A comparative analysis of self-esteem, school involvement, family cohesiveness and academic achievement in seventh and eighth graders dependent upon their relative age.
Item
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Title
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A comparative analysis of self-esteem, school involvement, family cohesiveness and academic achievement in seventh and eighth graders dependent upon their relative age.
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Identifier
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AAI3296941
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identifier
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3296941
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Creator
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Bishop, Josephine Lydia.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Georgiana S. Tryon
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Date
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2008
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Education, Educational Psychology | Education, Secondary
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Abstract
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Although the relatively young represent approximately 50% of a given classroom, there is very little research on their mental health, and thus they represent an understudied population. Being relatively young puts children at a higher risk for experiencing short- and long-term negative consequences including lower scores on self-esteem measures throughout their academic career (Thompson et al., 2004) and a higher rate of suicide (Thompson et al., 1999). This study sought to add to this literature by looking at between group differences on measures of cognitive, affective and behavioral outcomes for this understudied and vulnerable group. The research participants were 47 middle school 7th and 8th graders from an affluent Long Island, NY suburban community. Generally, the hypotheses investigated held that the difficulties encountered by the relatively younger child during their academic careers would be evident in lower global self-esteem scores on the Culture Free Self-Esteem Inventory, 3rd Edition (CFSEI-III; Battle, 2002), a higher score on the cohesion subscale of the Family Environment Scale (FES; Moos & Moos, 1986), a lower level of participation in extracurricular activities, and lower scores on measures of English and math achievement. The sample size of 47 was not adequate to detect a large effect at the .05 level for this type of study (Cohen, 1992); there were no significant differences between the two groups for any comparison. Specifically, younger 7 th and 8th graders report the same level of self-esteem, perceptions of family cohesiveness, and level of extracurricular activities as relatively older 7th and 8th graders. Additionally, the academic achievement of the relatively younger groups was not significantly different from the relatively older group on tests of English and math proficiency. Although these findings were not in line with other research it is important to understand that these children should be considered to be an "at risk" group for cognitive, affective and behavioral difficulties.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
