Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Alcohol Expectancies Among Students In The City Of Pokhara, Nepal, Niran Tamrakar

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

Alcohol plays a vital role in various aspects of Nepalese society. It also presents public health risks. Though adolescents in Nepal are at high risk for negative consequences from alcohol use, there is limited information available on their alcohol behaviors and beliefs. The present study aims to describe alcohol expectancies among a sample of secondary students in Nepal to identify and understand motivations underlying their alcohol-related behaviors. A self-report survey was administered to 591 students from different Englishmedium schools in the city of Pokhara. This study began with the Chinese Adolescent Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (CAAEQ), then used qualitative methods to …

Early Childhood Teacher Turnover In Nebraska, Amy M. Roberts, Kathleen C. Gallagher, Susan Sarver, Alexandra Daro

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

Teacher turnover is a serious challenge across early childhood settings. Turnover can be expensive for early childhood programs, burdensome to staff, and harmful to children throughout the nation. Nebraska is no exception. This research brief describes teacher turnover in the state’s early care and education settings, including licensed child care, state-funded PreK, and Kindergarten through Grade 3.

Research Questions The following research questions were asked across early childhood programs (licensed child care, state-funded PreK, and K-3): 1. What was the average rate of annual teacher turnover? 2. According to administrators, what was the most common reason teachers left their employment? …

A Multidimensional Examination Of Parent Involvement Across Child And Parent Characteristics, S. Andrew Garbacz, Philippa S. Mcdowall, Elizabeth Schaughency, Susan M. Sheridan, Greg W. Welch

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to clarify equivocal findings in the parent-involvement literature and examine novel interactions in a New Zealand context. Specifically, this study tested direct effects of school year, parent education, family structure, and child gender on parent involvement in elementary school. In addition, interactions between parent, family, and child characteristics were explored as moderators on the relation of school year and parent involvement. Participants were 421 primary caregivers of children attending their first through final years of elementary school on New Zealand’s South Island. Structural equation models were used to detect direct and interaction effects. Findings …

Variables Associated With Alcohol Consumption And Abstinence Among Young Adults In Central China, Ling Qian, Ian M. Newman, Lok-Wa Yuen, Duane F. Shell, Jingdong Xu

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

This paper presents a descriptive analysis of data gathered by personal interviews from a multistage random sample of 1640 residents aged 18–34 years in Wuhan, China. First, alcohol drinkers and abstainers were compared based on demographic, attitude, and belief variables. Next, the drinkers from the sample were classified into four groups based on frequency-quantity of alcohol use, and the frequency-quantity groups were compared on the same variables. For Abstainers versus Drinkers, we found no difference by age or gender in this sample. Married people and people with children were more likely to be abstainers. University-educated, currently-employed individuals in mid-level jobs …

Building Strong Family–School Partnerships: Transitioning From Basic Findings To Possible Practices, Susan M. Sheridan, Lorey Wheeler

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

In the present article, we describe the translational process undergirding a particular aspect of family science: families working in partnership with schools to achieve mutual goals for children’s optimal functioning. In doing so, we illustrate a translational cycle that began with identifying problems of practice and led to the development of a family–school intervention (i.e., conjoint behavioral consultation) in a way that embraced families as partners in goal-setting and problem-solving. We discuss the evolution of the intervention from development to efficacy trials and practice guidelines. Key decision points borne out of practical relevance, empirical investigations, tests of mechanisms and conditions, …

Rural Teacher Practices And Partnerships To Address Behavioral Challenges: The Efficacy And Mechanisms Of Conjoint Behavioral Consultation, Susan M. Sheridan Dr., Amanda Witte, Gina M. Kunz, Lorey A. Wheeler, Samantha R. Angell, Houston F. Lester

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The efficacy of conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC), a family-school partnership intervention, for teachers’ practices and process skills was evaluated. Participants were 152 teachers of gradesK–3 in 45Midwest rural schools randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions. Treatment group teachers participated in an 8- to 10-week CBC intervention. Outcome measures were (a) self-reports of classroom practices and collaborative process skills and (b) direct observations of teachers’ use of effective behavioral strategies. Relative to control group participants, there was a significant positive intervention effect on CBC teachers’ self-report of appropriate behavioral strategies (b p .47, p ! .001), observations of their use …

