Mountain Scholar :: Browsing by Author "MacPhee, David, advisor"

Browsing by Author "MacPhee, David, advisor"

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Open Access
A test of social-cognitive theory on child rearing: are more authoritative parents higher in parental self-efficacy?
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Gaylord, Joshua J., author; MacPhee, David, advisor; Haddock, Shelley, committee member; Mallette, Dawn, committee member
Corporal punishment (CP) and harsh parenting behaviors increase the risk of child abuse and are associated with several detrimental outcomes among children. Drawing from the foundations of social cognitive theory and coercion theory, I examined long-term changes in parent self-efficacy (PSE) in relation to changes in child-rearing practices (i.e., authoritative and authoritarian). Using longitudinal data from the prevention program Dare to Be You (DTBY), I found that PSE was a significant predictor of child-centered discipline (authoritative), and harsh punishment (authoritarian). Child-centered discipline was moderated by parent attributions (self-blaming). Harsh punishment was significantly easier to predict, as expected by previous research on coercive cycles, and was explained by parent attributions (i.e., self-blaming and child-blaming), and problematic child behaviors. The effects of the DTBY intervention were also significant, with the long-term use of effective child-rearing strategies mediated through increases in self-efficacy. The implications of findings, especially the significance of coercive cycles and social cognitive processes in child rearing, are discussed. Future research and prevention applications are also noted to further prevent child abuse at large.
Open Access
Achievements and challenges of undergraduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields in the Ronald E. McNair Program
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Farro, Samantha Anne, author; Canetto, Silvia S., advisor; MacPhee, David, advisor
This dissertation is comprised of two studies and is about understanding the challenges, choices, aspirations, and perceptions of successful, underrepresented undergraduates in STEM fields. Study 1 compared self-perceptions of academic ability and academic performance of female and male undergraduate science and engineering students from underrepresented ethnic and socioeconomic groups, upon admission in (Time 1) and graduation from (Time 2) the McNair Mentorship Program. Female and male students were similar in regard to academic performance. However, at Time 1, women were significantly more likely than their male peers to describe themselves as academically weaker. Upon graduation from the McNair Program, women's perceptions of their academic skills were on par with those of men. Students with double minority status (i.e. by sex, ethnicity, generation in college, or income) had more negative self perceptions of academic skills, as well as lower performance on standardized tests. Overall, these findings suggest that one barrier for women in STEM education is lower confidence. However, over time female McNair students in STEM increased their self-perception of academic competence. This study's findings also indicate that multiple minority status may have a cumulative negative impact on academic self-perceptions and academic performance. Study 2 focused on the experiences of high-achieving, female undergraduates from disadvantaged backgrounds who are majoring in engineering, physical, or life science. Interviews about educational choices and career aspirations were collected in written form upon admission to (Time 1) and graduation from (Time 2) the McNair Mentorship Program. Students' timing of educational and career decisions, motivations, parental expectations and involvement in educational and career planning, career exploration, and career aspirations were qualitatively analyzed longitudinally and across disciplines. Insights about educational choices and career aspirations are shared and recommendations are given for future research to improve career counseling to support disadvantaged women in STEM fields.
Open Access
Adolescent leadership self-efficacy and future orientation correlates: contingencies of race and parental educational attainment
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Mingola, Nicole, author; MacPhee, David, advisor; Walker, Aimee, committee member; Peila-Shuster, Jackie, committee member
Using a Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework to guide this research, it is critical that adolescents develop skills for attaining leadership self-efficacy and a positive future orientation. Historically, adolescents marginalized by race or socioeconomic status may not be presented with the same developmental opportunities as their counterparts. The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between adolescent leadership self-efficacy and future orientation while identifying contingencies by race and/or parental educational attainment. The sample of predominantly Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) adolescents was obtained from a secondary dataset from a family leadership program. Results highlight a strong positive relationship between leadership self-efficacy and future orientation among adolescents contemporaneously and over time. Moderation by parental educational attainment, but not by race, was supported. Strengths, limitations, and future directions are discussed.
