The purpose of this research study is to provide commercial advertisers, television networks, and academicians valuable information regarding the existence, direction, and intensity of preadolescent children's attitudes toward television commercials.

When compared to their non-musician peers, adult musicians demonstrate enhanced speech-in-noise perception (Parberry-Clark et al, 2013), verbal memory (Chan et al, 1998), phonological skills (Deg & Schwarzer, 2011), and reading (Tierney & Kraus, 2013). Recent evidence from auditory brainstem responses suggests that early musical training primes neural plasticity that facilitates listening in degraded environments (Strait et al., 2012). Our study examined the hypothesis that neural enhancements, subsequent to preadolescent musical training, improves binaural speech processing and temporal processing that are known to contribute significantly to speech understanding in complex listening environments (Hirsh, 1950; Snell & Frisina, 2000). We tested middle-school aged (10 - 14 years) children with and without musical training based on years of experience (< 6 months = non-musician; > 1 year = musician) and musical aptitude (Intermediate Measures of Music Audiation; rhythm subtest) on tests of spatial listening (Listening in Spatialized Noise-Sentences Test, Dillon, 2007) and auditory temporal processing (Adaptive Test of Temporal Resolution, Lister et al., 2011). We also measured working memory and visual processing efficiency (picture pattern memory and processing speed; NIH Tool Box) to understand the potential influence of multimodality higher-order cognitive skills over modality-specific enhancements in auditory perceptual processing secondary to musical training.

Childhood overweight and obesity is a significant and increasing health problem both nationally and globally. Yet few interventions for preventing obesity have been successful, particularly in the long-term, suggesting that important factors are being overlooked. The aims of this thesis were to investigate (a) the prevalence of childhood overweight, obesity, and binge eating; and (b) the relationships between body weight, binge eating behaviour, and a set of physical, psychological, and psychosocial variables including parent body size, body dissatisfaction, size-related teasing experiences, internalisation of sociocultural messages, depression, dieting attitudes and behaviour, and emotional eating. Participants were 569 grade five and six primary school children (272 boys and 297 girls) from Catholic and Government schools across metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. Almost 25% of participants were classified as overweight or obese. Thirteen percent of participants reported engaging in overeating (with or without loss of control), 14% reported loss of control (with or without overeating), and 6% reported engaging in binge eating (overeating and loss of control). Structural equation modelling analyses found that body weight and binge eating were indirectly related. Body weight was directly and positively associated with parent body size, size-related teasing experiences, body dissatisfaction, and internalisation of sociocultural messages, negatively associated with emotional eating, and indirectly associated with depression, and dieting attitudes and behaviour. Binge eating was directly and positively related to parent body size, emotional eating, depression, and body dissatisfaction, while indirect associations were found with size-related teasing experiences, internalisation of sociocultural messages, and dieting attitudes and behaviour. A direct relationship between body dissatisfaction and loss of control was also found. Some gender differences were detected. Multivariate analysis of variance also revealed that binge eaters scored significantly higher on measures of depression, size-related teasing experiences, internalisation of sociocultural messages, and angry and worried related emotional eating than non-binge eaters. Differences were also found for participants reporting the presence or absence of overeating (regardless of loss of control) and loss of control (regardless of overeating). Overall, the study demonstrated that psychological and psychosocial factors have a significant association with both weight and binge eating behaviour in a non-clinical sample of preadolescent Australian school children. As such, future intervention programs may benefit by addressing these factors. In addition, these results support the idea of working toward the prevention of obesity and eating disorders simultaneously in children, and of extending research in this area to examine causality.

Preadolescence is a transitional stage between childhood and adolescence characterized by rapid and erratic change. Preadolescent girls are particularly vulnerable to negative impacts to self-concept and adaptability and may benefit from support to strengthen these key aspects of their development. School-based expressive arts groups provide a developmentally appropriate opportunity for preadolescent girls to process their thoughts, feelings, and experiences that can influence their self-concept and adaptability. Additionally, providing expressive arts groups from a career perspective provides participants a three-fold developmental intervention that includes components of the personal/social, academic, and career domains. Lindo and Ceballos combined the Career Construction Interview (CCI) with expressive arts school-based group counseling to create a developmentally appropriate intervention called the Child and Adolescent Career Construction Interview (CACCI). This study examined preadolescent girls' perceptions of participated in a CACCI group. Analysis of data yielded four major themes: (a) experiencing, (b) connecting, (c) expressing, and (d) becoming. Finding of this study have the potential to inform developmentally appropriate career counseling for preadolescents.

