Child Psychology Commons^™

Maladaptive Behaviors Within The Context Of Play, Elizabeth L. Schroeder

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Play-based assessment is an observational technique used to evaluate young children's development. The Play Assessment/Intervention System (PLAIS) is one of the most widely researched play-based assessment models and assesses domains such as exploratory play, simple pretend play, complex pretend play, and non-play. One of the criticisms of early childhood assessments and screening instruments is they neglect to evaluate the social and emotional development of young children. The PLAIS codes for aggressive behavior, but not within the context of play. Given that aggression is typical among young children, this study created an observational supplement to the PLAIS that allows observers to …

Type Of High-School Credentials And Older Age Adl And Iadl Limitations: Is The Ged Credential Equivalent To A Diploma?, Sze Yan Liu, Niraj R. Chavan, M. Maria Glymour

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Purpose: Educational attainment is a robust predictor of disability in elderly Americans: older adults with high-school (HS) diplomas have a substantially lower disability than individuals who did not complete HS. General Educational Development (GED) diplomas now comprise almost 20% of new HS credentials issued annually in the United States but it is unknown whether the apparent health advantages of HS diplomas extend to GED credentials. This study examines whether adults older than 50 years with GEDs have higher odds of incident instrumental or basic activities of daily living (IADLs) limitations compared with HS degree holders. Methods: We compared odds of …

Do Students Understand What Researchers Mean By Bullying?, Kristin E. Bieber

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

The definition of bullying most often used by researchers incorporates three key elements: repetition, intent to harm, and a power imbalance (Olweus, 2010). Past studies have found that students may not understand how this definition of bullying is different from general peer aggression, and that they may report their involvement in instances of aggression that occur only once, or happen among individuals of equal power, when they are asked about their involvement in bullying (Monks & Smith, 2006).

This dissertation examined: a) grade differences in students’ abilities to accurately apply the definition of bullying when determining if a behavior is …

Form And Functionality Of Playful Aggression In Young Adults, Catlin H. Dennis

Scripps Senior Theses

Ethological and developmental studies have demonstrated the presence and importance of playful aggression for primates and children; additional studies suggest that playful aggression is also present in adulthood but is adapted and incorporated into relationships in different ways than it previously was in childhood. Little is known about young adults’ perceptions of playful aggression in romantic relationships, especially among same-sex couples. This study investigated perceptions of aggression when the sexual orientation of the couple, the severity of aggression, and the response of the recipient, who was receiving the aggression, were manipulated in a series of scenarios. Young adults, ages 18 …

Trauma And Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder In Therapeutic Day School Students: Prevalence In This Population And Effective Treatment Programs, Monica Roberts

Dissertations

This survey-based, comparative study investigated the percentage of students at a suburban Chicago therapeutic day school who meet criteria for clinically significant levels of PTSD as compared to students in a general education setting. The directional hypothesis was that students placed at therapeutic day schools have a higher prevalence of PTSD than a general population of students. The method used was a survey assessment called the Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS) given to 16 students at a suburban Chicago therapeutic day school. These CPSS scores were analyzed and statistically compared to CPSS scores of an already published study with students …

School Gardens: Reconnecting Children With Nature And Food, Alyssa M. Boyle

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis discusses the importance of school gardens. First, two current environmental and societal problems are highlighted: the industrialized food system and what Richard Louv has termed, "Nature Deficit Disorder," in children. School gardens are then presented as an effective tool that can address and remedy such issues. Lastly, a how-to manual for implementing such projects in schools is provided as well as a few sample lesson plans to be used in conjunction with the garden in each subject across the curriculum.

Infant Perceptions Of Mixed-Race Faces: An Exploration Of The Hypodescent Rule In 8.5 Month-Old Infants, Sophie Beiers

Pitzer Senior Theses

Studies have shown that adults often categorize mixed-race individuals of White and non-White descent as members of the non-White racial group, an effect said to be reminiscent of the “hypodescent” or “one-drop rule.” This effect has not yet been thoroughly studied in infants, although 9-month-old infants have been shown to be able to categorize mono-racial faces into different racial groups. In the present study, the perception of mixed-race White and Asian/Asian American faces was studied in sixteen 8.5-month-old infants. The infants were randomly assigned to two stimulus groups. The stimuli were the photographed faces of female college students who had …

The Eden Project: A City Wide Youth Conference And Fashion Show To Increase Body Image And Self-Esteem In Adolescent Girls, Nicole R. Parsons

Honors Program Projects

This paper focuses on the development of body image and self-esteem in adolescent girls and discusses the impact both positive and negative factors can have during this developmental stage of life. It argues the idea that a girl’s positive feelings regarding her external appearance can drastically influence her self-esteem, which in turn affects how she treats herself, as well how she allows others to treat her. This paper also follows the history of fashion shows, discussing their influence in media outlets that adolescent girls often turn to when searching for an identity in this culture. Pulling from a Christian perspective, …

What Are The Relations Among Stress Perception, Health Perception And Activity Participation In School-Aged Children?, Allison Caplin

