Child Psychology Commons^™

Fifth Year Persisters: High School, College, And Early Career Outcomes For Persisting Non-Graduates, Mathew C. Uretsky, Angela K. Henneberger

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

There is limited extant knowledge regarding academic and workforce experiences of students who remain engaged in high school, but do not graduate in the traditional four years. The current study used Multilevel modeling and descriptive statistics with statewide linked longitudinal administrative data (N = 2917) to (1) examine the student- and school-level factors related to earning a diploma during the fifth year of high school and (2) describe proximate academic and career outcomes for non-graduates and fifth year graduates. Multiple student-level factors were associated with increased likelihood of earning a diploma in the fifth year (e.g. special education eligibility, passing …

The Use Of Animal-Assisted Therapeutic Interventions In The Hospital Setting During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Alicia Cesare

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Handlers of therapy and/or facility dogs working within hospital settings have experienced various barriers and challenges within their practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Animal-assisted interventions, specifically therapeutic working dogs, are a valued source of support to individuals, communities, hospital settings, and disaster sites during times of community distress. The purpose of this study was to identify barriers and solutions to the continued use of animal-assisted therapeutic interventions in support of patients and families within the hospital setting during the COVID-19 pandemic. This researcher’s position within the research is the knowledge and experience of being a facility dog handler within the …

Pragmatic Language And Behavioral And Emotional Functioning- A Systematic Review: Implications For Research And Interprofessional Practice, Erica Pritzker

Dissertations, 2020-current

Pragmatic language, or social communication, develops throughout childhood and adolescence. Deficits in pragmatic language ability have been found to impact social, emotional, and behavioral functioning in this population. This association has been found across a number of diagnostic presentations including autism spectrum disorder, specific language impairment, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder. This study utilized a systematic review methodology with an interprofessional approach, to explore the current literature for evidence of interventions targeting pragmatic language positively impacting emotional and behavioral outcomes in children and adolescents across a range of diagnoses and across multiple disciplines. Five interventions met …

Psychosocial Effects Of Shared Book Reading, Amy Halling

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many studies have examined the academic benefits of parents reading with their children, but few studies have looked at the psychological and social benefits, and even fewer have related the quality of shared book reading to psycho-social benefits. This study looked at whether positive and negative reading interactions during shared book reading predicted parent-child relationships, child social skills and child academic skills. Twenty-five parents of 4-year-olds read a story with their child and completed parent relationship and child social skills questionnaires. The reading interactions were then coded into two separate composite scores: positive and negative. Positive interactions did not significantly …

Symptom Presentation Of Sexually Abused Youth: Associations With Abuse Attributions, Brittany Biles

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Child sexual abuse (CSA) outcomes are heterogeneous. Some victims display a combination of externalizing behaviors (e.g., aggression) and internalizing symptoms (e.g., depression), while others present with minimal symptoms (Domhardt, Munzer, Fegert, & Goldbeck, 2015). Among the factors that have been explored as relating to CSA outcomes are child characteristics (e.g., age; Dube et al., 2005), abuse-specific variables (e.g., abuse severity; Stroebel et al., 2012), and family variables (e.g., familial social support; Ryan, Kilmer, Cause, Watanabe, & Hoyt, 2000). Although much of the literature supports these factors as contributing to outcomes following CSA, conclusions have been inconsistent. Research has begun to …

Measuring What Matters: Insights On The Value Of Whole Child Development, Porticus, Australian Council For Educational Research, Pina Tarricone, Yung Nietschke, Kylie Hillman

Monitoring Learning

This policy analysis report captures how cities and countries value, define, and measure Whole Child Development (WCD) - and equivalent - both broadly and in the context of reaching those in extreme adversity. The WCD conceptual framework of this study refers to 11 key themes: values, life skills, social and emotional learning, spirituality, academic knowledge, student engagement, adult support, community, academically challenging learning, safe environments, and health. The report provides insights into the challenges experienced in embedding WCD in education systems and offers evidence around the growing recognition and momentum globally around WCD and holistic learning. One of the key …

