The Influence of Social Relationships on Conduct Problems in School Context - Does School Engagement Matter?

Alexander Lätsch; Diana Raufelder; Tino Wulff

doi:10.6000/1929-4409.2016.05.11

Authors

Alexander Lätsch University of Greifswald, Germany
Diana Raufelder University of Greifswald, Germany
Tino Wulff University of Greifswald, Germany

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4409.2016.05.11

Keywords:

Social relationships, school engagement, conduct problems, adolescence

Abstract

There has been an increase in the prevalence of problem behavior during adolescence over the last decades. Thereby, studies have found that social bonds and relationships as well as school engagement as a form of connectedness play an important protective role. However, less is know whether school engagement is as a potential mediator in the association of social relationships with peers and teachers and conduct problems. The current study examined this interplay in a large non-clinical sample of students (N= 1.088; M_Age= 13.7 SD=0.53 at T1; N= 845; M_age= 15.32, SD = .49 at T2) in secondary schools in Brandenburg, Germany. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the mediating effect from school engagement in the association between students’ social relationships in early adolescence and conduct problems in middle adolescence. The results show that school engagement function as full mediator in the association of both student-student relationships and teacher-student relationships at T1 and conduct problems at T2. This highlights that fostering school engagement in early adolescence might be an essential starting point for prevention and intervention strategies of conduct problems in middle adolescence.

References

Asparouhov, T. 2005. “Sampling weights in latent variable modeling.” Structural Equation Modeling 12(3):411-434. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15328007sem1203_4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15328007sem1203_4

Bandalos, D. L. 2002. “The effects of item parceling on goodness-of-fit and parameter estimate bias in structural equation modeling.” Structural Equation Modeling 9(1):78-102. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM0901_5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM0901_5

Bandalos, D. L., and Finney, S. J. 2001. “Item parceling issues in structural equation modeling.” Pp. 269–296 in New developments and techniques in structural equation, edited by G. A. Marcoulides and R. E. Schumacker, Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Baron, R. M., and Kenny, D. A. 1986. “The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 51(6):1173-1182. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173

Bear, G. G., Yang, C., Pell, M., and Gaskins, C. 2014. “Validation of a brief measure of teachers’ perceptions of school climate: Relations to student achievement and suspensions.” Learning Environments Research 17(3):339-354. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10984-014-9162-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-014-9162-1

Brand, S., Felner, R., Shim, M., Seitsinger, A., and Dumas, T. 2003. “Middle school improvement and reform: Development and validation of a school-level assessment of climate, cultural pluralism, and school safety.” Journal of Educational Psychology 95(3):570-588. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.95.3.570 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.95.3.570

Bru, E., Stephens, P., and Torsheim, T. 2002. “Students' perceptions of class management and reports of their own misbehavior.” Journal of School Psychology 40(4):287-307. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4405(02)00104-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4405(02)00104-8

Caprara, G. V., Kanacri, B. P. L., Gerbino, M., Zuffianò, A., Alessandri, G., Vecchio, G., Caprara, E., Pastorelli, C., and Bridglall, B. 2014. “Positive effects of promoting prosocial behavior in early adolescence Evidence from a school-based intervention.” International Journal of Behavioral Development 38(4):386-396. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0165025414531464 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025414531464

Cernkovic, S. and Giordano, P. 1979. “Delinquency, opportunity and gender.” Journal of Criminal Law 70:145-151. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1142917 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1142917

Cernkovich, S. A., and Giordano, P. C. 1992. “School bonding, race, and delinquency.“ Criminology 30(2):261-291. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1992.tb01105.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1992.tb01105.x

Chan, D. 2009. “So why ask me? Are self-report data really that bad?“ Pp. 309-336 in Statistical and methodological myths and urban legends: Doctrine, verity and fable in organizational and social sciences, edited by C. E. Lance and R. J. Vandenberg (Eds.), New York, NY: Routledge.

