The purpose of this study was to create a scale to measure anxiety about mask removal after the government eased restrictions in Japan, and to examine the scale's relationship with resistance to mask removal. An online survey was conducted with 914 participants, of which 810 were valid. Three factors about anxiety related to mask removal were identified through the survey: “anxiety about being seen without a mask,” “social anxiety about not wearing a mask,” and “anxiety about being infected with COVID-19 or other diseases.” The study confirmed the reliability and validity of the scale to a certain extent. It also explored the correlation between each anxiety factor and resistance to mask removal. The results showed a positive correlation between all three factors identified among both men and women. The study suggested that in Japan, anxieties related to mask removal may lead to resistance when the decision to wear a mask is left to an individual's judgment, regardless of gender.

Using primarily normative data, this study examined the validity of the Japanese McCloskey Executive Functions Scale (J-MEFS), a teacher-rated scale for elementary and junior high school students, considering its evidence based internal structure and relationship to other variables. Confirmatory factor analysis for the group with no special educational needs (non-SEN; 556 males and 558 females) showed a good relative fit to the structure of the McCloskey model, which consists of two layers (self-regulation, self-realization/self-determination), nine clusters, and 36 subscales. Analysis of internal correlations and correlations with other variables showed that each layer measured a different aspect of executive function (EF). For the clusters and arenas of the second layer, internal correlation comparisons between the non-SEN (n = 556) and SEN (n = 111) male groups, as well as convergent and discriminative evidence consistent with previous research on non-SEN group (n = 1,114) academic judgment and problematic behavior in the SEN male small group, suggest that different EF aspects can be evaluated. This study discusses the evaluation of the SEN male's small growth with the J-MEFS and future issues.

The purpose of this study was to develop the Japanese version of the State Adult Attachment Measure (J-SAAM), which measures a momentary level of the sense of attachment security and insecurity, and to examine its reliability and validity. In Study 1 (N = 366), it was confirmed that the J-SAAM, like the original version, has a three-factor structure (security, anxiety, and avoidance) and that each subscale has sufficient internal consistency and criterion validity. In Study 2 (N = 245), participants were divided into Security Priming conditions and Neutral Priming conditions for the intervention. The results showed that the J-SAAM captured a certain degree of temporary fluctuations in the sense of attachment security and insecurity. These results suggest that the J-SAAM has similar properties as the original version and has acceptable reliability and validity.

In order to promote research on school-community collaboration, there is a need to develop a scale that succinctly measures such collaboration. The present study developed a shortened version of the Teamwork Inventory for Community-based School Management (TICSM) for teachers. A web-based survey was administered to teachers in public elementary and junior high schools. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed a three-factor structure of the TICSM for teachers. A total of 14 items were deleted to shorten the TICSM for teachers. Then, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted again to test the model fit. To confirm measurement invariance in elementary and junior high schools, a multiple population confirmatory factor analysis was conducted, and the sufficient model fit of the scalar invariance model was confirmed. Criterion-related validity was confirmed in relation to group identification as a teacher group, workplace climate, trust in parents and community members, and positive attitude toward anchor point activities.

It is necessary to acquire the viewpoints of others and relate them to one's own ideas through interaction in cooperative situations. This study examined the effects of speech from a joint attention perspective (guided and tracked) on problem solving in three fifth-grade classes for learning formulas for finding the area of a figure, as speech that attempts to acquire another person's viewpoint. In order to clarify the effects of interactions that only cooperative learning situations can provide, which are not present in individual learning situations, this study analyzed the speech of the participants by distinguishing between their own speech and that of their partners. The results showed that the partner's tracking of the event that the actor had guided facilitated post-task problem solving. Furthermore, it was shown that the influence of such speech occurs in the problem of understanding formulas.

This study defines "stumbling in responses" (hereinafter called "stumbling" ) as the difficulty a client has in giving a valid response about their condition to a certain situation, psychological scale, or item. This study explored the presence, situation, and clinical psychologists' support for clients' stumbling in clinical situations from the perspective of clinical psychologists. An open-ended web-based survey of clinical psychologists showed that 99 out of 103 valid respondents noticed stumbling. Qualitative analysis revealed various situations causing stumbling, the diversity of clients' expressions, clinical psychologists' support, and different characteristics of stumbling in the collected responses. Quantitative analysis of co-occurrence frequencies and rates showed that the situation was related to stumbling, and that stumbling was related to support. These results are expected to facilitate the development of appropriate methods for stumbling prevention and support.

This study examined the possibility that a principal's leadership is related to different levels of teachers' group identity. The results of a web-based survey of school teachers revealed that the transformational and empowering leadership of principals were positively related to teachers' group identity at the relational as well as the collective level of group identity. The transformational leadership, "providing intellectual stimulation," was positively associated with "identification with the administration" and "identification with the organization" at the relationship level of group identity and at the group level, while "providing individualized support" was positively associated with "identification with the administration" at the relationship level of teachers. A principal empowering leadership was positively associated with teachers' total group identification scores. Based on these results, we discuss principals' leadership that contributes to reducing teachers' sense of busyness and promoting team schools.