Digital Commons Network^™

Mothers’ Versus Fathers’ Ratings Of Child Behavior Problems, Jessica K. Curley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to examine how mothers and fathers view children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. More specifically, the relationship between certain factors, such as parental psychological symptoms, levels of interparental conflict, characteristics of the behaviors, and discrepancies in mothers' and fathers' ratings of behavior problems were studied in more depth. Using a between subjects, experimental design, mothers and fathers were randomly assigned to view a videotape and rate the behavior of a male or female child acting in either an internalizing, externalizing, or non-clinical manner. Results showed that there were no differences between mothers' and fathers' …

Teaching Children About Social Justice Through Picture Books, Brooke C. Sorenson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

"Boys can't play with dolls!" "A girl can't be a doctor!" "Those people look weird!" "He's to dumb to play with us!" "My mommy says I can't play with you!" Unfortunately, phrases like this can be heard on a typical elementary school playground. As teachers, we have the difficult task of teaching about social justice and working to uproot prejudice and discrimination.

Facilitating Communication About Death Between Mothers And Adolescent Sons Using Fictional Children's Literature, Deon G. Leavy

Theses and Dissertations

Most children will experience the death of a loved one in their lifetime and will need to develop healthy grieving patterns. Communication between parents and children is a key ingredient in facilitating this development. Current opinions about bibliotherapy, using a book to assist in healing, suggest that books provide understanding about grief and death and open channels of communication. Although the use of bibliotherapy is gaining popularity, little research exists about its efficacy. Utilizing the book The Bridge to Terabithia, this study evaluated the facilitation of communication about death between 19 dyads of mother and adolescent sons. Their answers and …

Development Of A Centralized Database System For Embracing Horses And The Urban Farm, April D. Hoskins

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Embracing Horses and The Urban Farm at Stapleton, is a nonprofit organization whose mission statement is to connect children from inner city neighborhoods to their natural environment, instilling a sense of respect, appreciation, and, ultimately responsibility for the plants and animals which share that space and a working knowledge of responsible stewardship of those plants and animals. To achieve this mission a paper based and generic database system have been utilized to record information pertaining to volunteers, financial donors, program offerings, and mailing distributions. These current systems no longer meet the needs of the organization, as the number of children …

Longitudinal Effects Of Family Variables And Illness Severity On Cognitive Functioning In Children With Hiv Infection, Heather Jordon Clark

Psychology Dissertations

Although HIV/AIDS is the 9th leading cause of death in African-American children, 80% of HIV-infected children in the U.S. live into school-age years. This study focuses on associations between HIV illness severity, family factors, and long-term cognitive functioning of these children. Participants included 42 perinatally HIV-infected children (mean age = 72.4 months), 93% of whom were African-American. Mean intellectual functioning was more than one standard deviation below the normative mean; whereas, overall language and attention functioning were generally not different from the normative sample. First, this study described changes in functioning over time and/or between genders. Analyses of variance were …

The Effect Of Leisure-Based Screen Time On Physical Activity, Mary Dawn Sperry

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of leisure-based screen time on physical activity. Ninety-four families participated in this six-week study. Each family was randomly assigned to one of three screen time groups: (1) control group (2) 2-hour-limit group or (3) one-hour-limit group. Family members wore a Walk4Life LS 2505® pedometer to measure steps. Daily screen time logs were filled out each night and leisure-based screen time and steps were recorded. Analysis of variance (steps x group) was used to determine differences among the groups. Univariate tests showed there were no significant differences among any of the …

Using Social Cognitive Theory To Model Health Behaviors Among Chinese Children, Yan Zhang

Health Services Research Dissertations

This study examined the usefulness of Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) to model fast-food intake, fruit/vegetable consumption, and regular physical activity among a group of Chinese-American children in a Southeastern Virginia urban area.

