The overall purpose of this study was to investigate the child's perspective on the free play in the youth recreation center. The closer intention of the study has been to investigate what children themselves express as meaningful aspects of free play in the youth recreation center and what various opportunities children highlight when it comes to identity formation and social training in the free play. To answer the purpose three focus groups discussions were conducted with children of mixed ages from grade one to three. The results of the study were analyzed from a symbolic interactionist perspective. Meaningful aspects of free play that the children were describing is that the free play is fun, it's good because then they decide for themselves, they can be with their "friends" and it's good that they get moving. A social skill they get to practice on is to negotiate with each other about what game they are playing, the hearing takes place primarily through various voting methods. The children also develop empathy in free play and create and maintain social relationships. Furthermore, the study shows that choice of game is an important part of the children's identity process. Finally, an important conclusion of the study is that free play is as important as other guided activities in the youth recreation center.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

published_or_final_version / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

College environments can pose both academic and social challenges for students with disabilities. For teachers and parents of children with Aspergerâ??s syndrome (AS) and high functioning autism (HFA), these challenges include communication, behavioral, and social difficulties that can hinder their attainment of educational objectives. Limited research has been conducted regarding postsecondary outcomes of elementary and secondary public school interventions provided to these students. This case study gathered information from postsecondary students with AS and HFA regarding their experiences of public school social skills interventions and their perceived impact on current social and academic outcomes. Findings were interpreted using critical theory (CT) and critical disability theory (CDT) approaches, which suggested an advocacy perspective and provided the participants a â??voiceâ?? to express their lived experiences, offering an opportunity for others to learn from these experiences. Participants included a sample of 12 young adults with HFA and AS currently enrolled in postsecondary educational settings who were recruited through college/university disability services offices, school districts, and support groups. Interview data were examined in order to glean descriptions of the participantsâ?? social experiences and determine emergent social and academic themes among cases. Study findings indicated a need for improved guidance and education in the area of social skills for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and proposed avenues for positive social change by providing educators, parents, and advocates information to support the development of improved social supports and more effective outcomes for students with ASD.

Both contextual risk and sensitive parenting have been associated with children’s social skills in early childhood (Brody, Stoneman, Smith & Gibson, 1999; Connell & Prinz, 2002; Oravecz, Koblinsky & Randolph, 2008, Trentacosta, 2008). However, it is not clear how sensitive parenting might impact children’s social skill development in the context of accumulation of risk. The current study tests two possible models. The first model, based on Rutters’ (1979) tests the theory that cumulative risk may moderate the relationship between sensitive parenting and social skills. The second model based on The Family Stress model (Conger, Conger, Elder, Lorenz, Simons & Whitbeck, 1992) tests the theory that sensitive parenting mediates the relationship between accumulation of risk and children’s social skills. The results supported the first model indicating that cumulative risk moderated the relationship between sensitive parenting and children’s social skills. When risk accumulated, there was a relationship between sensitive parenting and social skills where the highest level of sensitive parenting was associated with the highest level of social skills.

Thesis advisor: Jacqueline V. Lerner / The current study examines the development of social skills in delinquent adolescents in the context of the care they receive in a residential treatment facility (RTF). Reviews of prevention and intervention programs for delinquency have provided support for parent training and child social skills training as the most promising approaches to treatment. However, for adolescents in an RTF, their primary parental figures have become the care workers with whom they are placed. Based on their caregiving behaviors, these workers could provide an environment that counteracts or exacerbates the effects of the residents' prior experiences. Therefore, three major factors that may influence the social skills outcomes of adjudicated youth will be examined: (1) the prior effect of family life, (2) the current effect of youth workers, and (3) the possible interaction between (1) and (2). Using a sample of 82 delinquent adolescents (aged 13-18 years old at entry) and 41 of their caregivers from a RTF, OLS regression models indicate that several factors at the individual level and in the treatment milieu are important to consider when addressing social skills development for delinquent youth. At the individual level, adolescents identified as early-onset delinquents entered treatment with lower social skills, but also experienced the greatest improvement in these skills while in treatment. In addition, older youth and youth from larger households entered treatment with higher levels of initial social skills on average. When considering the behaviors of care workers, two caregiving measures were surprisingly associated with positive social skills growth - caregiver psychological control and attributions of internality and controllability. The unexpected relationships between caregiving and positive development are discussed with an emphasis on the unique characteristics and context of the present sample. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology.

