Magister Artium (Child and Family Studies) - MA(CFS) / To some extent all families experience family conflict; however, the concern is when it has an effect on preadolescents (age 10-12), behaviorally and psychologically. Preadolescence is a period marked by pubertal, emotional and behavioural changes. Family conflict may intensify preadolescents' experience of managing difficult situations. Self-determination theorists suggest that in order to have good mental health, basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness) need to be met. Literature suggests that family conflict shapes behaviour and thus plays a pivotal role in externalizing behaviour (aggressive and antisocial behaviours). This study aimed to determine the effects of family conflict on preadolescents' basic psychological needs and externalizing behaviour. A quantitative approach and a crosssectional research design were employed in this study. A probability random sample was selected from two low socio-economic communities in Hout Bay, Cape Town. The sample consisted of N =128 preadolescents in grades 4, 5 and 6. The data for the study was obtained using self-report questionnaires that included - demographics, Family Environment Scale (FES), Basic Psychological Needs Scale (BPNS), Youth Self Report (YSR) and Buss Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ). Participants could choose whether they preferred responding in English or Afrikaans. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) V23. The results were provided using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the study indicated that there is a significant positive relationship between family conflict and preadolescents psychological needs, antisocial behaviour and aggression (with the exception of verbal aggression). The results, yielded by regression analysis, indicated that physical aggression (β = 0.31, p = 0.01) and need frustration, significantly predicted antisocial behaviour (β = 0.28, p = 0.00); need frustration (β = 0.28, p = 0.00) and antisocial behaviour significantly predicted physical aggression (β = 0.30, p = 0.00); antisocial behaviour (β = 0.24, p = 0.01) significantly predicted verbal aggression; need frustration (β = 0.35, p = 0.00) significantly predicted anger and need frustration (β = 0.26, p = 0.01) significantly predicting hostility. The assumptions of this study were confirmed - family conflict frustrates the basic psychological needs of preadolescents, and family conflict is related to the externalizing behaviour of preadolescents. The researcher ensured that confidentiality, anonymity and respect were adhered to throughout the study.

The aim of this study was to further examine the relationship between anxiety, inhibitory control (IC), and brain functioning (electroencephalogram) in a critical age-range for social and emotional development (8-12-year-olds). Depression was a secondary focus but was included in the analyses given the common anxiety/depression overlap. Additionally, the participants (N = 42) were assigned to 4 weeks of either an emotional training program (Emotional gFocus), a neutral training program (Neutral gFocus), or a waitlisted control and were tested using cognitive, neurophysiological, and mood measures. Hierarchical regression models revealed that IC accuracy scores were significantly and negatively related to anxiety levels as indicated by the Screening For Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED), as well as depression levels (using the Child Depression Inventory (CDI)), controlling for age and gender. Additionally, increased resting-state right lateral frontal alpha asymmetry was predictive of increased anxiety as well as depression levels. To evaluate the intervention effects, a series of Multivariate Analyses of Covariance (MANCOVA) and contrast tests were conducted to determine if group differences existed from pre-to-post for any of the measures of interest. Overall, the emotional and neutral training conditions showed similar reductions in anxiety and depression compared to the waitlist condition. Both the emotional and neutral conditions also facilitated significant improvements in IC accuracy compared to the control. Minimal pre-to-post power and asymmetry changes occurred in frontal and parietal regions; however, a lateral frontal leftward activity shift was found in the emotional training group. These findings further demonstrated a relationship between IC and anxiety and showed preliminary evidence that training IC has the potential to mitigate negative emotional functioning in adolescents. Future research is necessary to determine the importance of emotional training versus neutral as well as whether longer training intervals will be needed to facilitate a long-term impact. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Preadolescence is a time of emotional, physical, social, and relational changes, which can lead to mental health concerns. Parents of preadolescents also experience changes within their roles as parents, and both parents and preadolescents experienced a wide range of changes and challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. A mental health intervention focused on enhancing the parent-child relationship among parents of preadolescents is important for overall family functioning. This phenomenological study explored the experiences of parents of preadolescents after participating in a virtual child-parent relationship therapy (CPRT) intervention. Participants were seven parents ages 35 to 56 years-old with preadolescent children between the ages of 9 to 12 years-old. Semi-structured interviews were conducted following the CPRT intervention and analyzed. Six themes were found, including impact of group on learning, child's engagement with parent, child qualities, parent's understanding of self, importance of parent-child relationship, and integration of CPRT skills. The emerging themes indicated that the seven participants experienced changes in themselves, in their child, and in their parent-child relationships. Participants discussed their experiences with the virtual format and their integration of CPRT skills. The participants also reported feeling closeness and support from other group members, even with the virtual format. Findings from this study highlight several clinical implications for working with parents of preadolescents virtually using CPRT. Recommendations for future research are discussed.

