Family, Life Course, and Society Commons^™

Teacher Questioning Practices In Early Childhood Science Activities, Erin Hamel, Yuenjung Joo, Soo-Young Hong, Anna Burton

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

This study explores teachers’ use of questioning during collaborative science exploratory activities. We classified a total of 755 questions across 14 preschool science lessons implemented by four teachers by type (open- or closed-ended) and content (science- or non-science-related) while also recording the intended recipient. Results revealed that, overall, teachers primarily asked closed-ended questions to children during preschool science activities. While closed-ended questions outnumbered open-ended, science-related questions were more likely to be open-ended questions. We noticed this trend whether the teacher directed the question to a group of children or an individual child. Gender of the child recipient was also explored …

Food Program Participation Influences Nutrition Practices In Early Care And Education Settings, Bethany D. Williams, Susan B. Sisson, Irene Padasas, Dipti Dev

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Objective: To determine differences by Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) participation on nutrition requirements and best practices and barriers to implementing both in early care and education programs (ECEs) stratified by context (centers vs home-based ECEs).

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Setting: Three-thousand and fourteen licensed Nebraska ECEs in 2017.

Participants: One-thousand three hundred forty-five ECEs.

Main Outcome Measures: Director-reported nutrition practices in classrooms serving children aged 2-5 years (8 requirements for foods served, 5 best practices for foods served, and 14 best practices for mealtime behaviors).

Analysis: Chi-square analysis adjusted for multiple comparisons.

Results: Of the sample, 86.8% participated …

Improving Breastfeeding Environments And Feeding Practices In Family Child Care Homes With The Go Nap Sacc Program, Kara Kohel, Holly Hatton-Bowers, Natalie A. Williams, Dipti Dev, Donnia Behrends, Emily Hulse, Zainab Rida, Holly Dingman, Danae Dinkel, Liz Gebhart

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Purpose: Breastfeeding and responsive feeding are important practices that support the health of infants and women. In the United States, breastfeeding continuation rates remain lower than recommended, and working women face additional challenges with breastfeeding continuation. Providers in a family child care setting are uniquely positioned to support and provide important resources to families in their breastfeeding and infant feeding practices.

Methods: The Go NAP SACC program was designed to improve the nutrition and physical activity environments and practices in child care settings serving infants and young children. This evaluation focuses on Breastfeeding and Infant Feeding in Nebraska Family Child …

Competency-Based Training In The Supervision Of Relational Telemental Supervision, Paul Springer, Richard Bischoff, Nathan C. Taylor, Vanessa Neuhaus, Cassandra Leow

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Supervision has long been considered essential to developing effective mental health practice, especially among COAMFTE accredited training programs. But with telemental health rapidly being accepted as a standard treatment medium for couple and family therapy, there is little guidance about how to supervise clinicians who are engaged in telemental health practice. This paper presents an important step toward increasing the effectiveness of the supervision of therapists who are delivering relational therapies online through the identification of relational competencies unique to this delivery medium. These competencies have been adopted and integrated into a COAMFTE accredited master's degree program that has been …

Psychological Distress Prevalence And Associated Stressors And Supports Among Urban-Displaced Congolese Adults In Kenya, Julie A. Tippens, Holly Hatton-Bowers, Ryan Honomichl, Lorey Wheeler, Helen M. Miamidian, Kirstie L. Bash, Michelle C Howell Smith, Dulo Nyaoro, J. Joshua Byrd, Samuel E. Packard, Nicolette I. Teufel-Shone

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Background: There is limited understanding of the prevalence of psychological distress and associated stressors and supports among displaced adults in low- and middle-income first asylum countries.

Method: This article reports the findings of a cross-sectional study. We recruited 245 Congolese adults (18–80 years) residing in Nairobi, Kenya using snowball sampling. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire consisting of sociodemographic characteristics, the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20), and a locally developed stressors and supports survey. We used multivariable logistic regression to examine associations among sociodemographic, stressor, and support variables and the likelihood of experiencing psychological distress.

