bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Peer victimisation at school and the health of secondary school students
Authors: Rigby Ken 
Published: February 2003

Background. Although previous studies have indicated that children who are frequently bullied by peers at school have below average health, both the generalisability of such findings across age groups and how they can be best explained have remained unclear.Aims. (i) To examine whether reported peer victimisation is related to current levels of physical and mental health among early and late secondary school students and (ii) to determine whether degree of reported victimisation in early years of secondary schooling can predict the health status of students when they are in senior class.Sample. Students were selected from those attending the first two years of schooling at a South Australian high school in 1994 (N = 276) and the last two years in 1997 (N = 126). These included a subsample (N = 78) who were assessed at school at both times.Method. Students completed questions which included measures of degree of peer victimisation and mental and physical health.Results. For the total sample assessed in 1994, but not that of 1997, reported victimisation was significantly correlated with relatively poor physical and mental health. For the re‐tested subsample, high levels of peer victimisation in the pre‐testing predicted poor physical health for both sexes and poor mental health in girls.Conclusion. Relatively poor health was characteristic of students reporting frequent victimisation by peers in early secondary schooling and also of senior students who reported being bullied frequently three years earlier, suggesting a causal connection.
Test anxiety versus academic skills: A comparison of two alternative models for predicting performance in a statistics exam
Authors: Musch Jochen , Broder Arndt 
Published: February 2003

Background. Two competing theoretical models to explain academic performance were proposed. The interference model stresses the detrimental effect of task‐irrelevant thoughts during the test‐taking situation whereas the deficit model suggests Study Habits and domain‐specific skills as main predictors of test performance.Aims. The study compares the two models by determining the relative contribution of Test Anxiety, Study Habits, and Maths Skill to performance in a statistics exam.Sample. Sixty‐six undergraduate students who were enrolled in the first semester of two parallel introductory statistics courses participated in the study.Method. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed on the performance in the final statistics exam. The unique variance attributable to Test Anxiety, Study Habits, and Maths Skill was calculated.Results. Both Maths Skill and Test Anxiety added unique variance in explaining performance, whereas Study Habits did not. Although Maths Skill emerged as relatively more important than Test Anxiety, a purely deficitbased account nevertheless appears untenable because interfering effects of Test Anxiety during the examination also contributed an important portion of variance.Conclusions. It is recommended that cognitive‐attentional accounts stressing test anxiety be supplemented by a deficit formulation, and that multimodal counselling address both Test Anxiety and skill deficits.Comment. Methodological problems in investigating the causal relationship between skill deficits, anxiety, and performance are discussed.
Self‐reports of short‐ and long‐term effects of bullying on children who stammer
Authors: Hugh‐Jones Siobhan , Smith Peter K. 
Published: February 2003

Background. Victimisation at school may result in long‐term social, emotional and psychological effects (Parker & Asher, 1987; Sharp, 1995), particularly for children with special educational needs (Whitney et al., 1994). Children who stammer may be at risk of being bullied due to their peerrelationship and verbal difficulties.Aim. This study aimed to explore the nature, frequency and causes of bullying amongst children who stammer as well as the short‐ and long‐term effects of their victimisation.Sample. The sample consisted of 276 respondents from the British Stammering Association, a national association for dysfluent people.Method. A retrospective analysis of school experiences related to bullying, and its effects, was conducted through both semi‐structured interviews and postal questionnaires.Results. A majority of respondents had experienced bullying at school, and the likelihood of being bullied was related to the reported difficulties in friendship‐making. Nearly one‐half of teachers and families were reported as not being aware of this bullying. A majority reported immediate negative personal effects of this bullying, and 46% reported some long‐term effects.Conclusion. Logistic regression analyses suggested that the severity of bullying, together with other factors such as difficulty with friendships, predicted these effects.Comment. In response to the high incidence of bullying experienced by children who stammer, a pack has been developed which aims to create a more empathetic school climate where differences are tolerated rather than assaulted.
The relationship between personality and attainment in 16‐19 year‐old students in a sixth form college. I: Construction of the Student Self‐Perception Scale
Authors: Summerfield Margaret , Youngman Michael 
Published: February 2003

