School Psychology Commons^™

Understanding Factors Related To Bystander Intervention In Bullying, Astrid Hernandez, Gaby Davila, Mariam Hanna

Student Research Symposium

Bullying is a complex situation that involves not only those who bully others and those are victimized, but also bystanders. In fact, research suggests that more than 70% of youth report that they have witnessed bullying behaviors in their schools (Bradshaw, Sawyer, & O’Brennan, 2007). Because so many youth report that they see bullying occur, it is important to understand factors that may make some youth more likely to intervene or defend their peers over others. The bystander intervention model of bullying is used to understand the steps that are needed in order to engage in defending behavior and is …

Supporting Student Mental Health During And After Covid-19, David Bryant Naff, Shenita Williams, Jenna Furman, Melissa Lee

MERC Publications

This report by the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) in the VCU School of Education offers a rapid review of research about supporting student mental health as they return to school during COVID-19. It pulls from literature on natural disasters like hurricane Katrina, the psychological impacts of quarantine, and emergent research on the mental health impacts of the Coronavirus. The report is structured to answer three overarching questions: 1) Why is it important to address the mental health needs of students in schools? 2) How can we expect COVID-19 to impact the mental health of students? 3) What are some …

Stability Of The Learning Behaviors Scale, Nikki Davidson

Masters Theses

Learning behaviors are observable actions, habits, and manifestations of attitudes that facilitate learning, such as persevering at difficult tasks, showing interest in academic subjects, demonstrating care and concern about classwork, and graciously accepting feedback (Buchanan, McDermott, & Schaefer, 1998). Assessment of these learning behaviors is an essential first step to effective intervention. It is important to know which learning behaviors to target and the degree of deficit in order to remediate learning problems. The present study examined the medium length (two-month) stability of scores obtained from the Learning Behaviors Scale (McDermott, Green, Francis, & Stott, 1999). Fifty K-8 teacher rater …

Cyberbullying: School Administrators' Perceptions Of Law And Prevalence, And Their Roles In Prevention, Intervention And Discipline, Suzan Gragg Denby

Theses and Dissertations

This study was aimed at investigating secondary school administrators’ experiences with and their perceptions of cyberbullying, as well as their intervention and prevention procedures. As technology has become ubiquitous in our society, students’ use has increased and impacted the school environment. Given the potential for cyberbullying and the negative effects of such, schools harbor the responsibility to prevent and intervene in such occurrences. This can be a tricky process.

This study included 12 administrators of secondary schools across eight school divisions in Virginia. Through an interview process, administrators spoke of their experiences with technology and cyberbullying incidents, and how they …

Credit The Parents? The Impact Of Racial Socialization On African American Students’ Stress-Related Coping And College Adjustment, Briana Bouldin

Theses and Dissertations

Many new stressors emerge in college and have a significant impact on college adjustment. However, little is known about common stressors, their causes, and impact on college adjustment for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This project investigated the extent to which different college stressors impact sleep-related college adjustment, and whether racial socialization and emotion regulation strategies serve as coping strategies that moderate this relationship for HBCU students. The theoretical framework for the study was an adapted version of the Integrative Conceptual Model of Adaptive Socialization (ICMAS; Dunbar et al., 2017). Data were collected via an online survey …

Assessing The Perceived Effectiveness And Acceptability Of Pre-Referral Intervention Team Procedures By School Teams: Continued Validation Of The Pre-Referral Intervention Team, Lindsey A. Finch

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The Pre-Referral Intervention Team Inventory (PRITI) is a 24-item Likert scale created to measure the perceived effectiveness and acceptability of pre-referral teams (PRTs) in a school setting. Initial studies have shown both two-factor and single-factor structures with high internal consistency. Acceptability of team procedures as measured by the PRITI showed expected relationships to the Team Climate Inventory (TCI) and the Revised Teacher Stress Inventory (RTSI). The results of initial studies suggest that the PRITI may be a useful measure for assessing school staff acceptability perceptions of PRT consultation procedures, but further validation is needed. For the current study, the responses …

School Psychologist Self-Care Practices And Burnout Symptoms, Mary Jean Rainsford

