Theses and Dissertations from UMD

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2

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 give thesis/dissertation in DRUM

More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.

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    Stress and Literacy Achievement: The Potential Moderating Role of Socioemotional Factors for Dual Language and Non-Dual Language Students
    (2019) Goldthrite, Antoinette Marie; O'Neal, Colleen R; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The achievement gap is one of the most pervasive education problems in the United States. Stress may contribute to this achievement gap, since it is inversely related to achievement. Dual Language Learners (DLLs) may face a wide variety of stressors that contribute to their lower grades, relative to their non-DLL peers. Researchers have turned to a slew of socioemotional factors to see which may help reduce the gap between ethnic minority and White students. However, in the face of stress, these factors may not all be equally protective. This study explored the potential protective effects of three socioemotional factors – grit, growth mindset, and anger regulation - by using moderation analyses within both a self-regulation and a risk and resilience framework in an ethnically diverse sample of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. Results were compared between the DLL (N = 81) and non-DLL (N = 170) students. Results indicated that grit was a significant moderator of the relationship between stress and reading achievement for the for the DLL subsample; those with high grit outperformed those with low grit in times of high stress. Additionally, in the DLL group, growth mindset moderated this relationship; those with high growth mindset outperformed those with low growth mindset in times of low perceived stress, while those with low and high growth mindset performed similarly in times of high perceived stress. Anger regulation was a significant moderator for the non-DLL group; those with reporting high usage of anger regulation skills outperformed those with low use of anger regulation in times of high stress. The findings of this study suggest that there may be different protective factors for different groups facing stress, though more research needs to be conducted to explore this relationship. School administrators and school psychologists should continue to consider the potential benefits of fostering socioemotional skills to promote reading achievement but are cautioned to critically consider and tailor which interventions are selected for which students.
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    "They're my kryptonite but they also empower me": The double-edged sword of familismo
    (2016) Goldthrite, Antoinette Marie; O'Neal, Colleen R; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The objective of this study is to examine the relations of familismo to academic functioning and mental health among non-citizen Latina/o college students. The study utilizes both quantitative self-report surveys to explore attitudinal family obligations, and qualitative interviews to explore behavioral family obligations. One hundred and eighty citizen students (M = 21.30, SD = 2.92) and 84 non-citizen students (M = 21.13, SD = 2.98) completed surveys. Correlational analyses found that family obligation attitudes were linked to academic emotional engagement for non-citizen students only (r = .305, p = .005, n = 84). Cluster analyses revealed risk, resilience, and protected clusters from stress and family obligation groupings. Twenty-one non-citizen students also completed interviews. Narrative analysis of the interviews revealed that family obligation behaviors may be linked to motivation and stress. Overall, this study illustrates the complex nature of family obligations and achievement in the lives of non-citizen Latina/o college students.