家长投入对中小学生学业投入的影响:有中介的调节模型

以北京市12所中小学的4160名学生为调查对象,采用层次回归方法考察了家长投入对子女学业投入的影响以及家长自主支持/控制的教养风格和子女的学业心理需要满足在其中的作用。结果发现:(1)中小学生的家长投入程度随学段升高而降低;(2)家长注重在家辅导方面的投入,在参与社区及学校活动等方面的投入较为欠缺;(3)家长投入对子女的学业投入具有显著的正向预测作用;(4)家长自主支持/控制的教养风格在家长投入与子女学业投入的关系中起调节作用,且该调节效应部分地通过子女的学业心理需要满足这一中介变量产生作用。     

Environmental Effects on Outdoor Social Behavior in a Low-Income Urban Neighborhood: A Naturalistic Investigation1

Outdoor behavior was measured and compared using a behavioral mapping procedure across three contrasting environments in a low-income urban neighborhood. The environments were an old ghetto neighborhood of low-rise tenement houses, a traditional high-rise housing project, and an innovative high-rise housing project, where a creative outdoor design had been added to encourage outdoor use. As predicted, the old neighborhood and the innovative project showed higher levels of outdoor socializing than did the traditional project. Unexpectedly, the old neighborhood showed the highest level of task-oriented activity relative to recreation and leisure. Several propositions concerning the relationship between behavior and urban environment are considered, and a number of implications for urban design are advanced.     

A Longitudinal Assessment of Teacher Perceptions of Parent Involvement in Children's Education and School Performance

This study examines the ways in which parental involvement in children's education changes over time and how it relates to children's social and academic functioning in school. Teachers provided information on parent involvement and school performance for 1,205 urban, kindergarten through third-grade children for 3 consecutive years. They rated the following four dimensions of parent involvement: frequency of parent-teacher contact, quality of the parent-teacher interactions, participation in educational activities at home, and participation in school activites. As predicted, the frequency of parent-teacher contacts, quality of parent-teacher interactions, and parent participation at school declined from Years 1 to 3. Every parent involvement variable correlated moderately with school performance and parent involvement in Years 1 and 2, and accounted for a small, but significant amount of variance in Year 3 performance after controlling for initial performance level. Participation in educational activities at home predicted the widest range of performance variables. Results suggest that enhancing parental involvement in children's schooling relates to improvements in school functioning.     

The Children Helping Children Program: A Case Illustration

This article highlights the need for community and school-based programs for children of divorce and describes The Children Helping Children Program which was designed to respond to this need. A review of literature indicates that children of divorce typically experience school related problems including poor academic performance, depression, and disturbances in peer relationships. The review also points out that few support group programs are presently available, either in schools or through agencies for these children. Evaluative evidence consisting of parent comments at the conclusion of the program, followup questionnaire data collected at least four months after the program, and pre-post data pertaining to parenting effectiveness suggest that Children Helping Children may be a promising program. The need for further evaluative data in future implementations is discussed.     

Parent Involvement in Rural Elementary Schools in New Zealand: A Survey

We surveyed rural elementary schools in New Zealand regarding their practice of parent involvement (PI). Interviews were conducted at 22 schools using a schedule which focused on eleven aspects of PI: policy formation, acting as a resource, collaborating with teachers, sharing information on children, channels of communication, liaison with school staff, parent education, parent support, encouraging parents into school, involving diverse parents, and professional development for teachers. Analysis of data from the interviews identified several common weaknesses in PI provision: a lack of written school policies on PI; the ad hoc nature of the organization of PI; minimal parent education organized by schools; minimal focus on parent support; minimal use of home visits; limited ideas to involve diverse parents; a minimal focus on involving parents of children with special needs; and, limited professional development for teachers on working with parents. Implications for improving the practice of PI in rural elementary schools are discussed.     

Reaching Latino Families Through Pediatric Primary Care: Outcomes of the CANNE Parent Training Program

The lack of culturally adapted parenting programs for Latinos contributes to low engagement in effective parenting programs. Criando a Nuestros Niños Hacio el Éxito (CANNE), a culturally adapted program, improves family dynamics by decreasing problematic child behavior and helping parents manage stress. CANNE was delivered with 12 Latino parents of children (age 3–7). Increased attendance and participation resulted in less child behavior problems and parenting stress from preintervention to postintervention. A culturally relevant adaptation of an evidence-based parenting program improved engagement, child behavioral outcomes, and parenting stress. Implications of mental health services in primary care facilities for Latino families are addressed.     

