Within the past 10 years, mobile devices have been widely adopted by adults and are now present in the lives of almost all U.S. children. While phones are common, our understanding of what effect this technology has upon children's development is lagging. Bioecological theory and attachment theory suggest that this new technology may be disruptive, especially to the degree to which it interferes with the parent-child relationship. This article reflects a National Organization for Human Services conference presentation and shares preliminary results from semi-structured interviews conducted with 18 youth, ages 7 through 11. Only four of eighteen interviewees voiced any negative thoughts concerning their parents’ use of mobile devices. However, those who reported feeling ignored by their parents experienced the negative emotions deeply. Themes that emerged from analysis of transcripts included devices as tools and boundaries.

Many sex trafficking survivors report problems in their interpersonal relationships, yet few studies have investigated the nuance of these important relational bonds. This phenomenological study began addressing this gap by exploring survivors’ perceptions of the quality and utility of their relationships with family members, peers, and service providers, specifically in the context of transitioning out of sex trafficking. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with six survivors in a residential recovery program. Analyses yielded three themes that represented distinct relational domains (1. non-professional, 2. professional, and 3. spirituality) and sub-codes which appeared to highlight nuance within each domain in the sense that some relationships were simultaneously helpful and challenging to negotiate. This poster will provide an overview of themes and codes, as well as a description of the practical significance of the results. Findings help extend existing literature and may inform potential modifications to resources provided by recovery programs.

Adolescents commit between 30% and 50% of the sexual offenses against young children in the United States. Adolescents who complete specialized treatment for sexual offending, including family therapy, have lower rates of sexual recidivism. Despite the evidence that including families in adolescents' treatment may contribute to lower sexual recidivism rates, there are few descriptions of family therapy with adolescents who sexually offend. In particular, there are no conceptualizations or models of family involvement derived from parents and adolescents' perspectives on treatment. To address this need, this study examined adolescents' and their parents\' experiences of participation in family therapy when the adolescent son had been required to complete treatment for sexual offending. In addition, the study explored how parent and adolescent participation in family therapy was associated with adolescents' progress in treatment for sexual offending. Using constructivist grounded theory methodology, a conceptualization of family therapy was developed through semi-structured interviews with ten adolescent boys who have sexually offended and their parents/caregivers. In addition, a focus group of seven family therapists who specialize in the treatment of adolescents who sexually offend reviewed the findings and offered input on refining the emerging clinical conceptualization. Findings suggest that youth have more successful outcomes when therapists foster hopefulness and use parents to help motivate youth and facilitate change. Positive outcomes of family therapy for youth included expressing himself more clearly, caring about people, thinking about his future and setting goals, having more confidence, following the rules, "progressing in treatment, being accountable for his behavior, becoming more honest, developing life skills, and understanding and expressing regret for sexually offending. Positive outcomes of family therapy for families included changes in household rules, family roles, setting boundaries, and having respectful communication. Implications for how to best include families in adolescents' treatment of sexual offending are addressed. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to determine if parent adolescent attachment is correlated with adolescent hope and shame two years later with parent psychological control in the year in between as a mediator. Data at wave four, five, and six for 308 families from the Flourishing Families Project were used. In previous studies attachment has been shown to be important in adolescent development. This study found that the adolescent's perception of the relationship is negatively correlated with shame and positively correlated with hope in the adolescent. Additionally the adolescent's perception of their relationship with both mother and father was correlated with mother and father psychological control, and mother and father psychological control was correlated with adolescent shame and hope. Psychological control was a significant mediator between the adolescent perception of the relationship with both parents and adolescent shame and hope.

Ethnic minority research in the U.S. is important to study because of the increase of ethnic minorities over the past several decades. Content analyses help to track the progress of ethnic minority research and guide researchers to future areas of study. Journals of adolescence have been analyzed and coded in the following areas of methodology of the article: article topic, article funding by topic, funding agencies, geographic location of sample, and measures used. A steady increase in ethnic minority research by article topic, funding, and measures was found for some groups.

