Siblings exposed to intimate partner violence: Linking sibling relationship quality & child adjustment problems

Although the majority of families that experience intimate partner violence (IPV) have more than one child, most research to date has focused upon a single child within these families. A significant body of research has indicated siblings play an important role in children's adjustment and well-being. To address this gap, the three main goals of the present study were to compare the adjustment of older and younger siblings exposed to IPV, to describe and compare the quality of these sibling relationships from multiple perspectives, and to investigate how sibling adjustment and relationship quality influence children's adjustment. Forty-seven sibling pairs and their mothers were recruited from the community. Mothers self-reported on their violent experiences using the Conflict Tactics Scale, and also estimated the length of time their children were exposed to IPV. Mothers and children completed assessments of child adjustment and the quality of sibling relationships. Observers also assessed the quality of sibling interaction. Results indicated that adjustment between siblings was highly inter-related. On average, mothers reported sibling relationships as less positive but also as less hostile than did siblings themselves. Higher levels of sibling hostility, lower levels of sibling warmth and higher levels of disengagement each significantly predicted child adjustment; however, these effects were predicated upon the adjustment of the other sibling. The sibling relationships of children exposed to IPV made a difference in their individual adjustment, and their adjustment issues influenced how they feel about and interacted with their sibling. Sibling hostility played a stronger role in adjustment issues than sibling warmth. The nature of sibling influences and the direction of future research were discussed.     

Expression of self-concept and adjustment against repeated aggressions: the case of a longitudinal study on school bullying

Bullying between students in the school setting is an increasing problem. Bullying can be defined as any form of repeated mental or physical violence carried out by one or several individuals on a person who is not capable of defending himself (Roland and Idsoe, Aggress Behav 27:446–462, 2001). The aim of this paper is to observe the expression of self-concept and adjustment strategies developed by children subject to this kind of violence. Five hundred twenty-four students between the ages of 8 and 12 (m = 9.44) participated in the longitudinal study. Two measurements were made during the same school year at an interval of 6 months. The results show that the student victims of bullying present weaker self-conceptions than the control group. Recourse to avoidance strategies would be dominant among student victims of bullying. Moreover, recourse to “avoidance” type strategies would lead to an increase in the frequency of bullying while recourse to “approach”-type strategies would lead to a reduction in it. Furthermore, it would seem that recourse to avoidance strategies at T1 lowers the student’s self-concepts at T2. The opposite effect is observed with the approach strategies. These different results emphasize the necessity to establish prevention programs which allow an intervention simultaneously on the level of the school, the family, and the student.     

Perceived discrimination and the adjustment of African American youths: a five-year longitudinal analysis with contextual moderation effects

Longitudinal links between perceived racial discrimination and later conduct problems and depressive symptoms were examined among 714 African American adolescents who were 10-12 years old at recruitment. Data were gathered 3 times over a 5-year period. Hypotheses were tested via latent curve modeling and multiple-group latent growth modeling. Increases in perceived discrimination were associated with increased conduct problems and depressive symptoms. This association was weaker when youths received nurturant-involved parenting, affiliated with prosocial friends, and performed well academically. For conduct problems, the association was stronger for boys than for girls; for depressive symptoms, no gender differences emerged. The findings thus identify contextual variables that moderate the contribution of perceived discrimination to African American youths' adjustment.     

Correction to: Phonological task comparability in Arabic and relation to reading: a longitudinal assessment in kindergarten and first grade

Reading and Writing - In the original publication of the article formatting of Arabic words was incorrectly published.     

Phonological task comparability in Arabic and relation to reading: a longitudinal assessment in kindergarten and first grade

The universal role of phonological processing skills for reading acquisition has been established in many different languages including Arabic. However, in Arabic little knowledge exists about the development of wide-range of phonological tasks and about the correlations between them. We longitudinally studied the developmental trends and correlations between different phonological tasks in kindergarten and first grade and tested their relation to reading accuracy and fluency. Thirty-two children individually completed the same ten phonological processing tasks in kindergarten and first grade. In first grade, reading measures and letter naming were also assessed. Developmental effects of phonological skills showed significant improvement of performance between the two phases in the majority of tasks. Task comparability has raised interesting issues related to the developmental hierarchy of phonological awareness tasks. Moreover, phonological awareness tasks were more inter-correlated in first grade compared to kindergarten, and their correlations to reading were also more established when phonological measures were collected in first grade. The developmental hierarchy of phonological tasks seems to depend on the linguistic and cognitive complexity (unit position, maintenance of the coherent unit and word length) of the items, beyond the size of the phonological unit which was manipulated. The observations reported here have practical implications for planning graded phonological instruction and intervention strategies.

