Psychology Commons^™

Perceived Mother And Father Acceptance-Rejection Predict Four Unique Aspects Of Child Adjustment Across Nine Countries, Diane L. Putnick, Marc H. Bornstein, Jennifer E. Lansford, Patrick S. Malone, Concetta Pastorelli, Ann T. Skinner, Emma Sorbring, Sombat Tapanya, Liliana Maria Uribe Tirado, Arnaldo Zelli, Liane Peña Alampay, Suha M. Al-Hassan, Dario Bacchini, Anna Silvia Bombi, Lei Chang, Kirby Deater-Deckard, Laura Di Giunta, Kenneth A. Dodge, Paul Oburu

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

Background

It is generally believed that parental rejection of children leads to child maladaptation. However, the specific effects of perceived parental acceptance-rejection on diverse domains of child adjustment and development have been incompletely documented, and whether these effects hold across diverse populations and for mothers and fathers are still open questions.

Methods

This study assessed children's perceptions of mother and father acceptance-rejection in 1247 families from China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States as antecedent predictors of later internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, school performance, prosocial behavior, and social competence.

Results

Higher perceived parental …

The Impact Of Technology On Adolescent Identity Development, Christina Frederick, Amy Bradshaw Hoppock, Devin Liskey, Daniel Brown

Publications

This paper explores how technology use in adolescence facilitates adult identity achievement and presents evidence that technological objects, such as smartphones have become adolescent transitional objects. Early and late adolescents were surveyed about technology use and feelings associated with technology. Among older adolescents, anxiety level was related to smart phone use, such that higher anxiety was associated with greater smart phone use. The feelings and behaviors associated with use of the preferred device are consistent with feelings and behaviors associated with use of a transitional object. In contrast, younger adolescents did not appear to use technology as a transitional object. …

Utilizing Emotionally Responsive Virtual Human Role-Play Simulations To Train Users To Identify, Talk To And Refer Students In Psychological Distress Including Those At-Risk For Suicide: A Meta-Analysis, Glenn Albright, Jesse Davidson, Ron Goldman, Kristen Shockley, Sue Eastgard, Joy Himmel

Publications and Research

Background: The American College Health Association found that over 30% of students reported difficulty in functioning due to feeling depressed, overwhelming anxiety (50%) and anger (36%). Suicide is the second leading cause of death among US adolescents and over half of mental illnesses emerge prior to adulthood. A similar study found that nearly half of student veterans met criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and 46% had suicidal ideation. Left untreated, mental illness can lead to increased absenteeism, lower academic performance, disrupted classroom behaviors and compromises school safety. Educators and students are well positioned to identify and refer students in …

Test-Retest Reliability Of Curriculum-Based Measurement Written Expression Probes, Mallory Hart

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Despite the growing popularity and utilization of Curriculum-Based Measurement for assessing students’ academic skills and for progress monitoring, little attention has been devoted to the area of written expression. Very few studies have been conducted to assess test-retest reliability. Only three previous studies were identified that examined the test-retest reliability of written expression curriculum-based measures. To address this issue, the current study examined the test-retest reliability of five common scoring procedures with students in grades 2, 4, and 6. A one-week time interval was used. Results indicated that while test-retest correlations were statistically significant and often at a moderate to …

Conflict Handling Styles Among College Students: The Influence Of Conflict Training, Personality, And Family Conflict Resolution, Abel Waithaka

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was twofold; first, it was to examine the influence of personality and family conflict resolution on conflict handling styles. Second, the study aimed to investigate the impact of conflict resolution skills training on conflict handling styles, and conflict orientation of the participants. Personality was measured by Big Five Inventory (BFI), while family conflict was measure by Family Conflict Resolution scale. Conflict handling styles was measured by the Thomas-Kilmann MODE instrument, while Conflict orientation was measured by conflict orientation survey instrument. The training was carried out using a conflict handling video training. Data was collected in …

Acute Aerobic Exercise: An Intervention For The Selective Visual Attention And Reading Comprehension Of Low-Income Adolescents, Michele Tine

Dartmouth Scholarship

There is a need for feasible and research-based interventions that target the cognitive performance and academic achievement of low-income adolescents. In response, this study utilized a randomized experimental design and assessed the selective visual attention (SVA) and reading comprehension abilities of low-income adolescents and, for comparison purposes, high-income adolescents after they engaged in 12-min of aerobic exercise. The results suggest that 12-min of aerobic exercise improved the SVA of low- and high-income adolescents and that the benefit lasted for 45-min for both groups. The SVA improvement among the low-income adolescents was particularly large. In fact, the SVA improvement among the …

Pregnant Teens In Foster Care: Concepts, Issues, And Challenges In Conducting Research On Vulnerable Populations, Lisa D. Lieberman, Linda L. Bryant, Kenece Boyce, Patricia Beresford

