Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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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
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Item Adolescent Attributions About and Responses to Imagined Future Romantic Partners’ Behaviors: Links to Adolescent Attachment to Parents(2020) Fitter, Megan Haley; Cassidy, Jude; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Attachment theory states that experiences with primary caregivers influence other close relationships throughout the lifespan (Bowlby, 1969/1982). The quality of early caregiving experiences influences children’s mental representations of how others will treat them. These representations guide social information processing, the way that individuals remember, perceive, hold expectations, and make attributions about their social world. The present study is the first to examine how young adolescents’ attachment to parents influences their attribution biases about future romantic relationships. Attachment insecurity with mothers and fathers predicted negative attribution biases about hypothetical future romantic partners. Insecurity to fathers marginally predicted negative attributions above those predicted by insecurity to mothers. Negative attributions, in turn, predicted adolescents’ forecasting their own negative behaviors in a future relationship. Further, adolescents’ attachment avoidance (discomfort with closeness) across both parents predicted negative attributions. Results suggest that attribution biases could explain relations between attachment to caregivers and later romantic relationship functioning.Item Empathy across development: Examination of multiple contexts and levels of analysis(2019) Stern, Jessica A; Cassidy, Jude; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Empathy—the ability to understand and “feel with” others’ emotional states, along with the tendency to feel concern for others’ wellbeing—shapes important aspects of social functioning across development (Eisenberg, 2017). In three empirical papers, we explore predictors of empathy across different stages of development, and across multiple levels of analysis within Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model. Paper 1 examined associations between brain structure and observed empathic responding among N = 78 school-aged children (4–8y). Larger bilateral hippocampal volume (adjusted for intracranial volume) predicted greater empathic responding, but only for boys. The association was not driven by a specific subregion of the hippocampus (head, body, tail), nor did it vary with age. Findings suggest that hippocampal structure contributes to individual differences in young children’s empathic responding, consistent with findings in adults (Laurita & Spreng, 2017). Paper 2 examined whether parental attributions and empathic emotions in response to child distress predicted 4-year-olds’ observed empathic responding two weeks later. In a sample of N = 88 mother–child dyads, bootstrapped mediation analyses showed that parents’ less negative and more situational/ emotion-focused attributions about child distress predicted parents’ empathy, which in turn predicted their children’s empathic responding to the experimenter’s distress. Findings shed light on the role of parents’ social information processing in the intergenerational transmission of empathic care. Drawing on attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969/1982), Paper 3 used experimental priming methods based to test whether temporarily enhancing adolescents’ feelings of relational security at school could increase their empathy for a bullied peer. Adolescents (13–15y; N = 234) were randomly assigned to imagine school-based experiences involving (a) receiving emotional support, (b) engaging in a fun social activity, or (c) engaging in a neutral activity; they then read a news story about a bullied peer and rated their feelings of empathy and willingness to help the victim. Multilevel modeling revealed no main effect of priming on adolescents’ empathy; however, dispositional attachment security significantly predicted empathy and willingness to help, pointing to the importance of dispositional security in social relationships for shaping empathy in school contexts.Item Empathy in parents and children: Links to preschoolers' attachment and aggression(2016) Stern, Jessica A.; Cassidy, Jude; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Though theory suggests that parents’ empathy is important for children’s empathic development, the transmission of empathy from parent to child remains poorly understood. The goals of this investigation were to test an intergenerational model of empathy with child attachment as a potential mediating mechanism and to replicate findings linking child empathy to reduced risk for aggression. Eighty-nine preschoolers and their mothers completed measures of parent empathy, as well as child attachment, empathy, and aggression. Parent empathy predicted child empathy, but associations varied by the measure of empathy employed. Attachment did not mediate the association between parent and child empathy, although secure attachment predicted greater child empathy. Child empathy predicted aggression, but the direction of the effect varied by the measure of child empathy and by child sex. Findings shed light on the intergenerational transmission of empathy and highlight the importance of multi-method assessment in the study of empathy.Item WHEN THERAPY RELATIONSHIPS MAKE A DIFFERENCE: CORRECTIVE RELATIONAL EXPERIENCES OF ADULT CLIENTS IN OPEN-ENDED INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOTHERAPY(2015) Huang, Teresa Chen-Chieh; Hill, Clara E; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The present study examined the antecedents, types, and consequences of Corrective Relational Experiences (CREs), as well as whether these aspects of CREs (antecedents, types, and consequences) differ depending on client attachment anxiety and avoidance. Clients completed a measure of adult attachment (Experiences in Close Relationships scale; ECR; Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998) before starting open-ended, individual psychotherapy at a psychodynamic-interpersonal therapy clinic. After completion of therapy, 31 clients completed post-therapy interviews assessing their therapy experience, including the occurrence and nature of CREs. Interviews were analyzed qualitatively using CQR (Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997; Hill et al., 2005; Hill, 2012). Results indicated that CRE antecedents typically included both positive client-therapist relationships as