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Academic Performance (academic + performance)
Kinds of Academic Performance Selected AbstractsTHE EFFECT OF GRADING PRACTICES ON GENDER DIFFERENCES IN ACADEMIC PERFORMANCEBULLETIN OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH, Issue 3 2008Hans Bonesrřnning I21; J160 ABSTRACT This paper adds to the debate about the sources of the gender gaps in student outcomes by highlighting explanations related to interactions between teachers and students. The evidence comes from the lower secondary school in Norway. The teachers' grading practices are the focal point of the analysis. First, it is shown that girls are exposed to easier grading than boys. Thereafter, evidence is provided that both boys and girls are negatively affected when the teacher practises easy grading. The boys' responses to easy grading are more uniformly negative than the girls' responses. Some exploratory analyses that make use of information about the students' school motivations are provided to make sense of these findings. [source] Type A Personality Characteristics and the Effect on Individual and Team Academic PerformanceJOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 5 2006Warren E. Watson Type A personality has been conceptualized in part as high need for achievement combined with aggression, hostility, and self-esteem issues. In teams of undergraduate business students, high levels of Type A personality significantly correlated with high levels of depression and high levels of social monitoring; and negatively correlated with social desirability, communality, and individual performance across time. In team settings, the more Type A's were balanced in a team with low Type A's, the more there was team commitment and the more team synergy behaviors; while if teams had a greater number of Type A's, there was more individualistic behavior, and team project scores were lower. [source] General and Specific Traits of Personality and Their Relation to Sleep and Academic PerformanceJOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 2 2002Elizabeth K. Gray ABSTRACT Few studies have examined the links between personality variables and sleep and their combined effect on specific real-world outcomes. Participants in this study completed numerous personality, sleep, and performance measures; we examined the associations among these measures. Personality was assessed using the Five-Factor Model. The personality trait of Conscientiousness (especially its facet of Achievement Striving) was a substantial predictor of academic performance. Analyses of the sleep variables revealed three distinct constructs: quantity, quality, and schedule. Sleep quantity showed few interesting correlates. In contrast, sleep quality was associated with greater well-being and improved psychological functioning, whereas sleep schedule (i.e., average rising and retiring times) was significantly related to Conscientiousness, such that conscientious individuals maintain earlier schedules. [source] Diet Quality and Academic PerformanceJOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 4 2008April 2008 issue of Journal of School Health No abstract is available for this article. [source] School-Based Health Centers and Academic Performance: Research, Challenges, and RecommendationsJOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 9 2004Sara Peterson Geierstanger ABSTRACT: School-based health centers (SBHCs) provide physical and mental health services on school campuses to improve student health status, and thereby potentially facilitate student academic success. With a growing emphasis on school accountability and the simultaneous dwindling of resources at the federal, state, and local levels, SBHCs face increasing pressures from school administrators and funders to document their impact on student academic achievement. This article reviews the methods, findings, and limitations of studies that have examined the relationship between SBHCs and academic performance. It also describes methodological challenges of conducting and interpreting such research, and discusses factors and intermediate variables that influence student academic performance. Recommendations are offered for SBHC researchers, evaluators, and service providers in response to the pressure they are facing to document the effect of SBHC services on academic outcomes. (J Sch Health. 2004;74(9):347,352) [source] School-Age Adopted Chinese Girls' Behavioral Adjustment, Academic Performance, and Social Skills: Longitudinal ResultsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 2 2009Tony Xing Tan EdD Longitudinal data on 177 school-age adopted Chinese girls (Time 1: mean age = 8.92 years, SD = 1.76; Time 2: mean age = 11.18 years, SD = 1.79) were analyzed to determine their long-term outcomes in behavioral adjustment, academic performance (measured with the Child Behavior Checklist/6,18), and social skills (measured with the Social Skills Rating System) and how these outcomes were related to preadoption adversity. More than 90% of the girls were adopted at 24 months or younger (M = 19.25, SD = 21.67). Results revealed that over a 2-year period, there was a moderate to strong stability in the children's behavioral adjustment and academic performance. However, there was a significant increase in the number of children with deviant internalizing problems. At both times, higher degrees of preadoption adversity were related to more internalizing problems and poorer academic performance. Children who were adopted at older ages had