Teaching College Writing in a High School Setting: The Impact of Concurrent Enrollment on Teacher Learning and Practice

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Sexual abuse and suicidality: gender differences in a large community sample of adolescents

Objective: A cross-sectional study of gender specific relationships between self-reported child sexual abuse and suicidality in a community sample of adolescents. Method: Students aged 14 years on average (N = 2,485) from 27 schools in South Australia completed a questionnaire including items on sexual abuse and suicidality, and measures of depression (Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale), hopelessness (Beck Hopelessness Scale), and family functioning (McMaster Family Assessment Device General Functioning Subscale). Data analysis included logistic regression. Results: In boys, self-report sexual abuse is strongly and independently associated with suicidal thoughts, plans, threats, deliberate self-injury, and suicide attempts, after controlling for current levels of depression, hopelessness, and family dysfunction. In girls, the relationship between sexual abuse and suicidality is mediated fully by depression, hopelessness, and family dysfunction. Girls who report current high distress about sexual abuse, however, have a threefold increased risk of suicidal thoughts and plans, compared to non-abused girls. Boys who report current high distress about sexual abuse have 10-fold increased risk for suicidal plans and threats, and 15-fold increased risk for suicide attempts, compared to non-abused boys. Fifty-five percent (n = 15) of sexually abused boys attempted suicide versus 29% (n = 17) girls. Conclusions: A history of sexual abuse should alert clinicians, professionals and caters in contact with adolescents, to greatly increased risks of suicidal behavior and attempts in boys, even in the absence of depression and hopelessness. Distress following sexual abuse, along with depression and hopelessness indicate increased risk of suicidal behavior in girls, as well as boys. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Adapting the 'family wellbeing' empowerment program to the needs of remote indigenous school children

Objective: To adapt the Family Wellbeing empowerment program, which was initially designed to support adults to take greater control and responsibility for their decisions and lives, to the needs of Indigenous school children living in remote communities. Method. At the request of two schools in remote Indigenous communities in far north Queensland, a pilot personal development and empowerment program based on the adult Family Wellbeing principles was developed, conducted and evaluated in the schools. The main aims of the program were to build personal identity and to encourage students to recognise their future potential and be more aware of their place in the community and wider society. Results: Participation in the program resulted in significant social and emotional growth for the students. Outcomes described by participating students and teachers included increased analytical and reflective skills, greater ability to think for oneself and set goals, less teasing and bullying in the school environment, and an enhanced sense of identity, friendship and,social relatedness'. Conclusion: This pilot implementation of the Family Wellbeing Program adapted for schools demonstrated the program's potential to enhance Indigenous young people's personal growth and development. Challenges remain in increasing parental/ family involvement and ensuring the program's sustainability and transferability. The team has been working with relevant stakeholders to further develop and package the School-based Family Wellbeing program for Education Queensland's New Basics curriculum framework.

Relationship between sunlight and the age of onset of bipolar disorder:an international multisite study

Background - The onset of bipolar disorder is influenced by the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. We previously found that a large increase in sunlight in springtime was associated with a lower age of onset. This study extends this analysis with more collection sites at diverse locations, and includes family history and polarity of first episode. Methods - Data from 4037 patients with bipolar I disorder were collected at 36 collection sites in 23 countries at latitudes spanning 3.2 north (N) to 63.4 N and 38.2 south (S) of the equator. The age of onset of the first episode, onset location, family history of mood disorders, and polarity of first episode were obtained retrospectively, from patient records and/or direct interview. Solar insolation data were obtained for the onset locations. Results - There was a large, significant inverse relationship between maximum monthly increase in solar insolation and age of onset, controlling for the country median age and the birth cohort. The effect was reduced by half if there was no family history. The maximum monthly increase in solar insolation occurred in springtime. The effect was one-third smaller for initial episodes of mania than depression. The largest maximum monthly increase in solar insolation occurred in northern latitudes such as Oslo, Norway, and warm and dry areas such as Los Angeles, California. Limitations - Recall bias for onset and family history data. Conclusions - A large springtime increase in sunlight may have an important influence on the onset of bipolar disorder, especially in those with a family history of mood disorders.