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Teens in foster care give birth at over twice the rate of other teens. Unique challenges exist for these vulnerable teens and babies, yet research on such populations, particularly within the systems that serve them, is limited. A demonstration project at Inwood House, a residential foster care agency in New York City, from 2000 to 2005, at the same time that the Administration for Children's Services was exploring policy and practice changes for this population, is described. Research design and implementation issues, descriptive data, and experiences provide lessons for improving the evidence base to meet the needs of pregnant teens …

Bullying: Prevention/ Intervention Strategies With High School Students, Chloe Blau

Senior Honors Projects

Bullying has been a prevalent issue within the public and private school systems for as long as they have existed. There have always been students who were victimized for various reasons, or for no reason at all, but this generation has become much more vicious when it comes to the lengths to which they will go to hurt someone. Many methods have been used in an attempt to create both prevention and intervention plans for these horrible acts, but it is quite difficult to change a person’s behavior. So what if instead of trying to alter the mind of the …

Students' Perceptions Of Recess: An Examination Of Predictors Of Peer Conflict, Kadie Dooley

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

Recess plays an important role in students’ school days because it provides students opportunities to interact with their peers in unstructured settings. Some research has explored the relation between peer conflict within school contexts and how it is related to locations of positive play and the presence of adult supervisors. Further, researchers have conducted studies to examine within group differences for gender and grade, as well as between school differences. However, results have been mixed.

This dissertation examined the degree to which the following variables were related to where peer conflict occurs during recess: location of adult supervisors, location of …

Response To Intervention And Specific Learning Disability Identification Practices In Kentucky, Sean Reeder

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) have historically been difficult to define and measure which has led to uncertainty and controversy. The current study explored the practices of identifying specific learning disabilities in Kentucky by surveying school psychologist practitioners in the state. Information was obtained about current practices with regard to RTI implementation and methods and data used for SLD identification as well as the roles that school psychologists take in the response to intervention (RTI) process. The sample consisted of 97 current or recently (within the past year) practicing school psychologists from 45 districts across the state. It was predicted that …

Responding To Trauma: Help-Seeking Behavior And Posttraumatic Growth In A College Sample, Aaron J. Burrick

Honors Scholar Theses

Research indicates that traumatic experiences can impact college students’ mental health, academic abilities, and relationships with peers. Trauma and associated symptoms of PTSD can lower students’ well-being and increase the risk of withdrawing from the university. Research also emphasizes the importance of psychological help-seeking as a way to experience posttraumatic growth. This study examines traumatic experiences, help-seeking attitudes, barriers, and behaviors, and posttraumatic growth in a sample of 168 undergraduate college students. Results indicated an overwhelming preference for informal help-seeking resources and the importance of traumatic severity in the decision to seek help. Additionally, female participants reported greater traumatic severity …

Evaluation Of An Elementary Pbis Bully Prevention Program, Heather Bakari

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

School bullying has become an international source of concern. The media has captured the attention of the public with coverage of incidents such as the Columbine massacre. On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked through their school, shooting particular students they found. One victim asked why they were doing it. They said it was a dream come true and “payback” for being ostracized by their peers (Kalish & Kimmel, 2010). Until such devastations acted out in schools, bullying was considered a rite of passage. For the most part, parents and faculty did little to prevent it. In …

Parent Vs. Teacher Ratings Of Children’S Shyness As Predictors Of Language And Attention Skills, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Amanda Prokasky, Xiaoqing Tu, Scott R. Frohn, Kate Sirota, Victoria J. Molfese

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Shyness in childhood has been linked to multiple adjustment outcomes, including poor peer relations, internalizing problems, and clinical anxiety. However, shyness does not consistently emerge as a negative predictor of children’s success. This incongruity may stem, in part, from variations in the operationalization and measurement of shyness in different studies. Researchers often combine parent and teacher ratings of shyness, but correlations between parent and teacher reports are consistently small to medium. The purpose of this study is to examine parent and teacher ratings of shyness as they predict language and attention skills in preschool children, and explore discrepancies between parent …

The Effects Of Literature On Childhood Anxiety And Attachment Issues, Samantha Taylor

Honors College

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether children’s literature that targets issues related to anxiety and attachment has any effect on preschoolers, specifically at the beginning of a new school year. A sample of 12 children aged 2 to 4 years who attended a university-based preschool was examined with two parental and teacher questionnaires that assessed childhood anxiety and attachment-related issues. These measures were administered before and after the treatment. The participants were split into three groups: control, reading, and reading with discussion, and then were read two books that focused on the theme of coping with …

