This study utilizes archival data from a district-based initiative aimed at improving the provision of school-based mental health services. It dives deep into the stories of adolescents who were classified and receiving special education supports, which included school-based counseling. These students endured challenging family contexts. A…

This qualitative phenomenology study examined parent liaisons and their lived experiences of collaboration and communication with families to support their children's social-emotional well-being before, during, and after the pandemic. Due to COVID-19, government restrictions mandated in-person learning shift to remote learning from March 2020 to…

Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) is a public education program designed to improve youth mental health outcomes by training adults to notice mental health problems and help youth in seeking treatment. This study used a pre-post 3-month follow-up design to explore whether mental health literacy (MHL), perceived mental health stigma (MHS), and…

The dual-factor model (DFM) of mental health affords educators an expanded view of student social-emotional and behavioral functioning and may help identify students in need of school-based mental health services who would otherwise go unnoticed with traditional screening methods. With a focus on integrating subjective well-being into the…

This ex-post facto research aims to identify the negative influence of peace of mind on students' aggressive behavior. Aggressive behavior of students has become a problem that has not been alleviated to the maximum and is increasingly complex. One model of education that seeks to build students' peace of mind is the peace education model. The use…

This study explored how domain-specific perfectionism (academic, social, physical appearance) among high school freshmen relates to internalizing symptoms using critical elements of expectancy-value theory (i.e., domain value and competence) as moderators. Results indicate that perfectionism across all domains was positively and significantly…

Although bullied adolescents experience elevated risk for adverse mental and physical health outcomes, some youth exhibit resilience in the face of peer victimization. Given the developmental importance of peer relationships during adolescence, much of the research examining protective factors that can mitigate bullying-related harm has focused on…

Learners are more disconnected from the natural environment than ever before. Science education occurs predominantly in classrooms and laboratories, settings that rationalize and deconstruct the natural world in a Cartesian-Newtonian paradigm. This often negates humans' relationality and interdependence with other life phenomena and furthermore…

While accumulating literature is demonstrating the role of the dopamine transporter (DAT) in predicting emotional-behavioural difficulties in adults of at risk populations, only few studies have focused on the possible association between the methylation status of the DAT promoter and the psychopathological risk of mothers, fathers and children in…

Acne is a hallmark of adolescence, affecting 85% of youth between the ages of 12 and 25 worldwide. Perhaps because of its ubiquity and minimal impact on physical functioning, acne is often dismissed as a time-delimited cosmetic nuisance and has been summarily neglected by developmental scientists. However, emerging evidence suggests that acne is…

Symptoms aligned with Seasonal Affective Disorder negatively impact the academic productivity and well-being of students. Previous research on college aged students, elementary students, and laborers in the workplace provide evidence that spring time changes and weather contribute to greater feelings of productivity for these groups. Through the…

Individuals often vary in how they display signs and symptoms of personality disturbances and psychopathology. As such, comprehensive assessments of these signs and symptoms ought to capture how they manifest within and across time and contexts (e.g., community, home, work). Contexts may vary in the degree to which they influence personality and…

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of social media on adolescent mental health. The study was intentional in examining the effects of social media usage on depression, self-esteem, and academic achievement. The research was completed during the fall and spring of 2020 and 2021 with 136 ninth grade students within a large…

The attrition rate of early career teachers is high. In fact, the government spends $2 billion annually to replace teachers in the first five years of their tenure (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2005). The purpose of this dissertation is two-fold: 1) to test the relationship between purpose, psychological well-being, and affective commitment…

School bullying is a worldwide phenomenon that occurs in both developed and developing nations. The increase in aggressive behaviors in teenagers usually coincides with the beginning of their middle school years as young students enter the developmental phase of identity formation, physical maturation, and attachment separation from parents in.…