Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T17:13:46.994Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Longitudinal Antecedents of School Bonding in Adolescence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 December 2012

Gill Terrett ,
Meredith O'Connor ,
Mary T. Hawkins ,
Ann Sanson  and
Diana Smart
Gill Terrett*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Australian Catholic University, Australia
Meredith O'Connor
Affiliation:
Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Mary T. Hawkins
Affiliation:
Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Ann Sanson
Affiliation:
Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Diana Smart
Affiliation:
Australian Institute of Family Studies, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Gill Terrett, School of Psychology, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne Campus, Locked Bag 4115, Fitzroy, MDC VIC 3065, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

School bonding has been identified as a protective factor for a broad range of adolescent outcomes, and it is thus important to identify factors that foster positive relationships with school. The ecological perspective suggests the importance of both individual and contextual antecedents across developmental periods, yet previous research has tended to examine only a narrow selection of school bonding correlates. This study sought to identify longitudinal influences on school bonding, examining the role of both individual and contextual factors over childhood and early adolescence. We draw on data from 1,308 participants (51% female) in the Australian Temperament Project, a large representative Australian sample that has followed the psychosocial development of participants from infancy to adulthood, and thus provides a rare opportunity to address this gap in the literature. Path analysis was conducted to examine individual and contextual predictors of school bonding at 15–16 years. The individual characteristics of higher academic achievement and sociability, and lower hyperactivity predicted school bonding. Contextual factors also made a significant contribution, including the parent–child relationships and maternal education. The results indicate that both individual and contextual factors make unique contributions to school bonding in adolescence, suggesting a number of potential targets for intervention.

Keywords

school bondinglongitudinal analysisindividual characteristicscontextual factors
Type
Articles
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 29 , Issue 2 , December 2012 , pp. 107 - 128
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society Ltd 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abbott, R.D., O'Donnell, J., Hawkins, J.D., Hill, K.G., Kosterman, R., & Catalano, R. (1998). Changing teaching practices to promote achievement and bonding to school. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 68 (4), 542–552. doi:10.1037/h0080363CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ainley, J., Reed, R., & Miller, H. (1984). School organisation and the quality of schooling: A study of Victorian Government secondary schools. ACER Research Monograph, 29.Google Scholar
Ainley, J., & Sheret, M. (1992). Progress through high school: A study of senior secondary schooling in New South Wales. Melbourne, Australia: ACER.Google Scholar
Anderman, E.M. (2002). School effects on psychological outcomes during adolescence. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 795–809.Google Scholar
Angold, A., Costello, E.J., Messer, S. C., Pickles, A., Winder, F., & Silver, D. (1995). Development of a short questionnaire for use in epidemiological studies of depression in children and adolescents. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 5, 237–249.Google Scholar
Barry, M., & Reschly, A.L. (2012). Longitudinal predictors of high school completion. School Psychology Quarterly, 27 (2), 74.Google Scholar
Biederman, J., Faraone, S., Milberger, S., Guite, J., Mick, E., Chen, L., . . . Perrin, J. (1996). A prospective 4-year follow-up study of attention-deficit hyperactivity and related disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 53 (5), 437–446.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Birchwood, J., & Daley, D. (in press). Brief report: The impact of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms on academic performance in an adolescent community sample. Journal of Adolescence. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.08.011Google Scholar
Bond, L., Butler, H., Thomas, L., Carlin, J., Glover, S., Bowes, G., & Patton, G. (2007). Social and school connectedness in early secondary school as predictors of late teenage substance use, mental health, and academic outcomes. Journal of Adolescent Health, 40 (4), 357–357. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2006.10.013CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Attachment (Vol. 1). Harmondsworth, England: Penguin.Google Scholar
Bramlett, R.K., Scott, P., & Rowell, R. K. (2000). A Comparison of Temperament and Social Skills in Predicting Academic Performance in First Graders. Special Services in the Schools, 16 (1), 147–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. (2006). The bioecological model of human development. In Lerner, R. (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology (6th ed., Vol. 1, pp. 793–828). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Broom, L., Jones, F., & Zubrzycki, J. (1974). Opportunity and attainment in Australia. Canberra, Australia: ANU Press.Google Scholar
Brotherton, P., Kotler, T., & Hammond, S. (1979). Development of an Australian index of social class. Australian Psychologist, 14, 77–83.Google Scholar
Brown, B., & Larson, J. (2009). Peer relationships in adolescence. In Lerner, R. & Steinberg, L. (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (pp. 74–103). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Google Scholar
