Free-Time Activities in Middle Childhood: Links with Adjustment in Early Adolescence

This study assessed links between free-time activities in middle childhood (hobbies, sports, toys and games, outdoor play, reading, television viewing, and hanging out) and school grades, conduct, and depression symptoms both concurrently and 2 years later, in early adolescence. It also explored two mechanisms that might underlie activity-adjustment links: whether the social contexts of children's activities mediate these links, child effects explain these connections, or both. Participants were 198 children (M = 10.9 years, SD = .54 years) in Year 1, and their parents. In home interviews in Years 1 and 3 of the study, mothers rated children's conduct problems, children reported on their depression symptoms, and information was collected on school grades from report cards. In seven evening phone interviews, children reported on the time they spent in free-time activities during the day of the call and their companions in each activity. Links were found between the nature of children's free-time activities and their adjustment. The social contexts of free-time activities explained activity-adjustment links to a limited degree; with respect to child effects, evidence also suggested that better adjusted children became more involved in adaptive activities over time.     

Family history,self‐perceptions,attitudes and cognitive abilities are associated with early adolescent reading skills

This study evaluated a model of reading skills among early adolescents (N=174). Measures of family history, achievement, cognitive processes and self‐perceptions of abilities were obtained. Significant relationships were found between family history and children's single‐word reading skills, spelling, reading comprehension, orthographic processing and children's perceived reading competence. While children with poor reading skills were five times more likely to come from a family with a history of reading difficulties, this measure did not account for additional variance in reading performance after other variables were included. Phonological, orthographic, rapid sequencing and children's perceived reading competence made significant independent contributions towards reading and spelling outcomes. Reading comprehension was explained by orthographic processing, nonverbal ability, children's attitudes towards reading and word identification. Thus, knowledge of family history and children's attitudes and perceptions towards reading provides important additional information when evaluating reading skills among a normative sample of early adolescents.     

THE ROLE OF LONELINESS IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION IN CLINICAL AND SCHOOL‐BASED YOUTH

Identifying mechanisms that explain the relationship between anxiety and depression are needed. The Tripartite Model is one model that has been proposed to help explain the association between these two problems, positing a shared component called negative affect. The objective of the present study was to examine the role of loneliness in relation to anxiety and depression. A total of 10,891 school‐based youth (Grades 2–12) and 254 clinical children and adolescents receiving residential treatment (Grades 2–12) completed measures of loneliness, anxiety, depression, and negative affect. The relationships among loneliness, anxiety, depression, and negative affect were examined, including whether loneliness was a significant intervening variable. Various mediational tests converged showing that loneliness was a significant mediator in the relationship between anxiety and depression. This effect was found across children (Grades 2–6) and adolescent (Grades 7–12) school‐based youth. In the clinical sample, loneliness was found to be a significant mediator between anxiety and depression, even after introducing negative affect based on the Tripartite Model. Results supported loneliness as a significant risk factor in youths' lives that may result from anxiety and place youth at risk for subsequent depression. Implications related to intervention and prevention in school settings are also discussed.     

Directing an APA-approved school psychology program: Reasons,responsibilities, benefits

Directors of American Psychological Association (APA)-approved school psychology programs were surveyed to determine what responsibilities and benefits attend their role as training director; they also were asked to identify what they liked about serving in the training director role. Of 42 possible respondents, 33 (79%) returned usable questionnaires. Several responsibilities that all or virtually all of the training directors engaged in were identified (e.g., end-of-year APA report preparation); many respondents (61%) received release time from a class, but otherwise any benefits they received were few; and several important, motivating reasons (e.g., contributing to the future of school psychology) for functioning as a training director were identified. The implications of these findings for school psychology programs are briefly discussed.     

The Dynamics of Chart Success in the U.K. Pre-Recorded Popular Music Industry

In this paper we investigate the dynamics of chartsuccess in the U.K. pre-recorded popular music industryover the period 1980 to 1993 using the British albumchart listings. We find that the incidence of chartsuccess is substantially skewed to the right, whethermeasured by total weeks spent per artist, averageweeks spent per album, or the total number of albumslisted per artist. We subsequently investigatepossible determinants of the length of chart survivalof albums in order to determine what may be drivingthe observed skewness. Our results indicate that thetype of album, seasonal demand, and initial popularityplay an important role in ensuring continued chartlisting of an album.     

Social Perspective Taking: Advancing Empathy and Advocating Justice

Note: An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1993 American Education Research Association Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA. My thanks for critical comments on earlier drafts to Patricia Campbell, Carol Anne Dwyer, Kathy O'Neill, Diane Pollard, and Donald Powers.     

The role of school psychology in preventing depression

To advance the role of school psychologists in mental health prevention and wellness activities, in this article we describe (a) a social ecological theory for guiding school‐based prevention research, (b) the role of schools in the development and prevention of depression, (c) a continuum of school‐based support for meeting the needs of children who are currently depressed for preventing future internalizing distress for all children, and (d) social and political factors that must be considered if lasting change is to occur. We conclude with specific considerations for school psychologists. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 763–775, 2004.