Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Perceptions And Experiences Of Intimate Partner Violence Among Hispanic College Students, Racquel Vera

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is recognized as a serious, growing problem on college campuses. IPV rates among college students exceed estimates reported for the general population. Few studies have examined the impact of IPV among the Hispanic college student (HCS) population or explored how HCSs perceive and experience IPV.

Focusing on young adults (ages 18 to 25 years), this mixed methods study was designed to explore the perceptions and experiences of IPV focusing on levels of victimization and perpetration in relation to gender role attitudes and beliefs, exposure to parental IPV, acculturation, and religiosity. A sample of 120 HCSs was …

Program Evaluation Of Behavior Management Training For Preschool Teachers: Child Outcomes, Erika Nicole Christianson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Due to the immense challenges faced by young children who exhibit emotion regulation problems, prevention programs have been designed to train teachers on strategies useful for improving classroom behavior. The current study examines the effects of a prevention program implemented in a blended Head Start/daycare setting and evaluates the outcomes of the training on children’s cognitive/preliteracy skills, selfregulation, and social competence in the fall and spring following teacher training. The intervention group (Western Kentucky University Child Care Center) and control group (Bryant Way Child Care Center) were part of a blended Head Start/child care preschool program. Children’s self-regulation, social competence, …

Operant And Respondent Procedures To Establish Social Stimuli As Reinforcers In Children With Autism, Paloma Rodriguez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to the DSM-IV- TR (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), one of the core deficits in autism is in the impairment of social interaction. Some have suggested that underlying these deficits is the reality that individuals with autism do not find social stimuli to be as reinforcing as other types of stimuli (Dawson, 2008). An interesting and growing body of literature supports the notion that symptoms in autism may be caused by a general reduction in social motivation (Chevallier et al., 2012). A review of the literature suggests that social orienting and social motivation are low in individuals with autism, and …

Prenatal Development: Annotated Bibliography, Victoria J. Molfese, Amanda Prokasky, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Ibrahim H. Acar, Xiaoqing Tu, Kate Sirota, Brian Keiser

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

For decades, researchers have investigated how events in the prenatal period impact women and their infants. These studies, particularly by researchers in the medical, neuroscience, and behavioral science fields, led to discoveries of important information regarding the prenatal events that were strongly associated with mortality (or death) and morbidity (or incidences of injury, pathology and abnormalities/anomalies, and neurobehavioral sequelae) in the neonatal and infancy periods. Among the many common findings from early research studies, two are particularly noteworthy. First, maternal and fetal risk conditions arising in the prenatal period do not do so in isolation. Sameroff and Chandler characterized this …

Body Esteem, Peer Difficulties, And Perceptions Of Physical Health In Overweight And Obese Urban Children Ages 5 To 7 Years, Natalie A. Williams, Jennifer Fournier, Mace Coday, Phyllis A. Richey, Frances A. Tylavsky, Marion E. Hare

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Objective—To determine whether there is an association between body mass index (BMI) and body esteem in young overweight and obese urban children, and to test peer relationship difficulties and perceived physical health as mediators of this relationship.

Methods—Child self-reported body esteem, and parent-reported child peer relationship difficulties (being bullied by peers and peer rejection) and physical health perceptions were obtained from 218 overweight and obese children ages 5–7 years (81% racial/ethnic minority, M BMI = 25.3) and their primary caregivers.

Results—Higher BMI was associated with lower body esteem for both girls and boys. This relation was mediated …

Short- And Long-Term Associations Between Widowhood And Mortality In The United States: Longitudinal Analyses, J. Robin Moon, M. Maria Glamour, Anusha M. Vable, Sze Yan Liu, S.V. Subramanian

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Background

Past research shows that spousal death results in elevated mortality risk for the surviving spouse. However, most prior studies have inadequately controlled for socioeconomic status (SES), and it is unclear whether this ‘widowhood effect’ persists over time.

Methods

Health and Retirement Study participants aged 50+ years and married in 1998 (n = 12 316) were followed through 2008 for widowhood status and mortality (2912 deaths). Discrete-time survival analysis was used to compare mortality for the widowed versus the married.

