Self-concept and peer acceptance in students with learning disabilities: A four- to five-year prospective study.

Examined the peer relations and self-concepts of students prior to and following their identification by the school district as learning disabled (LD) in a 4- to 5-yr prospective study. Self-concept ratings (kindergarten–4th grade) and peer acceptance ratings (kindergarten–3rd grade), as well as academic achievement scores, were compared across 3 groups: LD students who were placed in resource special education programs during 2nd grade, low-achieving (LA) students, and average-achieving/high-achieving (AA/HA) students. For peer acceptance, AA/HA students' scores were higher than LA students' scores only. No between-groups differences were obtained during any school year on the self-concept measure. Findings suggest that LD students' self-perceptions are not negatively affected by academic and social difficulties in the early grades or by the identification and labeling process. Though generalization is limited by the small sample size, few studies have examined students with learning disabilities longitudinally or prior to and following their identification. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of inclusion on the social functioning of students with learning disabilities

The purpose of this study was to provide data on the social functioning (i.e., the degree of peer acceptance, self-concept, loneliness, and social alienation) of students in second, third, and fourth grade who participated in an inclusive classroom for an entire year. The social functioning of students identified as learning disabled (LD; n = 16), low achieving (LA; n = 27), and average/high achieving (AHA; n = 21) was assessed at the beginning and end of the school year. The students with LD were less well liked and more frequently rejected than AHA students. Although students' overall self-worth did not differ by achievement group, the students with LD demonstrated significantly lower academic self-concept scores. The students with LD did not differ on ratings of loneliness, and they demonstrated increases in the number of within-class reciprocal friendships from fall to spring. Discussion focuses on the effects of inclusion on the social functioning of students with LD.     

Learning disabilities, low achievement, and mild mental retardation: more alike than different?

Children identified with learning disabilities (LD), low achievement (LA), or mild mental retardation (MMR) were contrasted on 41 measures of ability, academic achievement, social skills, problem behavior, academic engaged time, perceptual-motor skills, and school history. Both multivariate, univariate, and meta-analytic comparisons among the three groups showed relatively large differences on measures of aptitude and achievement, with the LD group scoring higher on measures of cognitive ability than the LA and MMR groups and the LA group showing higher tested academic achievement than the LD and MMR groups. Teacher ratings of academic competence showed similar levels of functioning for the LD and LA groups. No differences among the groups were found on measures of social skills, problem behaviors, or academic engaged time, or on most indices reflecting school history. Results were interpreted in light of studies contrasting LD and LA groups. Comparisons with earlier studies were difficult in light of demographic differences in samples and the lower cognitive and academic functioning of children in the present study. The current study showed that 61% of the LD group could be differentiated from the LA group, with LD-MMR and LA-MMR differentiation levels being 68.5% and 67.5%, respectively.     

Effects of assertion training on acceptance of disability by physically disabled university students.

This pilot study focused on the effects of assertion training on 14 physically disabled undergraduates' acceptance of disability. A pretest–posttest control group design was utilized. Ss were randomly assigned to either a treatment group or a no-treatment control group. The hypotheses analyzed were that Ss given assertion training would show increases in Acceptance of Disability Scale scores, self-concept/esteem scores (Rathus Assertiveness Scale), and social interaction skills scores (Behavioral Observation Scale) when compared with individuals who did not experience assertion training. Significant results were obtained for all hypotheses indicating that the groups differed in acceptance of disability, self-concept, and social interaction. The study suggests that assertion training may be effective for increasing acceptance of disability in physically disabled students. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Critical levels of perceived social support associated with student adjustment.

Investigated the relationships among perceived social support and academic, behavioral, and social indicators for 1,711 students in Grades 3 through 12. Data were collected with the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale, the Social Skills Rating System, the Student Self-Concept Scale, and the Behavior Assessment System for Children. Results show significant, positive relationships among perceived social support and a variety of positive indicators (e.g., social skills, self-concept, and adaptive skills). In addition, significant, negative relationships among perceived social support and a variety of problematic behavioral indicators (e.g., internalizing and externalizing behaviors) were found. Students with low perceived support obtained significantly higher scores on problematic behavior indicators and significantly lower scores on positive behavior indicators than students with average or high perceived support. Only student-rated social skills and self-concept were significantly higher for the high vs the average level of perceived support. These results are followed by a discussion of the importance of varying levels (low, average, high) of perceived social support in students' lives. Implications of the findings of this study for school psychologists are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment of childhood social phobia: Construct, convergent, and discriminative validity of the Social Phobia and Anxiety inventory for Children (SPA-C).

The Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C) has shown initial promise to assess childhood social fears. In this study, convergent validity was determined by comparing scores on the SPAI-C to daily diary ratings of social distress. Social phobic children scored significantly higher on the SPAI-C, reported more distressing events, and rated these events as more distressful when compared with normal peers. A positive relationship was found between SPAI-C scores and daily diary ratings. Discriminative validity was determined by comparing SPAI-C scores of social phobic children with normal controls and children with externalizing disorders. The SPAI-C successfully differentiated children with social phobia from those with externalizing disorders or no disorder. Finally, internal consistency and factor analytic outcome data are presented. Results are discussed in terms of the SPAT-C's usefulness as a clinical and research tool. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Family Health Project: Psychosocial adjustment of children whose mothers are HIV infected.

The psychosocial adjustment of 87 inner-city African American children 6–11 years old whose mothers were HIV infected was compared with that of 149 children from a similar sociodemographic background whose mothers did not report being HIV infected. Children were not identified as being HIV infected. Mother reports, child reports, and standardized reading achievement scores were used to assess 4 domains of adjustment: externalizing problems, internalizing problems, cognitive competence, and prosocial competence. The results indicated that, on average, children from both groups had elevated levels of behavior problem scores and low reading achievement scores when compared with national averages. Relative to children whose mothers were not infected, those whose mothers were HIV infected were reported to have more difficulties in all domains of psychosocial adjustment. Potential family processes that may explain the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Profiles of college students demonstrating learning disabilities with and without giftedness

The purpose of this study was to analyze the assessment profiles of two groups of adults with learning disabilities. The first group comprised 48 adults (34 men and 14 women) demonstrating giftedness and a learning disability profile (G/LD). The second group of 46 adults (31 men and 15 women) demonstrated a learning disabled profile without giftedness (NG/LD). Both groups of participants were either attending or planning to attend college and sought testing at a university-affiliated learning disabilities center. Participants' mean age was 20 years, and all were White and from middle to upper-middle class backgrounds. Findings indicate that, as a group, the adults demonstrating a G/LD profile tended to be identified later and have more discrepancy among cognitive assessment profile scores than the NG/LD group. Cognitive subtest scores showed significant differences between the groups, but also several areas of weakness evident in both groups regardless of the presence of giftedness. These findings emphasize the importance of identifying the presence of learning disabilities among gifted populations.     

Cognitive processes as predictors of word recognition and reading comprehension in learning-disabled and skilled readers: Revisiting the specificity hypothesis.

Examines how cognitive processes interrelate as well as predict learning-disabled (LD) readers' word recognition and reading comprehension performance. Correlations between phonological, orthographic, semantic, metacognitive, and working memory measures with reading performance were examined in LD and skilled readers (aged 8–12 yrs). LD Ss were deficient on all cognitive processes compared with skilled Ss, but these differences do not reflect IQ scores. Reading ability group differences emerged on a component composed primarily of working memory measures (referred to as "g") as well as unique components, suggesting that these differences emerge on both general and specific (modular) processes. G best predicts reading comprehension for both groups, and phonological awareness best predicts skilled Ss' pseudoword reading, whereas g best predicts LD Ss' pseudoword performance. Overall, LD Ss' information processing difficulties were described within a general working memory model that views such children as having difficulty accessing and coordinating both general and specific processes. Results suggest that the cognitive processes that contribute to reading deficits are best understood in the context of their combination with other operations rather than in isolation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infant attachment strategies, infant mental lag, and maternal depressive symptoms: predictors of internalizing and externalizing problems at age 7

The predictive relations between assessments in infancy and parent- and teacher-reported behavior problems at age 7 were investigated within a low-income sample. Infancy assessments indexed family adversity, parent-infant interaction at home, infant attachment, infant anger-distress at home, gender, and cognitive functioning. Among children at age 7 identified by teachers as highly externalizing, 83% were both disorganized in their attachment behavior in infancy and below the national mean in mental development scores at 18 months, compared with 13% of nonexternalizing children. Avoidant attachment behavior in infancy was associated with later internalizing symptoms rather than with externalizing symptoms. The behavior problem data reported by mother suggested the possibility of attachment-related biases in maternal report data. The results indicate that child mental lag in the context of a disorganized attachment relationship constitutes 1 early step on the pathway to school-age externalizing behavior.     

