ODell, Kristin

EPSY 5403
Annotated Bibliography

Battistich, V., Solomon, D., Watson, M., & Schaps, E. (1997) Caring school communities.

Educational Psychologist, 32:3, 137-151. Retrieved from

http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep3203_1.

Battistich et al. investigated caring school communities. What is a community?

What makes it caring? How does a caring community affect students, teachers, and

schools? The researchers defined a community (for this context) as being of the

individual and of the group, and that in a community students need to feel like they

belong, have autonomy, and feel competent in order to be engaged at school. The

researchers assume that when these needs are met, the students are bonded and

committed to the school and therefore share in the values and goals of the school. The

researchers designed an intervention program, implemented the program over a 7-year

longitudinal cohort of students, and measured the students sense of classroom

community through surveys and direct observation. Researchers found that the program

had a significant impact on the students sense of classroom community as compared to a

comparison group of students that did not participate in the program.

After this study, the researchers extended their program to reach schools, not just

classrooms, and varied the types of schools that their program reached. They also

considered the teachers sense of community, as well as the students. After getting initial

results from the schools, researchers found that they needed to control for poverty level,

but with it accounted for, the program yielded positive results for all types of classrooms.

School-wide, the researchers found better results in elementary and middle schools than
ODell, Kristin
EPSY 5403
in high schools. The inference made about the results is that students feel a better sense of

community when they have fewer teachers throughout the day and the school has a

smaller population. Except for high schools, researchers found that teachers at bigger

schools (up to 1,000 students) reported a better sense of community than teachers at

smaller schools (less than 300 students) or really big schools (more than 1,000 students).

The inference made here is that schools with many teachers of the same grade level are

better able to co-teach and support each other than teachers of varying grade levels or in

schools that are very big. Overall, this study supports the idea that classroom community

is varied among schools, and classroom community is positively correlated to desirable

outcomes.

Bhanot, R., Jovanovic, J. (2005) Do parents academic gender stereotypes influence

whether they intrude on their childrens homework? Sex Roles: A Journal of

Research. 52:9-10, 597- 607. Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com.argo.library.okstate.edu/docview/231500904?pq-

origsite=summon.

The researchers of this study explored the ways that parental beliefs of gender

biases in math and English contributed to the number of times parents intruded on their

childrens homework, and if these intrusions affected the students. The researchers

suspected that parents that held the belief that girls do better in English and boys do better

in math would be more likely to give unwanted help to their girls in math and unwanted

help to their boys in English. Through a cross-sectional study, the researchers found

parents gave boys more intrusive homework help than girls, but girls were more sensitive
ODell, Kristin
EPSY 5403
to it. Gender biases did not seem to affect the parents of boys or the boys in regards to

English or math. However, there were significant relationships regarding parental bias,

intrusive homework help, and girls self-confidence in math. The researchers also noted

that fathers seemed to hold more biases than mothers.

Chaplin, L., Bastos, W., Lowrey, T. (2010) Beyond brands: Happy adolescents see the

good in people. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 5:5, 342-354. Retrieved from

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2010.507471.

These researchers were interested in exploring happiness as a predictor variable,

rather than a dependent variable as in most previous studies related to adolescent

happiness. In this study, the researchers examined the relationship between happiness and

stereotyping in adolescents. The researchers used an interesting methodology in which

numerous high school adolescents from different areas were asked to make collages

representing cool kids and less popular kids. The results showed that happiness was

related to fewer stereotypes and less emphasis on material possessions. While participants

that reported lower levels of happiness focused on possessions, brand names, and saw

things in black and white, happier participants were more flexible and optimistic in

their views of others.

Chase-Landsdale, P., Wakschlag, L., Brooks-Gunn, J. (1995) A psychological perspective

on the development of caring in children and youth: the role of the family.

Journal of Adolescence. 18:5, 515-556. Retrieved from

ODell, Kristin
EPSY 5403
http://www.sciencedirect.com.argo.library.okstate.edu/science/article/pii/S014019

7185710378.

This study was done to better understand how families promote the development

of caring dispositions in children and the implications caring can have on a childs life.

The researchers used various literatures to draw their conclusions about how children are

taught to be caring individuals. The article explains how parents can encourage their

children to be caring through the major stages of childhood. We also learn the advantages

that come from being a caring individual, such as having a more positive outlook on life

and a bigger commitment to solving societal problems. The article also explores the

various obstacles that keep children from learning to be caring.

Diemer, M., Kauffman, A., Koenig, N., Trahan, E., & Hsieh, C., (2006) Challenging

racism, sexism, and social injustice: Support for urban adolescents critical

consciousness development. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology.

12:3, 444-460. Retrieved from

http://dx.doi.org.argo.library.okstate.edu/10.1037/1099-9809.12.3.444.

In this study, researchers examined the effects of support for challenging social

injustices and critical consciousness development in adolescents. They found that support

for challenging racism, sexism, and social injustice from teachers and parents of

adolescents is associated with reflective critical consciousness, but is not associated with

action. The also found that adolescents received the most support for challenging racism.

