School Psychology Commons^™

Mental Health On Campus: What Barriers Are There To Seeking Help?, Lindsay Thomas, Michael Bordieri

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Previous research has found that mental health disorders on college campuses have become increasingly prevalent, and many college students are not seeking help for their psychological health. This study examines college students’ views on seeking help for mental health problems, as well as their knowledge about mental health resources on campus. In addition, the study aims to identify what barriers are preventing students from seeking treatment for their mental health problems and what college students believe are the benefits of seeking mental health treatment. Participants (N = 95) in this study were asked to complete questionnaires that measure both their …

A Longitudinal Study Of Two Teacher-Report Screening Measures For Student Mental Health: Comparing The Swtrs And Saebrs, Anthony Joseph Roberson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study compared the comparative utility of two teacher-report universal screeners for student mental health, the Student Wellbeing Teacher-Report Scale (SWTRS) and the Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener (SAEBRS), across two occasions during the school year. Both instruments measure aspects of academic, social, and emotional student behavior from the teacher’s perspective but differ in their inclusion of both positive and challenging behaviors (i.e., SAEBRS) or positive behaviors only (i.e., SWTRS). Results suggest that both have strong concurrent and predictive validity characteristics in identifying student risk but differ in which outcomes they are better at predicting.

Educational Psychology (Uwg), Yan Yang, Cj Ivory, Anne Barnhart

Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Grants Collections

This Grants Collection for Educational Psychology was created under a Round Twelve ALG Textbook Transformation Grant.

Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process.

Documents are in .pdf format, with a separate .docx (Word) version available for download. Each collection contains the following materials:

• Linked Syllabus
• Initial Proposal
• Final Report

The Relations Between Adherence To Behavioral Treatments And Parent Stress In Families Of Children With Asd, Aimee Rovane

Theses and Dissertations

Recent studies suggest that parent involvement with behavior treatment for associated challenging behaviors (ACBs) may reduce parent stress in families with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, it is not known whether high treatment adherence to protocols is associated with reduced parent stress, or which factors that may moderate this relation. The current study examined the relation between parents’ adherence to behavioral treatments and parent stress, and whether parents’ perceptions toward treatment moderate this association. Participants were 190 mothers, fathers, or caregivers of a child with ASD. A bivariate correlation matrix examined associations between each variable, and 3 separate linear regression …

Early Behavioral And Physiological Markers Of Social Anxiety In Fragile X Syndrome, Conner J. Black

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Social Anxiety is diagnosed in approximately 10% of neurotypical children. If left untreated, negative outcomes are highly prevalent later in life. Thus, understanding the earliest features of social anxiety can help to mitigate detrimental outcomes. Fragile X Syndrome, which has a high prevalence of social anxiety, is a genetic syndrome which creates a unique opportunity to study the earliest predictors of social anxiety before formal diagnosis. Fragile X Syndrome presents with intellectual disability and an increased prevalence of maladaptive behaviors. The current study utilized a bio-behavioral approach to study the earliest marker of social anxiety in 12- month-old infants …

A Foundation For Understanding The Neurocognitive Processes That Underlie Mathematics Performance In Children, Christopher Anzalone

Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigated the prognostic utility of resting state EEG coherence in the prediction of standardized mathematics scores. Quantitative EEG analyses were performed for 60 school-aged children (ages 7 to 12 years) with and without math learning disabilities (MLD). Analyses assessing intrahemispheric coherence at rest were performed across the entire sample and several coherence networks were extracted.

Specifically, networks that included Brodmann area 40 (BA 40) -- a region of the brain heavily involved in the cognitive processes responsible for mathematics performance (Anderson, Betts, Ferris, & Fincham, 2011; Cohen, Dehaene, Chochon, Lehericy, & Naccache, 2000; Kroger, Nystrom, Cohen, & …

Using The Coaching Approach Behavior And Leading By Modeling (Calm) Program To Examine Attachment And Parental Behaviors In Childhood Anxiety, Seana Bandi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety is one of the most common disorders in children that can often lead to detrimental outcomes. Empirically-supported risk factors for child anxiety include the child’s temperament and behavioral inhibition, insecure attachment, parental over-controlling behaviors, parental anxiety, and the impact of adverse life events on the child. Targeting these risk factors early on has the ability to lead to a decrease in anxiety symptoms later in adolescence and adulthood.

