and for concept level and schema level. They also rated the items for variable elaboration. Scores for structural incongruity at the concept level were higher than scores at the schema level among TD individuals, while there was no difference between scores at the concept level vs. at the schema level for ASD individuals. ASD individuals also gave higher ratings to “non-social” items than did TD individuals, in elaboration.
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  • Mai Hamana, Etsuko Haryu
    2015 Volume 26 Issue 1 Pages 46-55
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Children grasp the meaning of words either too broadly or narrowly at first, and then show a gradual progression toward adult-like understanding. This study investigated changes in the semantic domains of words for emotions. Children in the 2-year old (n=29, age range=2;6–3;7), 3 year-old (n=30, age range=3;6–4;7), 4- year old (n=30, age range=4;6–5;7) and 5-year old (n=29, age range=5;6–6;7) classes at preschools labeled emotions in response to a story task and a facial expression task. The number of words for emotions they labeled increased only between the 2- and 3-year old classes. However, for both tasks, 5-year olds divided stimuli more individually than did 3- and 4-year olds. These results show that for emotion words, lexical refinement and change of semantic domains continue even after words have entered children's vocabulary.
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  • Mika Hirai, Yuko Kozaki, Mai Hasegawa, Keiko Takahashi
    2015 Volume 26 Issue 1 Pages 56-69
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This research examined the elements which constitute a minimum standard of living for preschoolers (ages 0–6 years). In Study 1, presented with the What Children Need (WCN) list of 40 items consisting of material and social needs considered normal for children, 484 mothers of preschoolers were asked to what degree their children were supplied with each item. The results of the survey indicated that 37 out of the 40 needs (items) were met for over 50% of the sample. The number of items that were supplied correlated with ratings of children's well-being, even controlling for the degree of subjective wealth. In Study 2, three groups of participants (503 parents of preschoolers from two-parent families, 1,000 citizens from the general population, and 74 single parents of preschoolers) were asked to what degree each WCN item was indispensable for normal life. Numbers of the items that satisfied a majority of participants were 19, 9, and 30, respectively within the three groups. In addition, participants in their 20s, females, and/or parents recognized more items than did other participants.
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  • Kohsuke Yamamoto
    2015 Volume 26 Issue 1 Pages 70-77
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: March 20, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This study examined how autobiographical remembering affects the achievement of self and identity. Participants (N=231) completed an identity scale (Shimoyama, 1992) that assessed their level of self/identity development. They were next asked to recall an autobiographical memory of high- or low-level importance and to rate these memories based on 5 items pertaining to memory characteristics (e.g., vividness) and 13 items from the Centrality of Event Scale (Berntsen & Rubin, 2006, 2007). The identity scale was then completed again. The group that recalled an autobiographical episode with high-level importance had higher post-test identity scale scores than the group that recalled an episode with low-level importance. However, differences in the identity scale scores between the two groups were not observed in the pretest. In addition, autobiographical memories of high-level importance were more emotional, positive, vivid, frequently remembered, and related to self/identity achievement than were memories of low-level importance. The importance of autobiographical memory as a facilitator of self and identity achievement will be further examined in future research.
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