This study examined what kinds of groups can be identified according to students' task-values across four subject domains (languages, math and science, social sciences, practical subjects) and the related gender differences using a person-centered approach. Latent class analysis was applied to classify 638 students (mean age = 15) into four…

To examine whether learning difficulties play a role in depressive symptoms, 658 Finnish adolescents were asked to complete scales for depression three times during the transition to post-comprehensive education. They also reported on their learning difficulties and feelings of inadequacy as a student. The results showed that learning difficulties…

This study presents a new approach to estimation of a nonlinear growth curve component with fixed and random effects in multilevel modeling. This approach can be used to estimate change in longitudinal data, such as day-of-the-week fluctuation. The motivation of the new approach is to avoid spurious estimates in a random coefficient regression…

The aim of this three-wave cross-lagged longitudinal study was to examine the prospective relationships between women's goal-related spousal support and their relationship satisfaction during the transition to parenthood. Two-hundred and forty-six Finnish women who were either married or cohabited (45% primiparous; 55% multiparous) filled in…

This study investigated whether adolescents' appraisals of their education-related goals change during the transition from comprehensive school to postcomprehensive secondary education (academic vs. vocational track) and how such appraisals contribute to their self-esteem. Six hundred and seven 16-year-old adolescents were surveyed three times:…

This study investigated whether the members of adolescents' peer groups are similar in terms of their school adjustment and whether this homogeneity varies according to peer group type and gender. A total of 1262 peer group members who had recently moved to post-comprehensive education filled in questionnaires measuring their academic achievement,…