Associations between Adolescents' Interpersonal Relationships, School Well-being, and Academic Achievement during Educational Transitions

A youth’s ability to adapt during educational transitions has long-term, positive impacts on their academic achievement and mental health. Although supportive relationships with parents, peers, and teachers are protective factors associated with successful educational transitions, little is known about the reciprocal link between the quality of these interpersonal relationships and school well-being, with even less known about how these two constructs affect academic achievement. This longitudinal study examined how the quality of interpersonal relationships and school well-being worked together to affect academic achievement during the transition from primary school to lower secondary school. Data were collected from 848 Finnish adolescents (54% girls, mean age at the outset 12.3 years) over the course of sixth and seventh grade. The results support a transactional model illustrating the reciprocal associations between the quality of interpersonal relationships and school well-being during the transition to lower secondary school. As such, the presence of high quality interpersonal relationships promoted higher academic achievement through increased school well-being, whereas high school well-being promoted higher subsequent academic achievement through increased quality of interpersonal relationships. Overall, the results suggest that promoting learning outcomes and helping adolescents with challenges during educational transitions is a critical part of supporting school well-being and the formation of high-quality interpersonal relationships.

Work Burnout and Engagement Profiles Among Teachers

The focus of the current study was to examine teachers' well-being in terms of work engagement and burnout by using a person-oriented approach. The participants (n = 149, 70.5% female) were subject-matter teachers from 22 schools from metropolitan Helsinki area in Finland. The first aim was to examine the kinds of profiles we can identify based on work burnout and engagement among teachers. The second aim was to study how the identified profiles differed in job-related demands and resources and personal resources in terms of resilience. Based on the demands-resources model, we expected to find profiles that differ in terms of key resources and demands. The sample was acquired as a convenience sample and the data was collected using online self-report questionnaires. The measures were work engagement, work burnout, work demands/resources (workload and control) and resilience as the personal resource. In addition, changes and effects of the economic circumstances were accounted for with two binary variables assessing the effect on class sizes and material resources. We identified two profiles among teachers: engaged (30%) and engaged-burnout (70%) profiles. We found that those in the engaged profile group had more job and personal resources, such as control and resilience, whereas those in the engaged-burnout profile group experienced more work demands, such as workload.

The Relations of Science Task Values, Self-Concept of Ability, and STEM Aspirations Among Finnish Students From First to Second Grade

According to modern expectancy-value theory, students' motivation in school subjects begins to vary at the very beginning of their school careers, showing a task-specific pattern of motivation. However, there is no clear evidence in the literature on how students' value beliefs are formed and interact with each other in early elementary schools. Using the longitudinal structural equation modeling, this study examined relations between science-related task values (i.e., intrinsic value and cost), self-concept of ability, and future occupational aspirations based on first graders and 1-year follow-up from seven schools in Helsinki (N = 332; ages = 7 and 8 years; girls = 51%). Results showed that the students who had a high science-related self-concept of ability and intrinsic value tended to perceive low cost of science learning. Science-related self-concept of ability was the most stable construct, while in intrinsic value and cost, there were significant levels of fluctuation across the first and second grades. A high science-related self-concept of ability in the first grade predicted a lower cost value in the second grade, and a high science-related intrinsic value was a marginally significant predictor of future occupational aspirations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Mean-level differences revealed that the girls' science-related self-concept of ability, intrinsic value, and cost remained the same in both grades, while the boys' self-concept of ability decreased. The girls' mean levels in science-related intrinsic value were higher than those of the boys, while students' self-concept of ability and cost were similar across gender in both grades. A cross-lagged panel model revealed that the girls reported more STEM occupational aspirations than the boys in the second grade, while controlling for the motivational beliefs. In summary, the results indicate that a high-level of science interest in young students predicts STEM occupational aspirations; high girls' intrinsic value in early science education does not steer them away from STEM occupations; boys' task motivation might be at greater risk of decline during early science education.

