Matching Items (16)
Description
Although aggression is sometimes thought to be maladaptive, evolutionary theories of resource control and dominance posit that aggression may be used to gain and maintain high social prominence within the peer group. The success of using aggression to increase social prominence may depend on the form of aggression used (relational versus physical), the gender of the aggressor, and the prominence of the victim. Thus, the current study examined the associations between aggression and victimization and social prominence. In addition, the current study extended previous research by examining multiple forms of aggression and victimization and conceptualizing and measuring social prominence using social network analysis. Participants were 339 6th grade students from ethnically diverse backgrounds (50.4% girls). Participants completed a peer nomination measure assessing relational and physical aggression and victimization. They also nominated friends within their grade, which were used to calculate three indices of social prominence, using social network analysis. As expected, results indicated that relational aggression was associated with higher social prominence, particularly for girls, whereas physical aggression was less robustly associated with social prominence. Results for victimization were less clear, but suggested that, for girls, those at mid-levels of social prominence were most highly victimized. For boys, results indicated that those both high and low in prominence were most highly relationally victimized, and those at mid-levels of prominence were most highly physically victimized. These findings help inform intervention work focused on decreasing overall levels of aggressive behavior.
ContributorsAndrews, Naomi C. Z (Author) / Hanish, Laura D. (Thesis advisor) / Martin, Carol Lynn (Committee member) / Updegraff, Kimberly A (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
The majority of early education programs today use a mix of child-centered and direct instruction approaches. Existing research comparing educational approaches is limited in the degree to which it can inform practice in mixed-method classrooms (i.e., classrooms using both child-centered and direct instruction approaches). The current dissertation extended previous research examining child-centered and direct instruction approaches to early education in two studies. The first study explored how free play and guided play differ from one another. The second study examined how time spent in free play, guided play, and direct instruction in the fall related to children's school readiness in the spring. Both studies were conducted using mixed-method Head Start classrooms. Participants were preschool children (Study 1 n = 284, Study 2 n = 283; M age = 52 months, 48% girls, 70% Mexican or Mexican-American) from lower socioeconomic status families. Observational data were utilized to assess children's time spent in free play and guided play and experiences with activities and peers in each context. Children's academic, affective, and social readiness were assessed through child interviews and teacher reports. The results provided little evidence to support the hypotheses or the popularly held belief that guided play is the most beneficial context for learning and development in early education programs. Findings were discussed in terms of the strengths and limitations of the studies and directions for future research. Importantly, recommendations for policy and practice were provided.
ContributorsGoble, Priscilla (Author) / Hanish, Laura D. (Thesis advisor) / Martin, Carol Lynn (Thesis advisor) / Wilkens, Natalie D. (Committee member) / Foster, Stacie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The major goal of the current study was to extend previous research on adolescents' gender stereotyping by assessing adolescents' academic, classroom regulatory behavior, and occupational gender stereotypes. This was done by creating new measures of academic and classroom regulation gender stereotypes. Using these measures, adolescents' gender stereotypes in core academic subjects, school in general, and classroom behavior were assessed. The coherence of adolescents' stereotypes was also examined. Participants were 257 7th grade students (M age = 12 years old, range 11-13 years old; 47% male. Students were administered surveys containing several measures of stereotyping. The results indicated that, for academic subjects, contrary to expectations, very few adolescents held traditional gender stereotypes; instead, most endorsed egalitarian views. Moreover, unexpected patterns emerged in which adolescents reported counter-traditional academic stereotypes. When sex differences were found in stereotyping patterns, they could be explained in part by ingroup bias. Approximately half of the students stereotyped classroom regulatory behaviors and occupations. Results provided support for the coherence of gender stereotypes such that students who stereotyped in one domain tended to stereotype in other domains. Strengths and limitations of the present study were discussed. Potentially important steps remain for research on the relation between academic gender stereotyping and academic performance.
