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PubMed2000

Pupils' causal attributions for difficult classroom behaviour.

BACKGROUND: Studies of causal attributions within educational contexts have tended to concentrate on academic performance. There have been a smaller number of investigations of teachers' attributions for pupils' behaviour in school. AIMS: The present study examines the causal attribution made by pupils for difficult behaviour in classrooms. It reveals the structure of these attributions and serves as a comparison with the teacher studies. SAMPLE: The participants were 105 pupils (52 males and 53 females) in the first year of secondary schooling, all drawn from the same inner city school. METHOD: Four initial small group interviews were used to identify a wide range of factors that pupils viewed as being causes of difficult classroom behaviour in the 18 primary schools they had previously attended. A questionnaire was then constructed incorporating items from these discussions and administered to the whole of the year group of pupils, but omitting the participants in the initial group discussions. RESULTS: The results of a factor analysis indicated that pupils' attributions for misbehaviour at school were best represented by four factors: (1) 'fairness of teacher's actions', (2) 'pupil vulnerability', (3) 'adverse family circumstances' and (4) 'strictness of classroom regime'. While there were no gender differences, pupils saw the 'fairness of teacher's actions' and 'pupil vulnerability' as more significant contributors to pupil misbehaviour than either 'adverse family circumstances' or 'strictness of classroom regime'. CONCLUSION: The attributions by pupils for difficult classroom behaviour differ markedly from those obtained in studies of teachers. Policy and practice initiatives which do not attend to conflicting attributional styles are unlikely to succeed in improving levels of pupil behaviour in schools.

Child↗
PubMed2004

Consistency in reasoning test scores over time.

BACKGROUND: UK schools have a long history of using reasoning tests, most frequently of Verbal Reasoning (VR), Non-Verbal Reasoning (NVR), and to a lesser extent Quantitative Reasoning (QR). Results are used for identifying students' learning needs, for grouping students, for identifying underachievement, and for providing indicators of future academic performance. Despite this widespread use there are little empirical data on the long-term consistency of VR, QR and NVR as discrete abilities. AIMS: To evaluate and compare the consistency of VR, QR and NVR scores over a 3-year period, and to explore the influence of the secondary school on pupils' progress in the tests. SAMPLE: Data were collected on a longitudinal sample of over 10,000 pupils who completed the Cognitive Abilities Test Second Edition in year 6 (age 10+) and year 9 (age 13+), and GCSE public examinations in year 11 (age 15+). METHODS: Correlation coefficients and change scores for individual pupils are calculated. Multilevel modelling is used to determine school effects on reasoning scores and GCSE public examination results. RESULTS: The results reveal high correlations in scores over time, ranging from .87 for VR to .76 for NVR, but also show around one-sixth of pupils on the VR test and one-fifth of pupils on the QR and NVR tests change their scores by 10 or more standard score points. Schools account for only a small part of the total variation in reasoning score, although they account for a much greater proportion of the variation in measures of attainment such as GCSE. School effects on pupils' progress in the reasoning tests between age 10 and age 13 are relatively modest. CONCLUSIONS: Reasoning tests make excellent baseline assessments for secondary schools. Some practical and policy implications for schools are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Approaches to studying in people with hearing loss.

BACKGROUND: There has been little research on the experiences of students with hearing loss in higher education. It has, however, been suggested that children with hearing loss adopt different strategies and styles and that this leads to differences in their academic performance. AIMS: This investigation compared students in higher education with and without hearing loss in terms of their approaches to studying. SAMPLES: We compared 382 students with hearing loss taking courses by distance learning with the Open University and a comparison group of 190 students taking the same courses with no declared form of disablement. METHODS: A questionnaire containing a shortened and adapted version of the Approaches to Studying Inventory was distributed in a postal survey. RESULTS: Students with postvocational hearing loss obtained higher scores than the comparison group on deep approach, and those with postvocational deafness also obtained higher scores on the use of evidence and logic. Students with prevocational deafness obtained higher scores on reproducing orientation than the comparison group, and in particular on improvidence. All of the subgroups of students with hearing loss obtained higher scores than the comparison group on fear of failure. CONCLUSIONS: The impact of hearing loss on cognitive aspects of studying appears to be relatively slight. Future research might focus instead upon its affective consequences and its effects upon a student's self-concept.

