Person-oriented Approach Research Articles

Statistical Evaluation of Person-Oriented Mediation Using Configural Frequency Analysis.

Mediation analysis helps explain how and why two variables are related, providing information for investigating causal processes useful for theoretical and applied research (MacKinnon 2008). Inference from mediation analysis typically applies to the population, but researchers and clinicians are often interested in making inference to individual clients or small sub-populations of people. Person-oriented approaches focus on the differences between people, or latent groups of people, to ask how individuals differ across variables. A recently proposed method allows for the analysis of person differences as part of mediation. The method from configural frequency analysis, which we call configural frequency mediation, is based on log-linear modeling of contingency tables. The complexity of configural frequency mediation and its use of a causal steps mediation method, may contribute to the lack of application and study of this promising method since its introduction in the literature a decade ago (von Eye et al. 2009, 2010) In this paper we clarify the steps used for configural frequency mediation and report the results of a large statistical simulation study evaluating the method and comparing it to the variable-oriented traditional method using logistic regression analysis. Overall, configural frequency mediation analysis tended to have excessive type I error rates but we describe an alternative approach to configural mediation analysis based on a joint significance test that had adequate performance. We also clarify the decision rules that define configural mediation analysis and develop a test for configural frequency mediation using a joint significance mediation method.

Cluster profiles of university students’ conceptions of learning according to gender, educational level, and academic disciplines

Describing university students’ profiles of conceptions of learning is an important pre-requisite in personalizing a learning process to increase its effectiveness. A person-oriented approach was assumed to identify meaningful profiles of university students’ conceptions referring to cognitive and socio-cultural, affective/motivational, and attributional/regulative components of learning. Profiles were also analyzed in relation to gender, educational level, and academic disciplines. University students (N = 243) completed a validated self-report instrument (LCQ: Learning Conceptions Questionnaire). A non-hierarchical cluster analysis (two-step method) yielded three profiles: “disengaged students”, “overwhelmed by emotions students”, and “helmsman students”. The profiles included strength and vulnerability aspects of university students’ disposition and motivation to learn. The study also revealed interactions between the profiles and gender, educational level, and academic disciplines. These findings are discussed in relation to the current literature, as well as to theoretical and practical implications.

Citizenship and socio-political integration: A person-oriented analysis among Russian-speaking minorities in Estonia, Finland and Norway

This survey study utilized a person-oriented approach to explore the patterns of socio-political integration among Russian-speaking minority group members in three neighboring countries in the Baltic area: Estonia (n = 482), Finland (n = 252), and Norway (n = 215). Three profiles were obtained in all countries: critical integration, separation, and assimilation. In the whole sample, critical integration was the most common acculturation profile. After the profiles were established, they were examined vis-à-vis citizenship and integration context to see, whether and to what extent, the objective (i.e., citizenship) and subjective (i.e., perceived social status and sense of belonging) socio-political integration of Russian-speakers corresponded with each other. Critical integration and separation were the most common profiles among participants holding national citizenship of the country of residence, while foreign citizenship was not related to any specific profile. Separation was rare among participants holding dual citizenship, but it was the most common profile among participants with undetermined citizenship. Also, intergroup context was associated with socio-political integration: critical integration and separation were the most common profiles of Russian-speakers in Estonia, critical integration and assimilation profiles in Finland, and assimilation profile in Norway. The results are discussed in relation to previous variable-oriented research and official integration policies of the countries studied.

Teacher burnout profiles and proactive strategies

Teacher burnout has been identified as a significant occupational hazard. However, our understanding about individual variations in burnout risk among in-service teachers is still less than sufficient. This study explored socio-contextual burnout risk profiles and their association with the reported use of proactive strategies among in-service teachers by using a person-oriented approach. The survey data were collected from 2310 Finnish in-service primary and lower secondary school teachers using a probability sampling method. In the latent profile analysis, five socio-contextual burnout profiles were identified. The profiles differed from each other in terms of burnout symptoms and proactive strategy use. Results suggested that there is individual variation in teachers’ risk of burnout. In addition, the results imply that well-developed proactive strategies, both in terms of self- and co-regulative strategies, are related to lower risk of experiencing socio-contextual burnout. The utilization of strong co-regulative strategies was related to lower risk of experiencing exhaustion and inadequacy during teacher-pupil interactions. However, strong self-regulation combined with low levels of co-regulation was related to an increased risk of experiencing cynicism. This implies that learning proactive strategies may be useful in preventing teacher burnout.

