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Responses To Caregiver Violations Of Communication In Typically Developing Children, Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, And Children With Down Syndrome, Ann Grossniklaus Dec 2013

Responses To Caregiver Violations Of Communication In Typically Developing Children, Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, And Children With Down Syndrome, Ann Grossniklaus

Psychology Theses

Examining responses to violations of communication may provide insight into children’s communicative competencies not apparent during reciprocal interactions. In this study, the caregivers of 18-month-old typically developing children, 30-month-old children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and 30-month-old children with Down syndrome followed our suggestion to playfully violate communication with their children in two contexts: requesting and social interacting. Caregivers of children with ASD made fewer bids and violations, which their children accepted less often than typically developing children; they also used instrumental behaviors more often when responding. Children with Down syndrome responded to their caregivers similarly to typically developing children, …


Hippocampal Volume And Its Association With Verbal Memory In Adult Survivors Of Pediatric Brain Tumor, Reema Jayakar Dec 2013

Hippocampal Volume And Its Association With Verbal Memory In Adult Survivors Of Pediatric Brain Tumor, Reema Jayakar

Psychology Theses

Verbal memory (VM) has been shown to be impacted in brain tumor (BT) survivors, but the nature of VM problems and underlying neuropathology are poorly understood and a long-term outlook is lacking. Our study examined hippocampus volume (HV) and VM in adult survivors of pediatric BT (n=32) and controls (n=48). Results indicate that disruption to a maturing brain in childhood is detectable 17 years (mean) after diagnosis, as HV is significantly lower in survivors compared to controls. Analysis of the VM scores shows that survivors have significantly lower overall immediate recall compared to controls, but learning slope, retention, and recognition …


Sex Specific Behavioral Profiles In Toddlers At Risk For Autism Spectrum Disorders (Asd), Natasha Ludwig Dec 2013

Sex Specific Behavioral Profiles In Toddlers At Risk For Autism Spectrum Disorders (Asd), Natasha Ludwig

Psychology Theses

The Positive Predictive Value (PPV) of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT), a parent report autism screening tool, is higher for males than for females (Ludwig et al., IMFAR 2011). Given the long waitlists and high costs for ASD evaluations, there is a need to reduce the number of false positive females on the M-CHAT. The current study examined the sex specific clinical profiles of toddlers who received an ASD evaluation based on M-CHAT screen positive status in order to explore potential differences that may contribute to the differential PPV of the M-CHAT in boys and girls. The …


A Sequential Analysis Of Parent Reassurance And Child Postoperative Distress, Sarah Martin Dec 2013

A Sequential Analysis Of Parent Reassurance And Child Postoperative Distress, Sarah Martin

Psychology Theses

Children undergoing surgical procedures often experience pain in the recovery room where parents are typically responsible for managing children’s distress. Research suggests that parents’ behavior influences children’s distress; however, no study has used time-window sequential analysis to examine the likelihood of parents’ reassurance and children’s distress interactions. The purpose of this study was to utilize time-window sequential analysis to examine the likelihood of parents’ distress preceding and following the start of children’s distress. Participants included 148 families with children 2-11 years old undergoing outpatient surgery. Reassurance was positively associated with children’s distress, but sequential analyses revealed that children’s nonverbal distress …


The Association Between Empathy And Prosocial Story Themes And Internalizing Symptoms In Preschool-Aged Children, Sarah E. Garcia Aug 2013

The Association Between Empathy And Prosocial Story Themes And Internalizing Symptoms In Preschool-Aged Children, Sarah E. Garcia

Psychology Theses

Little is known about the association between empathic and prosocial tendencies (caring) and internalizing psychopathology in young children. Associations between caring and internalizing problems (INT) were examined in young children (N = 63). Children’s caring was measured using a developmentally appropriate story narrative task about mothers in distress; narratives were rated for themes of caring. No general associations between caring and INT were found. A marginally significant, negative quadratic relation between themes of empathy and INT was found in boys (low levels of INT were related to both high and low levels of empathy). Children’s concern reactions were marginally, …


Extracurricular Activities And The Development Of Social Skills In Children With Intellectual And Learning Disabilities, Bianca A. Brooks Jul 2013

Extracurricular Activities And The Development Of Social Skills In Children With Intellectual And Learning Disabilities, Bianca A. Brooks

Psychology Theses

Numerous skill deficits interfere with the social functioning of children with intellectual (ID) and learning disabilities (LD). Due to the limited effectiveness of social skill interventions for this population, it is necessary to explore additional opportunities for social skill acquisition. Research suggests that extracurricular activity participation positively influences adolescent development; however, little is known about the benefits of activity participation for children with ID and LD. This study investigated the impact of frequency and type of extracurricular activity on the social competence of 7-12 year old children with ID (n=42) and LD (n=53), in comparison to their typically developing peers …


