Developmental Psychology Commons^™

Profiles Of Adjustment Among Children In Institutional Care In Ghana: Predictors Of Positive Functioning, Anna W. Wright

Theses and Dissertations

Worldwide, approximately 2-8 million children reside in institutional care, which can lead to developmental setbacks. Given the need for institutional care persists, it is important to continue investigating which improvements can be made to provide optimal care. The current mixed-methods study included participants from Accra, Ghana. Study 1 involved cluster analyses to determine patterns of adjustment for 100 children in institutional care (CIC) (M age = 13.31 years, SD = 3.14; 40% female) and 100 children in families (CIF) (M age = 13.37 years, SD = 3.08; 40% female) across several domains. ANOVA was used to evaluate whether …

Securing A Successful Future For Children With Developmental Disabilities In Ghana And Zambia: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Parental And Service Provider Expectations, Princess-Melissa T. Washington-Nortey

Theses and Dissertations

Studies suggest that parental expectations can influence the developmental trajectory of a growing child. However, the role of parental expectations in the lives of children with disabilities such as intellectual disabilities or autism, and children in Africa in general, to date, has received little attention. Using a cultural psychology framework, the current study examined parental and service provider expectations for children with intellectual disabilities or autism in two African countries: Ghana and Zambia. A mixed-method approach involving the use of concept mapping and quantitative strategies was used. A total of 20 parents and 16 service providers participated in four separate …

The Effects Of Parental Factors And Personal Attributes On Birth Control Use Under The Genetic Influences Of 5-Httlpr Among Adolescents, Hyun-Jin Cho

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The purpose of this study was (a) to examine relationships between parental influences and personal attributes on birth control use and (b) to identify genetic influences on such relationships by comparing the frequencies of common genetic variants—short allele vs. long allele—in 5-HTTLPR among adolescents (N = 5,852). Data from the Wave 1 and Wave 4 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were used to examine the birth control use of adolescents who were in 7th through 12th grade in 1994–1995. Multi-group Structural Equation Modeling analyses were used to identify the relationship among factors. Results did not find significant …

The Days Take Care Of Themselves: Early Head Start Teacher Interactions With Children In Association With Factors Affecting Environmental Quality, Britta Karin Shine

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to propose a new framework for the assessment of environmental quality in infant-toddler classrooms in Early Head Start (EHS), in which sequential observational scores across the morning on the Quality of Caregiver-Child Interactions for Infants and Toddlers (Q-CCIIT; Atkins-Burnett et al., 2015) were re-framed as a micro-time-series. The purpose of these analyses was to assess within-person differences across a typical morning in EHS in teacher responsiveness and sensitivity to children’s social and emotional cues, their capacity for building relationships with children, and their support for children’s peer interaction and play. During hypothesis testing, interaction …

An Enhanced Ebook Facilitates Parent-Child Talk During Shared Reading By Families Of Low Socioeconomic Status, Georgene Troseth, Gabrielle Strouse, Israel Flores, Zachary Stuckelman, Colleen Russo Johnson

School of Education Faculty Publications

Language input plays a key role in children’s language development, but children from families of low socioeconomic status often get much less input compared to more advantaged peers. In “dialogic reading” (Whitehurst et al., 1988), parents are trained to ask children open-ended questions while reading, which effectively builds expressive vocabulary in at-risk children. In the research reported here, a dialogic questioning character in a narrated eBook provided effortless support for parents to ask questions while reading. Parents of lower socioeconomic status talked more than three times as much with their children using significantly more utterances and unique words when using …

Everyday Spatial Behaviors: A Comparison Between Individuals With Down Syndrome And Typically Developing Children, Dai'jah Diggs, Lauren Grove, Yingying Jennifer Yang

Student Research Symposium

Spatial abilities assist in manipulating, constructing, and navigating the physical world and are employed in a number of everyday activities (Newcombe & Shipley, 2014; Montello, 2001). Research suggests that individuals with Down syndrome (DS) perform either at or below the level of their mental-age matched typically developing (TD) controls on visio-spatial tasks, suggesting that this is an area of weakness in individuals with DS (Yang, Conners, & Merrill, 2014). Much of the research examining spatial abilities in people with DS has focused on their performance on laboratory measures of spatial abilities. Yet spatial abilities measured in a laboratory setting are …

