<p> Bullying is becoming a salient issue in schools in the Southern United States. School bullying, the most common type of school violence, comprises a spectrum of aggressive behaviors that involve both perpetrators and victims. The purpose of this descriptive qualitative case study was to obtain an understanding of the experiences of adolescents who have been bullied. Data collection consisted of 1-on-1, semi-structured interviews with 8 participants from 12 and 13 years of age. There were no restrictions relative to the participants in terms of gender, race, or ethnicity. The researcher conducted guided interviews and analyzed the interviews for themes that established the adolescents&rsquo; perception of bullying. Findings of the study indicate that adolescents experience psychological and emotional traumatic problems, including depression during and after a bullying occurrence. Recommendations to encourage further study in elementary- and middle-school children as well as more qualitative research are indicated.</p>

<p> Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) is a pathological preoccupation with muscularity, more common in men than in women. MD is estimated to affect several hundreds of thousands of individuals. There has been little research related to MD in the male adolescent population and the prevalence is unknown. The mean age of onset of MD is estimated to be 19 years, and sports participation increases the risk for developing MD as well as other psychological difficulties. The pilot study revealed a potential relationship between MD symptoms and athletic and academic performance, low levels of self-esteem, high levels of perfectionist qualities, and use of performance-enhancing drugs. This study was conducted to substantiate previous findings and to understand MD symptomatology among male adolescent student athletes and its relation to athletic and academic performance as well as media influence, low levels of self-esteem, high levels of perfectionist qualities, and the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Participants included 67 male student athletes ages 14 through 18 who completed a four-page questionnaire. Results showed that MD symptomatology is prevalent among male high school athletes and is positively correlated with perfectionism and media influence. Current findings indicate the need for school programs and treatments to address MD symptoms. Further, the results offer important implications for school psychologists to make meaningful contributions in the school system through professional development to staff, counseling for students, and collaboration with parents.</p>

<p> Disruptive classroom behavior is frequently cited as a critical component in teacher job dissatisfaction and burnout. As corporal punishment is eliminated in many classrooms worldwide, teachers report a perception of increased disruptive classroom behavior that many feel ill equipped to address. Teachers also often report a lack of training in evidence-based behavior management tools that have been studied with international populations and culturally, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse populations. The Good Behavior Game offers teachers a classroom-wide behavior management tool that has been studied both in the United States and abroad with students from diverse backgrounds, primarily in developed countries or large cities within developing countries. This intervention is based on basic and well-tested principles of behavior theory and has a long and defensible history indicating its efficacy across cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic traditions. However, use of this tool in developing countries with few resources and diverse student populations has not been fully investigated. This research investigates the use of the Good Behavior Game in classrooms within a small, Central American town, where corporal punishment has been recently banned, educational resources are limited, and the population is both international and diverse. Results from the current study indicate that the GBG is effective in reducing out of seat, talking out, and tattling across three elementary classrooms in Belize, Central America and represents the first research to do so. Evidence further indicates that teachers were able to implement this intervention with fidelity, and that both teachers and students report high treatment acceptability.</p>

<p> Many studies have investigated problems with the ability achievement discrepancy (AAD) method of diagnosing specific learning disabilities (SLDs). The definition of an SLD includes the presence of a deficit in one or more cognitive processing systems. Researchers in other studies found that the AAD method overdiagnoses English language learners and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and underdiagnoses students with cognitive processing deficits. Although SLD diagnostic methods have been widely researched, much less information is available regarding SLD diagnostic methods that predict important student outcomes, such as high school completion. The General Abilities Index (GAI) is an SLD diagnostic method that can identify cognitive processing deficits. This study examined the relationships between cognitive processing deficits and the GAI method, high school completion status, performance on state standards assessments, and SLD eligibility. Using a multivariate, nonexperimental design, this study analyzed 149 datasets from records of students tested for an SLD between 1996 to 2013. A GLM analysis found that several types of cognitive processing deficits predicted math and writing performance on the state standards assessment and predicted not being diagnosed with an SLD, while the GAI method failed to predict any relationship with the dependent variables. Positive social changes from this study may include improved SLD diagnostic practices and improved educational interventions that target the cognitive processing deficits. Improved educational outcomes for SLD persons may reduce the high rates of unemployment, substance abuse, and incarceration experienced by the adult SLD population.</p>

<p> Previous research conducted with currently enrolled college students has suggested a relationship between secure attachment style, greater stress coping abilities, and academic success. However, there is an absence of research examining these variables as predictors of college graduation. Attachment theory was used as a theoretical framework to address this gap. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between adult attachment style, stress coping skills, and college graduation. This logistic regression study included 81 individuals who either withdrew or graduated from college within the last 4 years. Participants provided demographic information, completed the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) to measure attachment anxiety and avoidance, and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) to measure level of perceived stress. A significant Wald statistic between attachment anxiety and college graduation indicated that as attachment anxiety increased, participants were less likely to graduate. However, there was not a significant relationship between attachment avoidance and college graduation. A significant Wald statistic between stress coping skills and graduation indicated that as the level of perceived stress increased, participants were less likely to graduate. When the predictor variables of attachment anxiety and stress coping skills were paired together, neither variable added uniquely to the prediction of graduation. Social change implications could include the development of educational, counseling, and stress reduction programs for students who are at risk of withdrawing from college, which may help increase college retention.</p>

<p> Drawing on research in the fields of neuroscience, reading cognition, and the history of writing, the author explores the condition of reading today. Rather than accepting the apocalyptic pronouncements that the Internet is "dumbing down" current readers, the author argues for a more nuanced understanding of the effects of digital media. He argues that the literacies needed for the new digital realm are not new, but are literacies developed over thousands of years. The author argues for the need of more education and instruction in the use of digital media, and that the digital realm requires new proprioceptive (spatial awareness) abilities to navigate.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine the impact that attachment (as measured by an adult attachment measure) has on a college student's perceived stress levels. A sample of seven hundred and twenty-seven college students ranging from 18 to 30 years (N=727; 73.2% female, 26.8% male; 46.8% Hispanic/Latino, 18.2% Asian/Pacific Islander, 13.3% Caucasian, 7.4% other/mixed, 5.0% Middle Eastern, 4.5% African American/Black, 4.5% Armenian, and 0.3% Native American) completed two self-report questionnaires assessing attachment styles (ECR-S) and perceived stress levels (PSS). Analyses revealed a statistically significant relationship between an adult's level of secure attachment and level of perceived stress. The overall results showed that secure attachment levels were significantly and negatively related to perceived stress levels. These results provide further evidence of the impact that earlier relationships have on a person's functioning in adulthood, specifically with regards to one's ability to cope with a physically and emotionally demanding environment. Implications for providing attachment related interventions and directions for future research are explored. </p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Counseling and Educational Psychology, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-09, Section: B, page: 6367. Adviser: Jack A. Cummings. Title from dissertation home page (viewed May 8, 2008).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Education, 2004. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Nov. 10, 2008). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-02, Section: A, page: 0461. Adviser: Thomas R. Huberty.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Counseling and Educational Psychology, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Nov. 17, 2008). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-12, Section: A, page: 4452. Adviser: Thomas J. Huberty.