Self-concept Of Women Research Articles

Convent Chronicles: Women Writing about Women and Reform in the Late Middle Ages (review)

Convent Chronicles: Women Writing about Women and Reform in the Late Middle Ages. By Anne Winston-Allen. (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. 2004. Pp. xviii, 345. $55.00.) Religious life for women in the late Middle Ages has received significant scholarly attention in the last few years-attention that has come in various forms, including the mounting in 2005 in Germany of an international exhibition, Krone und Schleier, which brought together a magnificent collection of objects from late medieval women's religious communities, and the publication of several monographs focusing on women and monastic reform. Anne WinstonAllen 's Convent Chronicles: Women Writing about Women and Reform in the Late Middle Ages, is a fine example of the work being done in this growing field of research. In Convent Chronicles, Winston-Allen proposes to offer what she terms a rare inside look at the Observant movement within German- and Dutchspeaking women's communities in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland-rare because she offers for discussion and analysis long overlooked writings-particularly chronicles and historical accounts by female authors, and inside because these writings emerged from within the Observant communities themselves. She argues that the history of the Observant movement needs to be reconsidered by taking women's writings into account, and that this reconsideration will compel scholars to revisit the broader issues of women's self-concept and agency in the late Middle Ages. After a brief historical, historiographical, and methodological introduction, Winston-Allen presents and discusses excerpts (in English translation) from women's monastic writings. In the first chapter, she selects texts that address the nuts and bolts of daily life within Observant communities-who entered and why, issues of rank and status, living conditions (including complaints about over-salted entrees and warm beer), education, work, and the structure and oversight of spiritual life. Issues of self-concept and agency emerge clearly from Chapter Two, in which Winston-Allen discusses convent founding narratives-narratives that, looking back at, interpreting, and imagining events that in many cases had taken place some 100 years earlier, tended to stress female solidarity in the face of financial and organizational hardship, a non-hierarchical approach to organizing and problem-solving (even in working with male supporters), independence and humility. …

Functional Adult Literacy and Empowerment of Women: Impact of a Functional Literacy Program in Turkey

This study addresses the impact of functional adult literacy on the empowerment of women in the absence of formal schooling. It examines whether the effects of functional literacy are exclusively content specific or whether there are gains going beyond the obvious benefits and extending to other spheres of everyday functioning, such as self‐concept, family relations, and social participation. The participants of a development intervention program implemented in Turkey, the Functional Adult Literacy Program, were studied for changes beyond specific gains in literacy. Study 1 took the form of a pretest/posttest design that examined women's self‐concept, family dynamics, social participation, and self‐efficacy before and after the intervention program. It involved a survey measuring the effects of a literacy program on women's self‐concept, social participation, and family dynamics and an experimental module assessing the impact of literacy on comprehension of television news. Study 2, conducted a year after participants had concluded the program, examined the stability of the gains and possible employment outcomes. Results indicate that the program contributed to women's social integration, positive self‐concept, and family cohesion. There were also cognitive gains. Sustained benefits were observed over time, though no change was found in possible employment outcomes.

The Self-Concept of Chinese Women and the Indigenization of Social Work in China

Based on empirical studies, the article discusses the issues of developing indigenous social work for women in China, especially in response to the changing needs resulting from economic reform and women's self-concepts. The western feminist model is deconstructed as a form of domination over women in developing countries. Some practice principles are highlighted, in the context of rising concerns over family violence.

Premature menopause and self-concept disjunctions. A case for crisis management.

1. Surgically or chemically induced premature menopause is a life transition characterized by a situational crisis superimposed on a developmental crisis. 2. After surgically or chemically induced premature menopause, women's self-concept shifts and evolves through an interactive or relational process. 3. Nurses can use crisis management to increase women's understanding of the physiological and psychological dimensions of premature menopause, facilitate their links with community support systems, and strengthen their existing social networks. 4. Effective crisis intervention approaches include structuring, verbalizing, clarifying, normalizing, and supporting.

