Black and Hispanic students in the United States are suspended at a higher rate and lag behind White students academically. This project study examined student achievement and behavior in an alternative to suspension (ATS) program at a Midwest U.S. high school. The purpose of this mixed methods, concurrent embedded strategy study was to determine if participation in the ATS program decreased disciplinary referrals and improved student performance. This study was guided by social control theory, which suggests that when students are disengaged in the school environment, student/teacher and peer relationships are damaged and students turn toward delinquent behavior. The study sample included 22 students who were referred to the program in 2012-2013, 12 of whom attended the ATS program and 10 (the control) who did not. Quantitative data were analyzed through chi-square analysis, nonparametric Mann-Whitney U and independent t test, and qualitative data were analyzed for emerging themes. The quantitative results showed no significant relationships between student participation in the ATS program, the number of referrals received, and academic performance, and no significant difference in referrals by ethnicity. The qualitative analysis showed six themes describing the program's structural aspects: program structure, goals and vision, parental involvement, staff support, student gains in behavioral and social skills, and collaborative elements. A curriculum plan was created to proactively support 9th graders as they enter high school. These results and the curriculum plan promote positive social change by informing school personnel of the benefits of being proactive in addressing student achievement and discipline through support programs and other interventions, increasing the graduation rate and reducing the current school-to-prison pipeline.

<p> </p><p>Becoming an adoptive parent is not always easy. There are positive and negative factors affecting the parent’s experience. The aim of this study is to examine being an adoptive parent to an internationally adopted child based on association, parenthood and ethnic belonging. Frame of interpretation consists of attachment and separations, parenthood and family and ethnic origin and belonging. In order to fulfil the purpose of the study qualitative interviews were made. The selection consisted of six adoptive families that were separately interviewed, one occasion each. The result indicated that some families did not experience any specific difficulties in their parenting whereas other families did. The experiences differed between those who had adopted an older child and those who had adopted a younger child. Association was considered a long and time consuming process. The parents did not consider it to be anything special about being and adoptive parent but they mentioned that the child at the homecoming displayed symptoms from having gone through an adoption. The reaction from the surroundings had not affected the families to any extent worth mentioning but they still expressed that the child’s appearance was important as they wished the child to be similar looking. The conclusion is therefore that it is something special about being an adoptive parent.</p><p> </p>

Becoming an adoptive parent is not always easy. There are positive and negative factors affecting the parent’s experience. The aim of this study is to examine being an adoptive parent to an internationally adopted child based on association, parenthood and ethnic belonging. Frame of interpretation consists of attachment and separations, parenthood and family and ethnic origin and belonging. In order to fulfil the purpose of the study qualitative interviews were made. The selection consisted of six adoptive families that were separately interviewed, one occasion each. The result indicated that some families did not experience any specific difficulties in their parenting whereas other families did. The experiences differed between those who had adopted an older child and those who had adopted a younger child. Association was considered a long and time consuming process. The parents did not consider it to be anything special about being and adoptive parent but they mentioned that the child at the homecoming displayed symptoms from having gone through an adoption. The reaction from the surroundings had not affected the families to any extent worth mentioning but they still expressed that the child’s appearance was important as they wished the child to be similar looking. The conclusion is therefore that it is something special about being an adoptive parent.

Adolescence is characterized as the transition period from childhood to adulthood and healthy adjustment invokes internal and external resources. The individual resources consist of the regulatory abilities, which are influenced by emotional family context. Emotional family context includes factors such as parenting, attachment quality to parents, and the level of marital conflict between parents. However, these three research areas have relatively remained separate from each other and the period of adolescence is mostly neglected in longitudinal research. In order to partially fill in this gap, both cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between proximal family contextual factors, regulatory abilities and psychosocial adjustment of the adolescents were examined by collecting data from first and second grade students of two high schools (N = 426), their teachers (N = 353), and parents (N = 187 for mothers, N = 175 for fathers). In line with the propositions of the Attachment (Bowlby, 1969 / 1973) and Self-Determination Theories (SDT / Deci &amp / Ryan, 1985), and the frameworks within marital conflict literature (Davies &amp / Cummings, 1994 / Grych &amp / Fincham, 1990), it was anticipated that parental warmth, behavioral control, and secure attachment to both parents would influence regulatory capacities of the adolescents positively, and healthy regulation processes would be related to successful psychosocial adjustment of the adolescents. On the other hand, parental rejection, comparing adolescents with others, psychological control, and marital conflict would predict low levels of regulatory abilities, and in turn, they would be associated with poor psychosocial adjustment. Similarly, the longitudinal effects of marital conflict on parenting and the effects of attachment quality to parents on regulatory development of the adolescents were also examined. Participants completed multiple measures of the major variables in the study. The structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses were used to test the proposed mediated models. The findings of the study mostly supported the direct effects of emotional family context on regulatory abilities of the adolescents, their problem behaviors, and the quality of the relationships with their peers. The results were generally consistent with the previous research in the Western cultures. Positive emotional family context variables were related with the healthy development, whereas negative ones were related with poor developmental outcomes. The results of covariance analyses also showed that attachment strength to parents and the quality of peer relationships were related with healthy regulatory processes of the adolescents. The longitudinal SEM analyses showed that externalization problems of the adolescents, which were associated with the marital conflict between parents, predicted higher levels of negative parenting in the long run. Additionally, secure attachment to parents predicted high levels of positive and low levels of negative parenting, all of which were associated with adolescents&rsquo / high levels of positive regulatory capacities. This study contributed to the understanding of the effects of emotional family context on adolescent optimal development through time and showed that for a healthy adjustment, high-quality close relationships both with the family and the peers were required.