Executive functioning in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Combined type with and without a stimulant medication history.

Behavioral and neuropsychological functioning in unmedicated children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who have a history of medication treatment (Rx) versus those who are treatment na?ve (TN) has, to our knowledge, not been previously studied. Ninety-four children in four groups (ADHD/Rx, ADHD/TN, learning disabilities [LD], and controls) were evaluated, while unmedicated, on measures of achievement, neuropsychological functioning, and behavior. The ADHD/Rx group performed significantly better than the TN group on writing, Stroop interference, and measures of attention, and performed as well as the control group on executive functioning, verbal working memory, and academics. Behaviorally, the ADHD groups showed more difficulty with mood and externalizing behaviors compared with the LD and control groups, with the ADHD/TN performing the most poorly. Findings suggest that the ADHD/Rx group shows better executive and academic functioning even when unmedicated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's self-image disparity: The effects of age, maladjustment, and action-thought orientation.

Assessed developmental and experiential determinants of self-image disparity in 80 children. 3 groups of male 5th and 8th graders were investigated: nonmaladjusted Ss, maladjusted Ss whose primary symptomatology was in the sphere of action, and maladjusted Ss whose symptoms were in the sphere of thought. No support was obtained for the Rogerian position that maladjustment per se was related to self-image disparity. Consistent with predictions generated by developmental theory, both age and the maladjusted Ss' position on the action-thought continuum were predictive of the magnitude of self-image disparity. Emotionally disturbed Ss had more negative real-self images, and those with externalizing symptoms had lower ideal-self scores as well. Thus, children's self-images appear to be influenced by experiential factors as well as cognitive-developmental ones. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reappraisal of the self-concept and implications for counseling.

Presents a conceptual reformulation of the self-concept and its application for counseling purposes. An overview is provided of current theory and findings about the structure and function of the self-concept in cognitive information processing and social interaction in terms from the areas of basic and social cognition. This overview includes a view of the contents of the self-concept that is expanded to contain conceptions of possibility. Also examined are cognitive process factors through which the self-concept aids in constructing and understanding of self and the social world and in mediating subsequent responses. Implications of this model and research for counseling purposes are considered, with emphasis on assessment and group counseling. (3? p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Masculinity, femininity, androgyny, and cognitive performance: A meta-analysis.

Reviewed studies on the relation between gender self-concept and performance on spatial, mathematical, and verbal tasks to evaluate S. C. Nash's (1979) hypothesis that individuals will perform better on cognitive tasks when their self-concepts match the gender stereotyping of the tasks. Meta-analytic techniques were used to estimate the average effect sizes and to determine the significance of the combined probabilities. The influence of Ss' sex and age, date of study, type of spatial task, and type of self-concept measure on these associations was also examined. In general, the results from spatial and mathematical tasks, which are usually stereotyped as masculine, support Nash's hypothesis. Higher masculine and lower feminine self-concept scores were associated with better performance. These relations were observed more consistently for females than for males. There was some evidence of better spatial and mathematical performance among adolescent boys who described themselves as feminine. Nash's hypothesis was not supported for verbal tasks. There was no evidence that androgyny, defined either as high masculine and high feminine scores or as a balance between masculine and feminine scores, is associated with better cognitive performance. (3? p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive-motivational characteristics and academic achievement of learning disabled children: A longitudinal study.

