Developmental Psychology Commons^™

Cannabis Exposure During Pregnancy And Neural Mechanisms Of Parenting: Assessing Neural Responses To Infant Cues And Parenting Outcomes, Shannon Powers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As legalization of cannabis and cannabinoids spreads in the United States, access and use of cannabis during the prenatal period has increased. There is limited knowledge on the effects of prenatal cannabis use on the parental brain. One way to identify potential effects of cannabis on parenting is through studying parenting brain functions and behavior. Cannabis use disorder (CUD) has been shown to be associated with lower positive parenting and lower sensitivity to infants, but it is unclear by what mechanisms. The following two studies address this gap in knowledge by examining the association between cannabis use during the prenatal …

Understanding The Relationship Between Perceived Childhood Experiences And Relationship With God, Remaz Bahaa

Theses and Dissertations

The present study explores the relationship between perceived childhood experiences and one’s current relationship with God in an Egyptian Muslim sample. While such relationship has been researched in Western contexts, there is a notable gap in understanding these dynamics within Muslim Middle Eastern cultures. In this study, 180 participants, brought up in Muslim households, were given the following questionnaires: both versions of the Parental Acceptance Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ) referring to the father and mother, Attachment to God Inventory (AGI), and Images of God (LAMBI Scale). The results presented the internal consistency of both the AGI and LAMBI scales with the …

Tsunami Exposure And Mental Health Consequences: Protective Role Of Cultural Coping Strategies, Thulitha Wickrama, Michael J. Merten, K. A.S. Wickrama, Amanda Terrell

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

There is a knowledge gap regarding the link between disaster exposure and adolescent mental health problems in developing countries. This study examines the case of Sri Lanka to investigate (a) the immediate and long-term mental health impact of the 2004 tsunami disaster on adolescents and (b) the potential moderating effects of unique cultural and family practices that prevail in Sri Lanka. This study used a random sample of 160 adolescents (ages 12–19) and their mothers who were exposed to the tsunami disaster while living in a southern Sri Lankan village and provided prospective data immediately after the disaster (2005) and …

Unpacking The Behavioral, Cognitive, Sleep, And Stress Associations With Smartphone Checking, Yi Jing Chua

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The widespread use of smartphones for various daily activities has led many users to habitually check their devices. Smartphone checking may be negatively associated with daily behavioural, health, affective, and cognitive outcomes when it interrupts individuals during their work, health, and well-being-enhancing pursuits. Yet, research on smartphone checking suffers from various research gaps, including the use of cross-sectional design which hinder interpretation of the direction of relationship between smartphone checking and daily outcomes, the presence of individual difference confounds, and relying on subjective smartphone checking measures that are susceptible to recall biases. To address these gaps, the study investigated the …

What Does It Mean To Be Kindergarten "Ready?": Trends In Parents' Expectations And Families' School Experiences Across Ses, Lisa Babel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study is to explore the meaning of Kindergarten “ready,” especially as the practice interacts with educational inequity. Past research used secondary data to show that SES relates to the prevalence of redshirting where children’s school entry is delayed by one year with the idea that the older they are when they start school, the more advanced they will be, but studies do not explain why children from families with lower incomes are advised to start Kindergarten later than others (Greensburg & Winsler, 2020; Reardon & Portilla, 2016). Moreover, family expectations of the Kindergarten participation process, including …

Creatively Addressing The Employment Gap: Using Creativity And The Arts To Help Autistic Adolescents And Young Adults Build Skills For Employment, Eliana Rachel Grossman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Neurodiversity-affirmative autism frameworks present a shift from deficit-based models of autism to the recognition that autism is but one of many facets of biodiversity that should be affirmed and embraced. However, there is little research examining links between creativity and autism that has adopted a neurodiversity-affirming approach. The dissertation aimed to expand upon the nascent interdisciplinary link between neurodiversity-affirmative autism research and creativity to 1) understand the creative experiences of autistic adolescents and young adults and 2) address the critical issue of chronic unemployment faced by autistic people.