Externalizing behaviors among adolescents continue to concern researchers and clinicians nationwide, especially among Latinos who are part of the largest and fastest growing minority population in the U. S. This dissertation begins by describing an eco-developmental model, which provides the theoretical framework used to conceptualize the systemic factors being studied and by reviewing the relevant literature regarding the influence of parental warmth, parental behavioral control, the adolescent-teacher relationship, and academic achievement on externalizing behavior among Latino adolescents. This study uses the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health survey (Add Health) data to analyze direct and indirect effects of parenting and school-related factors on externalizing behavior among Latino adolescents over four waves of time. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), latent growth curve modeling, bootstrapping, and latent scoring were all employed to test the hypothesized models. Results indicated that higher levels of maternal warmth, the adolescent-teacher relationship and academic achievement were all negatively associated with initial levels of externalizing behavior and in some cases negatively predicted the rate of change of externalizing behavior. Paternal warmth, behavioral control and academic achievement were all found to be positively associated with academic achievement. In terms of indirect effects, paternal warmth negatively predicted initial levels and the slope of externalizing behavior through academic achievement. Behavioral control was also negatively predictive of initial levels and the slope of externalizing behavior through academic achievement. Finally, direct and indirect effects were found between the adolescent-teacher relationship and both initial levels and the slope of externalizing behavior through academic achievement. Implications for these findings are discussed according to an eco-developmental framework, and culturally appropriate recommendations for clinicians and educators are offered to facilitate the increase of parental warmth and behavioral control in Latino families and for improving the adolescent-teacher relationship in school systems. A culturally adapted parenting training model and a strong evidence-based, family therapy intervention is recommended to clinicians to address these issues in Latino families and critical race theory (CRT) and Latino critical race theory (LatCrit) are implemented to inform recommendations offered to educators to address the academic-specific factors influencing externalizing behaviors among Latino adolescents.

Researchers have begun to explore the role that family members play in maintaining or recovering from an eating disorder. However, little research has addressed the sibling relationship, including nurturance, quarreling, and favoritism. Self-report questionnaires were collected from 120 girls and 87 boys in middle school (N=161) or high school (N=46). Linear regressions, ANOVAs and mediation analyses were conducted to determine the effects of siblings on adolescents’ disordered eating. Sibling favoritism and modeling of bulimic behavior were the only variables significantly related to relationship quality. Our results indicate that family dynamics and structure may play a larger role in adolescent maladaptive behavior than sibling relationship quality. Additionally, sibling relationship quality, bulimic modeling and sibling favoritism may be part of a very complex process leading to disordered eating behavior. Future research should continue to utilize the sibling subsystem as a means of understanding the development of disordered eating behavior among adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to examine how modality and exposure to intimate partner aggression (IPA) impact Marriage and Family Therapists' (MFTs) recognition of IPA, identification of perpetrator(s), and risk assessment in a case example among 37 MFTs. It was hypothesized that participants who received the male unilateral modality and who had previous IPA exposure would be more likely to recognize the IPA, correctly identify the perpetrator(s), and indicate risk of future harm in their given case example. Logistic regression analyses did not reveal any significant relationships between the variables. However, it was found that 91.9% of MFTs recognized the IPA in their case example, 78.4% correctly identified the perpetrator(s), and 89.2% indicated the potential for future harm. This study emphasizes the importance of the rates reaching 100% because until that occurs some couples experiencing IPA will be overlooked and subsequently provided with inadequate treatment.

<p>The purpose of this study was to examine the values Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) clinicians and researchers hold regarding effective dissemination strategies. Professional role was measured using self-report. Using Carnine’s three gaps in dissemination as a foundation, a questionnaire was created to measure perspectives about dissemination strategies. It was hypothesized that clinicians would value accessibility and usability more highly, whereas researchers would value trustworthiness more highly. Clinicians were also hypothesized to perceive current dissemination strategies as less effective. Subjects were recruited for an online study through social media and online correspondence with MFT programs, yielding 38 subjects. An exploratory factor analysis found that the questionnaire scales did not measure the constructs as originally intended. New constructs were created using the results of the factor analysis. A General Linear Model was used to determine if participants’ ratings on these new scales differed based on professional role. No significant results were found, indicating that researchers and clinicians have similar attitudes about effective dissemination strategies. Qualitative questions were also coded in order to find common themes answering why dissemination is important, how dissemination strategies are currently being used, and what barriers are still present in the dissemination process. The implications for clinical work and research are explored. Limitations and future directions are also discussed.</p>

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