Icelandic children can expect to live a long and healthy life and have the right to the highest possible standard of health. Despite this, as in other Western countries, the prevalence of psychosocial complaints and long term conditions in Icelandic children is growing and they are struggling with increased levels of preventable health conditions. The purposes of this cross sectional, secondary analysis were to perform a psychometric evaluation on the instrument School-Children Health Promotion; to describe self-reported health promotion behavior of 10-12 year old Icelandic school children, and to predict novel and potentially useful patterns of health promotion behavior of 10-12 year old Icelandic school children using data mining methods. Existing data from 480 10-12 year old Icelandic school children and 911 parents were analyzed. Analysis of the instrument School-Children Health Promotion indicates that it is, in general, a valid and reliable instrument for measuring health promotion behavior of 10-12 year old Icelandic children. Five factors emerged from the 21 item instrument, which were labeled: "Positive Thinking." "Diet and Sleep Pattern," "Seek Psycho-social Support," "Coping Behavior," and "Health Habits." The results indicated that girls use more positive health promotion behavior than boys; however, differences in health promotion behavior between 5th and 6th grade students were not obvious. The results of data mining analyses, using the classifiers decision tree (J48) and logistic regression (Logistic) to predict health promotion behavior, showed better performance with the subsets of the five factors and the overall instrument than with the full dataset of 199 items. For the subsets, the logistic regression models performed better than the decision trees with AUC ranging from 0.71 to 0.80. The strongest predictors of health promotion behaviors were validation and caring in friendship, intimate disclosure between friends, and quality of life. Results of this secondary analysis indicate that friendship is of vital importance with regards to health promotion behavior. Therefore, further studies on the effect friendship has on health promotion behavior of Icelandic children in the 10-12 year old age group are clearly needed.

Research shows that preadolescent females are more prone to negative self-perceptions than their male counterparts which places them at greater risk of developing mental health problems stemming from low self-image. The purpose of this randomized, controlled outcome study was to examine the effectiveness of group activity play therapy (GAPT) compared to an evidenced based social skills/self-esteem group. Participants were 29 fourth and fifth grade girls in two Title I schools in the southwest U.S. referred by teachers and school counselors as presenting with low self-esteem. Participants identified as 45% Latina, 38% Caucasian, 14% African American, and 3% Asian. Children were randomly assigned to either 16 sessions of GAPT (experimental group; n = 15) or 13 sessions of an evidenced based social skills/self-esteem group intervention (control group; n = 14). Results from a 2 (Group) by 3 (Times) repeated measures ANOVA indicated that, compared to the control group over time, the GAPT group reported statistically significant improvement in self-esteem with a moderate to large treatment effect. Teachers did not report a statistically significant difference between the two groups over time. However, teachers reported noteworthy improvement for children in both treatment groups, with generally stronger improvement for the GAPT group. Overall, results indicate that GAPT may be a promising school-based intervention for preadolescent females suffering with low self-esteem.

