Theories of Change and Mediators of Psychotherapy Effectiveness in Adolescents With Externalising Behaviours: A Systematic Review

BackgroundExternalising behaviours are becoming a remarkably prevalent problem during adolescence, often precipitating both externalising and internalising disorders in later adulthood. Psychological treatments aim to increase the social functioning of adolescents in order for them to live a more balanced life and prevent these negative trajectories. However, little is known of the intervening variables and mediators involved in these treatments' change mechanisms. We conducted a systematic review, exploring the available evidence on mediators of psychological treatments for externalising behaviours and symptoms amongst adolescents (10 to 19 years old).MethodsA systematic search was performed on Medline and PsycINFO databases, which identified studies from inception to February 23, 2020. Eligible studies included randomised controlled trials that enrolled adolescents with externalising symptoms and behaviours as, at least, one of the primary outcomes. A group of 20 reviewers from the COST-Action TREATme (CA16102) were divided into 10 pairs. Each pair independently screened studies for inclusion, extracted information from the included studies, and assessed the methodological quality of the included studies and the requirements for mediators, following Kazdin's criteria. Risk of bias of RCTs was assessed by the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Extracted data from the included studies were reported using a narrative synthesis.ResultsFollowing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines (PRISMA), after removing duplicates, 3,660 articles were screened. Disagreements were resolved by consensus. In a second stage, 965 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. A total of 14 studies fulfilled all inclusion criteria. The majority were related to systemic psychological treatment approaches. Two types of mediators were identified as potentially being involved in the mechanisms of change for better social improvements of adolescents: to increase healthier parent–adolescent relationships and parental discipline. However, there were significant and non-significant results amongst the same mediators, which led to discussing the results tentatively.ConclusionsFamily variables were found to be the largest group of investigated mediators, followed by relational, behavioural, and emotional variables. No cognitive or treatment-specific mediators were identified. Both adequate behavioural control of adolescents' peer behaviour and a better positive balance in their relationships with their parents seemed to buffer the effects of externalising behaviours in adolescents. Several methodological limitations concerning mediation testing design, outcome measures, and mediator selection have been identified.Ethics and DisseminationEthical approval was not required. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021231835.

Relationship Between Students' School Success and Factors in the Context of the Family Environment

This paper discusses the framework in which the educational process takes place and the impact of family variables on student success. The aim of the research is to determine the basic characteristics of the connection between the contextual factors of the family environment and the school success of students, in the field of mathematics and the Serbian language. The research involved 300 teachers – 150 mathematics teachers and 150 Serbian language teachers, as well as 600 of their students. A descriptive method was used, and data were collected using a survey and scaling technique. For the success of students, the interest of parents in school and the success of students, the involvement of parents in school activities are more important than the overall conditions for learning and working at home. The grade in mathematics is conditioned by the general conditions for learning at home. However, only 6.1% of the dependent variable (mathematics grade) explains the independent variables. 9.3% of the variance in the assessment of the Serbian language was explained by the conditions for learning and working at home. Parents' interest in school explains 13.1% of the variance in mathematics. Parents' interest in school explains 14.3% of the variance of the grade in the Serbian language.

Reading and Oral Language Skills in Children With Developmental Language Disorder: Influence of Socioeconomic, Educational, and Family Variables

The Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is a delay in language skills that cannot be explained by sensory or cognitive difficulties. Currently, there are limited studies that analyze how socioeconomic, educational, and family variables influence reading skills of Spanish-speaking children with DLD at school. This study identifies how oral language performance and reading skills of children with DLD are linked to socioeconomic, educational, and family factors. Oral language, phonological awareness and reading abilities were assessed in a sample of 15 children diagnosed with DLD and their controls by age and gender. Children's parents answered a Likert scale questionnaire inquiring about some aspects related to the family's socioeconomic status, mothers' educational level, family support, academic average, and repetition of school years of the participants. The results indicate that children with DLD have a lower performance in phonological awareness tasks as well as in reading abilities. There is also a direct relationship between their performance in language and reading skills and variables as mother's educational level and family support. Likewise, children in the sample have a lower academic average as well as a higher school year repetition rate interfering in their academic life. Educational implications of these findings and a discussion on possible causality axes and protective factors that contributes to support this population are presented.

Differences between determinants of men and women monthly wages across fourteen European Union states

Research background: There is a broad discussion in the literature on the situation of men and women in the labour market, especially about the differences in their remuneration. Due to the fact that females constitute a slightly different group of employees, certain factors have different impacts on the level of their remuneration in comparison to male employees. Hence, the question arises which factors cause these differences and how large the dissimilarities are. Purpose of the article: The aim of the presented study is to diagnose and evaluate differences in the impact of designated determinants on the level of monthly wages of women and men in selected European Union member states. The novelty of our approach consists in both comparison of the intensity of influence examined factors to men?s and women?s earnings, and a global approach to the remuneration of male and female employees. Methods: Due to the nature of the dependent variable (remuneration decile, which is a variable measured on an ordinal scale), the ordered logit model is applied in the analysis. The data comes from the Eurostat?s Labour Force Survey. Findings & value added: Presented results indicate that many factors have significantly different intensity of impact on the level of men and women wages. However, significant differences between parameters estimated for both genders are visible for the group of family variables the most often, then for variables describing the condition of work, the human capital variables, and characteristics of the workplace. This paper adds to the empirical literature a new approach to measure the intensity of factors influencing men and women wages. In addition, our investigation is a cross-country analysis.