Christ, O., and Schlüter, E. 2012. Strukturgleichungsmodelle mit Mplus: eine praktische Einführung. [Structural Equation Models with Mplus: A Practical Introduction] Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter. http://dx.doi.org/10.1524/9783486714807 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1524/9783486714807

Costello, E. J., Foley, D. L., and Angold, A. 2006. “10-year research update review: the epidemiology of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders: II. Developmental epidemiology.“ Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 45(1):8-25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.chi.0000184929.41423.c0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/01.chi.0000184929.41423.c0

Danielsen, A. G., Wiium, N., Wilhelmsen, B. U., and Wold, B. 2010. “Perceived support provided by teachers and classmates and students’ self-reported academic initiative.” Journal of School Psychology 48(3):247-267. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2010.02.002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2010.02.002

Dryfoos, J. G. 1990. Adolescents at risk: Prevalence and prevention. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Eccles, J.S., Wigfield, A., and Schiefele, U., 1998. “Motivation to succeed.” Pp. 1017-1095 in Handbook of child psychology, edited by W. Damon (Series Ed.) and N. Eisenberg (Vol. Ed.), (5th ed., Vol. III,). New York, NY: Wiley.

Eiﬂer, S. 2002. Kriminalsoziologie [Criminological sociology]. Bielefeld, Germany: Transkript. http://dx.doi.org/10.14361/9783839400623 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839400623

Estell, D. B., and Perdue, N. H. 2013. “Social support and behavioral and affective school engagement: The effects of peers, parents, and teachers.” Psychology in the Schools 50(4):325-339. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pits.21681 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21681

Fall, A., and Roberts, G. 2012. “High school dropouts: Interactions between social context, self-perceptions, school engagement, and student dropout.” Journal of Adolescence 35:787-798. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.11.004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.11.004

Feldman, S.S., and Elliott, G.R. 1990. At the threshold: The developing adolescent. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.

Finn, J. D. 1993. School Engagement and Students at Risk. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

Finn, J. D., and Rock, D. A. 1997. “Academic success among students at risk for school failure.” Journal of Applied Psychology 82:221-234. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.82.2.221 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.82.2.221

Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., and Paris, A. H. 2004. “School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence.” Review of Educational Research 74:59-109. http://dx.doi.org/10.3102/00346543074001059 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543074001059

Goodman, R. 1997. “The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: a research note.” Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 38(5):581-86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1997.tb01545.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1997.tb01545.x

Gregory, A., Cornell, D., Fan, X., Sheras, P., Shih, T. H., and Huang, F. 2010. “Authoritative school discipline: High school practices associated with lower bullying and victimization.” Journal of Educational Psychology 102(2):483-496. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0018562 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018562

Hamre, B. K., Pianta, R. C., Downer, J. T., and Mashburn, A. J. 2008. “Teachers' perceptions of conflict with young students: Looking beyond problem behaviors.” Social Development 17(1):115-136.

Harter, S. 1996. “Teacher and classmate influences on scholastic motivation, self-esteem, and level of voice in adolescents.” Pp. 11–42 in Social motivation – Understanding children´s school adjustment, edited by J. Juvonen and K. Wentzel, Cambridge, UK: University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511571190.004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511571190.004

Hawkins, J. D., Catalano, R. F., and Miller, J. Y. 1992. “Risk and protective factors for alcohol and other drug problems in adolescence and early adulthood: implications for substance abuse prevention.” Psychological Bulletin 112(1):64-105. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.64 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.64

Hirschfield PJ., and Gasper J. 2011. “The relationship between school engagement and delinquency in late childhood and early adolescence.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence 40(1):3-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9579-5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9579-5

Hirschi, Travis. 1969. Causes of delinquency. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Hughes, J. N., and Cavell, T. A. 1999. “Influence of the teacher-student relationship in childhood conduct problems: A prospective study.” Journal of Clinical Child Psychology 28(2):173-184. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp2802_5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp2802_5