Achievement↗
PubMed2006

Belief in psychic ability and the misattribution hypothesis: a qualitative review.

This paper explores the notion that people who believe in psychic ability possess various psychological attributes that increase the likelihood of them misattributing paranormal causation to experiences that have a normal explanation. The paper discusses the structure and measurement of belief in psychic ability, then reviews the considerable body of work exploring the relationship between belief in psychic ability, and academic performance, intelligence, critical thinking, probability misjudgement and reasoning, measures of fantasy proneness and the propensity to find correspondences in distantly related material. Finally, the paper proposes several possible directions for future research, including: the need to build a multi-causal model of belief; to address the issue of correlation versus causation; to resolve the inconsistent pattern of findings present in many areas; and to develop a more valid, reliable and fine-grained measure of belief in psychic ability.

Aptitude↗
PubMed2005

Health disparities and gaps in school readiness.

The author documents pervasive racial disparities in the health of American children and analyzes how and how much those disparities contribute to racial gaps in school readiness. She explores a broad sample of health problems common to U.S. children, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, asthma, and lead poisoning, as well as maternal health problems and health-related behaviors that affect children's behavioral and cognitive readiness for school. If a health problem is to affect the readiness gap, it must affect many children, it must be linked to academic performance or behavior problems, and it must show a racial disparity either in its prevalence or in its effects. The author focuses not only on the black-white gap in health status but also on the poor-nonpoor gap because black children tend to be poorer than white children. The health conditions Currie considers seriously impair cognitive skills and behavior in individual children. But most explain little of the overall racial gap in school readiness. Still, the cumulative effect of health differentials summed over all conditions is significant. Currie's rough calculation is that racial differences in health conditions and in maternal health and behaviors together may account for as much as a quarter of the racial gap in school readiness. Currie scrutinizes several policy steps to lessen racial and socioeconomic disparities in children's health and to begin to close the readiness gap. Increasing poor children's eligibility for Medicaid and state child health insurance is unlikely to be effective because most poor children are already eligible for public insurance. The problem is that many are not enrolled. Even increasing enrollment may not work: socioeconomic disparities in health persist in Canada and the United Kingdom despite universal public health insurance. The author finds more promise in strengthening early childhood programs with a built-in health component, like Head Start; family-based services and home visiting programs; and WIC, the federal nutrition program for women, infants, and small children. In all three, trained staff can help parents get ongoing care for their children.

Black or African American↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Analysis of prevalence, triggers, risk factors and the related socio-economic effects of childhood asthma in the Student Lung Health Survey (SLHS) database, Canada 1996.

The purpose of this study was to provide information to improve the management of childhood asthma in Canada. The Student Lung Health Survey (SLHS) was conducted as a stratified and multi-staged cluster survey across Canada in 1996. It included a total of 136 public, private and separate schools in nine health units. The target study population was schoolchildren aged 5 to 19 years. Among all 5-19 years old students, the prevalence of asthma was 13.0%, with the prevalence for males being higher than for females, the adjusted Odds Ratio (OR) was 1.17, (95% CI 1.14-1.19) for males, in comparison with females. The prevalence in the 15-19 age group was higher than that in the 5-9 and 10-14 age group in females, but it was higher in the 5-9 and 10-14 age group than in the 15-19 age group in males. The mean delay from the onset of symptoms to time of first diagnosis was 1, 0.4 and 0.3 years for the 1-4, 5-9 and 10-14 age group respectively. However, there was no delay in the 15-19 group. The prevalence of asthma in Prince Edward Island (17.9%), Halifax (17.1%), and Kingston (16.1%) was higher than that in Saskatoon (10.0%). Sherbrooke (9.7%) and Kelowna (11.9%). The proportion of asthma for students who smoked more than 11 cigarettes per day (OR = 1.41), were exposed to passive smoke in home (OR = 7.29), in car (OR = 4.71), and in school (OR = 4.24) or had a family income less than CAN$40,000 (OR = 1.19), was significantly higher than groups without those factors. Risk factors and socio-economic status such as living conditions and environment, pets or plants in the home, parental education levels also affected the morbidity of asthma. The results of the SLHS study demonstrated the serious burden of childhood asthma, and asthma triggers, living and environmental conditions and lifestyle influence the prevalence and the effects of childhood asthma diagnosis, treatment, and education in Canada. Asthma is still a serious chronic condition for students and it influences their academic performance and their quality of life. The diagnostic methods and the practice guidelines for asthma control are useful for preventing and controlling asthma. These findings provide indications of interventions are being used for the control of asthma in Canada.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Parents' and teachers' concordance with children's self-ratings of suicidality: findings from a high-risk sample.

This study examined concordance between adult and child reports of child suicidality using a sample of 1,046 8-year-old children at risk for, or having experienced, maltreatment. Concordance was low with both caregivers and teachers. For children reporting no suicidality, caregiver-child agreement was associated with few transitions in caregiver and low social withdrawal and aggression, and teacher-child agreement was associated with non-White ethnicity, good academic performance, and low thought problems. For children reporting suicidality, care-giver-child agreement was associated with perceptions of child mental health needs, aggression, and somatic complaints, and teacher-child agreement was associated with thought problems.

Achievement↗
PubMed1985

Drinking and driving behaviors of 16 to 19 year-olds.

A total of 192 high-school-age drivers (67 girls) were interviewed with respect to their drinking and driving behavior and academic performance. Although traffic violations and citations were correlated with increases in risky driving behavior and alcohol and drug use, much dangerous driving and social drinking went without consequence. It is suggested that the young male driver is at significantly greater risk for involvement in dangerous driving and drinking. Contributing developmental, situational and personality factors are discussed.

Achievement↗
PubMed1996

Contradictory subject response in longitudinal research.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the prevalence of logical and estimation errors in a 4-year longitudinal survey of substance abuse for elementary and junior high school students. Logical errors occur when a subject reports having used a substance on one measurement occasion, but reports never having used the substance on a second measurement occasion. Estimation errors occur when a subject reports a lifetime frequency of use on a later survey that is less than the lifetime frequency of use reported for an earlier survey. METHOD: Substance abuse surveys were completed every year for four years by predominantly black District of Columbia students, beginning when the students were in 4th/5th grade, and ending when they were in 7th/8th grade. (Ns ranged from 5,671 to 6,421). Errors for alcohol, cigarette and marijuana use were calculated for every pair of years. Background characteristics such as demographic and academic performance variables were also assessed for each of the four years. RESULTS: Logical errors decreased for all substances as student got older, whereas estimation errors remained stable. Marijuana had the highest frequency of logical errors in every pair of years except one, and had the lowest frequency of estimation errors. Students who made errors in Years 1-2 were 1.64 times more likely to make errors again in Years 3-4. For some of the years, students who made any kind of error had lower school grades, were judged untrustworthy by their peers and were more likely to be males. CONCLUSIONS: The alarming prevalence of errors should be considered when conducting longitudinal substance abuse research. Several methods of dealing with these errors are reviewed. In most cases, the best a researcher can do is assess the error rates and report them.

Cannabis↗
PubMed2000

Collegiate alcohol involvement and role attainment in early adulthood: findings from a prospective high-risk study.

