Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Thoughts Of Suicidality And Self-Harm In Middle Childhood: Relationship With Child Maltreatment And Maternal Substance Abuse And Depression, Tara Cossel, Natasha Elkovitch, David Hansen

David J. Hansen

Child maltreatment victims are at increased risk for a multitude of symptoms, including: internalizing problems (e.g., depression, anxiety), behavior problems (e.g., aggression) and post-traumatic stress symptoms (Paolucci, Genuis, & Violato, 2001). Not all maltreated children present with the same outcomes, and research consistently demonstrates child abuse does not have an inevitable pattern or a unified presentation of symptoms. Some youth may be asymptomatic following abuse; others display a myriad of symptoms at varying levels of severity (Kendall-Tackett, Williams, & Finkelhor, 1993). A small percentage of this group becomes suicidal.

Recent studies have presented accumulating evidence that suicidality and self-harm warrant …

Exploring The Relationship Between Racial Factors And Critical Social Analysis Among A Group Of African American Youth, Brandeis H. Green

Psychology Theses

The aim of this study was to investigate the contributions of racial identity and racial socialization beyond peer and parental influence, to the development of critical social analysis in African American youth. Young people perceive injustice and inequality in their world in varying ways. The recognition of societal inequalities, or the development of critical social analysis may be a contributing factor to activism for youth. Factors such as sense of agency, parental and peer influence and intellectual curiosity have previously been explored as contributors to activism for African American youth (Watts, 1999). Study results indicated support for the link between …

Thoughts Of Suicidality And Self-Harm In Middle Childhood: Relationship With Child Maltreatment And Maternal Substance Abuse And Depression, Tara K. Cossel, Natasha Elkovitch, David J. Hansen

Tara K. Cossel (Tara Morton)

Child maltreatment victims are at increased risk for a multitude of symptoms, including: internalizing problems (e.g., depression, anxiety), behavior problems (e.g., aggression) and post-traumatic stress symptoms (Paolucci, Genuis, & Violato, 2001). Not all maltreated children present with the same outcomes, and research consistently demonstrates child abuse does not have an inevitable pattern or a unified presentation of symptoms. Some youth may be asymptomatic following abuse; others display a myriad of symptoms at varying levels of severity (Kendall-Tackett, Williams, & Finkelhor, 1993). A small percentage of this group becomes suicidal.

Recent studies have presented accumulating evidence that suicidality and self-harm warrant …

Cultural Adaptation Of Treatments: A Resource For Considering Culture In Evidence-Based Practice, Guillermo Bernal, María I. Jiménez-Chafey, Melanie M. Domenech-Rodriguez

Psychology Faculty Publications

There is a growing interest in whether and how to adapt psychotherapies to take into account the cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic context of diverse ethnocultural groups. At the root of the debate is theissue of whether evidence-based treatments (EBTs) developed within a particular linguistic and cultural context are appropriate for ethnocultural groups that do not share the same language, cultural values, or both. There is considerable evidence that culture and context influence almost every aspect of the diagnostic and treatment process. Yet, there are concerns about fidelity of interventions, and some have questioned whether tinkering with well-established EBTs is warranted. …

Do Physical Self-Efficacy And Physical Self-Concept Mediate The Relationship Between Past Sports Participation, Past Gym Grades And Physical Activity Across The Life-Span?, Christopher Frederick Ketcham

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Retrospective studies have shown that the formation of habits, both health and activity related, during childhood is vital to carrying those habits into adulthood (Azevedo, Araujo & Hallal, 2007; Barnekow-Bergkvist et al. 1996; Nelson, Gordon-Larsen, Adair, & Popkin, 2005; Telama et al. 1997; Telama, Yang, Viikari, Valimaki, Wanne & Raitakari, 2005). These studies demonstrate that passive participation in an activity is not sufficient; rather organized participation, such as being part of a team, is necessary for continuation of a physical activity later in life. In addition, researchers have found that sound physical and strong academic educations are also important in …

Family Processes Promoting Achievement Motivation And Perceived School Competence Among Latino Youth: A Cultural Ecological-Transactional Perspective, Natalie Jayne Wilkins

Psychology Dissertations

This longitudinal study uses a cultural ecological-transactional perspective (Garcia-Coll, et. al., 1996; Kuperminc, et al., in press) to examine whether relational factors (familism and parental involvement) predict processes of motivation and achievement one year later among 199 Latino adolescents from immigrant families. Parent involvement predicted higher present-oriented and future-oriented motivation, and familism predicted higher present-oriented motivation. Future-oriented motivation predicted higher perceived school competence, while present-oriented motivation predicted lower perceived school competence. Both future and present-oriented motivation increased over time for recent immigrants significantly more than for US-reared youth. Findings suggest that 1) familism and parent involvement relate significantly to processes …

