Child Psychology Commons^™

The Effects Of Child Sexual Abuse And Posttraumatic Stress On Levels Of Self-Efficacy, Lary L. Anderson

Graduate Theses

Sexually abused children often develop posttraumatic stress disorder, a distressing and potentially debilitating condition that renders children to feelings of helplessness. Past studies have explored these effects in adults concerning sexual abuse, health issues, war, and natural disaster but not much research has been done for children. This study examined childhood sexual abuse, PTSD, and the relation that exists with self-efficacy. Thirty-nine children, 7 males and 32 females, participated in the study. The ages ranged from age eight through age eighteen, with a mean age of 12.5. Each participant was tested for levels of PTSD, using the Trauma Check list …

The Theory Of Planned Behavior: Predicting Physical Activity In Mexican American Children, Jeffrey J. Martin, Kimberly L. Oliver, Nate Mccaughtry

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

Theoretically grounded research on the determinants of Mexican American children's physical activity and related psychosocial variables is scarce. Thus, the purpose of our investigation was to evaluate the ability of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to predict Mexican American children's self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Children (N = 475, ages 9–12) completed questionnaires assessing the TPB constructs and MVPA. Multiple regression analyses provided moderate support for the ability of the TPB variables to predict MVPA as we accounted for between 8–9% of the variance in MVPA. Attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control accounted for 45% of the …

Abuse And Dissociation Disorder, Myrtle Godfrey

Graduate Research Papers

Child sexual abuse is widely regarded as a cause of mental problems in adult life. The damage inflicted by child sexual abuse.has an affect on the child's capacity to develop trust, intimacy and sexuality. Sexually abused children not only encounter assaults on their developing sense of sexual identity, but a blow to their interpretation of the world as a safe environment, and their developing sense of others as trustworthy. In addition, childhood sexual abuse is correlated with higher levels of dissociation. (Fleming, J. & Mullen, P. E., 1998). Of the victims that were abused by someone with whom he or …

Disclosure Of Maternal Hiv Status To Children: To Tell Or Not To Tell . . . That Is The Question, Tanya L. Tompkins

Faculty Publications

HIV-infected mothers face the challenging decision of whether to disclose their serostatus to their children. From the perspective of both mother and child, we explored the process of disclosure, providing descriptive information and examining the relationships among disclosure, demographic variables, and child adjustment. Participants were 23 mothers and one of their noninfected children (9 to 16 years of age). Sixty-one percent of mothers disclosed. Consistent with previous research, disclosure was not related to child functioning. However, children sworn to secrecy demonstrated lower social competence and more externalizing problems. Differential disclosure, which occurred in one-third of the families, was associated with …

Behaviorally-Based Disorders: The Historical Social Construction Of Youths' Most Prevalent Psychiatric Diagnoses, Christopher A. Mallett

Social Work Faculty Publications

The article discusses the historical social construction of the most prevalent diagnosis of youth in the U.S. The country's psychiatry controls the definitions of mental health disorders and diagnosis through required practice utilization of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. A research is conducted through a social construction theoretical paradigm to identify diagnostic classification systems, nosology changes, and critical time periods.

Self-Mutilation In Adolescents: Recognizing A Silent Epidemic, Constance Glenn, Susan M. Denisco

Nursing Faculty Publications

This article describes the physical and emotional manifestations of self-mutilation behavior (SMB) in adolescents and provides information about diagnosis and treatment. The authors' own survey of school nurses' on-the-job experience with SMB is presented. Finally, the implications of the problem for nurse practitioners (NPs) who care for teens at risk for SMB are discussed.

Parental Involvement In Youth Sports, Kristin Leigh Greene

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this paper is to understanding the motivating factors pertaining to the involvement of youth in sport and how parents can assist in providing their children optimal sport experiences. The paper will begin by providing a background of youth sport involvement, and include the benefits and drawbacks of youth sport participation. To ensure that young athletes are positively motivated toward sport participation, it is important to understand their reasons for participation, as well as how others, such as parents, impact their motivation toward sport. This paper will address a number of motivational theories. Deci and Ryan's cognitive evaluation …

Evaluation Of Program Outcomes: Assessment In Children, Cheryl M. Romano

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

In an age of increased concern for accountability and the review of services, administrators of health programs should be able to present their clinics effectiveness, and demonstrate their excellent service to the community, along with providing evidence for the continued need of such clinics. Outcome evaluation plays an integral part in providing this information, and is intended to provide information concerning the effectiveness of a particular program, thus allowing for modification, and even better outcomes.

