A modified version of the conservation of Resources Evaluation (CORE) developed to measure adult resources to cope with stress was applied to young people. In this exploration of the relationship between the resources identified by young people and their coping styles, a sample of 172 secondary students completed the modified version of the Conservation of Resources Evaluation (CORE) and the long version of the Adolescent Coping Scale, focussed on a specific concern (ACS). The modified instrument was validated in the study, and a relationship was found between the degree to which students held the resources under consideration and the coping styles they used. Young people high in resources tended to use productive ACS strategies, while those young people with fewer resources report using fewer and more nonproductive ACS strategies. A resources approach to young people's adaptation to their circumstances has educational and therapeutic implications.

For children experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties, parents are key gatekeepers to treatment access. However, despite the substantial prevalence of child mental health problems in Australia, there remains a significant disparity between the rate of children requiring treatment and the rate of parents actively seeking professional help for their child. Therefore, an understanding of factors impacting on parents’ help-seeking behaviour is crucial. The current study presents exploratory research examining the impact of parent beliefs on help-seeking behaviour. Specifically, this study aims to explore parent beliefs about (a) barriers to help-seeking (b) parenting ability, and (c) the causes and nature of child difficulties. Participants in this study were a sample of 399 Australian parents of children aged from 4 to 14 years, with each parent completing a series of four structured questionnaires. Results indicated that parents who had not sought help for their child perceived significantly more barriers to help seeking and held significantly stronger beliefs that child emotional and behavioural difficulties are intentional. Results also indicated that as parents’ sense of competence increased, perceived barriers to help seeking decreased. Perceived barriers to help seeking also decreased as parent beliefs that child difficulties are stable decreased. The present study presents several implications for informing effective engagement strategies to improve service utilisation, highlighting directions for future hypothesis-driven research.

This study explored how social exclusion predicted adolescent wellbeing via stress, academic self-efficacy, and school satisfaction. Data were collected from 328 adolescents in Turkey. Mediation analyses revealed that the negative effects of social exclusion on wellbeing were partially mediated by stress, academic self-efficacy, and school satisfaction. Given its important role in students’ social, academic, and psychological development, researchers and practitioners may need to give more attention to social exclusion as a key risk factor for decreased wellbeing.

Instruction in regular letter-sound relationships is a key element of teaching children to read. However, in the English language, many words have irregular spellings (e.g. said, are, yacht). What is the best way to help children learn to read these words? To date, a number of different viewpoints have been put forward, but these viewpoints are seldom directly compared, and there is very little empirical evidence to adjudicate between them. Therefore, in this review, we outline the theoretical arguments for and against different methods of instruction, and synthesise the empirical research that does exist. We make recommendations for practice, and outline key areas where further evidence is required.

This article explores the ‘reading wars’ from the perspective of instructional psychology, which focuses on the environmental and instructional factors that facilitate students’ progress in learning to read. It draws on research (computational analysis and classroom-based experimental studies) to inform a novel intervention that teaches reading through systematic synthetic phonics and real books, rather than the more traditional phonically decodable reading schemes. The article discusses: (1) the criteria that inform curriculum design, (2) the instructional principles that underpin effective teaching, (3) teaching methodology, (4) an instructional analysis that explains why students are perceived to have difficulties in learning to read, and (5) the implications of instructional psychology for educational psychologists.

The role of affective and cognitive factors in learning have long been recognised as imperative determinants of the learning process. Maladaptive styles with which we perceive and explain accomplishments and failures in achievement outcomes have an important motivational impact upon approach and avoidance behaviours towards academic tasks. Interventions to change these maladaptive styles are well established, although they stand to gain via addition of cognitive behavioural therapy components. A pilot study attribution retraining intervention was implemented with eight secondary school students, and their results on academic performance, self-concept, and attributional styles were compared to a control group. With significant gains in some specific academic domains, the attributional retraining program is being substantiated for effective use within secondary schools. Implications suggest that this could be an effective tool to retrain students’ attributions, with some gains, as the reattribution technique is revisited and reinvigorated.

Research highlights the importance of designing primary school classroom environments that promote self-regulated learning (SRL). Teachers play a crucial part as learning process facilitators in the development of pupils’ self-regulated learning competence and skills. The aim of this study was to explore teachers’ actions towards the development of self-regulated learning practices in primary school. The results of a survey of 399 primary school teachers in Brussels and the surrounding area (Belgium, Europe) are presented. Findings appeared to be consistent with theoretical assumptions about the development of self-regulated learning suggesting that teachers gradually introduce SRL over primary school grades. When comparing both groups of teachers scoring high and low in stimulating pupils’ self-regulated learning, similar patterns of SRL encouragement were recorded. Furthermore, teachers were found to promote self-regulated learning as a total concept with a comparable emphasis on all phases of the self-regulated learning process. The adjustment of the teaching environment was found to be similar in all grades and for both high and low self-regulated learning practices.

