This study explores whether social sensitivity influences children’s problem solving skills or learning after collaboration with a peer. Most research into the impact of collaborative problem solving on individual skills demonstrates that the problem solving skills an individual brings to the collaborative process are a key factor in predicting the presencelabsence of cognitive change. Only recently have other attributes and/or skills, such as social or interpersonal sensitivity, been considered within this framework. This study investigates whether interpersonal sensitivity contributes to differential outcomes in learning after collaborative problem solving. One hundred 8-year-old children participated in a pre-test/collaboration/post-test design study where four groups based on pre-test problem solving ability (high/low) and pre-test social sensitivity scores (high/low) were constructed for the collaborative problem solving task. Low ability/high sensitivity children showed pre- to post-test improvement in their problem solving when paired with high ability children. Social sensitivity only predicted final problem solving in high sensitivity children. Pre-test and collaborative problem solving levels predicted post-test problem solving for children classified as high problem solving/high sensitivity. Results are discussed in relation to how social sensitivity may differentially affect the problem solving skills of children with different patterns of ability.

One hundred and fifty-seven students (aged 15 to 19 years) enrolled in the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) program completed the Adolescent Coping Scale (ACS), and measures of school-related stress, attitudes to school and wellbeing. In general, VCAL students reported a positive attitude to school, high levels of wellbeing, low levels of school-related stress, and used a wide range of coping strategies. Gender differences and attitudinal differences were found in relation to coping strategies used, wellbeing, and stress. Discriminant analysis indicated that for females, low levels of school-related stress and frequent use of the ‘work hard’coping strategy significantly predicted a positive attitude to school, while for males high levels of wellbeing, and the frequent use of ‘work hard’, ‘focus on the positive’, and minimal use of ‘tension reduction’ predicted positive attitudes to school. The findings are discussed in light of current research and recommendations for interventions are proposed.

The present study aimed to investigate the relationships among bully victimisation and psychosocial health in terms of depression, anxiety, social problems, and perceived wellness. The study also endeavoured to evaluate the gender differences associated with each of these psychosociol variables across varying levels of victimisation. The sample consisted of 180 female and 198 male secondary school students, who each completed a questionnaire package containing scales measuring bully victimisation and psychosocial health. Results indicated that repeated victimisation was associated with heightened levels of depression and anxiety, a greater incidence of social problems, and poorer perceptions of wellbeing. However, being bullied had a greater impact on the perceived wellness of males when compared with females. The results also revealed that social problems may mediate the relationship between depression, perceived wellness, and level of victimisation. It was concluded that bully victimisation is associated with poorer psychosacial health in both male and female adolescents. However, future research should evaluate other potential mediating or moderating relationships between bully victimisation and psychosocial health.

The aim of this article is to describe the development of a short version of the Coping Scale for Children (CSC) for situations in which use of the full form is precluded by time constraints or the demands of other measures. Utilizing data from prior studies (e.g., jones & Frydenberg, 2004; Larkins & Frydenberg, 2004) a short form was constructed and the psychometric properties investigated with schoolchildren (N = 379) drawn from primary schools in Metropolitan Melbourne. Using Principal Components Analysis with Varimax rotation, two dimensions of coping (Adaptive Coping and Maladaptive Coping) were found to be both robust ond suitable for investigating styles of coping with stress in preadolescent children aged 10- to 12- years. In addition, this poper analysed associations between the resulting factors and self-esteem, as assessed by the Weinberger Adjustment Inventory (Weinberger, Feldman, & Ford, 1989). The CSCSF appears to have promising applications as a short measure of critical dimensions of coping in preadolescent children, with good psychometric properties.

The type of peer victimisation experienced is likely to influence the ways in which young people appraise and cope with school bullying. To examine this possibility, 269 adolescents (137 male, 132 female) aged between 12 and 17 years, completed a victimisation questionnaire, an adapted version of the Threat Appraisal Scale (TAS; Sandler, 1999) and the short-form of the Adolescent Coping Scale (Frydenberg & Lewis, 1996). Results indicated that there is an association between styles of coping and victimisation experiences, with physical and social bullying playing a part in the use of a Non-productive style of coping. Furthermore, the results indicated that there is also an association between threat appraisal and victimisation. Specifically, adolescents who reported greater threat appraisals reported more physical and social bullying.

The aim of the present study was to explore the potential relationship between affect related to female perception of male preference for the female thin ideal (“Sensitivity to Male Preference”) and female body image and self-esteem. Ninety-three, heterosexual, female undergraduate students (M = 19.78, SD = 2.66) completed a series of questionnaires which tapped Body Image Dissatisfaction, Body Image Discrepancy, Appearance Schema and Self-Worth. The “Female Perception of Male Preference Questionnaire” (devised specifically for the purpose of the present study) assessed Sensitivity to Male Preference. Results indicated that females who expressed greater negative affect in relation to their perception of male preference for the female thin ideal also showed higher levels of body image dissatisfaction, appearance schema, discrepancy (between their perceived current and ideal figures), and lower levels of self-worth. Findings suggest that female perception of male preference may be an important variable when considering factors that influence female body image and self-esteem, and thus warrant further attention in research.