OBJECTIVE: Recent research has highlighted the magnitude of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems on college campuses. However, the effects of alcohol use and abuse during the college years on early adult role attainment are not well characterized. Accordingly, this study was designed to prospectively examine relations between alcohol involvement during the college years and early adult educational and occupational attainment. METHOD: Participants (N = 429: 231 women) at low and high risk for the development of alcoholism were recruited at a large midwestern university for a study of alcohol and health during the college years. Alcohol involvement was assessed by self-report and structured clinical interviews conducted annually for 4 years. Educational and occupational attainment were assessed by self-report 6 years postmatriculation. RESULTS: Alcohol involvement demonstrated a modest prospective effect on educational attainment, with a reduced effect observed when analyses controlled for academic aptitude and high school academic achievement. Prior academic achievement moderated the relation between alcohol involvement and educational attainment, such that individuals who were higher on secondary school class ranking were more negatively affected by pathologic alcohol involvement than those with lower levels of prior academic achievement. Less consistent evidence was found for prospective relations between alcohol involvement and early adult occupational attainment. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate a modest role for alcohol involvement in negative educational outcomes, with a more pronounced negative effect of alcohol involvement on educational attainment among those who were high academic performers in high school.

Achievement↗
PubMed2001

Prospective risk factors for alcohol misuse in late adolescence.

OBJECTIVE: This longitudinal study investigated Grade-7 and Grade-10 risk factors for alcohol misuse at Grade 12. Alcohol misuse was conceptualized as problem-related drinking (e.g., missing school), high-risk drinking (e.g., drunk driving) and high consumption. METHOD: Prospective analyses using two-part models predicted any alcohol misuse and the amount of misuse (given that some has occurred) for over 4,200 (52% male) participants in the RAND Adolescent Panel Study. Predictor variables were demographics, substance use and exposure, prodrug attitudes, rebelliousness and deviant behavior, self-esteem, family structure and relations, and grades. RESULTS: Grade-7 predictors of alcohol misuse 5 years later included early drinking onset, parental drinking, future intentions to drink, cigarette offers, difficulty resisting pressures to smoke, being white, being male, having an older sibling, deviant behavior and poor grades. By Grade 10, predictors of alcohol misuse 2 years later included drinking and marijuana use by self and peers, future intentions to drink, difficulty resisting pressures to drink and use marijuana, being male, coming from a disrupted family and deviant behavior. Somewhat different predictors were identified for problem-related, high-risk and high consumption drinking, emphasizing the importance of investigating multiple dimensions of misuse. CONCLUSIONS: The high social acceptability of alcohol use makes prevention difficult. Curbing alcohol misuse may be a more attainable goal than preventing any use. These results indicate that predictors of misuse in late adolescence can be identified by Grade 7 and are generally visible and modifiable. Prevention efforts should begin by early adolescence, address both familial and peer influences to drink and use other substances, and take into account problems that predict alcohol misuse (e.g., poor academic performance and early deviant behavior).

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

College student protective strategies and drinking consequences.

OBJECTIVE: This study explored the relationships between college student gender, alcohol use, protective strategies and harmful drinking consequences. METHOD: A derivation sample (N = 3,851; 54% women) and a replication sample (N = 4,151; 55% women) of undergraduate students completed the Campus Alcohol Survey (CAS) in classroom settings. RESULTS: Although women drank less than men and were less likely to experience harmful consequences, they were more likely to use protective strategies. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that students who consumed at least six drinks when they partied--especially men-were less likely to experience more common consequences (e.g., poor academic performance, property damage, unconsciousness, riding in a vehicle with others who have been drinking) if they engaged in self-protective strategies. Such strategies also helped students who exceeded the median number of drinks to moderate the effect of drinking on less common consequences (e.g., vehicular accidents, class failure, conflicts with authorities). CONCLUSIONS: These findings add to the growing literature on contextual events that protect students from harm while drinking.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

The practice of pediatric sleep medicine: results of a community survey.