well as difficulties in therapeutic relationships. Therapists typically facilitated CREs by identifying or questioning client behavior patterns, as well as conveying profound trustworthiness (deep care, understanding, nonjudgmentalness, or credibility). Types of corrective shifts typically involved clients gaining a new understanding of behavior patterns or the therapist/therapy. Consequences of CREs generally included improvements in the therapy relationship, and improvements in the clients' intrapersonal well-being. Clients who did not have CREs variantly wished their therapist's theoretical orientation was a better match, while none of the clients who had CREs did so. Non-CRE clients had lower pre-therapy attachment anxiety and avoidance in comparison to clients who reported CREs. Antecedents, types, and consequences of CREs differed depending on client attachment anxiety and avoidance. Clients with high attachment anxiety seemed to have a greater interpersonal focus (e.g., indicated enacting their maladaptive behavior patterns with therapists prior to the CRE, had CREs focused on understanding clients' behavior patterns) while clients high in attachment avoidance seemed to have a greater intrapersonal focus (reported more client facilitators of CREs, especially deep disclosure prior to CREs, and more reduction in unwanted feelings after CREs). Implications for practice and research are discussed.Item The Effects of Experimentally Induced Attachment Security on Children's Fear Reactions(2012) Stupica, Brandi Shawn; Cassidy, Jude; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The feeling that an attachment figure is available and responsive when needed (also referred to as attachment security) is an important factor in the activation of the fear system such that attachment security is thought to decrease fearfulness. To date, no study has examined whether attachment security causes decreased fearfulness. Adult attachment researchers have used priming techniques to investigate whether increased security causes improvement in various adult psychosocial outcomes (for a review see Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007) and priming techniques have been useful in research with children. As such, attachment security priming may be a valuable research tool to determine whether attachment security reduces children's fear reactions. In addition, mothers' negative and unsupportive responses to children's negative emotions are associated with poor socio-emotional outcomes for children (Eisenberg et al., 1998). As such, maternal negative and unsupportive responses may be linked to children's fear responses. Child temperament is also an important factor in children's fear reactions such that temperamentally more fearful children may be more influenced by the effects of attachment security and maternal responses to child distress. The present study was designed to extend attachment security priming methods to research with children between 6- and 7-years-of-age by employing a multi-method experimental approach to examine (a) whether experimentally induced attachment security causes less fearful reactions to fear-inducing tasks in children, and (b) whether maternal emotion socialization is associated with the fear reactivity of children randomly assigned to the neutral control group. Additionally, the present study also seeks to examine (a) whether the effects of experimentally-induced attachment security on children's fear reactions vary as a function of children's temperamental fearfulness, and (b) whether the link between maternal emotion socialization and children's fear reactivity is moderated by children's temperament fearfulness. After having been exposed to subliminally presented attachment security picture primes, six- and seven-year-old children had lower physiological fear reactions during observations of fear-inducing pictures than children exposed to subliminally presented happy or neutral picture primes. There were no links between maternal responses to child distress and children's fear-reactions. Results did not differ as a function of child temperamental fearfulness.Item Bridging the Attachment Transmission Gap with Maternal Mind-mindedness and Infant Temperament(2009) Sherman, Laura Jernigan; Cassidy, Jude; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The goal of this study was to test (a) whether maternal mind-mindedness (MM) mediates the link between maternal attachment (from the Adult Attachment Interview) and infant attachment (in the Strange Situation), and (b) whether infant temperament moderates this model of attachment transmission. Eighty-four racially diverse, economically stressed mothers and their infants were assessed three times: newborn, 5, and 12 months. Despite robust meta-analytic findings supporting attachment concordance for mothers and infants in community samples, this sample was characterized by low attachment concordance. Maternal attachment was unrelated to maternal MM; and, maternal MM was related to infant attachment differences for ambivalent infants only. Infant irritability did not moderate the model. Possible reasons for the discordant attachment patterns and the remaining findings are discussed in relation to theory and previous research.Item Attachment style, relationship satisfaction, intimacy, loneliness, gender role beliefs, and the expression of authentic self in romantic relationships(2008-05-28) 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 explore the possible facilitators and inhibitors of the expression of authentic self in heterosexual romantic relationships, and specifically, to increase understanding about the possible influence of gender role attitudes. Additionally, the study sought to assess the factor structure of the Authenticity in Relationships Scale (AIRS; Lopez & Rice, 2006)--initially normed on a college population--in a sample of post-college adults involved in a range of romantic attachments. A non-experimental field survey explored how variables of interest related to each other in a sample 241 male and female heterosexuals between the ages of 25 and 38. Analyses revealed strong associations between authenticity and attachment style, relationship satisfaction, intimacy, loneliness, and egalitarianism. Findings also included significant differences in regards to authenticity, relationship satisfaction, intimacy, and loneliness among participants depending on relationship type. Exploratory factor analysis suggested that Lopez & Rice's two-factor solution did not hold for this non-college sample, and suggested a one-factor solution for the AIRS. Implications of the study and suggestions for future research building upon