http://hdl.handle.net/1903/2274 Thu, 23 May 2013 01:21:42 GMT 2013-05-23T01:21:42Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13841 Title: Multiple Dimensions of Peer Victimization and Their Relations with Children's Psychological, Social, Behavioral and Academic Functioning Authors: Parsons, Sarah Katherine Abstract: This study investigated the relations among victimization and psychological, social, behavioral, and academic functioning while considering how these constructs are conceptualized and measured. Victimization was treated as a multidimensional variable that can be distinguished in terms of form (relational vs. overt), informant (self vs. teacher vs. peer report), and its overlap with aggression. Participants were 99 ethnically diverse second and third graders from the mid-Atlantic region. The observed relations between victimization and functioning were impacted by issues of informant, form, and aggression. When examining different measures of the same construct, correlations were more often statistically significant for same-informant pairs of measures compared to cross-informant pairs. Correlations between peer and teacher reports were stronger than correlations between self- and other-reports. Self-other agreement was higher for aggression than for victimization, suggesting that victimization is more individualistically experienced than aggression. Peer and teacher reports of victimization were not significantly related to self-reported functioning and vice versa. Teacher and peer reports did not add to self-reports of victimization in predicting self-reported functioning. Peer and teacher reports of victimization uniquely predicted peer and teacher reports of functioning, but self-reported victimization did not make an additive contribution. These results provide evidence of a self-other dichotomy in the assessment of victimization. Overt and relational victimization emerged as distinct constructs in exploratory factor analyses. However, they were significantly correlated, and self-reports of relational victimization did not uniquely predict functioning after accounting for overt victimization. There were not significant gender differences in the two types of victimization. Aggression and victimization were significantly correlated. Peer-reported victimization was related to teacher-reported externalizing and school problems, but was not a significant predictor after accounting for aggression. This finding suggests that failing to account for the overlap between aggression and victimization might obscure the complexity of the relationship between victimization and functioning. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13841 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13629 Title: An Investigation of High School Counseling Programs as a Reflection of a College-Going Culture Authors: Park, Denise Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate high school counseling programs as a reflection of a college-going culture. A qualitative thematic analysis is used to examine four school counseling programs at high schools in a school district located along the Eastern seaboard of the United States. In order to increase the likelihood of identifying aspects of school counseling programs that are successful in reflecting a college-going culture, only high schools with high college-going percentage rates were selected for this study. College-going culture theory, including the nine college-going culture principles, as proposed by McClafferty, McDonough, and Nunez (2002) is used as a framework for this study. The college-going culture principles operate as themes to help categorize school counselor activities and measure whether the school counseling programs reflect a college-going culture in the schools. A methodological triangulation is employed to identify planned college-going activities within three information sources from each school: school counselors' management plans, school counseling websites, and the school counseling departments' calendars. Results suggest that collectively, the four selected schools plan college-going activities that are consistent with all nine college-going culture principles, thus suggesting that there is a college-going culture that is strongly supported and reflected by the school counseling departments in these schools. Suggestions, based on these findings, for how other schools might improve their college-going culture are included. Implications for promoting cultural reform to support college access and success for all students are also discussed. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13629 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13606 Title: Latino Adolescent Sexual Behavior: Do Contextual Effects Contribute to Ethnic Group Differences? Authors: Barrett, Courtenay Anna Abstract: Latino youths are at a higher risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections or becoming pregnant during adolescence than their non-Latino peers. Research has focused mainly on individual sociopsychological predictors of adolescent sexual behavior or on contextual effects of neighborhoods. The present study investigates potential contributions of school effects to the explanation of ethnic group differences in sexual behavior. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) are examined to answer the following questions: (a) Are Latino adolescents concentrated in areas where there is a more sexually permissive school culture? (b) Are sexually permissive school cultures positively related to sexual initiation? (c) To what extent do school characteristics or sexual norms moderate the relationship between Latino self-identification and motivations to engage in sex through a person-environment interaction? (d) To what extent do school characteristics or sexual norms moderate the relationship between Latino self-identification and sexual initiation through a person-environment interaction? Results suggest that Latinos are not concentrated in areas with a more permissive sexual culture and that the higher the proportion of Latinos in the school, the lower the proportion of students having had sex. Latino ethnicity is not related to motivations to engage in sex, but is positively related to sexual initiation. This positive relationship is attenuated in schools where there is a sexually permissive school culture. Across ethnicities, sexually permissive school cultures increase sexual initiation. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13606 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13598 Title: CAREER RESILIENCE AND CONTINUING SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS: THE DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF THE SPECIAL EDUCATION CAREER RESILIENCE SCALE Authors: Sotomayor, Arden Elaine Abstract: The purpose of this study was to develop and field test the Special Education Career Resilience Scale (SECRS) as an instrument to assess the career resilience of special education teachers. Four scales, two measuring resilience, one measuring coping behaviors, and one measuring perceived administrative support, were used to comprise the SECRS in an attempt to construct a survey with items that would reflect the four domains of the Career Resiliency Framework (i.e. Theme Acceptance, Support for Self-Awareness, Conversion, and Connectedness). Cognitive interviews, expert opinion, and pilot testing were all used during the initial stages of development. The final version of the SECRS was field tested with a sample of 567 continuing and non-continuing special education teachers from suburban and rural school systems. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that an interpretable factor structure could not be derived. Subsequent analysis of each subscale that comprised the SECRS resulted in the derivation of a 2-factor simple structure for the Theme Acceptance subscale only. Analyses of individual item scores between continuing and non-continuing special educators revealed statistically significant differences in the latent construct of career resilience for two items (TA2 and SSA1), and for one item (SSA17) when disability type was considered. A significant main effect for both teaching status and disability type was found for the Theme Acceptance subscale between the non-continuing/low incidence group and all other groups (i.e. the continuing/low incidence group, continuing/ high incidence group, and non-continuing/high incidence group). These results are discussed in light of the limitations of the study and areas for further research are suggested. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13598 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z