The Effect Of Teacher-Child Interaction Training (Tcit) On Kindergarten Student's Classroom Behavior And Student-Teacher Relationships, Madison G. Walker

Scripps Senior Theses

Teachers and researchers alike have long debated the most effective strategy for managing children’s classroom behavior. While many methods exist, the most common, and yet most debated, approach in the U.S. remains to be exclusionary discipline, such as suspension and expulsion. However, research has consistently shown this method to be ineffective and even harmful for both students and teachers, as well as incredibly inequitable (Emmer et al., 2015; American Psychological Association, 2008; Tobin et al., 1996 as cited in Emmer et al., 2015). These clear detriments highlight the need for different, more effective classroom management strategies. The current proposed study …

Loneliness, Prosocial Relationships, And Recidivism In Long-Term Incarcerated Juveniles, Amy Rhoads Jozan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Prosocial bonds have been key in juvenile criminal desistance. Juvenile facility placement has resulted in deterioration of important prosocial supports and social isolation, increasing risk for recidivism. Loneliness has been increasingly prevalent in a facility setting, often leading to ongoing behavioral and health problems. Youth incarcerated longer than 1 year have experienced higher rates of physical and mental health challenges, lasting into adulthood. Lengthy juvenile incarceration impacts loneliness, postrelease prosocial relationships, and desistance implications have been underexplored. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore themes associated with reaffiliation motive, or lifelong problems resulting from loneliness, after experiencing youth …

Training Music Therapists And Music Therapy Students To Provide Trauma-Informed Care: Training Development And Pilot Feasibility Study, Mckenna B. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Adverse childhood experiences are considered a serious public health problem and can lead to complex trauma. Due to the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences in the general population, it is likely music therapists frequently treat clients who have experienced trauma; however, there appears to be no published research on music therapy training and education regarding validated trauma-informed approaches. This study examined the impact of a three-hour educational training on music therapists’ knowledge of trauma-informed care and perceptions of preparedness to practice trauma-informed music therapy. Seven training attendees chose to participate and completed a pre-test and post-test covering demographic information, knowledge, …

Improving Outcomes For Children Impacted By Adverse Childhood Experiences (Aces): A Study Of Intervention Effectiveness Guided By Developmental Theory, Lisa Teachanarong Aragon

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) is the term often used to refer to a set of negative experiences occurring in childhood that hold high potential for inducing toxic stress and complex trauma in children (Felitti et al., 1998). Studies have shown that ACEs are common, often co-occur, and exhibit a strong dose-response relationship to many developmental outcomes across the lifespan (e.g., Anda et al., 2006; Blodgett, 2014; Dong et al., 2004; Metzler et al., 2017). As public awareness of ACEs, their prevalence, and their impact has spread, public interest in implementing effective prevention and intervention strategies has also increased (Donisch et …

The Effect Of Deep Pressure Therapy On The Health Of Individuals With Developmental Disorders, Kaitlin Faulcon

Capstone Showcase

Many individuals with Autism (ASD), Anxiety, and other disabilities seek out tactile input, in the form of Deep Pressure Therapy, to calm themselves during stressful situations. First developed in Eastern culture and massage, Deep Pressure Therapy evolved into a mainstream technique used by various populations, including neurotypicals. Weighted blankets, compression vests, and other materials are useful in treatment but have their limitations as well. These garments and tools provide tactile input that positively impacts the individuals' biological functions, self-reported anxiety, and other essential factors. Other sensory treatments like exercise and swaddling provide similar effects but not specific to the deep …

Depression In Adolescence: Risk Factors, Prevention, And Intervention - An Argument For Trauma-Informed Care In The Community, Beauty Davis

Capstone Showcase

BEAUTY DAVIS

Depression in Adolescence: Risk Factors, Prevention, and Intervention - An argument for trauma-informed care in the community

