Thesis (doctoral)--La Salle University, 2001. / ProQuest dissertations and theses ; AAT 3108292. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-124).

The extensive amount of research conducted internationally in the field of John Bowlby's attachment theory indicates that an insecure attachment between a child and the primary caregiver has a detrimental effect on both social and emotional development in childhood, as well as having a profound effect on psychological development and functioning in adulthood. The present study aimed to explore and describe the therapeutic process of a nine year old with an insecure attachment style within a therapeutic framework, namely Theraplay. The therapeutic process was embedded within Ann Jernberg's Theraplay framework and the case was further contextualized within Bowlby's attachment theory. The case study method was utilized with a purposive sampling technique employed to select the participant. Irving Alexander's content-analytic framework in conjunction with Guba's model of trustworthiness was employed for data analysis. Two needs emerged during the therapeutic process namely the need for nurturance and affection as well as the need for power, control and safety.

The aim of this study was to investigate the attachment styles of children between the ages of six and twelve years of age who were admitted as inpatients in a children’s ward of a psychiatric hospital. Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1997, 1998) proposes that children develop certain attachment styles towards their primary caregivers from birth through to three years of age, after which the styles remain relatively constant as can be seen through attachment behaviours later on in life. These attachment styles can be secure, insecure-ambivalent / anxious or insecure-avoidant (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters&Wall, 1978). Green and Goldwyn (2002) also refer to a fourth category that was established through later research on attachment, named disorganised attachment. Psychiatric hospitalisation of a child implies the assumption of psychopathology and through institutionalisation, he or she is literally separated from the primary caregivers and inevitably placed in unfamiliar surroundings with strangers, making it an ideal setting to investigate attachment features. The researcher worked from the supposition that the mere fact of hospitalisation and implied pathology would thus point to insecure attachment styles in these children. A qualitative research design was implemented to gather information regarding the children’s attachment styles. Two projective techniques were used, namely the Children’s Apperception Test and the Picture Test of Separation and Individuation. Analysis of the information consisted of a first- and second-order process of thematic content analysis. The results yielded thirteen categories of experience. An extensive description of each category was provided, and the categories were then related to theory. The results obtained support previous research findings that found that institutionalised children tend to show more insecure attachment styles. The results from this study also indicated that these insecure attachment styles tend to be predominantly insecure-avoidant or insecure-disorganised. / Dissertation (MA(Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Psychology / unrestricted

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The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which insecure attachment formation and the laissez-faire of authoritarian parenting style predict violent or general delinquent behaviors in preadolescent youths. The present study analyzes archival data from the first wave of a longitudinal study on delinquent behaviors. Two hundred six male and female sixth grade students were surveyed. A correlation design was used to determine predictors of violent and general delinquent behaviors among these preadolescent youths. Regression analysis was used to determine which predictor offered the best explanation of violent and delinquent behavior. It was found that for boys and girls, insecure attachment was indeed significantly correlated with violent and general delinquent behaviors. However, parenting styles was not at all correlated with those behaviors in boys. Conversely, for girls, regression analysis indicated that the Laissez-faire parenting style was a more significant predictor of violent and general delinquent behaviors. These findings are important in that they may be used to help design programs to abate the rising tide of delinquency and violence among preadolescent youths. The results of this study indicate the need for parental involvment in such programs.

This study was conducted in order to extend the generalizability of a previous study CCappas et al., 1985) that examined the social acceptance of Type A children. One hundred and ninety-six 1 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade children from two public schools were classified as Type A or Type B based on teacher ratings on the Matthews Youth Test for Health (Matthews & Angulo, 1980). Students and teachers then assessed the level of social acceptance of each child. Lastly, behavioral observations were conducted on ~0 of these students. Results indicated that, similar to the prior study, Type A children were socially accepted by their peers. In addition, Type A children received more leadership nominations, less withdrawn nominations, were found to be more active, and had a greater number of friends than Type B children. Contrary to previous findings, no differences were found in the number of peer aggressive nominations received by Type A and Type B children. However, teachers rated these children differently, with Type A's receiving more aggression and hostility ratings than Type B's. Sex differences were also examined. The major implications of this study suggest that the positive characteristics that Type A children exhibit may counterbalance the negative characteristics, thus explaining why aggression is not related to peer rejection in these children.

