Low life satisfaction and substance use in adolescence are causes for concern as each problem is known to be associated with many concurrent and later negative outcomes. To date, only four studies have examined links between these variables in youth. This study added to the literature by examining adolescents' life satisfaction in relation to their frequency of use of a variety of substance types, using an understudied population (i.e., a predominantly Hispanic sample of 130 high school students). Results included significant, inverse bivariate links between adolescent life satisfaction and use of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana. When examined simultaneously, adolescents' use of any of the three substance types accounted for a significant but small proportion (6%) of variance in global life satisfaction scores. Other notable results include that gender (but not ethnicity) moderated the relationship between life satisfaction and one type of substance use; specifically, adolescent males who drank alcohol in the past year did not experience diminished life satisfaction. Contrary to hypotheses, high life satisfaction did not protect students who experienced increased risk factors (e.g., poor academic achievement, conduct problems, emotional problems) from actual use of substances. Implications of these findings for future research and practice are outlined and discussed.

This dissertation investigated the effects of infusing therapeutic assessment practices into school-based psychological assessments on parent experience. Fourteen assessment professionals from a medium sized public school district in central Texas were assigned to one of two groups based upon previous exposure to Finn’s Therapeutic Assessment (2003) model. Those in the Therapeutic Assessment-infused (TA-I) group were trained on collaborative assessment concepts, while those in the standard practice group were asked to conduct assessments as usual, while being required to conduct initial and feedback meetings with parents. Outcomes were measured using the Parent Experience of Assessment Survey – I (PEAS-I), Parents’ Positive and Negative Emotions (PPNE), the Experience of School Investment and Collaboration Scale (ESICS), and post-interviews with parents and assessors. Parent ratings from both groups were compared using a MANOVA. It was hypothesized that parents in the TA-I group would report having learned more, more positive parent/assessor and child/assessor relationships, more collaboration with the assessor, less negative emotion related to the assessment, and a higher perception of family involvement in their child’s problems. Parents in the TA-I group were also hypothesized to report a greater sense of home-school collaboration and school investment in their child. Finally, it was proposed that parents in the TA-I group would report feeling more positive and less negative about their child’s future. The group difference was not statistically significant, due in part to limited sample size. However, small to medium effect sizes were achieved for several outcome scales, including parents’ positive emotions following participation, positive parent-assessor relationship, and parental sense of collaboration throughout the assessment. An exploratory measure indicated a significantly greater sense of future collaboration with their child’s school for parents in the TA-I group. Post-participation interviews indicated clear appreciations of the TA-I model. Parents experiencing standard practice assessments, however, also expressed high satisfaction, though the requirement of two face-to-face parent meetings may have contributed to a notable departure from standard practice. Results suggest that infusing TA-I practices into school assessments may be effective in increasing parental satisfaction and home-school collaboration. Further research is warranted, and discussion of potential improvements for future research is provided. / text

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-46).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 188-206). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

