Studying Early Adolescents' Academic Motivation,Social-Emotional Functioning,and Engagement in Learning: Variable- and Person-Centered Approaches

This study used variable- and person-centered data analytic techniques to examine how early adolescents' academic motivation and social-emotional functioning were associated with their self-reported cognitive and behavioral engagement in the middle school classroom. Regression results showed that both motivational and mental health constructs contributed to the prediction of individual differences in classroom engagement. Person-centered analyses revealed between group variation in classroom engagement as a function of differing patterns of motivation and mental health among different subgroups of adolescents. Convergent and complementary information on these subgroups was provided by using two different grouping approaches. Findings are discussed in terms of broad patterns of promise or problems during early adolescence.     

Measuring Narrative Engagement

Research indicates that the extent to which one becomes engaged, transported, or immersed in a narrative influences the narrative's potential to affect subsequent story-related attitudes and beliefs. Explaining narrative effects and understanding the mechanisms responsible depends on our ability to measure narrative engagement in a theoretically meaningful way. This article develops a scale for measuring narrative engagement that is based on a mental models approach to narrative processing. It distinguishes among four dimensions of experiential engagement in narratives: narrative understanding, attentional focus, emotional engagement, and narrative presence. The scale is developed and validated through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses with data from viewers of feature film and television, in different viewing situations, and from two different countries. The scale's ability to predict enjoyment and story-consistent attitudes across different programs is presented. Implications for conceptualizing engagement with narratives as well as narrative persuasion and media effects are discussed.     

Self-Controlled Practice to Achieve Neuro-Cognitive Engagement: Underlying Brain Processes to Enhance Cognitive-Motor Learning and Performance

Abstract

While self-controlled practice has been shown to be an effective practice methodology, the neuro-cognitive correlates of its effectiveness are unclear. We investigated whether learners participating in self-controlled practice exhibit increased neuro-cognitive engagement compared to externally controlled practice. Two groups (self-controlled and yoked) of 16 participants practiced and performed a golf putting task over 3 days. Working memory engagement, central executive activity, and cortical activation were assessed via electroencephalography as indicators of neuro-cognitive engagement. The self-controlled group exhibited more consistent working memory engagement, and greater central executive activity, compared to the yoked group during practice. Relationships were also observed between neuro-cognitive engagement during self-controlled practice and performance improvement, indicating that self-controlled practice uniquely benefitted from increased neuro-cognitive engagement.     

Differential associations of leisure music engagement with resilience: A network analysis

Background/ObjectiveSeveral factors associated with resilience as the maintenance of mental health despite stress exposure can be strengthened through participation in leisure time activities. Since many people listen to or make music in their leisure time, the aim of the present study was to provide insights into the architecture of how resilience relates to passive and active music engagement.Method511 participants regularly listening to and/or making music completed an online survey on resilient outcomes (i.e., mental health and stressor recovery ability), different resilience factors (e.g., optimism, social support), quantitative music engagement (i.e., time spent with music listening/making) and qualitative music engagement (i.e., use of music listening/making for mood regulation).ResultsBivariate correlations showed that subjects spending more time with music making reported better stressor recovery ability and less mental health problems, while partial correlational network analysis revealed no unique associations for quantitative music engagement. Regarding qualitative music engagement, people using music-based mood regulation reported lower mental health, mindfulness, and optimism, but also higher social support. A more heterogeneous pattern emerged for single music-based mood regulation strategies.ConclusionsOur findings highlight the importance of the individual (mal-)adaptive use of music, painting a more nuanced picture of music engagement and resilience.     

Volunteering in older adulthood is associated with activity engagement and cognitive functioning

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Given evidence that activity engagement in older adulthood can have protective effects on the aging brain, we investigated the idea that volunteering in the community, which often encompasses social, cognitive, and physical activity, might benefit cognition.

Method: Ninety-one retired 65- to 75-year-olds reported their sociodemographic characteristics, wellbeing, volunteering, and activity engagement. They also completed computerized cognitive tests that tapped specific functions known to decline disproportionately with age.

