Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Co-Rumination, Romantic Relationships, And Depressive Symptom Development In Adolescence, Jessica L. Shankman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present research aimed to better understand the associations among romantic involvement, co-rumination with friends, and depressive symptom development in a sample of 338 adolescents (ages 14-19 years). Using a multi-method, longitudinal study design, the present study examined whether co-rumination (self-reported and observed) mediated the relationship between romantic involvement and depressive symptoms over time. Next, analyses separately tested whether this process was further moderated by positive friendship quality, whether youth discuss romantic experiences during problem talk with friends, and/or gender. Analyses also tested whether romantic relationship quality among romantically involved youth influenced depressive symptoms over time via co-rumination.

Results supported …

Affective, Physiological, And Cognitive Response To Imagery- And Verbally-Based Rumination And Distraction In Adolescence, Hannah Lawrence

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To date, rumination and interventions for rumination have largely been verbal in focus. Rumination has been conceptualized as dwelling on negative affect in the form of verbal thought, and interventions aim to interrupt cycles of rumination using verbal strategies. Yet, emerging evidence suggests that many individuals dwell on negative affect in the form of imagery (e.g., Lawrence, Haigh, Siegle, & Schwartz-Mette, 2018) and that imagery-based interventions may be even more effective (e.g., Arntz, 2012). This is not surprising as imagery is more affectively arousing (Holmes & Mathews, 2010), physiologically stimulating (Vrana, Cuthbert, & Lang, 1986), and realistic/vivid (Mathews, Ridgeway, & …

Examining Links Between Social Anxiety And Relational Aggression In Adolescence: The Influence Of Rumination And Anger, Shannon L. Brothers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social anxiety is linked to more covert forms of aggressive behavior, particularly reactive and relational aggression in early adolescent and young adult samples. Adolescents with social anxiety and those who engage in reactive relational aggression are also more likely to have difficulties regulating emotions (e.g., anger) and show maladaptive cognitive coping styles (e.g., rumination). The goal of the present study was to assess the relationship between social anxiety and reactive relational aggression in adolescents (14-17 years), combining the form and function of aggression, and to examine trait anger and anger rumination as underlying factors that may explain the relationship between …

The Efficacy Of Equine Assisted Therapy In The Treatment Of Autism Spectrum Disorders, Amy Hofmann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the effects of equine-assisted psychotherapies in children with an autism spectrum disorder. The CARS-2 and Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire parent-report questionnaires were used for evaluation, as well open-ended questions. A single researcher contacted and visited many PATH-certified centers in the United States. Facilities that participated were all located in the Mid-Atlantic to Northeast region. There were 16 participants, from 11 different farms, that completed both the initial and follow-up questionnaires which were given 7 weeks apart. A $25 Amazon gift card was used as an incentive to increase participation. Participating facilities also completed a questionnaire.

Overall, results …

Predicting Relationship Satisfaction In Same- And Cross-Sex Friendships, Hannah Ford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Friendships between members of the opposite sex become more common and increase in importance across adolescence (e.g., Kuttler, La Greca, & Prinstein, 1999); however, little research has examined these relationships. Of the limited research, most has focused on comparing mean-level differences in friendship features between cross-sex (CS) friendships and same-sex (SS) friendships. Overall, this research has suggested that CS friendships are lower in positive quality compared to SS friendships. These findings offer little insight into why CS friendships continue to be valued and maintained.

The current study used two approaches to better elucidate the value of CS friendships in a …

A Theory-Guided Investigation Of Proposed Factors That Influence The Relationship Between Cybervictimization And Psychological Adjustment In Late Adolescents, Melissa K. Hord

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cybervictimization is related to negative psychological adjustment (e.g., Tokunaga, 2010); however, not all cybervictims report negative outcomes, and it is not clear what factors may influence vulnerability. One possibility is that cybervictims’ attributions regarding technology-based communication impact their emotional adjustment. Those who make hostile intent attributions in ambiguous situations are more likely to experience negative outcomes (e.g., Crick & Dodge, 1994), and the inherent ambiguity of electronic communication may be particularly susceptible to misinterpretation. In addition, how individuals respond to cyber experiences may serve to either protect or damage their emotional well-being. Furthermore, those who are high in rejection sensitivity …

