The relationship between social support and student adjustment: A longitudinal analysis

This study is an examination of the relationship of perceived social support and adolescents' adjustment behaviors over time. The sample (n = 82) included students from two at‐risk urban middle schools. Utilizing two measures, the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASSS; C. K. Malecki, M. K. Demaray, & S. N. Elliott, 2000) and the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Self Report of Personality (BASC; C. R. Reynolds & R. W. Kamphaus, 1998), data were collected at three time points. Results point to a relationship between social support and student adjustment behaviors over time. Specifically, support from parents was related to clinical maladjustment and emotional symptoms one year later. In fact, parent support was still related to clinical maladjustment one year later even after students' earlier levels of clinical maladjustment were taken into account. Parent support was also related to personal adjustment in the short term (6 months). Classmate support was related to students' emotional symptoms one year later. Finally, school support was related to school maladjustment one year later even after students' earlier school maladjustment was taken into account. Implications for school psychologists are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 691–706, 2005.     

Neurocognitive and Temperamental Systems of Self‐Regulation and Early Adolescents’ Social and Academic Outcomes

ABSTRACT— The aim of the current study was to examine the role of individual differences in neurocognitive and temperamental systems of self‐regulation in early adolescents’ social and academic competence. Measures used in the study included the Attention Network Test, the Early Adolescence Temperament Questionnaire, a peer‐reported Social Status Questionnaire, a self‐reported measure of Schooling Skills, and information on grades obtained by the students in a variety of school subjects (n= 69 12‐year olds). Results showed that efficiency of the neurocognitive network of executive attention is related to academic outcomes, particularly in mathematics, as well as to aspects of social adjustment. Temperamental effortful control appears to be a significant predictor of all dimensions of school competence assessed in this study and mediates the relationship between social adjustment and poor schooling outcomes. These data suggest that individual differences in systems of self‐regulation are central to understanding processes of learning and social adjustment in the school.     

Shyness‐Sensitivity and Social,School, and Psychological Adjustment in Urban Chinese Children: A Four‐Wave Longitudinal Study

This study examined reciprocal contributions between shyness‐sensitivity and social, school, and psychological adjustment in urban Chinese children. Longitudinal data were collected once a year from Grade 3 to Grade 6 (ages 9–12 years) for 1,171 children from multiple sources. Shyness‐sensitivity positively contributed to social, school, and psychological difficulties over time, with the most consistent effects on peer preference and loneliness. Social and school adjustment negatively contributed to the development of shyness‐sensitivity. The initial levels of shyness‐sensitivity and social and school adjustment moderated the growth of each other, mainly as a resource‐potentiating factor. The results indicate the significance of shyness‐sensitivity for adjustment and the role of adjustment in the development of shyness‐sensitivity in today's urban Chinese society.     

Middle childhood,poverty, and adjustment: Does social support have an impact?

The present study evaluated 64 children and their primary caregivers who were living in poverty. The children were administered a stress measure, a social support measure, and a measure of self‐esteem. Caregivers completed a stress measure, a measure of child adjustment, and a demographic questionnaire. Social support was not found to moderate the relationship between stress and child outcome. However, social support was found to be one possible mediator of the child's reported stress on their self‐esteem. According to the mediating model, enhancing children's social support may positively influence their self‐esteem. Greater levels of self‐esteem can affect many aspects of children's lives, such as improving school performance and efforts toward achieving goals. Because of the important role that social support can play on children's self‐esteem, social support should be actively promoted through school and community groups and organizations, especially with children from disadvantaged economic situations. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Relationships with teachers and bonds with school: Social emotional adjustment correlates for children with and without disabilities