Results: More than half of the …

Supporting Children’S Healthy Development During Mealtime In Early Childhood Settings, Adrien D. Malek‑Lasater, Kyong‑Ah Kwon, Diane M. Horm, Susan B. Sisson, Dipti Dev, Sherri L. Castle

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency of and relationship between responsive feeding practices used during early childhood education (ECE) mealtimes and high-quality teaching practices and teacher characteristics. We found variation in teachers’ use of responsive feeding practices. Teachers were more often observed using role modeling than supporting eating self-regulation. Programs that implemented family style meal service had a generally higher use of responsive feeding practices. Overall, we found positive associations between high-quality teaching practices and responsive feeding practices. Teachers’ Head Start status was associated with teaching practices and role modeling during mealtime. Teachers’ education and salary …

Strengthening The Quality Of Preschool, Childcare, And Parenting, Soo-Young Hong, Holly Hatton-Bowers, Lisa Knoche

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Early childhood is a critical period during which children learn to regulate and manage emotions and actions, develop and maintain social relationships, and interact effectively with others (Scott-Little, Kagan, & Frelow, 2006). Children who know how to use appropriate behavioral and emotional strategies and effectively interact with others are more likely to develop positive relationships and be accepted by peers later on (Odom, McConnell, & Brown, 2008). Emotional well-being and competence is one of the key areas of development that goes through significant changes over the early childhood period (Hyson, Copple, & Jones, 2006; Keane & Calkins, 2004), and thus, …

Mealtime Emotional Climate And Child Health: A Systematic Review, Jasmin Smith, Jaclyn A. Saltzman, Dipti Dev

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Background: Positive mealtime emotional climate (MEC) has been linked to better nutrition, psychosocial, literacy and academic outcomes, and fewer behavior problems. However, MEC has been defined in a variety of ways across studies, limiting the ability to synthesize findings and plan future research.

Objective: To identify which child characteristics are associated with MEC and to determine how previous studies have measured MEC.

Methods: We searched three databases (1980–2020) for peer-reviewed articles measuring MEC. Inclusion criteria required at least one child-level outcome related to physical, nutritional, or developmental health; children aged 0–18 years old; and quantitative data using cohort, case-control, intervention, …

Positive Youth Development: Parental Warmth, Values, And Prosocial Behavior In 11 Cultural Groups, Concetta Pastorelli, Antonio Zuffiano, Jennifer E. Lansford, Eriona Thartori, Marc H. Bornstein, Lei Chang, Kirby Deater-Deckard, Laura Di Giunta, Kenneth A. Dodge, Sevtap Gurdal, Qin Liu, Qian Long, Paul Oburu, Ann T. Skinner, Emma Sorbing, Laurence Steinberg, Sombat Tapanya, Liliana Maria Uribe Tirado, Saengduean Yotanyamaneewong, Suha M. Al-Hassan, Liane Peña Alampay, Dario Bacchini

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

The current cross-cultural study aimed to extend research on parenting and children’s prosocial behavior by examining relations among parental warmth, values related to family obligations (i.e., children’s support to and respect for their parents, siblings, and extended family), and prosocial behavior during the transition to adolescence (from ages 9 to 12). Mothers, fathers, and their children (N = 1107 families) from 8 countries including 11 cultural groups (Colombia; Rome and Naples, Italy; Jordan; Kenya; the Philippines; Sweden; Thailand; and African Americans, European Americans, and Latin Americans in the United States) provided data over 3 years in 3 waves (M_{age …}

The Association Of Pregnancy Control, Emotions, And Beliefs With Pregnancy Desires, Meredith G. Manze, Diana R. Romero, Prabal De, Josette Hartnett, Lynn Roberts

Publications and Research

Context

Standard pregnancy intentions measures do not always align with how people approach pregnancy. Studies that have investigated beyond a binary framework found that those with “ambivalent” feelings towards pregnancy are less likely to use contraception consistently, but the reasons for this are unclear. We sought to gain a nuanced understanding of pregnancy desires, and how perceptions about pregnancy are associated with contraceptive use.

