Educational Psychology Commons^™

Mexican-Origin Youths’ Trajectories Of Depressive Symptoms: The Role Of Familism Values, Katharine H. Zeiders, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Adriana J. Umana-Taylor, Lorey A. Wheeler, Norma J. Perez-Brena, Sue A. Rodriguez

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Purpose—To describe Mexican-origin youths’ trajectories of depressive symptoms from early to late adolescence and examine the role of three aspects of familism values: supportive, obligation, and referent familism. Methods—Mexican-origin adolescents (N = 492) participated in home interviews and provided self-reports of depressive symptoms and cultural values at four assessments across an 8-year span. Using a cohort sequential design and accounting for the nesting within the 246 families (2 youth per family), we examined depressive symptoms from ages 12 to 22 years and the within-person, between-sibling, and between-family effects of familism values. Results—Mexican-origin males’ depressive symptoms decreased across …

Ethnic Identity Among Arab Americans: An Examination Of Contextual Influences And Psychological Well-Being, Rand Ramadan Fakih

Wayne State University Dissertations

Existing theories and research have indicated that ethnic identity is crucial for ethnic minority young adults because ethnicity is an important component of their personal identity that is likely to influence various aspects of their development. Given the centrality of this construct, the overarching aim of the present study was to examine ethnic identity and psychological well-being among members of an ethnic group that have long been ignored in the psychological literature: Arab Americans.

Specifically, the goals of the study were threefold. The first goal was to examine the association between multiple contextual factors (such as students' perceptions of their …

Risk Taking Behaviors In Emerging Adults And Peer, Sibling & Parental Relationships, Malasri Rani Chaudhery-Malgeri

Wayne State University Dissertations

Research shows emerging adults are more likely than younger and older cohorts to engage in such risky behaviors. However, research on the outcomes of emerging adults and their relations with peers, parents, and siblings is less conclusive. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between emerging adults' perceptions of peers', siblings', and parents' risk-taking behaviors, and risk behavior after controlling for participants' sensation seeking tendencies. This study explored the moderating role of emerging adults' relationships with peers, siblings, and parents in the relation between these models' risk taking behaviors and emerging adults' risk taking behaviors, The mediating …

Examination Of The Acquired Preparedness Model And Alcohol Use In Emerging Adults, Richard Michael Staszkow

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictive utility of the acquired preparedness and alcohol use in emerging adults. Data were collected from a sample of 273 participants, ages 18 to 25 years old, from an urban university in the Midwest. The participants completed self-report questionnaires via SurveyMonkey. It was predicted that expectancy variables would mediate the relations between impulsivity and the frequency and quantity of drinking. Results suggest that social pressure self-efficacy was found to fully mediate the relation between the impulsivity variables (lack of premeditation and positive urgency) for both drinking frequency and quantity. Increased confidence, …

Child And Family Predictors Of Bullying In Middle School Students, Rene Michele Nota

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the shared variables that contribute to direct and indirect aggression, specifically bullying and to explore the role of family context, and adolescent personality characteristics on predicting bullying behavior. The theoretical framework of this study was based on evidence that no specific element can describe why some individuals are at risk for behaving aggressively and other are more resilient. The study included 259 middle schools students in grades six through eight. The students were enrolled at a single middle school located in a suburban area. The largest group of students was African American, …

Personal And Social Factors In Risk-Taking Behaviors Of Emerging Adults, Katherine A. Roeser

Wayne State University Dissertations

The transitional period from adolescence to young adulthood is defined as the stage of life that begins at the conclusion of high school and ends with the acceptance of adult roles (i.e., career, marriage, parenthood). The focus of the present study was on college students' excessive use of alcohol and other drugs and participation in high-risk sexual activity and the association between those behaviors and personal and social factors such as sensation seeking, peer influence, perceived general resistance to peer influence, perceived self-efficacy to resist risky behavior, and emotion regulation. The participants were 427 emerging- adult, undergraduate students 18 to …

Predicting Students’ Confidence: How Teacher Feedback And Other Sources Influence Self-Efficacy In Mathematics Classrooms, Megan Kleine-Kracht Thomas

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

In this two-part dissertation, the sources of self-efficacy were investigated for elementary and middle school students in mathematics classrooms. In the first study, the Sources of Middle School Mathematics Scale (Usher & Pajares, 2009) was validated with a younger sample. Participants included 367 fourth- through sixth-grade students; these participants completed two surveys investigating their beliefs regarding their capabilities to perform successfully in mathematics. This study included an examination of the psychometric properties and a confirmatory factor analysis of the Sources of Middle School Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale, and an investigation into the relative power of mastery experience, vicarious experience, social persuasions, …

