Digital Commons Network^™

Upper Elementary And Middle School U.S. Teachers’ Views Of Grammar And Its Instruction, Janice A. Dole, Elizabeth Thackeray Nelson, Adrienne Lowe Pahnke, Elisabeth Dibble Rush

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The purpose of this study was to investigate upper elementary (Grades 4–6) and middle school (Grades 6–8) teachers’ views of grammar and its instruction and to determine differences in their views about grammar, its instruction, and its importance to writing proficiency. Participants in this online study were 196 practicing teachers in eight school districts in one western U.S. state. Two thirds of the teachers in the study taught at the elementary level, and one third taught at the middle school level. When asked what they taught when teaching grammar, the large majority of these teachers reported teaching parts of speech, …

Promoting Social Participation For Adolescents With Burn Injury: A Guideline For Occupational Therapy Practice, Amanda M. Lange, Lenin Grajo

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Adolescents with burn injury are vulnerable to psychosocial dysfunction because of the complex nature of their neurobiological, cognitive, and interpersonal changes that occur during this developmental stage. Physical differences in appearance also make these adolescents prone to peer bullying and at further risk for social functioning challenges. These social functioning challenges may involve underlying difficulties with cognitive functions needed to support adaptive social functioning and can present as social isolation, inappropriate social behaviors, or social anxiety. Promoting social participation is a recognized intervention to support positive mental health and is necessary for identity formation during transition into adulthood. This guideline …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Adolescent Depression, Anhedonia, And Behavioral Therapy, Alison A. Delizza

Dissertations

Adolescent depression is a significant public health problem, however the current characterization of depression as a categorical label is problematic for understanding individual phenomenology, interindividual variability, and best treatment practices (Lewinsohn, Solomon, Seeley, & Zeiss, 2000). Anhedonia has been posited as a process underlying depression that may contribute to poorer outcomes (Gabbay, 2015). The current project examines large samples of adolescents diagnosed with depression to identify common features at a symptom level and the relationship these features have with behavioral therapy outcomes. Four phases of analyses were completed to 1) examine symptomology of multiple depressed adolescent samples in order to …

Effects Of Partnerships Between Adolescents With Developmental Disabilities And Service Dogs, Terry K. Crowe, Jean C. Deitz, Melissa Y. Winkle, Rachel A. Nelson, Jennifer Woolf

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: With increasing frequency, service dogs are being placed with children with developmental disabilities (DDs). Occupational therapists and other professionals have advocated for the therapeutic use of service dog partnerships to facilitate greater independence and quality of life. There are no studies that examine service dog intervention with adolescents.

Method: This study focused on the effects of partnerships between service dogs and three participant dyads, each including an adolescent with DDs and a parent. A single-subject, alternating treatment design was used to compare the effects of two conditions (service dog present or not present). The effects were examined …

Preventing Sexual Victimization: An Assertiveness Training Program For Female Adolescents, Emily Morgan

Dissertations

Unwanted sexual experiences occur too frequently in the United States and result in myriad deleterious consequences. The first instances of unwanted sexual experiences for females most frequently occur during adolescence (ages 12 to 17). Despite this, the majority of literature on sexual victimization and victimization prevention programs focus on college-aged females, thus leaving a need for research on prevention programs for adolescent females. The present study examined the effects of an assertiveness training program on the risk for sexual coercion among adolescent females. A behavioral skills training model (i.e. instruction, model, rehearsal, and feedback) was used to teach seven adolescent …

Concept Mapping And The Co-Op Approach With Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Exploring Participant Experiences, Jessie Wilson, Angela Mandich, Lilian Magalhaes, Kaity Gain

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: To explore the experiences of adolescents with ASD participating in a novel occupationally based intervention.

Methods: The intervention used concept mapping in combination with the CO-OP approach with 10 adolescents with ASD in a 4-week program focused on developing life skills they deemed as important in their transition to adulthood. A descriptive qualitative approach was employed using deductive thematic analysis informed by Self-Determination Theory and occupationally relevant theoretical frameworks. This study is part of a larger feasibility project and focuses on the analysis of participant reflections and researcher field notes.

Results: Five themes emerged: finding a sense of balance …

Increasing Competency For Parents Of Adolescents With Executive Functioning Deficits: Enhancing Occupational Performance With Mindfulness, Kimberly S. Mollo, Bernardo A. Merizalde, Jennifer E. Lape

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Executive functions are higher order cognitive processes occurring in the frontal lobe that influence cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functions. Adolescents with executive functioning deficits are at risk for difficulties in all domains of occupational functioning. Parents of these adolescents often live in a persistent state of stress that leads to highly reactive exchanges with their children. Studies have shown that a mindful approach to parenting can enhance a parent’s caregiving ability and self-awareness in the family unit.

