Developmental Psychology Commons^™

Asymmetry In Resting Alpha Activity: Effects Of Handedness, Ruth E. Propper, Jenna Pierce, Mark W. Geisler, Stephen D. Christman, Nathan Bellorado

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha band power during rest shows increased right, and/or decreased left, hemisphere activity under conditions of state or trait withdrawal-associated effect. Non-right-handers (NRH) are more likely to have mental illnesses and dispositions that involve such withdrawal-related effect. The aim of the study was to examine whether NRH might be characterized by increased right, relative to left, hemisphere activity during rest. Methods: The present research investigated that hypothesis by examining resting EEG alpha power in consistently-right-handed (CRH) and NRH individuals. Results: In support of the hypothesis, NRH demonstrated decreased right hemisphere alpha power, and therefore increased right hemisphere …

Neural Responses To Infants Linked With Behavioral Interactions And Testosterone In Fathers, Patty X. Kuo, Joshua Carp, Kathleen C. Light, Karen M. Grewen

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Few fMRI studies have investigated the brain-behavioral basis of parenting in human fathers. Ten fathers were videotaped and gave salivary testosterone samples while interacting with their 2–4 month old infants, and viewed video clips of their own infant and an unfamiliar age-, ethnicityand sex-matched other infant during an fMRI protocol. Infant stimuli activated a network of prefrontal and subcortical brain regions. Furthermore, a subset of these regions activated significantly more to own (OWN) than other (OTHER) infants. Finally, neural responses to OWN versus OTHER were linked with paternal sensitivity, paternal reciprocity, and testosterone. In sum, our results provide a novel …

The Long Term Effect Of Parental Involvement In A Child's Education: A Ten-Step Approach, Eraina Ross-Aseme

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Parental Involvement in a child's education is very important to the child becoming a productive citizen. Some parents find themselves getting in at the start of their child entering elementary school; parental involvement should begin before the school age years. Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of establishments such as schools, churches and businesses partnering in a child's education. The goal of this project is to empower parents to build stronger support systems with schools, neighborhoods, churches and communities. Its aim is to show parents, school systems and businesses that collaboration in the education arena can be strengthened to achieve a …

The Control Of Posture In Newly Standing Infants Is Task-Dependent, Laura J. Claxton, Dawn Melzer, Jyoong Hyun Ryu, Jeffrey M. Haddad

Psychology Faculty Publications

The postural sway patterns of newly standing infants were compared under two conditions: standing while either holding or not holding a toy. Infants exhibited a lower magnitude of postural sway and more complex sway patterns when holding the toy. These changes suggest infants adapt postural sway in a manner that facilitates visually fixating on and stabilizing the toy in their hand. When simply standing, infants exhibited postural sway patterns that appeared to be more exploratory in nature. Exploratory sway patterns may allow infants to learn the affordances of their new standing posture. These results demonstrate newly standing infants are capable …

Kompetensi Tindak Direktif Anak Usia Prasekolah, Eti Stiawati

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This study aims to assess the competence of preschool children in producing directive acts. The data were collected in the form of utterances containing forms, functions, and strategies of directive acts. The subjects of this study were children aged 3;0–5;0 years from educated families. The theoretical frameworks employed were pragmatic theory and the Ethnography of Communication. The data were analyzed using an interactive model. The results show that preschool children already demonstrate: (1) fourteen competencies of directive acts, (2) six competencies of directive act functions, and (3) strategic competence in performing directive acts both directly and indirectly.

Social Communication And Theory Of Mind In Boys With Autism And Fragile X Syndrome, Jessica Klusek

Faculty Publications

Impairments in the social use of language, or pragmatics, constitute a core characteristic of autism. Problems with pragmatic language have also been documented in fragile X syndrome (FXS), a monogenic condition that is the most common known genetic cause of autism. Evidence suggests that social cognitive ability, or theory of mind, may also be impaired in both conditions, and in autism, may importantly relate to pragmatic language ability. Given the substantial overlap observed in autism and FXS, this study aimed to better define those social-communicative phenotypes that overlap in these two conditions by comparing pragmatic language ability and theory of …

Health-Related Quality Of Life And Future Care Planning Among Older Adults: Exploring The Role Of Hope As A Moderator, Jodi L. Southerland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Older adults have an increased risk for illness and disease, factors that can lead to functional impairment and intensify the need for reliance on supportive services. Planning for long-term care needs is a vital component of healthy aging and continued autonomy. Yet, many older adults fail to make plans in advance, perhaps due to differences in personal characteristics.