     

A longitudinal assessment of the effectiveness of a school-based mentoring program in middle school

This work assessed the efficacy of a middle-school-based mentoring program designed to increase student use of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies, self-efficacy for and the perceived usefulness of SRL as well as mathematics and language achievement. A longitudinal cluster randomized trial study design obtained evidence that found differential effects of a school-based mentoring program. Specifically, the performance of 94 seventh grade students naturally nested within four classrooms was measured at baseline and after 3, 6, and 9 months. Two classrooms were each randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions. First, the results indicated that participation in the mentoring program led to significant improvements with regard to all the dependent variables after the 9-month intervention, and significant effects had been observed at 6 months for some variables. Second, the program appears to play a more important role for SRL variables compared with academic variables. Third, the effect sizes were small, small-medium, or medium depending on academic mentoring, the type of variable used to assess the efficacy of the program, or the level of analysis considered, respectively. The effect size of this intervention was equal to or greater than those reported in prior studies. In conclusion, our findings underline the importance of academic mentoring programs that practice SRL strategies and emphasize the relevance of using study designs that provide both cross-sectional and longitudinal data.     

The consequences of early adjustment to university

Universities establish various first yearprograms designed to assist students in thetransition from high school. American researchfocussing specifically on first yearadjustment, and general models of educationaloutcomes, suggest that early adjustment resultsin positive outcomes such as relatively highgrades and credit completion. An examinationof students entering York University in TorontoCanada in 1995 shows, however, that earlyadjustment may have only a very slight impacton first year grades and completed credits andno implications for five year outcomes. Findings such as these may indicate thatstudents who do not make an early adjustment touniversity in Canada may not necessarily bedisadvantaged. The difference between thesefindings, research on American campuses, andthe assumptions of American models of studentoutcomes, may result from general differencesin the post-secondary experience in the twonations.     

The impact of maltreatment on children's psychosocial adjustment: a review of the research

While there is wide consensus that child victims of maltreatment are at risk for future social and psychological maladjustment, conspicuously few controlled empirical studies which examine this problem exist. The relative inattention to the psychological sequelae of child maltreatment is unfortunate since observations suggest that exposure to physical abuse and/or neglect has serious consequences for the child's present and long-term adjustment. The present paper reviews the most current empirical research on the psychosocial adjustment of maltreated children.     

合并高校的管理和关系的调适

截止到2001年,全国已有565所高等学校合并调整为232所学校.其规模之大在中国的历史上是前所未有的,标志着我国高等教育管理体制改革已取得了历史性、突破性的进展.但改革并未完成,其深化的任务还十分艰巨,其中的重点和难点问题,是合并高校的管理及其关系的调适.怎样解决这个热点、难点?在当前,正确认识和处理下列四个问题是很重要的.     

古代文学创作论中的物本感应与事本感应

物本感应与事本感应是古代文学创作论的两种基本观点,对于古代文学创作都具有重要意义.产生于六朝时期的物本感应论强调自然之物为文学创作之本源;生成于唐代的事本感应论强调社会生活之事为文学创作之本源.二者都受<乐记>的影响,比较而言,事本感应更深刻地反映了古代文学的创作实际.     

The double deficit hypothesis in the transparent Finnish orthography: a longitudinal study from kindergarten to Grade 2

We examined the double deficit hypothesis (Wolf & Bowers, 1999) and literacy development in a longitudinal dataset of 1,006 Finnish children who were nonreaders at school entry. A single phonological awareness (PA) deficit was a predictor of pseudoword spelling accuracy and reading fluency, and a single rapid automatized naming (RAN) deficit was a predictor of reading fluency. The group with both PA and RAN deficits experienced the most extensive reading and spelling difficulties. However, all groups included both poor and average Grade 2 readers and spellers. Poor letter knowledge and vocabulary, task avoidance, attention difficulties, hyperactivity, and lack of teaching at home were additional risk factors for reading and spelling problems, but their impact varied depending on the presence of PA and RAN deficits.     

间接分组平差中多组平差原理及应用

研究了间接分组平差中两组平差和多组平差的推算原理及方法.即先对第一组单独平差,然后再利用第一组的平差结果和第二组观测值一起平差,使得到的结果与整体平差结果一致.获得了验后单位权方差估值,平差结果的协因数阵及未知数函数的权倒数,并举例说明该方法的应用.     

The construction of experience: a longitudinal study of representation and behavior

Continuity in relationship representation and developmental links between relationship representation and behavior from infancy to late adolescence were examined using longitudinal data from a risk sample (N = 185). Significant correlations were found among diverse representational assessments (e.g., interview, drawing, projective narrative) and between representational and concurrent observational measures of relationship functioning. Structural equation models were analyzed to investigate the relations among caregiving experience in infancy; relationship representation and experience in early childhood, middle childhood, and early adolescence; and socioemotional functioning in adolescence. A model representing interactive contributions of representational and behavioral experience represented the data significantly better than a model representing noninteractive contributions. Findings support an organizational developmental view that socioemotional adaptation arises from the progressive construction of mutually informing expectations and experience.     

A longitudinal study of negative emotional states and adjustment from early childhood through adolescence

The relations among various negative emotional and behavioral characteristics (e.g., aggression, anxiety, undercompliance, depressive mood) and adjustment were examined through use of data from the 31-year-old New York Longitudinal Study. 75 white, middle-class children were rated on these negative characteristics from infancy to adolescence. Measures of family, peer, and personal adjustment were also obtained. Because of the longitudinal nature of the data, we were able to use structural equation models to address the following questions: (1) How stable are these negative behaviors from early life through adolescence? (2) What is the degree of relation between these emotional characteristics and adjustment in childhood and adolescence? and (3) To what degree do these emotional characteristics differentially predict multiple adjustment dimensions in adolescence? 2 factors of negative emotional behavior, labeled as Aggression and Affect, respectively, were identified in early and late childhood and were found to have relatively high stability of individual differences. Aggression significantly predicted adolescent maladjustment, whereas Affect had no independent prediction of maladjustment. Moreover, emotional problems provided better prediction of adolescent adjustment problems than did earlier childhood adjustment ratings.     

信息网络条件下教师角色的转换

以计算机网络为核心的信息技术对教育产生了很大的冲击,信息网络的发展要求教师及时调整自己的角色,教师应是教育活动的组织和引导;是知识的探究,学生创新能力的培养;是学生的服务和合作用;是学生情感教育和价值教育的实施,学生精神家园的守护。     

制造“外国孩子”跨越大洋的产子计划

为了让孩子获得发达国家的国籍,近年来明星在国外生孩子的消息不绝于耳,“境外生子”由此成为一些准妈妈追逐的热点。父母希望用人力改变“天意”,让自己的孩子从来到世间那一刻起,就有资格享受发达国家优质的教育、福利与就业环境,有人把它看做是给孩子最好的“礼物”。然而,这样做真能给孩子带来美好的前途吗？     

How the reason for a school move relates to school adjustment

Several authors have suggested reasons for children transferring to new schools, and they have hypothesized that the reasons may affect the nature and tenure of the transition process. The present study investigated the reasons parents of 451 elementary school children gave for changing schools and demonstrated that the reasons influenced children's ability to adjust to their new schools. Specifically, children transferring because their old school closed were more competent academically and had a higher average socioeconomic status than did the other groups. On the other hand, those transferring because of changing households had poorer academic performance and more stressful life events on average than the other groups. Finally, reasons for moving not only vary according to race, but the effects of the reasons are different for each racial group. Implications for school personnel seeking to integrate transfer students into their schools effectively are discussed.