Developmental Psychology Commons^™

The Effects Of Parental Upbringing On Collegiate Sexual Activity, Courtney Watson

XULAneXUS

The present research examined the effects of parental openness and support on the sexual activity of college students. The effects of parental reaction to collegiate sexual activity were also examined. It was hypothesized that students with supportive and open parents would engage in sexually responsible behavior. On the other hand, students with parents who were not open and unsupportive were expected to describe a negative parental reaction to their sexual histories. Although the study found no significant effects in relation to sexual activity, results indicated significant effects of parental openness on parental reaction. Further research is needed to examine a …

Exploring Mothers’ And Fathers’ Relationships With Sons Versus Daughters: Links To Adolescent Adjustment In Mexican Immigrant Families, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Melissa Y. Delgado, Lorey A. Wheeler

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

Drawing on ecological and gender socialization perspectives, this study examined mothers’ and fathers’ relationships with young adolescents, exploring differences between mothers and fathers, for sons versus daughters, and as a function of parents’ division of paid labor. Mexican immigrant families (N = 162) participated in home interviews and seven nightly phone calls. Findings revealed that mothers reported higher levels of acceptance toward adolescents and greater knowledge of adolescents’ daily activities than did fathers, and mothers spent more time with daughters than with sons. Linkages between parent-adolescent relationship qualities and youth adjustment were moderated by adolescent gender and parents’ division …

Loneliness, Friendship, And Self-Esteem : First-Year College Students' Experience Of Using Facebook, Lai Lei Lou

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

ABSTRACT

Processes Of Disposition Development In K--5 Teachers, Deborah A. Obara

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Educators concur that teacher competency requires more than teaching knowledge and skills; competency requires appropriate professional dispositions. The development of professional dispositions is an expected outcome of teacher education programs. Since 2002, program accreditation has been contingent on documentation that prospective teachers have met national standards for dispositions. The body of educational research on disposition assessment has been growing. Research on disposition learning and development, however, has been impeded by the prevailing conceptualization of dispositions as fixed traits resistant to change. The present study conceptualized dispositions as malleable constructs within a theoretical framework that synthesized a cognitive model of thinking …

Comparing Parent Ratings Of Referred Preschoolers On The Child Behavior Checklist And Behavior Assessment System For Children - Second Edition, Jennifer L. Bour

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

It is essential for school psychologists assessing children to use instruments that are reliable and valid. The focus of the current study is to determine whether or not the parent preschool versions of two popular behavior rating instruments, the Behavior Assessment System for Children – Second Edition (BASC-2; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000), are consistent measures of similarly-named behavioral constructs in preschool-aged children. Parents of 95 preschoolers referred to a nonprofit child evaluation clinic because of behavioral or developmental concerns completed both the BASC-2 and CBCL during an initial evaluation session.

The …

The Role Of The Principal In Leading School Improvement, Marilyn Jane Sudsberry

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to 1) determine the role the principal plays in leading school improvement, and 2) examine the relationship between change implemented and student achievement. Three high-performing, high-needs Title l schools and four low-performing, high-needs Title I schools were identified through lndimm Department of Education data. The high-performing schools met Adequate Yearly Progress in 2006, whereas the low-performing schools did not and were in at least year two of the school improvement cycle. Structured interviews were conducted with the principal and with teams of teachers. The interviews, along with field observations and analysis of the school …

Evolving Learning: Educators’ Inner Experiences Of Engaging In Service-Learning With Undergraduates, Cara Meixner

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Evolving Learning: Educators’ Inner Experiences of Engaging in Service-Learning with Undergraduates is an exploratory, qualitative study of faculty members’ learning, growth, and development in service-learning contexts. Through two, interwoven forms of constructivist grounded theory – situational mapping and dimensional analysis – this dissertation brought voice to a once ‘private’ perspective, making explicit what all is happening as participants make meaning of their experiences engaging in service-learning with college students. A three-phased series of recursive, comparative interviews and concurrent analysis resulted in the development of a grounded theory best captured by a core, organizing perspective – evolving learning. This perspective is …

