Virginia M. C. Tze

Internalizing Problems of Adults With Learning Disabilities A Meta-Analysis

In this article the authors report a meta-analysis that examines the association between internalizing problems (anxiety and depressive symptoms) and learning disabilities (LD) in adults. Two hypotheses about the relationship between internalizing problems and LD in adults are posited and tested: the abeyance hypothesis (internalizing problems decline in adulthood) and the continuance hypothesis (internalizing problems continue in adulthood). From an initial pool of 171 relevant studies, 15 studies met the inclusion criteria, with eight published articles and seven dissertations yielding 48 effect sizes, NTotal = 16,239). The overall effect size was significant and of medium magnitude (d = 0.51, p < .001). Results from the study suggest support for the continuance hypothesis, with rates of adult internalizing problems similar to those found in studies of children and adolescents with LD. Moderating variables are explored, and implications for practice and research are offered.

A Cross-Cultural Validation of the Learning-Related Boredom Scale (LRBS) With Canadian and Chinese College Students

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Learning-Related Boredom Scale (LRBS) from the Academic Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ; Pekrun, Goetz, & Perry, 2005; Pekrun, Goetz, Titz, & Perry, 2002) in a sample of 405 university students from Canada and China. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the factor structure and measurement invariance of the LRBS across cultural settings, after which the relationships between the LRBS, boredom frequency in class, intrinsic motivation, and self-efficacy for self-regulated learning (SESRL) were examined. Results showed evidence of reliability and measurement invariance of the LRBS, and the relationships between the LRBS, boredom frequency, and SESRL were similar across settings. The study thus provided evidence that learning-related boredom is a valid construct across culturally diverse school settings and supported the use of the LRBS in both Canadian and Chinese student populations.

A Cross-National Validation of the Academic Expectations Stress Inventory With Chinese and Korean High School Students

The current study provided evidence for the factor structure of the Academic Expectation Stress Inventory (AESI) in a sample of 213 Mainland Chinese and 184 South Korean high school students. We examined cross-national invariance of the AESI using multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis across two Asian cultural samples. Results suggested a unidimension rather than two-factor structure (self and teachers/parents) in both settings. Results also showed evidence of reliability, convergent validity (significant correlations with depression, emotional exhaustion, and cynicism), and divergent validity (nonsignificant correlations with amotivation and efficacy reduction). ANCOVA results indicated that perceived overall academic expectation stress was significantly higher among Mainland Chinese students than for their South Korean counterparts. Furthermore, there were no differences between males and females for the Korean adolescents while females reported higher expectation scores than males in the Chinese adolescent sample.