The aims of this study were to examine self-efficacy and other motivation variables among high school science students (n = 502); to determine the degree to which each of the four hypothesized sources of self-efficacy makes an independent contribution to students' science self-efficacy beliefs; to examine possible differences between life,…

The development of gender attitudes in 402 youth (201 firstborn and 201 secondborn siblings) in 201 European American families was examined using data collected on seven occasions across 9 years. Pooling across siblings and using multilevel modeling, we examined gender attitude development from ages 7 to 19. Consistent with an ecological…

Spatial ability based on measures of mental rotation, and spatial experience based on self-reported participation in visual-arts as well as spatial-orientation activities were assessed in a sample of 337 Chinese, gifted students. Consistent with past findings for the general population, there were gender differences in spatial ability favoring…

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the authors examine the association between contraceptive use patterns in teens' first sexual relationships and their knowledge of, perceptions of, and motivations for contraception and pregnancy prevention. Results from logistic regression analyses show that knowledge,…

The longitudinal course of cocaine dependence is characterized by alternating periods of abstinence and relapse. Although gender has emerged as an important predictor of relapse, previous studies have examined mean differences in use by gender. Focusing strictly on differences in averages between men and women does not address potential gender…

This article examines the nature of confidence in relation to abilities, personality, and metacognition. Confidence scores were collected during the administration of Reading and Listening sections of the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT) to 824 native speakers of English. Those confidence scores were correlated…

Purpose: In an attempt to more thoroughly describe aggressive behavior in nursing home residents with dementia, we examined background and proximal factors as guided by the Need-Driven Dementia-Compromised Behavior model. Design and Methods: We used a multivariate cross-sectional survey with repeated measures; participants resided in nine randomly…

This study used a developmental-ecological approach to investigate the relationship across the school year between early problems in preschool classroom situations and a comprehensive set of readiness competencies for urban low-income children. Study 1 identified 3 reliable and unique underlying classroom situational dimensions where behavior…

Prevalence, frequency, and psychosocial predictors of Internet and computer game use were assessed with 803 male and 788 female adolescents across 2 time periods, 21 months apart. At Time 1, participants were in the 9th or 10th grade; at Time 2, they were in the 11th or 12th grade. Most girls (93.7%) and boys (94.7%) reported using the Internet at…

The influence of the sleep patterns of 2,259 students, aged 11 to 14 years, on trajectories of depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and grades was longitudinally examined using latent growth cross-domain models. Consistent with previous research, sleep decreased over time. Students who obtained less sleep in sixth grade exhibited lower initial…

This study explores how grandchild care in conjunction with grandparents' retirement affects depressive symptoms, using data from the Health and Retirement Survey. The findings demonstrate that retirement moderates the influence of grandchild care obligations on well-being, measured by depressive symptoms. For retired men, freedom from grandchild…

The associations among suicidal behavior, negative affect, and delinquency were assessed via an anonymous self-report survey administered to male and female college students ( N = 383). Contrary to our hypothesized results, there were no gender differences in rates of suicidal ideation and attempts. Confirming our hypotheses about gender…

Objectives : To examine reasons to quit among adolescents in a smoking cessation program, and whether reasons were associated with subsequent cessation. Methods : Participants were 351 adolescents. At baseline, adolescents reported motivation, reasons to quit, and stage of change for cessation. Quit status was assessed at end of treatment. Results…

In this study, students' personality traits were investigated in relation to course grade in an undergraduate management course taught by the same professor and overall college grade point average (GPA). Conscientiousness positively and significantly predicted overall GPA over and beyond other personality traits of agreeableness, extroversion,…

We investigated sex effects and the effects of educational attainment (EA) on the covariance structure of the WAIS-III in a subsample of the Spanish standardization data. We fitted both first order common factor models and second order common factor models. The latter include general intelligence ("g") as a second order common factor.…