Portraits: Discovering Art As A Transformative Learning Process At Mid-Life, William Scott Wallace

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study explores art as a transformative learning process at mid-life. As adults individuate as they develop into middle age and move towards integration, they may experience transformative learning, a process that can lead to a much broader and deeper life view. Most studies have viewed transformative learning as a process that occurs through critical reflection, (Mezirow, 1991, 2000), possible disorienting dilemmas, (Mezirow, 1991, 2000, and Daloz, 2000), influence of personality type (Cranton, 1994), soulfulness (Dirkx), and other means of awareness. While researchers acknowledge the possibilities of experiencing transformative learning through the arts, a review of the empirical literature reveals …

Teaching Children With Autism Imitation Skills As Means To Increase Communication, Chad J. Ryan

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It has been well documented that many children with autism, especially nonverbal children, exhibit imitation deficits that impact their abilily lo develop effective communication skills. Applied Behavior Analysis has been shown to be an effective strategy for teaching many skills to children with autism und other disabilities. However, with regard to imitation training, there is limited research on effeclive strategics to develop these skills. This paper provides an analysis of the apparent imitation deficit for many children with autism. It includes what the specific imitation deficits are for children with autism and how these deficits are different compared to children …

Social Influence Effects On Romantic Relationships Of College Students, Christine Mary Banach

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social influence is defined as "the influences that people have upon the beliefs and behavior of others" (Aronson, 2004, p. 5). A theoretical model that highlights the importance of social influence pressures and in particular, variability in response to these pressures is known as social identity theory. Social identity is defined as "that part of an individual's self-concept which derives from knowledge of membership of a social group (or groups) together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership" (Harris & Cameron, 2005, p. 159). The current study explored the potential importance of social groups, especially peers, on …

The Social Construction Of Authorship: An Investigation Of Subjectivity And Rhetorical Authority In The College Writing Classroom, Johannah Rodgers

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Although we use the term author on a daily basis to refer to certain individuals, bodies of work, and systems of ideas, as Michel Foucault and other critics have pointed out, attempting to answer the question “What is an Author?” is by no means a simple proposition. And, starting from the position that there is no single, or definitive answer to this complex question, this dissertation seeks to contribute to the ongoing discussion of the genealogy of authorship by investigating the ways in which conceptions of the author have informed models of the writing subject in the field of rhetoric …

Evaluating Increasing And Decreasing Prompt Hierarchies With Developmentally Disabled Adults, Sophie Rubin

Masters Theses

Individuals with developmental disabilities were taught conditional discriminations in the form of an auditory visual matching to sample task using two teaching strategies: the increasing prompt hierarchy and the decreasing prompt hierarchy. A multielement design was used to compare these prompt hierarchies in terms of accuracy, rate of acquisition, number of errors, number of edible reinforcers, and number of praise statements delivered. The results indicate that the increasing prompt hierarchy consistently resulted in an increased number of steps, errors, edibles, and praise statements compared to the decreasing prompt hierarchy. However, differing results were obtained on the accuracy measure across participants. …

School Violence, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

The purpose of this chapter is threefold. First, the chapter summarizes what is known about the prevalence of violence and weapons in U.S. schools. Second, the chapter examines theories that bear on school violence and the empirical evidence linked to those theories. Third, the chapter looks at attempts to prevent school violence and, consequently, the suffering school violence causes.

Parental Influence On Children's Ethnic Identity Among Chinese Americans, Sham'ah Md. Yunus

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the influence of Chinese American parents on their children's ethnic identity. Two research questions were designed to examine these relationships: Does the personal construct of Chinese American parents influence their children's ethnic identity and does the length of stay in the United States of Chinese American parents influence children's ethnic identity? Parental influence was identified as parents' ethnic behaviors, parents' ethnic values, parents' personal construct, and their length of stay in the United States. The 93 families who participated in this study were purposely selected from three Chinese language schools from a Midwestern city of the United …

A Comparison Study Between Writing On Handheld Computers And Pencil-Paper In The Elementary Classroom, Ling-Chin Ko

