This study examined the prevalence, spatial distribution, and correlates of problem behaviour amongst the Grades K-4 cohort in the most highly urbanised portion of the Capital Regional District, British Columbia. Data for the study were collected during the period October through December, 1997. The first stage of data collection involved the distribution of a survey package, consisting of a socio-demographic and medical history questionnaire and the Walker Problem Behaviour Identification Checklist, to the parents of 3121 children in the 15 participating schools. A total of 571 useful responses were obtained, yielding a useful response rate of 18.3%. In the second stage of data collection, hair samples were obtained from 258 children. Hair elemental analysis of the samples allowed for the determination of individual children’s exposures to several toxic metals as well as systemic and/or dietary levels of various nutritive elements. Results of the behavioural assessment revealed that 23.8% of the participating children received a score in the ‘problem behaviour’ range for the Total Walker scale, a measure of overall behavioural functioning. Rates of problem behaviour for the subscales varied considerably: Acting-Out (33.5%); Withdrawal (5.3%); Distractibility (12.4%); Disturbed Peer Relations (31.2%); Immaturity (26.4%). Substantial variations in rates of problem behaviour were revealed at the census tract level, with each scale exhibiting a concentration of problem behaviour in the central portion of the study area. The most pronounced clustering of problem behaviour was apparent for the Total and Withdrawal scales, while the Disturbed Peer Relations scale results exhibited the most dispersed pattern. Ecological correlation analyses revealed that measures of socio-economic disadvantage, high mobility, and family dysfunction were positively correlated with census tract rates of problem behaviour, while measures of social and economic advantage appeared to have a ‘protective’ effect. The degree to which the urban ecology of the study area was related to prevalence rates was dependent upon the nature of the behaviour being considered, with behaviours related to withdrawal and immaturity showing the least association with social factors. Contextual analyses suggested that, in some cases, the quality of the urban environment had an independent association with problem behaviour, beyond the effects of individual social status. Amongst the medical history-related factors considered, having a food allergy was a characteristic significantly more prevalent amongst children with problem behaviour on the Total and Distractibility scales, while children born following a ‘prolonged labour’ were more likely to receive a score above the problem behaviour threshold for the Immaturity scale. Social status and family characteristics appear to be of particular significance as potential ‘risk’ and ‘protective’ factors. Children with problem behaviours were more frequently exposed to variables describing economic disadvantage, stressful life circumstances, and disruptive events; and were more likely to live in a single parent, rented, and/or subsidised home than other children. The factors considered were of least importance for behaviour characterised by ‘acting-out’ and ‘immaturity.’ While seemingly of less significance than the other factors considered, nutritive mineral imbalances and toxic metal exposures may have an important influence on children’s behaviour. Calcium status appears to be of some consequence, with significant positive associations observed between 'low’ exposure to this mineral and problem behaviour of several types. Behaviour characterised by distractibility ’ may be the most affected by mineral status, with significant associations observed between problem behaviour of this type and 'low ’ calcium, 'high’ manganese, and 'high' cadmium. The results obtained suggest that at least one factor from each level of analysis was of significance as a potential 'risk’ or protective’ factor for each behavioural problem considered. As a result, a more holistic, multidisciplinary approach to the study of childhood behavioural problems seems justified. / Graduate

No description available.

No description available.

[No abstract submitted] / Arts, Faculty of / Philosophy, Department of / Graduate

The Taylor-Spence Drive (D) theory was investigated by comparing performance of high anxiety (HA), medium anxiety (MA) and low anxiety (LA) Ss, as measured by the Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, on the test list of both a response-equivalence paradigm (A-B, A-C) and a control paradigm (D-B, A-C). The Ss were 60 grade six boys. The paired-associate learning tasks were designed to detect the debilitating effects of associative-stage competition in the experimental group for HA, MA and LA Ss respectively. A two (experimental conditions) by three (anxiety levels) by six (repeated trials) analysis of variance was performed on the data. There is a significant difference in performance between experimental and control groups on the test list (A-C), p < .0005. There are several trends favourable to the Taylor-Spence D theory but chance factors could have been involved since none of the hypotheses generated from the theory reached the .05 significance level. The first favourable trend is that HA and MA Ss' performance tends to be superior to LA Ss' in the control group on the test list (A-C). Also, HA Ss' performance is inferior to LA Ss' in the experimental group on the test list (A-C) giving support to the interaction hypothesis. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

The purpose of this Investigation was to determine whether the Marianne Frostig Program for the Development of Visual Perception is successful in terms of increased reading readiness and visual perceptual abilities, when used in the regular classroom. Thirty-two first grade pupils were selected as subjects on the basis of below-normal scores on the Marianne Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception and the Clymer-Barrett Prereading Battery, Form A. Both the experimental and control groups were taught by the experimenter. Three times a week for six weeks the experimental group received fifteen to twenty minutes of physical, three-dimensional and two-dimensional exercises according to the Frostig Program for the Development of Visual Perception. The control group received instruction as prescribed by the course of study. No significant improvement of the experimental group over the control group was found at the .05 level of significance. It was concluded that much further Investigation into the suitability of this program for a regular classroom should be done regarding the optimal age level and class size; training, personalities and attitudes of the teachers involved; and the optimal duration and concentration of the program. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