Results: Volunteering at least monthly was associated with better working memory and more social and cognitive activity. Mediation analyses indicated that volunteering was indirectly related to switching performance via cognitive activity. However, the volunteering-working memory association did not depend on activity engagement, leaving the underpinning mechanisms unclear.

Conclusions: These findings provide new insight into positive associations between older people’s volunteering, activity engagement, and cognitive functioning. However, further work is needed to understand the mechanisms that drive volunteering-cognition links, and to establish causality.     

Judgments of happiness during trail running: Pleasure,engagement, and meaning

ObjectivesIt has been theorized that happiness is derived from three major, unique sets of life experience: pleasure, engagement, and meaning. The present study examined the mental processes by which individuals combined five information cues (relatedness, autonomy, competence, mental vitality and physical vitality) when judging the degree of happiness felt by a trail runner during a run.Design/methodThe participants (104 adult male athletes; M_age = 32.70; SD = 10.86) rated pleasure, engagement, and meaning in 32 scenarios built from combinations of these cues.ResultsThe results of multivariate and univariate analyses of variance indicated that all five cues had a positive effect on judgments of pleasure, engagement, and meaning. The participants used three different information integration rules, depending on the pathway to happiness being probed.ConclusionsThe information integration and the integration rules highlighted the different contributions of pleasure, engagement, and meaning in cognitive building of happiness.     

Translating the ICAP Theory of Cognitive Engagement Into Practice

ICAP is a theory of active learning that differentiates students’ engagement based on their behaviors. ICAP postulates that I nteractive engagement, demonstrated by co‐generative collaborative behaviors, is superior for learning to C onstructive engagement, indicated by generative behaviors. Both kinds of engagement exceed the benefits of A ctive or P assive engagement, marked by manipulative and attentive behaviors, respectively. This paper discusses a 5‐year project that attempted to translate ICAP into a theory of instruction using five successive measures: (a) teachers’ understanding of ICAP after completing an online module, (b) their success at designing lesson plans using different ICAP modes, (c) fidelity of teachers’ classroom implementation, (d) modes of students’ enacted behaviors, and (e) students’ learning outcomes. Although teachers had minimal success in designing Constructive and Interactive activities, students nevertheless learned significantly more in the context of Constructive than Active activities. We discuss reasons for teachers’ overall difficulty in designing and eliciting Interactive engagement.     

Engagement in community activities and trust in local leaders as concomitants of psychological distress among Israeli civilians exposed to prolonged rocket attacks

Background and objectives: Present study, conducted in the aftermath of the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, investigated psychological toll of exposure to rockets attacks in a sample of residents of central and southern Israel. Analyses focused on the distress-protective functions of collectively grounded resources: engagement in community activities and trust in local leadership.

Design: This cross-sectional study was conducted between 2 and 3 months after the hostilities.

Method: Participants (N?=?764) were recruited by an online survey company that distributed a questionnaire assessing, in addition to focal predictors, sociodemographic factors and prior exposure to trauma. The outcome variables were post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and nonspecific distress symptoms.

Results: Conservative regression analyses revealed that greater exposure to rocket attacks was predictive of higher levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Higher engagement in community activities exhibited a partial trauma-buffering function. However, higher levels of trust in local leaders appeared to exacerbate, rather than diminish, negative impact of rocket exposure on PTSD. Symptoms of psychological distress were not influenced neither by trauma exposure nor by stressor interactions with resources. Trust in local leadership exerted a beneficial main effect on distress.

Conclusions: Collectively based resources are important for coping in times of community-wide stressors, yet their role is complex.     

Adolescent Neural Responses to Antismoking Messages,Perceived Effectiveness,and Sharing Intention

ABSTRACT

Health communication delivered via media channels can substantially influence adolescents’ choices, and the effects of messages are amplified through interpersonal sharing. However, the underlying psychological and neurocognitive mechanisms that influence message effectiveness and likelihood of sharing are not well understood, especially among adolescents. Based on research in adults, we hypothesized and preregistered that message-induced neural activation in regions associated with self-reflection, social processing, and positive valuation would be related to greater perceived ad effectiveness and intentions to share messages. We focused on brain activity in meta-analytically defined regions associated with these three processes as 40 adolescent nonsmokers viewed advertisements from “The Real Cost” antismoking campaign. Perceived message effectiveness was positively associated with brain activity in the hypothesized social processing regions and marginally associated with brain activity in self-relevance regions, but not associated with brain activity in valuation regions. By contrast, intentions to share the messages were not associated with neural response in these 3 systems. In contrast to previous neuroimaging studies with adult subjects, our findings highlight the role of social cognition in adolescent processing of persuasive messages. We discuss the possibility that the mental processes responsive to effective and shareworthy messages may reflect developmental processes pertinent to media effects.     

