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<p>Children are commonly prescribed fluoxetine to manage their depressive symptoms, although evidence suggests many fail to respond to this treatment. Recently, low doses of ketamine were shown to work as a fast-acting and long-lasting antidepressant, however, it is unclear what the long-term effects are of using ketamine in pediatric populations. Thus, this thesis examined whether early-life exposure to ketamine influences the rewarding effects of nicotine in male and female adolescent Sprague- Dawley rats using conditioned place preference. Rats were pretreated with ketamine (0.0 or 20.0 mg/kg) from postnatal day (PD) 21-30 and then assessed for nicotine (0.0, 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, or 0.6 mg/kg) preference during adolescence (PD 32-42). Results indicate that female adolescent rats find nicotine to be more rewarding than male rats, however ketamine pretreatment did not affect nicotine?s effects. These findings suggest that ketamine as an antidepressant in children and adolescents may not produce adverse increases in nicotine reward.

<p> Viewing motivation to volunteer through an attachment theory perspective may enhance understanding of volunteering motivations. A questionnaire was administered to (N=155) emerging adult college students using a Lykert-type scale (1 - 7) to assess attachment (Bartholomew &amp; Horowitz, 1991) and motivation to volunteer (Omoto &amp; Snyder, 1994). Five forward linear regression analyses were conducted to identify significant predictors of attachment style on motivation to volunteer. For each analysis, one of the five motivations to volunteer variables (values, understanding, esteem enhancement, personal development, community concern) was regressed on the combination of four attachment style variables (secure, avoidant, anxious ambivalent, dismissing avoidant). Findings indicate that Secure significantly predicted Values, Understanding, and Community Concern; Anxious Ambivalent predicted Understanding, Personal Development, Community Concern, and Esteem Enhancement; and Dismissing Avoidant predicted Understanding. These findings partially support the hypothesized notion that securely individuals would likely report selfless motivations; whereas, insecure individuals would likely report self-serving motivations. </p>

In order to break the cycle of poverty for disadvantaged children through early intervention, a counseling component is needed. As perceived by parents and teachers, counseling services would reduce the long-range damaging effects caused by social problems such as crime, violence, and drugs. This study attempted to determine the counseling needs of three- to five-year-old educationally disadvantaged children. The research method was descriptive and used a questionnaire. The survey questionnaire was administered to a sample of 22 parents and 22 teachers at a Head Start facility. Survey respondents were 44 African-American subjects: 1 male and 43 female teachers in Atlanta, Georgia. In conclusion, a counseling model was proposed to implement subsequent results of this study.

<p> Using a meaning making lens and a qualitative methodology, this dissertation study sought to explore transformative meaning making and implicit beliefs of parenting among a sample of 40 adolescent mothers participating in a home visiting program during their transition to parenthood. Given the high attrition rate for interventions serving adolescent moms, the study also explored the alignments between meaning making and home visiting program participation. Through iterative coding and theme analysis, this investigation revealed that participants&rsquo; beliefs about parenting evolve as they transition from pregnancy to parenting. They engage in meaning making throughout the process, which leads to scripts of change in three areas: improvements in relationships, changes in life outlook, and changes to self. Two groups emerged on either end of the spectrum of meaning making. High meaning-making <i> transformers</i> tended to remain actively enrolled in the intervention while the low meaning-making <i>remainers</i> all dropped out by the second year. An analysis of implicit beliefs about parenting, or meta-parenting mindset, identified three groups of participants: <i>fixed theorists, </i> <i>incremental theorists,</i> and <i>mixed theorists. </i> Fixed theorists, who believed parenting ability was natural or instinctual, had a lower retention rate in the program (14%) than the overall rate of the sample (42%) even after controlling for participants who moved away. Incremental theorists, who attributed their parenting abilities to gradual growth and learning, had a 50% retention rate and also represented just 6.6% of those receiving a low number of visits and 66.6% of those who had high rates of home visits.</p>

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Two groups of 5- to 8-year-olds, and a comparison sample of adults, were examined in an effort to explore the developing relationships between false belief understanding and an awareness of the individualized nature of personal taste, on the one hand, and, on the other, a maturing grasp of the interpretive character of the knowing process. In Study 1,20 children between 5 and 8, and in Study Two, a group of 15 adults, all behaved in accordance with hypotheses by proving to be indistinguishable in their good grasp of the possibility of false beliefs, and in their common assumption that differences of opinion concerning matters of taste are legitimate expressions of personal preferences. By contrast, only the 7- and 8-year-old children and adults gave evidence of recognizing that ambiguous stimuli allow for warrantable differences of interpretation. Study 3 replicated and extended these findings with a group of 48 5- to 8-year-old subjects, again showing that while 5-year-olds easily pass a standard test of false belief understanding, only children of 7 or 8 ordinarily evidence an appreciation of the interpretative character of the knowing process.

<p> Despite plentiful research on the physical, psychological, and emotional demands on adult child caregivers, there are few studies that highlight developmental issues in the adult child/dependent parent dyad. This study was designed to highlight the dependency factor in this dyad, thus addressing the gap in the literature. With family systems theory, attachment theory, and role conceptualizations constituting the bases for the study, research questions addressed how adult child caregivers experience parental dependency and how dependency affects the caregiving/care-receiving dynamic. Ten volunteer participants were interviewed, and the results were analyzed using a variation of the van Kaam method of data analysis in which themes emerged from qualitative phenomenological data. Results of this study revealed 6 main themes; in descending order of the number of participants endorsing each, the themes were as follows: caregivers did not receive enough help from family/friends (n = 10), caregiving evolved on its own (n = 8), expectations changed (n = 8), roles changed (n = 8), dementia caused changes (n = 7), and new relationship provided benefits (n = 5). The first 2 themes indicated the ways in which adult child caregivers experience parental dependency. The remaining 4 themes illuminated participant-reported changes following the addition of dependency to the adult child/parent dynamic. Findings from this study can influence social change by promoting appropriate support interventions that support the physical and mental health of the caregiver population.</p>