No description available.

No description available.

There are many difficulties associated with problematic social-emotional skills in childhood. These range from poor academic performance (Brinbaum, et al., 2003; Delany-Black et al., 2002; Wallach, 1994), school suspension (Lippincott-Williams & Wilkins, 2004), school drop-out (Farmer & Farmer 1999; Gagnon, Craig, Trombley, Zhou, & Vitaro, 1995), aggression (Cicchetti & Toth, 1995), and poor peer relations (Izard et al., 2001; Schultz, Izard, & Ackerman, 2000; Schultz, Izard, Ackerman, & Youngstrom, 2001). Preschool programming provides an early opportunity to build social-emotional skills and avoid some of these adverse outcomes. The question for many school districts is how to design a preschool program format that is both consistent with best practice and fits within a feasibility framework. The goal of this research study was to provide information that could be used by school districts to guide preschool program development. The study looked at the differential outcomes on dependent measures of social-emotional functioning for children aged 3 to 5-years who participated in an 8-month preschool program (n=74). The children were in 2 treatment groups (i.e., those receiving a classroom-based social skills intervention and those receiving the classroom intervention plus a home-based intervention) and a non-treatment control group. The groups also differed in group membership. The treatment group children met a criterion such as having a diagnosis or low socio-economic status. The control group consisted of children who met these same criteria, but also had members who were invited by teachers or attended based on parent request. Therefore, the control group was more heterogeneous than either treatment group. The implications of this study for school districts developing a model for preschool programming are discussed. In addition, the limitations of this study as well as potential directions for future research are reviewed.

archives@tulane.edu / Working with traumatized individuals can result in the development of secondary traumatic stress (STS) symptoms, which can lead to significant emotional and occupational impairment (e.g., Figley, 1995; Lee et al., 2015). Although STS has been investigated across many helping professions, few studies have considered its effects among educators. The primary goal of the current study was to determine whether teacher secondary traumatic stress (STS) influences student socio-emotional functioning through its effects on teacher-student relationships. A second goal was to examine predictors associated with the development of STS symptomology in teachers. This study was conducted with 150 educators and 610 students across six urban, public, charter schools in the Gulf South. Multi-level structural equation modeling (ML-SEM) was used to examine the impact of STS symptoms on two important dimensions of teacher-student relationships (sensitivity and quality) and the subsequent implications for student socio-emotional outcomes. The model also examined predictors of teacher STS symptom severity including teacher adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and use of cognitive reappraisal (CR) as an emotion regulation strategy. Findings indicated that STS was associated with increased student socio-emotional difficulties. Contrary to study hypotheses, teacher STS was not associated with teacher-reported relationship quality nor was it associated with observations of teacher sensitivity. When predictors of STS were examined, teachers’ use of cognitive reappraisal (CR) was negatively associated with STS and teacher ACEs were positively associated with STS. The current findings highlight the importance of continued efforts to identify the prevalence and impact of STS among teachers as well as the associated outcomes for students. Additionally, by helping to identify risk and protective factors associated with STS symptoms in teachers, the current findings can inform efforts to prepare, train, and support educators as they work to foster students’ socio-emotional development in concert with academics. / 1 / Kathryn Simon

The current study examined the relations between parental and relationship functioning and infant social-emotional functioning, with an emphasis on the differential predictive power of mothers and fathers. This is the first study to examine certain specific predictors of parent functioning: parental alliance, parental identity, relationship adjustment and relationship conflict in an infant sample during the transition to parenthood. Results indicated that fathers’ functioning better predicted infants’ dysregulatory problems, while mothers’ functioning better predicted infants’ internalizing problems. Specifically, fathers’ functioning predicted negative emotionality and eating problems in their infants, while mothers’ functioning predicted general anxiety and separation distress in their infants. Results also showed that several combinations of differential predictive power (e.g., the highest functioning parent vs. the lowest functioning parent) were not significant predictors of difficulties in their infants, indicating that the impact of one parent does not depend on the functioning of the other. Important theoretical implications based on the gender differences in predictive power found, as well as the lack of contextual effects found in the present sample, are discussed.