A Comparison of Teacher and Parent Delivered Consequences: Improving Classroom Behavior in Low-Income Children with ADHD

Both teacher and parent delivered consequences have been shown to be effective in improving the classroom behavior of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, there is a delay between the behavior and delivery of parent provided consequences. The delay may make the consequences less salient and effective, for children with ADHD. The current study compared the effectiveness of parent delivered consequences (PC) to teacher delivered consequences (TC) for increasing academic performance and appropriate classroom behavior in African American, low income, elementary students with ADHD. Results indicate that the two interventions are equally effective in improving children's on-task behavior and classwork productivity.     

Parent Involvement in School Conceptualizing Multiple Dimensions and Their Relations with Family and Demographic Risk Factors

Parent involvement (PI) in school is associated with more positive academic performance and social competence in children. However, there are inadequacies in current measures of PI and a need for a better understanding of predictors of PI. In this study, measures were obtained from a normative sample of 387 children in kindergarten and first grade from high-risk neighborhoods in 4 different sites. First, a confirmatory factor analysis of a theoretical factor model of PI identified 6 reliable multiple-reporter PI factors: Parent–Teacher Contact, Parent Involvement at School, Quality of Parent–Teacher Relationship, Teacher's Perception of the Parent, Parent Involvement at Home, and Parent Endorsement of School. Next, the relations among 3 specific family and demographic risk factors—parental education level, maternal depression, and single-parent status—and these 6 PI factors were examined using path analyses in structural equation modeling. Results indicated that the 3 risk factors were differentially associated with the 6 PI factors: Parental education was significantly associated with 4 PI outcomes, maternal depression was significantly associated with 5 PI outcomes, and single-parent status was significantly associated with 3 PI outcomes. No significant ethnic group differences between African American and Caucasian families were found in these relations.     

Low-Income Families With Potential Adolescent Gang Involvement: A Structural Community Family Therapy Integration Model

The purpose of this article is to propose a community structural intervention for low-income families who present to therapy with the concern of an adolescent at risk for gang involvement. Families are affected by multiple interacting systems. In congruence with systems theory, changing a part of the system will essentially affect the interrelated parts of the system. The proposed intervention utilizes structural family therapy and community family therapy as a model to impact change at the family system, its interrelated systems, and the system at which the family is embedded.     

Neighborhood Violence and Psychosocial Adjustment in Low-Income Urban African American Children: Physical Symptoms as a Marker of Child Adjustment

We examined the association between neighborhood violence and three domains of psychosocial adjustment in low-income, urban African American children: internalizing, externalizing, and physical symptoms. Based on anecdotal and empirical evidence, it was hypothesized that, relative to internalizing and externalizing problems, a stronger association would emerge between physical symptoms and neighborhood violence. Mother-reported neighborhood violence was associated with child-reported physical symptoms, but not internalizing or externalizing symptoms. Child-reported neighborhood violence was associated with child-reported internalizing, externalizing, and physical symptoms; however, neighborhood violence accounted for a greater percentage of variance in physical symptoms than the other two symptom domains. Our findings were not moderated by the age or gender of the child. We discuss the importance of physical symptoms as a marker of child adjustment in low-income, urban, African American children, as well directions for future research.     

School Families: Implementation and Evaluation of a Middle School Prevention Program

The authors describe a school prevention program called School Families that emphasizes normal developmental needs of middle school students. In addition, the results of an in-depth qualitative evaluation of the program are presented. The School Families groups comprised middle school students, teachers, and adults from the university and community who meet weekly during the school day to process issues related to academic performance, decision making, self-esteem, and social skills. On the basis of written narratives, individual interviews, and focus-group discussions, the 35 participants (12 middle school students, 14 teachers, and 9 university students) reported that the School Families program largely had a beneficial influence on them.     

Promoting Parent Involvement in Schools to Serve At-Risk Students

The recent educational literature and popular media reflect growing concern about deficient student achievement in the regular education system, a problem that has resulted in inappropriate classification of students as handicapped, as well as resulted in increased dropout rates. A wide range of variables contribute to school failure, including a complex interaction of home and school characteristics. For this reason, efforts to intervene with students who are at-risk for school failuer must include attention to the relationship between parents and school professionals. This paper reviews the literature on parent involvement, which shows that increased participation by parents in educational programs has a positive relationship to student achievement. Specific roles for parents are examined, followed by guidelines for promoting parent involvement.     

