家庭功能、父母教养方式及夫妻关系对青少年社会适应性的预测

目的:探讨青少年社会适应性状况以及家庭功能、父母教养方式、父母夫妻关系对社会适应性的预测.方法:采用分层随机取样,抽取452名12-18岁的中学生,用中学生社会适应性量表、家庭功能评定量表、简式父母教养方式问卷及Olson婚姻质量问卷中的两个维度进行调查.结果:①夫妻交流(β=0.098,P＜0.05)、情感温暖(β=0.266,P＜0.001)、沟通(β=-0.240,P＜0.001)对青少年的心理优越感有显著的预测力;②情感温暖( β=0.211,P＜0.001)、沟通(β=-0.177,P＜0.05)对青少年的心理能量有显著的预测力;③情感温暖(β＝0.171,P＜0.01)、问题解决(β=-0.125,P＜0.05)、角色(β=-0.133,P＜0.05)对青少年的人际适应性有显著的预测力;④夫妻交流(β=0.130,P＜0.01)、解决冲突的方式(β＝-0.102,P＜0.05)、过度保护(β=-0.172,P＜0.001)、情感温暖(β=0.167,P＜0.01)、问题解决(β=-0.116,P＜0.05)对青少年的心理弹性有显著的预测力.结论:家庭功能对青少年社会适应性的预测力最大.     

School start times matter,eveningness does not

ABSTRACT

Morningness–Eveningness (M–E) has been associated with school performance when school activities are arranged early in the morning. This study aims to evaluate this association in 224 adolescents of a secondary school in Montevideo, Uruguay, attending either morning or afternoon shifts. Students’ socio-demographic characteristics and performance indicators were similar across shifts, while afternoon-shift students exhibited later circadian preferences. After controlling for socio-demographic and other educational variables, eveningness was associated with lower grades only in morning-shift students. Our study suggests that eveningness influence on school performance is contingent on the temporal arrangement of scholar activities.     

Factors Affecting Unhappiness at School among Japanese Adolescents: An Epidemiological Study

Background

Unhappiness at school is one of the main reasons for truancy among adolescents. In order to assess this problem more thoroughly in the context of Japanese adolescents, the present study examined the associations between feelings of unhappiness at school and lifestyle habits, school life realities, and mental health status.

Method

This study was designed as a cross-sectional survey. A self-administered questionnaire was provided to students enrolled in randomly selected junior and senior high schools throughout Japan. We calculated the percentages of both junior and senior high school students who felt unhappy at school based on factors related to school life, lifestyle habits, and mental health status. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed in order to examine the associations between those factors and students'' feelings of unhappiness at school.

Results

A total of 98,867 valid responses were analysed, 7.9% (Boys: 8.4%, Girls: 7.4%) of which came from students who responded that they felt unhappy at school. For both junior and senior high school students, the percentages of those who felt unhappy at school were significantly higher among those who had not yet decided on their future life course, who did not participate in extracurricular activities, did not eat breakfast every day, went to bed late, had used tobacco or alcohol in the previous 30 days, and had poor mental health compared with others. The results of multiple logistic regression analyses indicated that the adjusted odds ratios for feeling unhappy at school with regard to the above-mentioned factors were significantly high for both junior and senior high school students.

Conclusions

The present results suggest that school employees and administrators must provide health guidance to students, considering that irregular lifestyle habits, lower school engagement, smoking, drinking alcohol, and poor mental health status are all associated with maladaptation to school among adolescents.     

High Blood Pressure among Students in Public and Private Schools in Maceió, Brazil