Parental Involvement Among Low-Income Filipinos: A Phenomenological Inquiry, Aileen S. Garcia

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

Parental involvement in children’s education is an integral component of young children’s academic achievement. In the Philippines, a developing country with high rates of poverty and input deficit in basic education, school dropout rates are high especially among the poor. Given that many children from disadvantaged backgrounds do not get enough support (PIDS, 2012) and many parents are not equipped with skills to support their children’s education, it is essential to investigate how Filipino parents can help and contribute to their children’s academic success. In response to the lack of parental involvement literature situated in the Philippine context, the present …

University Students' Willingness To Assist Fellow Students Who Experience Alcohol-Related Facial Flushing To Reduce Their Drinking, Lanyan Ding, Lok-Wa Yuen, Ian M. Newman, Duane F. Shell

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study explored bystanders’ willingness to help a friend who flushes when drinking to reduce his/her drinking. Alcohol-related facial flushing is an indicator of an inherited variant enzyme, aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), that impairs alcohol metabolism and increases drinkers’ lifetime risk of certain aerodigestive cancers. Individuals who flush should reduce their alcohol exposure, but they may continue to drink if social pressures and rules of etiquette make not drinking socially risky. The analysis used data from 2912 undergraduate students from 13 universities in southwestern, central and northeastern China from a survey asking how they respond to someone’s flushing in various scenarios. …

Mexican-Origin Parents’ Stress And Satisfaction: The Role Of Emotional Support, Tierney K. Popp, Melissa Y. Delgado, Lorey Wheeler

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

Guided by a process model of parenting and the integrative model, this study examined sources of emotional support (i.e., partner, maternal, paternal) as related to stress and satisfaction resulting from the parenting role in a sample of Mexican-origin young adult parents who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) during Wave IV. Participants were male and female parents (26–35 years of age; 59% female; N = 737) who had children and a partner. Results from structural equation modeling revealed support from mothers as salient; high levels of maternal support were associated with high levels …

Implications Of Parents’ Work Travel On Youth Adjustment, Lorey Wheeler, Anisa M. Zvonkovic, Andrea R. Swenson, Caitlin Faas, Shelby Borowski, Ruth Nutting

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

Guided by ecological, work–family spillover and crossover frameworks, this study examined mechanisms linking parental work travel (i.e. nights per year) to youth adjustment (i.e. externalizing and internalizing behaviors) through youth’s perceptions of parenting (i.e. knowledge, solicitation) with traveler and youth gender as moderators in a sample of 78 children in 44 two-parent families residing in the United States. The findings from multilevel analyses suggested that mothers’ travel nights predicted lower levels of maternal knowledge, with variation by traveler and youth gender. Mothers’ and fathers’ work travel and perceived parenting were predictors of youth’s externalizing behaviors, whereas only fathers’ work travel …

Video-Based Approach To Engaging Parents Into A Preventive Parenting Intervention For Divorcing Families: Results Of A Randomized Controlled Trial, Emily B. Winslow, Sanford Braver, Robert Cialdini, Irwin Sandler, Jennifer Betkowski, Jenn-Yun Tein, Lisa Hita, Mona Bapat, Lorey Wheeler, Monique Lopez

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

The public health impact of evidence-based, preventive parenting interventions has been severely constrained by low rates of participation when interventions are delivered under natural conditions. It is critical that prevention scientists develop effective and feasible parent engagement methods. This study tested video-based methods for engaging parents into an evidence-based program for divorcing parents. Three alternative versions of a video were created to test the incremental effectiveness of different theory-based engagement strategies based on social influence and health behavior models. A randomized controlled trial was conducted to compare the three experimental videos versus two control conditions, an information-only brochure and an …

Developing Classroom Management Strategies In Non-Native Culture: A Single Case Study, Xianquan Liu, Wayne A. Babchuk

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

This single case study explored the practicum and student teaching experience of a native Chinese pre-service language teacher in order to better understand her process of developing classroom management strategies and the difficulties and challenges emerged in that process. In a broader sense, the case study aims to inform teacher preparation programs in terms of preparing Chinese teachers for secondary public schools in the U.S. The longitudinal study employed semi-structured interviews, classroom observation notes, teaching reflections and documents. Six themes — instructional challenges, coping strategies, cultural difference, language frustration, attitudes and feelings, and improvement — emerged from constant comparative analysis. …