Results

Odds of mortality during the first 3 months post-widowhood were significantly higher than in the continuously married (odds ratio …

Individual Child Cognitive Behavioral Treatment Versus Child-Parent Cognitive Behavioral Treatments For Anxiety Disorders In Children And Adolescents: Comparative Outcomes, Jessica Dahan

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety disorders; such as separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia and specific phobia, are widespread in children and adolescents. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be effective in reducing excessive fears and anxieties in children and adolescents. Research has produced equivocal findings that involving parents in treatment of child anxiety enhances effects over individual CBT (ICBT). The present dissertation study examined whether parental involvement can enhance individual treatment effect if the parent conditions are streamlined by targeting specific parental variables. The first parent condition, Parent Reinforcement Skills Training (RFST), involved increasing mothers’ use of positive reinforcement …

Social Compass Curriculum: Three Descriptive Case Studies Of Social Skills Outcomes For Students With Autism, Louanne E. Boyd, Deborah M. Ward

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

The Social Compass Curriculum (SCC) was investigated for its effectiveness in improving core social skills in three descriptive case studies of students with autism. Treatment fidelity of the SCC was also measured in the school setting. The Social Responsiveness Scale and the Autism Social Skills Profile were completed by parents to measure pre- and postintervention social skills for three students aged 8 to 11 years who participated in the present multisite pilot study. Fidelity of implementation data were collected via a checklist during observations for three educators who implemented the intervention. Results indicate that the SCC improved core social deficits …

Strength, But Not Direction, Of Handedness Is Related To Height, Ruth E. Propper, Tad T. Brunyé, Karly Frank, Sean E. Mcgraw

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Left-handers are reputed to be shorter than right-handers. However, previous research has confounded handedness direction (left- versus right-handedness) with handedness strength (consistency with which one hand is chosen across a variety of tasks; consistent- versus inconsistent-handedness). Here, we support a relationship between handedness strength, but not direction, and stature, with increasing inconsistent-handedness associated with increasing self-reported height.

The Racial And Ethnic Identity Formation Process Of Second- Generation Asian Indian Americans: A Phenomenological Study, Derek Kenji Iwamoto, Nalini Junko Negi, Rachel Negar Partiali, John W. Creswell

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

This phenomenological study elucidates the identity development processes of 12 secondgeneration adult Asian Indian Americans. The results identify salient sociocultural factors and multidimensional processes of racial and ethnic identity development. Discrimination, parental, and community factors seemed to play a salient role in influencing participants’ racial and ethnic identity development. The emergent Asian Indian American racial and ethnic identity model provides a contextualized overview of key developmental periods and turning points within the process of identity development.

Risk Factors For Overweight/Obesity In Preschool Children: An Ecological Approach, Dipti A. Dev, Brent A. Mcbride, Barbnara H. Fiese, Blake Jones, Hyunkeun Cho, Strong Kids Research Team

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Background—Identification of risk factors is critical to preventing the childhood obesity epidemic. Risk factors that contribute to obesity are multifactorial. However, limited research has focused on identifying obesity risk factors using an ecological approach.

Methods—Baseline self-report survey data from the STRONG Kids program were used. The sample consisted of 329 parent-child dyads recruited from childcare programs in east-central Illinois. Child height and weight were measured and converted to age- and sex-specific z-scores using standard growth charts. An ecological model provided the theoretical framework for the selection of 22 previously reported childhood obesity risk factors. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used …

Perceptions Of Parental Awareness Of Emotional Responses To Stressful Life Events, Lisa Jobe-Shields, Gilbert R. Parra, Kelly E. Buckholdt

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

There is a need to better understand family processes related to recovery from past stressful life events. The present study aimed to investigate links between perceptions of parental awareness regarding stressful life events, continued event-related rumination, and current symptoms of depression. Students at a diverse, urban university completed a life events checklist and a semistructured interview regarding family processing of stressful life events, as well as self-report measures of event-related rumination and depression. Results indicated that perceptions of mothers’ and fathers’ awareness of sadness regarding stressful life events as well as mothers’ and fathers’ verbal event processing predicted symptoms of …