Bub, K.L., McCartney, K., & Willett, J.B. (2007). Behavior problem trajectories and first-grade cognitive ability and achievement skills: A latent growth curve analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99 (3), 653–670. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.99.3.653CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Byrne, B.M. (2005). Factor analytic models: Viewing the structure of an assessment instrument from three perspectives. Journal of Personality Assessment, 85 (1), 17–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Byrne, B.M. (2010). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming (2 ed.). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Cairns, R.B., & Cairns, B.D. (1984). Predicting aggressive patterns in girls and boys: A developmental study. Aggressive Behaviour, 11, 227–242.Google Scholar
Cassidy, J. (1994). Emotion regulation: Influences of attachment relationships. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59 (2/3), 228–249.Google Scholar
Catalano, R., Haggerty, K., Oesterle, S., Fleming, C., & Hawkins, J. (2004). The importance of bonding to school for healthy development: Findings from the Social Development Research Group. Journal of School Health, 74 (7), 252–261.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Catalano, R., & Hawkins, J.D. (1996). The social development model: A theory of antisocial behavior. In Hawkins, J.D. (Ed.), Delinquency and crime: Current theories (pp. 149–197). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. (2002). A developmental psychopathology perspective on adolescence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70, 6–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Curtis, W., & Cicchetti, D. (2003). Moving research on resilience into the 21st century: Theoretical and methodological considerations in examining the biological contributors to resilience. Development and Psychopathology, 15, 773–810.Google Scholar
Daley, D., & Birchwood, J. (2010). ADHD and academic performance: why does ADHD impact on academic performance and what can be done to support ADHD children in the classroom? Child: Care, Health and Development, 36 (4), 455–464. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2214.2009.01046.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DeMulder, E. K., Denham, S., Schmidt, M., & Mitchell, J. (2000). Q-sort assessment of attachment security during the preschool years: Links from home to school. Developmental Psychology, 36 (2), 274–282. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.36.2.274Google Scholar
Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Alison, H. P. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74 (1), 59–109.Google Scholar
Free, M.D. (1994). Religiosity, religious conservatism, bonds to school, and juvenile delinquency among three categories of drug users. Deviant Behavior, 15 (2), 151–170.Google Scholar
Furman, W., & Buhrmester, D. (1985). Children's perceptions of the personal relationships in their social networks. Developmental Psychology, 21 (6), 1016–1024. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.21.6.1016Google Scholar
Goodenow, C. (1993a). Classroom belonging among early adolescent students. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 13 (1), 21–43. doi:10.1177/0272431693013001002Google Scholar
Goodenow, C. (1993b). The psychological sense of school membership among adolescents: Scale development and educational correlates. Psychology in the Schools, 30 (1), 79–90. doi:10.1002/1520-6807(199301)30:1<79::aid-pits2310300113>3.0.co;2-xGoogle Scholar
Greenberg, M. (1987). The inventory of parent and peer attachment: Individual differences and their relationship to psychological well-being in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16, 427–454.Google Scholar
Gresham, F., & Elliot, S. (1990). Manual for the Social Skills Rating System. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.Google Scholar
Hair, J.F., Anderson, R.E., Tatham, R.L., & Black, W.C. (1995). Multivariate data analysis with readings. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Hale, W., Raaijmakers, Q., Muris, P., van Hoof, A., & Meeus, W. (2009). One factor or two parallel processes? Comorbidity and development of adolescent anxiety and depressive disorder symptoms. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 50, 1218–1226. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02115.xGoogle Scholar
Headley, C., & Campbell, M.A. (2011). Teachers’ recognition and referral of anxiety disorders in primary school children. Australian Journal of Educational & Developmental Psychology, 11, 78–90.Google Scholar
Henry, K., Stanley, L., Edwards, R., Harkabus, L., & Chapin, L. (2009). Individual and contextual effects of school adjustment on adolescent alcohol use. Prevention Science, 10 (3), 236–247. doi:10.1007/s11121-009-0124-2Google Scholar
Jenkins, P.H. (1997). School Delinquency and the School Social Bond. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 34 (3), 337–367. doi:10.1177/0022427897034003003Google Scholar
Jimerson, S., Campos, E., & Greif, J. (2003). Towards an understanding of definitions and measures of school engagement and related terms. The California School Psychologist, 8, 7–27.Google Scholar
Larson, R. (2000). Toward a psychology of positive youth development. American Psychologist, 55 (1), 173–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LeFever, G.B., Villers, M.S., Morrow, A.L., & Vaughn, E.S. (2002). Parental perceptions of adverse educational outcomes among children diagnosed and treated for ADHD: A call for improved school/provider collaboration. Psychology in the Schools, 39 (1), 63–71. doi:10.1002/pits.10000Google Scholar
Li, Y., & Lerner, R.M. (2011). Trajectories of school engagement during adolescence: Implications for grades, depression, delinquency, and substance use. Developmental Psychology, 47 (1), 233.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loukas, A., Ripperger-Suhler, K., & Horton, K. (2009). Examining temporal associations between school connectedness and early adolescent adjustment. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38 (6), 804–812. doi:10.1007/s10964-008-9312-9Google Scholar
