Book reviews

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43582/1/11159_2005_Article_BF01450280.pd

Aggression, deviance, and personality adaptation as antecedents and consequences of alienation and involvement in high school

Alienation from, or involvement in, the social and educational systems of the high school are investigated in an effort to determine the extent that school experiences may influence aggressive and deviant behavior in school and personality styles or orientations. Drawing upon longitudinal data collected from 250 boys followed from grades 8 through 12, potential antecedent-consequence relationships between dimensions of alienation and involvement and these two basic types of student outcomes are examined by cross-lagged panel analyses. Differences between cross-lagged panel correlations provide evidence that student reactions and attachments to school manifest relationships with aggression, deviance, and personality, serving as both antecedents and consequences of these student adaptations. The major findings provide evidence that (1) boys who more frequently break school rules and engage in aggressive or deviant behavior may often come to have more negative attitudes toward school staff and less involvement in school; and (2) student involvement and participation in school life can influence certain aspects of adolescent personality. Possible evidence of reciprocal causation is presented and discussed, as are additional theoretical and methodological implications of the data.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45259/1/10964_2005_Article_BF01537471.pd

School Effects on the Wellbeing of Children and Adolescents

Well-being is a multidimensional construct, with psychological, physical and social components. As theoretical basis to help understand this concept and how it relates to school, we propose the Self-Determination Theory, which contends that self-determined motivation and personality integration, growth and well-being are dependent on a healthy balance of three innate psychological needs of autonomy, relatedness and competence. Thus, current indicators involve school effects on children’s well-being, in many diverse modalities which have been explored. Some are described in this chapter, mainly: the importance of peer relationships; the benefits of friendship; the effects of schools in conjunction with some forms of family influence; the school climate in terms of safety and physical ecology; the relevance of the teacher input; the school goal structure and the implementation of cooperative learning. All these parameters have an influence in promoting optimal functioning among children and increasing their well-being by meeting the above mentioned needs. The empirical support for the importance of schools indicates significant small effects, which often translate into important real-life effects as it is admitted at present. The conclusion is that schools do make a difference in children’s peer relationships and well-being