Gabriel P. Kuperminc

School Social Climate and Individual Differences in Vulnerability to Psychopathology among Middle School Students

Abstract The present study used a person–environment-fit framework to examine the interaction of psychological vulnerabilities and perceptions of school climate to explain the emergence of behavioral and emotional problems during the middle school years. Cross-sectional and 1-year longitudinal analyses were conducted using data from 230 female and 230 male sixth- and seventh-grade students (50% non-Hispanic white, 27% Hispanic, 22% African American, and 3% other) attending a large ethnically and socioeconomically diverse middle school. Positive perceptions of school climate moderated the negative effects of self-criticism on both internalizing and externalizing problems and of a lack of efficacy on internalizing problems. Youth with high levels of self-criticism did not show expected increases in internalizing and externalizing problems when they perceived a positive school climate. Results were consistent with the idea that careful attention needs to be given to the social–emotional environment of middle schools, particularly for young adolescents preoccupied with issues of self-definition.

Gender Differences in Posttraumatic Stress and Related Symptoms Among Inner-City Minority Youth Exposed to Community Violence

This study examined gender differences in levels of violence exposure, and in levels of posttraumatic stress (PTS) and related symptomatology in a sample of inner-city predominantly African American youth. Because such youth are at risk for exposure to chronic community violence, they are likely to experience considerable distress and clinical or subclinical levels of posttraumatic stress and related symptoms. Previous research has found that although boys are exposed to violence more frequently than are girls, girls are more likely to express posttraumatic stress and related symptoms as a result of violence exposure. Thus, we examined gender as a moderator of the relation between violence exposure and symptoms. A stronger positive association of anxiety and depression symptoms with extent of community violence exposure for girls than boys was found. It was also found that while girls do not appear to differ in their responses to witnessing violence versus being a victim of violence, boys appear to be more distressed by being a victim of violence than by witnessing violence.

When adolescents disagree with others about their symptoms: differences in attachment organization as an explanation of discrepancies between adolescent, parent, and peer reports of behavior problems.

This study examined whether attachment theory could be used to shed light on the often high degree of discordance between self- and observer ratings of behavioral functioning and symptomatology. Interview-based assessments of attachment organization, using the Adult Attachment Interview, were examined as predictors of the lack of agreement between self- and other reports of behavioral and emotional problems among 176 moderately at-risk adolescents. Lack of agreement was measured in terms of concordance of adolescent and parent or close friend report on equivalent measures of behavioral and emotional adjustment. Insecure-dismissing attachment was linked to less agreement in absolute terms between self- and mother reports of externalizing symptoms, and between adolescent and close friend reports of behavioral conduct. Insecure-preoccupied attachment was associated with higher levels of adolescent reporting of internalizing and externalizing symptoms relative to parent reports of adolescent symptomatology. The findings suggest that attachment organization may be one factor that accounts for individual differences in the degree of discordance between self- and other reports of symptoms in adolescence.

Cultural Equivalence and Cultural Variance in Longitudinal Associations of Young Adolescent Self-Definition and Interpersonal Relatedness to Psychological and School Adjustment.

Ethnic group differences in the contributions of self-definition (self-worth and efficacy) and interpersonal relatedness with parents and peers to changes in psychological and school adjustment were examined among 448 White, Black, and Latino girls and boys (11–14 years of age). Self-report questionnaires and school records were evaluated for socioeconomic and ethnic group differences in patterns of change over 1 year. Overall similarity in changes over time across ethnic groups was found for relatedness, self-definition, and psychological adjustment, although Black and Latino youth reported more overall adjustment difficulties, Black youth reported less positive relationships with parents, and lower SES youth reported less positive peer relationships than others. Ethnic group differences in changes to school adjustment, even after controlling SES, suggested a cultural variation in which often cited declines in school adjustment during middle school characterize White adolescents to a greater degree than Black or Latino adolescents. Ethnicity moderated associations of relatedness and self-definition with psychological and school adjustment such that Black and Latino youth appeared particularly vulnerable to experiences that threaten closeness and trust in relationships. Results pointed to potentially important situational and cultural differences in maladaptive and adaptive developmental processes across ethnicity.

Relation of Filial Responsibility to the Personal and Social Adjustment of Latino Adolescents From Immigrant Families

A multidimensional model of filial responsibility encompassing caregiving activities in the home and perceptions of fairness was examined in relation to multiple self- and teacher-reported indices of competence and distress in a sample of Latino adolescents from immigrant families (N = 129, mean age = 16.8, 64% girls). Whereas most research of Latino adolescents has focused on felt familial obligations and attitudes, this study found that reports of actual caregiving activities were associated with higher competence for the sample as a whole and fewer acting out problems among boys. Perceived fairness was associated with lower levels of distress and moderated the curvilinear association of caregiving with behavioral restraint. High levels of filial caregiving predicted high levels of restraint, but only when the balance of give-and-take at home was perceived as fair. These results are consistent with a model that views filial responsibilities as a source of both personal distress and competence.

