The Achievement Gap: Predicting the Effects of Protective/Risk Factors on Student Grades

The achievement gap has been extensively studied in urban and low-income schools. This study looked at the opposite end of the demographic spectrum to inform a wealthier, low-minority district of the predictive nature of risk and protective factors present in the lives of 10th-grade students as reported by the students. The purpose of this study was to see if student perceived effects of risk and protective factors in four environments have a predictive correlation to student grades. Using the socioecological framework the non-experimental, descriptive, correlational study used archival data to determine if risk and protective factors show a correlation for students reporting different average grades. The ordinal regression study, with the sample size of 805 10th graders from a high achieving, high income district yielded results that indicated that there is a predictive relationship between student self-reported grades and the protective and risk factors in their lives. The study found that students having low protection factors have approximately half the odds of getting high grades than those that reported having high risk factors. Students also reported that having high risk factors in their lives made them approximately three times more likely to have lower grades. This study provided data that quantifies previous assumptions about the predictive relationship between grades and the protective and risk factors in the various environments that impact students’ lives

Characterization of the Stratum Corneum Lipid Matrix using Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Using fluorescence techniques, we studied the dynamics of the lipid bilayer matrix of human stratum corneum (SC) and compared the results with that of distearoylphosphatidylcholine (DSPC). We employed a series of 9-anthroyloxy fatty acids (AF) that partitioned into the bilayer, enabling us to evaluate this structure as a function of depth within the lamellae. With AF probes, the reorientation of the fluorophore is known to be affected by the polarity, hydrogen bonding, and rigidity of the surrounding medium, altering the emission maximum and lifetime in the excited state. In addition, we evaluated quenching, in which iodide collides with the fluorophore, revealing information on the accessibility of the fluorophore located in the bilayer. The emission and lifetime data showed that the reorientation of the fluorophore in SC was more hindered than in DSPC, indicating that SC bilayers were more rigid than DSPC bilayers. Quenching data of both SC and DSPC indicated that the deeper the fluorophore was positioned in the bilayer, the less accessible it was to iodide, pointing to a gradient in accessibility. In addition, the quenching results also showed that the SC is less accessible to iodide than in DSPC. The observed differences in bilayer rigidity and quencher accessibility between the two systems can be explained by differences in lipid composition and hydration. Whereas the DSPC bilayer consists of phospholipids, SC bilayers are composed of more anhydrous lipids like cholesterol and ceramides, which form a tight bilayer packing. In this way SC lipids exist in a relatively anhydrous and rigid environment, forming an effective diffusion barrier to water and ions. Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings 3:105–109, 199

Something to Talk About: Improving At-Risk Youth\u27s Communication Through Relationship Education

Many individuals first experience dating and romantic relationships during adolescence (e.g., Chan, Adler-Baeder, Duke, Ketring, & Smith, 2016); however, many adolescents and young-adults may not have skills and information that will help them achieve healthy relationships. Therefore, during initial relationship experiences, it is important for adolescents to be in positive relationships and reduce the risk of violence or negative outcomes in the relationship (Adler-Baeder, Kerpelman, Schramm, Higginbotham, & Paulk, 2007).Relationship education encourages changes in faulty relationship beliefs, and can also help develop adaptive conflict-management skills for adolescents (e.g., Ma, Pittman, Kerpelman, & Adler-Baeder, 2014). This leads to growth in areas such as identifying faulty relationships beliefs, being more aware of unhealthy relationship patterns, and managing conflicts (e.g., Chan, Adler-Baeder, Duke, Ketring, & Smith, 2016). However, research has less often examined how adolescents\u27communication is affected by relationship education. We hypothesized that relationship education would result in higher levels of compromising relationship behaviors, and lower levels of attacking and avoiding behaviors. Youth aged 15-24 in the Champaign Area Relationship Education for Youth (CARE4U) program completed surveys that were administered after parent permission and child assent were obtained. A total of 101 students participated in a semester-long relationship education program (Love Notes) during their school lunch hours, and completed pretest (August, 2016), posttest 1 (January, 2017), and posttest 2 (April, 2017) surveys assessing relationship behaviors (e.g., compromising, attacking, and avoiding). A total of 133 participants attended focus groups at posttest 1 that targeted the relationship education component of the CARE4U program. Qualitative analyses indicated that students found teaching on physiological changes, such as the release of hormones during certain phases of relationships, as among the most important and useful information. According to participants, hands-on activities and lively discussions were the most effective in facilitating their learning. Interestingly, participants indicated that they struggled sometimes when other people in their lives did not have or use the same relationship skills they had learned in CARE4U. In these instances, it was harder for participants to regulate their emotions and utilize healthy communication. This highlights the importance of collaborating with families to increase exposure of curricula objectives to family members, friends, and other stakeholders. Results of quantitative analyses indicated no statistically significant effects for conflict-resolution styles from pretest to posttest 1 (ps \u3e .24) or from pretest to posttest 2 (ps \u3e .10). Results of this mixed-method study indicate that relationship education engages students, but that barriers to implementation of relationship skills are salient. This research suggests the need to influence students\u27 families and larger communities, while also assessing alternative quantitative measures that capture changes in attitudes toward relationships, beliefs about healthy relationships, and relationship outcomes