Methods

We used non-probability quota sampling based on sex, age, and geographic region for a web-based survey of heterosexual men and women, aged 21–44 years, who could become pregnant/impregnate and were not currently pregnant (n = …

The Effect Of Virtual Learning On Parents During Covid-19, Sheila Reeves

Master's Theses

Parents were affected in numerous ways by the sudden shut down of schools and switch to virtual learning in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of these ways included use of technology, income, race, time, mental health, family life and parent insecurities. This study investigates parents' perspectives of some ways they were affected in regards to the virtual learning of their child(ren). All parents with children enrolled at Madison Campus Elementary School were invited to participate in the study, as they had at least one year's experience with their child(ren) in virtual learning.

Data was collected using a …

Lgbt Employment Nondiscrimination: Debating Sexuality And Citizenship, Kelsy Burke, Emily Kazyak, Alice Millermacphee

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Introduction — Nebraska is 1 of 26 states that did not protect LGBT people from employment discrimination prior to Bostock vs. Clayton County. This article examines debates in Nebraska about LGBT employment nondiscrimination as a window into how citizenship is defined in relation to sexuality and gender identity.

Methods — We performed qualitative analyses on (1) the 2018 Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey of 902 respondents who shared their opinions on employment nondiscrimination legislation for LGBT individuals in close- and open-ended questions and (2) transcripts of the 2017 Nebraska state legislature debate of a bill that would have added …

The Relationships Between Adolescents’ Future Aspirations And Postsecondary Enrollment: Finite Mixture Models, Chu Yi Lu Qiu

Theses and Dissertations

This study took person-centered statistical approaches to explore the multidimensional construct of adolescents' future aspirations and its associations with three covariates (i.e., gender, race, and SES) and a binary, distal outcome measure, postsecondary enrollment. Fourteen survey items representing the multidimensionality of adolescents' future aspirations were extracted from two-waves of Educational Longitudinal Study:2002 student data. The multidimensionality or the latent construct of the adolescents' future aspirations were explored using two finite mixture models called latent class analysis (LCA) and latent transition analysis (LTA). Based on the students' response patterns on the fourteen indicators, three latent classes representing three levels of aspiration …

Ethnic Conflict In Côte D’Ivoire, Ayouba Doumbia

Dissertations and Theses

Since the early days of independence, the African continent has been the theatre of many ethnic conflicts. While people, in general, assume these conflicts to be political and blame the conflicts on authoritarian regimes, they dismissed the fact that conflict between ethnicities is a phenomenon that has occurred for hundreds of years and in all corners of the Earth. Entire countries have been devastated by years of ethnic strife. Once ethnic conflict breaks out, it is difficult to stop. Conflicts in the Balkans, Rwanda, Chechnya, Iraq, and Darfur are among the deadliest examples from the late 20^th and early …

Student-Parenting During A Global Pandemic: A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Experience Of Community College Student-Parents, Malinde Althaus

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Approximately one-quarter of undergraduate students are parents or guardians of dependent children. While having similar or higher GPAs, student-parents have lower rates of graduation than peers without children and often struggle with finances, childcare, and scheduling. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced many new stressors to our lives. In addition to the mental and physical health risks during the pandemic, college students experienced a change in delivery of classes to largely online and for parents of school age children, it has added challenges of supporting children at home in distance learning. This study used a feminist phenomenological approach to discover the lived …

“Growing Up Guerreándola”: On Adolescent Formations Of Conscientização In Colombia, Amy E. Ritterbusch, Melissa Arena Lucía Simbaqueba Gómez, Jhon Restrepo, Nancy Montes, Claudia Rentería, Yirley Velazco, Sandra García Jaramillo, Darío Maldonado

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this article, we argue that we have much to learn from the adolescent developmental experiences of social justice activists on the frontlines. Our team of authors includes the four youth social leaders at the center of the empirical work emerging from our qualitative research. We ground the Freirean concept of conscientização, roughly interpreted in English as critical consciousness building, in the lived experiences of these four youth social leaders in Colombia who have fought tirelessly for justice in their communities. The social justice stories of these young activists emerge from semi-structured interviews including visual methods designed by our …

Access To Preventive Health Care Services And Effects On Health Outcomes For Hispanic Older Adults With Type 2 Diabetes, Shafa Al-Showk

