Psychology Commons^™

Strengthening The Quality Of Preschool, Childcare, And Parenting, Soo-Young Hong, Holly Hatton-Bowers, Lisa Knoche

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

Early childhood is a critical period during which children learn to regulate and manage emotions and actions, develop and maintain social relationships, and interact effectively with others (Scott-Little, Kagan, & Frelow, 2006). Children who know how to use appropriate behavioral and emotional strategies and effectively interact with others are more likely to develop positive relationships and be accepted by peers later on (Odom, McConnell, & Brown, 2008). Emotional well-being and competence is one of the key areas of development that goes through significant changes over the early childhood period (Hyson, Copple, & Jones, 2006; Keane & Calkins, 2004), and thus, …

Examining The Roles Of Child Temperament And Teacher-Child Relationships As Predictors Of Turkish Children’S Social Competence And Antisocial Behavior, Ibrahim H. Acar, Traci Kutaka, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Julia C. Torquati, Robert J. Coplan, Süleyman Yıldız

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

The present study examined the concurrent contribution of Turkish children’s temperament and teacher-child relationship quality to their social competence and antisocial behavior, with a specific focus on the moderating role of teacher-child relationships (closeness and conflict) on children’s temperament (inhibitory control and shyness) when predicting social competence and antisocial behavior. Participants were 94 children (56 boys) with mean age of 7.05 years (SD = .88) enrolled in 24 classrooms from five elementary schools in a suburban school district in Turkey. Mothers reported on children’s temperament and teachers reported on their relationships with children as well as children’s social competence …

Adolescent Perceptions Of Dating Violence: A Qualitative Study, Sarah Taylor, Carrie A. Calkins, Yan Ruth Xia, Rochelle L. Dalla

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

Scholars have identified dating violence as a public health issue among adolescents. Yet, minimal research has detailed adolescents’ perceptions of dating violence, specifically gender differences in perceptions. Research suggests that in order for dating violence prevention and intervention to be effective, services need to be delivered in a manner that is understood by adolescents. Therefore, this study used a qualitative phenomenology study to investigate adolescents’ perceptions of dating violence, including gender differences in adolescents’ perceptions. Thirty adolescents between the ages of 14 and 19 from a Midwest public high school participated in focus groups. Focus group participants were asked semistructured …

Uninvolved Maternal Feeding Style Moderates The Association Of Emotional Overeating To Preschoolers’ Body Mass Index Z-Scores, Maren Hankey, Natalie A. Williams, Dipti A. Dev

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

Objective: To examine the relation between preschoolers' eating behaviors and body mass index (BMI) z-scores (BMIz) and the moderating role of permissive parent feeding styles in these associations.

Design: Cross-sectional study involving mothers' report of food-related parenting styles and child eating behaviors.

Setting: Small city in southern Mississippi.

Participants: Mother–preschooler dyads (n = 104).

Main Outcome Measure: Child body BMIz.

Analysis: Moderated multiple regression.

Results: An uninvolved feeding style moderated the relationship between emotional eating and BMIz such that children with higher emotional overeating scores had higher a BMIz in the presence of an uninvolved feeding style (B …

“Great Job Cleaning Your Plate Today!” Determinants Of Child-Care Providers’ Use Of Controlling Feeding Practices: An Exploratory Examination, Dipti A. Dev, Brent A. Mcbride, Katherine E. Speirs, Kimberly A. Blitch, Natalie A. Williams

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

Background National early childhood obesity prevention policies recommend that child-care providers avoid controlling feeding practices (CFP) (e.g., pressure-to-eat, food as reward, and praising children for cleaning their plates) with children to prevent unhealthy child eating behaviors and childhood obesity. However, evidence suggests that providers frequently use CFP during mealtimes.

Objective Using the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2011) benchmarks for nutrition in child care as a framework, researchers assessed child-care providers’ perspectives regarding their use of mealtime CFP with young children (aged 2 to 5 years).

Design Using a qualitative design, individual, face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted with providers until …

Diverse Perspectives Of Parents, Diverse Concepts Of Parent Involvement And Participation: What Can They Suggest To Researchers?, Carolyn P. Edwards, Traci Shizu Kutaka

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

Diversity of experiences and perspectives, it is widely agreed, should be a source of strength in home-school partnerships, as in other aspects of educational endeavor. Yet often, in the literature, diversity is presented as a complication to be overcome. A limiting mindset often prevails, both in theory and practice, where diversity is regarded as an issue or barrier, even amidst the best of intentions to be inclusive. In this chapter, we argue that this limiting mindset on diversity may in fact derive in part from the conceptual frameworks with which we in the United States contemplate and conduct research on …

Relations Between Toddler Sleep Characteristics, Sleep Problems, And Temperament, Victoria J. Molfese, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Amanda Prokasky, Carly Champagne, Molly Holmes, Dennis L. Molfese, Jack Bates

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

Two sources of information (parent reported sleep diaries and actigraph records) were used to investigate how toddler sleep characteristics (bed time/sleep onset, wake time/sleep offset, total nighttime sleep and total sleep time) are related to sleep problems and temperament. There were 64 toddler participants in the study. Consistent with studies of older children, parent reports differed from actigraph based records. The findings that parent reported and actigraph recorded sleep characteristics varied as a function of parent report of toddler sleep problems and temperament add needed information on toddler sleep. Such information may contribute to improving parents’ awareness of their child’s …

Head Start And Child Care Providers’ Motivators, Barriers And Facilitators To Practicing Family-Style Meal Service, Dipti A. Dev, Katherine E. Speirs, Brent A. Mcbride, Sharon M. Donovan, Karen Chapman-Novakofski

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

This paper presents a qualitative investigation of the motivators, barriers, and facilitators for practicing family-style meal service (FSMS) from the perspective of 18 child care providers serving preschool children in Head Start (HS), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) funded, and non-CACFP child-care centers. Providers were selected based on maximum variation purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews were conducted until saturation was reached. Provider responses were systematically coded using thematic analysis. HS and CACFP providers reported being motivated to practice FSMS because it created pleasant mealtimes, opportunities to role model healthy eating, and healthful child development. CACFP and non-CACFP providers …

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 …