Development of key competences of junior bachelors specialised in the Humanities within the person-oriented educational paradigm

The article describes the peculiarities of implementation of the person-oriented paradigm at an establishment of higher education. It has been established that the person-oriented teaching is based on such an organization of the interaction between the subjects of the teaching / learning process, when the maximum possible conditions for the development of this process participants’ abilities of self-education, self-determination, independence and self-realization in the sphere of professional activity are created. The purpose of the article is to characterize the person-oriented educational paradigm as a major component of the development of the key competences of junior bachelors specialised in the Humanities. The objectives of the study are as follows: to clarify the content of the concepts “person-oriented teaching”, “person-oriented approach"; to formulate conceptual features of the person-oriented education at an establishment of higher education under modern conditions; to specify the content of the process of the development of the key competences of junior bachelors specialised in the Humanities through the prism of the person-oriented approach. To achieve the aim of the study and to solve the designated issues, to check the starting points in the research, a set of methods of theoretical and empirical nature is used: analysis of scientific literature on the research topic; data collection and diagnostics; comparative and prognostic methods. It is summarized that the person-oriented approach is a methodological position in the pedagogical sphere which relies on a system of interconnected concepts and ideas, forms and methods, and allows providing the processes of person’s self-discovery, self-improvement and self-realization, as well as the development of his / her uniqueness and individuality. When using this approach at a higher education institution, the tertiary teacher focuses on the student's personality, making major efforts for his / her development. Thus, according to the new educational paradigm, the education results are not knowledge, skills or abilities. The main education results are competences. The development of competences is now taking place in the context of each student's orientation towards creating his or her own individual educational trajectory. It is summarized that the individual educational trajectory of junior bachelors specialised in the Humanities is a person’s individual way of self-realization in the process of learning, which is manifested in conscious decision-making and choosing the best variants of acting.

Profiles of mathematics teachers\u2019 competence and their relation to instructional quality

Most of the research examining the relation between instructional quality (INQUA) and mathematics teachers’ competence was restricted to a limited set of competence facets. Furthermore, mostly variable-oriented approaches were applied that assume homogeneity of teacher competence. In our study, teacher competence is conceptualized as a comprehensive multi-dimensional construct including a broad range of subject-specific and generic facets regarding mathematics teachers’ knowledge, skills and beliefs, all assessed in a standardized way with well-established instruments. In our person-oriented approach, applying latent profile analysis, we examined whether it was possible to identify subgroups of teachers with different competence profiles. These profiles were then related to the generic and subject-specific INQUA implemented. The exploratory study was carried out with 77 secondary mathematics teachers from Germany as part of the projects TEDS Instruct and TEDS Validate. The data revealed four competence profiles that differed quantitatively and qualitatively. The profiles were related to different types of INQUA, and the relations indicate a need of strong levels of knowledge and skills for high INQUA but a lesser relevance of learning beliefs related to the dynamic nature of mathematics. In addition, our results indicate a need of a stronger subject-specific operationalization of INQUA in contrast to previously dominating generic conceptualizations.

Employees’ attitudes toward change with Lean Higher Education in Moroccan public universities

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the attitudes of higher education employees to the change with Lean at public universities in Morocco in order to determinate the factors of resistance to change and to look for the motivating factors that encourage these employees to participate in change project with Lean.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire sent to all administrative and technical staff of higher education at five public universities in Morocco during year 2019. This study has analyzed both a person-oriented approach and a variable-oriented approach and characterized by using Lewin’s change model to manage change with Lean.FindingsThe results show that individual, organizational and group factors have a positive impact on employees’ attitudes toward change with Lean but individual factors are more important than other factors.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is limited to universities in Morocco and mainly public universities. It is only interested in the first stage in the change process with Lean (unfreezing). Understanding employee attitudes, determining motivation factors and the causes behind resistance to change before embarking in change journey with Lean Higher Education (LHE) enables the public universities in Morocco (management) to better prepare for change by reducing resistance to change to create a favorable climate to implement LHE.Originality/valueThe majority of research works to date focus on implementation of LHE without giving interest to the preparation of the organizational change, this last is very much requested to determine the driving and restraining forces in order to reduce the resistance to change that is the main reason of failure of many change programs. This paper attempts to determinate the factors of resistance to change which allows to the public universities in Morocco to overcome them before moving to the changing stage.

