ERIC Number: EJ923014
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-2194
EISSN: N/A
The Mediating Role of Internet Connection, Virtual Friends, and Mood in Predicting Loneliness among Students with and without Learning Disabilities in Different Educational Environments
Sharabi, Adi; Margalit, Malka
Journal of Learning Disabilities, v44 n3 p215-227 May-Jun 2011
This study evaluated a multidimensional model of loneliness as related to risk and protective factors among adolescents with learning disabilities (LD). The authors aimed to identify factors that mediated loneliness among 716 adolescents in Grades 10 through 12 who were studying in high schools or in Youth Education Centers for at-risk populations. There were 334 students with LD, divided into subgroups according to disability severity (three levels of testing accommodations), and 382 students without LD. Five instruments measured participants' socioemotional characteristics: loneliness, Internet communication, mood, and social and academic achievement-oriented motivation. Using structural equation modeling, the results confirmed the loneliness model and revealed that the use of the Internet to support interpersonal communication with friends predicted less intense loneliness, whereas virtual friendships with individuals whom students knew only online predicted greater loneliness. Positive and negative mood and motivation also predicted students' loneliness. In addition, the severity of LD predicted stronger loneliness feelings. (Contains 2 figures and 2 tables.)
Descriptors: Testing Accommodations, Interpersonal Communication, Structural Equation Models, Learning Disabilities, Adolescents, Student Motivation, Severity (of Disability), Internet, Psychological Patterns, Computer Mediated Communication, Comparative Analysis, Social Networks, Prediction, Educational Environment, Resilience (Psychology), At Risk Students, High School Students, Emotional Response, Interpersonal Relationship, Friendship, Gender Differences, Foreign Countries
SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 10; Grade 11; Grade 12; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Israel
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A