Psychology Commons^™

Child Psychological Well-Being And Adult Health Behavior And Body Mass Index, Julia Boehm, Farah Qureshi, Laura D. Kubzansky

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Objective: Psychological well-being (PWB) is linked with health behaviors among adults, but it is unclear if childhood PWB prospectively predicts healthy adulthood biobehavioral profiles. Such evidence may identify developmental windows for establishing positive health trajectories across the lifespan. Using data spanning 30 years, we investigated whether PWB at age 11 was associated with health behaviors and body mass index (BMI) at ages 33 and 42. We hypothesized children with higher versus lower PWB would engage in healthier behaviors, have lower BMI in adulthood, and be more likely to maintain optimal levels over time. Method: Data were from 4,728 participants of …

"I Just Want To Be Me, Authentically": Identity Shifting Among Racially And Ethnically Diverse Young Adults, Aerika Brittian Loyd, Dulce Wilkinson Westberg, Lenisha Williams, Marisha Humphries, Alan Meca, Julie Carmen Rodil

Psychology Faculty Publications

Identity shifting represents a common but complex social, behavioral, and cognitive phenomenon. However, some forms of identity shifting originate in response to structural, institutional, and interpersonal marginalization enacted on lower status groups, such as people of color in the United States. The current study investigated ways young adults from diverse ethnic/racial groups discussed shifting to fit in with White Americans (a dominant group) in the United States and their own ethnic/racial group (a minoritized group) and elucidated self-reported motivations for shifting. Participants consisted of 764 young adults (ages = 18–23) recruited from two large public universities in the Southeast and …

Youth Perceptions Of Prevention Norms And Peer Violence Perpetration And Victimization: A Prospective Analysis, Emily A. Waterman, Victoria L. Banyard, Katie Edwards, Victoria Mauer

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The purpose of the current study is to prospectively examine the extent to which social norms perceptions regarding commitment to ending sexual violence are associated with subsequent peer victimization and perpetration experiences. Two types of social norms perceptions were examined: 1) peer norms (perceptions of norms among other students in their city), and 2) adult norms (perceptions of norms among adults in their city). Participants were 1259 middle and high school youth from a single school district (three high schools and five middle schools) who completed online surveys at two‐time points, 6 months apart. Adolescents for whom perceptions of peer …

Sexting Among Adolescents: Examining The Association Between Sexting And Self-Esteem, Hanaah Fannin

Physician Assistant Studies | Student Articles

Purpose: This paper provides a systematic review of the published literature examining the association between sexting and self-esteem in adolescents. It further attempts to identify gaps in the current literature and provide recommendations for future research as well as patient care and education.

Methods: Electronic databases (CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Iceberg, and PsycINFO) were searched with publication dates between January 1, 2014 and September 30, 2019. The keywords used to conduct the search were: sexting, adolescents, self-esteem, youth, and teenagers. All records were screened to meet established criteria. The inclusion criteria included the following: a) articles written in the …

Critical Consciousness In Children And Adolescents: A Systematic Review,Critical Assessment, And Recommendations For Future Research, Amy E. Heberle, Luke J. Rapa, Flora Farago

Faculty Publications

Critical consciousness refers to an individual’s awareness of oppressive systemic forces in society, a sense of efficacy to work against oppression, and engagement in individual or collective action against oppression. In the past few decades, interest in critical consciousness as a resource that may promote thriving in marginalized people has grown tremendously. This article critically examines the results of a systematic review of 67 studies of critical consciousness in children and adolescents, published between 1998 and 2019. Across these studies, major themes included the role of socialization experiences, relationships, and context in the development of critical consciousness. In addition, critical …

Identifying And Intervening On Neural Markers Of Attention To Threat In Children With Anxiety Disorders, Michele Bechor

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: Attention Bias Modification Training (ABMT) for anxiety aims to train attention away from threatening stimuli and toward neutral stimuli. Although ABMT shows promising anxiety reduction effects in children and adolescents, no study has examined its influence on neural indicators of attention measured using event-related potentials (ERPs) in children or adolescents (i.e., youths). The present study examined the influence of ABMT on the P1, N170, P2 and P3 ERP components during completion of the emotional faces dot probe task in youths with anxiety disorders who failed to respond to cognitive behavioral therapy. Method: Thirty youths (M age = 11.97, …