Over 1500 high school students responded to 54 items from Patterson and McCubbin's (1987) Adolescent Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences (A-COPE), which measures adolescent coping behaviours. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to test and modify a model developed from an extensive literature review. The Adolescent Coping Strategies Scale (ACSS) emerged from the revalidation process and measures 10 first order coping strategies and three second or higher order factors. For researchers focussing on the use of coping mechanisms among adolescents, the ACSS promises to be a very usefil instrument. It has sound construct validity and good reliability, as demonstrated by goodness-of-fit indices and squared multiple correlations.

This study examined the effects of a school-based cognitive-behavioural group intervention for anxiety in young children, Get Lost Mr Scary, on child self-reported anxiety and coping skills. Participants included 65 children (Mage = 6.50 years, SDage = 0.75) drawn from 13 public primary schools located in Western Sydney, Australia. The children participated in seven weekly 1-hour Get Lost Mr Scary sessions, and their parents attended three information sessions. The pictorial semistructured Child Anxiety and Coping Interview (CACI) was used to elicit the children's self-report of their anxiety symptoms, emotions, coping strategies, and coping efficacy before and after the 7-week intervention. Although children rated their maladaptive coping strategies as helpful, the postintervention results indicated a significant decrease in the use of maladaptive strategies such as behavioural avoidance and an increase in adaptive cognitive strategies, particularly cognitive restructuring. Consistent with parent and teacher reports, child self-reports indicated a significant reduction in anxiety and negative emotional distress. The clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

The concept of the best interests of the child pervades legislation to do with children and guidelines for psychological assessment. In this paper, we critically evaluate the way that courts and psychologists employ this concept of the best interests of the child. Difficulties in operationalising the concept are explored. Cultural biases are identified. Procedures to minimise individual and cultural biases and to make the process more transparent are proposed.

This study investigated subgroup and task specificity of self-paced timing in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Self-paced tempo (intertap interval) and timing stability (coefficient of variation) were measured in three repetitive tasks—hand tapping, foot tapping, and jumping in place—in 37 children aged 6 to 9 years classified into gross motor impaired (GM), fine and gross motor impaired (F&G), or coordinated control (CC) groups. Results showed that, although tempo did not vary between coordination groups, timing stability for the hand was significantly worse for the F&G motor impaired group (p < .05). Discriminant function analysis correctly classified 75% of CC, 67% of F&G, and 67% of GM children. Although timing inconsistency of hand tapping identified a coordination subgroup, these tasks provide only moderate prediction of group membership.

This research examined the interactions between friendship patterns, school achievement, coping skills, self-concept and the classroom learning environment for 182 early adolescents, mean age 13 years 5 months (47.25% male). Participants completed the Friendship Nomination Form. The second phase of data collection focused on adolescents with high or low friendship ratings, who then completed four social and two academic measures. The social measures were: (1) Friendship Quality Scale (FQS; Bukowski, Hoza, & Boivin, 1994), (2) Self-Description Questionnaire II–Short Form (Marsh, 1990), (3) Coping Strategy Indicator–Short Form (CSI-S; Amirkhan, 1990) and (4) What is Happening in this Classroom Scale (WIHIC; Fraser, Fisher, & McRobbie, 1996). Adolescents with more friends reported more companionship and help from friends. Those with fewer friends perceived their classroom to be less cohesive and less cooperative. Females reported more closeness and friendship commitment than males. Friendship patterns had a significant influence on students' English achievement but not their mathematics achievement. The implications of the findings for school professional are discussed.

In New South Wales, Australia, the Child Personal Health Record (CPHR, aka ‘The Blue Book’, which includes notes on health and development) is proclaimed as an important document with widespread use throughout the state. Despite the significance of the record, there are few published evaluations of the efficacy of the CPHR. Parental use and views of the CPHR were examined using a two-phase, mixed-method design. One hundred and twenty mothers completed an online questionnaire, which included questions on demographics, use and views of the CPHR and child care experience. Six of these mothers participated in a follow-up interview. Perceived value of the CPHR was at its highest when the child was younger and if the child was first-born. The CPHR is used by medical professionals, yet broadening its use may increase efficiency of information transfer and promote parent understanding of developmental records, especially on growth indicators such as head circumference, which are not well understood. Implications for CPHRs as an empowering tool for families are considered.

The last five years in Australia have been marked by an explosion in the diagnosis and treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The use of stimulant medication for ADHD has increased exponentially across all states, raising questions about the appropriate role of drug treatment and its relationship to other therapies in these children. Despite widespread consensus that multimodal therapy is the preferred option for intervention, many treatments advocated for ADHD lack scientific evidence to support their use. Because no two children with ADHD or their families are the same, an individualised approach to management is advocated that targets both the primary symptoms of the disorder, its cornorbid pathology, and the secondary problems that have developed. Evidence indicates that stimulant medication used in conjunction with parent training, family support, and school based behaviour modification offers the best prospects for improving the disturbing long-term prognosis in these children.

