Miriam R. Linver

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Verified

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• PhD
• Professor (Full) at Montclair State University

This modified sequential explanatory mixed methods study explores how the components of purpose (personal meaningfulness and a beyond-the-self orientation) impact youth mental health outcomes (depressive and anxiety symptoms) in the context of COVID-19. We hypothesized that youth with higher scores on the components of purpose (goal-directedness, p...

The purpose of this paper is to offer both theoretical and practical support to evaluation professionals preparing to facilitate the utilization phase of evaluation with a program or organization team. The Systems Evaluation Protocol for Participatory Data Use (SEPPDU) presented here is rooted in a partnership approach to evaluation and is therefor...

High-adventure programs typically take place outdoors in remote locations and include several days of challenging activities. Research on high-adventure programs consistently finds positive outcomes for youths. Most high-adventure programs feature 10 key principles that are closely aligned and sometimes overlap with the three defining features of p...

This paper reflects on the possibilities and limits of a team-based, multi-site, evaluative ethnography. In this study, a team of qualitative researchers deployed participant ob- servation methods to assess the level of standardization and local adaptation in the training curriculum for adult leaders in the Boy Scouts of America. While the umbrella...

This paper focuses on data from a study of middle-to upper-middle class Scottish S2 (~seventh grade) students who participated in Inspiring Purpose, a school-based character development program, during the 2016 to 2017 school year. Directed by their teachers, participating youth reflected on values and future aspirations and researched and wrote ab...

In response to the dearth of research focusing solely on immigrant fathers, we propose the Integrative Conceptual Model to investigate the psychological well-being of recent immigrant fathers from East Asia to the United States. This model addresses how multiple factors in the society (e.g., policy), work and community (e.g., employment), family (e...

Youth purpose was investigated using a two-phase embedded design with youth participating in Scouts BSA ( N = 3,943), ages 9–20 ( M = 14.0, SD = 1.9). Participating Scouts were mostly White (91%) and male (98%). In Phase 1, we conducted a two-step cluster analysis on Scouts’ survey responses to three purpose dimensions (personal meaning, goal-direc...

The purpose of this instrumental, multisite case study is to examine fidelity, adaptation, and differentiation challenges found at Wood Badge, a nationwide Boy Scouts of America training for adult volunteer leaders. Our iterative analysis of more than 900 pages of fieldnotes and 400 pages of documents revealed facilitators often explicitly taught s...

The education literature contains many studies of what happens in schools and classrooms, but no documentation of what actually happens to children during an entire school day in a nationally-representative sample of students in the US. This study presents data collected from a nationally-representative sample of teachers of first through fifth gra...

The current study used a bioecological framework to examine three moderated-mediation models testing the mediating effects of positive work-to-family spillover and positive family-to-work spillover in the relationship between a nonstandard work schedule and work–family balance as well as between relationship quality and work-to-family balance. The...

This instrumental case study explored non-formal educators’ lay theories of adolescence using the case of the Boy Scouts of America’s Scouts BSA program, a co-ed program serving youth between the ages of 11 and 17. We conducted an iterative analysis of 110 structured interviews with Scouts BSA adult volunteer leaders who served as scoutmasters or a...

A Positive Youth Development (PYD) perspective emphasizes adolescents’ potential for healthy, successful development. Researchers have introduced a variety of constructs that may promote PYD. For example, Intentional Self-Regulation (ISR) enables youth to seek out and use resources in the environment; purpose can help youth navigate and overcome ob...

In this paper, we present six case studies that illustrate the application of the Systems Evaluation Protocol (SEP) in different real‐world implementation conditions. The SEP is a step‐by‐step guide for how to implement Relational Systems Evaluation (RSE), accounting for the complex factors inherent in the larger systems within which a given progra...

This paper presents the results of a study of program participants’ responses to an innovative project called the Partnerships for Advancing Character program Evaluation (PACE), which operationalized a Relational Systems Evaluation (RSE) approach to Evaluation Capacity Building (ECB). We examine which tools and concepts from PACE resonated with par...