Statement of the Problem: Understanding physical activity (PA) behaviors in children with cerebral palsy (CP) who are non-ambulatory is important to design optimal fitness interventions that reduce sedentary behaviors and promote health. There is a growing body of evidence for children with CP who are ambulatory that indicates they have decreased PA as compared to neurotypical peers. These children are at risk for poor health status and in need of adapted strategies to promote activity and reduce sedentary behaviors. However, information on PA behaviors is limited for children with CP who are non-ambulatory. Evaluating the amount and intensity of PA in children with CP who are non-ambulatory is challenging because of the heterogeneous nature of the disease and the limited repertoire of movements available to these children. Developing assessments that accurately describe PA in this population is essential to understand the nature of these limitations and to develop targeted interventions. Materials & Methods: In Study 1, PA amount and intensity in children with CP who were non-ambulatory were examined using PA (accelerometers) and HR monitors along with video observation and parent journaling over 7 days. Children were observed during a range of daily tasks to provide a detailed observation in their home and school. Parents were asked to rate their opinion of their child’s level of PA intensity during these tasks (easy, medium or hard), and these ratings were compared to the PA intensity derived from the PA and HR monitors. Levels of agreement were reported between parent report and HR and PA monitors during video recording. In Study 2, Interviews with parents of children with CP who were non-ambulatory and physical therapists (PTs) working with this population were conducted to understand how they operationalized PA and to evaluate the face validity of the Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) ® PA parent proxy short form 8a survey as a measure of PA in this population. Each child was classified by Gross Motor Functional Classification Scale (GMFCS), the eating, drinking, classification scale (EDACS), the communication and feeding classification scale (CFCS), and the manual abilities classification scale (MACS).Results: For Study 1, 10 children and families participated in the exploratory observation with a video recording of PA in the home. A minimum of 4 consecutive days of monitor wear data was obtained for 7 of the 10 children; 3 children experienced equipment or use malfunction. There was a positive correlation between the parent level of PA intensity and intensity measured by the HR monitors, but no correlation with the PA monitors. The level of agreement of parent-reported PA intensity and HR monitors were correlated with PediCAT daily activity and mobility scores and the EDACS, CFCS, and MACS, There was no correlation between the parent responses and PA monitor-derived PA intensity levels with any functional measure. The PA monitor-derived level of intensity was correlated with the parent-reported PROMIS T-scores. No correlation was seen with the HR monitors. For Study 2, 22 PTs and 15 parents of children with CP who were non-ambulatory participated in the interviews. The PT’s and parents’ interview responses generated shared opinions about PA and how it should be operationally defined in this population. Four major themes emerged: a) PA is defined by functional activities and active movement; b) PA is challenging to measure objectively in this population; c) the environment plays a crucial role in supporting PA; and d) personal factors influence PA uptake. Both parents and PTs believed PA in this population should be increased to improve health related benefits. PA definition focused on active mobility and independent motor control by PTs, whereas the parent's definition of PA highlighted the functional and mobility achievements of their children with examples of communication and use of assistive technology and adaptive equipment. Level of assistance was used by both PTs and parents to indicate PA measurement. Parents and PTs agreed on the appropriateness of various questions on PROMIS scale, with the most appropriate questions being those that inquired about PA frequency during the week (Questions 6 and 7) Conclusions: Accelerometers, HR monitoring, and video monitoring can provide insight into daily PA in children with CP who are non-ambulatory. PA derived from HR monitors was correlated with parent-reported PA intensity during specific daily tasks, suggesting that HR monitors may better reflect PA intensity than accelerometry-based monitors in this population. In capturing PA over a longer period (e.g., 1 week), the PROMIS parent-proxy measure correlated with PA monitor-derived levels of intensity. PA monitors may best reflect general activity levels throughout the week rather than specific intensity levels during daily activities. Defining PA in children with CP who are non-ambulatory is challenging, however, parents and PTs provided insights into methods that can be used to conceptualize this challenging construct. The PROMIS short form 8a PA had some qualities that were deemed appropriate by PTs and parents alike with a preference for specific questions (Questions 6 and 7) for children with CP who are non-ambulatory. Methods to address the implementation of cardiovascular and fitness goals in this population need to be further explored.

Children's use of inanimate transitional objects when coping with daily hassles was examined in this study. Mothers of 50 children, aged 2- to 3-years, rated their children on frequency of hassles, intensity of reaction to daily hassles, coping effectiveness, and frequency of object use. No significant differences were found between those children with an inanimate transitional object and those without such an object (<u>p</u>>.05). Among those children with objects, a significant object effect on frequency of hassles (<u>p</u><.05) and a significant object effect on coping effectiveness (<u>p</u><.05) were found. Post hoc analyses indicated that children using soft objects (X̅=31.87) were rated as having more hassles than children using their thumb (X̅=18.88), and children using soft objects (X̅=l.34) were rated as coping less effectively than children using their thumb (X̅=.75). Among those children with inanimate transitional objects, significant positive relationships were found between: frequency of hassle, intensity of reaction to hassles, coping effectiveness, and frequency of object use. The results indicated that children who use their thumb as an inanimate transitional object had fewer hassles and cope more effectively than children who use a soft object. The results also suggest that increased object use was related to an increased number of hassles, as well as more intense reactions to hassles and less effective coping. Based on these findings, future research suggestions were made. / M.S.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of differential attachment to mothers and fathers on male and female identity development. A total of 135 male and 145 female late adolescents responded to the revised Inventory of Parent Attachment (Armsden & Greenberg, 1989) and the Extended Version of the Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (Bennion & Adams, 1986). Factor analysis revealed one factor for the attachment measures, and reliability estimates verified their psychometric adequacy. Participants reported higher attachment to mother than to father. The need for separate measures of attachment to each parent was confirmed by correlational analysis. Gender effects were noted for identity status but none were found for attachment. Consideration of these results led to the suggestion that males and females have different agendas for identity resolution. Regression analysis indicated an association between discrete same-sex and cross-sex attachments to parents and identity status classifications. The findings suggest that future research continue to explore the effects of differential attachment on identity development. / Ph. D.