Methods: A pretest/posttest study evaluated the effectiveness of a 6-week mindful parenting program. Four parents of adolescents with executive function deficits participated …

Examination Of The Effects Of Computer Assisted Mindfulness Strategies With Adolescents In An Alternative High School Setting, Justin A. Moore

Dissertations

Based on growing evidence that suggests mindfulness practices may improve psychological functioning, recent decades have seen a surge in mindfulness interventions and the use of technology as a means for teaching them. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects of four weeks of (twice weekly) training sessions using two computer-based strategies for teaching mindfulness-related skills to adolescents. The strategies included Breath Counting Training (BCT; Levinson et al., 2014) and Self-Compassion Training (SCT; Weng et al., 2013; Alberston, Neff, and Dill-Shackleford, 2014). Twenty adolescents (M age = 17.30; 40% male, 55% female, 5% gender neutral; 60% …

Coping And Africultural Adolescents, Britne R. Amos

Dissertations

The present study explored approaches to coping among Africultural, college students between the ages of 18 and 22 years. Coping strategies applied to Africultural adolescents and young adults have been studied from a majority culture, adult lens. In this context, Africultural is used to refer to people of self-identified African descent including and not limited to people who identify as African American (e.g., parent(s) were born in America, individual was born in America), of African descent and living in America (e.g., parents were born in Africa, individual was born in Africa), mixed African American and another ethnic group including Latino/a, …

Feedback In Online Writing Forums: Effects On Adolescent Writers, Heather J. S. Birch

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Adolescents are writing online. A cursory look at the web reveals that teenagers are well-represented; in blog posts, social media updates, profile pages, comments on YouTube videos, responses to news articles, and websites about their interests, teenagers are writing (Williams 2009). In the current research study, the specific kind of adolescent writing under consideration is writing posted in a social media context designed specifically for writers. This case study focuses on six young writers who are active members of an online writing community, and who post their writing in order to receive feedback. Descriptive data collected through interviews, as well …

“I Love The Country But I Can’T Stand The Scene”: Teaching Literature To Examine And Complicate Adolescent National Identity, Suzanne Ehst

The Hilltop Review

In lieu of an abstract, a short excerpt is provided:

"I was teaching high-school English on September 11, 2001. As my seniors finished their essay exams on the novel Siddhartha, a colleague poked her head into my room to whisper to me, “There’s something going on at The World Trade Center. A plane flew into one of the buildings… and it might not have been an accident.” As students finished their tests, I passed on this breaking news, which prompted one of my self-proclaimed globally aware students to ask, “The World Trade Center…that’s in D.C., right?” In subsequent days, students’ …

Combined Effects Of Mdma And Ethanol On Locomotor Activity And Place Conditioning In Male And Female Adolescent Sprague-Dawley Rats, Keli A. Herr

Masters Theses

MDMA, ("Ecstasy") is commonly abused in combination with ethanol (EtOH). Relatively few preclinical studies have investigated sex differences in animal models of polysubstance use. The current study employed a conditioned place preference (CPP) procedure to assess the behavioral effects of the co-administration ofMDMA /EtOH in 32 male and 32 female adolescent Sprague-Dawley rats. Following a 15 min habituation trial, eight 30-min conditioning trials were conducted in two- compartment chambers with different environmental cues. Before each drug conditioning trials, rats were administered intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of MDMA(6.6 mg/kg), EtOH (1.5 g/kg), MDMA (6.6 mg/kg) and EtOH (1.5 g/kg), or saline. Prior …

Indicators Of Simulated Driving Skills In Adolescents With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Sherrilene Classen, Miriam Monahan, Kiah Brown

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have an increased risk for committing traffic violations, and they are four times more likely than neurotypical peers to be crash involved, making them a potentially high risk group for driving. We used a two-group design to measure differences in demographics, clinical off-road tests, and fitness to drive abilities in a driving simulator with nine adolescents with ADHD (mean age = 15.00, SD ± 1.00) compared to 22 healthy controls (HC) (mean age = 14.32, SD ±..716), as evaluated by an Occupational Therapist Certified Driving Rehabilitation Specialist (OT-CDRS). Despite few demographic differences, the …

Current Music Therapy Practice With Adolescents With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders In The United States: A Survey Of The Profession, Melinda K. Murray

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to survey Board Certified Music Therapists in the US to examine (a) the demographics of the music therapists working with this population in a non-school setting, (b) assessments used by the music therapists, (c) goals for clients, and (d) treatment methods used in the treatment of adolescents with emotional and/or behavioral disorders. The participants in this study were board certified music therapists working with emotional and/or behavioral impairments outside of the school setting. Of the total of 111 surveys sent to music therapists who possibly met the inclusion criteria, 27 were returned (N=27). The …

"It's All One Big Circle": Welfare Discourse And The Everyday Lives Of Urban Adolescents, Staci T. Lowe

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Welfare reform succeeded, in part, because of discourse that characterized the poverty problem as one of long-term dependency and personal irresponsibility. Adolescent pregnancy was targeted as both cause and manifestation of a welfare crisis. This study examined how welfare reform was perceived and experienced by lowincome, urban adolescents. Findings from interviews revealed that adolescents agreed with many of the basic tenets of welfare reform, largely because they had appropriated much of the discourse prevalent in wider society. However, their complex life stories contained a powerful subtext concerning structural determinants of poverty that ran counter to prevailing notions of "personal responsibility."

Relationships Between Parents And Their Absent Adolescent Offspring In The High Middle Ages, Fiona Harris Stoertz

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.