Child Psychology Commons^™

A Micro-Level Analysis Of Behavioral Dynamics In Parent-Child Synchrony, Kadie L. Ausherman

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

This study investigates parent-child synchrony, a multilevel construct that has not been operationalized in a precise or standardized way. Synchrony is frequently discussed theoretically, yet there still lacks a clear means of measuring it, even on the behavioral level. When parent-child synchrony is operationalized in a study, it is rarely analyzed in such a way that reflects the dyadic dynamics that unfold as the parent and child are interacting. The aim of this study is to operationalize parent-child synchrony in terms of the dyadic behavior patterns. An overview of the current literature with regard to synchrony as a multilevel construct …

Effects Of Parental Modeling On The Development Of Panic-Relevant Escape And Avoidance Among Adolescents: An Experimental Study Using A Biological Challenge Procedure, Liviu Bunaciu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Escape and avoidance behaviors play a prominent role in the maintenance of panic-spectrum difficulties and may also be implicated in the development of such problems. Although the current state of the literature regarding the etiology of these emotion-regulation strategies is relatively underdeveloped, it appears that learning experiences involving parental modeling of such behaviors may be instrumental in the development of panic-relevant escape and avoidance. Given that no tests of such a conceptualization exist at this time, the current study proposed an initial experimental examination of whether parental modeling of defensive reactivity during a well-established biological challenge could impact panic-relevant escape …

Executive Control In Hispanic Children: Considering Linguistic And Sociocultural Factors, Miriam M. Martinez

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Executive control represents a collection of high-order cognitive processes that are associated with important child outcomes, including academic achievement and social competencies. Despite the burgeoning interest in examining the development of executive control, less is known about the development of these skills among ethnic minority children. Hispanic children are currently the largest ethnic minority group in the United States and their diverse sociocultural and linguistic backgrounds provide an excellent context to study the influence of linguistic and sociocultural factors on the development of child executive control. The purpose of the three complementary studies reported in this dissertation is to contribute …

Kids Alive! Support For Children Of Parents With Cancer: An Exemplar Program For Children Of Parents With Cancer, Shane Spears

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Cancer in a parent or caregiver is an event that affects the whole family. The roles and responsibilities of the diagnosed parent, as well as those of each family member, are affected at the time of diagnosis and throughout the progression of the illness. According to the American Cancer Society, there will be an estimated 1,665,540 new cancer cases diagnosed and 585,720 cancer deaths in 2014. This staggering statistic means there are a number of cancer diagnoses that will directly affect thousands of parents and their children. Past research suggests this upheaval in the system is particularly stressful on children …

Child Life Specialists’ Facilitation Of Family-Centered Care: The Importance Of Sibling Support, Carissa L. Lane

Psychology and Child Development

Certified Child Life Specialists’ understanding of family-centered care, and their beliefs and practices involving siblings of chronically/critically ill children were examined using an online survey. Participants were Certified Child Life Specialists recruited form the Child Life Council Forum. Relationships between utilization of certain words and support programs offered to siblings, were examined. Findings revealed a relationship in one area of coded language and support program for siblings, but not the other. Findings also revealed that all CCLS believe in the inclusion of siblings during the treatment process, however they are offered less support services than parents. Diverse results regarding multiple …

A Spanish Version Of The Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (Cshq), Duvia Lara Ledesma

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study was done to validate a widely used parent questionnaire that assesses sleep problems in children ages 4‑10. To date, no Spanish‑language sleep questionnaire is available for the Spanish‑speaking population. Research has found that sleep problems affect both typically developing children and children with developmental disabilities, potentially detracting from their quality of life. Spanish is the second most frequently spoken language in the United States, so it is of high importance to make available a Spanish‑language sleep questionnaire. The Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) was chosen to be translated. The norming data for validation of the CSHQ‑S included 151 …

Possible Psychosocial Benefits Of Having A Sibling With A Disability, Jenna M. Talbott

