Child Psychology Commons^™

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 …

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; …

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes: Vocal Production In Infant Siblings Of Children With Asd, Rhea Paul, Yael Fuerst, Gordon Ramsay, Kasia Chawarska, Ami Klin

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

Background: Younger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are at higher risk for acquiring these disorders than the general population. Language development is usually delayed in children with ASD. The present study examines the development of pre-speech vocal behavior in infants at risk for ASD due to the presence of an older sibling with the disorder. Methods: Infants at high risk (HR) for ASD and those at low risk, without a diagnosed sibling (LR), were seen at 6, 9, and 12 months as part of a larger prospective study of risk for ASD in infant siblings. Standard clinical …

Designing A School Garden Space That Emphasizes Children's Wants And Uses Permaculture Design Methods, Mikhaela Mullins

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

A case study was organized at Saratoga Elementary school in Lincoln, Nebraska to obtain data on what children desire in a garden space. To collect this data a school garden space was constructed and an after school garden club was implemented. Students who participated in the after school garden club partook in the study by drawing their ideal garden. Elements that the subjects drew were identified and categorized into ‘highly desired’ and ‘somewhat desired’.

These elements were then incorporated into a proposed garden design plan for Saratoga. The proposal plan uses Permaculture design methods to emphasize sustainability.

How Experience Influences Infants’ Recognition Of Male And Female Faces, Jennifer L. Rennels, Veronica A. Glover, Andrew J. Cummings, Andrea J. Kayl, Mateusz Orlewicz, Roanne J. Tiongson, Brooke Ditzler

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Young infants with female primary caregivers are able to differentiate familiar female faces from novel female faces but not male faces. Experience processing faces may be important for being able to discriminate among similar-looking faces. Subsequently, increasing infants’ experience with less familiar faces should improve their ability to differentiate those types of faces. This study examined if infants’ experience with faces affected their recognition of new faces. Prior to testing, 2-3 month old infants were assigned to one of three conditions: a male video, a female video, and no video condition. Infants were familiarized to both male and female faces …

Co-Parenting: Your Marriage May Be Over, But Your Family Is Not, Sarah Guyer

Undergraduate Research Conference

Life after divorce is hard, especially when there are children in the mix. The following are tips and impacts of Co-parenting.

Development Of Bicultural Competence, Jessica L. Scheunemann

Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology Research Exchange Conference

This inquiry looks at factors facilitating the development of bicultural competnece in internationally-adopted youth in America. Bicultural competence is the extnesion of ethnic identity defined as having knowledge of language, lifestyle characteristics, and patterns if interpersonal behavior of two cultural groups. Being competent in two cultures is an extremely difficult task for youth, largely impacted by socialization and parent mediation. Major factors discussed include: parent characteristics/styles/access to resources, youth/parental exploration of ethnicity, bicultural stress, and youth perceptions. Bicultural competnece leads to many benefits and is an important topic for counselors to understand and continually educate themselves on!

Child Behavior Resulting From Single Mother's Usage Of Social Technology, Jessica L. Scheunemann, Alicia Bunnell

Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology Research Exchange Conference

We will present what we have found in a literature review of related topics and our research design for this study. It is hoped we can get feedback to further our research ideas in this area and for us to compile a final paper to be submitted at the end of the semester.

We will then discuss practicalities of our design thus far and implications for practicing counselors.

Gender Differences And Similarities In Adolescents' Ways Of Coping, Bettina Piko

The Psychological Record

Various factors have an influence on which coping strategies
are mobilized under specific circumstances, among others, age
and gender. The present paper focuses on the interrelationships
between the ways of coping and some health-related variables in
adolescence. Data were collected among secondary school
students (n = 1039) in Szeged, Hungary: Factor analysis of the
shortened and adapted version of the Ways of Coping
Questionnaire gave a four-factor solution: passive coping,
problem-analyzing coping, risky coping, and support-seeking
coping. Passive and support-seeking ways of coping were more
common among girls, however, this latter way of coping proved to
be a more significant …

Loving The World And Our Children Enough--Nurturing Decidedly Different Scientifc Minds, By Design, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

Wise world-shaping and problem-solving requires that we and our children think in decidedly different, integral and wise ways. This transformation requires a fundamental shift in consciousness and the emergence of global minds that can creatively live into a new worldview of an interconnected planet and a sustainable and interdependent human family. "The fullness of our humanity and the sustainability of our planet rest with the nurturing of decidedly different minds."