Help in finding the right balance:leadership, work-family balance and employee outcomes

Although much research has examined employees’ experience of the work-family interface, its conceptualization has been rather problematic, ranging from work and family as mutually constraining through to mutually enriching and, more recently, to work-family balance (WFB). Building on Greenhaus and Allen’s (2011) conceptualization of WFB as comprising satisfaction and effectiveness components, I proposed and tested a model of he antecedents and outcomes of WFB. Based on work-family border theory, I hypothesised that family-supportive supervisor behaviours (FSSB) facilitate WFB and hat the relationship is stronger when the organisation also offers formal support (availability of family-friendly practices (FFPs); enhancement effect). Furthermore, I integrated the leadership and work-family interface literatures by proposing authentic eadership as an antecedent of FSSB. Based on role accumulation theories, I proposed life satisfaction and health as outcomes of WFB satisfaction and WFB effectiveness and job performance as an outcome of only WFB effectiveness. I tested my hypotheses with individual-level data in Study 1 (two waves of data; employees from Germany and the UK) and nested data (individuals nested in teams; two waves of data; employee and supervisor ratings; Germany and the UK) in Study 2. The obtained findings largely supported the hypothesized model and showed that both authentic leadership (Study 1) and team authentic leadership (Study 2) predicted FSSB which, in turn, increased WFB satisfaction and WFB effectiveness. Contrary to my prediction, both studies revealed that FSSB and (team) availability of FFPs compensated for each other, only impacting WFB satisfaction/effectiveness if the other form of family support was not available. Furthermore, both components were positively related to life satisfaction and health, while WFB effectiveness was only related to self-rated performance (Study 1) and not supervisor-rated performance (Study 2). Lastly, the serial moderated mediation model hat tested the conditional indirect effect of (team) authentic leadership on the outcomes received mixed support.

The relationship between participation in unethical behaviors during the nursing student experience and participation in unethical behaviors as a registered nurse

The effect of unethical behaviors in health care settings is an important issue in the safe care of clients and has been a concern of the nursing profession for some time. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between use of unethical behaviors in the nursing student experience and the use of unethical behaviors in the workplace as a registered nurse. In addition, the relationship between the severity of unethical behaviors utilized in the classroom, clinical setting and those in the workplace was examined. To insure greater honesty in self-report, only a limited number of demographic variables were requested from participants.^ During the summer of 1997, a 56 item questionnaire was distributed to registered nurses enrolled in either undergraduate or graduate courses in a public or private institution. The participants were asked to self-report their own use of unethical behaviors as well as their peers use of unethical behaviors. In order to assign a severity score for each item, nursing school faculty were asked to rate severity of unethical behaviors which could be used during the nursing student experience and nursing administrators were asked to rate unethical behaviors which could be used in the workplace.^ A significant positive relationship was found between individuals' use of unethical behaviors during nursing school and those used in the workplace $r=.630.$ A significant positive relationship was found between the severity of unethical behaviors used in the nursing student experience and the severity of unethical behaviors used in the workplace $r=.637.$ No relationship was found between years of practice, type of initial nursing education and whether or not the participant was raised inside or outside the United States and the use of unethical behaviors. ^

Grandfamilies: Grandchildren raised by grandparents. Impact on students and school services

Historically, some grandparents have had to assume the responsibility for raising their grandchildren. More recently, with increasing frequency grandparents are serving as full-time surrogate parents to their grandchildren.^ The term "grandfamily" was coined by this researcher to identify families where children are raised by grandparents. "Supergrands" are the grandparents and "grandkin" are children in these families.^ Supergrands who raise their grandkin tend to have elevated levels of stress that negatively impact their well-being. Grandkin tend to develop problems with attachment and establishing social networks, which can lead to poor psychological adjustment. School personnel believe grandkin evidence behavioral problems and occupy disproportionate amounts of their time each day. However, there is a dearth of data to support this belief.^ This study empirically investigated the impact of grandfamilies on students and school services. The results revealed grandkin experienced significantly greater levels of emotional and behavior problems than similar schoolmates. However, they were not referred for discipline problems in substantially larger numbers.^ These results indicate the practice of education should change to allow for the development and provision of social support procedures in schools. Social support will serve to buffer the stress, manifested in emotional and behavioral problems, encountered by children living with surrogate parents. A case study was presented along with a proposed intervention project that has potential to ameliorate the problems experienced by grandfamilies. ^