Open Access
Career goals, challenges and resources for women in atmospheric sciences
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Lessner, Lauren M., author; MacPhee, David, advisor; Canetto, Silvia Sara, advisor; Banning, James, committee member; Cook, Alicia, committee member
Women are underrepresented in education and careers in the geosciences. One of the many obstacles to women’s greater participation in the sciences in general is that they disproportionately shoulder family responsibilities. It is not clear, however, if multiple role involvements are what prevent women from getting ahead in the geosciences. Among the geosciences, atmospheric sciences have received minimal research attention despite the growth in the field. The few available studies on women in atmospheric sciences focus on women in academia. A critical time for career decision making is graduate school. To fill this gap in the literature, this study focused on women in atmospheric sciences who are in graduate school or a recent graduate. Because knowledge about this population and the issues they face is so limited, the present study used a qualitative method. Semi-structured interviews with 12 female atmospheric science graduate students and recent graduates were conducted and coded via interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to identify challenges and resources related to education, career, partnership and parenthood. This study found that at the time of graduate school, women in atmospheric science: (1) felt social expectations and pressures to prioritize family, (2) experienced challenges pursuing their career goals in conjunction their partner’s career, (3) often viewed career and parenting roles as conflicting or incompatible, (4) benefited from exposure to role-models who balanced these domains, (5) were positively influenced by supportive partners, and (6) desired flexibility in career and family paths. The narratives shared by women in atmospheric sciences at graduate school time underscore how family and career expectations interact to challenge and support women’s persistence in atmospheric sciences.
Open Access
Correlates of, and intervention effects on, parent-school relationships
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Rattenborg, Karen, author; Morgan, George, advisor; MacPhee, David, advisor
The purpose of this study was to examine parent-teacher relationships within the context of a community-based intervention program. This study used an experimental, repeated measures design to explore how similar parent and teacher role expectations were, how perceptions of school climate related to parent involvement, and whether participation in the program strengthened parent-teacher relationships and increased parent involvement in schools. This study was part of a larger program evaluation of the effectiveness of the DARE to be You (DTBY) Bridge program. This innovative project provided community-based intervention to children along with their parents and their K-1 teachers through a series of workshops that focused on building relationships and improving the learning environment, with the goal of enhancing school readiness and adjustment. Participants were recruited from kindergarten classes and first-grade classes in the Four Corners area of Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. The sample consisted of 347 parents, who were randomly assigned to a control or an experimental group, and 80 teachers. At baseline, findings indicated that parents and teachers agreed that they should be supportive of one another's roles, that parents should have more responsibility than schools for teaching social skills, and that family and school should have equal responsibility for children's school success. Furthermore, teachers had significantly higher expectations than parents for parent involvement, and parent involvement was significantly greater when parents perceived parent-teacher communication to be more frequent and the school climate to be welcoming. No significant intervention effects were found for parents on actual parent involvement, role expectations, or parent-teacher communication. However, parents from the intervention group, compared to controls, reported the school climate to be more welcoming a year after enrolling in the program. Findings are discussed within the context of several frameworks of family school-relations. Teachers' tendency to want increased parental involvement in teaching social skills is discussed in terms of the Separate Spheres model and parents' perception of a welcoming school climate is discussed in terms of the importance of high-quality communication.
