Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Executive Functioning In The Context Of Urban Poverty: An Examination Of Poverty Related Stress And Its Relationships To Academic Achievement, Jacquelyn L. Doxie

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Living in urban poverty has been linked to numerous negative conditions that disproportionately expose low-income urban youth and their families to severe and chronic stressors (Collins et al., 2010; DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, and Smith, 2012; Sznitman, Reisel, and Romer, 2011). Research has consistently shown a strong relationship between these stressors and numerous negative outcomes that can impact an adolescent emotionally, behaviorally, and academically (Conger et al., 2002). This dissertation is focused on the area of academic achievement, an outcome consistently found to be negatively impacted by poverty (Rouse and Fantuzzo, 2009). Based on Bronfenbrenner’s model of bio-ecological human development (Bronfenbrenner and …

Social Support And The Role Of Housing For Homeless Families Involved In The Child Welfare System, Saidah Chambers

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigates the impact of a housing intervention for homeless families involved in the child welfare system on social support and their networks. Qualitative methods were employed in a randomized control trial of a housing intervention to examine the meaning of social support ±rom the perspective of caregivers while exploring the relation between instrumental support (e.g. advice, emotional support, and perceived support), family roles, decision making processes, and housing. Findings suggest little difference in families' perceptions of social support regardless of receiving a housing voucher; however, differences between doubled up housing arrangements and independently housed families may be …

The Cross Cultural Examination Of A Brief Autism Diagnostic Interview (Adi-R) In Korea And The United States, Elizabeth Lally Daley

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability in the United States; as many as 1 in 88 individuals have been identified with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2010). Although scientists are working on understanding how many people in the population have autism, there is a limited amount of focus on the identification of any cultural factors that may influence people’s understanding about autism, attitudes about autism, and reporting of symptoms. The accepted methods for diagnosing autism are the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R). This study seeks to …

Manifestations Of Traumatic Stress Among Adolescent Girls In Post-Conflict Northern Uganda, Tiamo Katsonga-Phiri

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

This study examines manifestations of mental health concerns in response to Gender Based Violence (GBV) specifically rape in a Non-western post-conflict setting. The population is a sample of girls aged 13-18 years residing in an Internally Displaced Person’s camp in Northern Uganda. Through semi-structured interviews, the girls shared their experiences of Gender Based Violence. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, 30 transcripts were analyzed to explore what these girls’ experiences have been with regard to rape, mental health and cultural and contextual stressors. Findings show that the girls described experiencing symptoms similar to those outlined in the DSM. Additionally, the girls described …

The Impact Of Culture And Neighborhood Context On The Mental Health Of Latino Youth, William Martinez

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Latino youth are members of an ethnic group that shares similar values, customs, beliefs, and, often, the Spanish language, that serve as protective factors for some youth. The extent to which these factors are protective across neighborhood contexts has yet to be explored. The present study adds to the literature on contextual correlates of mental health symptomatology in Latino adolescents by examining individual cultural dimensions as protective factors, and environmental risk and protective factors through the lens of the person-environment fit theory (Caplan, 1987). Specifically, the person-environment fit theory is evaluated by proposing that the fit between a Latino youth’s …

Preventive Mental Health As An Approach To Improving School Outcomes Among Youth: A Meta-Analytic Review, Katrina Elaine Roundfield

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Researchers, policy makers, and educators continuously seek new avenues to enhance the academic achievement of children and adolescents. This goal is particularly pressing among youth from low-income, urban backgrounds, who are at increased risk for school failure (Aud, Wilkinson-Flicker, Kristapovich, Rathbun, Wang, et al., 2011). Taking a more holistic approach to understanding academic achievement, burgeoning research has begun to focus on the mental health of the child. Preventive mental health (PMH) is a theoretically sound and effective means of reducing the incidence of mental illness among youth from varying levels of risk (Durlak & Wells, 1997; 1998; Greenberg, Domitrovich, Bumbarger, …

Examining The Pathway From Maternal Criminal Involvement To Adolescent Delinquency, Dina Chavira