Validation of the French Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and its relationship with personality traits and impulsivity

IntroductionWork engagement is a positive state of mind related to work, characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. It is measured through the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), which has shown good psychometric properties across occupational types and languages. Besides, some individuals may more easily experience work engagement than others, suggesting that individual stable tendencies could predict this state of mind.ObjectivesIn this article, we aim to: (1) present the psychometric properties of the French versions of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9 and UWES-17), and (2) assess whether work engagement can be associated with personality traits and impulsivity.MethodFor this purpose, 661 French-speaking workers (M_age = 40.86, SD_age = 12.35) were recruited in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Two hundred and eleven subjects responded to the UWES-17, the Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire (ZKA-PQ) and the UPPS Impulsive Behaviour Scale (UPPS), and 450 subjects responded to the UWES-9 and the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory Revised (NEO-FFI-R).ResultsResults showed that UWES-9 reached better psychometric properties than UWES-17. Moreover, it appeared that individuals who were active, conscientious, emotionally stable, and extroverted were more prone to experience work engagement than others.DiscussionThus, the path to experiencing work engagement seems to differ as a function of personal stable characteristics. Further studies should analyse how personal characteristics interact with working conditions in determining work engagement.     

The Differential Impact of Religion on Political Activity and Community Engagement

Many religions have an ethos of community betterment that can spur their members to contribute to society in meaningful ways. Yet much of the literature on religion and politics tends to focus on how places of worship increase explicitly partisan activities like voting or donating to a political campaign. Does religion affect community engagement in the same ways that it does political participation? A unique research design executed in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA brings together religious data on individual beliefs and behaviors, clergy messaging, and congregation culture to examine religion’s effects on both political activity and community engagement. The results demonstrate that religion influences both types of behaviors, but not always in the same ways. For instance, it appears as though many congregations tend to develop cultures that encourage either community engagement or political activity, rather than both, with Black Protestant churches as an exception. Additionally, individuals that hold providential religious beliefs tend to have higher levels of community engagement but lower levels of political activity. These findings indicate that religion influences different types of participation differently.

     

The Fantasy Engagement Scale: A Flexible Measure of Positive and Negative Fantasy Engagement

Despite the prevalence of fantasy activities in day-to-day life, there has been little systematic psychological research on fantasy. Existing work is scattered across numerous fantasy-related topics and are rarely viewed as a collective body of work. We propose a scale of fantasy engagement that addresses this scattered and often-contradictory literature by assessing both positive and negative aspects of fantasy engagement. Across four studies we develop and validate the Fantasy Engagement Scale, establishing its reliability, validity, and applicability to topics including well-being, escapism, and mental imagery. The results begin to reconcile contradictions in the existing research and have implications for future work on fantasy specifically and for studies of fantasy-related activities.     

Engaging in cultural activities compensates for educational differences in cognitive abilities

ABSTRACT

The goal of the current project was to examine whether engagement in intellectual/cultural activities explains the long-term effects of education on cognitive abilities throughout adulthood, and whether it compensates for educational differences in cognitive abilities throughout adulthood. Participants between 18 and 96 years of age completed a comprehensive questionnaire about intellectual/cultural activities that they participated in and performed a wide variety of cognitive tests. There were no mediation effects of engagement in intellectual/cultural activities on the relationship between education and cognitive functioning. In contrast, engagement in intellectual/cultural activities was found to moderate the relations between education and the level of fluid ability, working memory, speed of processing, and episodic memory. Findings suggest that the risk of cognitive decline in people with less education can be reduced via engagement in intellectual and cultural activities throughout adulthood.     