Open Access
Exploding heads, doing school and intangible work: an ethnographic case study of first year education doctoral students becoming education researchers
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Meyer-Parsons, Beatrice, author; Banning, James, advisor; MacPhee, David, advisor; Kees, Nathalie, committee member; Most, David, committee member
There is limited research concerned with how education doctoral students become education researchers, what Labaree (2003) described as "the peculiar problems of preparing education researchers." This is an ethnographic case study of a cohort of first year education doctoral students in a qualitative research classroom for the purpose of better understanding how they are becoming education researchers and "scholars of the discipline," able to guide both practice and policy. In this study, students described feeling met by the instructor with respect and developing new perspectives and actions by taking on the role of qualitative researcher. However, students also described experiencing "exploding heads" as they attempted to meet time constraints, competing demands within the program and in connection with commitments to family, work and other, personal projects. Within this culture of contradictions students engaged in strategies to manage their "exploding heads": they were "doing school" and "doing the intangible work" of becoming education researchers by strategies of self. "Getting the work done" and meeting instructor requirements were ways of "doing school". Negotiating commitments and resources (e.g., time away from family); making schoolwork "personal"; identifying as "certain kinds of people" (e.g., teacher); and/or identifying/dis-identifying with other students, faculty or valued persons were strategies of the self. Based on these students' descriptions, an ecological typology of students was developed: "savvy" students (who were "doing school"); "working from the self" students (who were actively fashioning selves); and "disconnecting students." For (future) education doctoral students the study suggests possible challenges, such as the ability to value contradictions as opportunities for expanding perspectives and taking new actions, as well as the need to actively engage in the intangible work of finding means for continuity and confirmation of self. In terms of classroom teaching, an action, paradoxical pedagogy is suggested to provide a "becoming space," an ecology that can create opportunities out of contradictions. From an organizational perspective the study suggests that schools of education consider curriculum, program requirements and faculty talk as areas to provide messages and niches for students who are actively looking to identify and connect their selves while becoming education researchers.
Open Access
Future orientation and self-perception minimize risk engagement and promote positive youth development
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Jackman, Danielle Marie-Therese, author; MacPhee, David, advisor; Riggs, Nathaniel R., advisor; Youngblade, Lise M., committee member; Harman, Jennifer J., committee member
Adolescence is a developmental period marked by physical, cognitive, and social changes that influence both negative behaviors and positive youth development (PYD). Theorists and empirical work have noted that these marked changes propel youth to explore and construct a personal identity. This exploration and commitment of an identity helps to build youths’ self-perceptions as well as refine and orient one’s future. However, for some youth, the adolescent period is considered a time of heightened engagement in health-compromising behaviors. Both risk reduction and strength-based literature identify self-perceptions (self-esteem and self-efficacy) and positive thoughts about the future, which can incorporate a sense of purpose, as factors related to an adolescents’ engagement in risk as well as adolescents’ positive development. However, few studies have highlighted how these factors serve as mediators between these associations. Therefore there were two studies assessed in this dissertation. Study 1 assessed two competing mediational models to determine whether future orientation mediated the relations between self-esteem and adolescent risk or whether self-esteem mediated the relation between future orientation and adolescent risk. I utilized data from an intervention designed to delay sexual debut. Results suggested future orientation to fully mediate the association between self-esteem and adolescent risk. However, self-esteem did not serve as a significant mediator between future orientation and adolescent risk. One limitation could be the assessment of general self-esteem instead of a more domain-specific form of self-esteem. In Study 2, future orientation was assessed as a probable mediator between self-efficacy and PYD. Utilizing a sample of adolescents who served as part of the comparison group for a family and youth leadership program, results found future orientation to partially mediate the relation between self-efficacy and PYD. Several explanations were given for this partial mediation, with a strong emphasis on the conceptual complexity of PYD and dynamic interplay among variables that define PYD as being possible predictors and producers of PYD. Both studies highlight the importance of understanding the quintessential roles that both future orientation and self-perception play in the reduction of adolescent risk and development of a positive youth. In particular, future studies need to continue focusing on the examination of the potential developmental cascade of future orientation as serving as a potential mediator between self-perceptions and adolescent behavior.