The moderating effects of trait hope on the relationship between health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and preparation for future care needs (PFCN) was studied in a sample of 65 older adult primary care patients (<65 years) in western New York. Participants completed a questionnaire on 5 dimensions of PFCN (awareness of risk, information gathering, decisions about care preferences, concrete planning, and active avoidance). In addition, data were collected on five HRQoL domains (physical function, physical role function, emotional role function, social function, and bodily pain) and trait hope. Moderated multiple regression was used to test the moderator hypothesis controlling for personal characteristics. Post-hoc probing was used to further examine significant interactions.

At the bivariate level, social functioning, physical …

Childhood Depression And Obesity: Role Of The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (Hpa) Axis Activity, Joanne Tyler

Kaleidoscope

This study examined relations between child depression and eating behavior and weight problems, including the role ofbaseline cortisol and cortisol reactivity in these relations. Data were drawn from a larger study, and included 50 children between the ages of6 and 12. Children reported on their depressive symptoms, and children and parents reported on child engagement in external eating, under-eating, over-eating, parental pressure to eat, enjoyment of food, and food and satiety responsiveness. For children exhibiting hypercortisolism, depression was associated with decreased over-eating and food responsiveness. Hypercortisolism was especially important for girls and children later in pubertal development. The reduced appetite …

Gender Differences In Written Expression At The Elementary Level, Ashley D. Melloy

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The use of Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) in schools is increasing, as it is a useful indicator of students’ basic academic skills. CBM measures are often used for identifying students at-risk, monitoring their progress during interventions, and even making special education eligibility determinations. Much of the research has focused on CBM in the area of reading. Relatively few studies have examined the area of CBM-Written Expression. A couple of studies indicated there are gender differences on CBM-Written Expression measures. This study sought to determine if gender differences exist at the elementary level and, if so, at what grade level such differences …

An Item Analysis Of The Child Behavior Checklist With Preschool Children With Autism, Heather Rhea Orten

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The diagnosis of autism is a comprehensive process that requires trained professionals and is often a time consuming process. Behavior rating scales are common components used by practitioners in evaluations to assess various social, emotional, or behavioral problems. With the rise of awareness, the steady increase of autism diagnoses, and the importance of early identification to increase the effectiveness of intervention, there is a need for screeners to identify the characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorders. The purpose of the present study was to determine if there was a group of items on the Child Behavior Checklist/1.5-5 that reliably distinguished between …

Development Of The Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms -- Childhood Obesity Model, Kristi Wilsman

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This project developed a model to account for an obesity outcome in children who have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and whose parents have posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) or PTSD. A literature review provided the basis for the model and covered the areas of childhood obesity, parental PTSS, childhood PTSD, adverse childhood experiences, relational PTSD, ineffective parent support, and the stress response. A model to explain the outcome of obesity in children with PTSD as mediated by parental support provided after a traumatic event was developed: The Parental PTSSChildhood Obesity Model. The literature review supports a relational perspective for viewing child …

Maternal Depressive Symptoms And Responsiveness To Infant Distress: Contingency Analyses Of Home Mother-Infant Interactions At 3 Months, Fernanda Lucchese

Graduate Masters Theses

Maternal depressive symptoms during the postnatal period have been shown to be detrimental to the socio-emotional, cognitive, and motor development of infants. Studies indicate that one of the mediators of these detrimental effects is decreased maternal responsiveness, a maternal characteristic that may hinder infant emotion-regulation development and infant secure attachment. Although previous research has shown the impact of infant cries on the behavior and physiology of mothers with elevated depressive symptoms in laboratory-based contexts, little is known about the quality and timing of maternal responsive behaviors to infant negative affect in mothers with elevated or non-elevated depressive symptoms in the …

Managing Sibling Conflict And The Relation Between Mothers' Emotion Socialization Beliefs And Children's Coping With Peer Victimization, Melissa Anne Faith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the degree to which children's strategies for coping with peer victimization were related to their strategies for coping with sibling victimization. Also examined were the relations among mothers' sibling conflict management strategies, their emotion Socialization beliefs, and children's coping with peer and sibling victimization. Data were obtained from 98 4th grade children and their mothers. Results indicated that children's peer victimization coping strategies were significantly related to their sibling victimization coping strategies. I found that mothers who value and accept children's negative emotions were more likely to coach their children through sibling conflict. Unexpectedly, I found that …

The Impact Of Distractor Duration On Spatial Working Memory In Early Childhood, Brian Keiser

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

Spatial attention appears to act as a rehearsal mechanism in spatial working memory (Awh, 1999; Awh & Jonides, 2001) as adults have trouble maintaining spatial information in their mind when required to shift their attention to locations unrelated to the to-be-retained location. Futhermore, adults increase intentional directed attention to the to-be remembered location when warned ahead of time that distractors will be present during the memory delay (Awh, 2003). Our initial study looked at the presence of a distractor and its impacts on spatial working memory in children. We found that the distractor did impact three and six year old …