Touchstone Suicide Prevention Project, Douglas P. Johnson

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

• Continue to train a peer-based program to help create natural connections and interactions with at-risk students before the individual reaches a ‘crisis’ point.
• Use peer relationships to ‘normalize’ natural distress related to life experiences and the developmental challenges faced by college students.
• Facilitate connections to a wide array of student groups, organizations, clubs, and interest groups as a method o f increasing connection and engagement and decreasing isolation.
• Touchstone Social Network (TSN) students participate in a 6 week training program that covers suicide prevention, helping skills, bystander intervention, and referral resources. Touchstone Peers participate in ongoing weekly training meeting and …

An Assessment Of Resiliency And Life Satisfaction In High School-Aged Students In Belize, Rachel Youngblom, Daniel Houlihan, Julene Douty Nolan

Psychology Department Publications

This study assesses resiliency and life satisfaction of high school youth from Belize. Due to the contrast of geography, culture, and economic characteristics, between Belize and the U.S. many differences were hypothesized to be found. Resiliency and life satisfaction were hypothesized (a) to be lower in the youth from Belize when compared with previous studies of youth conducted in the United States, (b) youth in Belize, who have high resilience, will also have high life satisfaction and (c) youth who has low life satisfaction will also have very little resiliency.

Social Defense: An Evolutionary-Developmental Model Of Children’S Strategies For Coping With Threat In The Peer Group, Meredith J. Martin, Patrick T. Davies, Leigha A. Macneill

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Navigating the ubiquitous conflict, competition, and complex group dynamics of the peer group is a pivotal developmental task of childhood. Difficulty negotiating these challenges represents a substantial source of risk for psychopathology. Evolutionary developmental psychology offers a unique perspective with the potential to reorganize the way we think about the role of peer relationships in shaping how children cope with the everyday challenges of establishing a social niche. To address this gap, we utilize the ethological reformulation of the emotional security theory as a guide to developing an evolutionary framework for advancing an understanding of the defense strategies children use …

Student Engagement, Isalt Team

iSALT Resources: Theories, Concepts, and Measures

No abstract provided.

Growing Ideas - Partnering With An Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (ECMHC) is a collaborative relationship between a mental health consultant and families, care and education professionals, and/or early care and education teachers. ECMHC strives to improve the ability of families, teachers, and care and education professionals to promote, sustain and restore healthy social and emotional development for all children. Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation approaches challenging situations with children from a problem solving perspective. ECMHC is not a therapeutic intervention: it occurs in the children's natural settings - child care, home, and school.

Growing Ideas - Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (ECMHC) is a collaborative relationship between a mental health consultant and family members, child care providers, early care and education teachers, and/ or child development professionals. ECMHC strives to improve the ability of families, teachers, and caregivers to promote, sustain and restore healthy social and emotional development for all children. It supports building and maintaining healthy working relationships between care and education professionals and families.

Efficacy Of The Getting Ready Intervention And The Role Of Parental Depression, Susan M. Sheridan, Lisa Knoche, Carolyn P. Edwards, Kevin A. Kupzyk, Brandy L. Clark, Elizabeth M. Kim

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study reports the results of a randomized trial of a parent engagement intervention (the Getting Ready Project) on directly observed learning-related social behaviors of children from families of low-income in the context of parent-child interactions. The study explored the moderating effect of parental depression on intervention outcomes. Participants were 204 children and their parents, and 29 Head Start teachers. Semi-structured parent-child interaction tasks were videotaped two times annually over the course of two academic years. Observational codes of child behaviors included agency, persistence, activity level, positive affect, distractibility, and verbalizations. Controlling for gender and disability concerns, relative to children …

Gaining Control: Changing Relations Between Executive Control And Processing Speed And Their Relevance For Mathematics Achievement Over Course Of The Preschool Period, Caron A. C. Clark, Jennifer Mize Nelson, John Garza, Tiffany D. Sheffield, Sandra A. Wiebe, Kimberly Andrews Espy

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Early executive control (EC) predicts a range of academic out comes and shows particularly strong associations with children’s mathematics achievement. Nonetheless, a major challenge for EC research lies in distinguishing EC from related cognitive constructs that also are linked to achievement outcomes. Developmental cascade models suggest that children’s information processing speed is a driving mechanism in cognitive development that supports gains in working memory, inhibitory control and associated cognitive abilities. Accordingly, individual differences in early executive task performance and the irrelation to mathematics may reflect, at least in part, underlying variation in children’s processing speed. The aims of this study …

Changes In School Connectedness And Deviant Peer Affiliation Among Sixth-Grade Students From High-Poverty Neighborhoods, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Kate Niehaus, Lisa J. Crockett, Christopher R. Rakes

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

This longitudinal study examined associations between changes in School Connectedness and changes in Affiliation With Deviant Peers among students from high-poverty backgrounds during the year immediately following the transition to middle school. Sixth-graders (N = 328) attending two middle schools in a large school district completed measures of School Connectedness and Affiliation With Deviant Peers at three points across the year. Results from parallel process modeling showed that students’ reports of School Support significantly declined across the school year, School Support and Affiliation With Deviant Peers were negatively associated at the beginning of the school year, and students who reported …