Towards Greater Transparency In Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research: Use Of A Proposed Workflow And Propensity Scores To Facilitate Selection Of Matched Groups, Janet Y. Bang, Megha Sharda, Aparna S. Nadig

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background
Matching is one commonly utilized method in quasi-experimental designs involving individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). This method ensures two or more groups (e.g., individuals with an NDD versus neurotypical individuals) are balanced on pre-existing covariates (e.g., IQ), enabling researchers to interpret performance on outcome measures as being attributed to group membership. While much attention has been paid to the statistical criteria of how to assess whether groups are well-matched, relatively little attention has been given to a crucial prior step: the selection of the individuals that are included in matched groups. The selection of individuals is often an undocumented …

Individual Differences In Infants' Temperament Affect Face Processing, Jennifer L. Rennels, Andrea J. Kayl, Kirsty M. Kulhanek

Psychology Faculty Research

Infants show an advantage in processing female and familiar race faces, but the effect sizes are often small, suggesting individual differences in their discrimination abilities. This research assessed whether differences in 6–10-month-olds’ temperament (surgency and orienting) predicted how they scanned individual faces varying in race and gender during familiarization and whether and how long it took them to locate the face during a visual search task. This study also examined whether infants viewing faces posing pleasant relative to neutral expressions would facilitate their discrimination of male and unfamiliar race faces. Results showed that infants’ surgency on its own or in …

Factor Predicting Maternal Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Trajectories Following A Natural Disaster: Coping, Social Support, And Family Functioning, Jennifer Clare Piscitello

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Natural disasters are sudden, large-scale events that are associated with significant mental health consequences. Although, most individuals demonstrate resilience, a significant subset of the population develops significant long-term distress (La Greca et al. 2013; Lai, et al., 2015; Lowe & Rhodes 2013; Self-Brown et al., 2014). Moreover, results from emerging longitudinal research suggests that symptom patterns are heterogenous. For example, some individuals recover over time or demonstrate a delayed onset. The most commonly studied post-disaster reaction in adults is posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms. However, the extant literature examining elevated PTS symptoms and related risk factors in disaster research has relied …

What Do Children Need From Playwork In The Time Of Covid-19? A Reflection On Playwork Practice In A Pandemic., Freya H. Howard

International Journal of Playwork Practice

This article explores the child’s need for play especially at the time of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in terms of the child’s welfare and rights, playfulness and their wellbeing. It reflects on previously learnt lessons with regards to virus outbreaks and the production of activity packs as a means of playwork in the pandemic context.

An Investigation Of Increased Rates Of Autism In U.S. Public Schools, Donald N. Cardinal, Amy Jane Griffiths, Zachary D. Maupin, Julie Fraumeni-Mcbride

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This study is intended to enhance our understanding of the dramatic increase in autism prevalence rates across the United States. A robust national and multistate sample of children and youth (5–22 years of age) was gathered and analyzed, using visual and statistical analysis of autism eligibility over a 15‐ to 17‐year period. Although the impact of environmental or genetic influences cannot be entirely ruled out, we identified significant shifts in eligibility trends that substantially contribute to the remarkable increase in autism prevalence. Assessment procedures and criteria for autism have sustained an indelible influence from this diagnostic migration, which has had …

The Relative Impact Of Risk And Protective Factors On The Psychological Functioning Of Sexual And Gender Minority Youth, Ilayna Krysten Mehrtens

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Research has consistently indicated that sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth are at increased risk of psychological and emotional concerns relative to their cisgender heterosexual (cis-heterosexual) peers. A large body of research has sought to identify the risk factors that may contribute to this disparity; however, fewer studies have investigated the factors that may promote resiliency, thereby reducing risk. Subsequently, very little is known about the relative influence of risk and protective factors among SGM youth. Additionally, significant methodological concerns have been identified, which may affect the interpretability, generalizability, and clinical applicability of existing research. The purpose of this study …