A Test Of A Conceptual Model Of Sexual Self-Concept And Its Relation To Other Dimensions Of Sexuality, Arielle R. Deutsch

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

One theoretical concept that has received modest attention in contemporary sexuality research is the sexual self, particularly focusing on sexual self-concept (SSC). While research on the sexual self has expanded over the past 20 years, there is a lack of cohesion within this research that has culminated in a collection of SSC models that, while sharing certain factors, are dissimilar from each other. Therefore a unified conceptual model of SSC needs to be empirically established. Additionally, little research has examined potential differences between genders in how SSC is expressed, as most SSC research focuses exclusively on women. Finally, understanding of …

Agreement In Mother And Father Acceptance-Rejection, Warmth, And Hostility/Rejection/Neglect Of Children Across Nine Countries, Diane L. Putnick, Marc H. Bornstein, Jennifer E. Lansford, Lei Chang, Kirby Deater-Deckard, Laura Di Giunta, Sevtap Gurdal, Kenneth A. Dodge, Patrick S. Malone, Paul Oburu, Concetta Pastorelli, Ann T. Skinner, Emma Sorbring, Sombat Tapanya, Liliana Maria Uribe Tirado, Arnaldo Zelli, Liane Peña Alampay, Suha M. Al-Hassan, Dario Bacchini, Anna Silvia Bombi

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

We assessed whether mothers’ and fathers’ self-reports of acceptance-rejection, warmth, and hostility/rejection/neglect (HRN) of their pre-adolescent children differ cross-nationally and relative to the gender of the parent and child in 10 communities in 9 countries, including China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States (N = 998 families). Mothers and fathers in all countries reported a high degree of acceptance and warmth, and a low degree of HRN, but countries also varied. Mothers reported greater acceptance of children than fathers in China, Italy, Sweden, and the United States, and these effects were accounted for …

What Psychotherapists Have To Teach Us About Childhood Developmental Trauma: The Roles Of Attachment Orientation And Coping Strategy, Rebecca Klott

Dissertations

Psychotherapists have been found to have higher rates of childhood developmental trauma when compared to non-clinicians, yet they do not report more distress. The current study added to the literature regarding the experiences of psychotherapists and explored a theoretical model integrating attachment and coping as mediators for the relationship between childhood developmental trauma and psychological distress among psychotherapists.

A total of 130 masters' level psychologists participated in this study. These participants were asked to complete the following measures: The Child Abuse and Trauma Scale (Sanders& Becker-Lausen, 1995), the Ways of Coping-Revised (Folkman & Lazarus, 1985; Folkman, Lazarus, Denkel-Schetter, DeLongis, & …

Do Toddlers Exhibit Same-Sex Preferences For Adult Facial Stimuli?, Andrea Jane Kayl

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

During the first year, infants exhibit visual preferences for female relative to male faces (Quinn, Yahr, Kuhn, Slater, & Pascalis, 2002). These visual preferences may reflect an adaptive behavior resulting from infants' greater experience with females during social interactions, particularly caregiving (McArthur & Baron, 1983; Rennels & Davis, 2008). As children learn they belong to a particular sex during toddlerhood, they become more active seekers of social knowledge and may begin to seek out members of that sex as models for determining appropriate activities and behaviors (Baldwin & Moses, 1996; Martin, Ruble, & Szkrybalo, 2002). The purpose of this investigation …

The Effects Of Training In Self-Regulated Learning And Achievement Orientations In Lower Socioeconomic Elementary Students, Ashley N. Carroll

Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research has explored the development of the self-regulated learner. The majority of these studies have focused on high school and college students (Hofer & Yu, 2003). This study explored this concept at the elementary school level with lower socioeconomic students. This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of a short intervention teaching self-regulatory and metacognitive learning strategies to these elementary students. The researcher designed a learning intervention for fifth-grade students that included various cognitive strategies and study skills. The intervention group was compared to a control group of fifth-graders. The students' self-efficacy, self-regulation, and achievement orientation were assessed …

The Mediating Role Of Emotion Regulation In The Relations Of Between Somatization And Internalizing Disorders In Children, Priscilla A. Khuanghlawn

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Somatic symptoms are a common experience of childhood and research suggests that specific populations, including girls and children who are African-American, may be more likely to experience and report somatic complaints. Although seen in developmentally typical populations, somatic symptoms are also often strongly linked with general psychopathology, especially internalizing disorders. The etiology of somatic symptoms is unclear, with the current literature suggesting various contributing causes. One such contributing factor includes emotional factors such as the management of emotional arousal through emotion inhibition, coping, and dysregulation. Using an African-American sample of 136 elementary school-aged children (47% boys) and their parents (86% …