A Child's Perspective Of Defining A Parent: The Case For Intended Parenthood, Linda D. Elrod

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Kreative Kids Social Group: Shaping Social Behavior In Inclusive Preschool Settings, Phoebe M. Pynchon

Psychology and Child Development

The number of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder is rapidly increasing (“Autism Speaks,” 2010).  Simultaneously, the pool of knowledge on what this disorder entails and how best to treat it is also growing.  The present report is designed to investigate a means of improving social behaviors among preschoolers with autism in inclusive environments.  Providing a mainstream experience for children with special needs is a fairly new process in the evolution of the education system, and includes access to typical peers and inclusion in their daily activities (Kids Together, Inc., 2011).

The unique qualities exhibited by children with autism are …

Working With Divorced Families: Effective Interventions For A Difficult Transition, Naveen Jonathan

Marriage and Family Therapy Faculty Presentations

Gives tips and advice for counseling children of divorce.

Practical Ways To Reduce Online & In-School Bullying, Elizabeth Englander

MARC Publications

The Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC) is an academic Center at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts. By running a training program for graduate and undergraduate students in higher education, MARC offers free research, programs and services to K-12 schools in Massachusetts. Everyone benefits: future educators receive unique field training, and K-12 schools receive high-quality, no-cost programs and services. One important characteristic of MARC’s mission is to transmute significant research findings into concrete, useable information for K-12 teachers in the field. The sheer amount of information available today about bullying and cyberbullying can make any educator’s head spin. But despite the …

Brain Activity Elicited By Positive And Negative Feedback In Preschool-Aged Children, Xiaoqin Mai, Twila Tardif, Stacey N. Doan, Chao Liu, William J. Gehring, Yue-Jia Luo

CMC Faculty Publications and Research

To investigate the processing of positive vs. negative feedback in children aged 4–5 years, we devised a prize-guessing game that is analogous to gambling tasks used to measure feedback-related brain responses in adult studies. Unlike adult studies, the feedback-related negativity (FRN) elicited by positive feedback was as large as that elicited by negative feedback, suggesting that the neural system underlying the FRN may not process feedback valence in early childhood. In addition, positive feedback, compared with negative feedback, evoked a larger P1 over the occipital scalp area and a larger positive slow wave (PSW) over the right central-parietal scalp area. …

Marc Handful O' Statistics, Elizabeth K. Englander

MARC Research Reports

These statistics were gleaned from two 2010-­‐2011 studies through the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center at Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

• In-depth survey of 617 college freshman
• Survey of 21,000 children in grades 3-12 in a variety of communities across Massachusetts.

Research Findings: Marc 2011 Survey Grades 3-12, Elizabeth K. Englander

MARC Research Reports

Self-report survey of 20,766 children in grades 3-12 in Massachusetts

Marc Freshman Study 2011: Bullying, Cyberbullying, Risk Factors And Reporting, Elizabeth K. Englander

MARC Research Reports

The Sample:

• 617 College freshman, studied over a 6 month period in 2010-­‐2011
• Predominately white
• Predominately 18–19 years old
• Parents tend to be high working class, low middle class, or middle class

Studied for: rates of behavior; risk factors & their relationship to bullying and cyberbullying; and many other social, family, and school factors

A Qualitative Study On Online Social Networks And Language Mistakes, Buket Akkoyunlu, Meryem Yılmaz Soylu

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study is to put the suggestions of the students for the solutions towards caring Turkish by examining their projects carried out by Primary School 7th and 8th grade students in the online social networks (Facebook, Youtube, Myspace, Twitter, Blogs) in order to detect the wrong use of Turkish. The case study among the qualitative research methods was used. In the study, 7th and 8th grade students examined how Turkish (language) is used in the correspondences in the online social networks (Facebook, Youtube, Myspace, Twitter, Blogs), detected the mistakes and presented solution suggestions towards the correct use …

“Getting Noticed”: Middle Childhood Incross-Cultural Perspective, David F. Lancy, M. Annette Grove

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Although rarely named, the majority of societies in the ethnographic record demarcate a period between early childhood and adolescence. Prominent signs of demarcation are: for the first time, pronounced gender separation in fact and in role definition; increased freedom of movement for boys while girls may be bound more tightly to their mothers; and heightened expectations for socially responsible behavior. But, above all, middle childhood is about coming out of the shadows of community life and assuming a distinct, lifetime character. Naming and other rites of passage sometimes acknowledge this transition, but it is, reliably, marked by the assumption or …

Psychotherapeutic Techniques And Play Therapy With Children Who Experienced Trauma: A Review Of The Literature, Julia Lamotte

Undergraduate Review

This research examined the use of Play Therapy with children who have experienced emotional, physical or psychological trauma. Past research supports other therapeutic modalities as being effective with children after a traumatic experience, though the validity of play therapy lacks comprehensive quantitative and qualitative support. Based on the concept that play is the natural language of children, this form of treatment is developmentally appropriate, specifically with children under the age of twelve. For the purposes of this research, trauma was categorized in to Type 1 (single occurrences) and Type 2 (recurring trauma). A review of the literature found that although …