Maddox, S., & Prinz, R. (2003). School bonding in children and adolescents: Conceptualization, assessment, and associated variables. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 6 (1), 31–49.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marsh, H.W., Barnes, J., Cairns, L., & Tidman, M. (1984). Self-Description Questionnaire: Age and sex effects in the structure and level of self-concept for pre-adolescent children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 940–956.Google Scholar
McClowry, S. (1995). The development of the school-age temperament inventory. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 41, 271–285.Google Scholar
McConnell, M., & Moss, E. (2011). Attachment across the life span: Factors that contribute to stability and change. Australian Journal of Educational & Developmental Psychology, 11, 60–77.Google Scholar
McNeely, C.A., Nonnemaker, J.M., & Blum, R.W. (2002). Promoting school connectedness: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Journal of School Health, 72 (4), 138–146. doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2002.tb06533.xGoogle Scholar
Mouton, S.G., Hawkins, J., McPherson, R.H., & Copley, J. (1996). School attachment: perspectives of low-attached high school students. Educational Psychology: An International Journal of Experimental Educational Psychology, 16 (3), 297–304.Google Scholar
Oelsner, J., Lippold, M.A., & Greenberg, M.T. (2011). Factors influencing the development of school bonding among middle school students. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 31, 463–487. doi:10.1177/0272431610366244Google Scholar
Podsakoff, P., MacKenzie, S., Podsakoff, N., & Lee, J. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88 (5), 879–903.Google Scholar
Prior, M., Sanson, A., Smart, D., & Oberklaid, F. (2000). Pathways from infancy to adolescence: Australian Temperament Project 1983–2000. Melbourne, Australia: Australian Institute of Family Studies.Google Scholar
Quay, H.C., & Peterson, D.R. (1987). Manual for the Revised Behaviour Problem Checklist. St Petersburg, FL: PAR Inc.Google Scholar
Reschly, A. L., & Christenson, S. L. (2012). Jingle, jangle, and conceptual haziness: Evolution and future directions of the engagement construct. Handbook of research on student engagement, 3–19.Google Scholar
Reyes, M.R., Brackett, M.A., Rivers, S.E., White, M., & Salovey, P. (2012). Classroom emotional climate, student engagement, and academic achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104 (3), 700.Google Scholar
Riala, K., Isohanni, I., Jokelainen, J., Jones, P.B., & Isohanni, M. (2003). The relationship between childhood family background and educational performance, with special reference to single-parent families: A longitudinal study. Social Psychology of Education, 6 (4), 349–365. doi:10.1023/a:1025608401292Google Scholar
Rothbart, M., & Bates, J. (2006). Temperament. In Eisenberg, N., Damon, W. & Lerner, R. (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology (6th ed., Vol. 3, pp. 99–166). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Rubin, K.H., Coplan, R.J., & Bowker, J.C. (2009). Social withdrawal in childhood. Annual Review of Psychology, 60 (1), 141–171. doi:doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163642Google Scholar
Ruschena, E., Prior, M., Sanson, A., & Smart, D. (2005). A longitudinal study of adolescent adjustment following family transitions. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 46, 353–363.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rutter, M., Tizard, J., & Whitmore, K. (1970). Education, health and behaviour. London: Longmans.Google Scholar
Sameroff, A. (2000). Developmental systems and psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 297–312.Google Scholar
Sanson, A., Hemphill, S., & Smart, D. (2004). Connections between temperament and social development: A review. Social Development, 13, 142–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanson, A., Smart, D., Prior, M., Oberklaid, F., & Pedlow, R. (1994). The structure of temperament from three to seven years: Age, sex and sociodemographic influences. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 40, 233–252.Google Scholar
Schneider, B., Tomada, G., Normand, S., Tonci, E., & de Domini, P. (2008). Social support as a predictor of school bonding and academic motivation following the transition to Italian middle school. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 25 (2), 287–310. doi:10.1177/0265407507087960Google Scholar
Schulenberg, J., Sameroff, A., & Cicchetti, D. (2004). The transition to adulthood as a critical juncture in the course of psychopathology and mental health. Development and Psychopathology, 16 (4), 799–806.Google Scholar
Shochet, I.M., Dadds, M.R., Ham, D., & Montague, R. (2006). School connectedness is an underemphasised parameter in adolescent mental health: Results of a community prediction study. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35, 170–179.Google Scholar
Simons-Morton, B.G., Crump, A.D., Haynie, D.L., & Saylor, K.E. (1999). Student–school bonding and adolescent problem behavior. Health Education Research, 14 (1), 99–107. doi:10.1093/her/14.1.99Google Scholar
Tabachnick, B., & Fidell, L. (2001). Using multivariate statistics (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.Google Scholar
Thomas, A., & Chess, S. (1977). Temperament and development. New York: Brunner/Mazel.Google Scholar
Waters, S., Cross, D., & Shaw, T. (2010). Does the nature of schools matter? An exploration of selected school ecology factors on adolescent perceptions of school connectedness. The British Journal Of Educational Psychology, 80, 381–402. doi:10.1348/000709909×484479Google Scholar
Wong, M.S., Mangelsdorf, S.C., Brown, G.L., Neff, C., & Schoppe-Sullivan, S.J. (2009). Parental beliefs, infant temperament, and marital quality: Associations with infant–mother and infant–father attachment. Journal of Family Psychology, 23 (6), 828.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed