Emergent Literacy Skills In Print And Electronic Contexts: The Influence Of Book Type, Narration Style, And Attention, Kathryn Joyce O'Toole

Dissertations

Preschoolers can learn words and story content from traditional print books, but there has been no direct comparison of their learning from print and e-books while controlling for narration style. Additionally, very little empirical work has utilized a tablet e-book as the majority of research has examined learning from computer e-books. The current project examined how 4-year-olds (N = 100) learned words and story content from four different book reading contexts: a print book read aloud by a live adult, a print book narrated by an audio device, a tablet e-book read aloud by a live adult, or a tablet …

The Influence Of Community-Based Summer Programs On Ethnically Diverse, Low-Income Chicago Youth, Amy Governale

Master's Theses

How youth spend their time has become an increasingly important factor in studying adolescent development. During the summer months, longer periods of unsupervised time have been associated with a loss of academic skills and lower social-emotional skills. One support for at-risk youth and adolescents might be summer programs housed in community-based organizations. Using a pre-post test design over an 11-week period, the present study examines the linkages among participation in summer programs, individual characteristics, and youth outcomes among ethnically diverse, low-income Chicago youth. Analyses revealed ethnicity was related to math skills at the end of the summer, although the strongest …

Examination Of Script And Non-Script Based Narrative Retellings In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Elizabeth Ann Hilvert

Master's Theses

This study compared the narrative abilities of 19 children with Autism Spectrum

Disorder (ASD) and 26 neurotypical children (NT), between 6 and 12 years of age, on two story retelling tasks: a script-based story and a non-script based story. The script- based story contained the structural aspects of a narrative, but also had the internal framework of a script (Hayward et al., 2007). Given the reduced cognitive and linguistic demands of the script-based story, it was expected that the script-based narrative measure would minimize narrative differences between children with and without ASD. Additionally, the relation between narrative production, theory of …

Using Structural Equation Modeling To Understand The Role Of The Family In Pediatric Asthma Contexts, Nour Al Ghriwati

Theses and Dissertations

Family factors have long been associated with the psychosocial adjustment of children with chronic illnesses, such as asthma (Minuchin, 1975; Rapee, 1997). Research indicates that negative family factors may also contribute to child disease severity, via bio-behavioral mechanisms of effect (Wood et al., 2006); however, these pathways have yet to be examined with a comprehensive focus on more positive family factors. This study sought to examine whether factors such as family cohesion, problem solving abilities, and communication influence asthma symptom severity in children via their effects on child depression and anxiety symptoms. Using structural equation modeling, we identified significant indirect …

A Mixed Methods Perspective: How Integral Leaders Can Contribute To The Growth Of Emerging Leaders, Susan M. Hayes

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Given that organizational complexity continues to increase, leaders are looking for credible information, and a process that helps them become a better leader. Emerging leaders are faced with trying to be the best leader they can be while leading teams of people who think and act differently from them. To assist emerging leaders with their leadership, this study explores the literature and looks to highly respected and admired leaders for how they became the leader they are today. The purpose of this study was fourfold: first, to identify and describe first and second tier integral theory leaders from a sample …

Equifinality And Multifinality In Psychopathology: Can Cognitive And Emotional Processes Differentiate Internalizing, Externalizing, And Co-Occurring Psychopathology, Brittany Jordan-Arthur

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite our knowledge of environmental risk factors for psychopathology, the equifinality and multifinality observed in the extant literature reveals how little is known about the role of these risk factors in the development of psychopathology. The purpose of this study was to identify processes that differentiate internalizing, externalizing and co-occurring psychopathology. Specifically, emotion identification skill and cognitive appraisal style were examined as processes where individual differences may contribute to the development of mental illness. To date no study has been conducted to examine whether emotion identification and appraisal style may differentiate forms of internalizing, externalizing and co-occurring psychopathology and lack …

An Investigation Of The Increased Reliance On Familiarity In Associative Recognition Of Unitized Compound Word Pairs, Fahad Naveed Ahmad

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Unitization refers to when two components are integrated or combined into a single unit. So the whole is more familiar than the parts (Graf & Schacter, 1989). Previous researchers have shown unitization of unrelated word pairs can occur by the use of compound definition. As support, they have found unitization to increase reliance on familiarity in associative recognition. The purpose of this PhD dissertation was to examine the effects of unitization of preexperimental associations on associative recognition. The effects of associative recognition of unitized compound word (CW) pairs can serve as a useful benchmark to compare to that of other …

Parental Spatial Input During Parent-Child Interactions: A Two-Dimensional Versus A Three-Dimensional Learning Experience, Ariel Ho

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Children’s spatial ability is predictive of their future achievement in many academic and occupational domains, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM; e.g., Wai at el., 2009). During the early years, experiences such as hearing spatial language (e.g., Ferrara et al., 2011) and engaging in spatial activities with three-dimensional (3D) blocks or puzzles (e.g., Casey et al., 2008) are found to facilitate children’s spatial learning. Other than 3D toys, the use of two-dimensional (2D) touchscreen media (e.g., iPads^®) by young children has been on the rise (e.g., Rideout, 2013). Technology has become part of children’s daily activities and …

Gender Differences In Pay Equity: An Examination Of The Working Adolescent, Melanie L. Saari

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study was conducted to determine whether adult gender-based wage inequities are mirrored in the adolescent population. A developmental perspective was taken while examining this topic, so as to pinpoint stages when divergences based on gender might occur. In order to ascertain this, 157 pre-and young adolescents ranging in age from 12-15 years old participated in our survey and a subset of this group (n=89) participated in the follow-up interview. Contained in both the survey and interview were questions pertaining to remuneration, employment, negotiation, gender stereotypes and attitudes about money. Results indicated that young females seem to receive a better …

Living The Green Life: A Mixed-Methods Examination Of The Relationship Between Generativity And Environmental Engagement In Emerging And Mid-Life Canadian Activists And Nonactivists, Susan Alisat

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation examined the role of the personality features of identity and generativity for the composition of personal narratives and engagement in an environmental domain. Although generativity has been highlighted as a key feature of environmentalism, this work extends the understanding of that link by examining its relationship with, and its emergence in, personal narratives of environmental activists and nonactivists. Narratives were analyzed at three distinct levels, in order to develop a thorough understanding of how generativity might intersect with an environmental personal narrative identity.

In the first study, I examined stories in terms of the features of generative commitment …

Moral Identity Development In Adulthood, Lourdes Andrea Murua

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

Past research on moral identity development mostly focused on adolescence and early adulthood. As a consequence, little is known about developmental changes in moral identity in the adult years. The purpose of the present study was to broaden the research done on moral identity by investigating the changes in moral identity that individuals experience between adolescence and mid age. To this end, 252 participants were recruited. They ranged in age from 14 to 65 years, and were split into four age-groups: 14-18 years (N=67, 41 females) mean age 16.97; 19 to 25 years (N=52, 29 females) mean age 22.48; …

“Are The Girls Out To Bingo? And Is “Frenchie” Gettin Tipsy? On A Sudbury Saturday Night”: Gambling Among Older Francophones In North-Eastern Ontario, Éric R. Thériault

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Since its legalization, gambling has become a popular form of entertainment in Canada (e.g., Tepperman & Wanner, 2012). Despite this increase in popularity, little research has been done examining gambling among older adults, and even in this area of research there is a lack of attention to minority groups (e.g., Ariyabuddhiphongs, 2012; Munro, Cox-Bishop, McVey, & Munro., 2003). Tirachaimongkol and colleagues (2010) proposed a theoretical pathways model to help explain problem gambling risk in older adults. This model includes three “clusters” of risk factors, including individual vulnerability factors, social and environmental factors, and behavioural regulation factors. The second cluster is …

Social Factors Influencing Early Reading Development From Kindergarten To Grade One In English-Speaking Public Schools In Ontario And Quebec, Katherine Wood

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This research study examines the influence of providing parents with early literacy or socio-emotional instruction on their children’s performance in reading and social skill development. Parents were offered four interactive workshops designed to assist them in identifying everyday opportunities to reinforce either early reading skills or early social skills development. Two reading skills approaches were explored, traditional text reading and traditional text reading with computer-assisted learning opportunities. These two reading approaches were contrasted with a set of social development workshops derived from social-emotional learning models. Children’s performance was measured at three time intervals from early kindergarten to early in grade …

Positive Parenting In Adolescence And Its Association With Future Hopes And Fears In Adulthood: A Longitudinal Analysis, Harmanpreet Chauhan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

