A positive psychology perspective on school psychology challenges us to think critically about the degree to which schools and schooling processes support children's optimum adjustment. We argue that schools contribute to a student's positive adjustment when they function as psychologically healthy environments for development. In this narrative review, we examine contemporary perspectives on positive adjustment in children and propose a developmental-ecological perspective as one theoretical lens through which to view positive school adjustment. We will critique the empirical literature on contextual factors contributing to school satisfaction, one marker of positive school adjustment. Finally, we will make recommendations for practice and research in this area.Psychology has turned an important corner. Whereas our predominant paradigm has focused on human deficits and pathology (Albee, 2000), we are beginning to recognize positive aspects of well-being as foci for the science and practice of psychology. Positive psychology emphasizes aspects of wellness, or the active quality of adapting to various situations and settings that is exhibited through positive behavioral, psychological, and physiological markers (Cowen, 2000). While a deficits model attempts to remediate problems, a positive psychology orientation proactively encourages an individual's development through building strengths and shaping environments that support adjustment (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000).
The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd-edition (ADOS-2) Toddler Module is the current gold-standard measure of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental condition more frequently diagnosed in toddler boys than girls. Some evidence suggests that behaviors assessed by the Toddler Module may capture an ASD phenotype that is more common among boys than girls. Focus on these behaviors may contribute to sex differences in ASD diagnoses. Particularly, the ADOS-2 may equivalently weight social communication behaviors on which boys and girls are expected to look similar and behaviors that which girls may, due to early socialization, perform differently than boys. As a consequence, the Toddler Module may fail to identify ASD in girls who should qualify for the diagnosis. The current study examined the possibility that some ADOS-2 items may function differently for boys and girls by testing the degree to which eight items equivalently related to a social communication latent factor across sexes in toddlers with suspected ASD. Inconsistent with hypotheses, tests of differential item functioning revealed no evidence of sex differences, suggesting that the Toddler Module assesses these eight items similarly for boys and girls. Examination of factor loadings point to Creativity/Imagination as an area of interest for future research. Lay Abstract When toddlers are suspected of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the gold-standard assessment technique is with the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd edition (ADOS-2) Toddler Module, a behavioral observation system. ASD is a neurodevelopmental condition more frequently diagnosed in toddler boys than in toddler girls. There is some evidence that the ADOS-2 assesses behaviors that are more characteristic of boys with ASD than girls. Thus, it is possible that focusing on these behaviors contributes at least in part to why more boys are diagnosed than girls. Specifically, girls may show more social skills than boys during the ADOS-2 assessment due to their socialization histories, which may lead to missed diagnoses of ASD in toddler girls. The current study examined eight social behaviors assessed by the ADOS-2 in a sample of toddlers with suspected ASD to see if they contributed differently to the total score of those items. Examination of those items suggested that those social communication behaviors work the same for boys and girls with suspected ASD, which was inconsistent with hypotheses. However, examination of particular items raises the possibility of examining creative/imaginative play as an area for future research.
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