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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Identifying Challenges And Resiliency Of Adolescents Living With Parents Misusing Substances: A Mixed Methods Study, Alison Palmer Aug 2023

Identifying Challenges And Resiliency Of Adolescents Living With Parents Misusing Substances: A Mixed Methods Study, Alison Palmer

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

This study aimed to identify challenges, resiliency factors, and needs of adolescents living with parents misusing substances. Seven first-year students at James Madison University in PSYC 101 and PSYC 160 classes signed up to participant in this study to receive course credit. While supervised by a mental health provider, participants individually completed a Modified CAST-6 screener as well as a locally developed survey. A nonexperimental mixed-methods study was conducted including the convergent collection of quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative data were analyzed through Braun and Clarke’s (2006) model of thematic analysis. The …


Supporting The Mental Health Needs Of Youth Through Neurobiologically-Informed Approaches, Hannah P. Jarrett May 2023

Supporting The Mental Health Needs Of Youth Through Neurobiologically-Informed Approaches, Hannah P. Jarrett

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

Many children and adolescents are experiencing increased mental health challenges, resulting in a serious public health crisis. Mental health providers must apply innovative, research-based, and developmentally responsive intervention to meet the current mental health needs of youth. Neurobiologically-informed approaches, such as Polyvagal Theory, the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics, and Interpersonal Neurobiology, could be used to support children and adolescents appropriately and effectively across a variety of settings. These approaches apply principles of neuroscience, acknowledge developmental considerations, and attend to the impact of trauma. This project reviews mental health trends in children and adolescents, provides a brief overview of these approaches, …


Effectiveness Of Pictorial Preference Assessments For Children With Disabilities, Emma Oliver May 2022

Effectiveness Of Pictorial Preference Assessments For Children With Disabilities, Emma Oliver

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Pictorial stimulus preference assessments are a valuable resource for practitioners to determine stimuli that may function as reinforcers to aid in possible behavior change plans or skill acquisition objectives. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of electronic pictorial stimulus preference assessments (EP-MSWO) compared to a tangible stimulus preference assessment (T-MSWO) for children. This study includes two participants, aged 2 and 9, and involved in in-home behavioral services. Participants reached level two of the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) prior to the study being implemented. Participants were exposed to a pre-matching skills …


“A Lot Of Stories In My Mind”: Perspectives Of Children And Elders Living With Dementia On Intergenerational Collaboration In A Participatory Music Project, Cameron Dusman May 2020

“A Lot Of Stories In My Mind”: Perspectives Of Children And Elders Living With Dementia On Intergenerational Collaboration In A Participatory Music Project, Cameron Dusman

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Trends of music engagement include a shift towards presentational music culture, as well as inequitable access to participatory music-making for some populations. Meanwhile, trends of societal engagement include ageism and age-segregation. Especially for people living with dementia, stigma often prevents equitable access to creative participatory arts. This convergent, mixed-methods case study design explored participation in an intergenerational, participatory creative arts project. Participants included children from an elementary school and senior adults with dementia in a memory care neighborhood. The purpose was to explore the meaning of participation and interaction in the project from participants’ perspectives. Participants collaborated in eight sessions …


Evaluating The Benefits Of Art Therapy Interventions With Grieving Children, Meagan Dye May 2018

Evaluating The Benefits Of Art Therapy Interventions With Grieving Children, Meagan Dye

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

Art therapy has numerous benefits when working with a variety of populations and many studies support the efficacy of art and art therapy interventions. This research paper aims to specifically assess the impact of a formal, semi-structured, individual art therapy intervention with grieving children. The researcher reviewed the records of thirteen clients who worked with three art therapists at a small palliative care agency in Central Virginia. Clients were between the ages of 5-18 years old and were assessed to gauge their positive and negative affect before the art therapy intervention and after the sixth session. Each therapist worked with …


The Kids Are (Going To Be) Alright: Authorship Of A Post-Divorce Narrative, Caroline Hamby May 2018

The Kids Are (Going To Be) Alright: Authorship Of A Post-Divorce Narrative, Caroline Hamby

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

This integrative literature review explores the suitability of narrative therapy for children ages 7-12 coping with divorce and family transition. Charting the history of research on post-divorce children, the review discusses common negative and positive post-divorce outcomes for children in academic, financial, and socio-emotional domains. It links the fundamental objectives of narrative therapy to the corresponding needs of post-divorce children and families, namely emotional security, internal control, and personal agency. It posits that narrative therapy is a modality uniquely situated to address these concerns and amplify the often-ignored voices of children otherwise lost in marital chaos. The developmental considerations of …