In this investigation, fifth‐ and sixth‐grade children (N= 289) completed a measure to assess aspects of their relationships with teachers and bonds with schools. Children and teachers also completed measures related to children's social and emotional adjustment. Analyses of responses to these measures indicated that students with disabilities had greater dissatisfaction with their relationships with teachers, poorer bonds with school, and perceived higher school danger than did students without disabilities. Comparisons involving students who were receiving services for emotional disturbance (ED), learning disabilities (LD), mild mental retardation (MMR), other health impairments (OHI), and no disabilities indicated that students with ED and students with MMR had poorer affiliation with teachers and greater dissatisfaction with teachers than students without disabilities. Students with ED also had poorer bonds with school than did students without disabilities. Students with LD and students with MMR had significantly higher ratings of perceived school danger than did students without disabilities. Results of correlational analyses indicated that student‐teacher relationship and school bonding variables were associated with social and emotional adjustment variables for students with and without disabilities. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Does school satisfaction predict coping? A short‐term longitudinal examination in early adolescents

We tested the hypothesis of school satisfaction being an antecedent to social coping behaviors in early adolescents (N = 892) using a two‐wave cross‐lagged panel design. We also explored the possible bidirectional relations between school satisfaction and social coping behaviors. Four types of social coping behaviors in peer conflict contexts included social support seeking, self‐reliance, internalizing behaviors, and externalizing behaviors. The findings showed that school satisfaction significantly predicted three of the four coping behaviors (social support seeking, self‐reliance, and externalizing behaviors) in the expected directions. Among all the social coping behaviors, only social support seeking significantly predicted school satisfaction over time. Taken together, the results suggest that school satisfaction may be an antecedent that predicts most social coping behaviors in early adolescents. Furthermore, the relations between social support seeking coping and school satisfaction appeared to be reciprocal. Implications, especially the importance of monitoring students’ school satisfaction, are discussed.     

Promoting Positive Youth Development Through School‐Based Social and Emotional Learning Interventions: A Meta‐Analysis of Follow‐Up Effects

This meta‐analysis reviewed 82 school‐based, universal social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions involving 97,406 kindergarten to high school students (M_age = 11.09 years; mean percent low socioeconomic status = 41.1; mean percent students of color = 45.9). Thirty‐eight interventions took place outside the United States. Follow‐up outcomes (collected 6 months to 18 years postintervention) demonstrate SEL's enhancement of positive youth development. Participants fared significantly better than controls in social‐emotional skills, attitudes, and indicators of well‐being. Benefits were similar regardless of students’ race, socioeconomic background, or school location. Postintervention social‐emotional skill development was the strongest predictor of well‐being at follow‐up. Infrequently assessed but notable outcomes (e.g., graduation and safe sexual behaviors) illustrate SEL's improvement of critical aspects of students’ developmental trajectories.     

Risk and protective factors for poor school adjustment in lesbian,gay, and bisexual (LGB) high school youth: Variable and person‐centered analyses

This study examined the relations between school climate and school adjustment among 101 lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) high school students and the moderating influence of social support on those relations. Students completed surveys to assess three aspects of the school climate (the school's exclusion/inclusion of LGB people, personal victimization in school for being LGB, and social support from teachers) as well as social support from family and close friends. Criterion variables were GPA, school belonging, and discipline problems. School climate variables explained significant amounts of variance in all criterion variables, after controlling for prior GPA, and there were no moderating effects of parent or friend support. Cluster analyses revealed one small group (n = 14) of highly vulnerable youth who were the least adjusted, most victimized, and least supported. Implications for teachers, counselors, and future research are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 159–172, 2005.     

Exploring the Social Integration of Sexual Minority Youth Across High School Contexts

Mental health disparities between sexual minority and other youth have been theorized to result in part from the effects of the stigmatization on social integration. Stochastic actor‐based modeling was applied to complete network data from two high schools in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (M_age = 15 years, N = 2,533). Same‐sex attracted youth were socially marginalized in a smaller predominantly White school but not in a larger, more racially diverse school. For both schools, homophily was a critical network feature, and could represent social support for and social segregation of such youth. These findings emphasize the school context in studying the social lives of sexual minority youth and suggest that youth may be better off socially in larger and more diverse schools.     

