This paper describes the development and validation of an instrument to assess how students deal with emotionally challenging classroom situations (the DECCS Questionnaire). The questionnaire is based on a vignette with one learning and one performance situation in a classroom, and is intended for students in grades 4 to 7. On a sample of N = 639…

The correlations between a low family socioeconomic status (SES) and adolescents' poor academic outcomes have been widely documented. However, the mechanisms through which family SES is associated with adolescents' academic achievement are not well understood. Therefore, this study examined the mediating roles of different types of parental…

The indirect effects of moral disengagement about cyberbullying and parental monitoring on traditional victimization and bullying via cyberbullying involvement were examined in a diverse sample of 800 youth in Grades 3 to 8. After controlling for grade and gender, moral disengagement about cyberbullying and parental monitoring had an indirect…

This study examined the reliability and validity of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System-Secondary (CLASS-S) in Finnish classrooms. Trained observers coded classroom interactions based on video recordings of 46 Grade 6 classrooms (450 cycles). Concurrent associations were investigated with respect to teacher self-ratings (e.g., efficacy beliefs…

The goals of the present study were to (a) develop and validate a new self-report measure of social avoidance for use among early adolescents in mainland China and (b) explore the links between subtypes of social withdrawal (i.e., shyness, unsociability, and social avoidance) and indices of socio-emotional difficulties in this cultural context.…

The aims of the present study were to (a) examine the factor structure of the "Self-Report Coping Scale" in a sample of Chinese early adolescents and (b) explore associations between coping and socioemotional functioning in this sample. Participants were N = 569 elementary school students (307 boys) in Grades 4 to 6. Participants…

While both outsiders and defenders have antibullying attitudes, only defenders have the reputation to defend victims. However, outsiders--despite their reputation of avoiding involvement in bullying--do receive some defender nominations and thus defend victims at least occasionally. This study investigated the relationship between these behavioral…

This mixed-methods study explored early adolescents' national American identification, and meanings attached to being American. Participants (N = 102; 51% female; ages 10-12, [x-bar] = 11.45, SD = 0.70) were racially and ethnically diverse from primarily middle- to upper-middle class families (median household income = US$150,000-US$199,999; 75%…

This study investigated personality correlates of early adolescents' tendency to either defend victims of bullying or to avoid involvement in bullying situations. Participants were 591 Dutch fifth- and sixth-grade students (X-bar[subscript age] = 11.42 years). Hierarchical regression models were run to predict these students' peer-reported…

This study applies multi-level analysis to student reports of effective teacher-student interactions in 50 upper elementary school classrooms (N = 594 fourth- and fifth-grade students). Observational studies suggest that teacher-student interactions fall into three domains: Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support.…

This study examined the proposal that difficulty understanding one's emotional experiences (i.e., deficits in emotional clarity) would interfere with the formulation of adaptive responses to interpersonal stress, which would then predict depressive symptoms. This process was examined across 3 years (fourth to sixth grade) during early…

This study investigated individual differences in sixth-grade students (N = 181; 47% girls, ethnically diverse) use of friends as a coping resource when dealing with a social stressor with another peer at school. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the hypothesized three factor structure of coping with friends: mastery, avoidance, and…

This study investigates the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Inventory of Teacher-Student Relationships (IT-SR), a measure that was developed by adapting the widely used Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachments (Armsden & Greenberg, 1987) for use in the context of teacher-student relationships. The instrument was field tested…