No description available.

This project explores the link between exposure to family instability through maternal repartnering and the development of romantic interest and involvement during childhood and preadolescence. Family instability has long reaching consequences, especially for children's well being. Exposure to family instability spills over into children's own lives, implying parents and children's lives are inextricably linked. The actions, experiences, and choices of parents have a direct and measurable impact on children's lives, as evidenced by links between parents' marital lives and their offspring's romantic involvement during adolescence and adulthood. The goal of this project is twofold. First, I build on this literature to explore how maternal repartnering impacts children's romantic interest and involvement. Through various mechanisms such as increased awareness of romance or searching for a substitute in response to maternal repartnering, I expect children's romantic interest and involvement will be associated with maternal repartnering behaviors and attitudes. The second goal of this project explores this association among a sample of children and preadolescents, examining this link during an earlier period in the life course than existing literature. This includes an in depth examination of the characteristics and developmental trajectories of romantic interest and involvement beginning at age five and extending to age 13. Results suggest that romantic interest and involvement emerges during childhood and is associated with both individual and family level characteristics. As children mature, they report substantially greater levels of romantic involvement with each passing year. Changes in romantic involvement correspond to greater social and pubertal development. Children's reports of romantic interest did not show developmental change but were relatively stable over time. There were no consistent effects of maternal repartnering on children's romantic involvement. Children's romantic interest was linked with maternal repartnering attitudes however. Higher levels of maternal focus on repartnering were associated with greater romantic interest among children, suggesting that maternal repartnering does impact children's romantic trajectories. / text

Adolescent delinquency represents a significant threat to the health and future of developing persons. Due to the important implications of adolescent problem behaviors, it is essential that we understand the complex mechanisms in the life and mind of a developing person that may lead to these behavior problems in adolescence. I proposed that early family instability, including residential moves and changes in household composition, would be a primary predictor of adolescent problem behaviors, including risk-taking and externalizing behaviors. This relation was predicted to be mediated by future orientation. When young children are faced with uncertainty, they may develop a shorter-term view of their own life. Therefore, family instability is predicted to influence the developing orientation to the future, which is predicted to be related to problem behaviors in adolescence. Deviant peer association and family routine were predicted to be moderators in the model. The results reveal a significant association between early family instability and adolescent externalizing behavior. This association is significant while controlling for later family instability and other demographic variables, such as socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and child IQ. This indicates that early family instability is directly related to adolescent behavior beyond the effects of continuing instability and other individual factors. Additionally, the level of future orientation was associated with adolescent risk-taking behavior for boys but not for girls. This indicates that for boys, lack of thoughts about one's future is predictive of risky behaviors in adolescence. Early family instability was not significantly related to future orientation, precluding future orientation as a mediator in the relation between early family instability and later problem behaviors. Family routine and peer deviance were not found to be significant moderators in this study. The results of this study indicate the important role family instability plays in adolescent behavior problems. These results demonstrate that experiences in the first five years of a child's life have potentially long-term effects on the individual. Additionally, future orientation appears to be a significant predictor of adolescent risk-taking behavior for boys. As risk-taking behavior may be detrimental to the individual's life and future, it is important to understand factors that predict risk taking. Future studies should examine the development of future orientation and its role in adolescent adjustment. / Psychology

No description available.

Family structure is a widely used independent variable. However, in recent years researchers have questioned its predicting power. They also strive to improve its use. This study drew on Holman's (2001) theoretical model and examined the association between the family structure independent variables (Family Structure, Family Instability, and Parental Romantic Partners) and the outcome variables (Coming to Terms, Self-esteem, Maturity, and Depression). The analysis was conducted with a sample of 3,705 individuals (2,316 females and 1,389 males) randomly selected from the entire population that completed the Relationship Evaluation Questionnaire (RELATE). Results showed that Family Instability was a stronger predictor than Family Structure and Parental Romantic Partners. Among all of the outcome variables, Coming to Terms had the strongest association with each of the independent variables. Implications of the results are discussed.

No description available.

This study was undertaken in order to investigate negative classroom behaviour in schools in Botswana. Recommendations based on the findings of the study were made to the participating schools and interested stakeholders. A qualitative approach was adopted to investigate the research questions in four schools selected for the study. The data collection methods used were observation, document analysis, participant interviews and focus group interviews. Participant and research site confidentiality was ensured and all interviews were transcribed and organised in such a way that the key points pertinent to the study were highlighted. This study provided valuable information for future studies investigating disruptive classroom behaviour and intervention methods. / Educational Foundations / M. Ed. (Socio-Education)

This study was undertaken in order to investigate negative classroom behaviour in schools in Botswana. Recommendations based on the findings of the study were made to the participating schools and interested stakeholders. A qualitative approach was adopted to investigate the research questions in four schools selected for the study. The data collection methods used were observation, document analysis, participant interviews and focus group interviews. Participant and research site confidentiality was ensured and all interviews were transcribed and organised in such a way that the key points pertinent to the study were highlighted. This study provided valuable information for future studies investigating disruptive classroom behaviour and intervention methods. / Educational Foundations / M. Ed. (Socio-Education)