AIM This paper is a report of a concept analysis to define and describe self-mutilation. BACKGROUND Although there has been an increased interest in self-mutilation, as evidenced by recent publication of opinion literature, anecdotal reports and a few clinical studies, the concept has not been well developed to guide nursing research and interventions. METHOD Definitions and uses of self-mu...

Three studies tested whether self-doubt stems more from the absence of a strong desired self or the presence of a strong undesired self. Across studies, participants completed individual difference measures and then imagined a desired, neutral, or undesired possible self and completed strength measures for the imagined possible self. As predicted, compared to low selfdoubt participants, high se...

Background: Physical self-concept and physical self-esteem are important sources of general selfesteem and overall health. Evidence indicates that exercise leads to an enhancement in physical self-concept and physical self-esteem. Until now however, it remained unclear whether the beneficial effects of exercise were impacted by different types of exercise environments. Thus, the purpose of this...

Using cellular automata, the authors show how mutual influences among elements of self-relevant information give rise to dynamism, differentiation, and global evaluation in self-concept. The model assumes a press for integration that promotes internally generated dynamics and enables the self-structure to operate as a self-organizing dynamical system. When this press is set at high values, the ...

The centrality of the self-concept in maintaining physical and psychosocial well-being is widely recognized in nursing. Despite its importance, progress in the development of an empirically-supported and clinically-relevant theoretical framework has been limited by difficulties in defining and measuring the construct. The schema model of the self-concept is presented as a theoretical framework ...

The 'self' is increasingly used as a variable in cognitive experiments and correlated with activity in particular areas in the brain. At first glance, this seems to transform the self from an ephemeral theoretical entity to something concrete and measurable. However, the transformation is by no means unproblematic. We trace the development of two important experimental paradigms in the study of...

This study investigated longitudinal predictors of proactive goals and activity participation at age 80 among members of the Terman Study of the Gifted. The participants were 242 individuals between the ages of 75 and 84 (M = 79.53) who responded to questionnaires in 1992, 1972, and 1950. Proactive goals included goals for involvement and achievement. Activity participation included intellectua...

The relationship between academic self-concept and academic achievement of Chicano(a) and/or Mexican American students at Colorado State University was investigated in this study. The participants included 114 undergraduate, full-time students who self-identify as Chicano(a) and/or Mexican American. The quantitative instrument utilized to measure academic self-concept was developed by Reynolds,...