Hughes, J. N., Luo, W., Kwok, O. M., and Loyd, L. K. 2008. “Teacher-student support, effortful engagement, and achievement: A 3-year longitudinal study.” Journal of Educational Psychology 100(1):1-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.100.1.1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.100.1.1

Jessor, R., and Jessor, S. L. 1977. Problem behavior and psychosocial development: A longitudinal study of youth. New York, NY: Academic Press

Kunter, M., Schümer, G., Artelt, C., Baumert, J., Klieme, E., Neubrand, M., Prenzel, M., Schiefele, U., Schneider, W., Stanat, P., Tillmann, K.-J. and Weiß, PISA 2000: Dokumentation der Erhebungsinstrumente [Documentation of Elicitation Instruments]. Max-Planck-Institut für Bildungsforschung.

Lamborn, S., Newmann, F., and Wehlage, G. 1992. “The significance and sources of student engagement.” Student Engagement and Achievement in American Secondary Schools:11-39.

Liska, A. E., and Reed, M. D. 1985. “Ties to conventional institutions and delinquency: Estimating reciprocal effects.” American Sociological Review: 547-560. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2095438 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2095438

Little, T. D., Cunningham, W. A., Shahar, G., and Widaman, K. F. 2002. “To parcel or not to parcel: Exploring the question, weighing the merits.” Structural Equation Modeling 9(2):151-173. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_1

Loeber, R. 1988. “Natural histories of conduct problems, delinquency, and associated substance use”. Advances in clinical child psychology:73-124. New York, NY: Springer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9829-5_2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9829-5_2

Loeber, R., and Dishion, T. 1983. “Early predictors of male delinquency: a review.” Psychological bulletin 94(1):68-99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.94.1.68 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.94.1.68

Loukas, A., Ripperger-Suhler, K. G., and Horton, K. D. 2009. “Examining temporal associations between school connectedness and early adolescent adjustment.” Journal of Youth Adolescence 38:804-812. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10964-008-9312-9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-008-9312-9

MacKinnon, D. P. 2008. Introduction to statistical mediation analysis. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Marks, H. M. 2000. “Student engagement in instructional activity: Patterns in the elementary, middle, and high school years.” American Educational Research Journal 37(1):153-184. http://dx.doi.org/10.3102/00028312037001153 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312037001153

Marsh, H. W., Hau, K. T., Balla, J. R., and Grayson, D. 1998. “Is more ever too much? The number of indicators per factor in confirmatory factor analysis.” Multivariate Behavioral Research 33(2):181-220. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15327906mbr3302_1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327906mbr3302_1

Marsh, H. W., Lüdtke, O., Nagengast, B., Morin, A. J., and Von Davier, M. 2013. “Why item parcels are (almost) never appropriate: Two wrongs do not make a right— Camouflaging misspecification with item parcels in CFA models.” Psychological Methods 18(3):257-284. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0032773 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032773

Meehan, B. T., Hughes, J. N., and Cavell, T. A. 2003. “Teacher–student relationships as compensatory resources for aggressive children.” Child Development 74(4):1145-1157. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00598 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00598

Muthén, L. K., and Muthén, B. O. 2010. 1998–2010 Mplus user‘s guide. Muthén and Muthén. Los Angeles, CA: Author

Murray, C., and Greenberg, M. T. 2000. “Children's relationship with teachers and bonds with school an investigation of patterns

and correlates in middle childhood.” Journal of School Psychology 38(5):423-445. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4405(00)00034-0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4405(00)00034-0

Nasser, F., and Wisenbaker, J. 2003. “A Monte Carlo study investigating the impact of item parceling on measures of fit in confirmatory factor analysis.” Educational and Psychological Measurement 63(5):729-757. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0013164403258228 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164403258228