Background. Of the research that has been undertaken into the relationship between personality and attainment, relatively little exists relating to the 16‐19 age range. In a substantive study examining the relationship between academic self‐concept, attainment and personality in sixth form students, a first requirement was to design a self‐perception instrument.Aims. The psychometric element of the study aimed to construct a Student Self‐Perception Scale (SSPS) that would be effective for students in the FE (further education) context.Samples. The samples comprised a pilot sample of 152 students (aged 16‐17 years from two sixth form colleges) and a main sample of 364 students (mean age, 16yrs 10mths, range 16:0 to 18:6 years, from one sixth form college). The main sample included similar numbers of male and female students (46% male, 54% female) and ethnic minority students comprised 14% of this sample.Method. An initial item pool of 88 four‐point Likert type statements was compiled from comparable existing scales and from responses to a Student Induction Questionnaire. Item analysis was based on oblique factor analysis of the pilot sample responses, followed by cross‐validation on the main sample to refine the scale structures. Construct validity was established from the substantive study, especially the Nowicki & Strickland (1973) locus of control results.Results. Exploration of the four‐ and five‐factor structures led to a final specification based on 52 items from five oblique factors. The constituent scales were Passivity (12 items, alpha = .81). Mastery (15 items, alpha = .79), Work Related Inadequacy (11 items, alpha = .72), Extraversion (4 items, alpha = .70) and Social Dependence (10 items, alpha = .66), all statistics compiled from the cross‐validation sample. Correlations with Locus of Control ranged from 0.52 for Mastery to‐.34 for Work Related Inadequacy. Distribution statistics for Locus of Control matched a comparable American sample.Conclusions. The five‐scale structure exhibits good cross‐validation characteristics and supports revealing analyses of relationships within the substantive study. Its 52‐item format is suitable for research or exploratory use within its intended FE context.
The relationship between personality and attainment in 16‐19‐year‐old students in a sixth form college. II: Self‐perception, gender and attainment
Authors: Summerfield Margaret , Youngman Michael 
Published: February 2003

Background. A related paper (Summerfield & Youngman, 1999) has described the development of a scale, the Student Self‐Perception Scale (SSPS) designed to explore the relationship between academic self‐concept, attainment and personality in sixth form college students.Aims. The study aimed to identify groups of students exhibiting varying patterns of relationship using a range of measures including the SSPS. Issues of gender are also examined.Samples. The samples comprised a pilot sample of 152 students (aged 16‐17 years from two sixth form colleges) and a main sample of 364 students (mean age, 16 yrs 10 mths range 16:0 to 18:6 years, from one sixth form college). The main sample included similar numbers of male and female students (46% male, 54% female) and ethnic minority students comprised 14% of this sample.Method. Data comprised responses to two personality measures (the SSPS, Summerfield, 1995, and the Nowicki‐Strickland Locus of Control Scale, Nowicki & Strickland, 1973), various student and tutor estimates of success, and performance data from college records. Students were classified using relocation cluster analysis and cluster differences verified using discriminant function analysis. Thirty outcome models were tested using covariance regression analysis.Results. Eight distinct and interpretable groups, consistent with other research, were identified but the hypothesis of a positive, linear relationship between mastery and academic attainment was not sustained without qualification. Previous attainment was the major determinant of final performance. Gender variations were detected on the personality measures, particularly Confidence of outcomes, Prediction discrepancy, Passivity, Mastery, Dependency and Locus of control, and these were implicated in the cluster characteristics.Conclusions. The results suggest that a non‐linear methodology may be required to isolate relationships between self‐concept, personality and attainment, especially where gender effects may exist.
Individual differences in the writing behaviour of undergraduate students
Authors: Torrance Mark , Thomas Glyn V. , Robinson Elizabeth J. 
Published: February 2003

Background. Writing is an important skill required in all graduate employment but we lack information on the most effective ways to write, and how to foster writing expertise in students. It is widely held that writers evolve characteristic patterns of working (strategies), and that these strategies are important for writing success and efficiency. Most of the available data on the writing strategies of expert writers, however, consist of questionnaire responses produced some time after writing itself, and it would be helpful to have more direct information on writing strategies and their effects.Aims. To establish whether student writers develop stable writing strategies, and to examine the relation, if any, between writing strategy and writing success.Sample. Twenty‐five first year undergraduate students studying for a degree in psychology.Methods. Records of their writing activities were completed by students concurrently with writing each of two essays (term papers).Results. Analysis of the records identified patterns of working which differed across individuals. Nearly three‐quarters of the students displayed the same pattern of writing behaviour (strategy) for both their essays. The strategies identified from the activity records were broadly consistent with the descriptions of writing behaviour derived from previous questionnaire studies. There was, however, no significant association between writing strategy and essay mark.Conclusion. Many students evolve stable writing strategies, which may differ across students. Most of these strategies seem adequately effective in terms of producing course essays. Consequently, unless a student complains of writing difficulties, then tolerance of a range of approaches may be desirable in writing instruction.
The teachability of children with naive theories: An exploration of the effects of two teaching methods
Authors: Pine Karen J. , Messer David J. , Godfrey Karen 
Published: February 2003