They had some support for challenging social injustice, and only some support for

challenging sexism (there was more support for girls challenging sexism than boys). The
ODell, Kristin
EPSY 5403
research supports several psychoeducational interventions to facilitate critical

consciousness. First, programs should articulate and evaluate components of critical

consciousness by supporting challenging racism, social injustice, and sexism. Secondly,

programs should identify and target factors that assist in facilitating action.

Heydenberk, R. A., Heydenberk, W. R., (2007) The conflict resolution connection:

Increasing school attachment in cooperative classroom communities. Reclaiming

Children and Youth, 16:3, p18-22. Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com.argo.library.okstate.edu/docview/214193002?pq-

origsite=summon.

Heydenberk and Heydenberk (2007) combined the results of many studies related

to conflict resolution strategies and what they mean for schools. The authors are trying to

answer the question, How does conflict resolution education impact important

educational outcomes? The results of the studies that the authors mention support the

idea that conflict resolution strategies that employ socio-emotional learning strategies

such as development of affective vocabulary, I-statements, emotional awareness and

active listening (p18) positively impact the classroom environment and lead to better

academic achievement. They found that conflict resolution abled students to resist

prejudice, peer pressure, and poor social choices because students learned to think

critically, express their thoughts and emotions, and feel safe to do things differently than

their classmates. Conflict resolution education created classroom environments in which

students collaborated more and felt empowered. With that, studies found that cooperation

promotes higher achievement than competition.

ODell, Kristin
EPSY 5403

Hill, P., Burrow, A., ODell, A., Thornton, M. (2010) Classifying adolescents

conceptions of purpose in life. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 5:6, 466-473.

Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2010.534488.

The researchers were interested in better understanding how adolescents construct

ideas of life purpose, and do the adolescents communicate purpose in life similarly to

how researchers and practitioners communicate it. The researchers used questionnaires to

collect information from 9th though 12th grade students in a few different high schools.

They found that the students responses fit into the categories related to purpose in life

that adults and psychologists would use. They found that many students used more than

one category, implying that the adolescents thoughts on purpose were more complicated

and deeper than originally assumed. The researchers also found that purpose in life was

regarded as a positive thing to students, and that it became more important to students as

age increased.

Kellner, M., Bry, B., Salvador, D. (2008) Anger management effects on middle school

students with emotional/behavioral disorders: Anger log use, aggressive and

prosocial behavior. Child and Family Behavior Therapy 30:3, 215-230. Retrieved

from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07317100802275520.

The researchers examined the effects on middle school students with emotional

and behavioral disorders from keeping an anger log and learning prosocial behaviors. The

researchers believed that using an intervention program would help adolescents learn to

change the way they express anger. They believed the students would learn to trade
ODell, Kristin
EPSY 5403
aggression for more prosocial behaviors. Through this study the researchers found

evidence that an intervention program decreased negative verbal and nonverbal behavior

toward teachers for the duration of the program when compared to students that did not

use the program. However, these findings did not always hold-up after the program

ended. More promisingly, the researchers found evidence that an intervention program

decreased aggression toward peers as compared to students that did not use the program.

The more positive interactions with peers continued even after the program ended.

Leaper, C., Brown, C. (2008) Perceived experiences with sexism among adolescent girls.

Child Development, 79:3, 685-704. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/27563511.

Leaper and Brown (2008) examined the social and individual influences on girls

personal experiences with different forms of sexism. The researchers studied how much

girls reported experiencing sexual harassment, academic sexism, and athletic sexism

during adolescence. They were also interested in knowing what social and individual

factors affected awareness of sexism. These factors included SES, ethnicity, achievement,

age, pressures from peers and parents, exposure to feminism in media or in person, and

individual factors such as perceived gender typicality, gender-role contentedness, and

gender-egalitarian attitudes. The researchers found that 90% of girls experienced sexual

harassment at least once, and that frequent sexual harassment can have negative effects

on self-esteem, body image, adjustment, and beliefs about others. The also found that

gender biases in science, math, and computers affected their motivation to continue in
ODell, Kristin
EPSY 5403
these areas. Lastly, the study found that many parents and peers continue to view sports

as a predominantly masculine domain.

Neal, J. (2009) Network ties and mean lies: A relational approach to relational aggression.

Journal of Community Psychology. 37:6, 737-752. Retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com.argo.library.okstate.edu/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=aph&AN=42997074&site=ehost-live.

Neal (2009) extends existing research related to relational aggression to find the

relationships between peer social networks and relational aggression. Relation aggression

refers to non-physical aggression such as exclusion and rumor spreading. She wanted to

know if relational aggression could be predicted by a childs position in a social network

and/or the number of connections across friend groups (density). Neal used student

perceptions of social prominence and teacher perceptions on social prominence among

students. She found that the relationships differed slightly between reports from students

and reports from teachers. Overall, she found that students with the most densely

prominent positions within their social networks were the most relationally aggressive.

The findings could be useful to interventionists looking to minimize relational aggression

in schools.