poorer academic performance. Children who were older had a lower level of assertion and a higher level of responsibility. Children's attention problems at Time 1 mediated the effect of preadoption adversity on academic performance at Time 2. [source] Children's Weight and Academic Performance in Elementary School: Cause for Concern?ANALYSES OF SOCIAL ISSUES & PUBLIC POLICY, Issue 1 2009David Clark In this study, the authors examined the relationship of 9,471 elementary students' grades in five subject areas (math, reading, language, science, and social studies), their conduct grades, and their scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills (TAKS) Reading, Math, Writing, and Science measures for the 2006,2007 school year as a function of their weight status in two ways: (1) Obese versus Nonobese and (2) Obese, Overweight, Healthy Weight, and Underweight. Obese children had statistically significantly lower course grades in all areas, as well as poorer conduct grades, than nonobese children. Similar results were present for the four TAKS measures. Comparisons of these measures by the four weight categories indicated the presence of trends such that as students' weight increased from one category to the next, their school grades and standardized test scores decreased. Partial correlation analyses, in which the effects of economic disadvantage and conduct grades were controlled, revealed that obesity was related with teacher-assigned grades and with TAKS scores. Interestingly, within ethnic groups, differences were present between obese and nonobese students only for White students and Hispanic students. The implications of these findings, as well as suggestions for further research, are discussed. [source] Young Children's Reasoning About the Effects of Emotional and Physiological States on Academic PerformanceCHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2009Jennifer Amsterlaw This study assessed young children's understanding of the effects of emotional and physiological states on cognitive performance. Five, 6-, 7-year-olds, and adults (N= 96) predicted and explained how children experiencing a variety of physiological and emotional states would perform on academic tasks. Scenarios included: (a) negative and positive emotions, (b) negative and positive physiological states, and (c) control conditions. All age groups understood the impairing effects of negative emotions and physiological states. Only 7-year-olds, however, showed adult-like reasoning about the potential enhancing effects of positive internal states and routinely cited cognitive mechanisms to explain how internal states affect performance. These results shed light on theory-of-mind development and also have significance for children's everyday school success. [source] Academic performance in children with rolandic epilepsyDEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 5 2008P Piccinelli MD The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of reading, writing, and calculation disabilities in children with typical rolandic epilepsy (RE) and healthy control children. We also aimed to define the possible electroclinical markers of specific cognitive dysfunctions in RE. School abilities were evaluated and compared in 20 children (eight males, 12 females; mean age 10y 3mo [SD 1y 7mo]; range 7y 9mo-12y 9mo) consecutively diagnosed with typical RE, and a group of 21 healthy controls (nine males, 12 females; mean age 10y 4mo [SD 1y 8mo]; range 7y 6mo-13y 3mo). All the children received standardized neuropsychological tests. For each patient an exhaustive seizure diary was kept and all the sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings were reviewed. Specific difficulties with reading, writing, and calculation (diagnosed according to the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition) were found in nine out of 20 children with RE and two out of 21 healthy controls (,2=0.01). The specific learning disabilities in the RE group were correlated with a marked increase in epileptiform discharges during sleep (,2=0.02) and an early onset of epilepsy (,2=0.02). Our findings suggest that seizure onset before age 8 years and epileptiform discharges (more than 50% of the sleep EEG recording) in several tracings over more than a year are relevant markers for identifying patients at risk of developing academic difficulties. [source] Comparative academic performance of medical students in rural and urban clinical settingsMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 2 2006Barb Waters Objective, To determine whether the academic performance of medical students learning in rural settings differs from those learning in urban settings. Design, Comparison of results of assessment for 2 full cohorts and 1 part cohort of medical students learning in rural and urban settings in 2002 (209 students), 2003 (226 students) and 2004 (220 students), including results for each specialist rotation in the 3rd year and end-of-year examinations in the 2nd and 4th years. Setting, University of Queensland School of Medicine, Brisbane. Students spent the whole 3rd year (of a 4-year graduate entry programme) conducting 5 specialist 8-week rotations in either the rural clinical division (rural students) or in Brisbane (urban students), all following the same curriculum and taking the same examinations. Results, For the 2002 cohort there were no statistically significant differences in academic performance between rural and urban students. For the 2003 cohort the only significant difference was a higher score for rural