Responding to Joint Attention (RJA) involves an infant's ability to follow a gaze or point by a partner. Prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE), which places a child in danger of numerous risks, has been accepted as having subtle effects on developmental outcomes such as social competence and associated socio-emotional outcomes. The current study looked at a sample of 166 children prenatally exposed to cocaine who were attending an early intervention program. The study established group and individual trajectories of responding to joint attention from 12, 15, and 18 months of age. Hierarchical modeling identified two groups, a delay group and an average group, while individual trajectories identified a linear pattern of growth of RJA. Both individual and group trajectories indicated that children with higher RJA from 12 to 18 months demonstrated better social competence at three years of age and first grade. The delay and average group showed significant differences on later social competence measures, but not problem behaviors, such that RJA, a positive behavior, may connect more closely with later positive behaviors than with behavior problems. RJA may therefore be useful in a preventative intervention targeted at enhancing positive social behaviors and as an important and simple screening tool for possible delay early in a child's life, helping to deliver early intervention services in a targeted and effective manner.

Elements from differential association and importation theory were incorporated into a contextual model to explain drug abuse inside prison. Data came from self-administered questionnaires given to more than 1,000 inmates in 30 different correctional institutions throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the impact of correctional context on individual behavior. Results indicated that drug abuse inside prison varies across different correctional institutions. The effect of prior street-drug use on drug abuse in prison also varied across contexts. Moreover, an aggregate measure of crowding explained both drug abuse in prison as well as the effect of prior street-drug use on substance abuse in prison.

Malaysia’s preferential policies have reduced the educational attainment gap between ethnic groups. However, we know less about their effects on ethnic differences in academic achievement. With this point in mind, the overall goal of this study is to examine inter-ethnic differences in mathematics and science achievement based on the cohort of eighth grade (Form 2) Malaysian students who participated in the Third International Mathematics and Sciences Study Repeat Project (TIMMS-R). It sought to determine the extent to which theoretical propositions of the structural and cultural perspectives developed to explain achievement differences in the United States are applicable in Malaysia. Malaysia is an interesting setting for the purpose of the present study for three reasons. First, the interethnic differences in educational outcomes were historically linked to occupational structure and class-and ethnicity-based residential segregation during the Brisish colonial rule. Second, Malaysia is one of the few countries (i.e. Fiji, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Uganda, India, and New Zealand) that have strong public policies to rectify the historical ethnic inequalities in access to education. However, the difference between Malaysia and these countries seems to be in the relative status of the formerly disadvantaged ethnic group in question. Finally, as a new member of the New Industrialized Countries (NICs), Malaysia is in the process of making the transition from an agricultural economy to an indutrialized nation. As such, the importance of mathematics and science education increases along with socioeconomic and technological advance and the discrepancies in mathematics and science achievement can have important implications on socioeconomic disparity among ethnic groups. The primary contribution of this dissertation is that it holistically examines how individual, family and school characteristics affect mathematics and science achievement of the eighth graders in Malaysia. The multilevel modeling analyses showed that Non-Malay students performed significantly better in mathematics achievement than Malay students, even after controlling for family and school characteristics as well as students’ perceived importance of mathematics and educational expectations. Overall, the results suggest that the structural and cultural perspectives work differently for Malay and Non-Malay students.

Current deficits in the rehabilitation psychology literature involving longitudinal studies investigating positive outcomes following acquired disabilities have deserved research attention. In the current study, data on happiness as an enduring mood tone, as measured by the Life Satisfaction Index (LSI) was collected from 1271 individuals (“insiders”) having incurred either a traumatic brain injury (TBI), spinal cord injury (SCI), severe burn, or intra-articular fracture (IAF) or from someone who felt close enough to speak on their behalf (“outsiders”). Data on happiness, functional independence as measured by the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), and other variables of interest were collected at 12 months, 24 months, 48 months, and 60 months after being medically discharged. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analyses showed that trajectories of happiness remained stable across participants and did not change significantly over five years post-discharge regardless of injury type, FIM, or insider/outsider status. Happiness was significantly predicted by FIM, injury type, and whether the respondent was an insider or outsider. Those who were more impaired and less functionally independent were less happy. Those with a TBI were consistently less happy than those with an IAF or SCI and outsiders reported greater happiness on behalf of the insider than did the insiders themselves. This study shows that there is stability in happiness levels that can be sustained at least five years post-discharge and that there are discrepancies between insider and outsider reports of subjective happiness. Proxy reports can be used as valuable and valid secondary sources of information but should not be used as substitutes for first hand reports unless absolutely necessary.

