Developmental Psychology Commons^™

Examining How Individual Approaches To Learning Support Mentorship Relationships And Greater Well-Being For At-Risk College Students, Rebecca Renae Donaldson

CGU Theses & Dissertations

A large body of research suggest positive educational contexts may buffer against negative effects of childhood trauma for some individuals (Bessey, 2017). However, to date, only a small body of research has examined the characteristics of students’ approaches to learning that may interact with mentorship experiences in higher education and support greater well-being for this population (Mak, 2012). Studies suggest mentorship relationships in higher education are critical for the well-being of at-risk students, as they provide greatly needed social support and guidance (Al Makhamreh & Stockley, 2019). Literature also indicates that generative force characteristics of students may support mentorship experiences …

Investigating How Reading Enhances Empathy: A Longitudinal, Diary Study Of Everyday Reading Habits, Caleb H. Mitchell

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Empathy is the social glue that holds people together, and one way to enhance empathy is through reading fiction. Though reading can enhance empathy, there is little understanding of the mechanisms by which it does so. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate how time spent reading enhances empathy. I posit that two reading experience variables, narrative transportation and reading flow, mediate the relationship between reading and empathy. This is because transportation, feeling absorbed into a story, helps bring characters to life and increases readers’ emotional connections, and reading flow, a balance between skill and challenge while reading, can …

Dancing The Storm: Neurobiological Correlates Of Trauma-Related Psychopathology In Youth Resettled As Refugees, And The Efficacy Of Creative Arts And Movement Therapies To Address Trauma-Related Psychopathology, Lana Ruvolo Grasser

Wayne State University Dissertations

Exposure to stress and trauma activates key adaptive pathways, including the sympathetic adrenomedullary system and the immune system, which can result in long-term health impacts of trauma especially when experienced during sensitive developmental periods. Alterations in these systems are measurable through non-invasive methods including skin conductance response (SCR), fear potentiated startle (FPS), and inflammation. Research regarding the impact of trauma, and more specifically posttraumatic stress disorder, has primarily focused on adults, and there is a paucity of neurobiological research in displaced populations—like refugees—who may experience higher rates of trauma exposure and related psychopathology. The present study measured SCR to a …

Risk And Protective Factors For Sexual Aggression Across The Ecosystem: An Overview, Emily A. Waterman, Katie M. Edwards

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Prevention of sexual aggression (which ranges from perpetration of unwanted sexual contact to attempted/completed rape) is a complex public health and safety issue that requires attention to multiple levels of social ecology (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2004). The social ecological model provides a framework for understanding how risk and protective factors for sexual aggression exist at multiple levels, with some factors being more proximal such as the individual attitudes, and other factors being more distal such as the broader culture (e.g., laws and policies) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). Indeed, research indicates a variety of risk …

Examining The Effects Of An Online Group Social Skills Program On Emotion Regulation Skills For Adolescents And Young Adults With An Autism Spectrum Disorder, Breanna Perron

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Difficulties with emotion regulation and social skills have been identified as core deficits for individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (Turcotte et al., 2016). These deficits have been shown to lead to a multitude of social consequences and difficulties across the lifespan when unaddressed (Shattuck et al., 2011). Therefore, it is vital to establish effective interventions to teach the skills necessary to combat those deficits. The present study uses a behavioral skills training model to teach emotion regulation online using video modeling. The results provide potential support for increasing emotion regulation through the teaching of social skills. There were also …

Infant Motor Development Predicts The Dynamics Of Movement During Sleep, Aaron Demasi, Melissa N. Horger, Anat Scher, Sarah E. Berger

Publications and Research

The characteristics of infant sleep change over the first year. Generally, infants wake and move less at night as they grow older. However, acquisition of new motor skills leads to temporary increases in night waking and movement at night. Indeed, sleep-dependent movement at night is important for sensorimotor development. Nevertheless, little is known about how movement during sleep changes as infants accrue locomotor experience. The current study investigated whether infant sleep and movement during sleep were predicted by infants' walking experience. Seventy-eight infants wore an actigraph to measure physical activity during sleep. Parents reported when their infants first walked across …

Childhood Sexual Abuse In Boys Under The Age Of 18: Nonverbal Disclosure Patterns Through Behavior, Matthew J. Luz

The Graduate Review

Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) include being exposed to or victimized by physical, emotional, or sexual abuse; if left untreated, traumas may disrupt normative biopsychosocial development. Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a phenomenon investigated by many researchers, however, the scientific community suspects CSA in boys is underreported. Since there are significant gender differences in CSA verbal disclosures, examining nonverbal disclosures in boys through overt, sexualized behaviors may help clinicians confirm suspected cases of CSA. Since most research investigates verbal disclosures of sexual abuse, this study will investigate nonverbal disclosure in boys between the ages of 6 through 10 using naturalistic observations …

