Psychology Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2801
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Item The Chick or the Egg? Multi-Group, Short-Term Longitudinal Relations Between Grit and Literacy Achievement(2019) Boyars, Michal Yablong; O'Neal, Colleen R; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The impact of grit on achievement is well established, but it is unclear whether achievement impacts grit. This short-term longitudinal study examined the direction of relations between grit and literacy among diverse elementary school student groups. Most grit research features a unidirectional design (e.g., grit affects achievement). Yet, recent research supports cross-lagged models in which socioemotional skills and achievement affect one another. In addition to testing cross-lagged effects, this study examined the direction of grit-literacy relations for different demographic groups (i.e., age, gender, and dual language status). Method: Participants included upper elementary students (N = 396; 3 schools; Mage = 9.61; 55% female; 59% dual language learners; 11% Black, 6% Asian, 29% Latino/a, 8% Multiracial; 39% White). Measures were student-reported grit, teacher-reported grit, and a student literacy achievement performance task (Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension, TOSREC). Analytic Approach: An autoregressive cross-lagged design included two time points over 4 months. A cross-lagged model was compared to unidirectional models (i.e., direct and reverse) for best fit. Multi-group analyses were then used to examine whether grit-literacy relations differed as a function of demographics. Results: The data fit the cross-lagged model better than the direct or reverse models. Within the context of a cross-lagged model – which contained both the direct and reverse effects – there was a significant relation between Time 1 literacy achievement and Time 2 student-reported Grit-PE, suggesting that literacy achievement can predict later Grit-PE. There were no demographic differences in the fit of the data with the cross-lagged model between gender, DLL status, and age groups. Findings of the current study support the examination of reciprocal effects in grit-literacy relations and its generalizability among students. Longer-term cross-lagged studies are needed to further understand the temporal sequence between grit and literacy.Item Early Adolescent Romantic Experiences: Early Childhood Predictors and Concurrent Associations with Psychopathology(2019) Foster, Chelsey Barrios; Dougherty, Lea R; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Research has demonstrated that early adolescent romantic relationships are prevalent, and initiation of romantic relationships at younger ages bears important implications for youths’ future development. Although earlier dating involvement may increase risk for negative outcomes, the majority of research on teen relationships focuses on older adolescents; a paucity of research explores the phenomenology of preteen romantic relationships. Further, a striking gap exists in the study of how early childhood factors may affect early adolescent romantic relationships. In order to address these gaps, the current study aimed to elucidate the phenomenology and concurrent psychosocial correlates of preteen (age 12) romantic relationships and to delineate early childhood variables that predict involvement in and quality of preteen romantic relationships. In a longitudinal sample of 440 youth, we examined concurrent associations between multiple dimensions of age 12 romantic relationships (dating experiences, risky dating, relationship discord, relationship closeness, sexual experience) and friendship competence, and age 12 psychopathology (anxiety, depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], disruptive behavior disorder [DBD] symptoms) and psychosocial functioning. Given prior research indicating that pubertal status and child sex may also play a role in romantic relationship involvement, we examined these two variables as moderators in concurrent analyses. In addition, we examined how two salient dimensions of early childhood (temperament and parenting, assessed at age 3) predicted romantic relationship outcomes at age 12. Results indicated that more frequent romantic experiences at age 12 were associated with increased psychosocial distress and poorer functioning; however, youth with higher quality romantic relationships evidenced lower levels of psychiatric symptoms and better psychosocial functioning. In addition, the associations between early adolescent romantic relationships and adjustment were complex and were moderated by child sex and pubertal status. Further, dimensions of age 3 childhood temperament and parenting differentially predicted dimensions of early adolescent romantic relationships and friendship competence. Importantly, our findings contribute to a growing body of literature on preteen romantic relationships, and are among the first data to examine early childhood predictors of age 12 romantic relationship outcomes. These findings hold important clinical implications for future early adolescent prevention and intervention programs.Item A Daily Diary Analysis of Preschool Depressive Behaviors: Same Day and Prospective Associations Across 14 Days(2018) Leppert, Katherine A; Dougherty, Lea R; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Depressive disorders can be observed in early childhood and are associated with significant concurrent and prospective impairment. Although young children demonstrate similar depressive behaviors as older children and adults, certain depressive behaviors, such as sadness and irritability, are more common in early childhood whereas other depressive behaviors, such as loss of pleasure and suicidal ideation, are much less common. However, little is known about day-to-day variations in common depressive behaviors and factors impacting those variations