School-based intervention programs to assist students process their grief over a death or loss have been implemented in schools, with few evaluations of such programs.This study set out to report on the evaluation of Seasons for Growth, which is an education program for young people who have experienced the loss of a parent or significant other through separation, divorce or death. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to determine the program’s effectiveness for helping students cope with loss. The evaluation involved a total of 186 students aged between 12 and 18 years from eight schools in Australia. Results indicated that the Seasons for Growth program assisted female students cope with loss, with a less pronounced effect on coping in male students. Factors that may have reduced the effectiveness of the program were identified.

Year 12 students are in a transitional year, academically and interpersonally. This year involves many changes and the need for students to make future plans, which can be a challenge for many adolescents. During times of transition, such as Year 12, expectations and beliefs about relationships and the relational self (i.e., attachment patterns) may undergo changes. Identifying attachment patterns among Australian Year 12 students was the first aim of this 6-month longitudinal study (N = 130, M age = 16.4). A second aim of this study was to determine correlates of attachment change and stability. These correlates included psychological symptoms, loneliness, rejection sensitivity, social competence, and social support. Using an adolescent version of Bartholomew and Horowitz’s (1991) Relationship Questionnaire, self-reported attachment style showed some change, with 36% of adolescents changing attachment style category during the study. Adolescents were classified into groups based on their attachment styles at the two assessments. Groups included adolescents who were stably insecure, stably insecure, changed to insecure and changed to insecure. When groups were compared, most hypothesised differences were found. First, stably insecure individuals had the most positive psychological functioning, and they had the most stable and positive perceptions of self and others when compared to other groups. Second, stably insecure adolescents were less well-adjusted than others. Third, the changed to insecure group showed improvements in functioning over time. However, it was not clear that adjustment had declined in the changed to insecure group.

This study utilised a mixed-methods approach to examine change for 27 self-selected female adolescents (aged 14-15) who received 11 sessions of coping skills education (Frydenberg & Brandon, 2002a; 2002b) at school in a small-group counselling context by a trainee psychologist. All sessions were tape-recorded and transcribed. Participants reported improvements in self-knowledge, knowledge of options for coping, attitude towards solving problems, differentiating threatening from non-threatening stressors and self-belief. Analysis of pre- and post-teacher questionnaires indicated that class misbehaviour for these students significantly reduced and academic engagement significantly increased. Analysis of students’ pre- and post-questionnaires for their main concern indicated significant reductions in Non-Productive coping. Participants were more likely to use coping strategies that they perceived to be helpful after taking part in this program. When it came to coping in general, students reported significant reductions in their use of Non-Productive coping and increases in both Productive and Reference to Others coping styles.

The quality of adolescent attachment with mothers, fathers, and peers, and the impact of these relationships on psychological health and self-esteem is examined in a sample of 615 high school students. Using an attachment theory perspective, it is argued that different attachment relationships have different affects on adjustment depending on age and gender. Results support the view that attachment develops in peer relationships before withdrawing from parental relationships in adolescence and that this process occurs at different ages and has different consequences for self-esteem and depression. Mother attachment had a greater impact on psychological adjustment for girls while father attachment had a greater impact for boys. It is concluded that while an attachment framework is useful for understanding developmental changes in relationship networks during adolescence, further individual difference and developmental factors may need to be considered.

This paper reports on three studies, which collectively demonstrate the benefits of a coping skills program, first for young people at risk for depression, then those with learning problems likely to suffer failure at school. In particular, the first study deals with the usefulness of the Best of Coping (BOC) program in a regular school setting for students at different levels of risk of developing depression. Studies two and three report the benefits of an adapted version of the BOC program (BOCM) for students who experience learning difficulties. Successful intervention with the BOCM was found to help low achieving students and students with learning difficulties develop productive coping skills, but also increased positive attitudes towards seeking help from others and decreasing dependence on Non-Productive coping strategies.

Three delivery modes (facilitated by a teacher alone, facilitated by a teacher and supported by psychologist and delivered by the psychologist only) and two formats (paper and pencil vs. computer) of a coping skills program were compared and assessed for outcomes. The sample of 222 Year 8 students was drawn from a large government school in metropolitan Melbourne. Results indicated that a significant change was present across time, independent of delivery model. Analyses showed that the delivery groups changed differently across time. A significant change was obtained for the coping style Reference to Others. Participants in the Supported Teacher and Computer-based groups increased their usage of the coping style Reference to Others, whereas the Teacher Facilitated group decreased the use of this style. A significant change was obtained between time and delivery group for the strategies seeking social support and seeking professional help. The Supported Teacher and Computed-based groups increased their use of these strategies, while the Teacher Facilitated group decreased. The results suggest that implementation support may have enhanced program effectiveness.