Sport is an avenue for children and adolescents to improve physical skills as well as
enhance their psycho-social development. Despite the benefits of sport, numerous children
and adolescents choose not to be physically active. Consequently, several investigators
have sought to determine why some children choose to participate in sport, while...
The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the experience of gifted girls transitioning from elementary school to sixth and seventh grade. The current counseling literature in this area found that gifted girls often struggle emotionally when transitioning to sixth and seventh grade. The bulk of this literature was based...
Positive youth development posits that all youth possess the capacity to change and grow as they interact with their contexts. That capacity is activated and nurtured by a beneficial ecological environment often unavailable for homeless youth. Only a limited number of studies focus on the positive development and strengths of...
This study posited that maturational growth in emotion regulation should be associated with reduction in hyperactivity during the transition into adolescence. The longitudinal design assessed emotion regulation and hyperactivity in an urban community sample of children in three waves, at ages 10.6, 11.6, and 12.6 years. A parallel growth curve...
Divorce rates have increased in the past three decades. Much research has focused on the effects of divorce on children and adolescents' emotional adjustment. Measures of self-esteem are one way to determine emotional development. Less attention has been devoted to understanding the effect
divorce has on another very important developmental...
The purpose of this dissertation was to contribute to the current understanding about identity development in young adults who experience psychosis and schizophrenia. The article in Chapter 2 Using Authentic Identity Theories to Address the Stigmatization of Young People Who Experience Psychosis and Schizophrenia examined the literature on identity development...
This research was conducted to investigate perceptions of self esteem
and the behavior of female science students in mixed gender
cooperative learning groups.
The research methodology used was qualitative in nature,
which included a variety of data collection methods, including participant
observation, student journals, interviews, video tapes of group
interactions,...
All of us want to be special.
We all need to feel that we are unique and that we occupy a special place in the world. Most of all, we need to be noticed and respected by other people. Only in this way can we become secure and independent adults.
Despite recognition in the literature that adolescence
represents a relatively high-risk developmental period for
health-risk behaviors, only limited attention has been given
to the subjective meanings adolescents assign to such
behaviors. One potentially fruitful avenue to explore in
understanding the adolescent perspective on health-risk
behaviors is the use of word...
High levels of self-esteem (the individual's
assessment of self-worth) have been associated with a
variety of positive child outcomes, while low levels of
self-esteem have been related to problems in child
growth and development. The purpose of this study was
to explore the relationship between specific child
temperament and parenting...
Background: The Wave~Ripples for Change: Obesity Prevention in High-School Soccer Players research project is a 5-Y USDA funded project focused on building healthy nutrition, physical activity and life skills for healthy weight maintenance. The intervention includes providing face-to-face sport nutrition, physical activity and life- skills lessons, assessments of body composition,...
A majority of states require parental consent or notification before a minor may have an abortion. Parental involvement laws are based in part on the assumption that abortion poses a risk to the psychological health of adolescents. Previous research has catalogued the risks to adolescent mothers and their children posed...
A large body of evidence suggests physical activity is inversely associated with
several cardio-metabolic risk factors among children and adolescents. Despite these
health benefits, a majority of youth are not meeting the physical activity guidelines set
forth by the USDHHS. Schools have been identified as an ideal vehicle for interventions;...
Communication cannot be successful without the
cooperative listening response of an auditor. Auditors must
feel empowered to act as agents of change or their decisions
and actions cannot be influenced by the discourse. Their
every response depends upon their ability to perceive
themselves as potential mediators of change.
A review...
Recreation benefits are improved personal and social
conditions which are thought to occur as a result of recreation participation. If these improved conditions
can be adequately identified and measured, then they can be applied to recreation policy and planning decisions.
Little research has been done on recreation benefits.
Much of...
Stressful events of both major and minor magnitude in
the lives of children and adolescents are significantly
related to emotional and behavioral problems (Compas, 1987a;
Johnson, 1986). It is also apparent, however, that this
relationship is complicated and that individuals vary greatly
in their responses to stress. The purpose of...
This study examined the social and contextual factors that lead to differences in
the way biracial adolescents interpret their racial identity. Using 11 interviews with a sample of biracial youth between the ages of 14 and 17-years-old, this study also explores
the strategies these individuals use to achieve social validation...
The purpose of this study was the development of the Sex Role
Learning Index (SERLI), a picture choice instrument for assessing the
concepts of sex role discrimination, preference, and confirmation in
young children. The SERLI consists of 60 black-and-white line drawings
depicting common objects, child activities and adult activities
and...
This study examined the effects of stage of preoperational thought, sex and mode of exploration on preschoolers ability to represent a small-scale model configuration of objects. Forty-eight subjects between the ages of 2 years, 5 months and 5 years, 4 months were classed in spatial conceptualization as either Stage I...