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In college, reluctant help seeking is one of the challenges that students from foster care face. Avoidant help seeking is a unique risk factor that conventional support systems on college campuses often fail to adequately address. Humanistic coaching has recently been utilized by some universities as a successful alternative to typical student service strategies to address the needs of students from foster care. In this study, perspectives from four coaches and five students who were involved in a campus-based coaching program were analyzed to determine how they perceived help-seeking beliefs and behaviors. Using a hybrid thematic analysis approach, the authors found that humanistic coaching provided an opportunity to develop a transformational relationship between the coaches and the students. This relationship was perceived by both students and coaches as shifting students' avoidant help-seeking beliefs and behaviors to adaptive help-seeking beliefs and behaviors. The transformative relationship promoted the students' self-determination by creating a sense of relatedness, autonomy, and competency.

Due to China's three years of 'Zero COVID' containment policy, the vast majority of vocational and technological education (VTE) high school students could not participate in work-based learning, had to take classes online, and often were isolated from their families. Although the impact of the unprecedented disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic on students' wellbeing has been well documented, little is known about the experiences of vocational and technical high school students whose vocational identity development depends heavily on work-based learning experiences. In the following study, we applied a risk and resilience framework to examine Chinese VTE student burnout following the exposure to the 'Zero COVID' policy for their entire high school career. Specifically, we tested how variations in Chinese vocational and technical high school students' perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, career adaptability, psychological capital, academic performance, and parental career guidance were related to differences in their sense of burnout. Regression results showed that paternal education level and perceived impact of COVID-19 pandemic positively and significantly predicted burnout, while academic performance and parental career support negatively and significantly predicted burnout. Age, sex, internship participation, career adaptability and parental career interference and parental lack-of-engagement did not predict burnout. Overall, the variables accounted for 53.6% of the variance in student burnout.

Background: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a risk for learning. Because ADHD commonly includes behaviours of inattention and behaviours of hyperactivity/impulsivity, how the two types of behaviours independently affect children's academic competence remains poorly understood. Aims: To investigate the impact of behaviours of inattention and behaviours of hyperactivity/impulsivity on Chinese students' academic competence. Samples: Parents of 167 preschoolers (Cohort 1), parents of 313 first graders (Cohort 2), and 1,003 high school students (Cohort 3). Methods: The ADHD-RS-IV Preschool version (Cohort 1), ADHD-RS-IV Home version (Cohort 2), and BASC-SRP (Cohort 3) were used to measure behaviours of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. Academic competence was operationalized as school readiness (Cohort 1), math and language arts scores at two time points provided by school (Cohort 2), and self-reported academic performance (Cohort 3). Multiple regressions were performed to investigate the relationship between academic performance and behaviours of inattention alone (Step 1), and behaviours of hyperactivity/impulsivity alone (Step 2), and behaviours of inattention together with behaviours of hyperactivity/impulsivity (Step 3). Results: For each cohort, both types of behaviours were negatively correlated with academic competence. However, regression analyses showed that in Step 3, behaviours of hyperactivity/impulsivity either failed to predict academic competence or predicted better academic competence. Overall, behaviours of inattention alone accounted for a similar amount of variance in academic competence as did behaviours of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity combined. Conclusions: Behaviours of inattention presented a risk for academic competence but the effect of behaviours of hyperactivity/impulsivity varied. Implications for instructional strategies for behaviours of inattention were discussed.

Increase in individualism and a coinciding increase in anxiety among Chinese youth propelled our inquiry on Chinese college students' self-construals and their anxiety. We surveyed 335 Chinese college students (females: n = 229; 68.4%) aged 18-24 (M = 19.30, SD = 1.16) on their self-construals and anxiety. We found that the students scored similarly on interdependent self-construal and independent self-construal, but independent self-construal predicted lower anxiety score ([beta] = -0.28, p < 0.05), while interdependent self-construal did not ([beta] = -0.01, p = 0.86). Findings were discussed within China's higher education context where competition is encouraged and celebrated.

Collectivism remains a dominant force in the Chinese society and schooling is a process to instill collectivistic values in the students, although there has been a noticeable increase in individualistic orientation among Chinese youth. Because China's meritocratic educational system endorses high individualism to enhance academic competitiveness and performance, the Chinese educational system is contradictorily both collectivistic and individualistic. Within meritocratic educational systems, academic performance influences students' psychosocial adjustment. However, the role of students' individualistic orientation and collectivistic orientation on their psychosocial adjustment and the role of them on the link between academic performance and psychosocial adjustment are not well understood. To address this issue, we obtained survey data from 1003 6-12th grade Chinese students on their academic performance, individualistic orientation, collectivistic orientation, and psychosocial adjustment (i.e., self-esteem, anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms, peer relations, and parent-child relationship quality). Results showed the students' academic performance scores predicted scores for all five psychosocial adjustment subscales in expected directions; higher collectivistic orientation scores predicted lower depression scores, higher parent-child relationship quality scores and peer relation scores, while higher individualistic orientation scores predicted higher self-esteem scores and higher depression scores. Finally, the influence of academic performance on anxiety symptoms was moderated by the students' individualistic orientation.