An Examination Of Education Services For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders In Rural Areas, Melissa A. Murphy

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Much research and media attention in recent years has focused on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), a pervasive developmental disorder that impacts children in multiple areas of their lives. Early identification and intervention, as well as access to mental health, behavioral, and pediatric services for this population are crucial to their later outcomes and quality of life (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2001; Blane & Borden, 2008; Jacobson & Mulick, 2000; Rogers & Vismara, 2008). Unfortunately, research suggests that access to educational services may be complicated for individuals living in rural areas (Applequist, 2009; Collins et al., 2005, Ludlow, Conner, & Schechter …

Choice Amount And Choice-Making In Children: A Comparison Of Children With And Without Symptoms Of Adhd, Liesa Klein

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Research has demonstrated that increased options can have a negative impact on choice experience, post-choice affect, and purchasing behavior in adults. While the use of choice and choice interventions is sometimes used in educational settings, this negative impact, the choice overload hypothesis, has yet to be examined in children. Further, if the presence of choice overload were to be identified in this population it may have further implications on children with ADHD who exhibit deficits in executive functioning. The purpose of this study was threefold: (1) to examine choice duration in children with and without symptoms of ADHD; (2) to …

Emerging Adults : Analysis Of Learning Patterns In Collegiate Classrooms, Joan Ann Swanson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Emerging adults, who are transitioning from adolescence to adulthood, often spend a significant amount of time on college campuses preparing for their future endeavors. Today's educator is facing many options for addressing the educational needs of their students, as well as a myriad of learning resources and tremendous advances in technology. Their emerging adult students are dealing with multiple distractions, adjustments and transitions. This study examined preferred emerging adult learning styles in light of an information processing framework using grounded theory qualitative analysis. The study also explored students' reported preferences for optimal learning experiences and engagement within the collegiate classroom, …

School Psychologists' Awareness, Involvement, And Perceptions In Servicing Gifted Learners, Monica Pires

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

School psychologists are comprehensive service providers asked to help with all students in assessing their needs, providing intervention strategies, and consulting with others. However, the role of school psychologists in gifted education is unclear, as more attention is given to students perceived to be disadvantaged. This underserved population experiences a wide-range of challenges that can be assisted by school psychologists (Brown, 1982; E.L. Robinson, 2002). To date, there has been no study to investigate school psychologists' awareness, perceptions, and involvement in gifted education. This study assessed potential service delivery differences in gifted education, examined current practices and awareness of related …

The Impact Of Demographics, Resources, And Training On The Quality Of School Crisis Plans, Erin Elizabeth Gurdineer

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

As our nation has become more aware of severe, yet usually rare, crisis events in schools, the need for crisis planning is more evident. Although the severity of crises can differ greatly (e.g., school shooting versus physical assaults), crisis preparedness is an essential component of schools' responsibilities in order to effectively respond to a variety of situations. A total of 70 participants, from multiple states across the United States, completed an online questionnaire about demographic characteristics, resources for school crisis planning, and training on crisis topics. Participants also submitted a copy of their school's crisis plan to be evaluated using …

Impact Of An Extended-Day Kindergarten Intervention On School-Related Variables : A Longitudinal Study, Catherine Bauer

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Increased awareness regarding the effectiveness of educational programs has been generated from recent legislative mandates. Given the significance of kindergarten as the foundation for academic learning, it is critical to evaluate whether district-created programs for entering students who are identified as at-risk are effectively meeting their needs. The current program evaluation study investigated the immediate and long-term effects of an extended-day intervention for kindergarten students identified as at-risk in one school district. Through archival data analysis, students who participated in the extended-day kindergarten (EDK; n=26) intervention beginning in the fall of 2000 and 2001 were compared with a control group …

Effective Co-Viewing: Preschoolers’ Learning From Video After A Dialogic Questioning Intervention, Gabrielle Strouse, Katherine O'Doherty, Georgene Troseth

School of Education Faculty Publications

Young preschoolers rapidly acquire new information from social partners but do not learn efficiently from people on video. We trained parents to use Whitehurst’s dialogic reading questioning techniques while watching educational television with their children. Eighty-one parents coviewed storybook videos with their 3-year-old children in 1 of 4 conditions: dialogic questioning (pause, ask questions, and encourage children to tell parts of the story), directed attention (pause and comment but do not ask questions), dialogic actress (show the videos with dialogic questioning by an on-screen actress embedded in them), or no intervention (show the videos as usual). After 4 weeks, children …

Examining The Influence Of Parents, Teachers, And Neighborhood Safety On African American Adolescents’ Motivation And Achievement, Clarissa R. Roan-Belle

