Previous studies have not shown a consistent association between computer use and the well-being of older people. The authors assumed that this absence of a causal relationship might be due to the mediation effects of some psychological factors and the limited use of scales for measuring multi-dimensional aspects of well-being. Therefore, this study examined the impact of computer skills, attitudes toward computers, and self-efficacy on the subjective well-being and quality of life (QOL) of older computer users (over 60 years of age). Four hundred respondents completed an online survey. Path analysis revealed that the acquisition of computer skills led to positive attitudes towards computers and a higher sense of self-efficacy, and in turn, these two factors improved life satisfaction and QOL. This relationship was modulated by gender- and skill-based group differences. These findings have implications for improving QOL factors with computer use, and may be useful for developing an effective instructional design for computer training for older people.

Studies of geographic profiling (GP) have generally investigated the efficacy of two categories of GP strategies for predicting an offender’s base. These strategies can be classified as follows: (a) spatial distribution strategies, assessed by center of the circle hypothesis, mean center, median center, and the center of minimum distance, and (b) probability distance strategies, assessed by linear, negative exponential, logarithmic, and lognormal distributions. GP strategies were compared based on the data of 333 residential burglars who had committed at least three offenses in the Tohoku region during the years 2004-2013. Search area (total area that is searched before locating the offender’s base) was utilized as an index for accuracy measure. The results demonstrated that probability distance strategies are more accurate than spatial distribution strategies. We conclude that this is because probability distance strategies captured crime patterns of residential burglars more precisely than spatial distribution strategies.

Studies have revealed a valence-specific laterality effect. i.e., positive facial expressions are perceived more accurately in the right visual field, whereas negative facial expressions are perceived more accurately in the left visual field (e.g., Jansari, Tranel, & Adolphs, 2000). We presented a pair of faces with emotional labels (happy or angry), and then asked participants (24 females and 24 males) to select the face that best depicted the emotion corresponding to the emotional label. We found that participants’ choices were biased toward a face on the right side for faces with the happy label, but biased toward a face on the left side for faces with the angry label. This tendency was significantly enhanced when it was difficult to discriminate the expressions between a pair of faces. These results suggest that the valence-specific laterality effect is due to response bias rather than visual field advantage for each type of positive/negative face.

We investigated the changing patterns of depression in junior high school students over one year. A latent class growth analysis was used to examine the responses of 923 junior high school students to the Japanese version of the Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children (DSRS-C; assesses decreased activity and pleasure, and depressed mood) at three time points. The analysis revealed seven distinct trajectories in the scores on both subscales (e.g., retaining a high score, decrease from high to moderate score, and increase from moderate to high score). These results revealed that about 20% of the students were at high risk for increased depression at some point during the year. These results indicated that depression is not stable among junior high school students, and that it changes throughout the year. These observations could provide useful information for research and practice related to depression in junior high school students.

We developed a scale to measure inter-role conflict among employed family caregivers of elderly people with dementia, titled the Caregiving-Work Conflict Scale (CWCS). In study 1, items for the scale were selected, and factor structure and internal consistency were examined. In study 2, test-retest reliability of the scale was examined. In study 3, validity of the scales was examined using different samples compared to study 1 and 2. Results show that the CWCS, consisting of 20 items in 5 subscales corresponding to a bidirectional construct of inter-role conflict (caregiving interfering with work and work interfering with caregiving), was reliable and valid. We also show that when we consider cognitive appraisal in addition to frequency of experience in the assessment of inter-role conflict, no significant differences were observed in predicting stress and caregiving burden. We discuss the assessment and structure of inter-role conflict among employed family caregivers of elderly people with dementia.