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

School psychologists face a host of responsibilities and stressors in their profession. Burnout is a common issue among school psychologists and other helping professionals. Self-care has been noted as a preventative measure against burnout, but there is little extant research on its relationship to burnout. A survey was conducted with currently practicing school psychologists in the United States to find a connection between the presence and frequency of self-care practice and burnout symptoms. The survey found considerable differences in burnout scores between school psychologists who reported practicing self-care, compared to those who did not. Moreover, significant inverse correlations were found …

The Equivalency Of Digital And Paper-Based Administration Of The Wechsler Intellegence Scale For Children-Fifth Edition With Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing Students, Kenneth Reimer

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study explored the equivalence of the digital and paper-based version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 5th Edition (WISC-V) with deaf and hard-ofhearing children. There are a number of psychological tests being administered using both paper and digital formats. There is currently no literature on the validity of using these new digital tests with deaf and hard-of-hearing children. This study used a repeated measures design in which deaf and hard-of-hearing participants took the Figure Weights and Matrix Reasoning subtests of the WISC-V in counterbalanced order. The study found no format effect for the Figure Weights subtest with this …

Conjoint Behavioral Consultation With Latinx Families And Children: What Works For Whom?, Samantha Eastberg

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

Latinx students in the United States are at risk for unmet mental and behavioral health needs (Kataoka, Zhang, & Wells, 2002; Toppelberg, Hollinshead, Collins, & Nieto-Castañon, 2013) and are disproportionately referred for special education and disciplinary consequences (Moreno & Segura-Herrera, 2014). Effective approaches and interventions are needed to address behavioral and socioemotional concerns for Latinx students; Conjoint Behavioral Consultation (CBC) is one such approach. CBC is an indirect problem-solving approach designed to build socioemotional skills and decrease maladaptive behaviors in children (Sheridan & Kratochwill, 2008). Preliminary research demonstrates that CBC is effective for Latinx children and families (Clarke et al., …

Colombian Retrospective Study Of The Association Between Breastfeeding Duration And Eating Behaviors, Elsa Lucia Escalante-Barrios, Sonia Suarez Enciso, Jesús Estrada, Marilyn Anturi Linero, Alejandra Hérdenez

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The current retrospective cross-sectional study included 175 Colombian caregivers of children ranging between 24 and 59 months old (M=47.08, SD=7.08) enrolled in childcare centers located in the Caribbean region. 58% of the children are male, and all of them belong to low-income families. Breastfeeding duration ranged between children’s 0 to 37 months old (M=10.84, SD=8.48); 64 of them had exclusive breastfeeding for during their first 6 months (i.e., no fed with bottle). Results showed that the variance of Food Responsiveness explained by the model was 2% (R2=.02, F(3,161)=1.081, p=.359). Breastfeeding duration did not significantly predict Food Responsiveness (β=-.004, p=.219), as …

Simulating A Computational Biological Model, Rather Than Reading, Elicits Changes In Brain Activity During Biological Reasoning, Caron Clark, Tomáš Helikar, Joseph T. Dauer

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The creation and analysis of models is integral to all scientific disciplines, and modeling is considered a core competency in undergraduate biology education. There remains a gap in understanding how modeling activities may support changes in students’ neural representations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of simulating a model on undergraduates’ behavioral accuracy and neural response patterns when reasoning about biological systems. During brief tutorials, students (n = 30) either simulated a computer model or read expert analysis of a gene regulatory system. Subsequently, students underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while responding to system-specific questions and …

Developing A Brief Behavior Rating Scale For Progress Monitoring Of Depression In School Settings, Evan H. Dart, Prerna G. Arora, Tai Collins, Kevin Stark, Clayton R. Cook, Mylien T. Duong, Carolyn A. Mccarty, Beth Doll

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Frequent formative assessment of students’ functioning, or progress monitoring, is a critical component of multi-tiered systems of support as data inform data-driven decisions about response to treatment. Progress monitoring tools for students’ academic and behavioral functioning are readily available and widely researched; however, despite the documented prevalence of depressive disorders among youth and that schools have been put forth as an ideal location for the delivery of mental health services, there are currently no progress monitoring tools to examine students’ response to interventions that target depression. To address this gap, this study sought to develop a progress monitoring assessment of …

