While evidence of the mental health effects of bullying has amassed in recent years, less scholarship explores the dynamics of bullying as it manifests in culturally diverse environments. The purpose of this study was to determine how contextual factors influence participation in bullying behaviors in a sample of urban, low-income, ethnic minority…

Background: Among the factors known to influence reading development and performance, attitude toward reading is shown to be particularly critical for developing learners. Reading attitude (McKenna, 1994; McKenna et al., 1995) enhances independent reading, levels of engagement in classroom reading activities, and the amount and variety of topics…

Many parents with intellectual disability experience living conditions associated with risk for children and parents. This study used structural equation modeling to test a theoretical model of the relationships among parent, child, family, and contextual variables in 120 Australian families where a parent had an intellectual disability. Findings…

Low-income youths enroll at postsecondary institutions less frequently, drop out more often, are less likely to return after dropping out, and are less likely to attain a postsecondary degree than their more affluent peers. It is therefore important to understand how low-income youths develop the capacity to persist in the postsecondary setting.…

The authors tested whether multiple components of a performance goal were differentiated by a group of Korean middle school students ("N" = 239). Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the normative and outcome components as well as the approach and avoidance components correlated too highly to be considered independent. A 2-factor…

Background: We investigated the role of psychosocial and proximal contextual factors on nicotine dependence in adolescence. Methods: Data on a multiethnic cohort of 6th to 10th graders from the Chicago public schools were obtained from four household interviews conducted with adolescents over two years and one interview with mothers. Structural…

Background: Postnatal depression (PND) is associated with poor cognitive functioning in infancy and the early school years; long-term effects on academic outcome are not known. Method: Children of postnatally depressed (N = 50) and non-depressed mothers (N = 39), studied from infancy, were followed up at 16 years. We examined the effects on…

This study uses an ecological systems framework to examine how indicators of individual, family, and school contexts are associated with post-secondary educational enrollment among a sample of rural youth. Structural equation modeling allows us to examine both direct and indirect effects of these contexts on school enrollment. Unique elements of…

Investigated associations among involvement in political violence, family relations, and adolescent social and psychological functioning in Palestinian families in Israel. Found that childhood "Intifada" experience predicted increased antisocial behavior for adolescent males and females and depression for females 1 to 2 years after the…

This study examined antecedents to early patterned alcohol and tobacco use and marijuana experimentation between ages 11 and 16 for an at-risk male sample. Findings suggested that family, peer, and child characteristics were inextricably connected within an ecology of development. A structural equation prediction model suggested a higher order…