Families provide individual members with a means of financial, social, and emotional support (Lavee, McCubbin & Olsen, 1987; Minuchin, 1985). Individuals have sought ways to improve family functioning in order to aid in personal development and the betterment of society (Broderick, 1993). Past research has shown that families that play or recreate together are likely to have higher levels of functioning (Orthner & Mancini, 1991). Youth sport has also been shown to be an external system that can provide a context that can lead to positive outcomes (Ewing et al., 2002). High functioning families set and achieve goals, regulate external boundaries, manage internal communications and regulate space within the family (Broderick, 1993). Coakley (2009) notes that the emphasis in youth sport in the U.S. has shifted towards a focus on skill development. With this shift, the time and financial demands on families for participation in these sport leagues has increased as well. While we know much about how families support sport participation, we know little about how this participation impacts families. This study seeks to answer the following research questions:What elements of the youth sport experience place particular demands on the family system? How do the aspects of family functioning interact with sport to mitigate the effects of the demands placed on the family from participation from youth sports? Seven families with at least one child participating in elite youth sport were interviewed. The data showed that families are willingly engaging with these leagues despite the stress they place on the family. Large financial and time demands are placed on the family that impacts the family in various ways. Elite youth sport is given high priority that may impact the marital dyad and the non-athlete sibling. Despite the additional strain that these leagues place on the family, families are still making a series of trade-offs to enroll in these leagues for the skill development of their child. / text

Graduate

It is well documented that children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) experience difficulties in several domains of social functioning. Despite this evidence, there are very few interventions that target underlying components of social behaviour. The current study aimed to add to this literature by implementing a mindfulness-based training program for adolescents with FASD. The goals of the study were to analyze the influence of mindfulness training on several aspects of social functioning including perspective taking, emotion regulation, and social problem solving. The study used a pre-post-test design that included 10 children with FASD (ages 12- to17-years). Participants were assessed using experimental measures of social cognition at baseline and 8-week follow-up. In addition, caregivers completed measures that assessed children’s emotionality and social skills at both time points. Analyses revealed that mindfulness training may be effective for improving perspective taking skills in children with FASD. No significant treatment effects were observed for emotion regulation, social skills or social problem solving. Overall, results from this study suggest that mindfulness training is a feasible intervention for children with FASD. / Graduate / 0622

No description available.

Intelligence and executive functioning are multidimensional, related constructs (Decker, Dean, & Hill, 2007; Miyake, Friedman, Emerson, Witzki, & Howerter, 2000). Research suggests that fluid intelligence and certain components of executive functioning are related, with an emphasis in the literature placed on the relations between fluid intelligence and working memory (Salthouse, 2005; Salthouse & Davis, 2006). However, limited published research exists about the relations between fluid intelligence and other components of executive functioning. There also is debate in the literature about the relations between crystallized intelligence and executive functioning (Friedman et al., 2006). Some researchers suggest that the two are not related (Pennington, 1994), whereas others propose that there are relations between the constructs (Cowan, 1995). However, beyond working memory, limited information exists about the relations between crystallized intelligence and other executive functioning components. Denckla (1996) proposed that the relations between fluid intelligence and components of executive functioning are gradated; however, this area of research is limited. Furthermore, no study was found that reported gradated relations between multiple components of executive functioning and crystallized intelligence. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to examine the potentially gradated relations between fluid and crystallized intelligence with multiple components of executive functioning with the same sample. Findings from my study indicated that the relations between fluid and crystallized intelligence and components of executive functioning are gradated. Some executive skills shared similar relations with the intelligence constructs, whereas other relations were unique. It was found that Working Memory/Shifting shared similar relations with fluid and crystallized intelligence constructs. In addition, unique relations also were found between Problem Solving/Planning and fluid intelligence and between Nonverbal Fluency/Inhibition and crystallized intelligence constructs. This indicates that there are common and unique neurocognitive relations between aspects of executive skills and intelligence. Furthermore, the relations between fluid and crystallized intelligence and components of Baddeley's working memory model also were tested. Relations were found between visuospatial working memory and fluid intelligence; however, no other relations were found. To provide some clinical insight, the relations between multiple executive skills and a standardized academic achievement measure (ACT) also were examined while controlling for fluid and crystallized aspects of intelligence. It was found that controlling for crystallized intelligence yielded better understanding about the relations between executive functioning and academic achievement. Overall, across the analyses conducted within this study some findings replicated existing information in the literature and new findings were found that contribute to the literature. The benefits, clinical implications, and limitations of this study are discussed. Suggestions for future research also are provided.