Psychology Commons^™

The Influence Of Affective Ties On Children's Consequential Reasoning About Ambiguous Provocation Situations, Jennifer R. Maulden

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Past models (i.e., Crick and Dodge, 1994) of children’s social information processing (SIP) have neglected to include the role of emotions in children’s reasoning during social situations. A recent reformulation (Lemerise and Arsenio, 2000) updated Crick and Dodge’s model to incorporate emotions and their impact on children’s processing. Since then, studies have examined the influence of emotion in children’s SIP, but few have investigated the impact of children’s affective ties with their peers. This study explores the effect of the participant’s relationship with the provocateur on subsequent consequential reasoning concerning possible hostile, passive, and competent response; in addition, it addresses …

Developing A School Functioning Index For Middle Schools, Amanda Birnbaum, Leslie A. Lytle, Cheryl L. Perry, David Murray, Mary Story

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Despite widespread recognition of schools' role in the healthy development of youth, surprisingly little research has examined the relationships between schools' overall functioning and the health‐related behavior of students. School functioning could become an important predictor of students' health‐related behavior and may be amenable to intervention. This paper describes the development and testing of the School Functioning Index (SFI) as a first step in investigating this question. The index was developed for use with middle schools and conceived as a predictor of students' violent behavior, with the potential for extending research applications to additional health and social behaviors. Using social …

Attachment: The Antidote To Trauma, Joshua Straub

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Trauma and loss in life are inevitable. And all too often the traumatic experience itself can be enough to paralyze the mental, emotional, and spiritual state of any given person. Unable to interpret the traumatic experience, many instead are left defined by it. Helping clients discern the objective experience and their subjective reactions to it will help free them from the emotions and beliefs that subsequently control their lives. Based on the most relevant attachment theory research and clinical techniques, this workshop teaches the attentional strategies necessary to helping clients overcome trauma.

Taking Development Seriously: Critique Of The 2008 Jme Special Issue On Moral Functioning, John C. Gibbs, David Moshman, Marvin W. Berkowitz, Karen S. Basinger, Rebecca L. Grime

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

This essay comments on articles that composed a Journal of Moral Education Special Issue (September, 2008, 37[3]). The issue was intended to honor the 50th anniversary of Lawrence Kohlberg’s doctoral dissertation and his subsequent impact on the field of moral development and education. The articles were characterized by the issue editor (Don Collins Reed) as providing a “look forward” from Kohlberg’s work toward a more comprehensive or integrated model of moral functioning. Prominent were culturally pluralist and biologically based themes, such as cultural learning; expert skill; culturally shaped and neurobiologically based predispositions or intuitions; and moral self-relevance or centrality. Inadequately …

The Impact Of Friendships And Mutual Antipathies On Children's Social Behavior And Social Cognition, Elizabeth M. Boulie

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Mutual antipathies are rare among preschoolers and are common among older school age children, but little is known about the prevalence of mutual antipathies among younger school age children. One goal of this study was to examine the prevalence of mutual antipathies among first graders to determine if they are common among younger children. A second goal of the study was to examine the impact of friendship and mutual antipathies on children’s social behavior and social cognition. A sample of first, third, and fifth graders (N = 512) first completed rating and nomination sociometric assessments to assess participation in friendships …

Social Support Domains For Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Assessing Perceived Needs And Stress Levels, Rachel N. Wolf

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study investigated types of social support needs through a number of domains reported by parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) along with the relationship of these needs to reported parental stress. Female participants (N = 35) in the South Central Kentucky region responded to a number of measures regarding perceptions of their current stress levels on the Parenting Stress Index - Short Form (PSI-SF) and their perceptions on social support needs through a modified version of the Family Needs Questionnaire (FNQ). The results indicated that there was a moderately strong correlation between social support needs and …

The Influence Of The Family Context And Intervention Implementation Integrity On Child Behavior During Conjoint Behavioral Consultation, Michelle Swanger-Gagne

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

The purpose of the study was to determine the role of family context variables (i.e., parenting stress and positive parenting practices) as possible moderators and mediators of the relationship between conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC) and change in child problem behavior in the home setting. Another aim of the study was to evaluate the mediator roles of two dimensions of intervention implementation integrity (i.e., adherence to interventions and full engagement in the plan implementation phase) on parenting stress and change in child problem behavior for families involved in CBC. Participants were 203 parents, 81 teachers (81 classrooms), and 203 children who …

Early Milk Feeding Influences Taste Acceptance And Liking During Infancy, Julie A. Mennella, Catherine A. Forestell, Lindsay K. Morgan, Gary K. Beauchamp

Arts & Sciences Articles

Background: We identified a model system that exploits the inherent taste variation in early feedings to investigate food preference development.

