Academic achievements, behavioral problems, and loneliness as predictors of social skills among students with and without learning disorders
This study aimed to examine to what extent academic achievements, learning disorders, behavior problems and loneliness explain the variance of students’ social skills. The differences between students diagnosed with learning disorders and students without learning disorders in all four variables were examined. Participants were 733 elementary students (642 without LD; 91 with LD). Homeroom teachers assessed students’ academic achievements, behavior problems, and social skills. Students completed questionnaires regarding their loneliness feelings. Regression analysis showed that academic achievement and behavior...
Source: School Psychology International - July 18, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Zach, S., Yazdi-Ugav, O., Zeev, A. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Empathy and peer violence among adolescents: Moderation effect of gender
The study examined the relationships between empathy and peer violence among adolescents, along with gender as a moderator in these associations. Thereby, multidimensionality of empathy (affective and cognitive empathy) and different forms of violence (physical, verbal, and relational) were considered. The participants were 646 high school students (aged 15- to 19-years-old) from Serbia. The findings revealed that only the cognitive dimension of empathy was related to violence, namely to physical and relational violence, while relations between the empathy dimensions and verbal violence were not significant. Gender moderat...
Source: School Psychology International - July 18, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Bojana, D. M., Jasmina, K. S., Valentina, S. T., Ilija, M. Z. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Application of social control theory to examine parent, teacher, and close friend attachment and substance use initiation among Korean Youth
Based on Hirschi’s social control theory (1969), this study examined the relationship between attachment (an element of social bonds) and the onset of substance use among South Korean adolescents. Using discrete-time logistic regression, the study investigated how attachment to parents, teachers, and close friends was associated with the timing of first alcohol and cigarette use. A nationally representative sample of Korean youth from five waves of the Korea Youth Panel Survey (N = 3,449 at baseline) was studied. Higher levels of parent and teacher attachment were associated with delayed onset of alcohol consumption ...
Source: School Psychology International - July 18, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Han, Y., Kim, H., Lee, D. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
The application of social justice principles to global school psychology practice
In as much as school psychology practice is based on the goals of supporting the rights, access, and treatment of children as related to their education, social justice has the potential to be a moral framework for training, research, and practice in school psychology. Accordingly, this article seeks to achieve many objectives. First, a definition of social justice is provided. Second, a brief overview of school psychology research that overtly references social justice is offered. Third, essential precursors to action for individuals who seek to reflect social justice principles are highlighted. Fourth, key strategies for...
Source: School Psychology International - July 18, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Shriberg, D., Clinton, A. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Educational interventions for children with ASD: A systematic literature review 2008-2013
Systematic literature reviews can play a key role in underpinning evidence-based practice. To date, large-scale reviews of interventions for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have focused primarily on research quality. To assist practitioners, the current review adopted a broader framework which allowed for greater consideration of educational utility. Between July and August 2013, 20 databases were searched, alongside web searches and hand searches, to identify ASD intervention studies published between 2008 and 2013. This search yielded 6,232 articles and the subsequent screening and evaluation process iden...
Source: School Psychology International - May 12, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Bond, C., Symes, W., Hebron, J., Humphrey, N., Morewood, G., Woods, K. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Choosing to be a defender or an outsider in a school bullying incident: Determining factors and the defending process
This study examined the determinants of students’ willingness to intervene in bullying incidents, as well as the process underlying students’ defending behaviors. The participants were 24 students (12 defenders and 12 outsiders) recruited from six secondary schools in southern Taiwan. The study used semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative data and a grounded theory approach to analyse the data. The results showed that bystanders in bullying situations tended to assess the perceived severity of a bullying incident, personal responsibility, affective factors, victim characteristics, relationship with th...
Source: School Psychology International - May 12, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Chen, L.-M., Chang, L. Y. C., Cheng, Y.-Y. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Mother-child attachment and social anxiety: Associations with friendship skills and peer competence of Arab children
The goal of the study was to examine the joint and distinct contribution of attachment security and social anxiety to Arab children’s peer competence in middle childhood. We focused on Arab children as very little research has examined close relationships for this group. A sample of 404 third-, fourth- and fifth-grade Arabic students (203 boys and 201 girls), mostly from lower middle-class neighborhoods in northern Israel, participated in the study. In a cross-sectional design, bivariate correlations and regression analyses were performed, and findings revealed that attachment security was negatively related to dista...
