Child Psychology Commons^™

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 …

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 …

Does Resilience Moderate The Impact Of Children’S Experiences Of Racial And Ethnic Discrimination On Internalizing Problems?, Dahlia Abbas

Dissertations and Theses

This study’s objectives were to investigate how children’s experiences of discrimination impact the severity of their internalizing symptoms, and whether the relation between discrimination and internalizing symptom severity is moderated by resilience. It was predicted that children who had experienced more discrimination would have more severe internalizing symptoms, especially when they have low levels of resilience. Children [N=20; Mean (SD) age= 11.83 (2.50)] receiving low-cost music lessons in northern Manhattan were recruited into a larger study examining how learning music affects cognitive and emotional development. Children were interviewed in-person about experiences of discrimination because of their race/ethnicity using the Perceptions …

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 Qualitative Analysis Of Caregiver Goals For Urban Children With And Without Asthma, Megan M. Carlson

Theses and Dissertations

Pediatric asthma is a major public health concern that disproportionately affects children of color and youth living in low-income, urban areas. The implications for public health, child health, and family functioning necessitates our understanding and addressing experiences by families who are facing barriers within their socio-demographic context in addition to the stressors associated with managing pediatric asthma. The current study applied qualitative methods to interviews with caregivers of children with and without asthma in an effort to more deeply connect with caregivers’ experiences and yield richer information about the intersection of identities as Black caregivers living in an urban setting …

A Meta-Analysis Investigating The Correlation Between Treatment Integrity And Youth Client Outcomes, Ruben G. Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The relation between treatment integrity and youth client outcomes in psychosocial treatment research has implications for therapist training, study design, and study interpretation. Despite work done in this area, this relation remains unclear. The aim of the current study was to meta-analyze and describe characteristics of investigations of integrity and outcome in youth.

Method and Analytic Plan: A total of N = 30 studies were identified. Conceptual and methodological factors were coded. Pearson’s r represented the magnitude of the integrity-outcome correlation. Robust variance estimation was used to account for dependency of within-study effect sizes. Two models were run with …

The Influence Of Peers On Adolescents' Physical Aggression: The Moderating Roles Of Parental Messages Supporting Fighting And Nonviolence, Jasmine Coleman

Theses and Dissertations

There is substantial support for the link between peer factors and adolescents’ aggression. Less is known about protective factors that may mitigate the relation between peer factors and aggression. Parental influences, such as parental messaging supporting fighting, have been directly associated with aggression. What remains unclear is the extent to which parental messages supporting fighting and nonviolence might serve as protective factors in relations between negative peer interactions and aggressive behavior. The purpose of this study was to investigate longitudinal effects of peerson adolescents’ physical aggression and to examine the extent to which parental messages supporting fighting and nonviolence moderated …

Perceived Credibility Of Child Sexual Abuse Reporting, Bridget Lashbaugh-Barney

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Understanding factors that could influence attitudes and beliefs regarding child sexual abuse may inform efforts to educate clinicians, legal and medical personnel, and even the public on potential sources of bias and barriers to treatment and other service utilization, particularly in rural communities. The purpose of the current study was to experimentally investigate the impact of child accuser age and gender and participant rural status on ratings of perceived credibility of child sexual abuse allegations described in vignettes. With this study, I aimed to not only clarify and update previous findings on accuser age and gender, but also to expand …

Mitigation Of A Prospective Association Between Early Language Delay At Toddlerhood And Adhd Among Bilingual Preschoolers: Evidence From The Gusto Cohort, Shaun K. Y. Goh, Hwajin Yang, Stella Tsotsi, Anqi Qiu, Yap-Seng Chong, Kok Hian Tan, Lynette Shek, Birit F. P. Broekman, Anne Rifkin-Graboi

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

There is accumulating evidence of a prospective relation between early language problems and ADHD, a disorder associated with deficits in executive functioning. However, little is known regarding this link among bilingual children. Here, we investigate whether (i) the prediction from language to ADHD may be lower among bilinguals, and (ii) explore if this moderation can be explained by differential executive functioning ability. Utilising a prospective sample of 408 South-East Asian toddlers, bilingual exposure as a moderator of the link between language delay at 24 months to ADHD intermediate diagnosis at 54 months was first examined with an interaction model. Next, …

An Evaluation Of The Timeline As A Memory Retrieval Aid For Children’S Recall Of Specific Details From A Repeated Event, Huan Huan Zhang

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Investigators and prosecutors are heavily dependent on children’s testimony in abuse cases where physical evidence is often lacking, making children the sole source of information. Decades of research have shown that young children are indeed capable of accurately recalling events from the past. Findings from research on interview techniques suggest that interview aids such as dolls and human diagrams are often not helpful and pose risks of eliciting inaccurate reports unless they are used cautiously and non-suggestively at the end of the interview.

