Approximately 35.5% of U.S. children ages 6-11 are overweight or obese. Obesity prevention programs in the school setting have produced mixed results, but interventions conducted in the afterschool setting may increase healthy eating (HE) and physical activity (PA) beyond efforts in a typical school day. Studies to date have shown some success in increasing PA in this setting. Moreover, 23% of children grades K-5 attend afterschool care programs. Treatment successes using a family-based approach warrants parental involvement in this setting, but few studies have examined the impact of parent inclusion. The CATCH Kids Club is a curriculum aimed to increase HE and PA in the afterschool care setting with children grades K-5. The NIH We Can! is a family-based intervention geared towards parents of children ages 8-13 and aims to assist families in increasing HE and PA as well as reducing screen time. The current study sought to understand 1) school community perceptions of child obesity, nutrition, and PA, 2) current efforts of the afterschool care program to promote HE and PA, and 3) how a combined student- and parent- focused intervention could be integrated into afterschool care. Researchers conducted focus groups and tested measurement instruments with afterschool personnel and parents of children in the afterschool care program. All personnel (N = 12; 83% Female; 92% Caucasian) agreed that greater afterschool care health promotion efforts could be made. Over half the sample (58%) described afterschool snacks as “not very healthy” or “not at all healthy” and placed the average amount of daily PA at 1 hour. Barriers to healthy habits included mandates on individually wrapped snack purchases and space available for PA. Personnel demonstrated interest in learning the CATCH curriculum. However, personnel were concerned about amount of staff needed to deliver the program, effects of varying attendance levels of students, and parent participation due to busy schedules. Results revealed that parents (N = 8; 75% female; 100% Caucasian) had little knowledge of what occurred during the afterschool care program including types of snacks provided and amount of PA received. All parents were supportive of the implementation of CATCH Kids Club, and all expressed interest in participating in the We Can! sessions. Parents reported preference for short (30-45 minute), bimonthly sessions occurring upon child pick-up. Results suggest that delivering 2012 Appalachian Student Research Forum Page 81 CATCH Kids Club and the NIH We Can! curricula in the afterschool setting would be of interest to both personnel and parents and would be feasible if time-limited and convenient. These findings will contribute to the development of an afterschool care program pilot intervention, Wellness Partners, directed at both students 5-11 years of age and their parents using modified CATCH Kids Club and NIH We Can! curricula. This cluster randomized controlled pilot study utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methodologies will provide preliminary data to further refine and conduct a fully-powered, large scale trial of the intervention’s efficacy in preventing obesity

Child maltreatment has been linked to a wide range of poor child outcomes. Although children's reports of parenting are essential within clinical contexts, such as child welfare investigations or forensic interviews, children's reports of parental behaviors are not widely used within research contexts. Delineating child reports of maltreatment and parenting in the context of research could enhance methods of assessment and inform clinical practice. Thus, the present research sought to examine the utility of children's reports of deficient parenting and maternal alcohol abuse in the prediction of childhood internalizing and disruptive behaviors. Participants were 350 children aged 4 to 9 and their mothers, who were enrolled in a 3-year longitudinal study examining parenting and children's social development. A multi-method, multisource approach to data collection was used. Children's internalizing and disruptive behaviors were assessed at two time points occurring approximately 12 months apart, and were based on mothers' reports and research assistant observations. Information regarding parenting and maternal alcohol abuse was obtained from children, mothers, and direct observational measures. Structural equation modeling was used to explore the effects of deficient parenting and maternal alcohol abuse on concurrent and prospective child behavior problems. Age was included as a potential moderator of the link between deficient parenting and child behavior. A single construct conceptualization of deficient parenting was not supported by the data and the influences of each aspect of deficient parenting were examined independently. Results were varied across informants and depending on the specific aspect of parenting being assessed, providing partial support for the hypotheses. Among younger children, child-reported care neglect significantly predicted later anxiety and was marginally associated with concurrent disruptive behaviors. Current maternal alcohol abuse was marginally associated with both concurrent disruptive and internalizing behavior. Among older children, the multi-source index of care neglect significantly predicted later disruptive behaviors, while the multi-source index of harsh discipline and child-reported supervisory neglect predicted concurrent disruptive behaviors. For both age groups, mothers' lifetime history of alcohol abuse significantly predicted concurrent and later disruptive behavior, and later internalizing behavior. Children's reported exposure to maternal alcohol abuse was significantly associated with concurrent disruptive behaviors. The link between harsh discipline and concurrent internalizing problems was marginally significant. Finally, supervisory neglect was associated with internalizing behaviors, but results varied depending on the measure of supervision used. Current findings provided additional support for the utility of distinguishing between aspects of deficient parenting and examining the unique influences of aspects of parenting on child behavior. Overall, findings offer support for the predictive validity of children's reports of parenting and maternal alcohol abuse, and emphasize the importance of assessing children's experiences of parenting separately from other informants. Findings highlight the complexity of the relation between parenting and child adjustment, and suggest that the nature of these relations maybe fluid across children's development.