Queer Solidarities: New Activisms Erupting At The Intersection Of Structural Precarity And Radical Misrecognition, Michelle Fine, María Elena Torre, David M. Frost, Allison L. Cabana

Publications and Research

This article investigates the relationship between exposure to structural injustice, experiences of social discrimination, psychological well being, physical health, and engagement in activist solidarities for a large, racially diverse and inclusive sample of 5,860 LGBTQ/Gender Expansive youth in the United States. Through a participatory action research design and a national survey created by an intergenerational research collective, the “What’s Your Issue?” survey data are used to explore the relationships between injustice, discrimination and activism; to develop an analysis of how race and gender affect young people’s vulnerabilities to State violence (in housing, schools and by the police), and their trajectories …

The Association Of Different Types Of Bullying With The Mental Health Of Children And Teens From The United States, France, And Canada, Christina Fisher

Media and Communication Studies Summer Fellows

Bullying continues to trouble youths around the world, sometimes with devastating effects for victims’ mental health. This suggests an ongoing need for awareness, intervention and tolerance for everyone involved. This study, a literature review, explored the extent of these mental health effects found in 50 studies of victims, bullies, and bully-victims, those who are victims of bullying and who also bully others, in the United States, France, and Canada (Willard, 2007). Particular attention was paid to the impact that gender, age, ethnicity, and the LGBTQ community had on researchers’ findings. Findings show that 25.9% to 33% of students in these …

Cognitive Behavior Therapy For Anxiety Disorders In Youth: Treatment Specificity And Mediation Effects, Ileana Hernandez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigated the efficacies of Individual CBT (ICBT), Parent Relationship Skill Training (RLST, which targets increasing parental acceptance of youth and increasing autonomy granting) and Parent Reinforcement Skills Training (RLST, which targets increasing parental positive reinforcement and decreasing negative reinforcement). The specific aims were to examine treatment specificity and mediation effects of parenting variables. ICBT was used as a baseline comparison condition.

The sample consisted of 253 youth (ages 5-16 years; M = 9.38; SD = 2.42) and their parents. To examine treatment outcome and specificity, the data were analyzed using analysis of variance within a structural equation …

Empowerment-Based Positive Youth Development: A New Understanding Of Healthy Development For African American Youth, Raphael Travis Jr., Tamara Leech

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

A shift occurred in research about adolescents in the general population. Research is moving away from deficits toward a resilience paradigm and understanding trajectories of positive youth development. This shift has been less consistent in research and practice with African American youth. A gap also exists in understanding whether individual youth development dimensions generate potential in other dimensions. This study presents an empowerment-based positive youth development model. It builds upon existing research to present a new vision of healthy development for African American youth that is strengths-based, developmental, culture-bound, and action-oriented. It emphasizes the relationship between person and environment, the …

Work Intensity And Substance Use Among Adolescents Employed Part-Time In Entry-Level Jobs, Jessica Samuolis

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study investigated the relationship between number of hours worked, or work intensity, and substance use in a sample of adolescent employees of a supermarket chain. Employees working half-time or more per week (high-intensity hours) were over three times as likely to smoke compared to those working an average of 10 hours or less per week (low-intensity hours). Males working a high intensity number of hours were more than twice as likely to drink compared to males working at low intensity. Utilizing participants drawn from a uniform employment setting, the research findings add to the growing body of evidence linking …

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 …

Behaviorally-Based Disorders: The Historical Social Construction Of Youths' Most Prevalent Psychiatric Diagnoses, Christopher A. Mallett

Social Work Faculty Publications

The article discusses the historical social construction of the most prevalent diagnosis of youth in the U.S. The country's psychiatry controls the definitions of mental health disorders and diagnosis through required practice utilization of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. A research is conducted through a social construction theoretical paradigm to identify diagnostic classification systems, nosology changes, and critical time periods.