The prevalence of hypertension in childhood is increasing, and investigation of its distribution is important for planning timely interventions. This study assessed the prevalence of high blood pressure (HBP) and associated factors in students between 9 and 11 years of age enrolled in public and private schools in Maceió, Brazil. A cross-sectional study was performed in a probabilistic sample of students (10.3 ± 0.5 years). The students were selected from a systematic sampling of 80 schools (40 public and 40 private). To maintain similar proportions of students existing in public and private schools in Maceió, 21 and 14 students were randomly selected from each public and private school, respectively. The prevalence ratio (PR) was estimated using Poisson regression. A total of 1,338 students were evaluated (800 from public schools and 538 from private schools). No differences were observed between school types in terms of student age and gender (p > 0.05). The prevalence of obesity (19.9% vs. 9.0%; PR = 2.2; 95% CI = 1.67–2.92) and hypertension (21.2% vs. 11.4%; PR = 1.86; 95% CI = 1.45–2.40) were higher in private schools. The association between high blood pressure and type of school (public or private) remained statistically significant even after adjustment for obesity (PR = 1.53; 95% CI = 1.19–1.97). In conclusion: (a) students from private schools have higher socioeconomic status, BMI, and HBP prevalence compared to those of public school; (b) among the evaluated students, the prevalence of obesity only partially explained the higher prevalence of high blood pressure among students from private schools. Other factors related to lifestyle of children from private schools may explain the higher prevalence of HBP. This results show the need to implement measures to promote healthy lifestyles in the school environment, since children with HBP are more likely to become hypertensive adults. Therefore, early detection and intervention in children with HBP is an important action for the prevention of hypertension in adulthood.     

Social jetlag affects subjective daytime sleepiness in school-aged children and adolescents: A study using the Japanese version of the Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS-J)

The aim of this study was to elucidate the level of daytime sleepiness in Japanese school-aged children and adolescents, and to examine associated factors including sleep loss and social jetlag using the Japanese version of the Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS-J). After the linguistic validation of the PDSS-J with a multi-step translation methodology, consisting of forward translation, back translation, expert review and cognitive debriefing interviews, we conducted a psychometric validation for 492 students aged 11–16 years (46.7% boys) of public elementary school, junior high school and high school, using the PDSS-J, the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS), and bedtimes and wake-up times on school days and free days. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) of the PDSS-J was 0.77, and the test–retest reliability demonstrated by the intraclass coefficient was 0.88. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that both short sleep duration and social jetlag were identified as factors associated with daytime sleepiness, after adjustment for age and sex. PDSS-J scores were significantly higher in the group with large social jetlag with or without sufficient sleep duration than in the group with sufficient sleep duration and small social jetlag. The PDSS-J is an important tool for assessing daytime sleepiness, given its ease of administration and robust psychometric properties. The impact of not only sleep loss but also social jetlag on daytime sleepiness among school-aged children and adolescents must be fully taken into account.     

Chronotype and the Transition to College Life

Social synchronizers of morningness-eveningness, or chronotype, begin to change during the developmental transition from adolescence to college life. The current study examined how these changes related to the sleep/wake patterns of 220 undergraduates (93 males/122 females) ranging in age from 18 to 29 yrs at a private university. Coping strategies students used to deal with early morning commitments and familial conflict over sleep patterns were also examined. Results revealed that evening chronotypes were more likely to report conflict with parents in junior high school and high school over going to bed and waking, followed by a shift to a later sleep/wake pattern in college. They also reported adjusting their schedules and using more coping strategies to accommodate their evening bias. Morning chronotypes, whose routines easily fit a conventional morning schedule, reported little change in schedules and sleep patterns from junior high school to college, and used fewer coping strategies in response to early morning commitments. The shift in social zeitgebers from junior high school to college are significant, and yet little research has examined the effect these changes can have on students' adjustment to college life and the role that chronotype plays in this process. Because students' ability to cope with these changes will ultimately influence how successful they are in their various endeavors, a greater understanding of how chronotype is related to adaptive functioning across this developmental period is needed. (Author correspondence: lzimmerm@su.edu)     

Anthropological films and the myth of scientific truths

This article describes, analyzes, and interprets various cultural influences on the representational drawings of young Navajo students, in order to understand their changing cultural viewpoint. The data and drawings were gathered from two elementary art classes in one Navajo public school in northeastern Arizona, as part of an ongoing study. This information is compared to anthropological data gathered on adult Navajo drawings nearly 30 years ago, as well as to some dominant theories on child art. Data reveal students are influenced by Navajo traditional images, classroom teachers’ versions of school art, popular art images, pan‐Indian influences, and peer copying. Results reveal the persistence of traditional nature imagery, the incorporation of similar schemas and color use with mainstream children, a keen ability to render realistic images and space, and the incorporation of those American things that the Navajo regard as “good for them.” Keen drawing abilities appear at a young age among the Navajo because of the high status of the arts, traditional education through observation and demonstration, peer imitation, and male drawing competition.     

