Psychology Commons^™

Program Evaluation Of Behavior Management Training For Preschool Teachers: Child Outcomes, Erika Nicole Christianson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Due to the immense challenges faced by young children who exhibit emotion regulation problems, prevention programs have been designed to train teachers on strategies useful for improving classroom behavior. The current study examines the effects of a prevention program implemented in a blended Head Start/daycare setting and evaluates the outcomes of the training on children’s cognitive/preliteracy skills, selfregulation, and social competence in the fall and spring following teacher training. The intervention group (Western Kentucky University Child Care Center) and control group (Bryant Way Child Care Center) were part of a blended Head Start/child care preschool program. Children’s self-regulation, social competence, …

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 …

Individual Child Cognitive Behavioral Treatment Versus Child-Parent Cognitive Behavioral Treatments For Anxiety Disorders In Children And Adolescents: Comparative Outcomes, Jessica Dahan

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety disorders; such as separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia and specific phobia, are widespread in children and adolescents. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be effective in reducing excessive fears and anxieties in children and adolescents. Research has produced equivocal findings that involving parents in treatment of child anxiety enhances effects over individual CBT (ICBT). The present dissertation study examined whether parental involvement can enhance individual treatment effect if the parent conditions are streamlined by targeting specific parental variables. The first parent condition, Parent Reinforcement Skills Training (RFST), involved increasing mothers’ use of positive reinforcement …

The Racial And Ethnic Identity Formation Process Of Second- Generation Asian Indian Americans: A Phenomenological Study, Derek Kenji Iwamoto, Nalini Junko Negi, Rachel Negar Partiali, John W. Creswell

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

This phenomenological study elucidates the identity development processes of 12 secondgeneration adult Asian Indian Americans. The results identify salient sociocultural factors and multidimensional processes of racial and ethnic identity development. Discrimination, parental, and community factors seemed to play a salient role in influencing participants’ racial and ethnic identity development. The emergent Asian Indian American racial and ethnic identity model provides a contextualized overview of key developmental periods and turning points within the process of identity development.

Temperament In Early Childhood And Peer Interactions In Third Grade: The Role Of Teacher–Child Relationships In Early Elementary Grades, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Kate Niehaus, Eric S. Buhs, Jamie M. White

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Children’s interactions with peers in early childhood have been consistently linked to their academic and social outcomes. Although both child and classroom characteristics have been implicated as contributors to children’s success, there has been scant research linking child temperament, teacher–child relationship quality, and peer interactions in the same study. The purpose of this study is to examine children’s early temperament, rated at preschool age, as a predictor of interactions with peers (i.e., aggression, relational aggression, victimization, and prosociality) in third grade while considering teacher–child relationship quality in kindergarten through second grades as a moderator and mediator of this association. The …

Eye-Catching Odors: Olfaction Elicits Sustained Gazing To Faces And Eyes In 4-Month-Old Infants, Karine Durand, Jean-Yves Baudouin, David J. Lewkowicz, Nathalie Goubet, Benoist Schaal

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study investigated whether an odor can affect infants’ attention to visually presented objects and whether it can selectively direct visual gaze at visual targets as a function of their meaning. Four-month-old infants (n = 48) were exposed to their mother’s body odors while their visual exploration was recorded with an eye-movement tracking system. Two groups of infants, who were assigned to either an odor condition or a control condition, looked at a scene composed of still pictures of faces and cars. As expected, infants looked longer at the faces than at the cars but this spontaneous preference for faces …

Parenting And Attachment Among Low-Income African-American And Caucasian Preschoolers, Casey A. Dexter, Kristyn Wong, Ann M. Stacks, Marjorie Beeghly, Douglas Barnett

Psychology Faculty Research Publications

Despite a plethora of research on parenting and infant attachment, much less is known about the contributions of parenting to preschool attachment, particularly within different racial groups. This study seeks to build on the extant literature by evaluating whether similar associations between parenting and attachment can be observed in African American and Caucasian families, and whether race moderates them. Seventy-four primary caregivers and their preschool children (51% African American, 49% Caucasian, 46% male) from similar urban, low income backgrounds participated in two visits four weeks apart when children were between four and five years of age. Attachment was scored from …