No description available.

We examined the hypothesis that neural plasticity following preadolescent musical training improves spatial listening and temporal processing. Two groups of children with (>2 years) and without (< 6 months) significant musical training were assessed on binaural processing, spatial memory, and gap detection. Results demonstrated the musician group had an advantage in spatial listening and auditory memory. These findings suggest an early emergence of listening benefits and also support musical training as a rehabilitative strategy to ameliorate specific auditory processing deficits.

Programs that include skills to help girls successfully navigate the difficulties of preadolescence have been shown to be beneficial. One such youth development program in the southeastern part of the United States began in 2014 but has had no formal evaluation completed. The purpose of this qualitative study was to conduct a utilization-focused process evaluation, asking questions that addressed the perceptions of a school leader (n = 1) and volunteers of the program (n = 8). Their input was solicited concerning successful implementation strategies used, and recommendations for adaptations, recruitment, and volunteer training. Semistructured interviews were conducted using predetermined open-ended, questions. Open coding was used to discover the most common themes. After analyzing the data using VERBI's Software, MAXQDA, the identified themes were (a) successful elements of the program, (b) elements of the program that were not working, (c) suggestions for adaptations to improve the outcomes for participants, and (d) essential points to consider when recruiting new volunteers. Study participants reported that many of the girls participating in the program made positive changes in their behavior, exhibited improved self-esteem, and expanded their support system. Key findings will be discussed with the program administrators to assist them in recruiting and training new volunteers and to suggest administrative adjustments. Positive social change will be facilitated by offering ideas to the administrators that may result in expansion of the program, allowing more girls in the community to participate and experience positive results.

The thesis deals with analysis of the quality of life of preadolescents and adolescents with regard to circadian and diural rhythms in children's homes in the South Moravian Region. The first part characterises concepta of quality of life, pubescent, adolescent, circadian and diural rhythms. The work is focused on the temporal area of quality of life. It described the importance and quality of sleep, sleep cycles and sleep typology. The research deals with the questionnaire survey a total of 110 respondents (60 pubescent, 50 adolescents). The research method consists of a selection of questions from a standardized questionnaire circadian typology, CIT Harada, Krejčí, 2010. The data are analyzed using basic statistical methods

It is the fundamental insight of phenomenology that meaning is first and foremost - not something which we intellectually reflect on. It is not a product of the mind reworking raw, perceptual experiences. Rather meaning, and our connection to the world, are perceptual phenomena. Thus, to understand the ways in which children find meaning demands a turn toward perceptual experiences - how children see and feel. In this theoretical dissertation, I explore questions of perceptual experiences through a phenomenological framework that I refer to as the perceptual rite of passage (PRoP). The conceptual framework, which centers on attentiveness, labors to help us understand the ontology of perception for preadolescents and how meaning emerges through everyday encounters.

In this study, a grounded theory in a qualitative research design was developed to extend the knowledge base of positive parenting practices in homes of Migrant students. The study examined: (a) parenting practices in homes of high-achieving preadolescent students, (b) the impact of high mobility and school transitions, (c) family language and literacy practices, (d) cultural and historical contexts of parenting practices, and (e) parents' perspectives about what is happening in the schools. Literature was reviewed to learn about families of cultural and linguistic diversity from middle class Anglo students and staff. Categories that developed from the research of literature included: (a) education and the future, (b) family literacy and learning, (c) mentors and role models, and (d) family values and family communication. Interviews were conducted after cross-cultural research techniques were used to decenter the languages. Parents of fourteen students responded to the interviews and a checklist for the home learning environment. Three administrators were interviewed to gain their perspective of the school program for Migrant students and opportunities for parent involvement. The findings were reported in three categories: (a) parenting practices in the home, (b) parent perspective of school learning environments, and (c) the home-school partnership. Conclusions were based on the parents' responses, but most responses related literacy and learning directly to the school. School administrators provided information about basic programs and supplementary services. Six recommendations were made to other parents of Migrant students and for administrators and other school leaders. Recommendations to parents included: (a) specific and direct communication with children from an early age, (b) support for children's homework, schoolwork, and other responsibilities, and (c) counseling about positive mentors, role models, and friends. Recommendations for administrators included: (d) the need for early childhood education programs, services, and communication with parents, (e) provision of extra-curricular activities for all preadolescent students, and (f) a school culture that welcomes and encourages cultural and linguistic diversity.