The first study examined the perspectives of autistic adolescents and young adults …

Playing With Weplay!: Adapting A Caregiver-Child Group For Caregivers Of Young Children With Early Signs Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Louisa A. Cahn-Gambino

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

WePlay! Denver, a collaboration between the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Professional Psychology and the Children’s Museum of Denver, Marsico Campus, began providing caregiver-infant playgroups to the community in 2019. WePlay! and Nosotros Jugamos, the English and Spanish-speaking groups, teach caregivers with young children about play-based exploration, provide psychoeducation, and offer resources. Qualitative data from WePlay! Denver’s initial groups and input from the WePlay! Denver team emphasized interest in expanding WePlay! to include families with children of varying developmental stages and who have specific developmental needs and considerations (Gross et al., 2021), such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD …

Toward Otherworlding The Teaching-Learning Of Psychology With Community College Students, Francisco Medina

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation reimagines a different relationality to teaching-learning psychology in the community college classroom through a series of three separate articles. Each article draws on quasi-ethnographic, autoethnographic, and group discussions elements to wonder about the types of theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical dimensions that might make psychology courses more attuned and accountable to younger generations and the end of the world as we know it. The first article explores the metaphysical inseparability, interdependence, and co-constitution of teaching-learning, theory-making, and collective world-making in the psychology community college classroom as an invitation to the end of psychology as we know it. I argue …

Teacher Beliefs And Experiences Addressing Healthy Racial And Ethnic Identity Instructionally Through Social Emotional Learning, Juliana Gutierrez

Theses and Dissertations

Children and youth develop within an ecological context that includes family, peers, and broader social environments including school. Children’s understanding of their ethnic or racial group and the meaning they attribute to belonging in that group is also shaped by interactions in their school environment. Most research on school-based social-emotional learning (SEL) programs has focused on student behavioral and academic outcomes. However, as SEL spreads across U.S. K-12 schools, questions have emerged surrounding how children from diverse racial and cultural groups and unequal opportunity can benefit from universal SEL programs. Using a mixed-methods design, this study explores teachers’ understanding and …

Secure Attachment Styles And Depression In Adolescents With Co-Rumination As A Moderator, Kimberly Murray

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Depression among adolescents has increased over the years and can affect development and potentially lead to substance abuse, self-injurious behavior, and suicide. Adolescents with secure attachments to parents have been found to have fewer symptoms of depression. Co-rumination with friends has shown to be related to positive quality in friendships due to self-disclosure between friends; however, co-rumination also is related to an increase in depression. The purpose of this quantitative study is to examine whether adolescent’s attachment style with parents is associated with depression and whether this association is moderated by co-rumination with friends. The theories that were used to …

Sexual Abuse: A Multi-Faceted Problem, Marcus Venable

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

On average, US citizens have experienced approximately 400,000 sexual assaults per year, which results in enormous immediate and long-term consequences for individuals, as well as society in general.

In the U.S., the principal method of combatting this crime has been the creation of Sex Offender Registries used to notify the public of the identity and location of convicted sex offenders who may be living in proximity to their residence. In addition to the Registry, laws have been passed forbidding convicted sex offenders from residing within buffer zones around areas of high child concentration [schools/parks/etc.].

The efficacy and consequences of these …

Past Experiences And Current Attitudes: Is Everything Connected?, Miranda Oddy

Honors Projects

The purpose of this study was to explore the ways past experiences with mental health issues affect current stigma and outlook on life. I investigated whether a personal experience or the experience of someone close (e.g., family, friend) with mental health issues impacted stigma and outlook more than other. The sample included 242 participants who were 18 to 86 years old (M_age = 27.44, SD_age = 16.58), 51.7% white, and 77.3% female. Surveys were advertised on a small liberal arts university offering class credit for students and online. The survey included questions on life satisfaction, optimism, stigma, and …

Exploring The Literature On Art Therapy Interventions In Mitigating The Negative Effects Of Loneliness In College Students, Molly Hoekman

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Experiences of loneliness and social isolation among college students pose a concern for emerging adults’ mental and physical health, as well as greater impacts on university systems across the country. While social isolation and loneliness are subjective experiences, there are a range of factors rooted in developmental psychology and sociocultural theory that influence the rising rates and acuity of loneliness. Attachment theorists posit that secure attachment early in life can impact how individuals make lasting interpersonal connections long after their childhood. Secure and insecure attachment styles combined with the dramatic transition to college for a young adult are influencing factors …

Embodied Co-Regulation: A Neuroregulatory-Informed Dance/Movement Therapy Transition Intervention Method For Arousal Regulation For Adolescents In A Partial Hospitalization Program, Anamaria Guzman

