Caring for children with autism place mothers at high risk for poor health outcomes and compromises the health of all family members (e.g., Bristol, 1987; Hastings et al., 2005a). Although poor outcomes prevail, some mothers do well despite their caregiving challenges. While ample research exists on mothers’ supports and stress, virtually nothing is known about their strengths. Emerging research suggests that parental self-efficacy and empowerment may contribute to better outcomes in mothers of children with autism. The purpose of the present study was to identify predictors of better outcomes in mothers of children with autism. Relationships among child disruptive behaviour, supports, self-efficacy, empowerment, maternal distress and positive perceptions of parenting were examined using a postal survey design. Mothers (N = 114) of school-age children with autism provided demographic information and completed various scales (i.e., the Developmental Behaviour Checklist, Family Support, Difficult Behaviour Self-Efficacy, Family Empowerment, Hospital Anxiety and Depression, Positive Contribution). Overall, 35% of the variance was explained in maternal distress (i.e., anxiety and depression). After accounting for mothers’ age and child disruptive behaviour, support and empowerment were subsumed by parental self-efficacy in predicting lower levels of maternal distress. Collectively, 17% of the variance was explained in mothers’ positive perceptions of parenting. Self-efficacy partially mediated the moderate effect of disruptive behaviour on mothers’ distress and fully mediated the small effect of disruptive behaviour on mothers’ positive perceptions of parenting. Thus, parental self-efficacy for managing children’s difficult behaviour is very promising for preserving mothers’ health. While discussion focuses on outstanding issues to be addressed, the findings suggest that tailoring formal services to enhance parental efficacy, rather than providing support and consultation services alone, would be more in line with mothers’ needs and possibly improve both children’s and families’ outcomes.

Having the same parents repeatedly complete questionnaires over time, the current community based study investigated beliefs relevant to supervision, drowning risk, and water safety for children aged two through five enrolled in swim lessons. Results revealed that many parents value swimming lessons for young children and view supervision as an important prevention approach. Water safety beliefs and accuracy in judging children’s swim abilities improved over lessons, but time in lessons was related to endorsing poorer supervision of children near water. Having experienced a “close call” for drowning was found to make parents more aware of drowning risk and the importance of close supervision. Results highlight the need for parent education that targets beliefs about water safety and supervision during lessons, and also suggest that a close call for drowning may act as a “teachable moment” for parents and be an appropriate time to implement such interventions.

The purpose of this study was to develop a measure to understand victimization in the workplace, defined as the degree to which individuals perceive themselves as being hurt by an aggressive act that was deemed to be intentional. The definition is based on a review of the workplace aggression literature. The study followed a multi-phase procedure to develop this measure. Items were developed using a deductive process based on the construct definition. Subject matter experts reviewed the developed 30 items to assess content validity. Two independent samples were used to reduce the measure to the most appropriate and representative items to reflect the construct of perceived victimization. The construct validity of the final eight-item perceived victimization measure was examined against a theoretical nomological network. Findings suggest reliability and preliminary validity evidence for the perceived victimization measure, which may be used in research and applied settings. / Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

Belonging is a fundamental human need and this need is universal (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). How a student perceives their own belonging within a school and classroom can be predictive of their future engagement, motivation, achievement, and success of their interpersonal relationships. Students who feel connected are found to be less likely to engage in risky behaviours, be absent from school, or drop out of school entirely (Nichols, 2006; Anderman, 2003). Recent research on belonging has sought to examine the relationship between belonging and its outcomes on student behaviour (Anderman, 2003; Clegg, 2006; Goodenow, 1993; Ma, 2003; Osterman, 2000). There is an increasing need for belonging research to examine the development and incidence of belonging in children at school (Johnson, 2009; Osterman, 2000). This study has three research questions: a) What are students’ experiences with belonging in the school? b) What are teachers’ perceptions of students’ belonging in the school? c) How do the students’ experiences and teachers’ perceptions of student belonging in the school compare? The comparison of teachers’ and students’ responses will provide more information as to whether the students’ experiences and teachers’ perceptions of student belonging are aligned or if they are disparate. This data will make it possible to begin to target specific belonging factors in school programs and teacher practices. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2012-04-24 11:48:13.315

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People hold images of themselves, of their ideal partner, and of the ideal relationship (Simpson, Fletcher, & Campbell, 2001). The present study examined Perceived Meta-Ideals (PMI): people’s conceptions of who they think their partners want them to be, whereas Perceived Meta-Ideal Similarity (PMIS) is how close individuals feel they are to their PMI. 143 dyads in a romantic relationship were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: primed similar/dissimilar to the PMI, and no prime control. Individuals higher in self-esteem (HSEs) reported higher PMIS than individuals lower in self-esteem (LSEs). Higher PMIS lead to an overestimation of the amount of positive qualities that the partner is looking for. HSEs were more satisfied in their relationship and reported a greater self-other overlap, and higher PMIS predicted relationship satisfaction. Finally, self-other overlap mediated the relationship between PMIS and the desire to become the PMI.

ABSTRACT Although extensive research has been conducted on bullying, few studies have explored factors that elicit, impact, and maintain the dynamics of bullying from the perspectives of teachers and principals. The purpose of this study was to understand the complex nature of bullying through exploring the ecological risk factors that allow this alarming phenomenon to flourish. The influence of factors at the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem on the dynamic interaction between the bully and the victim is explained. Another goal of this research was to capture the complexity and multidimensionality of the teacher’s role in bullying prevention and intervention. The study offers the first comprehensive analysis of the ecological and contextual variables that interact to provide fertile grounds for bullying. Detailed information about principals’ and teachers’ perceptions of bullying experiences was gathered through 8 in-depth focus groups for teachers and 10 interviews with principals. Qualitative analyses of the data led to the emergence of overarching themes and related subthemes. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model (1979 ) was used to provide a conceptual and comprehensive framework that addressed the multifaceted variables. The finding indicated that a complex interrelation of variables was found to be central to victimization. The incidence of bullying was found to be directly influenced by individual traits as well as all the other ecological systems. Among the most salient findings was the influence of the peer ecology on bullying as a group phenomenon. The etiology of bullying as a manifestation of much deeper problems at the bully level was among the new findings. The impact of video games and television reality shows on bullying behaviour was also identified. The findings emphasized the significance of the teacher personality, positive teacher-student relationship, empathy, and training in classroom management for efficacy in addressing bullying prevention and intervention. Finally, the study offers recommendations for teacher training institutions.

Social risk elicits an internal struggle between wanting to form significant relationships (i.e., connectedness goals) and avoiding rejection (i.e., self-protection goals). The current research tested an intervention designed to reduce perceptions of risk for low self-esteem individuals (LSEs). However, the intervention did not function as anticipated and regardless of self-esteem level, participants reported lower perceived acceptance and lower state self-esteem in the intervention condition compared to the control. In a post-session two weeks following the manipulation, high self-esteem individuals (HSEs) in the intervention appear to not only recover, but actually reported significantly more perceived regard and global self-esteem than HSEs in the control. A second study investigated the impact of the intervention in light of these surprising findings. Results suggest that viewing the intervention video in a socially risky situation caused both HSEs and LSEs to experience social threat. In contrast, the control video actually served to reduce social risk.