Direct and indirect effects in decomposed zero-order correlations among variables in causal models are considered. Under certain circumstances, the components of the decompositions could be interpreted as direct, indirect, and spurious causal effects, plus a component called joint associations. The sum of the direct and indirect effects is the…

Latent Variables Path (LVP) models have been found to be a helpful device for the formulation and validation of complex theories in educational sciences. The estimation of parameters for LVP models can use the Maximum Likelihood (ML) or the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method. This paper focusses on the PLS method introduced by H. Wold, and…

A linear recursive path model was developed and evaluated using a combined male and female sample, and separate male and female samples in an attempt to identify causal relationships of in-school student characteristics to satisfaction in post high school employment. (Author)

Path analysis was used to reevaluate the analysis of covariance quasiexperimental study of the effectiveness of the Head Start program. Contrary to the original analysis, the alternative approach yields small positive estimates of effect. (Author/CTM)

Two high schools serving the same community are compared in order to examine how control/strain variables predict delinquency in two contexts. The school context characterized by a broader definition of success, more specialized discipline, and predictable supervision was found to have lower levels of delinquency for both genders. (Author/LMO)

The author addresses and critiques the recent controversy between Bandura (1983) and Phillips and Orton (1983) over Bandura's recent article on modes of causation in social learning. The proper role of formal models in the analysis of social dynamics is also discussed. (Author/EGS)

Responds to Staddon's critique of the author's earlier article and addresses issues raised by Staddon's (1984) alternative models of causality. The author argues that it is not the formalizability of causal processes that is the issue but whether cognitive determinants of behavior are reducible to past stimulus inputs in causal structures.…

Tested a path model reflecting developmental and chronic types of career indecision on counseling students (N=164) and high school students (N=155). Data from both samples supported the model, confirming the role of trait anxiety in career indecision. (JAC)

The structural relations among viewing behaviors, viewing conditions, background characteristics, and intellectual ability to preschoolers' learning from instructional television were investigated. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups who viewed tapes designed to teach seriation concepts. A School Aptitude factor made…

This study distinguished between forms of self-consciousness (private self-consciousness and social anxiety) and investigated the effect of self-esteem, vulnerability to criticism, and the tendency to fantasize on each. A structural equation analysis used unobserved variables from a sample (n=1098) of adolescents, ages 12 to 19. (Author/BS)

The first section of this paper reviews research in which student achievement was not included as a correlate of principal attributes, or principal attributes were not included as correlates of student achievement. The second section focuses on the study of the linkage between the school principal and overall student achievement. (BW)

This study extended the knowledge of the explanatory power of Tinto's theoretical model of college persistence/withdrawal through a multi-institutional validation. Path analysis was used to test the model overall and at three different groupings of postsecondary institutions: four-year, predominantly residential; and four-year, and two-year,…

A path analysis model was applied to data on (N=98) older Mexican Americans. Measures of perceived intergenerational solidarity and activity were treated as intervening variables between health and socioeconomic status and life satisfaction. The addition of intergenerational solidarity to the variables contributed significantly to the explanation…

The university's role in student drinking behavior includes understanding the practice. Nearly 98% of students have had at least one drink. Men drink more than women and those who become intoxicated do so intentionally. Suggests a rational approach to discourage intemperate drinking. (JAC)

Hypothesizes that instrumental media motivation, selectivity, attention, and involvement are positive predictors of satisfaction, parasocial interaction, and cultivation effects from watching daytime television serials; avoidance, distraction, and skepticism were seen as negative predictors. Finds support for these expectations through three path…