Creative Counseling Techniques For Elementary-Aged Children, Brian C. Caperton May 2016

Creative Counseling Techniques For Elementary-Aged Children, Brian C. Caperton

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

Research suggests widespread decline of creative ability in elementary-aged children, particularly kindergarten through 3rd grade (Kim, 2012). The increase of mental health disorders in children, the exponential rise of technology use, and the surge of psychotropic medication use indicate the need for nuanced, divergent clinical interventions. Creative counseling fills this demand by offering children opportunities to engage in open-ended, reflective abstraction and other therapeutic processes. The author opens with an overview of creativity and psychology, conceptualizes the target population, and discusses theories, models, and interventions of creative counseling with elementary-aged children. The paper will provide clinicians with an understanding …


Public Relations Promotion To Advance Child Reading And Literacy, Rosemarie Mcginty May 2015

Public Relations Promotion To Advance Child Reading And Literacy, Rosemarie Mcginty

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

A literacy event was held on JMU's campus in order to increase literacy in Harrisonburg children. This article goes through the campaign process, from planning the event to the evaluation. Third grade children were able to benefit from this event and the learning experience is documented here.


Suicidal Behavior Among Elementary School Students And Current Needs In Prevention Practices: A Survey Of Virginia School Counselors, Maranda K. D. Vandyke May 2015

Suicidal Behavior Among Elementary School Students And Current Needs In Prevention Practices: A Survey Of Virginia School Counselors, Maranda K. D. Vandyke

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

Most of the research on suicidal behavior has focused on the middle and high school level, and an extensive review of the literature shows that more information is needed on the current needs and prevention practices at the elementary school level. In Virginia, school psychologists rated school counselors the top professional in elementary schools to lead suicide intervention and prevention efforts. Due to this, the current study examined 161 Virginia school counselors’ responses to an online survey to further explore intervention and prevention efforts among school professionals. Both school counselors and school psychologists noted that receiving additional training and having …


Emotion Regulation In European American And Hong Kong Chinese Middle School Children, Kayan Phoebe Wan May 2013

Emotion Regulation In European American And Hong Kong Chinese Middle School Children, Kayan Phoebe Wan

Dissertations, 2014-2019

This study explored emotion regulation strategies in middle school European American (N = 54) and Hong Kong Chinese (N =89) children. Based on Gross’s theory (1998), the Survey of Emotion Regulation Strategies was designed to study children’s perceived effectiveness of emotion regulation strategies (deep breathing, thinking positively, situation avoidance, talking and suppression) in three fictitious scenarios associated with sadness, anger, and fear. Five mixed ANOVAs were conducted to evaluate the effect of culture, gender and the type of emotion on each emotion regulation strategy. The results demonstrated that American children considered deep breathing more effective in dealing with anger than …


Current Needs And Response To Suicidal Behavior At The Elementary School Level: A Survey Of Virginia School Psychologists, Kelsey R. Cutchins May 2013

Current Needs And Response To Suicidal Behavior At The Elementary School Level: A Survey Of Virginia School Psychologists, Kelsey R. Cutchins

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

While minimal information on suicidal behavior at the elementary school level is available, a review of the existing literature demonstrates the erroneous belief that children lack the developmental maturity to understand the concept of death and suicide. To better understand prevalence rates of suicidal behavior in elementary school-aged children, interventions offered to those children, reported levels of practitioner competence, and overall preparedness of elementary school personnel in appropriately addressing suicidal behavior demonstrated by their students, the researcher surveyed 155 Virginia school psychologists. Results from the online survey revealed that while suicidal behavior in elementary school-aged students is rare, school-based professionals …


Grief And Resilience In Children And Families: Resources For Counseling Professionals, Parents, And Children, Ashley Smith Hall Dec 2011

Grief And Resilience In Children And Families: Resources For Counseling Professionals, Parents, And Children, Ashley Smith Hall

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

Ninety percent of children in the United States will have experienced the loss of a significant loved one by the time they are 18 years old (McClure, 2007). Parents and other family members can provide a significant amount of support, provided that they are equipped with the necessary resources. The purpose of this project was to identify and develop tools that provide parents and other family members with the opportunity to learn ways to incorporate themselves as a support system for a grieving child in their family. Children express their feelings by showing rather than telling. Creativity allows bereaved children …