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Child-centered play therapy (CCPT) is an empirically endorsed approach for children facing specific clinical concerns and life circumstances alike. The majority of research to date has accrued data about clients from secondary sources, such as adult report and observation. The purpose of this study was to explore children's perceptions of participating in CCPT by implementing a developmentally accessible interview medium, allowing children to share their experiences directly. Ten children between the ages of 4 and 7 who had completed at least eight sessions of CCPT were invited to create a drawing and respond to an interview protocol with their counselor. Data sources included the picture produced, a transcript of the interview between the child and counselor, and observation notes of the interview process. Using a phenomenological approach, three themes were identified to describe children's awareness and experience of the intervention: expressions of relationship, experiences in the playroom, and reluctance to engage in counselor-directed activity. The first two themes reflect children's report of the intervention and the third represents reactions to the research activity. Findings from this study support conclusions that children are aware of relationship between themselves and their counselor and recognize the uniquely unstructured features of play therapy and the playroom, which are defining components of CCPT.

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No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Children with incarcerated parents face a disproportionate number of risk factors for becoming incarcerated (Bilchik, Seymour & Kreisher, 2001; Jucovy, 2003; Martin, 2001). The purpose of this study was to empirically analyze the relationship between episodes of parental incarceration and psycho-social and educational outcomes. This study aimed to find earlier indicators of incarceration risk, in order to provide points for intervention. Concepts from the differential association and social learning theories (criminology), attachment theory (psychology and sociology) and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (motivational psychology, used often in the field of education) were used as a guide in order to create a unique conceptual framework that directs the statistical models selected in this study. The data for the proposed study were drawn from the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect, which is a project of the Family Development Center at Cornell University. Specifically, the dataset from the Longitudinal Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) was used. ANOVAs and correlations were used preliminarily to explore relationships among variables. The impact that episodes of parental incarceration have on psycho-social variables and educational outcome variables was tested using sequential OLS regression models. The major research question of this study was, "Do psycho-social variables or educational outcomes differ based on episodes of parental incarceration?" The results suggest the only educational outcome that differs based on episodes of parental incarceration is externalized behavior problems. This difference is present in the full sample, but not in the matched sample, implying that this relationship is only significant when compared to low risk subjects, and is not significant when compared to equally at-risk subjects. The secondary question in this research study was, "How does the relationship between attachment to parents and psycho-social variables (post-traumatic stress or self esteem) differ based on episodes of parental incarceration?" The results of this analysis showed that problems with attachment to parents did become a more significant predictor of post- traumatic stress and self esteem when frequency of parental incarceration was added to the regression model. After analysis of the results, two themes are discussed: sample selection and its implication for socio-context of at-risk students and age implication and the role of elapsed time. / Urban Education

This study examined the effects of family structure on treatment outcomes among a sample of proportionately minority, urban adolescents exhibiting behavior problems (blacks, 56.2%; Latinos/Hispanics, 20.5%, whites, 16.4%; and other, 6.8%). Eighty-one families received Functional Family Treatment, which features evidence- and family-based, customized intervention, and they were assigned to a two (single-mother households, N = 50 and married-mother households, N =30), by two (pre-test/post-test) design. Adolescents completed measures on peer association, drug use, psychological distress, self-identified problem areas and family functioning. Mothers (all of whom were the biological mothers) reported their perception of family functioning. Results were analyzed using univariate repeated measures analysis of variance and t-tests. Findings indicated that the treatment was significantly effective in decreasing specific types of drug use and improving several domains of family functioning for adolescents from single-mother households. The treatment also significantly improved the single-mothers report on overall family functioning as well as in several critical domains. Implications for treatment interventions are discussed. / Educational Psychology