The objectives of the study were based on constructs which were originally described and studied by Piaget and some of which were studied subsequently by other authors with contradictory results. The four major objectives of the study were: 1. to reexamine the development of children's concepts of life, and, in particular to systematically investigate the relationship between children's errors in classifying items as alive or not alive and their use of different justifications for those classifications , 2. to attempt to elicit precausal explanations from children in response to demonstration items (Piaget ; originally studied precausality in terms of natural objects and events and subsequent experimenters failed to find the precausal forms for demonstrations). 3. to test the hypothesis that children who give pre- causal explanations will have difficulty in learning a causal relationship, even in the face of repeated experience. 4. to test the hypothesis that children who classify inanimate objects as alive (and are hence, animistic) will be the children who also give the greatest number of precausal explanations for demonstrations. 5. to attempt to relate systematic animism and pre- causality to a standardized measure of cognitive development.' In order to study these constructs and the relationships in between them, 96 children between the ages of four and ten years were individually administered a test battery consisting of (1) an animistic questionnaire, consisting of 21 plant, object, and animal items to be classified as alive or not alive; (2) eight demonstrations about which the children were questioned in order to obtain their explanations for what took place; (3) a causal learning task, requiring the children to isolate a particular cause for the outcome of an event, given a number of trials and some directly relevant, extra experience and (4) the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. The major findings were: 1. that reduction of animism in children is associated with the identification of life with animals' and their characteristics. This association leads children to classify plants as well as objects as not alive, since plants have none of the more obvious characteristics of animals (locomotion, sensation, vocalization), and, it is only at some later stage, when life is identified with more general characteristics (need for air, water, food; death, birth, reproduction), that plants are again classified as alive. 2. Young children do indeed give precausal, non-mechanical explanations for demonstrations. The study suggests that Piaget's particular categories of precausal thought may not have universal validity for all kinds of events or for all children, but that the general characteristics of these explanations which he described (lack of attention to details of how things happen, lack of understanding of temporal sequences of events, and the lack of understanding of the need for spatial contact for the transfer of energy and motion) are found in the explanations of many young children, even for demonstration and mechanical events. 3. Children who gave precausal explanations for the causal learning task did fail to learn the correct cause-effect relationship. 4. There was no support for Piaget's theory that animism, or the attribution of life to objects, has a direct relationship to precausal explanations. In the present study, animistic children were not more likely to use precausal explanations than were non-animistic children. / This thesis was digitized as part of a project begun in 2014 to increase the number of Duke psychology theses available online. The digitization project was spearheaded by Ciara Healy.

The results suggest that children's perceptions of parental child-rearing behavior are related to their tendencies to be dogmatic in their beliefs, and apparently perceptions of parents as loving has reinforcing properties for the child that may lead to the uncritical acceptance of the belief system of the parents.

The problem as presented in this study constituted a proposed "preventive program" using a group play therapy approach which could be implemented by an educational system.

Validated reports of sexually abused children from 1975 through 1977 were examined. Considered were the victim's age, sex, ethnic group, type of abuse, living arrangement, and relationship to perpetrator. Basic sources of data were the Texas Department of Human Resources' CANRIS reports and the U.S. Bureau of the Census population estimates. Validated sexual abuse consistently ranked third in physical abuse type and more than doubled between 1975 and 1977. Victims' mean age decreased each year and most were eleven years or over. Most sexual child abuse victims in Texas were of the Anglo ethnic group, living in their own home, and victimized by a parent. More than 85 per cent were female. Further research was recommended.