Roeser, R. W., Midgley, C. Urdan, T. (1996) Perceptions of the school psychological

environment and early adolescents psychological and behavioral functioning in

school: The mediating role of goals and belonging. Journal of Educational

ODell, Kristin
EPSY 5403
Psychology, 88:3, 408-422. Retrieved from

http://dx.doi.org.argo.library.okstate.edu/10.1037/0022-0663.88.3.408.

In Roeser, Midgley, and Urdans study (1996) the researchers wanted to know if

self-adopted goals gave students a better feeling of teacher support than competitive

goals, and does a sense of supportive teacher-student relationships affect student

achievement. The researchers sampled middle-school students at two middle schools

from the same school district, mostly white and working class, near a major metropolitan

area. The researchers took data related to sixth grade students feelings toward school,

perceptions of teacher-student relationships, and academic performance. After

implementing personal task goals for the students, the researchers took the same data on

the same students during their eighth grade year. They found that students who perceived

their school as emphasizing understanding, effort, and personal development felt that

their teachers cared, trusted, and respected the students more than schools that focused on

relative ability and competition. The research supports the idea that self-adopted

achievement goals helped student motivation and sense of belonging at school. The

researchers infer that students who perceive an emphasis on competition and relative

ability were more likely to feel self-conscious in academic situations, which led to poorer

motivation and performance.

Singer, E., Doornenbal, J. (2006) Learning morality in peer conflict: A study of

schoolchildrens narratives about being betrayed by a friend. Childhood. 13:2

225-245. Retrieved from

http://chd.sagepub.com.argo.library.okstate.edu/content/13/2/225.
ODell, Kristin
EPSY 5403
These researchers interviewed Dutch school children to better understand how

childhood friendships evolve due to instances of betrayal. The researchers were also

interested in how childrens morality is developed through their evolving friendships. The

researchers used loosely scripted interviews to observe childrens thoughts on stories

related to betrayal between friends. They also allowed children to tell their own personal

narratives related to friendship betrayal. The researchers found that children fit into four

types of profiles: angry for moral reasons, angry as a defense, pretending to be

unaffected, and help seeking. The researchers did not find significant gender differences,

but they noted that girls had more experience with romantic secrets being revealed by

friends than boys did. They also found that older children were able to tell what they

learned from the incidents, but younger children did not.

Stevenson, F., Zimmerman, M. (2005) Adolescent resilience: A framework for

understanding healthy development in the face of risk. Annual Review of Public

Health. 26:1, 399-419. Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com.argo.library.okstate.edu/docview/235233320?pq-

origsite=summon.

The researchers here summarized a body of research related to adolescent

resiliency. In this context, resiliency refers to a persons ability to overcome exposure to

violence, sex, alcohol, and drugs. The researchers found themes and commonalities

throughout their study to help us understand what factors help adolescents become

resilient to peer pressures. A major focus of the researchers was to find positives (what

we should be doing) rather than negatives. They found that parental support and social
ODell, Kristin
EPSY 5403
programs both helped adolescent resiliency. The researchers warn that population

differences should always be accounted for when implementing programs, but schools

would do well to create programs and/or classes that teach and promote resiliency (self-

esteem, decreasing anxiety, communicating, being assertive, etc.).

Van De Wetering, E., Van Exel, N., Brouwer, W. (2010) Piecing the jigsaw puzzle of

adolescent happiness. Journal of Economic Psychology. 31:6, 923-935. Retrieved

from

http://www.sciencedirect.com.argo.library.okstate.edu/science/article/pii/S016748

7010000917.

These researchers were interested in studying many facets of happiness in Dutch

adolescents. They especially wanted to examine whether happiness could be multi-

dimensional. They found that happiness in adolescents could be multi-dimensional. It can

be categorized into home, school, and leisure. Studying factors that contribute to

happiness in the three areas proves tricky because the necessities for happiness in the

three areas were all different. They also wanted to know if happiness in one area affected

happiness in other areas. Overall they concluded that happiness in the three areas can

vary greatly, but there can be some cross over. From this study there is evidence to

support the idea that happiness is not dictated by gender, although a few differences may

exist. There was also support for the idea that adolescents do not need large groups of

friends to be happy, but that a single close friend is sometimes enough.

ODell, Kristin
EPSY 5403
Wharton, S. (2005) Invisible females, incapable males: Gender construction in a

childrens reading scheme. Language and Education. 19:3 238-251. Retrieved

from

http://www.tandfonline.com.argo.library.okstate.edu/doi/abs/10.1080/0950078050

8668677.

Wharton (2005) studied the portrayal of gender in a popular UK reading program.

With the idea that the characters in literature give young children ideas of how gender is

expressed in the real world and gives them gender identities to aspire to, Wharton studied

the levels of sexism present in the literature. In studying the texts, she looked for which

gender dominated in speaking roles and in performing actions. She also looked for which

gender contributed more to story development and how the characters were positioned in

relation to each other. She found that overall, males were more dominant, however the

male roles were sometimes portrayed negatively. Females were not as present as males,

but were portrayed as active and capable. Wharton stated that the masculinities and

femininities resembled the gender constructs in other social discourses, giving those

constructs more power. She concludes that the way gender is portrayed in literature is not

as important as discussions about gender by teachers and parents.