Controversy remains about whether social skills predict school outcomes. To address this issue, this study investigated the capability of social skills to predict school satisfaction through a 2-year longitudinal survey. A total of 317 junior high school students (190 boys and 127 girls) participated in this survey. The results of structural equation modeling through comparison for 16 potential models supported the hypothesis, revealing that social skills in 7th grade could predict school satisfaction in 9th grade with hypothesizing auto regression path. Specifically, (a) social skills relating to forming relationship with peers (termed kakawari skills) had a positive effect on the sense of adjustment, and (b) social skills relating to manners or respect towards peers (termed hairyo skills) had a negative effect on the sense of maladjustment. We discuss the role of social skills on school satisfaction in terms of longitudinal perspective and the need for an additional testing.

This study examined the relationships between motivational regulation strategies, goal achievements, and learning habits in junior high school students. A total of 288 junior high school students completed a self-administered questionnaire. We focused on the students’ representative motivational regulation styles, i.e., intrinsic vs extrinsic motivational regulation. Structural equation modeling revealed the following: (a) mastery goals promoted an intrinsic regulation strategy, which in turn, facilitated development of beneficial learning habits; (b) performance-approach goals promoted an extrinsic regulation strategy, which by contrast inhibited the development of beneficial learning habits. These results suggest that goal achievement positively affects learning behavior mediated by motivational regulation strategies. In light of these findings, we discuss the importance of intrinsic regulation strategies in promoting beneficial learning habits in junior high school students.

This study investigated the efficacy of upward influence tactics in school counseling embeddedness. We adopted Social Identity Theory perspectives, and examined the dyadic interaction between principals and teachers in charge of school counseling (School Counseling Teachers: SCT). We analyzed 293 principals and 285 SCT in 298 elementary schools. Results indicated that the principals’ recognition of Consultation and Rational persuasion was positively correlated with shared recognition in school counseling (SCT’s roles and competencies). In the same way, Rational persuasion was positively correlated with the dyadic recognition of principals’ involvement (fostering cooperation among school personnel and SCT’s positive involvement). However, recognition of Pressure was negatively correlated with principals’ involvement. Furthermore, the results reveal that school counseling embeddedness was fostered through shared recognition and participative behavior by principals.

This study examined the relationships among children's role-taking ability in rule and moral situations and classroom behavior (non-cooperative class behavior, rule compliance behavior, and prosocial behavior), as well as children's emotions toward school (liking/avoidance). Participants were Grade 5 and 6 primary-school students in Japan. We used path analysis to examine the effects of role-taking ability in moral situations influenced prosocial behavior and school liking. The results indicated that role-taking ability in moral situations influences on school liking via prosocial behavior. The results can be helpful in understanding and improving children's adjustment to school.

The present study examined the correlations between formal help-seeking attitudes/intentions and actual help-seeking behavior for psychological problems. Initially, I assessed university students’ attitudes and intentions to seek help, as well as their prior experience of seeking help from five formal sources of help (Time 1: N = 707). Actual help-seeking behavior was assessed four weeks after Time 1 to determine the correlations between help-seeking attitudes/intentions and behavior (Time 2: N = 412). The results revealed that for four out of five formal sources of help, help-seeking intentions were weakly correlated with help-seeking behavior (r = .11–.22). Although help-seeking attitudes did not significantly predict help-seeking behavior, intentions were positively correlated with help-seeking attitudes (r = .23–.34). I discuss future directions for measurement of help-seeking behaviors.

We investigated the reciprocal influences between autonomous motivation and the use of motivational regulation strategies. We analyzed the data of longitudinal surveys of junior high school and high school students (N = 745) at three time points. First, we conducted a principal component analysis to identify the quantitative (frequency of use) and qualitative components (extrinsic component) of the motivational regulation strategies. Next, we employed a cross-lagged model to analyze the causal relationships between the autonomous motivation and the two components of the motivational regulation strategies. The results revealed that autonomous motivation negatively predicted the subsequent extrinsic component of the motivational regulation strategies. In addition, the extrinsic component of the motivational regulation strategies negatively predicted subsequent autonomous motivation. These findings suggest that there will be some procyclical dynamics between academic motivation and the use of motivational regulation strategies.