Mothers’ And Fathers’ Self-Regulation Capacity, Dysfunctional Attributions And Hostile Parenting During Early Adolescence: A Process-Oriented Approach, Melissa L. Sturge-Apple, Zhi Li, Meredith Martin, Hannah R. Jones-Gordils, Patrick T. Davies

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The parent-child relationship undergoes substantial reorganization over the transition to adolescence. Navigating this change is a challenge for parents because teens desire more behavioral autonomy as well as input in decision-making processes. Although it has been demonstrated that changes in parental socialization approaches facilitates adolescent adjustment, very little work has been devoted to understanding the underlying mechanisms supporting parents’ abilities to adjust caregiving during this period. Guided by self-regulation models of parenting, the present study examined how parental physiological and cognitive regulatory capacities were associated with hostile and insensitive parent conflict behavior over time. From a process-oriented perspective, we tested …

Mothers’ And Fathers’ Self-Regulation Capacity, Dysfunctional Attributions And Hostile Parenting During Early Adolescence: A Process-Oriented Approach, Melissa L. Sturge-Apple, Zhi Li, Meredith J. Martin, Hannah R. Jones-Gordils, Patrick T. Davies

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The parent-child relationship undergoes substantial reorganization over the transition to adolescence. Navigating this change is a challenge for parents because teens desire more behavioral autonomy as well as input in decision-making processes. Although it has been demon- strated that changes in parental socialization approaches facilitates adolescent adjustment, very little work has been devoted to understand- ing the underlying mechanisms supporting parents’ abilities to adjust caregiving during this period. Guided by self-regulation models of parenting, the present study examined how parental physiological and cognitive regulatory capacities were associated with hostile and insen- sitive parent conflict behavior over time. From a process-oriented …

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Marginalized Populations In The United States: A Research Agenda, Neeta Kantamneni

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

International and national crises often highlight inequalities in the labor market that disproportionately affect individuals from marginalized backgrounds. The COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting changes in society due to social distancing measures, has showcased inequities in access to decent work and experiences of discrimination resulting in many of the vulnerable populations in the United States experiencing a much harsher impact on economic and work-related factors. The purpose of this essay is to describe how the COVID-19 pandemic may differentially affect workers of color, individuals from low-income backgrounds, and women in complex ways. First, this essay will discuss disproportionate representation of …

Does The Spiritual Values/Religion Subscale Of The Self-Description Questionnaire Iii Function Differentially Across Heterosexual And Non-Heterosexual Young Adults? A Measurement Invariance Study, Thai Q. Ong, Deborah L. Bandalos, Susan M. Swearer

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

We evaluated the dimensionality and measurement invariance of the Spiritual Values/Religion (SVR) subscale from the Self-Description Questionnaire III across heterosexual and non-heterosexual young adults. We found a one-factor model provided adequate fit to the data for each group, with the SVR items exhibiting configural, metric, and scalar invariance across the two groups. Given that we established measurement invariance, we examined the latent mean difference on the construct and found the heterosexual group reported significantly higher levels of spiritual value/ religion than the non-heterosexual group. Our results provided empirical support for the theorized factor structure of the SVR items and the …

Differential Effects Of Self- Vs. External-Regulation On Learning Approaches, Academic Achievement, And Satisfaction In Undergraduate Students, Jesús De La Fuente, Paul Sander, Douglas Kauffman, Meryem Yılmaz Soylu

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The aim of this research was to determine the degree to which undergraduate students’ learning approach, academic achievement and satisfaction were determined by the combination of an intrapersonal factor (self-regulation) and a interpersonal factor (contextual or regulatory teaching). The hypothesis proposed that greater combined regulation (internal and external) would be accompanied by more of a deep approach to learning, more satisfaction and higher achievement, while a lower level of combined regulation would determine a surface approach, less satisfaction and lower achievement. Within an ex post facto design by selection, 1036 university students completed validated questionnaires using an online tool. Several …

Addressing Students’ Mental Health Needs In Faculty-Led Study Abroad Courses, Elizabeth Niehaus, Angela Bryan, Matthew J. Nelson, Kaleb Briscoe