This thesis is based on a research study examining the extent to which cultural background and cultural factors are taken into account by Child Protection Workers investigating allegations of child maltreatment due to inappropriate or excessive punishment. Profiles of child discipline practices within a cultural and historical context were developed and qualitative and quantitative data was gathered through a survey questionnaire sent to all the metropolitan offices of Family and Children's Services. Data was also collected from ethnic leaders, some of their community members and from refugees. The data collected was examined in relation to Child Maltreatment Guidelines of Family & Children's Services and current Child Protection Laws in Western Australia, with a particular focus on practice implications for child protection workers.

The aims of this thesis were to determine the relationship between transition model variables and athlete reactions to the transition event, the incidence of positive versus negative reactions to the event, identifications of variables that assisted or hindered the adaptation process, and the usefulness of the revised model for investigating a transition event. The study was conducted using a sample of adolescent athletes who participated in the residential program at the Australian Institute of Sport during the years 1993 to 1997. The findings highlighted areas for future consideration in research and development of transition programs for institutional settings / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) (Psychology)

Child care stability affects child and family outcomes. Stability reflects the time dimension of a child care arrangement. Although stability does not guarantee positive outcomes, instability appears to decrease the likelihood of achieving them. Some level of stability is a necessary, although not sufficient, characteristic of care that meets children's needs. Child care stability is of special concern for children in low income families because child care impacts are greatest for these children, and current welfare policies result in more low-income children in nonparental care. This study increases understanding of child care stability through (a) an analysis of findings from stability studies over 30 years, (b) an examination of relationships of the four major stability measures, and (c) presentation of results from an analysis of the stability of subsidized child care arrangements in Oregon. The analysis of stability studies documented lack of consistency in conceptualization, measures, and methodology. These inconsistencies limit comparisons of reported stability findings and confidence in estimates of child care stability that have been reported. Examination of the four stability measures found that the three child-level measures appear to describe the same construct as they are highly correlated. The fourth stability measure is at the level of the arrangement and captures a distinctly different aspect of stability. Stability levels of subsidized arrangements in Oregon appear lower than those found in nationally representative samples but similar to levels found in populations participating in public assistance programs. About a third of children had very stable care but others had high levels of instability. Fifty percent of arrangement spells ended by 3 months, even when children were observed for 36 months. The study concludes with recommendations for future research. / Graduation date: 2005

Minority children are involved in the child welfare system at rates disproportionate to their numbers in the overall population. Prior research argues that risk assessments conducted by child welfare agencies may be racially biased, and thus contribute to disproportionality. This study seeks to explore the effect of different risk assessment models on racial disproportionality. This is done by examining the relationship between race/ethnicity and various child welfare outcomes in three states that utilize the consensus-based model and three states that utilize the actuarial model of risk assessment. Results were similar for both groups of states, suggesting that one model is not more biased than the other. The results also indicate that racial/ethnic groups enter the child welfare system at different rates. However, groups remained involved in subsequent outcomes at consistent percentages. Finally, the results suggest differential treatment among the most restrictive child welfare outcomes. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts / Graduate Center for Social and Public Policy / MA / Thesis

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Psychology, June 1997. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2005. / "December, 2005." Includes bibliographical references. Online version available on the World Wide Web. Library also has microfilm. Ann Arbor, Mich. : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [2005]. 1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm.

High levels of self-esteem (the individual's assessment of self-worth) have been associated with a variety of positive child outcomes, while low levels of self-esteem have been related to problems in child growth and development. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between specific child temperament and parenting behaviors to the child's selfesteem. More specifically it determined the relationship between child quality of mood, child adaptability, maternal responsiveness, maternal reasoning guidance, child gender, and family socioeconomic status with the child's perceived competence and social acceptance. The interactive effects of child quality of mood x maternal responsiveness and child adaptability x maternal reasoning guidance were also explored. The sample for this study consisted of 45 preschool children and their mothers. The children were enrolled in the O.S.U. Child Development Center and the L.B.C.C. Family Resource Center. Mothers completed a questionnaire consisting of an adaptation of the Parent Temperament Questionnaire for Children (Thomas, Chess, & Korn, 1977), an adaptation of the Iowa Parent Behavior Inventory (Crase, Clark, & Pease, 1979), and descriptive information. Children were assessed for self-esteem using Harter and Pike's Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children (1984). The analyses consisted of the following: descriptive statistics of all variables, a correlation matrix using all variables, univariate and hierarchical regressions between the independent variables and perceived competence and social acceptance, and regression analyses to test for interactive effects of the selected independent variables against perceived competence and social acceptance. Results revealed these significant findings: maternal responsiveness positively correlated with social acceptance; child adaptability negatively correlated with social acceptance; positive interaction effects were demonstrated between child quality of mood x maternal responsiveness and child adaptability against social acceptance; negative interaction effects were revealed between child adaptability x maternal reasoning guidance against social acceptance; also, child adaptability x maternal reasoning guidance with maternal responsiveness significantly predicted greater social acceptance. No significant relationships were found with perceived competence. This study supported the expectation that specific child temperament characteristics interacted with particular parenting behaviors to affect the development of positive child self-esteem. / Graduation date: 1991

Thesis (M.S.) in Human Development--University of Maine, 2004. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-59).