In current research on parenting, 2 ways of conceptualizing perceived parental autonomy support can be distinguished. Parental autonomy support can be defined in terms of promotion of independence (PI) or in terms of promotion of volitional functioning (PVF). This study aimed to establish the empirical distinctiveness of both conceptualizations…

Using a multitheory approach, this study was designed to investigate the influence of urban adolescents' perceived autonomy and competence in physical education on their physical activity intentions and behaviors during leisure time. A transcontextual model was hypothesized and tested. Urban adolescents (N = 653, ages 11-15 years) completed…

Concurrent and longitudinal relations among parental emotional expressivity, children's sympathy and children's prosocial behavior were assessed with correlations and structural equation modeling when the children were 55-97 months old (N = 214; M age = 73 months, SD = 9.59) and eight years later (N = 130; ages 150-195 months old, M = 171 months,…

In this study we examined cognitive features that have been posited to contribute to depressive vulnerability in adolescents. Using a longitudinal sample of 331 young adolescents followed from 6th to 7th grade, cross-lagged structural equation analyses were conducted. Controlling for baseline levels of depressive, conduct, and anxiety symptoms,…

This study investigated the impact of students' conceptions of constructivist learning activities on academic achievement and drop-out. Although constructivism represents an influential view of learning, studies investigating how students conceptualize this perspective have not been conducted before. A structural equation modelling approach was…

The question of how to analyze unbalanced hierarchical data generated from structural equation models has been a common problem for researchers and analysts. Among difficulties plaguing statistical modeling are estimation bias due to measurement error and the estimation of the effects of the individual's hierarchical social milieu. This paper…

Many students in the United States who are required to take educational tests are not fully proficient in English. To address this problem, a state-mandated testing program created dual language English-Spanish versions of some of their tests. In this study, the psychometric properties of the English and dual language versions of a fourth-grade…

A study tested predictions for I/E (internal external) frame of reference model and extended this model to include locus of control. A sample of upper elementary (n=181) and junior high (n=191) students in the United Arab Emirates participated in the study. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses provided support to the external comparison…

This study examined the relationship between school connectedness and academic achievement using structural equation modeling. Results for 1,758 seventh graders from a midwestern urban school system indicate that school-initiated connectedness has an indirect effect on student achievement through student peers desire to be connected to each other…

Goodness of fit indexes developed by R. P. McDonald (1989) and Satorra-Bentler scale correction methods (A. Satorra and P. M. Bentler, 1988) were studied. The Satorra-Bentler index is shown to have the least error under each distributional misspecification level when the model has correct structural specification. (SLD)

LISREL 8 invokes a ridge option when maximum likelihood or generalized least squares are used to estimate a structural equation model with a nonpositive definite covariance or correlation matrix. Implications of the ridge option for model fit, parameter estimates, and standard errors are explored through two examples. (SLD)

Used the structural equation model approach to test a model hypothesizing the influence of parental involvement on students' academic aptitudes, self-concept, and causal attributions, as well as the influence of these variables on academic achievement. Results for 261 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years suggest that cognitive-affective variables are…

Used specific paths in structural equation models to examine reciprocal effects between constructs of polydrug use and relationship quality for 307 young women and 117 young men over 4-year period. Found eight effects for women and six for men from specific measures of drug use that adversely affected aspects of relationship quality. (Author/NB)

The role that language plays in mediating the influence of verbal descriptions of persons on trait ratings of those persons was studied for 280 college students. Results suggest that the influence of verbally communicated descriptions of persons on trait ratings is mediated by the expected latent factors. (SLD)

Masculine gender roles, traditional vocational interests, and career choice are modeled using structural equations. Participants were 212 students from 51 majors. Two competing models were tested. Results favor a fully mediated model in which masculine gender roles influence vocational interests, which influence the traditionality of career choice…