Background. The Representational Redescription model of cognitive development (Karmiloff‐Smith, 1992) identified a level when a child's representation of a task may be incorrect but difficult to access or change. On the balance beam task children at this level have been found to hold a fixed belief that all objects must balance at their geometric centre, even those which have more weight at one end and actually balance off‐centre.Aims. In this study we sought to determine whether children who hold this ‘centre theory’ about balance can alter their beliefs when exposed to an adult teaching them the correct solution. Since the RR model stresses the top‐down, impenetrable nature of this type of representation our aim was to see whether particular interventions might bring about progress in these children.Sample. The participants were 42 children, from 4, 11 to 7,4 years, who demonstrated at pre‐test that they held a centre theory by being unable to balance any beams which were unevenly weighted.Methods. The children were randomly assigned to one of three conditions where they either saw an adult modelling and explaining the correct solution, or an adult worked with them offering guided participation, or the child worked alone.Results. Progress was measured by improvement from pre‐to post‐test in ability to balance unevenly weighted beams. Children who had seen an adult modelling and explaining the task showed greater improvement than those who worked alone, although this difference was not significant at a delayed post‐test one week later.Conclusion. Although many children with a fixed naive theory about balance were identified this study demonstrates that, with the right type of input, it is possible to facilitate progress.
Confirmatory factor analyses of Kolb's Learning Style Inventory (LSI‐1985)
Authors: Loo Robert 
Published: February 2003

Background. There has been mixed factor‐analytic support for Kolb's original Learning Style Inventory (LSI) and the later refined version (LSI‐1985) in terms of the two proposed dimensions and four learning styles.Aims. The present study used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to determine if the two proposed dimensions and four learning styles are clearly identified.Samples. Two hundred undergraduates in management courses completed the LSI‐1985.Methods. The appropriateness of the two dimensions and four styles were evaluated through CFAs of the covariance matrices using AMOS (Arbuckle, 1997) and several fit indexes.Results. The CFAs fail to support Kolb's (1985) efforts to improve the original LSI with the LSI‐1985 and underscore concerns about factoring ipsative measures. On the other hand, an exploratory factor analysis using the four style scores supports the two bipolar dimensions.Conclusions. While factor‐analytic and measurement issues persist with the LSI, there is support for the LSI as a pedagogical tool.
A longitudinal perspective on learning strategies in higher education ‐ different view‐points towards development
Authors: Vermetten Yvonne J. , Vermunt Jan D. , Lodewijks Hans G. 
Published: February 2003

Background. An important purpose of tertiary education is that students develop more advanced, deep‐level learning. Longitudinal, within‐subject studies to examine intra‐individual changes, however, are scarce.Aims. We aimed at gaining a broad picture of students' development in academic learning by taking many different perspectives. This involves the extent to which students report change, factors that contribute to this, the degree of stability of different aspects of learning, and changes in their interrelatedness.Samples. Participants were 276 full‐time students from four different university departments, (60% women and 40% men).Methods. This study has a longitudinal within‐subjects design. An inventory that measures learning strategies, learning orientations and mental learning models was administered after the first and third semester. Paired‐samples Ttests were used to analyse changes within variables. Principal component analyses were performed to examine changes in the interrelatedness of variables.Results. Results showed that students became more meaning‐directed learners during this period. Personological as well as contextual variables explained this. The factor structure underlying the variables became more clear and consolidated in the course of time.Conclusions. The results concerning intra‐individual development are satisfying. The diffuse factor structure after the first semester is explained by a period of ‘friction’ in which students have to adapt to a new learning environment. The importance of instructional effort during this period, which explicitly attends to the development of learning strategies and conceptions, is stressed.
Experimental appraisal of personal beliefs in science: Constraints on performance in the 9 to 14 age group
Authors: Howe Christine , Tolmie Andrew , Sofroniou Nick 
Published: February 2003

