Department of Human Development and Family Studies

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Word learning from videos: evidence from 2-year-olds
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Allen, Sarah Rebekah; Scofield, Jason M.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Young children are exposed to large amounts of screen media daily and many parents believe educational media is a source of learning for their children. However, whether or not children are able to learn information from television and video is still inconclusive. Of specific interest in the current studies was whether or not children are able to learn words from television or videos. In Study 1, 2-year olds were introduced to a novel word through a short animated video and then tested to assess their ability to comprehend and produce the name of the word in both a video setting and a live setting. Study 2 examined 2-year olds ability to honor mutual exclusivity to words learned from videos using the same experimental tasks. The results suggest children are able to add a word learned from video to their productive vocabulary, transfer their knowledge of the word learned from video into their everyday setting, and apply the word learning principle of mutual exclusivity to words learned from videos.
The consequences of reversing trust or not reversing trust
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2010) Leslie, Alicia Deanna; Scofield, Jason M.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Young children often rely on the testimony of others. However, children tend to be selective about which sources they trust. For example, some children will reverse trust when a trusted speaker proves unreliable, suggesting that 4-year-olds use a speaker's current testimony to help make decisions about the trustworthiness of that speaker's past testimony (Scofield & Behrend, 2008). The current study was designed to determine why some children are able to reverse trust and why some are not. The results indicated that trust reversers tended to believe that the unreliable speaker was no longer trustworthy. The results also indicated that trust non-reversers varied by age, with 3-year-olds tending to believe that the unreliable speaker was trustworthy and 4- and 5-year-olds tending to believe that the unreliable speaker was no longer trustworthy, though they did have difficulty correcting past misinformation. Overall, results suggested that most children believe that an unreliable speaker is no longer trustworthy for new information.
The influence of teacher characteristics, beliefs, and program quality on children's creativity
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2010) Farella, Erin N.; Jeon, Hyun-Joo; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Creativity is important because it influences self-esteem, social development, behavior, and problem-solving abilities (Barron & Harrington, 1981). With this in mind, finding ways to promote creativity becomes necessary. Since teacher characteristics, beliefs, and program quality have all been found to influence children's cognitive and social development (Chang, 2003; Pianta et al., 2005; Fontaine et al., 2006), it seems possible that they could also influence creativity. To address this question, 10 early childhood education classrooms were assessed for program quality using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R; Harms, Clifford, & Cryer, 2005) and the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS; Pianta, LaParo, & Hamre, 2006) measurements. Teachers of these classrooms were asked to complete a questionnaire that assessed their educational background, professional development, and beliefs regarding their profession, developmentally appropriate practices, and creativity. In addition, 82 children ages 3 to 5 completed an art collage, which was then assessed for creativity using the Consensual Assessment Technique (Amabile, 1982). Interestingly, negative correlations were found between program quality and creativity. This suggests that while high quality of care and education leads to higher academic skills in children (Burchinal et al., 2000), it does not lead to higher creativity. Further studies are recommended to validate these findings.
College students' perceptions of adoption
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2010) Frye, Alexandrea L.; Stinnett, Nick; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The differences in perceptions of adoption among college students were the focus of this research. The research was conducted in response to a lack of literature in the area of college students and adoption. The results indicated that college students perceived adoption to be more stressful than having a biological child, and perceived having a biological child more satisfying than adopting. Still, many college students stated they would consider adopting. These findings are consistent with the often expressed view of adoption as "second-best". The purposes and hypotheses discussed in this research are important for families, students, counselors, educators, and social workers. There is a lack of information available to college students considering adoption, a lack of support to adoptees, and insufficient knowledge about the process and outcomes of adoption. Understanding college students' attitudes toward adoption should give direction regarding future social, legal, and educational views and pursuits related to adoption. Further research is needed to determine general findings, specifically research including more adoptees as well as a more diverse population of college students in various settings such as private, parochial and racially diverse college populations. Studies must focus on adoption and address stereotypes presented in literature, media, and educational materials. Expanding the body of literature will assist educators, advocates, parents, and counselors in taking the next step of shifting the paradigm of adoption to a more favorable one.
The effects of creative movement activities in the preschool classroom and children's ability to move on children's social competence
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Mclaughlin, Elyse Marie; Jeon, Hyun-Joo; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The current study examined the relationship between parent and teacher-reported social competence of preschool children and the children's observed involvement in creative movement activities in their classroom. A sample of 51 children, ages three to five-years-old (M = 53.32 SD = 7.19; months), from a university affiliated preschool were observed during regularly scheduled music and movement times with their lead teachers. Children and teachers were videotaped during these activities and coded for their behaviors. After controlling for child age, child gender, family income, and parent education, the strongest predictor of children's social competence was their physical ability to move. Children's observed creative movement was also a significant predictor of their social competence when reported by teachers. The current study also found that during music and movement activities, when teachers used instructional media, verbal instruction, and physical cues, children were more likely to participate in the activity, but not engage in creative movement. Significant differences in children's movement participation and teachers' behaviors were also found among the four classrooms that participated in the study.
After-school program mentors' satisfaction in relation to program quality
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Keyser, Brittany Marie; Curtner-Smith, Mary Elizabeth; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This study examined the motivations, or psychological functions, volunteer outcomes and satisfaction of 144 university student mentors who volunteered to work with children in a therapeutic after-school program. This study also explored the predictive value of volunteer mentors' psychological functions, volunteer outcomes, and after-school program quality to volunteer mentors' satisfaction and willingness to volunteer again. For the most part, mentors perceived the after-school programs as being of high quality, particularly in the area of program structure and activities. Mentors' perceptions of the quality of director-child interactions and perceptions of the quality of the after-school classroom teacher-child interactions were less consistent. Both after-school program quality and volunteer outcomes significantly predicted mentors' satisfaction with their service-learning experience in the after-school programs. Specifically, mentors who were more satisfied perceived the after-school program where they volunteered as higher in quality than mentors who were less satisfied. In addition, mentors who were more satisfied experienced more volunteer outcomes as a result of mentoring than mentors who were less satisfied. Program quality and volunteer outcomes together explained 35% of the variance in mentors' satisfaction; thus, these two variables play very important roles in determining how university students experience their service-learning course requirement. Finally, university student mentors who experienced more volunteer outcomes were also more willing to volunteer again than mentors who experienced fewer volunteer outcomes. Implications of these findings for improving after-school program quality and for improving the service-learning experience are discussed.
The role of family time on a young child's overall development
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Ellington, Alexandrea Shanea; Stinnett, Nick; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Much research has been conducted concerning the factors that influence child development. Spending quality family time together is an important part of the foundational process of how families develop. It is logical to assume the effects of quality family time on young children's development are also very important. Surprisingly, there is little research on the influence of quality family time on a young child's development. The present research proposal is based on the premise that spending family time together should promote stimulating environments, which can facilitate young children's positive development. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between both family time and family strengths and each of the following areas of a child's development: social/emotional development, physical development, cognitive development, and language development. Another purpose was to examine the relationship between Family Time and Family Strengths and to also examine the perceptions of parents concerning the most important family activity in which their family participates and the reasons for importance of family activities they participate in together. The sample consisted of 53 families with children between the ages of two and five. Participants were asked to fill out a Family Time Questionnaire. Findings showed family time to be significantly related to two year old children's social/emotional, cognitive, and language development and three to five year old children's cognitive development. Family strengths are significantly related to two year old children's overall development.
Child life-directed versus parent-directed distraction to reduce pain and distress during an immunization in preschool age children
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Gudmens, Kara Marie; Stinnett, Nick; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This study examined whether there was a difference between a child life-directed distraction versus a parent-directed distraction in the pediatric medical setting with regard to the reduction of pain and anxiety in preschool age patients receiving an immunization. Additionally, this research examined whether during a simple immunization the caregiver's anxiety affected the child's anxiety. The study assessed 36 children who ranged in age from four to five years old. The children were randomly assigned to a child life distraction group (n=12), a parent distraction group (n=12), or a control group (n=12). These children received a routine immunization upon arriving at the doctors' office. This age group was chosen because one of the main stressors of children in this age range is the fear of bodily harm caused by pain. Results from this study supported the theory that the distraction of the pediatric patient by a child life specialist during an immunization resulted in decreased pain and post-procedural distress for the children. Parents in the child life specialist group reported a marginally significant difference showing that they provided the least amount of reassurances, apologies, and criticisms which correlated with a decrease in pain and researcher reported anxiety. Additionally, parent stress was highly correlated with the child's anxiety and pain. The overall pattern of results on all rating scales supports the use for a child life specialist during a routine immunization to help alleviate and reduce preschool age children's pain and anxiety.
