Abstract Background Ecological perspectives stress the importance of environmental predictors of adolescent alcohol use, yet little research has examined such predictors among immigrant adolescents. ...This study examines parental, peer and school predictors of alcohol drinking (casual drinking, binge drinking and drunkenness) among Israeli-born adolescents and first and second generation adolescent immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) and Ethiopia in Israel. Methods The study uses data from the 2010 to 2011 Israeli Health Behaviors of School age Children (HBSC) survey and includes a representative sample of 3059 adolescents, aged 11–17. Differences between the groups for drinking were examined using Pearson's chi square. Logistic regression models were used to examine group specific predictors of drinking. Results First generation FSU and both Ethiopian groups reported higher levels of binge drinking and drunkenness than Israeli-born adolescents. All immigrant groups reported lower levels of parental monitoring than native born adolescents; both first generation groups reported difficulties talking to parents; and first generation FSU and second generation Ethiopian adolescents reported greater time with friends. Group specific logistic regression models suggest that while parent, peer and school variables all predicted alcohol use among Israeli adolescents, only time spent with peers consistently predicted immigrant alcohol use. Conclusions Findings highlight specific vulnerability of first generation FSU and second generation Ethiopian adolescents to high levels of drinking and the salience of time spent with peers as predicting immigrant adolescent drinking patterns. They suggest that drinking patterns must be understood in relation to country of origin and immigration experience of a particular group.
Abstract Cross-national analyses explore the consistency of the relationship between negative school experiences and involvement in bullying across 40 European and North American countries, using the ...2006 (40 countries n = 197,502) and 2002 (12 countries, n = 57,007) WHO–HBSC surveys. Measures include two Cumulative Negative School Perception (CNSP) scales, one based on 6 mandatory items (2006) and another including an additional 11 items (2002). Outcome measures included bullying perpetration, victimization and involvement as both bully and victim. Logistic regression analyses suggested that children with only 2–3 negative school perceptions, experience twice the relative odds of being involved in bullying as compared with children with no negative school perceptions. Odds Ratios ( p < 0.001) increase in a graded fashion according to the CNSP, from about 2.2 to over 8.0. Similar consistent effects are found across gender and almost all countries. Further research should focus on the mechanisms and social context of these relationships.
The study examined how far students’ perceptions of the psychosocial school environment are associated with self‐rated health, life satisfaction and subjective health complaints. Students’ ...perceptions were associated with one or more indicators of subjective health. Perceived health was better in direct proportion to positive perceptions. Student relations and school strain were the factors that stood out in both genders, with regard to all the health indicators. School engagement, parental support and educational aspiration were found to be important for overall perceived health of the students. This study indicates the importance of the psychosocial school environment for students’ health.
Rural communities in forested regions across the United States are in the midst of a transformation driven by a complex mixture of economic, policy, and demographic dynamics. This research examines, ...through survey results, rural youth educational aspirations in two forest-dependent regions and the role that perceptions of the local school, perceptions of community, and views on economic trajectory play in shaping rural youths’ aspirations. Although school perceptions, school and community engagement, grades, and identifying as a girl were positively related to educational aspirations, community perceptions were negatively related. These quantitative findings highlight the contradictory role that higher education may play for those who must choose between education and their families and home and reinforce similar findings from qualitative research on rural youth.
The study aimed to examine the extent to which Finnish secondary school students experience bullying, how they are bullied, and whether being bullied is associated with school perceptions. The ...analyses were based on data from the Finnish part of the international
Health Behaviour in School-aged Children
(HBSC) study, and were obtained from 4262 students aged 13 and 15. The sample was nationally representative. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the associations between school perceptions and being bullied. Younger students reported being bullied more often than older students. Among younger students, boys were more often bullied than girls of the same age. There was no significant difference between the genders among the older students. The most common form of being bullied was verbal teasing. Boys tended to be bullied in physical ways, while girls were bullied in more indirect ways. Students with low levels of school engagement, students with poor relations with peers, and students who reported better teacher-student relations were more likely to be bullied. Feelings of loneliness and lower family affluence were also associated with being bullied. Improving the perceptions of school, and of the school experience as a whole, might have an effect on bullying at school.
The aim of this study was to describe students' perceptions of their psychosocial school environment and to examine the associations between such perceptions and students' perceived school ...performance. Our analyses were based on data from the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children 2006 study, involving responses by Finnish students from grades 7 and 9. The results indicated that students' perceptions of their school environment were fairly positive, but that a remarkably large proportion of the students reported negative attitudes towards school. School engagement, school strain, and teacher-student relations were found to be the most influential predictors in the psychosocial school environment regarding perceived school performance; as were the grade and educational aspirations out of the selected background factors. The findings imply that despite good academic achievement in Finnish comprehensive schools, there is still a need to improve students' school engagement and their satisfaction with school.
Low high school completion rates are an ongoing challenge for educators. This study provides the results of an evaluation of a ninth-grade summer transition program offered at a large public school ...with a high freshman dropout rate. The evaluation consisted of preprogram and postprogram surveys and interviews with 64 incoming freshman participating in the summer program. Significant gains were shown in participants' Sense of School Belonging and Academic Self-Efficacy. Qualitatively, the data suggest that students gained clarity about their career goals, became better informed about what it takes to become a successful student, connected a diploma to their own career goals, and felt more comfortable in the school and with its teachers. The implications of these findings for prevention of school dropout are discussed.
Latino Students in North Carolina Valencia, Elvia Y.; Johnson, Valerie
Hispanic journal of behavioral sciences,
08/2006, Letnik:
28, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
This study describes results from an investigation of Latino students attending a Hispanic Education Summit (HES) in North Carolina. Findings from data gleaned from 275 middle and high school ...students' perceptions are presented. Self-report data assessed level of acculturation, as well as students' perceptions with regard to a variety of issues, including school programs, barriers to participation in programs, problems in the school environment, and academic aspirations. Results revealed that students reported few perceived barriers to school and aspirations. However, there was a significant relationship between acculturation level and the frequency with which students reported selected barriers and future life goals. Gender differences were found with regard to acculturation level, perception of barriers, and academic aspirations. Directions for further research are discussed.
Purpose - The aim of this study was to examine the associations between students' perceptions of the psychosocial school environment, health-compromising behaviours, and selected family factors. The ...analyses were based on data provided for the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Study (2006).Design methodology approach - The data were obtained from 1,670 Finnish 9th graders. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the associations between school perceptions, health-compromising behaviours, and selected family factors.Findings - Educational aspiration was found to be the most influential factor connected to health-compromising behaviour among both genders, favouring students who were intending to apply to upper secondary school. The results also indicated that all the measured dimensions of school perceptions were associated with health-compromising behaviours: the more negative the perceptions, the more health-compromising were the behaviours. The associations were somewhat different between girls and boys. In terms of engaging in health-compromising behaviours, there was an association with school-related social relationships among boys. By contrast, among girls, other aspects of the psychosocial school environment were more important, for example engagement with the school and school strain. The role of parental bonding and monitoring was also significant among girls.Originality value - The findings imply that attention should be paid to the health-promoting factors of the school, and to gender differences, not merely in planning prevention or intervention, but in everyday school life.
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