The current study investigated the effects of parenting styles in same-sex and opposite-sex parent-child dyads, as well as the differences in parenting styles in two regions of the country. This study’s sample came from two previously collected datasets: one from Mississippi and one from Florida. The participants reported on perceived parental behaviors, parenting styles, discipline practices, and their own psychological adjustment. There were main effects for gender of emerging adults and parenting styles of mothers and fathers. No interactions between the genders of the parent and child reached significance. The results of Pearson correlations suggest that authoritarian parenting leads to negative outcomes for individuals from Florida, although there was no relationship for individuals from Mississippi. Conversely, the results suggest that permissive parenting leads to negative outcomes for individuals from Mississippi, although there was no relationship for individuals from Florida. Thus, outcomes related to parenting seem to differ by region.

To diversify the engineering workplace, we need to broaden participation in engineering. One way to broaden participation is through encouraging integration of engineering activities at home where parents, or more broadly caregivers, facilitate or support engineering activities for their children. This idea is reinforced by previous literature that identifies that (1) elementary-aged children can and should do engineering activities, (2) parents have a longstanding and significant impact on their children in many different ways, (3) parent-child relationships are unique and offer great potential for positive outcomes, and (4) parents can be effective in teaching engineering. While at-home engineering activities are already prevalent, the support resources attached to them are currently lacking for parents. This research is motivated by a desire to understand how parents think about and engage in engineering activities with their children to inform the most effective ways to support parents. This research is scoped to specifically look at the knowledge that 12 parents utilize in engineering activities and identify or perceive as being important in these activities. Given that there are many different types of engineering activities that exist, three different engineering activities that varied by level of structure were included in this study. The well-structured, semi-structured, and ill-structured activities all included a Marble Run toy and a storybook about Mars Rovers that was meant to support an authentic context for the activities. A multiple case study approach was used, where each case represented one of the activities with four parent participants in each case. Data collected for each parent participant included a pre-survey, observed activity engagement, reflection, and pre- and post-interviews. All of this data was coded with a priori codes from the Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework and emergent codes. The findings of this research highlight the role of the following on parent-child engagement in an engineering activity: the rhythm and routine of the parent-child dyad, external influences and independent individual experiences of the parent and the child, parents' ideas about engineering, and the structure of the activity. While the Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework was a useful tool for classification of knowledge, the research findings highlight the role of past experiences and external resources in shaping parents' views on the best way to support their children which is not well documented in this framework. These findings suggest that Frames of Practice may be a better theory to use in thinking about and studying parent-child engagement. Parents utilize existing frames of practice for engaging with their children to dictate the general teaching strategies to utilize. Within specific activities, they also refer to similar neighboring experiences and external resources to refine their frames of practice and modify their strategies used. While parents implement engineering knowledge and strategies, they do not recognize that what they are doing is engineering. There is also variation in the quantity and quality of strategies that are needed for engagement in the different activities, with less structure indicating more skills required of the facilitator and more positive outcomes for the child. For stakeholders invested in parent engagement, this research suggests that we need to (1) validate parents' existing and effective ideas about teaching and engineering by giving parents language that will help them refine their frames of practice through reflection, (2) encourage the use of more advanced pedagogical strategies or engineering strategies, (3) explicitly explain the value of them using the word engineering with their child and the value of continuing to use and talk about the engineering strategies they already implement (brainstorming, planning) with their child, and (4) ensure that parents see the potential engineering connections in the activity. / Doctor of Philosophy / Society needs more qualified engineers and one way to encourage a more diverse workforce is to support greater engagement in engineering at a young age in an effort to support interest development. One way to have more children engaging with engineering is to have parents, or more broadly caregivers, incorporate these activities at home with their children. Previous research has already shown that (1) elementary-aged children can and should do engineering activities, (2) parents have a longstanding and significant impact on their children in many different ways, (3) parent-child relationships are unique and offer great potential for positive outcomes, and (4) parents can be effective in teaching engineering. At-home learning is already prevalent and many engineering activities that parents can implement at home already exist, but the resources and information that come with these activities fall short of providing adequate support for parents. This research is motivated by a desire to understand how parents think about and engage in engineering activities with their children to inform the most effective ways to support parents. This research study describes how 12 parents think about and utilize information when engaging with their children in engineering activities. Many different types of engineering activities exist, and one of the ways in which they can be classified is by their level of structure. A well-structured, semi-structured, and ill-structured activity was included in this research where all activities included a Marble Run toy and a storybook about Mars Rovers that provided a realistic way to think about the activity in real-life terms. Each parent participant completed a pre-survey, observed activity engagement, reflection, and pre- and post-interviews as part of this research. To analyze this data, parent data was analyzed and contextualized prior to building cases formed around the different engineering activities. The findings of this research highlight the role of the following on parent-child engagement in an engineering activity: the rhythm and routine of the parent-child dyad, external influences and independent individual experiences of the parent and the child, parents' ideas about engineering, and the structure of the activity. Parents utilize existing ideas for engaging with their children to dictate the general teaching strategies they use, but they also refer to neighboring experiences and external resources to refine these ideas and modify their strategies used for the specific activity. While parents implement engineering knowledge and strategies, they do not recognize that what they are doing is engineering. There is also variation in the quantity and quality of strategies that are needed for engagement in the different activities, with less structure indicating more skills required of the facilitator and more positive outcomes for the child. For those invested in parent engagement, this research suggests that we need to (1) validate parents' existing and effective ideas about teaching and engineering by giving parents language that will help them refine their ideas about teaching engineering through reflection, (2) encourage the use of more advanced teaching strategies or engineering ideas, (3) explicitly explain the value of using the word engineering with their child and the value of continuing to use and talk about the engineering strategies they already implement (brainstorming, planning) with their child, and (4) ensure that parents see the potential for engineering connections in the activity.