in early childhood. The current study examined the day-to-day variability and co-occurrence of two common depressive behaviors in young children, sadness and irritability, and predictors of their day-to-day change. Participants included 291 parents of preschool-aged children (ages 3-5). Parents completed a baseline questionnaire assessing demographics, current emotional/behavioral problems, and functional impairment, and then completed an electronic daily diary for 14 days assessing the frequency of daily depressive behaviors, sleep quality, and parent-child relationship functioning. Results indicated that irritability and sadness frequently co-occurred during the same day and were concurrently and prospectively associated with parent-child relationship functioning but not sleep quality. Moreover, we observed between-person stability, but within-person variability, in children’s sadness and irritability across 14 days, and that this variability was moderated by several factors. With few exceptions, we observed greater between-person stability in sadness and irritability for older preschoolers, for males, and for children with overall better functioning (e.g., absence of less common depressive symptoms, fewer baseline psychiatric symptoms, lower baseline impairment, better parent-child relationship functioning and sleep quality). Importantly, our findings highlight stability of children’s sadness and irritability relative to peers and variability relative to their own mean sadness and irritability, as well as provide evidence regarding factors predicting the day-to-day stability or variability of these common depressive behaviors. Understanding daily variation in child depressive behaviors and factors predicting variation can identify at-risk children and provide targets for prevention and intervention, which is particularly crucial given that preschool depression predicts later depression and other psychiatric disorders.Item CONSTRUCTING A BIFACTOR MODEL OF SAFETY SEEKING BEHAVIORS IN ADOLESCENT SOCIAL ANXIETY(2019) Qasmieh, Noor; De Los Reyes, Andres; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Safety behaviors are subtle avoidance strategies used to manage distress in social situations. Inconsistent findings create uncertainty about whether safety behavior use leads to poorer outcomes. To reconcile these inconsistencies, we leveraged a theoretical model of safety behaviors that classifies safety behaviors according to function using two categories: active behaviors that aim to enhance social performance, and restrictive behaviors that aim to reduce involvement within social situations. This informed development of a measurement model tested with a confirmatory bifactor approach in a mixed-clinical/community sample of 127 adolescent reports of safety behavior engagement. We identified two distinct factors of safety behaviors (i.e., active and restrictive). These factors predicted differential outcomes: increased restrictive safety behaviors predicted increased internalizing concerns and poorer social skills, and increased active safety behaviors predicted higher substance use. These findings have important implications for understanding conceptual and measurement models of safety behaviors in research and clinical contexts.Item Predictors and Moderators of Parent Engagement in Early Interventions for Behaviorally Inhibited Preschool-Aged Children(2019) Novick, Danielle; Chronis-Tuscano, Andrea; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Behavioral inhibition (BI) is a temperamental style that poses risk for later anxiety. Efficacious interventions have been developed for inhibited children, but their success depends on parent engagement. However, little is known regarding predictors of parent engagement in early interventions for BI. This study examined parent-, child- and treatment-level (i.e., parent-only or parent-child) factors as independent and interactive predictors of parent engagement (attendance, and parent-reported homework completion and treatment satisfaction) in a randomized-controlled trial comparing two interventions for inhibited preschoolers (N = 151). Results suggest that child anxiety may motivate parent engagement, particularly when children receive concurrent treatment and/or in-vivo coaching. However, intensive treatment may be too burdensome for depressed parents, whereas less intensive treatments may be more acceptable to non-anxious parents of anxious children.Item DELTA AND THETA: A TIME-FREQUENCY FRAMEWORK FOR MEASURING ERPS(2019) Arenson, Melanie; Bernat, Edward; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Time-frequency methodologies, which allow for the examination of spatially and temporally overlapping subprocesses, have shown that delta and theta can be used to explain the majority of variance in many traditional ERP components. Furthermore, prior work suggests that traditional ERPs likely contain separable activity associated with the salience and central executive networks, which indexed by theta amplitude and theta ICPS, respectively. The present study sought to validate a core set of measures in the theta and delta bands (amplitude, ICPS and ITPS measures) using a novelty oddball task, which allowed us to assess the separability of SN and CEN activity indexed by medial-frontal theta. Our results indicated that time-frequency amplitude, ICPS and ITPS each represent separable processes, such that delta amplitude indexes task-based elaborative processes, theta indexes relevant SN-related information, and ICPS indexes activity associated with the CEN; therefore, all can be used to more fully characterize ERP data.Item THE IMPACT OF ETHNIC AND RACIAL IDENTITY ON THE RELATION BETWEEN AFRICAN AMERICAN TEST ANXIETY AND LATER ACHIEVEMENT(2019) Daye, Alyssa Lauren; O'Neal, Colleen; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The present study tests a protective factor which may mitigate the negative impact of test anxiety on