During young adulthood (ages 20-39), individuals begin to develop a future orientation by thinking about their possible selves. In this longitudinal study, young adults’ future hopes and fears were examined in relation to their perceptions of the parenting style they experienced in adolescence. An interview was conducted with participants at age 26 and 32 to assess their future possible selves. Participants discussed both hoped-for and feared selves. The long-term impact of parenting on future hopes and fears was examined by exploring the possible impact of perceived parenting styles experienced in adolescence. Interviews were conducted in 2005 and 2011 with 26 …

Post Traumatic Stress And Externalizing Behaviors In At Risk Urban Adolescents: A Prospective Study, Angela Chung, Lauren Guerra, Jerry L. Mize Ii, Lena Jaggi, Wendy Kliewer

Undergraduate Research Posters

Adolescents in in urban areas are at a higher risk for experiencing direct victimization as well as witnessing violence directed towards others, which increases the amount of post-traumatic stress (PTS) they face (Joseph, S., Mynard, H., & Mayall, M. 2000). Experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been associated with a number of negative externalizing behaviors, such as increased delinquency, drug use and aggressive behavior in adolescents (Dierkhising, C. B., Ko, S. J., Woods-Jaeger, B., Briggs, E. C., Lee, R., & Pynoos, R. S. 2013). This association is especially relevant, as adolescence is a stage where youth are beginning to …

Differentiating Sleep Problems Most Related To Depression And Anxiety In College Students, Emily C. Rowland, Lizna Khimani, Tess Drazdowski, Wendy Kliewer

Undergraduate Research Posters

Sleep problems, anxiety and depression are common amongst college students. Researchers examined the specific sleep problems correlated with anxiety and depression. These sleep problems included sleep duration, sleep disturbances, sleep latency, daytime dysfunction, habitual sleep efficiency, overall sleep quality, and use of sleep medication. Researchers predicted that daytime dysfunction was the most important sleep problem related to greater anxiety symptoms, followed by overall quality of sleep, and sleep duration. Meanwhile, it was also predicted that daytime dysfunction would be the most important sleep problem and sleep latency the second most important sleep problem related to greater depressive symptoms. The study …

Effect Of Maternal Sensitivity On Language Acquisition Of Multiples, Madhuri Prayaga

Undergraduate Research Posters

The purpose of this study was to examine language acquisition and development in multiple birth children compared to singleton children in order to examine how decreased maternal sensitivity amongst mothers of multiple compared to mothers of singletons affects language acquisition skills in children.. The first phase of research for this study started with research on maternal sensitivity, specifically differing levels of it amongst mothers of different types of children, either by singletons of multiples, and potential causes for these differing levels of maternal sensitivity. The second phase focused on language skills of multiple and singletons at a young age and …

The Transition To Parenthood: The Role Of Humility, Gratitude And Forgiveness, Charlene M. Gaw, Elisabeth Alison, Azza Hussein

Undergraduate Research Posters

The transition to parenthood, while an exciting time to celebrate the life of their child, causes parents to face new challenges such as physical exhaustion (Petch & Halford, 2008), role overload (Perry-Jenkins, Goldberg, Pierce, & Sayer, 2007), and less time for themselves and their partners (Feeney, Hohaus, Noller, & Alexander, 2001). Today in the United States, 85% of women and 76% of men will have parented a child by the time they are forty (Roy, Schumm, & Britt, 2014), making this an important developmental transition to examine. Humility has been found to have numerous social benefits, among them the initiation …

California Community Colleges Child Development Laboratory Schools, Shari Yates

Dissertations

Community colleges in California are the primary source for preparing the early childhood care and education (ECE) workforce. The California child development lab school mission is to prepare ECE practitioners, provide a laboratory where college students can study and research child development/education, and offer a service to children and families. There are many benefits that are derived from laboratory schools but many community college lab schools have been reduced and/or closed over the past three years. The purposes of this Delphi study were (a) to examine the most pressing issues, problems and barriers facing California community colleges child development labs …

The Association Between Trauma Exposure, Maladjustment, And Aggression In Detained Boys, Kelli R. Thompson

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has demonstrated an association between violence exposure and aggression; however, research exploring the association between violence exposure and the forms and functions of aggression is scarce. The aim of this study was to explore the associations between trauma exposure with both reactive and proactive functions of aggression by examining two potential mediators (e.g., psychopathic traits and emotional dysregulation). Participants included 132 male juvenile offenders mandated to treatment in a residential facility (M = 16.78 years old; SD = 1.25). Results indicate emotional dysregulation partially mediated the association between trauma exposure and reactive aggression while controlling for proactive …