Social networking and the social and emotional wellbeing of adolescents in Australia

Technology and social networking tools and sites are changing the way young people build and maintain their social connections with others (Boyd & Ellison, 2008). This study utilised a new measure, The Self in a Social Context, Virtual Connectedness subscale (SSC-VC subscale), to examine the effects of social networking tools and sites on social and emotional wellbeing among 1,037 Australian young people aged 11-18 years. A maximum likelihood factor analysis identified three strong factors: Fit In ( = .81), Public Self ( = .79) and Connected Self ( = .83). Significant main effects were revealed for the number of times students checked their Facebook F(12, 2415) = 13.8, p < .001, and for gender, F(3, 913) = 10.8, p < .001, but no interaction effect was found. Univariate tests also revealed a significant difference for Frequency of checking Facebook, F(4, 915), = 4.98, and for Gender, F(1, 915), = 46.92, p < .001 on the dependent variable of Emotional Difficulties. These findings suggest that social networking sites, though used differently by males and females, provide an important forum for building social connections across groups

Self-reported substance use among high school students with and without learning difficulties

A total of 197 Year 9 and 10 students, 74 of whom had learning difficulties (LD), from two high schools in Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland, Australia, self-reported their substance use. Seventeen substances, including two fictitious ones to detect over-reporting, were presented to participants for them to indicate their current usage, ex-usage, or non-usage. The findings revealed that participants were most likely to use alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana. A series of Chi-square (chi(2)) analyses found that male students with LD and female students without LD were at greatest risk of substance use, overall. These findings are discussed in the light of the previous limited research pertaining to substance use amongst students with LD

Teacher education for diversity

This research reports the findings from three Queensland universities regarding preservice teachers' attitudes towards people with disabilities. The Interactions With Disabled Persons Scale (Gething, 1991) was administered to investigate the effect of personal attributes on preservice teachers' acceptance of and social interactions with people with disabilities. The findings indicate that only four percent of preservice teachers surveyed had undertaken any compulsory courses and only 18 percent had taken elective units in teaching children with special needs. Preservice teachers who had at least weekly contact with people with disabilities perceived less discomfort with such interactions than did those who had less contact. Additionally, postgraduate students experienced greater discomfort than undergraduates did. The implications of these findings for the development of compulsory preservice courses that focus on diversity and for subsequent changes in content at the participating universities are discussed

Reputation Enhancing Goals: Integrating Reputation Enhancement and Goal Setting Theory as an Explanation of Delinquent Involvement

There are a number of conditions to which youths are exposed that predispose them to involvement in delinquent activities. Not all adolescents who are exposed to adverse conditions, however, necessarily engage in delinquency. This article provides an alternative explanation of delinquency via a model entitled Reputation Enhancing Goals (REG) which integrates reputation enhancement theory and goal setting theory. An overview of the theories of reputation enhancement and goal setting is presented with discussion of how the two theories are integrated. Elaboration of the elements of the integrated model with empirical support for their inclusion is provided. The integrated model is based on the premise that delinquency is a relatively common alternative chosen by adolescents because it serves to provide critical feedback about their own self-image and status and it assists them to interpret the image and status of others. The model comprises four major facets (individual's resources, personal goals, peer influence, and reputation management) and four self-regulating mechanisms (presence of audience, feedback, commitment, and challenge). Implications for prevention and intervention with at-risk adolescents are discussed

Goal setting and reputation enhancement: Behavioural choices among delinquent, at-risk, and not at-risk adolescents

