School support, parental involvement, and academic and social-emotional outcomes for English-language learners in elementary school.

This dissertation study examined the relationships between school support (i.e., student services and family outreach), parental school involvement, and academic and social-emotional outcomes for children who are English Language Learners (ELLs). Specifically, the goals of the study were to: a) determine if higher levels of school support were associated with more positive academic and social-emotional outcomes for ELLs, b) examine the extent to which parental school involvement mediated the relationship between school support and ELL student outcomes, and c) explore how ELLs\u27 perceived academic and social-emotional skills were related to their actual achievement levels. Restricted-use data collected from direct child assessments, children\u27s self-reports, and parent, teacher, and school administrator surveys from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort of 1998 (ECLS-K) were used. The sample included approximately 1,020 third-grade students who were identified in kindergarten as ELLs. Structural equation modeling was used to measure school support and then to analyze the direct and indirect effects of school support on ELL student outcomes, as potentially mediated by parental school involvement. Results showed that higher levels of school support predicted more parental involvement among ELL families, more parental involvement was associated with fewer social-emotional concerns for ELL children at school, and fewer social-emotional problems were linked to higher achievement scores. ELL students\u27 overall academic self-concept was not significantly related to their academic achievement, but this relationship was stronger when considering domain-specific measures of self-concept and achievement in reading and mathematics. Contrary to expectations, results showed that ELL students had lower achievement and more social-emotional concerns when they attended schools that provided more support services, although there are a variety of possible explanations for these findings that are discussed in the paper. Mediation analyses showed that none of the indirect effects reached conventional levels of statistical significance. Several avenues for future research are discussed as well as implications for policy and practice in terms of how schools can best serve the growing population of ELL students and families

Parenting in South American and African Contexts

Parenting involves a set of values, beliefs and practices of child care that create a developmental context and vary from culture to culture. Studies about parenting are of fundamental importance to the understanding of human development. This book has nine chapters and it addresses parenting and child care in two South American countries (Brazil and Colombia) and four African ones (Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria). It aims at contributing to the knowledge about human development in contexts of the majority world, not often considered in the psychological literature. Besides bringing data from different countries, it focuses in diverse scenarios in Brazil. The data and discussions include mothers, fathers and grandmothers beliefs and/or practices, parental styles and intervention programs oriented to quality parental care

Parent-child interactions: what is the role of smartphones?

Background The importance of parent-child attachment in supporting child wellbeing and development has been well-documented in the literature. However, modern technologies may act as a barrier to parent-child interactions. Currently, literature suggests many parents identify decreased feelings of social connectedness and lower levels of attention quality when using their smartphones while caring for children. However, no research to date has explored children’s perspectives of parental smartphone use. Aims This research explored the perceived impact of parental smartphone use on children, by gathering both children’s and parents’ perspectives. Two principal research questions identified were: 1. How do children perceive parental smartphone use? 2. What are parents’ experiences of using smartphones when caring for children? Methods Children’s perspectives were elicited using a Short Story Methodology, with children asked to complete one of three story variations. Parental perspectives were gathered using an online questionnaire, consisting of both open and closed ended questions. Closed ended questions were taken from the Distraction in Social Relations and Use of Parent Technology (DISRUPT) scale (McDaniel, 2016), while open-ended questions asked parents about their experiences of their smartphone use when spending time with children. Descriptive analyses were performed on the quantitative data, while the qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis. Results Children identified negative emotional responses in relation to the disrupted parent child interactions. Children also discussed negotiations that occur with caregivers when interactions are disrupted. Parents identified a number of ways in which smartphones intrude on family life, as well as external pressures and personal factors which cause them to engage in smartphone use. Conclusions Exploring the impact parental screen time has on children may provide valuable insights when examining the ecological factors that may be influencing child development. For educational psychologists, these factors are important to consider when supporting children and their families.N

What are they up to? Developmental pathways of paranoid thinking: an analogue study

