Child Psychology Commons^™

Creating Opportunities For Father Involvement, Glen F. Palm

Child and Family Studies Faculty Publications

The increase of men's involvement in their children's lives is a common theme in the popular media. As a parent educator and a teacher of early childhood educators, I was interested in how successful early childhood programs for young disabled children have been at involving fathers. I was curious about the kinds of opportunities that are available to fathers and how many fathers are taking advantage of these opportunities.

Cultural Characteristics Of Learning And Perceptual Skills Of Southeast Alaskan Native 5-Year-Olds, Thomas J. Turkon

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the use of cognitive skills by 5-year-old Alaskan Native children on a standardized testing instrument. The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence (WPPSI) were administered to 23 boys and 17 girls of predominantly Tlingit, Tsimshean, and Haida ancestry. A standardized parent interview was used to collect bio-demographic data. Mean scores for the sample displayed significant differences between the Performance and Verbal scales, with the strongest performance in the Spatial subtests, and lowest in the Sequential subtests. Scores were significantly associated with variables representing culture-specific self identity and behavior, but were most strongly associated with family size. …

A Continuum Approach To Identification And Mentoring Of The Severely Discouraged For Successful Life Career Management, Marion Allen Smallwood

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to assess sensitivity levels of four career classification groups on attitudinal and specific action variables to the severe discouragement of youthful individuals. Youthful discouragement may be considered the leading cause of death among the young, ages 14 through 24 years of age. Subintentioned and deliberate acts of self-harm resulting from discouragement include death from reckless accidents, substance abuse, eating disorders, suicide, and victim-precipitated homicides.

Adults and peers in proximity of discouraged youth need to be trained appropriately in youthful selfharm prevention. An opinionnaire with three sections was used to assess participants’ sensitivity on attitudinal, …

Children's Anxiety Management Program (C.A.M.P.): A Year Long Study Of A Preventive Stress & Anxiety Program For Children, Karen Witty

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The Children's Anxiety Management Program (C.A.M.P.) was designed as a preventive program to be carried out over an academic year with fifth and sixth grade children. The program was designed to help teach the children different methods of coping with stress and anxiety. It was written in a curriculum format allowing for integration into a daily classroom routine. Eighty-seven children were pretested and posttested with the Children's School Questionnaire (CSQ) which measured these factors: School Anxiety, Defensiveness, and Self-Disparagement. The CSQ along with student and teacher kept logbooks aided in the final evaluation of C.A.M.P.. The statistical evaluation of the …

School Psychologists' Reports: Special Educators' Preferences, Claudia Downey

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Special educators were surveyed in order to determine which of two distinct styles of school psychologists' reports, (psychological vs. psychoeducational) was perceived to be most useful. The sample population consisted of 39 special educators employed by the Bowling Green (Ky.) Independent School District and the Warren County (Ky.) Board of Education. Teachers' rankings of the ten report sections (five per style of report) were compared by an analysis of variance. Results of the 2 (report style: psychological vs. psychoeducational) by 5 (report sections: referral vs. background and observations vs. tests/procedures vs. diagnosis or conclusions vs. recommendations) ANOVA revealed no significant …

Behavior Of Retarded Clients As A Function Of Access To Leisure Activities Oriented Toward Task Completion, David R. Keltner

Home Economics and Family Living Theses

This thesis represents an investigation of the effects of increased access to task completion activities on the behavior of institutionalized retarded clients. The hypothesis was that increased access to task completion leisure activities (non-competitive free time activities requiring the subject to attend to a constructive task during at least five free time periods over the course of the study) would result in reduced frequency of unacceptable social behaviors in a group of institutionalized retarded clients. A hobby kit designed according to the experimental definition of leisure activity was made available to each subject in the experimental group. Target behaviors (social …

A Comparison Between Children's Anxiety Management Program & Developing Understanding Of Self & Others: Effects On Children's School Anxiety, Self-Disparagement & Defensiveness, Bengt Ronnerman

