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…

Explores the reciprocal relationships between self-esteem and the following three problems of youth: (1) juvenile delinquency; (2) poor school performance; and (3) psychological depression. Findings include the following: (1) low self-esteem fosters delinquency, which may enhance self-esteem; (2) school performance affects self-esteem; and (3)…

Illustrates some of the analytic tools and conventions associated with the construction and evaluation of dynamic models of the processes underlying learning, memory, and development. Describes a study finding that children may exhibit slower disintegration of verbatim memory traces than adults due to interference; however, adults may be more…

Reviews efforts to develop mathematical models in developmental psychology. Explores recent developments in using dynamical systems for modeling human psychological processes. Comments on the studies described in this journal issue on dynamic modeling of cognitive development. Suggests that using this framework holds great promise for clarifying…

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)

Structural equation models merge multiple regression, path analysis, and factor analysis techniques into a single data analytic framework. Measurement models are developed to define latent variables, and structural equations are then established among the latent variables. Explains the development of these models. (KS)

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…

People experience mental incongruity when there is a discrepancy between a standard and their own experience of a situation or behavior. The influence of adolescents' standards and mental incongruity on the development of their identity (N=706) was studied in both work and relational domains using structural equation models. (Author/EMK)

Uses structural equation modelling to examine the relationship between learning strategy use and second-language test performance (SLTP) in 1,382 high- and low-ability test takers. Results showed metacognitive strategy use and SLTP models produced similar factorial structures for each group; cognitive strategy use models differed. This suggests…

Examined relationships among mothers' hostile attribution tendencies regarding their children's ambiguous problem behaviors, mothers' harsh discipline, and children's externalizing behavior problems. Assessments over four years demonstrated that mothers' hostile attributions predicted children's externalizing school behavior problems. The…

The purpose of the present study was to broaden planned behavior theory and examine its applicability to predict the academic achievement of students of low and high spelling ability. Two hundred fifty seven students, 54 low spellers and 203 high spellers from thirty elementary schools in northern Greece, participated in the study. Between groups…