Practical Femininity: The Student Development Of Legally Blonde’S Elle Woods, Elizabeth S. Rodericks

The Graduate Review

College experiences often involve challenges that can provide the impetus for personal and professional growth. Likewise, Elle Woods of the film Legally Blonde undergoes multiple significant changes in her sense of identity, morality, and ability to take charge of her own life after she is forced to radically change her perspective and priorities. This paper covers her development as a law student and individual according to the student development theories of Chickering’s Seven Vectors of Identity Development, Gilligan’s Theory of Women’s Moral Development, and Baxter Magolda’s Self-Authorship Theory. As a result of her growth, Elle Woods flourishes into a confident, …

Does Co-Speech Gesture Support Children’S Analogical Reasoning? An Investigation Into The Differential Effects Of Gesture On Learning, Katharine F. Guarino

Dissertations

Although the general consensus is that gesture supports learning across a wide range of learning contexts, nuances to gesture’s effects are found across the gesture-for-learning literature. The purpose of this body of research was to advance our understanding of gesture’s effect on learning. Specifically, we explored the utility of gesture in a domain that had not been considered in the gesture literature previously: analogical reasoning (Study 1). We aimed to understand whether gesture supports children’s analogical reasoning ability and why gesture might support this type of reasoning. Specifically, we investigated whether gesture could support learning through directing visual attention, thereby …

Informal And Formal Mentoring Of Sexual And Gender Minority Youth: A Systematic Review, Katie Edwards, Jillian R. Scheer, Victoria Mauer

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Research demonstrates that mentoring relationships can promote positive outcomes for youth across numerous domains, a topic of importance to school social workers. Whereas most mentoring research to date has been conducted with heterosexual cisgender youth, there is a growing body of literature that examines mentoring experiences among sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY). The purpose of this article is to conduct a systematic literature review of informal and formal mentoring experiences among SGMY. Results from twelve studies that met inclusion criteria suggested that (1) the majority of SGMY report having a mentor/role model; (2) demographics are generally unrelated to having …

Iranian Parents' Perceptions On Physical Activity For Their Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Sarvin Salar, Justin A. Haegele, Hassan Daneshmandi

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic is a remarkable health crisis that enforced most people to stay at home and quarantine for a period of time and seems to be having negative impacts on physical activity and mental health worldwide. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder with a deficit in social interaction characteristics, relationships, and stereotyped behaviors. This study examined Iranian parents’ perceptions of physical activity for their children with ASD during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: In this study, an explanatory qualitative methodology was used and data were collected via semi-structured phone interviews. The samples included 40 Iranian parents (aged …

Humanitarian Workers' Perspectives On Mental Health And Resilience Of Refugee Youth: Implications For School Psychology, Diana Maria Diaków

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Almost half of the 79.5 million forcibly displaced persons worldwide are youth under the age of 18, including refugees. Refugee youth face deliberate threats across all migration stages including violence, abuse, exploitation, poor living conditions, limited or no access to healthcare and education, interrupted family structure, and discrimination. Noteworthy, school psychologists who practice in host countries face new challenges as these diverse youth enroll in public schools. During the migration stage, humanitarian workers are a primary source of psychosocial and educational support for refugee youth and their families. Therefore, the aim of this research study was to inform school psychology …

The Role Of Socioeconomic Status In Cognition And Brain Health Across The Lifespan, Erica Chung

Honors Theses

Disparities in cognition are inevitable throughout the lifespan due to socioeconomic gaps. Individuals of lower socioeconomic status (SES) may have fewer access to environmental resources, especially with regard to education, than individuals of higher socioeconomic status. Differences in available resources from a young age may affect brain development, leading to detriments in cognition and behavior, further impacting socioeconomic success in adulthood. In the present study, we modeled the development of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and changes in cognitive function throughout the life trajectory in the Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research Rockland Sample. The DLPFC volume was predicted to …

Preschoolers’ Electrodermal Activity And Story Comprehension During Print And Digital Shared Reading, Gabrielle Strouse, Steven R. Chesnut, Lisa Newland, Daniel Mourlam, Danielle Hertel, Brandon Nutting