An observational cross-sectional survey research design and snowball sampling were used. The survey employed items from the Health Behavior Questionnaire, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, and a 24-hour Diet Recall Form. Eighty-four children completed the self-administered survey; 54 of these were enrolled in a Chinese Weekend School. The mean age of the children was 10.5 years (range 6-18) and 43% were girls. Logistic regression models were used to …

The Discursive Production Of Subjectivity In Television News: Reflecting The Other On The Obese Child's Body, Elise Chatelain

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In this paper, I expand on poststructuralist and feminist theories of the body, gender, and subjectivity through an analysis of media discourse on childhood obesity. Through textual and narrative analyses of news segments on childhood obesity, I demonstrate that the obese child's body, as an abnormal body, is represented as a text of the 'abnormal' conditions in which that body is produced. Thus, the single-mother family structure and/or nonwhite and working class families -- families saturated with the excessive, out-of-control subjectivity of the Other-- are visible on the excessive, out-ofcontrol body of the obese child. I will argue that the …

Determining Quality Through Audience, Genre, And The Rhetorical Canon: Imagining A Biography Of Eudora Welty For Children, Cindy Sheffield Michaels

English Theses

While numerous studies on academic writers composing for non-academic audiences exist, few if any studies address academic writers composing biographies for children. This self-reflective case study of a Eudora Welty biography for children provides insight into how an academic writer can effectively write in a specific genre (biography) for a specific audience (children) and into practical rhetorical choices such as choosing photographs and designing page layouts. The study also offers triangulated data regarding essential criteria of quality children’s literature as identified by experts in the field (editors, publishers, award committee members, scholars, and authors). The author’s findings include sixty-eight of …

A Review Of School-Based Interventions For Children And Adolescents Who Suffer From Depressive Symptoms, Sherry L. Hlavaty

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This paper provides a brief review of childhood and adolescent depressive disorders and the importance of treating such symptoms within a school setting. The purpose of this paper was to examine published studies that were conducted in schools and were designed to treat symptoms of depression in children and adolescents. Active treatments utilized in this review were shown to be effective in reducing symptoms of depression. Most active treatment conditions involved intervention components that are commonly used in conjunction with typical cognitive-behavioral therapies . Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of specific programs and program components. Implications of …

Nutrition Education For Parents Of Children With Cystic Fibrosis : Assessment Of Needs And Strategies For Improved Knowledge And Confidence In Self Care, Catherine M. Mcdonald

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Suboptimal growth and nutritional status are problematic for children with cystic fibrosis (CF). Optimal nutrition predicts better lung function and longevity. Daily nutrition therapy for children with CF requires adequate food resources, knowledge of appropriate nutrition and behavior management skills, and confidence in one's ability to correctly apply the necessary skills. The Mountain West Cystic Fibrosis Consortium Questionnaire (MWCFC-Q) was designed as an educational needs assessment for parents of children with CF. The goal was to identify areas of concern that could be targeted for educational intervention to ultimately improve children's growth and nutritional status.

Data analyzed from 305 returned …

The Impact Of Extracurricular Activities On Children's School Performance And Mental Health, Amber L. Crews

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The relationship between the amount of extracurricular activities and the school performance and mental health of children and adolescents was examined. One hundred thirty-three parents completed measures on extracurricular activity participation, academic performance, and mental health for their children in Grades 3-12. Results indicated one significant linear and one significant curvilinear relationship between extracurricular activity participation and school performance of adolescents. As adolescents were involved in additional extracurricular activities, their school performance improved (in a linear relationship), while median amounts of activity were related to the best grades (in a curvilinear relationship). Although these results were significant, their practical meaningfulness …

Brief Therapy For Traumatized Children, Lisa Marie Linning

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Traumatic child maltreatment can negatively impact every developmental domain of a child, when left untreated. Thus, child psychologists have recognized a critical need for treatment and prevention strategies to circumvent the negative trajectories that can develop after traumatic events. Brief Therapy for Traumatized Children (BTTC) was developed to treat traumatized youth in shelter care. Treatment components included psychoeducation, building effective coping strategies, boundary setting, anxiety management skills, challenging cognitive distortions, development of trauma narrative and journaling. One hundred-forty-seven participants from a children's shelter in Las Vegas, NV, aged 12--17 years, were voluntarily recruited and assessed for trauma symptoms. Data from …

Empirical Modeling Of A Marijuana Expectancy Memory Network In Children As A Function Of Age And Marijuana Use, Jacqueline Alfonso