Risk Factors For Non-Initiation Of The Human Papillomavirus (Hpv) Vaccine Among Adolescent Survivors Of Childhood Cancer, James L. Klosky, Kathryn M. Russell, Kristin E. Canavera, Heather L. Gammel, Jason R. Hodges, Rebecca H. Foster, Gilbert R. Parra, Jessica L. Simmons, Daniel M. Green, Melissa M. Hudson

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Effective vaccination is now available to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted infection and cause of cervical cancer. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of HPV vaccination among childhood cancer survivors and identify factors associated with HPV vaccine initiation and completion. Mothers of daughters aged 9–17 years with/without a history of childhood cancer (n = 235, M_age= 13.2 years, SD= 2.69; n = 70, M_age= 13.3 years, SD=2.47, respectively) completed surveys querying HPV vaccination initiation and completion along with socio-demographic, medical, HPV knowledge and communication, and health belief factors, …

Temperament In Early Childhood And Peer Interactions In Third Grade: The Role Of Teacher–Child Relationships In Early Elementary Grades, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Kate Niehaus, Eric S. Buhs, Jamie M. White

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Children’s interactions with peers in early childhood have been consistently linked to their academic and social outcomes. Although both child and classroom characteristics have been implicated as contributors to children’s success, there has been scant research linking child temperament, teacher–child relationship quality, and peer interactions in the same study. The purpose of this study is to examine children’s early temperament, rated at preschool age, as a predictor of interactions with peers (i.e., aggression, relational aggression, victimization, and prosociality) in third grade while considering teacher–child relationship quality in kindergarten through second grades as a moderator and mediator of this association. The …

Eye-Catching Odors: Olfaction Elicits Sustained Gazing To Faces And Eyes In 4-Month-Old Infants, Karine Durand, Jean-Yves Baudouin, David J. Lewkowicz, Nathalie Goubet, Benoist Schaal

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study investigated whether an odor can affect infants’ attention to visually presented objects and whether it can selectively direct visual gaze at visual targets as a function of their meaning. Four-month-old infants (n = 48) were exposed to their mother’s body odors while their visual exploration was recorded with an eye-movement tracking system. Two groups of infants, who were assigned to either an odor condition or a control condition, looked at a scene composed of still pictures of faces and cars. As expected, infants looked longer at the faces than at the cars but this spontaneous preference for faces …

An Investigation Of The Association Between Arithmetic Achievement And Symbolic And Nonsymbolic Magnitude Processing In 5-9 Year-Old Children: Evidence From A Paper-And-Pencil Test, Nadia Nosworthy

Faculty Publications

Recently, there has been a growing emphasis on basic number processing competencies (such as the ability to judge which of two numbers is larger) and their role in predicting individual differences in school-relevant math achievement. Children’s ability to compare both symbolic (e.g. Arabic numerals) and nonsymbolic (e.g. dot arrays) magnitudes has been found to correlate with their math achievement. The available evidence, however, has focused on computerized paradigms, which may not always be suitable for universal, quick application in the classroom. Furthermore, it is currently unclear whether both symbolic and nonsymbolic magnitude comparison are related to children’s performance on tests …

A Study Of How Selected Public School Junior-High Students Perceive The Effect Of Popular Music On Classroom Behavior, Christopher Mc Allister

Masters Theses

The objective of this study is to further the understanding of how junior-high students in the public schools perceive the effects of popular music on their behavior in the classroom. Two primary research questions serve as the foundation for this study. The first question investigates how themes disclosed in interviews of selected public school junior high students help to explain their personal perceptions of how popular music affects their behavior in the academic environment. The second question seeks to determine whether students that listen to a particular genre of popular music have different or similar perceptions of how music affects …

Attention's Grasp: Early And Late Hand Proximity Effects On Visual Evoked Potentials, Catherine L. Reed, David S. Leland, Benjamin Brekke '11, Alan Hartley