Evidence suggests behavioral, therapeutic interventions are effective for treating anxiety and other mood disorders for middle childhood and adolescents. Recent research has begun to focus on developmentally-appropriate adaptations for younger children …

School-Based Services For Children With Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (Pans), Maura Miglioretti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) is an emerging disorder affecting school age children causing deleterious cognitive, social, emotional, and academic effects. Most frequently, children with PANS demonstrate severe, rapid-onset obsessive-compulsive symptoms in addition to a variety of other psychiatric disturbances. Symptoms are known to significantly a child’s educational experience. Despite this, little is known about the educational impacts related to the disorder or the supports provided to children with the diagnosis. This research sought to identify the school related impairments of children with PANS, the school-based services provided for children with PANS, and the relationships between obsessive compulsive symptoms and …

School Based Policies Protecting Lgbtq+ Youth, Amy Tiberi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to the 2017 National School Climate Survey, over half of all LGBTQ+ students reported experiencing LGBTQ+ related discriminatory policies or practices in their schools (GLSEN, 2019). While there is legislation in place that should standardize compliance and equality within school districts, there is often a discrepancy in implementation and follow through in public school systems. This study sought to examine a) school psychologists’ knowledge of federal legislations protecting LGBTQ+ youth, b) school psychologists’ self-report of the implementation of these regulations in their school’s policies, and c) the attitudes of school psychologists working with LGBTQ+ youth. Results indicated that attitude …

Context And Regulation Of Homeschooling: Issues, Evidence, And Assessment Practices, Janet F. Carlson

Buros Center: Professional Staff Publications

The article discusses salient factors that influence the current context within which homeschooling occurs. Individual states have applied various approaches to establish regulations that both preserve the rights of homeschooling parents and fulfill the state’s obligation to ensure that its residents receive the education to which they are constitutionally entitled. Case and ethnographic studies or research involving small and selected samples often appear in outlets associated with homeschool advocacy groups or in outlets that are not mainstream. The paucity of empirical evidence derived from methodologically strong research paradigms has led to little certainty about many aspects of homeschooling including its …

Check-In/Check-Out With High School Students, Ashley Murphy

Dissertations

Check-in/Check-out (CICO) has been shown effective in reducing problem behavior (PB) and increasing academically engaged behaviors (AEB) for elementary and middle school students (Mitchell, Adamson, & McKenna, 2017); however limited research has included high school students. The current study sought to evaluate the effectiveness and social validity of CICO for four high school students in a general education setting. During the initial intervention phase, two students refused to participate in the CICO process (i.e., did not attend check-ins or check-outs despite multiple efforts); therefore, CICO was ineffective for these students. For two other students, CICO was ineffective for improving behavioral …

Peer-Mediated Tootling With A Standardized Form And A Mystery Motivator In High School Classrooms, Sarah J. Wright

Dissertations

Peer-mediated tootling with a standardized procedure was implemented along with a mystery motivator component to determine the effects on academically engaged and disruptive behavior in three general education high school classrooms. The intervention used an A/B/A/B design across all classrooms. The goal of the study was to determine if these components would increase academically engaged behavior and decrease disruptive behavior. Students were trained on tootling procedures with a standardized format, which included reporting on peers’ positive, prosocial behavior on a premade tootling slip with various behaviors that they could select as being observed, reading five random slips aloud, totaling the …

Evaluation Of A Role-Playing Game To Improve Social Skills For Individuals With Asd, Kate A. Helbig

Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects one in 59 children (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). Impairments in social communication and restricted and repetitive behaviorsare often associated with debilitating outcomes for individuals with ASD. Therefore, it is critical to identify successful treatments to address the social deficits characteristic of ASD. This study investigated the effects of a role-playing game (RPG) on social skill acquisition for individuals with ASD. The primary dependent variable was skill acquisition within the context of the RPG setting. Generalization of skill acquisition outside of the game-context and social functioning was also evaluated. Results indicated that the …

Dependability Of Two Group Observation Methods Across Rater And Time, Kayla E. Bates-Brantley