Safety habits promoted by Hispanic parents for school-aged and adolescent children

Accidents are the leading cause of death among children. Compliance with safety measures have been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality in children. However, Hispanic parents and children have not been adequately studied in the literature in regard to trauma and safety habits utilized. In this exploratory-descriptive study, a convenience sample of 48 Hispanic parents were questioned about their child's activities. The purpose was to determine what safety equipment was used during these activities and how often they were used. Responses to an English/Spanish questionnaire were summarized by frequencies and percentages. Findings suggested that these Hispanic children were at risk for injury due to a low percentage of children wearing the necessary protective equipment. Therefore, education must stress consistent use of safety equipment if injuries are to be prevented. ^

A qualitative study of an interagency relationship: Education interventions for foster children

The Interagency Agreement between the Broward County School System and District 10 Department of Children and Families (DCF) was implemented to improve the organization's relationship and in turn improve education interventions for foster children. The purpose of this study was to examine and describe key decision-makers' perspectives of this interagency relationship after implementing mutual policy. ^ The research questions which drove this study were: (a) from the perspectives of the participants, what was the relationship between the decision-makers of the Department of Children and Families and the Broward County School System, after the implementation of a unification plan that was influenced by the court system? and, (b) how was the relationship between the school system and DCF reflected in the Interagency Agreement? ^ Data were obtained through a case study that included interviews, document analysis and field observations. Participants were key decision-makers in their respective institutional settings and were chosen using criterion sampling. The researcher analyzed and interpreted data from the District 10 DCF commissioned assessment of foster care, the State of Florida Management Plans (education section), the Interagency Agreement, and participant interviews. ^ This study focused on the following five contextual areas regarding the Interagency Agreement: interagency cooperation, interagency coordination, interagency collaboration, traditional organizational linkages, and organizational climate. The results of this study suggest that the organizations' improved relationship improved the educational system for foster children. ^ This researcher recommends that the Interagency Agreement shares the leadership structure with an active parent organization of 15 foster parents who would be divided into three subcommittees. These subcommittees would perform specific tasks such as involving other foster parents, and writing mini proposals to address the social and tutoring needs of foster children. A Wraparound process including community organizations (clubs, businessmen and concerned community groups, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Clubs) is also recommended in order to engage foster children in activities to build their social skills, friendships and self-esteem. This researcher also recommends that the Broward County School System consider a role that would provide for the development of curriculum for inservice for teachers. This would empower teachers and allow them to better address the academic and social needs of the foster children. ^

Readiness for school: A study of parent, teacher, and preschool provider perspectives

A possible gap exists between what parents and preschool providers know concerning children's readiness for school and what they should know when compared to teacher expectations. Students are experiencing difficulty in early schooling as a result of this gap in perspectives. This study's purpose was to describe, explain, and analyze the perspectives of parents, teachers, and preschool providers concerning school readiness. The qualitative strategy of interviewing was used with six parents, six teachers, and two preschool provider participants. Interview transcripts, field notes, member checking, and document analysis were used to interpret data and support findings. Categorization and coding organized data and aided in theory development. ^ Major findings of the study include: (a) All participant groups stress social skills, communication skills, and enthusiasm as most valuable for school readiness; (b) All participant groups agree parents have primary responsibility for readiness preparation; (c) Many participants suggest variables concerning family, economics, and home life contribute to a lack of readiness; (d) Parents place greater value on academic skills than teachers or preschool providers; (e) Preschool programs are identified as having the potential to significantly influence readiness; (f) Communicating, providing positive learning experiences, and providing preschool experience are valuable ways to prepare students for school, yet, differences were found in the types of experiences noted; (g) Participant perspectives indicate that informing parents of readiness expectations is of major importance, and they offer suggestions to accomplish this goal such as using public libraries and pediatrician offices as houses for written information and having kindergarten teachers make presentations at preschools. ^ This study concludes that parents and preschool providers do have knowledge concerning readiness for school. They may not, however, be in a position to carry out their responsibilities due to the intervening variables that inhibit the amount of time, interaction, and communication they have with the children in their care. This study discloses the beliefs of parents and preschool providers that children are ready for school, while teachers conclude that many children are not ready. Suggestions for readiness preparation and information dissemination are significant findings that offer implications for practice and future study. ^