Medical preparation as an intervention to reduce school age children's medical exam distress in the primary healthcare setting
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Posey, Colleen Shannon; Hernandez-Reif, Maria; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Children frequently experience anxiety when in a medical setting, which can have both short and long term negative psychological consequences. To reduce these negative repercussions, medial preparation programs have been developed to address and avoid procedural fear and anxiety in the pediatric population. These medical preparation programs have also been shown to counteract short term anxieties and possible long term negative effects. While most medical preparation programs are aimed at hospital patients, the current study targeted school age children visiting a pediatrician at a university clinic. The purpose of this study was to determine whether receiving medical preparation by a Certified Child Life Specialist resulted in less anxiety, fear, and procedural distress for children visiting a pediatrician compared to children who did not receive preparation. Thirty-six pediatric patients, ages 5 1/2-12 years of age, were randomly assigned to one of two groups: one group receiving medical preparation by a Certified Child Life Specialist (experimental group), and the other group spent time watching an age appropriate video on animal life (control group). The medical preparation group showed decreased levels of fear and anxiety, while the unprepared children in the control group showed higher levels of anxiety.
Individual differences in rural children's video word learning
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Sanders, Kim; Scofield, Jason M.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Abstract The following study examined the possible relationship between young children's ability to learn words from videos and individual difference factors such as their previous experience with videos, location (i.e. rural vs. non-rural), household income, maternal education, and receptive language skills. Preschool-aged children between the ages of 3 and 5 years and their parent or guardian were recruited from two vastly different populations, one rural and one non-rural. The parent completed a demographic form including questions about education and income along with a survey detailing their child's regular exposure to screen media. Children subsequently completed two tasks: the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III and a basic video word learning task. Findings indicate that children from the two populations were dramatically different on all individual difference factors but that both populations were similarly successful at video word learning and that none of the individual differences predicted performance on the video word learning task.
Links between mother-child interactional synchrony, teacher-child interactional synchrony, and young children's social competence
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Vander Wal, Sarah; Curtner-Smith, Mary Elizabeth; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Parent-child interactional synchrony has been shown to promote positive child development. Less is known about the effects of teacher-child interactional synchrony on preschool-age children. This study examines the relationship between mother-child interactional synchrony and relationship quality, teacher-child interactional synchrony and relationship quality, and young children's social competence with peers. While the results of this study showed very little correlation between mother-child and teacher-child relationship variables, teacher-child relationship quality variables were found to have a significant effect on children's aggression with peers and prosocial behavior with peers.
A comparison of young children's outcomes in math, cognitive self-competence, and social skills between three different teaching approaches
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2012) Komara, Blanche Cecile; Curtner-Smith, Mary Elizabeth; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Child outcomes in math, cognitive self-competence, and social skills were analyzed to compare the influence of three different teaching approaches: one with children's free-choice centers and two with small-group teacher-directed academic centers with center time variations. No differences in children's baseline math skills were found after means were adjusted for SES and verbal ability. Some differences were found in girls' increased math skills over boys' increased math skills after participation in the math games. No differences were found in children's cognitive self-competence. Significant differences were found in children's social skills over the three teaching approaches. Teacher beliefs about teaching math were also examined to see whether participation in the math project would positively impact teacher beliefs.