Development of trainer competency model: a case study at Thailand's Department of Skill Development

In this research, the needs for trainer competency development at Thailand's Department of Skill Development (DSD) were determined based on a person-oriented approach. It was found that there were high needs for the development of trainer competencies in terms of knowledge, skills and attributes because the trainer competency levels were just average. To improve the DSD trainer competencies, a new competency model for DSD trainers was designed and evaluated using a task-oriented approach. The resulting trainer competency model contained seven main units of competency including investigation and diagnosis of problems and needs, training course design, training procedure design, training techniques, training measurement and evaluation, career expertise and productivity improvement. Moreover, the specific competencies for training in workplaces were found to include diagnosis of problems and brainstorm/seminar techniques in workplaces. The model evaluation results indicated that the model was effective for the improvement of DSD trainers' skills in five industrial workplaces and could be applicable to other kinds of industrial workplaces.

Development of trainer competency model: a case study at Thailand's Department of Skill Development

In this research, the needs for trainer competency development at Thailand's Department of Skill Development (DSD) were determined based on a person-oriented approach. It was found that there were high needs for the development of trainer competencies in terms of knowledge, skills and attributes because the trainer competency levels were just average. To improve the DSD trainer competencies, a new competency model for DSD trainers was designed and evaluated using a task-oriented approach. The resulting trainer competency model contained seven main units of competency including investigation and diagnosis of problems and needs, training course design, training procedure design, training techniques, training measurement and evaluation, career expertise and productivity improvement. Moreover, the specific competencies for training in workplaces were found to include diagnosis of problems and brainstorm/seminar techniques in workplaces. The model evaluation results indicated that the model was effective for the improvement of DSD trainers' skills in five industrial workplaces and could be applicable to other kinds of industrial workplaces.

Towards a Person-Oriented Approach to Psychotherapy Research.

Common conclusions from traditional psychotherapy research are that we still do not know how or why even our most well-studied interventions produce change, and that there is little evidence that any form of psychotherapy is generally more effective than any other. This has led some researchers to the so-called Dodo Bird Verdict, that all forms of psychotherapy are equally effective, and to the conclusion that what is at work are “common factors” that have little to do with treatment method. An alternative explanation, however, is that the traditional research paradigm is insufficiently sensitive to provide us with the required kind of knowledge. First, the outcome in typical RCTs is averaged across individuals, and at best complemented by a search for predictors in the form of stable individual differences. This means that this research stays at a group level of analysis and is insensitive to variation and change in individual patients. Second, the independent variable in RCTs does not consist in any well-controlled psychological intervention, but in large-scale treatment packages that contain a large number of interventions over a considerable time period. In other words, this research is insensitive to the effects of specific treatment interventions. Third, traditional psychotherapy research is insensitive to the therapist and patient as individual persons, and their specific interaction. It is argued that a person-oriented approach to psychotherapy, which is idiographic, holistic and interactional, may be able to overcome some of these problems by being more sensitive to (1) the treatment course of individual patients, and patterns during that course; (2) the effects of the specific interventions that are implemented over time, and (3) the personal characteristics of patient and therapist, and nuances of their interaction.

Vocabulary and text comprehension levels: what should be considered in assessments?

Text comprehension comprises processes that work interactively to create a situation model of a text. Three hundred and one students from 12 Estonian schools were assessed to examine the relations between vocabulary and different text comprehension levels and to detect students’ individual profiles in these skills. Both variable- and person-oriented approaches were used to analyse overall patterns in the data as well as to make inferences regarding students’ individual differences. Vocabulary was found to have the strongest influence on inferential and literal comprehension, whereas evaluative comprehension was slightly less related to vocabulary. Person-oriented approaches revealed different patterns in students’ vocabulary and comprehension skills. Individual differences in vocabulary and comprehension levels emphasise the need to assess students’ comprehension with multidimensional tests aimed at determining the shortcomings in comprehension components and tracking students’ developmental changes.