CMC Faculty Publications and Research

Behavioral studies suggest that visual attention is biased toward stimuli in the region of space near the palm of the hand, but it is unclear whether this effect is universal or selective for goal/task-related stimuli. We examined event-related potentials (ERPs) using a visual detection task in which the hand was placed near or kept far from target and non-target stimuli that were matched for frequency and visual features to avoid confounding factors. Focusing on attention-sensitive ERP components, we found that P3 (350–450 ms) amplitudes were increased for Hand Near conditions for targets only, demonstrating a selective effect consistent with the …

Boys Will Be Boys, Girls Will Be..., Rashida Aluko-Roberts

SURGE

Lets talk about sex.

Well not really, just the double standard that comes with the topic. It’s no secret that men and women are taught to think about sex differently. While there are many (myself included) who fail to accept these culturally imposed ideas and attitudes about sex, it would be incredibly naïve to not acknowledge the existence of the double standard that exists. [excerpt]

Gait Analysis Of Teenagers And Young Adults Diagnosed With Autism & Severe Verbal Communication Disorders, Michael J. Weiss, Matthew F. Moran, Mary E. Parker, John T. Foley

All PTHMS Faculty Publications

Both movement differences and disorders are common within autism spectrum disorders (ASD). These differences have wide and heterogeneous variability among different ages and sub-groups all diagnosed with ASD. Gait was studied in a more homogeneously identified group of nine teenagers and young adults who scored as “severe” in both measures of verbal communication and overall rating of Autism on the Childhood Autism Rating Scales (CARS). The ASD individuals were compared to a group of typically developing university undergraduates of similar ages. All participants walked a distance of 6-meters across a GAITRite (GR) electronic walkway for six trials. The ASD and …

Anxiety Symptoms In Individuals With High Functioning Autism, Jane C. Kelleher

Honors Scholar Theses

Research indicates a complicated relationship between anxiety disorders and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The current study examined the relationship between anxiety symptoms and ASD in 30 Optimal Outcome (OO) individuals, 33 High Functioning Autism (HFA) individuals, and 34 Typically Developing (TD) individuals. The groups were compared on the K-SADS measure of anxiety symptoms. The HFA group presented greater anxiety than both the OO and TD groups, and the OO and TD groups only differed on one anxiety symptom. Across all three groups, there was a significant association between greater anxiety symptoms and a higher level of social and communicative impairment. …

Ages Of Engagement In Risk Taking And Self-Harm: An Investigation Of The Dual Systems Model Of Adolescent Risk Taking, Brittany Dykstra

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Risk taking (RT) and self-harm (SH) are clinically, conceptually, and empirically
related, yet separate constructs, which occur most frequently during adolescence. The current study utilized retrospective reports of college students to determine reported ages of engagement in RT and SH behaviors. Reported ages were compared with predictions for ages of high frequency engagement in RT based on the Dual Systems Model of Adolescent Risk Taking (DSMART; Steinberg, 2010). The sample consisted of 228 college students, ranging in age from 18 to 48 years (mean 22.8), who completed a survey of commonly investigated RT (12 items) and SH (18 items) behaviors. …

The Influence Of Children's Affective Ties On The Goal Clarification Step Of Social Information Processing, Amanda C. Thorn

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Previous studies have shown that children’s social goals are influenced by
emotion and that emotions can be manipulated using relationships. The present study combines these previous findings by examining the effect of children’s relationships on social goals. Social goals were examined in second and fifth grade children using hypothetical ambiguous provocation situations in which the relationship between the participant and the provocateur was manipulated by inserting the name of a friend, enemy, or a neutral peer into the story. After each situation, children rated the importance of four different social goals, indicating which of the four would be the most …

Communication Among Emerging Adult Siblings, Jessica Leigh Paulsen

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The study sought to explore the emerging adult sibling dyad through qualitative
inquiry. By doing so, the collected data bring new meaning to why and how emerging adult siblings communicate. Also, by including both siblings, this study sought to highlight a different perspective of sibling communication. Extant research on the emerging adulthood stage of life is limited. The current study explored the sibling dyad during this phase of life, and three themes emerged: siblings become friends, changes during emerging adulthood, conflict negotiation, and taking a parental role.