The Play Cycle Observation Method (Pcom): A Pilot Study, Pete King

International Journal of Playwork Practice

This pilot study of the Play Cycle Observation Method (PCOM) provides a method to record the process of play as outlined by Sturrock & Else (1998) Play Cycle. Using a single 4 minute video, 5 participants mapped the Play Cycles of a boy (aged 5-6 years) and a girl (aged 9-10 years) and recorded quantitative data in relation to recording play cues prior to and then within established Play Cycles, number of Play Cycles and how long they last. In addition, more qualitative data can be recorded with respect to the nature of the play cues, play frames, annihilation (how …

Children's Use Of Accent As A Cue For Cooperative Potential, Rachel Stevens

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, several studies have shown that 5- and 6-year-old children make social judgments based on accent, consistently displaying a social preference for individuals who speak with a native accent. One theory hypothesizes that this preference to favor individuals who speak like us stems from our evolutionary history, during which accent and other language variations would have been strong, salient cues to group membership, and thus, cues to ones likelihood of cooperative behavior. The current study aimed to test this theory by determining if 5- and 6-year-old children use accent to make judgments about an individual’s cooperative potential. Participants …

Does Expectation Influence Relationship? A Mixed Methods Investigation Of Parental Expectation And Parent-Child Relationship Among Chinese Family Groups 期望是否會影響關係？華裔家庭中父母的期望對親子關係的影響之研究, Sharon Chiang, Sharon Chiang, Sharon Chiang

Education Dissertations

Abstract

Parental expectation, particularly among Chinese family groups, is understood to be formative upon their children’s identity, behavior in family relationships, educational success and decisions in career choices. China's long history of traditionalism in its social values, heavily based on Confucian philosophy of the family, bears this out. Significant social changes have happened in recent years due to political shifts, modernization, capitalization, immigration, and government population control policies. However, expectation is an element on which both academic study and educational research are rather limited. Current study has touched on the topic of parental expectation and raised some awareness, but the …

An Integrated Analysis Of The Mechanisms By Which Parents Facilitate The Development Of Emotion Regulation In Young Adolescents, Andrew Fox

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Effective emotion regulation strategies are associated with adaptive outcomes in youth. While previous research has established parental socialization of emotion regulation as an important predictor of adaptive outcomes, the mechanisms by which parents contribute to young adolescents’ emotion regulation outcomes is poorly understood. The current study examined pathways between parenting style, parental socialization of emotion regulation practices, and adolescent negative affectivity to emotion regulation outcomes in adolescents cross-sectionally and prospectively over the course of a year. Participants were 150 young adolescents ages to 10 to 14 (M_age = 13.03, SD_age = .90; 51.33% female) and their parent/legal …

Impacts Of Motor And Sensory Impairment On Language In Young Children With Autism, Elizabeth A. Bisi

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present with varying degrees of deficit in the broader areas of social communication and stereotyped behaviors, but emerging research proposes delayed motor skill and atypical sensory processing as additional factors worth closer examination. In the current study, I sought to investigate the impacts of visual motor skills and sensory differences on language ability in young children with autism. I hypothesized that young children with autism, atypical sensory processing (Short Sensory Profile, 2^nd Edition), and impaired visual motor integration (Beery VMI, 6^th Edition) would have the most impacted language ability scores (Differential Ability …

America's Newest Boogeyman For Deviant Teen Behavior: Violent Video Games And The First Amendment, Joseph C. Alfe, Grant D. Talabay

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

Are violent video games harming America’s youth? Is it possible a series of interconnected circuit boards can influence children (or even adults) to become, themselves, violent? If so, how should our society-- and government-- respond?

