Sacred Heart Academy senior Cara Carbone's article, "The presence of stigma on learning disabilities in female adolescents in a single-sex environment" has been accepted for publication by The Whitman Journal of Psychology (WJP), a Maryland-based, peer-reviewed academic journal for the nation's best secondary behavioral research (Fall 2023). Cara was mentored by Dr. Stephen Sullivan, Sacred Heart Academy's Research Director.
The abstract of her article follows:
As of 2017, one in five students at school-age level report a learning disability of some sort (Corcoran, M. & Chard, D.J., 2017). These students are challenged by a series of problems that make the learning environment more difficult and sometimes even hostile (Barga, N.K., 1996). To measure the impact these challenges students with learning disabilities face, there have been countless studies on the stigma; more specifically studies have also been conducted on stigma with focuses on both genders and exclusively males. This has left a gap in the research focusing solely on the stigma females with learning disabilities face in an educational setting. This study investigated what levels of stigma and sympathy female students in a single-sex school had. It was predicted that students without learning disabilities would exhibit lower levels of stigma and higher levels of sympathy for peers with learning disabilities in an all-girls school.
As of 2017, one in five students at school-age level report a learning disability of some sort (Corcoran, M. & Chard, D.J., 2017). These students are challenged by a series of problems that make the learning environment more difficult and sometimes even hostile (Barga, N.K., 1996). To measure the impact these challenges students with learning disabilities face, there have been countless studies on the stigma; more specifically studies have also been conducted on stigma with focuses on both genders and exclusively males. This has left a gap in the research focusing solely on the stigma females with learning disabilities face in an educational setting. This study investigated what levels of stigma and sympathy female students in a single-sex school had. It was predicted that students without learning disabilities would exhibit lower levels of stigma and higher levels of sympathy for peers with learning disabilities in an all-girls school.
To analyze the presence of stigma in female adolescents in a single-sex environment, a quasi-experimental method was used with the employment of two vignettes and ten questions each. There was a Form A, the control group, and Form B, the experimental group; each set a scenario with the struggling student with the former not having a learning disability and the latter having a learning disability. This method of measuring behavior was chosen because of its successful outcomes in assessing stigma levels from peers as seen in the article “Adolescents’ explanations for the exclusion of peers with mental health problems: An insight into stigma,” (O’Driscoll, C., et al., 2015) which measured the levels of exclusion amongst individuals with mental health issues. The vignettes and questions used were self-made so as to ensure that parameters matched the demographics of the participants in the experiment.
To test the results of the data collected, key t-tests were used, t(144)=-2.23, p-.027 and statistical significance was proven. Subjects of the experimental group showed more sympathy/less tendency to stigmatize (M=33.46, S.D.-4.82) hypothetical targets with a learning disability than did the control group (M=31.30, S.D.=6.16). Thus, the hypotheses were supported as in a hypothetical situation, females attending a single-sex school were more likely to sympathize with a peer struggling with a learning disability and less likely to stigmatize.
The results of this experiment were able to satisfy the initial goal, concluding that there is a significant difference between the way girls at a single-sex school viewed students with and without a learning disability. This indicates that there is a likelihood that female adolescents in a single-sex environment will be more hospitable towards their peers with learning disabilities. This implies, but cannot prove, a better outcome academically for females with a learning disability if they attend a single-sex school. However, there were three main limitations – there were no girls from a co-educational school participating, there was a lack of freshman, and there were no males surveyed to compare to the female outcomes.
Cara's publication is Sacred Heart Academy's third such accomplishment in 2023. Kaylin Spinelli '22 had her senior thesis published in The Journal of Research: High School. Julia Revill '23 and Cara will both see their work in the WJP in Fall 2023. Overall, Cara's marks the thirteenth peer-reviewed publication for SHA Science Research girls since 2019-20.
Cara's publication is Sacred Heart Academy's third such accomplishment in 2023. Kaylin Spinelli '22 had her senior thesis published in The Journal of Research: High School. Julia Revill '23 and Cara will both see their work in the WJP in Fall 2023. Overall, Cara's marks the thirteenth peer-reviewed publication for SHA Science Research girls since 2019-20.