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,…

This article proposes a model that integrates some of the determinants of scholastic judgment. The model is based on the assumption that a teacher's judgment in a particular discipline is influenced by different variables: the pupil's actual performance in the discipline, his/her actual performance in other disciplines (halo effect), the average…

This study examined reciprocal associations among adolescents' negative feedback-seeking, depressive symptoms, perceptions of friendship quality, and peer-reported social preference over an 11-month period. A total of 478 adolescents in grades 6-8 completed measures of negative feedback-seeking, depressive symptoms, friendship quality,…

Today's welfare system does not encourage postsecondary education, focusing instead on immediate employment. The loss of postsecondary education as a route out of poverty may be detrimental to some women. College graduation is associated with lower rates of recidivism and post-welfare poverty than attendance without graduation or no attendance.…

This study proposes a transactional model for the reciprocal relationship between increased likelihood of adolescent sexual intercourse and decreased connection with the perceived environment. Connection with the perceived environment is operationalized as higher problem-focused interactions with parents, lower religious attendance, and lower…

The present study examined the relationship between goal orientation, coping with school failure and school achievement. Two questionnaires. Goal Orientation (Niemivirta, 1996a) and The School Failure Coping Scale (Rijavec & Brdar, 1997), were administered to 1057 high school students (aged from 15 to 17 years). The first goal of this study…

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…