Christian E. Mueller

Protective Factors as Barriers to Depression in Gifted and Nongifted Adolescents.

Despite continued efforts by researchers, a gap still exists in our understanding of the psychological, social, and emotional adjustment of gifted students. Historically, research and education of the gifted has focused on cognitive variables, with less attention given to the social and emotional needs of these students. The current study used data from the full Add Health data set to examine how protective factors moderated depression differently for gifted and nongifted adolescents. Results of the study indicate that gifted students are significantly less depressed than nongifted students, and all of the protective factors moderated depression for both groups. Future research should examine additional indicators of psychosocial well-being provide a more comprehensive framework for understanding the social and emotional development of gifted and nongifted adolescents. Putting the Research to Use: Empirical research examining the unique social and emotional needs of gifted adolescents is at a critical juncture. Both educators and researchers have become increasingly aware that giftedness, in whatever form, has unique influences on the social and emotional development of gifted adolescents. In line with previous findings, results in the current study suggest that for both gifted and nongifted adolescents, social support at home and at school can play an important role in reducing problems (i.e. depression) and at the same time enhancing resiliency. It is time, as Ford (1994) has suggested, for educators and researchers to take substantial steps to strengthen the “family-school-community” link in order to provide adequate social support in the many contexts that both gifted and nongifted adolescents live (Bronfenbrenner, 1977).

Sleep and Parent-family Connectedness: Links, Relationships and Implications for Adolescent Depression

Abstract The present study investigated the relationship between adolescent depression, levels of sleep and family functioning in a nationally representative sample of adolescents. Participants were selected from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) and were split into two separate groups: those who reported getting insufficient amounts of sleep (i.e., 1 to 6 hours/night), and those who reported getting typical amounts of sleep (7 to 10 hours/night). Primary results indicated significant negative relationships between depression and relationships with mother, father and family connectedness. Additionally, for the low-sleep males, a significant negative relationship was found between depression and positive relationship with father, and for low-sleep females, a significant negative relationship was found between depression and a positive relationship with mother and with high levels of family connectedness. Collectively, these results indicate that positive perceptions of parent and family relationships seem to help adolescents avoid depression when they are concurrently experiencing problematic sleep.

Achievement Goal Validation among African American High School Students: CFA and Rasch Results.

Achievement goal theory helps describe how and why students engage in various academic behaviors. Historically, achievement goals have been examined almost exclusively with undergraduate, nonminority samples, and predominately with factor analytic techniques. The present study adds to a growing literature by providing initial validation of a leading achievement goal measure, the Achievement Goal Questionnaire-Revised (AGQ-R; Elliot & Murayama, 2008), among rural (N = 186) and urban (N = 197) African American high school students. Collectively, results from both confirmatory factor and Rasch analyses highlight issues that should be considered when using the AGQ-R among African American high school students.

Psychosocial Adjustment of Adolescents and Young Adults with Intellectual Disabilities.

Issues with adolescents with intellectual disabilities have received little attention in the research literature. This study compared adolescents with and without intellectual disabilities on several indices of psychosocial adjustment. The participants were selected from a large longitudinal database and comparisons were made at three points in time. Analyses indicated that adolescents with intellectual disabilities report mild to moderate depression over time when compared with their typically developing peers, they express more family connectedness, but differ little on measures of self-concept. In later adolescence, typically developing adolescents appear to have a significant increase in optimism that is not experienced by the adolescents with intellectual disabilities. Implications of the findings are discussed as well directions for further investigation.

Social Achievement Goals Validation Among Rural African American Adolescents

Little extant research attempts to understand why rural African Americans engage in social relationships with peers in school. This is somewhat surprising as rural students’ peer interactions often affect their scholastic desires, and peers can alter African Americans’ academic performance. Hence, the current study examined both the presence and psychometric validity of social achievement goals among rural African American high school students. Results suggest the presence of three reasons for engaging in social relationships in school: social development (desire to increase friendship quality), social demonstration-approach (wanting to appear “cool” among friends), and social demonstration-avoid (fear of appearing socially inferior). Confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis provide support for both the presence and valid measurement of social achievement goals among rural African American adolescents.

Utilizing the Rasch Model to Develop and Evaluate Items for the Tacit Knowledge Inventory for Superintendents (TKIS)

Tacit knowledge was originally introduced into the professional literature by Michael Polanyi and later made popular by researchers in a variety of domains. Measuring this implicit form of procedural knowledge requires multiple approaches to adequately “capture†what is often known, but not easily articulated. The present study combines use of Sternberg et al.’s framework for capturing domain-specific tacit knowledge with that of Rasch modeling to develop and validate items for use on a newly developed tacit knowledge inventory. Development of the Tacit Knowledge Inventory for Superintendents (TKIS) occurred in three phases, including two phases of piloting and Rasch analysis. For illustrative purposes, presentation of results is limited to the Rasch analyses conducted on interpersonal tacit knowledge items. However, the methodology extends its usefulness to researchers and practitioners to guide the development process of similar assessments.

School Foci and Their Potential Ramifications in Urban High Schools

The study examined the relationship among students’ focus in urban schools and three educationally relevant psychological factors: school engagement, achievement goals, and possible future self. A 1-year study at two urban high schools with a total of 212 participants suggested that academically focused students are more highly engaged with mastery-approach goals, whereas students with a social focus had less optimal engagement and more performance goal orientations. Both academic and social focus indicated strongest relationships with academic future self and social future self, respectively.

Depression, Suicide, and Giftedness: Disentangling Risk Factors, Protective Factors, and Implications for Optimal Growth

Although exact incidences of depression and suicide among the gifted remain unknown, they are most likely in line with that of the larger student population. In the present chapter, we invoke two theoretical frameworks—person–environment fit theory and the Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent Development—to understand how intrapersonal, interpersonal, environmental, and developmental risk and protective factors manifest uniquely for gifted student populations. To better reflect the current status of gifted student development in the twenty-first century, we place special emphasis on two recent trends: social media use and cyberbullying, in addition to reviewing traditional literature as it relates to risk and protective factors. We place much emphasis on understanding possible unique contributors to the development of depression and suicide ideation among gifted students, but also on providing strategies for helping parents, teachers, and other caregivers. Implications of this chapter are for those who are interested in developing intervention strategies that consider developmental as well as epidemiological factors when exploring depression and suicide among the gifted.

Student Cognitive Motivation: The Mediating Role of Self-Reactive Influences on the Relationship Between Negative Feedback and Intended Effort

This study examined college students’ cognitive motivation based on goal intentions in the context of negative performance–goal discrepancies. Specifically, an integrated model of intended effort was developed to further understand the relationships between negative performance–goal discrepancies, self-reactive influences, and intended effort toward the next proximal goal. We explored these relationships within an authentic achievement-oriented setting by using actual exam performance with a sample of 451 undergraduate students. Primary results from a path analysis suggest that, among other things, future affective self-evaluation is more predictive of intended effort than performance–goal discrepancy or self-efficacy toward original goal attainment. Implications are primarily intended for those interested in fostering students’ cognitive motivation.