ContributorsGalligan, Kathrine M (Author) / Martin, Carol Lynn (Thesis advisor) / Pahlke, Erin (Thesis advisor) / Fabes, Richard A. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
I investigated if race/ethnicity was associated with self- and peer-reported victimization and aggression in a sample of 5th through 8th graders (N = 383, 51% males) from two schools in which Hispanic/Latino students were the ethnic-racial majority. Self-reported victimization did not differ between races. In contrast, White students often had higher peer-reported victimization relative to Hispanic and Multi-racial students. Few significant associations were found for aggression. There was some, albeit inconsistent, support for the idea that power imbalance based on race/ethnicity is shifted by numbers. In the future, researchers should conduct studies aimed verifying this notion and that are tailored toward answering questions of mechanism.
ContributorsMitiku, Helen (Author) / Wilkens, Natalie (Thesis director) / Lindstrom Johnson, Sarah (Committee member) / White, Rebecca (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Abstract: This purpose of this paper is to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of a student-driven sexual assault intervention at Arizona State University. The first aim is to develop a theoretical framework of the organization and its relation to the Integrated Behavioral Health model. The second aim analyze change in attitudes and beliefs about sexual violence and bystander behaviors as well as barriers and facilitators of change including perceived control and self-efficacy for students involved in the Respect Movement. The final aim is to analyze how this change transmits through the broader social network of students involved in the Respect Movement.
ContributorsCuthbertson, Ethan Bradley (Author) / Lindstrom Johnson, Sarah (Thesis director) / Moses, Karen (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Aggression is inherently social. Evolutionary theories, for instance, suggest that the peer group within which an aggressor is embedded is of central importance to the use of aggression. However, there is disagreement in the field with regard to understanding precisely how aggression and peer relationships should relate. As such, in a series of three empirical studies, my dissertation takes a relational approach and addresses some of the inconsistencies present in the extant literature. In Study 1, I examined how qualities of youth's close friendships contributed to the use of aggression, both concurrently and over time. I found that youth with large friendship networks were more aggressive, whereas those with highly interconnected friendship network decreased in aggression over time. Using a dyadic mediation model, the second study considered the precursors to aggressors' friendships with peers. Specifically, I explored aggressive youth's interactions with unfamiliar peers and assessed how the interactions that unfold affected the quality of the relationship. I found that dyads who were highly discrepant in their tendencies toward aggression failed to collaborate well with one another, and this led to less positive perceptions of one another. Whereas the first two studies concerned aggressors' relationships with their friends (Study 1) and acquaintances (Study 2), Study 3 focused on a different type of relationship – the relationship between an aggressor and his or her victim(s). In the third study, I explored how power dynamics operate within an aggressor-victim dyad and assessed whether differences in the balance of power between the aggressor and victim affected the strength of their relationship. I found that more aggressor-victim dyads were characterized by a relative balance than imbalance in power, and that power balanced dyads had stronger and more sustained aggressor-victim relationships. By taking a relational approach to the study of aggression, this dissertation has advanced extant work in the field. That is, these findings move away from the simplification and aggregation of relational constructs (e.g., relationships, friendships), and instead consider the nuances of specific types of relationships or interactions with specific peers, allowing for a better understanding of the relational nature of aggression.
ContributorsAndrews, Naomi C. Z (Author) / Hanish, Laura D. (Thesis advisor) / Updegraff, Kimberly A (Committee member) / DeLay, Dawn (Committee member) / Martin, Carol Lynn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Both theoretical and empirical research has recognized the importance of contextual factors for Mexican-origin youths' educational outcomes. The roles of parents, teachers, and peers have been predictive of Mexican-origin youths' academic achievement, educational expectations, and decision to enroll in postsecondary education. However, few studies have examined the interdependence among sociocultural context characteristics in predicting Mexican-origin youths' educational outcomes. In this dissertation, two studies address this limitation by using a person-centered analytical approach. The first study identified profiles of Mexican-origin youth using culturally relevant family characteristics. The second study identified profiles of Mexican-origin youth using culturally relevant school characteristics. The links between profiles and youths' academic achievement, educational expectations, and postsecondary enrollment were examined in both studies. Overall, this dissertation contributes to the growing body of literature that aims to understand risk and protective processes related to Mexican-origin youths' academic achievement, educational expectations, and postsecondary enrollment.
