Sarah A. Fefer

Development and Initial Validation of the Coping With Academic Demands Scale: How Students in Accelerated High School Curricula Cope With School-Related Stressors

Successful coping with academic demands is important given the inverse relationship between stress and positive adjustment in adolescents. The Coping With Academic Demands Scale (CADS) is a new measure of coping appropriate for students pursuing advanced high school curricula, specifically Advanced Placement (AP) classes and the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. We developed the CADS in parallel with a new measure of stress designed for this same population. We generated an initial item pool using multiple sources including focus groups and individual interviews with 177 students, 72 teachers, and 47 parents. Multiple iterations of expert review and item analyses resulted in 120 items, which were completed by 727 high school students in six schools (312 IB, 415 not in IB but taking at least one AP class). Exploratory factor analyses and additional item review indicated a 16-factor solution with 58 items. Cronbach’s alpha reliabilities for the factors ranged from .53 to .90, with 11 factors exceeding .70. All 16 factors had test–retest reliabilities greater than .70. Support for the construct validity of the CADS scores was provided using a nomological network, which specified relationships between the CADS and broader dimensions of school-related coping dimensions (task, avoidance, and emotion-oriented), as well as indicators of achievement (grade point averages) and mental health (life satisfaction). An additional seven items that were not part of the 16-factor CADS, but which were identified as relevant in different phases of instrument development, are provided as a resource for researchers.

Including Parents in the Continuum of School-Based Mental Health Services: A Review of Intervention Program Research From 1995 to 2010

In this study, the authors reviewed journal articles published between 1995 and 2010 that described student mental health interventions involving parents delivered in school settings. Their review identified 100 articles describing 39 interventions. On the basis of participant selection criteria provided by the authors of the reviewed articles, the authors of this study grouped interventions into universal (Tier 1), selected (Tier 2), targeted or indicated (Tier 3), or multitier programs. Interventions were identified across Tiers 1, 2, and 3, although interventions involving all three tiers were rare (n = 2). Common intervention goals were prevention of substance abuse and reduction of externalizing behavior problems. The majority of programs involved parents through group parent training. Example programs were selected at each tier to provide a description of how parents were recruited, how services were delivered to families, and outcomes for participants. Implications for school psychologists who wish to promote greater parent involvement in interventions at their schools and directions for future research are noted.

Use of Polynomial Regression to Investigate Biased Self-Perceptions and ADHD Symptoms in Young Adolescents.

Objective: This study investigated biased self-perceptions of academic and social competence among young adolescents with a range of ADHD symptoms. The goal was to better understand how to measure agreement and disagreement between competence ratings from multiple informants. Method: The commonly used discrepancy methodology was used along with polynomial regression/response surface analyses to explore the relationship between biased self-perceptions and ADHD symptoms. Participants were 164 middle school students and their homeroom teachers. Students and teachers completed measures about academic and social competence, and teachers rated ADHD symptoms. Results: Discrepancy score and polynomial regression/response surface analyses both supported the relationship between student overestimation of competence and ADHD symptoms. Response surface analyses also suggest that some students with ADHD symptoms accurately perceive their impairments, particularly in the academic domain. Conclusion: Findings demonstrate the importance of using more advanced methods to understand the relationship between both accurate and discrepant perceptions of competence and ADHD symptoms.

Students' Perceptions of Factors that Contribute to Risk and Success in Accelerated High School Courses

In this qualitative study, we investigated 15 successful and 15 struggling high school students, perceived stressors, coping strategies, and intrapersonal and environmental factors that students perceive to influence their success in college-level courses. We found that students’ primary sources of stress involved meeting numerous academic demands and seeking a balance between academic goals, social needs, and extracurricular activities. The most frequently described and commonly used coping responses viewed as effective involved time and task management, seeking temporary diversions, and cognitive reappraisal. Students perceived a strong work ethic and high achievement motivation as personal traits aligned with success, and support from a broad network of peers, parents, and teachers as environmental factors that are also related to optimal performance in rigorous accelerated high school programs.

Parent-Child Relationships and Well-Being

This chapter provides insight about links between parenting practices and youth well-being. We begin by providing comprehensive definitions of well-being and parent-child relationships in the context of positive psychology. Findings from empirical studies documenting associations between aspects of the parent-child relationship and indicators of youth well-being are summarized. Taken together, this body of research suggests that high levels of authoritative parenting practices, such as warmth/responsiveness/emotional support and firm behavioral control, co-occur with subjective well-being in adolescents. Applications of these findings are extended to interventions which target parenting practices as a way to promote positive outcomes for youth, as well as interventions focusing on increasing parents’ positive emotions and subjective well-being as a method to improve youth well-being. Additionally, theoretical frameworks for integrating positive psychology into clinical work with families are described. Lastly, practical recommendations are provided along with directions for future research.

School-Based Assessment of ADHD: Purpose, Alignment with Best Practice Guidelines, and Training.

Youth exhibiting symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are frequently referred to school psychologists because of academic, social, and behavioral difficulties that they face. To address these difficulties, evidence-based assessment methods have been outlined for multiple purposes of assessment. The goals of this study were to delineate school psychologists’ (a) primary purpose of their assessment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (i.e., screening, diagnosis, placement, intervention planning, progress monitoring), (b) use of recommended assessment tools/strategies and the perceived importance of each recommended tool/strategy for decision making, and (c) their perceived adequacy of training regarding attention deficit hyperactivity disorder assessment. Surveys from 217 school psychologists identified intervention planning as the primary purpose of assessment. Participants reported following recommended guidelines most frequently for diagnosis, impairment, and intervention development; they were least likely to follow guidelines for progress monitoring, evaluating outcomes, and assessing integrity. Participants reported being best trained for screening and placement, and least well trained in evaluating outcomes and developing interventions. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Effects of Shared Active Surface Technology on the Communication and Speech of Two Preschool Children With Disabilities

Shared active surface (SAS) technology can be described as a supersized tablet computer for multiple simultaneous users. SAS technology has the potential to resolve issues historically associated with learning via single-user computer technology. This study reports findings of a SAS on the social communication and nonsocial speech of two preschool children with disabilities. An alternating treatments design was used to compare differences in these behaviors during a SAS technology–based coloring activity and analog coloring activity. Results indicated distinct differences in social communication and nonsocial speech across participants. Implications of the findings are discussed, and directions for potential research with this technology are provided.