The objective of this study was to design an instrument to evaluate parental involvement in the education of their children, and, subsequently, to investigate the content validity of that instrument. The questions on the questionnaire have been written according to the dimensions that shape the construct of parental participation: parenting, learning supervision, communication, parental networks, and relationships with the community. Further, for the study of content validity, expert judgment has been used, and the Aiken V coefficient has been estimated. The results indicate a wide degree of agreement among the judges, showing evidence of content validity regarding the criteria of clarity, relevance, and sufficiency of the questions with Aiken V values that ranged between 0.73 and 1, with confidence intervals of 99 %. It was concluded that the instrument can be used successfully in the evaluation of parental involvement in education.

Studies have documented widespread academic disengagement in middle and high school students. This disengagement has been tied to a myriad of negative outcomes, including failure to graduate from high school and transition into college and meaningful vocations. Supporting adolescents in cultivating a sense of beyond-the-self purpose is one factor that may combat student disengagement. MPower is a program designed to cultivate beyond-the-self purpose in an effort to promote student engagement and completion of high school (Klein et al., 2019). In a recent quantitative study, MPower participants compared to controls demonstrated a higher GPA, BTS purpose, self-efficacy, and decreased performance approach and performance avoidance goal orientations. In the current qualitative descriptive study, 11th and 12th grade (N=25) students in the Northeastern region of the United States, described their experiences in the MPower program. Three themes associated with the transformative aspects of MPower emerged from focus group data: 1) practice in strategic goal planning, 2) engagement in mentoring relationships, and 3) increased social support within a community. Because fostering youth purpose engenders many promotive and protective factors, these findings hold important implications for implementing similar programs more widely.

This paper presents an investigation that aims to: 1) explore the relations between core symptoms of adult Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and several typical Internet activities, and 2) compare the predictive power of two core symptoms of ADHD- inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity- in predicting Internet addiction. Methods: A total of 2016 Chinese college students participated in this study. The ADHD symptoms were assessed using Conners self-rating scales and DSM-5 semi-structured interviews. Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (SCID-5) was used to exclude other psychiatric disorders. Chen’s Internet addiction scale (CIAS) was used to evaluate Internet addiction. Information about Internet activities (e.g., online gaming) was collected through a self-constructed questionnaire. Results: The ratio of Internet addiction problems among individuals with ADHD symptoms is significantly higher than in ordinary individuals (48.9% vs. 14.3%). Further, each core ADHD symptom has unique relations with different types of Internet activities. Specifically, both core ADHD symptoms are negatively associated with information downloading and online learning, and positively associated with online gaming, while online shopping is only associated with hyperactivity/impulsivity. Furthermore, both core ADHD symptoms are significant predictors of Internet addiction, especially inattention. Conclusion: College students with ADHD symptoms are at a higher risk of having Internet addiction than peers without ADHD symptoms. For individuals with ADHD symptoms and excessive online gaming and/or online shopping behaviors, the probability of having Internet addiction is even higher. These findings have important implications for identifying risk factors of Internet addiction and preventing Internet addiction in Higher Education settings.

This study was conducted to explore the five-factor structure of the Need for Closure scale on Indian samples using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Data were initially collected from 450 samples which were reduced to 235 cases later based on the lie score criteria of the Need for Closure Scale. To rule out the problems caused by all questionnaire items like low reliability and low communalities, parceling of the items (creating three parcels from each facet) was done before the multivariate analysis (EFA and CFA). In the results, EFA showed that the five-factor structure of the NFC scale explains 52% of the variance. The goodness of fit statistics in the CFA model met the criteria (χ2 = 190.153, GFI = 0.908, TLI = 0.855, CFI = 0.890, RMSEA = 0.077) for the reasonable fit of the single factor structure of the NFC construct. In conclusion, this study presented the good psychometric properties of the NFC scale. It can be used to assess the individual's need for closure in the wider contexts of Indian studies.

This study applied a person-oriented approach to differentiate middle school students’ academic achievement and psychological well-being. The profiles were identified according to their learning-related motivational beliefs (indicating how motivated they are to learn effectively) and the perceived effectiveness of learning strategies (about how students evaluate deep and surface learning strategies). Participants (N = 1356, Grade 8) completed three questionnaires assessing the motivational beliefs, perceived effectiveness of learning strategies, and psychological well-being. Reading comprehension score was used as an academic achievement measure. Four profiles were identified: high, average, low, and very low learning competence. Profiles differed most in valuing effective learning. Students who belonged to profiles with higher motivational beliefs and better knowledge of learning strategies were also more academically successful and rated their psychological well-being higher compared to students who belonged to profiles with lower motivation and firmer knowledge of learning strategies. To improve students' academic success and well-being, education systems should focus on teaching effective learning strategies as well as supporting motivational beliefs.