There is a myriad of research that demonstrates the links between experiences of trauma and emotional and behavioural issues in children and adolescents. Evidence is now emerging that highlights that schools are a critical system to deliver support and interventions to address childhood trauma. The ReLATE trauma-informed model uses schoolwide trauma specific interventions to support students who require high levels of adjustment in education. The ReLATE trauma-informed model was evaluated as a 12-month intervention at a specialist school for emotional and behavioural difficulties. The intervention led to beneficial adjustment in various emotional and behavioural outcome domains. Significant reductions were found for parent-reported conduct problems, peer problems and total difficulties. The intervention displayed large effect sizes over the 12-month period. New students to the school demonstrated more positive adjustment. Existing students demonstrated nonsignificant positive adjustment. A reliable change was found for Global Impact, which indicated the benefits that occurred from the intervention generalised into homelife, friendships, learning and leisure activities. While previous literature has focused on teacher-observed adjustments, this study provides a parent perspective of student adjustment. This study also provides clarity around trauma-training and discusses the role that psychologists can play as consultants when implementing trauma-informed practice models in schools.

This article describes a Response to Intervention (RTI) model of early identification and intervention to prevent reading failure. A simple screening system to alert teachers to children who may not have some of the prerequisite skills necessary for reading and a whole class intervention system will be described. The success of these initiatives was measured systematically, and the incidence of reading difficulties was reduced to 1.5% in the children who had English as a first language and in children who had English as an additional language. The article also examines the relative influence of students’ first language on learning to read in English and the benefits of bilingualism.

In Australia, policies such as the Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care initiative have been the impetus for improved collaboration between medical practitioners and psychologists in general. However, policies that promote collaboration between school psychologists and community mental health, health, justice and/or human services professionals are yet to occur. This is despite known benefits arising from integrated service delivery to people with complex needs, including young people. School psychologists are an integral part of the service mix and are in an excellent position to promote collaborative practices and to assist students and families to navigate and access school-based and community-based support. This study, conducted in Queensland, Australia, investigated school psychologists’, guidance officers’ and school counsellors’ current and preferred levels of collaboration, their perceptions of the drivers and barriers to collaborative practices, and their views on how collaborative practices affect students. Results revealed that participants engaged more fully in within-school collaboration than collaboration with professionals and agencies outside of the school; they had a desire to collaborate more fully both internally and externally; and that concerns regarding confidentiality, time restrictions, and lack of access to appropriate services can sometimes make collaboration and information sharing difficult. Implications for school psychological practice are discussed.

This paper on the coping actions of Australian adolescents reporls on research spanning a 5-year period. The central indicator of coping in this work is the Adolescent Coping Scale (ACS), an 80-item checklist that identifies 18 coping strategies commonly used by adolescents. There are clear indications that age, gender, and family of origin are concomitants of coping. Furthermore, coping varies according to adolescent perceptions of the self, perception of the adolescent's ability by others, family climate, and the experience of stress in the family. Positive family climate is generally associated with the use of functional styles of coping. Adolescents who are identified as highly able or gifted use a different coping repertoire in comparison to their nongifted peers. Young people in intact or separated households use similar strategies to manage their general concerns. Moreover, those dealing with separation of parents were generally as adaptive in their use of coping strategies.

College athletes across north America are often known on their respective college campuses for their athleticism, and spend a considerable amount of hours weekly engaging in their respective sport through practices, meetings, travelling and meals, to name a few. It is no wonder it is difficult for these students to feel fully engaged and connected on university campuses as students. Female college athletes in particular, who often are not athletes in revenue-generating sports, often feel left behind as students and isolated as athletes. The purpose of the current study was to examine female collegiate athletes’ experience with belonging in a university setting. This qualitative inquiry utilised consensual qualitative research to explore 14 female student athletes’ experience of belonging on a university campus. The results of the data analysis yielded the following domains or themes: athletic team culture, athletic department culture, campus support and involvement, female athlete identity, and individual athlete experience. The most salient finding was that these female athletes suggested that their sense of belonging on campus was almost exclusively related to their experience as an athlete and their athletic team.

Dynamic assessment is increasingly being used by educational psychologists around the world and is largely seen as a valuable approach to assessing children and providing useful classroom suggestions to help teachers working with children who have learning difficulties. However, a common complaint about the approach is the difficulty in moving from theory to practice, and in particular how to feedback the results of a dynamic assessment to teaching staff, parents, and children in order to provide an effective programme of intervention. This article provides some background to a practical resource created by two practising educational psychologists who have developed a framework on how to put dynamic assessment into practice that has the potential to make meaningful gains in children's learning.