Based on the interplay between achievement goals theory and social comparison theory, our study focused on how achievement goals relate to subjective well-being in the school context in Chinese adolescents. Specifically, we addressed a theoretical model that specified that academic social comparisons and self-esteem would serve as mediators in the…

This study focuses on companionship, intimacy, and support of reciprocated friendships of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), students with motor and/or sensory disabilities, and typically developing students with their classmates at the start of mainstream secondary school. The study included 1379 typically developing students, 65…

In order to enhance our understanding of inter-individual differences in scholastic motivation, this study examined if self-determination predicts the school engagement of four different motivation types (MT) in a large sample of adolescent students (N = 1088) from Brandenburg, Germany: (1) peer-dependent MT, (2) teacher-dependent MT, (3)…

This study evaluated the effects of an eight-session female higher-functioning autism anti-stigma program on the knowledge, attitudes and behavioural intentions of adolescent girls. Participants were seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade students (N = 273) in a mainstream school. Two-eighth-grade classes were randomly allocated to the intervention…

A six-session higher-functioning autism anti-stigma program incorporating descriptive, explanatory and directive information was delivered to adolescent boys and the impact upon knowledge, attitudes and behavioural intentions towards peers with autism was evaluated. Participants were seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade students (N = 395) from…

Involving more than 1,500 academically gifted students and their parents, this study examined relationships between family environment and social competence of gifted students. Results from an online survey revealed that our gifted students rated their families as cohesive and flexible with high levels of satisfaction and communication among…

Research on bullying is an important avenue for understanding the social integration of students in special education. Focused on 3,305 students who self-reported victimization of two to three times per month or more, this study compared the pattern of verbal, relational, and physical bullying among students in general education and special…

This study focused on the peer and teacher relationships of deaf children and the effects of these relationships on well-being in school during the transition from elementary school to junior high school. Differences due to gender and educational context were also considered. In Study 1, the predictive effects of peer acceptance, popularity, and…

Background: This intervention study examined the prevalence of bullying in an urban/suburban middle school and the impact of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP). Methods: A quasi-experimental design consisting of a time-lagged contrast between age-equivalent groups was utilized. Baseline data collected for 158 students prior to…

This dissertation is comprised of three manuscripts and presents a line of research aimed at improving the measurement of bullying in schools. The first manuscript investigated the impact of an educational video on self-reports of bullying. A sample of 1,283 middle school students in randomly assigned classrooms either watched or did not watch an…

Network position ("isolate," "member," "liaison"), peer-group substance use, and their interaction were examined as predictors of cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use in a sample of 163 urban sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. Two measures of peer substance use were compared: one based on social network analysis…

Commitment and attachment to school and perception of school norms were examined in a sample of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders to determine whether bullies, victims, bully victims, and students who reported no or low levels of bullying and victimization differed in their level of bonding to school and their perceptions of standards and…

Results of a study of 23 7th-grade students revealed that underachievers are less self-confident, less socially and emotionally mature, less able to focus on one concern at a time, less accurate in their perceptions about themselves and their work, and less hardworking than achievers. (IAH)

Background: This investigation focuses on student attitudes and looks at school quality from the perspective of affective variables rather than students' knowledge or abilities. The concept of attitude includes ways of feeling, thinking and behaving and maintaining an expression of one's identity within the environment. The analysis focuses on…

Pairs of friends and pairs of classmates were observed to determine effects of existing social relationships on interactions during cooperative learning. No significant differences between observed interactions were found for 60 third and 70 seventh graders, but friends reported that they engaged in more activities outside the experimental…