Psychology Commons^™

Bullying Prevention, Naveen Jonathan

Marriage and Family Therapy Faculty Presentations

Defines various forms of bullying, addresses why they are issues, discusses the motives behind bullying, and gives tips on how to stop bullying.

Using Social Cognitive Theory To Predict Physical Activity In Inner-City African American School Children, Jeffrey J. Martin, Nate Mccaughtry

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

Researchers using social cognitive theory and employing built environment constructs to predict physical activity (PA) in inner-city African American children is quite limited. Thus, the purpose of our investigation was to evaluate the ability of important social cognitive variables (e.g., self-efficacy) and built environment constructs (e.g., neighborhood hazards) to predict African American children’s PA. Children (N = 331, ages 10–14) completed questionnaires assessing social cognitive theory constructs and PA. Using multiple regression analyses we were able to account for 19% of the variance in PA. Based on standardized beta weights, the best predictors of PA were time spent outside …

Evaluating Children’S Advocacy Centers’ Response To Child Sexual Abuse, Theodore P. Cross, Lisa M. Jones, Wendy A. Walsh, Monique Simone, David Kolko, Joyce Sczepanski, Tonya Lippert, Karen Davison, Arthur Crynes, Polly Sosnowski, Amy L. Shadoin, Suzanne Magnuson

Sociology

Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) play an increasingly significant role in the response to child sexual abuse and other child maltreatment in the United States. First developed in the 1980s, CACs were designed to reduce the stress on child abuse victims and families created by traditional child abuse investigation and prosecution procedures and to improve the effectiveness of the response. According to several experts (Fontana, 1984; Pence and Wilson, 1992; Whitcomb, 1992), child victims were subjected to multiple, redundant interviews about their abuse by different agencies, and were questioned by professionals who had no knowledge of children’s developmental limitations or experience …

Children's Hedonic Responses To The Odors Of Alcoholic Beverages: A Window To Emotions, Julie A. Mennella, Catherine A. Forestell

Arts & Sciences Articles

The present study of 145 children and their mothers aimed to determine whether children's responses to the odors of alcoholic beverages were related to their mothers' reasons for drinking. Mothers completed a series of questionnaires to describe the emotional context in which they drink and whether they use alcohol to “escape” by changing their state of mind and reducing feelings of dysphoria. Children participated in two age-appropriate tasks that focused on the most salient psychological attribute of an odor, its perceived hedonic valence. To this aim, we determined children's liking, reaction times, and identification of individual odors including beer and …

Adolescents With Two Nonresident Biological Parents: Living Arrangements, Parental Involvement, And Well-Being, Valarie King, Katherine C. Stamps, Daniel Hawkins

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

We know little about children who have two living nonresident biological parents. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examines the diverse living arrangements of U.S. adolescents in this situation, the kinds of relationships they have with each of their nonresident parents, and the consequences of these arrangements for child well-being. Differences between these adolescents (N = 502) and those who have one nonresident biological parent (N = 4746) are also examined. Results point to certain groups of adolescents with two nonresident parents who are at particular risk of exhibiting higher levels of behavior problems …

Dissociation Predicts Later Attention Problems In Sexually Abused Children., Julie B Kaplow, Erin Hall, Karestan C Koenen, Kenneth A Dodge, Lisa Amaya-Jackson

Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: The goals of this research are to develop and test a prospective model of attention problems in sexually abused children that includes fixed variables (e.g., gender), trauma, and disclosure-related pathways.

METHODS: At Time 1, fixed variables, trauma variables, and stress reactions upon disclosure were assessed in 156 children aged 8-13 years. At the Time 2 follow-up (8-36 months following the initial interview), 56 of the children were assessed for attention problems.

RESULTS: A path analysis involving a series of hierarchically nested, ordinary least squares multiple regression analyses indicated two direct paths to attention problems including the child's relationship to …

Response Style Differences In The Inattentive And Combined Subtypes Of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Karen J. Derefinko, Zachary W. Adams, Richard Milich, Mark T. Fillmore, Elizabeth P. Lorch, Donald R. Lynam

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study examined potential differences between the inattentive and combined ADHD subtypes using laboratory tasks assessing behavioral inhibitory processes. Seventy-five children completed two tasks of behavioral inhibition believed to isolate different processes: the cued reaction time task (CRT), a basic inhibition task, and the go/no-go task (GNG), a complex inhibition task that incorporates motivational contingencies. Three groups of participants were identified, including ADHD/Inattentive (n = 17), ADHD/Combined (n = 37), and comparison (n = 21). Results indicated that rather than showing behavioral inhibition deficits, the ADHD/I children appeared overly inhibited, as evidenced by slower reaction times across …

Cyberbullying & Bullying In Massachusetts: Frequency & Motivations, Elizabeth Englander

MARC Publications

This brief reports on the major findings of the studies conducted in the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center during the years 2006 to 2008. Detailed analyses are omitted but general findings are displayed and explained. The data deals primarily with cyberbullying, but some data related to bullying behaviors is reported. The findings are separated by study. Two studies are reported upon here: a survey of 334 college freshman and a survey of 178 K-12 educators from public schools across the Commonwealth. A third study, of 75 pediatricians in Massachusetts, will be discussed under separate cover. The findings from the two studies …

Cyberbullying And Information Exposure: User-Generated Content In Post-Secondary Education, Elizabeth K. Englander

