The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of three interventions on boys' peer relationships, self-perceptions, and undesirable behavior. In addition, boys' perceptions were compared to those of parents' and teachers'. Participants included parents and teachers of 29 students who were exhibiting aggression, noncompliance, or both. Schools were randomly assigned to one of three interventions: conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC), self-administered videotape therapy (VT), or conjoint behavioral consultation plus videotape therapy (CBC+VT). The three interventions improved boys' social interactions both directly and indirectly. CBC, VT, and CBC+VT impacted boys directly by reducing their aggressive and noncompliant behaviors, allowing them to get along better with peers. The interventions affected boys' friendships in an indirect manner by (a) improving parental awareness regarding the importance of children interacting with same age, same sex peers, (b) made parents more at ease about letting their sons play at friends' houses; and (c) reduced undesirable parental behavior which in turn modified the children's conduct with peers. At postintervention, boys perceived themselves more positively and exhibited fewer behavior difficulties. Moderate correlations were found between boys' and parents' perceptions of students' peer acceptance at preintervention (r = .545) and postintervention (r = .529). Findings are discussed in terms of the implications for school psychologists who work with students with behavioral difficulties.

Researchers have found that children with behaviour disorders inflate their self-perceptions (e.g., Hughes, Cavell, & Grossman, 1997). This study investigated the self-perceptions of depressed and nondepressed children with behavioural difficulties relative to significant others' perceptions (i.e., parents, teachers, and behaviour aides) with reference to Cole's (1990; 1991a, 1991b) interpersonal feedback theory. Cole's theory argues that what children believe about themselves results from their perception and internalization of others' judgments. This study involved a quantitative phase and a qualitative phase of data collection conducted one year apart. The quantitative phase consisted of evaluating the congruence in children's (mean age = 10.9 years) and others' (parents, teachers, and behaviour aides) perceptions in depressed and nondepressed children with behavioural difficulties. Perceptions were of the children's general behavioural conduct, problem behaviour, mood, and the raters' general satisfaction with the children. The following measures were used: the Children's Depression Inventory (Kovacs, 1992), a modified Self Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985), and the Child Behaviour Interview (Grinberg, 1997). Parallel forms were used with the parents, teachers, and behaviour aides. In addition, the Direct Observation Form-Revised Edition (Achenbach, 1986) was used to assess actual behaviour. Results suggest that children with behavioural difficulties inflate their competencies. Further, the other raters' perceptions did not differ for the depressed and nondepressed groups. The depressed children rated their competence in behavioural conduct to be significantly lower than the nondepressed children with behavioural difficulties. Also, differences across raters' perceptions were found for the nondepressed group but not the depressed group. Five children from the original sample and their behaviour aides were interviewed for the qualitative study. Qu

Self-concept in social and academic domains, as well as global self-worth (GSW) were assessed among 4th, 5th, and 6 th graders, in children with learning disabilities (LD, n = 49) and a matched sample of children without LD (NLD, n = 49). Mean differences between LD and NLD groups and the relative importance of social versus academic self-concept in the prediction of GSW were examined. Children with LD evidenced significantly lower self-concept in academic and social domains; however, the two groups did not differ in terms of global self-worth. In addition, academic and social self-concepts were significant predictors of GSW in children with LD, although there was a high degree of overlap between the two variables in their predictive ability. In the NLD group, social and academic self-concept areas were significant predictors of global self-worth yet there was minimal overlap between the two self-concept areas. Implications are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between locus of control and achievement, and between self-concept and achievement in achieving and underachieving gifted students. The subjects were fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students in the Anderson Community Schools who were currently participating in the gifted program, or who had been screened for the program, but were not currently participating. The schools that participated in the study represented a cross section of the socio-economic, cultural, and racial composition of the city. The participating subjects had received a score of 120 or above on the Slosson Test of Intelligence. The 60 subjects were divided into two groups based on grades for 5 consecutive six-week grading periods. Students who had received only A and B grades were placed in the achievers group, while students who had received one or more C grades (or below) during the same time period were placed in the underachievers group.Subjects were removed from their classrooms and administered the Nowicki- Strickland Locus of Control for Children and the Piers-Harris SelfConcept Scale in small groups.Multivariate analyses of variance were used to determine if significant differences existed between gifted achievers and underachievers on each of the two instruments. No significant differences were found between the achievers and underachievers on either self-concept or locus of control at the .05 level. Several researchers, including Shavelson and Bolus, (1982) have indicated academic self-concept is more highly correlated with academic achievement than are other dimensions of self-concept. Therefore, subsequent univariate analysis on the Piers-Harris subtests showed that achievers and underachievers were significantly different on the intellectual and school status subscale (F = 9.0, p <.01).As a result of the analysis of the data collected in this study, the findings indicated that, subject to the limitations of this investigation, gifted achievers and underachievers do not differ significantly on measures of locus of control or global self-concept. However, the results of subsequent univariate analyses indicated that, in fact, some differences between the groups may exist. / Department of Educational Leadership

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2007. / Title from title screen (site viewed Dec. 4, 2007). PDF text: iii, 105 p. : ill. ; 5 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3273471 . Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (Ph.D)--Murdoch University, 2005. / Thesis submitted to the Division of Arts. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 322-332).

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Edith Cowan University, 2007. / Submitted to the Faculty of Computing, Health and Science. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Liberty University, 2007.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Carleton University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 277-317). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Lehigh University, 1997. / Includes vita. Bibliography: leaves 128-136.