Objective: The objective was to determine whether exposure to differing concentrations of taste compounds in milk and formulas modifies acceptance of exemplars of the 5 basic taste qualities in a familiar food matrix. Specifically, we examined the effects of consuming hydrolyzed casein formulas (HCFs), which have pronounced bitter, sour, and savory tastes compared with breast milk (BM) and bovine milk–based formulas (MFs), in which these taste qualities are weaker.

Design: Subgroups of BM-, MF- and HCF-fed infants, some of whom …

History Of Maltreatment And Psychiatric Impairment In Children In Outpatient Psychiatric Treatment, Kerry Gagnon

Honors Scholar Theses

There is increasing evidence that childhood victimization and attachment disruptions impact a child’s development. In this study, children and adolescents from an outpatient psychiatric clinic were assessed, measuring history of trauma, history of out-of-home placement, initial diagnoses, and CBCL internalizing and externalizing problem scores. Multiple regression analyses showed that both violent abuse trauma (physical/sexual abuse) and victim trauma (physical abuse/sexual abuse/witnessing domestic violence/witnessing community violence) are prevalent among patients with externalizing severity problems; concluding that diagnosis alone may not account for a history of victimization, but externalizing problem severity does. Overall, the study is consistent with past literature that it …

Is It The Blues? Depression & Suicide Prevention In Our Schools, Naveen Jonathan

Marriage and Family Therapy Faculty Presentations

Discusses the prevalence of depression and suicide among children and teenagers, the factors behind it, signs and symptoms, and what educators can do to help prevent it and help suffering students.

It's All Happening At The Zoo: Children's Environmental Learning After School, Jason A. Douglas, Cindi Katz

Publications and Research

Pairing dynamic out-of-school-time (OST) programs with zoos can encourage young people's relationships with and sense of responsibility for animals and the environment. The project presented in this article, Animal Rescuers, gave the authors the opportunity to examine how such a pairing can work. OST programs enable learning in settings that are generally unavailable during school time (Honig & McDonald, 2005). They provide space for collaboration among students, teachers, and others such as program visitors or outside educators. Taking advantage of the flexibility, location, and educational playfulness of an OST setting, the authors worked intensively with a small number of 10-12-year-old …

Factors Influencing Choices For Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Previously Unscreened African And Caucasian Americans: Findings From A Triangulation Mixed Methods Investigation, Mack T. Ruffin Iv, John W. Creswell, Masahito Jimbo, Michael D. Fetters

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

We investigated factors that influence choice of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening test and assessed the most- and leastpreferred options among fecal occult blood testing (FOBT), flexible sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, and double contrast barium enema among adults with varied race, gender, and geographic region demographics. Mixed methods data collection consisted of 10 focus group interviews and a survey of the 93 focus group participants. Participants were ≥50 years of age and reported not having been screened for colorectal cancer in the last ten years. Analyses examined differences by race, gender, and geographic location. Participants had modest knowledge about CRC and there were …

The Association Between Bully Victimization And Risky Behaviors Among Youth, Shane Nives Isaiah Fernando

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

In 2005, the Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey reported 21.9% of males and 26.1% of females were bullied in schools. Little research has been conducted into showing an association between childhood bully victimization and risky behaviors. In addition, knowledge is limited about the connection between victimization and risky behaviors among different ethnic groups. We propose to assess the association between victimization and risky behaviors, using the Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey among 3,116 students in grades 9 through 12 in 2007. Data was obtained by self-administered questionnaire, and victimization was considered as a single dichotomous variable. Victimization was assessed as …

Reactive Attachment Disorder : Implications For Counselors, Kim Rogers

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this paper is to provide background on reactive attachment disorder. Reactive attachment disorder (RAD) is growing in diagnosis and yet it is one of the least researched disorders. This paper will discuss attachment theory, problems with the RAD diagnosis, interventions for mental health professionals, and future research ideas.