Examining The Role Of Ambivalent Sexism, Violations Of Traditional Feminine Norms, And Provocation In Men's Aggression Toward Women And Female Intimate Partners, Claire Lisco Jul 2013

Examining The Role Of Ambivalent Sexism, Violations Of Traditional Feminine Norms, And Provocation In Men's Aggression Toward Women And Female Intimate Partners, Claire Lisco

Psychology Theses

The aim of the present study was to investigate the hypotheses that men’s endorsement of hostile sexism (HS), but not benevolent sexism (BS), would be positively associated with their perpetration of laboratory physical aggression toward a female stranger who was perceived as low in her adherence to traditional feminine norms or their self-report of sexual and physical aggression toward a female intimate partner. Though these apriori hypotheses were not supported, exploratory analyses demonstrated that despite initial perceptions of a female as conforming to traditional feminine norms, receiving any provocation from that female elicited a significant increase in intensity of physical …


Exploring Social Support In Migrant And Seasonal Farmworkers In South Georgia, Rebecca Rodriguez May 2013

Exploring Social Support In Migrant And Seasonal Farmworkers In South Georgia, Rebecca Rodriguez

Psychology Theses

Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers (MSFWs) in the United States live and work within ever changing contexts, which require researchers to take into account multiple environmental and psychosocial stressors influencing mental health. The current study examined factors of social support and social isolation for MSFWs in South Georgia. Social isolation and support characteristics were identified and examined in association with depression among 120 Latino, male, MSFWs in South Georgia. Several protective and risk factors for depression were identified. Depression symptoms varied based on MSFWs household composition, perceived social isolation stressors, the frequency in which they called home and having socially …


The Mediating Role Of Processing Speed In Reading-Related White Matter Tracts And Word Reading Skills Of Adult Survivors Of Childhood Brain Tumor, Kristen M. Smith May 2013

The Mediating Role Of Processing Speed In Reading-Related White Matter Tracts And Word Reading Skills Of Adult Survivors Of Childhood Brain Tumor, Kristen M. Smith

Psychology Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between word reading and white matter (WM) integrity in the reading system and test a theory-based moderated mediation model such that relationship of WM integrity with word reading is mediated by processing speed and indirect effect is moderated by group. Thirty-seven adult survivors of childhood brain tumor and typically developing adults participated (mean age=24.19(4.51) years, 62% female). Tractography identified the WM tract for three reading system connections. Fractional anisotropy of the IFOF and PT-OT tracts were significantly correlated with word reading in survivors (r=.55, .46, respectively; p


White Matter Integrity, Facial Emotion Perception, And Socialization In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Ryan C. Brewster May 2013

White Matter Integrity, Facial Emotion Perception, And Socialization In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Ryan C. Brewster

Psychology Theses

Difficulty interpreting facial expressions is an important component of social deficits seen in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). The amygdalo-fusiform white matter tract is theorized to contribute to facial expression interpretation. The current study examined relationships between white matter integrity (WMI) along the aymgdalo-fusiform pathway, facial emotion perception (FEP), and socialization skill (SS) in a sample of typically developing (TD) participants and participants with ASDs. Groups were differentiated by WMI along the amygdalo-fusiform tract. Results suggested unexpected negative relationships between WMI and SS, and between WMI and FEP in the ASD group. A group interaction was suggested for WMI and FEP …


Adaptation Of A Leadership Training Program For Latinas, Rosemarie L. Macias Apr 2013

Adaptation Of A Leadership Training Program For Latinas, Rosemarie L. Macias

Psychology Theses

Involving community participants in the adaptation of culturally-specific programs has the potential to greatly enhance program fit, particularly for socio-politically distinct implementation sites. Findings from a case study of a leadership-training program for Latina survivors of domestic violence in Atlanta, GA support a participant-centered approach to program adaptation and evaluation. A summary of the adaptation process and themes from a qualitative analysis of structured interviews with program facilitators are presented. Implications for the leadership program and future research in the area of program adaptation are discussed.


The Effect Of Motion Type And Modality In Word Learning In English, Samantha N. Emerson Apr 2013

The Effect Of Motion Type And Modality In Word Learning In English, Samantha N. Emerson

Psychology Theses

Speakers of satellite-framed languages (S-languages such as English) express manner more frequently than speakers of verb-framed languages (V-languages such as Spanish) because S-languages use "satellite" phrases to encode path, leaving the verb free to encode manner (Talmy, 1985, Slobin, 2004). Gestures have also been shown to follow these cross-linguistic differences. While numerous studies have examined the effect of manner and path expressions on cognition cross-linguistically and in V-languages, less is known about these effects within S-languages. The current study examines encoding of path and manner events in English using a novel word-learning paradigm. Our results show that English speakers are …