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

The increased enrollment of students with mental health needs in U.S. higher education, paired with increasing emphasis on study abroad participation has led campus mental health professionals to consider how their services might extend to serve students with mental health needs who are studying abroad. When it comes to faculty led courses, instructors can play a key role in providing on-the-ground support for students experiencing mental health challenges. The findings from this study provide key insights that college mental health professionals can use to better understand and support these instructors as they serve on the front lines of addressing students’ …

Innovation Within Regulations: Gaining Insight On Cultivating Employee-Led Innovation In California Public-Sector Organizations, Rebecca N. Franklin

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The inquiry concerned gaining insights into environmental elements needed within California public-sector organizations to increase employees’ willingness to share innovative ideas. Although research exists regarding the need for service innovation and employees as fruitful sources of innovative ideas, there have been limited studies concerning public-sector organizations and the best method to solicit employee ideas. The data collection for this qualitative research study consisted of a series of interviews with front-line, non-supervisory civil servants. The results provide insights and information on how public-sector organizations may foster a culture that promotes and encourages employee-led innovation. The themes that emerged were (a) transparency …

Construct Validity Of The Behavior Assessment System For Children-Third Edition Teacher Rating Scales (Basc-3 Trs): Comparisons With The Adjustment Scales For Children And Adolescents (Asca), Shannon Burback

Masters Theses

The Behavior Assessment Scale for Children-Third Edition Teacher Rating Scale Child Form (BASC-3 TRS-C) and the Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents (ASCA) are both teacher rating scales which may be used by school psychologist to assess youth behavior problems. The BASC, BASC-2, and BASC-3 have limited replicated research of the studies reported in their respective manuals. Therefore, it was important to empirically compare the BASC-3 TRS-C with the ASCA to examine construct validity (convergent, discriminant, and divergent) as there were, at present, no published studies replicating BASC-3 Manual research. The present study analyzed BASC-3 TRS-C and ACSA ratings which …

Middle School And High School Educators’ Knowledge And Acceptability Of Praise, Zachary Yehling

Masters Theses

Praise is a simple strategy, that when used correctly reduces student inappropriate behavior. Furthermore, praise is a key strategy used within the School-wide Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (SWPBIS) framework. All staff are expected to participate in SWPBIS and therefore, it is important for staff to know how use praise effectively. However, few studies have examined educators’ knowledge of effective praise use. In the current study, 201 educators completed the Praise Knowledge Assessment of Teachers and Educators (PKATE) and the Behavior Intervention Rating System for Praise (BIRS-P). The PKATE was created by the author to assess educators’ knowledge of effective praise …

A Pilot Study On The Effects Of Comparative Feedback And Performance On Students’ Self-Efficacy And Self-Esteem, Claire Schneider

Masters Theses

This study compared the effects that academic performance and comparative feedback have on student self-efficacy and self-esteem. Through mobile device polling, participants were able to complete in-class multiple-choice conceptual questions. Participants included 35 college students in two psychology classes assigned to a control and experimental group. For the control group, the class was shown a graph of student responses following each question and the experimental group was not shown how their peers performed. This allowed individuals in the control group to compare their own scores to peer scores while the experimental condition was not provided the comparative feedback. Data were …

Teachers’ Use Of Diverse Praise: A Middle And High School Sample, Aubrey Toosley

Masters Theses

The current study examined teachers’ use of diverse praise or the use of verbal statements or gestures of approval that are delivered in a variety of distinguishable ways in response to desired student behavior. Verbatim general praise and behavior-specific praise data collected during the 2017-18 academic year were analyzed from a larger study where a total of 1,320 observed minutes were collected across 66 middle and high school classrooms. Teachers used an average of 1.7 total diverse praise categories per observation. Both middle and high school teachers used more general diverse praise categories compared to behavior-specific diverse praise categories. The …

Perceptions Of Academic Achievement In A Community College Sample, Devon Burg

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Self-reported GPA is often used in academic achievement research when gathering GPA as a variable, though it is not always completely accurate. Previous studies have shown that actual GPA affects self-report as those with higher GPAs tend to be more accurate. Those with lower GPAs tend to inflate their self-reported GPA. Race has also been identified as a variable that affects self-reported GPA as White students tend to be more accurate than non-White students. Gender has had mixed outcomes with accuracy of self-reported GPA.