Senior Honors Theses

Possible psychosocial benefits resulting from exposure to siblings with disabilities are investigated in the current study. Previous literature has generally overlooked the possibility of psychosocial benefits by exclusively focusing on the negative effects of having a sibling with disabilities. Contact theory suggests that the increased exposure to individuals with disabilities should increase positive attitude toward those who are struggling with disadvantages. This investigation hypothesized that this tendency would be manifested as elevated empathy and compassion in individuals who have siblings with disabilities, and that these traits would be influenced by certain demographic variables. A survey was distributed, and the responses …

The Gender Of Participants In Published Research Involving People With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Erin Watkins

Masters Theses

Research articles involving participants with an autism spectrum disorder and published from 2010-2012 in Autism, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Journal of Child Psychology and Child Psychiatry, and Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders were examined to determine the reported gender of participants. The overall male:female ratio was 4.62, which is similar to that reported in epidemiological studies, but the ratio was 6.07 in intervention studies. These findings suggesting that males were in a statistical sense over-represented in intervention studies, but not in other kinds of research. Most (82.21%) of these studies included both male and female participants, but …

Measure Of Maturity: The Montana Adolescent Maturity Assessment, Nathaan Demers

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

The construct of maturity is often discussed in the realm of adolescent development; however, relatively little research has been devoted to developing a comprehensive, reliable, and valid measure with which to assess it. The purpose of this study was to investigate the concurrent validity of the Montana Adolescent Maturity Assessment-III (MAMA-III), a proxy measure completed by clinicians regarding an adolescent's functioning, with the immaturity scale (IMM) of the MMPI-A. To provide more specified results, a factor analysis of the IMM was undertaken. Results yielded a low but significant correlation between the MAMA-III and the IMM, as well as significant convergent …

Differences In The Identity Formation Process Of American Indian Adolescents In Urban And Reservation Contexts, Irene Churchill

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

Currently, the majority of American Indians live in more urban and metropolitan environments. The differences in the way identity develops for American Indian adolescents is compared between growing up in an urban context and a reservation context. Two models are explained and applied to American Indian adolescents in these two settings, Oppedal’s Acculturation development model and Phinney and Baldelomar’s Cross-cultural Identity Status Model. According to the Acculturation development model, American Indian adolescents living on reservations likely have higher levels of interaction with their minority culture, therefore having higher levels of enculturation. Additionally, American Indian adolescents living in urban areas likely …

Mexican American Adolescents’ Gender Role Attitude Development: The Role Of Adolescents’ Gender And Nativity And Parents’ Gender Role Attitudes, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Susan M. Mchale, Katharine H. Zeiders, Adriana J. Umana-Taylor, Norma J. Perez-Brena, Lorey A. Wheeler, Sue A. Rodriguez De Jesus

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

Gender development has long term implications for education and career endeavors and family formation behaviors, but we know very little about the role of sociocultural factors in developmental and individual differences. In this study, we investigated one domain of gender development, gender role attitudes, in Mexican American adolescents (N = 246; 51% female), using four phases of longitudinal data across eight years. Data were collected when adolescents averaged 12.51 years (SD = 0.58), 14.64 years (SD = 0.59), 17.72 years (SD = 0.57), and 19.60 years of age (SD = 0.66). Mothers’ and fathers’ gender …

Conjoint Behavioral Consultation: Implementing A Tiered Home-School Partnership Model To Promote School Readiness, Brandy L. Clarke, Susan M. Sheridan, Kathryn E. Woods

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

An ecological perspective to school readiness focuses on child and family readiness by enhancing the developmental contexts and relationships within which children reside (e.g., home environment, parent-child relationship, home-school relationships). The Getting Ready intervention is an ecological, relationally based, tiered intervention providing both universal and intensive services to children and families to promote child and family school readiness. Intensive-level consultation services were provided via Conjoint Behavioral Consultation (CBC; Sheridan & Kratochwill, 1992, 2008). The purpose of this article is to describe the implementation and effects of CBC within the Getting Ready intervention to promote child and family school readiness. Keys …

Being Shy At School, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Irina Kalutskaya

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

In our commentary on “Bashful boys and coy girls: A review of gender differences in childhood shyness” by Doey et al. (2013) we provide an analysis of limitations to the study of shyness in children as well as future avenues of research that may be fruitful for better understanding implications of shyness in school. Our focus is primarily on shyness in the classroom context, but we first discuss persistent difficulties in the measurement of shyness in childhood. Like Doey et al., our commentary reflects research in samples from the United States and Canada, unless otherwise noted. We then delve into …

