Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the relation between home environment, self-concept, and academic achievement. It was found and cross-validated over four samples of 2,297 Korean adolescents that self-concept is a mediating variable between home environment and academic achievement. (Author/BS)

Addresses two related problems: what are the appropriate measures for comparing effects of blocks or compounds of variables (each block conceived as having a single effect) when the causal ordering is assumed to be known, and how can single measures be created for each such block or compound, so that the comparisons can be made. (Author/JM)

This paper describes the data sources and method used in conducting a 3-year evaluation of the Urban Systemic Initiative (USI) of the National Science Foundation in four cities. The paper also provides a discussion of two approaches to analyzing the evaluation results: structural equation modeling (SEM) and a complementary analysis of the…

This literature review is specifically interested in empirical research addressing the relationship between adolescent participation in extracurricular activities and adult political engagement. Relevant research is found in political science, psychology, education and sociology. In order to capture the literature most directly related to the main…

Used path analysis to study the educational aspirations of secondary school students in Costa Rica (N=346) and a second combined sample of students and dropouts (N=202). Results showed that preference for the Educational Mobility Channel mainly affects academic aspirations for males. Females' aspirations appear related to sex role socialization.…

Using social exchange theory, examined satisfaction of the primary caregiver with living in a multigenerational household in 99 Midwestern families. Identified important predictors of satisfaction consisting of characteristics of the older person (indicators of dependency status, characteristics of the primary caregiver, and the situational…

Findings from a study of 504 second grade students indicate that phonics knowledge has a causal impact on both reading comprehension and vocabulary gains; reading comprehension has a causal effect on vocabulary gains. (Author/IAH)

Covariance structures associated with linear structural equation models are discussed. Algorithms for computing maximum likelihood estimates (namely, the EM algorithm) are reviewed. An example of using likelihood ratio tests based on complete and incomplete data to improve the fit of a model is given. (SLD)

Path analysis was used to test the predictive and mediational roles of self-efficacy beliefs in mathematics problem solving for 350 undergraduates. The predictive role of self-efficacy supports the hypothesized role of self-efficacy in the social cognitive theory of A. Bandura (1986). (SLD)

This study examined the concurrent and longitudinal relations of mother-child relationship quality, self-esteem, social competence, and maladjustment among maltreated (n = 206) and nonmaltreated (n = 139) school-aged children from low-income families. Results of the path analysis using structural equation modeling revealed that maltreatment at…

Self- and collective efficacy beliefs were examined as correlates of attitudes toward school of teachers, school staff, and parents. 726 teachers, 387 staff members, and 1994 parents from 18 junior high schools in Milan and Rome, Italy, were administered questionnaires assessing self-efficacy beliefs, perceptions about colleagues' behavior,…

The study presented here examines the influence of social and family contexts on the self-esteem of Mexican (n = 287), Mexican American (n = 558), and Puerto Rican (n = 212) children. Using data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth, tests of a longitudinal path model show significant social and family effects on the cognitive…

This multi-method study sought to identify parameters of developmental change and stability of child reaction patterns to interparental conflict in the context of family relations in a sample of 223 6-year-old children and their parents followed over the course of one year. Consistent with the sensitization hypothesis, interparental withdrawal and…

The primary purpose of this study was to test a path model exploring the relationships among Africentric cultural values, self-esteem, perceived social support satisfaction, and life satisfaction in a sample of 147 African American adolescent girls. This investigation also examined the possible mediating effects of self-esteem and perceived social…

According to social cognitive theorists, people's judgments of their own capabilities to accomplish specific tasks strongly influence human motivation and behavior. Path analysis was used to test the influence of math self-efficacy and general mental ability on the math problem-solving performance of 329 high school students. A model that also…