Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University. / This study was based upon a general proposition derived from psychoanalytic theory that there would be associations of interpersonal aspects of object relations with body-image concepts and with learning provided chronological age and mental ability were controlled. Hypotheses were investigated in latency children at one developmental level by means of testing a differential association of relative isolation-nearness in peer relationships with maturity of body image as projected in human-figure drawings. Standardized measures of isolationnearness were constructed from sociometric criteria rated by peers within classrooms. Body-image-maturity measures were derived from ratings of serial human-figure drawings: Goodenough drawing mental age; and quality and integration on a composite error-distortion-omission (CEDO) scale constructed for this study. Mental ability and learning were measured by median scores on standardized group tests: Kuhlmann-Anderson and Stanford school achievement, respectively. The experimental sample consisted of 117 third-grade pupils (57 boys, 60 girls) constituting five classrooms from urban public schools situated in neighborhoods of differing but largely middle-class socioeconomic status. Three classrooms were homogeneous in religious affiliation. Mean mental ability was high average. Drawing media were free choice of crayons and pencil following experimentation in a group of 160 second-through-fourth-grade children: correlations ranged above .92 between Goodenough scoring of man-drawings in crayon only and in pencil only. Predictions called for various correlational analyses of the six major variables. Findings substantiated the prediction that subject selection at one developmental level would control effects of chronological age. Findings substantiated the prediction of an association of body-image concepts and isolation-nearness. Drawing quality was a better predictor of isolation-nearness than was drawing mental age. Despite significant associations between the drawing scales, when chronological age and mental age were held constant, there were no longer any significant associations of isolation-nearness and drawing mental age, whereas associations of isolation-nearness and drawing quality were significant at better than the .01 level in both sexes. There were sex differences in drawing quality and in relationships among variables. Drawing mental age fell below mental ability in boys and exceeded mental ability in girls, suggesting that developmental norms may need restandardizing by sex. Photographs of drawings of 3 pairs of cases matched for sex, chronological age, and mental age, but of contrasting sociometric status, illustrated the better quality drawings associated with greater nearness in peer relationships. Findings substantiated the prediction of an association of body-image concepts and learning to a limited degree. The positive association of drawing mental age and school achievement was significant only in sexes combined. Drawing quality and achievement were positively associated in boys, but not in girls. However, higher mental ability and better drawing quality were more highly associated in boys than in girls. There were positive associations between nearness in peer relationships and achievement in both sexes, but isolation-nearness bettered the prediction of achievement beyond that made by mental ability only in sexes combined. It was suggested that hypotheses concerning learning and body-image concepts be tested using larger numbers of seriously underachieving children than were in this sample. Conclusions were: drawing quality was the most sensitive index of relative isolation-nearness in peer relationships; a qualitative assessment of human-figure drawings is relevant to understanding the social functioning of the third-grade child; the association of better quality and integration in human-figure drawings with greater nearness in object relations strengthens the hypothesis of body-image projection in human-figure drawings.

ADHD has become a common place subject in both the scientific community and the common public. ADHD is talked about in the media, schools, and is a common conversation amongst parents. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has become prominent due to increased research but also due to increased accessibility of this research for the public. Contributing to this trend, there is an increase in open conversations about mental health awareness on social media. This phenomenon of people openly speaking about ADHD has led to more teens and young adults seeking diagnostic assessments and treatments for their symptoms. (Coppersmith et al., 2015) ADHD is diagnosed in 5-7% of children and adolescents. (Willcut, 2012). While the awareness and diagnosis of this disorder seem to be on the rise, gender imparities are still prevalent and represent a big problem when it comes to both diagnosis and treatment. Research has suggested that females tend to be diagnosed with this disorder late in adulthood, rather than during childhood; as opposed to males. (Young et al., 2020) Both males and females with ADHD tend to present the same negative outcomes in adulthood when they are not diagnosed as a child. An inequality in the diagnostic criteria fails to focus on the gender differences regarding symptomatology, comorbidity as well as societal factors that contribute to this disparity. This research will aim to analyze the literature on gender disparities of ADHD as well as to understand the professional perspective of childhood psychopathology clinicians about whether this disparity exists, the possible factors that could cause this disparity and the impacts this inequality may cause on the female ADHD population, both in childhood and adulthood.

No description available.

No description available.

<p>Review of available research yields contradictory findings as to the degree of peer acceptance or rejection which exists for learning disabled children. The majority of peer acceptability studies have focused on interpersonal behaviour. These studies emphasize the complexities of peer socialization and the inadequacies of present levels of understanding. An examination of the methodologies of these studies indicates that a number of potential confounds may hinder the identification of factors which may significantly influence peer acceptability. Learning disabled children can be typically identified by some deficit in the areas of academic, social and athletic functions, according to the most common characteristics reported in the literature, however, little research has specifically examined these factors. The primary objectives of this research program were threefold. The first objective was to determine whether or not learning disabled children would be significantly less well accepted by their normal peers in grades 4, 6 and 8 when described on the basis of these three characteristics. The second objective was to systematically examine the relative importance of each of the three characteristics identified collectively in the initial research. The final objective was to assess whether or not an intergroup perspective in contrast to the interpersonal perspective utilized so widely was applicable to the issue of peer acceptance of learning disabled children and whether this approach provided new information to the understanding of these issues. Results indicated that learning disabled characters described on the basis of three characteristics were reliably rated significantly less favourably than normal or handicapped characters on sociometric ratings and intergroup measures. Further systematic evaluation of each factor and combination of factors indicated that while all three were important in determining peer acceptability ratings, academic competence information was the most important, followed closely by social competence information and finally athletic competence information. These findings could be generalized to children in grades 4, 6 and 8. In addition, learning disabled children were found to respond in a similar manner to that of their normal peers. These results are consistent with much of the available literature and provide new information concerning the salience of three key characteristics associated with learning disabled children as a group. Further, Social Identity Theory, the intergroup theory selected for use in these studies, was found to be applicable, consistent with the results obtained and was able to predict outcome in these experiments. Hence, it is concluded that examining peer acceptability of exceptional children from an intergroup perspective contributes to the present understanding of these issues.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

This study examined the influence of age, expertise, and task difficulty on children's patterns of collaboration. Six- and eight-year-old children were individually pretested for ability to copy a Lego model and then paired with each other and asked to copy two more models. The design was a 3 (dyad skill level: novice, expert, or mixed) X 2 (age: six or eight) X 2 (task difficulty: moderate or complex) factorial. Results indicated that cooperation increased with age and expertise and decreased with task difficulty. However, expertise had a greater influence on younger than older children's interaction styles. It is argued that with age, social skills may become as important as expertise in determining styles of collaboration. The issue is raised of whether cooperation, domination, and independence represent developmental sequences (i.e., independence precedes cooperation) or whether they represent personal styles of interaction. Finally, it is suggested that an important goal for future research is to assess the relationship between patterns of collaboration and learning.

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No description available.