Lindsay John

Effect of a Structured Arts Program on the Psychosocial Functioning of Youth From Low-Income Communities Findings From a Canadian Longitudinal Study

This study reports on the longitudinal examination of a structured arts program for Canadian youth, aged 9 to 15 years, from low-income communities. Evaluated were the extent to which community-based organizations successfully recruited and retained youth in the program and whether they demonstrated improvement with respect to artistic ability (combination of theatre, visual, and media arts) and psychosocial indicators. The results suggest successful recruitment and good retention rates. Multilevel growth curve analyses of observational and behavioral outcomes are presented. Observer ratings showed significant gains in artistic and social skills. Comparisons with matched controls using estimated linear propensity scores revealed a significant reduction in emotional problems for the intervention group. The overall conclusion is that youth from low-income communities benefit from structured arts programs.

Effects of School-Based Interventions on Secondary School Students with High and Low Risks for Antisocial Behaviour:

This article describes the methodology and program effects of a multicomponent model of interventions designed to prevent antisocial behaviour in secondary school students. Interventions included cooperative learning, classroom management, and peer tutoring, mentoring, and mediation. Data from the Secondary Schools Demonstration Project (SSDP) implemented in Ontario, Canada, schools were analyzed to assess whether the interventions had similar and/or differential effects on groups of students with low and high risks for antisocial behaviour. The study involved a two-group matched comparison before-and-after design. Data were collected at baseline for all ninth-grade students (average age 14 years) in the four schools, and from a subsample of the students at follow-up. The findings showed that the interventions generated similar improvements in the low and high-risk groups of youth. However, the positive effects were slightly more pronounced in the low-risk youth. The discussion proposes future directions for research and practice.

Subjective Well-being in a Multicultural Urban Population: Structural, and Multivariate Analyses of the Ontario Health Survey Well-being Scale

The validity of a scale, from the OntarioHealth Survey, measuring the subjective senseof well-being, for a large multiculturalpopulation in Metropolitan Toronto, is examinedthrough principal components analysis withoblique rotation. Four factors are extracted. Factor 1, is a stress and strain factor, andconsists of health worries, feeling exhaustedand worn out, and feeling tense. Factor 2,interpreted as a sense of control, consists ofno health worries, and ability to handlefeelings. Factor 3, interpreted as positiveaffect, consists of having an interesting life,feeling cheerful and light-hearted, feelingloved, feeling relaxed and full of vitality. Factor 4 is interpreted as a despondency factorconsists of feeling lonely, having a boringlife, inability to control feelings and feelinglow. The statistic of multiple discriminantanalysis between the variables, sex, age, andethnic groupings, as independent discriminatingvariables and the four factor scores asdependent variables, is calculated. Theresults show that the observed mean variance inthe well-being factor scores cannot beexplained by the respondents being eitherfemale or male, or being a certain age or bybelonging to specific cultural groupings. These results are discussed in relation toother studies on the dimensions of subjectivewell-being.

The Use of Propensity Scores as a Matching Strategy.

Objectives: This study reports on the concept and method of linear propensity scores used to obtain a comparison group from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth to assess the effects of a longitudinal, structured arts program for Canadian youth (aged 9 to 15 years) from low-income, multicultural communities. Method: This study compares 183 children in a community arts project to 183 children from a national longitudinal survey using propensity score matching. The variables included baseline scores of child-rated conduct problems, indirect aggression, emotional problems, self-esteem, and prosocial behavior and child gender, person most knowledgeable (PMK) education, PMK marital status, household income, and family functioning. Results: Mean score comparison showed that the groups were very similar on all covariates. Conclusions: Propensity score matching offers an alternative to true randomization that is cost-effective and convenient, particularly important for social work research in community-based organizations with a limited budget.

Quality of Life and Subjective Well-Being: Historical, Conceptual and Methodological Clarification.

Abstract There is a propensity in the social work profession to base programmatic theories on knowledge derived from other disciplines. A term that has found wide acceptance in the profession of social work is the concept of quality of life (QOL). Over the last two decades QOL has emerged as an organizing framework for assessing health indices within the medical and mental health fields. In relation to QOL, there is a need for a comprehensive understanding of the concept in order to ascertain its congruence with, and potential shaping of, the values and ethos of the profession. The paper gives a clear and straightforward introduction to a range of work. The main objective is to examine the individual work of certain researchers and thinkers in their independent search for the methods of measuring subjective states. A review of these separate efforts will reveal an internal coherence and overlap of work that is responsible for the way QOL is presently conceptualized.

After-School Programs as a Prosocial Setting for Bonding Between Peers

This study reports on the longitudinal analysis of a structured after-school arts program for Canadian youth, ages 9 to 15 years, from low-income communities where the relationship of peer social support, family interactions, and psychosocial outcomes is evaluated. Multi-level growth curve analyses suggest an increase in prosocial development with peer social support and a decrease in prosocial development when negative family interactions are present. Comparisons between matched controls, using estimated linear propensity scores, revealed significant improvement in prosocial behaviors for the intervention group. The structured after-school arts program was found to increase prosocial behaviors and bonding with peers for youth from low-income communities.