The current study examined the effects of parenting congruence on child outcome behaviors. Participants were 144 African American families with a child between 9 and 12 years old. Mothers and fathers provided self report on their behavior regarding monitoring, positive parenting, and parental beliefs. Children provided self report regarding child problem behavior, and sexual intentions. Results revealed the more congruent parents were on positive parenting behaviors the more boys thought about sex; however, results for girls were not significant. Additionally, moderation trends suggested when both parents are high on monitoring behaviors girls have thought about sex less, whereas boys think about sex less when both parents are low on monitoring behaviors. Another trend suggested the more conservative both parents are regarding attitudes about dating, the less likely boys are to have thought about sex. Thus, the combined behavior of both parents on specific parenting factors can affect boys and girls differently.

The present study aimed to test the Response Styles Theory with Turkish preadolescents. Therefore, two phases were followed. In thefirst phase, psychometric properties of Children&#039 / s Response Styles Questionnaire (CRSQ) were examined. In the second phase, the relationship of response styles and problem solving way of children to their depressive symptoms with respect to grade and gender was tested. The sample consisted of 599 children and preadolescents(299 females, 300 males) with a mean age of 11.77 (SD = 1.53), from 4th and 7th grade levels. In this study, Children&#039 / s Depression Inventory (Kovacs, 1980), Children&#039 / s Response Styles Questionnaire (Abela, Vanderbilt, &amp / Rochon, 2000), Children&#039 / s Action Tendency Scale (Deluty, 1979), and a demographic form were used. Results of the study demonstrated that 7.5 % of the children and preadolescents reported to have depressive symptoms. Seventh graders&#039 / scores were higher than fourth graders for depressive symptoms. there was not any gender difference in depressive symptoms. Seventh grade females had higher scores on the Rumination Subscale of Children&#039 / s Response Styles Questionnaire (CRSQ) than fourth grade females and seventh grade males. Fourth graders scored higher on the Distracting Subscale of CRSQ than seventh graders. Problem solving was not found to be mediating or moderating the relationship between response styles (rumination and distraction) and depressive symptoms. It is concluded that both response styles and problem solving independently contribute to depressive symptoms in preadolescents. Findings were discussed in the light of the literature.

OBJETIVOS: El objetivo general de la tesis fue el de obtener información sobre la prevalencia, persistencia, incidencia y factores de riesgo de los trastornos de la conducta alimentaria (TCA) al inicio de la adolescencia de la población escolar de la ciudad de Tarragona.MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Se trata de una investigación epidemiológica longitudinal en dos etapas. En la primera etapa (curso escolar 2002-03) se avaluó una muestra inicial de 1.336 escolares (649 chicos y 687 chicas; edad media: 11,37 anys) con un diseño en doble fase. Se seleccionaron por medio de un test de cribado (ChEAT) 258 alumnos, que fueron estudiados de manera individual (141 como grupo de riesgo y 117 como controles) (fase de T1) y que fueron seguidos a los dos años (T2; n = 200) (113 sujetos del grupo de riesgo y 87 del grupo control). Se les hizo una entrevista psiquiátrica estructurada según criterios DSM-IV (Entrevista Diagnóstica para Niños y Adolescentes- EDNA), para obtener los diagnósticos de TCA en las dos etapas (EDNA-Niños y EDNA-Adolescentes). También se obtuvieron datos antropométricos, de conducta alimentaria, de psicopatología, de desarrollo puberal, de influencias socioculturales, de temperamento y personalidad y de satisfacción corporal.RESULTADOS Y CONCLUSIONES: En primer lugar se presentan resultados sobre las características psicométricas de la versión catalana y adaptada del ChEAT, realizada experimentalmente para este estudio (Sancho et al, 2005). Un 12.94% de los escolares en la primera fase puntuaron igual o por encima del punto de corte del ChEAT. La