Academic self-concept, academic locus of control, and achievement expectations were investigated over a 2-year period for 78 children identified as learning disabled (LD) and 71 non learning disabled, normally achieving children (NLD). The LD children had no remedial program for their learning problems and had not been classified by the schools as LD. The data were collected while the sample was in junior high school. Five schools participated in the project. The results indicated that in comparison with NLD students, the LD children had lower self-perceptions of ability, showed signs of learned helplessness, and reported lower achievement expectations. These differences were well established at the start of Year 1 of the project and remained consistent through to the end of Year 2. The hypothesis that LD children not receiving remedial help would develop increasingly negative affective characteristics was therefore not supported. Correlation and regression data show that academic self-concept scores were the single best predictor of achievement levels. I suggest that negative school-related attitudes develop early in the school lives of LD children and remain negative but consistent through high school. Some consequences for future learning and remedial programming are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Field independence and intelligence: Their relation to leadership and self-concept in sixth-grade boys.

Investigated the relationship between intelligence, field dependence, leadership, and self-concept. 88 6th-grade boys were given the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale and the Group Embedded Figures Test, and their IQs were measured by the Short Form Test of Academic Aptitude. Ten groups of 4 were formed consisting of Ss with different combinations of high and low scores on the IQ and cognitive style measures, and the groups worked on an unstructured construction task. Following each session, members of the group rated each other on leadership, and the percentage of speech time for each S was obtained from tape recordings. Field independence was related to intelligence and self-concept, and analytic Ss exhibited more leadership than global Ss, while IQ did not differentiate Ss on any variable. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment styles, emotion regulation, and adjustment in adolescence.

Attachment style differences in psychological symptomatology, self-concept, and risky or problem behaviors were examined in a community sample (N?=?1,989) of Black and White adolescents, 13 to 19 years old. Overall, secure adolescents were the best-adjusted group, though not necessarily the least likely to engage in risky behaviors. Anxious adolescents were the worst-adjusted group, reporting the poorest self-concepts and the highest levels of symptomatology and risk behaviors. In contrast, avoidant adolescents reported generally high levels of symptomatology and poor self-concepts but similar levels of risk behaviors to those found among secures. Mediation analyses suggested that the observed differences in problem behaviors were at least partially accounted for by the differential experience of distress symptoms (primarily hostility and depression) and by social competence. Finally, patterns of attachment effects were similar across age, gender, and racial groups, with some important exceptions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

School self-acceptance among Canadian Indian, White, and Metis children.

Compared 334 Indian, 197 non-Indian, and 92 Metis students (aged 10–19 yrs) on an aspect of self-concept, school self-acceptance. A follow-up study was conducted several months later with 40 Ss. Attempts were made to overcome weaknesses in prior research by gathering validity data on the self-concept measure and controlling for extraneous factors such as social assets that could account for Indian/non-Indian differences. Support was found for the prediction that Indian Ss would have lower school self-acceptance scores than White Ss. Metis Ss resembled Indians in their school self-acceptance scores, acculturation level, and social assets, but scored closer to Whites in their childrearing scale scores. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the social assets variable was the most important predictor of school self-acceptance, although the ethnicity factor remained a significant predictor. (French abstract) (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A meta-analytic review of social, self-concept, and behavioral outcomes of peer-assisted learning.

Meta-analysis was used to examine social, self-concept, and behavioral effects of peer-assisted learning (PAL) interventions with elementary school students. An electronic search of PsycINFO and ERIC databases resulted in 36 relevant PAL studies. Overall, effect sizes were small to moderate across the 3 outcome variable domains. Both social and self-concept outcomes were positively correlated with academic outcomes. Specific PAL components--student autonomy, individualized evaluation, structured student roles, interdependent group rewards, and same-gender grouping--were related to effect sizes. PAL interventions were more effective for low-income versus higher income, urban versus suburban-rural, minority versus nonminority, and Grades 1-3 students versus Grades 4-6 students. Results suggest that PAL interventions that focus on academics can also improve social and self-concept outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-concept differences in relation to identification, religion, and social class.

"This study focused on the relationships between… three socialization variables of parental identification, religious affiliation, and social class to two aspects of the self-concept, dominance and love… . No significant differences in self-concept scores as a function of parental identification were observed… . Catholic subjects have significantly higher love scores than do Jewish subjects, and the former have significantly higher love than dominance scores… . Upper class subjects have significantly higher dominance scores than lower class subjects, and upper class subjects are significantly higher on dominance than on love." From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3GC94B. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)