ContributorsSang, Samantha (Author) / Updegraff, Kimberly A (Thesis advisor) / Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J. (Committee member) / Lindstrom Johnson, Sarah (Committee member) / Jager, Justin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
In preschool, learning often occurs within the context of children’s play activities with various toys and materials. Although much theoretical speculation has occurred, relatively little empirical research has examined how preschoolers’ play activities foster children’s learning and academic skill development. The current study extended previous research on dimensions of adolescent activity involvement to young children in preschool by assessing dimensions of activity involvement across and within curriculum-based and gender-based activity domains. In a longitudinal design, I explored the relation between these dimensions of activity involvement in the fall semester of children’s preschool year and children’s academic outcomes at the end of their preschool year. Participants included preschool children (n = 279; M age = 52 months, 47% girls, 70% Mexican or Mexican-American) from lower socioeconomic status families. Children’s activity involvement was observed, and academic abilities were assessed through child interviews and teacher reports. The results provided little evidence to support the hypotheses that children’s dimensions of activity involvement in the fall semester of their preschool year contributed to their academic abilities in literacy and mathematics at the end of their preschool year. Findings were discussed in terms of the strengths and limitations of the present study. Potentially important steps remain for research on the relation between preschool activity involvement and academic abilities.
ContributorsGoble, Priscilla M (Author) / Hanish, Laura D. (Thesis advisor) / Martin, Carol Lynn (Thesis advisor) / Simpkins-Chaput, Sandra D. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010
Description
School-based mental health services aim to foster positive academic and behavioral outcomes in students, however families often are not directly involved in implementing these practices. Family engagement in schools should be an essential focal point in school-based mental health services, as the partnership between families and schools has been shown to lead to positive student outcomes. This study used an evaluation tool known as the FAMSET to examine the PFS CARE intervention, a trauma-informed and culturally responsive intervention measuring family engagement in schools, which operates from an MTSS-framework. Specifically focusing on trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices, administrators and staff members were asked a series of thirteen questions regarding the construct. This study aims to examine the construct of trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices, to analyze administrator and staff differences, and to create a consolidated scale. Results showed that overall, the scales were efficient in capturing the construct of trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices, and the scales should be analyzed separately for administrators and staff members; additionally, several questions should be omitted or reworded in the administrator survey in future administrations. Family engagement in schools is an understudied topic, and one with promising future implementations – this study is one of the first to evaluate the FAMSET tool. In future studies, this preliminary data can be used to create a validated scale, and it is recommended that future samples are larger and expand to other faculty positions as well.
ContributorsKulkarni, Nita (Author) / Lindstrom Johnson, Sarah (Thesis director) / Updegraff, Kimberly (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2023-05
Description
School-based mental health services aim to foster positive academic and behavioral outcomes in students, however families often are not directly involved in implementing these practices. Family engagement in schools should be an essential focal point in school-based mental health services, as the partnership between families and schools has been shown to lead to positive student outcomes. This study used an evaluation tool known as the FAMSET to examine the PFS CARE intervention, a trauma-informed and culturally responsive intervention measuring family engagement in schools, which operates from an MTSS-framework. Specifically focusing on trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices, administrators and staff members were asked a series of thirteen questions regarding the construct. This study aims to examine the construct of trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices, to analyze administrator and staff differences, and to create a consolidated scale. Results showed that overall, the scales were efficient in capturing the construct of trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices, and the scales should be analyzed separately for administrators and staff members; additionally, several questions should be omitted or reworded in the administrator survey in future administrations. Family engagement in schools is an understudied topic, and one with promising future implementations – this study is one of the first to evaluate the FAMSET tool. In future studies, this preliminary data can be used to create a validated scale, and it is recommended that future samples are larger and expand to other faculty positions as well.
ContributorsKulkarni, Nita (Author) / Lindstrom Johnson, Sarah (Thesis director) / Updegraff, Kimberly (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2023-05