Frenetic, Underchallenged, and Worn-Out: Validation of the German “Burnout Clinical Subtypes Questionnaire”—Student Survey and Exploration of Three Burnout Risk Groups in University Students

Against the background of inconsistent findings regarding the symptomatology, etiology, and risk factors of burnout, Farber (1990) proposed three different burnout subtypes: frenetic, underchallenged, and worn-out. Montero-Marin and colleagues (2011) expanded the typology to the academic context and developed the Burnout Clinical Subtypes Questionnaire–Student Survey (BCSQ-12-SS) to examine whether three burnout risk groups, that are in line with the typology, exist in university students as well. However, due to a moderate overlap between the BCSQ-12-SS subscales describing different risk groups, it has remained unclear whether three burnout risk groups can indeed be distinguished in university students. Moreover, the BCSQ-12-SS is currently not available in German, limiting the possibility to examine the typology in different student populations. Therefore, the aim of this study was to validate the BCSQ-12-SS for German speaking university students and to investigate whether three burnout risk groups—frenetic, underchallenged, and worn-out—can be identified in students using a person-oriented approach. Overall, 404 German speaking university students were recruited and filled in several online questionnaires, including the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Student Survey (MBI-SS) and the BCSQ-12-SS that was translated to German for the purpose of this study. The German BCSQ-12-SS had good psychometric properties. Latent profile analysis (LPA) with the BCSQ-12-SS distinguished three burnout risk groups: frenetic, underchallenged, and worn-out students, whereby mildly and severely worn-out students could be differentiated. Additionally, a group with healthy engaged students emerged. The groups differed in burnout symptoms, feelings of depression, workload, study engagement, and academic resources. Furthermore, the burnout risk groups could also be distinguished in a subsample of students (n=150) who are particularly vulnerable to develop burnout because they were all moderately to highly stressed. LPA with the MBI-SS resulted in profiles similar to the healthy engaged, frenetic and severely worn-out profile. However, an underchallenged profile was only discovered with the BCSQ-12-SS, indicating that this questionnaire is particularly useful to detect an additional burnout risk group that has widely been overlooked in student burnout research so far. Taken together, this study observed three burnout risk groups in German speaking university students: frenetic, underchallenged, and worn-out.

The interplay between psychological need satisfaction and psychological need frustration within a work context: A variable and person-oriented approach

A plethora of empirical data support a positive (or “brighter”) pathway to optimal human functioning as specified within Basic Psychological Needs Theory (Ryan and Deci in Psychol Inq 11(4):319–33, 2000). Yet, far less is known about the negative (or “darker”) pathway, a process evoking of human dysfunction and ill-being (cf. Vansteenkiste and Ryan in J Psychother Integr 23(3):263, 2013). Further, debate surrounds the independence and interplay between psychological need satisfaction and psychological need frustration and how these dynamic constructs are experienced within individuals. In this work, variable and person-oriented analyses were employed to: (i) investigate the relationships between the basic psychological needs and symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety as well as with life satisfaction; and (ii) identify different psychological need profiles and their relationship with psychological function. Participants (N = 2236; M Age = 42.16 years; SD = 7.8) were UK-based operational firefighters who completed an online survey. Results of regression analyses showed a moderating effect of psychological need satisfaction on the relationship between need frustration and negative psychological symptoms. Latent profile analyses revealed five distinct basic psychological need profiles that carry implications for human psychological functioning. Some support for an asymmetrical relationship between need satisfaction and need frustration emerged (Vansteenkiste and Ryan in J Psychother Integr 23(3):263, 2013), yet, examples of above average need satisfaction and frustration scores were also observed. Worker profiles where psychological need frustration prevailed over need satisfaction had the poorest psychological health.

L’exploration des Schémas Précoces Inadaptés (SPI) chez les personnes adultes atteintes de troubles bipolaires: une revue systématique de la littérature scientifique