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite elevated prevalence of diabetes among Hispanic, Hispanic older adults face challenges in self-control and management of their glucose levels, and they have less access to preventive health care services. The purpose of this retrospective quantitative cross-sectional study was to examine the associations between access to preventive health care services and Type 2 diabetes outcomes among Hispanic adults aged 65 years and older. The social-ecological model provided the framework for the study. The research question for this study examined the extent to which doctor visits, diabetes education and blood sugar checks correlate with HbA1c levels. Data were collected from 566 …

Social Support Of Caregiver Sons Of Parents With Dementia, Ralph Callanta Pascual

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the growing number of male caregivers, few researchers have examined social supports for caregiver sons of parents with dementia. The purpose of this qualitative interpretative phenomenological study was to contribute to the empirical literature on the social support of caregiver sons of aging parents with dementia. The research question centered on the lived experience of social support of caregiver sons of parents with dementia. The theoretical framework was the social role theory. The sample consisted of eight caregiver sons of parents with dementia. Participants were interviewed using semi-structured, researcher-developed questions. The results were generated from coding and thematizing processes, …

Integration Of Morphine And Virtual Reality: Pain Management For Adult Hospice Cancer Patients, Arlisa Hurd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is currently a problem in that cancer patients engaging in hospice may experience an excessive amount of perceived pain and a decreased quality of life. The purpose of this study was to explore an intervention that could lessen the perceived pain experienced by, and increase the quality of life of, cancer patients engaging in hospice. Immersion music virtual reality (IMVR) allows a user to interact with a realistic, computer-generated environment. 3D music (IMVR) is likely suited for pain management with patients in hospice and was used for this study. The theory for the study is the gate control theory. …

Experience Of Parents Receiving In-Home Behavioral Treatment For Their Child With Autism, Gerald Lavarias

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In-home applied behavior analysis (ABA) treatment has well-documented results and is widely recommended for children with autism. Since 1987, parents have sought and implemented ABA treatment in their homes for their children with autism. However, research on parents’ lived experiences with in-home ABA treatment is limited. As such, there is a need to study the impact and influence of ABA treatment on parents’ quality of life (e.g., challenges, scheduling, parenting). This qualitative study explored parents’ lived experiences while their children with autism received in-home ABA treatment. A phenomenological approach was used to explore the experiences of 5 parent participants who …

Assisted Living Transitions: Experiences Of Family Members Of Older African American Women, Carol A. Shaw Burns

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractLong-term care, also known as aging services, is evolving to meet the needs of the aging population in the United States, which is increasingly ethnically and racially diverse. The objective of this qualitative multiple case study was to understand how immediate family members experienced the transition of older African American women as they moved into assisted living facilities. Black feminist theory provided a theoretical framework. Narrative interview data were collected from four adult children family caregivers who facilitated the move. Three themes emerged from the content analysis: (a) Transition is not planned in advance and does not happen until a …

Assisted Living Transitions: Experiences Of Family Members Of Older African American Women, Carol A. Shaw Burns

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractLong-term care, also known as aging services, is evolving to meet the needs of the aging population in the United States, which is increasingly ethnically and racially diverse. The objective of this qualitative multiple case study was to understand how immediate family members experienced the transition of older African American women as they moved into assisted living facilities. Black feminist theory provided a theoretical framework. Narrative interview data were collected from four adult children family caregivers who facilitated the move. Three themes emerged from the content analysis: (a) Transition is not planned in advance and does not happen until a …

Optimizing The Use Of Normative Data In Dementia Diagnostic Evaluations, Laurie Holler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cognitive tests are typically scored and interpreted using an appropriate normative reference group, often similar age individuals with similar levels of education. Psychometric testing theory presupposes that demographic correction is always beneficial, supporting the ubiquitous use of age and education correction in clinical practice. In the context of dementia, however, there is some evidence suggesting that demographic correction (specifically age correction) may reduce the sensitivity of cognitive tests to age-related cognitive decline. It was hypothesized that age correction would reduce the utility of cognitive tests for detecting cognitive change in individuals with mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia due to …

Parents' Perceptions Of And Reactions To Their Child's Intergroup Marriage, Theresa Aikens

