Digital Commons Network^™

Parental Incarceration And Stigma: A Qualitative Content Analysis Of Children's Books, Samantha Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Children of parental incarceration are often forgotten victims and have been noted to experience collateral consequences such as stigma, poor mental health, and isolation. Since children are often forgotten, there is a lack of information regarding their experiences, what resources are available to them, and whether or not these resources intended to be beneficial. One of the resources that are available to children, caregivers, and other adults are children’s books regarding parental incarceration. To determine whether or not these children's books act as a guide, this study examined the content and illustrations of 19 children’s books on parental incarceration. The …

Be Kind To Your Mind: A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing The Benefits Of Mindfulness And Self-Compassion Vs. Social Skills Training Among Children And Adolescents, Lindsey Feltis

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Childhood and adolescence can be difficult for young people as they navigate a variety of significant transitions. Thus, it is imperative that researchers focus on programs that support children and adolescents during this time. Mindfulness and self-compassion are two such programs that may promote positive youth development. Mindfulness and self-compassion have been explored in the adolescent context, and mindfulness has been explored with young children, however research on self-compassion for children is currently lacking. The present studies were designed to examine the feasibility, acceptability and potential benefits of a combined mindfulness + self-compassion program for children and adolescents in the …

Examining Disability In The Region Of Waterloo: Physical Activity Programming And Caregiving, Nicole J. Reinders Luymes

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Physical activity (PA) is a necessary component of wellbeing for individuals with and without disabilities. Disabled young people experience many barriers to PA, resulting in inactive lifestyles that compound health issues and hinder their full participation in schools and communities. The following dissertation includes a literature review regarding the effects of PA for young people with a variety of developmental disabilities, in addition to three research studies examining community-based PA programming, and one study exploring the lived experiences of caregivers, all within the Region of Waterloo.

The first study was a needs assessment to examine PA perceptions, practices, barriers, and …

The Inclusive Nature Of Mindfulness-Based Practice: Does Executive Functioning Play A Role In Children's Mindful Experience?, Kaitlyn Butterfield

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

We examined the effects of a six-week mindfulness program in order to assess how executive function level played a role in students’ mindful experience. The effects of the mindfulness program were evaluated according to prospective outcomes across students’ level of executive function, in comparison to an active control group. Classrooms were randomly assigned to a mindfulness-based program or a health-based active control group. Pre- and early adolescent students in the 5th to 8th grade (N = 52) from two MindfulMe! program classrooms and two HealthyMe! program classrooms (active control group) completed self-reported pretest and post-test measures to assess mindful attention …

An In-Depth Analysis Of The Health And Wellbeing Of Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Brianne Redquest, Paula Fletcher Dr., Pam Bryden Dr.

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Over five studies, this thesis aimed to investigate the overall health and wellbeing of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The primary objectives were to: (a) explore the areas of concern among individuals with ASD across the spectrum; (b) understand the differences pertaining to the overall health, social and motor functioning between high functioning and low functioning individuals; (c) understand the sex differences pertaining to the overall health, social, and motor functioning among high and low functioning individuals with ASD; (d) gain in-depth detail regarding the social and motor functioning of children and youth with ASD through the perspectives of …

Girls’ Voices Of The Eighteenth Century: The Development Of A Genre For Young Female Readers, 1740-1800, Sarah Rangaratnam

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Just as they do today, adolescent girls functioned as a cultural force in the eighteenth century, and it was commercially viable for authors and publishers to attract and sustain the attention of these teenaged readers. Girls’ Voices of the Eighteenth Century: The Development of a Genre for Young Female Readers, 1740-1800, examines how four female authors leveraged elements of fairy tales, romances and gothic fiction, and developed dialogue and humour in their texts, to reflect the interests and literary awareness of their target audience of adolescent girls. My study begins with an investigation of the legacy of early French fairy …

Moving And Improving: Investigating Physical Activity Patterns For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd), Kristen Wright

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The primary characteristics of ASD fall into three broad categories: communication problems, difficulty relating to people, things and events, and repetitive body movements and behaviours. According to the Government of Canada, in 2015, the prevalence of ASD was approximately 1% in North America and rising. The Canadian Physical Activity guidelines state clearly that the majority of elementary and secondary school aged children and youth (5-17 years old) should participate in 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily. Unfortunately, only 9% of this general population has been successful in obtaining the suggested amount of physical activity daily. However, for individuals with …

Investigating The Effects Of Mindfulness On Children’S Executive Function, Emotional Regulation, Stress, And Academic Performance Compared To A Control Condition, Lerna Hanceroglu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mindfulness is a growing field in the study of psychological well-being, with reports of individuals experiencing increases in resilience and reduced stress. The current research on mindfulness lacks information on a comprehensive analysis on the relationship between mindfulness and executive function, emotional regulation, stress, and subsequent academic performance for children. Additionally, studies contain methodological issues, such as the absence of active control groups. Hence, the current study assessed the effects of mindfulness training on children’s executive function, emotional regulation, stress, and academic outcomes compared to an active control group. There were 51 younger children from grades 2 to 4 (Mean …

“Where Did I Learn That?” Exploring The Similarity Effect And Children’S Use Of Memory Cues For Source Monitoring, Leanne E. Bird

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

An individual’s ability to accurately monitor source (attribute known or remembered information to its particular source or origin) develops gradually throughout childhood. Along with task difficulty (i.e., delay between encoding and retrieval), source similarity is among the utmost hindrance to individuals’ ability to accurately monitor source; specifically, the greater the similarity between sources the more difficult source monitoring judgments have been found to be, and the smaller similarity between sources (i.e., the greater number of differences between sources) the more accurate source monitoring judgments have been found to be. The similarity effect has been said to apply to all age …

An Exploratory Examination Of Families Engaged In An Adventure Running Kids Program, Heather Isnor

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Academics and practitioners have only just begun to delve into the health benefits of outdoor activities in the last few years. In general, the forested settings of these activities have been documented to decrease stress levels, increase recovery rates from disease, and lessen the symptoms of mental illnesses (Kuo & Faber Taylor, 2004). It is believed that the natural environment acts as a setting where humans can engage in physical activity, aesthetic experiences, and social interactions that, in turn, release stress and lead to improved well-being (Bird, 2012). Currently, however, children are experiencing limited exposure to nature and which has …