Latent Profile Analysis of Middle School Students' Adjustment: Associations With School Ecology

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 23
  In Roundtable Session: Identifying and Ameliorating Academic Risk of Failure for Adolescents in School

Abstract

This study investigated school adjustment patterns in relation to perceptions of school ecology for middle school students. Approximately 3,000 6th graders from 26 schools participated in this study. Teacher ratings of students’ academic competence, externalizing and internalizing problem behavior, affiliation, popularity and physical attractiveness were used to determine students’ configurations (i.e., patterns). Using latent profile analyses (LPA), distinct configurations of school adjustment risks including Model, Average, Tough, Passive and Troubled were classified for boys and girls, respectively. Students profiled with being multi-risks (i.e., Troubled, Passive) were more likely to perceive poor academic and bullying context. Implications to support school adjustment for students in distinct configurations are discussed.

Authors

• Chin-Chih Chen, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Thomas Farmer, University of Pittsburgh

• Jill V. Hamm, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

• Kate Norwalk, North Carolina State University