The authors investigated the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on reading achievement for urban middle school students. The authors initially developed a research-based theoretical model representing interrelationships among students' ethnicity, gender, grade level, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and reading achievement.…

This study applies theorizing from educational psychology and language learning to hypothesize a model of language learning that takes into account affect, motivation, and language learning strategies. The study employed a questionnaire to assess variables of motivation, self-efficacy, anxiety, and language learning strategies. The sample…

By means of more than a dozen user friendly packages, structural equation models (SEMs) are widely used in behavioral, education, social, and psychological research. As the underlying theory and methods in these packages are vulnerable to outliers and distributions with longer-than-normal tails, a fundamental problem in the field is the…

Objective: To explore the relationships of family and cognitive factors to aggression as reported by parents and teachers. Method: Data regarding different types of aggressive behavior were collected from parents and teachers of 165 school-age (7-11 years old) children referred to a study of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and disruptive…

Studies have shown that it is difficult for people to deal with multicriteria decision-making situations. Information technology tools such as decision-support systems and expert systems have been developed in order to help them in such situations. Another tool that has been identified as helping managers understand complex engineering…

Used structural equation model to explore relationship between parenting style and Dutch young adult offsprings' depression and locus of control. Found that loving, caring parenting styles predicted lower depression levels. A loving, caring upbringing provided by fathers predicted a shift toward an internal locus of control, but a similar…

Tested links between early adolescent older sibling (OS) and younger sibling (YS) competence in rural African American families. Found that OS competence was stable across time and related to improvements in mothers' psychological functioning from Wave 1 to Wave 2. Mothers' Wave-2 psychological functioning related to Wave-3 involved-supportive…

This study analyzed scores of 469 British adult clients with recent loss of sight on the Nottingham Adjustment Scale using LISREL structural modeling techniques. Results supported a theoretical model of the self in terms of two latent factors--internal self-worth and self as agent. Implications for rehabilitation and intervention with cognitive…

Structural equation modeling was used to assess the influence of past mathematics grades, performance expectancies, and value perceptions on math anxiety of 250 seventh through ninth graders. The importance of these variables for grades and course selection was also studied. Results are discussed concerning expectancy-value and self-efficacy…

To examine the relationship between expectancies and values and their contributions to achievement, 153 seventh graders (54 males and 99 females) completed multiple measures of expectancy and value. Expectancies and values contributed to achievement, and the constructs for both were positively correlated. Differences between males and females are…

Multiple group structural equation modeling was used to analyze structural relationships between latent factors underlying writing-related developmental skills and component writing skills in grades 1 through 6 for 600 students (50 boys and 50 girls at each grade level). Results for handwriting, spelling, and compositional quality are discussed…

Examined the joint and unique predictive significance of emergent literacy skills for later emergent literacy skills and reading in two samples of preschoolers. Structural equation modeling revealed significant developmental continuity of these skills, particularly for letter knowledge and phonological sensitivity from late preschool to early…

Explored influence on adolescent delinquency of curriculum track as an organizer of delinquent friendship groups or as a moderator of friendship relations. Structural equation analyses supported curriculum track as moderator of friendship relations. After accounting for academic achievement, lower-track students were not more likely to associate…

Examined influence of adolescent work level on family processes including caring and trust, control and supervision, conflict, intimate communication, and instrumental communication. Found that low intensity workers reported highest level of family process, highest intensity workers reported lowest levels, and nonworkers were in between. Found…

One of the most noticeable changes to the university student profile over the last decade is the increasing number of mature-age students. This study examined the relationship between previous academic performance, psychological characteristics of the student, learning strategies, and the first year academic performance of school leavers and…