The Primary Mental Health Project (PMHP): Evaluation of current program effectiveness

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Primary Mental Project (PMHP), a program for early detection and prevention of school adjustment problems. Pre- and postprogram assessments were done with 215 primary-grade children seen in PMHP, usig teacher ratings of problem behaviors and competencies, and child-aide ratings of problems. School mental health professionals judged educational and behavioral changes in project children during the year. Significant across-the board improvements were found on all criterion measures. Modest intercorrelations among criterion change estimates suggested that the observed changes were due to program, rather than halo, effects. PMHP children also improved significantly more than matched, retrospective controls.     

Communication skills and self-esteem in prevention of destructive behaviors

This study demonstrates the long-range effectiveness of SAY IT STRAIGHT training as a school-based program for the prevention of destructive behaviors by comparing juvenile police offenders among trained and untrained 9th-12th graders for 1 1/2 years following training. In the 1984-85 school year, 357 of the 740 9th-12th graders in a southwestern town completed SAY IT STRAIGHT training. Participation was voluntary and required parental permission. During a five-month pretraining period which began with the first day of school, the number of juvenile police offenders was not significantly different among students who would eventually be trained or not be trained. During the following 7 months including summer vacation, there were significantly fewer offenders among the trained students. The following school year and summer vacation there were again significantly fewer offenders among the trained students. During the whole 1 1/2-year study, the untrained students had about 4.5 times as many criminal offenses as the trained students and their offenses were more severe. Finally, 9th, 10th, and 12th graders as well as 11th-grade females who had been trained showed a significant shift toward behavioral intentions reflecting a greater willingness to implement their constructive decisions and feel comfortable doing so. This study extends the applicability of SAY IT STRAIGHT training which previously has been reported to significantly reduce alcohol/drug-related school suspensions among 6th-8th graders.     

The effect of career education on career maturity

According to Hoyt (1974), career education efforts are underway in almost one-third of all school districts in the United States. Indications are that this trend will continue. However, the question of the effects of career education programs remains essentially unanswered. This study was designed to assess the effects of a career education program on students' career maturity as measured by the Career Maturity Inventory (CMI). A pretest/ posttest design was used. The sample consisted of 480 sixth and eighth grade students, one-half of whom participated in a career education program (experimental), with the remaining one-half in a regular school program (control). The career education students consistently displayed higher posttest career maturity levels, four scores being significantly higher. Significant differences were found in occupational knowledge of sixth graders, occupational planning for both the sixth and eighth graders and in the attitude scale score for the eighth graders. It was concluded that the career education program had a positive effect in increasing students' levels of career maturity.     

Effects of incentives in web-based prevention for adolescents: Results of an exploratory field study

This study examines if the willingness of adolescents to participate in a web-based prevention program can be increased by providing an incentive for participation. Eighth graders (n = 166) were instructed to work on an online stress-prevention program via the internet from home. A subgroup of n = 80 subjects from three school classes were told that they would take part in a raffle if they completed the program. The remaining n = 86 participants (again three classes) served as a control group. The school classes were randomly allocated to the training conditions. During the 8-week intervention period, compliance rates were recorded by means of an online tracking system. In addition, self-reported compliance and training acceptance were assessed. The application of an incentive had considerable effects on retention rates, on training acceptance and self-assessed effectiveness of the intervention. Adolescents in the ‘incentive condition’ completed three times as many program lessons as control subjects did, and–as their self-reports suggest–they worked as attentively. Validity of self-reported compliance was higher among participants of the incentive group and they reported significantly higher program acceptance. As a consequence, the application of incentive systems is recommended for future implementation of web-based prevention programs targeting adolescents.     

Smoking prevention among urban minority youth: assessing effects on outcome and mediating variables.

We tested the effectiveness of a social resistance/competence enhancement approach to smoking prevention among predominantly Hispanic seventh graders (N = 3,153) from 47 New York City schools. After blocking on school type (public and parochial) and ethnic composition (percent Hispanic), schools were randomly assigned either to receive the 15-session prevention program or to serve as no-contact controls. Using the school as the unit of analysis, significant program effects were found for cigarette smoking, normative expectations concerning peer and adult smoking, smoking prevalence knowledge, social acceptability knowledge, and knowledge of smoking consequences. Using structural modeling techniques, a significant relation was found between the normative expectation and knowledge variables affected by the intervention and posttest smoking, suggesting that changes on these variables mediated the impact of the intervention on cigarette smoking. This study extends the results of previous prevention research and demonstrates the generalizability of this approach to predominantly Hispanic urban minority students.     

