Human Development & Family Science Masters Theses

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Browsing Human Development & Family Science Masters Theses by browse.metadata.program "Developmental Science"

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    The Effect of Parental Warmth on Girls' Drive for Thinness: Do Both Parents Matter?
    (North Dakota State University, 2016) Jones, Maegan Elizabeth
    Recent research has suggested that both maternal and paternal warmth may play a role in the development of drive for thinness in girls. This study used 115 adolescent girls’ self-reports to examine the impact of the combined effect of parental warmth and pressure to be thin on adolescent girls’ drive for thinness, dependent on whether or not parents had similar or differing levels of warmth. Using path analysis, results suggested that when parents had differing levels of warmth, the relationship between warmth and drive for thinness was fully mediated by pressure to be thin. However, when parents had similar levels of warmth, there was still a direct effect between parental warmth and girls’ drive for thinness, indicating that partial mediation had occurred. These findings indicate that the combined effect of parents who are high in warmth may serve as a protective factor against poor body image in adolescent girls.
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    Links between Sexual Health Content and Teacher Characteristics in North Dakota's Secondary Schools
    (North Dakota State University, 2013) Christensen, Kathrine Rose
    Numerous studies indicate the ineffectiveness of abstinence-only education in preventing teen pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), yet many U.S. schools still rely on abstinence-only programming. North Dakota, the focus of this study, neither prevents nor requires contraception instruction in sexual health education classes, leaving the decision to include contraception instruction and other sexual health information up to the individual schools and teachers. For this study, a survey of sexual health teachers was used to determine the content of sexual health classes, teacher characteristics, and links between the two. Results indicate that teacher beliefs in program efficacy impact what content is included in class, which suggests the need to provide evidenced based training and continuing education for sexual health teachers.
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    A Lion or a Shoe: 17-Month-Olds Observing VS. Acting on an Object in an Object Individuation Task
    (North Dakota State University, 2018) Jellison, Savanna Elizabeth Jean Westrom
    Object individuation, the ability to distinguish an object that is currently perceived from one that was previously perceived, is an important cognitive ability used in everyday life. In the current study, we assessed the influence of self-action on infants’ ability to individuate objects. Using a manual search task, we tested eighteen 17- to 18-month-old infants’ ability to individuate objects. Infants either observed as an experimenter hid an object in a covered bucket or they hid the object themselves. The rationale was that if infants perceived the retrieved object as a distinct object from the one hidden, they would continue searching in the bucket for the yet-to-be-retrieved object. These results indicate that infants successfully individuated only when they were able to hide the object themselves. This outcome provides evidence that, similar to other types of object processing, object individuation is enhanced when infants are given the ability to act on objects.
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    Peer Acceptance and Motivation as Mediators of the Relationships between Students' Social Skills and Academics
    (North Dakota State University, 2021) Carlson, Shawn Leslie
    Primary goals of early elementary school are to teach children academic knowledge in reading and math. During this time, children also continue to develop their social skills, which can be learned from interactions with their peers. Several studies have shown a positive relationship between children’s social skills and academic achievement; however, the mechanisms through which this relationship occurs is not well known. Two possible mechanisms are peer acceptance and academic motivation. The current study examines the relationship between social skills and academic competencies over time and tests peer acceptance and academic motivation as sequential mediators of the relationship. Participants were 190 early elementary school students. Children’s social skills were found to be a significant predictor of math and reading competencies over time. Results also indicated significant indirect effects linking socials skills to academic competence through the mediators of peer acceptance and academic motivation in models for both math and reading.