Predicting changes in student engagement in university physical education: Application of control-value theory of achievement emotions

ObjectivesBased on Pekrun’s (2006) control value theory of achievement emotions, this study examined both distal and proximal predictors of change in students' behavioral and emotional engagement during one semester of university physical education classes.DesignShort-term longitudinal design.MethodStudents (N = 202) completed questionnaires on three separate occasions during one semester. At the beginning of the semester, demographic information and behavioral and emotional engagement were reported. At the mid-point in the semester, control beliefs, extrinsic value beliefs, and discrete activity emotions toward the physical education context (i.e., enjoyment; anger; boredom) were completed. At the end of the semester, behavioral and emotional engagement were measured once again.ResultsA series of confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence for factor validity and reliability in the measured constructs and longitudinal measurement invariance tests established that any detected change in student engagement was associated with true change. Findings from a path analysis revealed that initial emotional engagement was a predictor of control and extrinsic value appraisals as well as enjoyment and boredom, but not anger. Extrinsic value positively predicted enjoyment while control negatively predicted anger. Finally, a distinct pattern of relations was established between enjoyment, boredom, and changes in engagement.ConclusionsDifferences in the predictive relations of boredom and anger on changes in student engagement highlights the unique contributions of measuring discrete emotions. Overall, findings partially support the applicability of using Pekrun's control value framework in physical activity settings.     

Predictors of Long-Term Exercise Engagement in Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: The Role of Physical Activity Enjoyment

Most U.S. adults, even more so those with psychiatric conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), do not engage in the recommended amount of physical activity (PA), despite the wide array of physical and mental health benefits associated with exercise. Therefore, it is essential to identify mechanistic factors that drive long-term exercise engagement so they can be targeted. Using the science of behavior change (SOBC) framework, this study examined potential predictors of long-term exercise engagement as a first step towards identifying modifiable mechanisms, in individuals with OCD, such as PA enjoyment, positive or negative affect, and behavioral activation. Fifty-six low-active patients (mean age = 38.8 ± 13.0, 64% female) with a primary diagnosis of OCD were randomized to either aerobic exercise (AE; n = 28) or health education (HE; n = 28), and completed measures of exercise engagement, PA enjoyment, behavioral activation, and positive and negative affect at baseline, postintervention, and 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up. Significant predictors of long-term exercise engagement up to 6-months postintervention were baseline PA (Estimate = 0.29, 95%CI [0.09, 0.49], p = .005) and higher baseline PA enjoyment (Estimate = 1.09, 95%CI [0.30, 1.89], p = .008). Change in PA enjoyment from baseline to postintervention was greater in AE vs. HE, t(44) = −2.06, p = .046, d = −0.61, but endpoint PA enjoyment did not predict follow-up exercise engagement above and beyond baseline PA enjoyment. Other hypothesized potential mechanisms (baseline affect or behavioral activation) did not significantly predict exercise engagement. Results suggest that PA enjoyment may be an important modifiable target mechanism for intervention, even prior to a formal exercise intervention. Next steps aligned with the SOBC framework are discussed, including examining intervention strategies to target PA enjoyment, particularly among individuals with OCD or other psychiatric conditions, who may benefit most from long-term exercise engagement’s effects on physical and mental health.     

Latino Family Participation in Youth Mental Health Services: Treatment Retention,Engagement, and Response

Although researchers have identified a multitude of factors that contribute to family participation in mental health services, few studies have examined them specifically for Latino youth and their families in the U.S., a population that continues to experience significant disparities related to the availability, accessibility, and quality of mental health services. Latino youth and their families are at greater risk of dropping out of treatment prematurely and demonstrating poor treatment engagement, both of which have subsequent negative effects on treatment response outcomes. In order to help to guide efforts to improve the accessibility and quality of mental health services for Latino youth and their families, the current paper integrates modern conceptualization of family participation in youth mental health services and provides a summary of contextual factors within an ecological framework (Bronfenbrenner in The ecology of human development: experiments by nature and design, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1979). The current review aims to integrate empirical research on the impact of various contextual factors across multiple levels (i.e., culture, community, mental health system, family, parent/caregiver, and child/adolescent) on Latino family participation in youth mental health services, including treatment retention, engagement, and response. Clinical implications will be discussed, and an integrated, conceptual model will be presented. Not only does this model help to demonstrate the way in which existing literature is conceptually linked, but it also helps to highlight factors and underlying processes that health care providers, administrators, and policy makers must consider in working to improve mental health services for Latino youth and their families living in the U.S.     