Partners In School: An Innovative Parent-Teacher Consultation Model For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Gazi F. Azad Phd, Steven C. Marcus Phdd, Susan Sheridan Phd, David S. Mandell

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Little research examines the best ways to improve communication between parents and teachers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and its effect on child outcomes. The present study tests an innovative parent-teacher consultation model, entitled Partners in School. The goal of Partners in School is to improve parent-teacher communication aboutevidence-based practices (EBPs), and subsequently, outcomes for children with ASD. Participants were 26 teachers and 49 parents of children with ASD from a large urban public school district. Parents and teachers completed measures of their communication and child outcomes prior to and after receiving consultation through Partners in School. Results …

Effects Of Selected Socio-Demographic Characteristics On Nutrition Knowledge And Eating Behavior Of Elementary Students In Two Provinces In China, Ling Qian, Fan Zhang, Ian M. Newman, Duane F. Shell, Weijing Du

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Background: National and international child health surveys have indicated an increase in childhood obesity in China. The increase has been attributed to a rising standard of living, increasing availability of unhealthy foods, and a lack of knowledge about healthy diet. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of selected sociodemographic characteristics on the BMI, nutrition knowledge, and eating behavior of elementary school children. Methods: Multistage stratified cluster sampling was used. Information on demographics, nutrition knowledge, and eating behavior was gathered by means of questionnaires. The schools’ doctors provided the height and weight data. The study was set …

Health-Related Quality Of Life In Patients With Arthritis: A Cross-Sectional Survey Among Middle-Aged Adults In Chongqing, China, Yunshuang Rao, Xianglong Xu, Dengyuan Liu, Cesar Reis, Ian M. Newman, Liqiang Qin, Manoj Sharma, Jun Shen, Yong Zhao

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Background: Arthritis is a common disease in China, but few studies have been conducted to explore the associated health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and its influencing factors in Chongqing, China. This study aimed to explore the association of arthritis and HRQoL and probe factors affecting HRQoL among arthritis patients. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Chongqing, China. A total of 1224 adults were included in the analysis. Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) was used to measure HRQoL. Multiple linear regression models (stepwise) and covariance analysis models were used to examine the association of arthritis with …

Influence Of Peer Pressure And Self-Efficacy For Alcohol Self-Regulation On Chinese University Physical Education Students’ Drinking Behaviors, Lanyan Ding, Ian M. Newman, Eric S. Buhs, Duane F. Shell

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study examined peer group influence on university student drinking in China and the indirect effects of peer pressure and self-efficacy for alcohol self-regulation. A total of 951 undergraduate university students (first, second and third year) from a university in central China completed questionnaires asking about perceived peer pressures, self-efficacy for alcohol self-regulation, and drinking frequency. Analysis of their answers showed that the drinking frequency among physical education (PE) students was higher than among the comparison group (History students). The PE students perceived greater peer pressure, and had lower self-efficacy for alcohol self-regulation, both of which contributed directly to drinking …

Longitudinal Model Building Using Latent Transition Analysis: An Example Using School Bullying Data, Ji Hoon Ryoo, Cixin Wang, Susan M. Swearer, Michael Hull, Dingjing Shi

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Applications of latent transition analysis (LTA) have emerged since the early 1990s, with numerous scientific findings being published in many areas, including social and behavioral sciences, education, and public health. Although LTA is effective as a statistical analytic tool for a person-centered model using longitudinal data, model building in LTA has often been subjective and confusing for applied researchers. To fill this gap in the literature, we review the components of LTA, recommend a framework of fitting LTA, and summarize what acceptable model evaluation tools should be used in practice. The proposed framework of fitting LTA consists of six steps …

University Students’Willingness To Assist Fellow Students Who Experience Alcohol-Related Facial Flushing To Reduce Their Drinking, Lanyan Ding, Lok-Wa Yuen, Ian M. Newman, Duane F. Shell