Selected psychosocial and demographic factors affecting levels of pre-retirement planning

In September 2002, the State of Florida implemented a new retirement structure for those employed in the Florida Public School System. Teachers were given the option to maintain their existing defined benefit plan or choose the newly offered defined contribution plan. The variables that affect planning for retirement are innumerable. Identifying the most significant variables is essential to understanding how one plans for retirement. ^ This study examined the relationship between hypothesized psychosocial and demographic factors and an individual's level of pre-retirement planning. The criterion variable, the level of pre-retirement planning, comprised two concepts. First, the time spent thinking about retirement was determined by the score an individual received on a pre-retirement planning scale. This scale included the concepts of information gathering, goals, anticipated resources, and long-range planning. Second, implementation of retirement plan procedures was determined by the percentage an individual annually deferred to retirement. ^ The survey used for data collection contained 50 close-ended items. It was distributed to all full-time teachers in nine randomly selected elementary, middle, and senior high schools throughout Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Multiple regression and crosstabulation indicated that math anxiety, general risk, years of service, and total family income were significant predictors of the level of pre-retirement planning, as measured by the pre-retirement planning scale. In addition, the statistical analysis indicated that math anxiety, internal locus of control, years of service, and total family income were significant predictors of the level pre-retirement planning, as measured by the amount deferred to retirement. An individual's level of math anxiety and family income were the two factors that were the most significant predictors for both concepts on the level of pre-retirement planning. ^ Based on the findings of the study, recommendations focused on assessing an individual's level of math anxiety and educating teachers, particularly pre-service candidates, about the factors that affect pre-retirement planning. Further research should investigate the benefit of such educational programs. ^

Black middle school students' perceptions of success and their influence on academic performance

The purpose of the study was to investigate the perceptions of success held by Black middle school students in a Miami-Dade County (FL) public school and how these perceptions influence academic performance. The study sought to determine if differences exist among African-American, Haitian-American, and Haitian immigrant subgroups of the Black student population. ^ The study combined qualitative and quantitative methodology in data collection and analysis. The qualitative data consisted of three focus group interviews. Using a semi-structured protocol, questions focused on the student's perceptions of the characteristics of successful people, definitions of success, behaviors associated with achieving success, and peer, family and school support. The quantitative data comprised the responses of 352 Black middle school students to the Inventory of Student Motivation (ISM) developed to measure mastery, performance and social goal orientations. Response similarities and differences were examined using a series of two-way ANOVAs on the success scales by gender and culture. A three-way repeated measures ANOVA was conducted on mastery, performance and social general goal scales by culture and gender. ^ The results of the ISM revealed no statistically significant differences among African-American, Haitian-American, and Haitian students in their mastery, performance or social goal orientations. All three cultural groups scored significantly high on the mastery goal scale. There was a significant effect for gender on the mastery general scale with the females being more concerned with mastery than the males. Qualitative focus group interview results included varying definitions of success. African-American and Haitian-American students defined success in materialistic terms. Haitian students defined success in scholastic achievement terms. All students indicated hard work, persistence and goal setting through completion as important to achieving success. Negative influences included peer pressure, teacher and societal expectations, and classroom environment. Parental reaction to low academic performance varied by culture. ^

Hispanic adolescents with severe substance abuse problems: Parental involvement, acculturation-related factors, and attachment