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Children experience unavoidable stress and anxiety. Excessive stress, or distress, and anxiety may negatively effect children's emotional, mental, and physical functioning. Examples of distress reactions in children include fears, aggression, frustration, low self-esteem, apathy, low academic achievement, poor peer relationships, fatigue, and developmental delays. Prolonged reactions to distress in children could cause severe emotional, mental, and physical problems when children reach adulthood. It is important that children learn effective strategies to cope with distress and anxiety. There is a dearth of research data regarding children and coping skills training for dealing with stress and anxiety. Therefore, the Children's Anxiety Management …

Sex Differences In The Recognition Of Infant Facial Expressions Of Emotion: The Primary Caretaker Hypothesis, Raymond B. Hames, Wayne A. Babchuk

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Although much research has been devoted to studying sex differences In functioning (e.g., Maccoby and Jacklin 1974), most efforts have been directed toward documenting or elucidating the proximate causes of sex differences. Few attempts have been made, however, to explain the ultimate causes of these differences or the selective pressures that have led to the development or psychological differences between males and females [for exception see Symons (1979) and Daly and Wilson (1983)]. Toward this end of blending psychology with evolutionary theory we develop what we call the " primary caretaker hypothesis," which predicts that the sex that through evolutionary …

Piaget And Parables: The Convergence Of Secular And Scriptural Views Of Learning, James D. Foster

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Jean Piaget is widely acclaimed as a developmental theorist who has contributed much to the understanding of how children learn. While many educators adhere to Piaget’s model of learning, few realize that techniques similar in structure were used by Jesus 2000 years ago. Basic components of Piaget’s theory, namely assimilation, accommodation, and disequilibration of the learner, are evidenced in the parabolic method used by Jesus. This comparison between Piaget’s theory and Christ’s parabolic method suggests that an effective teacher would cognitively activate and disequilibrate the learner. Insights from Scripture and Piaget’s theory imply that motivation through disequilibration should be effective …

Creative Play And Child Development, Marcia L. Puskas

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

A Methodology For The Study Of Children's Environmental Knowledge In Other Cultures, Cindi Katz

Publications and Research

This paper presents a methodology which I used to study the content and acquisition of children's environmental knowledge as central to the social reproduction of a rural agricultural economy in the Sudan. My approach was forged drawing on methods of geography, linguistics and anthropology to provide information on (1) how children learn to interact productively with their environment, (2) the nature of their interactions and (3) their knowledge of environmental processes and resources. In this paper I will describe first the methodology adopted including participant observation, ethnosemantic interviews, child-led walks, environmental modeling and "geo-dramas". I will then discuss its use …

Children's Use Of Power Strategies The Effect Of Situational And Individual Differences, Sandra S. Ritchie

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Investigation Of Possible Similarities/Differences Between Learning Disabled And Non-Learning Disabled Upper Elementary Children's Perception Of Friends And Friendship, Cheri Haarala

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Negative Behavior Exhibited By Preschool Children In Same-Age Versus Mixed-Age Groups, Laura Janine Sheppard

Dissertations and Theses

Perhaps due to the increase in the workforce of mothers with young children, much attention has been directed in the past decade towards the subject of out-of-home child care.

In order to gain further understanding of the socialization of preschool children, an observational study was carried out which was designed to measure the amount of negative behavior expressed by children participating in mixed-age versus same-age preschool groups.

Sharing As A Function Of The Number Of Play Materials, Nancy Carol Milstead

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined whether the number of available play materials (toys) affected the occurrence of sharing behavior in preschool children. Eighteen four- and five-year-old children were assigned by age and gender to six same-sexed groups of three children each and were observed during three, 10-minute observation sessions. All groups were observed playing with one toy, two toys, and three toys. The children's play activities with the toy(s) were videotaped, and a behavioral coding system was developed to record those behaviors. The effect of toy condition on the sharing categories of Asked-for-Share, Partial Share, Overall Share (a category combining the highly …