This project addressed pre and post functioning in children referred for academic and/or behavioral difficulties, in a university of health sciences-based clinic. The aim was …

Perceived Smoking Environment And Smoking Initiation Among Multi-Ethnic Urban Girls, Tracy R. Nichols, Amanda Birnbaum, Sara Birnel, Gilbert J. Botvin

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Purpose

To examine associations between the perceived smoking environment and smoking initiation among urban multi-ethnic adolescent girls in New York City.

Methods

Self-report surveys completed in grades 7, 8, and 9 assessed girls’ (n = 858) smoking initiation, and perceived smoking environment (family smoking, friends’ smoking, smoking norms, and cigarette availability). Carbon monoxide breath samples were collected from girls using a variation of the bogus pipeline procedure.

Results

Differences were found in smoking prevalence with white girls reporting the highest prevalence of smoking at baseline and the greatest increase in smoking prevalence from seventh to eighth grade. Black girls reported …

Visual-Spatial & Visual-Motor Function In Pediatric Heart Transplant Recipients, Stephanine Dianne Griffone

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Heart surgery is commonly used to repair congenital heart defects and to perform heart transplantation. The associated hypoxia before or during the surgery may cause damage in the parasaggital area of the cerebral cortex, with resulting difficulty during tasks requiring visual-spatial and visual-motor skills. This study compares the performance of children who received a heart transplant during infancy to that of nonclinical children with no medical complications on three visual-motor measures, three visual-spatial measures, and two computerized visual-spatial tasks - a Block Design Matching task and a Mental Rotation task. The children who received a heart transplant achieved significantly lower …

Children Of Alcoholics : A Struggle Through Childhood And Adulthood, Christina M. Mcgreevey

Graduate Research Papers

Children of alcoholics are those directly affected by familial alcoholism. Characteristics that are common in children of alcoholics in youth and in adulthood are isolation, approval seeking, fear of angry people, and addiction (Seixas & Youcha, 1985). Treatment for children of alcoholics is available through several forms of therapy including self-help groups and family therapy. The purpose of this paper is to address common characteristics of children of alcoholics, codependency, as well as treatment procedures for this population.

Play Therapy With Victims Of Child Abuse, Annie E. Jessen

Graduate Research Papers

Child abuse is a very serious issue around the world. An estimated 906,000 children were determined to be victims of child abuse or neglect in the United States in 2003. Child fatalities are the most tragic consequence of maltreatment. Play therapy provides children with the ideal environment where they feel safe and they may experience their feelings without restriction.

Oftentimes play allows children to distance themselves from experiences that are quite painful if expressed directly to a therapist. When assessing the needs of children, it is important for play therapists to assess the phenomenological impact of the abuse, the family's …

Child Sexual Abuse, Anna Maria Opperman

Graduate Research Papers

Reports of child sexual abuse are increasing in the nation and the state of Iowa. Negative effects of child sexual abuse include low self-esteem, contracting sexually transmitted diseases, promiscuity, pregnancy, psychological disorders, eating disorders, and suicide. According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (2006), two out of every one thousand children in the country have experienced sexual abuse. The author will describe the types of sexual abuse, the abuse process, characteristics of offenders, and manifestations of child sexual abuse. Possible treatment for victims will also be addressed.

Attachment Disorders In Residential Treatment, John Church

Graduate Research Papers

Various aspects of developmental attachment are explored in this power point presentation. Attachment is defined and differentiated from bonding. The variations of attachment are described as they relate to the work of Mary Ainsworth (1978) and Katharine Leslie (2004). Trauma is also explored as one of the major contributors to attachment disorders. The trauma information is also linked with how the brain develops and ultimately is affected by trauma. Lastly, the symptoms of reactive attachment disorder are discussed and explored as they relate to other diagnoses such as depression and oppositional defiant disorder.

Nebbe's Nature Nest : A Summary Of An Animal Assisted Therapy Camp, Trisha L. Ames

Graduate Research Papers

Two graduate students conducted a small animal assisted therapy camp. The main goal for this camp was to enhance and promote the campers' socialization skills and self-esteem through the use of animal assisted therapy. Two pre and post measurement scales were used to evaluate the children's loneliness and self-concept. The campers participated in a one-week camp lasting approximately three hours a day. To meet desired lesson goals, the campers engaged in direct animal contact and specific animal assisted activities. The following is a complete description and reaction to the animal assisted therapy camp led by Trisha (Hobbiebrunken) Ames, Nicole Whisler, …

