College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
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The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations..
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Item The Portrayal of Anger and Anger Management in Children's Picture Books(2024) Hernandez, Ilcia; Teglasi, Hedwig; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Through a comprehensive analysis of a sample of 80 children’s picture books, this study highlights the importance of embedding language to describe anger experiences and elements of social information processing (SIP) within stories to enhance young children’s understanding of anger arousal within themselves and others, as well as of anger management strategies. This study identified anger-eliciting situations, physiological and behavioral reactions, coping strategies proposed by helpers or the main character, along with other themes related to emotion socialization within the books. The current study identifies gaps in the portrayal of SIP mechanisms within stories, which underscores a need to emphasize the role of emotion dysregulation and of SIP biases during interpersonal conflicts as it is critical to foster regulation, reappraisal, and problem-solving skills among readers. The depiction of anger arousal and its escalation, predominantly through illustrations, is explored, along with implications for emotion understanding and cultural considerations of emotion expression. Picture book stories convey beliefs and values about anger by normalizing the emotion while promoting constructive regulation and expression through addressing the arousal in the body, delaying reactive responses, and using cognitive coping strategies. Overall, the current study has implications for caregivers and clinicians, in that becoming aware of how anger experiences are portrayed in picture books can aid in book selection based on a match with an individual child’s experiences and temperament to maximize its use as a tool for social-emotional learning and anger management in young children.Item THE PREDICTIVE POWER OF GRIT VERSUS GROWTH MINDSET ON LATER LITERACY ACHIEVEMENT(2022) Meyering, Kristin; O'Neal, Colleen; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Noncognitive, socioemotional variables impact individual’s academic achievement. Grit and growth mindset are two well researched socioemotional variables known to positively predict academic outcomes. This quantitative study is the first to systematically evaluate if growth mindset predicts later literacy achievement above and beyond grit. Method: The relative predictive strength of these two variables was evaluated using a short-term longitudinal dataset with a total of 267 upper elementary school students from two schools (5% Asian, 10% Black, 6% Latinx, 17% Multiethnic/Other, and 62% White; 36% dual language learner; 60% female; average age = 9.7 years). Measures included self-report on the Short Grit Scale, the Resiliency: Helpless vs. Mastery-Oriented Responses to Failure Scale, and a student literacy achievement performance task (Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension, TOSREC). Analytic Approach: Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were run to determine the factor structure of the grit and growth mindset scales for the data. Consistency in grit and growth mindset over time was evaluated via measurement invariance testing. A latent variable path analysis (LVPA) of latent grit and latent growth mindset at Time 1 predicting observed literacy achievement Time 2 was run to determine the relative predictive power of grit and growth mindset. Results: A second-order two factor structure fit the data and theoretical model for both grit and growth mindset. Partial measurement invariance was established for the Short Grit Scale and non-invariance was found for the Resiliency: Helpless vs. Mastery-Oriented Responses to Failure Scale. Finally, both grit and growth mindset were significant positive predictors of later literacy achievement, but grit was found to predict literacy above and beyond the variance accounted for growth mindset. Findings support the continued study of grit and growth mindset as viable predictors of outcomes among elementary-age students. Psychologists and educators should consider integration of socioemotional constructs, such as grit and growth mindset, into academic learning.Item Literacy and anger regulation among upper elementary students(2022) Weinberg, Hayley Ilana; O'Neal, Colleen; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The contribution of this study is the examination of the relation between literacy and use of anger regulation strategies in upper elementary children. This short-term longitudinal study includes two time points, approximately four months apart. This study examines whether performance on a literacy achievement task predicts later self-reported frequency of anger regulation strategy use. I will also examine the effects of gender on the relation between literacy and anger regulation. Participants included a sample of 253 students between ages 8-11 years old from two Maryland elementary schools (mean age = 9.7; 57% female; 32% dual language learners; 5% Asian, 10% Black, 6% Latinx, 65% White, 12% multiethnic students). Path analyses were conducted to test a model of Time 1 literacy achievement impacting the outcome of later Time 2 anger regulation, controlling for related demographic variables and Time 1 literacy achievement scores. Literacy was not found to be a significant predictor of anger regulation. However, this study provides insight into the relation between literacy achievement and anger regulation and ideas for future directions for research in this area.Item Anxiety and Anxiety-Coping in Children's Picture Books(2023) Hui, Janisa; Wang, Cixin; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The contribution of this study is to provide an understanding of how picture books educate young children on the common experiences of anxiety. This qualitative study used thematic analysis to analyze 82 English children’s picture books for infants and young toddlers (0 to 5 years old) that were published in 2020. Picture books in this sample portray anxiety in a way that match with the clinical knowledge of childhood anxiety in terms of characterization and signs of anxiety. This study identified five major themes of anxiety-eliciting situations, namely schools, bad things happen, being alone, health and diversity. The findings of this study also include themes and patterns of coping strategies that were used by the protagonists; finding comfort, inhibiting emotions, solving problems, recognizing and expressing emotions and culturally-related strategies are the five themes that summarize the coping strategies found in this sample. Across