UMD Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item WHO AM I?: MEDIA INFLUENCE ON THE GENDER CONSTRUCTION OF ADOLESCENT GIRLS(2018) Lawrence, Angela S; Valli, Linda R; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)While gender construction and identity occur across many years of childhood and early adulthood, it is in the adolescent stage when children ask the question, “Who am I?” In this study, I examine the ways media, as well as parents and peers, influence adolescent gender construction. Because of my interest in environments that seek to minimize media exposure, I situated the study in an alternative school setting. My main research question asked, “In what ways do students perform gender in a school environment that shapes interactions with media in particular ways?” To ensure that the investigation considered multiple perspectives, I examined students’ use of media at home and at school; how parental values regarding their children’s media use related to gender performance, values, and ideals; and, lastly, how gender performance at the school compared to what we know about gender performance in traditional environments. Previous research has examined messages students receive about expectations for gender performance in typical, media-saturated environments, but there is little on gender performance in alternative educational settings, a gap this study seeks to fill. Moreover, this study aims to advance the understanding of gender performance in a setting which encourages minimal exposure to media, defined for the purposes of this study as television, videos, movies, computers, gaming systems, radio, CDs, books, newspapers, and magazines. I employed an embedded case study method to examine gender performance as the overarching case, situating the media habits of six student participants as well as parent and staff perspectives as the sub-cases. Data collection included interviews, document collection, anecdotal notes, and classroom observations. Findings from the research demonstrate that when students are less attuned to the societal norms and stereotypes as expressed in mainstream media, they are more apt to express their individuality and perform gender in confident, unapologetic ways that felt comfortable and natural to them. I also present findings and implications from the study with regard to the ways student participants utilize media for socialization and skill-building purposes and the ways parents and students navigate differing opinions on appropriate and inappropriate media content.Item Relationships between the Frequency of Family Meals, Overweight, Dietary Intake and TV Viewing Behaviors among White, Hispanic, and Black Maryland Adolescent Girls(2013) Siddiqui, Sheena Fatima; Saksvig, Brit I; Epidemiology and Biostatistics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Objective: Examine relationships between frequency of family meals (FFM) and overweight, dietary intake (DI) and TV viewing behaviors, and examine relationships by race/ethnicity among adolescent girls. Methods: Secondary analysis of TAAG 2 data was conducted. Participants categorized in two groups based on overweight status. Personal data, DI and TV viewing behaviors were collected. Multivariate logistic regression used to estimate parameters. Results: No association between FFM and overweight or between FFM and overweight by race/ethnicity; significant associations found in the relationships between FFM and specific DI and TV viewing behaviors; and effect modification plays role in the relationship between FFM and weekly breakfast intake only. Conclusion: Findings suggest that additional research is needed to establish if FFM has an effect on overweight, families who have ≥three FM may promote positive DI behaviors and watch less TV, and more studies exploring the racial/ethnic differences in FFM and DI behaviors relationship are needed.Item Investigating Neighborhood Walkability and its Association with Physical Activity Levels and Body Composition of a Sample of Maryland Adolescent Girls(2010) Jones, Lindsey Irene; Young, Deborah R; Epidemiology and Biostatistics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Recent ecologic studies have begun to focus on characteristics of the built environment that influence physical activity (PA). Specifically, neighborhood walkability is emerging as an important determinant of PA in adults. At this point in time, there is conflicting evidence on how neighborhood walkability influences the PA levels of adolescents. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between individual's neighborhood walk score and individual's body mass index, body fat percentage, weight status, PA levels and meeting PA guidelines in a sample of adolescent girls. Additional analysis investigated the correlation between two objective measures of neighborhood walkability. This analysis was unable to show an association between PA levels or body composition of adolescent girls from the TAAG Maryland field site. Neighborhood walkability as assessed by the website walkscore.com was positively correlated with a GIS derived walkability index (r=.63 p<.0001).Item Relationships Between Health Behaviors, Perceived Health Status, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Adolescent Girls(2008) Goldsholl, Stacy Danielle; Young, Deborah R; Kinesiology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Poor physical fitness and diet contribute to increases in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors including BMI, waist circumference (WC), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP), and HDL-C levels. These behaviors are also associated with positive perceptions of health status. It was hypothesized that the associations between positive health behaviors and CVD risk factors would be mediated by perceived health status in adolescent girls. Regression models were used to test for independent effects and mediation. 185 girls were analyzed, 83% were African American and 50% were overweight. Perceived health status predicted WC, BMI, and SBP. Fat consumption predicted WC and SBP. There were no associations between health behaviors and perceived health status. Adolescent girls are able to accurately assess their overall health status regardless of fitness or dietary behaviors. Interventions should encourage girls to consider these healthy behaviors when assessing health status to increase participation in these behaviors.Item Factors Influencing the Implementation and Receptivity of a Physical Activity Intervention in Three Middle Schools(2006-09-26) Barr-Anderson, Daheia Julina; Young, Deborah R; Kinesiology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Introduction: Recent trials with adolescents have intervened to increase physical activity levels. Primary results report on the outcome (change in physical activity) with less focus on the evaluation of the intervention strategies and activities. This dissertation project presents an in-depth analysis of the extent to which Trial of Activity of Adolescent Girls (TAAG), a physical activity intervention targeting middle school girls, was implemented and received in three Maryland schools. Individual, social, and environmental factors were explored. Methods: Responses from select quantitative process evaluation data were used to assess dose, fidelity, and reach for each TAAG component. Information was integrated with data from nine focus groups with girls and 24 in-depth interviews with school staff, community partners, and TAAG university staff, who were key participants of the intervention activities. The focus group and interview data were analyzed using thematic methodology to identify key concepts, categories, and themes. Results: Implementation of the intervention varied by school and by intervention component. Qualitative interviews suggested that school differences could be attributed to school staff buy-in, administrative and faculty/staff support, and student behavior. Study staff implemented the intervention to teachers with higher levels of dose, fidelity, and reach than what teachers delivered to students. Notably, fidelity for physical education (PE) concepts and health education with activity challenges (HEAC) lessons was lower. Class observations indicated that PE objectives were observed 6% to 93% of the time, and 38% to 82% of HEAC lesson components were fully completed. Reasons reported by teachers for low fidelity were lack of time, administrative barriers, and limited space for activities. Reach for most components were high. Participation in after school programs ranged from approximately 9-22 girls. Girls reported lack of transportation, cost of programs, lack of interest, and time conflict as reasons for not joining programs. Conclusion: To maximize intervention efforts, it is important for researchers to decrease factors that negatively influence how well physical activity initiatives are executed as planned. Different data sources can provide information to better understand factors influencing program implementation.Item Exploring the Influence of Family-of-Origin on the Career Aspirations of High Ability Adolescent Women(2006-04-28) Downing, Vanessa Lynn; Fassinger, Ruth; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The current study sought to understand how girls' perceptions of their parents' gender role attitudes and the career aspirations parents have for their daughters influence girls' career aspirations and planfulness in regard to multiple roles. A non-experimental field survey explored how variables of interest related to each other in a sample 161 female junior and senior students attending an urban, single-sex, public high school populated primarily college-bound women. Cluster analyses revealed three groupings of girls with varying levels of career aspiration and planfulness for future multiple roles depending on their perceptions of themselves as achievers, their perceptions of their parents' career aspirations. Findings also included significant relationships between parents' and daughters' attitudes in regard to vocational and relational gender roles, and in regard to agreement between their levels of career aspiration for the daughters. Implications of the study and suggestions for future research building upon the findings are discussed.