<p> In recent years students' academic engagement has gained increasing favor as a necessary component of authentic learning experiences. However, less research has focused on what students do when they run into everyday problems in school that allows them to return (or not) to a state of ongoing engagement. Expanding on these ideas, this project explores students' <i>motivational resilience</i> in school, that is, the dynamic interactions among their ongoing engagement, emotional reactivity, academic coping, and re-engagement after encounters with difficulties and setbacks in school. Grounded in an established motivational model based on Deci &amp; Ryan's (1985) self-determination theory, and building on earlier studies suggesting that these components of motivational resilience form self-reinforcing internal dynamics (Skinner, Pitzer, &amp; Steele, 2015), this project comprises two free-standing manuscripts that examined key components of this process. </p><p> Study 1 explored the external dynamics of motivational resilience within a single school year to identify the extent to which outside forces (e.g., students' experiences of teacher support and self-system processes) can shape students' motivational systems which tend to be self-sustaining. The study used data from 1020 3^rd through 6^th grade students to examine feedforward and feedback effects between students' composite motivational resilience and a set of hypothesized antecedents and consequences, and also investigated whether teacher support can shift established motivational patterns. </p><p> Study 2 looked more closely at motivational resilience and its antecedents and consequences as students made the transition from elementary to middle school. Data following 281 students as they moved from fifth to sixth grade were used to test a structural model examining the extent to which students' ongoing engagement and teacher support act as resources that encourage adaptive coping and re-engagement, which then lead to continued engagement and subsequent achievement. Students' coping was explored as a particularly important mediator between students' resources at the beginning of fifth grade and their subsequent motivational actions and achievement. The study also examined differences in patterns of motivation across the transition for students who had high levels of teacher support and adaptive coping profiles as compared with students who had fewer of such resources. </p><p> This project provides a deeper understanding of students' experiences in dealing with everyday challenges and struggles in school, especially during the transition to middle school. Discussion focuses on the utility and potential drawbacks of examining the individual components of students' motivational resilience through this conceptual lens, with suggestions for next steps for future research. Implications of this model for improving students' academic development highlight the important role teachers can play in supporting or undermining students' ability to bounce back after encounters with setbacks. </p>

No description available.

No description available.

<p> The purpose of this study was to determine the images of aging of a small sample of Early Baby Boomers born between 1946 and 1951. The Baby Boomers are a generation consisting of those born between 1946 and 1964. This study focuses on a narrower range of birth years in order to capture the images of aging of those now 60 and over who came of age in the 1960s and early 1970s. They represent the first wave of the Baby Boom Generation to reach age 65, society's marker of "old age." Baby Boomers are the largest generation in history and currently 10,000 of them are turning 65 every day. The questions posed in this study were to explore how these Early Baby Boomers expect to age, how their generational experience influences their image of aging, and how that image differs from that of previous generations. </p><p> Using a phenomenological and hermeneutical research method, eight men and eight women with like ethnic, demographic, and socioeconomic characteristics were interviewed. Through recordings and verbatim transcriptions the collective meaning of life, aging influences, fears, and expected life spans were determined. The collective results were compared to literature of aging stereotypes of previous generations. This select group reported that they will not age and are surprised when experiencing small signs of aging. Work is what brings meaning to their lives and they have no plans of retiring. They expect to maintain control over the length and quality of their lives. These Early Baby Boomers expect to establish a new image of aging. </p><p> As the numbers of Baby Boomers age and lifespan lengthens, unavoidable losses will occur. Researchers predict an increase in depression, addiction, and dementia. The Early Baby Boomer expects their needs to be met and as those losses occur they will increasingly seek mental health professionals to "fix" their emotional responses. It is important for mental health professionals to understand the unique generational lens from which Boomers view aging in order to provide quality assessment, recommendations, referral, and treatment. </p><p> Key words: boomer; aging; generation; image; mental health; retirement; lifespan.</p>