I Don't Want To Save Your Children, Katherine M. Patterson

SURGE

A few weeks ago, the moment that I’ve been dreaming of for almost half of a year finally arrived. I started the Heston Summer Experience as an intern in Gettysburg. An embarrassing amount of my winter break was devoted to writing and rewriting my applications. After receiving an invitation for an interview, I convened my roommates to help me choose an outfit and ask me practice questions, which is not something I do…ever. Getting my acceptance letter in the mail was the ultimate highlight of a long and difficult year. When I was home for the first few weeks of …

Brown Eyes, Brown Mind: What We Learn From What We See, Mauricio E. Novoa

SURGE

My summer days aren’t spent in a house on the beach or travelling to different states or countries with my family or friends, forgetting about the worries of the rest of the year and wondering what could be better than life under the sun. They are spent in a school building, the first place my younger self would have been eager to escape during off time. This is the second summer I am working at the LIU Migrant Education Summer School of Excellence. Unlike normal summer school, which usually consists of remedial classes for students who can’t seem to …

Violence Among Young Adults Receiving Housing Assistance: Vouchers, Race, And Transitions Into Adulthood, Tamara Leech

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Scholarly literature has been very attentive to violence among adolescents whose families receive vouchers. Yet, it provides little information about violence among the more than 400,000 very young adults who head households that receive vouchers. This article explores this relationship, paying particular attention to life course considerations and racial context. Data on 18–22-year-olds, numbering 208, who received housing assistance and participated in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 in 2002 indicate that normative theoretical models may not accurately capture the relationship between the transition to adulthood and violence within this group. Results also suggest that among those who experience …

Empowerment-Based Positive Youth Development: A New Understanding Of Healthy Development For African American Youth, Raphael Travis Jr., Tamara Leech

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

A shift occurred in research about adolescents in the general population. Research is moving away from deficits toward a resilience paradigm and understanding trajectories of positive youth development. This shift has been less consistent in research and practice with African American youth. A gap also exists in understanding whether individual youth development dimensions generate potential in other dimensions. This study presents an empowerment-based positive youth development model. It builds upon existing research to present a new vision of healthy development for African American youth that is strengths-based, developmental, culture-bound, and action-oriented. It emphasizes the relationship between person and environment, the …

Boys Will Be Boys, Girls Will Be..., Rashida Aluko-Roberts

SURGE

Lets talk about sex.

Well not really, just the double standard that comes with the topic. It’s no secret that men and women are taught to think about sex differently. While there are many (myself included) who fail to accept these culturally imposed ideas and attitudes about sex, it would be incredibly naïve to not acknowledge the existence of the double standard that exists. [excerpt]

The Influence Of Mindful Attention On Value Claiming In Distributive Negotiations: Evidence From Four Laboratory Experiments, Jochen Reb, Jayanth Narayanan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We examined the effect of mindful attention on negotiation outcomes in distributive negotiations across four experiments. In Studies 1 and 2, participants who performed a short mindful attention exercise prior to the negotiation claimed a larger share of the bargaining zone than the control condition participants they negotiated with. Study 3 replicated this finding using a different manipulation of mindful attention. Study 4 again replicated this result and also found that mindful negotiators were more satisfied with both the outcome and the process of the negotiation. We discuss theoretical and practical implications, limitations, and future directions.

Bullying Prevalence In Mississippi: A Comparison Of Urban And Rural Schools, Valarie Mccaskill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examines the prevalence of bullying in urban and rural schools in Mississippi. Students at eight middle schools completed the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire to identify bullies and bully victims. The results of the study showed that approximately 50% of students in both urban and rural schools were identified as being bullied once or more during the current school term. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of bullying at urban and rural schools based on students who attended the eight middle schools who participated in the study. However, there was a significant difference in the prevalence of bullying …

Positive Psychology And Attachment: Positive Affect As A Mediator Of Developmental Outcomes, Holly H. Schiffrin

Psychological Science

Fredrickson’s (1998) broaden-and-build model and Bowlby’s (1969) attachment theory provide alternate explanations for positive cognitive, social, physical, and psychological outcomes, positive affect and secure attachments, respectively. This study examined whether affect mediates the relationship between attachment and positive outcomes. The sample consisted of 99 undergraduate students from a small, public liberal arts college in the mid-Atlantic region. For people high in attachment anxiety, but not those high in attachment avoidance, affect partially mediated social and psychological outcomes and fully mediated health outcomes. People who scored high in attachment anxiety reported less positive affect and more negative affect, which results in …