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Guided by the theoretical frameworks of Baumrind’s parenting style theory, interpersonal expectations, Self Determination Theory, and self-efficacy, this study examines factors that influence African American students’ GPA and motivation, specifically associations between parents’ and teachers’ control, warmth, and educational expectations and African American adolescents’ GPA, self-efficacy, and intrinsic motivation were examined. The moderating effects of neighborhood safety on the aforementioned associations were also assessed. Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, this study found that parents’ warmth and expectations were positive predictors of all educational variables, while parents control was a negative predictor of GPA and intrinsic motivation. …

University Students Diagnosed With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Hermeneutical Phenomenological Study Of Challenges And Successes, Vickie Johnston

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This hermeneutic phenomenological study inquired about the challenges and successes of eight university students diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder at a university in the southeastern United States. The data collection methods involved documentation, questionnaires, focus groups, and individual interviews. The analysis of data involved open coding and in vivo coding; conversational interview methods through member checks were employed at the end of each interview. Several themes emerged from the data regarding the factors in academic success and challenges, the environments and learning styles most conducive to learning, individual factors that contributed to academic success, and the reading and study …

International And Cross-Cultural Application Of The Good Behavior Game, Julene Douty Nolan

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Disruptive classroom behavior is frequently cited as a critical component in teacher job dissatisfaction and burnout. As corporal punishment is eliminated in many classrooms worldwide, teachers report a perception of increased disruptive classroom behavior that many feel ill equipped to address. Teachers also often report a lack of training in evidence-based behavior management tools that have been studied with international populations and culturally, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse populations. The Good Behavior Game offers teachers a classroom-wide behavior management tool that has been studied both in the United States and abroad with students from diverse backgrounds, primarily in developed countries or …

Prevent-Teach-Reinforce For Function-Based Behavior Intervention Planning In Positive Behavior Support, Brett William Dejager

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The present study assessed the effectiveness of Prevent-Teach-Reinforce (P-T-R), an assessment-based model for students with behavior problems, using an A-B-A-B design with follow-up. Participants included three students in grades kindergarten, fourth, and fifth in a rural Midwestern school district. Results indicated that PTR was effective in reducing disruptive behaviors and increasing academic engaged time across all three participants. The results also indicated that the teacher participants were able to implement the behavior interventions with fidelity and with high levels of perceived social validity.

A Systematic Analysis Of Paraprofessional Job Expectations: Development Of The Paraprofessional Survey Of Expectations Tool (P-Set), Angela Maxine Christenson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

With increased accountability due to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA), the provision of services to children with disabilities in the least restrictive environment is necessary to ensuring an inclusive, free appropriate public education. Paraprofessionals are increasingly utilized as service providers for children with disabilities in the schools. In fact, there are over a million paraprofessionals jobs nationally according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (2010) and the upward trend is steadily rising. Yet, the role of the paraprofessional is not well defined, nor agreed upon by school personnel. The Paraprofessional Survey of Expectations …

Integration Of School Psychology And Neuropsychology: An Inquiry, Megan Colleen Moerke

All Master's Theses

A state level survey was conducted to examine interest regarding the integration of a neuropsychological perspective into school psychology practice among practicing school psychologists in Washington State. Potential respondents were contacted through e-mail and invited to participate in the original survey developed by the author. The 25 question survey sought to answer questions regarding neuropsychological training, attitudes and beliefs toward the incorporation of a neuropsychological perspective, current professional practices, interaction with neuropsychologists through referral and consultation, and potential barriers to the incorporation of a neuropsychological perspective. A total of 433 school psychologists completed the online survey for an approximate response …

Multidimensional Perfectionism And Social Connectivity Among Youth: Findings And Implications, Alexander Nounopoulos

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Although traditional researchers exploring perfectionism frequently cast the construct in a negative light, a steady stream of recent studies have demonstrated that perfectionistic beliefs can yield both positive and negative outcomes. Despite this progression in the research, perfectionism remains an understudied phenomenon among youth, especially as it relates to the ways in which these individuals are perceived by others. The current study builds on the previous literature by exploring adolescent perfectionism across a variety of psychological and psychoeducational dimensions. Moreover, a unique addition to the literature offered by this study was the inclusion of peer-reports along with self-reported measures in …

Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions Of And Expectations For School Readiness: Self-Regulation And Success, Latoya Mccrea

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Early childhood education plays a very important role in influencing the success of a child later in the learning process. Because of this, scholars in the field of education have consistently sought to predict factors that ensure school readiness. Unfortunately, there is not enough information on factors that ensure school readiness and particularly on how teachers perceive school readiness. This study examines teachers' perceptions regarding the specific readiness skills and self-regulation needed by children entering kindergarten, as well as their familiarity with and their training in early childhood learning programs and executive functions. The study reviews the current literature on …