To properly answer this last query, violent video games must be viewed through the lens of the First Amendment. Simply put: do games depicting grotesque acts of depravity so profound as to negatively influence the psyche warrant the full constitutional protections ordinarily guaranteed under the mantle of free speech and expression? Are these guarantees without limit? If not, how far may the government go in …

A Comprehensive Examination Of Clinical Cutoff Scores For The Inventory Of Callous-Unemotional Traits (Icu), Emily C. Kemp

LSU Master's Theses

Youth with elevated callous-unemotional (CU) traits represent a clinically important subgroup of youth who display particularly severe conduct problems and antisocial behavior and thusly impose great costs to themselves, other individuals, and society. The recent addition of the specifier for CU traits, “with Limited Prosocial Emotions (LPE),” to major classification systems has prompted the need for comprehensive and valid assessment tools that aid in the identification of these traits. One such tool is a multi-informant questionnaire, the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU). However, a major limitation of this measure is a lack of well-validated cutoff scores. With this, the present …

Critical Consciousness In Children And Adolescents: A Systematic Review,Critical Assessment, And Recommendations For Future Research, Amy E. Heberle, Luke J. Rapa, Flora Farago

Faculty Publications

Critical consciousness refers to an individual’s awareness of oppressive systemic forces in society, a sense of efficacy to work against oppression, and engagement in individual or collective action against oppression. In the past few decades, interest in critical consciousness as a resource that may promote thriving in marginalized people has grown tremendously. This article critically examines the results of a systematic review of 67 studies of critical consciousness in children and adolescents, published between 1998 and 2019. Across these studies, major themes included the role of socialization experiences, relationships, and context in the development of critical consciousness. In addition, critical …

Social-Ecological And Protective Factor Approach To Managing Parental Incarceration, Jacquelyn Harris

Dissertations

Mass imprisonment does not only impact the incarcerated individual; it also affects approximately five million children in the United States. Researchers identified and compare the impact of parental incarceration on child development. They acknowledged the protective factors across the lifecycle from a social-ecological perspective and specifically related to parental incarceration. The comprehensive literature review inspired an innovative model, the social-ecological and protective factor approach to managing parental incarceration. The primary goal of this model is to combat the detrimental effects of parental incarceration by identifying protective factors across the lifecycle and throughout the microsystem, mesosystem, and exosystem. This model is …

Exploration Of Factors That Influence The Use Of Psychological Testing In The Treatment And Evaluation Of Children: Development Of A Clinical Decision-Making Model, Joy Bui

Dissertations

Mental health disorders are on the rise among children. Within the field of clinical psychology, psychological testing is considered a professional competency and a formative diagnostic tool. Simultaneously, testing can help clarify differential diagnosis, guide treatment for both medical and mental health conditions, and provide accurate monitoring of treatment over time. Although there is substantial evidence supporting the use of testing in practice, there is limited scientific data linking these same benefits to the assessment process. One explanation for this is that studying psychological assessments is a challenging task, given the complexities of the process. Subsequently, many have described conducting …

Bridging The Gap: Understanding Non-Offending Parental Responses To Their Children's Sexual Abuse., Jennifer Latreill, Psy.D.

Dissertations

The parental response to children's disclosure of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is the most critical and important factor regarding the child's post trauma trajectory and overall trauma resolution. Understanding parental responses and the factors that prompt acceptance versus disbelief among the non-offending parent (NOP) is vital to children's success following disclosure given the weight of the NOPs response and its impact on long-term consequences of CSA. This literature review provides a comprehensive summary of what may deter the NOP from recognizing intrafamilial sexual abuse, factors that may contribute to the NOPs disbelief following disclosure, and possible clinical implications of such …

A Dyadic Analysis Of Depressive Symptoms And Harsh And Rejecting Parenting In Filipino Mothers And Fathers, Rosanne M. Jocson

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

This study examines within-person and cross-person relations between depressive symptoms, harsh parenting, and parental rejection in low-income Filipino mothers and fathers of adolescents using an actor-partner interdependence model (APIM). Mother and father dyads (N = 81, Mage = 43.48, SD = 8.66) recruited from urban neighborhoods in the Philippines completed orally administered questionnaires on depressive symptoms, harsh parenting, and rejection. Results showed that mothers' scores and fathers' scores on depressive symptoms did not significantly differ and that mothers scored significantly higher than fathers on harsh parenting and rejection. Dyadic analyses using the APIM showed that the actor effect of depressive …

