<p>Although many communication scholars have explored how parents and children navigate difficult conversations about taboo topics, little to no research exists concerning pornography, specifically from the perspective of the child. To fill this research gap, the following qualitative study utilized a narrative framework and methodology to explore characteristics in parent-child conversations about pornography that illicit positive or negative perceptions from children about those conversations. 18 young adults (18-25 years old) participated in semi-structured interviews in which they shared stories about conversations they had with their parents about pornography. Five major themes surfaced from the thematic analysis of the data: (1) <i>open/closed relationship</i>, (2) <i>discussion-/lecture-based conversation structure</i>, (3) <i>specificity/ambiguity of conversation details</i>, (4) <i>affirmation/denial of curiosity</i>, and (5) <i>appropriate/inappropriate conversation context</i>. The findings have theoretical implications and contextual contributions for family communication scholars in further exploring the topic of pornography as well as practical insights for parents to reflect upon in seeking to strengthen their conversations about pornography with their children.</p>

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Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience significant challenges with play, thereby affecting their development of language skills, emotional development, cognitive development, and social connections with others (Freeman & Kasari, 2013). Parent-child relationships influence many aspects of a child’s life including participation in joint play, which is when two or more individuals are playing together (Waldman-Levi, Finzi-Dottan, & Cope, 2019). There are several factors hindering parent participation in play including knowledge of play, understanding of sensory processing and its impact on play, communication during play, and mindful parenting. The following chapters discuss the evidence and theories supporting the development of the proposed program, Play 4 Parents. Play 4 Parents is an in-person group training program designed to enhance play skills of parents of children with ASD. The program uses a variety of teaching strategies, such as direct teaching, strategy practice, and at home hands-on practice. Through program participation it is anticipated that parents will gain an increase in parental sense of competence, a decrease in perceived stress, and improvements with parent-child play interactions.

Harsh parenting behaviors have been shown to predict internalizing and externalizing symptoms in children. These symptoms of psychopathology can persist into adolescence, which can negatively impact social, academic, and emotional functioning. Most studies, however, focus on between-person differences in average harsh parenting, rather than within-person changes in harsh parenting over time. This variability in harsh parenting has a potentially unique impact on the development of adolescent psychopathology. The present study aims to understand if child/adolescent-perceived variability in harsh parenting over time (intraindividual variability; IIV) predicts higher levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in mid-adolescence, while controlling for average levels of harsh parenting. IIV in child/adolescent-perceived harsh parenting was quantified using the coefficient of variation. Path analysis results indicated that IIV in child-perceived harsh parenting from ages 8-14 was a reliable construct, rather than random error. Further, more IIV in child-perceived mother harsh parenting predicted higher externalizing, but not internalizing, symptoms in adolescence (at age 15). Results were replicated using Residual Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling (RDSEM), a new method that models variability around one’s predicted slope within the model. Implications of this work include a novel way to conceptualize and measure aspects of the parent-child/adolescent relationship that predict individual differences in symptoms of psychopathology in mid-adolescence.

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.

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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.

Implicit theories are frameworks that allow an individual to conceptualize the world (Levy, Chiu, & Hong, 2006; Plaks, Levy, & Dweck, 2009). Incremental implicit theories assert humans as dynamic entities, capable of change, whereas entity implicit theories assert that humans are rigid, static, and incapable of change (Dweck, 1999). The present study examined entity and incremental themes in parent child discourse about weight related health decisions. Incremental themes are expected to be related to better pediatric health outcomes (BMI, physical activity, diet, and body image). A moderation model is proposed whereby links between parent child discourse and pediatric health outcomes, specifically body image, will be stronger for boys than girls. Moderation by sex was expected because parents may communicate differently to their children as a function of sex. Cultural ideals have much more stringent evaluations of women than men do and this may be reflected in communications involving parents and children. There were no significant mean-level differences in body image scores and parents' use of entity and incremental themes according to child sex. Additionally, parents use of entity and incremental themes did not predict any of the children's health-related outcomes. These results may indicate that child sex may not be the best predictor of parents' communications concerning children's weight-related decisions. / Master of Science

As the structure of the American family changes, it is becoming more common for children to be raised by their grandparents. In fact, over the past 40 years, there has been a 50% increase in grandparent-headed homes in the US (Ellis and Simmons, 2014). Custodial grandparents, who provide primary caregiving responsibilities for their grandchildren, often become responsible for their grandchildren due to distressing situations and report many social-emotional, physical, and psychological difficulties (e.g., Hayslip and Kaminski, 2005). Additionally, children of custodial grandparents have been found to have significantly more emotional and behavioral problems than non-custodial grandchildren (Smith and Palmieri, 2007). The main parenting resource for this population is often support-groups, which often do not provide needed assistance with discipline and behavior management. The overall purpose of this study was to adapt Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) to custodial grandparents, using a consumer-oriented approach. The study was completed in three discrete stages. During Stage 1, qualitative interviews with custodial grandparents were completed to collect further information about custodial grandparents' experience parenting their grandchildren, use of parenting resources, and opinion of parenting strategies and PCIT. Findings from this stage indicated that custodial grandparents were amenable to PCIT procedures, but experienced significant barriers in accessing parenting services. Due to these barriers, a service delivery adaptation was developed and an online intervention was created (Stage 2) to transcend treatment barriers. Finally, during Stage 3, this online intervention was tested in a small single-subject design pilot study. Multiple metrics supported the feasibility, accessibility, satisfaction, and initial treatment efficacy of this intervention. All participants demonstrated clinically significant reductions in at least two symptom measures and reported satisfaction with the online intervention. Overall, results provide preliminary support for the use of online interventions to teach PCIT strategies and support future research on online interventions for this population. / Ph. D. / The overall purpose of this study was to adapt Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) to custodial grandparents, using a consumer-oriented approach. The study was completed in three stages. During Stage 1, interviews with custodial grandparents were completed to collect further information about custodial grandparents’ experience parenting their grandchildren, use of parenting resources, and opinion of parenting strategies and PCIT. Findings from this stage indicated that custodial grandparents were amenable to PCIT procedures, but experienced significant barriers to accessing parenting services. Due to these barriers, a service delivery adaptation was developed, and an online intervention was created (Stage 2) to transcend treatment barriers. Finally, during Stage 3, this online intervention was tested in a small pilot study. Multiple metrics supported the feasibility, accessibility, satisfaction, and initial treatment efficacy of this intervention. Overall, results provide preliminary support for the use of online interventions to teach PCIT strategies and support future research on online interventions for this population.