Sexual behaviour of adolescents in Nigeria: cross sectional survey of secondary school students

ObjectivesTo determine whether family structure (polygamous or monogamous) is associated with sexual activity among school students in Nigeria.DesignCross sectional school survey with a two stage, clustered sampling design.Participants4218 students aged 12-21 years attending 39 schools in Plateau state, Nigeria. Responses from 2705 students were included in the analysis.ResultsOverall 909 students (34%) reported ever having had sexual intercourse, and 1119 (41%) reported a polygamous family structure. Sexual activity was more common among students from polygamous families (42% of students) than monogamous families (28%) (χ²=64.23; P<0.0001). Variables independently associated with sexual activity were male sex (adjusted odds ratio 2.52 (95% confidence interval 2.05 to 3.12)), older age (1.62 (1.24 to 2.14)), lower sense of connectedness with parents (1.87 (1.48 to 2.38)), having a dead parent (1.59 (1.27 to 2.00)), family polygamy (1.58 (1.29 to 1.92)), lower sense of connectedness with school (1.25 (1.09 to 1.44)), and lower educational level of parents (1.14 (1.05 to 1.24)). Multistep logistic regression analysis showed that the effect of polygamy on sexual activity was reduced by 27% by whether students were married and 22% by a history of forced sex.ConclusionsSecondary school students in Nigeria from a polygamous family structure are more likely to have engaged in sexual activity than students from a monogamous family structure. This effect is partly explained by a higher likelihood of marriage during adolescence and forced sex. Students'' sense of connectedness to their parents and school, regardless of family structure, decreases the likelihood of sexual activity, and fostering this sense may help reduce risky sexual behaviour among Nigerian youth.

What is already known on this topic

In 2000 Nigeria developed a national health policy aimed at preventing behaviour among adolescents leading to sexually transmitted infections (including HIV), pregnancy, and dropout from schoolEffective interventions in Nigeria have been hampered by inadequate information on contextual factors associated with sexual behaviour of adolescentsIn Western countries adolescents'' sense of connectedness to their parents and to school is inversely associated with risky sexual behaviour, but these effects may differ in countries where polygamy is prevalent and where school attendance is low

What this paper adds

A polygamous family structure is associated with early sexual activity among adolescents, an effect partly explained by a higher likelihood of marriage and history of forced sexual intercourseA greater sense of connectedness to parents and school decreases the likelihood of sexual activity, regardless of family structure     

Annapurna expedition game: applying molecular biology tools to learn genetics

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we present an activity called ‘Annapurna Expedition’ through which students should apply basic concepts of genetics to solve a worldwide pandemic disease. Players take the role of scientists, involved in a research to find out which pathogen causes this pandemic and which could be the best way to solve it. Students have the opportunity to use BLAST software as a scientific bioinformatic tool to discover the main game’ enigmas. The activity uses game-based science learning methodology. This methodology incorporates multiple tools and resources, rely on learning by doing, guiding learners through a path of events and into a way of thinking. It provides students to take information from many sources and make decisions, to deduce a game’s obstacles, to understand complex systems and to collaborate with other classmates.

The activity has been developed for a range of audiences, including high school students and pre-service teachers. A case study has been carried out with a group of 80 primary pre-service teachers from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) in Tarragona (Spain) in order to verify whether this activity was well designed, engage students and it is satisfactorily implemented.     

Exploring continuity equation via a modeling activity: in the context of crowd science

Abstract

Using problems from real life contexts which is related to learners’ environment or their culture plays an important role in their learning that concept. In this regard, science educators especially physics educators search for real-life domain of theoretical concepts for effective science teaching and they consider analogical and physical models as an opportunity in their instruction. In the presented activity, we worked with 66 senior pre-service science teachers from our science teaching methods course. We used crowd movements as a real-life domain of our analogical models to scientifically explain a stampede case, then utilized physical model to explore continuity equation. Real life problem based scenarios could be used while taking advantage of the 3?D modeling in teaching of scientific principle. As a result, we found that pre-service teachers were able to make scientific explanation for causes of stampedes by using modeling activity. High school teachers and upper-level instructors could benefit from including the modeling activity introduced in this study to help their students understand the concepts related to continuity equation by designing a physical model based on an analogical model. Via the physical model, students are able to make predictions, observations, interpretations and explanations of a complex and abstract scientific phenomenon.     

