Students' 2018 PISA reading self-concept: Identifying predictors and examining model generalizability for emergent bilinguals.

Decades of research have indicated that reading self-concept is an important predictor of reading achievement. During this period, the population of emergent bilinguals has continued to increase within United States' schools. However, the existing literature has tended to examine native English speakers' and emergent bilinguals' reading self-concept in the aggregate, thereby potentially obfuscating the unique pathways through which reading self-concept predicts reading achievement. Furthermore, due to the overreliance of native English speakers in samples relating to theory development, researchers attempting to examine predictors of reading achievement may a priori select variables that are more aligned with native English speakers' experiences. To address this issue, we adopted Elastic Net, which is a theoretically agnostic methodology and machine learning approach to variable selection to identify the proximal and distal predictors of reading self-concept for the entire population; in our study, participants from the United States who participated in PISA 2018 served as the baseline group to determine significant predictors of reading self-concept with the intent of identifying potential new directions for future researchers. Based on Elastic Net analysis, 20 variables at the student level, three variables at the teacher level, and 12 variables at the school level were identified as the most salient predictors of reading self-concept. We then utilized a multilevel modeling approach to test model generalizability of the identified predictors of reading self-concept for emergent bilinguals and native English speakers. We disaggregated and compared findings for both emergent bilinguals and native English speakers. Our results indicate that although some predictors were important for both groups (e.g., perceived information and communications technologies competence), other predictors were not (e.g., competitiveness). Suggestions for future directions and implications of the present study are examined.

Latent profile similarity of middle and high school youth risk and needs.

Research concerning school success and completion has grown increasingly complex with the number of proposed associated risk and needs domains. As the number of domains expands, various data analytical techniques have been employed to understand them, including the modeling of latent profiles, to better understand how risks and needs aggregate at the level of individual persons. Latent profile analysis helps identify individuals' subgroups based on salient combinations of characteristics. The present study used latent profile analysis and a systematic profile similarity approach to examine the profiles across middle and high school student cohorts. The study replicates the profiles of previous work with high school students and extends this to middle school students. We used two independent cohorts to replicate a 3-profile solution for middle and high school samples. Results supported a similar 3-profile solution for both samples, with minor discrepancies. Results are discussed with respect to the replication and extension of the 3-profile model and its application to efforts to improve outcomes for youth in both grade level cohorts.

Examining science and media literacy health communication messages to reduce intentions to use cannabis while pregnant.

OBJECTIVE: Although use of cannabis during pregnancy can be detrimental to the fetus, use of cannabis during pregnancy has increased. Pregnant people are often exposed to incorrect information about cannabis use during pregnancy online and have expressed a desire for additional information about the effects of using cannabis while pregnant. We wanted to design and test a brief intervention promoting media literacy and science literacy and assess whether exposure would reduce intentions to use cannabis during pregnancy. METHOD: We created two sets of messages, one with a focus on increasing media literacy and another on increasing science literacy. Messages were either presented in a narrative/story or nonnarrative formats. Participants who identified as female, aged 18-40, were recruited online via a Qualtrics panel to participate in the online experiment. We used multigroup structural equation modeling (SEM) to model the relationships across message groups. RESULTS: Results suggested that increased awareness about potential harms of Tetrahydrocannabinol to the fetus was associated with intentions to reduce cannabis use while pregnant in the science literacy conditions for both message types (science narrative b = .389, p = .003; science nonnarrative b = .410, p ≤ .001). Increased media literacy for source was associated with intentions to reduce cannabis use during pregnancy in the media literacy nonnarrative group (b = .319, p = .021) but was not significant for the media literacy narrative condition. CONCLUSIONS: Messages focused on both media literacy and science literacy may be of value to pregnant people who use cannabis, with science literacy likely having a more direct effect. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Assessment of the Risks and Needs of Middle School Students: Invariance Properties Related to Gender and Ethnicity.

The middle school version of the Washington Assessment of Risks and Needs of Students (msWARNS) is a self-report instrument designed for use by school personnel to identify barriers to school attendance and school success for sixth- to eighth-grade students. It measures six domains relevant to improving school outcomes that include aggression-defiance, depression-anxiety, substance use, peer deviance, home environment, and school engagement. In the present study, a bifactor S - 1 model, for which the aggression-defiance domain was the reference factor for the general factor and the other domains constituted the subfactors, had good fit and better fit than several other alternative models. Results of multigroup confirmatory factor analysis revealed invariance across different groups defined by gender and race/ethnicity (Native American, African American, Hispanic, and White), with a sample of referred middle school students (N = 2,356; ages 10-15 years). Reliability analyses support the use of the general factor to guide decision-making, the reliable use of the depression-anxiety factor for providing additional insights, and the remaining factors for guiding communication, as part of an assessment and intervention program for middle school students.