Objetivo: Verificar a influência da realização da faringoplastia nos aspectos psicossociais dos indivíduos com fissura labiopalatina. Local: setor de Psicologia do HRAC/USP. Participantes: 13 pacientes, de ambos os gêneros, com idades a partir de 15 anos, com indicação cirúrgica para a faringoplastia Material: Entrevistas Psicológicas Pré e Pós-Cirúrgicas e o Inventário de Habilidades Sociais (IHS - Del Prette 2001) Procedimento: O paciente foi convidado a participar do estudo, respondendo a Entrevista Psicológica Pré-Cirúrgica e o Inventário de Habilidades Sociais. Transcorrido o período de três meses a um ano após a realização da cirurgia, o mesmo paciente respondeu à Entrevista Psicológica Pós-Cirúrgica e novamente ao Inventário de Habilidades Sociais. Resultados: Após a realização da cirurgia, a freqüência em fonoterapia aumentou e houve melhora na ressonância e inteligibilidade da fala. A avaliação da fala foi mais positiva e a melhora da fala com a realização da faringoplastia interferiu de forma positiva sobre os aspectos psicossociais. Os pacientes tinham conhecimento sobre a cirurgia e sabiam para que ela servia, deixando a decisão de sua realização para o profissional do hospital. A expectativa foi de melhora da fala e foi verificado um alto índice de satisfação com o resultado da cirurgia. Os pacientes relataram mais melhoras no aspecto pessoal e profissional e colocaram o surgimento de complicações respiratórias. As habilidades sociais relativas ao escore total melhoraram. Conclusão: A faringoplastia tem influência positiva sobre os aspectos psicossociais de indivíduos com fissura labiopalatina. / Objective: To verify the influence of the pharyngoplasty accomplishment in the psychosocial aspects of the individuals with cleft lip and/or palate. Place: Psychology sector of the HRAC/USP Participants: 13 patients, of both sex, with ages from 15 years or older, surgical indication for the haryngoplasty. Material: Psychological Interviews Before and After Surgery and the Inventory of Social Skills (IHS - Del Prette 2001). Procedure: The patient was invited to participate of the study, answering the Psychological Interview Before Surgery and the Inventory of Social Skills. After a period of three months to one year post surgery, the same patient answered to the Psychological Interview After Surgery and again to the Inventory of Social Skills. Results: After the surgery, the frequency in phonotherapy increased and had improvement of the speech resonance and intelligibility. The speech evaluation was more positive and the speech improvement with the pharyngoplasty accomplishment intervened on a positive way of the psychosocial aspects. The patients had knowledge on the surgery and knew that it was usefull, leaving the decision of its accomplishment for the hospital professional. The expectation was of the improvement of speech it was verified a high index of satisfaction with the surgery result. The patients had told more improvements in the personal and professional aspects and also related the appearance of respiratory complications. The social skills relating to the total score had improved. Conclusion: The pharyngoplasty has positive influence on the psychosocial aspects of individuals with cleft lip and/or palate.