Dissertations

Collecting efficient and reliable behavior assessment data is often a goal for school districts and school psychologists. Unfortunately, the most accurate methods of behavior observations, systematic direct observations (SDO), can be time-intensive and often requires specific training. This often minimizes the number of trained professional available for observation procedures. Planned activity check (PAC), a variation of momentary time sampling, has the potential to combine the accuracy of SDO with efficiency. However, few studies have evaluated the psychometric principals of PAC. The current study sought to evaluate the reliability and dependability of PAC by comparing PAC to an individual-fixed (I-F) SDO. …

Professional Ethics, Decision-Making, And Interdisciplinary Collaboration: An Exploration Of Teacher Preparation Programs And Practice, Brittany Mccreary

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The first purpose of this research was to explore the prevalence, methods of instruction, and perceived value of professional ethics, ethical decision-making, and interdisciplinary collaboration in teacher preparation programs throughout the U.S. These factors were addressed using the Ethics Training and Curriculum Survey (ETCS). Participants for the ETCS included teacher educators (n = 977) from CAEP accredited preparation programs. Survey results suggest that professional ethics is widely addressed throughout CAEP accredited programs, but that instruction in ethical decision-making varies considerably. To connect these findings with practice, a second purpose of this study was to explore how educators make ethical …

Self-Efficacy Of School Psychologists: Developing A Scale For Working With And For Lgbtq Youth, Shelby Monahan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) students report higher levels of harassment and assault, exposure to prejudiced language, and diminished feelings of safety at school compared to their non-LGBTQ counterparts. Due to the difficulties these young people experience at school as well as their increased risk for psychological distress and suicidality, these students may need additional support to be successful. Although professional organizations support school psychologists acting as advocates to support LGBTQ students, research suggests that practitioners’ knowledge about issues faced by LGBTQ students as well as training related to their needs may lag behind this appeal for …

A Review Of Written Expression Curriculum-Based Measurement With A Focus On English Language Learners, Shelby Montgomery

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to review the literature on English Language Learners and written expression curriculum-based measurement. In recent years, there has been little research completed in the area of curriculum based measurement for writing for English Language Learners. A systematic review of the literature was conducted and all available literature on the use of written expression curriculum-based measurement since 2006 was identified and reviewed. Given the increasing diversity in our schools, particularly non-native English speakers, this review focused on studies including this group. There were differences in some of the technical features such as sample durations, writing …

Examining Collegiate Students’ Perceptions Of Date Rape And Sexual Assault, Jalen Rhodes

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine how collegiate males and females perceived date rape and sexual assault by looking into their views on sexual scripts, consent, and alcohol in dating situations. Participants consisted of 323 male and female undergraduate students enrolled in psychology classes at a mid-south university. All participants were directed to an online questionnaire and were randomly assigned to one of four versions of a vignette where a man and a woman are at a party together. After reading their vignette, all participants answered researcher-created questions pertaining to the behavior of the people in the vignette …

How Are Professors Preparing School Psychology Students To Evaluate Research?, Tyler Bryant Burton

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study examines how school psychology professors are preparing graduate students to evaluate research and seeks their views on problematic assessment and intervention practices. School psychology faculty members’ e-mails were identified based on the National Association of School Psychologists’ (NASP) list of Approved Programs (NASP, 2017) and a total of 127 professors responded. Each participant completed a survey that included 22 Likert scale items and three free listing items. Three research questions were proposed: What percentage of school psychology faculty members are using each of the strategies recommended by Lilienfeld et al. (2012)? What school-based assessment practices do school psychology …

The Effects Of Autism Symptom Severity And Social Anxiety On Pragmatic Language In Young Adult Males With Fragile X Syndrome, Sara Mcgrath Matherly

Theses and Dissertations

Pragmatic, or social, language skills play a pivotal role in abilities that facilitate interpersonal relationships and independence, particularly in adulthood. Pragmatic language deficits are considered a core trait of males with fragile X syndrome (FXS); however, mechanisms that influence these abilities are not well known. This research is also limited by a lack of valid assessments that adequately capture pragmatic language skills. The present dissertation is the first to examine pragmatic language skills and mechanisms that influence these abilities using a novel, dynamic language assessment, the Yale in vivo Pragmatic Protocol (YiPP) in young adult males with FXS. Results revealed …