Development Of Theory Of Mind From Ages Four To Eight, Rachelle Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study comprised two experiments that engaged one hundred eighteen children, divided into three age groups (4-, 6-, & 8-year-olds) in competitive games with an adult designed to explore advances in children’s theory of mind (TOM) beyond false-belief mastery. The game paradigms were designed so that children with an understanding of RAI (the understanding that a social partner may be observing one’s behavior to gain insight into one’s intentions and that one can observe the partner’s behavior to gain similar insight – a proposed later development of TOM) would be more effective competitors than children who lacked such awareness. It …

The Processing Of Affective Information Among Shy Children And Aggressive Children, Dina M. Casey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research investigaed the role of emotion in social information processing and examined whether children with behavior patterns other than aggression process social information in a unique manner. Testing hypotheses derived from Crick and Dodge's (1994) model of social information processing, the first study assessed shy, aggressive, and nonshy/nonaggressive children's beliefs about their emotions and a protagonist's emotions at the model's representation step and at the response search/access step by varying a protagonist's intent in fictional scenarios. The second study assessed whether correct labeling of a protagonist's emotional state would eliminate shy children's tendency to underattribute hostility and aggressive children's …

The Relationship Among Resilience, Forgiveness, And Anger Expression In Adolescents, Mauren A. Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to investigate and describe the relationship among resilience, forgiveness and anger expression in adolescents. The purpose of the study was to explore whether certain adolescent resiliencies significantly related to positive or negative affective, behavioral, or cognitive levels of forgiveness and certain types of anger expression in adolescents. This study also investigated whether there were certain adolescent resiliencies and types of forgiveness that can predict lower levels of negative anger expression in adolescents. This research was built on two conceptual models: Wolin and Wolin's (1993) Challenge Model and the Forgiveness Process Model (Enright & Human Development Study …

The Effects Of Social Anxiety On The Development Of Romantic Relationships In Adolescence, Karen R. Zeff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study sought to investigate the ways in which social anxiety impedes the development of romantic relationships across adolescence. Previous research has demonstrated a natural progression for romantic associations during adolescence in which teens transition from same- to mixed-sex peer groups, and finally to dyadic relationships with romantic partners (Connolly, Furman, Konarski, 2000; Dunphy, 1963). This model of development was the basis for the present investigation. Social anxiety was examined in terms of how it impacted affiliations at the same- and mixed sex peer group levels, and ultimately the formation of romantic relationships. This project involved administering a series …

Emotion Management In Children With Anxiety Disorders: A Focus On The Role Of Emotion-Related Socialization Processes, Cynthia M. Suveg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined emotion management skills in anxious children and their mothers and investigated factors within the child and the parent, and the child-parent relationship that may relate to the development of adaptive emotion management. Three methods of emotion socialization were examined: parental reactions to children's emotions, discussion of emotion, and family expressivity. Children ages 8-1 1 years old were first screened for anxious syrnptomatology in their classrooms within the public school system. Children who scored in the clinical range on the self-report measure were then administered a semi-structured diagnostic interview. Those who met criteria for an anxiety disorder were …

Evaluating Attitudes Of Obesity And Their Change Processes Among Student Teachers And School Teachers On The World Wide Web Using The Elaboration Likelihood Model, Anne L. Hague

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers have an active role in helping to prevent and deter stigmatizing acts toward children labeled as "fat." The objective was to examine attitudes of obesity and their change processes among student teachers and schoolteachers, when exposed to a Web-based educational module promoting size acceptance, using the Elaboration- Likelihood Model (ELM). The ELM is a theoretical approach to message-based persuasion specifying conditions under which attitude change occurs. The theory was used to explain the impact of the module (content included etiological factors of obesity, implications of weight loss efforts, and emotionaVpsychosocia1 effects of obesity), high nutrition credibility of the module …

