The purpose in life and academic behaviour of problem students in Bangladesh

This study was conducted with a group of 30 problem students who have been identified as irregular in class attendence, non-attentive to class lectures, creating disturbances in the class, etc. The problem students were compared with a group of equal number of normal students with respect to a Purpose in Life (PIL) scale. It was found that the problem students had lower scores (M=59.87, SD=18.09) as compared to those of normals (M=87.93, SD=0.68). These scores differed significantly (t=7.230). From this study it was concluded that the problem students demonstrated such activities due to a lack of purpose in their lives, although it was granted that some causality probably runs in both directions. It is hypothesised that counseling may be helpful in order to improve such behaviour.     

Sleep Deficiency and Quality of Life of Shift Workers

This paper is based on the results of a study designed to assess and compare the quantity and quality of sleep, health and well-being of morning and evening typed industrial shift workers consisting of a sample of 60 male workers, employed in a cigarette factory. The results showed that night shift is the most disruptive of all the shifts in terms of sleep deficiency and health complaints. The morningness and eveningness characteristics of the workers have significant impact on their quality and quantity of sleep. The shift systems, particularly afternoon and night shifts, disrupt workers' family and social lives. Reducing night shift and the adjusting the work schedule with the morningness and eveningness characteristics of the workers might improve their adaptability and tolerance to shift work, and quality of life.     

Perceived Parental Acceptance‐Rejection and Psychological Adjustment: A Meta‐Analysis of Cross‐Cultural and Intracultural Studies

Meta‐analytic procedures were used to pool information from 43 studies worldwide to test one of the major postulates of parental acceptance‐rejection theory (PARTheory). Specifically, using child and adult versions of the Parental Acceptance‐Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ) and the Personality Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ), these studies allowed us to assess the claim within PARTheory's personality subtheory that perceived parental acceptance‐rejection is associated universally with a specific form of psychological (mal)adjustment among children and adults, regardless of differences in gender, race, geography, language, or culture. Results of the analysis showed that the predicted relation emerged without exception in all studies. The mean weighted effect sizes across the full range of sociocultural and ethnic groups studied were r= .51 for children and r= .46 for adults. Analysis of fail safe N showed that 3,433 additional studies, all with nonsignificant results, would be required to disconfirm the pancultural association between the PARQ and PAQ among children; 941 such studies would be required to disconfirm this relation among adults.     

Effects of Multiple Acceptance and Rejection on Adults’ Psychological Adjustment: A Pancultural Study

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects on adults’ current psychological adjustment of perceived acceptance or rejection by mothers and fathers in childhood and by intimate partners in adulthood. The sample consisted of 1,709 adults (35 % male and 65 % female), including 1,645 individuals in the multiple acceptance group and 64 in the multiple rejection group. Respondents were selected from a total sample of 2,236 adults in 10 countries including Bangladesh, Colombia, Finland, India, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Puerto-Rico, Turkey, and the USA. Measures used were the Intimate Partner Acceptance–Rejection/Control Questionnaire (IPAR/CQ), the Adult version of the Parental Acceptance–Rejection/Control Questionnaire for Mothers and Fathers (Adult PARQ/Control: Mothers and Fathers), and the Adult version of the Personality Assessment Questionnaire (Adult PAQ). Results showed that significantly more women than men experienced multiple acceptance, and significantly more men than women reported multiple rejection. Regardless of gender, the majority of respondents in the multiple acceptance group reported healthy psychological adjustment, whereas the majority of respondents in the multiple rejection group reported severe maladjustment.     

Differential Effects of Perceived Maternal and Paternal Acceptance on Male and Female Adult Offspring’s Psychological Adjustment

The purpose of this study was to measure and compare differential effects of perceived maternal and paternal acceptance of adult sons and adult daughters during childhood on their current psychological adjustment. The sample consisted of 200 young adults (100 males and 100 females) from Bangladesh. Measures used were Adult versions of the Parental Acceptance and Rejection Questionnaire for Mothers and Fathers (Adult PARQ: Mothers and Fathers), and Adult version of the Personality Assessment Questionnaire (Adult PAQ). Results showed that both maternal and paternal acceptance have significant independent effects on adult sons’ psychological adjustment, and only paternal (not maternal) acceptance has significant independent effect on adult daughters’ psychological adjustment. Paternal acceptance accounts for greater variability in adult sons’ and adult daughters’ psychological adjustment than maternal acceptance. Results also showed that parental gender has significant interaction effect on the adult daughters’ (not adult sons’) psychological adjustment. Results further showed that adult daughters reported significantly greater maternal and paternal acceptance and higher psychological adjustment than adult sons.     

Attachment Relationships and Psychological Adjustment of Married Adults

The present study explored relations among remembered parental (paternal and maternal) acceptance in childhood, spouse acceptance and psychological adjustment of adults. It also explored whether remembered childhood experiences of parental acceptance mediate the relation between perceived spouse acceptance and psychological adjustment. The sample consisted of 354 married adult men (178) and women (176). Results showed that the more accepting both men and women perceived their spouses to be, the better was their psychological adjustment. Similarly, the more accepting both men and women remembered their parents had been to them during childhood, the better was their psychological adjustment. Standard multiple regression analyses revealed that paternal acceptance mediated the relation between perceived spouse acceptance and the psychological adjustment of both men and women. In addition, remembered maternal acceptance mediated the relation between men’s (but not women’s) perceived spouse acceptance and psychological adjustment.     

Work values,attitudes and performance of industrial workers in Bangladesh

This study wasundertaken to assess and compare workers' attitudes and values towards work, and find out the relationships between their work performance, attitudes and values. The study was conducted on a sample of 60 (30 male and 30 female) garment workers. The results show that the rate of production of the male workers is significantly higher than that of the female workers. The results further reveal that the worker's performance is positively related to his/her work ethic, attitudes towards mastery and competitiveness in work. But the performance has not been found related to the worker's money beliefs and attitudes towards savings.