Developmental Psychology Commons^™

Attitudes Towards Drug And Alcohol Use: Culture And Emerging Adulthood, Sam Daniewicz

Undergraduate Research Symposium 2014

This study examined attitudes toward drug and substance use during emerging adulthood (18-26 years of age), a stage of the life span that works as a transition into adulthood and is defined by exploration and openness. Since drug and substance use among emerging adults is often a subject of current debates, it is important that more research is done about why young people think of certain drugs the way they do. Specifically, this study focused on how perceptions of drug and substance abuse are related to cultural values (individualism/collectivism) during emerging adulthood. To accomplish this goal, attitudes towards drugs in …

Curiosity Killed The Cat: Investigating A Link Between Curiosity And Risk-Taking Propensity, Carolyn E. Gibson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Curiosity, or the drive for information and experiences that motivates exploration, plays a role in intellectual development. Curiosity is perhaps essential to education and intellectual achievement, but curiosity research is limited. Curiosity has been thought a motivation for learning and a cause of non-sanctioned behaviors and behavioral disorders. This prompts a connection with decision-making, specifically risky decision-making, perhaps with curiosity as a motivating force. In Experiment 1, college students were primed with curiosity, then participated in a lab-based behavioral measure of risk-taking, the Balloon Analogue Risk Task, and answered self-report inventories concerning risk-taking and curiosity. In Experiment 2, 4th and …

Risk Taking Behaviors In Emerging Adults And Peer, Sibling & Parental Relationships, Malasri Rani Chaudhery-Malgeri

Wayne State University Dissertations

Research shows emerging adults are more likely than younger and older cohorts to engage in such risky behaviors. However, research on the outcomes of emerging adults and their relations with peers, parents, and siblings is less conclusive. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between emerging adults' perceptions of peers', siblings', and parents' risk-taking behaviors, and risk behavior after controlling for participants' sensation seeking tendencies. This study explored the moderating role of emerging adults' relationships with peers, siblings, and parents in the relation between these models' risk taking behaviors and emerging adults' risk taking behaviors, The mediating …

Exploring The Complexities Of Learning Motivation In Pre-Service Teacher Education Students: A Grounded Theory Approach, Kristin K. Grosskopf

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative, grounded-theory study investigated learning motivation differences among three achievement groupings of undergraduate students enrolled in the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Nine students participated in in-depth interviews that explored their reasons for pursuing their degree, their learning experiences in a university setting, their perceptions about meaningful learning experiences, and the nature of factors that both enhance and challenge their learning motivation. Participant responses conveyed strategies and conditions that were coded and analyzed, and a theoretical model was developed describing causal conditions that underlie students’ motivation to learn, phenomena that arose from those …

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

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

ABSTRACT

A Family Systems Approach To Substance Misuse: An Examination Of Risk And Protective Factors, Jennifer Anne Cutchin

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This purpose of this project was to investigate the interrelationships between family structure, classroom stress, sense of belonging, and substance misuse in college students. Some outcomes of the study were an increased knowledge of substance misuse in college students and the impact of risk and protective factors on substance misuse. One model of family structure is the Circumplex Model of Family Systems. This model consists of three components: family cohesion, adaptability and communication fOIson, Russell, & Sprenkle, 1989). This research was conducted at Old Dominion University using 391 undergraduate college students, aged 18 - 25. It was hypothesized that students …

Parental Use Of Corporal Punishment As Related To Family Environment, Psychological Well-Being, And Personality In College Students, Corrine E. Leary

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The association between use of corporal punishment as a disciplinary technique and specific aspects of the family environment was examined through surveying undergraduate students enrolled in psychology classes at Old Dominion University. Also investigated was the relationship between corporal punishment and certain affective and personality variables. The Conflict Tactics Scale CTSPC-CA was utilized to measure the level of corporal punishment experienced by all 274 participants. However, only those respondents with the 75 highest and 75 lowest corporal punishment scores were compared in statistical analyses. Results indicated a significant difference between the higher and lower corporal punishment groups on the variables …

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 …

Relationships Of Object Relations Functioning, Attachment Security And Self-Representations To The Adult Relatedness Of College Students, Florence Gussoni-Leone

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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A Comparison Of White Male College Students Attending An Urban Black University And An Urban White University: White Racial Identity And Perceived Comfort With Blacks, Cheryl Lorraine Evans

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the difference in White Racial Identity and degree of tolerance for Blacks between two samples of White male undergraduate students attending an urban Black university and those attending an urban White university. The theoretical framework for this study was based in Social Contact Theory as a contributor to racial tolerance and Racial Identity Development Theory as a factor in human growth toward increasing acceptance of diversity. This was a quasi-experimental post-hoc design using intact groups.

The study analyzed the responses of 182 White male undergraduates using three instruments. A Background Questionnaire, designed …