Previous research showing self-reported GPA to be a valid measure of GPA has used samples from …

Workplace Dynamics: Exploring Views, Impressions, And Preferences Of Colleagues With Diverse Backgrounds And Attributes, Emily Harris Broadhurst

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The general purpose of this study is to better understand stigmatized views of mental health conditions in the current social climate. In order to assess changes in current stigma levels, valid measurement tools are needed to make more accurate assessments. Many existing tools used to assess stigma levels present validity issues due to reporting bias, specifically social desirability bias. Researchers suggest that purposefully omitting diagnostic labeling helps to eliminate biased answers. In order to measure stigmatizing beliefs while minimizing the threat of social desirability, this study utilized an experimental design that compared mental health conditions with medical conditions. The Adjusted …

An Ecological Momentary Assessment Of Self-Improved And Self-Evaluation Body Comparisons: Associations With College Women's Body Dissatisfaction And Exercise, Rachel I. Macintyre, Kristin E. Heron, Abby L. Braitman, Danielle Arigo

Psychology Faculty Publications

Upward body comparisons are prevalent among college women and associated with body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. However, less is known about distinguishing features of the comparisons themselves as they occur in daily life. The primary purpose of the present study was to examine whether two types of upward body comparisons previously studied experimentally (self-improvement and self-evaluation) are differentially associated with body- and exercise-related outcomes in real-life settings using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Undergraduate women (N = 74) between 18-25 years (Mage = 20.4, SD = 1.63) completed five surveys on smartphones daily for seven days. EMA measures …

The Inclusive Nature Of Mindfulness-Based Practice: Does Executive Functioning Play A Role In Children's Mindful Experience?, Kaitlyn Butterfield

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

We examined the effects of a six-week mindfulness program in order to assess how executive function level played a role in students’ mindful experience. The effects of the mindfulness program were evaluated according to prospective outcomes across students’ level of executive function, in comparison to an active control group. Classrooms were randomly assigned to a mindfulness-based program or a health-based active control group. Pre- and early adolescent students in the 5th to 8th grade (N = 52) from two MindfulMe! program classrooms and two HealthyMe! program classrooms (active control group) completed self-reported pretest and post-test measures to assess mindful attention …

Examining The Moderating Role Of Promotive Factors On The Relationship Between Bullying Victimization And Suicidal Behavior, Rachel Simonds

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bullying is one of the most common challenges that youth in the United States face that can often have negative impacts on children’s lives and mental health. One potential negative outcome of bullying victimization is increased risk for suicidal behavior, including suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Implementing interventions and supports for youth involved in bullying has the ability to decrease risk for suicidal ideation and suicide attempts.

Previous literature supports that those involved in bullying are at an increased risk for both suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. Evidence supports promotive factors that help minimize negative outcomes those who are involved …

Perceived Helicopter Parenting And Self-Determination Theory In Emerging Adulthood, Emily Hivick

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Self-determination theory encompasses three different elements, competence, autonomy and social belongingness (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Helicopter parenting is defined as extreme involvement in a child’s life to the point of making decisions for them while also being associated with high levels of parental support and high feelings of parental-child closeness (Padilla-Walker & Nelson, 2012). Research has shown that helicopter parenting has been associated with psychological and behavioral problems in young adults, (Odenweller, Booth-Butterfield, & Weber, 2014). The current study investigated the association between perceived helicopter parenting and self-determination theory components along with intrinsic motivation and academic and extracurricular engagement in …

Mindfulness And Well-Being: A Mixed Methods Study Of Bilingual Guided Meditation In Higher Education, Chieh Li, Qinghong Ann Cai, Simone Elias, Linda Wilson-Jones

Journal of Research Initiatives

This mixed-methods study investigated the acceptability and outcomes of a mindful approach to teaching a foreign language in higher education institutions. The approach included Bilingual Guided Meditation (BGM^®) in the classroom to reduce students’ anxiety and foster a positive mindset. The BGM program combines bilingual positive suggestions with guided meditation and relaxing background music. Results indicated that the BGM may reduce anxiety and can improve academic performance.