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis introduces a novel Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) approach, focusing on nervous system arousal regulation during transitions between therapy groups. The core of the method involves a brief 5-minute exercise designed to modulate arousal levels, encompassing alertness and energy, aiming to establish a baseline homeostasis. Rooted in Polyvagal Theory and Developmental Neurobiology, the approach assumes the co-regulation of nervous systems within a group therapeutic setting. Two primary outcomes are self-assessed: 1) somatic experiences documented through narratives and 2) nervous system biodata measured using the Flowtime headband monitoring of brainwaves, heart rate, and other biomarkers. Results indicated that all six sessions …

Aligning With Adolescents: A Literature Review Of Art Therapy In Residential Treatment Programs, Olivia Moore

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Adolescents in residential treatment programs throughout the United States are a specialized population that demonstrate resiliency and hope every day. Many adolescents in these programs have experienced prominent levels of trauma that impact their ability to function in lower-level programs, foster homes, and in their communities. Residential treatment approaches may look like locked facilities with trauma-informed staff who provide programming options, mental health care, and safe living conditions for adolescents. Without strength-based approaches to treatment, this population may struggle to overcome their trauma, mental health challenges, and developmental needs. In this literature review, art therapy was offered to provide developmentally …

A Music Therapist’S Clinical Improvised Songwriting To Explore Countertransference In The Therapeutic Relationship For An Individual With Multiple Disabilities, Isabella Sances

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This qualitative and arts-based capstone thesis discusses working with individuals with multiple disabilities, songwriting in music therapy, intersubjective communication and theory, and countertransference in music therapy, by sharing the literature and presenting a method of how a music therapist’s own clinical improvised songwriting explores countertransference in the therapeutic relationship for an individual with multiple disabilities. Music therapy is used to treat individuals with multiple disabilities. The literature demonstrates that music therapy and improvisation can support communication development in clients with multiple disabilities. However, there is little research regarding countertransference and reflections by music therapists. This thesis explored post-session improvised songwriting …

Effects Of A Character Strengths Intervention On Emerging Adults’ Identity Formation, Self-Efficacy, And Self-Doubt, Wen Pin Wong, Kai-Shuen Pheh, Chee Seng Tan

Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia

This study aimed to determine the effects of a single-session character strength intervention (CSI) on enhancing identity formation and self-efficacy and decreasing self-doubt of Malaysian emerging adults enrolled in tertiary education. A randomized active-controlled trial with a pretest, a posttest, and a 2-week follow-up was performed. A total of 129 undergraduate students (aged 18–25) were randomly assigned to either the CSI or the control group, who participated in a gatekeeper training for suicide prevention. Data from emerging and perceived adults were analyzed separately through a mixed-design analysis of variance. CSI showed no effects on improving emerging adults’ identity formation, self-efficacy, …

Symbolic Play And Imagination In Child-Centered Play Therapy, Stephanie Anderson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Child-centered play therapy (CCPT) is based on the theory that a child’s natural means of communication is through play. However, there is a lack of research into how this communication occurs in CCPT sessions. This grounded theory study explored the processes utilized by child-centered play therapists and their clients to communicate with each other using symbolic play and imagination. Data were gathered through semi structured interviews with six child-centered play therapists and three archival videos of CCPT sessions to gain a holistic understanding of how communication occurs in sessions. This study’s data analysis revealed 20 selective and six subcodes associated …

Sleep's Relationship To Executive Functioning In Toddlers, Ella Havertape

Honors Theses

The primary purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between toddlers’ sleep and executive functioning. While there are a few studies that examine the relation between sleep and executive functioning in this age group, the majority of research focuses on older populations. Regardless, previous research has found a correlation between sleep problems and executive functioning abilities. This study utilized a parent reported questionnaire to measure children’s sleep and a battery of tasks to measure executive functioning. The results revealed no correlation between sleep duration and executive function performance, however, I did find a correlation between night wakefulness and …

Predicting Personal Growth: An Analysis Of Self-Relevant Approaches, Cole Morse

Honors Theses

Identifying predictors of personal growth–defined as striving to fulfill one’s unique potential–may be important for achieving a life of flourishing (Ryff & Singer, 2008). While existing research demonstrates the link between self-esteem and personal growth, gaps remain in our knowledge of the relationship between other potential self-referential predictors and personal growth (Paradise & Kernis, 2002). The intention of the current study is to not only conceptually replicate the link between positive self-regard (i.e., a positive self-evaluation that is theoretically akin to self-esteem) and personal growth, but to also investigate whether different ways of relating to the self offer unique pathways …