Increased attention is being placed on improving psychological well-being and academic achievement in school students. Prior research on meditation provides support for student improvement in these important educational areas. As part of a 9th grade Quiet Time school program, 98 students were randomly assigned either to learn the Transcendent…

Universal screening continues to be a missed opportunity for addressing mental health in schools. The current study compared three separate self-report screening tools: the Behavior Assessment System for Children-Third Edition: Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BASC-3 BESS), Youth Internalizing and Externalizing Problems Screener (YIEPS),…

School-based empowerment programs are types of interventions targeting students with or without behavioral, psychological, and emotional difficulties at schools. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of a school-based social and mental empowerment program on students' behavioral and developmental problems. We…

This study investigated risk factors for school absenteeism in a sample of 983 children in elementary and lower secondary schools in Denmark, using administrative data on absenteeism measured in the year following risk factor measurement. Risk factors were measured by survey (children and teachers) and register data. Two methods of determining…

This study examined the association between dietary habits and behavioural problems at school among adolescents in Norway. Participants in this study included 517 adolescents and 336 of their parents. Students attended schools in the south of Norway, where the study was conducted. In 2012, adolescents completed a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ)…

The current study examined (1) if the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) would yield alternative factor structures related to either symptoms or strengths with early adolescent students when an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is used; (2) which scales best predicted suspensions of typically developing early adolescents; and (3) what…

In an attempt to identify and intervene with students in need of services, the South Korean government has implemented national mental health screening. However, concerns raised about the unintended stigmatization of the screening assessment that focuses on student deficits prompts the need for additional research. This study evaluated the…

Both autonomy and friendship quality have consistently been associated with adolescent adjustment. To date, the potentially moderating role of peer relationships in the context of autonomy achievement has received less attention. The present study used observational and quantitative data, as well as multiple reporters, to examine interactions…

The present paper (1) examined variables, which could predict traditional bullying, cyberbullying, traditional victimization and cybervictimization and (2) looked at persons to examine whether academic, socio-emotional and demographic characteristics differed between traditional, cyber and mixed bullies, victims and bully-victims. A sample of…

Values, or the guiding standards of adolescents' lives, influence which behaviors are considered more justified than others. The relationship between values and social behavior has been established across many studies including the relationship of values and aggression. But only a few studies have examined these relationships among youth.…

This study compared age and gender differences in adolescents' perceptions of male involvement in relational aggression (RA). After viewing two of four video clips portraying RA, each participating adolescent (N = 314; Grades 8-12) answered questions related to rationalizing bullying behaviors--specifically minimizing bullying, blaming victims,…

The self-equilibrium hypothesis underlines the importance of having a strong core self, which is defined as a high and developmentally stable self-concept. This study tested this hypothesis in relation to body image (BI) trajectories in a sample of 1,006 adolescents (M[subscript age] = 12.6, including 541 males and 465 females) across a 4-year…

This study addressed a need for research on the association between adopting or denying the label of bully victim and students' psychosocial functioning. Participants were 1,063 students in Grades 5, 7, and 9 in a school district in the northeastern United States. Students were grouped based on their pattern of responses to (a) the California…

Learning difficulties have been found to dilute the possibilities that young adults have in their educational careers. However, during the last few decades, education has become increasingly important for employment and overall life satisfaction. In the present study, we were interested in the effects of mathematical and reading difficulties and…

The Common Core State Standards Initiative includes an emphasis on teaching writing and related skills in all subject areas. This study sought to improve the persuasive writing skills and self-efficacy skills of students with emotional and behavioral disorders by implementing self-regulated strategy development with pairs of students in a high…