This study proposes to examine the impact of an adult education course on the attitudes and orientation of child care workers. Therefore, the researcher has confined her discussion of the Iiterature mainly to examples of research and theory developed in the area of adult education.

This research project consisted of three primary objectives: (1) Improve rearing methods for L. lineolaris, (2) Determine if selected behaviors displaying photoperiodicity are under circadian control, and (3) Estimate phase angle shifts of selected circadian rhythms, in an effort to contribute toward the future improvement of current integrated pest management techniques. Improving rearing methods was accomplished in three areas: (1) Estimating the optimal stocking rate to maximize production while maintaining acceptable insect quality as a function of photoperiodic regime, (2) Estimating fecundity at the optimal stocking rate and photoperiodic regime, and (3) Determining the timing of oviposition, mating, feeding and egg hatch, under the optimal stocking rate and photoperiodic regime. The stocking rate maximizing production of females was 8.93 (SE = 2.54) egg packets/rearing container. It was also determined that average female weight significantly declined as stocking rate increased. Therefore, a lower stocking rate of six oviposition packets is recommended as a compromise between productivity and product quality appropriate for many rearing purposes. Fecundity under the optimal stocking rate was also determined. Females produced an average of zero to seven eggs per day over the course of their lifetime, and an average of 83.49 eggs over the course of a single female’s lifespan (SE = 9.4). This is unusually low compared to other studies due to an infection of Nosema spp. in the laboratory colony. Oviposition peaked nine to 12 days after eclosion. Fecundity data can be used by rearers as a measure of fitness, allowing them to gauge the overall vigor of their colony. Oviposition and mating behaviors were determined to be periodic with respect to photoperiod, while feeding and egg hatch were not. Oviposition and mating were also determined to be under circadian control, because they met the four criteria stated by Saunders (2001). No significant phase angle shift occurred between 16:8 and 12:12 LD photoperiods for either behavior. Therefore the calculation of a phase angle shift was not possible. Additionally, the investigation of light intensity effect on peak oviposition showed that L. lineolaris did not respond differently to on/off light signals compared to simulated “dawn/dusk” signals.

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Recently, models of aggressive behavior have begun to appreciate the influence of both psychological and biological predictors of maladaptive behavior. The aim of the current project was to clarify the roles that the noradrenergic system (i.e., norepinephrine metabolite, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenyglycol [MHPG]) and characteristics of the rearing environment play in different expressions of aggression (i.e., hostile and instrumental). It was predicted that higher concentrations of MHPG would be related to increased self-reports of aggressive behavior, especially hostile forms, while expressing aggression during an analog aggression task would lead to decreases in MHPG. It was also predicted that concentrations of MHPG would interact with childhood environment characteristics to predict aggressive behavior in youth. A sample of 68 male youth, aged 7 to 17, were recruited from two agencies in southwest Virginia serving disadvantaged youth. They completed self-report measures on their childhood environment, aggressive and delinquent behaviors, as well as exposure to community violence and negative life events. In addition, youth played a challenging computer game with an alleged "opponent" and lost. Half of the participants were able to retaliate after the game against their "opponent." Salivary MHPG was measured once before and three times after the game. A series of ANOVAs and hierarchical regressions were conducted in order to test the main and interactive effects of punitive childhood experiences and baseline MHPG on aggressive behavior. Findings failed to support the primary predictions; however, results of supplemental analyses showed significant associations of aggression with negative mood, negative family atmosphere, and increased baseline MHPG after controlling for negative family atmosphere. Also, parental punishment and rejection significantly predicted delinquency, and a significant interaction effect indicated that higher recovery concentrations of MHPG placed rejected youth more at risk for engaging in delinquent behavior. Results of the present study help to enhance understanding of the differences in biological and psychological correlates of aggression and delinquency in at-risk youth, and inform prevention and intervention efforts. / Ph. D.

A paper-and-pencil instrument measuring parenting behaviors in hypothetical child rearing Situations was developed, based on Maccoby and Martin’s (1983) fourfold classification of parenting typologies. Maccoby and Martin’s model was expanded and examined from a circumplex perspective; the dimension of warmth/hostility was separated into categories reflecting various degrees of warmth/hostility (over-protective, responsive, hostile, and rejecting). Likewise, the dimension of control was separated into categories reflecting various degrees of control (restrictive, guiding, permissive, and uninvolved). The instrument developed, or the Parent Behaviors Instrument (PBI), consisted of 20 childrearing vignettes describing typical situations that parents of preschoolers might face, followed by four alternative actions that the parent might take in responding to the vignette. The four alternative actions corresponded to each of the four categories of the degrees of parental warmth/hostility and the four categories of the degrees of parental control discussed previously. The Parent Behaviors Instrument was administered to 59 subjects, who were predominantly white and middle class. Reliability and factor analysis were assessed for the instrument. Validity of the instrument was determined by comparing the results obtained on the instrument to the results obtained from administering Emmerich’s (1969) version of the Parent Attitudes Research Instrument (PARI) and to results obtained from in-home observations of parent-child interactions. Results indicated that the reliabilities of the warmth/hostility and control scales of the PBI and were moderate; reliabilities of the eight component subscales tended to be low. Only items belonging to subscales with higher reliabilities had consistent factor loadings. The PBI subscale designed to measure uninvolved parental behaviors was significantly related to the PARI’s authoritarian control scale score. The PBI subscales measuring responsive and guiding parental behaviors were Significantly related to the authoritative style of parenting, assessed through home observations. / Master of Science

M.S.

This one-year longitudinal study was designed to illuminate the direction of the causal arrow between children's perceptions of their mother's behavior and children's attachment style during a period of development that has been relatively neglected in research on attachment - preadolescence. The possibility that children's behavior problems moderate the influence of perceived parenting on attachment, or of attachment on perceived parenting, was also investigated. Participants were an ethnically diverse sample of 407 children (213 girls, 194 boys) who were in the fourth grade at initial testing (M age = 11 years 1 month). Measures included children's perceptions of five maternal behaviors (harassment, overprotectiveness, monitoring, affectionate contact, and reliable support), peer reports of children's behavior problems (internalizing and externalizing), and children's self-perceived attachment styles (preoccupied and avoidant). Contrary to a traditional attachment perspective, there was limited evidence that perceptions of parenting led to change in children's attachment styles. Though children with internalizing problems who perceived their mother as harassing developed preoccupied attachment over time, and children with externalizing problems who perceived their mother as v overprotective developed avoidant attachment over time. However, there was considerable support for the reverse causal hypothesis that children's attachment style influences how they perceive their mother: Preoccupied attachment predicted increasingly favorable perceptions of maternal behavior over time (reduced harassment and increased monitoring), whereas avoidant attachment predicted increasingly unfavorable perceptions of the mother over time (increased harassment, reduced monitoring, reduced affectionate contact, and reduced reliable support). Children's behavior problems moderated a few of these relations. / Overall, results support a "child effects" interpretation of the links between perceived parenting and attachment styles during preadolescence. / by Meenakshi Menon. / Vita. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, FL : 2008 Mode of access: World Wide Web.