Youth Leadership Development And Peer-Led Initiatives, Kathryn Conley

Theses and Dissertations

The current study explored the experiences of high school peer leaders (N = 45) chosen to participate in an eight-week peer-led tobacco intervention program, Living Free of Tobacco, Plus! (LIFT+). The study used a repeated measures design to examine changes in leadership self-efficacy, perceived leadership skill, and goal-setting from baseline to post-test. Leaders’ susceptibility to future tobacco use, self-efficacy to resist and avoid tobacco, and confidence and interest in following nutritional guidelines were also examined at two time points. To strengthen self-report measures, peer and teacher evaluations of observed leadership behavior were collected. Results suggest that participation as a peer-leader …

Predictors Of Parental Discipline In Families Raising Youth With Hearing And Communication Disorders, Jenny Klein

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Children with disabilities are at high risk for several forms of maltreatment, including abuse and neglect (Ammerman, Hersen, Van Hasselt, Lubetsky, & Sieck, 1994; Sullivan & Knutson, 1998b), and children with hearing and communication disorders comprise a substantial portion of children at risk (e.g., Sullivan & Knutson, 2000). For example, some literature investigating the parenting practices of parents raising children and adolescents with hearing and communication disorders suggests that these parents have a tendency to use physically harsh discipline practices (Knutson, Johnson, & Sullivan, 2004; Sullivan & Knutson, 1998b). Further, high prevalence rates of emotional and behavioral problems are documented …

The Reliability Of The Factor Structure Of The Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale In Both A Spanish-Colombian And French-Canadian Version, D. C. Jarrin, J. J. Mcgrath, C. L. Drake, W. M. Bukowski, J. O'Loughlin, Jonathan Bruce Santo

Psychology Faculty Publications

Daytime sleepiness is characterized by an increased likelihood of falling asleep and adversely impacts youth’s academic performance, behavior, and mood. The National Sleep Foundation Sur­vey (2006) found almost 50% of youth sleep 1 to 2 hours less than the recommended 9 hours per night and 60% report daytime sleepiness. The Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS; Drake et al., 2003) is a self-report questionnaire used to evaluate the likelihood of youth falling asleep in various everyday situations. The original PDSS was developed with an English-speaking American sample (Mage=11.8; SD=.6 years), and the measure was thought to assess a …

Cookie Monsters: Seeing Young People’S Hacking As Creative Practice, Gregory T. Donovan, Cindi Katz

Publications and Research

This paper examines the benefits and obstacles to young people’s open-ended and unrestricted access to technological environments. While children and youth are frequently seen as threatened or threatening in this realm, their playful engagements suggest that they are self-possessed social actors, able to negotiate most of its challenges effectively. Whether it is proprietary software, the business practices of some technology providers, or the separation of play, work, and learning in most classrooms, the spatial-temporality of young people’s access to and use of technology is often configured to restrict their freedom of choice and behavior. We focus on these issues through …

The Importance Of Worksite Supervisors In At-Risk Youths' Lives, Laura Luna

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research study is to learn the importance of supervisory needs for at-risk youth and young adults between the ages of 14 and 24. The researchers examined age, sex, race, education, and living situations to determine if there differences in needs of these groups related to worksite supervisors. Data was collected and analyzed from a sample of 97 youth residing in Blue Earth, Brown, Le Sueur, and Nicollet rural Minnesota counties.

Gender Differences In Antecedents To Academic And Personal Well-Being In Urban Youth: What Is The Role Of Social Support?, Erin Caskey

Dissertations

Urban youth are an important, yet understudied population. Moreover, the vast majority of existing research has focused on negative outcomes. Recently, there has been a trend in the field of adolescent research toward creating models that attempt to understand and explain why some members of at-risk populations are able to overcome adversities and to achieve successful adaptation. The present study investigated the relationships between perceived social support, gender, academic outcomes, and personal well-being in urban youth. Overall, perceived social support was found to be related to many outcome variables for males and females. Gender differences were found in the relationships …

The Provision Of Social Support By Adolescent Youth And Their Subsequent Risk For Secondary Traumatic Stress Reactions, Lindsay E. Smart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During adolescence, peers become increasingly important sources of social support for youth. In addition to discussing the trials and tribulations of daily life, it is possible that youth are having intimate conversations concerning their experiences of trauma. This study examined the types of traumatic experiences disclosed to youth by their friends, youth's experiences of supporting a friend following disclosure of trauma, youth's secondary traumatic stress (STS) reactions to their friends' disclosures, and potential risk factors for the development of STS. The validity of an adult measure of STS, the Secondary Trauma Scale, with an adolescent population was also explored. Utilizing …

Gatekeeper Training For Youth Workers: Impact On Mental Health Help-Seeking And Referral Skill, Coralie J. Wilson

Coralie J Wilson

The Youth Empowerment Series (YES!) Workshops (Wilson et al, 2000) were developed to improve gatekeepers' mental health literacy and skills for promoting effective help-seeking and social problem-solving among adolescents and young people. The curent study the skills of those attending the YES! Workshops 9 months after training.