<p> The goal of this research was to study differences in cognitive performance on verbal and quantitative measures among subjects of different ages. Data was gathered on subjects ranging in age from 16 to 80 years of age from birth-cohorts from 1927 to 1990. In addition to year of birth, personal characteristics of gender, race/ethnicity and undergraduate area of study were obtained. Multilevel models were built that predict cognitive performance as a function of age, cohort and other non-independent personal characteristics . Verbal performance rises as the age of the test-taker rises; quantitative performance declines as the age of the test-taker rises. After controlling for the race/ethnicity and gender of the test-taker, there are both age and cohort effects for verbal and quantitative models. On the verbal measure, the cohort effect favors those test-takers born at an earlier time. There is an interaction between age and cohort on the quantitative measure. This data is secondary analysis and the records are from those test-takers who choose to take a consequential assessment. When the multilevel models are produced independently for those test-takers ages 20-39 and those ages 40-64, different results are seen between the two age groups. There is little difference in performance for 20-39 year olds on the verbal measure other than a positive effect for age at time of test. For the test-taker aged 40-64, there is a positive effect due to age, a positive cohort effect and a negative interaction effect between age and science study. Comparing the 20-39 year olds with the 40-64 year olds on the quantitative measure, the decline in performance for the older group is one-fourth the rate of decline in the younger group. For the quantitative measure, after controlling for age, there is a positive cohort effect for both age groups. </p>

<p> Increased awareness regarding the effectiveness of educational programs has been generated from recent legislative mandates. Given the significance of kindergarten as the foundation for academic learning, it is critical to evaluate whether district-created programs for entering students who are identified as at-risk are effectively meeting their needs. The current program evaluation study investigated the immediate and long-term effects of an extended-day intervention for kindergarten students identified as at-risk in one school district. Through archival data analysis, students who participated in the extended-day kindergarten (EDK; <i>n</i>=26) intervention beginning in the fall of 2000 and 2001 were compared with a control group of gender- and age-matched students who attended half-day kindergarten (HDK; <i> n</i>=26) on a number of school-related measures, including academic achievement, IQ, behavior ratings, attendance, and referral to and participation in additional school supports. The intervention incorporated some evidence-based strategies for students who are at-risk, such as lower student to teacher ratio and small group reading support with a phonics-focus. Findings indicate that students who participated in the intervention were not significantly different from comparison students on the majority of academic achievement and behavior variables. Differences, however, emerged on group achievement test scores across short-term (ITBS reading and language, NYS ELA), intermediate (ELA and math), and long-term outcomes (ELA and science) on which the intervention group scored lower. A significantly higher percentage of intervention students received remediation in reading during the early and intermediate grades, remediation in math during middle and high school, special education services, and were classified as students with learning disabilities. On group IQ tests, the intervention group scored lower on verbal and quantitative scales, but no differences emerged on nonverbal scales. The district's kindergarten screening appears to be effectively identifying students who are at-risk for learning difficulties. Future research might address limitations of this study by including a matched, at-risk comparison group and more specific behavioral ratings. Implications for the district highlight the predictive validity of kindergarten screening and early intervention effectiveness. Implications for the field of school psychology focus on data-based decision making, training in program evaluation, screening, and service delivery for this population.</p>