A Holistic Self-Identity Model, Jacquelyne R. Joens

Graduate Research Papers

Parents, educators, business leaders, political leaders, and mental health professionals all appreciate the impact positive self-esteem has on a person's ability to strive and grow. Self-esteem is a complex, multifaceted component of human existence. It is possible to identify and observe the result of a healthy self-esteem or even the outcome of a damaged self-esteem, but the term self-esteem may be antiquated and no longer exemplary of a complete picture of self. This paper examines research and attempts to define a multi-dimensional model of self-esteem, a Holistic Self-Identity Model, which will help to bring into focus the concept of self-identity …

Désir Et Impuissance Dans Halfaouine Et Bye-Bye, Scott Homler

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

The experience of adolescence and the trials of Arab and Beur masculinity are explored in the films of Férid Boughédir and Karim Dridi in order to reveal the psychology and the politics of masculinity in evolution. Studying two films, Halfaouine and Bye-Bye, as well as the autobiography of Abdelkébir Khatibi entitled La mémoire tatouée, we see that they reflect a number of discursive stages of an emergent identity of protest that is based on flight and self-destruction.

Overview Of Attachment Disorder And Effective Treatments For Children, Kathryn H. Hedican

Graduate Research Papers

When children experience extreme chronic trauma as a result of the effects of the disruption of healthy attachment patterns, a disorder known as Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) can develop. The importance for mental health counselors to understand the etiology of RAD cannot be overemphasized. Symptoms most often associated with this disorder include the inability to trust, failure to develop intimate relationships, or show affection, lack of self-confidence, low self-esteem, and anti-social behaviors and attitudes (Levy & Orlans, 1998 as cited in Sheperis, Renfro-Michel, & Doggett, 2003). Highlighting the foundational work of Erikson, Harlow, Bowlby, and Ainsworth includes a brief overview …

Oppositional Defiant Disorder : Using Family Therapy And Parent Training Techniques For Effective Treatment Outcomes, Caroline S. Dieken

Graduate Research Papers

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) clinically affects children and adolescents through the display of unwanted disruptive, hostile, defiant, and oppositional behaviors. Development of these can be linked to parental psychopathology, family and marital dysfunction, poor parent-child interaction, atypical parenting, maternal age, substance abuse, poor supervision, and inconsistent or harsh discipline. The effects of ODD lead to impaired social functioning, depression, low self-esteem, academic failure, substance abuse, delinquency, and family discord. Compared to other treatments ( e.g., medication, behavior modification, punishment, or removal from the home) the most effective course of treatment for ODD is the use of family therapy and parent …

The Effects Of Parental Alcoholism On Children, Ryan A. Flaherty

Graduate Research Papers

Research has examined the effects of parental alcoholism on children and adolescents. This paper will address the different ways teens are affected by parental alcoholism, identifying medical, emotional, and social dangers, while also trying to link specific aspects of parental alcoholism with each harmful effect. In looking at the negative effects that parental alcoholism has on the parents and children, this paper will also examine whether children become victims and suffer, or become resilient and persevere. This paper will also look at physical, social, emotional, behavioral and family structure concerns as they relate to children with alcoholic parents.

The Effects Of Childhood Obesity On Self-Esteem, Heather L. Paxton

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Obesity is a growing health problem affecting children in the United States. The prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically over the past 10 years across virtually all populations and age groups. Recent data suggest that 15 percent of U.S. children are severely overweight or obese (National Center for Health Statistics, 2002) . Obese children are at risk for significant health problems, but also face many psychological and social consequences, including low self-esteem. Children who are obese face an increased risk of emotional problems lasting well into adulthood. Factors such as peer rejection, weight-related teasing, and internalized social standards play a …

Early Oral-Motor Interventions For Pediatric Feeding Problems: What, When And How, C. J. Manno, C. Fox, P. S. Eicher, Mary Louise Kerwin

College of Science & Mathematics Departmental Research

Children with developmental delays often have feeding difficulties resulting from oral-motor problems. Based on both clinical experience and a review of published studies, oral-motor interventions have been shown to be effective in improving the oral function of preterm infants and children with neuromotor disorders, such as cerebral palsy. However, oral-motor problems may be under identified in other populations of children with developmental difficulties. The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework for understanding oral-motor skill development and problems that can occur in any infant and young child and to review oral-motor treatment techniques and their empirical support.

The Effects Of Divorce On Children And Adolescents, Rachelle A. Haker

Graduate Research Papers

This research paper focuses on the effects of divorce on children and adolescents. Based on a review of literature, there are many short-term and long-term effects including emotional, behavioral, and physical issues. Children and adolescents vary in adjustment to divorce depending on multiple factors such as communication, conflict, and parental adjustment. The stages that children and adolescents of divorce go through depend on one's developmental stage and gender. Counselors can greatly influence how children and adolescents adjust to divorce.