America's Shame: Women and Children in Shelter and the Degradation of Family Roles

Preface Descent to Shelter: Systemic Factors Leading to Shelter How a Diverse Population Grew While Housing Decreased Family Values and Other Myths and Realities about Families The Social Psychological Experience of Poverty and Shelter Life Shelter Life and Women's Self-Concept Shelter Life and Its Effects of Children's Development Solutions: Some Old, Some New A Solution for Shrinking Funds: Mandated Community Collaboration Consciousness Raising: An Old Solution with a New Twist Recommendations Epilogue: Connecting Private Troubles with Public Issues: A Little Sociological Imagination Would Help Bibliography Index

Carrier testing in fragile X syndrome: effect on self-concept.

The purpose of the study was to explore self-concept in women at risk for inheriting the fragile X mutation. Time 1 measures were obtained prior to carrier testing and Time 2 measures were collected approximately 5 months after learning carrier status. The sample consisted of 42 women from 17 families. Measures included the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (TSCS), the fragile X Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and a structured interview. The TSCS provided a global measure of self-concept and the fragile X VAS and structured interview provided a contextual measure of self related to carrier status. Results indicated that there were no differences initially between carriers and noncarriers and no change from Time 1 to Time 2 on the TSCS. Analysis of the Time 1 fragile X VAS means for the total sample found a reduction in positive feelings about self. Analysis of the Time 2 fragile X VAS found that noncarriers reported improvement in feelings about self, with no change in feelings about self found in the carriers. Responses from the structured interview indicated that the feelings regarding self in the context of genetic testing are not related to global self-concept, but result from concerns regarding the implications of a positive carrier test for themselves and their families. This information highlights areas related to carrier testing that warrant further investigation and may ultimately result in modifications to the genetic counseling.

Narratives of Three Elderly African-American Women Living in Poverty Who have Lost an Adult Child to Horrendous Death

Fifty Elderly African-American Women Living In Poverty Were Interviewed For A Research Project Entitled “Chronic Poverty And The Self In Later Life” Which Studies The Effects Of Long-Term Poverty On Women's Self-Concepts. The Fact That Ten Women Out Of The Forty-Five Women In Our Sample Who Bore Children Lost Them To Murder, drugs, or other forms of violence made the subject of horrendous death (Leviton, 1995) salient during data analysis. Interview transcripts from three women who lost children to horrendous death were examined for reactions to the children's deaths and subsequent thoughts and feelings about their own deaths. Key themes emerging from the women's narratives were: 1) women's experience with poverty and abandonment, their expectation that life includes suffering, and their religious faith assisted them in grief work; 2) currently, women focused on present joys and concerns rather than on past sorrows; 3) women did not articulate thoughts about their own deaths in light of their child(ren)‘s deaths; and 4) women doubted or negated the concept of an afterlife, which contradicts traditional African beliefs and may speak to the loss they endured.

WOMEN'S MENTAL HEALTH IN PRIMARY CARE: Depression, Anxiety, Somatization, Eating Disorders, and Substance Abuse

Primary care physicians can improve the care of women patients by applying new concepts of women's physiology and psychosocial development. New developmental models that emphasize the importance of relationships in women's self-concept and well-being have led to effective psychotherapies for depression, eating disorders, anxiety and substance abuse. Many of these therapies can be offered in brief formats suitable to primary care settings. New biological treatments including the use of estrogen, thyroid hormone and bright light for depression and refeeding to increase metabolic rate in eating disorders also promise to expand the range of mental health problems that generalist physicians can treat successfully.