students in the end of the 4th-year clinical skills examination (65.7 versus 62.3%, P = 0.025). For the 2004 cohort, rural students scored higher in the 3rd-year mental health rotation (79.3 versus 76.2%, P = 0.038) and lower in the medicine rotation (65.5 versus 68.6%, P = 0.037). Conclusion, Academic performance among students studying in rural and urban settings is comparable. [source] The influence of admissions variables on first year medical school performance: a study from Newcastle University, AustraliaMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 2 2002Frances Kay-Lambkin Aims This study examined the relationship between the performance of first year medical students at the University of Newcastle, Australia, and admission variables: previous educational experience, and entry classification (standard , academic or composite, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, or overseas), age and gender. Methods Admission and demographic information was obtained for students who entered first year medicine at Newcastle between the years 1994 and 1997 inclusive. Academic performance was measured according to results of first assessment (`satisfactory' vs. `not satisfactory') and the final assessment of the first year (`satisfactory' vs. `not satisfactory'). Logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between predictor variables and outcomes. Results Assessment and admissions information was obtained for 278 students, 98% of all students who entered the medical course between 1994 and 1997. Regression analysis of first assessment indicated that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and overseas students were significantly more likely to be `not satisfactory' than all other students (RR=3·1,95% CI: 1·4. , 6 7 and RR=1·5, 95% CI: 1·2,1·8, respectively). Analysis of final assessment indicated these two student groups were also significantly more likely to be `not satisfactory' than all other students (RR=4·5, 95% CI: 1·4,13·5 and RR=3·5, 95% CI: 1·2,10·8, respectively). At first assessment, students entering via the standard academic pathway and older students were less likely to be `not satisfactory' (RR=0·6, 95% CI: 0·5,0·7 and RR=0·8, 95% CI: 0·7,0·9, respectively). However both these differences were not evident at final assessment. There were no significant relationships between performance in first year and the remaining variables. Conclusions Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and overseas medical students had academic difficulties in the first year of the course, suggesting the need for extra course support. The result may reflect the educational and other obstacles these students must overcome in order to enter and progress through their medical degree. More research is warranted to explore the extent to which these differences persist throughout the medical degree. [source] EXPLAINING THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE-DELINQUENCY RELATIONSHIP,CRIMINOLOGY, Issue 2 2006RICHARD B. FELSON We use data from the National Education Longitudinal Survey to examine the relationship between academic performance and delinquency. We estimate the effects of grades in tenth grade on delinquency in twelfth grade, and then introduce controls for social bonds and self-control (teacher-rated effort). The findings indicate that the feedback that adolescents receive in the form of grades does not affect their delinquent behavior, that academic performance and delinquency have instead a spurious relationship. Our evidence suggests that this relationship is attributable primarily to the effects of individual differences in self-control, not to those of social bonds. [source] Investigating Academic Success Factors for Undergraduate Business StudentsDECISION SCIENCES JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE EDUCATION, Issue 2 2008Mehdi Kaighobadi ABSTRACT Student academic performance is of major interest to all stakeholders of higher education institutions. This study questions whether or not statistical analysis of information that is readily available in most universities' official records system can be used to predict overall academic success. In particular, this study is an attempt to understand factors that affect academic success for business students by examining gender, age, ethnicity, and performance in two required core knowledge courses as predictors of academic success for a large sample of undergraduate students at a Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business,accredited business school. The results suggest that student performance is significantly related to some basic demographic variables, but the strongest predictors of overall academic success are the grades the students receive in core knowledge courses that are typically taken in the earlier semesters of business students' plans of study. [source] Neurodevelopmental impact on children treated for medulloblastoma: A review and proposed conceptual modelDEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES RESEARCH REVIEW, Issue 3 2008Shawna L. Palmer Abstract The population of survivors following diagnosis and treatment for medulloblastoma is thankfully on the rise. An increased focus on the quality of that survivorship has expanded the concept of cure to include efforts aimed at improving long-term cognitive outcome. It is well established in the literature that decline in overall intellect and academic performance is experienced by a majority of those undergoing treatment for pediatric medulloblastoma. This decline is believed to be secondary to decline in core cognitive abilities, which in turn are related to underlying damage to neuroanatomical substrates. A review of research on neurodevelopmental impacts following diagnosis and treatment for pediatric medulloblastoma is presented. Particular consideration is given to studies recently published that also reflect critical collaboration among those within the fields of neuropsychology and neuro-imaging. Results from the review are combined within a conceptual model upon which to guide future research and clinical efforts. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Dev Disabil Res Rev 2008;14:203,210. [source] Dental school admissions in Ireland: can current selection criteria predict success?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION, Issue 2 2006C. D. Lynch Introduction:, Entry into university education in Ireland, including dental school, is based solely on academic performance in the Leaving Certificate Examination, held at the end of formal school education. The aim of this investigation was to examine the suitability of this process for the selection of dental students in Ireland. Materials and methods:, Information for all dental students who entered the dental degree programme immediately following completion of the Leaving Certificate Examination at the National University of Ireland, Cork, during the years 1997,1999 was retrieved. Information was collected relating to gender, the number of times the student had attempted the Leaving Certificate Examination, their performance in this examination, the total number of marks awarded to each student at the end of the First and Final Dental Examinations, and their performance in individual modules. Results:, Whilst there was a significant relationship between performance in the Leaving Certificate Examination and the First Dental Examination (correlation coefficient = 0.22, P < 0.05), this relationship could only explain 12% of the variation within the performance of students in this examination. There was no relationship between performance in the Leaving Certificate and the Final Dental Examination (correlation coefficient = 0.09, P > 0.05). There was a significant correlation between performance in the Leaving Certificate Examination and performance in seven of the 55 programme modules, all of which were pre-clinical modules, and of which five were related to basic sciences. Conclusions:, Based on the limitations of this study, the current selection process for dental students in Ireland seems to be of limited value. [source] THE DIVIDED WORLD OF THE CHILD: DIVORCE AND LONG-TERM PSYCHOSOCIAL ADJUSTMENTFAMILY COURT REVIEW, Issue 3 2010Gordon E. Finley This study evaluated the extent to which divorce creates the "divided world of the child," as well as consequences of this "divided world" for long-term adjustment. An ethnically diverse sample of 1,375 young-adult university students completed retrospective measures of parental nurturance and involvement, and current measures of psychosocial adjustment and troubled ruminations about parents. Results indicated that reports of maternal and paternal nurturance and involvement were closely related in intact families but uncorrelated in divorced families. Across family forms, the total amount of nurturance or involvement received was positively associated with self-esteem, purpose in life, life satisfaction, friendship quality and satisfaction, and academic performance; and negatively related to distress, romantic relationship problems, and troubled ruminations about parents. Mother-father differences in nurturance and involvement showed a largely opposite set of relationships. Implications for family court practices are discussed. [source] PROGRAMS FOR PROMOTING PARENTING OF RESIDENTIAL PARENTS: Moving From Efficacy to EffectivenessFAMILY COURT REVIEW, Issue 1 2005Sharlene A. Wolchik This article reviews prevention programs that target primary residential parents as change agents for improving children's postdivorce adjustment. First, we review parental risk and protective factors for children from divorced families, including parenting quality, parental mental health problems, interparental conflict, and contact with the nonresidential parent. Following a discussion of brief informational interventions, we describe the findings of evaluations of three multisession, skill-building interventions for divorced parents. Impressive evidence is presented that parenting is a modifiable protective factor and that improving parenting leads to improvements in children's postdivorce adjustment. We then discuss, in greater detail, the New Beginnings Program, which we highlight because it has shown repeated, immediate effects on children's mental health outcomes as well as long-term effects on a wide array of other meaningful outcomes, such as diagnosis of mental disorder in the past year, externalizing problems, alcohol and drug use, and academic performance. Also, mediational analyses have shown that program-induced changes in parenting accounted for changes in mental health outcomes. The remainder of the article describes a research and action agenda that is needed to successfully implement the New Beginnings Program in domestic relations courts. [source] The Situational Interview as a Predictor of Academic and Team Performance: A Study of the Mediating Effects of Cognitive Ability and Emotional IntelligenceINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SELECTION AND ASSESSMENT, Issue 4 2004Sue-Chan Christina The criterion-related and construct validity of the