The major purpose of this study was to relate the performance of Chinese Ss in Hong Kong on Piagetian tasks to two factors: first to a cognitive style variable, and secondly, to achievement motivation. It was hoped that the results from this study would provide some new interpretation to Goodnow's (1962) findings in Hong Kong. This study also provided an opportunity to determine if Piaget's results concerning the order of acquisition of tasks as well as levels of difficulty within tasks can be replicated with Ss from another culture. Finally, the performance of a comparable group of white Canadian children was compared to the Chinese Ss both in terms of achievement on the tasks and relationship between the tasks. It was hypothesized that performance on Piagetian tasks would correlate with scores on the CEFT and with scores on n Achievement. Furthermore, it was believed that the predictions made by Piaget regarding the order of achievement on the Conservation tasks as well as the levels of difficulty within the Water Level Test will be replicated with Ss from Hong Kong. Finally, it was expected that there would be no significant difference in performance between white and Chinese Ss. Thirty-nine Ss from Hong Kong were individually tested on the following tests: Conservation of Substance, Conservation of Weight, the Water Level Test and the CEFT. Group testing was employed for administering the TAT. Scores from a group of previously tested white Ss on Conservation of Substance, Conservation of Weight, the Water Level test and the CEFT were used for comparison with the Chinese Ss. Results for both white and Chinese Ss showed that there was no significant relationship between performance on the Conservation tasks and the CEFT. A significant but low relationship was obtained between performance on the Water Level test and the CEFT for both Chinese and white Ss. Thus, in terms of relationship between Piagetian tasks and the CEFT, the findings were similar for white and Chinese Ss. There was no significant difference in performance between Chinese and white Ss on Conservation of Weight, the Water Level Test, and the CEFT. However, the white Ss performed significantly better than the Chinese Ss on Conservation of Substance. The order of achievement on the Conservation tasks predicted by Piaget was replicated with the white Ss, but the order was not clear for the Chinese sample. Developmental levels of difficulty within the Water Level Test predicted by Piaget and Inhelder was supported by the findings for both white and Chinese Ss. No significant relationship was found for the Chinese Ss between performance on any of the Piagetian tasks and n Achievement. There was some indication of a low negative relationship between Conservation of Weight and n Achievement, but this failed to reach significance at the .05 level. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

One of the major concerns of counselling psychology is to foster development rather than to simply remediate problems. One of the emotions through which proactive development might be facilitated is pride. Pride has potential connections to achievement motivation, care and attention toward work, task persistence, self-competence, esteem, and general productive well-being within a social context. The purpose of this study was to describe children's conceptions of pride in the anticipation that knowing about these conceptions would help indicate ways for counsellors to intervene. Using phenomenography, a descriptive research methodology that emphasizes conceptions of things experienced, child participants in Grades 2, 4, and 7 were interviewed to determine their conceptions of pride. The children were invited to talk about pride, mainly by telling stories of experiences with pride. The resulting narratives were analyzed to sift out all qualitatively distinct categories of meaning for pride, mapping the general domain of the emotion. Eight distinct conceptions emerged, including three active or doing conceptions (achieving, acting ethically, and acting independently) and five having conceptions (possessing, having a desired attribute or ability, belonging, having special status, and pride by association). All conceptions were represented in all three grades sampled, with no outstanding age- or gender-related differences. Research results contribute to our knowledge of how children experience and comprehend pride, and point toward educational and psychological implications for those who parent, educate, or counsel children. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of child-centered play therapy on children of Piaget's preoperational and concrete operations developmental stages. Piaget's assertions about the contributions of play to cognitive, affective, and social development have provided a basis for the theoretical rationale for the use of play as a therapeutic intervention. The impact of child-centered play therapy was measured by a decrease in parent-child relationship stress as measured by scores on the Child Domain, Parent Domain, and Total Stress Score of the Parenting Stress Index. This study utilized a three wave repeated measures ANOVA design to analyze the impact of child-centered play therapy on children between the ages of 3-8 who received 19-23 individual child-centered play therapy sessions. A pretest, approximate midpoint, and posttest administration was collected for use in the analysis. The population study comprised 24 children referred to the Child and Family Resource Clinic on the University of North Texas campus. Participating children were divided into two treatment groups based on their age at the time of treatment. The preoperational development treatment group consisted of 12 children aged of 3-6 years and the concrete operations development treatment group consisted of children aged 7-8 years. Nine hypotheses were tested using three wave repeated measures ANOVA and eta squared. The results of this study tentatively support the impact of child-centered play therapy with children of both the preoperational and concrete operations developmental stages. The data indicates a statistically significant difference in the impact of child-centered play therapy for children of different developmental stages.

This dissertation examines the association between the quality of children’s language experiences – as operationalized by adult verbal warmth – and their cognitive developmental outcomes. A socioeconomically diverse sample of 43 parents and their 5-to-9-year-old children participated in this study. A digital audio recording of the home environment was obtained, and children completed a high-resolution, structural MRI scan as well as direct assessments of their language and reading skills. The audio recordings were transcribed and coded using a coding scheme newly developed by the candidate in consultation with leading experts, in order to identify and quantify psycholinguistic elements of adult-child communication. Primary hypotheses included that adult verbal warmth is associated with (1) language and reading outcomes (2) the neural regions associated with each. To date, no studies have combined a transcription-based, fine-grained analysis of naturalistic home recordings with neuroimaging data. As such, this study represents a new line of inquiry at the nexus of developmental psychology, neuroscience, and education. The findings shed light on the impact of psychosocial language experiences on child development and on which forms of adult-child communication are most conducive to learning. Such information can inform programs that aim to teach parents ways to nurture their children’s development through high-quality child-directed speech. Social, educational, and clinical implications for mitigating risk factors and bolstering protective factors in order to, ultimately, foster healthy development for all children, are discussed.