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Pathways To Mental Health In Young Adulthood And Beyond: The Long-Term Effects Of Childhood Experiences Expressed Through Self-Esteem, Haosen Sun

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Utilizing the stress process paradigm and the life course perspective, the present study examines whether and how experiencing economic strain and family instability in adolescence has long-term effects on depressed affect (one component of psychological distress) in young adulthood. Using the 1992-1994 and 2000-2002 waves of the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), this research focuses on children age 10-17 in 1992-1994 who also participated in the 2000-2002 follow-up survey as adults, aged 18 and above (N=868). Results from multiple regression models suggest that both economic strain and family instability in adolescence may impair individual’s development of self-esteem and …

Examining Contextual Factors And Resilience In Adolescents Who Faced Adversity As Children, Veronica Zapotoczny

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The subject of mental health has increasingly become a topic of discussion as individuals advocate for recognition of this health issue. Early childhood adversity is often associated with mental health problems amongst adolescents, however, many do not succumb to these experiences and instead have resilient health outcomes. This study utilized data from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) to analyze the relationship between early adversity and adolescent mental health, how social context may mediate this association, and finally, what factors are associated with mental health resilience. It was found that many at risk children had positive health …

Policing Cyber Bullying: How Parents, Educators, And Law Enforcement Respond To Digital Harassment, Ryan Broll

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Some prior research has emphasised how adults ought to address cyber bullying, yet little is known about how they actually prevent and respond to digital harassment. This study addresses this gap in the literature by exploring the formal and informal “policing” of cyber bullying by a network of security actors: parents, teachers and school administrators, and the public police. Data were collected through a mixed methods research design consisting of semi-structured qualitative interviews with eight parents, 14 teachers, and 12 members of law enforcement (n = 34) and quantitative surveys completed by 52 parents.

Drawing upon nodal governance theory as …

Interesting Shapes Of Vegetables: Is It A Strategy To Promote Consumption Among Preschool Children?, Salma H. Alhabshi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study highlighted the low intake of vegetables by preschool children and determined whether changing the shape of vegetables increased their level of consumption. A new strategy of repeated exposure to interesting-shaped vegetables was a step aimed at increasing vegetable consumption by increasing the fun element in having vegetables as snacks. Vegetables are the less desirable food in comparison to more attractive unhealthy choices available to children, and discovering a strategy to promote vegetables is considered an important step in nutrition. The primary aim was to explore the effect of repeated exposure (eight times) of shaped vegetables on consumption by …

Foster Parents' Experiences And Withdrawal Considerations: Comparing Treatment And Regular Foster Care, Jessica N. Smith

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The current study investigated differences between the experiences of foster parents providing regular and treatment foster care, and their consideration to withdraw from their position. Survey responses from 852 foster parents were analyzed subsequent to separating the participants into two groups based on the type of care they provided (regular N = 454; treatment N = 398). Results from a chi-square test for independence revealed a treatment foster care parents considered withdrawing more than regular foster care parents. Cross-tabulations and independent samples t-tests revealed numerous differences between the two groups regarding foster parents reasons to withdraw and experiences fostering. The …

Children's Mental Health, Yvonne A. Asare-Bediako

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The study of children’s mental health has largely been the domain of developmental psychologists and psychiatrists. These studies focus on parental mental health, and examine its direct and indirect effects, through a family’s psychosocial environment. Relatively little attention is given to socio-structural factors. By contrast, the sociology of mental health focuses on such structural factors as poverty and income, examining the extent to which stressors and strains may pattern the effects of these factors on children’s psychopathology. Adding to the divergence in research is the use of maternal reports in the assessment of children’s mental health. These reports often reflect …