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have found that parental support and acceptance are integral to the success of interracial romantic relationships (IRRs) and well-being of interracial romantic relationship participants (IRRPs). Research on couples involved in IRRs is prevalent, but researchers neglected to include the perspectives of the parents of the IRRPs. The lived experiences of parents of adult children involved in Black-White IRRs and their perceptions of societal reactions to the IRR were explored to better understand the mechanisms behind parental support or disapproval of IRRs. Bronfenbrenner's PPCT model of bioecological theory allowed for a focus on a parent's development within the parent-child relationship …

An Exploratory Analysis Of Conflict In African Immigrant And African American Marriages, Cornelius Ayodeji Osuntade

Dissertations

Problem

There has been a high level of marital conflict in immigrant families from patriarchal cultures. There are negative attitudes toward women that contribute to couple conflict. Coupled with this are issues relating to immigration challenges that confront marriage stability among immigrant couples in North America. In the same vein, African American couples experience conflicts that militate against the stability of their marriages. Most of these marital upheavals stem from historical antecedents relating to this ethnic group, as well as the societal dialectics confronting them. By and large, regarding couple conflict, a better understanding of the challenges facing African immigrant …

Experiences And Challenges In Single Fatherhood: A Literature Review On Single, Custodial Fathers, Emily N. Janikowski

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Households led by single, custodial fathers (SCFs) are increasing in the United States, so the need for further research into this population is critical. To best serve this population, it is important for social work professionals to understand the challenges facing these families, their unique experiences, and the best practices. For this purpose, 33 academic journal articles about SCFs were reviewed and the following seven areas were discussed: (1) fatherhood experiences, (2) overall challenges for SCFs, (3) overall perception of SCFs, (4) economic impact, (5) deviance of youth, (6) academic achievement of the children of SCFs, and (7) applicable interventions. …

Shifting Paradigms: Using Action Research To Redefine Engagement In Faith Formation In Unitarian Universalism, Amy Huntereece

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The issues that this research addressed were the changes related to engagement in religious education (RE) in the Unitarian Universalist (UU) church in the past several decades. To address this problem, the purpose of this research was to innovatively problem-solve with other religious professionals and consider how to redefine engagement to support families in their faith formation. The research aims to answer the question: How could UU RE professionals more effectively engage families in faith formation opportunities designed to meet the desired outcomes of RE parents/caregivers? To gather data, interviews with seven Millennial and Generation X parents/caregivers from the Baja …

“Pee In Peace” Or “Make Everyone Uncomfortable”: Public Perceptions Of Transgender Rights, Emily Kazyak, Kelsy Burke, Rosalind Kichler, Lora Mcgraw

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

We analyze a survey of Nebraskans as a case study to examine public opinion of transgender rights. Using a mixed methods design, we find an even divide among mostly cisgender survey respondents on whether transgender people should be able to use the restroom that aligns with their gender identity. Our findings mirror national data and show that identifying as female, being more liberal politically, and being less religious are associated with supporting this belief. Qualitative analysis of open-ended responses reveals that both supporters and opponents of transgender rights employ logics that implicate (1) the nature of transgender identities, (2) the …

Spatial Non‑Stationarity In Opioid Prescribing Rates: Evidence From Older Medicare Part D Beneficiaries, Seulki Kim, Carla Shoff, Tse-Chuan Yang

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Previous research that examined spatial patterns of opioid prescribing rates and factors associated with them has mainly relied on a global modeling perspective, overlooking the potential spatial non-stationarity embedded in these associations. In this study, we investigate whether there are spatially non-stationary associations between opioid prescribing rates and key characteristics of older Medicare Part D beneficiaries and their prescribers using several data sources from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. All measures are aggregated to the ZIP code level, and a total sample size of 18,126 ZIP codes is included in the analyses. Our descriptive results from geographically weighted …

The Lived Experiences Of Grandparents As Primary Caregivers For Children Of Incarcerated Parents, Idonia Kaleena Barrett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the last decade, the number of grandparents in the United States acting as caregivers for children who have incarcerated parents has increased significantly. Incarceration separates individuals from their families and limits contact with the outside world. The imprisoned parent is dependent on the caregiver, who becomes the "gatekeeper" to maintain contact with their child. It can be challenging for the grandparent to maintain parent-child contact because of the hardships they endure as primary caregivers, which may cause them to experience strain. The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive phenomenological study was to determine the lived experiences of grandparents who serve …