Individualism: valued differently by parents and teachers of primary, junior high and high school students

The present study was designed to examine if individualism, a core characteristic of Western societies, is socially valued in two fundamental institutions: Family and school. Parents and teachers of fourth graders (primary school), sixth graders (junior high school) and tenth graders (high school) completed an Individualism Scale (covering the main factors of self-realization, autonomy, emotional independence and social differentiation) which was adapted for each grade. For each item, they had to choose the answer their child, or students, would need to give in order to make a good, or bad, impression. The results showed that individualism is valued differently as a function of the evaluator. Parents valued it in their children (with the exception of sixth graders) although teachers actually devalued it in their students. Additionally, individualism appeared as a multifaceted phenomenon since its different components were not judged consistently.

Evaluation of a High School Peer Group Intervention for At-Risk Youth

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of Reconnecting Youth, a prevention program for at-risk high school youth. Data are from a large, independently evaluated effectiveness trial in two diverse urban school districts. A total of 1,218 students participated; 50% were male; average age was 15. We tested whether positive efficacy trial effects could be replicated, and whether any negative behavioral effects occur when clustering high-risk youth. Although mixed program effects were observed at immediate post-intervention, only negative effects were found at 6-month follow-up. These effects included less optimal scores on measures of GPA, Anger, School Connectedness, Conventional Peer Bonding, and Peer High-Risk Behaviors. Overall, we found little support for the use of this social-influence—model intervention aimed at increasing school connectedness for high-risk youth. Further, this study provides evidence that clustering high-risk youth in preventive interventions has the potential for iatrogenic effects.     

Preventing Adolescent Cigarette Smoking

Recent studies have supported the efficacy of approaches to smoking prevention that focus primary attention on social and psychological factors implicated in initiation of adolescent cigarette smoking. This article reports first year data from a large-scale smoking prevention study conducted within three geographic regions of New York State. The sample consists of 5,954 seventh graders from 56 middle/junior high schools. Schools were randomly assigned to (1) receive the Life Skills Training (LST) prevention program with a one-day teacher training workshop; (2) receive the LST prevention program with teacher training provided by video tape; or (3) serve as a comparison group. This study was designed to further test the efficacy of this type of smoking prevention program and to compare the relative effectiveness of two different types of provider training in an effort to learn more about the potential effectiveness of this prevention strategy when implemented under "real world" conditions. Pretest and posttest data were collected by questionnaire concerning self-reported tobacco use and several hypothesized mediating variables. Results indicate that the prevention program significantly impacted on several hypothesized mediating variables in a direction consistent with non-smoking. Within one region, the students in both experimental conditions reported significantly less current cigarette smoking and reported themselves less likely to smoke in the future than the students in the control condition.     

Foreign‐grammar acquisition while watching subtitled television programmes

Background. Past research has shown that watching a subtitled foreign movie (i.e. foreign language in the soundtrack and native language in the subtitles) leads to considerable foreign‐language vocabulary acquisition; however, acquisition of the grammatical rules has failed to emerge. Aims. The aim of this study was to obtain evidence for the acquisition of grammatical rules in watching subtitled foreign movies. Given an informal context, younger children were predicted to outperform older children in acquiring a foreign language; however, older children will take more advantage of explicit instruction compared with younger children. Sample. In Experiment 1, 62 sixth‐graders from a primary school and 47 sixth‐graders from a secondary school volunteered to participate. The participants in Experiment 2 were 94 sixth‐graders from primary schools and 84 sixth‐graders from secondary schools. Method. The two experiments manipulated the instructions (incidental‐ vs. intentional‐language learning). Moreover, before the experiments began, some participants explicitly received some of the foreign grammatical rules (presented rules), while the movie contained cases of presented rules as well as cases of rules which had to be inferred (not‐presented rules). Results. Rule acquisition through the movie only was not obtained; there was a strong effect of advance rule presentation but only on the items of presented rules, particularly among the older participants. Conclusions. Contrary to vocabulary, grammar may be too complicated to acquire from a rather short movie presentation.     

