xvi, 108 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Risky sexual behavior (RSB) places adolescents at risk for unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection, and research is needed to understand the predictors of adolescent RSB and targets for future intervention. The current study used the social contextual model of problem behavior development to examine family, peer, and individual influences on adolescents' sexual behavior and the relationship between RSB and other problem behaviors. Data were previously collected from 998 adolescents and their families. First, I examined the level of agreement between adolescents' and parents' perceptions of family relationships, parental monitoring, and adolescents' friendships and which perceptions were more strongly related to adolescent problem behavior. Pearson bivariate correlations between parent and adolescent perceptions were small. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that adolescent report was a better predictor of problem behavior than was parent report. Second, I assessed whether positive family relations, parental monitoring, family conflict, and parent-adolescent communication about sex in earlier adolescence were related to RSB in later adolescence. Structural equation modeling results suggested that the timing and frequency of parent-adolescent communication about sex and parent monitoring in earlier adolescence were related to RSB in later adolescence among the sample as a whole; results varied somewhat by gender. Third, I examined participants' membership in four risk behavior groups in late adolescence (low problem behavior, RSB only, substance use only, and RSB plus substance use), identified family, peer, and individual factors that differentiated teens in each group, and explored differences by sex and ethnicity. Females were more likely than males to report engaging in a combination of RSB and patterned substance use, and African Americans of both sexes were more likely than European Americans to report engaging in RSB in the absence of other behaviors. The variable that most reliably distinguished among risk groups for both males and females was friend drug use in late adolescence. Discussion considers reasons for these findings and highlights the roles of parent monitoring, parent-adolescent communication about sex, and gender and sociocultural factors in RSB prevention. / Committee in charge: Ellen McWhirter, Chairperson, Counseling Psychology and Human Services; Joe Stevens, Member, Educational Methodology, Policy, and Leadership; Elizabeth Stormshak, Member, Counseling Psychology and Human Services; Anthony Biglan, Member, Not from U of O; Yvonne Braun, Outside Member, Sociology

Many children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) engage in problem behaviors (e.g., aggression and self-injurious behavior) that present safety concerns for both the children themselves and others around them. Previous research has shown that treating precursor behaviors that precede problem behavior may prove to be an alternative, safer method for preventing and treating problem behavior. The present study used a multiple baseline design across subjects (n = 4) to assess the efficacy of relaxation interventions on reducing precursor behavior and preventing problem behavior in children with ASD. Researchers first identified precursor behaviors for all participants through observation. During the intervention phase, all four children were taught deep breathing relaxation exercises. After participants received relaxation training, researchers cued relaxation exercises when precursors occurred, and the frequency of precursor, problem, and on-task behavior was observed. Results showed that problem behavior decreased in all participants following the relaxation intervention. Additionally, for the majority of participants, precursor behavior decreased and on-task behavior increased post-intervention. Implications for practice and future research on interventions that target precursor behaviors are discussed.