situational interview (SI) was examined. Both the SI and cognitive ability had predictive validity for the academic performance of managers and professionals (n=75) in an executive MBA course. Only the SI predicted teamplaying behavior assessed by peers (r=.32, p<.05). The correlation between the SI and cognitive ability was not significant. Emotional intelligence completely mediated the relationship between the SI and teamplaying behavior. [source] Academic Study, College Examinations, and Stress: Issues in the Interpretation of Cardiovascular Reactivity Assessments With Student Participants,JOURNAL OF APPLIED BIOBEHAVIORAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2004Brian M. Hughes Stress arising from academic performance affects many college students. Moreover, students account for the majority of participants in cardiovascular reactivity research. The current research comprised three brief experiments investigating different aspects of student samples. In Experiment 1, students' (n = 30) academic fear of failure was found to be negatively correlated with systolic blood pressure reactivity. In Experiment 2, students' (n= 13) blood pressure was found to be significantly elevated 2 weeks before college examinations, compared with postexamination levels. Finally, in Experiment 3, students' (n = 19) examination performance was positively correlated with preexamination cardiovascular reactivity. These findings suggest specific college-related factors that influence the cardiovascular stress response in students and, therefore, should aid the interpretation of much research conducted in cardiovascular health psychology. [source] Using Past Performance, Proxy Efficacy, and Academic Self-Efficacy to Predict College PerformanceJOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 11 2007Steven M. Elias This study examined the ability of prior academic performance, proxy efficacy, and academic self-efficacy to predict college academic performance. Participants (N = 202) completed a modified version of the Teacher Collective Efficacy scale (Goddard, 2001), the Academic Self-Efficacy scale (Elias & Loomis, 2000), and a demographic questionnaire. Prior performance was predictive of both academic self-efficacy beliefs and college performance. Hierarchical regression analysis indicates that academic self-efficacy beliefs explain a significant amount of unique variance beyond past performance in predicting college performance. Proxy efficacy did serve as a predictor of student academic self-efficacy, but did not serve as a predictor of college performance. Implications for instructors, as well as for future research, are discussed. [source] Sleep in adolescence: a review of issues for nursing practiceJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 13 2009Tamara Vallido Aims and objectives., The aim of this review was to explore the literature to determine what is known about adolescent sleep, the causes and consequences of disturbed sleep in adolescence and the implications this has for nursing practice. Background., Sleep disorders are relatively common in young people. Disturbed sleep can be both a cause and a result of ill health and if recognised can indicate psychosocial, psychological or physical difficulties. Design., Literature review. Methods., Searching of key electronic databases. Results., Disturbed sleep in adolescents has several potential consequences, including daytime sleepiness, reduced academic performance and substance use/abuse. However, despite its significance and frequency, sleep disturbance is an area of adolescent health that is almost entirely unaddressed within the nursing literature. Conclusion., Nursing has a role to play in assisting adolescents and their families to recognise the importance of sleep to the general health and well-being of young people. Relevance to clinical practice., There is a need for nursing to develop tools to assess sleep in adolescent clients and non-pharmaceutical interventions to assist adolescents achieve optimum sleep and rest. Nurses may also contribute to educating adolescents and their families regarding the importance of good sleep hygiene. [source] Natural mentoring under the microscope: an investigation of mentoring relationships and latino adolescents' academic performanceJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2008Bernadette Sánchez The current study examined the role of natural mentoring relationships in the academic performance of urban, diverse, Latino high school students. Participants reported up to three mentors in their lives, and they were asked about their mentors' demographic characteristics and the characteristics of their mentoring relationships. The presence of a mentor was associated with fewer absences, higher educational expectations, and greater expectancies for success and sense of school belonging. Further, the number of reported mentors predicted fewer absences, higher educational expectations and a greater sense of school belonging. Mentors' educational level, frequency of contact, relationship duration, and total form of support provided by mentors were related to participants' academic outcomes. Mentor type also made a difference in youth's academic outcomes. Implications for future mentoring research and programs are discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Self-esteem, academic self-concept, and aggression at schoolAGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, Issue 2 2007Laramie D. Taylor The present study explores the relation between academic self-concept, self-esteem, and