Child Psychology Commons^™

Dreams, Aspirations And Related Behavior In Children And Adolescents: Impacts On Child Developmental Outcomes, Florence K. Y. Wu, Daniel T. L. Shek, Hildie Leung

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

“Dreams”, “aspirations” and related constructs are traditionally regarded as facilitators of adolescent educational attainment in the Chinese context. Besides, there is an emergent need to widen the understanding of such constructs and their impact on children and adolescent developmental outcomes. This paper discusses the developmental outcomes of dreams, aspiration and related concepts based on a thorough review of the literature. Besides outlining the impacts of aspirations, dreams and related constructs on children and adolescents, features of related intervention programs, including themes of the intervention programs, program participants, methods of implementation and evaluation in both Western and Chinese contexts are also …

Addressing The Needs Of Young Children And Families:Early Childhood Education And Services In Catholic Schools And Catholic Charities, Sandra Barrueco, Shavaun M. Wall, Lynn M. Mayer, Marcela Blinka

Journal of Catholic Education

Nationally, focus is increasing on the developmental experiences of young children (birth to age 8). Twenty four (arch)dioceses in large metropolitan areas participated in a survey identifying the extent and nature of services provided by Catholic schools and Catholic Charities programs to young children and their families. Six hundred and seventy Catholic schools and 100 Catholic Charities programs completed surveys. Key findings suggest that Catholic schools and Catholic Charities programs are engaged in a plethora of early childhood services and educational activities with young children and families. Both entities provide direct education and services to young children, are engaged in …

An Exploration Of Student Anxiety And The Degree Of Aba Services, Alexis Stavros

Theses and Dissertations

Children diagnosed with Autism may present numerous internalizing and externalizing behaviors. In order to help decrease problematic behaviors and promote positive behaviors, early intervention programs are often put into place. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a method of intervention based in operant conditioning, and is used to alter socially useful behavior (Kearney, A. 2008). Although ABA can be effective in decreasing problematic behavior, it could be argued that children diagnosed with Autism exhibit a range of symptoms that may be more internalizing in nature, and not particularly responsive to ABA (Herbert, Brandsma, 2002: Fryling, 2011). Research states that 84% of …

Sleep, Executive Control, And Psychopathology In Children: A Longitudinal Study And An Examination Of Brief Sleep Treatment, Katherine M. Kidwell

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Researchers have acknowledged that poor sleep is not merely a symptom of psychopathology but also a contributing factor to the development of psychopathology in children (Walker & Harvey, 2010). However, more research is needed to explicate the associations among sleep, executive control (EC), and psychopathology. Specifically, there are few studies using longitudinal designs and limited research on how treating sleep can improve mental health symptoms. This dissertation provides a conceptual framework for the associations among sleep, EC, and psychopathology. The conceptual framework is bolstered by two studies. Study 1 is an examination of early sleep problems and preschool EC as …

The Complex Combatant: Constructions Of Victimhood And Perpetrator-Hood In Gulu District, Northern Uganda, Kyra Fox

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the wake of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) conflict in Northern Uganda, both the local and international community struggle to define the “victims” and “perpetrators” of a conflict that transformed ordinary civilians into combatants. Made up primarily of child soldiers, the LRA forcefully abducted and conscripted children across Northern Uganda to fight in a guerilla war against the Ugandan government. LRA members were forced to murder their own families and terrorize their home villages in an attempt to disorient and desensitize them to lives of violence. Some became willing, even eager fighters; others struggled daily to live with their …

Review Of Qualitative Research: A Guide To Design And Implementation (4th Ed.) (2016) By S.B. Merriam & E.J. Tisdell., Wayne A. Babchuk

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

I strongly recommend Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation for qualitative and general methodology courses and for researchers and practitioners looking for guidance in planning or gaining a better understanding of qualitative research. It is a wonderful text that provides succinct and useful descriptions of fundamental attributes of qualitative research, invaluable examples for planning and conducting research studies, and strategies for disseminating and evaluating research. As qualitative research has gained momentum in academic disciplines and applied fields of practice, the text provides a bedrock publication for adult education scholars and practitioners to help further advance our discipline.

