Roberto H Parada

A short version of the Self Description Questionnaire II: Operationalizing criteria for short-form evaluation with new applications of confirmatory factor analyses

Four studies evaluate the new Self Description Questionnaire II short-form (SDQII-S) that measures 11 dimensions of adolescent self-concept based on responses to 51 of the original 102 SDQII items and demonstrate new statistical strategies to operationalize guidelines for short-form evaluation proposed by G. T. Smith, D. M. McCarthy, and K. G. Anderson (2000). Multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the factor structure based on responses to 51 items by a new cross-validation group (n=9,134) was invariant with the factor structures based on responses to the same 51 items and to all 102 items by the original normative archive group (n = 9,187). Reliabilities for the 11 SDQII-S factors were nearly the same and consistently high (.80 to .89) for both groups. Multitrait-multimethod analyses support the internal validity of responses over time. Gender and age effects on the 11 SDQII-S factors were invariant across the archive and cross-validation groups.

A Multidimensional Perspective of Relations between Self-Concept (Self Description Questionnaire II) and Adolescent Mental Health (Youth Self-Report).

Relations between self-concept and mental health are best understood from a multidimensional perspective. For responses by 903 adolescents (mean age = 12.6) to a new French translation of the Self Description Questionnaire II (SDQII), confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated a well-defined multidimensional factor structure of reliable, highly differentiated self-concept factors. Correlations between 11 SDQII factors and 7 mental health problems (Youth Self-Report; YSR) varied substantially (.11 to -.83; mean r = -.35). Single higher-order factors could not explain relations among SDQII factors, among YSR factors, or between the SDQII and YSR factors. This highly differentiated multivariate pattern of relations supports a multidimensional perspective of self-concept, not the unidimensional perspective still prevalent in mental health research and assessment.

In the Looking Glass: A Reciprocal Effects Model Elucidating the Complex Nature of Bullying, Psychological Determinants, and the Central Role of Self-Concept

Publisher Summary This chapter addresses the multidimensional self-concepts and other personality characteristics of bullies and victims. Bullying is a growing and significant problem in many schools around the world. Bullying is a deliberate act designed to inflict physical and psychological harm. It involves a persons or groups intentional, hurtful action directed toward one person or more than one person and involves a complex interplay of dominance and social status. Engaging in bullying also has adverse consequences for bullies. A link among bullying behaviors at school and future criminality, poor mental health, and diminished school performance has been identified. Bullies might not have the socially valued means to gain a positive self-concept through competence and good performance at school. Therefore, bullies organize their self-esteem around strength, power, and physical superiority over others. Harming others may become a way of reaffirming self-identity and of compensating for frustration in other areas, such that students engage in behaviors to protect and enhance their self concept.

Moving Beyond Essentialism: Aboriginal Parental Perceptions of School Bullying and School Engagement

Bullying is increasingly recognised as a significant stressor for children and young people. Yet there are few studies of the nature and impact of bullying experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. This chapter uses data from Waves 1 and 5 to investigate the perceptions of LSIC parents of bullying as experienced by their Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander child. These responses are then explored across contextual factors to understand more fully the nature and dimensions of bullying experienced in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Parental perceptions of the bullying are also associated with their perceptions of schoolsafety, their child’s confidence at school, and their sense of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity at school, and their desire to skip school.

Fostering intentional learning with systems dynamic modeling

The intent of this paper is to suggest the dimensions of intentional learning and identify the key cognitive benefits of systems modeling with regard to intentional learning through a review of related studies. The authors propose that intentional learning occurs when learners realize the need for refining their conceptual understanding, relate learning to their everyday experiences, possibly through everyday problem solving, and activates or develops metacognitive processes in the course of learning. When engaged in intentional learning, learners’ epistemological beliefs are also challenged. The authors also discuss how systems modeling could potentially foster domain knowledge, systemic thinking, and conceptual change. The second section of this paper describes a technology-enhanced learning environment that fosters intentional learning.