Studier som undersöker hemlösa människors upplevelser med annat fokus än det elände de befinner sig i kan bidra med förståelse och kunskap som behövs för att kunna hjälpa de sämst ställda. Det salutogena begreppet känsla av sammanhang (KASAM) hos försäljare av Situation Sthlm, en grupp hemlösa, före detta hemlösa och socialt utsatta människor, är inte tidigare känt och syftet med den här studien är att kvantitativt undersöka var på KASAM-13 skalan försäljare av Situation Sthlm befinner sig och kvalitativt att beskriva hur fyra individer ur urvalet upplever och beskriver sin känsla av sammanhang.   Slutsatser av studien kan sammanfattas i att levnadsvillkor påverkar en persons känsla av sammanhang, att försäljare av Situation Sthlm har KASAM-värden (54,67 p.) långt från medelvärdet i en befolkningsundersökning (70.83 p.) och att en låg skattning på KASAM Livsfrågeformulär (under medelvärdet 54,67) inte behöver betyda att en person inte upplever känsla av sammanhang i sitt liv och omvänt, en hög skattning (över medelvärdet 54,67 p.) inom undersöknings-gruppen försäljare av Situation Sthlm av KASAM behöver inte betyda att en person upplever känsla av sammanhang. / Studies examining homeless people's experiences with different focus than the misery they are in can help with understanding and knowledge needed to help people in need. The salutogenetic concept sense of coherence (SOC) of vendors of Situation Sthlm, a group homeless, formerly homeless and socially vulnerable people, is not known and the purpose of this study is to quantitatively examine where on the SOC-13 scale vendors of Situation Stockholm is placed and qualitatively to describe how four individuals from the sample perceive and describe their sense of coherence.  Conclusions from the study can be summarized in that living conditions affect a person's sense of coherence, that vendors of Situation Sthlm has SOC-values (54,67 p.) far from the mean in a population survey (70,83 p.) and that a low score (below 54,67 p) of the SOC Life Questionnaire does not necessarily mean that a person does not experience a sense of coherence in life and conversely, a high SOC-score (above 54,67 p.) within the study  group vendors of Situation Sthlm  does not mean that a person experience sense of coherence.