Tips For The Tough Cases, Theresa Fraser

Faculty Publications and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Gender And Implicit Theories On Science Achievement And Interest In Elementary-Aged Students, Savannah Benningfield

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study set out to determine the relationship between student grade
level, implicit views of science ability, science achievement and science interest.
Differences by grade level were also explored. The study also considered the differences in male and female implicit theories of science ability, science interest, and science achievement. Participants in the current study consisted of a total of 1910 students from six elementary schools from one south-central Kentucky district that participate in Project GEMS (Gifted Education in Math and Science). Data were analyzed by means of analysis of variance and Pearson correlations. Younger students evidenced lower scores on …

The Influence Of Children's Affective Ties On The Goal Clarification Step Of Social Information Processing, Amanda C. Thorn

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Previous studies have shown that children’s social goals are influenced by
emotion and that emotions can be manipulated using relationships. The present study combines these previous findings by examining the effect of children’s relationships on social goals. Social goals were examined in second and fifth grade children using hypothetical ambiguous provocation situations in which the relationship between the participant and the provocateur was manipulated by inserting the name of a friend, enemy, or a neutral peer into the story. After each situation, children rated the importance of four different social goals, indicating which of the four would be the most …

Shots For Tots?, Eric A. Feldman

All Faculty Scholarship

By endorsing the use of a vaccine that makes the experience of puffing on a cigarette deeply distasteful, Lieber and Millum have taken the first few tentative steps into a future filled with medical interventions that manipulate individual preferences. It is tempting to embrace the careful arguments of “Preventing Sin” and celebrate the possibility that the profound individual and social costs of smoking will finally be tamed. Yet there is something unsettling about the possibility that parental discretion may be on the cusp of a radical expansion, one that involves a new and unexplored approach to behavior modification.

Level Of Cooperativeness And Competitiveness In Relation To Sports Choice In Children, Rachel Choinski

Honors Projects in Applied Psychology

The topic which I have chosen for my senior capstone project is in the psychology field and involves children’s personalities, in particular the level of cooperativeness and competitiveness, and their sports preferences. The literature research covered the child’s skill level, mainly motor skills which the children possess, competitive and cooperative sports categories as well as family influence, each which have an effect on this study. The five hypotheses which are being examined are: competitive children will prefer the competitive sports over the cooperative ones, cooperative children will prefer cooperative sports, level of competitiveness and cooperativeness will have an effect on …

Predictors Of Preschool Children's Peer Interactions: Temperament And Prosocial Behavior, Ibrahim H. Acar

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

The current study was a correlational study that examined children’s temperament (inhibitory control and shyness) and prosocial behavior as predictors of preschool-aged children’s peer interactions. The current study also examined the moderating effects of inhibitory control and shyness on relation between children’s prosocial behavior and peer interactions. Participants were 40 children (19 boys) aged from three to five enrolled in eight different preschools in a Midwestern city. It was hypothesized that children’s prosocial behavior and temperament (inhibitory control and shyness) would be correlated with preschool children’s peer interactions, operationalized as sociability, communication, assertiveness, conflict, and a composite peer interactions domain. …

The Impact Of Cumulative Risk On Parenting Behaviors As Mediated By Parental Distress, Courtney E. Green

Senior Honors Theses

Cumulative risk is a salient construct addressed in family dynamics research. There have been multiple relationships established among cumulative risk, parenting, and child outcomes through previous research. The current study furthered this body of research by addressing the role of parenting distress within models predicting parenting behaviors within a context of risk. Cumulative risk, parenting, child behavior, and transactional relationships highlighted the relationships between an environment of risk and resulting parenting outcomes. It was predicted that parental distress will act as a mediator variable between the baseline cumulative risk and later parenting behaviors. This hypothesis was tested using data from …

Maladaptive Behaviors Within The Context Of Play, Elizabeth L. Schroeder

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Play-based assessment is an observational technique used to evaluate young children's development. The Play Assessment/Intervention System (PLAIS) is one of the most widely researched play-based assessment models and assesses domains such as exploratory play, simple pretend play, complex pretend play, and non-play. One of the criticisms of early childhood assessments and screening instruments is they neglect to evaluate the social and emotional development of young children. The PLAIS codes for aggressive behavior, but not within the context of play. Given that aggression is typical among young children, this study created an observational supplement to the PLAIS that allows observers to …

