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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    The Role of Cross-cultural Experiences and Ethnic Identity in Transracial Adoptees' Self-esteem
    (2015) Stephenson, Jocylynn Briann; Leslie, Leigh A; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Research into mental health outcomes of minority transracial adoptees has been fueled by debate over white parents' ability to prepare minority children for experiences of individual and institutional racism. However, studies show transracial adoptees do not differ from others in self-esteem, one criterion used to gauge mental health. Among minorities, ethnic identity is correlated with self-esteem, but studies show that transracially adopted adolescents often face ambiguous ethnic identity. Cross-cultural experiences have proven to increase ethnic identity in minorities, but little research has been done on their effect among transracial adoptees. The current study explored whether cross-cultural experiences bolster self-esteem in minority transracial adoptees through mediation of adoptees' ethnic identity. One-hundred-three transracially adopted minority adolescents completed online self-report surveys. Results indicated a significant negative link between cross-cultural experiences and ethnic identity and a moderately significant negative link between cross-cultural experiences and self-esteem in this population. Findings and possible explanations are discussed.
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    An Assessment of a Home-Visiting Intervention on Rural, Low-Income Children's School Readiness
    (2006-08-09) Schull, Christine Pegorraro; Anderson, Elaine A.; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    School readiness is an important educational success indicator for children and communities, and an equally important educational goal after research revealed that nearly half of all children are not ready for kindergarten because they have not acquired the appropriate necessary pre-literacy, and social competencies (Rimm-Kauffman, Pianta, & Cox, 2000). Rural children are at particular risk given that isolation, poverty, and limited parental educational attainment levels are associated with difficulty learning and getting ready for school (Perroncel, 2000). The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a home visiting program on school readiness in a population of low-income, rural children in Garrett County, MD. Children (n=164), who entered the Healthy Families Garrett County program in 1999 or 2000 shortly after birth and completed the school readiness assessment upon kindergarten entry in 2004 or 2005, were selected along with their families. Path analyses were used to examine the relationships among frequency, intensity, and duration of the home visiting intervention, and home safety, parental knowledge of infant development, and school readiness. All variables, (1) home visiting frequency, (2) home visiting intensity, (3) home visiting duration, (4) parental knowledge of infant development, and (5) home safety were considered to be paths leading directly to the enhanced outcome of school readiness in this low-income, rural sample. Path analyses revealed that: (1) Duration of home visiting had a positive, direct effect on home safety; (2) Duration of home visiting had a positive, direct effect on parental knowledge of infant development, (3) Home safety had a positive, direct effect on school readiness in the composite and all tested subscales (personal and social, language and literacy, mathematical thinking, physical health and development); and 4) Duration has an indirect effect on school readiness through home safety. Recommendations include maintaining program duration, implementation of new parental knowledge or home environment measures, and continued emphasis on home safety and collaboration with local agencies for impacting school readiness.