The purpose of the current study was to test a conceptual model of the mediated and moderated associations among shyness, coping strategies, and socioemotional functioning in middle childhood. Participants were 358 children (177 boys) aged 9-13 years (M = 10.16 years, SD = 0.95). Children completed self-report assessments of shyness, coping style…

An emerging body of research has underscored the key role of factors other than academic scores, which influence students' learning. Small schools have been championed as a solution to the apparent dichotomy between an academic or non-academic focus. In Chapters 2 and 3, I use a rigorous research design to answer the question of whether small…

Educational institutions in Australia face complex challenges in providing inclusive learning experiences for a growing number of North African refugee students. This paper explores the school experiences of five North African refugee students who volunteered to participate in semi-structured interviews in 2012. A qualitative intrinsic case study…

Although homophobic verbal victimization has been associated with negative mental health outcomes, little actually is known about its general prevalence and relationship to mental health among adolescents. In addition, the relationship of homophobic name-calling to mental health in gender non-conforming adolescents is not well understood. This…

While school lunch has the potential to be a time for students to develop appropriate social skills, most cafeterias are rife with disruptive and aggressive behavior. Lunch monitors struggle to effectively manage the many students eating lunch and yet few evidence-based cafeteria interventions exist. The purpose of this study was to implement and…

This article examines international students' cultural adaptation at a major national university in China. A survey was designed to measure international students' adaptation to the Chinese sociocultural and educational environments in terms of five dimensions: (1) cultural empathy, (2) open-mindedness, (3) emotional stability, (4) social…

Children who experience early and extensive child care, especially center-based care, are rated by teachers as having more externalizing behavior problems than are other children. This association is reduced, but not eliminated, when care is of high quality, and it varies by socioeconomic disadvantage and the type of behavior assessed. We examine…

This study sought to examine the relationship between social interaction and tacit knowledge transfer, as a dyadic exchange of critical knowledge between a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and a Knowledge Recipient (KR). Knowledge was defined as information and know-how, not merely as organized data or a system, but an active social process that was…

Previous research has demonstrated the protective effect of family and sibling closeness on child adjustment, but fewer studies have investigated how closeness is promoted within families. Guided by Family Communication Patterns Theory, we tested the association between family communication and sibling emotional and behavioral closeness, and…

One of the most intriguing characteristics of Williams Syndrome individuals is their hypersociability. The amygdala has been consistently implicated in the etiology of this social profile, particularly given its role in emotional and social behavior. This study examined amygdala volume and symmetry in WS individuals and in age and sex matched…

The effects of social group norms (inclusion vs. exclusion vs. exclusion-plus-relational aggression) and school norms (inclusion vs. no norm) on 7- and 10-year-old children's intergroup attitudes were examined. Children (n = 383) were randomly assigned to a group with an inclusion or exclusion norm, and to 1 of the school norm conditions. Findings…

We investigated how 3-7-year-olds weigh and coordinate information about specific mental states with social norms in the domain of contextually conventional rules. With increasing age, participants increasingly took into account an actor's mental state to predict that actor's behavior. In a criticism judgment task, 7-year-olds could assign…

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between perceived normative use of alcohol and reported consumption in an environment where relatively little alcohol use occurs. Participants: A total of 585 undergraduate students completed an online survey on alcohol use in March 2006. Methods: Participants reported…

Culturally sensitive counseling models for non-Western clients are rarely seen in the literature. Because filial piety is a prevailing cultural belief in Taiwanese/Chinese societies and influences a wide range of individual and interpersonal behaviors, counseling and psychotherapy would be most effective when this cultural norm is considered and…

Adolescents, 12 to 18 years (N = 962), were asked how often they worried about, heard about, witnessed, were victimized by, and committed aggression at or near their schools. Social, moderate physical, and violent aggression were assessed. Females heard, worried, and witnessed more social aggression than males, but both were victims and/or…