Individuals who have experienced child maltreatment (CM) are at an increased risk for future interpersonal difficulties and violence in their romantic relationships. While positive connections with mentors have been shown to contribute to resilience among at-risk youth, the role of mentors in promoting positive romantic relationships among those with CM histories has not been previously examined. In this study, young adult women (N = 267; 18-25 years of age) who were in a romantic relationship at the time of the study completed a computerized questionnaire exploring CM, romantic relationship functioning, and mentoring relationships. Almost half of the women had a current or past mentoring relationship (n = 132). This study explored the associations between CM and romantic relationship qualities (i.e., levels of social support, negative interactions, relationship violence, and distribution of power), and examined whether having a mentor would be particularly helpful for women with a history of CM. Maltreatment experiences examined were child psychological maltreatment (CPM; 21%, n = 55), child physical abuse (CPA; 9%, n = 24), witnessing domestic violence (WDV; 16%, n = 43), and child sexual abuse (CSA; 11%, n = 29). Results showed that women who experienced higher levels of CPM and CPA, particularly by fathers, were more likely to report higher levels of psychological maltreatment and physical violence in their current romantic relationships compared to women with lower levels of CPM and CPA. Women who indicated a lack of emotional support (ES) from their parents reported higher levels of negative interactions in their romantic relationships. However, women with higher levels of ES from their fathers reported higher levels of social support in their romantic relationships. When these factors were accounted for in regression analyses, psychological and physical maltreatment experiences by fathers predicted levels of psychological and physical maltreatment in women’s romantic relationships. As well, higher personal levels of power in their romantic relationships were found among women with higher levels of WDV. Further, ethnicity, the participants’ age, relationship status (e.g., dating, common-law/married), and parental divorce emerged as important socio-demographic factors in relation to child maltreatment and relationship functioning. There was support for the role of mentors as a protective factor among women who had experienced physical abuse by their fathers. Mentoring characteristics such as duration of the mentoring relationship and attachment to the mentor were related to CM experiences and romantic relationship functioning. This study calls attention to the need for greater awareness of the link between CM and romantic relationship difficulties in young adulthood, as well as the role of positive mentoring relationships as a protective factor for those with a history of CM. Results from this study may benefit psychologists and others in similar professions who assist those who have experienced CM and who are at risk for interpersonal difficulties, and may help those already experiencing relationship difficulties. Additional implications include a need for better identification of youth who are at-risk for relationship violence and for the implementation of violence prevention programs in schools. Given the important role of mentors demonstrated by this study, there is also a need for further research regarding mentors and for greater support of mentoring programs.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka elva förskollärares uppfattning och förhållningssätt i relation till betydelsen om barns anknytningsprocess. Tillvägagångssättet har varit att utföra semistrukturerade intervjuer som sedan transkriberats och slutligen analyserats med utgångspunkt i följande fyra frågeställningar: Hur uppfattar förskollärare betydelsen av anknytning ur ett barnperspektiv och vad grundar de dessa tankegångar på? Hur uppfattar förskollärare sin roll som anknytningsperson i förskolan? Hur tolkar förskollärare förskolans läroplan utifrån ett anknytningsperspektiv? Hur är förskollärares uppfattning om anknytningens betydelse för barnets utveckling och lärande?  Resultat från analysen visar att förskollärare innehar både erfarenhet och förståelse för att anknytning är av stor vikt för barns utveckling, lärande och kunskapsinhämtning. Förskollärare beskriver även att de har en betydande roll för barnet i förskolan som kompletterande anknytningsperson. De upplever dock svårigheter med att lyckas knyta an till alla barn samt bemöta alla barns behov, speciellt under en inskolningsperiod. / The purpose of this study is to investigate eleven preschool teacher’s perceptions and approaches in relation to the meaning of children’s attachment process. We did semi structured interviews that we thereafter transcribed and analyzed based on these four issues: How do preschool teachers understand the preschool introduction process from a child’s perspective? What are their thoughts based on? How do preschool teachers understand the role as the key person at the preschool? How do preschool teachers interpret the preschool curriculum based on an attachment perspective? How do preschool teachers perceive the importance of attachment regarding the children’s development?  The results from the analysis show that preschool teachers have both experience and understanding on how attachment is important for the child’s development, learning and knowledge acquisition. Preschool teachers describe that they have a significant role as a complementary attachment person, but they do experience difficulties attaching to each and every child, especially during the preschool introduction period.

No description available.

The aim of this study is to examine how different factors affect the social worker's room for maneuver in relation to the case of home return request and the LVU process. Furthermore, the purpose is to examine how the social workers experience that the children are affected during home returns and what kind of effects it has on the children's attachment. The questions that have permeated our work are: What does the social worker's room for maneuver look like in relation to the case of home return request? and which factors do social workers believe affect the children's attachment to a home return request? The questions have been answered with the help of semi - structured interviews with five social workers from family home care. The results of the study have been analyzed with the help of previous research, Lipsky's theory, “Street level Bureaucracy” and Bowlby's attachment theory. The conclusion of the study has shown that the social workers' room of maneuver are complex but that the social workers have to some extent freedom of action. The room for maneuver is made possible and hindered by laws, guidelines and frameworks that exist in the organization. Furthermore, the conclusion showed that children's development can be affected when a home request becomes relevant, as the child both has a connection to the family home and their biological family. These attachment patterns that the child creates in turn create whether the child will develop healthily or not.

Death is a drastic event in one’s life. Through grief, mourning and bereavement, people heal the hurt of their loss of a loved one. Little research exists on bereavement in Black transitional societies of South Africa. As such, the objective of this study was to explore how widows in South African transitional societies, whose husbands have died of terminal illnesses, experience bereavement, and how they cognitively process and cope with the loss. The Participants’ bereavement process was defined as starting when they become aware of their husbands’ anticipated death (anticipatory bereavement). Unstructured and structured interviews were conducted with 10 widows from the community under study and a thematic analysis was performed on the data. Five themes emerged concerning the Participants’ personal characteristics, their challenges and how they dealt with them, their experiences of stressors, and coping. Although the Participants responded to the news of the deaths of their husbands in a similar manner, there were differences in other responses, reflecting individual differences in coping strategies. Some Participants seemed more adaptive, with greater openness and flexibility in social cognition and greater problem-focused coping, while others showed more negative emotions in social interaction, greater loneliness, and expressed relatively closed and inflexible social cognition. However, positive or negative responses and coping did not necessarily determine whether bereavement would be functional or dysfunctional. It was found that the Participants’ anticipatory bereavement did not ease or shorten their sense or period of bereavement after their husband’s death. A model of the cognitive-affective-motivational-behavioural network of bereavement was developed, taking into account the role of culture and how each Participant’s cognition, affect, and the kind of attachment to their husbands motivated their behaviours in particular ways in coping effectively or ineffectively with their bereavement. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Psychology / unrestricted