Cognitive And Affective Aspects Of Personality And Academic Procrastination: The Role Of Personal Agency, Flow, And Executive Function, Marc Graff

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Academic procrastination is a prevalent issue that affects school-related and other experiences of many students, with some studies identifying as many as a third of college students sampled as‘severe’ procrastinators. This study investigated some of the factors previous studies have identified as potential contributors to procrastinating in the academic arena. In defining procrastination as a self-regulation issue, it is proposed that distinct executive function processes play a role in one’s efforts at academic task engagement and completion and resisting the tendency to procrastinate on these tasks. It is also proposed that the frequency with which one experiences ‘flow’, a state …

Physiological Regulation, Psychosocial Adversity, And Proactive Versus Reactive Aggression: A Longitudinal Study, Wei Zhang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Two types of aggression in children and adolescents have been identified: reactive aggression (RA) and proactive aggression (PA). Despite the accumulating evidence suggesting differential temperamental, behavioral, cognitive, social-environmental, and neurobiological correlates in relation to the two types of aggression, no study has examined emotion regulation in children with RA vs. PA using psychophysiological approaches. In this study a sample of eight to 10 years old children participated in an emotion regulation task in which they were required to either induce or inhibit their emotions. They also reported their aggressive behavior using the Reactive-Proactive Aggression questionnaire (RPQ; Raine et al., 2006). …

Possible Underlying Mechanisms Of Hyperactivity In Children With Adhd, Nicole Feirsen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Conceptualizations of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have evolved significantly over the years. Historically, early conceptualizations of ADHD described hyperactivity as the core symptom of the disorder. However, when the third version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) was published (1980), hyperactivity became a specific qualifier of the disorder and was no longer necessary for a diagnosis. Despite this shift in conceptualization of the disorder, there is an abundance of empirical evidence, both recent and historical, supporting the fact that hyperactivity is an enduring and clinically impairing symptom domain in ADHD. Despite having numerous validated instruments available to …

Observational Assessment Of Empathy In Parent-Child Verbal Exchanges And Their Influence On Child Behavior, Patty Carambot

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Empathy, the ability to both experientially share in and understand others’ thoughts, behaviors, and feelings, is vital for human adaptation. Deficits in empathy development have implications across the lifespan for the development of prosocial behavior, social functioning, mental health disorders, and risk for antisocial behavior (e.g., Guajardo, Snyder, & Petersen, 2009; Moreno, Klute & Robinson, 2008). In light of these societal and individual burdens, it is imperative to foster and strengthen the development of this ability early in life to prevent or ameliorate such negative outcomes. This type of prevention can take a variety of forms, but parent and child …

Ptsd From Childhood Trauma As A Precursor To Attachment Issues, Christy Owen

Fidei et Veritatis: The Liberty University Journal of Graduate Research

The past 20 years have been turbulent regarding Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), with conflicting research about its causes, effects, treatment, and prognosis. The current diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5 fails to adequately address this disorder. A number of deviant and maladaptive behaviors common amongst children with RAD are not even mentioned in the diagnostic criteria. As such, the diagnostic definition is almost unidentifiable or incompatible with real-life conduct manifestations of the disorder. Rather, this author contends that RAD is foundationally a unique and extreme form of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from Early Childhood Trauma. The child endured unspeakable neglect and/or …

A Collaborative Approach To Address Student Behavior And Academic Achievement Across Systems, Beverly Ngozi Okereke

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Academic achievement and in-classroom behaviors are two significant child outcomes that affect student success in school. According to Systems Theory, in order to truly understand the factors that affect these outcomes for children, one must look to the major systems that encapsulate the child (including their school and home environments). This project is a meta-analytic review that examined the effectiveness of measures representing each system in predicting child achievement and behavior: School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports (SWPBS) for the school as a system, level of parent involvement (high versus low) for the home system, and student motivation (intrinsic versus extrinsic) for …

Development Of A Barriers Scale To Predict Early Treatment Success For Young Children In Poverty With Behavior Problems, Brittany Lynn Gresl, Robert A. Fox, Lauryn A. Besasie

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

Research has demonstrated that participation in parent and child therapy (PCT) programs significantly reduces problematic behaviors while increasing positive behaviors in the child. However, PCT programs report rates of early termination as high as 60% among families in poverty. Research to reduce these early termination rates has historically focused on barriers to treatment including logistical conflicts, socioeconomic status, child age, and symptom severity. Despite attempts to address these variables and reduce early termination rates, progress has been slow in advancing the research in this area. In addition, few measures have been designed to accurately assess how barriers to treatment impact …

Dementia In Prison: An Argument For Training Correctional Officers, Rachele Vogel

