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Understanding Chronic Pain Trajectory In Adolescents Undergoing Spinal Fusion Surgery, Mallory Aaron Perry

Doctoral Dissertations

Each year, millions of children and adolescents undergo surgical procedures that put them at risk for experiencing persistent postsurgical pain (PPP). This dissertation focuses on identifying relationships among pre­surgical behavioral and psychosocial factors, peripheral and central pain sensitivity, and differential mRNA expression levels. The concurrent examination of each of these factors is novel and may lead to new targeted interventions to manage PPP in children undergoing spinal fusion (SF). The overall structure of this dissertation is a five-manuscript format. The outline is as follows: [1] Introduction, which introduces the aims, theoretical framework and purpose of the dissertation; [2] Integrative literature …

Operationalizing Recovery From Substance Use Disorders Among Adolescents In High School, Yiyun Chen

Doctoral Dissertations

The term “recovery” has been widely adopted in substance use-related literature. But no operational standard can be found regarding how to measure recovery among substance use population under 18 years old. Using data from 294 adolescents who were followed for 12 months after receiving treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs), we find converging evidence of a general recovery factor v, extracted from 15 indicators, that potentially reflects adolescents’ level of recovery from SUDs. The latent v score generated using factor loadings is associated with criterion variables in the expected directions where positive correlations were found with for life satisfaction, …

“A Joke You Can’T Tell”: Using Photography To Understand The Lived Experience Of Adolescents In Homeless Families, Michael Reeves

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experience of adolescents in homeless families. The extant research lacks the perspective of homeless adolescents themselves, how they cope, and the assets that help them. Like their peers, homeless adolescents face many challenges, but in environments that can be less conducive to successful development. Housing instability can interfere with the social exposure often experienced in school and in communities, potentially leaving homeless adolescents more vulnerable to negative peer and social influences.

This exploratory research took a strengths perspective, using critical theory and phenomenology, to better understand the lived experience of …

Parenting Style, Adolescent Suicidal Behavior And Self-Disclosure In A Sample Of Saint Lucian Adolescents, Emmanuel Ihemedu

Doctoral Dissertations

Since Baumrind’s (1966, 1967) initial theory on parenting styles, numerous studies have investigated the relationship between parenting styles and adolescent development. Despite this work on parenting style and adolescent behavior, there is still limited research on parenting styles, adolescent suicidal behavior, and self-disclosure. This study investigated whether, or not there is an association between parenting styles, adolescent suicidal behavior, and self-disclosure among adolescents of Saint Lucia and determined whether these relations were moderated by gender and family structure. The sample included 597 adolescents, 200 boys, 383 girls, 14 who identified as other, between the ages of 14 and …

Self Hypnosis For School Success: Empowering Adolescents With Anxiety And Stress, Nilani Shankar

Doctoral Dissertations

Self-hypnosis is a treatment that has been utilized to address the social-emotional concerns of adolescents with high levels of anxiety and stress. In this study, a multiple baseline design across three high school-aged participants was implemented to examine whether self-hypnosis could decrease symptoms of anxiety and stress and help to improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The results of the study indicated that the treatment resulted in decreases in trait and state anxiety for two out of three participants, improvements in stress levels for two out of three participants, and improvements in HRQoL for all three participants. Participants reported that …

Married Young Women’S Sexual And Reproductive Health In Low-Income Communities In Mumbai, India, Marie A. Brault

Doctoral Dissertations

Archival abstract submitted

Under The Radar: Comprehending Mental Health Needs And Services In School-Based Health Centers For Children And Adolescents, Ranbir Mangat Bains

Doctoral Dissertations

Among children and adolescents, one in five suffers from mental health disorders. Those belonging to diverse racial and ethnic groups are less likely to receive adequate treatment than their white counterparts. They are also more likely to reside in households at or below the poverty level. Though public schools are the largest providers of mental health services, the services they provide are inconsistent. School-based health centers (SBHC) have been providing comprehensive health and mental health services within or near schools for over 40 years. Majority are located in urban, inner cities and evidence for their success in providing mental health …

Promoting Academic Talent Development In Adolescents: Protective Factors And Linkages To Summer Program Participation, Kelly L. Kearney

Doctoral Dissertations

Special summer programs are considered a popular service-delivery approach to bolster the talent development of all students. This study seeks to explore protective factors that influence high-ability students’ talent development. Factors influencing the talent development of high-ability students are understudied, often in favor of researching underachievement and resilience.

Because very little research seeks the perceptions of these students in their own words, this study used a grounded theory approach to explore 54 students’ perceptions of their own talent development within the context of a residential, inquiry-based summer program for high-ability adolescents. Responses across all parts of the study revealed three …

Self-Distancing To Reduce Anger In High School Students, Koichi Yoshikawa

Doctoral Dissertations

The present study employed an experimental design to examine the efficacy of self-distancing as an intervention in a sample of high school students for promoting reflective adaptation to anger inducing events relative to a control group using self-reflection/self-immersion. Despite the prevalent assumption that self-reflection facilitates the resolution of negative emotions, evidence demonstrates that self-reflection often leads to anger rumination. Recent experimental studies on college students, elementary school students, and couples have found that self-distancing interventions, as compared to self-immersion/reflection interventions or a no-treatment control, lead to adaptive responses to anger and reductions in future aggression. As adolescents are particularly prone …

Interventions To Reduce Anxiety For Gifted Children And Adolescents, Amy H. Gaesser

Doctoral Dissertations

Interventions to Reduce Anxiety for Gifted Children and Adolescents

Amy H. Gaesser, PhD

University of Connecticut, 2014

This study examined the anxiety levels of gifted students, as well as the effectiveness of two interventions: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Using the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale-2 (RCMAS-2), Phase I of this study examined anxiety levels in gifted youth (n = 153) participating in private and public gifted education programs, grades 6-12, in two Northeastern states. ANOVA analyses indicated that gender (F [1, 149] = 13.52, p< .001, h₂= .08) and school setting (F …

Investigating The Academic Vocabulary Development Of Spanish-English Bilingual Students In Middle School, Eileen Mercedes Gonzalez

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the vocabulary development of Spanish-English bilingual adolescents (n= 98) from the end of 6^th through the end of 7^th grade in a dual language setting by looking at the patterns of growth in English and Spanish vocabulary post intervention and adding to the body of research on vocabulary development. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM).

At the first level (TIME), the analysis helped to describe the shape of each person’s individual growth trajectory and to examine within person variability. The analysis at the second level (STUDENTS) considered inter-individual differences in …