How Readability Shapes Social Media Engagement

We suggest that text readability plays an important role in driving consumer engagement on social media. Consistent with a processing fluency account, we find that easy‐to‐read posts are more liked, commented on, and shared on social media. We analyze over 4,000 Facebook posts from Humans of New York, a popular photography blog on social media, over a 3‐year period to see how readability shapes social media engagement. The results hold when controlling for photo features, story valence, and other content‐related characteristics. Experimental findings further demonstrate the causal impact of readability and the processing fluency mechanism in the context of a fictitious brand community. This research articulates the impact of processing fluency on brief word‐of‐mouth transmissions in the real world while empirically demonstrating that readability as a message feature matters. It also extends the impact of processing fluency to a novel behavioral outcome: commenting and sharing actions.     

Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Associations between Leisure Time Physical Activity,Mental Well-Being and Subjective Health in Middle Adulthood

Previous studies have shown that participation in leisure time physical activity is related to better mental well-being and subjective health. However, the associations between different types of leisure time physical activities and different dimensions of mental well-being have rarely been studied. In addition, longitudinal research, analyzing possible causal relations between these variables, is lacking. To investigate these research questions, data gathered at ages 42 and 50 (present N = 303) for the Finnish Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development were used. Physical activity was assessed as frequency of participation at ages 42 and 50, and at age 50 also as frequency of participation in different types of physical activities. Mental well-being was captured by emotional, psychological and social well-being and subjective health by self-rated health and symptoms. Cross-sectionally, different types of physical activities were related to different dimensions of well-being. Walking had positive associations with psychological and social well-being, rambling in nature with emotional and social well-being, and endurance training with subjective health. Rambling in nature was also positively related to subjective health but only among men. Longitudinally, mental well-being predicted later participation in leisure-time physical activity, whereas no longitudinal associations between subjective health and physical activity were found. The results suggest that leisure time physical activities are related to current mental well-being and subjective health in midlife. Across time, good mental well-being seems to be a resource promoting engagement in physical activity.

     

Enhancing School Engagement in At-Risk,Urban Minority Adolescents Through a School-Based,Adult Mentoring Intervention

ABSTRACT

The current study investigated whether a 5-month, adult mentoring intervention delivered by school personnel could enhance the school engagement of ninth grade urban minority adolescents. Compared to 20 at-risk students who did not receive an intervention, 20 at-risk students who were randomly assigned to mentoring exhibited significantly less decline during the first year of high school in perceived teacher support and decision making and were less likely to enter the discipline system. The effects were stronger and included sense of school belonging for participants who were “mentored as intended.” Moreover, mentee and mentor reports of relationship quality were associated with changes in mentored participants' school-related cognitions and behaviors. The findings indicate that adult mentoring may help to prevent normative declines in urban minority youths' school engagement.     

The Role of Leisure Interest and Engagement for Subjective Well-Being

During the last decades, the association between leisure engagement and subjective well-being (SWB) has been examined. Yet, the role of the interest in specific leisure activities for SWB has been neglected. Thus, we examined whether the pure leisure engagement or the opportunity to realize the longing to pursue a leisure activity is linked to well-being. A sample of 402 participants completed an online survey about interests and the frequency of engagement in diverse leisure activities as well as physical, cognitive, and affective well-being. The study revealed that leisure engagement showed stronger associations with all aspects of well-being than leisure interest per se. More specifically, interest and engagement in social activities and sports showed robust associations with different facets of well-being. Furthermore, a high individual fit between leisure interest and engagement across diverse activities incrementally predicted SWB beyond leisure engagement per se. Analyses of nonlinear associations indicated that too much leisure engagement was associated with lower levels of SWB, but high interest in leisure activities buffered this effect. Thus, the intrinsic motivation to leisure activities may play an important role for well-being in addition to the sheer leisure engagement.