Perdue, N. H., Manzeske, D. P., and Estell, D. B. 2009. “Early predictors of school engagement: Exploring the role of peer relationships.” Psychology in the Schools 46(10):1084-1097. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pits.20446 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.20446

Petermann, F., & Petermann, U. 2013. “Störungen des Sozialverhaltens“ [Conduct disorder]. Kindheit und Entwicklung 22(3):123-126. http://dx.doi.org/10.1026/0942-5403/a000108 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1026/0942-5403/a000108

Pintrich, P., Zusho, A., Schiefele, U., and Pekrun, R. 2001. “Goal orientation and self-regulated learning in the college classroom: A cross-cultural comparison.” Pp. 149–169 in Student motivation: The culture and context of learning, edited by F. Salili, C. Y. Chiu, and Y. Y. Hong, New York, NY: Plenum. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1273-8_8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1273-8_8

Prats D. C. 1990. The effects of forming miniscales on the construct validity of the test anxiety inventory. Paper presented at the National Council of Measurement of Education, Boston.

Preacher, K. J., and Hayes, A. F. 2008. “Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models”. Behavior Research Methods 40(3):879-891. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/BRM.40.3.879 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.40.3.879

Upadyaya, K., and Salmela-Aro, K. 2013. „Development of school engagement in association with academic success and well-being in varying social contexts.“ European Psychologist 18:136-147. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000143 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000143

Resnick, M. D., Bearman, P. S., Blum, R. Wm., Bauman, K. E., Harris, K. M., Jones, J., Tabor, J., Beuhring, T., Sieving, R. E., Shew, M., Ireland, M., Bearinger, L. H., Udry, J. R. 1997. “Protecting adolescents from harm: findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health.” The Journal of the American Medical Association 278(10):823-832. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.1997.03550100049038 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.278.10.823

Roorda, D. L., Koomen, H. M. Y., Spilt, J. L., and Oort, F. J. 2011. “The influence of affective teacher-student relationships on students’ school engagement and achievement: A meta- analytic approach.” Review on Educational Research 81:493-529. http://dx.doi.org/10.3102/0034654311421793 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654311421793

Shrout, P. E., and Bolger, N. 2002. “Mediation in experimental and nonexperimental studies: new procedures and recommendations.” Psychological Methods 7(4):422-445. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.7.4.422 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.7.4.422

Simons-Morton, B. G., Crump, A. D., Haynie, D. L., and Saylor, K. E. 1999. “Student–school bonding and adolescent problem behavior.” Health Education Research 14(1):99-107. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/her/14.1.99 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/her/14.1.99

Skinner, E. A., Kindermann, T. A., and Furrer, C. J. 2008. “A motivational perspective on engagement and disaffection: Conceptualization and assessment of children’s behavioral and emotional participation in academic activities in the classroom.” Educational and Psychological Measurement 69(3):493-525. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0013164408323233 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164408323233

Spector, P. E. 2006. “Method variance in organizational research: truth or urban legend?“ Organizational Research Methods 9:221-232. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094428105284955 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428105284955

Steinberg, L., and Avenevoli, S. 1998. “Disengagement from school and problem behavior in adolescence: A developmental-contextual analysis of the influences of family and part-time work.” Pp. 391-424 in New Perspectives on Adolescent Risk Behavior, edited by Richard Jessor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511571138.013 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511571138.013

Watt, H. M. 2004. “Development of adolescents' self‐perceptions, values, and task perceptions according to gender and domain in 7th‐through 11th ‐grade Australian students.” Child Development 75(5):1556-1574. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00757.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00757.x

Werner, E. E., and Smith, R. S. 1989. Vulnerable, but invincible. New York, NY: Adams, Bannister, Cox.

West, S. G., Finch, J. F., and Curran, P. J. 1995. Structural Equation Modeling: Concepts, Issues, and Application. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Willms, J. D. 2003. Student engagement at school: A sense of belonging and participation: Results from PISA 2000. Paris, France: Publications de l'OCDE.