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

As incarceration rates across the United States have continued to rise, there has been growing concern with the unintended consequences that have resulted. This has prompted researchers across multiple disciplines to study the effects of incarceration at the individual, family, community, and societal levels. An important but overlooked factor pertains to extensive multiple social service agency involvement and missed opportunities for intervention. Families involved with the criminal justice system (CJS) are often at risk of involvement with other human service agencies, one agency being the child welfare system (CWS). Little is known about families who fall within these two systems, …

Parenting Dimensions And Internalizing Symptoms Among Low-Income Latino Adolescents: Cultural Values As Moderators, Crystalia Sulaiman

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Among ethnic minority youth, Latino adolescents disproportionately report higher levels of depression and anxiety than their peers of other ethnic backgrounds. The purpose of the present study is to better understand the familial and sociocultural factors that impact mental health among Latino adolescents. Specifically, the present study examines how youth cultural values (i.e., family obligation and affiliative obedience) moderate the relation between parenting dimensions (i.e., parental acceptance and parental psychological control) and youth internalizing symptoms (i.e., depression and anxiety) cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Latino adolescents (n = 115) from a Chicago public school categorized as "lowincome" participated in a survey and …

Sexy But Not Sexual: An Examination Of The Sexual Narratives Of African American Adolescent Females, April Timmons

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Much of the research on sexuality during adolescence has focused on the potential negative sequelae of adolescent sexual behavior such as STI acquisition or teenage pregnancy. Researchers have begun to advocate for examining adolescent sexuality as a normative aspect of adolescent development. One aspect of this examination would be to form a more complete understanding of how adolescents develop their sexual identity – their conceptualization of themselves as a sexual being. Erickson’s (1968) identity development theory asserts that identity is developed internally and shaped by the social environment.

Development of a healthy sexual identity may be particularly difficult for African …

The Effect Of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy On Strengthening The Attachment Relationship With Foster Parents And Children In Foster Care, Christina Marie Danko

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Children in foster care are more likely to face difficulties in forming a secure attachment relationship and to have problem behaviors than children not in foster care (Dozier & Rutter, 2008). Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an evidence-based treatment that focuses on strengthening the attachment relationship between the child and the caregiver, as well as reducing the number and intensity of behavior problems. Although PCIT is based on attachment theory, very few studies have examined the effect of PCIT on child-parent attachment or examined the effect of PCIT on attachment in foster care families. This study extends prior work and …

The Role Of Multicultural Competence, Privilege, Attributions, And Team Support In Predicting Positive Youth Mentor Outcomes, Rachael Leigh Suffrin

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

In the current study we use Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological theory to guide an inquiry into how the social environment surrounding mentors’ matters in regards to mentor outcomes of satisfaction, retention, and extra-role pro-social behavior (i.e., mentors willingness to go above and beyond for their mentee or the mentoring program). Mentors are sampled from mentoring organizations across the United States. Drawing from Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory (1979), we examine mentors embedded in distinct micro- and macrosystems. At the microsystem level we explore how the relationship between the mentor and the (a) mentee, (b) mentees’ family, and (c) the mentoring team may predict …

Gender Role Ideology And Major Choice Of Students In College Religious Groups, Charlynn Anne Odahl

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

In the present study examined students who attend college religious groups to better understand how religious conservatism, religious commitment, and gender may shape gender role ideology and college major choice. A focus on these outcomes of gender role ideology and college major choice is important given the continued persistence of sexism and gender inequality. We examined how personal characteristics and characteristics of the group (i.e., defined by peer and leader attitudes) may shape personal gender role ideology and major choice. We tested how personal, peer, and leader religious conservatism may predict more traditional gender role ideology and the choice of …

Exposure To Violence As A Moderator Of The Relation Between Coping Strategies And Outcomes In Low Income Urban Youth, Alexandra Lauren Barnett

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The current study addresses a paradox in the literature wherein the coping strategies seeming to be most effective for predominantly Caucasian, middle-class, adult samples, sometimes have the opposite effect on low income urban youth. In doing so, exposure to violence is investigated as a moderator of the association between active, behavioral avoidance and cognitive avoidance and internalizing and externalizing outcomes over the short and long term for low income urban youth. Luthar and colleague’s (2000) protective-reactive, protective-enhancing, and vulnerable-reactive models are theoretical bases for this hypothesis. The findings are that the association between behavioral avoidance and internalizing symptoms was protective, …