Svensk barnavård och tvångsvård av barn och unga har diskuterats och problematiserats av flertalet forskare och har även varit lagstadgat sedan början av 1900-talet. Lagen och hur samhället ser på problembeteende och skyddsbehov har sedan dess förändrats. Exempelvis så var den dominerande synen, innan 1900-talet, att samhället hade en viss skyldighet att skydda och hjälpa barn och unga i nöd men präglades snarare av ett samhällsskyddande synsätt. Även vad som anses vara ett problem har förändrats över tid och korrigerats inom lagstiftningen. Hur vi människor kommer överens om vad som är normalt eller normbrytande görs dels genom sociala processer men också genom språk där vi konstruerar en gemensam verklighet som vi förhåller oss till. Lagstiftningen som sådan är en, av människan skapad, konstruktion av vad vi gemensamt anser är de normer som vi ska förhålla oss till. Därav anser vi att det är intressant att se hur barn och ungdomars normbrytande beteende skrivs fram, framställs eller konkretiseras i domar som berör tvångsvård av barn. Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur ett barns skyddsbehov och problembeteenden konstrueras i domar rörande 3 § lagen (1990:52) med särskilda bestämmelser om vård av unga (LVU). För att besvara studiens syfte har följande frågeställning varit vägledande; vilka problembeteenden och skyddsbehov framställs i domar som avser vård enligt 3 § LVU? Ett kvalitativt angreppssätt har använts för att svara på studiens syfte och frågeställning. Studiens empiri består av 33 förvaltningsrättsdomar mellan åren 2012 och 2017 från en, för studien, specifik kommun. Studiens teoretiska utgångspunkt är socialkonstruktionism och tematisk analys används som analysverktyg. Studien analyseras med stöd av socialkonstruktivistisk teori och med stöd av tankar från bland andra Johanna Schiratzki, Anna Hollander, Astrid Schlytter, Lina Ponnert, Pernilla Leviner och Titti Mattsson, för att nämna några. Resultatet presenteras med stöd av fem huvudteman; brottslig verksamhet, missbruk av beroendeframkallande medel, något annat socialt nedbrytande beteende, påtaglig risk och samtycke. Samt fem subteman utifrån rekvisitet socialt nedbrytande beteende; olämpliga miljöer, missbruk, bristande skolgång, kriminalitet och sist neuropsykiatriska diagnoser och/eller annan psykisk variation. Studiens resultat visar på att de ungas skyddsbehov och problembeteende skrivs fram genom rekvisiten inom LVU lagstiftningen och att konstruktionen av dessa börjar i och med socialsekreterarens LVU-utredning och socialnämndens ansökan om vård med stöd av LVU. Resultatet visar även på att förvaltningsrätten som oftast bifaller socialnämndens ansökan om vård och i studiens empiriska material avslås endast två ansökningar. I studiens avslutande kapitel förs en diskussion om studiens slutsatser men också om vidare forskning kring konstruktionen gällande barn och ungdomars skyddsbehov och problembeteende. / Swedish child welfare and compulsory care for children and adolescents has been discussed and problematized by most researchers and been statutory since the beginning of the 20th century. The law and the way Swedish society views problem behavior, child and adolescent delinquency and the need to care and protect the children with such needs has changed over time. For example, the dominant view, before the 20th century, was that society had a certain obligation to protect and help children and young in need, but rather was characterized by a community-protection approach. What society considers to be a problem behavior has changed over time and been corrected multiple times within the law. How people agree on what is a normal or problematic behavior, when it comes to children and adolescents, is through social processes and language. Through our common social processes and languages we construct a common reality to which we can relate. Legislation as such is a man-made construction of what we commonly consider to be the norms that we should follow. Therefore, we find it interesting to understand how children and adolescents problem behavior is expressed, produced or concretized in judgments relating to compulsory care.  The purpose of the study is to investigate how a child’s or young person’s problem behaviors and protection needs are constructed in judgments relating to 3 § of the care of young people (special provision) act (LVU). In order to answer the purpose of the study the following questions should be asked; what problem behaviors and protection needs are constructed in judgments relating to care under 3 § of the LVU? A qualitative approach has been used to answer the study’s purpose and questions. The empirical study consists of 33 court judgments between 2012 and 2017 from one specific municipality. The theoretical basis of the study is social constructionism and thematic analysis is used as an analytical tool. The study is analyzed on the basis of social constructivist theory and supported by research from, to name a few, Johanna Schiratzki, Anna Hollander, Astrid Schlytter, Lina Ponnert, Pernilla Leviner and Titti Mattsson.  