The central concern of this investigation was the determination of the relationships between Ss' perceived parent-child relations and their acceptance of the BSE model for social expectations. It was assumed that this model is a learned naive cognitive structure shared by the members of the society. It was predicted that certain parental behaviors critical to the socialization process would affect the acceptance or lack of acceptance of the BSE model. The measurement of perceived parent-child experiences was obtained through the use of the Roe-Siegelman Parent Child Relations Questionnaire (PCR). Baldwin's Social Expectations Scale was employed to obtain measures of the degree to which the BSE model could account for the variability of Ss' judgments of people-in-general in choice situations involving harming and helping behavior. Scores indicating the acceptance of the BSE model were then correlated with scores on each of the ten scales of the PCR. The results illuminated sex differences relating to the acceptance of the BSE model. For the females, warm, loving, and rewarding parent-child relations related positively to the acceptance of the BSE model. For the males, the effects of parental behavior were contingent on the individual parent. Fathers who were perceived as not overprotective or demanding and who promoted autonomous behavior in their sons were the fathers who had sons who made judgments according to the BSE model. Mothers who were perceived as demanding, punitive, and neglecting by their sons had sons who made judgments according to the BSE model. It was suggested that parental behaviors that are key factors in the development of the child's appropriate sex role may be the important factors affecting the acceptance of the BSE model for social expectations. Finally, the evidence suggested that the BSE model is capable of predicting people's social expectations, though not as effectively in the current study as in past investigations.

Globally, thalassaemia is considered the most common inherited single-gene disorder. It is more prevalent in the Mediterranean Region (Tadmouri, et al., 2003). For instance, in Jordan there were about 1500 thalassaemia patients with a prevalence rate of about 4 to 6% of Beta Thalassemia Major (BTM) (Hamamy, et al., 2007). Jordan was chosen as the geographical location for this research because of a lack of studies of genetic haematological disorders in the country (Hamamy, et al., 2007). The study aimed to explore and understand parents’ experiences of caring for their children diagnosed with BTM, as well as to identify their coping strategies. In order to achieve this aim, grounded theory was adopted in this study. Data were collected through ‘face-to-face’ semi-structured interviews with forty Jordanian participants: 20 fathers and 20 mothers of children with BTM diagnosed for more than one year at three hospitals in Amman, Irbid and Al-Zarqa. Field notes and memos were also used in data collection. Given the lack of qualitative research in this area the findings of this study provide new, profound insights and better understanding of parents’ experiences and coping strategies caring for their child with BTM. The findings explored the positive and negative sides of parents’ experiences, and how they coped in terms of their knowledge and feelings. They also showed that parents’ experiences were negatively impacted by their lack of knowledge about BTM, and by restrictions from their social and cultural norms. Jordanian parents caring for children with BTM experienced an emotional burden and grief. However, parents were satisfied with the health care services that their children received, and with their role as carers. In addition, strategies such as faith and social support were also found to help parents to cope. Exploring parents’ experiences and coping strategies can assist nurses, health care professionals and stakeholders in recognising and identifying the gaps in parents’ knowledge and needs. Furthermore, this study could assist health care professionals to have better understanding of parents’ emotional and psychological status, to develop new perspectives towards parents of children with BTM and could therefore assist them to deliver quality care to the patients with BTM and their families. This study may also help to raise community awareness of BTM and other haematological genetic disorders by addressing the important role of socio-cultural norms and religion in identifying how parents experience and cope with their situation caring for children with BTM. This thesis recommends that health care professionals need to support and empower parents and provide them with the appropriate and effective options to make their own decisions and adapt to their children with BTM condition.

Despite humanity's considerable efforts to stop it child labour remains a global problem. In the international context child labour means the labour of persons younger than 15 years. Despite all the activities of the International Labour Organization (ILO), UN, European Community, UNICEF and other international and national institutions child labour was not completely swept away. Efforts to abolish child labour date back to 1919 when the first meeting of the International Labour Conference was held where, similarly to the following two meetings, convention concerning minimum age for admission to employment were adopted. Its content has been gradually revised and it has eventually been replaced by Convention No. 138 which was included among the ILO's eight priority conventions. Nevertheless it is not possible to argue that child labour is the problem exclusive to the "third world" countries. Although the Labour Code prohibits labour of children under 15 years of age, we can encounter children performing in theatres, films, commercials, modelling, earning extra money at gas stations or distributing leaflets on a daily basis in Czech Republic. These are all activities on which children spend many hours, they do a lot of work and they often earn a considerable amount of money. In many cases we can see...

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1927 S59 / Master of Science

LD2668 .T4 1949 U5

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1952 B73 / Master of Science