Enhancing Latin American Women's Self-Concept: A Group Intervention

ABSTRACTThis study attempts to explore the self-concept of Latin American immigrant adult, women and measure the effectiveness of an “Enhancing Self-Concept” workshop on improving their self-concept. The sample consisted of 74 adult women aged 20 to 60 who were selected from first-level second-language courses from various educational institutions in Montreal. Participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental group who received an “Enhancing Self-Concept” workshop or a control group who received a series of information sessions. Outcome measures consisted of scores on the Tennessee Self-Concept. Scale (TSCS) and a Post-Intervention Questionnaire (PIQ). Participants were tested before and after their respective treatments, depending on the measure used. The results are discussed in relation to effectiveness of the “Enhancing Self-Concept.” workshop in improving immigrant. Latin American women's self-concept. Implications and suggestions for future research are included.

A self-conceptual descriptive study of childrearing women and their family--analyses of "the self as a mother" and "the self as an individual with a life of their own"

A retrospective exploratory-descriptive design was used to describe the modern Japanese women's self-concept during the early stages of childrearing. The purpose of this research was to explore how a Japanese woman's self-concept changes after she becomes a mother. Seven women, aged 28 to 38, from a purpose sample, were interviewed at home using the-semi-structured interview guide. The core category, "someone needs me", provided the more significant indicator of women's self-concept, reflecting the importance of their existence to others. Findings indicated that the modern Japanese woman seeks to be needed by two parties: their children and society. One of these needs originates in the self as a mother. The other originates in the self as an individual with a life of their own. In the acceptance, through family life, of the fulfillment of the two selves,: "myself needed by my child" and "myself needed by society", the self-concept of modern Japanese women during the early stages of childrearing was defined.

Reactions to the O. J. Simpson Verdict: “Mindless Tribalism” or Motivated Inference Processes?

The difference in opinion between White Americans and Black Americans as to whether O. J. Simpson is guilty of murder can be understood within the context of the literature on motivated inference. Both self-serving and group-serving motives can lead to bias in how people gather, interpret, and integrate evidence. The current study revealed that the relative salience of race and gender in women's self-concepts (measured by the Twenty Statements Test) was associated with different beliefs about Simpson's innocence or guilt. Although Black women were more likely than White women to believe that Simpson was not guilty, this was more true for Black women who spontaneously self-identified in terms of race. Similarly, when gender was an accessible aspect of identity, women were more likely to believe that Simpson was guilty. High need for cognition (i.e., the tendency to engage in effortful cognitive activity) actually magnified some of these differences.

From High School to College: Changes in Women's Self-Concept and Its Relationship to Eating Problems

A longitudinal panel study of a sample of college women was undertaken to assess changes in women's self-concept from high school to college and during their college years and the relationship between changes in self-concept ratings and eating disorders. Self-concept was measured at Time Change 1 (senior year of high school to sophomore year of college), Time Change 2 (sophomore year of college to senior year of college), and Time Change 3 (senior year of high school to senior year of college) using Brownfain's (1952) self-rating scale. Eating behavior in college was measured at two points, sophomore and senior year, by the Eating Attitudes Test (Garner, Olmsted, Bohr, & Garfinkel, 1982). The women were placed into three eating groups: Group 1 (eating pattern becomes or remains abnormal). Group 2 (eating pattern gets better), and Group 3 (eating pattern remains normal). Results revealed that all women's self-concept ratings declined in Time 1 with only a slight increase on a few traits in Time 2. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that Group 1 experienced a significant overall decline in self-concept ratings between Time 1 and Time 3 compared with Group 2 and Group 3. Group 2 reported significantly greater increases in assertiveness at Time 1 compared with Group 3. We suggest an interactional model for understanding the relationship between self-concept and eating problems.

Women with Disabilities: Two Handicaps Plus

ABSTRACT In the USA, women with disabilities participate less in social relations, educational institutions, and the labor force than expected on the basis of male/female and male non-disabled/disabled disparities. The resulting isolation appears to be linked with attributional, nurturance and attractiveness norms within the American socio-cultural system as well as to self-image and role selection components of the women's self-concepts. Participation, the socio-cultural system, and the self-concepts are viewed schematically as elements in a triangular relationship of circular causation.