MARC Publications

The term “Cyberimmersion” refers to the central role that the Internet and electronic communications now play in the lives of individuals born after 1980 in the First World. Cyberimmersion has transformed everything about bullying and harassment between youth in the First World. It has also transformed the information landscape, although confusion about the scope and nature of this transformation is common. User-generated content has opened the door to a vast “spillage” of information, both damaging and promising. Younger users evidence a high comfort level with technology but many remain naïve in the areas of electronic security, privacy, and information exposure. …

How Poverty Affects Social Development, Behavior, And Academics Of Children : How Can School Personnel Help?, Jessica Holm-Blackburn

Graduate Research Papers

This paper discusses how poverty affects the social development, behavior, and academics of children. It also provides information to professionals who work with children to explain how children in poverty may demonstrate increased behavioral and emotional problems. Additionally, it explores what school personnel can do to help improve outcomes for students in poverty. A case example of a partnership created in Georgia is utilized to help articulate these concepts. The sources cited are all from recent published literature.

Child Psychosocial Adjustment And Parenting In Families Affected By Maternal Hiv/Aids, Tanya L. Tompkins, Gail E. Wyatt

Faculty Publications

Child adjustment and parenting were examined in 23 9-through 16-year-old youth from families affected by maternal HIV infection and 20 same-age peers whose mothers were not infected. Children whose mothers were seropositive reported significantly more externalizing problems. Infected mothers reported less age-appropriate supervision/monitoring relative to non-infected mothers. Better mother-child relationship quality and less impairment in parental supervision/monitoring of age-appropriate youth behaviors were associated with fewer externalizing difficulties among the HIV-positive group only. Similarly, only among HIV-infected mothers was refraining from engaging in inconsistent disciplinary tactics associated with lower reports of internalizing and externalizing problems. These data highlight the promise of …

Medicating Children: The Enduring Controversy Over Adhd And Pediatric Stimulant Pharmacotherapy, Rick Mayes, Jennifer L. Erkulwater, Catherine Bagwell

Political Science Faculty Publications

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) holds the distinction of being both the most extensively studied pediatric mental disorder and one of the most controversial. This is partly due to the fact that it is also the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder among minors. On average, one in every ten to 15 children in the U.S. has been diagnosed with the disorder and one in every 20 to 25 uses a stimulant medication—often Ritalin, Adderall, or Concerta—as treatment. The biggest increase in youth diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed a stimulant drug occurred during the 1990s, when the prevalence of physician visits …

Grief And Loss : The Effects On Children And The School Counselor's Role, Hope Nicole Bleckwehl

Graduate Research Papers

School counselors may play a major role in the lives of grieving children. It is inevitable counselors will work with children having grieving issues. Children do grieve and their grieving process may look the same or different than adults. Children's experiences with death, developmental level, and individual differences all effect how a child will react to the loss of a loved one or a pet. The grieving process, developmental considerations, gender differences and common sources of loss are discussed in the following paper. Interventions a school counselor may use with children in classroom guidance, group counseling, and individual counseling are …

Self-Mutilating Behaviors, Patience Niemoth-Coleman

Graduate Research Papers

Treating self-mutilating behaviors (SMB) is complex. Since people are continuing to engage in the behaviors, counselors need to be informed of the various techniques that are used with SMB as well as to be informed about common myths around self-mutilating behaviors. This paper will explore the methods of SMB, the common myths surrounding SMB, and the theories that explain and inform treatment of.

Reactive Attachment Disorder: Challenges For Early Identification And Intervention Within The Schools, Kimberly K. Floyd, Peggy Hester, Harold C. Griffin, Jeannie Golden, Lora Lee Smith Canter

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

Attachment is of key importance in childhood development. The quality of attachment relationship between the child and parent/primary caregiver may have an effect on the child and future relationships and social success (Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 1998). When a child fails to bond with a caring adult, attachment becomes disordered and children may not be able to bond appropriately or at all with other people. This inability to relate and connect with others may disrupt or arrest not only children's social development, but also their overall development. The purpose of this review is to synthesize information and research on characteristics, …

Interdependent Group Contingency Management For Cocaine-Dependent Methadone Maintenance Patients., Kimberly C Kirby, Mary Louise Kerwin, Carolyn M Carpenedo, Beth J Rosenwasser, Robert S Gardner

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

Contingency management (CM) for drug abstinence has been applied to individuals independently even when delivered in groups. We developed a group CM intervention in which the behavior of a single, randomly selected, anonymous individual determined reinforcement delivery for the entire group. We also compared contingencies placed only on cocaine abstinence (CA) versus one of four behaviors (CA, treatment attendance, group CM attendance, and methadone compliance) selected randomly at each drawing. Two groups were formed with 22 cocaine-dependent community-based methadone patients and exposed to both CA and multiple behavior (MB) conditions in a reversal design counterbalanced across groups for exposure order. …

The Co-Mentoring Project: Overview And Outcomes, Renee A. Zucchero

Faculty Scholarship

The Co-mentoring Project matched developmental psychology students with older adult volunteers for an intergenerational learning experience. Students conducted a biopsychosocial life review to increase understanding of older adult development and the continuity in lifespan development. Each student developed a summary paper containing the older adult's life history, a developmental analysis, and personal reflection. A project description, including the scholarship of teaching and learning, and an overview of its outcomes are presented. The project goal was accomplished; students positively evaluated learning outcomes and displayed a significant increase in knowledge about older adults and aging. Implications for college instructors are discussed. (Contains …

Choaking Phobia In School-Aged Children, Joseph Wanzek, Daniel Houlihan

Psychology Department Publications

No abstract provided.