Smoking Experimentation among Elementary School Students in China: Influences from Peers,Families, and the School Environment

The aim of this study was to investigate experimentation with smoking among primary school students in China. Data were acquired from a recent survey of 4,073 students in grades 4 to 6 (ages 9–12) in 11 primary schools of Ningbo City. The questions were adapted from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS). Results suggest that although the Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE) encourages smoke-free schools, experimentation with cigarettes remains a serious problem among primary school students in China. Peers, family members, and the school environment play important roles in influencing smoking experimentation among students. Having a friend who smoked, seeing a family member smoke, and observing a teacher smoking on campus predicted a higher risk of experimentation with smoking; the exposure to anti-tobacco materials at school predicted a lower risk of experimentation with smoking. The evidence suggests that public health practitioners and policymakers should seek to ensure the implementation of smoke-free policies and that intervention should target young people, families, and communities to curb the commencement of smoking among children and adolescents in China.     

Why do extracurricular activities prevent dropout more effectively in some high schools than in others? A mixed-method examination of organizational dynamics

Abstract

This study describes policies and practices implemented in 12 high schools (Quebec, Canada) that more or less effectively leveraged extracurricular activities (ECA) to prevent dropout among vulnerable students. Following an explanatory sequential mixed design, three school profiles (Effective, Ineffective, and Mixed) were derived based on quantitative student-reported data. Qualitative interviews with frontline staff revealed that in Effective schools, ECA had a unique overarching goal: to support school engagement and perseverance among all students, including vulnerable ones. Moreover, in these schools staff had access to sufficient resources—human and material—and implemented inclusive practices. In Ineffective schools, ECA were used as a means to attract well-functioning students from middle-class families, and substantial resources were channeled toward these students, with few efforts to include vulnerable ones. Schools with a Mixed profile had both strengths and weakness. Recommendations for school-level policies that bolster ECA’s ability to support students’ perseverance are provided.     

Does Poor Quality Schooling and/or Teacher Quality Hurt Black South African Students Enrolling for a Degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal?

AbstractWealthy schools appoint better qualified teachers, less wealthy schools under qualified teachers. Added to this mix is a powerful teacher’s union whose policies attempt to entrench the job security of teachers in the less wealthy schools irrespective of whether they can teach their subjects or not. Can one isolate these effects from that of other socio-demographic factors that may also be affecting the performance of students when they enrol for a degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN)? An outcome variable that subtracts the number of courses that have been failed from the number of courses that have been passed, dividing this by the total number of years that they have spent studying for a particular degree will be used as a response variable for this paper.ObjectivesThe system of secondary education in South Africa is highly polarized. On the one hand, we have a group of mainly Black African students, forming about 80% of the total student population, that come from a vastly under-resourced rural or township based community. On the other hand, we have a group of predominantly White and Indian students who are able to attend a far better resourced set of private schools. Added to this mix, we have 240,000 of South Africa’s total number of 390,000 primary and secondary school teachers who belong to a powerful teacher’s union which enjoys a strong political alliance with the ruling party in South Africa. With most of their union members teaching in the less wealthy schools in South Africa, `school background’ now includes a politically motivated component that focuses on teacher self–interest rather than the education of the child. What sort of effect does school background have on the performance of students when they enter an institution of higher learning? More importantly, can one isolate the effect of school background from that of other possibly confounding factors such as gender, financial aid and the receipt of some form of residence based accommodation that will also impact on their performance while at university?MethodA total of 6,183 students enrolling for a degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) over the period 2008 to 2012 were used a dataset for this study. Permission to use this dataset was given by the Teaching and Learning Office at UKZN. The database that was used for this study was obtained from the Division of Management Information (DMI) office at UKZN. The percentage based marks that students have managed to record for Mathematics, English, Biology and Accounting in their school leaving exams together with some other important but observable socio-economic factors were included in a regression model to determine how students will perform at UKZN. Socio-economic variables relating to gender, race and whether they have receivd some form of financial aid or residence based accommodation while studying at university were also included as predictor variables in our regression based model structure.