Internalizing problems are prevalent in childhood and adolescence in both community and out-of-home populations. Internalizing symptoms are frequently associated with problems in other areas of functioning as well. For children in out-of-home care, who face additional adversities such as maltreatment and witnessing traumatic events, internalizing problems have shown increased prevalence while less frequently addressed in research. The current studies used longitudinal data collected across 7 years from a sample of 1,765 children, 5 to 14 years old, in out-of-home care in Maryland, USA. Data consisted mainly of Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) assessments, as well as demographic information (age, sex, and race/ethnicity) and out-of-home placement type. In Study 1 we examined the trajectories of anxiety and depression across age and time in care separately and evaluated a comprehensive model of resilience for each outcome using hierarchical linear modeling. This exploratory model included both indicators of internal resilience (i.e. cognitive, emotional, spiritual, physical, behavioural) and environmental risk and resilience factors (i.e. family, acculturation, community, placement, school functioning, social functioning) related to internalizing problems in children and adolescents. Results showed anxiety was fairly stable over time in care and age, with few significant predictors aside from already well-known risk factors. Depression results showed a slight increase across age and decrease across time in care with several more significant predictors than the anxiety model. While both models showed overlap in predictors, they also included predictors unique to each outcome. In Study 2 we examined the reciprocal relationships across time between anxiety, depression, and significant risk and protective factors from Study 1. Using time lagged hierarchical linear models we found few significant relationships related to anxiety, and largely unidirectional relationships between depression and relevant factors over time. Two factors, traumatic stress and placement in residential treatment care, displayed reciprocal relationships with depression over time. However, our results largely did not support the direct resilience feedback mechanisms proposed between variables for either outcome, but revealed other possible mechanisms at work (i.e. dual cascades developmental model) to explain maladaptation towards depression in particular, but also anxiety. Findings are discussed in terms of theoretical implications, future research directions, and applied implications for prevention/intervention programs for internalizing problems for children in out-of-home care.

Depression in mothers is an important risk factor for behavioral and emotional problems in their children (Elgar, McGrath, Waschbusch, Stewart, & Curtis 2004), and disrupted parenting is thought to mediate the influences of maternal depression on children. This 4-year longitudinal study examined whether mothers’ depression predicted parenting of children with behavioral problems across the preschool years. This study attempted to tease apart the correlates of enduring, chronic maternal depressive symptoms from those of transient depressive symptoms on parenting during the preschool years. In particular, it sought to predict both changes in parenting across the preschool years as well as to predict parenting practices as parents and children emerge from the preschool years. Participants were 199 mothers of 3-year-old children, with behavior problems who completed measures of depression and parenting yearly until children were 6 years old. Mothers with higher average depressive symptoms across the preschool years reported more overreactivity and laxness, and showed less warmth when their children were 6 years old. These mothers were also more likely to increase their self-reported overreactivity over time. Increases in depression were associated with increases in overreactivity and laxness, but not in warmth. These results provide stronger evidence than previous cross-sectional studies for a causal relation between depression and parenting, and point to the importance of providing adequate treatment and support to depressed mothers of preschool children.

This study examined whether measures of social capital were significant predictors of enrollment in postsecondary education for students from a low SES background. Results take the form of two articles. The first article addresses enrollment in four-year institutions of postsecondary education, and the second article addresses enrollment in two-year institutions of postsecondary education. The research questions for this study were: 1. Does probability of enrollment in a four-year postsecondary institution or a two-year postsecondary institution for low SES students differ by mean school SES? 2. Does probability of enrollment in a four-year postsecondary institution or a two-year postsecondary institution for low SES students differ by school locale? 3. When controlling for contextual or environmental variables and student background characteristics, are low SES students with higher levels of social capital more likely to enroll in a four-year postsecondary institution or a two-year postsecondary institution than low SES students with lower levels of social capital? 4. When controlling for contextual or environmental variables, background characteristics, and level of social capital does probability of enrollment in a four-year institution of postsecondary education or a two-year postsecondary institution vary by race for low SES students? When controlling for school level variables, academic achievement and preparation, and select background characteristics, low SES students with higher levels of social capital are more likely to enroll in a four-year college. Students whose parents expected them to obtain more education and those students who obtained more information about attending college were more likely to enroll in a four-year university. In the analysis of enrollment in four-year institutions of postsecondary education, African American low SES students were three times more likely to enroll in a four-year college or university than low SES Caucasian students. Only one measure of social capital, information acquisition, was significantly related to enrollment in a two-year institution of postsecondary education. No significant variability in probability of enrollment in a two-year institution of postsecondary education was observed by either of the school level variables used. Race was not a significant factor when controlling for background characteristics and the measures of social capital used in this study. / Ph. D.