In whom we trust: factors that influence university student
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2012) Sudduth, Melissa Dawn; Curtner-Smith, Mary Elizabeth; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This paper explores the sources of parenting help and child growth and development information for parents who are also college students. Student parents' levels of hope in relationship to their likelihood to accept help and information from a variety of sources is also examined. The characteristics student parents find important in a source of parenting help and child growth and development information is explored. Student parents were neither likely nor unlikely to accept parenting help or child growth and behavior information from someone other than their trusted source. Student parents also reported that they would be likely to accept this kind of information from someone with a university degree in a child development related field. Student parents were most likely to turn to their own parents when in need of help or information on child rearing. Student parents report that the most important characteristics they look for in a source of parenting help and child growth and behavior information is that the information provider has parenting experience and that he or she has a university degree in a child development related field.
Group medical play for reducing stress and improving mood in children going to visit the pediatrician
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2012) Brown, Julia C.; Hernandez-Reif, Maria; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Play contributes to children's cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being and offers an ideal opportunity for parents and other adults to engage with children. Specific forms of play can provide an effective venue for personal development and increased well-being for hospitalized children. Medical play refers to specialized activities that have a medical theme and are developmentally supportive and appropriate for children as well as facilitate the emotional well-being of pediatric patients. The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of group medical play involving a medical collage activity (versus no structured activity) on the behaviors of small groups of three-to-five year olds' visiting their pediatrician. For the medical collage group, small groups of two or three children were asked to sit together around a small child size table in the waiting area of a pediatric clinic. Each child received a tray with medical materials (e.g., tongue depressor, gauze, band aids, syringes without needles), medical tape or glue to attach the materials, and a sheet of paper. A child life specialist was present in the room to address concerns or answer questions the children raised about the medical materials. However, the medical collage activity was child-directed; that is, the adult did not provide the children with direction on how to complete the collage. For the control group, small groups of two or three children were recruited in the waiting area of the same pediatric clinic on alternate days. The children were not given materials for a medical collage, nor encouraged to play, but were free to interact with each other or play with any of the standard manipulatives available in the clinic waiting room (e.g., books, wire bead/rollercoaster toy). The findings of this study show that compared to baseline levels, the children in the medical collage group became more alert and displayed higher levels of activity and vocalization immediately after the medical collage activity. This suggests that the medical play collage may be a good tool to use to help children open up while in a medical setting.
Culture, racial identity and mood effects on birth outcomes of African-American mothers in Alabama
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2012) Burton, Wanda Martin; Hernandez-Reif, Maria; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The purpose of this study was to determine if racial identity, acculturation, depression and or anxiety would predict birthweight in African Americans. Multiple linear regression was conducted and results indicated that racial identity predicted birthweight. African American mothers who identified with having a stronger racial identity reported having low birthweight babies less often than those who scored lower on racial identity. These findings are consistent with those that support other positive effects of racial identity, such as higher self-esteem and less risk-taking behaviors among youth. Further exploration of racial identity revealed self image as the essential element of predicting birthweight. Results also indicated that for African American mothers between the ages of 21 and 35, birthweight decreases as mothers' age increase. This finding is congruent with the weathering hypothesis which states that the health of African-American women may begin to deteriorate in early adulthood; thereby suggesting that the optimal age for childbirth for African Americans may be earlier than most research suggest. More research is needed to explore the effects of racial identity and self image on birthweight among a more diverse group of mothers. Additional research should also compare women from different parts of the country and migration time in the U. S. to re-examine the possible effects of acculturation.
Young adults' recalled experiences of positive discipline and coercive/power assertive punishments, and how these recollections relate to history of externalizing behaviors, current attachment to mother and depression
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2012) Mahone, Equiller Nicole; Curtner-Smith, Mary Elizabeth; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This study identified discipline and coercive/power assertive punishment techniques young adults recalled receiving during childhood. This study also examined the contribution of specific discipline and punishment techniques to young adults' history of externalizing behaviors, current attachment to mother, and depression. Participants in the study were undergraduate students enrolled in courses offered by the Department of Human Development and Family Studies and the Department of Psychology at The University of Alabama. Results revealed that African American and Caucasian participants recalled receiving different discipline and punishment techniques. Male and female participants recalled receiving different discipline and punishment techniques. Significant differences were that male participants recalled receiving physical aggression and love withdrawal at higher rates than female participants. All participants recalled receiving each discipline and punishment technique at a rate with unrelated consequences being the most frequently recalled. For males, verbal aggression, physical aggression, love withdrawal, and natural consequences were each related at the bivariate level of history of externalizing behaviors, depression, and current attachment to mother. For females, the pattern of discipline and punishment techniques that were statistically significant with the outcomes of history of externalizing behaviors, current attachment to mother, and depression are similar to the pattern of statistically significant bivariate correlations for males. Exploratory analyses were also completed to examine the relative contribution of childhood discipline and punishment variables to the explanation of young adult social functioning. Implications of these findings increasing parents' knowledge and practice of positive discipline techniques are discussed.
