High rates of trauma exposure can impede school functioning, which is predictive of many negative long-term outcomes. This study examined school functioning in Latinx children with clinically elevated levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms. We found that child gender, parent language use, and parent school involvement were associated with school…

Purpose: The overall purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the degree to which economic status was related to the number of days that students were assigned to an exclusionary discipline consequence. In the first study, the effect of economic status (i.e., Not Poor and Poor) on the number of days that Grade 5 and 6 Asian,…

This study investigates multiple-level antecedents of cyberbullying victimization among early adolescents. Data from the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children, 2009 to 2010 cohort study in the United States were used. The sample included White, Black, Latino, and Asian adolescents, ages 10-14 (N = 8481). Bivariate analysis, logistic regression,…

Depression, anxiety, and stress are common mental health problems among adolescents. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have found that students who suffer from mental health problems (e.g., ADHD, anxiety, or depression) tend to manifest school and social problems. It is urgent to identify and intervene early to help children with mental…

The present study examined associations between effortful control, a trait marker of self-regulation, adaptive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) system functioning (as reflected by the cortisol awakening response [CAR]), and concurrent and longitudinal depressive problems, in a sample of preadolescent Latino youth (N = 119, mean age = 11.53…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between physical fitness, body mass index and academic performance in Hispanic children enrolled in grade 5 from a district in the Rio Grande Valley. A total of 547 participants were selected from 11 elementary schools from a school district in the Rio Grande Valley. The…

Purpose: Based on the self-determination theory, this study explored the predictive strengths and relative importance of basic psychological needs (BPNs; i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness) in physical education in physical, cognitive, and psychological outcomes among Hispanic boys and girls. Methods: Fourth- and fifth-grade Hispanic…

Background: Parent-aimed guidance on the topic of processed foods may help limit highly processed foods in children's diets, but little is known about parent understanding and perceptions of these products. Aims: To determine how parent perceptions of processing align with processing classification systems used in research, and to identify…

Using testing data from 2.1 million students in 10,000 schools in 49 states (plus D.C.), we investigate the role of remote and hybrid instruction in widening gaps in achievement by race and school poverty. We find that remote instruction was a primary driver of widening achievement gaps. Math gaps did not widen in areas that remained in-person…

The socialization of cultural values, ethnic identity, and prosocial behaviors is examined in a sample of 749 Mexican-American adolescents, ages 9-12; M (SD) = 10.42 years (0.55); 49% female, their mothers, and fathers at the 5th, 7th, and 10th grades. Parents' familism values positively predicted their ethnic socialization practices. Mothers'…

Ethnic minorities, such as Latinx people of Hispanic or Latino origin, and women earn fewer engineering degrees than Caucasians and men. With shifting population dynamics and high demands for a technically qualified workforce, it is important to achieve broad participation in the engineering workforce by all ethnicities and both genders. Previous…

This study examines motivational self-regulations (SR) among at-risk elementary school students participating in the physical activity component of an after school program (ASP) in a rural Southwest U.S. school district. Motivational regulations examined gender differences and were used to predict student performance on an endurance task. One…

The purpose of this study was to examine students' creativity when writing open-ended stories--across ethnicity, gender, and grades. Participants were 139 students, including 67 males and 72 females, from urban and rural areas of the southwestern United States. The students were in third, fourth, and fifth grades and included three ethnicities:…

Background: We compared moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) and inactivity levels among fifth and sixth graders during school hours according to school-level race/ethnicity and income attributes to inform school-based obesity interventions in Illinois Suburban Cook County (SCC). Methods: Fifth- and sixth-grade students…

This paper presents the findings from a randomized control trial study of reading/literacy-integrated science inquiry intervention after 1 year of implementation and the treatment effect on 5th-grade low-socio-economic African-American and Hispanic students' achievement in science and English reading. A total of 94 treatment students and 194…