D.Ed. / The goal of this study is to design a model that could guide and direct the educational psychologist in the facilitation of the client's self-knowledge for career management: The rationale of this study is based on the fact that previously the educational psychologist, as career counsellor, had to counsel within specific limiting boundaries. In terms of career counselling this meant that he simply guided the client to make the correct career choice. Career management was not considered by the educational psychologist as part and parcel of career counselling. The need for career management is reinforced by the view of the Gauteng Education Department that education in South Africa is seen as a process of lifelong education. Career counselling should therefore be conducted in such a way that it ensures lifelong dividends. Self-knowledge can be seen as the basis for career management. The educational psychologist should possess specific knowledge and skills in order to facilitate self-knowledge in such a way that a client is empowered to manage his own career in a changing career market. The main purpose of this study will therefore be: the, development and description of a model that could serve as a guide to the educational psychologist in the facilitation of a client's self-knovViedge in order to empower him to do career management. To be able to meet this goal the following sub-goals are set: the exploration and description of the concepts necessary for self-knowledge in order to do career management by means of a literature study; the generation of the provisional model; the evaluation and the refinement of the provisional model on the basis of recommendations made by the model development experts and peer group • the writing of a manual for educational psychologists regarding the operationalisation of the final model. The execution of the development of the model will be discussed in three phases. During phase one the model is developed and described by means of a literature research. The model is functional, therefore the survey list of Dickoff, James and Wiedenbach (1968:435), is used to identify and classify the concepts in the study. A concept analysis of the central concept "self-knowledge for career management" is performed and a theoretical definition is:formulated. During phase one the main concepts and their relationships to the central concept are described in the form of relational statements. These statements do not only highlight the relationship between the concepts, but also lay a sound foundation for the conceptual framework on which the provisional model "self-knowledge for career management" is based. During phase two the provisional model is evaluated and refined by model development experts and the peer group. According to the r,ecommendations and the relevant critique, the model is refined and the final model described. The final model describes the structure of the model, as well as the process to facilitate self-knowledge for career management. During phase three a manual is written on how to operationalise the model, which serves as a guideline to the educational psychologist.

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This study focused on the use of bibliotherapy by school psychologists. A survey was created and distributed to 119 registered and licensed school psychologists in Utah to obtain information on this topic. Forty-one percent returned a completed survey. Results indicated that bibliotherapy is used by 82% of the participants in the study, and 31 of 34 (91%) use bibliotherapy with children grades K-6. Topics most used with bibliotherapy included self-esteem, bullying, divorce, anxiety, and grief. Efficacy varied depending on the topic of bibliotherapy. However, school psychologists regarded bibliotherapy across all topics to be very effective to effective.

This study focused on the level of job satisfaction reported by Utah school psychologists and their reasons for staying in their profession. An existing survey was modified and distributed to 119 of the 238 licensed school psychologists in Utah to obtain information on this topic. Sixty-nine school psychologists completed and returned the questionnaire (58% return rate). Based on their feedback, the top five reasons Utah school psychologists stay in their profession were (a) feeling the success and joy of helping students, (b) counseling with students, (c) working one-on-one with students, (d) taking vacation time during summers and holidays, and (e) working with other professionals and students in the school setting. Overall, Utah school psychologists are satisfied with their job. Participants were least satisfied with their salary and perceived an increase in salary as a critical strategy in retaining school psychologists.

Many schools advocate for addressing the diverse needs of students through a multi-tiered model of prevention and intervention known as the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework. This framework often incorporates the use of universal screening to obtain data concerning students' academic and/or social-emotional and behavioral needs. School teams are expected to design and implement tiered strategies in response to data concerning students' social-emotional needs; this can be a challenging facet of MTSS. To aid in this endeavor, this qualitative study elicited school psychologists' recommendations for (a) tiered interventions that target secondary students' social-emotional competency needs and (b) professional learning opportunities that may be helpful in responding to the data from a district-designed social-emotional competency survey. Participants included 15 school psychologists from a school district in a northwestern state in the United States. Two focus groups were conducted using a video conferencing online platform. Focus group transcripts were used to identify emergent themes that were relevant to the purpose of the research. Four primary themes were identified as being important in designing, implementing, and meeting secondary students' social-emotional competency needs: (a) instruction, practice, and reinforcement in each social-emotional skill; (b) the building of staff-student and student-student relationships; (c) staff efforts being consistent, integrated, simple, and unified; and (d) adaptation of fundamental interventions by tier and social-emotional skill. To date, it is believed that school psychologists' ideas concerning tiered social-emotional interventions in response to data are not a part of the extant literature. The findings of this study build upon the current literature concerning the importance of collaboration, prioritization, alignment, explicit instruction, and professional learning opportunities in addressing students' social-emotional needs, suggesting that school psychologists are familiar with and apply current, verifiable research to their practice. The results of this study can aid school and district teams in designing, implementing, and meeting secondary students' social-emotional competency needs.