Julie Marcotte

Breaking Down the Forgotten Half Exploratory Profiles of Youths in Quebec’s Adult Education Centers

This article presents a research study in Quebec’s adult education centers (AECs), which are now an alternative to general education that allow youths ages 16 to 24 to make up for academic delays or to return to school after dropping out. Data from 386 such students were collected on various personal, psychosocial, and school indicators. Using a latent class analyses, the author identified four different profiles with unique needs. The first two profiles were highly representative of emerging adults who were typical except for their academic delays. Youths in the last two profiles were characterized by victimization and problem behavior, respectively; they demonstrated the need for support that goes beyond the academic and school services usually offered in AECs. The results of this study are discussed in light of new parameters of emerging adulthood and discontinued educational pathways.

Identity development and exploration and their psychosocial correlates in emerging adulthood: A portrait of youths attending adult education centers in Quebec

This article presents a study conducted with emerging adults attending second-chance school settings (n= 229) regarding their identity status, their exploration level and the associations with psychosocial variables. Results indicate variations by gender in terms of status and psychosocial correlates associated with exploration. The discussion suggests different avenues of explanation in order to comprehend the results.

Anxiety and Well-Being among Students in a Psychoeducation Program: The Mediating Role of Identity.

Abstract: Mental health problems among university and college students are a major public health concern and a socioeconomic issue. Our psychoeducation department is not exempt from this reality and has seen an important increase in mental health problems, especially anxiety issues, over the past years. To better understand anxiety in our students, we explored the role identity plays in the relationship between anxiety and well-being. The results of mediational analysis demonstrated that identity synthesis as well as ruminative exploration explain the relationship between anxiety and well-being among our students.