Child Psychology Commons^™

Executive Function Profiles In Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury, Erik Nelson Ringdahl

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Traumatic brain injury is a common cause of disability and death among children in the United States. Insult to the frontal and temporal lobes are frequent in closed head brain injury. Cognitive deficits in a variety of domains are common sequelae of brain trauma. In many cases, trauma to the frontal and temporal lobe regions engender prominent deficits in higher-order cognitive processing, memory, and attention.

Higher-order cognitive processing, or Executive Functions are the grouping of cognitive processes necessary for organization of thoughts and activities, attending to the activities, prioritizing tasks, managing time efficiently, and making decisions (Alvarez & Emory, 2006; …

Playing With Fire Or Arson? Identifying Predictors Of Juvenile Firesetting Behavior, Mary Ellen Britt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Firesetting is a complex behavior that spans a wide range of developmental stages in childhood and adolescence and involves varying motivations and intents. A better understanding of this destructive behavior is critical to developing strategies to control its devastating effects. The purpose of this research project was to identify potential predictors of juvenile firesetting behavior by studying youth who were enrolled in a regional firesetting intervention program. Data collected from firesetting assessment instruments completed by parents or guardians of program participants were examined. In the analyses, special emphasis was placed on evaluating associations between juvenile firesetting behavior and the socioeconomic …

School Refusal Behavior: The Relationship Between Functions And Symptom Sets, Marisa Charlene Hendron

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The current study examined the relationship between functions of school refusal behavior and internalizing and externalizing symptom sets in a community sample of 200 youth and parents recruited from two truancy settings. The first hypothesis was that youth who endorsed refusing school primarily to avoid stimuli that provoke negative affectivity (function 1) would report more symptoms of generalized anxiety and depression. The second hypothesis was that youth who endorsed refusing school primarily to escape from aversive social or evaluative situations (function 2) would report more symptoms of social anxiety. The third hypothesis was that youth who endorsed refusing school primarily …

The Dilemma Of Minors’ Access To Adult Content On The Internet: A Proposed Warnings Solution, Helen Zaikina-Montgomery

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Internet can be a dangerous place for children. Because minors have unrestricted access to adult content, a system of warnings targeting minors on the Internet should be developed. The present studies tested icons for such a system and subsequently to examined selected icons in combination with signal words, color, and warning messages. One hundred and ninety three adults and eleven children participated in the first study. Participants rated thirty eight icons created by the researcher for their understandability, carefulness, attention-getting, likelihood of encountering and severity of danger, likelihood of avoidance and familiarity. Familiar icons were found to be rated …

Characteristics Of Adolescent Females Sexually Exploited Through Prostitution, Alanna Robinson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Adolescent females are becoming the fastest growing population amongst juveniles being held in detention and referred to juvenile courts. Unfortunately such increases are linked to a lack of alternative services available for youths during the adjudication process. Upon being arrested, delinquent girls are suffering from a host of health, emotional and social issues for which there is also a lack of programming and detailed research. However, emerging evidence indicates that female delinquency is characterized by a multitude of overlapping problems that distinguish them from male delinquents. Issues include poor mental health, history of child abuse, substance abuse among parents and …

Enhanced Food Marketing To Children On The Internet: A Content Analysis, Sarah A. Ochsner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In light of the continuing epidemic of childhood obesity, aggressive food marketing strategies have come under increased scrutiny as a possible contributing factor. It has been acknowledged in numerous studies, that poor nutrient quality of food and beverages dominate children's programming. The growth in child-specific media envoys has further increased favorable opportunities to market food and beverages to children, notably less regulated and parentally unsupervised. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 65% of children aged 6-11 have home access to the Internet; and today, the majority of food manufacturers operate websites appealing to children. The Institute of Medicine issued a …