the findings are discussed.Item Parenting and Delinquency: An Exploration of Gender Effects(2006-12-11) Wilkins, Lynda; Gottfredson, Denise; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In the search for the causes and correlates of juvenile delinquency, parenting has historically been recognized as one of the primary contributing or inhibiting factors to delinquent behaviors. The current study focuses on the relationship between the specific parenting practices of monitoring and attachment, and the delinquent behaviors of both males and female children, in the preadolescent ages of 7-11. This study finds that while parents monitor male and female children equally, parents report a higher level of attachment to their male children. Additionally, although most of the measures of parenting have similar impacts for male and female children, there are certain practices which produce divergent results based upon the child's gender. Parental reports of monitoring are a stronger inhibitor of intentions to use illicit substances for males, while the parent's attachment is a greater inhibitor of self-reported rebellious behavior for females. These results have implications for future research and program design.Item Attachment Security and the Processing of Attachment-Relevant Social Information in Late Adolescence(2006-04-26) Dykas, Matthew Jason; Cassidy, Jude A; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)According to attachment theory, internal working models of attachment function to influence the ways in which individuals obtain, organize, and operate on attachment-relevant social information (Bowlby, 1980). The principal aim of this investigation was the examination of whether adolescents' internal working models of attachment are linked to their memory for attachment-relevant social information. I proposed that adolescents who possess negative internal working models of attachment (i.e., insecure adolescents and adolescents who possess negative representations of their parents) process attachment-relevant social information differently from adolescents who possess positive internal working models of attachment (i.e., secure adolescents and adolescents who possess positive representations of their parents). I also proposed that such differences are associated with two distinct patterns of attachment-relevant social information-processing. More precisely, I hypothesized that insecure adolescents and adolescents who possess negative representations of their parents are more likely to <em>suppress</em> attachment-relevant social information (from entering conscious awareness) in some circumstances, and to process attachment-relevant social information in a <em>negatively-biased schematic manner</em> in others. To test this hypothesis, I tapped adolescents' (n = 189) internal working models of attachment by assessing their "state of mind with respect to attachment" (as assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview), representations of parents, and attachment-related romantic anxiety and avoidance (as assessed using the Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory). I used four experimental tasks to assess adolescents' memory for attachment-relevant social information. Many of the findings reported in this investigation can be viewed as supporting the notion that insecure adolescents and adolescents who possess negative representations of their parents either suppress attachment-relevant social information or process such information in a negatively-biased schematic manner. For example, in the experimental task that tapped suppression, insecure adolescents showed poorer memory for emotionally-significant childhood experiences. Moreover, in all three of the experimental tasks tapping schematically-driven social information-processing, insecure adolescents and adolescents who possessed negative representations of their parents showed either greater memory for negative parental attributes or more negative reconstructive memory for conflict. In addition to these principal findings, evidence emerged that adolescent attachment was linked to memory for peer-related information, as well as to parents' reconstructive memory for adolescent-parent conflict.Item Maternal and Paternal Parenting and Girls' and Boys' Attachment Security in Middle Childhood(2005-10-05) Dwyer, Kathleen; Rubin, Kenneth H; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Current attachment security is presumed to reflect both early experiences and current relationships with attachment figures. However, few researchers have examined the parenting behaviors that are linked with attachment during middle childhood. The overall purpose of the present study was to investigate the relations among maternal and paternal parenting behaviors (sensitivity, encouragement of autonomy) and girls' and boys' attachment security with respect to their mothers and fathers. It has been suggested that fathering becomes more important as children grow older and form relationships outside the family. In addition, the type of sensitivity that promotes attachment security with mother may differ from the type of sensitivity that promotes attachment security with father. A perspective on attachment that encompasses security in both attachment and exploration suggests that parents must both respond sensitively to child distress and support autonomy. It was hypothesized that mothers are more likely to act as a safe haven and respond to child distress, whereas fathers are more likely to act as a secure base for exploration. Data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (NICHD SECCYD) were analyzed. Participants were restricted to "traditional nuclear" families. Data relevant to the current study were collected at laboratory and home visits when children were in Grades 3, 4, and 5. Parental sensitivity and respect for autonomy were observed in child-parent interactions in Grades 3 and 5. Parent-reported encouragement of autonomy was assessed at Grades 3 and 4. Child-reported felt security with respect to each parent, observed dyadic felt security, and parent-reported child attachment behaviors were assessed in Grades 3 and 5. Structural equation modeling was used to test the study hypotheses. The model that emerged contained significant correlations between maternal and paternal sensitivity and between child-mother and child-father attachment at both Grades 3 and 5, stability of both sensitivity and attachment, and predictive relations only within Grade 5. Taken as a whole, the results point to the need to take a developmental pathways perspective and to examine the reciprocal relations between children and parents in middle childhood.