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the difference in writing effort associated with two methods, pencil and paper and handheld computers in the third grade classroom. The methods were compared in terms of the quality of the stories written, and the length of the stories in number of words, and time on task during writing of the stories. Three hypotheses were defined to identify the effect of writing efforts associated with the two methods, two classes and the effect on the interaction between the methods and the class. All three hypotheses were analyzed with a two-way MANOVA test. …

Effectiveness Of Male Special Education Placements In A Residential Program, Joanne Virginia Collins

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze the academic and behavioral progress of male special education students in a residential program and determine whether decisions to place them in the program were justified. A comparison of students' archival data that consisted of pre and post assessments for academic adjustment and behavioral adjustment was the method chosen to accomplish this purpose. Eighty students between the ages of 8 years and 1 7 years were selected from an Indiana residential facility for males. They were classified as either residential or day treatment students. Their archival data was collected from assessments that …

Adolescents' Self-Concepts Attending School In A Residential Setting For The Gifted, Teresa Garrett Baker

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between academic selfconcept and academic achievement of gifted students in a residential setting. Adolescence can prove to be a difficult journey for many students and particularly gifted students. To explore the concept of "self' at a multidimensional level the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents ([SPPA], Harter, 1988) was the instrument selected to examine the respondents' perceived competency in specific domains. Harter developed the SPPA as an upward extension of the Self-Perception for Children questionnaire (Harter, 1986). The purpose of the development of this earlier measure was to have an instrument that …

Differences In Self-Esteem Between Genders: A Look At Middle School, Beth S. Michael

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Most theorists suggest that the developement of self-esteem is found through interactions and experiences. However, these experiences may greatly differ between males and females in early adolescence because of developmental differences between the genders. Socialization may also play an important role in the self-esteem differences between genders. Overall, males and females have different developmental levels at the middle school age. Early or late development may impact the adolescent's self-esteem. This study will examine the differences in self-esteem between genders in middle school adolescents.

The Relationship Between Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy And Sense Of Belonging In Young Adolescents At School, Elisabeth Freeman

Theses : Honours

Research emphasises the importance of adolescents' psychological sense of belonging in relation to academic, motivational, psychosocial, developmental, and behavioural outcomes, particularly during transition to high school. However, adolescents' adjustment during transition period does not occur in isolation, it occurs in conjunction with normative biopsychosocial change-related effects. As most of adolescents biopsychosocial needs are negotiated in high school, the school's social context assumes a fundamental role in facilitating successful adolescent adjustment, and school belonging. Features of the high school context such as perceived peer, parent, and teacher support have an influence on adolescents' perceived belonging. Similarly, the educational values, in terms …

The Reliability And Validity Of The Behavior Assessment System For Children In A Rural Setting, Melvin Lee Titus

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) is a behavior rating scale for children from the ages of two and one-half to eighteen-years-old. The BASC original standardization was not representative of 4- to 6-years-old children, particularly in the rural Midwest. The standardization also did not adequately sample children with speech/language impairments. The present study assessed the BASC's reliability and validity (construct and criterion) in comparison to a current BASC, Achenbach's Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Conners' Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS) sample. The current BASC study used a sample of rural, 4- to 6-year-old normally-developing children and children with speech/language …

Caregiving Through A Relationship Lens In Reggio Emilia And A Lab School In Canada, Carolyn P. Edwards, Alex Dougherty

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

In recent years developmental scientists have described the tasks of relationship-building that contribute to early development: security and attachment, self-recognition and validation, mutuality and companionship, passionate experience, identification and group belonging, and giving care to others. Relationship-building begins within the family, then, in extending it outside the family, early education can play a key role. This selection contains two parts. The first piece describes the kinds of benefits these widening relationships can provide for very young children and outlines some specific steps that educators in Reggio Emilia, Italy, have taken to ensure the best, most "amiable" environments. The second piece, …

Secure Attachments And Peer Relationships : The Effects Of Secure Mother-Child Attachments On Peer Relationships In Pre-School, Cassandra Damlo

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Academic Achievement Of College Underclassmen As A Function Of Student Ethnicity And Parenting Style, Meghan Marie Sabin