Open Access
Hostile causal attributions and harsh parenting: parent age as a moderating factor
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Fitzgerald, Morning, author; MacPhee, David, advisor; Coatsworth, J. Douglas, committee member; Shillington, Audrey, committee member
Adolescent mothers tend to be more at risk for harsh parenting than older mothers. Parent processes such as stress, hostile causal attributions, and anger are also linked to harsh parenting. In this study, adolescent mothers, former adolescent mothers, and older mothers (N=589) were compared and the links between hostile causal attributions and stress and harsh parenting were examined. Age of the mother was looked at as a moderator in these relations. Mediational pathways between stress, anger, and harsh parenting and hostile causal attributions, anger, and harsh parenting were also examined. Results indicate that adolescent mothers are more alike than different from older mothers. In all groups, stress and hostile causal attributions were predictive of harsh parenting, and correlational analyses indicated that anger mediated these pathways. However, when baseline preference for harsh punishment was taken into account, anger no longer mediated any of the pathways. This indicates that baseline preference for harsh punishment may be the most significant predictor of late punishment. The only pathway moderated by age was between parent-blaming attributions and harsh parenting in that older mothers were more likely to parent harshly in the presence of parent-blaming attributions than younger mothers. These findings have implications for prevention and intervention programs and may shift focus from age of the parent to the parenting processes of stress, hostile causal attributions, and anger management.
Open Access
Identifying support needs and intervention opportunities for perinatal fathers: an exploratory sequential mixed methods study
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Rayburn, Stephanie, author; MacPhee, David, advisor; Braungart-Rieker, Julie, advisor; Lucas-Thompson, Rachel, committee member; Prince, Mark, committee member
The transition to fatherhood is a time of increased stress and risk for depressive and anxiety disorders for fathers. Father adjustment affects family well-being, but support programs that target perinatal fathers are not widely available, and it can be difficult to engage fathers in the programs that are available. Identifying the support needs of perinatal fathers and opportunities for intervention is an important and underexplored avenue for promoting early healthy family development. The following dissertation includes a review of developmental theories and extant literature and proposes a model of paternal perinatal development. Three studies are then presented using an exploratory mixed methods design. Study A explores perinatal father experiences and perceptions of their support needs. Study B quantitatively assesses social support as a predictor of parenting engagement, role conflict, and well-being in postpartum fathers. Study C investigates qualitative and quantitative evidence for a proof-of-concept evaluation of a piloted community-based group intervention program called DadSpace. Findings from Study A indicate that fathers find value in connecting with other fathers and are interested in support and information that are relevant to fathers. Findings from Study B indicate that both social support and self-efficacy are significant predictors of postpartum father parenting engagement and well-being, including work-home role conflict and satisfaction, parenting stress, depression, and anxiety. Findings from Study C demonstrate that perinatal fathers find value in a program that connects them with other fathers and supports them in exploring issues relevant to them; however, recruitment remains a challenge.
Open Access
Implementation evaluation of Best Start for Babies
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Hornell, Lindsay, author; MacPhee, David, advisor; Coatsworth, J. Douglas, committee member; Khetani, Mary, committee member
One of the most important aims of evaluation science is to determine whether interventions have a positive impact on the lives of their participants. A component of program evaluation is to assess program implementation. This evaluation study assessed the implementation of the Best Start for Babies/Best Start for Toddlers (BSB/T) program by examining its fidelity to protocol, dosage, and participant engagement in relation to program impact. BSB/T strives to promote positive child outcomes by providing parents with support, education, and community referrals throughout the prenatal to toddler years. Facilitator logbooks from the first three years of the BSB/T were evaluated. Program impacts were assessed through use of (1) the Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory (KIDI), which measures a caregiver's understanding of developmental milestones, strategies for child rearing, and knowledge of basic child development; and (2) the Self-Perceptions of the Parental Role (SPRR), which assesses parent self-efficacy and investment in the parental role. Both of these measures were administered at the beginning and end of the program. By focusing on a program that has not yet been systematically evaluated, I was able to determine how degree of fidelity, dosage, and participant engagement contributed to BSB/T program outcomes. Results from this study suggest that adhering to the curriculum is more important for certain activities, but not for other activities. Findings on dosage, regarding how time was allocated in classes, suggest that providing parents with more time to interact with one another was related to better program outcomes. Finally, greater parental engagement was found to be associated with better program outcomes - whereas parental resistance was associated with lower program outcomes. The findings from this study offer current and future facilitators with valuable information on how to best implement the BSB/T program.