ObjectivesClinical heterogeneity during euthymic states is a crucial issue in bipolar disorders. Indeed, actual data are not sufficient to understand why some patients are unharmed by subthreshold symptoms and have functional impairments whereas others have a functional remission but have subthreshold symptoms. Based on the Ball model, cognitive and schematic vulnerability interact with genetic vulnerability and trigger affective symptoms with the intervention of stressful life events. Furthermore, according to this model, adjustment and adaptation to illness assessed by functional outcome and illness experience are associated with this cognitive and schematic vulnerability. So, theoretical arguments support that childhood adversity and temperamental deregulation characterize patients with bipolar disorders. Thus, the aim of this study is to systematically review studies of Early Maladaptive Schemas in bipolar disorder, to determine whether Early Maladaptive Schemas have specificity in bipolar disorder in comparison with other populations, and to identify which Early Maladaptive Schemas could be activated. The challenge of this review is to identify if the taking of early maladaptive schemas into account could allow us to better identify, understand and manage bipolar disorders. MethodsThis systematic review was led according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis statement on the electronic databases Cochrane, PsycArticles, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, PsycInfo, PubMed, ScienceDirect and Scopus with « early maladaptive schemas » AND « bipolar disorder » as keywords. Only studies meeting eligibility criteria concerning publication status, language, population and outcomes were included after several screenings on basis of title, abstract and full-text. Then, we carried out data extraction in accordance with criteria defined in principle (about characteristics of participants, objectives, materiel and methods, principle results and bias). ResultsAmong 39 records identified, a total of 10 studies met eligibility criteria for inclusion in this review. Synthesizing findings across the studies revealed three important topics. First, early maladaptive schemas appear as potential cognitive characteristics that clinicians have to investigate in clinical practice. Indeed, patients with bipolar disorders present greater activation of the early maladaptive schemas in comparison with people who have no disorder. This point supports the first part of Ball's theoretical model that considers schemas as a vulnerability to bipolarity. Secondly, early maladaptive schemas are relevant to distinguish bipolar disorders from unipolar depression and borderline personality disorder. A greater and a lower activation are respectively identified among bipolar disorders. Thirdly, supporting the second part of Ball's model, early maladaptive schemas play a key role in recovery regarding their impact on the course of bipolarity, in particular on suicidality and functional impairment. Finally, these dysfunctional schemas allow us to understand the clinical heterogeneity of bipolar disorder, and among others, about the type of bipolarity. These results have several implications, but there are some limits in this systematic review. First, no French study has been done. Then, reduced sample sizes in these studies increased the risk to conclude wrongly to an activation difference between groups. Furthermore, probably due to the variety of methods and populations, we could not identify an homogeneous pattern of early activated maladaptive schemas. Overall, scientific approaches used in these studies are based on statistical models using mean and standard deviation. These types of statistical analyses are the main limit because they cannot represent the heterogeneity of early maladaptive schemas profiles. ConclusionsSchema theory proves to be a relevant approach in bipolar disorders, and early maladaptive schemas appear to be important to take into account in clinical practice. Nevertheless, in order to propose schemas therapy appropriately, it is necessary to specify if early maladaptive schemas are activated and to specify therapeutic indications because of clinical heterogeneity. Moreover, data do not yet allow us to understand the disparity of profiles during the inter-episode period. Indeed, a French research perspective is being considered that will prefer a person-oriented approach.

Directions of independent work in vocal education

Directions of independent work in vocal education

Why do Youth Support their Families? A Person-Oriented Approach in Migrant and Native Families.

Previous studies have observed high levels of family support of migrant adolescents. However, whether culture, context or migration explain this phenomenon remained unclear. This study investigated family support in high SES migrant and native families and identified family support subgroups and predictors as well as implications of subgroup-membership. Participants comprised 165 native Swiss (Mage = 15.9 years, 60.6% female) and 136 German migrants (Mage = 15.3 years, 64.7% female) in Switzerland and 187 native Germans in Germany (Mage = 15.3 years, 54.8% female). A person-oriented multi-group latent-class analysis identified three family support subgroups, which differed particularly in levels of emotional and instrumental family support. Migration was only associated with the medium family support subgroup, whereas family and context characteristics were associated with the high family support subgroup. Furthermore, the high family support subgroup reported the best psychosocial adjustment. These findings highlight that addressing different developmental contexts with person-oriented approaches can provide new insights in the understanding of adolescents' adaptation processes.

