Psychology Commons^™

Latent Variables Predicting Drug Use In Adolescents With High Versus Low Protective Factors, Jessica Jorgenson

Dissertations

The present study utilized archival data provided from the Minnesota Student Survey (2013). The study consisted of two levels of analysis. The first level involved the development of measurement models for various latent constructs (i.e., disaffiliation, normalized use, internalizing behaviors, and externalizing behaviors). Utilizing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the second level applied the observed (i.e., abuse) and measured latent variables to the prediction of the outcomes of interest (i.e., a latent variable estimate of substance use) for middle- and high school-aged youth. Models for adolescent girls and boys were examined separately based on sex and high vs low protective factors. …

Attachment Quality Across Contexts: The Mediating Role Of Cognitive-Affective Traits, Christian Ammons

Dissertations

Attachment quality throughout the lifespan has been found to be impacted by a variety of factors including prior attachments with parents and other adults (Rholes, Simpson, & Friedman, 2006). The mechanisms that impact the transmission of attachment to parent-child attachment quality has not been fully explored. Individual differences such as traits involving appraisal of self and others and affective components have been found to be important in relationship functioning across contexts (Eisenberg, 2000). Thus, the current study evaluated the relationship between adult attachment quality and parent-child attachment quality and specifically examined the mediating effects of cognitive-affective traits (i.e. trait forgiveness, …

Romantic Relational Aggression Among College Students: A Moderated Mediation Study Of Attachment Style, Romantic Jealousy, Mate Value, And Relationship Investment, Skylar Hicks

Dissertations

Most of the research on intimate partner violence has concentrated on overt physical and verbal aggression, and less is known about relational aggression in the framework of romantic relationships. Relational aggression is more prevalent in college students’ romantic relationships compared to physical aggression and may be a risk factor for intimate partner violence. Additionally, a number of adverse correlates have been associated with romantic relational aggression, suggesting that it is worthy of study independent of its association with intimate partner violence. The present study explored the relationships among adult attachment, romantic jealousy, mate value, relationship investment, and romantic relational aggression …

The Mediating Effects Of Drinking Refusal Self-Efficacy On The Associations Between Alcohol Protective Behavioral Strategies And Alcohol Use Outcomes, Kray Scully

Dissertations

Alcohol use continues to pose a serious public health problem at universities across the U.S., largely due to the extent of consumption and frequency of negative consequences experienced among college students. Alcohol protective behavioral strategies (PBS-A) are an empirically supported repertoire of safe drinking behaviors college students can use to monitor and control their alcohol consumption as well as limit harm while drinking. However, there remains a need to better understand how cognitive mechanisms, such as drinking refusal self-efficacy (DRSE), help explain college student safe alcohol use behaviors to enhance evidenced-based intervention and prevention efforts. Recently, studies that examined the …

Non-Traditional Church Involvement As A Life-Course Turning Point: Qualitative Interviews With Religious Offenders, William Hunter Holt

Dissertations

This research project conducted and then analyzed qualitative interviews from former and current addicts and criminal offenders who are voluntarily participating in the Christian faith at the same non-traditional, Protestant church. An abridged case study of this church is also provided for background and context. Life-course theory and grounded theory are utilized.

Both the offenders and this church were chosen in an attempt to better understand how the offenders’ involvement at this house of worship, along with their faith in general, have impacted them. Obtaining the perspectives of the offender is essential for three reasons. First, qualitative research conducted in …

Overparenting And Young Adult Narcissism: Psychological Control And Interpersonal Dependency As Mediators, Nathan Alexander Winner

Dissertations

Overparenting, or “helicopter parenting,” is a unique style of parenting characterized by parents’ well-intentioned but age-inappropriate over-involvement and intrusiveness in their children’s lives. Recent research has linked overparenting to the development of narcissistic traits in young adults, although the mechanisms of this relationship remain unclear. Two plausible mechanisms include the parenting behavior of psychological control and the increased interpersonal dependency of the child. Psychological control is a construct that overlaps with overparenting and has been linked to both dependent and narcissistic traits. Similarly, interpersonal dependency is a key predictor of narcissistic traits. Therefore, the present study sought to examine psychological …

First Thirty Days Of Life: Examining Calf Behavioral Development In Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus Leucas) And Pacific White-Sided Dolphins (Lagenorhyncus Obliquidens) At One Zoological Facility, Kendal Smith