The timeline, which is a visual depiction of time, is another type of interview aid that is …

The Strong Families Program: Differential Impacts Of Resilience And Parent Management Training, Katie Slusher

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Childhood behavior problems are pervasive with 50% of non-referred families citing noncompliance and behavior problems as an issue (Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1981). Many behavioral parent trainings (BPTs) treat these behaviors at an early age. Recently, adaptions to BPTs include group formats increasing accessibility and decreasing cost, especially for rural families with limited resources (Niec, Barnett, Prewett, & Stanley Chatham, 2016). Beyond BPTs, Alvord, Zucker, and Johnson Grados (2011) developed the Resilience Builder Program to enhance children’s social, emotional, and behavioral skills through a cognitive behavioral framework. The Resilience Builder Program improves anxious and depressive symptoms and reduces behavior problems in …

Infants’ Relationship With Drop-Offs And Water Environments, Carolina Burnay Rodrigues De Morais

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Underpinned by the ecological approach to perceptual-motor development, this Thesis aims to contribute to the understanding of the organization of infants’ behaviour during encounters with drop-offs and water environments. Previous studies have linked locomotor experience to infants’ avoidance of falling from heights. Using the Real Cliff / Water Cliff apparatus, Burnay and Cordovil (2016) confirmed the effect of locomotor experience on crawlers’ avoidance of drop-offs and linked locomotor experience to infants’ avoidance of falling into the water for the first time. However, the effect of other specific locomotor experiences on infants’ approach to aquatic environments has not been addressed. This …

An Exploratory Study Of The Perceptions Of Footwear For Individuals Who Use Lower Limb Orthotics, Margaret E. Gegen, Teresa Plummer, Nancy Darr

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

The purpose of this study was to explore individual’s perceptions of orthotics and footwear. A survey was created by the authors with the expert opinions of physical and occupational therapists and was distributed to two therapy clinics in Tennessee that provide both occupational therapy and physical therapy as well as on several online support groups. Seventy-nine (79) caregivers completed surveys. Thematic analysis was performed using Nvivo 10 (QSR International) and descriptive statistics were generated using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) IBM International). Ninety percent (90%) of participants report that orthotics affect what type of shoes the user …

Understanding The Relationship Between Dental Fear, Behavior Management Problems, And Caregiver-Child Interactions During Young Child Dental Appointments, Christopher Kyle Owen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Positive oral health practices should begin early in life (AAPD; 2013; 2014; 2015); however, dental care-related fear and anxiety and behavior management problems are prevalent among young children in oral health (Klingberg & Broberg, 2007). The study explored caregiver and child dental care-related fear and anxiety, child behavior, and caregiver-child interactions during early childhood dental appointments. Caregiver-child dyad participants (N = 140) were collected from dental practices in West Virginia, Ohio, and Tennessee. Children (n = 139) in the sample were largely White (69.8%) and male (54.0%), with an average age of 3.05 years. Video-taped dental appointments for children under …

Comorbidity In Context: Identifying Patterns Of Depressive And Anxiety Symptoms In African American Early Adolescents, Kathryn Behrhorst

Theses and Dissertations

Depression and anxiety during adolescence includes symptoms of irritability, sleeplessness, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, worry, avoidance, and/or restlessness. Anxiety and depressive symptoms are often comorbid and are associated with impairments across academic, social, and emotional areas of functioning. No studies to date have examined patterns of depressive and anxiety symptoms together for African American adolescents using person-centered analyses. The current study examined patterns of symptoms and domains of anxiety and depression during early adolescence using latent profile analyses (LPA). A sample of 196 African American early adolescents in grades six through eight (M_age = 12.6; 50% female) were …

The Correlation Between Maternal Postpartum Depression And Child Psychopathology, T'Keyah I. Vaughan

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a phenomenon that affects nearly 10-15% of pregnancies in the US. It is characterized by depressed mood or anhedonia and lasting for more than 2 weeks. PPD changes how moms interact with family members and child-rearing behavior. Depression is a phenomenon that is also known to affect the psychopathology of children. However, the specifics of how postpartum depression impacts children remains controversial. Many studies do not control for major depressive disorder which makes it difficult to disentangle the impact depression has within the first year of life. Furthermore, other PPD risk factors may be confounding …

Educational And Psychosocial Development Of Adolescents In Specialist Sport Programs In Low Ses Areas Of Perth, Western Australia, Eibhlish Máire Bridget O'Hara

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Adolescents from low socio–economic (SES) backgrounds are more vulnerable, experience more physical and mental health problems, and often do not have as many positive educational outcomes as adolescents from higher SES backgrounds (Totten, 2007). Most research examining youth recreational activities, such as sport programs, demonstrate the positive influence they can have, especially for adolescents living in low SES neighbourhoods (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2002). However, adolescents living in low SES neighbourhoods often have limited access to such programs (Leventhal, Dupéré, Brooks-Gunn, 2009). As such, it is important to find alternate ways for adolescents living in low SES …

Gesture Production And Theory Of Mind: Effective Disambiguation In Communication Through Gesture, Minju Kim, Adena Schachner

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

People design their speech acts with their listeners in mind,accounting for their knowledge and other mental states. Is this ability specific to spoken language and co-speech gesture, or does it appear in pantomimic gestures as well? We ask whether adults flexibly shift their silent gestures to emphasize relevant information, representing different features of the target indifferent contexts. In a two-item reference game, adults gestured to a partner to indicate which object was the target.Item pairs differed in one of three features (size, shape,pattern). We found that adults were more likely to gesture a feature when it was relevant to distinguishing …