Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Effortful Control
- All Subjects: Temperament
Description
Effortful Control (EC) is a person's ability to self-regulate when presented with an environmental stimulus (Rothbart, et al., 2003). It has been well-established that high levels of EC are associated with multiple positive social and academic outcomes in adolescence (Spinrad et al., 2009). Research suggests that parents have a strong impact on numerous child outcomes, such as EC, through both genetic and environmental pathways. Past research has also examined how parents diagnosed with psychopathology contribute to maladaptive outcomes in their children, including poor regulation, through both genetic and environmental processes (Ellis, et al., 1997). However, less is known about the longitudinal effects of parent dysfunction on the child's environment and regulatory abilities and potential mediators of those effects. The current study tested the hypotheses that parent Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) would specifically predict early adversity, biological mother conscientiousness, and child EC longitudinally and that early adversity and biological mother conscientiousness would predict child EC. Participants were from a longitudinal study of familial alcoholism (N = 195). Regression analyses indicated that parent AUD was not specifically associated with child EC or with biological mother conscientiousness. However, parent AUD was related to higher levels of early adversity. Additionally, biological mother conscientiousness was associated with higher levels of child EC and early adversity was associated with lower levels of child EC when controlling for earlier EC. Given these findings, future research should test mediation models in which parent AUD predicts child EC indirectly through early adversity.
ContributorsRuof, Ariana Kelsey (Author) / Chassin, Laurie (Thesis director) / Elam, Kit (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
Approximately 20% of youth experience mental health problems (Vasileva et al., 2021), and dimensions of early childhood temperament, specifically negative affectivity and effortful control, predict later mental health (Rothbart, 2007). Examining temperament using person-centered methods, particularly in stressful contexts, may improve our understanding of vulnerability to adolescent emotional problems. The current study examined whether specific patterns, or types, of infant temperament longitudinally predicted adolescent anxiety and depression symptoms and whether family relationship stress moderated this association. We hypothesized that infants with a Negative Dysregulated temperament would experience higher anxiety and depression symptoms in later childhood compared to those with a Typical Expressive temperament, and that family relationship stress would exacerbate this link. In an ongoing-longitudinal study of families with twins (N=563, 51% female, 29.8% Hispanic/Latinx, 58.4% White; Lemery-Chalfant et al., 2019), primary caregivers (PCs) reported on infant temperament at 12 months (IBQ; Gartstein & Rothbart, 2003, α=.74-.90). In a prior study (Murillo et al., 2023), latent profile analysis yielded three infant temperament types: Negative Dysregulated, Positive Well-Regulated, and Typical Expressive. PCs reported on partner strain (PSS; Schuster, Kessler, & Asseltine, 1990, α=.87) and family conflict (FCS; Porter & O’Leary, 1980, α=.80) at age 8 and a composite of these two measures represented Family Relationship Stress (r = .689). Confirmatory factor analysis was used to form Depression and Anxiety outcome composites based on PC (4 reports), secondary caregiver (2 reports), teacher (2 reports), and self-report (3 reports) measures of depression and anxiety symptoms collected from ages 8-11 (HBQ, Armstrong & Goldstein, 2003; BPI, Measelle et al., 1998, all α’s > .80). We randomly selected one twin from each pair and conducted regression analyses, and then used the second twin for an internal replication. Family relationship stress had a significant main effect on both anxiety and depressive symptoms. The Negative Dysregulated temperament type did not predict anxiety and depression at ages 8-11, however, it interacted with family relationship stress to predict anxiety and depression in 1 of 2 samples. When family relationship stress was low, the Negative Dysregulated type was significantly associated with higher anxiety and depression outcomes compared to the Typical Expressive type, and high family relationship stress was significantly associated with lower depression outcomes. Elucidating these longitudinal relations is important for informing early intervention and reducing the burden of adolescent psychopathology.
ContributorsSingh, Ajuni (Author) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Thesis director) / Corbin, William (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor)
Created2023-12
Description
Research on self-regulatory variables like mindfulness and effortful control proposes strong links with physical and mental health outcomes across the lifespan, from childhood and adolescence to adulthood and old age. One pathway by which self-regulation may confer health benefits is through individual differences in reports of and emotional responses to daily negative and positive events. Mindfulness is broadly defined as non-reactivity to inner experiences, while effortful control is broadly defined as attentional and behavioral regulation. Mindfulness and effortful control have both been conceptualized to exert their beneficial effects on development through their influence on exposure/engagement and emotional reactivity/responsiveness to both negative and positive events, yet few empirical studies have tested this claim using daily-diary designs, a research methodology that permits for examining this process. With a sample of community-dwelling adults (n=191), this thesis examined whether dispositional mindfulness (i.e., non-reactivity of inner experience) and effortful control (i.e., attention and behavioral regulation) modulate reports of and affective reactivity/responsiveness to daily negative and positive events across 30 days. Results showed that mindfulness and effortful control were each associated with reduced exposure to daily stressors but not positive events. They also showed that mindfulness and effortful control, respectively, predicted smaller decreases in negative affect and smaller increases in positive affect on days that positive events occurred. Overall, these findings offer insight into how these self-regulatory factors operate in the context of middle-aged adults’ everyday life.
ContributorsCastro, Saul (Author) / Infurna, Frank (Thesis advisor) / Doane, Leah (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018