Effect of Participation in Taekwondo on College Women's Self-Concept

A sample of 51 women enrolled in Taekwondo classes and 49 women enrolled in 4 sections of general health courses were administered the Tennessee Self-concept Scale to assess the effect of participation in Taekwondo on self-concept. Using analysis of covariance, with pretest scores as the covariate, significant differences were found on total self-concept and on subscale scores in physical, personal, social, identity, and satisfaction. Nonsignificant differences were found on moral-ethical, family, behavior, and self-criticism scales.

Gender and Mental Health in Africa

The field of women's mental health in Africa is practically virgin. This paper examines the scarce studies devoted to this subject. The first section shows that available studies of admissions to psychiatric institutions unequivocally report higher rates for men than for women. It suggests that a different picture of gender variations might emerge from epidemiological surveys. The next section focuses on psychiatrically screened symptoms and their variation in accordance with women's social characteristics. It includes studies on the relationship between women's mental health and pregnancy, psychoneuroses related to women's social problems, and postpartum or puerperal mental illness. Next, psychosocial stress and women's strain are discussed. Feminist researchers are very concerned with at least two sets of stressful events for African women. One set of factors emanates from traditional cultural values, taboos, and prescriptions which are inimical to women's self-concept as well as to their physical health. Of these factors, those concerned with sex and reproduction have aroused most attention. The second set of factors revolves around structural changes resulting from modernization processes, such as the commercialization of land, and the monetization of agriculture, which have marginalized women. Suggestions for further research conclude the article. Bibliogr.

Strength Training for Female Athletes

Women and men respond to strength training in very similar ways from their individual pretraining baselines. Women on the average have smaller bodies than men, have less absolute muscle mass and smaller individual muscle fibers, and display approximately two-thirds of the absolute overall strength and power of men. In addition, children are enculturated to view strength as masculine, an outlook which has depressed the pursuit and performance of strength activities by women. However, unit for unit, female muscle tissue is similar in force output to male muscle tissue, and there is some evidence to support similar, proportional increases for the sexes in strength performance and hypertrophy of muscle fibre relative to pretraining status. Strength training can also provide beneficial alterations in bone, body fat and self-concept in women. There is no evidence that women should train differently than men, and training programmes should be tailored for each individual.

Black Women and the Politics of Skin Color and Hair

Black Women and the Politics of Skin Color and Hair

A Theory of Productive Activity: The Relationships Among Self-Concept, Gender, Sex Role Stereotypes, and Work-Emergent Traits

A theoretical framework is presented that focuses on the division of labor by gender to account for both sex role stereotypes and the correspondence between these stereotypes and the self-concepts of women and men. According to this framework, the self-images of adults are largely constituted by attributes generated by their productive activity. These attributes, referred to as work-emergent traits, are consequences of working within particular social and physical conditions of production because they help individuals to perform work tasks and to regulate their emotional responses to the stressors attendant upon their work roles. Because of sexual segregation in the work force, certain traits have been generalized to all women and to all men, appearing as sex role stereotypes. Although the sexual division of labor is the root cause of stereotypical beliefs regarding the attributes of women and men, the beliefs themselves also sustain the division of labor. Suggestive pilot data, which provide initial substantiation for this theoretical perspective, are briefly discussed.

?Why girls are good?: A constructivist view

The genesis and development of "feminine" traits are explored, and the psychological consequences of women's self-concept being rooted in girlhood notions of weakness and vulnerability are considered. Female "goodness" is viewed as a complex interplay between the desire to be good and the fear of being bad.

Why girls are good: a constructivist view.

The genesis and development of "feminine" traits are explored, and the psychological consequences of women's self-concept being rooted in girlhood notions of weakness and vulnerability are considered. Female "goodness" is viewed as a complex interplay between the desire to be good and the fear of being bad.