Source: School Psychology International - May 12, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Scharf, M., Kerns, K. A., Rousseau, S., Kivenson-Baron, I. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Understanding aggression through attachment and social emotional competence in Korean middle school students
This study examines whether the quality of attachment to parents and peers influences aggressive behaviors and whether social emotional competencies serve as significant mediators for middle school students. These relationships were investigated between gender groups. A full mediational model better explained the male sample while a partial mediational model better explained the female sample. Specifically, parent and peer attachment was found to have indirect effects on aggression via behavioral self-control among boys, whereas for girls, parent attachment was found to have both direct and indirect effects on aggression v...
Source: School Psychology International - May 12, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: You, S., Kim, A. Y. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Peers' perceived support, student engagement in academic activities and life satisfaction: A structural equation modeling approach
This study investigates the relationships among peers' perceived support, life satisfaction, and student engagement in academic activities. Three hundred and fifteen Iranian students (172 boys and 143 girls) who were studying in one suburb of Tehran participated in this study. All participants were asked to complete Peers' Perceived Support scale (PPSS), Student Engagement in Academic Activities scale (SEAAS), and Brief Multi-dimensional Students Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS). Structural equation modeling was used to analyse the data. According to the results, there are significant positive correlations between componen...
Source: School Psychology International - May 12, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Hakimzadeh, R., Besharat, M.-A., Khaleghinezhad, S. A., Ghorban Jahromi, R. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Bullying and cyberbullying in Portugal: Validation of a questionnaire and analysis of prevalence
This study aims to validate the Bullying and Cyberbullying Behaviors Questionnaire, to examine the prevalence of bullying and victimization behaviors in Portuguese middle school students, and to analyse the differences in victimization and bullying between genders and across school grades. The questionnaire is composed of 36 items, allowing for the measurement of the prevalence of bullying and cyberbullying, and was completed by 1039 sixth to eighth graders (Mage = 12.02; SD = 1.36) from six public middle schools in the district of Lisbon. The questionnaire presented acceptable psychometrics properties, except for the vict...
Source: School Psychology International - May 12, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Coelho, V. A., Sousa, V., Marchante, M., Bras, P., Romao, A. M. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Trait resilience moderates the longitudinal linkage between adolescent posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and posttraumatic growth
The current study examined the longitudinal association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and posttraumatic growth (PTG) as well as the moderating role of trait resilience in that association. Participants completed measures of PTSD symptoms, PTG, and trait resilience at 12, 18, and 24 months after the Wenchuan earthquake. Results showed that after adjusting PTG at wave 1, PTSD symptoms at wave 1 were positively and significantly related to PTG at wave 2 for low-resilience individuals, but not for individuals with the other two levels (middle and high) of trait resilience. After adjusting PTSD symptoms ...
Source: School Psychology International - May 12, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Ying, L., Wang, Y., Lin, C., Chen, C. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
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Source: School Psychology International - April 3, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Tags: Editorial Notice Source Type: research
Activating the sociological imagination to explore the boundaries of resilience research and practice
Traditionally, the field of resilience research, especially as it relates to children and youth, has been well ensconced in the discipline of psychology. Sociologists, when they do engage with the concept, tend to do so at the level of the community. In recent years, an increasing number of scholars have called for a construction of resilience and resilience-promoting interventions that recognizes the importance of context and culture for the positive development of youth living in stressful circumstances. As such, the social ecologies surrounding a youth and the responsiveness of interventions within these ecologies are a...
Source: School Psychology International - April 3, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: VanderPlaat, M. Tags: Special Issue Articles Source Type: research
Quietly sharing the load? The role of school psychologists in enabling teacher resilience
Teacher resilience is associated with positive student outcomes and plays an important role in teacher retention and well-being. School ecologies can enable the resilience of teachers, with prior research illustrating the importance of supportive colleagues, strong leadership, and positive school culture. There is limited research, however, exploring the role of school psychologists in supporting or enabling teacher resilience. Using data from experienced Australian school psychologists and teachers, this exploratory qualitative study examines the role of school psychologists in enabling teacher resilience. Findings show t...
Source: School Psychology International - April 3, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Beltman, S., Mansfield, C. F., Harris, A. Tags: Special Issue Articles Source Type: research
Fostering a sense of belonging at school--five orientations to practice that assist vulnerable youth to create a positive student identity
Drawing on data from a mixed-method longitudinal study of marginalized youth from New Zealand, most of whom did not complete high school, we explore the concept of a sense of belonging as it relates to the way these youth explain their experiences of school. We identify the centrality of this sense of belonging at school to an understanding of resilience for vulnerable youth. Based on youth accounts we identify five orientations to practice that made the most difference to youth capacity to stay at school. These orientations are able to be used by a wide range of school professionals, including school psychologists, to ena...
Source: School Psychology International - April 3, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Sanders, J., Munford, R. Tags: Special Issue Articles Source Type: research