Honors Theses and Capstones

This correlational study examined possible relations among children’s activity patterns, perceived stress, and perceived health. A variety of self-report questionnaires were administered to a sample of 33 school age children. The Pediatric Activity Sort (PACS) was used to measure activity participation, a health questionnaire was used to assess health, and the Childhood Stress Questionnaire (CSQ) was used to measure perceived stress. Correlations showed no significant relationships between stress level and the amount of reported activity participation. The absence of significant relationships may be due to testing a sample of middle to upper class, Caucasian children, as there was a skewed …

The Impact Of Home Visitor Relationship Quality On Parenting And Child Outcomes: Does Maternal Age Matter?, Elizabeth A. Colsey

Senior Honors Theses

Early Head Start (EHS) is an early intervention program that seeks to mitigate the effects of risk for those families with young children. Consistent with attachment theory, the home visiting component of EHS targets parent-child relationships in order to combat negative child outcomes. Research indicates that children of adolescent mothers are susceptible to poor outcomes both in childhood and adulthood. The current study utilized EHS data from 1198 parent-child dyads to assess the indirect relationship of home visitor quality on child aggression through parent quality, as moderated by maternal age. Findings indicated that home visitor quality may have a greater …

Therapeutic Interaction With Children Through Play, Carolyn J. Dix Ms.

Senior Honors Theses

In the field of early childhood counseling, there has been a recent trend towards play therapy. Play is often referred to as the language of children because they can communicate their thoughts and feelings in ways that they express verbally. Therapeutic play sessions give therapists an opportunity to communicate with a child on his or her level which can provide more insight as to how to proceed with the therapy. The outcomes of play therapy implementations are substantially positive, and this therapeutic practice is becoming widely-accepted in the cases of childhood abuse, children with disabilities, children in hospitals, grieving children, …

Motor Skills And Imitation In Children With Autism, Rachelle Stover

Georgia State Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Contributions Of Caregiver Interaction To Infant Attention, Nahomie Julien, Lindsay White, Joseph Antico

Georgia State Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Toddlers’ Social Behaviors In Response To Helping/Hindering Displays, Allison M. Leonard

Georgia State Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Motor Skills Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Potential Of An Interactive Metronome Approach, Jennifer Song

Psychology and Child Development

No abstract provided.

Children And Happy Growing Up 2013, Lok Sang Ho

Hong Kong Children Happiness Index 香港兒童快樂指數調查

Hong Kong children from Primary 4 to Secondary 3 were happier in 2013 with their happiness index standing at 7.23, evidently higher than 6.91 in 2012, according to results of the latest survey conducted by the Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) of Lingnan University announced today.

However, the encouraging result was tempered by declines in the Insight and Fortitude scores, two of the four key determinants of happiness, namely Love, Insight, Fortitude and Engagement (LIFE). In 2013, Hong Kong children’s Insight score fell to 6.19 from 6.37 in 2012, while Fortitude dropped to 6.64 from 7.10 during the same …

Stop Blaming Video Games For America's Gun Violence, Kristin M.S. Bezio

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Recently, America's attention has been understandably focused on the potential causes of increased violence - especially gun violence - particularly among children and youth, and how to stop it. Alongside gun-control proposals, some of which President Obama is likely to highlight in his State of the Union address tonight, much of that attention has looked at the potential of violent video games to cause or exacerbate the tendencies of youth to engage in real, harmful violence.

Helping Or Hovering? The Effects Of Helicopter Parenting On College Students’ Well-Being, Holly H. Schiffrin, Miriam Liss, Haley Miles-Mclean, Katherine A. Geary, Mindy J. Erchull, Taryn Tashner

Psychological Science

Parental involvement is related to many positive child outcomes, but if not developmentally appropriate, it can be associated with higher levels of child anxiety and depression. Few studies have examined the effects of over-controlling parenting, or “helicopter parenting,” in college students. Some studies have found that college students of over-controlling parents report feeling less satisfied with family life and have lower levels of psychological well-being. This study examined self-determination theory as the potential underlying mechanism explaining this relationship. College students (N = 297) completed measures of helicopter parenting, autonomy supportive parenting, depression, anxiety, satisfaction with life, and basic psychological …

Associations Of Childhood Family Adversity And Pubertal Timing With Depressive Symptomotology In Adulthood, Jeffrey P. Winer

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

To date, no prior research has examined the combined roles of childhood family adversity and pubertal timing in longitudinal pathways to depressive symptomatology in adulthood. The present study was conducted with 225 men and 225 women to explore the unique and combined roles of childhood family adversity and pubertal timing on depressive symptoms in a community sample of married adults. Results for both men and women indicated significant main effects of a cumulatively risky family environment on depressive symptoms, as well as main effects of families with higher levels of abuse and neglect, chaos and disorganization, and interpersonal family conflict. …

A Qualitative Study Of Stakeholder Perceptions In Early Childhood Intervention Partnership, Ruth Schumacher

Dissertations

The first three years of life are a period where significant growth occurs in all areas of development to prepare infants and toddlers for further learning. Early experiences and relationships impact that early cognitive development. As the literature suggests, the greatest opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and decrease the achievement gap is to intervene early with at risk young children and families. In order to promote resiliency, it is imperative that children have at least one adult who is a consistent and reliable figure in their lives. Early childhood intervention programs serve to empower parents to meet that …