Ethnic Variations of Trajectories in Suicide Ideation and Attempt: From Middle School to High School

The purpose of this study was to compare patterns of suicide ideation and suicide attempt in three ethnic groups. We analyzed data from 463 students with ethnic backgrounds of African American (AA), Asian American (ASA), and European American (EA) for 6 years. The best fit model was a three‐trajectory class model for all groups. The majority of adolescents belonged in the nonideators trajectory. The high level of ideation was found in the high ideators (4%), high‐fluctuating ideators (8%), and high‐decreasing ideators (4%) trajectory in AA, ASA, and EA, respectively. In the AA group, being a member of ideators was not a significant predictor of suicide attempt. In the ASA group, being a member of high‐fluctuating ideators was a significant predictor. In the EA group, being a member of both ideators predicted suicide attempt. The timing of onset, patterns of change, and peak time in the ideators trajectories in the three ethnic groups were markedly different. The high level of attempts found in the ASA–AA group was not explained by having suicide ideation. Findings suggest the need for in‐depth examination of suicide behaviors across ethnic groups and culturally adapted preventive efforts with distinct developmental timing for adolescents from different ethnic backgrounds.     

Psychological Dating Violence Perpetration and Victimization: Trajectories From Middle to High School

Despite evidence documenting the negative consequences, psychological dating violence occurs frequently in adolescent dating relationships. No information exists on the trajectories that adolescents follow and their association to nonphysical peer violence. The sample comprised 624 randomly selected 6th graders. In yearly surveys from 6th through 12th grade, 550 of the 624 students reported dating at least twice during the 3 months prior to completing the survey. These students responded to questions about frequency of engagement in psychological dating violence perpetration and victimization. We used Proc TRAJ to identify developmental trajectories of behavior over time and generalized estimating equation models to examine the associations of the trajectories and peer aggression. Adolescents followed three distinct developmental trajectories related to psychological dating violence victimization and perpetration: low, increasing, and high. Based on the joint probabilities of victimization and perpetration, we identified four predominant groups: low victimization/low perpetration (LVLP; 36%), increasing victimization/increasing perpetration (40%), high victimization/high perpetration (HVHP; 15%), and increasing victimization/low perpetration (IVLP; 7%). The LVLP had significantly more boys and White students; the HVHP group had an even gender distribution and more African‐American students. For all groups, peer aggression decreased from Grade 6 to 12; students in the HVHP group reported the highest peer aggression, and students in the LVLP reported the lowest peer aggression. Findings suggest a strong, reciprocal relationship in the developmental trajectories of adolescents who experience and perpetrate psychological dating violence. Those highly engaged in these behaviors were also more likely to be violent toward peers. Aggr. Behav. 38:510‐520, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Prospective Prediction of Alternative High School Graduation Status at Emerging Adulthood1

Most studies that examine the prediction of graduation status among teens have examined those who attend regular high schools. The present study reports the prediction of high school graduation status 5 years later among 646 youth who attended alternative (continuation) high schools at baseline. Those youth at baseline who: (a) reported less intention to use soft drugs (cigarettes, alcohol, or marijuana) during the next year; (b) suffered relatively few drug‐related consequences during the last year; (c) were relatively less likely to have carried a weapon (knife or gun) in the last year; (d) reported feeling relatively hopeful about the future; and (e) were older were more likely to self‐report having graduated continuation high school 5 years later. These results suggest that the consequences of drug use, not drug use per se, other illegal behavior, and a sense of well‐being are important predictors of graduation among groups of high‐risk teens. Problem behavior and resiliency theories are offered as potential explanations of these findings.     

Prototype Personality Diagnosis in Clinical Practice: A Viable Alternative for DSM-V and ICD-11

Several studies suggest that a prototype matching approach yields diagnoses of comparable validity to the more complex diagnostic algorithms outlined in DSM-IV. Furthermore, clinicians prefer prototype diagnosis of personality disorders (PDs) to the current categorical diagnostic system or alternative dimensional methods. An important extension of this work is to investigate the degree to which clinicians are able to make prototype diagnoses reliably. The aim of this study is to assess the inter-rater reliability of a prototype matching approach to personality diagnosis in clinical practice. Using prototypes derived empirically in prior research, outpatient clinicians diagnosed patients' personality after an initial evaluation period. External evaluators independently diagnosed the same patients after watching videotapes of the same clinical hours. Inter-rater reliability for prototype diagnosis was high, with a median r = .72. Cross-correlations between disorders were low, with a median r = .01. Clinicians and clinically trained independent observers can assess complex personality constellations with high reliability using a simple prototype matching procedure, even with prototypes that are relatively unfamiliar to them. In light of its demonstrated reliability, efficiency, and versatility, prototype diagnosis appears to be a viable system for DSM-V and ICD-11 with exceptional utility for research and clinical practice.     