‘Writing about our adoption’: A qualitative study on intercountry adoptive parents’ narratives during the first post-adoption year

Intercountry adoption requires adoptive parents to assume their parenthood as well as to acknowledge the cultural and ethnic origins of their child. Narratives are effective means to help individuals cope with non-normative transitions, including adoption, as they allow them to make sense of and legitimise their experiences. This qualitative study sought to extend knowledge about the value of using narrative methods with adoptive families to explore how the language they employ determines the ways in which they perceive situations and vice versa. It uses the word-driven textual analysis software T-LAB to identify key topics highlighted by parents and analyse them in relation to specific variables. Child characteristics, such as gender, age at adoption and birth country, and family variables, such as mother’s and father’s narratives and first or not-first parenting experience, were considered. From the 37 narratives sampled, those parents adopting from Asia and Eastern Europe, mothers and first-time parents faced the most challenges.

Acoso escolar y apego familiar: la perspectiva del alumnado agresor

El acoso escolar es un fenómeno que tiene lugar en todo el mundo y constituye una gran preocupación para los sistemas educativos de los países desarrollados y en vías de desarrollo. El presente estudio analiza: a) las diferencias en el perfil de agresión del alumnado de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria en base a variables personales, académicas y familiares; y b) las diferencias en la valoración de la gravedad de conductas agresivas según el perfil de agresión del alumnado. En la investigación participaron 215 alumnos/as de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria de dos centros educativos de Tenerife. Para la recogida de datos se diseñó un cuestionario en el que se abordaron: 1) los niveles de agresión del alumnado; 2) la calidad de las relaciones del alumnado con sus padres y madres; y 3) la gravedad atribuida por el alumnado a situaciones de agresión. Los resultados reflejaron que los estudiantes con mayores puntuaciones en agresión son: a) varones; b) repetidores/as; c) aquellos/as cuyos padres poseen un menor nivel educativo; d) aquellos/as que tienen mayor nivel de alienación con padres y madres; y e) aquellos/as que tienen menor nivel de confianza con su padre. Los estudiantes que muestran mayor nivel de agresión tienden a valorar las conductas agresivas como menos graves que quienes muestran menor nivel de agresión. Se concluye que determinadas características socio-familiares en los jóvenes, como la confianza con los padres y el sentimiento de integración con ambos progenitores, actúan como factores protectores ante el acoso escolar. Bullying is a phenomenon that happens worldwide and a major concern for the educational systems of developed and developing countries. The present study analyzes: a) the differences in the aggression profile of Compulsory Secondary Education students based on personal, academic and family variables; and b) the differences in the assessment of the aggressive behaviours severity according to the student's aggression profile. The research involved 215 students of Compulsory Secondary Education from two schools in Tenerife. For the collection of data, a questionnaire was designed that addressed: 1) student aggression levels; 2) the quality of student relationships with their parents; and 3) the severity attributed by students to aggression situations. The results showed that the students with the highest aggression scores were: a) males; b) repeaters; c) those whose parents have a lower educational level; d) those who have the highest level of alienation with fathers and mothers; and e) those who have a lower level of trust with their father. Students who have a higher level of aggression tend to value aggressive behaviors as less serious than those who have a lower level of aggression. It is concluded that certain socio-family characteristics in young people, such as trust with parents and the feeling of integration with both parents, act as protective factors against bullying.

Educational quality and dropout risk: a causal analysis of the university dropout phenomenon

University dropout is one of the main problems of the Spanish university system due to its high rates. The latest report issued by the Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN, 2020) shows that more than 30% of students drop out of an undergraduate degree program. In order to explore the phenomenon, in line with the scientific literature, we have focused on identifying personal and family variables associated with university dropout. Using an ex post facto, quantitative, descriptive and causal design methodology, we observed significant relationships between the dependent variable “completion of university degree” and the independent variables “age”, “marital status” and “number of siblings”. In agreement with other researches (Belloc et al, 2010; Diaz Peralta, 2008; Lizarte Simon, 2017) we conclude that university dropout is a multicausal phenomenon that needs to be fully understood. This will allow to maximize the use of resources allocated to higher education and optimize university access, permanence and quality policies.

A Study of the Value Orientation of Degree College Students

The present study has been conducted to investigate the value orientation of degree college students. The sample consisted of 200-degree college students from Anantapur District in Andhra Pradesh. The data so collected was analysed using Mean, S.D. and t-test. The findings of the study revealed that value orientation of degree college students differed with age. The study also showed that the value orientation of degree college students did not differ with reference to sex and type of family variables. The study also projected that the degree College students preferred venturesome values while least preference was shown for traditional values.