Treatment Integrity In Conjoint Behavioral Consultation: Active Ingredients And Potential Pathways Of Influence, Susan M. Sheridan, Kristin M. Rispoli, Shannon R. Holmes

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

The statistical precision by which intervention outcomes are evaluated has increased in recent years in an effort to improve their viability in addressing emotional, social, behavioral, and academic issues. Despite these advances, treatment integrity, a vital aspect in evaluating the merit of a given intervention, remains largely overlooked. Definitions of treatment integrity include the accuracy and consistency with which an intervention is implemented (Wolery, 2011) and whether the intervention is delivered as intended (Knoche, Sheridan, Edwards, & Osborn, 2010). For our purposes, we share the perspective of Dane and Schneider (1998), who defined treatment integrity as the extent to …

Congruence In Parent-Teacher Relationships, Kathleen M. Minke, Susan M. Sheridan, Elizabeth Moorman Kim, Ji Hoon Ryoo, Natalie A. Koziol

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

Parental engagement is an important avenue for supporting student achievement. Positive relationships between parents and teachers are increasingly recognized as vital in this process. Most studies consider parents’ and teachers’ perceptions separately, and it is unknown whether shared perceptions of relationship quality matter with respect to child outcomes. This study investigated the role of relationship congruence in predicting child academic, social, and behavioral outcomes in 175 elementary students referred for behavioral consultation. Results indicated that teacher, but not parent, ratings of child social skills and externalizing behaviors were more favorable in the presence of a shared, positive view of the …

Second-Parent Adoption: North Carolina Same-Sex Couples And Foster Care Adoptions, Mark Maxwell

2010-2016 Archived Posters

A qualitative phenomenological study about the experiences of same-sex couples with children adopted from foster care in a southeastern U.S. state. Interview data from 8 couples were coded and analyzed. Emerging themes included legal, social, and financial struggles and the couple􀀂s trailblazing experiences to become their children􀀂s legal parents. Implications for positive social change included informing same-sex parents, policy makers and social workers about the families􀀂 experiences and needs.

Mexican-Origin Parents’ Latent Occupational Profiles: Associations With Parent-Youth Relationships And Youth Aspirations, Lorey A. Wheeler, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Adriana Umana-Taylor, Jenn-Yun Tein

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

This study utilized an ecological, person-centered approach to identify subgroups of families who had similar profiles across multiple dimensions of Mexican-origin mothers’ and fathers’ occupational characteristics (i.e., self-direction, hazardous conditions, physical activity) and to relate these subgroups to families’ sociocultural characteristics and youth adjustment. The study included 160 dual-earner Mexican-origin families from the urban Southwest. Mothers’ and fathers’ objective work characteristics and families’ sociocultural characteristics were assessed when youth were in early to middle adolescence; adjustment was assessed during late adolescence and early adulthood for two offspring in each family. A latent profile analysis identified 3 profiles that evidenced distinct …

Social Defense: An Evolutionary-Developmental Model Of Children’S Strategies For Coping With Threat In The Peer Group, Meredith J. Martin, Patrick T. Davies, Leigha A. Macneill

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Navigating the ubiquitous conflict, competition, and complex group dynamics of the peer group is a pivotal developmental task of childhood. Difficulty negotiating these challenges represents a substantial source of risk for psychopathology. Evolutionary developmental psychology offers a unique perspective with the potential to reorganize the way we think about the role of peer relationships in shaping how children cope with the everyday challenges of establishing a social niche. To address this gap, we utilize the ethological reformulation of the emotional security theory as a guide to developing an evolutionary framework for advancing an understanding of the defense strategies children use …

Gaining Control: Changing Relations Between Executive Control And Processing Speed And Their Relevance For Mathematics Achievement Over Course Of The Preschool Period, Caron A. C. Clark, Jennifer Mize Nelson, John Garza, Tiffany D. Sheffield, Sandra A. Wiebe, Kimberly Andrews Espy