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

One hundred and fifty-seven (N = 157) undergraduate students rated their mothers' and fathers' parenting styles (i.e., authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive parenting). Information on GPA, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES) was also obtained. Based on the literature, it was hypothesized that African American students from lower SES backgrounds would report lower GPAs than White college students from higher or lower SES backgrounds. Second, it was hypothesized that White and African American students from lower SES backgrounds would report lower GPAs. Third, it was hypothesized that African American students would report lower GPAs than White students. It was also hypothesized that …

More Than Just Imaginative: A Qualitative Study Of Values In Literature For Young Children From The 20th Century, Anna L. Cates

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation endeavors to address the issue of proper methodology for character education. Although character education enjoys wide support among teachers, parents, and society at large, the proper manner with which to accomplish this educational objective continues to be debated. Literature-based approaches to character education are among the most popular means of presenting values to students. This popularity has prompted scholars to closely scrutinize the value patterns in literature for young people. In part, the resulting studies have aimed to ascertain the worthiness of literature itself as a medium for introducing discussion about values and related issues. The method used …

Self-Concept And Behavior: Changes As A Result Of Participation In Outward Bound, Douglas Vail Campbell

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Self-concept is an area of psychology that has received a large amount of attention in recent years. The idea of self-concept subsumes a number of related concepts including identity, self-esteem, and perceived self-efficacy. The clinical implications of self-concept disturbance and possible methods of altering self-concept are discussed. The current study was designed to evaluate several hypotheses about the way in which selfconcept may be changed by investigating the potential impact of Outward Bound on its individual participants. The present study examined the effect of the Outward Bound program, a wilderness educational program, on the self-concept and behavior of a group …

Families And Learning In Classified And Non-Classified First Graders, Howard Baigas

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

.

The Music Channel: Integrating The Harp Into The Communication Process Of Children With Autism, Lori A. Kissinger

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study was undertaken to determine if the harp could be used as a communication channel for children with autism. The two research questions guiding this study were: (1) Will a child with autism utilize the harp to try to communicate a message? And (2) if the harp is utilized by a child with autism as a communication channel, can the receiver decode the intended message? Two qualitative case studies using constant comparison analysis were conducted over a six-day observation period. Five predominant responses emerged: (1) initial reaction to the instrument, (2) bonding with the instrument, (3) socialization through …

The Relationship Between Receptive Language Skills And School Readiness, Patricia Slack Hines

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of the current study was to explore the relationship between language and academic readiness. The current study included 56 preschool children. Specifically, 9 two year olds participated, 18 three year olds participated, 21 four year olds, and 8 five year olds participated. Twenty- three were female and twenty-three were male. Each child was administered the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT III), followed by both the School Readiness Composite (SRC) of the Bracken Basic Concept Scale – Revised or BBCS-R. A Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated for the relationship between the standard scores of the PPVT III, and the …

The Relationship Between Social Skills And Language Acquisition In West Virginia, Stephanie Angel Childers

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The interaction between social skills and language acquisition has been a topic of interest in recent years. Current research has suggested children with social deficits are at increased risk for language problems, and vice versa (Gallegher, 1999). As part of the West Virginia Educare initiative, children ages two and a half to five years were randomly selected and individually evaluated using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition and the Carolina Curriculum for Preschoolers with Special Needs to assess language comprehension and social skills. A Pearson Product Moment correlation on 42 study participants yielded a correlation of -.083 with a significance …

The Relationship Between Attention And Memory And School Readiness In West Virginia Preschoolers, Brenda Carol Parker

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The current study investigated the relationship between memory and attention and academic readiness in children between the ages of 2 ½ and 5. Forty-two preschool children were involved in the study and were selected from childcare centers participating in the Educare project in West Virginia. All subjects were tested with the Bracken and the Carolina Curriculum. The Bracken measured the academic readiness and the Carolina Curriculum measured memory and attention levels of the children. The results indicated a positive correlation between memory and attention and academic readiness. The findings supported the position that there is a positive correlation between mastery …