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

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

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

Self-efficacy and academic achievement in Australian high school students: The mediating effects of academic aspirations and delinquency

Studies have shown that self-efficacy, aspirational, and other psychosocial influences account for considerable variance in academic achievement through a range of mediational pathways, although no research to date has tested the mediational relationships identified. The present research investigated the structural relations among self-efficacy, academic aspirations, and delinquency, on the academic achievement of 935 students aged 11-18 years from ten schools in two Australian cities. The Children's Self-Efficacy, Scale, Adapted Self-Report. Delinquency Scale (Revised), and Children's Academic Aspirations Scale were administered to participants prior to academic achievement being assessed using mid-year school grades. Structural equation modeling was employed to test three alternative models for the relationships from academic, social, and self-regulatory efficacy on academic achievement. A partial mediation model showed the best overall fit to the data. Academic and self-regulatory efficacy had an indirect negative effect through delinquency and a direct positive effect on academic achievement. Academic and social self-efficacy had positive and negative relationships, respectively, with academic aspiration and academic achievement; however, the relationship between academic aspiration and academic achievement was not significant in the final model. (C) 2008 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Adolescents' longitudinal trajectories of mental health and loneliness: the impact of COVID-19 school closures

INTRODUCTION: Longitudinal research examining the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) school closures on the mental health of adolescents is scarce. Prolonged periods of physical and social isolation because of such restrictions may have impacted heavily on adolescents’ mental health and loneliness. METHODS: The current study addresses a major gap by examining the impact of school closures on the mental health and loneliness of 785, 10‐ to 17‐year‐old Western Australian adolescents (mean age = 14.1, SD = 1.31), who were surveyed across four time points: twice before COVID‐19, once as schools closed, and once post reopening of schools. Pre‐ and post‐COVID‐19 changes in mental health and loneliness were compared using linear mixed models. Random intercept cross‐lagged panel models (RI‐CLPMs) assessed temporal associations between loneliness, depression symptoms, and positive mental wellbeing. RESULTS: Compared with pre‐COVID‐19 symptom levels, there were significant increases in depression symptoms, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and a significant decrease in positive mental wellbeing at different points over time. Symptom change over time differed according to gender and pre‐COVID‐19 symptom severity. Significant increases in positive attitudes towards being alone and feelings of isolation occurred at different points over time. Gender differences were evident. RI‐CLPMs highlighted the predictive significance of friendship quality and having a negative attitude towards being alone over time in relation to depression symptoms. A positive or negative attitude towards being alone was predictive of positive mental wellbeing over time. CONCLUSION: Findings provide evidence that COVID‐19‐related school closures adversely affected adolescents' mental health and feelings of loneliness

Longitudinal trajectories of mental health and loneliness for Australian adolescents with-or-without neurodevelopmental disorders: the impact of COVID-19 school lockdowns

BACKGROUND: The impact of COVID‐19 (SARS‐CoV‐2) pandemic school lockdowns on the mental health problems and feelings of loneliness of adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) is hypothesized to be greater than that of their non‐NDD peers. This two and a half year longitudinal study compared changes in the mental health and loneliness of Western Australian adolescents pre‐COVID‐19 (November 2018 and April 2019), immediately prior to COVID‐19 school lockdowns (March 2020), and post schools reopening (July/August 2020). METHODS: An age‐and‐gender matched sample of 476 adolescents with‐or‐without NDDs completed online assessments for mental health and loneliness. RESULTS: Adolescents with NDDs reported elevated levels of adverse mental health across all four waves of data collection. These young people experienced little change in mental health problems and feelings of loneliness over time, and any increase during school lockdowns returned to, or fell below pre‐COVID‐19 levels once schools reopened. In comparison, adolescents without NDDs experienced significant increases from a low baseline in depression symptoms, externalizing symptoms, feelings of isolation, and having a positive attitude to being alone, and evidenced a significant decline in positive mental wellbeing. Quality of friendships were unaffected by COVID‐19 school lockdowns for all adolescents regardless of NDD status. Of the adolescents with NDDs, those with Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder reported a significant increase in positive mental wellbeing following school lockdowns. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents with NDDs emerged relatively unscathed from COVID‐19 school lockdowns and the short term impacts associated with these were not maintained over time. These findings should be considered in the context of this study’s geographical location and the unpredictability of school lockdowns. Learning to live with school lockdowns into the future may be a critical element for further investigation in the context of interventions