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present investigation modeled the expectancy memory organization and likely memory activation patterns of marijuana expectancies of children across age and marijuana use. The first phase of the study surveyed 142 children to obtain their first associate to marijuana use. From their responses, the Marijuana Expectancy Inventory for Children and Adolescents (MEICA) was developed. The second phase of the study administered the MEICA to a second sample of 392 children to model marijuana expectancy organization and probable memory activation paths of marijuana users versus never-users. Results indicated that irrespective of age, adolescents who have used marijuana tend to emphasize positive-negative …

Parental Attributions And Discipline Of Child Behavior, Arazais Oliveros

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Extant empirical evidence suggests that multiple risk and protective factors implicated in children's development of behavior problems are intertwined. This study, therefore, investigated the relationships among parental depression and anger, attributions of control, discipline, parent-child relationship variables, and children's behavior problems. Results were based on the responses of parents (55 mothers and 13 fathers) with children in Head Start and parents (52 mothers and 4 fathers) with children in Private School settings. All parents had children who ranged in age from 3- to 8-years. Compared to Private School parents, Head Start parents had lower levels of nonviolent discipline, involvement, and …

Constructing A Math Applications, Curriculum-Based Assessment: An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Apllications [Sic] Problems, Computation Problems And Criterion-Referenced Assessments, James E. Connell, Jr.

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is a well established tool for formative assessment. CBM has also been used for prediction of state test scores. However, validity coefficients between math-CBM and state tests have been moderate at best (Skiba, Magnusson, Martson, and Erickson, 1986; Martson, 1989; Putnam, 1989). The purpose of the present investigation was to develop and evaluate a set of math assessments designed to measure the type of application and problem-solving objectives required on state tests. The "application" type assessments constructed for this study combined characteristics of CBM, accuracy-based curriculum-based assessment (CBA) and criterion-referenced assessment (CRA). Theses assessments were derived from …

Effect Of Medicaid/Schip And Wic On Oral Health Of Low-Income Children, Dahlia Naqib

Theses and Dissertations

Oral caries is the most prevalent chronic disease among US children, and disproportionately impacts those of low socioeconomic status. Studies have shown that the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children (WIC) improves access to dental care among Medicaid children. This study investigated the impact of WIC, Medicaid, and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) on the prevalence of dental caries among low-income children. The 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 NHANES data were utilized for this analysis. Children 2-4 years old who participated in WIC, Medicaid, or SCHIP, or who were uninsured, and for whom both interview and complete …

The Effects Of Social Skills Intervention On The Emotional Intelligence Of Children With Limited Social Skills, Marni B. Betlow

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Children And Healthy Eating: A Global, Policy And School Curriculum Perspective, Erica Logan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Healthy eating is a topic most people would consider they have an understanding of, yet it is an area which is not often addressed from a critical perspective. Healthy eating is freely discussed in society. It is a dominant discourse used commercially and frequently appears in educational 'texts', however the discourses surrounding healthy eating for children are not well analysed and are most often controlled by the media and often not challenged. A critical perspective to children's eating is adopted for this portfolio and multiple perspectives bought to bare regarding the globalisation of food cultures, and governance and policy influences …

Global Discontents, Priyadarshini A. Khatri

Theses and Dissertations

My creative project explores toys as means to express economic issues of globalization. By exploiting the educational and imaginative aspects of toys for adults and children, I intend to reflect on the impact and pressures of globalization on employment, technology and environment. In creating these toys I hope to make a visual statement concerning critical issues of human survival, sustainability and the divisive side of globalization.

Comorbidity Of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Low Income Urban Youth, Karen Ann Laslie

LSU Master's Theses

Chronic exposure to violence is becoming increasingly common for urban children, placing them at an increased risk of developing psychopathology. For children exposed to chronic violence, two common diagnoses are Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). However, symptom overlap between these disorders has made differential diagnosis difficult. Most studies looking at the comorbidity between ADHD and PTSD have focused only on maltreated children. This study is the first to look at comorbid rates of ADHD and PTSD for children exposed to chronic violence, not limited to maltreatment. Specifically, this study evaluated rates of PTSD symptoms in children with …