The purpose of the current outcome study was to determine the effects of the Ready for Success (RFS) classroom guidance program (Brigman & Webb, 2012) on the social-emotional skills and competence, reading proficiency, and promotion between third-grade students who received the RFS intervention (treatment group; n = 104), and third-grade students who did not receive the intervention (comparison group; n=91). Following training in the manualized RFS curriculum, certified school counselors in the treatment group implemented five, weekly, 30-minute lessons followed by three monthly booster lessons. This study followed a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent group design. The study employed a teacher report measure of social-emotional skills and competence (i.e., Devereux Student Strengths Assessment) and a standardized formative assessment of reading proficiency (i.e., Reading Running Record). Furthermore, retention data was provided by the participating school district’s data source. Statistical significance between the groups was measured by a series of MANCOVA analyses and a Pearson’s chi-square analysis. A partial eta-squared ηp2 effect size was reported for each dependent variable. The data supported the RFS classroom guidance program as an effective Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) intervention for promoting student social-emotional skill development (i.e. selfawareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making) and overall social-emotional competence (SEC). This study provided support for the use of school counselor-led SEL classroom programs to promote the social-emotional development of students in the school setting. Furthermore, the study further supports the value of school counseling interventions for students in the domain of social-emotional development. Finally, the findings of this study provided empirical support for the RFS classroom guidance program as an effective SEL intervention. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Orientadora: Sandra Regina Gimeniz-Paschoal / Banca: Raul Aragão Martins / Banca: Alessandra Turini Bolsoni Silva / Banca: Ronilson de Souza Luiz / Banca: Sandra Leal Calais / Resumo: Acidentes de trânsito têm elevada ocorrência entre jovens, mas podem ser prevenidos com educação para o trânsito, preconizada para o ensino superior. Estudos que investigam variáveis associadas a esses acidentes podem favorecer a inserção curricular da temática, especialmente em cursos das áreas de humanas e de saúde. Este estudo descritivo compara e investiga a relação entre habilidades sociais, comportamento no trânsito e bebida alcoólica em universitárias, diferenciadas por tipo de faculdade, características de curso, envolvimento em acidentes de trânsito e variáveis sociodemográficas. Aplicaram-se, em sala de aula, três questionários (Questionário do Comportamento do Motorista-QCM, Questionário de Avaliação de Habilidades Sociais - Comportamentos e Contextos para Universitários - QHC-Universitários e Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test - AUDIT) em 472 universitárias dos cursos de Fonoaudiologia e de Pedagogia em duas faculdades, uma pública e outra particular. Verificaram-se: médias significativamente maiores de comportamentos de erros (17,00), lapsos (21,20) e violações (22,39) entre universitárias que faziam uso de álcool em relação às que não faziam (16,02/19,24/19,66); médias maiores em habilidades sociais em usuárias de álcool (2,24) em relação às não usuárias (1,70) quanto ao "falar em público", em alunas matriculadas na faculdade pública (49,23) e estudantes de Pedagogia (48,67); médias significativamente maiores quanto ao uso de álcool, entre alunas da Fonoaudiologia (4,99) em relação à Pedagogia (2,59); correlação positiva do uso de bebida alcoólica com o comportamento do motorista (p≤0,000) e com as habilidades sociais relacionadas ao falar em público (p≤0,027). Concluiu-se que as graduandas da faculdade pública e do curso de Fonoaudiologia ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Traffic accidents have a high incidence among young people, but can be prevented with traffic education, advocated for higher education. Studies that investigate variables associated with these accidents can promote curricular inclusion of the subject, especially in courses in the humanities and health. This descriptive study compares and investigates the relationship between social skills, behavior in traffic and alcohol in university, differentiated by type of college, course characteristics, involvement in traffic accidents and sociodemographic variables. Were applied in the classroom, three questionnaires (Questionnaire Driver-QCM Behavior Questionnaire Assessment of Social Skills - behaviors and contexts for University - QHC-University and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test - AUDIT) in 472 university students of the courses Speech Therapy and Pedagogy in two colleges, one public and other private. There were: superior means of error behaviors (17,00), lapses (21.20) and rape (22.39) among university that drank alcohol compared with those who did not (16.02 / 19, 24 / 19,66); highest average in social skills in alcohol users (2.24) compared to non-users (1.70) as the "public speaking" in students enrolled in community college (49.23) and pedagogy students (48, 67); superior means as the use of alcohol among students of Speech Therapy (4.99) in relation to Education (2.59); positive correlation between the use of alcohol with driver behavior (p≤0,000) and social skills related to public speaking (p≤0,027). It was concluded that the graduation students of the community college and the course of speech therapy are more alcohol and have more risky behavior in traffic. The survey results can be considered as indicators to enlarge the possibilities of self-protection and prevention of traffic accidents in the study population ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor