Reflections on implementing a community agency–school prevention program

This article describes implementation processes and lessons learned from a longitudinal study of a multi‐component after‐school substance abuse prevention program for high‐risk second‐ and third‐grade children delivered by Boys & Girls Clubs and their local schools. Outcome results showed positive effects on children's personal competency skills, feelings toward school, and spelling grades, factors shown to protect children from future substance abuse and other risky behaviors. Processes associated with creating the collaborations between the Boys & Girls Clubs and schools highlight the importance of (1) developing “true” partnerships; and (2) providing schools and teachers with what they really want. Processes of delivering the multi‐component program strongly suggest that (1) prevention coordinators must be good managers; and (2) creating total organizational support for the program within the youth organization will enhance program implementation. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Boys & girls clubs and school collaborations: A longitudinal study of a multicomponent substance abuse prevention program for high‐risk elementary school children

This study tested the effectiveness of a multicomponent after‐school substance abuse prevention program for high‐risk second‐ and third‐grade children implemented collaboratively by Boys & Girls Clubs and their local schools. The 2‐year program was designed to reduce risk factors predictive of later substance abuse, and to enhance protective factors shown to buffer risk. Results showed positive effects on program children's personal competency skills including (1) refusing wrongdoing; (2) solving peer and school problems; (3) showing courteousness to teachers and other school personnel; and (4) behaving ethically. For the most part, the program also had positive effects on children's feelings toward school and grades in spelling. Results suggest that youth‐serving organizations and schools can collaboratively implement multicomponent interventions that provide protective factors that may buffer high‐risk elementary school children from the multiple risks in their lives for future drug abuse. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

EFFECTS OF AN OUT‐OF‐SCHOOL PROGRAM ON URBAN HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH'S ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Research strongly indicates that low‐income youth, particularly those of color who are overrepresented in poverty, have lower levels of academic performance than their higher‐income peers. It has been suggested that community‐based out‐of‐school programs can play an important role in reducing these academic differences. This study examined the effect of the YMCA High School Youth Institute on the grades, test scores, and school attendance of urban high school youth using a randomly selected matched comparison group. Those involved in the program had significantly higher English‐language art and math standardized test scores and somewhat fewer absences than the comparison group. Active program participants had significantly higher academic grade‐point averages (GPAs) and math test scores as well as somewhat higher total GPA. The findings suggest that high‐quality out‐of‐school programs can positively influence the academic performance of low‐income youth. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Participation in Boys and Girls Clubs and relationships to youth outcomes

Participation is a key issue in youth development organizations. In fact, research suggests that youths who attend the programs offered by these agencies will experience numerous benefits. One such youth development organization is the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA). Much of the research pertaining to the BGCA examines the importance of participation in structured prevention and educational programs such as Project SMART and Project Learn. The everyday Club participant, however, does not necessarily attend these structured programs. As such, the present study was designed to gain a better understanding of “typical” Club participation and how overall attendance at the Club is related to positive outcomes among youth. A total of 139 youths (aged 10 to 18 years old) participated in the study. Overall participation in the Club and age were both independently related to enhanced academic achievement, as well as increased substance use. Additionally, significant age and participation interaction effects point to the importance of Club participation at nullifying risks and problem behaviors associated with increasing age, particularly in relation to academic outcomes. Implications are discussed pertaining to program strategies that may serve as hooks or magnets that sustain youths' interest and continued involvement in BGCA activities and other youth development programs. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Strategies for involving parents of high-risk youth in drug prevention: A three-year longitudinal study in boys & girls clubs

Involving parents of high-risk youth in community-based intervention programs is extremely challenging. This article presents six groups of strategies for recruiting and retaining parents of high-risk youth in a parent involvement program called the Family Advocacy Network (FAN Club). The FAN Club program accompanied a drug prevention program for the parents' early adolescent children who were members of Boys & Girls Clubs. Strategies presented are based on a longitudinal study that found positive program effects for youth in Boys & Girls Clubs that offered the FAN Club with the three-year youth drug prevention program and monthly youth activities. Strategies are: (1) identify the right person to lead the program; (2) clearly convey the purpose of the program; (3) build relationships of mutual trust, respect, and equality; (4) create parent ownership and group bonding; (5) provide easy access, incentives, and reminders; and (6) be flexible but persistent. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A RANDOMIZED TRIAL OF MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING TO IMPROVE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Motivational interviewing (MI) is an effective method of promoting change in adults, but research on adolescents is limited. This study tests the efficacy of MI for promoting academic achievement in middle school students. Participants were 103 6th‐, 7th, and 8th‐grade students randomly assigned to either a MI (n = 50) or a waitlist control condition (n = 53). Students in the MI condition participated in a single MI session during the 7^th or 8^th week of the second semester. In comparison to the control group, students who received MI demonstrated significant improvements in their class participation, overall positive academic behavior, and significantly higher 4^th quarter math grades. Thus, consistent with other studies finding single session effects of MI, a single MI session can have beneficial effects on academic behaviors. Pending further study and replication of these findings, MI could become an efficient and effective new counseling approach for improving academic performance.     

Sleep and academic performance in later adolescence: results from a large population‐based study

The aim of the current study was to assess the association between sleep duration and sleep patterns and academic performance in 16–19 year‐old adolescents using registry‐based academic grades. A large population‐based study from Norway conducted in 2012, the youth@hordaland‐survey, surveyed 7798 adolescents aged 16–19 years (53.5% girls). The survey was linked with objective outcome data on school performance. Self‐reported sleep measures provided information on sleep duration, sleep efficiency, sleep deficit and bedtime differences between weekday and weekend. School performance [grade point average (GPA)] was obtained from official administrative registries. Most sleep parameters were associated with increased risk for poor school performance. After adjusting for sociodemographic information, short sleep duration and sleep deficit were the sleep measures with the highest odds of poor GPA (lowest quartile). Weekday bedtime was associated significantly with GPA, with adolescents going to bed between 22:00 and 23:00 hours having the best GPA. Also, delayed sleep schedule during weekends was associated with poor academic performance. The associations were somewhat reduced after additional adjustment for non‐attendance at school, but remained significant in the fully adjusted models. In conclusion, the demonstrated relationship between sleep problems and poor academic performance suggests that careful assessment of sleep is warranted when adolescents are underperforming at school. Future studies are needed on the association between impaired sleep in adolescence and later functioning in adulthood.     

BRIEF INSTRUMENTAL SCHOOL‐BASED MENTORING FOR FIRST‐ AND SECOND‐YEAR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS: A RANDOMIZED EVALUATION

A limitation of school‐based mentoring (SBM) is the lack of structured, evidence‐based practices in mentoring sessions that explicitly target school‐relevant outcomes, such as academic performance and school behavior. To address this concern, we developed and experimentally evaluated a brief SBM program based on practices adapted from evidence‐based counseling and academic interventions with the goal of improving the academic and behavioral performance of middle school students. The results indicate that students randomly assigned to instrumental SBM with an average of 8 sessions over a 2.5 month period (N = 74) showed better math grades, reduced school behavioral office referrals, and increased life satisfaction when compared to students randomly assigned to the control group (N = 60). Tentatively, our results suggest that SBM programs may benefit from the incorporation of instrumental elements based on evidence‐based practices.     

中学生学业情绪与心理韧性、学习成绩的关系

目的:探讨中学生学业情绪与心理韧性、学习成绩的关系。方法:选取山东省3所中学初一至高二年级694名学生为研究对象,采用青少年学业情绪问卷、青少年心理韧性量表分别对中学生学业情绪与心理韧性进行测量。结果:与女生相比,男生体验到更多的积极低唤醒和更少的消极高唤醒学业情绪(积极低唤醒:t=2.77,P0.01;消极高唤醒:t=-4.14,P0.001);除了消极高唤醒(F=0.79,P0.05),中学生的积极高唤醒(F=5.04,P0.001)、积极低唤醒(F=10.46,P0.001)及消极低唤醒(F=15.06,P0.001)学业情绪均存在显著年级差异;不同学业成绩中学生在4种学业情绪上均差异显著(积极高唤醒:F=6.47,P0.001;积极低唤醒:F=37.33,P0.001;消极高唤醒:F=6.26,P0.001;消极低唤醒:F=18.52,P0.001)。学业成绩、心理韧性对积极学业情绪有正向预测作用,对消极学业情绪有负向预测作用。结论:中学生心理韧性与学业情绪关系密切,是影响学业情绪的重要变量。学习落后生的学业情绪应该引起更多关注。     

Associations between objectively measured and self‐reported sleep with academic and cognitive performance in adolescents: DADOS study

Adequate sleep has been positively related with health and school achievement outcomes during adolescence. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of objectively measured and self‐reported sleep duration and quality with academic and cognitive performance in adolescents. This study was conducted with 257 adolescents (13.9 ± 0.3 years) from the DADOS study (Deporte, ADOlescencia y Salud). Objectively measured and self‐reported sleep duration and quality were obtained by a wrist‐worn GENEActiv accelerometer and the Spanish version of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire, respectively. Academic performance was analysed through school records using four indicators: math, language, science and grade point average score. Cognitive performance was measured using the Spanish version of the “SRA Test of Educational Ability”. After Benjamini–Hochberg correction for the false discovery rate, objectively measured sleep duration was negatively associated with verbal ability (β = ?0.179, p = .004), whilst self‐reported sleep quality was positively associated with academic performance (β ranging from 0.209 to 0.273; all p < .001). These associations remained significant after further controlling for physical fitness and physical activity. Conversely, there were no associations between self‐reported sleep duration and objective sleep quality with academic and cognitive performance. Our findings fit in line with previous research showing that sleep quality may play an important role on adolescents’ academic performance. Further interventional research is needed to clarify the mechanisms by which sleep is related to academic performance in youth.     

Prenatal alcohol exposure and ability, academic achievement, and school functioning in adolescence: a longitudinal follow-up

BACKGROUND: Prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with learning, behavioral, and academic problems even in children without the fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). OBJECTIVE: To examine the prenatal alcohol exposure and ability, academic achievement, and school functioning in adolescence. METHODS: In a longitudinal cohort, intelligence, academic performance, and school functioning were evaluated in 265 low socioeconomic status (SES) adolescents (M age = 15.1 years), 128 prenatally exposed to alcohol, 53 controls, and 84 special education students by using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 3rd edition (WISC-III) and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT). School records were abstracted for grade point averages (GPA), standardized achievement test scores, conduct, attendance, and special education placement. RESULTS: Alcohol-affected youth had significantly lower IQs than those in the other three groups. CONCLUSION: Although academic achievement (WIAT scores) was most impaired in the special education group who showed lower performance over all as well as in reading and spelling, alcohol-affected youth showed significant deficits on mathematics subtests. There was no increased incidence of conduct problems in school records related to alcohol exposure.     

Participation in boys and girls clubs: motivation and stage environment fit

This article presents the results of semi‐structured in‐depth interviews conducted with 54 youth attending six elementary school‐based and middle school‐based Boys and Girls Clubs in two low‐income communities. The first goal of this study was to examine why youth choose to participate in these clubs. The most commonly reported motives include fun activities, opportunities to be with friends, parent has to work, and getting help with homework. The second goal was to examine youths' perceptions of staff, peers, activities, and the extent to which clubs are organized in a way to support the need for relatedness, competence, and autonomy. Variations in youths' perceptions of the quality of relationships with staff and peers, level of interest and challenge, and opportunities for decision making, by developmental level (elementary versus middle school) are discussed. Implications of our findings for sustaining youths' interest and continued involvement in out‐of‐school youth development programs are highlighted. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Construction of revised versions of the self-perception profile for children, adolescents and college students in Japan

This study developed revised Japanese versions of the self-perception profile for Children, for Adolescents and for College Students. The original versions have an idiosyncratic and time-consuming item format, which was revised by using only one statement for each item. Subjects were fifth to sixth grade students (Boys=129, Girls= 152), tenth to twelfth grade students (Boys=112, Girls=100), and college students (Boys=96, Girls=153) in Japan. The reliability and validity measures showed that the revised versions were similar to the original versions. The present study provides some evidence for the use of these scales with Japanese students.     

广州市中学生情绪障碍及其与学习成绩的关系研究

目的研究广州市中学生情绪障碍现状及其特点,情绪障碍与学习成绩的关系。方法采用BDI抑郁自评量表、STAI状态-特质焦虑量表、GHQ健康量表对广州市6所中学进行分层抽样调查,收集被试期末成绩,研究原始分数与情绪障碍的关系。结果 1初一和初二学生焦虑情绪分值不属于正常范围,分别占其总人数的32.32%和33.85%。初一学生心理不健康比例比初二少6.62%;2随年级升高,高中学生异常抑郁情绪比例呈递减关系。高中学生焦虑情绪分数没落在正常范围的比例分别为高一36.84%、高二20.5%、高三35.9%;3中学生情绪障碍与学习成绩相关显著:抑郁(r=-0.198,P<0.05)、焦虑(r=-0.236,P<0.05)、心理健康状况(r=-0.213,P<0.05)。结论广州市中学生抑郁和焦虑情绪障碍现状都比较差,应给予重视。     

Associations of parent and staff factors with parent engagement in after‐school programs

This 2‐study research examined staff and parent predictors of parent engagement in after‐school programs. A parent engagement measure tailored to after‐school programs was developed based on existing theory and literature. Two distinct factors, parent engagement and parent participation, emerged from factor analyses and were subsequently tested. A 2‐level model was run on 4 program/staff and 6 parent predictors using staff and parent data from 26 after‐school program sites (Study 1) and nine sites (Study 2). Program quality, staff educational levels, and length of employment in the after‐school program were significantly associated with parent engagement and parent participation but in opposite directions, with other findings contrary to hypotheses. For parent factors of engagement and participation, there was a significant positive association between parental age and parent engagement, while having more than 2 children in a program was significantly and positively associated with parent participation only. Results and implications are discussed.     

Using propensity score matching to estimate treatment effects of afterschool programs on third‐grade reading outcomes

Evidence on whether afterschool programs enhance academic achievement is limited and mixed. In this study, a group of community providers delivered interventions to students to improve academic achievement. We used propensity score matching to estimate the impact of these afterschool interventions on third‐grade reading achievement. A significant effect of moderate magnitude was found favoring students who participated in afterschool programming. Propensity score matching and other methodological considerations are described to support the importance and value of conducting rigorous evaluations of afterschool programs.     

EFFECTIVE YOUTH MENTORS: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INITIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COLLEGE WOMEN MENTORS AND MENTEE SATISFACTION AND OUTCOME

To optimize the effectiveness of youth mentoring it is important to begin to identify specific preexisting characteristics of mentors that lead to positive experiences for adolescent mentees. College women mentors, aged 18 to 22 years, were paired with middle school girls, aged 11 to 14 years, for weekly one‐on‐one and group mentoring in an 8‐month, school‐based youth mentoring program. For the sampled 142 mentor‐mentee dyads participating in the program, mentor's reported academic self‐worth, parent relationship, and not being too autonomous were important preexisting characteristics related to mentee satisfaction. Mentor's initial level of depression was negatively correlated with mentee's self‐reported improvement in competence, while mentor anxiety was positively correlated. Finally, the relationship between mentor's autonomy (negative) and ethnocultural empathy (positive) and mentee outcomes were stronger for cross‐race versus same‐race pairs. Implications for mentoring programs that use college students as youth mentors are discussed.     

高中生成就目标定向、自我效能感和学业成绩之间的关系

目的考察高中生成就目标定向与自我效能感、学业成绩的关系。方法采取问卷法,对534名学生进行测试。结果①成绩回避目标年级差异显著(F=4.403,P<0.05),自我调节学习效能感年级差异显著(F=4.315,P<0.05),成就目标定向和自我效能感其它两维度年级差异不显著;②掌握目标与学业成绩呈极显著正相关(r=0.150),成绩回避目标和学业成绩呈显著负相关(r=-0.156);自我效能感与学业成绩均呈显著正相关(r=0.357);③回归分析表明,自我效能感在成就目标对学业成绩的影响中起着中介作用。结论成就目标定向、自我效能感和学业成绩之间关系密切。     

The role of resource,protective, and risk factors on academic achievement‐related outcomes of economically disadvantaged Latino youth

We examined the effects of cumulative risk, resource, and protective factors on the language and math achievement scores and school problem behaviors of a sample of 549 10–14‐year‐old, economically disadvantaged Latino youths. Findings indicated that as the number of risk factors increased, youth's language and math achievement scores decreased and school problem behaviors increased. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that each of the hypothesized resource variables (i.e., maternal monitoring, maternal academic involvement, socioemotional competence, and extracurricular activity) made a unique contribution to at least one achievement‐related outcome, over and above the effects of cumulative risk. Moreover, maternal monitoring buffered the effects of multiple risk factors on language achievement scores. Contrary to expectations, higher levels of participation in extracurricular activities had a detrimental effect on male school problem behavior scores and was unrelated to girl's problem behavior scores. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 31: 513–529, 2003.     

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG IMMIGRANT AND U.S.‐BORN LATINO ADOLESCENTS: ASSOCIATIONS WITH CULTURAL,FAMILY, AND ACCULTURATION FACTORS

This study examined proximal risk and protective factors that contribute to academic achievement among 130 Latino students. Participating students were 56.2% female and 35.3% foreign‐born (mean age = 11.38, standard deviation = .59). Acculturative stress, immigrant status, child gender, parental monitoring, traditional cultural values, mainstream values, and English language proficiency were explored in relation to academic achievement. Higher levels of parental monitoring, English language proficiency, and female gender were associated with higher grades, while mainstream values were associated with lower grades. In addition, a significant interaction between acculturative stress and immigrant status was found, such that higher acculturative stress was related to poorer grades for U.S.‐born students in particular. Thus, parental monitoring and female gender are potential protective factors, while identification with mainstream values and low English language proficiency are risk factors for poor grades. U.S.‐born students may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of acculturative stress.