In this paper, we introduce Relational Systems Evaluation (RSE), the focal topic of this volume. RSE is a framework for program planning and evaluation that is theoretically grounded, empirically tested and focused on building evaluation capacity. Theoretically, RSE is rooted in an evolutionary approach to program development and evaluation informe...

In this paper, we present empirical findings from a mixed‐methods study of an Evaluation Capacity Building (ECB) initiative called the Partnerships for Advancing Character program Evaluation (PACE) Project that applied the Relational Systems Evaluation (RSE) approach. We focused especially on how participation in this partnership‐based ECB program...

Positive youth development programs such as those offered by Boy Scouts of America (BSA) provide sources of support and opportunities for leadership and character development. Programmatic experts from BSA collaborated with researchers to develop a visual theory of change (pathway model) for youth development in Scouts BSA and for adult volunteer l...

Through two waves of longitudinal qualitative data, this paper examined emergent forms of key indicators of adolescent thriving: the 5Cs of positive youth development and sense of purpose. Pre- and post-program interviews with 24 S2 (~7th grade) Scottish adolescents who participated in a school-based character program explored the presence, absence...

Though experts agree that diverse stakeholder inclusion enhances quality and equity in 1 evaluation designs and implementation, diverse voices are often omitted. Particularly antithetical to principles of youth character development, evaluations for these programs should strive to include voices from various social, economic, community and demograp...

Too often program evaluation occurs as a process of researchers intervening rather than working with program participants and practitioners. When researchers, practitioners, and participants operate separately, it can diminish the uptake of research findings and preclude the incorporation of valuable information from participants and practitioners...

Character development programs which help youth identify and reflect on inspiring individuals may help youth identify personal positive values and transform them into meaningful action. Inspiring Purpose (IP) is a school-based character development program that aims to translate inspiration into transformative and enduring aspiration. IP has been d...

The current longitudinal study investigated the within- and between-person variance in work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict among working mothers over time. It also examined the effects of a nonstandard work schedule and relationship quality on work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict using bioecological theory. Results of...

This career guide examines the rewarding job opportunities outside academia that await those who have earned their doctorates. The chapter authors are experienced professionals who provide an insider's look into a variety of nonacademic fields, including government, consulting, and for-profit and nonprofit companies. They offer advice for leveragin...

Utilizing a relational developmental systems approach to examining character strengths, this article examines the connection between adolescents’ intentional self-regulation (ISR) with youth sense of purpose, using data from a large-scale evaluation of a youth development program in Scotland. Data were triangulated from multiple sources, including...

In the introduction to this special issue on youth purpose, the authors discuss the challenges in assessing purpose in adolescents; purpose is a concept that has more often been studied in adults but not in youth. First, theauthors discuss how purpose has been defined in the literature. The authors then situate purpose in the context of a host of r...

School-based character education (CE) programs provide an opportunity to increase the moral fortitude of adolescents. This study is a preliminary evaluation of Inspire Aspire, a CE program that was implemented with 13- to 14-year-olds in Scotland. A relational developmental systems meta-theoretical approach and person-centered analyses were employe...

The importance of engaging in high quality program evaluation is a generally accepted principle underscored by external pressure from funders. High quality evaluation necessarily begins with good evaluation planning. This paper outlines Evolutionary Evaluation and specifically the Systems Evaluation Protocol, an approach that emphasizes practitione...

The short- and long-term effects of family structure on child well-being remains a hotly contested area among both researchers and policymakers. Although previous research documents that children of divorce are more prone to divorce themselves, much of this research has been plagued by multiple data and analytic problems. A second problematic issue...

Character education programs are mission-aligned with the positive youth development (PYD) perspective, which, in research with American youth suggests that intentional self-regulation (ISR) develops through mutually beneficial interactions between youth and their environment. Cross-cultural studies of Western youth suggest an adolescence-specific...

Using a mixed methods approach, the connection between Intentional Self Regulation (ISR) and feelings about the chances of achieving future aspirations among 94 Scottish youth (56% female) was examined. Regression analyses demonstrated ISR, as measured by the SOC 9-item scale, was predictive of youths’ feelings about their chances of achieving futu...