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Early executive control (EC) predicts a range of academic out comes and shows particularly strong associations with children’s mathematics achievement. Nonetheless, a major challenge for EC research lies in distinguishing EC from related cognitive constructs that also are linked to achievement outcomes. Developmental cascade models suggest that children’s information processing speed is a driving mechanism in cognitive development that supports gains in working memory, inhibitory control and associated cognitive abilities. Accordingly, individual differences in early executive task performance and the irrelation to mathematics may reflect, at least in part, underlying variation in children’s processing speed. The aims of this study …

The Past, Present, And Future Of Conjoint Behavioral Consultation Research, Susan M. Sheridan Dr., Brandy L. Clarke, Kelly A. Ransom

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

Children’s developmental and educational outcomes are determined through a complex interplay of biological and eco-systemic variables. In order to best understand children’s educational success, aspects of home and school contexts have been examined, for they are the two most directly influential settings in a child’s life. Among ecological variables, key indicators of children’s academic success include family engagement and family-school partnerships (Christenson, 2004). When parents engage in supportive practices for their child’s learning, benefits for children, families, educators, classrooms, and schools are re-alized Oeynes, 2007). The relevance of families’ educational influence has been widely rec-ognized by educational institutions (e.g., Harvard …

The Influence Of Rurality And Parental Affect On Kindergarten Children’S Social And Behavioral Functioning, Susan M. Sheridan Dr., Natalie A. Koziol, Brandy L. Clarke, Kristin M. Rispoli, Michael J. Coutts

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

Research Findings: Children’s early academic achievement is supported by positive social and behavioral skills, and difficulties with these skills frequently gives way to underachievement. Social and behavioral problems often arise as a product of parent-child interactional patterns and environmental influences. Few studies have examined the role of a salient aspect of children’s environments, community locale, in the relationship between parenting practices and child outcomes. Using a large, nationally representative sample, we examined whether preschool parenting practices and children’s social-behavioral skills in kindergarten were related to geographic setting (rural vs. city, suburban, and town). Results indicated that rural children experienced …

Where Does Electronic Aggression Fit?: A Comparison Of Dimensional And Categorical Models Of Adolescent Aggression, Krista R. Mehari

Theses and Dissertations

Electronic aggression is a rapidly growing focus of research, but it lacks a unifying theoretical framework that is necessary to advance the field. The lack of a theoretical framework has led to inconsistencies in measurement of electronic aggression, making it difficult to draw conclusions across studies. In general, researchers have assumed that electronic aggression constitutes a new form of aggression, a counterpart to physical, verbal, and relational aggression, due to unique features surrounding the perpetration of electronic aggression. Furthermore, researchers have treated electronic aggression as a categorical variable based on the assumption that “cyberbullies” constitute a distinct group of adolescents. …

Mother's Experience Of Social Media: Its Impact On Children And The Home, Abe Van Hatch

Theses : Honours

With the prevalence and accessibility of social media within the last 15 years it has become possible for children to have constant access to their friends and social networks. It is relatively unknown what impact adopting social media has on children and how mothers interpret this. There are gaps in the literature investigating the pervasive effects of modern technology and what meaning mothers ascribe to their children using social media as a method of connecting with the world. The present research aims to explore this phenomenon by investigating the experiences of mothers who have children that have recently adopted social …

Theory Of Mind And Moral Theme Comprehension In Preschool Children Ages 3-4, Cara A. Shpizner

Scripps Senior Theses

Research suggests that there is a relationship between theory of mind and moral development in young children. However, the nature of this relationship is still unclear, specifically in regards to the relationship between theory of mind and moral theme comprehension, which has yet to be studied. The current study attempted to begin to fill this gap in the research by examining the relationship between 8 preschool children’s false belief understanding, as determined by the Sally-Anne task, and moral theme comprehension. Results were not significant, but suggest a trend that children who pass the false belief task may be more able …

Peer Victimization And Child Physical Health: The Moderating Role Of Pessimism, Tori R. Van Dyk, Timothy D. Nelson

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objective—Involvement in peer victimization has been associated with numerous negative consequences, including poor physical health. The purpose of this study is to improve on previous research evaluating the victimization– health relationship by examining the health (i.e., health-related quality of life [HRQoL], medical service utilization) of both victims and aggressors and examining individual variation in this relationship through the moderating effect of pessimism.