School reform disorder: Alternative audience responses to nonsense

Neither general education nor special education now offers appropriate and therapeutic treatment to all children and youth with emotional or behavioral disorders. Substantial improvements are needed in both general and special education, but the needed changes may not be those suggested by many proponents of school reform. Some suggested reforms are tenuously connected to reality in ways that suggest comedic intent or thought disorder, yet audiences typically respond as if these suggestions were both serious and rational. The disorder of school reform may be as much a problem of inappropriate audience response as it is a matter of nonsensical suggestions. One possible response to serious but highly questionable suggestions for reform is articulation of postulates on which a comprehensive educational service delivery system might be based. I present eight such postulates and correlates.This article is based on a keynote presentation at the First Annual Conference on Multiple Perspectives on Children and Adolescents with Serious Emotional Disturbance, Virginia Beach, VA, October 8, 1991. Portions of the paper are based on Kauffman and Hallahan (in press).     

Attractiveness of Occupations to High School Students

Information was obtained by questionnaire from a sample of approximately 3,100 Washington high school juniors and seniors concerning career aspirations and whether they would like or dislike each of 61 selected occupations. Analysis of the responses shows (1) that a wide range of occupations, including many nonprofessional occupations, would be attractive even though 67 per cent of the boys and 59 per cent of the girls aspired to professions, (2) that students tend to reject occupations traditionally followed primarily by the opposite sex as well as a number of other occupations, and (3) that the prestige ranking of a specific occupation is not a very good predictor of occupational likes and dislikes of students. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

The High School Dropout Goes to College

662 former secondary school leavers of academic potential were identified for a program designed to give selected dropouts a chance to enter the University of Toledo. Following responses to questionnaires, 94 students were selected for further screening, which resulted in the final selection of 50 candidates. 34 members of the experimental group attended pre-school workshops in reading, writing, and study habit skills. 31 enrolled as regularly admitted students in academic programs of the university for the academic year. 11 completed their freshman year, although only 4 were making satisfactory academic progress.     

Deception Meets Enlightenment: From a Viable Theory of Deception to a Quirk About Humanity's Potential

This article seeks to further suggestions made by C. West Churchman (1979) Churchman, C. W. 1979. The systems approach and its enemies, New York: Basic Books.  [Google Scholar] that a full inquiry into human systems requires a viable theory of deception. It argues that such a theory of deception requires an understanding of deception, a recognition of errors in perception, and an ability to see simultaneously from competing points of view. The intent here is to provide some insights that are useful in our understanding of deception, and thereby contributing to a viable theory of deception. Insights are used from what Huxley (1944) Huxley, A. 1944. The perennial philosophy, New York: Harper and Row.  [Google Scholar] calls the “perennial tradition,” found particularly within the esoteric traditions of the Buddhist, Sufi, and Taoist esoteric teachings, as well as many other spiritual traditions of the world. The perennial tradition emphasizes the role and continual presence of deception, alongside enlightenment, within human experience. In accord with C. West Churchman's view, this tradition suggests that, by a simultaneous recognition of both our enlightenment and our deception in any given situation, we have the proper perspective to meet the problems we face. A thought experiment, using insights from the perennial tradition, is offered as a challenge to all involved in human systems inquiry.     

A Biological Alternative to Moral Explanations

Some moral realists claim that moral facts are a species of natural fact, amenable to scientific investigation. They argue that these moral facts are needed in the best explanations of certain phenomena and that this is evidence that they are real. In this paper I present part of a biological account of the function of morality. The account allows the identification of a plausible natural kind that could play the explanatory role that a moral kind would play in naturalist realist theories. It is therefore a candidate for being the moral kind. I argue, however, that it will underdetermine the morally good, that is, identifying the kind is not sufficient to identify what is good. Hence this is not a natural moral kind. Its explanatory usefulness, however, means that we do not have to postulate any further (moral) facts to provide moral explanations. Hence there is no reason to believe that there are any natural moral kinds.     

A Compassionate Autonomy Alternative to Speciesism

Many people in the animal welfare communityhave argued that the use of nonhuman animals inmedical research is necessarily based onspeciesism, an unjustified prejudice based onspecies membership. As such it is morally akinto racism and sexism. This is misguided. Thecombined capacities for autonomy and sentiencewith the obligations derived from relationssupport a morally justifiable rationale forusing some nonhuman animals in order to limitthe risk of harm to humans. There may be a fewcases where it is morally better to use a neversentient human than a sentient animal, butthese cases are few and would not fulfill thecurrent need for research subjects. The use ofnonautonomous animals instead of humans inrisky research can be based on solid moralground. It is not necessarily speciesism.     

高中生认识论信念调查研究

本研究以526名高中生为被试,运用自行编制的"高中生认识论信念问卷",考察了高中生认识论信念的性别差异、年龄特点以及学校类型差异。结果表明:高中生认识论信念的各个维度上不存在性别差异,但存在着极其显著的学校差异;在整合建构信念、能力信念方面,存在着显著的年级差异;在零散接受信念上存在着学校与年级的交互作用。     

A Career Awareness Program for High School Dropouts

The Career Awareness Program for High School Dropouts was an experimentally funded project to determine the effect of a concentrated vocational assessment and vocational counseling program on the employability of high school dropouts. Various aspects of CAP included individual and group counseling, vocational-educational assessment and diagnosis, job attitude training, vocational guidance, and career exploration. The results of a follow-up survey showed that approximately 60% of the dropouts were still employed six months after completion of the program. In addition, the dropouts reported benefiting from the program through increased awareness of their own needs, abilities, and interests as well as through better awareness of the types of skills and behaviors desired by employers.