Cultivating Youth Affinity for College Within the Context of Campus-Based Summer Camps

College and university-based (CUB) summer camps are a prominent pre-collegiate experience targeting middle and high school adolescents, which research suggests may enhance college aspirations and preparedness, develop academic knowledge and skills, and influence future career choices. This study examines factors that predict the relation between affinity for college, program engagement and support, college major selection, and social–emotional outcomes stemming from youth involvement in a CUB camp based on data collected from 641 middle and high school-aged youth who completed an online questionnaire on the last day of the CUB camp. The findings validated a 4-factor model comprised of college brand awareness, college relational expectations, college academic interest–science, and college academic interest–technology. Further, the structural equation model (SEM) results suggested a relation between affinity for college, program engagement and support, and social–emotional outcomes. In addition, a CUB camp student’s lack of a college major had a significant negative direct effect on some dimensions of affinity for college including college brand awareness, college relational expectations, and college academic interest–science. CUB camp providers can use the results of this study to better articulate how their programs might impact adolescent decision making related to college, as well as inform how CUB camp providers may intentionally create affinity spaces that maximize student awareness of college brands as well as their future expectations for the college experience.

Attitudes Toward the Past, Present, and Future: Associations With Self-Reported Academic Outcomes in Academically Talented Adolescents

The Adolescent and Adult Time Inventory–Time Attitude Scales (AATI-TA) were used to examine the association between time attitudes and self-reported academic and social–emotional outcomes in 967 academically talented adolescents ( M age = 14.27, SD = 1.42) attending a summer educational program. The AATI-TA consists of six subscales assessing positive and negative attitudes toward the past, present, and future. Bivariate associations between AATI-TA subscales scores and outcomes were small. Cluster analyses of AATI-TA scores yielded several profiles, labeled Pessimists, Negatives, Ambivalents, and Positives. Students with Positive and Ambivalent profiles reported greater course enjoyment, higher perceived academic rank, and higher expected summer GPA than their peers with the Negative profile, even though the groups did not differ on how challenging they perceived the courses to be, time spent on homework, and studying. In keeping with previous research using the AATI-TA, Positives reported the most favorable outcomes, Negatives the least, and Ambivalent and Pessimistic adolescents fell between these two groups. Future research on time attitudes should include measures of actual academic performance.

Real-World Effectiveness of a New Growing Up Milk on Digestive Comfort and Social-Emotional Outcomes Among Healthy Toddlers in China

Objectives Existing clinical evidence indicates infant formulas containing bovine milk-derived oligosaccharides (MOS) promote soft stools and gut health among young infants. This prospective single-arm study aimed to assess effectiveness of a new growing-up milk (GUM) containing MOS and milk fat (naturally contains sn-2 palmitate) on digestive and social-emotional outcomes among healthy toddlers. Methods Toddlers age 12–36 months were enrolled from an urban area in China to receive the GUM for 28 days. Overall digestive comfort (primary outcome) was assessed by the Gut Comfort Composite Score (GCCS; range 10–60 with increasing scores for higher GI burden) from the 10-item Toddler Gut Comfort Questionnaire (Meng 2019). Other parent-reported culturally relevant outcomes included heatiness based on individual symptoms via Child Heatiness Questionnaire (Sheng 2020; total score range 0–10), and social-emotional outcomes via 3-day mood diary and Children's Playfulness Scale (Li 1995; range 0–69). Results A total of 98 toddlers were enrolled and completed the study. While overall GI burden was low at baseline (mean ± SD GCCS: 15.7 ± 4.7; range 10–32), GCCS at post-baseline visits was further reduced (14.7 ± 4.7 at D7, p = 0.02; 13.5 ± 4.0 at D14, p < 0.001; 13.3 ± 3.6 at D28, p < 0.001). Parental report for child heatiness was reduced over study period (0.5 ± 1.2 at D28 vs. 1.0 ± 1.5 [range 0–7] at baseline, p = 0.002). Percentage of toddlers with heatiness (composite score > 0) was 40% at baseline and reduced to 26% by D28 (p = 0.011). Parents reported that their toddlers’ playful behaviors became more important to them by D28 from baseline (median [IQR]: 62 [13] vs. 58 [11.5], p = 0.002). Over 94% of parents reported their toddlers exhibited happy moods at each post-baseline visit, although not statistically different from baseline. Furthermore, lower gut comfort score was associated with more playful behaviors (p < 0.001) and happier mood during daytime (p < 0.001). Over 95% of parents reported their toddlers liked the taste of the GUM and felt happy when drinking it, while 98% of toddlers indicated they liked to drink the GUM. Conclusions Consumption of a new GUM with MOS and milk fat is associated with improved gut comfort, increased importance of playfulness and reduced heatiness. Parents also reported happy toddler moods and high satisfaction. Funding Sources Sponsored by Wyeth Nutrition.

The Effects of Absenteeism on Academic and Social-Emotional Outcomes: Lessons for COVID-19

In March 2020, most schools in the United States transitioned to distance learning in an effort to contain COVID-19. A significant number of students did not fully engage in remote learning opportunities due to resource or other constraints. An urgent question for schools around the nation is how much did the pandemic impact student academic and social-emotional development. This paper uses administrative panel data from California to approximate the impact of the pandemic by analyzing how absenteeism affects student outcomes. Our results suggest student outcomes generally suffer more from absenteeism in mathematics than in ELA. Negative effects are larger in middle school. Absences negatively affect social-emotional development, particularly in middle school. Our results suggest districts will face imminent needs for student academic and social-emotional support to make-up for losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Inclusivity and the Education of Children of Defence Forces Personnel

Australian Defence Force (ADF) members' children present as a unique subpopulation of students. These students often experience schooling interruption as a result of posting (relocation) mobility inherent within the service requirements of their ADF parents. This chapter explores the impact of such mobility and interrupted schooling on educational achievement. Educational achievement consists of two key aspects: Social-emotional outcomes and Academic outcomes. Social-emotional outcomes are currently supported through the Defence Support Mentor (DSM) program. Academic outcomes are examined through the lens of Reading/Literacy testing results and Mathematics testing results. Academic achievement for ADF children impacted by mobility and schooling interruption remains largely unexplored within the Australian context. A conceptual framework is presented, which identifies potential causes of negative impacts upon ADF students' academic achievement.

Childhood Environmental Instability and Social-Emotional Outcomes in Emerging Adults

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can negatively affect social-emotional functioning. The association between individual and cumulative ACEs and social-emotional domains of self-esteem, loneliness, and negotiation in intimate partner relationships has not been explored in low-risk emerging adults, a gap this study aims to fill. An online survey was administered to undergraduate emerging adults, ages 18 to 25 years ( Mage = 19.73, SD = 1.83; N = 436; 20.60% Hispanic; 63.80% female). The ACEs Survey, Child Abuse Potential Inventory, and Conflict Tactics Scale–2nd Edition were used. Three multivariate ordinary least squares regressions were run, each including predictors significant in bivariate analyses and outcomes of self-esteem, loneliness, and negotiation for each regression. Emotional abuse, B = −.20, p < .01; emotional neglect, B = −.21, p < .001; and substance using family member, B = −.12, p < .05, were negatively associated with self-esteem; emotional neglect, B = .11, p < .01, and cumulative ACEs, B = .16, p < .01, were positively associated with loneliness; and incarcerated family member was positively associated with negotiation, B = .12, p < .05. Overall, these findings suggest that individual ACEs associated with environmental instability (e.g., emotional abuse) are strong predictors of social-emotional outcomes, relative to ACEs associated with more direct physical harm (e.g., sexual abuse).