Master's Theses

Cetacean development is important for general comparative understanding and the implementation of informed husbandry policies. Due to the inaccessibility of many of these species in the wild, researchers can study managed care populations to better understand basic developmental patterns of cetaceans, as well as to improve husbandry policies for facility animals. However, no previous studies have attempted to observe the behavioral development of Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhyncus obliquidens). Eight beluga whale calves and four Pacific white-sided dolphin calves were observed for the first 30 days of life to determine the developmental trajectory of several typically monitored behaviors. The …

Development Of Semantic Reference For Location Symbols By Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) Using A Two-Way Communication Keyboard, Alyssa Taylor

Master's Theses

The ability for humans to communicate with another species has been an aspiration and well documented. One example is through training animals to make associations between a designated cue and conditioned response (Pryor, 1986). Two-way communication, however, in which both species can express wants/needs has been predominantly pursued with apes and dolphins. Studies conducted by Louis Herman demonstrated the capabilities of dolphins to comprehend complex semantic and syntactic commands in an artificial language system (Herman, Richards, & Wolz, 1984). Researchers working with primates have used American Sign Language, a computer keyboard system with discrete lexigrams, and a portable lexigram keyboard …

The Efficacy Of A Goal-Based Study Skills Course For Academically At-Risk, First-Generation, African American, Female Students, Sarah Beth Garrison

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to identify effective intervention strategies used in a goal-based study skills course for academically at-risk, first-generation, African-American, female students. Based on the theoretical framework from goal, motivation and achievement theories (Covington, 2000; Kuh, 2007; Nicholls, 1984), this study provided an analysis of research regarding the academic success and persistence of at-risk students. An explanatory mixed-method design was employed that consisted of two phases. The first phase of the study used quantitative data to test for difference in GPA and academic status between the control and treatment group. Quantitative data was also used to identify …

Examining The Perceived Influence Of A Comprehensive Youth Development Program For Promoting Black Male High School Persistence, Richard Gray Walker

Dissertations

Black male youth in the United States drop out of high school at a rate consistently higher than their White counterparts. A lack of academic persistence contributes to lower workforce participation rates among Black Americans, which leads to lower national productivity and unrealized personal prosperity. Youth development research has developed an extensive body of knowledge regarding possible causes and contributing factors of minority high school dropout. Literature shows youth experience higher dropout rates when they grow up in adversity. Adversity risks such as dysfunctional families, cultural discontinuity between home and school, dysfunctional neighborhoods, or low-expectations from teachers contribute to graduation …

The Good Behavior Game: Effects On And Maintenance Of Behavior In Middle-School Classrooms Using Class Dojo, Komila Dadakhodjaeva

Dissertations

Classroom management is one of the key components for successful instruction and affects both instructors and learners. Although most frequent discipline strategies in schools involve punitive actions, research suggests that using positive statements to teach and reinforce desirable behaviors is more appropriate and effective. A form of a group-oriented contingency that focuses on desirable behaviors is a positive variation of the Good Behavior Game (GBG). The GBG has been used widely in its original form, focusing on undesirable behaviors, and more research is needed on its positive version. Another strategy that can be used within classrooms is Class Dojo, a …

A Retro Development In Education: Evaluating The Feasibility Of Integrating Place-Based Education Into Mississippi Curriculum Standards, Colby K. Mcclain

Honors Theses

This thesis evaluates the feasibility of integrating place-based environmental education activities from Think Green, Take Action: Books and Activities for Kids into the Mississippi Department of Education’s (MDE) Frameworks for Science and Social Studies for K-5. As children develop and experience the world, their ability to understand and interpret the surrounding environments expand; however, Mississippi schools are not focused on experiential environmental education, even though experiencing and understanding the surrounding environment is vital in fostering eagerness to learn. Due to a growing disconnect between humans and the natural world, this thesis examined 37 place- and environment-based activities for children, sixteen …

The Role Of Parental Locus Of Control In The Relations Among Early Childhood Temperament, Parenting Practices, And Child Externalizing Behavior, Amanda Kathryn Stary

Dissertations

Child externalizing behaviors are a common reason for children’s referral for mental health services, and parenting practices are a primary target of efficacious interventions. In turn, child temperament and parent beliefs, such as parental self-efficacy and locus of control, relate to use of specific parenting practices. The present study aimed to evaluate whether parental locus of control and related components moderate the indirect effect of preschool-aged children’s temperament on their externalizing behaviors through parenting practices. Specifically, child temperament was expected to predict parenting practices only at certain levels of locus of control. Female caregivers of 146 children ages 3-5 years …