OBJECTIVE: To assess knowledge, screening, evaluation, treatment practices, and attitudes regarding sleep disorders in children and adolescents in a large sample of community-based and academic pediatricians. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. PARTICIPANTS: Six hundred twenty-six pediatricians in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. INTRUMENT: The Pediatric Sleep Survey, a 42-item questionnaire assessing general and specific sleep knowledge categories; clinical screening, diagnostic, and treatment practices for common pediatric sleep disorders; and practitioner attitudes regarding the impact of sleep disorders in the clinical setting and as a public health issue. RESULTS: On the knowledge section, the mean Total Knowledge score for the respondents was 18.1 +/- 3.5 out of 30 items, with 23.5% of the sample responding correctly on half or less of the items. Pediatricians scored highest on items relating to developmental and behavioral aspects of sleep and parasomnias, whereas the mean percentage of correct responses was <50% for items relating to sleep disordered breathing, excessive daytime sleepiness, and sleep movement disorders. Although only 16.5% and 18.2% of the sample reported not screening routinely for sleep disorders in infants and toddlers, this percentage rose to 43.9% in adolescents. Furthermore, only 38.3% regularly question the adolescents themselves about their sleep. Only about one quarter of the respondents screen toddlers and school-aged children for snoring. In evaluating and treating pediatric sleep problems, 53.2% of the sample never or rarely order overnight sleep studies to assess for obstructive sleep apnea and few use alternative treatment strategies, such as continuous positive airway pressure. A quarter of the sample at least occasionally recommends diphenhydramine and almost half suggests a psychological evaluation for children with night terrors. Finally, the percent of pediatricians rating the impact on children of sleep problems in a variety of domains as important or very important ranged from 49.7% (nonintentional injuries) to 92.6% (academic performance). However, only 46% of the sample felt confident or very confident about their own ability to screen for sleep problems, whereas 34.2% and 25.3% similarly rated their ability to evaluate and treat sleep problems in children. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this survey suggest that there are still significant gaps among practicing pediatricians both in basic knowledge about pediatric sleep disorders, and in the translation of that knowledge into clinical practice. Despite their acknowledgment of the importance of sleep problems, many pediatricians fail to screen adequately for them, especially in older children and adolescents. Additional educational efforts regarding pediatric sleep issues are warranted, and should be targeted at the medical school, postgraduate training, and continuing medical education levels.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Hearing assessment in infants and children: recommendations beyond neonatal screening.

Congenital or acquired hearing loss in infants and children has been linked with lifelong deficits in speech and language acquisition, poor academic performance, personal-social maladjustments, and emotional difficulties. Identification of hearing loss through neonatal hearing screening as well as objective hearing screening of all infants and children can prevent or reduce many of these adverse consequences. This report outlines the risk indicators for hearing loss, provides guidance for when and how to assess hearing loss, and addresses hearing referral resources for children of all ages.

Bronchoscopy↗
PubMed2006

Physical activity and sedentary behavior patterns are associated with selected adolescent health risk behaviors.

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about how physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior, and various adolescent health risk behaviors are associated. The objective of this study was to examine relationships between PA and sedentary behavior patterns and an array of risk behaviors, including leading causes of adolescent morbidity/mortality. METHODS: Nationally representative self-reported data were collected (National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health; wave I: 1994-1995; II: 1996; N = 11957). Previously developed and validated cluster analyses identified 7 homogeneous groups of adolescents sharing PA and sedentary behaviors. Poisson regression predicted the relative risk of health risk behaviors, other weekly activities, and self-esteem across the 7 PA/sedentary behavior clusters controlling for demographics and socioeconomic status. Main outcome measures were adolescent risk behaviors (eg, truancy, cigarette smoking, sexual intercourse, delinquency), other weekly activities (eg, work, academic performance, sleep), self-esteem. RESULTS: Relative to high television (TV) and video viewers, adolescents in clusters characterized by skating and video gaming, high overall sports and sports participation with parents, using neighborhood recreation center, strict parental control of TV, reporting few activities overall, and being active in school were less likely to participate in a range of risky behaviors, ranging from an adjusted risk ratio (ARR) of 0.42 (outcome: illegal drug use, cluster: strict parental control of TV) to 0.88 (outcome: violence, cluster: sports with parents). Active teens were less likely to have low self-esteem (eg, adolescents engaging in sports with parents, ARR: 0.73) and more likely to have higher grades (eg, active in school, ARR: 1.20). CONCLUSIONS: Participation in a range of PA-related behaviors, particularly those characterized by high parental sports/exercise involvement, was associated with favorable adolescent risk profiles. Adolescents with high TV/video viewership were less likely to have positive risk behavior outcomes. Enhancing opportunities for PA and sport may have a beneficial effect on leading adolescent risk behaviors.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed2006

