Jill D. Sharkey

Strength-Based Assessment and School Psychology: A Summary and Synthesis

During the past decade there has been an increasing interest in positive psychology, which promotes a shift away from the traditional deficit-based model of mental health to a framework that emphasizes social-emotional strengths. The building of strengths and an emphasis on the prevention of problems are at the forefront of positive psychology and equally important in the field of school psychology. Based on a review of the extant literature, this article addresses four important questions: (a) What is strength-based assessment? (b) Why use strength-based assessment in school psychology? (c) What are examples of strength-based assessments? and (d) What are the limitations and needs for further research related to strength-based assessment? Implications for both research and practice are emphasized throughout.

Testing a developmental–ecological model of student engagement: a multilevel latent growth curve analysis

US schools fail to engage a significant proportion of adolescent students. Although student engagement is significantly related to academic achievement, there is a dearth of longitudinal research simultaneously examining the impact of personal and contextual factors on student engagement at both individual and school levels. Using a nationally‐representative sample, multilevel growth curve analyses found significant factors related to adolescents’ student engagement both in initial status and rate of growth. Significant factors at the student level were students’ locus of control, self‐esteem, peer academic value, parental expectation and parent–child communication along with the students’ socio‐economic status, previous grades and friend dropout history. Significant factors at the school level were teacher rules on homework, teacher support, and school safety. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

The Protective Role of Perceived Social Support against the Manifestation of Depressive Symptoms in Peer Victims.

Students who are victimized by their peers are at risk for developing depressive symptoms, which is detrimental for academic and social development. Social support may be a protective factor for peer victims, and the manner in which this occurs may vary according to gender, age, and other demographic variables. This study examined the main and stress-buffering effects of perceived social support from various sources against the manifestation of depressive symptoms for peer victims. A convenience sample of 544 seventh and eighth graders from three middle schools completed a survey assessing depressive symptoms, peer victimization experiences, and perceived social support from parents, teachers, classmates, and a close friend. Perceived social support from parents and from a close friend buffered the manifestation of depressive symptoms for male peer victims. Main effects, but not stress-buffering effects, were found for female peer victims across all sources of support. Implications of these findings, limitations of the study, and future directions are discussed.

A Qualitative Study of Juvenile Offenders, Student Engagement, and Interpersonal Relationships: Implications for Research Directions and Preventionist Approaches

Background factors that correlate with juvenile delinquency are consistent across the interdisciplinary literature base. Yet, information about the process of how risks relate to outcomes, especially within school settings, is limited. Researchers used qualitative methods to examine school and interpersonal experiences from the perspective of juvenile offenders and their families. Sixteen families were recruited from juvenile probation facilities in 2 different geographic regions. Consensual Qualitative Research methods yielded consistent themes, including the central role of advocacy to obtain appropriate school services, the importance of flexibility in discipline policies, classroom experiences that shaped outcomes, and the importance of nonjudgmental social support for the adolescents and their parents. The findings and recommendations for school consultants are presented from a preventionist standpoint, and self-determination theory is discussed in relation to future juvenile delinquency research.

An Examination of the Reliability, Data Screening Procedures, and Extreme Response Patterns for the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey

Abstract This article explores psychometric characteristics of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBS), one of the most widely used instruments to assess the prevalence of violent and other high-risk behaviors in secondary school settings. Response patterns were analyzed for a subset of 414 youths who indicated that they had carried a weapon to school six or more times during the preceding 30 days, and were compared to a matched sample of youths randomly selected from the 13,610 participants in the 2001 national administration of the YRBS. Results indicated that extreme responders to the weapon-carrying item were considerably more likely than their counterparts to respond in an extreme fashion to all YRBS items, including risk items pertaining to school (e.g., physical fights on school property) and outside school (e.g., alcohol consumption) factors, as well as positive health behaviors (e.g., healthy eating habits). Overall, the results suggest an ex-treme response bias among some participants that may impact the validity of the YRBS instrument. More specifically, presence of this response bias may inflate estimates of the prevalence of school violence and related concerns. These findings are discussed in light of the need to carefully examine individual response patterns on future administrations of the YRBS in an effort to ensure maximum instrument utility.

