High School Students' Character Strengths: Links With Psychological and Academic Outcomes

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Frank ◽  
Shannon M. Suldo ◽  
Sim Yin Tan ◽  
Rachel Roth ◽  
Bryan Bander ◽  
...  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 117
Author(s):  
Ziblim Abukari ◽  
Mohammed Adams Mashoud ◽  
Alhassan Baba Andani

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between academic outcomes and locus control beliefs among high school students in the Northern Region of Ghana.  Using survey methods and multivariate analyses, the results found relatively higher scores in external locus of control beliefs than internal locus of control beliefs among the study participants. External locus of control was inversely related to test scores, and no relationship was found between internal locus of control beliefs and test scores. The results also found significant differences in locus of control beliefs between rural and urban high school students, with urban students reporting higher internal locus of control beliefs than their rural counterparts. Implications for educational policy and practice are discussed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 106342662110202
Author(s):  
Matthew C. Lambert ◽  
Kristin Duppong Hurley ◽  
Stacy-Ann January ◽  
Jacqueline Huscroft D’Angelo

Parental involvement in school is an undoubtedly important element of a student’s educational experience and outcomes. Students with elevated emotional and behavioral risks (EBR) tend to experience poor educational outcomes, and research suggests varying levels of parental involvement across domains for these at-risk students. However, there is minimal research on the links between elevated EBR, parental involvement, and academic achievement for high school students. The purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which (a) parental involvement differed between high school students with elevated EBR and students without EBR, (b) parental involvement was related to academic outcomes, and (c) the gap in academic achievement between students with elevated EBR and students without EBR could be attributed to differences in parental involvement. To address these questions, we fit a structural equation model using data from the High School Longitudinal Survey of 2009. The results demonstrated that (a) parental involvement was significantly lower in multiple domains for students with elevated EBR, (b) was significantly associated with academic outcomes, and (c) differences in parental involvement could account for a significant proportion of the achievement gap. Research limitations, directions for future research directions, and implications are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 95-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra M. Zuckermann ◽  
Mahmood R. Gohari ◽  
Margaret de Groh ◽  
Ying Jiang ◽  
Scott T. Leatherdale

Introduction Following cannabis legalization in Canada, a better understanding of the prevalence of unprompted cannabis use reduction and subsequent effects on youth academic outcomes is needed to inform harm reduction and health promotion approaches. Methods We analyzed a longitudinally linked sample (n = 91774) from the COMPASS prospective cohort study of Canadian high school students attending Grades 9–12 in Ontario and Alberta between 2013–2014 and 2016–2017. We investigated the prevalence of spontaneous cannabis use reduction and cessation between grade transitions (Grades 9–10, 10–11, 11–12) and the effect of cessation on academic achievement (current or recent math and English course marks) and rigour (usual homework completion and past-month truancy). Results Only 14.8% of cannabis users decreased their use between grades. Of these, two-thirds made only incremental downward changes, a pattern which held true for all three transitions. Cessation rates from daily and weekly use decreased every year. After cessation, students had better odds than continuing users (OR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.03– 1.48) and worse odds than never-users (OR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.31–0.97) for some subcategories of math performance. Students who quit cannabis universally improved class attendance (OR = 2.48, 95% CI: 1.93–3.19) and homework completion (OR = 2.32, 95% CI: 1.85–2.92) compared to continuing users. Conclusion Increased academic rigour may underlie any improvements seen in academic performance after cannabis cessation. High school students who use cannabis likely need targeted support to facilitate reduction or cessation and subsequent academic recovery. This indicates that a school-based focus on cannabis harm reduction is justified.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andre Kretzschmar ◽  
Claudia Harzer ◽  
Willibald Ruch

Character strengths are assessed in adults and adolescents using different measurements. However, a comparison of character strengths across age groups requires the equivalence of these measurements. The present study examined the comparability of the two questionnaires most frequently used in research: the Values in Action - Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) for adults and the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth (VIA-Youth). A sample of N = 170 high-school students in the age of about 18 years and their peers (N = 164 mostly parents; N = 156 mostly friends and partners) completed both character strengths questionnaires as well as several well-being questionnaires. The psychometric characteristics and the correlations with well-being scales were examined once exclusively on the basis of self-rating and once on the basis of combined self- and peer-ratings. The results of previous studies regarding the VIA-Is and the VIA-Youth could be replicated in the respective age groups. However, substantial differences between the questionnaires were found in each of the criteria examined (e.g., identification of different signature strengths, or different character strengths that correlate most strongly with well-being). The results indicate that VIA-IS and VIA-Youth measure character strengths differently, so that a comparison across age groups is not appropriate. Therefore, differences in character strengths between adults and adolescents should not be exclusively interpreted in terms of differences on the trait level as these differences may be largely caused by non-equivalent questionnaires.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 423-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Lee Williams ◽  
Quinn Hirschi ◽  
Katherine V. Sublett ◽  
Chris S. Hulleman ◽  
Timothy D. Wilson

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (7) ◽  
pp. 1220-1237
Author(s):  
Wing Yi Chan ◽  
Gabriel P. Kuperminc ◽  
Scot Seitz ◽  
Christyl Wilson ◽  
Nadim Khatib

This study examined the association between participation in a school-based group-mentoring program (Project Arrive) and academic outcomes in a group of ninth-grade students who had been identified as at high risk of high-school dropout ( n = 239). Comparison participants were ninth-grade students with similar levels of risk ( n = 980). Using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) with a propensity score to reduce selection bias, and a partially clustered model to account for nonindependence of data in program students, we found that Project Arrive students earned more credits by the end of 9th grade and 10th grade; and reported increased instructional time by the end of 9th grade, than comparison students.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 983-990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesus Alfonso D. Datu ◽  
Allan B. I. Bernardo

Some studies have shown that character strengths positively predicted optimal performance and well-being in Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) societies which may hold limited generalizability to individuals in non-WEIRD contexts. This prospective study examined the association of selected interpersonal character strengths (i.e., fairness, teamwork, leadership, forgiveness, and kindness) with life satisfaction, teacher-reported academic engagement, Mathematics achievement, English achievement, and overall academic achievement among Filipino high school students enrolled in a public high school in the Philippines ( M age = 14.33). There was a 2-month interval between Time 1 and Time 2 data collection. Results indicate that whereas fairness and kindness demonstrated stronger magnitudes of associations with subsequent life satisfaction, academic engagement, and achievement, teamwork and forgiveness had positive and moderate intensity of relationships to such outcomes. Compared to other interpersonal strengths, leadership showed weaker correlations with life satisfaction and achievement outcomes. Results allude to the benefits associated with interpersonal positive virtues in a non-WEIRD context.


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