Abstracts - Earli

Evolution of five types of stress chronicity profils: an exploratory studyMichelle Dumont, Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres, CanadaDanielle Leclerc, Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres, CanadaSuzie McKinnon, Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres, CanadaThe study of the relationship between stress, psychosocial adaptability and academic achievementin adolescents is a research area that is rapidly developing. Yet, few studies analyze the individualdifferences existing in the way adolescents experience stress. In order to compensate for this lackof information, this study examines the changes observed over time in the personal resources,academic achievement and psychosocial adaptability of five groups of students while their stresslevel was stable (low, average or high), increased or decreased between the 9th and 11th grade.The first results indicate that the higher stress level group is made up of mostly girls fromsecondary three (grade 9) and secondary five whereas the lower stress level group is mostly madeup of boys. The results regarding the longitudinal participants show that the best trajectory towardsacademic achievement, the development of positive personal resources and psychosocialadaptability is associated to the group of students whose stress levels decreased between themiddle and the end of high school (increase in general academic achievement, self-esteem andautonomy; decrease in interiorized disorders). However, the worst trajectory was taken by thegroup of students whose stress level increased during that same period of time (decrease in Frenchmarks (mother-tongue language); increase in the use of unproductive or social coping strategies;intensification of interiorized disorders). These results suggest that it is necessary to developpractical intervention tools in order to avoid the development of stress or even worse that itintensifies during adolescence.Violence in schools: What does game theory have to say about hitting back among children withbehavioral disturbances?Amos Fleischmann, Achva Coll. of Education, IsraelThe level of violence in schools is still high today. Children with behavioral disturbances,especially those disturbances connected to impulsive behavior, display more violent behavior thanthose who do not have disturbances. The development of game theory has done much to advanceour understanding of the dynamics of conflict. An important subject for the understanding of thedevelopment of conflicts and their resolutions is the concept of retaliation (Schelling, 1980).Hitting back in schools has rarely been studied. This study investigated the attitudes of childrenand parents towards hitting back. A Likert-type questionnaire of 6 ranks was used. Thequestionnaire was designed with the purpose of investigating the factors influencing patterns ofattitudes of children and their parents concerning hitting and the policy of teachers. The analysis ofvariance showed that the family role (F=(3)6.2, P and the special needs (F=(1)16.7, P hadstatistically significant effects on attitudes toward hitting back. Boys in general and boys withspecials needs in particular, most strongly supported the attitudes of hitting back. Most of the boys(61%) and a larger majority of boys with specials needs (79%), agreed that they would hit back ifattacked. This study shows that the majority of boys have positive attitudes toward hitting back.As expected, children from special education are more involved in hitting back. The respondentsclaimed that they would hit back children with behavior disturbances less than regular children. Itappears that this attitude stems from the ineffectiveness of hitting children back who have littleself-control. Game theory predicts that in conflicts between two parties, when one party is not incontrol, it is advisable to weigh the matter before responding in like by hitting back because theviolence that will be displayed by this party is not a product of rational thought.– 226 –