Results and Conclusions

An interaction effect associated with being a Black African student who has been privileged enough to attend a quintile five school was found to be significant. A main effect associated with being able to attend a more privileged quintile 5 school however was found to be nonsignificant even after an adjustment has been made for gender, race, the receipt of some form of financial aid and residence based accommodation. Given that UKZN already has a number of bridging programs in place that target students who have come from a less privileged background, for university based policymakers, this result may help to justify the targeted selection of Black African students from the less privileged schools that is taking place. Because some of the disparity in matric performance that we are observing may also be associated with teacher competency and the protective influence of a powerful teacher’s union, this paper may also help to highlight some of the economic costs related with having under-prepared students. “A mind is a terrible thing to waste”–United Negro College Fund.     

Psychosomatic complaints and sense of coherence among adolescents in a county in Sweden: a cross-sectional school survey

Background

Over the last five to ten years there has been an increase in psychosomatic complaints (PSC) in Swedish children. The objective of the study was to examine the relation between PSC and sense of coherence (SOC).

Methods

A cross-sectional school survey in the county of Västmanland, Sweden. All 16- and 19-year old adolescents present at school on the day of the survey were asked to complete a questionnaire in their classrooms during a one-lesson hour session under the supervision of their teachers. Totally 3,998 students in both private and public schools, studying in ninth grade elementary school or third grade secondary school participated.

Results

The results from our study show that there is a statistically significant relation between PSC and SOC among adolescents. It also shows that adolescents with a weak SOC score have more symptoms of PSC.

Conclusion

Our study indicates that SOC can help the adolescents to choose a coping strategy that is appropriate for the situation and thereby may prevent them from developing PSC. However, additional studies are needed to confirm our findings.

     

Empathy and Effortful Control Effects on Early Adolescents’ Aggression: When Do Students’ Perceptions of Their School Climate Matter?

Guided by the social emotional learning framework, this study examined whether early adolescents’ social awareness (empathic concern, perspective taking) and self-management (effortful control) would uniquely contribute to early adolescents’ subsequent forms of aggression, and whether perceptions of their school climate (friction, cohesion, competition, satisfaction with classes) would moderate those associations. Participants were 479 10- to 14-year old students (54% female; 78% European American) who completed the first wave of a survey in sixth and seventh grades and the second wave 1 year later. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that across gender, empathic concern was the only competency to reduce subsequent overt and relational aggression. None of the school climate perceptions made unique contributions to aggression, nor did they show protective functions. Rather, several instances of cumulative advantage were observed, whereby positive school climate perceptions only reduced aggression for students with high levels of empathic concern. Unexpectedly, boys’ perceived cohesion contributed to overt aggression if they reported high levels of effortful control.     

Role of school climate and personality in the development of Czech adolescents’ political self-efficacy

This study examined the effects of school climate (open classroom and positive student relationships) and personality dispositions (shyness and need for cognition) on adolescents’ political self-efficacy. Data were collected in 2014 from 1,954 Czech ninth- and tenth-graders (mean age?=?15.60). A multilevel analysis showed that school-level political self-efficacy predicted self-efficacy for local politics. However, schools and classrooms were rather homogeneous in terms of students’ mean political self-efficacy and students’ self-reported acquisition of civic skills at school. Hence, school characteristics had only limited associations with adolescents’ political self-efficacy. At the same time, students’ political efficacy had a considerable association with lower shyness and higher need for cognition. These results suggest that the development of political efficacy at school goes beyond simple general influences of school environment and individual differences between students must be considered.     

The mental health of children upon their return home after a long displacement period

The aim of this study was to determine the different levels of depression, hopelessness and post-traumatic stress disorder between two groups of adolescents, those who returned to Baranja and those from Osijek. The first group consisted of 57 adolescents (32 female and 25 male) with the mean age of 17.36, who were grammar school students in Beli Manastir (Gimnazija, Beli Manastir). The mean duration of displacement period was 7 years. The second group consisted of 58 adolescents of grammar school students in Osijek (III. gimnazija, Osijek) (32 female and 26 male) with the mean age of 17.28. All examinees filled in the Croatian version of the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), the Hopelessness Scale for Children (HSC) and Children's Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Inventory. The analysis of the results did not show any statistically significant difference between these two groups regarding levels of depression, hopelessness and post-traumatic stress disorder. The results point out rather good psychosocial adjustment of adolescents upon their return home after 4 years.