Are Special Education Students Happy?

Uusitalo-Malmivaara, Lotta; Kankaanpää, Paula; Mäkinen, Tuula; Raeluoto, Tiina; Rauttu, Karoliina; Tarhala, Veera; Lehto, Juhani

doi:10.1080/00313831.2011.599421

Cited by 15 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Cronbach's α was .90, again. The average scores of the measures ranged from 3.12 to 3.30 in previous studies (Uusitalo-Malmivaara, 2012Uusitalo-Malmivaara et al, 2012).…”

Section: Questionnairesmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Fortunately, the mean values of measures of child and youth happiness and life satisfaction have been high (Dew & Huebner, 1994;Holder & Coleman, 2008;Huebner, 1991;Natvig, Albrektsen, & Qvarnstrom, 2003), meaning that they generally feel quite happy. However, not all children show high happiness (Uusitalo-Malmivaara, 2012Uusitalo-Malmivaara & Lehto, 2013;Uusitalo-Malmivaara et al, 2012), and in many cases, happiness seems to decrease over the course of puberty. A Finnish study by Uusitalo-Malmivaara (2012) has shown that it was the least happy students, more often than others, who wanted to have more friends.…”

Section: Happinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Western countries (e.g. in the USA, in the UK, and in Finland) most students report being content with their schooling (Brantley, Huebner, & Nagle, 2002;Ivens, 2007;McCullough & Huebner, 2003;Rask, Åstedt-Kurki, Tarkka, & Laippala, 2002), but not all (Uusitalo-Malmivaara, 2012;Uusitalo-Malmivaara et al, 2012). Dissatisfaction with school is associated with various social problems with parents and peers, as well as psychological and physical symptoms, such as depression, headaches, and fatigue (Natvig et al, 2003;Rask et al, 2002).…”

Section: Happinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Happiness and depression in the traditionally bullied and cyberbullied 12-year-old

Uusitalo-Malmivaara¹,

Lehto²

2016

Open Review of Educational Research

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This study investigated the overall happiness, school-related happiness, and depression of traditionally bullied and cyberbullied 12-year-old Finnish students. Among the more than 700 participants, traditional bullying (26%) was more frequent than cyberbullying (18%). Receiving insulting text messages or being the subject of offensive comments on the Internet were the most common forms of cyberbullying. Often those who were cyberbullied were also victims of traditional bullying (the polyvictimized comprised 11% of all participants). We found no differences between genders in traditional bullying rates, but cyberbullying was more common among girls. Being victimized, in either form, was related to a decrease in all measures of psychological well-being, with the poly-victimized scoring the lowest. In particular, being victimized predicted depression, with the poly-victimized scoring the highest. The results indicate a clear need to intervene in early adolescents' culture of communicating via electronic devices and especially to identify victims of bullying in both the real and cyberworld.

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“…Cronbach's α was .90, again. The average scores of the measures ranged from 3.12 to 3.30 in previous studies (Uusitalo-Malmivaara, 2012Uusitalo-Malmivaara et al, 2012).…”

Section: Questionnairesmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Happinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Happinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Happiness and depression in the traditionally bullied and cyberbullied 12-year-old

Uusitalo-Malmivaara¹,

Lehto²

2016

Open Review of Educational Research

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“…Studies from all over the world show high degrees of happiness and life satisfaction in most children and adolescents (Gilman & Huebner, 1997;Holder, 2012: pp. 67-68;Huebner & McCullough, 2000;Uusitalo-Malmivaara, 2012;Uusitalo-Malmivaara et al, 2012). Regardless of culture or wealth, the large majority of children rate themselves as being at least moderately happy (Holder, Coleman, & Singh, 2012;Park & Huebner, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Happiness Decreases during Early Adolescence—A Study on 12- and 15-Year-Old Finnish Students

Uusitalo-Malmivaara¹

2014

PSYCH

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Global and school-related happiness were measured in 339 Finnish ninth graders, about 86% of whom had participated in a study on the happiness of sixth graders three years earlier. Students filled out two questionnaires, the Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999) and the School Children's Happiness Inventory (Ivens, 2007). In addition, they chose items that they perceived would increase their happiness from a given list. Both global and school-related happiness had decreased since the sixth grade. Especially in girls, the decline was dramatic. The decrease in happiness was mostly attributed to peer problems and, to a lesser extent, stress at school. The factor most desired to increase happiness was more success at school followed by the desire for more money, more free time and a girlfriend or boyfriend. Girls with a high grade-point average were happier than other girls, globally and at school. Among boys, no such differences appeared.

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“…Each response to each SCHI item is scored from 1 to 4, with four indicating a high level of happiness. We used the shortened 25-item Finnish version(Uusitalo-Malmivaara, 2012;Uusitalo-Malmivaara et al, 2012).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A character strength intervention in 11 inclusive Finnish classrooms to promote social participation of students with special educational needs

Vuorinen

Erikivi

Uusitalo-Malmivaara

2018

Research in Spec Educ Needs

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Positive education aims at making strengths visible in every learner. This paper presents one of the few structured positive education interventions in Finnish inclusive classrooms. Our controlled 16‐week intervention in 11 inclusive classes (from 4th to 6th graders, age 10–13 years, Ninterv = 175 including 17 students with SEN having a variety of learning challenges, Ncontr = 78) focused on explicit teaching of strengths in character and their usage in order to promote social skills, well‐being and learning skills. Seven quantitative self‐report measures, Social competence (Empathy and Anti‐Aggression subscales), Strength usage, Grit (Consistency of Interest and Perseverance of Effort subscales), Global happiness, School‐related happiness, Schoolwork Engagement Inventory (EDA, energy, dedication, absorption) and Mindset comprised the students’ pre‐test–post‐test battery. In addition, seven teachers were interviewed. The intervention group of students with SEN advanced over the other groups in Grit Consistency of interest subscale and in EDA. In teacher interviews, increased group cohesion and classroom spirit were documented. Interviews revealed six dominant discourses, praise, well‐being, good interaction, the significance of encounters, the need for additional education and the discourse of doubt and challenges. In particular, being able to name strengths in others and support one another had grown during the intervention.

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Are Special Education Students Happy?

Cited by 15 publications

References 57 publications

Happiness and depression in the traditionally bullied and cyberbullied 12-year-old

Happiness and depression in the traditionally bullied and cyberbullied 12-year-old

Happiness Decreases during Early Adolescence—A Study on 12- and 15-Year-Old Finnish Students

A character strength intervention in 11 inclusive Finnish classrooms to promote social participation of students with special educational needs

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