<p>This study investigated whether parent meta-emotion philosophies, specifically parents' level of emotion coaching, differed between parents of typically developing (TD) children and parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study also investigated whether emotion coaching was related to children's accuracy for recognizing facial affect. Participants in the study included 72 families, who were of middle to high socioeconomic status, with a child between the ages of three and six years. The ASD group included 24 children (5 females, 19 males) and had a mean age of 54.73 months (SD = 10.43). The TD group included 48 children (20 females, 28 males) and had a mean age of 65.92 months (SD = 11.84). Parents participated in interviews and completed questionnaires regarding family demographics, their child's behaviors, and their meta-emotion philosophy. Children completed assessments measuring verbal ability and facial affect recognition accuracy. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to test the moderation model. The study found that children with ASD had a significant deficit in facial affect recognition compared to TD children, <i>F</i>(1,69) = 13.56, <i>p</i> &lt; .001, R² change = .15. Further analysis determined that there was not a significant difference between groups in recognizing the emotions of happy, sad, or scared. However, there was a significant difference in facial affect recognition of the emotion anger, [special characters omitted](4) = 9.999, <i>p</i> = .04. Twenty-three percent of the TD group correctly identified all of the angry faces, whereas none of the ASD group could do this. The study did not find a relation between emotion coaching levels and facial affect recognition, <i>F</i>(1,69) = .360, <i>p</i> = .55. No support was found for the hypothesis that child developmental status would predict parent's level of emotion coaching. However, qualitative analysis found that fifty-four percent of parent participants identified their child's general level of sensitivity and emotionality as a primary influence on their meta-emotion philosophy. Four percent of these parents referenced their child's developmental status as an influence. The proposed moderation model was also not supported. Parent meta-emotion philosophy did not affect the relation between developmental status and facial affect recognition.</p>

The present study examined developmental changes in the prevalence, stability, and developmental pathways associated with Bully/Victim status in order to increase our understanding of this high-risk group. In addition, this study investigated changes within individuals and their social context that are associated with moving into, or out of, the Bully/Victim group. This study was guided by the theory of developmental contextualism, which suggests that bullying involvement is likely to change over the course of development and that these changes are likely related to changes within individuals and their social contexts. One thousand six hundred seventy-seven elementary school students and 1402 high school students participated in this longitudinal study. Data were collected three times from each sample. Developmental changes in Bully/Victim status were assessed through a series of log-linear analyses and changes in individual and their peer relationships associated with transitions in bullying status were assessed through a series of multinomial logistic regression analyses. The results supported developmental contextual theory. Bully/Victim status became less prevalent over the course of development and was particularly unstable over three points of time in both elementary and high school. Individuals who became part of the Bully/Victim group were likely to have a history of involvement in bullying, and those who recovered from the Bully/Victim group usually maintained some sort of bullying involvement. When youth transitioned between types of bullying, they became more similar to the bullying status group that they entered in terms of individual characteristics. In addition, changes in bullying status were associated with changing peer groups. / Thesis (Master, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2007-09-27 16:38:24.52

<p> Generation Y is one of the most studied generational cohorts in history, and much has been written about the psychology of this generation. Generation Y has been influenced by a number of factors, including the technological revolution, the economic recession, and the self-esteem movement. These factors have hindered Generation Y's psychological and maturational development. In addition, Generation Y shares many characteristics with the psychological archetype of the puer aeternus. Using hermeneutical and heuristic methodologies, this thesis focuses on the relationship between the puer aeternus archetype and the millennial generation, as well as the main factors contributing to Generation Y&rsquo;s delay in achieving traditional developmental milestones. Both psychological and demographical literature and research, along with personal experiences of the author, are incorporated to demonstrate the connection between Generation Y and the puer aeternus archetype, as well as to examine the critical factors that have influenced Generation Y&rsquo;s psychological and maturational development.</p>

<p> Human sex trafficking is the harboring, recruiting, or transporting of a person for purposes of prostitution. Traffickers use social networking sites to lure victims in a process called "grooming." Past research suggests that sexual victimization online could be associated with online risky behaviors, offline risky behaviors (e.g., substance abuse), poor academic performance, and problems at home, among others. The purpose of this study was to identify those psychosocial constructs that increase an individual's likelihood of becoming a victim of online HST. The likelihood of victimization was estimated by examining participants' reactions to realistic vignettes representing messages from strangers. This study hypothesized that executive dysfunction, participation in offline and online risk behaviors, and poor self-esteem would predict the likelihood of victimization. The results from the 168 young, female participants showed that marijuana use, online risk behavior, and self-esteem were found to predict this outcome. Executive dysfunction did not predict victimization likelihood.</p>