Associations between past bullying experiences and psychosocial and academic functioning among college students.

Abstract. Objectives: This study examined whether childhood bullying victimization was associated with psychosocial and academic functioning at college. Participants: The sample consisted of 413 first-year students from a large northeastern university. Methods: Students completed an online survey in February 2012 that included items assessing past bullying involvement, current psychosocial and academic functioning, and victimization experiences since arriving at college. Results: Regression analyses indicated that reports of past bullying and other peer victimization were associated with lower mental health functioning and perceptions of physical and mental health, but were not associated with perceptions of social life at college, overall college experience, or academic performance. Conclusions: Childhood bullying victimization is associated with poorer mental and physical health among first-year college students. Colleges should consider assessing histories of bullying victimization, along with other past victimization exposures, in their service provision to students.

Rationale for Designing School Contexts in Support of Proactive Discipline

This introduction to a special issue of the Journal of School Violence briefly describes current challenges in school discipline and its relation to school violence as a rationale for designing prevention-oriented school contexts. School discipline is a critical issue, as disruptive behaviors significantly impact school climate and classroom instruction. Suspension is the most common school discipline response for problem behaviors ranging from mild to severe. However, suspension is ineffective in teaching alternative proactive behaviors, and may have the opposite effect of exacerbating undesirable behaviors. The special issue is intended to advance erudition about the application of suspension versus other discipline strategies in schools. Scholarship about the use of school suspension and viable alternatives (e.g., restorative justice and social cognitive approaches) is presented and critically discussed.

Adolescent gang involvement: The role of individual, family, peer, and school factors in a multilevel perspective

Youth gang involvement is a serious public health challenge as adolescents involved in gangs are more likely than others to engage in violence and aggression. To better understand gang involvement, we examined the role of protective (empathy and parental support) and risk (peer deviance and lack of safety at school) factors, as well as their interactions, in predicting adolescent gang affiliation. The study involved a sample of 26,232 students (53.4% females; mean age = 14.62, SD = 1.69) participating in the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS), a survey investigating a wide range of youth health and risk behaviors administered in all California schools every 2 years. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), findings indicated that high levels of empathy and parental support were associated with a lower likelihood of affiliating with a gang. Associating with deviant peers and perceiving the school as unsafe were positively correlated with gang membership. At the school level, lack of safety and type of school (special education, vocational, or alternative school vs. comprehensive schools) were associated with greater probability of gang membership. Empathy mitigated the association between deviant peers and gang membership.

Social Justice and Juvenile Offenders: Examples of Fairness, Respect, and Access in Education Settings

Youths involved in juvenile justice face unique barriers to educational and mental health services. This qualitative study illustrates social justice violations that are particularly salient for this population. Youths on probation, their mothers, and juvenile probation staff participated in interviews as part of a multisite study conducted in Texas and California. Interviews were coded using the Consensual Qualitative Research method. This study provides detailed examples of social justice components of fairness, respect, and access within school and juvenile justice settings. Implications for how schools could address these types of situations to promote fairness and decrease discrimination and stigma for youths with a criminal record who are trying to succeed in school are also discussed.

Mediation of school bonding and peer norms on the reciprocal effects of friend victimization and problem behavior

Peer victimization is a pervasive problem among children and associated with numerous psychological and behavioural problems for all participants. Research is needed to understand the complex relations between factors that increase risk of victimization and its consequences. We used autoregressive cross-lagged modelling with self-report data to examine the longitudinal reciprocal effects of victimization by friends with problem behaviour, as well as the mediating effects of school bonding and peer norms. Participants were 316 4th grade students in socioeconomically disadvantaged elementary schools in California, USA, most of whom were Latino/a American (89.9%). Results indicated a causal path from peer victimization by friends in 4th grade to problem behaviour in 5th grade, which was fully mediated by school bonding and peer norms for academics in 5th grade. These results confirm the need to monitor and respond to peer victimization by friends in any setting. Moreover, results demonstrate the importance of creating opportunities to positively engage students in school activities that teach or ensure positive social interactions and exposure to peers that are engaged in normative social and academic behaviours.