Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2006. / Title from title screen. Mary P. Deming, committee chair; Asa G. Hilliard III, Mary Ariail, committee members. Electronic text (167 p. ) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Apr. 22, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 129-134).

none

none

Thesis (M. Ed.)--Lancaster Bible College, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-66).

Thesis (Ph. D.) in Psychology--University of Maine, 2002. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 146-170).

Improving treatment for early adolescent girls with depression by understanding factors that promote the maintenance of treatment effects is an important area of research given the association of depression with functional impairment and negative future outcomes. The effectiveness of CBT for treating depressed youth in the short-term has been well-established. However, limited research exists on the impact of CBT beyond one year post-treatment and on factors that enhance treatment maintenance for children and adolescents with depression. An intervention strategy that may yield the maintenance of treatment effects is the inclusion of primary caregivers. However, there is presently insufficient evidence to ascertain whether including primary caregivers in girls’ depression treatment produces additional benefits because they have rarely been incorporated into clinical trials of depression treatment for youth. This approach warrants study since families of depressed youngsters are often characterized by disturbances in family functioning and because aspects of the family environment are related to the development and maintenance of depressive disorders in youth. The current study addressed gaps in the existing literature about the maintenance of treatment effects for girls with depression by examining the impact of a parent training (PT) component added to a school-based, group-administered CBT intervention on girls’ depressive symptoms and key areas of family functioning (i.e., conflict, cohesion, communication, and family sociability). Participants included 9- to 14-year-old girls with a depressive disorder, one primary caregiver for each girl who completed measures, and caregivers in the parental treatment component. Girls were randomly assigned to a CBT, CBT+PT, or minimal contact control condition. Ratings of girls’ depressive symptoms and the family functioning variables were obtained from girls and primary caregivers at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and annually for up to four years following treatment. Results from growth curve modeling using hierarchical linear models indicated no significant differences in rate of change of girls’ depressive symptoms over time depending on whether they were in the CBT or CBT+PT condition. However, subsequent analyses revealed two significant factors associated with treatment maintenance: child attendance at CBT meetings and parental attendance at PT meetings. Specifically, higher rates of child and parental attendance were generally predictive of a sustained decline in girls’ depressive symptoms over time. In addition, findings supported the positive impact of CBT with PT on aspects of the family environment from pre- to post-treatment, but not from post-treatment through the four years of follow-up assessment. Implications, limitations, and recommendations for further areas of research are discussed. / text

No description available.

This study explores the impact of sport on the lives of 15-19 year old female participants in the Physically Active Youth program in Namibia by examining how they reinforce or resist dominant gender discourses in their lives through their reflections and conversations on sport and by highlighting discourses of agency that emerge from their perceptions of the role sport may play in their economic and educational futures and their own personal growth and development through sport. In the struggle to resist multiple oppressions within intersecting frameworks of race, gender, class, and age, this exploration of girls’ reflections on sports reveals the normalization of dominant discourses of gender and heterosexism through sport, but also evidence of emerging critical consciousnesses and questioning of the broader processes influencing girls’ participation in sport.

The physical and social environments of a neighbourhood can cause and/or reduce stress for residents. However, we know relatively little about the neighbourhood-level stressors and stress-relievers experienced by adolescents, and in particular adolescent girls. This study explores how adolescent girls (15-17 years) living in one neighbourhood in Halifax, Nova Scotia perceive key characteristics of their neighbourhood’s environments as affecting and/or reducing their stress. Using a qualitative methodology, data were collected from eight participants using face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Photo elicitation technique was also used for data collection. A key finding of this research was that participants experience a strong ‘sense of community’ within their neighbourhood that makes a significant contribution to their stress relief. At the same time, participants reported a number of neighbourhood-level forces that are threatening this sense of community including violence, conflicts, and stigma. This study demonstrates the complexity of the relationship between neighbourhood-level characteristics and residents’ stress.

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to better understand the relationship between physical activity and academic achievement of girls in grades three to seven participating in a community-based physical activity program. Seventeen of eighteen possible participants were involved in this study. Findings revealed that there was no relationship found between the intensity, duration, and frequency of physical activity and English grades. There was also no relationship between the intensity, duration, and frequency of physical activity and mathematics grades. Parents were found to be the largest influence on girls’ physical activity behaviours. This study contributed to health promotion research by building upon findings from past projects that have found no significant negative relationship to exist between physical activity and academic achievement. Future research may want to focus on providing interventions at the family level to support parents’ and girls’ participation in physical activity.