Role Taking Ability,Nonverbal Sensitivity,Language and Social Adjustment of Deaf Adolecents

The relationships between social‐cognitive processes, language, and social‐behavioural skills were evaluated by analyzing the data of 68 deaf students, aged 14 to 2o years, who attended special education classes with vocational orientation. The social‐cognitive processes included Role Taking Ability (RTA) and Non‐Verbal Sensitivity (NVS). Language was evaluated by the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) and by a test of Emotional Vocabulary (EV). Social‐behavioural skills were assessed by Goldstein, Sparfkin, Greshaw and Klein's (1980) Social Skills Checklist. The social‐behavioural skills were used as indicators of social adjustment. The results revealed low performance in all the social‐cognitive abilities. Language played a major role in social adjustment. However, the availability of specific emotional vocabulary was not a better predictor of social adjustment than general language ability. Although RTA was associated with social adjustment, this association was related to language ability, and RTA did not add a unique contribution to the explanation of social adjustment. NVS emerged as an important, special and independent social‐cognitive ability. The results were discussed in relation to the function of language in social cognition.     

Trajectories of Ethnic‐Racial Discrimination Among Ethnically Diverse Early Adolescents: Associations With Psychological and Social Adjustment

Using longitudinal data, the authors assessed 585 Dominican, Chinese, and African American adolescents (Grades 6–8, M_age at W1 = 11.83) to determine patterns over time of perceived ethnic‐racial discrimination from adults and peers; if these patterns varied by gender, ethnicity, and immigrant status; and whether they are associated with psychological (self‐esteem, depressive symptoms) and social (friend and teacher relationship quality, school belonging) adjustment. Two longitudinal patterns for adult discrimination and three longitudinal patterns for peer discrimination were identified using a semiparametric mixture model. These trajectories were distinct with regard to the initial level, shape, and changes in discrimination. Trajectories varied by gender and ethnicity and were significantly linked to psychological and social adjustment. Directions for future research and practice are discussed.     

Social support in inclusive middle schools: Perceptions of youth with learning disabilities

This cross‐sectional study examined the perceptions of social support reported by middle‐school students with multiple learning disabilities (LD) (reading + math) in inclusive settings. Comparison groups included youths with a learning disability in reading only (RD), mathematics only (MD), and no LD (i.e., normally achieving) (NA). One hundred twenty middle‐school students, 15 boys and 15 girls in each group, were included in the current study. Participants were surveyed using an established measure of perceived social support. Effect size differences and MANOVA were used in the data analyses. Learning disability type explained 21% ( p < .001) of the variance in perceptions of parent, classmate, and friend support. Students with multiple LD (RD + MD) reported the lowest perceived social support on these dependent variables. Follow‐up analyses revealed that eighth‐grade boys reported the lowest perceived parent support and that boys in general reported lower perceived friend support than girls. Sixth‐grade students with multiple LD reported the lowest perceived friend support, and sixth‐grade males reported the lowest perceived teacher support. Implications for practicing school psychologists and recommendations for future research are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 197–209, 2006.     

The relations between the student–teacher trust relationship and school success in the case of Korean middle schools

This study examined relations between the student–teacher trust relationship and school success, including school adjustment, academic motivation and performance. Data were collected from 318 7th‐grade Korean middle school students (170 males, 148 females). All intercorrelations were positively correlated and correlation coefficients were statistically significant (p < 0.01). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis revealed that the student–teacher trust relationship uniquely contributed to students’ performance through school adjustment and academic motivation. This discussion examines theoretical, empirical and practical implications of the trust relationship as a key predictor of adolescents’ school adjustment, academic motivation and performance.     

Peer Group Norms and Accountability Moderate the Effect of School Norms on Children's Intergroup Attitudes

The present study examined the interactive effects of school norms, peer norms, and accountability on children's intergroup attitudes. Participants (n = 229) aged 5–11 years, in a between‐subjects design, were randomly assigned to a peer group with an inclusion or exclusion norm, learned their school either had an inclusion norm or not, and were accountable to either their peer group, teachers, or nobody. Findings indicated, irrespective of age, that an inclusive school norm was less effective when the peer group had an exclusive norm and children were held accountable to their peers or teachers. These findings support social identity development theory (D. Nesdale, 2004, 2007), which expects both the in‐group peer and school norm to influence children's intergroup attitudes.     