aggression at school. Longitudinal data from a racially diverse sample of middle-school students were analyzed to explore how academic self-concept influenced the likelihood of aggressing at school and whether high self-concept exerted a different pattern of influence when threatened. Data include self-reported academic self-concept, school-reported academic performance, and parent-reported school discipline. Results suggest that, in general, students with low self-concept in achievement domains are more likely to aggress at school than those with high self-concept. However, there is a small sample of youth who, when they receive contradictory information that threatens their reported self-concept, do aggress. Global self-esteem was not found to be predictive of aggression. These results are discussed in the context of recent debates on whether self-esteem is a predictor of aggression and the use of a more proximal vs. general self-measure in examining the self-esteem and aggression relation. Aggr. Behav. 32:1,7, 2007. © 2006 Wiley-Liss; Inc. [source] The Well-Being of Children Born to Teen MothersJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 1 2007Judith A. Levine Children born to early child bearers are more likely than other children to display problem behaviors or poor academic performance, but it is unclear whether early childbearing plays a causal role in these outcomes. Using multiple techniques to control for background factors, we analyze 2,908 young children and 1,736 adolescents and young adults in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) and the NLSY79 Children and Young Adults (CNLSY79) data sets to examine whether early childbearing causes children's outcomes. We find evidence that teen childbearing plays no causal role in children's test scores and in some behavioral outcomes of adolescents. For other behavioral outcomes, we find that different methodologies produce differing results. We thus suggest caution in drawing conclusions about early parenthood's overarching effect. [source] Factors associated with resilience of school age children with cancerJOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH, Issue 7-8 2010Dong H Kim Aim: To identify factors associated with resilience of school age children with cancer. Methods: The participants were 74 children, 10,15 years old who were diagnosed with cancer at least 6 months prior to data collection. The instruments used were; a self-reported questionnaire on resilience, Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale III, measurements of relationship with friends and teachers. Descriptive, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to analyse the data. Results: The average score for resilience was 98.49 (range: 32,128). There was no statistically significant relationship with resilience for age, gender, religion, existence of siblings, mother's age, academic performance, duration of illness or type of cancer. In bivariate analysis, family adaptability and cohesion (r= 0.535, P < 0.001), relationship with friends (r= 0.520, P < 0.001) and teachers (r= 0.318, P < 0.01) were significantly related to resilience. However, the results of multiple regression analysis showed that only family function (,= 0.257, P < 0.05) and relationship with friends (,= 0.581, P < 0.01) were significantly associated with resilience. Conclusions: School age children with cancer who reported higher family function and positive relationships with friends showed higher resiliency than their counterparts. Thus, it is important to help the families of children with cancer to enhance family function and help children to adjust to school re-entry by maintaining ties with school friends and teachers during treatment. Development of counselling programmes for parents to promote family adaptation and cohesion and educational programmes for classmates and teachers are recommended. [source] Life-Satisfaction Is a Momentary Judgment and a Stable Personality Characteristic: The Use of Chronically Accessible and Stable SourcesJOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 3 2002Ulrich Schimmack ABSTRACT Social cognition research indicates that life-satisfaction judgments are based on a selected set of relevant information that is accessible at the time of the life-satisfaction judgment. Personality research indicates that life-satisfaction judgments are quite stable over extended periods of time and predicted by personality traits. The present article integrates these two research traditions. We propose that people rely on the same sources to form repeated life-satisfaction judgments over time. Some of these sources (e.g., memories of emotional experiences, academic performance) provide stable information that explains the stability in life-satisfaction judgments. Second, we propose that the influence of personality traits on life satisfaction is mediated by the use of chronically accessible sources because traits produce stability of these sources. Most important, the influence of extraversion and neuroticism is mediated by use of memories of past emotional experiences. To test this model, participants repeatedly judged life-satisfaction over the course of a semester. After each assessment, participants reported sources that they used for these judgments. Changes in reported sources were related to changes in life-satisfaction judgments. A path model demonstrated that chronically accessible and stable sources are related to stable individual differences in life-satisfaction. Furthermore, the model supported the