Play Therapy, Melissa A. Hardman

Graduate Research Papers

Play therapy techniques are valuable tools for a variety of professionals who work with children. One need not be a registered play therapist to implement play techniques when working with child clients. There are many types of clients that would benefit from play therapy. There are several different theoretical approaches, but the researcher chose to focus on Adlerian Play Therapy, Client-Centered Play Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioral Play Therapy, and Psychodynamic Play Therapy. The paper considers the best location to implement play techniques, by urging the counselor to be aware of the setting's location within the building, ease of cleaning, available space, and …

Behavioral Intervention And Prevention Of Feeding Difficulties In Infants And Toddlers, Mary Louise Kerwin, P. S. Eicher

College of Science & Mathematics Departmental Research

Although eating is considered an automatic physiologic process, many children experience feeding difficulties. The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for assessment, treatment and prevention of feeding difficulties in children. Identification and treatment of any factors actively interfering with feeding success is a critical cornerstone for effective behavioral interventions for feeding. Using variables that comprise the structure of a meal, this paper discusses how these variables might be manipulated in behavioral interventions for feeding problems. Recommendations for prevention of feeding problems are also presented.

Early Adolescent Through Young Adult Alcohol And Marijuana Use Trajectories: Early Predictors, Young Adult Outcomes, And Predictive Utility, Kate Flory, Donald Lynam, Richard Milich, Carl Leukefeld, Richard Clayton

Psychology Faculty Publications

The present study takes a developmental approach to subgrouping and examines the trajectories of substance use from early adolescence through young adulthood among a community sample of 481 individuals. The patterns of use were examined, subgroups were identified separately for men and women and for alcohol and marijuana, and psychosocial predictors and psychopathology outcomes that differentiated the groups were identified. The results revealed three substantially overlapping subgroups for both alcohol and marijuana: early onset, late onset, and nonuser. Although the general patterns of which dependent variables were related to group were similar for alcohol and marijuana, a closer examination revealed …

Mental Health Of Incarcerated Juveniles In Nevada: Final Report, Nevada Institute For Children's Rerearch And Policy, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas, Jennifer Petsonius, Denise Tanata, Michelle Chino Dr

Nevada Institute for Children's Research and Policy Reports

The prevalence of mental health problems in the juvenile offender population is substantially higher than that of the general population (Cocozza & Skowyra, 2000). Studies estimate that one in five juvenile offenders has serious mental health problems, which is nearly twice the rate of occurrence of mental illness in children and adults in the general population (NMHA Fact Sheet #l). However, there have been several methodological problems encountered in previous research. These include the use of inconsistent definitions and measurements of mental illness; the use of biased, nonrandom samples, a reliance on retrospective case report data, and the use of …

Resiliency Factors Related To Substance Use/Resistance: Perceptions Of Native Adolescents Of The Southwest, Margaret A. Waller, Scott K. Okamoto, Bart Miles, Donna E. Hurdle

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This exploratory, qualitative study examined risk and protective factors influencing drug and alcohol use and/or resistance of Native youth in the Southwest. Thirty-two Native middle school students participated in 10 focus groups that explored their experiences with alcohol and drugs in their school and reservation communities. The findings indicate a complex interaction of both risk and protective factors related to substance use. Respondents' cousins and siblings, in particular, played a key role in their decisions to use or resist drugs. Implications for social work practice are discussed.

Intensive Care Medical Procedure : Ptsd Symptoms In Children, Ludmila Zaytsev

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Studies indicate that medical procedures may cause post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms (fear, avoidance, sleep disturbances, irritability, concentration difficulties. hypervigilance). It has been suggested that administration of midazolam hydrochloride, a sedative/amnesic medication commonly used in the Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICU), may help decrease if not prevent the development of PTS symptoms. This study examined if PTS symptoms were related to procedural invasiveness (PI) and whether midazolam had a moderating effect on the development and intensity of PTS symptoms in children. English-speaking children ages 8-16 (N=20) who had been in the PICU for at least 3 days were recruited at Loma …

The Psychological Characteristics Of Obese Children, Thomas Taylor Mitchell

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Several studies along with the surgeon general of the United States have identified obesity as a national health issue. Research indicates that adult obesity treatment has relatively poor long-term effects. Consequently increased attention has been given to addressing obesity in children. This focus is particularly vital due to the fact that children are one of the populations showing the most rapid increase in overweight and obesity. The purpose of this study was to identify the some of the unique psychological characteristics of obese children by analyzing the intake data of children and adolescents attending the Loma Linda University Growing Fit …