Parent Perspectives on Family Involvement in Therapeutic Foster Care

There has been an increasing focus on family involvement in the treatment of children with serious emotional disorders, but it has received only limited attention in relation to out-of-home placements. I present the findings from a qualitative study of family involvement from the perspectives of parents whose children were placed in therapeutic foster care (TFC). Parents' perspectives on their involvement in placement decisions, relationships with professionals and TFC providers, practices related to family involvement, barriers to involvement, and strategies to enhance family involvement are described. Parents of children in TFC wanted to have contact with their children and to participate in decision making. They described relationships and practices that contributed to their involvement.     

Father Involvement in Parent Training for Oppositional Child Behavior

Outcome literature (1981 to 1988) on behavioral parent training interventions for nonhandicapped children with oppositional behavior is reviewed to assess the extent and effects of father involvement in parent training. Thirteen studies were found that included some father involvement. Weaknesses of these studies include a failure to observe and measure changed in father-child interactions, a lack of emphasis on the impact of the marital relationship, a lack of attention to similarities in parental child management strategies, and a lack of assessment of paternal characteristics. Further research to assess the effects of including fathers on parent training outcomes can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of these interventions.     

Adapting Brief CBT-I for Depressed Adolescents: A Case Illustration of the Sleeping Better Program

Disturbed sleep is a common symptom of depression in adolescents, but this symptom is not often targeted in psychological therapies for depression. Although the causal relationship between sleep and depression is unclear, there is increasing evidence that in adults, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) improves sleep problems and reduces symptoms of depression; however, there has been little investigation of using this approach with adolescents. This article describes the adaptation of brief CBT-I for adolescents with depression. A single case study is reported to illustrate the use of the Sleeping Better program. Adaptations for adolescents include increased emphasis on engagement of the young person and the inclusion of parents in treatment. The treatment program was acceptable to the adolescent and parent, and treatment outcome, as indicated by sleep diaries and standardized measures of depression and anxiety, was positive. Further evaluation of the Sleeping Better program is needed to establish if it is an effective low-intensity intervention for sleep problems in adolescents who have depression or anxiety.     

Therapist Focus on Parent Involvement in Community-Based Youth Psychotherapy

Parent involvement in the treatment of childhood disruptive behavior problems is a critical component of effective care. Yet little is known about the amount of time therapists are involving parents in treatment and factors that predict therapists' efforts to involve parents in routine care. The purpose of this study is to examine therapists' within-session involvement of parents in community-based outpatient mental health treatment. The data are from a larger longitudinal observational study of psychotherapy for children ages 4-13 with disruptive behavior problems and include videotaped psychotherapy sessions coded for the therapeutic strategies delivered as well as measures of child, parent/family, and therapist characteristics at baseline. Parent involvement is defined as the proportion of time in the session that therapists direct treatment strategies towards parents. Results indicated that therapists directed treatment strategies towards parents an average of 44% of the time within a session. Multilevel modeling was used to examine client-level (child, parent, and family functioning) and provider-level (therapist experience and background) predictors of parent involvement. Therapists involved parents more when the child had higher levels of behavior problems, when the parent reported higher levels of internalized caregiver strain, and when the therapist was more experienced. The results highlight potential areas to target in efforts to increase parent involvement, including training less experienced therapists to increase their focus on directing strategies towards parents.     

Neighborhood Crime and School Climate as Predictors of Elementary School Academic Quality: A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis

Past research has found negative relationships between neighborhood structural disadvantage and students’ academic outcomes. Comparatively little work has evaluated the associations between characteristics of neighborhoods and schools themselves. This study explored the longitudinal, reciprocal relationships between neighborhood crime and school-level academic achievement within 500 urban schools. Results revealed that higher neighborhood crime (and particularly violent crime) predicted decreases in school academic achievement across time. School climate emerged as one possible mechanism within this relationship, with higher neighborhood crime predicting decreases in socioemotional learning and safety, but not academic rigor. All three dimensions of school climate were predictive of changes in academic achievement. Although this research supports a primarily unidirectional hypothesis of neighborhoods’ impacts on embedded settings, additional work is needed to understand these relationships using additional conceptualizations of neighborhood climate.