Child Psychology Commons^™

Reducing Youth Incarceration Through Protections In Childhood Development: A Case Study Of West Virginia, Claire Heather Virginia Lindsay

Senior Projects Spring 2021

Childhood Development is a trajectory that is subject to many risks and protections, enacted by a host of institutions, systems and actors. High rates of youth incarceration in the U.S. demonstrate one of the ways risk factors in childhood can lead to outcomes that are often very harmful to development beyond childhood. West Virginia has the highest rate of youth incarceration in the U.S. and therefore offers a unique look into what systems are at play when considering vulnerable youth populations. Through Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory I examine the various systems of childhood development and how they interact to affect …

Caregiver Cues: The Role Of The Body In Infant-Caregiver Relationships, Anamaria Alvarez

Senior Projects Spring 2021

Touch, gaze, posture, and their synchrony between an infant and their caregiver are the means by which an attachment between the two is formed. The nonverbal elements of communication between the infant-caregiver dyad can explain the nature of their relationship and can serve as a tool for classifying attachment styles. Attachment Theory (AT) proposes that the attachment the infant forms with their caregiver establishes a model for relationships that the infant will carry into adulthood. This paper will untangle the underlying processes of the infant-caregiver relationship to make a case for refining the corporeal lens through which we view AT. …

A Bilingual Advantage For Children With Autism: Effect Of A Bilingual Education On Set Shifting In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Chandler Flannery O'Reardon

Senior Projects Spring 2021

The proposed study will examine the effect of an early bilingual school environment on the set shifting abilities of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). More specifically, it will evaluate how an English-French bilingual education program affects the set shifting abilities of children with ASD compared to a monolingual English education program. Set shifting will be measured by the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task both before and after the respective education programs. I hypothesize that there will be a main effect of both time point and education program on set shifting abilities such that (a) set shifting abilities will …

Communicating With Play: Helping Adults Recognize Separation Anxiety Disorder And Social Anxiety Disorder In Preschool Children, Katlynn Marie Shamro

Senior Projects Spring 2021

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Despite well-founded and agreed upon evidence showing preschool-aged children experience anxiety (CDC, 2020), children ages 2-6 are continuously understudied, underdiagnosed, and undertreated for these disorders (NIMH, 2019). Researchers attribute this to the primarily cognitive, as opposed to behavioral symptoms of anxiety, communication deficits during the preschool years, and the nature of childhood amplifying already existing barriers to a diagnosis of anxiety. Because diagnosis is the first step to gaining access to mental health resources and early intervention mitigates symptoms and impaired functioning (Barstead et al., 2018), as well …