Ecological and Ethical Perspectives on Filial Responsibility: Implications for Primary Prevention with Immigrant Latino Adolescents

This article considers processes from an ecological-ethical viewpoint that may help explain the high rate of school failure and dropout of immigrant Latino adolescents. Drawing from research on filial responsibility and risk and protective processes in this population, a conceptual model is presented that accounts for both negative and positive developmental outcomes. For example, it is speculated that different stressors linked to immigration (e.g., poverty, discrimination) occasion a marked increase in filial responsibility (e.g., assuming the role of interpreter and liaison to the English speaking community, working to earn money for the family) that may compete with other sociocognitive tasks, such as schooling and peer involvement. Yet, Latino youths who perform major caregiving tasks in the family also appear to derive an increased sense of personal and interpersonal competence. The implications of the model for research and prevention programming are discussed.

Acculturative Stress and School Belonging Among Latino Youth

Dimensions of acculturative stress and their implications for school belonging and achievement were examined among 199 Latino middle-school students. The proposed model hypothesized that school belonging would mediate the association between acculturative stress dimensions and low school achievement. Eighty percent youth of the sample were immigrants, 73% had Mexican origins, 57% were girls, and the mean age of the participants was 13.6 years. A factor analysis yielded two dimensions of acculturative stress: discrimination stress and immigration-related stress. Immigration-related stress was associated with age of immigration, but discrimination stress was not. Findings supported the hypothesis that lack of school belonging may be a mechanism by which discrimination stress, but not immigration-related stress, decreases school performance among Latino youth.

Why Try? Achievement Motivation and Perceived Academic Climate among Latino Youth

Elliot and McGregor’s (2001) 2 × 2 model of achievement motivation (mastery approach, mastery-avoidance, performance-approach and performance-avoidance) was used among 143 Latino adolescents to examine how achievement motivation changes over time, and whether perception of academic climate influences eventual academic outcomes. A series of hierarchical regressions revealed that perception of a task-focused academic climate moderated the association between mastery-approach achievement motivation and teacher-rated academic outcomes. A Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (RM-ANOVA) also revealed that eighth graders reported an increase in mastery-approach achievement motivation and task-focused academic climate as they transitioned to high school. Findings suggest 1) that perception of a task-performance focused academic climate plays an important role in Latino adolescents’ academic achievement, and 2) that Latino adolescents’ achievement motivation and perception of academic climate may be influenced by their transition to high school.

Goal Discrepancy in African American Male Student-Athletes' Unrealistic Expectations for Careers in Professional Sports:

The present study investigated whether African American male college student-athletes unrealistically focus their career goals on professional athletics to the detriment of their academic pursuits. The study considered the professional athleticaspirations of 702 AfricanAmerican male student-athletesfrom42 NCAA Division I universities using the concept of goal discrepancy to identify individuals whose professional athletic aspirations were inconsistent with their current status asfirst team members of theirfootball or basketball programs. The results found only 5% of the sample to be goal discrepant and that among goal discrepant student-athletes, the majority were underclassmen. Institutional characteristics, such as intensity of the athletic program and segregation of athletes from nonathletic students, were stronger predictors of goal discrepancy than personal characteristics, such as socioeconomic status or precollege academic preparation. The results are discussed in relation to social policy that influences access to educational opportunity for African Americans.

Cool Girls, Inc.: Promoting the Positive Development of Urban Preadolescent and Early Adolescent Girls

The past two decades have seen a transformation in youth programming toward a comprehensive positive youth development (YD) framework. Cool Girls, Inc., a YD program, focuses on improving girls’ life chances by promoting positive behaviors and attitudes in multiple domains. These include self-concept, academic orientation, future orientation, and healthy behaviors. The present study uses a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent comparison group design to examine short-term effects of participation in Cool Girls, Inc. on multiple indicators of each of these domains. Participants were predominately African American and included 86 program participants and 89 comparisons in grades 4–8. Self-report questionnaires were administered at pretest (September–October) and posttest (April–May) of the 2005–2006 academic school year. We hypothesized that program participants would show improvements across domains of self-concept, academic orientation, future orientation, and healthy behavior. Relative to comparisons, program participants experienced gains in scholastic competence, hope for the future, and physical activity. Cool Girls participants with a mentor experienced significant gains in social acceptance and body image relative to other Cool Girls and were more than four times as likely to have expectations of avoiding drug use in the future. The role of mentoring as well as the study’s practical significance, strengths, and limitations are discussed.