Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

The present study examined the relations among maternal psychological control, maternal acceptance, maternal acculturation and youth anxiety within the framework of a (partially) moderated mediation model. The sample consisted of 535 Hispanic-Latino youth (46% girls; M = 9.79 years) and their mothers. The study’s data were analyzed using structural equation modeling in the MPlus statistical software program. Results indicated that maternal psychological control and youth anxiety are significantly and positively related. Results also indicated that more acculturated mothers were more psychologically controlling than less acculturated mothers. Results further provided evidence for a partial mediational role of maternal psychological control on the relation between maternal acculturation and youth anxiety symptoms. In addition, there was a direct, positive relation between maternal acculturation and youth anxiety symptoms. No significant findings were observed regarding the moderating role of maternal acceptance on the relation between maternal psychological control and youth anxiety. The findings’ theoretical and clinical implications are further discussed.

No description available.

Culture has been recognized to play an important role in the formation of parental beliefs, but the question still remains of whether beliefs are maintained or revised over time, and how. The present study examined how proximal influences impacted parental beliefs in an immigrant sample of parents, the thesis being that distal influences have more to do with the formation of parental beliefs while proximal influences have more to do with maintaining or revising them. Effects of the proximal influences of education, occupation status, information networks, and parental agreement about childrearing, on parental beliefs of Mexican-origin fathers and mothers around cultural values of familism/respeto, simpatía, and individualism were tested longitudinally. The research questions were two-fold in nature, looking at within-time effects of the proximal influences on parental beliefs; as well as over-time effects of proximal influences on change in parental beliefs. The within-time questions were answered using hierarchical regression analyses while the over-time questions were answered using repeated measures MANCOVAs. Overall, the beliefs of parents in this study were seen to not change significantly over the course of the three years that they were assessed, and so the study did not yield the results expected in terms of the effects of proximal influences on parental beliefs. However, information networks and fathers' occupation status did emerge as promising proximal influences on parental beliefs, and the results also revealed maternal beliefs to be more responsive to the proximal influences of education, fathers' occupation status, information networks, and parental agreement about childrearing, than paternal beliefs.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Indiana University of Pennsylvania. / Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

The introduction of parental behaviour in naive animals has been studied in several species. Male and female adult Mongolian gerbils, Meriones unguiculatus were singly exposed to protected pups (PP exposures). Exposures lasted for ten minutes, and were carried out each day. Behaviour patterns shown by the adults were recorded, and their frequencies measured. After several PP exposures (3-18), adults were exposed to unprotected pups (UP exposures) in order to detect whether or not the normal aggressive response to pups was still present, or had been overcome and replaced by parental responsiveness. Preliminary experiments showed the aggressive response could be overcome in as little as five ten minute exposures. A variety of parental behaviour patterns were shown by some individuals, suggesting that stages may exist in the process under investigation. Following on from preliminary experiments, the effect of increasing the number of both PP and UP exposures was investigated. Increasing PP and UP exposures increased the percentage of animals responding non-aggressively towards pups. However no increase was seen in the range of parental responses shown. Again, results suggested the development of the parental response was a non-unitary process occurring in stages: first the overcoming of fear of pups or aggression towards pups; second, investigation of the pup; third, the development of parental responsiveness. The role of olfactory and auditory cues from the pups were next investigated. If a pup bore the scent gland sebum of the experimental adult, aggression was overcome more quickly than before. Also, more parental behaviour patterns were shown. If the pup bore the experimental adult's urine, aggression was overcome more quickly than in preliminary experiments, but not as quickly as when the pups bore the adult's sebum. No correlation was found between the rate of ultrasonic calling and the rate of the induction of parental responsiveness. This was thought to be an artefact of the recording procedure, since the source of individual calls was not identified, and the frequency of calls could therefore have been increased due to adults calling. Parental responsiveness appeared to be maintained 2 weeks after its induction, but not 10 weeks after induction. An exception to this was the animals exposed to pups smeared with the experimental adults sebum, who did not appear to maintain responsiveness even up to 2 weeks after induction. Overall twice as many males as females were able to be induced to show parental responsiveness. Males overcame their aggression to pups, and showed parental responsiveness more quickly than females did. Further work arising from the present studies would include a more detailed study of both the influence of ultrasonic calling by pups on the development of parental responsiveness and the quicker development of parental responsiveness found when pups bore an odour familiar to the adults.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.