An Exploratory Evaluation Of Conjoint Behavioral Consultation To Promote Collaboration Among Family, School, And Pediatric Systems: A Role For Pediatric School Psychologists, Susan M. Sheridan Dr., Emily D. Warnes, Kathryn E. Woods, Carrie A. Blevins, Katie L. Magee, Cynthia Ellis

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Pediatric school psychology is a relatively new subspecialty in the field; however, few specific, prescribed roles have been articulated, and fewer have yielded preliminary efficacy data. In this exploratory study, the acceptability and potential efficacy of conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC) as a model for linking families, schools, and pediatric settings to address concerns for children with medical issues were evaluated. Twenty-nine children, their parents, teachers, and consultants were involved in conjoint consultation, a model of cross-system collaboration to address shared concerns of medically referred children. In this structured indirect service delivery model, parents, teachers, and school psychology pediatric consultants worked …

Intervention Implementation Integrity Within Conjoint Behavioral Consultation: Strategies For Working With Families, Michelle S. Swanger-Gagne, Andrew Garbacz, Susan M. Sheridan

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Mental health services in school systems can take many forms. Behavioral consultation is one efficacious and commonly used form of indirect service delivery. Indirect service delivery models are unique in that an intermediate person, the consultee, provides treatment directly to a client. The effectiveness of the intervention depends in large part on the degree to which the consultee implements the intervention as designed. Families of children at-risk for school failure may experience challenges implementing an intervention developed through a consultation model. Some researchers have noted that the implementation of treatment plans is influenced by “events in the real world” including …

Exploring Mothers’ And Fathers’ Relationships With Sons Versus Daughters: Links To Adolescent Adjustment In Mexican Immigrant Families, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Melissa Y. Delgado, Lorey A. Wheeler

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Drawing on ecological and gender socialization perspectives, this study examined mothers’ and fathers’ relationships with young adolescents, exploring differences between mothers and fathers, for sons versus daughters, and as a function of parents’ division of paid labor. Mexican immigrant families (N = 162) participated in home interviews and seven nightly phone calls. Findings revealed that mothers reported higher levels of acceptance toward adolescents and greater knowledge of adolescents’ daily activities than did fathers, and mothers spent more time with daughters than with sons. Linkages between parent-adolescent relationship qualities and youth adjustment were moderated by adolescent gender and parents’ division …

Integrating Developmental And Free-Choice Learning Frameworks To Investigate Conceptual Change In Visitor Understanding, E Margaret Evans, Amy Spiegel, Wendy Gram, Judy Diamond

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Complex ideas like evolution—which run counter to common, but mistaken, intuitive knowledge like the 9-year-old’s quoted above—are challenging, both for exhibit developers and for the evaluation and research teams who assess the impact of exhibitions. It is always difficult to document measurable changes in deep conceptual understanding following a single visit to an exhibition (Allen, 2008, p. 58); Is this even possible with complex topics, such as evolution? In this article, we summarize a series of studies that may offer some help to exhibit developers and evaluators, as well as others who design and assess informal learning experiences. The studies …

School-Based Screening To Identify At-Risk Students Not Already Known To School Professionals: The Columbia Suicide Screen, Michelle A. Scott, Holly C. Wilcox, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Mark Davies, Roger C. Hicks, J. Blake Turner, David Shaffer

Publications and Research

Objectives.Wesought todeterminethedegreeofoverlapbetweenstudents identified through school-based suicide screening and those thought to be at risk by school administrative and clinical professionals. Methods. Students from7 high schools in theNewYorkmetropolitan area completed the Columbia Suicide Screen; 489 of the 1729 students screened had positive results. The clinical status of 641 students (73% of those who had screened positive and 23%of thosewho had screened negative) was assessedwithmodules from the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children. School professionals nominated by their principal and unaware of students’ screening and diagnostic status were asked to indicate whether they were concerned about the emotional well-being of each participating student. …

The Effects Of Stimulant Medication On The Online Story Narrations Of Children With Adhd, Karen J. Derefinko, Ursula L. Bailey, Richard Milich, Elizabeth P. Lorch, Elizabeth Riley

Psychology Faculty Publications

The current study investigated the inclusion of goal-based story events in the online story narrations of children with ADHD, as compared with their peers, and explored the effect of stimulant medication on the narrations in children with ADHD. Children completed a narration task on two separate occasions. Children with ADHD (n = 17) completed one narration on medication and the other one on placebo. Results indicated that narrations of comparison children (n= 25) were significantly more likely than narrations of children with ADHD to include the story’s positive outcome, completion of the story’s overall goal, and specific …

Inhibitory Deficits In Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Intentional Versus Automatic Mechanisms Of Attention, Mark T. Fillmore, Richard Milich, Elizabeth P. Lorch