This paper reports a follow up analysis of longitudinal date. We (1) examined urban Chinese mothers' occupations as a function of their educational levels, (2) tested mediating effects of home environment variables after fine-tuning key variables of maternal education and home environment by excluding data that were provided by the children's fathers, and (3) tested if home environment variables mattered differently for academic performance in the first grade, second grade, and changes the children's grade. Data on maternal education level (Group 1: No More than Junior High School; Group 2: High School; Group 3: At Least College), maternal occupation and 12 home environment variables were directly obtained from urban mothers in January of 2019 (Time 1; N = 231); data on academic performance were directly obtained from the children's school in February (Time 1; N = 231) and then in October of 2019 (Time 2; N = 226). We found partial support for our earlier speculation that mothers in Group 1 and Group 2 were similarly positioned on the job market. Similar to our earlier finding, we found that children whose mothers were in Group 3 outperformed their peers in academic performance but children from the first two groups performed similarly. In both times, the link between maternal education and children's academic performance was mediated by some home environment variables such as number of children's books at home. However, the role of home environment variables in the link between maternal education and children's academic performance is complex and may vary with time.

We sought to determine whether receiving major re-selection (MRS) advising benefits undergraduate students' grade-point averages (GPAs). We used a quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design to compare a treatment group (n = 219) of undergraduates who changed their majors after receiving MRS advising with a control group (n = 206) who changed majors without advising during the same semester as the treatment group. Findings showed that, on average, students who received MRS experienced no change in their program GPA but an increase in their semester GPA; however, the control group experienced a decrease in program and semester GPAs. Multiple regression analysis confirmed that MRS advising had a positive effect on posttest semester GPAs (ß = 0.33, p < 0.001) and program GPAs (ß = 0.28, p < 0.001). Implications for student advising are discussed.

Factor mixture modeling (FMM) has been increasingly used to investigate unobserved population heterogeneity. This study examined the issue of covariate effects with FMM in the context of measurement invariance testing. Specifically, the impact of excluding and misspecifying covariate effects on measurement invariance testing and class enumeration was investigated via Monte Carlo simulations. Data were generated based on FMM models with (1) a zero covariate effect, (2) a covariate effect on the latent class variable, and (3) covariate effects on both the latent class variable and the factor. For each population model, different analysis models that excluded or misspecified covariate effects were fitted. Results highlighted the importance of including proper covariates in measurement invariance testing and evidenced the utility of a model comparison approach in searching for the correct specification of covariate effects and the level of measurement invariance. This approach was demonstrated using an empirical data set. Implications for methodological and applied research are discussed.

To test whether adoption differentially benefited adopted youth's behavioral health, 243 female American youth who were adopted from China were compared with 234 non-adopted American peers, and 955 non-adopted Chinese peers living in China on four composite scales: School Problems, Internalizing Problems, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Personal Adjustment. The adopted youth were from high socioeconomic status (SES) families, while the two comparison groups were from average SES families. Self-report data were collected with the third edition of the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC-3). Effect sizes showed that the adopted youth outperformed their non-adopted American and Chinese peers. Latent mean comparison using Mplus 8 showed that, controlling for age difference, the adopted youth's advantages over the comparison groups in some subscales dissipated. These findings were explained with possible compensating effects afforded by growing up in high SES adoptive environment, as well as on children's differential susceptibility to the benefit of intervention.

In this study, we examined the relationship between school type and students' victimization and observations of bullying in their schools. We compared student perceptions (N = 1,283) of bullying in three urban career academies with different school configurations (e.g., magnet and school-within-a-school) and a large, urban comprehensive high school. We found that compared to their counterparts in the large comprehensive high school, students in two of the career academies -- operated as magnet schools -- were significantly less likely to experience bullying as a victim or to observe it in their respective schools. However, compared to students in the comprehensive high school, there were no significant differences in bullying among students in the career academy operated under a school-within-a-school model. It is plausible that students in career academies that operate as magnet schools are significantly less likely to become victims and observe bullying.