How Media Literacy, Trust of Experts and Flu Vaccine Behaviors Associated with COVID-19 Vaccine Intentions.

PURPOSE: To assess how previous experiences and new information contributed to COVID-19 vaccine intentions. DESIGN: Online survey (N = 1264) with quality checks. SETTING: Cross-sectional U.S. survey fielded June 22-July 18, 2020. SAMPLE: U.S. residents 18+; quotas reflecting U.S. Census, limited to English speakers participating in internet panels. MEASURES: Media literacy for news content and sources, COVID-19 knowledge; perceived usefulness of health experts; if received flu vaccine in past 12 months; vaccine willingness scale; demographics. ANALYSIS: Structural equation modelling. RESULTS: Perceived usefulness of health experts (b = .422, P < .001) and media literacy (b = .162, P < .003) predicted most variance in vaccine intentions (R-squared=31.5%). A significant interaction (b = .163, P < .001) between knowledge (b = -.132, P = .052) and getting flu shot (b = .185, P < .001) predicted additional 3.5% of the variance in future vaccine intentions. An increase in knowledge of COVID-19 associated with a decrease in vaccine intention among those declining the flu shot. CONCLUSION: The interaction result suggests COVID-19 knowledge had a positive association with vaccine intention for flu shot recipients but a counter-productive association for those declining it. Media literacy and trust in health experts provided strong counterbalancing influences. Survey-based findings are correlational; thus, predictions are based on theory. Future research should study these relationships with panel data or experimental designs.

New Directions in L2 Self-efficacy Research: Comparing Bifactor and Second-Order Models in the English Public Speaking Domain.

Reflecting an alternative model comparison framework and grounded in Bandura's self-efficacy theory and in western and Chinese English Public Speaking (EPS) competences literature, we examine the possibility of a hierarchical structure of the EPS self-efficacy construct. In particular, we contrast an established first-order model of the EPS self-efficacy with two higher-order rival models, testing for subordinate (second-order model) versus nested (bifactor model) relationships in a sample of 203 Chinese EFL college students. From a theoretical perspective, the results supported the bifactor model as a strong conceptual foundation for understanding the EPS self-efficacy construct as nested. From a practical perspective, this conceptualization would allow for gauging EPS self-efficacy development both holistically and by subdomains. From a research methodology perspective, this study is among the first to bring the bifactor model into the broader field of L2 research. Other implications are discussed.

Youth Perspectives on the Effects of a Family-centered Media Literacy Intervention to Encourage Healthier Eating.

A pretest-posttest field test with control group (N = 189 parent-child dyads) tested a structural model representing youths' (ages 9-14) perspectives to examine the efficacy of a family-centered, media literacy-oriented intervention promoting fruit and vegetable consumption. The intervention facilitated critical discussion about nutrition and media, mentored by the parent. Results showed that youths' increases in fruit and vegetable consumption flowed from parent-child discussion of nutrition labels, which was predicted by child-initiated discussion, critical thinking about media sources, and critical thinking about media content. Multivariate analyses revealed that the intervention was productive for all participating age groups and for all dependent variables. The results suggest that a developmental progression from critical thinking about source to critical thinking about content affects behavior change and can be catalyzed through media literacy education and encouragement to discuss media messages (i.e. practice) with parents.

How Media Literacy and Science Media Literacy Predicted the Adoption of Protective Behaviors Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Individuals must navigate complex media environments filled with frequently changing and varyingly credible information to acquire and apply health information during times of uncertainty and danger. A process model tested in two U.S. national surveys in spring (N = 1220) and summer (N = 1264) of 2020 tested how three media literacy constructs (about sources, content, and science information) predicted the adoption of behaviors protective for COVID-19. Results showed that the three media literacy constructs were mediated by knowledge of COVID-19 (wave 1 TE = 0.190; wave 2 TE = 0.190) and expectancies (wave 1 TE = 0.496; wave 2 TE = 0.613). The model was confirmed as largely consistent across the two waves of data collection with independent samples. Results show the importance of expectancies for mediating the effects of media literacy, efficacy, and knowledge on behavior. The study suggests that media literacy and science media literacy skills aid health behavior adoption by contributing to knowledge gain and expectancies.

Effects of Family-Centered Media Literacy Training on Family Nutrition Outcomes.