Exploring Early Adolescents' Adjustment Across The Middle School Transition: The Role Of Peer Experiences And Social-Cognitive Factors, James E. Newman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to consider the role of early adolescents' peer experiences (i.e., peer acceptance, number of mutual hends, friendship quality) in predicting their adjustment across the transition from elementary to middle school, and to examine whether students' goals and attributions added to the prediction of adjustment, above and beyond the peer variables. The second goal was to include a comprehensive assessment of participants' adjustment (i.e., loneliness, depression, self-esteem, school involvement, academic achievement, school avoidance) and to investigate changes in the adjustment variables across the transition to middle school. Finally, this study examined potential gender differences …

A Curriculum-Based Approach For Social-Cognitive Skills Training: An Intervention Targeting Aggression In Head Start Preschoolers., Erika Michelle Carpenter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a social-cognitive skills training curriculum targeting aggression in Head Start preschoolers. Developmental psychopathology research clearly suggests that early intervention with aggressive preschoolers is critical. Despite the fact that aggressive behavior becomes stable by the elementary school years, there has been relatively little interest in intervening with preschool-aged children. In the present study, the COMPASS program is a 12-session curriculum teaching basic individual social skills (e.g., sharing, questioning, listening). Following the work of Mize and Ladd (1983; 1990), the curriculum was puppet-facilitated and employed the components of instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and …

Emotion Regulation In Adolescent Females With Bulimia Nervosa: An Information Processing Perspective, Leslie A. Sim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although the increased attention to affect regulation in bulimia nervosa is encouraging, most theoretical models describing the relationship between binge-eating and emotion dysregulation neglect to place their observations in the context of the growing knowledge base on normal emotional development. Because the nature of abnormal functioning is best understood in relation to normal development, integrating these fields of research would identi@ deficient skills in bulimia nervosa, suggesting new avenues for treatment. The present study compared 16 adolescent girls with a DSM-IV diagnosis of bulimia nervosa to 16 age- and SES-matched girls without a psychiatric disorder, on three aspects of the …

The Measure Of Adolescent Heterosocial Competence: Development And Construct Validation, Rachel L. Grover

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the widespread consensus regarding the importance of other-sex relationships in adolescence, surprisingly little research has addressed the construct of adolescent heterosocial competence. The goal of this series of studies was to construct a measure of adolescent heterosocial competence, and in doing so, further define the construct. Nearly 500 adolescents participated in a series of four studies that followed the five-step method outlined in Goldfiied and D'Zurilla's (1 969) seminal article on assessing competence. The data generated in the first three studies were used to construct a 40-item multiple-choice measure entitled the Measure of Adolescent Heterosocial Competence (MAHC). These studies …

Emotional Expression Management And Social Acceptance In Childhood: Ability, Strategy, And Gender., Gregory S. Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study was designed to examine the relationship between children's ability to manage emotional expressions and peer acceptance. Specifically, using a mild mood induction paradigm, children between the ages of 8- to 10-years were instructed to neutralize and dissemble genuinely negative emotions. Children's ability to effectively manage their negative emotional expressions was then examined with respect to gender differences and in relation to peer acceptance ratings. Results indicated that girls were significantly better than boys at substituting positive expressions for genuine negative ones, were marginally worse than boys at neutralizing negative expressions, and overall were significantly more expressively positive …

The Emergence Of The Capacity For Guilt In Preschoolers: The Role Of Personal Responsibility In Differentiating Shame From Guilt, Jamie L. Walter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the development of guilt and shame in preschool children, as well as individual differences related to the expression of these emotions. Sixty-one children in three age groups were videotaped in a mishap paradigm in which an experimentally manipulated doll's arm fell off during play. Children were randomly assigned to either an ambiguous or a personal responsibility condition. Videotapes were coded for behavioral (e.g., latency to repair, avoidance) and affective (e.g., joy, tensionlwony) reactions. Individual differences were assessed through parental reports using the My Child (Kochanska, DeVet, Goldman, Murray, & Putman, 1994) and teacher ratings using the …