academic outcomes. This study examines ethnic and racial identity as a moderator of the impact of test anxiety on grades and academic ability self-concept among African American adolescents. The study relies on the existing longitudinal Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study (MADICS) dataset, a public use dataset collected from 1991-2000. The subsample consists of 533 African American youths in Wave 3 and 399 African American youths in Wave 4. The present study uses two waves of data from participants aged 13 to 18. This study employs self-reported questionnaires of test anxiety, ethnic and racial identity, grades, and academic ability self-concept. Moderation analyses are conducted to test ethnic and racial identity as a protective factor mitigating the impact of test anxiety on later grades and academic ability self-concept, while adjusting for gender, socioeconomic status, and age. Results indicate that ethnic and racial identity moderated the relation between test anxiety and GPA, such that the lower the level of ethnic and racial identity, the more protective it becomes. Discussion centers on potential causes for the unexpected trend in moderation.Item Managing my Racial Identity at Work: The When, Why, and How of Racial Identity-based Impression Management in Organizations(2019) Wheeler, Jasmine; Gelfand, Michele; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In the past 10 years, burgeoning research has merged social identity theory and impression management theory to examine how individuals manage their distinct social identities such as race (Roberts, 2005; Roberts, Settles, Jellison, 2008; Robert sand Cha, 2014). This extension of impression management theory is especially relevant for Black employees who are often stigmatized because of their racial group membership and must determine the extent to which they either express or suppress their racial identity at work. Therefore, this research seeks to understand when, how, and why Black employees engage in racial identity-based impression management (RIM) and the organizational outcomes related to using these strategies. Additionally, this research seeks to understand majority group reactions to minorities RIM strategy use. Therefore, RIM strategy use was examined across four studies. Qualitative interviews and a construct validation study revealed two forms of RIM, Passive (distancing strategy) and Active (expressive strategy), in study 1. Study 2 revealed that diversity climate and racial centrality interact to predict Active RIM. Black employees whose race is central to them were more likely to engage in Active RIM in positive climates for diversity. Active RIM strategy use also interacted with racial centrality to predict authenticity at work. When race was less central to their identity, Black employees felt less authentic engaging in Active RIM. In turn, authenticity was found to predict important job outcomes such as satisfaction and stress. An experimental follow-up study revealed that diversity climate did not affect RIM strategy use among Black employees, however Black employees evaluated organizations more favorably in terms of diversity climate and were more interest a pursuing a job with an organization described as having a positive climate for diversity. Lastly, in study 4, majority group members evaluated Black employees differently as a function of an organization’s diversity climate and a target’s RIM strategy, due to perceived norm violation. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.Item Feminist Consciousness and Empowerment as Moderators in the Relationship between Sexism and Self-Objectification and Alcohol Use in College Women(2019) Le, Thomas; Iwamoto, Derek K; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)While past research has revealed a positive association between sexism and women’s alcohol use, no studies have examined how feminist identity may moderate this association. Thus, with a sample of 329 college-attending women, we examined the extent to which sexism, self-objectification, and benevolent sexism were associated with alcohol-related problems and heavy episodic drinking, as well as the extent to which various forms of feminist identity moderated those associations. Results showed that self-objectification was positively associated with heavy episodic drinking, whereas neither sexism nor benevolent sexism were associated with maladaptive alcohol use. Sexism was positively associated with alcohol related problems for women of color. Results also showed that the active commitment form of feminist identity moderated the association between self-objectification and heavy episodic drinking. No other interactions with moderating variables were significant. This study emphasizes the importance of examining gender-relevant factors when working with women who engage in risky alcohol use.Item Bereaved College Students: Examining Predictors of Grief Counseling Skills Among University Counseling Center Therapists(2019) Jankauskaite, Greta; O'Brien, Karen M.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Between 22% to 30% of college students are grieving a death of a close friend or family member, and nearly 60% of college seniors report experiencing at least one loss in the last three years of college (Balk, 2011; Cox, Dean, & Kowalski, 2015). The university counseling center often is the primary resource for bereaved students, yet centers have limited resources and some psychologists reported inadequate training for working with grieving students (Kim, 2016). This study examined predictors of grief counseling skills in a sample of university counseling center therapists. Grounded in the death competence model (Gamino & Ritter, 2012), results indicated that cognitive competence and emotional competence predicted grief counseling skills, with training/experience being the most robust predictor. Future directions for research and clinical implications are discussed.