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Dementia is a significant public health problem that is occurring behind bars. However, the number of inmates suffering from this disease is unknown (Feczko, 2014). Current research has exposed a serious gap in correctional health care for older adults, and correctional institutions are being encouraged to make changes to better address the needs of this population (Fellner, 2012; OIG, 2016; Williams, Stern, Mellow, Safer, & Greifinger, 2012b). The purpose of this paper is to bring awareness to the aging problem behind bars and respond to the identified need for additional training for custodial staff (correctional, parole, and probation officers). Training …

Evaluation Of A Modified Incidental Teaching Procedure To Increase Child Compliance, Corey M. Cohrs

Theses & Dissertations

Teaching noncompliant children to engage in compliant behavior has long been a goal for many parents, teachers, and therapists (Patterson, Shaw, & Ebner, 1969). This goal has driven the development of behavioral technology, including entire manualized treatment programs, specifically intended for the treatment of noncompliance (Forehand & McMahon, 1981; Hembree-Kigin & McNeil, 1995). These programs have typically included time-out based interventions that are associated with resistance to instruction (Roberts, 1982;Roberts, 1984). Given children’s frequent resistance to traditional approaches (e.g., timeout; Ducharme & Popynick, 1993), alternative interventions for the treatment of noncompliance are warranted.

A modified version of incidental teaching (Hart …

Poverty And Internalizing Symptoms: The Indirect Effect Of Middle Childhood Poverty On Internalizing Symptoms Via An Emotional Response Inhibition Pathway, Christian G. Capistrano, Hannah Bianco, Pilyoung Kim

Psychology: Faculty Scholarship

Childhood poverty is a pervasive problem that can alter mental health outcomes. Children from impoverished circumstances are more likely than their middle-income counterparts to develop internalizing problems such as depression and anxiety. To date, however, the emotional-cognitive control processes that link childhood poverty and internalizing symptoms remain largely unexplored. Using the Emotion Go/NoGo paradigm, we examined the association between poverty and emotional response inhibition in middle childhood. We further examined the role of emotional response inhibition in the link between middle childhood poverty and internalizing symptoms. Lower income was associated with emotional response inhibition difficulties (indexed by greater false alarm …

A Culturally-Sensitive Cognitive Model Of Worry In African American Youth., Allyn Elizabeth Richards

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Our understanding of worry in children and adolescents has been increasingly enhanced over the past decade through the downward extension of adult cognitive models. Although our knowledge about the cognitive factors that place children at risk for worry has grown, little is known about these processes within African American youth. This is particularly notable given extant work suggesting that risk and protective processes are influenced by contextual factors. The current study reviews literatures regarding cognitive factors associated with worry and sociocultural factors salient to the African American context in order to inform a culturally-sensitive cognitive model of worry in African …

Mechanisms Responsible For The Development Of Causal Perception In Infancy., Nicholas A. Holt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of the current dissertation was to investigate the mechanisms that contribute to the emergence of causal perception in infancy. Previous research suggests that the experience of self-produced causal action may be necessary to promote the development of causal perception (Rakison & Krogh, 2012). The goal of the current study was two-fold: (1) to further explore the roles of self-produced action, haptic, proprioceptive and visual information, and parental interaction on young infants’ understanding of causality. To assess the impact of these factors on infants’ causal learning, 4½-month-olds were randomly assigned to one four conditions. Three of the conditions (Active …

Treatment Recidivism In Adolescents With Mental Illness: A Focused Applied Medical Ethnography, Chukwudi C. Ekwemalor

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Background

Treatment recidivism, described as frequent unplanned relapse readmissions, is a national problem predominant in adolescents with mental illness with significant socioeconomic consequences. Adolescents living with mental illness are a sub-culture of adolescence, the critical growth period of developmental and social transition from childhood to adulthood. The main triggers of treatment recidivism in this population are not fully understood from previous studies.

Purpose

The study purpose was to explore treatment recidivism with the following aims:

1. To illuminate treatment recidivism from the perspectives of recidivist adolescents with mental illness.

2. To describe the main factors that contribute to treatment recidivism …

Assessing Change In Attachment Security Of Adolescents At Residential Therapeutic Programs, Laura Santa Thum

Dissertations

Adolescents with significant, persistent behavioral and mental health problems are increasingly being treated in private residential treatment programs (RTPs). Recent research at such programs shows that adolescents’ symptoms improve over the course of treatment and that such positive results persist up to a year post discharge. This study attempts to address what is occurring below the symptom level by exploring if attachment security increases as symptoms improve over the course of treatment in private RTPs. The level of attachment security was assessed along the dimensions of attachment avoidance and anxiety as a general construct and according to specific relationships (with …