Introduction: Recent evidence points to a continuum of paranoid thinking in the normal population. Some studies have proposed direct relationships between trauma and paranoia, and others have suggested that attachment theory may be useful in mapping pathways from early life experience to paranoia. Most of these studies have highlighted broad ‘cognitive’ mechanisms. However, attachment theory highlights the consequences of early childhood experience with a primary caregiver for affect regulation and mentalising. Methods: A total of 722 participants (all University students, 456/266 women/men, median age = 23 years) took part in an online questionnaire-based study. Participants completed measures of paranoia, early life experience, attachment anxiety/avoidance, positive and negative affect, empathy and social comparison. Results: Regression analyses highlighted a role of early life experience, affect and empathy in predicting paranoia. Structural Equation Modeling revealed a more complex double mediation between early life experience and paranoia. Attachment anxiety/avoidance only had a strong predictive effect for paranoia when taking positive and negative affect into account. Empathy was shown to mediate the relationship between early life experience and paranoia. Conclusions: The results highlight possible developmental pathways to paranoia. Both developmental pathways implicating affect regulation and mentalisation are relevant to paranoia in a non-clinical sample

Age differences in conspiracy beliefs around Covid-19 pandemic and (dis)trust in the government

Objective: Times of societal crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, during which people need to make sense of a chaotic world and to protect their health and lives, according to psychological research, represent suitable ground for the development of conspiracy theories about origins, spread, and treatment of the threat (coronavirus). Although numerous studies have been conducted on this issue since the beginning of the pandemic until today, most of the studies were conducted on the adult population with limited insights into development of the conspiracy beliefs in adolescence or over the lifespan. Objective of this study is precisely to explore how conspiracy beliefs regarding COVID-19 pandemic differentiate between multiple age groups (cross-sectional design), what are their sources and contexts, and how do they relate with the tendency to trust the government. Methodology: Data were gathered through eight focus group discussions with four age groups (11-12, 14-15, 18-19, 30+) in Serbia. Results: Based on critical discourse analysis, this paper identifies the differences in content and the sources of conspiracy thinking and how it relates to trust in the government. Study shows that high distrust in Serbian government is associated with conspiracy beliefs both within youth and adults. However, while among adolescents this finding is exclusively related with their beliefs that ruling structures have financial gain from the pandemic, against the interests of citizens, among adults it is related to the belief that the government (un)intentionally submits to the new global order that is managed by one or more powerful actors who are coordinated in secret action to achieve an outcome that is of public interest, but not public knowledge. Conclusion: The results will be discussed within current socio-political climate in Serbia, as well as the basis for understanding psychological factors which may underlie these tendencies in conspiracy theorizing, such as social identification, collective narcissism, authoritarianism, and social dominance orientation

Global Minds and Hearts Pathways Towards a Sustainable Future

This volume contains the program, abstracts, and links to the recordings of the keynotes of the 27th Regional Conference of IACCP, 2023.https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/iaccp_regional/1000/thumbnail.jp

COVID-19 Booster Vaccine Acceptance in Ethnic Minority Individuals in the United Kingdom: a mixed-methods study using Protection Motivation Theory

Background: Uptake of the COVID-19 booster vaccine among ethnic minority individuals has been lower than in the general population. However, there is little research examining the psychosocial factors that contribute to COVID-19 booster vaccine hesitancy in this population.Aim: Our study aimed to determine which factors predicted COVID-19 vaccination intention in minority ethnic individuals in Middlesbrough, using Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) and COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, in addition to demographic variables.Method: We used a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative data were collected using an online survey. Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews. 64 minority ethnic individuals (33 females, 31 males; mage = 31.06, SD = 8.36) completed the survey assessing PMT constructs, COVID-19conspiracy beliefs and demographic factors. 42.2% had received the booster vaccine, 57.6% had not. 16 survey respondents were interviewed online to gain further insight into factors affecting booster vaccineacceptance.Results: Multiple regression analysis showed that perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 was a significant predictor of booster vaccination intention, with higher perceived susceptibility being associated with higher intention to get the booster. Additionally, COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs significantly predictedintention to get the booster vaccine, with higher conspiracy beliefs being associated with lower intention to get the booster dose. Thematic analysis of the interview data showed that barriers to COVID-19 booster vaccination included time constraints and a perceived lack of practical support in the event ofexperiencing side effects. Furthermore, there was a lack of confidence in the vaccine, with individuals seeing it as lacking sufficient research. Participants also spoke of medical mistrust due to historical events involving medical experimentation on minority ethnic individuals.Conclusion: PMT and conspiracy beliefs predict COVID-19 booster vaccination in minority ethnic individuals. To help increase vaccine uptake, community leaders need to be involved in addressing people’s concerns, misassumptions, and lack of confidence in COVID-19 vaccination