Heterogeneity of executive functions among preschool children with psychiatric symptoms

The aim of the present study was to investigate associations between internalizing and externalizing symptoms and deficits in executive functions (EF) as well as to examine the overall heterogeneity of EFs in a sample of preschool children attending a psychiatric clinic (n = 171). First, based on cut-off points signifying clinical levels of impairment on the parent-completed Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), children were assigned into groups of internalizing, externalizing, combined or mild symptoms and compared to a reference group (n = 667) with regard to day care teacher ratings of EFs on the Attention and Executive Function Rating Inventory-Preschool (ATTEX-P). Second, latent profile analysis (LPA) was employed to identify distinct subgroups of children representing different EF profiles with unique strengths and weaknesses in EFs. The first set of analyses indicated that all symptom groups had more difficulties in EFs than the reference group did, and the internalizing group had less inhibition-related problems than the other symptom groups did. Using LPA, five EF profiles were identified: average, weak average, attentional problems, inhibitory problems, and overall problems. The EF profiles were significantly associated with gender, maternal education level, and psychiatric symptom type. Overall, the findings suggest that the comparison of means of internalizing and externalizing groups mainly captures the fairly obvious differences in inhibition-related domains among young psychiatric outpatient children, whereas the person-oriented approach, based on individual differences, identifies heterogeneity related to attentional functions, planning, and initiating one’s action. The variability in EF difficulties suggests that a comprehensive evaluation of a child’s EF profile is important regardless of the type of psychiatric symptoms the child presents with.

Employee well-being profiles and service quality: a unit-level analysis using a multilevel latent profile approach

ABSTRACTThis study is designed to contribute to a better theoretical and empirical understanding of the unit-level relationship between employee well-being (job satisfaction and burnout, in the form of emotional exhaustion and cynicism) and service quality in two ways. First is by adopting a person-oriented approach to identify distinct well-being profiles as a way of capturing the conjoint effect of satisfaction and burnout on service quality. Second is by employing an adapted form of multilevel latent profile analysis (MLPA) to examine the extent to which the distribution of employee well-being profiles in a work group affects the level of service quality provided by the group. These issues were examined using combined employee-customer data based on a sample of 396 employees and 1233 customers from 91 restaurant and reception units in 42 hotels in Spain. In line with theoretical expectations and consistent with a win-win model of the unit level relationship between employee well-being and service quality, the results showed that work groups with a greater proportion of employees with high levels of job satisfaction combined with low levels of burnout (emotional exhaustion and cynicism), significantly outperformed work groups with a less favourable internal distribution of well-being profiles. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Work Burnout and Engagement Profiles Among Teachers.

The focus of the current study was to examine teachers’ well-being in terms of work engagement and burnout by using a person-oriented approach. The participants (n = 149, 70.5% female) were subject-matter teachers from 22 schools from metropolitan Helsinki area in Finland. The first aim was to examine the kinds of profiles we can identify based on work burnout and engagement among teachers. The second aim was to study how the identified profiles differed in job-related demands and resources and personal resources in terms of resilience. Based on the demands-resources model, we expected to find profiles that differ in terms of key resources and demands. The sample was acquired as a convenience sample and the data was collected using online self-report questionnaires. The measures were work engagement, work burnout, work demands/resources (workload and control) and resilience as the personal resource. In addition, changes and effects of the economic circumstances were accounted for with two binary variables assessing the effect on class sizes and material resources. We identified two profiles among teachers: engaged (30%) and engaged-burnout (70%) profiles. We found that those in the engaged profile group had more job and personal resources, such as control and resilience, whereas those in the engaged-burnout profile group experienced more work demands, such as workload.

Understanding stability and change in civic engagement across adolescence: A typology approach.

Developmental theory posits that youth are civically engaged in different ways, patterns of civic development vary across individuals, and both stability and change in youth civic engagement can be influenced by experiences in context. Drawing on these notions, we used a longitudinal person-oriented approach to document stability and change in civic engagement typologies across adolescence. Sociodemographic differences were tested to understand adolescents' civic developmental starting points in eighth grade, and civic discussions with parents and friends were examined as time-varying predictors of stability and change in civic engagement across eighth to 12th grades. Using national U.S. Longitudinal Study of American Youth data (N = 3701), 5 annual assessments of civic engagement (civic values, political behaviors, and future civic expectations) served as latent transition analysis (LTA) indicators. A 4-class model was comprised of civic leaders, informed future voters, civic sympathizers, and unengaged youth. Civic engagement typologies in eighth grade varied systematically by gender, parent education, and race/ethnicity in ways that replicate and extend prior research. Civic discussions with parents and friends predicted stability in all 3 engaged typologies. Civic discussions with parents also predicted growth out of the unengaged group, whereas civic discussions with friends predicted remaining unengaged later in high school. Findings underscore patterns of civic inequality that are evident early in adolescence and illustrate the role of civic discussions in sustaining and increasing youth civic engagement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).