Depression is an unfortunately common mental illness that can lead to negative life outcomes such as substance abuse, suicide, lower quality of life, and anxiety. The stage of adolescence is known as a pivotal, transitional time of life as there are many changes in an individual’s physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development. The research reviewed throughout this paper discusses risk factors that contribute to the development of depressive symptoms in adolescence. Observing how genetic, physiological, environmental, and social components contribute to …

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 …

Career Funneling, Perceptions Of Success, And Their Impact On College Students At Scripps, Pitzer, And Claremont Mckenna Colleges, Carina A. Schick

Scripps Senior Theses

The U.S. News top college ranking lists have created a narrowing definition of collegiate and career success. Students are told an elite education is the ticket to a successful life, one filled with a high achieving career, meaning, and happiness. Through peer, familial, and media interfaces students are inundated with societal definitions of success such as fame, wealth, and status. Socialization primes adolescents to work towards these goals. This idealized type of success is only accessible to a select few, leading to dissatisfaction and creating pressures on students to work towards their college admission at early ages. This thesis examines …

A Meta-Analysis On Non-Cognitive Predictors Of College Student Academic Performance, Maggie Allphin

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

There are many factors that affect student success, often measured with academic performance. Research has shown that students attribute stress as a major factor that affects their academic performance (Frazier et al., 2018). This suggests that the ability to cope with stress can improve academic performance. Studies have shown that higher emotional intelligence is linked to higher ability to cope with stress (Wang, Xie, and Cui, 2016). In this meta-analysis, I looked into the relationship across multiple studies between emotional intelligence, grade point average, and other non-cognitive predictors. For the first meta-analysis, seven records relating emotional intelligence to academic performance …

Bilingual Children's L1 And L2 Word Frequency Effects: The Role Of Individual Differences, Astrid Michelle Portillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Bilingualism continues to grow among the world's population. Nevertheless, most research studies on language processing have focused on monolingual individuals, leaving questions about how language processing unfolds in bilingual individuals. Here, we investigated how individual differences in bilingual experience, indexed by current L2 exposure, impact eye movement measures of reading fluency, indexed by word frequency effects, in an understudied population: bilingual children. Prior eye movement research involving bilingual younger adults (aged 18 to 30) has reported a trade-off in L1 and L2 word frequency effects with greater levels of current L2 exposure (Whitford & Titone, 2012, 2017). We wanted to …

The More You Know: How Adolescent Defendants' Age, Gender, And Psychosocial Maturity Influence Mock Jurors' Perceptions, Isabelle M. Clough

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Adolescents are considered less responsible than adults for criminal behavior due to their developmental immaturity (Cauffman & Steinberg, 2000). When adolescents are transferred from juvenile court to adult court, however, they may be judged by jury members who do not recognize adolescents' diminished maturity nor understand how maturity influences culpability. The present study therefore sought to examine how information about adolescent defendants' age, gender, and psychosocial maturity influences mock jurors' perceptions of responsibility, guilt, and appropriate sentencing severity. A pilot study (N = 113 undergraduates) first determined the most appropriate vignette for the final study: an adolescent charged with hit-and-run …

Shadow Women: Wives Betrayed By Sex Buyers, Ingeborg Kraus

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Shadow women are women whose husbands betray them by using prostituted women. Until now, there has been almost no attention paid to the harm to the wives or partners of men who use prostituted women. In this interview, Dr. Ingeborg Kraus talks to the former wife of a sex buyer. She describes the impact of her husband’s betrayal on her and her family. This type of harm needs to be taken seriously and more research done on it.

Play's Role In The Development Of Antisocial Behavior, Cheyenne Vazquez

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper is a literature review which examines the relationship between play and prosocial behavior. More specifically, it examines its inverse, questioning whether a lack of play in early childhood may be correlated to the development of antisocial behavior later in life. Comparing research from an abundance of psychologists, criminologists, and sociologists, this paper answers various questions pertaining to play and prosocial behavior: What happens if play is inhibited in childhood? Would different reasons for play to be inhibited result in different results (i.e. abusive childhoods, desperate situations such as homelessness and poverty, chronic illness, etc.)? Is a lack of …