No description available.

No description available.

L’apprentissage de la peur par observation est un phénomène très important lors de l’enfance, une période au cours de laquelle plusieurs peurs se développent et où l’environnement familial est fondamental. La qualité de la relation parent-enfant module les réactions de peur chez les enfants, mais son impact sur l’apprentissage de la peur par observation n’a pas été investigué. Ce mémoire s’est donc intéressé à l’influence de la relation mère-enfant et père-enfant ainsi qu’à son interaction avec le sexe de l’enfant sur l’apprentissage de la peur par observation. Soixante dyades parent-enfant ont été recrutées. La relation avec chaque parent était évaluée par un questionnaire auto-rapporté complété par les enfants (8 à 12 ans). Les enfants regardaient d’abord une vidéo de leur parent être exposé à un conditionnement de la peur, où un stimulus (SC+Parent) était associé à un léger choc et un autre stimulus (SC-) était présenté seul. Ensuite, les enfants regardaient une vidéo d’un étranger être exposé à un protocole similaire à l’exception qu’un stimulus différent était associé au choc (SC+Étranger). Par la suite, les trois stimuli étaient directement présentés aux enfants. Les niveaux de peur étaient mesurés par les réponses électrodermales. L’effet de la qualité de la relation père-enfant sur les niveaux de peur face au SC+Parent était modéré par le sexe des enfants, où les filles ayant une relation sécurisante avec leur père montraient des niveaux de peur plus faibles. La qualité de la relation mère-enfant n’influençait pas les niveaux de peur des enfants. Ces résultats suggèrent que la relation avec le père influence la façon dont les filles répondent aux stimuli liés à la peur au sein de l’environnement familial. Ces données soulignent certains facteurs de protection face à la vulnérabilité de développer des psychopathologies liées à la peur. / Observational fear learning is especially relevant during childhood, a period during which many fears develop and where the familial environment is salient. Parent-child relationship modulates fear reactions in children, but its impact on observational fear learning in the context of the familial environment has not been investigated. This master’s thesis therefore examined whether the mother-child and father-child relationship quality as well as its interaction with children’s sex influence observational fear learning. Sixty parent-child dyads were recruited. The relationship with each parent was assessed by a self-report questionnaire completed by the children (8 to 12 years old). Children first watched a video of their parent undergoing a fear conditioning procedure, where one stimulus (CS+Parent) was paired with a shock and one was presented alone (CS-). Then, children watched a video of a stranger undergoing a similar protocol except that a different stimulus was paired with the shock (CS+Stranger). Subsequently, the three stimuli were directly presented to children. Fear levels were measured by skin conductance responses. The effect of the father-child relationship quality on fear levels for the CS+Parent was moderated by children’s sex, where girls having a more secure relationship with their father exhibited lower fear levels. The mother-child relationship quality had no impact on the children’s fear levels. These results suggest that the relationship with the father influences how girls respond to fear-related stimuli within the family environment. These data highlight the existence of some protective factors that might influence the vulnerability of developing fear-related psychopathologies.