Matching Items (12)
Description
The primary goals of this study were to empirically identify subgroups of socially withdrawn youth in late childhood using latent profile analysis and to examine profiles of students' scholastic adjustment. Further, comparisons of the academic functioning for different subtypes of withdrawn children, with particular emphasis on socially disinterested and socially avoidant youth, were made. Participants were 358 fifth grade children. Results indicated that theoretical subtypes of socially withdrawn youth emerge among fifth grade students (i.e., shy, socially disinterested, socially avoidant, and nonwithdrawn). Additionally, associations among subtype membership and various indices of academic engagement and achievement demonstrated unique academic profiles depending on subgroup classification. In particular, youth who were identified as socially avoidant were at greatest risk for academic difficulties compared to their peers. Findings also emerged for socially disinterested youth indicating some degree of academic maladjustment associated with a preference for solitude. These findings have implications for students exhibiting different forms of social withdrawal for their academic functioning in later childhood.
ContributorsSechler, Casey M (Author) / Ladd, Gary W. (Thesis advisor) / Kochel, Karen P. (Committee member) / Kochenderfer-Ladd, Becky (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
ABSTRACT The major hypothesis tested in this research is that the psychological well-being and life satisfaction of elderly adult individuals can be predicted from religiosity (organizational and non-organizational religious beliefs and behaviors). The sample consisted of 142 adults between the ages of 65-90, with the majority in the 65-70 age group (48%) (SD = 1.176). The entire sample resides in the state of Arizona, in both urban and rural communities. Participants were administered a questionnaire which requested demographic information, and three instruments: the Duke University Religion Index (the DUREL), and the Affect Balance Scale and the Life Satisfaction Index - Z (LSIZ). Correlational and Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relation between these adults' psychological well-being, life satisfaction and their religiosity. Independent t-tests were also used to examine possible sex, ethnic and religiosity effects on psychological well-being and life satisfaction. Findings revealed that psychological well-being and life satisfaction are higher when religiosity is higher, regardless of sex or ethnicity. These findings are consistent with those of previous research in this field.
ContributorsMoreno-Weinert, Inez (Author) / Moore, Elsie (Thesis advisor) / Nakagawa, Kathryn (Committee member) / Ladd, Becky (Committee member) / Cohen, Adam (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Few measurement tools provide reliable, valid data on both children's emotional and behavioral engagement in school. The School Liking and Avoidance Questionnaire (SLAQ) is one such self-report measure developed to evaluate a child's degree of engagement in the school setting as it is manifest in a child's school liking and school avoidance. This study evaluated the SLAQ's dimensionality, reliability, and validity. Data were gathered on children from kindergarten through 6th grade (n=396). Participants reported on their school liking and avoidance in the spring of each school year. Scores consistently represented two distinct, yet related subscales (i.e., school liking and school avoidance) that were reliable and stable over time. Validation analyses provided some corroboration of the construct validity of the SLAQ subscales, but evidence of predictive validity was inconsistent with the hypothesized relations (i.e., early report of school liking and school avoidance did not predict later achievement outcomes). In sum, the findings from this study provide some support for the dimensionality, reliability, and validity of the SLAQ and suggest that it can be used for the assessment of young children's behavioral and emotional engagement in school.
ContributorsSmith, Jillian (Author) / Ladd, Gary W. (Thesis advisor) / Ladd, Becky (Committee member) / Thompson, Marilyn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
The current study expands prior work on early adolescents’ impression management in the classroom by developing a self-report measure that was used to explore students’ endorsement of four academic self-presentation strategies (i.e., exaggerate, downplay, honest, and avoid) depending on peer type (i.e., best friend and most popular classmate), academic performance condition (i.e., strong and poor performance), and whether gender differences emerged, when discussing one’s level of effort on a class project. Specifically, data were collected from 475 eighth-grade students (253 boys, 222 girls) within a high-performing educational context. Preliminary psychometric evidence is provided indicating that the measurement tool developed for the present study shows promise. Additionally, findings from the current study extend existing work in which eighth-grade students perceive that high-status youth are less academically engaged than one’s close friends, and students are reluctant to appear industrious to one’s peers; however, given the novelty of the measure and educational context in which data were collected, alternative interpretations and corresponding implications of study results are discussed. The current study also extends theoretical conceptualizations of how transactional processes among early adolescents’ perceptions of academic norms among classmates, concerns over one’s public image, and students’ use of academic self-presentation strategies with peers may have lasting effects on students’ educational identity and commitment.