School of Education Faculty Publications

Digital picture books are increasingly available for shared reading but reports on how children engage with them differ depending on the type of measurement used. The purpose of this study was to compare pre-readers’ engagement during print and digital shared reading and test whether engagement mediated the relation between children’s preference, familiarity with the stories, and media experience and their comprehension of the story. Using a within-subjects design with order and book title randomly assigned, we captured electrodermal activity from 83 children aged 3 to 5 years during shared print and digital reading with a researcher. We also asked children …

The Differential Influence Of Maltreatment Subtype And Age Of Exposure On Empathy, Kate L. Senich

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The capacity for empathy may be shaped by interpersonal interactions throughout development. Research shows that detrimental interactions, such as maltreatment, lead to aberrant levels of empathy. However, different subtypes of abuse and neglect as well as age of exposure complicate the relationship between maltreatment and empathy. The current study aims to elucidate the contributions of maltreatment subtypes and age of exposure in predicting state and trait empathy. Participants (N=94, M age=19.12 years, 45.7% male) self-reported their age of exposure to eight subscales of maltreatment from caregivers. Next, participants self-reported their trait empathy and completed a vignette measure aimed to assess …

Effects Of Early Bilingualism On Theory Of Mind Development Among Children In Economic Adversity, Rong Huang

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The present study investigated the associations between bilingualism and Theory of Mind (ToM) development among children from low-income backgrounds. ToM is the capacities of understanding others’ mental states, such as beliefs, knowledge, or emotions, which develops rapidly during early childhood. Previous studies showed that bilingual experience may be associated with an enhanced ToM, while it is less known whether the similar effect can be generalized to the low-income populations. In addition, it remained unclear what role of Executive Function (EF) plays in the relationship between bilingualism and Theory of Mind in economically disadvantaged environments. The current study aims to address …

The Effects Of Gestational Exposure To Buprenorphine Or Morphine On Offspring Development, Abigail Myers

Wayne State University Theses

The opioid crisis in the United States has grown to epidemic proportions with opioid dependence among pregnant women quadrupling from 1999-2014. Opioid-dependent pregnant women are commonly given opioid maintenance therapies (e.g., buprenorphine), but the developmental and neurological effects of these drugs on offspring development are poorly understood. Our study uses a translational rodent model to characterize the developmental consequences of gestational morphine (“MS”; mimicking opioid use disorder) or buprenorphine (“BUP”; mimicking opioid maintenance therapy) exposure on exposed offspring. Female rats started BUP (1.0 mg/kg) or MS (3-6.0 mg/kg) exposure 7 days before pregnancy to represent an established user and either …

The Lived Experiences Of Sports Retirement Among Elite, Action Sports Athletes, Gracie Struthers

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study explored the lived experiences of sports retirement among elite, action sport athletes. This study examined participants’ retirement experiences, their well-being post-retirement, and recommendations participants had for current athletes about retirement. Interviews were conducted remotely with four participants. Participants identified as Caucasian, in the 25–38 age range, had been involved with their sport competitively for 17.75 years, and had been retired for 3.37 years. Data was collected and analyzed utilizing Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Participants’ experiences during retirement illustrated a significant disruption in their lives and the way they lived. This disruption was characterized by significant grief and distress, …

The Examination And Evaluation Of The Public Foster Care System's Attachment-Based Intervention And Trainings For Foster Parents In The West North Division Of The Midwestern States, Brooke T. Crowell

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The effectiveness of many foster parent training curricula in the United States foster care system is basically unknown (Adkins et al., 2018). Furthermore, there is little to no research that indicate when and how attachment-focused interventions and trainings are being implemented in the United States. Thus, the initial purpose of this study was to examine and evaluate interventions and trainings pertaining to attachment that exist throughout the United States public foster care system. As this study progressed however, the purpose shifted to answering this question: How is the Midwest foster care system training staff and foster parents on issues of …

Adult-Onset And Adolescent-Limited Suicidal Ideation: A Developmental Approach To Suicide, Brent Teasdale, Michelle N. Harris, Mindy Bradley, Suraiya H. Shammi, Jerreed D. Ivanich

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Suicidal thoughts and actions have typically been studied from an eventsbased perspective. Some emerging studies, however, have begun to examine suicide and related behaviors through a longitudinal perspective, specifically focusing on establishing trajectories of suicidal behavior. In general, this work produces three-class trajectories of suicide attempts among adolescents, including groups such as: (1) no or low suicidal behavior; (2) moderate suicidal behavior; and (3) high suicidal behavior. Less is known about potential trajectory patterns of suicidal ideation associated with later stages of the life course. Moreover, identifying a low-, moderate-, and high-risk group does not inform the developmental processes that …