Objective. Our goals for this Special Issue are threefold. First, we report on the development of conceptually meaningful subscales that assess specific domains of the home environment for the 3 youngest age versions of the HOME Inventory (infants/toddlers, early childhood, and middle childhood). Second, we address the problems inherent to the item...

Although many adolescents participate in sports and other types of organized activities, little extant research explores how youth development outcomes may vary for youth involved in different combinations of activities. The present study uses the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a large, nationally representative...

This study examined the relationship of racial and ethnic socialization and academic achievement in a sample of 218 African American adolescents (grades 9-12; 52% girls) attending a public high school in the northeastern United States. Researchers were particularly interested in whether adolescent gender moderated the relationship between racial an...

Scholars in the field of African American family studies recognize the influence of gender on socialization. However, few studies investigate how gender influences the racial and ethnic socialization of African American youth. To examine the role of gender (both caregiver and adolescent) in socialization practices, data were obtained from 218 Afric...

For middle and high school girls in high-ability math classes, interest and self-concept made a difference for school grades, and for all adolescents, maternal expectations were influential in predicting math grades over time.

Objective. This article examines new conceptually derived subscales for the Infant-Toddler Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (IT-HOME) Inventory. Design. Data from 4 diverse national longitudinal data sets were used to assess several newly created subscales: the Infant Health and Development Program (N = 872), the National Institu...

Objective. Conceptually sound subscales for the Middle-Childhood Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (MC-HOME) were created and evaluated utilizing 3 large-scale data sets including children ages 6 to 9 years: the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), Panel Study of Income Dynamics-Child Development Suppleme...

Objective. Conceptually sound subscales for the Middle-Childhood Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (MC-HOME) were created and evaluated utilizing 3 large-scale data sets including children ages 6 to 9 years: the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), Panel Study of Income Dynamics-Child Development Suppleme...

Objective. This article examines new conceptually derived subscales for the Infant-Toddler Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (IT-HOME) Inventory. Design. Data from 4 diverse national longitudinal data sets were used to assess several newly created subscales: the Infant Health and Development Program (N = 872), the National Institu...

The education literature contains many studies of what happens in schools and classrooms, but no documentation of what actually happens to children during an entire school day in a nationally-representative sample of students in the US. This study presents data collected from a nationally-representative sample of teachers of first through fifth gra...

This longitudinal study tested the direction of associations between parent –adolescent relationships and adolescent girls’ unhealthy eating. Girls (N= 184) were seen at Time 1 (M age = 14.30 years), and then again 2 years later (Time 2; M age = 16.04 years). At both assessment periods, they completed measures that assessed their eating attitudes a...

This study used data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and its 1997 Child Development Supplement to examine how family income matters for young children's development. The sample included 753 children who were between ages 3 and 5 years in 1997. Two sets of mediating factors were examined that reflect two dominating views in the literature: (...

A variety of family processes have been hypothesized to mediate associations between income and young children's development. Maternal emotional distress, parental authoritative and authoritarian behavior (videotaped mother-child interactions), and provision of cognitively stimulating activities (Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment...

A variety of family processes have been hypothesized to mediate associations between income and young children's development. Maternal emotional distress, parental authoritative and authoritarian behavior (videotaped mother-child interactions), and provision of cognitively stimulating activities (Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment...

This paper uses data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and its 1997 Child Development Supplement to examine the mediating pathways of family income on children's well-being. Two sets of mediating factors are examined in line with two dominating perspectives in the literature: (1) human capital/financial resources model, and (2) psychological/...

Investigated in the present study was the association between maternal parenting practices and school and developmental achievements among early adolescents. Guided by theories and previous research on gender differences, of special interest in the present study was whether and how adolescent gender would moderate the association between individual...

This chapter deals with the acquisition among adolescents of smoking and related addictive behaviors (e.g., marijuana use). It is appropriate to focus on the adolescent period because few younger children have acquired smoking or other substance-use habits and because few people who do not acquire them during adolescence will do so later. Indeed, t...