Long Term Child-Centered Play Therapy Effects on Academic Achievement with Normal Functioning Children

This follow up study with 23 normal functioning 1st graders examined the long-term effectiveness of Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) on academic achievement. Through the use of a one-way repeated measures analysis of variance, researchers examined the use of CCPT from pre-intervention to mid-intervention (16 sessions) to post-intervention (26 sessions). Results indicated that children who participated in 26 sessions of CCPT demonstrated statistically significant improvement on the Early Achievement Composite as measured on the Young Children’s Achievement Test (YCAT), along with increases in the Reading, Mathematics, and Spoken Language subscales. Participants showed statistically consistent improvement in academic scores of the full duration of the study. Overall, the findings imply that CCPT as a long term method can support academic achievement in the school system with normal functioning 1st grade students. The outcome suggests long term CCPT is an intervention for elementary/primary school counselors to use with children who have emotional or academic needs. The findings open the door for school counselors or outside professionals to use play therapy with children in the school system as a way of providing academic support and thereby promoting the field of play therapy in the school system.     

The relationship of social support to depressive symptoms during the transition to high school

The transition to high school is studied as a time when students may experience disruptions in their social support systems. Peer support, family support, and school belonging were hypothesized to be associated with adolescent adjustment, specifically depressive symptoms. Participants included 104 eighth graders and 101 ninth graders from a middle- to high-income, predominantly white community in southern Rhode Island. In year 2, 60 of the original 8th graders were surveyed as 9th graders. Three hypotheses were examined: Social support declines from 8th to 9th grade; depressive symptoms increase from 8th to 9th grade; and social support is significantly associated with depressive symptoms. The hypotheses were tested using cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Results indicated that 9th graders experienced more depressive symptoms and lower levels of school belonging as compared to the 8th graders. Changes in parent support and peer support were significantly associated with depressive symptoms in the transition to high school. Implications for increasing school belonging in the 9th grade are discussed.     

Boys’ and girls’ involvement in science learning and their self‐efficacy in Taiwan

This cross‐sectional study investigated the significant differences in students’ self‐efficacy and their involvement in learning science. Nine hundred and twenty‐two elementary school fifth graders, 499 junior high school eighth graders, and 1455 senior or vocational high school eleventh graders completed the students’ questionnaire. Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and independent t‐tests compared the significant similarities and differences across school levels and genders. The initial findings were as follows: A sharp decline in boys’ and girls’ self‐efficacy scores from elementary to secondary school levels; boys have significantly higher self‐efficacy scores than girls at vocational and senior high school levels; students with more involvement in science learning presented significantly higher self‐efficacy scores than those with less involvement. The significant discrepancies in terms of gender and age in students’ self‐efficacy and involvement in learning science need to be addressed. Implications and limitations are provided.     

工作记忆对小学三年级学生解决比较问题的影响

研究工作记忆与小学生解决比较问题成绩之间的关系。实验1运用双任务作业研究一致问题和不一致问题的工作记忆负荷是否有显著差别,被试为34名小学三年级学生。实验2运用工作记忆测验研究成功解题者与不成功解题者的工作记忆容量是否有显著差别,被试为37名小学三年级学生。结果表明;(1)小学生解决比较问题的成绩受问题类型的影响,他们在一致问题上的成绩显著优于不一致问题。(2)一致问题和不一致问题的工作记忆负荷水平不同,不一致问题的工作记忆负荷大于一致问题。(3)成功解题者的工作记忆容量大于不成功解题者的工作记忆容量。本研究结果说明工作记忆对小学生解决比较问题有重要影响。     

Mental rotation performance in primary school age children: Are there gender differences in chronometric tests?

In contrast to the well documented male advantage in psychometric mental rotation tests, gender differences in chronometric experimental designs are still under dispute. Therefore, a systematic investigation of gender differences in mental rotation performance in primary-school children is presented in this paper. A chronometric mental rotation task was used to test 449 second and fourth graders. The children were tested in three separate groups each with different stimulus material (animal drawings, letters, or cube figures). The results show that chronometric mental rotation tasks with cube figures – even rotated in picture plane only – were too difficult for children in both age groups. Further analyses with animal drawings and letters as stimuli revealed an overall gender difference in response time (RT) favoring males, an increasing RT with increasing angular disparity for all children, and faster RTs for fourth graders compared to second graders. This is the first study which has shown consistent gender differences in chronometric mental rotation with primary school aged children regarding reaction time and accuracy while considering appropriate stimuli.     