Open Access
Latent profiles and trajectories of family functioning: a risk and resilience approach to child maltreatment prevention and promotion of early achievement
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Prendergast, Sarah, author; MacPhee, David, advisor; Carcasson, Martin, committee member; Coatsworth, Doug, committee member; Riggs, Nathaniel, committee member
Child maltreatment and being unready to learn at kindergarten entry are two societal problems that are associated with children's later development. Children are at highest risk for maltreatment during the first four years of life; importantly, this is the same period in which children gain cognitive and social skills critical for early achievement. Despite progress, rates of maltreatment remain high and costly to treat, and economic and ethnic disparities in early achievement persist. Grounded in ecological theory, this dissertation explored trajectories and classes of family functioning across various levels of risk at birth. In Study 1, change in income, maternal education, and parenting stress, as well as neighborhood social cohesion, were tested as predictors of initial levels of maternal aggression and change over time. The results indicated that associations among the predictors and maternal aggression differed across level of risk. In Study 2, cumulative family risk and latent classes of family risk at birth were explored as predictors of kindergarten outcomes and self-reported involvement with Child Protective Services. The results demonstrated that cumulative risk and three latent classes of family risk differentially predicted all outcomes. Several policy and programmatic implications are discussed related to ecological models of prevention, the merits of cumulative risk and risk combinations, and tailored intervention strategies.
Open Access
Maternal knowledge and the relationship between home environment and child development
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Donnalley, Grace E., author; MacPhee, David, advisor; Barrett, Karen C., committee member; Mallette, Dawn M., committee member
Research has identified parenting abilities and the home environment as two of the most important contributors to a child's kindergarten abilities. However, little is understood about how these predictors, which contribute to school readiness, are formed, and even less is understood about how they interact with each other. This study explores the relation between socioeconomic status (SES) and maternal knowledge of child development; the relation between maternal knowledge of child development and age-appropriate stimulation in the home; if the relation between SES and cognitive stimulation in the home is mediated by mothers' accurate knowledge of development; and whether cognitive stimulation in the home mediates the relation between accurate developmental knowledge and child cognitive developmental level. Data collected from 1,387 families who participated in the Early Head Start study, from 1996 to 2010, were used. For the present study, each of these families' scores from the 14-month KIDI, 36-month Bayley MDI, 36-month PPVT, and 24-month HOME were used. Each mother was tested. Propensity scores were examined to account for attrition. Mediation was tested using multiple regression analysis.
Embargo
Multidisciplinary representation in Colorado: an exploratory analysis of professional collaboration
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Ramous, Tara, author; MacPhee, David, advisor; Winocur, Marc, committee member; Brown, Samantha, committee member
This research study focused on multidisciplinary representation (MdR), the collaboration of attorneys and social workers in client advocacy, in Colorado. MdR is used most in cases of child welfare and juvenile justice contexts due to the inherent nature of trauma that accompanies these cases. Past research on MdR has demonstrated significant benefit for clients, but little is known about the professional procedures that result in such positive outcomes. In this collaborative study between university researchers and the Colorado Office of the Child's Representative (OCR), attorneys and social workers were surveyed on their professional roles and their experience with MdR collaboration and present issues. Findings indicated that collaboration practices are largely positive, and professionals mutually agree on benefits. Attorneys' perception that social workers improved their ability to advocate, and improved client engagement, accounted for 43% of the variance in the number of reasons they would request social worker support. The greatest barrier to collaboration was misconceptions of roles and responsibility. Among recommendations, both social workers and attorneys endorsed more training opportunities on collaboration. Ongoing process evaluations will strengthen the research foundation and replication for MdR practice.
Open Access
Parent-child relationships in context: an application of the person-process-context-time model to the development of low-income toddlers' social-emotional adjustment
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Albrecht, Erin Christine, author; MacPhee, David, advisor; Lunkenheimer, Erika, advisor; Riggs, Nathaniel, committee member; Khetani, Mary, committee member
This dual manuscript dissertation addresses current empirical evidence and developmental theory that acknowledges the active role of the toddler in shaping ontogeny. As such, both studies utilized cross-lagged panel models to investigate the longitudinal, bidirectional associations among different features of the microsystem and the child, using repeated measures data from the Early Head Start and Evaluation Research Project (EHSREP; 1996-2010). In the first study, transactional relations between observed maternal supportiveness and child emotion regulation at age 14-, 24-, and 36-months were evaluated. Results supported extant research that establishes significant longitudinal associations between more supportive mother behavior and higher levels of child emotion regulation, net the stability in these constructs over time; there was no evidence to support child-driven pathways, or a developmental transaction. This model was then assessed with the addition of the total home environment measure across time points. Both child emotion regulation and the home environment significantly predicted each other from child age 2 to 3, while maternal supportiveness remained a significant predictor of emotion regulation, but only at age 2. These results suggest that different facets of the child’s microsystem may become more salient at different times in development, and the child emerges as an influence on the microsystem in his or her own right. Findings also underscore the need for research that compares the predictive utility of parent-child interaction measures and the home environment for diverse developmental outcomes. The second study incorporated toddlers’ negative emotionality into a cross-lagged panel model of maternal depressive symptoms, maternal supportiveness, and child externalizing behaviors. A central goal of this study was to incorporate process-oriented questions about the linkage between individual differences in child temperament, maternal risk, parenting, and child externalizing behaviors (mediation), while also addressing questions about for whom these pathways are most relevant (moderation). Maternal depressive symptoms predicted subsequent child behavior problems; in turn, child behavior problems predicted later depressive symptoms. Child negative emotionality at 14 months demonstrated an indirect effect on maternal depressive symptoms at 3 years by way of externalizing behavior at 2 years. Nonsignificant tests of moderation rendered the current study unable to generate support for diathesis-stress or differential susceptibility models in the current sample. Results imply the emergence of parent-driven transactions between maternal depressive symptoms and child externalizing behaviors within the first few years of life. Moreover, the temperamental characteristic of negative emotionality connotes further risk for maladjustment for both mother and child. Collectively, both studies highlight the need for continued research and interventions that consider the child’s contributions to the dynamic process of development during toddlerhood.
Open Access
Parental contributors to children's persistence and school readiness: testing a moderated-mediation model
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Prendergast, Sarah, author; MacPhee, David, advisor; Lunkenheimer, Erika, committee member; Stevenson, Cerissa, committee member
Parental scaffolding skills were assessed in relation to children’s school readiness with children’s persistence examined as a hypothesized mediator. Additionally, parenting styles (authoritative and authoritarian) were assessed as moderators of the association between parental scaffolding and children’s persistence. School readiness was a latent construct comprised of math and language skills, as well as emotion regulation. In a low-income sample of families from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (N= 2977), parental scaffolding significantly predicted children’s persistence at 36 months, and school readiness in prekindergarten. Persistence partially mediated the link between parental scaffolding and school readiness. Neither authoritative nor authoritarian parenting style moderated the mediational model. The results indicate that parental scaffolding can promote children’s persistence and later school readiness. The findings and implications from this study provide parents and educators with practical ways to promote school readiness among low-income children.
Open Access
Profiles of school readiness skills among low-income preschoolers in the U.S.
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Walker, Aimée Kleisner, author; MacPhee, David, advisor; Barrett, Karen Caplovitz, committee member; Henry, Kimberly, committee member; Lunkenheimer, Erika, committee member
The current population-based study employs a person-oriented approach to examine patterns of functioning across school readiness domains (pre-academic competence, self-regulatory abilities, and problematic social behaviors) at kindergarten entry within a national sample of low-income children (N = 2,073), utilizing data from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSREP; 1996-2010). This study is the first to employ factor mixture analyses (FMA), a hybrid of latent transition analysis and factor analysis, to explore at-risk children's school readiness profiles and assess whether these profiles are salient indicators of academic and social functioning in fifth grade. Results from the FMA identified two distinct classes. Specifically, class 1 (poor school readiness profile) exhibited greater weaknesses in their school readiness profiles than class 2 as demonstrated by higher scores on problematic behavioral indicators that thwart early school success, and lower scores on pre-academic competences and regulatory abilities that support early school success. Additionally, class 1 displayed higher within-class correlations among school readiness indicators on each factor than class 2. Evidence for the predictive validity of these classes was found: In fifth grade, class 1 showed significantly lower scores on academic indicators of school success (e.g., reading, math), and significantly higher scores on indicators of maladaptive social functioning. Notably, class 1 demonstrated lower reading scores and higher scores on problematic behaviors (e.g., attention problems, aggressive behavior) than any of the high-risk groups identified in the final report of the EHSREP). These findings support the putative dynamic connections that exist across readiness domains, suggesting that at-risk children's school readiness is not simply an additive model. These findings point to analytic strategies that better illuminate variations in school readiness within high-risk samples, and also suggest that a significant minority of low-income preschoolers need intensive intervention if they are to succeed in school.
Open Access
Protective factors for teen mothers: relations among social support, psychological resources, and child rearing practices
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) VanDenBerg, Maggie P., author; MacPhee, David, advisor; Youngblade, Lise, committee member; Aloise-Young, Patricia, committee member
Teen mothers face increased challenges when rearing children, largely influenced by development as an adolescent and the support networks they have available to them. Based on two theories of parental and adolescent development, measures of well-being including self-efficacy, depression, and future orientation are mechanisms that can be altered by support networks, and function as protective factors for functional parenting. This study of 344 teen mothers tests the hypotheses that teen mothers who have more supportive primary social networks have greater confidence in parenting abilities, less propensity towards depression, and a more optimistic sense of the future. Results indicate that relations of support functions (intimacy and support satisfaction) and nurturant child rearing practices are partially mediated by self-efficacy and fully mediated by depression. These findings emphasize the importance of supportive characteristics in support networks for teen mothers and parental well-being, both of which may foster the development of non-coercive parenting.
Open Access
Relation of out-of-schooltime program participation to [STEM] academic outcomes for underrepresented youth
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Rubinson, Amy, author; Aragon, Antonette, advisor; MacPhee, David, advisor; Peila-Shuster, Jackie, committee member; Haddock, Shelley, committee member
This is the primary abstract to my three-part dissertation research project. This publication includes two introductory chapters that provide background information and the theoretical framing for the research. I prepared chapters 3, 4, and 5 as independent research publications; therefore, some of the introductory content of each is summative and yet repetitive of the chapters that precede it. In the final, sixth chapter, I describe how the three research studies relate to each other and contribute to the research worlds of youth development and out-of-schooltime programming, specifically as related to identity development, college readiness, and exposure to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The research in study 1 supports other findings that out-of-schooltime programs provide support for youth of color. I collected data through focus groups of program participants and alumni to understand the participants' experiences in the program. The study results show the amount of community cultural wealth (CCW) that youth of color developed through participation in the out-of-schooltime program. The research also emphasizes the role of the program location in the development of CCW. I use a critical-race-theory (CRT) lens through which to frame the analyses for this portion of the research. I present the data through a composite counternarrative told through the program participants' voices. Findings reveal that the participants experienced a great deal of CCW, which seemed to assist them during college. I include examples of the six forms of CCW the participants gained from the program. The study concludes with suggestions for practice and future research. This research is part of a larger project intended to provide a basis for increased understanding into how out-of-schooltime programs support underrepresented youth. In the second study, I investigate the factors that seem shared among participants who graduate with 4-year degrees and among those who do not. I use qualitative and quantitative survey data to gather information from alumni youth participants. I analyze the data using a CCW and bioecology framework to understand the strengths of the community throughout the college-readiness process. Findings reveal that participants who academically successful are supported from many different venues. Additionally, these participants need opportunities to shine and show pride in their academics and STEM accomplishments. Those participants who pursued STEM fields indicated they were engaged in fun STEM activities at a young age and received positive recognition in a STEM area. This research supports the need for youth programs that create an inclusive community and values each person’s role and contributions. This study closes with suggestions for practice. For the final study of this three-part research project, I investigated the ways in which amount of experienced discrimination and level of identity awareness influenced participants’ academic and STEM outcomes. I used the same qualitative and quantitative survey tool as in the prior study, and the same population of youth program alumni. I analyzed the data using a three-part framework, including CCW, CRT, and bioecology. I used bioecology in the survey design, as is evident in the survey asking about many components of participants’ lives. I used CRT to identify instances of discrimination and to reframe my perspective to be that of my participants instead of my own. I used CCW to identify strengths the participants employed to overcome discrimination and other obstacles. Findings reveal that participants experienced increasing discrimination for multiple identities at each of the escalating levels (individual, institutional, societal, and civilizational). Additionally, the nonSTEM-persistent participants experience more high-level awareness and discrimination for their identities compared to the STEM-persistent group. In many cases, participants who had experienced more discrimination had higher academic aspirations. This research builds on the growing knowledge base related to the experiences and effects of institutional racism on underrepresented youth.