The results of the study indicate that the problem behavior and protection needs of children and young people are constructed through the LVU-legislation process and that the social construction begins with the Social Welfare Committee's LVU investigation and application for care with the support of LVU. The result also shows that law most often approves of the Social Welfare Committee's application compulsory care. In the empirical material of the study, only two applications were rejected. The study's final chapter discusses the conclusions of the study, but also on further research on the construction of children and young people's problem behavior and protection needs.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:46:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 1485.pdf: 755038 bytes, checksum: 5a84bc872080e65cedf4e6a41b5e9bb7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-06-29 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / This study describes the repertoire of social skills and the frequency of externalizing and internalizing behavior problem among children who presented both problem behavior and learning disabilities. The children were evaluated using a variety of measures in social, behavioral and academic domains, using a multiple assessment method (different procedures, instruments and informants) as former reserch points out to a positive bias between children self-evaluation and teacher evaluation. The objectives of this investigation were: (1) characterize the social skills repertorie of children with comorbity of problem behaviors and learning disabilities; (2) characterize the frequency of externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors among these children; (3) compare The social skills self-evaluation to teacher s evaluation; (4) comparing results obtained using two differents instruments for social skills evaluation; (5) Identify the children s special needs, related to the frequency of externalizing and internalizing behavior problem and to deficits in their social skills repertorie. Paticipants were 50 children, 9 to 12 years of age, in the third on fourth grade classes of five elementary public schools, and their teachers, in a small city in the state of São Paulo, Brasil. Three instruments the IMHSC-Del-Prette (Del Prette & Del Prette, 2005), SSRS-BR (Bandeira, Del Prette, Del Prette & Magalhães, s.d.) and TDE (Stein, 1994)-were used to assess the children s social, behavioral and academic skills. Scores were determined according to instructions in each manual and these data were analysed using descripitive and inferential statistical methods. The results show that these children present deficits in their social skills repertorie, along with high frequency of externalizing and internalizing problems. There were biases between self-evaluation and teacher evaluation. This research concludes that children with comorbity of learning disabilities and problem behavior have special needs that are strongly related to their social and behavioral skills deficits. / Esse estudo caracterizou o repertório de habilidades sociais e a freqüência de problemas de comportamento externalizantes e internalizantes em crianças que apresentam concomitantemente dificuldades de aprendizagem e problemas de comportamento. Para isso foram realizadas avaliações pelas próprias crianças e por seus professores, por meio de dois diferentes instrumentos, baseando-se em uma abordagem multimodal (diferentes procedimentos, instrumentos e informantes), uma vez que pesquisas anteriores indicam presença de vieses positivos entre a avaliação da criança e a de outros significantes. Teve-se como objetivos: (1) Caracterizar o repertório de Habilidades Sociais em crianças indicadas com comorbidade entre dificuldades de aprendizagem e problemas de comportamento; (2) Caracterizar os tipos de problemas de comportamento internalizantes e externalizantes nessas crianças; (3) Comparar auto-avaliação e avaliação do professor sobre as habilidades sociais das crianças; (4) Comparar os resultados obtidos com dois diferentes instrumentos de avaliação de habilidades sociais; (5) Identificar as possíveis necessidades educativas especiais dessas crianças e em função da freqüência de problemas de comportamento internalizantes e externalizantes e dos déficits no repertório de habilidades sociais. Participaram desse trabalho 50 crianças, com idade entre 9 e 12 anos e seus respectivos professores, todos provenientes da terceira e quarta série do Ensino fundamental de cinco escolas públicas de uma cidade do interior do estado de São Paulo. Os instrumentos usados foram: IMHSC-Del-Prette (Del Prette & Del Prette, 2005); SSRS-BR (Bandeira, Del Prette, Del Prette & Magalhães, s.d.); TDE (Stein, 1994). O tratamento dos dados foi feito de acordo com as normas dos respectivos manuais e foram realizadas análises estatísticas descritivas e inferenciais. Os resultados indicaram que as crianças apresentaram diferentes tipos de déficits no repertório de habilidades sociais, aliados à alta freqüência de problemas de comportamento internalizantes e externalizantes. Foram identificados vieses entre autoavaliação e a avaliação do professor. Discute-se que crianças com comorbidade entre dificuldade de aprendizagem e problemas de comportamento apresentam necessidades educativas especiais altamente relacionadas aos déficits em seu repertório social e comportamental.