Our study examined young children's pre-academic and social skills in relation to parental locus of control and children's behaviours of ADHD. The participants were parents of 1,502 children from four Chinese kindergartens (Mage = 4.59, SD = 0.93; Girls: 51.40%). Data on six domains of children's pre-academic and social skills, parental external and internal locus of control, and children's inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity were obtained with the Early Learning and Development for Children Aged 3 to 6 years, the Parental Locus of Control scale, and the ADHD Rating Scale-IV Preschool Home Version respectively. Hierarchical regression results showed that controlling for other variables, higher scores in parental external locus of control and child inattention behaviours significantly predicted lower scores in all six domains, while higher scores in internal locus of control and child hyperactivity/impulsivity behaviours predicted higher scores in all six domains (R2 ranged from 18.0% to 47.0%). Noticeably, parental locus of control explained a smaller amount of the variance (1.0–5.0%) than behaviours of ADHD (5.0–11.0%) in the children's outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tested the reliability and construct validity of a Chinese translation of one of the forms of the Behavior Assessment System for Children (3rd Edition)--Self-Report of Personality for adolescent 11- to 21-year olds (BASC-3-SRP-A). The BASC-3-SRP-A yields 16 subscales that form four composite scales. Data were obtained from 444 12- to 14-year olds (Group 1; girls: 59.0%) and 759 15- to 18-year olds (Group 2; girls: 69.2%). For both groups, Cronbach's alphas for most of the 16 subscales were higher than 0.70 and were higher than 0.83 for the four composite scales. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using Mplus 8 on the combined sample yielded support for the construct validity of the Chinese translation of the BASC-3-SRP-A. Findings support the use of BASC-3-SRP-A among Chinese youth.

Research shows that maternal education influences children's academic performance indirectly through the quality of the home environment. In this study, we tested the role of 12 variables within the home environment (e.g., eating meals together, reading for fun at home, number of children's books, watching TV, and bedtime) to help identify those that were effected by maternal education and then in turn affected first graders' performance in Language and Literacy and Math. We collected home environment data from 313 Chinese parents and academic performance data directly from the children's school. From the 12 variables, path analyses identified three that were significant: the number of children's books at home, the number of hours that the child watched TV daily, and the number of extracurricular activities. Specifically, a higher maternal education level was related to more children's books at home and fewer hours of TV watching daily, which were related to better performance in Language and Literacy; a higher maternal education level was related to more children's books at home and more extracurricular activities, which were then related to better performance in math. As the identified variables are all malleable, intervention strategies that make reading materials available to children at home, limit children's exposure to excessive TV, and promote extracurricular activity involvement may benefit children's academic performance. Interventions that focus on increasing less educated mother's awareness of the importance of providing reading materials to children at home, regulating children's TV time, and involving children in extracurricular activities could also be beneficial.

We tested possible mediating effect of 12 variables within the home environment on the link between maternal education level and Language and Literacy and Math scores in a sample of Chinese second graders (N = 303-306). Data on maternal education and home environment variables were obtained from the parents in January of 2019, while data on test scores were directly obtained from the children's school in October of 2019. Path analyses showed that maternal education both directly and indirectly affected the children's Language and Literacy scores and Math scores. The significant mediators included number of books at home and number of days that the children read for fun at home each week. As the identified mediating variables are malleable, strategies that promote maternal awareness on the benefit of cognitively enriched home environment might benefit children's academic performance.

The purpose of this study was to compare the student engagement of career academy students to those at a traditional comprehensive high school. We operationalized student engagement using a multi-dimensional construct comprised of behavioral, cognitive, and emotional measures. Based on data from 669 career academy students and 614 comprehensive school students, we found that academy students had significantly higher levels of cognitive and emotional engagement than those at comprehensive schools. However, we found no statistically significant differences in the levels of behavioral engagement of academy students compared to comprehensive school students. Based on our findings, participation in the academy model has the potential to increase high school students' levels of cognitive and emotional engagement, particularly those from underrepresented and ethnically and racially diverse backgrounds.

We consider the extension of FO2 with quantifiers that state that the number of elements where a formula holds should belong to a given ultimately periodic set. We show that both satisfiability and finite satisfiability of the logic are decidable. We also show that the spectrum of any sentence, i.e., the set of the sizes of its finite models, is definable in Presburger arithmetic. In the process we present several refinements to the "biregular graph method." In this method, decidability issues concerning two-variable logics are reduced to questions about Presburger definability of integer vectors associated with partitioned graphs, where nodes in a partition satisfy certain constraints on their in- and out-degrees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the extension of the two-variable guarded fragment logic with local Presburger quantifiers. These are quantifiers that can express properties such as "the number of incoming blue edges plus twice the number of outgoing red edges is at most three times the number of incoming green edges" and captures various description logics with counting, but without constant symbols. We show that the satisfiability problem for this logic is EXP-complete. While the lower bound already holds for the standard two-variable guarded fragment logic, the upper bound is established by a novel, yet simple deterministic graph-based algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]