Pre- And Post-Partum Whistle Production Of A Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus) Mother-Calf Dyad, Audra Elizabeth Ames

Master's Theses

Whistle use pre- and post-partum in an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) mother-calf dyad has rarely been studied. The current study is the first to investigate signature whistle production by the mother pre- and post-partum, as well as whistle use by other members of the social group during calf development, and how exposure to these whistles may affect the calf’s vocal repertoire. Findings showed that the mother increased her rates both pre- and post-delivery, while other group members produced their whistles at decreased rates until the calf’s second week of life. After the calf’s second week, whistle rates of …

Family Communication Motivating Athletics Over Generations: A Mixed Method Expansion Of Self-Determination Theory, Elizabeth Hanson Smith

Dissertations

Mixed methods were utilized to test the communication within a model of self-determination (Deci & Ryan, 1985) in a multi-generational sports framework in order to argue for an update to self-determination theory (SDT) that includes a communication element. Fourteen qualitative research questions were posed to examine how communication functioned to move tennis players, golfers, and runners from the initial family influence in participating, to integrating family values to the extent that participants modeled athletic values to offspring and community members. Three hypotheses correlating the variables of self-efficacy, autonomy-controlling and autonomy-supportive family communication supported the argument that communication functioned to develop …

Parenting Stress, Behavior, Treatment Satisfaction, And Hope In Caregivers Of Children With Developmental Disabilities, Paige Cristin Schultz

Dissertations

Parenting stress has been shown to be related to both negative parenting behaviors and child behavior problems in the general population as well as with children with developmental disabilities. With the majority of children with developmental disabilities participating in multiple treatments, little is known about the effect of treatment satisfaction on caregivers. Hope has also been shown to reduce stress in caregivers, yet little research has examined this relationship with respect to parenting stress specifically or in parents with children with developmental disabilities. Treatment satisfaction has also been associated with less parenting stress in other populations; however, no study has …

Home-School Collaboration: Concurrent Home And School Reading Interventions Within A Response To Intervention System, Qi Zhou

Dissertations

The current study investigated the effectiveness of reading interventions in the form of home-school collaboration on increasing oral reading fluency in elementary students exhibiting reading fluency deficits. Specifically, student participants were receiving Tier II reading interventions at their school. Additionally, parents were trained to implement an individualized intervention identified by brief experimental analysis with each student at home. Home-school notes were used to facilitate support and communication between the home and school. Results demonstrated that three of four students’ oral reading fluency improved. Furthermore, parents rated the interventions as acceptable. Parent treatment integrity was found to be adequate.

The Effects Of Check In/Check Out On Levels Of Problem Behavior And Academic Engagement In Elementary School Students, Leila Mullooly Miller

Master's Theses

Previous studies have largely evaluated the effects of check in/ check out (CICO) using office discipline referrals (ODRs). However, ODRs are not always reliable measures of student behavior, and direct observation is known to be an accurate tool for behavioral measurement. Due to this, the current study used direct observations to evaluate the effects of CICO on levels of problem behavior and academic engagement for a group of elementary school students. One second, one fourth, and one sixth grade student served as participants. Results indicate CICO is effective in decreasing problem behavior and increasing academic engagement. Data from teacher ratings …

An Electrophysiological Examination Of Adhd-Associated Symptoms And Selective Attention In Adults, Erica Diane Prentkowski

Dissertations

A main component of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a deficit of inattention. This deficit causes impairment for both children and adults in a variety of settings including school and work. The current study examined auditory selective attention in a community sample of adults. It was the aim of this project to examine possible differences in selective attention for adults with high levels of ADHDassociated symptoms, when compared to adults with low levels of ADHD-associated symptoms, including conditions under which these differences may be an advantage. Specifically, it was expected that adults with high ADHD-associated symptoms would benefit from the high …

An Examination Of Napping And Psychosocial Functioning In Preschool Children, Brian Kenneth Crosby

Dissertations

The objectives of this study were to examine racial differences in the sleep distribution of 4- to 5-year-old children, to assess the relationship between napping and psychosocial functioning, and to determine if there are racial differences in the relationship between napping and psychosocial functioning. The sleep behavior of 67 children (52.2% non-Hispanic White; 55.2% male) 4 to 5 years old from a community sample was assessed through caregiver-report and actigraphy. Psychosocial functioning was examined through caregiver-report and laboratory tasks designed to assess aspects of behavioral and emotional functioning. Results indicate that, compared to White children, Black children nap significantly more …