prevalencia estimada de diagnósticos de TCA fue de 3, 44% en el T1 y de 3, 81% en el T2. Los diagnósticos denominados parciales (que no cumplen todos los criterios de severidad para ser considerados anorexia o bulimia nerviosas) -TCANE y subclínicos- son los diagnósticos más frecuentes. Sólo se halló un caso de bulimia en el T2. Un 52,17% de los participantes persistió con cualquier TCA a lo largo de los 2 años. Las diferencias de sexo fueron significativas en el T2, en el cual las chicas mostraron una mayor incidencia y persistencia que los chicos. Los escolares que tenían un IMC más alto fueron los que presentaban una mayor persistencia de diagnósticos (Sancho et al. 2007). Los escolares con diagnósticos parciales tenían características de personalidad y de temperamento de riesgo, comparables a las halladas en la población clínica con TCA. Las mujeres (43%) mostraron una mayor estabilidad en la insatisfacción corporal frente a los varones (25.8%). El sobrepeso en la preadolescencia está relacionado con la insatisfacción corporal en los varones y en las mujeres. La insatisfacción previa fue un predictor de insatisfacción corporal en ambos sexos, pero hallamos otros factores de riesgo diferentes como sería la pubertad tardía en los varones y el hecho de estar en sobrepeso en la preadolescencia en las mujeres.OBJETIVOS: El objetivo general de la tesis fue el de obtener información sobre la prevalencia, persistencia, incidencia y factores de riesgo de los trastornos de la conducta alimentaria (TCA) al inicio de la adolescencia de la población escolar de la ciudad de Tarragona.MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Se trata de una investigación epidemiológica longitudinal en dos etapas. En la primera etapa (curso escolar 2002-03) se avaluó una muestra inicial de 1.336 escolares (649 chicos y 687 chicas; edad media: 11,37 anys) con un diseño en doble fase. Se seleccionaron por medio de un test de cribado (ChEAT) 258 alumnos, que fueron estudiados de manera individual (141 como grupo de riesgo y 117 como controles) (fase de T1) y que fueron seguidos a los dos años (T2; n = 200) (113 sujetos del grupo de riesgo y 87 del grupo control). Se les hizo una entrevista psiquiátrica estructurada según criterios DSM-IV (Entrevista Diagnóstica para Niños y Adolescentes- EDNA), para obtener los diagnósticos de TCA en las dos etapas (EDNA-Niños y EDNA-Adolescentes). También se obtuvieron datos antropométricos, de conducta alimentaria, de psicopatología, de desarrollo puberal, de influencias socioculturales, de temperamento y personalidad y de satisfacción corporal.RESULTADOS Y CONCLUSIONES: En primer lugar se presentan resultados sobre las características psicométricas de la versión catalana y adaptada del ChEAT, realizada experimentalmente para este estudio (Sancho et al, 2005). Un 12.94% de los escolares en la primera fase puntuaron igual o por encima del punto de corte del ChEAT. La prevalencia estimada de diagnósticos de TCA fue de 3, 44% en el T1 y de 3, 81% en el T2. Los diagnósticos denominados parciales (que no cumplen todos los criterios de severidad para ser considerados anorexia o bulimia nerviosas) -TCANE y subclínicos- son los diagnósticos más frecuentes. Sólo se halló un caso de bulimia en el T2. Un 52,17% de los participantes persistió con cualquier TCA a lo largo de los 2 años. Las diferencias de sexo fueron significativas en el T2, en el cual las chicas mostraron una mayor incidencia y persistencia que los chicos. Los escolares que tenían un IMC más alto fueron los que presentaban una mayor persistencia de diagnósticos (Sancho et al. 2007). Los escolares con diagnósticos parciales tenían características de personalidad y de temperamento de riesgo, comparables a las halladas en la población clínica con TCA. Las mujeres (43%) mostraron una mayor estabilidad en la insatisfacción corporal frente a los varones (25.8%). El sobrepeso en la preadolescencia está relacionado con la insatisfacción corporal en los varones y en las mujeres. La insatisfacción previa fue un predictor de insatisfacción corporal en ambos sexos, pero hallamos otros factores de riesgo diferentes como sería la pubertad tardía en los varones y el hecho de estar en sobrepeso en la preadolescencia en las mujeres.OBJETIVOS: El objetivo general de la tesis fue el