Open Access
Self-esteem and future orientation predict risk engagement among adolescents
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Jackman, Danielle M., author; MacPhee, David, advisor; Le, Thao, committee member; Aloise-Young, Patricia, committee member
Risky behaviors have been defined as the balance between behaviors that have negative consequences with behaviors that have perceived positive consequences (Gullone & Moore, 2000). These risky behaviors include but are not limited to: unsafe sex, delinquency, substance abuse, and impulsive or sensation- seeking (Gullone & Moore, 2000). Research has shown that having a positive outlook on one's future has an inverse relation to adolescents' risk behaviors (Nurmi, 1990; Steinberg, 2004, 2009). Similarly, studies on self-esteem have also shown a complex but mostly inverse relation with adolescent risk taking (Salazar et al., 2005). However, there is a paucity of research studies focused on the possible effects of self-esteem as a mediator between future orientation and adolescents' risk orientation and or the possible effects of future orientation as a mediator between self-esteem and risk orientation. The premise of this study was to assess the relations among future orientation, self-esteem, and adolescents' risk behaviors. To that end the first hypothesis was that there is an inverse relation between future orientation and adolescents' risk orientation. The second hypothesis was that there is an inverse relation between self-esteem and adolescents' risk orientation. The third hypothesis was that a more optimistic sense of future among young adolescents is associated with higher self-esteem. Two mediational models were also compared. Participants (N = 438) were youth who took part in a sex prevention program called Care To Wait. Controlling for social desirability, results showed that future orientation fully mediated the relation between self-esteem and risk orientation, and self-esteem partially mediated the relation between future orientation and risk orientation. Implications and proposed future directions discussed.
Open Access
The effects of child life specialists' interventions on the distress of pediatric patients during laceration repair
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Johnson, Eugene, author; MacPhee, David, advisor; Quijano, Louise, committee member; Gaynard, Laura L., committee member
Children who are treated for injuries in the emergency department (ED) have been shown to have an increase in anxiety and distress, poor pain control, and reported lower ratings of overall satisfaction. Child life specialists (CLSs) are trained to help minimize stress, promote coping, and use nonpharmacological methods for pain relief with pediatric patients in health care. Previous studies confirm the work of CLSs with patients in other units of the hospital, and are expected to have similar results in the ED setting. In this study, I examined what type of effect CLSs had on pediatric patients self-reported pain, fear, and observed distress while receiving sutures for a laceration. The parent and patient's satisfaction with their experience also was measured. It was hypothesized that the involvement of a child life specialist during this procedure would decrease patients' self-reports of pain, fear, and observed distress, and increase self-reports of satisfaction. As well, exploratory analyses were conducted to determine whether patient self-reports of pain and fear are related to clinical observations of patient distress as well as biological markers of stress (i.e., cortisol). Fifty-two pediatric patients with a laceration were studied in a level one ED trauma center of a free-standing children's hospital. Results indicated that patients who received child life services had better outcomes than those who did not. Specifically, fear and distress were shown to be significantly lower for these patients. Also, the parents of these patients were significantly more satisfied with the care received with CLS involvement. These results lend strong support for CLSs involvement with pediatric patients receiving a laceration repair.