Psychology Commons^™

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 …

Partners In Play: How Children Organise Their Participation In Sociodramatic Play, Carmel Brennan

Doctoral

In Ireland, early childhood learning and the role of play in children’s lives is receiving unprecedented recognition in national policy documents (Ireland, 1999c, 1999a, 1999b, 2000, 2004, N.C.C.A., 2004, C.E.C.D.E., 2006b). This thesis links learning and play and proposes to contribute to our understanding of both. The purpose of the research is to explicate the significant processes and outcomes of children’s participation in sociodramatic play. It takes a qualitative, ethnographic, interpretive approach which follows logically from the aim and the sociocultural discourse of learning constructed. This sociocultural discourse frames the observation and analysis of sociodramatic play in the study. Three …

Recognition Of Facial Emotions Among Maltreated Children With High Rates Of Post–Traumatic Stress Disorder, Carrie L. Masten, Amanda E. Guyer, Hilary B. Hodgdon, Erin B. Mcclure, Dennis S. Charney, Monique Ernst, Joan Kaufman, Daniel S. Pine, Christopher S. Monk

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective. The purpose of this study is to examine processing of facial emotions in a sample of maltreated children showing high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Maltreatment during childhood has been associated independently with both atypical processing of emotion and the development of PTSD. However, research has provided little evidence indicating how high rates of PTSD might relate to maltreated children’s processing of emotions. Method. Participants’ reaction time and labeling of emotions were measured using a morphed facial emotion identification task. Participants included a diverse sample of maltreated children with and without PTSD and controls ranging in age from …

Attention Bias Towards Threat In Pediatric Anxiety Disorders, Amy K. Roy, Roma A. Vasa, Maggie Bruck, Karin Mogg, Brendan P. Bradley, Michael Sweeney, Lindsey Bergman, Erin B. Mcclure-Tone, Daniel S. Pine

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective: To examine attention bias towards threat faces in a large sample of anxiety disordered youths using a well-established visual probe task.

Method: Study participants included 101 children and adolescents (ages 7- 18 years) with generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia and/or separation anxiety disorder enrolled in a multi-site anxiety treatment study. Non-anxious youths (n = 51; ages 9 – 18 years) were recruited separately. Participants were administered a computerized visual probe task that presents pairs of faces portraying threat (angry), positive (happy) and neutral expressions. They pressed a response-key to indicate the spatial location of a probe that replaced one …

Administrative And Punitive Isolation Of Children In Jails And Prisons: Cruel, Unusual, And Awaiting Condemnation, Ben Kleinman

Ben Kleinman-Green

This article applies our emerging understanding of how children mature into adults to the question of whether it is acceptable to subject children to isolation regimes in jails and prisons just as we do fully developed adults. I hope to shed light on the legal questions raised by the impact isolation has on the development of child inmates.

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

Psychology Department Publications

No abstract provided.

Developing The Anker Bilateral Spatial System, Janet Richmond

ECU Posters

Determining the effect of using the Anker Bilateral Spatial System (ABSS) to enhance the development of bilateral and spatial functioning of individuals with visual perceptual or sensory processing difficulties.

Am I Too Fat To Be A Princess? Examining The Effects Of Popular Children's Media On Preschoolers' Body Image, Sharon Hayes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigated the effects of brief exposure to appearance-related media on female preschoolers' body image. Results indicated that exposure did not affect body dissatisfaction or engagement in appearance-related play behaviors. Surprisingly, participants' self-reported frequency of weight concerns decreased at posttest. In contrast to older populations, it is possible that young children may adopt the persona of attractive characters with whom they identify rather than comparing themselves to the characters. This level of identification temporarily may alleviate weight concerns. This is the first empirical study to provide support for previous findings that suggest media exposure does not affect body …