Latina Mothers Awareness Of Their Childrens Exposure To Community Violence, Rosanne M. Jocson, Francheska Alers-Rojas, James Cranford, Rosario Ceballo

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

This study examines (a) the degree of agreement between mother-reported child community violence exposure and children's self-reports and whether agreement changes over time; (b) whether child gender is associated with mother-child agreement; and (c) whether greater mother-child agreement is concurrently and longitudinally associated with children's psychological well-being. We conducted secondary data analyses using longitudinal data with a socioeconomically diverse sample of 287 Latino adolescents (MageW2 = 11.2, 47% girls) and their mothers (MageW1 = 35.3) from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. Mother-child agreement about non-exposure to violence was high. However, for violence-exposed children, mothers overestimated exposure in …

Developmental Implications Of Parentification: An Examination Of Ethnic Variation And Loneliness, Bertha Preciado

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Parentification is a parent-child role reversal wherein the parent abdicates their parental responsibilities towards the child and the child responds by performing caretaking behaviors towards their parent. Parentification has previously been examined using a Western theoretical framework and with European/White Americans samples. Within the parentification literature, feelings of loneliness have been mentioned as an outcome of parentified individuals; however, the topic had yet to be examined empirically and with an ethnically diverse sample. The current study investigated parentification and feelings of loneliness across African/Black, Latinx, and European/White American individuals. It was found that ethnic minorities experienced higher levels of parentification …

Body Image Role On Non-Suicidal Self-Injury, Maria Ceja, Stephani Aguiar-Vasquez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study explores the association between adolescents body image concerns and self-injurious behaviors among students enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade. The study is exploratory in nature and uses a quantitative design. The study collected archival data from counseling services provided through alocal school district’s counseling program. More specifically, the archival data was retrieved from initial assessments gathered from students participating in the local school district’s counseling program. Additionally, this research is a call for action that seeks to examine and support the further development of programs geared towards students. This study seeks to expand on the research that guides …

Teaching Children With Autism To Make Independent Requests Using An Echoic-To-Mand Procedure, Michael L. Tomak

Dissertations

Mands are a vital skill for the development of a child’s communicative repertoire and are typically a major focus of early intensive behavior interventions (EIBI). Naturalistic teaching is more efficient than Discrete-Trial Training (DTT) for teaching mands (Jennet, Harris, & Delmolino, 2008); and therefore, the present study used crucial components from naturalistic teaching to teach mands in a discrete-trial format, using an echoic-to-mand procedure. This intervention increased the children’s independent vocal requests. Initially, they learned to mand for items in sight and eventually for those out of sight.

Teaching Receptive Identification To Children Who Were Unsuccessful With A Standard Training Program, Kaylee R. Tomak

Dissertations

This research strongly suggests that essentially all children with the skill of generalized matching can learn receptive identification, even if they have failed to do so, using the standard least-to-most prompting procedure. The effective alternative procedures were antecedent picture prompting (Stone & Malott, 2010), consequence picture prompting (Carp et al., 2012), and receptive-exclusion training (McIlvane et al., 1984). In addition, these procedures generally produced high levels of maintenance, and they also typically produced a high level of generalization to novel stimulus sets. However, no single alternative procedure was more effective or more efficient across all of the children. In this …

Using A Video Modeling Treatment Package To Teach Imitation To Children With Autism, Sofia F. Peters

Dissertations

Imitation is a critical skill that allows individuals to learn through less restrictive prompting methods and may allow access to less restrictive learning environments, such as typical classrooms, where instruction is often delivered by modeling. Many individuals with autism learn to imitate with interventions that utilize live models and least-to-most prompting strategies; but, for some, these methods are not successful or efficient. While video modeling has been used to teach a variety of skills to individuals with autism, there is limited research using video modeling to teach imitation. This study investigated the effectiveness of using a video modeling treatment package …