Yunhwan Kim

Beyond search and communication: Development and validation of the Internet Self-efficacy Scale (ISS)

Internet self-efficacy is a pivotal construct for understanding a wide range of online activities. Human activity has been developing in new directions along with the evolution of the Internet over the last few decades. A self-efficacy measure which might appropriately reflect these changes is still lacking in the literature. To address this research gap, the current study developed the Internet Self-efficacy Scale (ISS) and tested its validity and reliability. A sample of 349 undergraduate students completed an assessment battery including the ISS. A 17-item five-factor model was extracted from an EFA. Using a CFA, the 17-item five-factor model obtained from the EFA was cross-validated and the results revealed acceptable model fits where @g^2(df=107)=198.987, NFI=.918, CFI=.960, and RMESA=.067 (95% C.I.; 052, .081). Also, the ISS showed good convergent validity, evidenced by the significant relationships with Internet outcome expectancy and Internet anxiety.

Connecting agents

This paper focuses on the role that motivation to participate play in online communities.There was a significant correlation between connectedness and motivation to participate.This correlation was found in a web infused class but no a more traditional class. This paper explores the relationship between social engagement and motivation to share knowledge in a hybrid college class using a web infused curriculum. Online social engagement, operationalized through concepts such as connectivity, social presence and social space has been an important topic of research in web based education for more than a decade. An important sub-text of this research is that online social engagement supports higher levels of collaboration. Students who feel comfortable with and connected to their online learning community are much more likely to be active participants in that community, working together to develop and build knowledge systems. Much of this research refers to the more social/participatory based educational theories of John Dewey and L.S. Vygotsky. There is though a second component of collaboration that helps drive community building in this theoretical frameworks; motivation to engage in a shared, relevant, goal oriented activity. While most theories on social engagement assume natural relationships between online social engagement and motivation to participate in a community, this relationship is not often discussed and examined very often. This paper specifically compares the relationship between classroom connectedness and motivation to share knowledge between students in a hybrid, web infused class and a more traditionally oriented class with a small web component. Analysis did find a highly significant relationship between connectedness and motivation to share knowledge in the hybrid class but not in the traditional class, suggesting an important relationship, but one based at least partially in targeted experience.

The longitudinal relation between online and offline political participation among youth at two different developmental stages

The role played by the Internet in young people’s political lives has received great research attention. However, two gaps in the literature hinder the drawing of conclusions on how online political participation is related to its offline counterpart. First, although there are multiple hypotheses on the nature of the relationship, they have not been compared in any single study. Second, although the relation may differ according to developmental stage, age differences have not been examined. We address these gaps using longitudinal data from two samples of youth at different developmental stages, and test four hypotheses for each sample. It was found, among late adolescents, that online participation serves as a gateway to offline participation. However, among young adults, offline participation spills over into online participation. These findings indicate the positive potential of online political participation in youth’s political lives, and highlight the need to focus on their developmental stages.

Mental health problems among economically disadvantaged adolescents in an increasingly unequal society: A Swedish study using repeated cross-sectional data from 1995 to 2011

Increasing inequality in many societies highlights the importance of paying attention to differences in mental health between the economically disadvantaged adolescents and the non-disadvantaged adolescents. Also important is to understand how changing inequality in society over time influences adolescents’ mental health at the population- and individual-level. The current study examined to what extent increased societal-level income inequality over time, individual-level experiences of economic disadvantage and the cross-level interaction between the two explained Swedish adolescents’ mental health problems from 1995 to 2011. We used repeated cross-sectional data collected 6 times between 1995 and 2011 in Sweden. Each time, approximately 2500 students in grade 9 completed a questionnaire during the spring semester. The adolescents provided self-report data on the frequency of their experiences of unaffordability of daily leisure activities (concert, movie, sports, and dance). They also reported their psychosomatic symptoms, which was used as a measure of mental health problems. We used the household equalised disposable income Gini coefficient as an indicator of societal income inequality. A real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was controlled for in order to rule out potential effects of economic growth in the society over time. Multilevel regression analyses were conducted in which students were nested in years of investigations. Adolescents who experienced unaffordability of daily leisure activities reported more mental health problems. Societal income inequality was not directly associated with the adolescents’ mental health. However, among girls the effects of experiences of unaffordability on mental health were stronger for all but one (sports) activities, and among boys for one activity (sports) when societal-level inequality was greater. Individual-level economic disadvantage are detrimental for adolescents’ mental health, both directly and interactively with societal-level economic inequality. Some suggestions for practice and future studies are made for mental health among adolescents in societies where increasing inequality is observed.

Trends in adolescent mental health during economic upturns and downturns: a multilevel analysis of Swedish data 1988-2008

Background A long-term trend of increasing mental health problems among adolescents in many Western countries indicates a great need to investigate if and how societal changes have contributed to the reported increase. Using seven waves of repeated cross-sectional data collected between 1988 and 2008 in Sweden, the current study examined if economic factors at the societal level (municipality unemployment rate) and at the individual level (worry about family finances), and their interaction could explain a secular trend in mental health problems. Methods Participants were 17 533 students of age 15–16 years (49.3% girls), from 14 municipalities in a county of Sweden. Data on adolescents’ mental health (psychosomatic problems) and worry about family finances were obtained using a self-report questionnaire. A series of multilevel regression analyses were conducted in order to explain the trends in adolescents’ mental health. Results The results indicated that the individual-level predictor (worry about family finances) significantly explained the increasing rates of adolescents’ psychosomatic problems. This was particularly the case during the mid-1990s, which was characterised by a severe recession in Sweden with high unemployment rates. For example, after accounting for adolescents’ worry, a significant increase in psychosomatic symptoms between 1988 and 1998 among girls (b=0.112, P<0.05) disappeared (b=0.018, P>0.05) and a non-significant decrease between 1988 and 1995 among boys (b=−0.017, P>0.05) became significant (b=−0.142, P<0.05). Neither municipality unemployment rate nor its interaction with adolescents’ worry explained psychosomatic problems. Conclusions The findings demonstrate the effects of adolescents’ worry about family finances on a secular trend in mental health problems during an economically bleak period of time. The study highlights the need for repeated measurements including a large number of time points over a long time period in order to analyse time-specific putative explanatory factors for trends in adolescent mental health problems.