Purpose. The purpose of the present research was to investigate the relationships among goal-setting, reputation enhancement (striving to project a nonconforming, tough image) and delinquent behaviour in adolescents. Methods. Participants were 80 incarcerated delinquent, 90 at-risk and 90 not at-risk adolescent males, ranging in age from 12 to 18 years, who completed four scales: the Adapted Self-Report Delinquency Scale, the Importance of Goals Scale, the Reputation Enhancement Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Results. Four second-order factors (self-reported delinquency, self-presentation, conforming reputation, non-conforming reputation) were derived from the 31 first-order factors of the four scales. A series of multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) and univariate F tests were then performed on each of the four sets of dependent variables which revealed that the goals of delinquent and at-risk participants were more congruent with a non-conforming reputation, compared to those of the not at-risk participants who set goals which were more congruent with a conforming reputation. Conclusions. The integration of goal-setting theory and reputation enhancement theory tested in this research provides an alternative analysis of delinquency using a social-psychological approach. Identification of the phenomenon of nonconforming reputation enhancement among delinquent and at-risk adolescents highlights the necessity to provide a differentiated intervention for working with these particular young people

Reputation enhancement and involvement in delinquency among high school students

The present research explored the relationship between high school students' self-reported delinquency and the importance of their social reputations. The prevalence of self-reported delinquency was investigated in a sample of 965 (467 males, 498 females) Years 8 to 12 students attending high schools in Brisbane and Perth. The results revealed that males are significantly more prone to all forms of delinquent behaviour than their female peers. Most forms of delinquency appeared to peak at Year 9, with the exception of drug use which increased with age. A cluster analysis was performed on the prevalence data and students were separated into two groups: students with high and low involvement in delinquency. The reputations of students with high and low delinquency involvement were investigated. Students identified as having low involvement in delinquency desired a more conforming reputation than those with high involvement. Females also desired a more conforming reputation than their male counterparts. In relation to year level, junior high school students were less conforming than senior high school students. Ways to address the powerful nature of adolescent reputations and their link to involvement in delinquent activities are highlighted

A Matrix of Feedback for Learning

The present study used an established model of feedback (Hattie & Timperley, 2007) as a framework to explore which types and levels of feedback are most common in the upper primary classroom. Results demonstrate that feedback was predominantly directed toward the task level and that feed forward, information about the next steps for learning, was the least occurring feedback type in the classroom. Based upon research and findings, the authors propose a conceptual matrix of feedback that bridges research to practice with the aim of feedback being a driver to promote improvement

Students at risk of delinquency

This market leading, Australian text gives students a broad understanding of the principles of inclusive education, and the ways in which teachers can accommodate the differing learning needs of their students. It has been written with the particular aim of teaching students how to apply the ideas that have been presented in each chapter. [from publisher's website

A review of the research on interventions for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Which treatment works best?

This meta-analysis examined 74 studies in which there had been an intervention that aimed to improve the behavioral, cognitive, and/or social functioning of people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or attention deficit disorder (ADD). Overall, there were larger effects of the various interventions on behavioral than on educational outcomes. These overall effects were larger for medical interventions than for educational, psychosocial, or parent training interventions, but there was little support for flow-over effects, from the reduction in behavior problems to enhanced educational outcomes. The effects on educational outcomes were greater for educational interventions than for other types of intervention

Impulsivity in juvenile delinquency: Differences among early-onset, late-onset and non-offenders

The present research investigated differences in levels of impulsivity among early-onset, late-onset, and non-offending adolescents. 129 adolescents (114 males, 15 females), of whom 86 were institutionalised (M age=15.52 years) and 43 were regular school students (M age=15.40 years) participated. Each participant completed the Adapted Self-Report Delinquency Scale, Stroop Colour and Word Test, Time Perception task, Accuracy Game, Risk-Taking Game, and the Eysenck Impulsiveness Questionnaire. Results suggest that adolescents who display rapid cognitive tempo, poor mental inhibitory control, and high impulsivity are more likely to be early-onset offenders. Offender and non-offender groups showed significant differences on several measures of impulsivity, which may suggest that late-onset offenders acquire or exacerbate impulse-related problems through social mimicry of early-onset offender peers. Potentially important implications for our understanding of delinquency and the design and provision of prevention programs are highlighted