An Exploration Of The Perceived Academic Self-Efficacy And Locus Of Control Of Urban Students With Learning Disabilities, Olukayode Abimbola Nuga

Wayne State University Dissertations

The search for an answer to the question of the achievement gap between Black and other minority students and their White counterparts has been pervasive. This study, however, reframes the question not by using the White student as a frame of reference against which to make the comparison but by using the Black student himself. Therefore, relying on some scholarly work that found that studies of achievement within ethnic groups yielded far more significant results than between groups, the study focused on a comparison of the academic achievement between urban Black students with learning disabilities and their typical peers. The …

Assessing Intern Impact Factors For Program Evaluation And Improvement, John Brady, Randy T. Busse, Jeanne Anne Carriere, Michael Hass, Kelly S. Kennedy

Education Faculty Articles and Research

We present the results of a program evaluation system for examining school psychology interns' impact on the academic and behavioral functioning of children. Outcome data from a variety of single-case problem-solving interventions conducted from 2008-2012 indicated overall moderate, positive effects. Global supervisor ratings indicated strong perceptions of the interns' positive impact on the children they served.

The Positive Illusory Bias And Adhd Symptoms: A New Measurement Approach, Sarah A. Fefer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of academic and social competence among adolescents with a continuum of inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms. Past literature suggests that children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) display self-perceptions that are overly positive compared to external indicators of competence, a phenomenon that is referred to as the positive illusory bias (PIB; Owens, Goldfine, Evangelista, Hoza, & Kaiser, 2007). The PIB is well supported among children with ADHD, and recent research suggests that the PIB persists into adolescence. To date, research on the PIB has relied on difference scores (i.e., an indicator of competence is …

The Relationship Between Gratitude And Psychological, Social, And Academic Functioning In Middle Adolescence, Michelle Denise Hasemeyer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Guided by positive psychology and broaden-and-build theoretical frameworks, this study utilized a correlational research design to explore the relationships between gratitude and adolescents' psychological, social, and academic well-being in a diverse sample of 499 high school students. Results of multiple regression analyses that controlled for potential effects of student demographic features on outcomes showed that higher levels of gratitude predicted more life satisfaction (β=.63, sr2=.40) , less internalizing symptoms (β= -.44, sr2= .19), more social support from parents (β=.50, sr2=.25), teachers (β=.28, sr2=.08), and peers (β=.34, sr2=.12), higher grades (β=.12, sr2=.014), and better academic self-perceptions (β=.30, sr2=.09). These relationships were …

The Phenomenal Characteristics Of The Son-Father Relationship Experience, Chris L. Hickey

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine what the son-father relationship experience feels like (the phenomenology of the son-father relationship), and how the relationship experience affects leadership development, specifically in the son.I chose to reverse the order of the typical reference on this topic (father-son) in order to emphasize the significance of the son (role) being the central character or object of interest, even in instances where the character is a father in addition to being a son.Additionally, it should be noted that all fathers are sons, but not all sons are fathers (biologically, and/or socially, and/or conceptually).My …

A Preliminary Investigation Of The Validity Of Time-Based Measures Of Sustained Attention For Children, Michael R. Kulfan

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study is a preliminary investigation of the validity of using time-based measures to quantify sustained attention in children ages 6-12. Problems with sustained attention negatively affect childhood learning and development. The prevalence of disorders known to impact sustained attention performance continue to rise in the United States. Currently, commercially available, objective measures of sustained attention use normative comparisons that provide limited information about the effect such problems have on child performance in natural settings. We reviewed test data from 290 charts of children ages 6-12 referred for neuropsychological evaluation. The Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch) is an …

Dispositional Mediators Of Burnout Syndrome In A Sample Of Direct Care Staff Employed At Group Homes In A Midwestern State, Cristovao Bartolo Carreira

Wayne State University Dissertations

The current research examined the dispositional characteristics that mediated burnout syndrome in a sample of direct care workers who were employed in group homes for the mentally ill in a Midwestern state. Specifically, the indirect effects that the direct care staff's attachment systems and problem solving ability were examined as they applied to their potential burnout status. Attachment theory, a contemporary psychodynamic theory of personality, was used to provide a context for the study. The researcher studied the interactions between construct subcomponents to address a criticism in the literature stating that only total scores were used to study burnout and …

Diversity Among Latino/A College Students And Its Impact On Student Organization Involvement, Enmanuel Mercedes

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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