The diploma thesis focuses on interaction between siblings in pre-school age, with the older sibling being impacted by an autistic spectrum disorder, while the younger sibling has not been diagnosed with the disorder. The theoretical part of the thesis analyses contemporary scientific findings related to this topic. It provides theoretical bases of the autistic spectrum disorder and provides information on the relationship between the siblings. An individual chapter discusses the healthy sibling and its development. The last section of the theoretical part analyses the interaction between the two siblings. Main attention is given to features which infiltrate into the relationship of the siblings and influence it. This part also examines potential methods which are to be used to improve the quality of interaction between the siblings. The empirical part consists of two researches, a quantitative one and the supplementary qualitative research. The goal of the quantitative research was to identify how certain specifics of interaction are impacted by the sincerity of problematic behavior of the sibling diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder. The results proved a significant positive correlation between the sincerity of problematic behavior and the amount of conflicts occurring between the siblings....

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This diploma thesis is focused on individuals placed in a diagnostic institute and their self- concept. The aim was to evaluate and describe their view of themselves, whether they perceive positively or negatively, in which area they evaluate above average and where they move on the edge of below average. We consider the conception of ourselves to be the essence on which it is necessary to work on, build it and try to strengthen it if these individuals are to be corrected and their current behavior changed. The first part of this work clarifies the theoretical concepts related to the issue and the second part includes the research itself to determine the self-concept of individuals placed in a diagnostic institute. The evaluation of self-concept was based on a questionnaire survey (Questionnaire of self- concept of children and adolescents Piers Harris) and analysis of products of mental activity (drawing a tree). The results of the questionnaires show that the respondents from our research sample do not perceive positively, on the contrary, on many scales they show values corresponding to the average, below average to significantly below average. The elements resulting from the analysis of the drawings only highlight and confirm the results of the questionnaires.

This study examined whether the quality of the sibling relationship can alter the negative impact of stress on child well being. Participants were of 311 families (236 two parent families and 75 single parent families) with an adolescent child (M age of child at Time 1 = 11.25, SD = .99, 51% female) who took part in the Flourishing Families Project. Data were assessed using both a multiple time point cross-section and a two wave longitudinal design. Hierarchal linear regression suggested that when assessing the direct effects of sibling on well being, sibling affection is a better predictor of well being, but when assessing indirect effects, sibling conflict is a better predictor. Little evidence was found to support the idea that siblings moderate the impact of stress by buffering or decreasing the negative impact of stress. Results did indicate that sibling conflict was a salient moderator of stress in that conflict exacerbates the already negative impact of stress. Results from this study also suggest that when assessing the buffering or exacerbating impact of siblings, cross-sectional data produces better explanatory power than when these constructs are assessed longitudinally. However a single time point, cross-sectional design does not account for dynamic changes over time in either the sibling relationship, the level of stress or well being. Research designs such as multiple time, point cross-sectional studies or growth curve analyses are recommended.

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This chapter reviews the literature applying health behavior theories to indoor tanning. Few studies have tried to fit full versions of health behavior models to indoor tanning. Theoretical models from the family of theories referred to as the reasoned action approach (e.g., theory of planned behavior, behavioral alternative model, prototype willingness model, etc.) have been most commonly used to study indoor tanning. Results indicate that these models fit indoor tanning data moderately to extremely well. Two lesser known models, problem behavior theory and the terror management health model, have also demonstrated a reasonable fit. Two other common models, the health belief model and social cognitive theory, have never been fully tested with indoor tanning. However, key constructs from these models (e.g., perceived susceptibility and threat, modeling) have been used to understand indoor tanning. Empirical research conducted represents a solid start toward developing strong, comprehensive models of indoor tanning that can guide intervention efforts. This initial work needs to be expanded by conducting longitudinal studies and by including a broader age range in studies because the majority of existing work has focused on young adults. Incorporating findings related to tanning dependency, peer group affiliation, media influences and other constructs into these foundational models will also improve our understanding and ability to develop efficacious interventions to reduce engagement in this health risk behavior.