The Impact Of Cumulative Risk On Parenting Behaviors As Mediated By Parental Distress, Courtney E. Green

Senior Honors Theses

Cumulative risk is a salient construct addressed in family dynamics research. There have been multiple relationships established among cumulative risk, parenting, and child outcomes through previous research. The current study furthered this body of research by addressing the role of parenting distress within models predicting parenting behaviors within a context of risk. Cumulative risk, parenting, child behavior, and transactional relationships highlighted the relationships between an environment of risk and resulting parenting outcomes. It was predicted that parental distress will act as a mediator variable between the baseline cumulative risk and later parenting behaviors. This hypothesis was tested using data from …

Type Of High-School Credentials And Older Age Adl And Iadl Limitations: Is The Ged Credential Equivalent To A Diploma?, Sze Yan Liu, Niraj R. Chavan, M. Maria Glymour

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Purpose: Educational attainment is a robust predictor of disability in elderly Americans: older adults with high-school (HS) diplomas have a substantially lower disability than individuals who did not complete HS. General Educational Development (GED) diplomas now comprise almost 20% of new HS credentials issued annually in the United States but it is unknown whether the apparent health advantages of HS diplomas extend to GED credentials. This study examines whether adults older than 50 years with GEDs have higher odds of incident instrumental or basic activities of daily living (IADLs) limitations compared with HS degree holders. Methods: We compared odds of …

Do Students Understand What Researchers Mean By Bullying?, Kristin E. Bieber

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The definition of bullying most often used by researchers incorporates three key elements: repetition, intent to harm, and a power imbalance (Olweus, 2010). Past studies have found that students may not understand how this definition of bullying is different from general peer aggression, and that they may report their involvement in instances of aggression that occur only once, or happen among individuals of equal power, when they are asked about their involvement in bullying (Monks & Smith, 2006).

This dissertation examined: a) grade differences in students’ abilities to accurately apply the definition of bullying when determining if a behavior is …

The Impact Of Home Visitor Relationship Quality On Parenting And Child Outcomes: Does Maternal Age Matter?, Elizabeth A. Colsey

Senior Honors Theses

Early Head Start (EHS) is an early intervention program that seeks to mitigate the effects of risk for those families with young children. Consistent with attachment theory, the home visiting component of EHS targets parent-child relationships in order to combat negative child outcomes. Research indicates that children of adolescent mothers are susceptible to poor outcomes both in childhood and adulthood. The current study utilized EHS data from 1198 parent-child dyads to assess the indirect relationship of home visitor quality on child aggression through parent quality, as moderated by maternal age. Findings indicated that home visitor quality may have a greater …

Therapeutic Interaction With Children Through Play, Carolyn J. Dix Ms.

Senior Honors Theses

In the field of early childhood counseling, there has been a recent trend towards play therapy. Play is often referred to as the language of children because they can communicate their thoughts and feelings in ways that they express verbally. Therapeutic play sessions give therapists an opportunity to communicate with a child on his or her level which can provide more insight as to how to proceed with the therapy. The outcomes of play therapy implementations are substantially positive, and this therapeutic practice is becoming widely-accepted in the cases of childhood abuse, children with disabilities, children in hospitals, grieving children, …

Predictors Of Marital Satisfaction Within An Orthodox Jewish Sample, Hod Tamir

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Romantic experiences in adolescence have been found to predict relationship stability and marital status in adulthood. Religious practice and belief also have been linked to many benefits, including increased marital satisfaction and overall wellbeing. However, certain religions limit cross-gender interaction in areas of education, social interaction, and romantic relationships. Although gender segregation has been studied in educational and occupational contexts, no previous research has addressed religious gender segregation and its impact on relationship development, marital satisfaction, and overall wellbeing. The present study addressed the generalizability of data on cross-gender experience derived from normative populations to a religious subculture, outlining predictors …