This article proposes a Thurstonian model in the framework of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to assess preferences among quality of life dimensions for the elderly. Data were gathered by a paired comparison design in a sample comprised of 323 people aged from 65 to 94 years old. Five dimensions of quality of life were evaluated: Health,…

In this study, the socio-cultural variation in reading comprehension development was examined in 331 fifth graders from schools in Lima, Peru. Reading comprehension was measured using an adaptation of the PIRLS Reading Literacy test. The fifth graders' reading comprehension results, measured over the course of fifth grade, were related to the…

This longitudinal study tested the direction of associations between family meals and alcohol and tobacco consumption during early adolescence. We examined family meal frequency, family connectedness, alcohol (binge drinking, drunkenness), and tobacco consumption (past year, daily frequency) in 671 adolescents (51% women; mean age, Wave 1 = 14.05…

The present study examined the structural relations of social influences, task values, ability beliefs, educational expectation and academic engagement for both boys and girls. The structural equation modelling analyses provided nationally representative evidence of gender differences in: (1) the links from teacher-student relationship and peer…

This study aims to conceptualize disobedient pupil behavior within the more general framework of antisocial behavior and to reveal how two forms of aggressiveness are related to disobedience. Disobedience, in the context of this article, covers disruptive pupil behavior or discipline problems when the pupil is aware of breaking a standard set by…

The study was designed to validate a model for a successful aging process and examine the gender differences in the aging process. Three hundred twelve participants who were 65 or older completed a Taiwan Social Change Survey that measures four factors that define successful aging process: including physical, psychological, social support, and…

This investigation examines the use of structural equation modeling (SEM) procedures to develop and validate scales to measure environmental responsibility, character development and leadership, and attitudes toward school for environmental education programs servicing middle school children. The scales represent outcomes commonly of interest to…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine factors that predict industry-level career change among MBA graduates. Design/methodology/approach: The study analyzed longitudinal data from the Management Education Research Institute (MERI)'s Global MBA Graduate Survey Dataset and MBA Alumni Perspectives Survey Datasets, using principal component…

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between distributed leadership, teachers' academic optimism and student achievement in learning. The study targeted public elementary schools in Taiwan and adopted stratified random sampling to investigate 1500 teachers. Teachers' perceptions were collected by a self-report scale. In…

Externalising behaviours such as substance misuse (SM) and conduct disorder (CD) symptoms highly co-ocurr in adolescence. While disinhibited personality traits have been consistently linked to externalising behaviours there is evidence that these traits may relate differentially to SM and CD. The current study aimed to assess whether this was the…

Mediation and moderation are two theories for refining and understanding a causal relationship. Empirical investigation of mediators and moderators requires an integrated research design rather than the data analyses driven approach often seen in the literature. This paper described the conceptual foundation, research design, data analysis, as…

Declines in support for the male breadwinner, female homemaker family model in recent decades have been thoroughly documented, but research into the way such attitudes change over the life course remains limited. Drawing on panel data and latent growth curve modeling techniques, the study identifies patterns and predictors of attitude change from…

This study tested two theoretical models of learner empowerment as a potential mediator of teacher power use and students' ratings of instruction. Participants included 1,416 undergraduate students from four different institutions in the United States. Results of structural equation modeling provided more support for the partial mediation model…

An investigation was conducted to determine the best criterion for advancement to a new reading passage during the commonly used classroom strategy of repeated reading. Knowing when to move students to a new passage during the repeated reading process was considered of value to teachers in efficiently using student learning time. The study also…

The present study investigated the relationship between statistics anxiety, individual characteristics (e.g., trait anxiety and learning strategies), and academic performance. Students enrolled in a statistics course in psychology (N = 147) filled in a questionnaire on statistics anxiety, trait anxiety, interest in statistics, mathematical…