all types of anxiety-eliciting situations, finding comfort is the most frequently presented coping strategy. This study holds implications for caregivers, teachers and clinicians, through which they can have an idea of how anxiety is presented in some recently published children’s picture books in their use of the books for educational or clinical purposes. Publishers may also take reference on the gaps noted in this study to diversify the content of anxiety-related picture books.Item School Climate and Teacher Use of Strategies Linked to Bullying Perpetration and Victimization(2022) Gliese, Sara; Wang, Cixin; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Bullying in school settings is a major concern with approximately 22% of children in the U.S. experiencing some form of bullying (National Crime Victimization Survey, 2019). However, there is little to no current research specific to how teachers may play a modeling role through the behavior management strategies they use in the classroom to impact the likelihood and rate of bullying perpetration and victimization occurring among diverse middle school students. Additionally, while school climate has been linked to bullying perpetration and victimization, almost no research has examined how teacher strategies may impact school climate, which in turn predict bullying. This study sought to examine whether student perceptions of teacher use of positive (i.e., praise and reward) and punitive (i.e., yelling and punishment) strategies and school climate are linked to the likelihood and rates of bullying perpetration and victimization. In addition, it also examined whether school climate may have mediated the relationship between student perceptions of teacher strategies and bullying perpetration and victimization and whether gender and grade moderated these relations. Data were collected from 545 middle school students (Age: M = 13.12, SD = 0.76) from a diverse middle school in Southern California, using a multi-measure online survey administered at school. Students/families could opt-out of the survey. Data were analyzed following a two-part model suited for semi-continuous variables containing large numbers of zeros, with the first step being binary logistic regression with the whole sample, and the second step being linear regressions for cases with non-zero values using a victim-only sample and a perpetrator-only sample. Results of this study indicated that perceptions of punitive teacher strategies were linked to the likelihood of victimization, as well as the rates of perpetration and victimization for those who endorsed involvement. Perceptions of positive strategies were associated with the likelihood of victimization for those in their first year of middle school, but not for older students. Additionally, school climate was linked to the likelihood of both perpetration and victimization, but not rates. Lastly, school climate created a significant indirect effect when added to the models for positive and punitive strategies predicting the likelihoods victimization and perpetration, and positive strategies predicting the rates, and should be investigated longitudinally as a possible mediator. Overall, results supported the hypotheses that the strategies teachers use to manage behavior in the classroom and school climate may be linked to students’ involvement in bullying. Implications for practitioners and future work were presented.Item DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE PERCEIVED CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE CLIMATE MEASURE FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS (PCRC)(2021) Daye, Alyssa Lauren; O'Neal, Colleen; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study makes the contribution of developing a measure that provides voice to African American students, offers a broader view of their school experiences than existing cultural responsivity measures, as well as consequences for their academic outcomes. The present study reports the development and initial validation of a measure of perceived culturally responsive climate for African American adolescents (PCRC). The study relies on the existing longitudinal Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study (MADICS) dataset, a public use dataset collected from 1991-2000. The present study uses two waves of data from participants aged 13 to 18, and the subsample consists of 533 African American youths in Wave 3 (49.3% female; mean age of 14) and 399 African American youths in Wave 4 (51% female; mean age of 17). With the goal of creating a novel measure capturing youth perceptions of cultural responsiveness by both teachers and the school climate, this study combined student self-reported Wave 3 MADICS questionnaires of meaningful and culturally responsive curriculum, high academic expectations, teacher discrimination, peer discrimination, autonomy and self-advocacy, and school social support (i.e., teacher and peer support). Results indicated that a second order factor structure best fit the PCRC measure; the PCRC measure demonstrated adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability; and the PCRC predicted later math and non-math subject academic ability self-concept for African American adolescents. The study holds implications for schools, educators, and school psychologists hoping to give voice to African American student perceptions of culturally responsive teaching practices and school climate.Item Executive functions, effortful control, and social skills as predictors of externalizing behaviors in kindergarten children: A within-informant approach(2020) Albrecht, Jessica; Teglasi, Hedwig; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The relations of executive functions (EF), effortful control (EC), social skills, and externalizing behaviors were examined based on performance measures and rating scales collected from parents and teachers of kindergarten students. Externalizing problems encompass the most prevalent mental health disorders for children at the kindergarten age. Prior research has found that children who exhibit difficulties with self-regulation (EF, EC) or who lack social skills are more likely to develop externalizing problems in early childhood and beyond. However, these constructs have largely been studied separately, and no studies to date have measured EF, EC, and social skills in relation to children’s externalizing behaviors across different methods of measurement and across parent and teacher informants. The current study contributed to the literature on externalizing behaviors in young children by testing the unique contributions of EF, EC, and social skills to externalizing behaviors for parents and teachers separately. Results indicated that there was low agreement between parents and teachers, but that agreement was higher for