Two broad influences have converged to shape a new environment in which universities must now compete and operate. Shrinking financial resources and a global economy have arguably compelled universities to adapt. The concept of academic capitalism helps explain the new realities and places universities in the context of a global, knowledge-based economy (Slaughter & Leslie, 1997). Prior to this theory, the role of universities in the knowledge economy was largely undocumented. Academic capitalism is a measurable concept defined by the mechanisms and behaviors of universities that seek to generate new sources of revenue and are best revealed through faculty work. This study was designed to create empirical evidence of academic capitalism through the behaviors of faculty members at research universities. Using a large-scale, national database, the researcher created a new measure—an estimate of academic capitalism—at the individual faculty member level and then used multi-level analysis to explain variation among these individual faculty members. This study will increase our understanding of the changing nature of faculty work, will lead to future studies on academic capitalism that involve longitudinal analysis and important sub-populations, and will likely influence institutional and public policy. / Ph. D.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychology / Clive J. A. Fullagar / Entrenched within the sphere of positive psychology, the present series of studies takes a progressive approach to understanding and furthering the practical application of constructs subsumed within the subfield of positive organizational behavior (POB). The progression begins with Study 1, which analyzes the factorial structure and psychometric footholds of the primary measurement instrument for Psychological Capital (PsyCap), one of the newer positive psychological constructs. This study suggested that both the measurement of this construct in addition to its factor structure may need to be reevaluated in order to best conceptualize the multifactorial nature of this variable. In turn, Study 2 involves resilience, one of the four aspects of PsyCap, and suggests that it may play an important role in molding employees’ work experiences. Specifically, Study 2 explores the relations between workload and eudaimonic and hedonic well-being over a two-week period, finding that workload is negatively related to eudaimonic well-being, but, interestingly, positively related to hedonic well-being. However, hypotheses suggesting that resilience and role salience may independently moderate workload’s relations with eudaimonic and hedonic well-being were not supported. Finally, recognizing the potential value of these positive psychological constructs (resilience and well-being in particular) for employers and employees alike, Study 3 aimed to develop interventions capable of increasing individuals’ positive personal resources, whereby they may enhance their ability to endure work challenges and even thrive in the face of such challenges. Findings indicated that the intervention targeting resilience did not result in significant differences between a control group and the intervention group. The intervention targeting well-being resulted in no differences in hedonic well-being, but did evidence differences on the personal growth aspect of eudaimonic well-being. Overall, these three studies taken together speak to the applicability of positive organizational behavior constructs in the workplace, and how such constructs might be enhanced in employees.

Much of the recent literature in mentoring centers on the effectiveness of volunteers who donate their time to relationships with children in need of a positive adult role model (DuBois & Karcher, 2005). Because mentors generally take on a great deal of responsibility with youth who are often at-risk either personally or academically (Commonwealth Fund, 1998; McLearn, Colasanto & Schoen, 1998; McLearn et al., 1999), researchers want to identify those variables and practices that increase the chance of a successful and beneficial relationship (Nakkula & Harris, 2005). This study examined the benefits of adult-child mentoring and looked for connections between the mentees’ growth in social competence and the relationship length, match quality, and specific mentoring strategies employed. The mentors’ perceptions of sufficiency about the match, the mentee’s additional resources, and their own abilities were also examined. A survey was distributed electronically to 890 Austin, Texas mentors about their relationships, and a separate school level survey was distributed to the 90 mentor contacts located in each school that utilizes mentors. School demographic data was also collected from the Texas Education Agency. The results indicate that longer and more high-quality matches, an increased importance placed on getting the mentee to care more about others, and spending more time with the mentee’s teachers all predict higher levels of growth in specific social competencies. The strength of the match was also a positive predictor of the mentors’ sense of sufficiency about themselves and about the impact of mentoring with their mentee. The results suggest a need for increased training in the specific caring and teacher-involvement mentor strategies, and for more discussion with mentors about the importance of committing to long-term, high-quality matches. / text