Method—Sample included 125 ethnically diverse youth aged 8–11 years recruited from a low-income medical practice. Child-report of involvement in peer victimization and pessimism was assessed along with parent-report of HRQoL. 2-year medical service utilization was extracted from medical …

Teacher Support Mediates Concurrent And Longitudinal Associations Between Temperament And Mild Depressive Symptoms In Sixth Grade, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Patrick Pössel, Stephanie Winkeljohn Black, Kate Niehaus

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The combination of changes occurring at the transition to middle school may be a catalyst for the onset of depressive symptoms, yet teacher support at this transition is protective. Research points to certain temperamental traits as risk factors for developing depressive symptoms. This study examines student reports of teacher support and teacher reports of student–teacher relationship (STR) quality as mediators of associations between child temperament (i.e. negative emotionality at age 4½ : and emotional reactivity in elementary grades) and depressive symptoms in sixth grade. Results indicate (a) negative emotionality predicted emotional reactivity and depressive symptoms; (b) emotional reactivity predicted depressive …

Efficacy Of The Getting Ready Intervention And The Role Of Parental Depression, Susan M. Sheridan, Lisa Knoche, Carolyn P. Edwards, Kevin A. Kupzyk, Brandy L. Clark, Elizabeth M. Kim

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study reports the results of a randomized trial of a parent engagement intervention (the Getting Ready Project) on directly observed learning-related social behaviors of children from families of low-income in the context of parent-child interactions. The study explored the moderating effect of parental depression on intervention outcomes. Participants were 204 children and their parents, and 29 Head Start teachers. Semi-structured parent-child interaction tasks were videotaped two times annually over the course of two academic years. Observational codes of child behaviors included agency, persistence, activity level, positive affect, distractibility, and verbalizations. Controlling for gender and disability concerns, relative to children …

Contribution Of Reactive And Proactive Control To Children’S Working Memory Performance: Insight From Item Recall Durations In Response Sequence Planning, Nicolas Chevalier, Tiffany D. James, Sandra A. Wiebe, Jennifer Mize Nelson, Kimberly Espy

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The present study addressed whether developmental improvement in working memory span task performance relies upon a growing ability to proactively plan response sequences during childhood. Two hundred thirteen children completed a working memory span task in which they used a touchscreen to reproduce orally presented sequences of animal names. Children were assessed longitudinally at 7 time points between 3 and 10 years of age. Twenty-one young adults also completed the same task. Proactive response sequence planning was assessed by comparing recall durations for the 1st item (preparatory interval) and subsequent items. At preschool age, the preparatory interval was generally shorter …

Child Maltreatment And Adult Criminal Behavior: Does Criminal Thinking Explain The Association?, Lorraine E. Cuadra, Anna E. Jaffe, Renu Thomas, David Dilillo

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Criminal thinking styles were examined as mediational links between different forms of child maltreatment (i.e., sexual abuse, physical abuse, and physical neglect) and adult criminal behaviors in 338 recently adjudicated men. Analyses revealed positive associations between child sexual abuse and sexual offenses as an adult, and between child physical abuse/neglect and endorsing proactive and reactive criminal thinking styles. Mediation analyses showed that associations between overall maltreatment history and adult criminal behaviors were accounted for by general criminal thinking styles and both proactive and reactive criminal thinking. These findings suggest a potential psychological pathway to criminal behavior associated with child maltreatment. …

The Emergence Of Leadership In Children: The Role Of Play, Athletics, And School, Shelby K. Barthold

CMC Senior Theses

Leadership studies and leadership development have become increasingly popular in recent years. However, much of this popularity has been focused on leadership in adults. This thesis explores the emergence and development of leadership skills in children as they gain experience from play, athletics, and school. The definition of leadership is examined as well as the skills needed for proficient leadership. The skills are structured around the Big Five personality factors. Each of the areas discussed – play, athletics, and school – gives children many opportunities to interact with their peers allowing for valuable development. Overall, this thesis asserts that leadership …