Parents frustrated about food marketing influences need media management skills to challenge marketing messages and interpret factual content. We tested a media literacy-based, family-centered intervention to reduce effects of appealing, but unrealistic, food marketing. We hypothesized that participation would facilitate family discussion that improves the home dietary environment and increases youth consumption of fruits and vegetables. Parent-child (age 9-14) dyads (N = 189) participated in a matched-group, pretest/posttest field experiment testing a 6-week media literacy-based curriculum. Hypothesis testing employed multiple analysis of covariance and Bayesian multigroup structural equation modeling (MGSEM). Improved nutrition outcomes for parents included talk with youth about food nutrition labels (d = 0.343) and ratio of healthy to unhealthy food in home (d = 0.232); youth improved talk with parent about food nutrition labels (d = 0.211), vegetables eaten yesterday (d = 0.264), and fruit eaten yesterday (d = 1.386). Bayesian MGSEM revealed that in the intervention group, 12 of 17 tested paths were significant (p < .05), compared with only 4 in the control group, with average effect size magnitudes of 0.236 and 0.113, respectively. Media literacy education can empower parents and improve youths' critical thinking to reduce negative effects of food marketing on families and improve use of media to obtain nutrition information that aids dietary choices. This approach reduces the risk for reactance from youth who like media and resist limiting media use, while helping families use media together to make better nutrition decisions.

The Effects of a Nutrition Media Literacy Intervention on Parents' and Youths' Communication about Food.

Interventions addressing links between media exposure and obesity risk for school-age youth have not explicitly addressed the role of family communication about media. Youths' influence attempts on parents to purchase advertised foods can create conflict and negatively affect parental food choices. This study tested whether a family-based media literacy curriculum improves parents' media management skills and decreases youths' susceptibility to appealing but unrealistic food marketing. A matched-group pretest/posttest field experiment of parent-youth dyads with control group (N = 100 dyads, youth M = 11 years of age) tested the six-session curriculum. Hypotheses were analyzed using a Bayesian structural equation model. The curriculum increased parents' active negative mediation to foster youths' critical thinking about food marketing, b* = 0.35, 95% CCI [0.17, 0.50], increased parent Efficacy for making healthy dietary changes for their families, b* = 0.59, 95% CCI [0.41, 0.75], and fostered family discussion about nutrition labels (total effect = 0.22). Additionally, cumulative influences of Perceived Desirability and Wishful Identification on youths' requests for marketed foods were reduced (total effect = 0.04). Media literacy education can empower parents and improve youths' critical thinking to reduce effects of food marketing on families and improve use of media to obtain nutrition information.

An Exploration of the Associations of Alcohol-Related Social Media Use and Message Interpretation Outcomes to Problem Drinking Among College Students.

College students' use of digital communication technology has led to a rapid expansion of digital alcohol marketing efforts. Two surveys (total usable n = 637) were conducted to explore college students' experiences with alcohol-related social media, their decision making related to alcohol use, and their problematic drinking behaviors. Study results indicated that students' use of alcohol-related social media predicted their problem drinking behaviors. In addition, students' wishful identification, perceived desirability, perceived similarity, and normative beliefs predicted their expectancies for drinking alcohol. Finally, students' expectancies for drinking alcohol predicted their problematic drinking behaviors.

Examining How Media Literacy and Personality Factors Predict Skepticism Toward Alcohol Advertising.

To examine the potential effectiveness of media literacy education in the context of well-established personality factors, a survey of 472 young adults, focused on the issue of alcohol marketing messages, examined how individual differences in personality associate with constructs representing aspects of media literacy. The results showed that need for cognition predicted social expectancies and wishful identification with media portrayals in alcohol advertising only through critical thinking about media sources and media content, which are foci of media literacy education. Need for affect did not associate with increased or diminished levels of critical thinking. Critical thinking about sources and messages affected skepticism, represented by expectancies through wishful identification, consistent with the message interpretation process model. The results support the view that critical thinking about media sources is an important precursor to critical thinking about media messages. The results also suggest that critical thinking about media (i.e., media literacy) reflects more than personality characteristics and can affect wishful identification with role models observed in media, which appears to be a key influence on decision making. This adds support to the view that media literacy education can improve decision making across personality types regarding alcohol use by decreasing the potential influence of alcohol marketing messages.

The relationships of information efficacy and media literacy skills to knowledge and self-efficacy for health-related decision making.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the extent to which information efficacy (confidence for acquiring useful information) and media literacy skills predict knowledge and self-efficacy for preventing or treating the health threat of influenza. PARTICIPANTS: A random-sample survey of 1,379 residential students enrolled at a northwestern public university was conducted in fall 2009. METHODS: Students accessed an Internet survey through a link provided in an e-mail. RESULTS: Students who self-diagnosed correctly demonstrated higher levels of media literacy skills than those who self-diagnosed incorrectly. Among those who self-diagnosed incorrectly, the only predictor of knowledge was accessibility of information sources; low accessibility was associated with reduced knowledge. Information efficacy predicted self-efficacy for both groups. CONCLUSIONS: The results illustrate the limitations of information efficacy in the absence of media literacy skills. To decrease health risks, college health practitioners should promote media literacy while also ensuring easy access to high-quality information.