de obtener información sobre la prevalencia, persistencia, incidencia y factores de riesgo de los trastornos de la conducta alimentaria (TCA) al inicio de la adolescencia de la población escolar de la ciudad de Tarragona.MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Se trata de una investigación epidemiológica longitudinal en dos etapas. En la primera etapa (curso escolar 2002-03) se avaluó una muestra inicial de 1.336 escolares (649 chicos y 687 chicas; edad media: 11,37 anys) con un diseño en doble fase. Se seleccionaron por medio de un test de cribado (ChEAT) 258 alumnos, que fueron estudiados de manera individual (141 como grupo de riesgo y 117 como controles) (fase de T1) y que fueron seguidos a los dos años (T2; n = 200) (113 sujetos del grupo de riesgo y 87 del grupo control). Se les hizo una entrevista psiquiátrica estructurada según criterios DSM-IV (Entrevista Diagnóstica para Niños y Adolescentes- EDNA), para obtener los diagnósticos de TCA en las dos etapas (EDNA-Niños y EDNA-Adolescentes). También se obtuvieron datos antropométricos, de conducta alimentaria, de psicopatología, de desarrollo puberal, de influencias socioculturales, de temperamento y personalidad y de satisfacción corporal.RESULTADOS Y CONCLUSIONES: En primer lugar se presentan resultados sobre las características psicométricas de la versión catalana y adaptada del ChEAT, realizada experimentalmente para este estudio (Sancho et al, 2005). Un 12.94% de los escolares en la primera fase puntuaron igual o por encima del punto de corte del ChEAT. La prevalencia estimada de diagnósticos de TCA fue de 3, 44% en el T1 y de 3, 81% en el T2. Los diagnósticos denominados parciales (que no cumplen todos los criterios de severidad para ser considerados anorexia o bulimia nerviosas) -TCANE y subclínicos- son los diagnósticos más frecuentes. Sólo se halló un caso de bulimia en el T2. Un 52,17% de los participantes persistió con cualquier TCA a lo largo de los 2 años. Las diferencias de sexo fueron significativas en el T2, en el cual las chicas mostraron una mayor incidencia y persistencia que los chicos. Los escolares que tenían un IMC más alto fueron los que presentaban una mayor persistencia de diagnósticos (Sancho et al. 2007). Los escolares con diagnósticos parciales tenían características de personalidad y de temperamento de riesgo, comparables a las halladas en la población clínica con TCA. Las mujeres (43%) mostraron una mayor estabilidad en la insatisfacción corporal frente a los varones (25.8%). El sobrepeso en la preadolescencia está relacionado con la insatisfacción corporal en los varones y en las mujeres. La insatisfacción previa fue un predictor de insatisfacción corporal en ambos sexos, pero hallamos otros factores de riesgo diferentes como sería la pubertad tardía en los varones y el hecho de estar en sobrepeso en la preadolescencia en las mujeres. / OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to know the prevalence, to evaluate the persistence, the incidence and the risk factors of any eating disorders (ED) in a representative school population of early adolescents of both sexes in the city of Tarragona (Spain).MATERIAL AND METHOD: It is an epidemiological longitudinal study in two phases. In the first phase an initial sample of 1336 (649 boys and 687 girls, mean age: 11.37) were assessed in a two-phase design.258 subjects were selected with a screening test (ChEAT) from the initial sample and were assessed individually (141 as risk group and 117 as controls) (phase of T1), and were followed-up two years later (T2), n = 200, (113 from risk subjects and 87 from controls). Subjects were evaluated with a structured psychiatric interview according to DSM-IV criteria (Diagnostic Interview for children and adolescents DICA) to obtain diagnoses of ED using DICA-Children and DICA-Adolescents, at T1 and at T2 respectively. We also obtained data about anthropometry, eating behaviors, psychopathology, pubertal development, sociocultural influences, temperament and personality and body satisfaction.RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: First results are presented on the anthropometric characteristics of the adapted, Catalan version of Cheat, produced experimentally in this study (Sancho et al, 2005). 