Building Grit: The Longitudinal Pathways between Mindset, Commitment, Grit, and Academic Outcomes

Despite academics' enthusiasm about the concept of grit (defined as consistency of interest and perseverance of effort), its benefit for academic achievement has recently been challenged. Drawing from a longitudinal sample (N = 2018; 55.3% female; sixth-nineth grades) from Finland, this study first aimed to investigate and replicate the association between grit and achievement outcomes (i.e., academic achievement and engagement). Further, the present study examined whether growth mindset and goal commitment impacted grit and whether grit acted as a mediator between growth mindset, goal commitment, and achievement outcomes. The results showed that the perseverance facet of grit in the eighth grade was associated with school achievement and engagement in the nineth grade, after controlling for students' conscientiousness, academic persistence, prior achievement and engagement, gender and SES, although the effect on engagement was stronger than on achievement. In addition, grit was predicted by goal commitment in the sixth grade, but not by the growth mindset in the sixth grade. Finally, the perseverance of effort (not the consistency of interest) mediated the effect of goal commitment on engagement. These findings suggest that grit is associated with increased engagement and academic achievement; and practitioners who wish to improve grit of adolescents may encourage goal commitment more than growth mindset.

Intentional Engagement in the Transition to Adulthood

Abstract. During the transition to adulthood, young people need to choose their career and overall life pathway and cope successfully with the transitions they face. The theories of personal identity development ( Luyckx, Goossens, Soenens, & Beyers, 2006 ; Luyckx et al., 2008 ), career development ( Savickas, 2005 ), and goal developmental regulation ( Nurmi, 2004 ; Salmela-Aro, 2009 ) address the question of how people commit and engage in the changes faced during the transition from adolescence to adulthood, and particularly how they deal with educational and occupational transitions. We reviewed how each of these theories discusses both adaptive and maladaptive processes during the transition to adulthood, including such themes as the feeling of competent, exploring choices, crystallizing and making decision, forming certainty, managing transition, changing direction and rumination. We propose that these theories are in fact presenting different perspectives on the same developmental process of intentional engagement. Finally, suggestions for future research and intervention outcomes are discussed.

Neural activity patterns between different executive tasks are more similar in adulthood than in adolescence

BACKGROUND

Adolescence is a time of ongoing neural maturation and cognitive development, especially regarding executive functions. In the current study, age-related differences in the neural correlates of different executive functions were tracked by comparing three age groups consisting of adolescents and young adults.

METHODS

Brain activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) from 167 human participants (13- to 14-year-old middle adolescents, 16- to 17-year-old late adolescents and 20- to 24-year-old young adults; 80 female, 87 male) while they performed attention and working memory tasks. The tasks were designed to tap into four putative sub-processes of executive function: division of attention, inhibition of distractors, working memory, and attention switching.

RESULTS

Behaviorally, our results demonstrated superior task performance in older participants across all task types. When brain activity was examined, young adult participants demonstrated a greater degree of overlap between brain regions recruited by the different executive tasks than adolescent participants. Similarly, functional connectivity between frontoparietal cortical regions was less task specific in the young adult participants than in adolescent participants.

CONCLUSIONS

Together, these results demonstrate that the similarity between different executive processes in terms of both neural recruitment and functional connectivity increases with age from middle adolescence to early adulthood, possibly contributing to age-related behavioral improvements in executive functioning. These developmental changes in brain recruitment may reflect a more homogenous morphological organization between process-specific neural networks, increased reliance on a more domain-general network involved in executive processing, or developmental changes in cognitive strategy.

Gendered Pathways Toward STEM Careers: The Incremental Roles of Work Value Profiles Above Academic Task Values

Drawing on Eccles' expectancy-value model of achievement-related choices, we examined how work values predict individual and gender differences in sciences, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) participations in early adulthood (ages of 25/27, 6 or 8 years after postsecondary school), controlling for subjective task values attached to academic subjects in late adolescence (11th grade, age 18). The study examined 1,259 Finnish participants using a person-oriented approach. Results showed that: (a) we could identify four profile groups based on five core work values (society, family, monetary, career prospects, and working with people); (b) work-value profiles predicted young adults actual STEM participation in two fields: math-intensive and life science occupations above and beyond academic task values (e.g., math/science) and background information; (c) work-value profiles also differentiate between those who entered support- vs. professional-level STEM jobs; and (d) gender differences in work value profiles partially explained the differential representation of women across STEM sub-disciplines and the overall underrepresentation of women in STEM fields.

Partners of nulliparous women with severe fear of childbirth: A longitudinal study of psychological well-being

BACKGROUND

Little is known about the psychological status of partners of women with severe fear of childbirth (FOC). In this longitudinal study from Helsinki University Central Hospital, we investigated FOC, depression, and posttraumatic stress in the partners of women with severe FOC, and possible effects of group psychoeducation and mode of birth.

METHODS

During pregnancy, 250 partners of nulliparous women with severe FOC participated, 93 in the intervention group and 157 in the control group. At 3 months postpartum, 52 partners in the intervention group and 93 in the control group participated. Both the partners and the childbearing women filled in the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale mid-pregnancy as well as 3 months postpartum, when they also filled in the Traumatic Event Scale.

RESULTS

Partners of women with severe FOC reported less antenatal and postnatal FOC and fewer depressive symptoms than the childbearing women. No partner reached the threshold of severe FOC. No partner reported a possible posttraumatic stress disorder. Group psychoeducation with relaxation was not associated with better or worse psychological well-being of the partners. An emergency cesarean delivery was associated with a more fearful delivery experience in the partners.

CONCLUSION

Partners of nulliparous women with severe FOC neither seem to suffer from severe FOC nor reported posttraumatic stress symptoms after childbirth. They reported better psychological well-being than the mothers both during pregnancy and after delivery. An unexpected cesarean may be a negative experience even for partners of childbearing women.

Subjective financial situation and financial capability of young adults in Finland

A key developmental task in young adulthood is acquiring financial capability (Serido, Shim, & Tang, 2013), meaning competent financial management skills and the responsibilities that these involve. This study extends previous research on the theoretical model of the development of financial capability, including financial confidence (or financial self-efficacy) and financial behavior as factors contributing to subjective and financial well-being. It is part of the Finnish Educational Transitions Studies (FinEdu) longitudinal research project. Participants were 418 young adults aged 24–25 at Time 1 and 26–27 at Time 2. Path and mediation models and Structural Equation Modeling following a modified theoretical model of financial capability were estimated. The results support the theoretical model of financial capability among young adults in Finland. The study complements previous research by investigating the associations between subjective financial situation and financial capability and their respective mediation effects over time.

Depression and Violence in Adolescence and Young Adults: Findings From Three Longitudinal Cohorts

OBJECTIVE

Despite recent research demonstrating associations between violence and depression in adults, links in adolescents are uncertain. This study aims to assess the longitudinal associations between young people's depression and later violent outcomes.

METHOD

We used data from three cohorts with different measurements of depression exposures and subsequent violent outcomes. In a Dutch community cohort Research on Adolescent Development And Relationships (RADAR; N = 623) and a population-based British birth cohort Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; N = 4,030), we examined the longitudinal links between adolescent depressive symptoms and violent behaviors from age 13 to 17 years. In a total Finnish birth cohort (FBC 1987; N = 57,526), we estimated risk of violent convictions in individuals clinically diagnosed with depression from age 15 to 27 years.

RESULTS

During a mean follow-up period of 4 years, the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of violent behaviors per unit of increase in depressive symptoms was 1.7 (95% CI = 1.2-2.5) in the Dutch RADAR community sample and 1.8 (95% CI = 1.4-2.3) in the British ALSPAC birth cohort. In the FBC 1987 cohort, the aOR of violent convictions was 2.1 (95% CI = 1.7-2.7) among individuals with a depression diagnosis compared with general population controls without depression. All risk estimates were adjusted for family socioeconomic status and previous violence.

CONCLUSION

Consistent findings across three longitudinal studies suggest that clinical guidelines should consider recommending risk assessment for violence in young people with depression. The benefits of targeting risk management in subgroups by gender need further investigation.