Contribution Of Reactive And Proactive Control To Children’S Working Memory Performance: Insight From Item Recall Durations In Response Sequence Planning, Nicolas Chevalier, Tiffany D. James, Sandra A. Wiebe, Jennifer Mize Nelson, Kimberly Espy

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The present study addressed whether developmental improvement in working memory span task performance relies upon a growing ability to proactively plan response sequences during childhood. Two hundred thirteen children completed a working memory span task in which they used a touchscreen to reproduce orally presented sequences of animal names. Children were assessed longitudinally at 7 time points between 3 and 10 years of age. Twenty-one young adults also completed the same task. Proactive response sequence planning was assessed by comparing recall durations for the 1st item (preparatory interval) and subsequent items. At preschool age, the preparatory interval was generally shorter …

Head Start And Child Care Providers’ Motivators, Barriers And Facilitators To Practicing Family-Style Meal Service, Dipti A. Dev, Katherine E. Speirs, Brent A. Mcbride, Sharon M. Donovan, Karen Chapman-Novakofski

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

This paper presents a qualitative investigation of the motivators, barriers, and facilitators for practicing family-style meal service (FSMS) from the perspective of 18 child care providers serving preschool children in Head Start (HS), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) funded, and non-CACFP child-care centers. Providers were selected based on maximum variation purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews were conducted until saturation was reached. Provider responses were systematically coded using thematic analysis. HS and CACFP providers reported being motivated to practice FSMS because it created pleasant mealtimes, opportunities to role model healthy eating, and healthful child development. CACFP and non-CACFP providers …

Teacher Support Mediates Concurrent And Longitudinal Associations Between Temperament And Mild Depressive Symptoms In Sixth Grade, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Patrick Pössel, Stephanie Winkeljohn Black, Kate Niehaus

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The combination of changes occurring at the transition to middle school may be a catalyst for the onset of depressive symptoms, yet teacher support at this transition is protective. Research points to certain temperamental traits as risk factors for developing depressive symptoms. This study examines student reports of teacher support and teacher reports of student–teacher relationship (STR) quality as mediators of associations between child temperament (i.e. negative emotionality at age 4½ : and emotional reactivity in elementary grades) and depressive symptoms in sixth grade. Results indicate (a) negative emotionality predicted emotional reactivity and depressive symptoms; (b) emotional reactivity predicted depressive …

Being Shy At School, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Irina Kalutskaya

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

In our commentary on “Bashful boys and coy girls: A review of gender differences in childhood shyness” by Doey et al. (2013) we provide an analysis of limitations to the study of shyness in children as well as future avenues of research that may be fruitful for better understanding implications of shyness in school. Our focus is primarily on shyness in the classroom context, but we first discuss persistent difficulties in the measurement of shyness in childhood. Like Doey et al., our commentary reflects research in samples from the United States and Canada, unless otherwise noted. We then delve into …

An Exploration Of Teaching Music To Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Samantha D. Jimenez

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this grounded-theory qualitative study was to explore how music teachers successfully work with students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Many individuals with ASD are impacted daily by social and communication difficulties, sensory sensitivities, executive functioning challenges, and restricted or rigid behaviors. Current research, literature, media, and ASD and music circles support that music is a powerful medium for individuals with ASD. Benefits of music for individuals with ASD include therapeutic advantages, various improvements in skills, social opportunities, emergence of gifts and talents, and emotional outlets. Regular exposure to learning music in the U.S. is typically through music …

Humane Education: Perspectives Of Practitioners On Program Evaluation Efforts And Analysis Of Changes In Knowledge, Attitudes, And Empathy In Two Violence Prevention And Intervention Programs, Melanie Wagner

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This descriptive and comparative study examined the current landscape of humane education program evaluation and data analysis through a survey of humane educators across the country. Results of the humane education survey show that data collection and evaluation are occurring in humane education programs but these efforts do not capture and measure empathy, the primary goal of most humane education programs. Humane educators reported they felt the profession is progressive and relevant to a broad host of purposes, from building positive relationships with animals to playing a role in the larger social justice scheme. They also suggested that the field …

An Evaluation Of The Penn Resiliency Program For Disruptive Preadolescents In An Elementary School Setting, Mildred Howard

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Penn Resiliency Program in decreasing disruptive behavior, modifying negative automatic thoughts and improving academic achievement. Forty-eight students from two Title I schools in Georgia participated in this study. The Behavior Assessment Scale for Children, Second Edition, Progress Monitor, The Children's Automatic Thoughts Scale and report card grades were used to evaluate program effectiveness. Research results suggest the program effectively reduced negative automatic thoughts and improved academic performance.