The factor structure of the measure of school engagement 'Engagement Versus Disaffection with Learning: Teacher Report' was investigated in the sample of 360 Swedish 6th graders. Confirmatory factor analyses showed no support for the suggested four-factor structure including behavioural engagement, emotional engagement, behavioural disaffection…

This study examined the factorial and construct validity of a multi-dimensional measure of motives for writing with middle school students. The Writing Motivation Questionnaire included 28 items assessing seven motives for writing. Two motives assessed intrinsic reasons for writing (curiosity, involvement); three motives addressed extrinsic…

We used multilevel factor analyses to investigate the structure of the Teacher as Social Context Questionnaire (TASCQ)-short form--a prominent measure of teacher practices that promote student motivation to learn. Based on Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the TASCQ contains three scales: Autonomy Support, Structure, and Involvement. Few studies…

While adolescence is a critical stage of development marked by heightened bottom-up emotional reactivity and immature top-down regulatory control, research on emotion regulation has relatively neglected middle childhood to adolescence years. This may be attributed to the limited number and scope of age-appropriate, reliable, and valid measures of…

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) self-report form is a brief 25-item measure that assesses the psychological adjustment of youth. Although widely utilized as a screening tool, a lack of consistent psychometric evidence undermines the SDQ's utility as a sound diagnostic tool for all youth. This study focused on examining the…

Reading motivation has been defined consistently as a multidimensional construct. However, there is some disagreement regarding the number and nature of the dimensions of reading motivation. In particular, there is a lack of studies investigating the dimensional structure and measurement invariance (e.g., across gender) of reading motivation…

The present study reports on a replication of the technical adequacy of the Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire (SSWQ), which is a 16-item self-report instrument for assessing youth's academic efficacy, educational purpose, joy of learning, and school connectedness, with a sample of adolescents in Grades 6 to 7 (N = 438). Findings confirmed…

This study reports on the initial development and validation of the Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire (SSWQ) with a sample of 1,002 students in Grades 6-8. The SSWQ is a 16-item self-report instrument for assessing youths' subjective wellbeing at school, which is operationalized via 4 subscales measuring school connectedness, academic…

This study examined the viability of a brief, parent-reported strengths and needs assessment as the first step in a multiple-gating approach to proactive positive behavior support for families. The "Positive Family Support--Strengths and Needs Assessment" (PFS-SaNA) was designed to collaboratively engage parents early in the school year…

While both outsiders and defenders have antibullying attitudes, only defenders have the reputation to defend victims. However, outsiders--despite their reputation of avoiding involvement in bullying--do receive some defender nominations and thus defend victims at least occasionally. This study investigated the relationship between these behavioral…

The current study further establishes the reliability and validity of the Bullying Participant Behaviors Questionnaire (BPBQ), a self-report survey that allows for an examination of participation in various bullying participant role behaviors including bully, assistant to the bully, victim, defender of the victim, and outsider. The study included…

Purpose: Physical activity participation in physical education is compromised when students nonsuit. We investigated: (a) reasons for nonsuiting/support of policy change and whether they differed by gender, ethnicity, or grade; and (b) the likelihood of nonsuiting based on the same demographics. Method: Participants ("N" = 627) were 6th…

The purposes of this study were to develop and validate an instrument for assessing elementary students' nature of science (NOS) views and to explain the elementary school students' NOS views, in terms of varying grade levels and gender. The sample included 782 students enrolled in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Exploratory factor analysis…

Although quality of the teacher-student relationship contributes to school adjustment, students who experience difficulties appear to be least likely to benefit from positive interactions with their teachers. It was of interest to explore a broadened conceptualization of teacher-student relationship that considers both emotional connection and…

Before the developmental trajectory, outcomes, and related interventions of gratitude can be accurately and confidently studied among the youth, researchers must ensure that they have psychometrically sound measures of gratitude that are suitable for this population. Thus, considering that no known scales were specifically designed to measure…