ContributorsSechler, Casey M. (Author) / Ladd, Gary W. (Thesis advisor) / Updegraff, Kimberly (Thesis advisor) / White, Rebecca M.B. (Committee member) / Jager, Justin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
The purpose of this study was to investigate the role teacher-relational bullying schemas may have in influencing the likelihood of youth seeking teachers' assistance. The first goal of the study was to assess whether supportive and helpful teacher-responses to bullying schemas (TRBS) were associated with greater likelihood of involving teachers, and unhelpful TRBSs was related to lower likelihood of teacher seeking coping. The second goal was to examine possible differences in TRBS and likelihood of seeking help based on sex, grade, personal behavioral blame, personal aggression, and victimization. Towards these aims, data were gathered from 320 fourth and sixth grade students (152 boys; 168 girls) in the fall and spring of the academic year. MANOVA analyses revealed sex and grade differences, such as sixth grade boys were least likely to tell their teacher and most likely to blame their own behavior for being bullied than any other group. Results from a series of regression analyses found personal behavior blame and peer-directed aggression was related with less likelihood of telling. In addition, the association between parents or principal TRBS and telling the teacher was moderated by personal behavioral blame. Moreover, punishment predicted lower probability of telling concurrently and longitudinally.
ContributorsCortes, Khaerannisa (Author) / Kochenderfer-Ladd, Becky (Thesis advisor) / Ladd, Gary W. (Committee member) / Eggum, Natalie D. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
The present study was designed to extend previous research on early adolescents' involvement in electronic aggression and victimization. A new measure for electronic victimization and aggression was created for this study in order to better assess this type of peer harassment in early adolescence. The first goal of the study was to describe young adolescents' involvement in electronic aggression and victimization by exploring the links between electronic victimization and aggression and (a) youth demographic characteristics (e.g., gender, ethnicity), (b) involvement in traditional forms of aggression and victimization, and (c) gender of the aggression/victimization context (i.e., same-sex aggressor -victim versus other-sex aggressor- victim dyad). The second goal was to examine how electronic victimization and aggression were associated with self-esteem and relationship efficacy. Participants were 826 (49.9% female) 7th and 8th grade students (M age = 12.5 years old; SD = .67). Students were administered surveys during school hours. Results indicated that girls were more likely to be involved in both electronic aggression and victimization than boys. Further, girls were more likely to be both electronic aggressors and victims simultaneously than boys. Finally, those involved with electronic aggression reported higher levels of relationship efficacy than their peers and involvement as an aggressor/victim was associated with lower self-esteem than any other involvement category.
ContributorsMartin, Melissa (Author) / Updegraff, Kimberly A (Thesis advisor) / Ladd, Becky (Committee member) / Martin, Carol (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
ABSTRACT Cyberbullying has emerged as one of educators' and researchers' chief concerns as the use of computer mediated communication (CMC) has become ubiquitous among young people. Many undesirable outcomes have been identified as being linked to both traditional and cyberbullying, including depression,truancy, and suicide. America and Japan have both been identified as nations whose youth engage frequently in the use of CMC, and may be at a potentially higher risk to be involved in cyberbullying. Time spent using CMC has been linked to involvement in cyberbullying, and gender and age have, in turn, been linked to CMC use - these may play significant roles in determining who is at risk. In order to assess the effects of nationality, gender, and age on cyberbullying involvement among Japanese and American middle school students, a survey exploring these factors was developed and carried out with 590 American and Japanese middles school students (Japan: n = 433 and America: n = 157). MANOVA results indicated that that Americans tend to both use CMC more and be more involved in cyberbullying. In addition, Japanese involvement increased with age, while American involvement did not. There were minimal differences between Americans and Japanese with regards to traditional bullying.