Demographic And Offense-Related Variables In Pennsylvania Court-Ordered Placements For Juveniles, Kristen N. Asplin, Diane T. Marsh, Adeline Beighley

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

When making placement decisions for juvenile offenders, court officers often consider the types of charges listed against them. We examined the pattern of offenses charged to residents of 7 types of placements in 1 county in Pennsylvania over a period of 2 years. Consistent, predictable patterns were found across placements, with more restrictive placements assigned to juveniles with more severe offenses, although there remained a considerable degree of variation in offenses represented in each placement type. The pattern of placements was different between genders as well, with female offenders being placed in less restrictive care even more often than their …

Self-Determination Theory And Juvenile Delinquency: A Validation Of A Combined Theory For Understanding Youth In Conflict With The Law, Sibley Y. Hawkins, Forrest A. Novy

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

In this study, we propose an expanded theory of delinquency that integrates social learning, control, and motivationally based explanations of human behavior. We posit that delinquency occurs partly due to attempts to fulfill 3 developmentally necessary psychological needs; auton-omy, competence, and relatedness. Melding elements of 3 theories (Social Control Theory [Hirschi, 1972], General Crime Theory [Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990], and Self Determination Theory [Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000a, 2008]), provides a better understanding of the precursors to delinquency and possible approaches to mitigating their impact. The study examines: (a) the extent to which the 3 basic psychological needs (competence, …

A Content Analysis Of Indirect, Verbal, And Physical Aggression In Television Programs Popular Among School-Aged Girls, Jennifer Ruh Linder, Kelsey Ann Lyle

Faculty Publications

A content analysis of indirect, verbal, and physical aggression was conducted of 77 hours of television programming popular among fifth grade girls. Eighty-eight percent of programs contained aggression. Physical aggression occurred at a rate of 9.6 acts per hour, whereas indirect and verbal aggression occurred at a rate of 3.7 and 2.8 acts per hour, respectively. Rates of aggression varied by gender, age, and attractiveness of perpetrators, as well as by relationship between perpetrator and victim. Additionally, motivation and consequences of aggressive acts varied by form of aggression. Implications of the findings are discussed in light of current research and …

Efficacy Of The Jesness Inventory-Revised Conduct Disorder And Oppositional Defiant Disorder Scales, Terry B. Pinsoneault, Frank R. Ezzo

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

The authors investigated the Conduct Disorder (JR-CD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (JR-ODD) scales developed for the Jesness Inventory-Revised. Participants included 340 youth aged 12 to 18 seen at a juvenile court diagnostic clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. The authors also investigated the previously existing Social Maladjustment (JR-SM) and Asocial Index (JR-ASO) scales. Participants were independently diagnosed as having CD, ODD, Disruptive Behavior Disorder NOS (a milder behavioral disorder), or no diagnosable behavioral disorder. Mean scores varied across the groups in the expected directions for all four scales. JR-CD and JR-ODD were better able to differentiate between their target groups and the …

The Theory Of Cognitive Dissonance: A Reappraisal, Peter A. Metofe

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

The cognitive dissonance theory, as postulated by Festinger (1957), has undergone increased scrutiny since its development. Through a reappraisal of this theory as explicated by other researchers, specifically relying on extant and current research in this theory, coupled with recent developments, this paper provides a context for better understanding of how individuals experience cognitive dissonance and its implications for clinical practice.

Missing And Exploited Children In Jamaica: An Empirical Analysis, Lorna E. Grant

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

This paper is an analysis of missing, abused, and exploited children in Jamaica. I examined the responses of advocate groups and the government to determine the steps to take to protect children who are most vulnerable. I collected data through interviews from the Police National Intelligence Bureau, the Office of the Children's Registry, the Office of Children Advocate, literature review, and the printed media (e.g., The Jamaica Gleaner, The Jamaica Observer, and The Jamaica Star).

"Out Of The Mouths Of Sibs"... A Phenomenological Study Of The Experience Of Being A Well School-Age Sibling Of A Child With A Traumatic Injury, Mary Jo Bugel

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Evolution And Development Of Reasoning And Argumentation: Commentary On Mercier (2011), David Moshman

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

For anyone who loves a strong major thesis—and I do—Mercier’s “Reasoning serves argumentation in children” [this issue] obliges right from the title. And for anyone who loves a carefully structured defense of a provocative perspective—and who does not?—Mercier’s article continues to fill the bill.

The “argumentative theory of reasoning” maintains that “reasoning is a fundamentally social ability” that “has evolved to serve argumentive ends: finding and evaluating arguments in a dialogic context.” There appear to be two distinguishable theses here: first, reasoning serves argumentive ends; second, reasoning has evolved. In their moderate versions, each thesis is true and useful; their …