12.94% of schoolchildren in the first phase were rated equal to or above the cutoff point of the Cheat. The estimated prevalence of diagnoses of ED was 3, 44% at T1 and 3.81% at T2. Partial diagnoses (which does not meet all the criteria of severity to be considered anorexia or bulimia nervosa) -EDNOS and subclinic ED- are the most frequent diagnoses. Only there was a case of bulimia at T2.52.17% of the participants persisted with any ED at the follow-up two years later. Gender differences were significant at T2, being ED in females more prevalent, incident and persistent than boys. Participants who had the highest BMI were those who had a persistent diagnosis of some form of ED (Sancho et al. 2007). Subjects with non full-blown syndromes of eating disorders share characteristics such as temperament and character traits with subjects with full-blown syndromes. Girls showed more stability (43%) in body dissatisfaction than boys (25.8%). Overweight at preadolescence is related to body dissatisfaction in boys and girls. Dissatisfaction at preadolescence is an important predictor for body dissatisfaction in both sexes, but we found that there were other risk factors like late puberty in boys and overweight at preadolescence in girls.

The current study examined the effects of parenting congruence on child outcome behaviors. Participants were 144 African American families with a child between 9 and 12 years old. Mothers and fathers provided self report on their behavior regarding monitoring, positive parenting, and parental beliefs. Children provided self report regarding child problem behavior, and sexual intentions. Results revealed the more congruent parents were on positive parenting behaviors the more boys thought about sex; however, results for girls were not significant. Additionally, moderation trends suggested when both parents are high on monitoring behaviors girls have thought about sex less, whereas boys think about sex less when both parents are low on monitoring behaviors. Another trend suggested the more conservative both parents are regarding attitudes about dating, the less likely boys are to have thought about sex. Thus, the combined behavior of both parents on specific parenting factors can affect boys and girls differently.

Sandtray therapy, a modality of play therapy, has been used in a variety of ways as the treatment intervention with different theoretical approaches; however, there is a very limited amount of empirical research. The purpose of this research is to examine the effectiveness of group sandtray therapy at school with preadolescents identified with behavioral difficulties. This is a pretest-posttest control group design. Participants in the experimental group received sandtray therapy in group for ten weeks, and participants in the wait-list control group received no treatment intervention. The researcher compared two groups to examine the overall effectiveness of sandtray therapy as determined by the scores of the Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBC-TRF), Parent Report Form (BASC-PRF), and Self Report of Personality (BASC-SRP). Based on teachers' reports, statistically significant difference existed between the two groups in terms of preadolescents' overall behaviors, externalizing behavior problems, and internalizing behavior problems after the ten week treatment intervention. The effect sizes were medium (d= .52-.59). According to parents' reports, a statistically significant difference was found regarding preadolescents' externalizing behavior problems, and the effect size was medium (d=.63). No statistically significant differences were found regarding preadolescents' total behaviors and internalizing behavior problems based on BASC-PRF. The effect sizes arranged from medium to small (d=.55 and .35, respectively). In terms of the total behavior on BASE-SRP, no statistical significant difference was found and the effect was small (d=.18). A case example was included to illustrate the process and effect of group sandtray therapy. Based on the results of this study, it is determined that group sandtray can be an effective treatment intervention for preadolescents identified with behavioral problems. The primary contribution of this study is to present empirical support for the effectiveness of using sandtray therapy.