Background. Recent curricula initiatives have promoted experimentation as a means by which relatively young children can appraise their personal beliefs and thereby modify these beliefs towards received scientific ideas. However, key psychological theories signal problems, and the enterprise is not in any event securely grounded in empirical research.Aims. As a consequence, the study reported here aimed to provide comprehensive information about children's abilities to use experimentation to appraise their beliefs, while allowing full exploration of theorised constraints.Samples. The study involved 24 children at each of three age levels within the 9 to 14 range.Methods. The children were first interviewed to establish their beliefs about influences on outcome in four educationally significant topic areas: flotation, pressure, motion and shadows. Subsequently, they were asked to conduct investigations to determine whether selected beliefs were correct.Results. The results showed that, regardless of age or topic, very few children appreciated that to explore whether some variable is influencing outcome it is necessary to manipulate that variable experimentally and that variable only. There was a strong tendency to manipulate other variables, a tendency attributed to the intrusion of everyday reasoning practices into the experimental context. Once extraneous variables had been introduced, the children experienced great difficulties with subsequent stages in the experimental process, e.g., predicting, observing and drawing conclusions.Conclusions. It is concluded that experimentation as a means of appraising beliefs is not straightforward in the 9 to 14 age group, and that the pattern of difficulties has psychological significance given the background theories. Nevertheless, while not straightforward, experimental appraisal remains possible given appropriate teacher support, and proposals are made as to the form which the support should take.
Criticality of predictors in multiple regression
Authors: Azen Razia , Budescu David V. , Reiser Benjamin 
Published: February 2003

A new method is proposed for comparing all predictors in a multiple regression model. This method generates a measure of predictor criticality, which is distinct from and has several advantages over traditional indices of predictor importance.Using the bootstrapping (resampling with replacement) procedure, a large number of samples are obtained from a given data set which contains one response variable and p predictors. For each sample, all 2p − 1 subset regression models are fitted and the best subset model is selected. Thus, the (multinomial) distribution of the probability that each of the 2p − 1 subsets is ‘the best’ model for the data set is obtained.A predictor's criticality is defined as a function of the probabilities associated with the models that include the predictor. That is, a predictor which is included in a large number of probable models is critical to the identification of the best‐fitting regression model and, therefore, to the prediction of the response variable.The procedure can be applied to fixed and random regression models and can use any measure of goodness of fit (e.g., adjusted R2, Cp, AIC) for identifying the best model. Several criticality measures can be defined by using different combinations of the probabilities of the best‐fitting models, and asymptotic confidence intervals for each variable's criticality can be derived. The procedure is illustrated with several examples.
Attachment research in eating disorders
Authors: Ward Anne , Ramsay Rosalind , Treasure Janet 
Published: February 2003

Aim. In a recent review, disturbances in attachment have been linked with eating disorder symptomatology. However, because of the limitations of study design, few inferences could be drawn about these processes in the aetiology and maintenance of eating disorder. Since that review, there has been further development in the instruments used and the publication of several further studies of attachment processes in eating disorders. We reviewed the field, expecting that greater clarity may have emerged in the 3 years since the previous review.Method. A review of the literature was carried out, using the computer search PsychLIT, Medline, Embase and The Cochrane Library.Results. There have been more studies published in this area in the last 3 years than in the entire period up until then. These can broadly be divided into those carried out in clinical and non‐clinical populations, with greater weight ascribed to the former. The vast majority of studies found that attachment processes, by whatever method measured, are abnormal in eating disordered populations. Attachment style (dismissing versus preoccupied) may be linked with eating disorder diagnostic subgroup.Conclusions. Insecure attachment is common in eating disordered populations, with implications for therapy. Further work with refined instruments may clarify whether or not there is a specific association between attachment style and eating disorder subgroup. However, such an association is likely to be complicated and it may be more fruitful to study specific aspects of attachment, rather than global attachment style, in relation to eating disorder behaviour. The transgenerational transmission of attachment is a fruitful area for further investigation in eating disordered populations.
The Bene‐Anthony Family Relations Test revisited: Directions in the assessment of children's perceptions of family relations
Authors: Parkin Andrew 
Published: February 2003

The Bene‐Anthony Family Relations Test is designed to assess the child's perception of family relations using projective techniques. This article describes the test and background to its development. The validity of the test is limited by the content of some items and their categorization, though there is evidence that the test can distinguish between populations that differ on other related variables. A survey of professionals who use the test is described. Despite their enthusiasm for it, the majority of respondents had modified the test in some way, and 86% regularly rephrased at least one item from the test. There were several criticisms of the test, including the positive scoring of ‘sexualized items’. The respondents were also inconsistent in their administration and scoring of the test.This test is used less frequently in research, possibly because it is not perceived as a sufficiently robust psychometric instrument. However, there is a danger of ‘throwing away the baby with the bath water’. Recommendations are made for the development of a test that reliably assesses the child's perception of the emotional content of relations.
Essay Review: Making shell‐shock
Authors: Leese Peter 
Published: February 2003

Shell‐shock. A history of changing attitudes to war neurosis. By Anthony Babbington.From shellshock to combat stress. A comparative history of military psychology. By Hans Binneveld.Shell shock. The psychological impact of war. By Wendy Holden.The harmony of illusions. Inventing post‐traumatic stress disorder. By Allan Young.