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study explored bystanders’ willingness to help a friend who flushes when drinking to reduce his/her drinking. Alcohol-related facial flushing is an indicator of an inherited variant enzyme, aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), that impairs alcohol metabolism and increases drinkers’ lifetime risk of certain aerodigestive cancers. Individuals who flush should reduce their alcohol exposure, but they may continue to drink if social pressures and rules of etiquette make not drinking socially risky. The analysis used data from 2912 undergraduate students from 13 universities in southwestern, central and northeastern China from a survey asking how they respond to someone’s flushing in various scenarios. …

Four Campus Free Speech Problems Solved, David Moshman

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Concerns about free speech in higher education have reached the point where at least 30 state legislatures have considered, and nearly a dozen – including Arizona and Virginia – have passed, laws to protect campus speech. The concerns about campus free speech cluster around four problems: speech zones, speech codes, disinvitations and ideological biases.

Pilot Study Of A Brief Wechat Intervention In China To Increase Students’ Willingness To Assist A Flushing Student To Reduce Alcohol Use, Fan Zhang, Lok-Wa Yuen, Lanyan Ding, Ian M. Newman, Duane F. Shell

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objectives: This pilot study tested the effectiveness of a brief alcohol-related intervention delivered by the social media app WeChat to teach about ethanol-induced facial flushing and increase the willingness of students who see another student flushing to suggest that he or she should reduce or stop drinking. In the context of Chinese drinking culture, it is sometimes socially difficult to refuse a drink, even when experiencing physical discomfort, such as flushing. Methods: Classrooms of students in a medical university in China were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. Students in the intervention group were invited to view 3 …

Health Beliefs As A Key Determinant Of Intent To Use Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids (Aas) Among High-School Football Players: Implications For Prevention, Amanda E. Halliburton, Matthew S. Fritz

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) is problematic for youth because of negative effects such as reduced fertility, increased aggression and exposure to toxic chemicals. An effective programme for addressing this problem is Adolescents Training and Learning to Avoid Steroids (ATLAS). This secondary analysis expands prior research by identifying prominent mechanisms of change and highlighting key longitudinal processes that contributed to the success of ATLAS. The current sample consists of highschool football players (N = 1.068; M_age = 15.25) who began ATLAS in grades nine through eleven and participated in booster sessions for two years post-baseline. Knowledge of AAS …

Metacognitive Theories Revisited, David Moshman

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

“Metacognitive theories,” an article Gregg Schraw and I published in Educational Psychology Review in 1995, has been cited in over a thousand scholarly publications. In this follow-up, dedicated to Gregg and written after his recent death, I provide a brief overview of our 1995 article and then reflect on it in four ways. First, I consider the development of the concept of metacognition prior to 1995, including its emergence and use in previous writings by each co-author. Then, I turn to the collaboration itself, including the interplay of complementary conceptions and the construction of new ideas. Third, I consider the …

Predicting Sexual Revictimization In Childhood And Adolescence: A Longitudinal Examination Using Ecological Systems Theory, Samantha L. Pittenger, Jessica Pogue, David J. Hansen

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

A substantial proportion of sexual abuse victims report repeat sexual victimization within childhood or adolescence; however, there is limited understanding of factors contributing to revictimization for youth. Thus, the present study examined predictors of sexual revictimization prior to adulthood using ecological systems theory. Records of 1,915 youth presenting to a Child Advocacy Center (CAC) were reviewed to identify individual, familial, and community factors as well as initial abuse characteristics associated with risk for revictimization. Results showed that 11.1% of youth re-presented to the CAC for sexual revictimization. At the individual level, younger children, girls, ethnoracial minority youth, and those with …

Anxiety And Depression During Childhood And Adolescence: Testing Theoretical Models Of Continuity And Discontinuity, Joseph R. Cohen, Arthur R. Andrews, Megan M. Davis, Karen D. Rudolph

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The present study sought to clarify the trajectory (i.e., continuous vs. discontinuous) and expression (i.e., homotypic vs. heterotypic) of anxiety and depressive symptoms across childhood and adolescence. We utilized a state-of-the-science analytic approach to simultaneously test theoretical models that describe the development of internalizing symptoms in youth. In a sample of 636 children (53% female; M age = 7.04; SD age = 0.35) self-report measures of anxiety and depression were completed annually by youth through their freshman year of high school. For both anxiety and depression, a piecewise growth curve model provided the best fit for the data, with symptoms …

Helping Young Adults With Depression, Yuvinny Delmar Serrano

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Depression is situational sadness that lasts throughout the day, every day, for at least two weeks. The symptoms are distressing, and usually depression is caused by a negative impact on one's life. According to the Depression Hotline, many people with depression have one or more other mental disorders present. Depression can affect one’s ability to function at school, at work, or even at home. This discourages young adults from socializing, which is a major problem. One in four adolescents suffer from depression, which is why everyone should try to help young adults who suffer from this disorder.