Behavioral Inhibition in Early Childhood and Adjustment in Late Adolescence in China

This study examined relations between behavioral inhibition in toddlerhood and social, school, and psychological adjustment in late adolescence in China. Data on behavioral inhibition were collected from a sample of 2-year-olds (initial N = 247). Follow-up data were collected at 7 years for peer relationships and 19 years for adjustment across domains. The results showed that early inhibition positively predicted later social competence and school adjustment. Peer relationships in middle childhood served as a protective factor in the development of depression of inhibited children. The results indicate the distinct functional meaning of behavioral inhibition in the Chinese context from a developmental perspective.     

How Well Socially Wary Preschoolers Fare Over Time Depends on Their Parasympathetic Regulation and Socialization

Parasympathetic regulation and maternal overprotective parenting were examined in 101 children as moderators of links between preschool (M = 3.53 years) social wariness and childhood (M = 9.07 years) internalizing and anxiety problems, social skills, and scholastic performance. Across these three domains of functioning, more socially wary children were likely to manifest worse adjustment when they had low respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) or highly overprotective mothers. Conversely, maternal overprotection appeared to confer benefits for preschoolers with low wariness and low RSA. These findings point to the importance of both internal self‐regulatory capacities and external support for autonomy and competence to understand and assist socially wary children and their families.     

Custom-Fit Parenting: How Low- and Well-Accepted Young Adolescents Benefit from Peer-Related Parenting

Objective. The present study investigated whether longitudinal associations between peer-related parenting behaviors (facilitation of peer interactions, social coaching about peer problems) and peer adjustment were moderated by young adolescents’ peer status. Design. Participants included 123 young adolescents (mean age = 12.03 years; 50% boys; 58.5% European American) at Time 1. At Time 1 (summer before the middle school transition), parents reported on their facilitation of peer interaction opportunities and coaching strategies to a hypothetical peer exclusion situation; teachers reported on youth peer acceptance. At Times 1 and 2 (spring after the middle school transition), youth reported on peer adjustment (friendship quality, loneliness, peer victimization). Results. Peer acceptance (pre-middle school transition) moderated prospective associations between peer-related parenting and peer adjustment, yielding two patterns of associations. Parental facilitation predicted better friendship quality and lower levels of loneliness over time among youth with high peer acceptance, but not among youth with low peer acceptance. In contrast, parental social coaching predicted better friendship quality among youth with low peer acceptance, but lower friendship quality among youth with high peer acceptance. Conclusions. Not all forms of positive peer-related parenting are equally beneficial for all youth. Well-accepted youth may have the social opportunities to take advantage of parental facilitation, whereas low-accepted youth may have greater social needs and benefit from support in the form of social coaching. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the literatures on peer-related parenting and peer adjustment.     

Coping With Racism: Moderators of the Discrimination–Adjustment Link Among Mexican‐Origin Adolescents

What strategies help ethnic minority adolescents to cope with racism? The present study addressed this question by testing the role of ethnic identity, social support, and anger expression and suppression as moderators of the discrimination–adjustment link among 269 Mexican‐origin adolescents (M_age = 14.1 years), 12–17 years old from the Midwestern U.S. Results from multilevel moderation analyses indicated that ethnic identity, social support, and anger suppression, respectively, significantly attenuated the relations between discrimination and adjustment problems, whereas outward anger expression exacerbated these relations. Moderation effects differed according to the level of analysis. By identifying effective coping strategies in the discrimination–adjustment link at specific levels of analysis, the present findings can guide future intervention efforts for Latino youth.     

Family functioning and early learning practices in immigrant homes

Poverty‐related developmental‐risk theories dominate accounts of uneven levels of household functioning and effects on children. But immigrant parents may sustain norms and practices—stemming from heritage culture, selective migration, and social support—that buffer economic exigencies. Comparable levels of social‐emotional functioning in homes of foreign‐born Latino mothers were observed relative to native‐born Whites, despite sharp social‐class disparities, but learning activities were much weaker, drawing on a national sample of mothers with children aging from 9 to 48 months (n = 5,300). Asian‐heritage mothers reported weaker social functioning—greater martial conflict and depression—yet stronger learning practices. Mothers’ migration history, ethnicity, and social support helped to explain levels of functioning, after taking into account multiple indicators of class and poverty.