Previous research suggests that anxiously withdrawn preadolescents demonstrate success in forming friendships, yet these friendships tend to be of lesser quality. Drawing on Selman's (1980) theory of interpersonal understanding, we compared levels of friendship understanding between anxiously withdrawn preadolescents and a sample of non-withdrawn…

The form and function of a collaborative assessment known as a "Buddy Quiz" is presented. The assessment is conducted in three successive phases over a contiguous 45-60 min class period. A portion of each quiz is completed in collaboration with one or two peers and a portion is completed without collaboration. The quiz is primarily…

Findings derived from self-reported, structured survey questionnaires are commonly used in evaluation and applied research to inform policy-making and program decisions. Although there are a variety of issues related to the quality of survey evidence (e.g., sampling precision), the validity of response processes--how respondents process thoughts…

There have been calls in the literature for reforms to assessment to enhance student learning (Shepard, 2000). In many instances, this refers to the need to move from traditional assessment procedures that are characterized as content-heavy, summative, and norm-referenced approaches to more constructivist and student-centred approaches, often…

Recent publications in the "Journal of Youth and Adolescence" present a variety of topics exploring adolescents' mental functioning in the twenty first century. Conceptually, many of the articles address the intriguing, though rarely explicit, question of developmental continuities and change from adolescence to adulthood. Such…

Researchers have argued that the investigation of causal interrelationships between symptoms may help explain the high comorbidity rate between certain psychiatric disorders. Clients' own attributions concerning the causal interrelationships linking the co-occurrence of their symptoms represent data that may inform their clinical case…

The New York State's School Library Media Program Evaluation (SLMPE) rubric provides a window of opportunity for a librarian to talk with his/her administrators about library program elements that may be out of the librarian's control. There are three areas of focus on the SLMPE Rubric: (1) Teaching and Learning; (2) Building and Learning…

Objective: This study evaluated the potential impact of proposed "DSM-5" diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Method: The study focused on a sample of 933 participants evaluated during the "DSM-IV" field trial; 657 carried a clinical diagnosis of an ASD, and 276 were diagnosed with a non-autistic disorder. Sensitivity and…

Assessment of children's restricted and repetitive behaviours offers potential opportunities to improve early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and timely access to interventions and support. To facilitate this requires understanding of the phenomenology of repetitive behaviours in ASD, including differentiating behaviours seen in ASD…

Objective: Decision-making deficits have been linked to suicidal behavior in adults. However, it remains unclear whether impaired decision making plays a role in the etiopathogenesis of youth suicidal behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine decision-making processes in adolescent suicide attempters and never-suicidal comparison…

Objectives: This study used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ([superscript 1]H MRS) to evaluate the in vivo effects of extended-release divalproex sodium on the glutamatergic system in adolescents with bipolar disorder, and to identify baseline neurochemical predictors of clinical remission. Method: Adolescents with bipolar disorder who were…

This paper contributes to understanding why curriculum design in a discipline with a horizontal knowledge structure is difficult, time-consuming and contested. A previous paper on the same case study in one sociology department reported that students who had completed the general sociology major found it lacking in coherence. To illustrate the…

Peer assessment of long written tasks poses particular problems as these tasks typically involve complex learning and solving ill-structured problems which require divergent responses. Marking reliability of this kind of writing task is difficult to achieve. The author illustrates this through an evaluation of two implementations of peer…

The requirement to provide timely formative tasks that are designed to facilitate student learning and autonomy has provoked a wider examination of the role of assessment in higher education and encouraged further investigation of the alignment of learning, teaching and assessment in curriculum design frameworks. Many current authors have proposed…

Weight-based victimization is a frequent experience for adolescents, but little is known about their emotional reactions and coping strategies in response to weight-based teasing and bullying. The present study examined the ways that adolescents cope with experiences of weight-based victimization at school. An initial sample of 1,555 students from…