ContributorsLerner, David (Author) / Nakagawa, Kathryn (Thesis advisor) / Caterino, Linda (Thesis advisor) / Ladd, Becky (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
The main purpose of this thesis was to further explore factors that render particular children more susceptible to bullying and peer victimization. Race, age, and the activities that the children participated in were considered potential predictors of bullying and victimization. Self- and peer-reported data were gathered on 437 first and third grade children (234 boys and 203 girls, M age = 7 years, 6 months), including the frequency of peer victimization and the extent of their engagement in gender-typed activities. Activities were identified as either masculine (e.g., watching sports on television, playing with tools) or feminine (e.g., playing house, cheerleading) according to which sex was mostly likely to engage in them. Mixed support was obtained for the hypothesis that boys are at greater risk for being targets of peer aggression. Specifically, while peer-reports of victimization supported this hypothesis, self-reports revealed no sex differences. Support was obtained for the hypotheses that engaging in cross gender-typed activities would be a stronger risk factor for peer victimization for boys than for girls.
ContributorsAboud, Lauren Ashley (Author) / Ladd, Becky (Thesis director) / Eggum, Natalie (Committee member) / Ladd, Gary (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
For some children, peer victimization stops rather quickly, whereas for others it marks the beginning of a long trajectory of peer abuse (Kochenderfer-Ladd & Wardrop, 2001). Unfortunately, we know little about these trajectories and what factors may influence membership in increasing or decreasing victimization over time. To address this question, I identified children's developmental patterns of victimization in early elementary school and examined which child-level factors influenced children's membership in victimization trajectories using latent growth mixture modeling. Results showed that boys and girls demonstrated differential victimization patterns over time that also varied by victimization type. For example, boys experienced more physical victimization than girls and increased victimization over time was predicted by boys who display high levels of negative emotion (e.g., anger) towards peers and low levels of effortful control (e.g., gets frustrated easily). Conversely, girls exhibited multiple trajectories of increasing relational victimization (i.e., talking about others behind their back) over time, whereas most boys experienced low levels or only slightly increasing relational victimization over time. For girls, withdrawn behavior lack of positive emotion, and displaying of negative emotions was predictive of experiencing high levels of victimization over time.
ContributorsClary, Laura K (Author) / Ladd, Becky (Thesis advisor) / Updegraff, Kimberly (Committee member) / Valiente, Carlos (Committee member) / Ladd, Gary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Online learning in higher education has been increasing over the last two decades (NCES, 2016). Previous research has highlighted the importance of student engagement for academic achievement and performance (Fuller, Wilson, & Tobin, 2011; Northey et al., 2018). The current study aims to further understand students’ perceptions of peer interactions, assess the application of the Theory of Involvement in online learning environments, and identify factors of student engagement. Data were collected from 1,514 undergraduate students enrolled in online courses at Arizona State University (Mage = 25.96 years old; SD = 7.64; 1,259 female, 232 male, 12 non-binary, and 1 gender fluid). The results of this dissertation study indicate that the vast majority of students (94% of the sample) want opportunities for peer interaction in their online courses. Confirmatory Factor Analyses were conducted to validate three of the primary measures and these measurement models were used in subsequent analyses. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) revealed that students who demonstrated high levels of Academic, Online Community, Life Application, and Social Engagement were more likely to perform well on measures of Academic Performance (i.e., doing well on quizzes or tests, earning higher letter grades). Additional SEM analyses indicated that sense of a community was related to all four aspects of student engagements. There was evidence that certain pedagogical factors were also associated with higher rates of student engagement. For example, students who reported high levels for Instructional Design (e.g., felt the course objectives were clear) were more likely to be academically engaged (i.e., demonstrated strong study habits). Lastly, while there were no significant differences in student engagement by gender, ethnicity, or living arrangements, students who valued peer interaction were more likely to report higher levels of Online Student Engagement. The findings of this research emphasize the desire online students have to interact with their peers, demonstrates the importance of engaging online students, and serves as a guide for educators in creating online courses that foster student engagement.
ContributorsCortes, Khaerannisa (Author) / Ladd, Becky (Thesis advisor) / Ladd, Gary (Committee member) / Thompson, Marilyn (Committee member) / Updegraff, Kimberly (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021