Chronic conditions, functional limitations, and special health care needs in 10- to 12-year-old children born at 23 to 25 weeks' gestation in the 1990s: a Swedish national prospective follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: Children born extremely immature (gestational age < 26 weeks' gestation) increasingly reach school age. Information on their overall functioning and special health care needs is necessary to plan for their medical and educational services. This study was undertaken to examine neurosensory, medical, and developmental conditions together with functional limitations and special health care needs of extremely immature children compared with control subjects born at term. METHODS: We studied 11-year-old children born before 26 completed weeks of gestation in all of Sweden from 1990 through 1992. All had been evaluated at 36 months' corrected age. Identification of children with chronic conditions lasting > or = 12 months was based on a questionnaire administered to parents. Neurosensory impairments were identified by reviewing health records. Information regarding other specific medical diagnoses and developmental disabilities was obtained by standard parent and teacher questionnaires. RESULTS: Of 89 eligible children, 86 (97%) were studied at a mean age of 11 years. An equal number of children born at term served as controls. Logistic-regression analyses adjusting for social risk factors and gender showed that significantly more extremely immature children than controls had chronic conditions, including functional limitations (64% vs 11%, respectively), compensatory dependency needs (59% vs 25%), and services above those routinely required by children (67% vs 22%). Specific diagnoses or disabilities with higher rates in extremely immature children than in controls included neurosensory impairment (15% vs 2%), asthma (20% vs 6%), poor motor skills of > 2 SDs above the mean (26% vs 3%), poor visual perception of > 2 SDs above the mean (21% vs 4%), poor learning skills of > 2 SDs above the mean (27% vs 3%), poor adaptive functioning with T scores of < 40 (42% vs 9%), and poor academic performance with T score < 40 (49% vs 7%). CONCLUSIONS: Children born extremely immature have significantly greater health problems and special health care needs at 11 years of age. However, few children have severe impairments that curtail major activities of daily living.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Sleep patterns of first-year nursing students].

This exploratory and descriptive study aimed at describing sleep patterns of first-year university students at the beginning of their course. The study was conducted at Campinas State University, Brazil. Data were collected in two points of time using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Results showed that students report sleep of better quality and increased length during vacations, when they kept sleep habits in conformity to chronotype. After classes started a greater number of subjects reported poor sleep quality and daytime lack of enthusiasm. Those changes could be due to the submission of subjects to schedules imposed by the university or to the irregularity of sleep habits assumed. Possible relationship between those sleep-changes and academic performance stresses the importance of ongoing studies on this issue.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

[Prevalence and risk factors of common mental disorders among medical students].

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence and assess risk factors of common mental disorders among medical students. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out comprising 551 university medical students in the state of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil. A self-administered questionnaire to collect sociodemographic and course-related data as well as the Self-Reporting Questionnaire were used. Both Chi-square test and logistic regression were used in data analyses. RESULTS: A total of 82.6% of the students enrolled in the course participated in the study. Most of them were women (61%), 60% aged between 20 and 23 years, and 99% were from other cities. The prevalence of common mental disorders was 44.7% and they were independently associated with: difficulty in making friends (OR=2.0), poor self-evaluation of academic performance (OR=1.7), thoughts of dropping out of the medical course (OR=5.0) and perceived lack of emotional support (OR=4.6). Although prevalence of these disorders was associated with the course period in the first analysis, this association was not maintained in the multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of common mental disorders was shown to be high among medical students, associated with variables concerning support networks. Emotionally tense experiences such as dealing with seriously ill patients and peer group formation in the last years of the medical course are potentially strong stressors, especially for those with poor social support. It is suggested that educational institutions should be aware of that and make interventions aiming at treating and caring for the students' distress.

Adaptation, Psychological↗