Type Of High-School Credentials And Older Age Adl And Iadl Limitations: Is The Ged Credential Equivalent To A Diploma?, Sze Yan Liu, Niraj R. Chavan, M. Maria Glymour

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Purpose: Educational attainment is a robust predictor of disability in elderly Americans: older adults with high-school (HS) diplomas have a substantially lower disability than individuals who did not complete HS. General Educational Development (GED) diplomas now comprise almost 20% of new HS credentials issued annually in the United States but it is unknown whether the apparent health advantages of HS diplomas extend to GED credentials. This study examines whether adults older than 50 years with GEDs have higher odds of incident instrumental or basic activities of daily living (IADLs) limitations compared with HS degree holders. Methods: We compared odds of …

Do Students Understand What Researchers Mean By Bullying?, Kristin E. Bieber

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

The definition of bullying most often used by researchers incorporates three key elements: repetition, intent to harm, and a power imbalance (Olweus, 2010). Past studies have found that students may not understand how this definition of bullying is different from general peer aggression, and that they may report their involvement in instances of aggression that occur only once, or happen among individuals of equal power, when they are asked about their involvement in bullying (Monks & Smith, 2006).

This dissertation examined: a) grade differences in students’ abilities to accurately apply the definition of bullying when determining if a behavior is …

The Impact Of Home Visitor Relationship Quality On Parenting And Child Outcomes: Does Maternal Age Matter?, Elizabeth A. Colsey

Senior Honors Theses

Early Head Start (EHS) is an early intervention program that seeks to mitigate the effects of risk for those families with young children. Consistent with attachment theory, the home visiting component of EHS targets parent-child relationships in order to combat negative child outcomes. Research indicates that children of adolescent mothers are susceptible to poor outcomes both in childhood and adulthood. The current study utilized EHS data from 1198 parent-child dyads to assess the indirect relationship of home visitor quality on child aggression through parent quality, as moderated by maternal age. Findings indicated that home visitor quality may have a greater …

Therapeutic Interaction With Children Through Play, Carolyn J. Dix Ms.

Senior Honors Theses

In the field of early childhood counseling, there has been a recent trend towards play therapy. Play is often referred to as the language of children because they can communicate their thoughts and feelings in ways that they express verbally. Therapeutic play sessions give therapists an opportunity to communicate with a child on his or her level which can provide more insight as to how to proceed with the therapy. The outcomes of play therapy implementations are substantially positive, and this therapeutic practice is becoming widely-accepted in the cases of childhood abuse, children with disabilities, children in hospitals, grieving children, …

The Eden Project: A City Wide Youth Conference And Fashion Show To Increase Body Image And Self-Esteem In Adolescent Girls, Nicole R. Parsons

Honors Program Projects

This paper focuses on the development of body image and self-esteem in adolescent girls and discusses the impact both positive and negative factors can have during this developmental stage of life. It argues the idea that a girl’s positive feelings regarding her external appearance can drastically influence her self-esteem, which in turn affects how she treats herself, as well how she allows others to treat her. This paper also follows the history of fashion shows, discussing their influence in media outlets that adolescent girls often turn to when searching for an identity in this culture. Pulling from a Christian perspective, …

Children And Happy Growing Up 2013, Lok Sang Ho

Hong Kong Children Happiness Index 香港兒童快樂指數調查

Hong Kong children from Primary 4 to Secondary 3 were happier in 2013 with their happiness index standing at 7.23, evidently higher than 6.91 in 2012, according to results of the latest survey conducted by the Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) of Lingnan University announced today.

However, the encouraging result was tempered by declines in the Insight and Fortitude scores, two of the four key determinants of happiness, namely Love, Insight, Fortitude and Engagement (LIFE). In 2013, Hong Kong children’s Insight score fell to 6.19 from 6.37 in 2012, while Fortitude dropped to 6.64 from 7.10 during the same …

Stop Blaming Video Games For America's Gun Violence, Kristin M.S. Bezio

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Recently, America's attention has been understandably focused on the potential causes of increased violence - especially gun violence - particularly among children and youth, and how to stop it. Alongside gun-control proposals, some of which President Obama is likely to highlight in his State of the Union address tonight, much of that attention has looked at the potential of violent video games to cause or exacerbate the tendencies of youth to engage in real, harmful violence.