Jill Sharkey

Erika Felix (E-mail: efelix@education.ucsb.edu), Michael Furlong (E-mail: mfurlong@ education.ucsb.edu), and Jill Sharkey (E-mail: jsharkey@education.ucsb.edu) are affili-ated with the Department of Counseling, Clinical and School Psychology, Center for School-...

Civic engagement, defined as involvement in
community life, is influenced by reciprocal relationships
between individuals and contexts and is a key factor that
contributes to positive youth development. The present
study evaluates a theoretical model linking perceived
democratic school climate with adolescent civic engagement
(operationalized as civic responsibility and intentions
for future participation), taking into account the mediating
role of civic discussions and perceived fairness at school.
Participants were 403 adolescents (47.9 % male) ranging in
age from 11 to 15 years old (mean age = 13.6). Path
analysis results partially validated the proposed theoretical
model. Higher levels of democratic school climate were
associated with higher levels of adolescent civic responsibility;
the association was fully mediated by civic discussions
and perceived fairness at school. Adolescents’ civic
responsibility, then, was positively associated with a
stronger intention to participate in the civic domain in the
future.

ABSTRACT This chapter discusses two primary methods of behavioral assessment: observations and rating scales. The popularity of these behavioral assessment techniques is on the rise, and information is provided to clinicians and clinicians-in-training on the basic tenets of behavioral observations and rating scales. Specifically, the advantages and limitations of behavioral observations and rating scales, key considerations when preparing for and conducting an observation or collecting behavioral rating scales, measurement issues, information on frequently utilized tools, and recommendations for practice are provided. The chapter concludes with possible future directions for the use of behavioral observations and rating scales.

This study addressed a need for research on the association between adopting or denying the label of bully victim and students' psychosocial functioning. Participants were 1,063 students in Grades 5, 7, and 9 in a school district in the northeastern United States. Students were grouped based on their pattern of responses to (a) the California Bully Victimization Scale (Felix et al., 2011), which does not use the term "bully," but includes behavioral items assessing frequency of peer victimization and whether or not that victimization involved any perceived power disadvantage, and (b) the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (Solberg & Olweus, 2003; Solberg, Olweus, & Endresen, 2007), which queries self-identification as a bully victim. We compared groups using a series of planned comparisons with ANOVA on self-reported emotional distress and withdrawal, behavioral reactivity and conduct problems, and prosocial behavior and peer competence, as measured by the Strengths and...

Youth gang involvement is a serious public health challenge as adolescents involved in gangs are more likely than others to engage
in violence and aggression. To better understand gang involvement, we examined the role of protective (empathy and parental
support) and risk (peer deviance and lack of safety at school) factors, as well as their interactions, in predicting adolescent gang
affiliation. The study involved a sample of 26,232 students (53.4% females; mean age¼14.62, SD¼1.69) participating in the
California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS), a survey investigating a wide range of youth health and risk behaviors administered in
all California schools every 2 years. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), findings indicated that high levels of empathy and
parental support were associated with a lower likelihood of affiliating with a gang. Associating with deviant peers and perceiving
the school as unsafe were positively correlated with gang membership. At the school level, lack of safety and type of school (special
education, vocational, or alternative school vs. comprehensive schools) were associated with greater probability of gang
membership. Empathy mitigated the association between deviant peers and gang membership.