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Identification And Replication Of Rna-Seq Gene Network Modules Associated With Depression Severity, Trang T. Le, Jonathan Savitz, Hideo Suzuki, Masaya Misaki, T. Kent Teague, Bill C. White, Julie H. Marino, Graham Wiley, Patrick M. Gaffney, Wayne C. Drevets, Brett A. Mckinney, Jerzy Bodurka

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Genomic variation underlying major depressive disorder (MDD) likely involves the interaction and regulation of multiple genes in a network. Data-driven co-expression network module inference has the potential to account for variation within regulatory networks, reduce the dimensionality of RNA-Seq data, and detect significant geneexpression modules associated with depression severity. We performed an RNA-Seq gene co-expression network analysis of mRNA data obtained from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of unmedicated MDD (n = 78) and healthy control (n = 79) subjects. Across the combined MDD and HC groups, we assigned genes into modules using hierarchical clustering with a dynamic …

The Efficacy And Mechanisms Of Conjoint Behavioral Consultation, Susan M. Sheridan, Amanda Witte, Gina Kunz, Lorey A. Wheeler, Samantha R. Angell

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The efficacy of conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC), a family-school partnership intervention, for teachers’ prac- tices and process skills was evaluated. Participants were 152 teachers of grades K–3 in 45 Midwest rural schools randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions. Treat- ment group teachers participated in an 8- to 10-week CBC intervention. Outcome measures were (a) self-reports of classroom practices and collaborative process skills and (b) direct observations of teachers’ use of effective behav- ioral strategies. Relative to control group participants, there was a significant positive intervention effect on CBC teachers’ self-report of appropriate behavioral strategies (b p .47, p ! …

Psychological Ways Of Expressing Appreciations, Experiences, Thanks And Blessings In The Society, Iwasan D. Kejawa Ed.D

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

ABSTRACT: Research has shown that one of the avenues to make aware of once experiences, appreciations and blessings is through writing a gratitude journal or memoir. By journalizing our thought by hands or electronically, it may help us focus them, according to psychologist Robert Emmons, who says that he does this routinely to remind himself; it makes apple of time to understand the meaning and importance of people and events. It has been found that one should go for a depth in writing rather than breadth, because this will help one to enjoy what one appreciates, and what to keep …

Chemical Composition And Safety Of Unrecorded Grain Alcohol (Bai Jiu) Samples From Three Provinces In China, Ian M. Newman, Ling Qian, Niran Tamrakar, Bo-Bo Zhang

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Abstract: About 20% of spirits consumed in China are “unrecorded”, where these spirits are produced in small-scale distilleries and sold outside the systems of taxation and quality control. Researchers visited small distilleries in rural Yunnan, Hubei and Anhui and purchased 56 samples of unrecorded bai jiu. Seven samples of the recorded bai jiu were purchased as reference samples. An independent laboratory conducted a blind analysis of the samples. Results were compared to the standards for unrecorded alcohol adopted by the European Commission’s Alcohol Measures for Public Health Research Alliance (AMPHORA). No samples exceeded the AMPHORA guidelines for methanol, ethyl acetate, …

Reasoning, Logic, And Development: Essay Review Of The Enigma Of Reason By Hugo Mercier And Dan Sperber, David Moshman

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

In 2011, Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber published an influential article [Mer­cier & Sperber, 2011] arguing that human reasoning evolved for the purpose of argu­mentation and serves that purpose well. Additional publications followed and now, in The Enigma of Reason, Mercier and Sperber [2017] flesh out their theory. Indi­vidual reasoning is often fallacious, in their view, because it applies reasoning beyond the scope of its evolutionary purpose. Logic, rather than a basis for reasoning, is a formalized system developed by logicians that has little connection to actual human reasoning.

This is a rich and readable book that presents many intriguing …