hypothesis that personality effects were mediated by chronically accessible and stable sources. In sum, the results are consistent with our theory that life-satisfaction judgments are based on chronically accessible sources. [source] General and Specific Traits of Personality and Their Relation to Sleep and Academic PerformanceJOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 2 2002Elizabeth K. Gray ABSTRACT Few studies have examined the links between personality variables and sleep and their combined effect on specific real-world outcomes. Participants in this study completed numerous personality, sleep, and performance measures; we examined the associations among these measures. Personality was assessed using the Five-Factor Model. The personality trait of Conscientiousness (especially its facet of Achievement Striving) was a substantial predictor of academic performance. Analyses of the sleep variables revealed three distinct constructs: quantity, quality, and schedule. Sleep quantity showed few interesting correlates. In contrast, sleep quality was associated with greater well-being and improved psychological functioning, whereas sleep schedule (i.e., average rising and retiring times) was significantly related to Conscientiousness, such that conscientious individuals maintain earlier schedules. [source] Affirmative action, duality of error, and the consequences of mispredicting the academic performance of african american college applicantsJOURNAL OF POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2002Jeryl L. Mumpower The implications of different potential affirmative action policies depend on three factors: selection rate from the applicant pool, base rate of qualified applicants, and accuracy of performance predictions. A series of analyses was conducted under various assumptions concerning affirmative action plans, causes of racial differences in average college admissions test scores, and racial differences in accuracy of performance predictions. Evidence suggesting a lower level of predictive accuracy for African Americans implies that, under a program of affirmative action, both proportionately more false positives (matriculated students who do not succeed) and proportionately more false negatives (rejected applicants who could have succeeded) will be found among African American applicants. Unless equivalent levels of predictive accuracy are achieved for both groups, no admission policy can be fair simultaneously to majority group applicants and African American applicants. © 2002 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. [source] The Association of Sexual Experience with Attitudes, Beliefs, and Risk Behaviors of Inner-City AdolescentsJOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, Issue 1 2006Ellen Johnson Silver We compared knowledge, attitudes, and demographic characteristics of 630 sexually experienced and 422 inexperienced inner-city adolescents aged 14,17 years. Sexual experience was associated with indicators of risk previously reported in the literature: male gender, older age, single-family home, smoking, drinking, and poorer academic performance. We found lower HIV knowledge in sexually inexperienced youth, which suggested an area of vulnerability compared with sexually active teens. However, most inexperienced adolescents intended to remain virgins for the next 6 months, most had peer groups they also perceived to be virgins, and they were more positive and confident about remaining abstinent. Differences between the groups suggest there may be benefits to developing intervention programs targeted to their different strengths and weaknesses. [source] School Disconnectedness: Identifying Adolescents at Risk in Ontario, CanadaJOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 7 2009Guy E. J. Faulkner PhD ABSTRACT Background:, There is strong theoretical and empirical support for school connectedness as an important element of healthy youth development. The primary objective of this study was to replicate previous research identifying factors differentiating youth who do not feel connected to their schools in a sample of adolescents in Ontario, Canada. A secondary objective was to extend this work by assessing whether physical activity was an additional health behavior that differentiated youth who feel connected to their schools from those who do not. Methods:, Data for this study were based on questionnaires from 2243 grade 7 to grade 12 students derived from the 2001 cycle of the Ontario Student Drug Use Survey. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine associations between physical activity, other health risk factors, and school disconnectedness. Results:, The odds of feeling disconnected from their schools were substantially greater for female students who perceived their health or academic performance to be poor, engaged in no vigorous physical activity, reported 3 or more physician visits during the past year, and had low extracurricular involvement. None of the sociodemographic factors or substance use measures was significantly associated with school disconnectedness for any students. Conclusions:, Our results highlight sex differences in how school disconnectedness is related to health-compromising behaviors such as physical inactivity. Further research is required to examine how boys and girls perceive, interpret, and internalize the school climate. Increasing school connectedness should be a consideration for academic administrators and health-promotion advocates. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||