A cognitive perspective on Singaporean primary school pupils' use of reading strategies in learning to read in English

Background . This study is conducted in Singapore, where learning to read in English is regarded as essential because it is offered as a First Language (L1) subject in the curriculum and is stipulated as the medium of instruction in the education system, and the mother tongues are offered as Second Language (L2) subjects, although the majority still learn English as an L2. Aims . The paper reports on the reading strategies used by Singaporean primary school pupils from a cognitive perspective, which is part of a larger study that aims to investigate these pupils' language learning strategies. Sample . The participants were 18 pupils from three neighbourhood primary schools, in grades Primary 4, 5 and 6. Method . The data were collected from high‐ and low‐proficiency pupils at each of the three grades in each school, who read two texts at each level. Grounded in an information‐processing theory and based on successful experiences of scholars using think‐aloud for data collection, we asked the pupils to read and report what they were thinking about while reading. The think‐aloud protocols were recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded and analysed. Results . The results suggest that participants' flexible and appropriate use of reading strategies varies according to language proficiency and grade level, with the high‐proficiency group outperforming its lower‐proficiency counterpart and the high‐graders outnumbering the lower‐graders in terms of the number of strategies that they used. These differences were also exemplified with qualitative findings from case studies. Conclusions . The use of reading strategies differs according to proficiency levels, and the quality of pupils' strategy‐use patterns has more significant implications for understanding efficient reading among primary school pupils.     

Longitudinal Evaluation of a Preparation Program for Mandatory Military Service

This multivariate longitudinal study explored the relative contribution of 12th-grade students' (a) participation in a preparation program for mandatory military service, (b) feelings of adjustment at high school, and (c) perceptions of school climate to their evaluation of the program's impact on them, as well as to their later adjustment to military service. The sample included 247 male and female 12th graders, divided into an intervention group and a control group. The intervention group participated in a 10-meeting preparation program focusing on the enhancement of empowerment feelings regarding entrance into military service. We conducted measurements at three points in time: (a) before exposure to the preparation program, (b) after exposure to the preparation program, and (c) 6–12 months after military enlistment. Research findings supported the notion that the preparation program had a short-term impact on students' feelings of preparedness for military service. Activities in which students were directly exposed to military life or to Army representatives gained more positive evaluations. But some of the activities conducted by school staff were also positively related to the overall evaluation of the program's contribution to preparedness. However, in the long run, students' later military adjustment was not related to participation in the preparation program but rather to their pre-intervention attitudes toward military enlistment as well as their preliminary general feeling of adjustment. Altogether, study findings indicate that the preparation program had a positive impact mainly for those students who manage well in high school before enlistment. Hence, it is suggested that efforts to foster school-to-Army transition should unfold in a three-step process: (a) preliminary screening for maladaptive behavior, (b) pre-enlistment preparation, and (c) post-enlistment support to all recruits.     

Parental preferences regarding sex education topics for sixth graders

The purpose of this study was to ascertain which sex education topics parents of preadolescents regarded as appropriate for their children. The sample was comprised of 146 respondents randomly selected from a class list of sixth graders in a suburban school district. A mailed, self-administered questionnaire listing 48 possible topics was used to elicit parental response. Pretesting found the questionnaire to be highly reliable (Cronbach's alpha = .95). Overall, parents strongly supported the inclusion of a broad range of sex education topics regardless of parental age, sex, marital status, income, education, or child's sex. Moreover, parents were largely in agreement with the inclusion of sensitive topics in addition to those which were more physiological or behavioral. Catholics more often than Protestants agreed with the inclusion of birth control, abortion, and sterilization even after controlling for income and education. Thus, the findings suggest that parents of sixth graders find a broad sex education program in the school appropriate. To this end, school officials and sex educators should not overlook the needs of preadolescents for sex education solely on the basis of perceived parental opposition.     

Changing roles for the school mental health professional

Draws on the experience of an innovative school mental health project, emphasizing early detection and prevention of school adjustment problems, to describe emergent, needed roles for school psychologists. The later include: systematic screening of primary graders and parent interviewing to further early detection; consultation with teachers and other school personnel; and recruitment, training, and supervision of nonprofessional help-agents. Such roles bring early effective services to many children, in ways that optimize their educational and personal development.     

学思维网络活动对小学生创造性的影响:认知风格的调节作用

以89名小学生为被试,采用实验组对照组前后测实验设计,考察学思维网络活动对培养小学生创造性思维和创造性倾向的影响,以及认知风格的调节作用。结果发现：（1）学思维网络活动能有效促进小学生创造性思维以及创造性倾向的想象力和好奇心的发展;（2）学思维课堂活动和学思维网络活动对于培养小学生的创造性思维和创造性倾向具有一致的效果;（3）认知风格在学思维网络活动和学思维课堂活动对小学生创造性思维的影响中起调节作用：对于场依存学生,学思维网络活动能更大程度地提高其流畅性和独创性的表现。