The main objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between parent-related, acculturation-related, and substance use-related variables found within individual, familial/parental, peer and school adolescent ecological domains, in a clinical sample (i.e. adolescents who met criteria for a Diagnostic Statistical Manual-IV [DSMIV] clinical diagnosis of substance abuse/dependence) of Hispanic adolescents from Miami, Florida. ^ The sample for this study consisted of 94 adolescent-mother pairs. The adolescent sample was 65% male, and 35% female, with a mean age of 15 years. More than half of the adolescents were born in the United States (60%) and had resided in the U.S. for an average of 12 years; 80% of the caregivers (primarily mothers) were foreign-born and lived in the U.S. for an average of 21 years. ^ Correlation and hierarchical regression were used to answer the research questions. The findings indicate that the hypothesized model and corresponding anticipated effect of the relationship between parental school and peer involvement on adolescents’ frequency of alcohol, marijuana and cocaine use was not supported by the data. Parental “acculturation-related” variables did not explain any of the variance in adolescent substance use frequency in this sample. Mediation and moderation models were not supported either. However, some interesting relationships were found: ^ The larger the acculturation gap, the lower the parental involvement in school tended to be (r = -.21, p < .05). Adolescents who experienced a greater acculturation gap with their parents (-.81, p >.01) had an earlier onset of marijuana (-.33, p < .01) and cocaine use (r = -.24, p <.01). The less acculturated parents experienced more parenting stress (r = -.31, p = < .01). Attachment was positively associated with parental peer involvement (r = .24, p < .05) and inversely associated with parenting acculturative stress (r = -.24, p < .05). Attachment was also positively associated with marijuana (r = .39, p < .01) and cocaine use (r = .33, p < .01). Adolescent males reported being more attached to their mothers when compared to adolescent females (r = .22, p >.05), they also reported using marijuana more frequently than females (.21, p >.05). ^

Effects of adolescent depressive symptoms, pubertal development, and interpersonal relationship satisfaction on sexual risk behaviors in adolescent romantic couples

This study examined links between adolescent depressive symptoms, actual pubertal development, perceived pubertal timing relative to one’s peers, adolescent-maternal relationship satisfaction, and couple sexual behavior. Assessments of these variables were made on each couple member separately and then these variables were used to predict the sexual activity of the couple. Participants were drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health; Bearman et al., 1997; Udry, 1997) data set (N = 20,088; aged 12–18 years). Dimensions of adolescent romantic experiences using the total sample were described and then a subsample of romantically paired adolescents ( n = 1,252) were used to test a risk and protective model for predicting couple sexual behavior using the factors noted above. Relevant measures from the Wave 1 Add Health measures were used. Most of the items used in Add Health to assess romantic relationship experiences, adolescent depressive symptoms, pubertal development (actual and perceived), adolescent-maternal relationship satisfaction, and couple sexual behavior were drawn from other national surveys or from scales with well documented psychometric properties. Results demonstrated that romantic relationships are part of most adolescents’ lives and that adolescents’ experiences with these relationships differ markedly by age, sex, and race/ethnicity. Further, each respective couple member’s pubertal development, perceived pubertal timing, and maternal relationship satisfaction were useful in predicting sexual risk-promoting and risk-reducing behaviors in adolescent romantic couples. Findings in this dissertation represent an initial step toward evaluating explanatory models of adolescent couple sexual behavior.

Un -equal opportunity: Sex and school among first and second generation Mexican immigrant adolescent girls

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the interactions of sexuality and education among low socioeconomic status first and second generation Mexican immigrant adolescent girls. Much of the existing research differentiates between immigrant generations with little examination of the differences within a particular immigrant generation. This study utilized qualitative methods to examine how various social institutions intersected to influence the young women's decisions about education and sexuality. The methodology included more than three years of participant observation in a South Florida high school and surrounding community; structured and unstructured interviews with twenty young women, their family members, school personnel, and community activists; and surveys conducted with the young women and their parent or guardian. ^ Moving beyond the limits of essentialist immigration theories, this project revealed within group (i.e. immigrant generation) complexities as well as between group similarities. The data included in this dissertation delineate how relationships of power and control permeated the lives of first and second generation Mexican immigrant adolescent girls. The lens of this dissertation is focused on the salient issues of sexuality and education: two dominant forces in many adolescent lives. ^ I found the young women represented a variety of positions on the academic orientation and sexuality continuums and engaged in activities that both reinforced and countered their stated positions on each of these issues. Specifically, first and second generation immigrants are often viewed as maintaining opposing viewpoints about both education and female sexuality however, for these young women the within group variation was larger than the between group variation. While all the young women in this study expressed a belief in the value of education, they engaged in activities that both fortified and contradicted that expressed position. Additionally, although acculturation can lead to increased sexual activity and decreased engagement with education, the first generation immigrant young women in this study became pregnant and/or withdrew from school in equal proportions to their second generation counterparts. In summary, structural forces combined, often inadvertently, and contributed to these young women's spiraling negative academic orientation and/or rational choice of motherhood. Finally, the findings are linked to policy implications. ^