children rated in the top 15% of externalizing problems. There were both similarities and differences in the relations of constructs for home and school settings. Greater informant-reported global EF deficits, low ratings of global social skills, and low effortful control were predictive of more externalizing behaviors across parent and teacher informants. However, differences were observed at the subscale level for the specific EF deficits and social skills that predicted parent-reported versus teacher-reported externalizing problems. Additionally, many performance measures of EF, including the NEPSY-II scales and the TAT, significantly predicted teacher-reported externalizing behaviors, but not parent-reported externalizing behaviors. Overall, relations are moderate to high between constructs when both are assessed with the same informant and method of measurement. Implications of these findings for both practitioners and researchers are discussed.Item Stress, Mental Health, and Self-Care among Refugee Teachers in Malaysia(2020) Gosnell, Nicole; O'Neal, Colleen; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The mental health of post-conflict refugee teachers is understudied, yet critically important given the current refugee crisis which has displaced more than 70 million people (UNHCR, 2019). Teachers in hidden refugee schools are often refugees themselves, have little teacher education, and are faced with overwhelming classroom demands and other unique stressors. This study utilizes a mixed method design to examine stress, mental health (i.e., depression, and anxiety), and self-care among teachers in hidden refugee schools in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Quantitative data are archival, collected in Malaysia in 2013. Quantitative study participants included 97 primarily Burmese refugee teachers and 26 non-refugee teachers living in Malaysia. Quantitative measures included (a) Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS); (b) a self-care strategies questionnaire, and (c) a demographic questionnaire. Quantitative results suggest that refugee teachers have significantly higher rates of mental health and stress, but lower rates of self-care as compared to their non-refugee peer teachers. In addition, higher rates of self-care are associated with lower rates of mental health symptoms and stress rates; the association is moderated by age. Qualitative data were collected in June 2018 via individual interviews with eleven Burmese refugee teachers working in Malaysia. Qualitative results shed light on the unique definitions and experiences of stress, mental health, and self-care among refugee teachers in the context of macrolevel factors. Overall, this dissertation found that macrolevel factors unique to being a refugee impact refugees’ rates, experiences, and definitions of microlevel mental health symptoms, stress, and self-care.Item Understanding Secondary Educators’ Knowledge of Mental Health and Their Perceptions of Their Role in Addressing Student Mental Health(2019) Ross, Ana-Sophia; Wang, Cixin; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Adolescents have significant unmet mental health needs and schools represent the most common place for youth to receive mental health services. Teachers are primarily responsible for recognizing and working with students with mental health needs. Scholarship has investigated teachers’ knowledge pertaining to signs and symptoms for mental illness and found that teachers report little confidence in their knowledge, and have difficulty accurately identifying students struggling with mental illness. Research has provided some insight into how teachers can promote positive mental health amongst their students but little is known about classroom educators’ perceptions about how they can address student mental health concerns. Thus, this qualitative study utilized thematic analysis to investigate 27 teacher/classroom educators’ perceptions about how they can help students who struggle with mental health problems. Five main themes emerged from the analysis: 1) school collaboration, 2) student support, 3) family involvement/family-school partnership, 4) school reform/systematic change, and 5) teacher professional development training. Additionally, the study also investigated educator’s knowledge of signs and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. Eighty-five percent of teachers were able to correctly identify depression from a vignette while all participants were able to identify an eating disorder from a vignette. This study provides insights about how to improve school-based mental health efforts, with specific attention to classroom-based educators’ role in the provision of services.Item SCAFFOLDING CHILDREN'S COGNITIVE GROWTH USING THE STORIES GROUP INTERACTION(2012) Buell, Samantha Sedlik; Teglasi, Hedwig; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)A 15-session story-guided group intervention (STORIES) was implemented during a school lunch hour for six fourth grade students (N=6) referred for social-emotional and academic needs. Two transcript coding systems, the Group Leader Intervention System (GLIS) and Child Verbalization Codes (CVC) were used to assess both leader interventions and child cognition within the group through the coding of session transcripts. Patterns of reciprocal group dynamics were studied with a focus on various leader scaffolding techniques aimed at improving child cognitive understanding and functioning within the group setting. These patterns were examined across group phases (eating lunch and working with books), various group activities, and time. Results indicate that several leader interventions were related to higher child cognitive levels. Higher child scores followed verbalizations where the leader modeled responses, provided structure, and asked specific questions. The leader's behavior also varied following child verbalizations at different levels in terms of type and tone of intervention. Mean child cognitive responses indicated low levels of understanding and difficulty processing emotions or expressing empathy. Performance varied greatly by participant in terms of both frequency and quality of participation. Improvements in cognition were not seen over time, but certain activities were linked with better performance. Across group components, the use of more highly scaffolded questions by the leader reduced lower level responses from child participants. The highest level child cognitive responses were rare for this group and were linked with more open-ended questions from the group leader. Results are discussed in terms of the relevance for school-based group interventions, the practicality of implementing interventions during lunchtime, and the use of scaffolding techniques in work with children of varying ability levels.