Attitudes Towards Megan's Law And Juvenile Sex Offenders, Debra Lee Cochrane

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sex offender registration laws are very controversial. All fifty states require adult sex offenders to register. Twenty-eight states have extended registration and community notification requirements to juveniles (Hiller, 1998). These states seem to have failed to look at the uniqueness of juvenile sex offending. Juveniles have a very low recidivism rate and complex issues of culpability from age-of-consent laws. Applying Megan's Law to juveniles could have considerable negative consequences for juveniles' social development, particularly because one of the main stipulations of the law requires the juvenile to notify their school. Rehabilitation is a key factor of the juvenile justice system …

Studying Personality In Juvenile Prostitutes: Aren't All Delinquents The Same?, Nina S. Brathwaite

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to test whether specific personality traits differentiate juveniles who engage in prostitution from those who do not. Juvenile prostitutes (n =34) and delinquent non-prostitutes (n =33) being detained in the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center were compared on a number of personality variables and offender subtype classifications measured by the Jesness Inventory-Revised (Jesness, 1988). It was hypothesized that the prostitution group would score significantly higher on scales closely related to immaturity, depression, denial, and sensation-seeking. Results of MANOVA and chi square indicated that the two groups did not differ significantly with regard to their …

Teacher And Student Perceptions Of Self-Determination, Jennifer L. Black

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

For almost two decades, research efforts specific to self-determination have resulted in the development of curricula, assessments, instructional strategies, interventions, model programs, and proposed quality indicators (Field et al., 1998). Despite the combined efforts and perceptions of researchers, teachers, parents, employers, and college disability service providers related to these important aspects of self-determination research, limited attention has been devoted to understanding the perceptions of self-determination from secondary students with and without disabilities and their general and special education teachers.

The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher and student perceptions related to self-determination. Teacher perceptions were measured with the …

Investigating The Emotional Intelligence Of Adolescents With And Without Disabilities, Leota Tucker

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study involved an investigation of the emotional intelligence profiles of three groups of adolescents: those with learning disabilities, those with an emotional disturbances, and adolescents without disabilities. A 2 (gender) X 3 (group) X 4 (subscale) mixed design with repeated measures on subscale was used to determine whether differences in emotional intelligence, as measured by the BarOn EQi: YV, existed among these three groups of adolescents. Specifically, performance within the four subscales of intrapersonal, interpersonal, stress management and adaptability as well as in the overall composite scores were compared to detect differences between gender, and disability groups.

A total …

African American Parental Beliefs About Resiliency: A Delphi Study, Vita L. Jones

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Resiliency is a concept that has been discussed in the fields of anthropology, psychology, sociology, and education for over 30 years. Most authors define resiliency as the ability to triumph over adversity. The term associated with children/youth who rise above negative situations is resilient. A subgroup of students who are disproportionately affected by negative perceptions from society and who often find themselves in negative situations are African American children/youth. It appears that these students encounter less social fit in school, have a higher propensity for at-risk behavior, and experience less favorable academic and social outcomes.

This study involved a Delphi …

Parental Abduction From The Perspective Of The Victims: Implications For Counselors, Mary Jo L. Gibbs

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This is a descriptive study that examined parental abductions from the perspective of the abductee. The results will help counseling professionals better to understand the psychological consequences of parental abduction, coping mechanisms that were used by the abducted children and counseling techniques and strategies that helped the children through this difficult time and after being returned to the left-behind parent.

A 32 multiple choice and short answer questionnaire was developed for this study. The survey consists of 12 closed answer (Yes or No) questions, three open ended questions, and seventeen demographic questions. The questionnaire was given through a phone interview …

Child Neglect And Trauma: The Additive Traumatic Effects Of Neglect On Maltreated Adolescents, Adrianna Rachel Wechsler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Child maltreatment affects thousands of youths in the United States and poses numerous detrimental effects to individuals, families, and the community. Neglect is the most commonly reported and least studied form of child maltreatment. All types of child maltreatment may result in negative outcomes, but the chronic and pervasive nature of child neglect poses a significant threat to child development. No studies have been published evaluating the role of child neglect in the development of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and PTSD-related symptoms. This study examined whether neglect has an additive traumatic effect on maltreated youth. The first hypothesis was that …

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 …