Psychology Faculty Publications

Application of theoretically based tasks to the study of the development of selective attention has led to intriguing new findings concerning the role of inhibitory mechanisms. This study examined inhibitory mechanisms using a countermanding task and an inhibition of return task to compare deficits in intentionally, versus reflexively, controlled inhibition of attention in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Fifty children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were classified into one of three subtypes: predominantly inattentive (ADHD/PI), combined (ADHD/C), and those children with ADHD/C who also met criteria for comorbid oppositional defiant disorder (ADHD/C + ODD). The groups were compared to a …

Infant Social And Emotional Development: The Emergence Of Self In A Relational Context, Katherine L. Rosenblum, Carolyn Joy Dayton, Maria Muzik

Social Work Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Procedural Justice In Resolving Family Disputes: Implications For Childhood Bullying, Michael R. Brubacher, Mark R. Fondacaro, Eve M. Brank, Veda E. Brown, Scott A. Miller

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

High levels of family conflict and poor family conflict resolution strategies are often associated with externalizing behaviors in children, including the behavior of bullying. Through family interactions, parents have the opportunity to convey a variety of messages to the child. Some of these messages are sent through the child’s appraisal of procedural justice, which refers to the judgments of fairness directed at the process by which a conflict is resolved. The current study investigated the relationship between appraisals of procedural justice in family conflict resolution and bullying among middle-school students. A sample of 1,910 sixth through eighth graders completed a …

Persistence In The Face Of Academic Challenge For Economically Disadvantaged Preschool Children, Eleanor D. Brown

Psychology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Social Phobia, Sarah S. Cosley

Graduate Research Papers

Social phobia is a common diagnosis for people of all ages. In the United States alone millions of people suffer from Social Phobia. People who suffer from social phobia can have problems in many areas of their life including: work, school, relationships, and daily functioning. Symptoms associated with social phobia can range from general fears to specific fears. A discussion of the definition of social phobia, symptoms, treatment, and application will be explored in the following paper.

Reactive Attachment Disorder, Kalen J. Espy

Graduate Research Papers

Reactive Attachment Disorder, or RAD, has several possible causes usually stemming from traumatic childhood events. The attachment disorders were initially explored in 1948 by John Bowlby which led to the attachment theory being established in the 1960's. Attachment is the bond a child makes with other human beings, allowing for a healthy emotional and psychological growth. Attachment is developed primarily from birth to two years of age and up to the age of five.

There are four attachment styles and four phases that a child must go through to develop a healthy attachment to a caregiver. A child who is …

Applications For Parent-Child Relationship Concerns, Christy A. F. Jenkins

Graduate Research Papers

The parent-child relationship is the foundation for formative life experiences and is a common diagnosable concern in the professional counseling and human service field. This work briefly addresses the DSM-IV-TR diagnosis V 61.20 Parent Child Relational Problem, providing prevalence rates, and related risks as well as two specific intervention strategics. Intervention strategies include the use of temperament traits and the communication of love between individuals. A handout follows the text of this work which may be used with clients.

Promoting Resilience In School-Aged Children, Sherry Rizzuto

Graduate Research Papers

This paper reviews the literature related to resilience in children who are considered at risk. The purpose of the paper is to describe common risk factors that put children at risk, what defines resilience, and what protective factors and processes develop resilience in these at-risk children. The paper concludes by examining interventions for school counselors to promote resilience in school-aged children.

Attachment And The Schools, Jennifer N. Allan

Graduate Research Papers

In order to be effective workers in the schools, school staff members must be able to form some sort of relationship with individual students. The ability of students to form relationships depends upon the attachments they have formed with their caretakers. The purpose of this literature review was to explore different types of attachment, interventions that can be used with students who have attachment issues, and how attachment can affect schools all of which are given from. the perspective of a school counselor. The literature review investigates and summarizes the impact both healthy and unhealthy attachment has on a student …

The Forgiving Family: Effects Of A Parent-Led Forgiveness Program On Mental And Relational Health, Chad Magnuson

Faculty Dissertations

This study appraises the effects of a parent-led forgiveness intervention on mental health and relationship variables for parents and their third grade children (ages 8-9) in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In this study, parents in the experimental group (n = 5) used a curriculum guide to teach forgiveness to their children, while the control parents (n = 5) participated in art activities with their children. Statistical analyses demonstrated a significant increase in interpersonal forgiveness of an offender for parents who taught forgiveness to their child. No significant between-group differences were revealed for other mental health and relationship variables, either for children …