Preschool teachers' beliefs about classroom practices and how preschool students learn
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2013) Lutonsky, Rebecca Rose; Curtner-Smith, Mary Elizabeth; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The researcher in this study investigated how preschool teachers' beliefs about teaching practice, children, and discipline and behavior management related to the preschool teachers' level of education, type of teaching certification, years of teaching experience, and race. The method consisted of each preschool teacher completing the Teacher Belief Q-Sort (TBQ), either in an online format, or by using a paper and pencil form of the measure. The TBQ was chosen to reduce preschool teacher bias by having teachers rank order their priorities concerning their teaching practices. The data were the teachers' rank-ordered responses to the TBQ measure. The data were analyzed using Chronbach alpha statistical analysis techniques. The results indicated low internal consistency among the various types of teacher beliefs. The researcher concluded social desirability may be one reason internal consistency was low. Additionally, regional cultural differences in how preschool teachers approach behavior management could be a factor. Preschool teachers who participated in this study reside in the southern region of the United States. Many adults in this area of the country hold traditional values for how children should be treated, especially in regards to how they should be disciplined and punished. These traditional values sometimes clash with research findings on the types of adult-child interactions foster optimal child development. It is possible the preschool teachers in this study held some more "progressive, enlightened" beliefs about the practice of teaching and how to treat children regarding discipline and behavior management. However, these preschool teachers may also have held traditional beliefs, which resulted in wide variability to item answers on a scale measuring these types of beliefs. Furthermore, preschool teachers may have answered some items honestly and other items in a way which makes them look favorably to funding or licensing agencies. The researcher further concluded that besides the existing data on the TBQ, additional research with the TBQ is needed to establish the measure's internal consistency, reliability, and validity.
Using music to facilitate infant word learning
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2013) Granger, Jessica Anise Marian; Hernandez-Reif, Maria; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Previous studies on infant word-object learning suggest that infants as young as 6-months of age are capable of learning word-object relationships when labeled by their mother (Matayaho & Gogate, 2008). Yet, the unexplored topic that music could influence infants' learning led to the conduction of this present study. Sixteen 6-8 month old infants heard two novel word-object pairs being labeled. Eight of the infants heard the word-object pair being labeled through speech, while the other 8 heard the pair being labeled through song. Results indicated that infants within the song condition performed better than the infants in the speech condition for identifying the correct word-object pair. Un-hypothesized results also indicated that girls performed better than boys. These findings are discussed and if replicated imply that singing, as opposed to speaking words, may facilitate young infants word-object learning.
Neighborhood and school contextual factors: longitudinal outcomes in a high-poverty adolescent population
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2013) Hitchcock, Shannon Marie; Bolland, John M.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Research framed by Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, suggests that neighborhood and school contextual factors greatly influence adolescent outcomes. While this research examines the multiple contexts that impact adolescent development, missing from the literature is an assessment that uses multiple data sources. Therefore, the present study used adolescent survey, school records, and Census data to examine the effects of perceived and structural neighborhood and school factors longitudinally. Additionally, many neighborhood-level studies treat demographic variables as covariates. But since poverty can be structurally portrayed in various ways, neighborhood-level population density was included as a predictor variable. The present study examined the effects of neighborhood and school context on adolescent achievement, attendance, and school violations. It was hypothesized that population density, perceived neighborhood connectedness, safety, and school belonging would predict poorer student academic outcomes. A linear mixed model was used for the analyses. The study's sample came from the Mobile Youth Survey (MYS), a fourteen-year longitudinal research project conducted in the low-income and public housing neighborhoods of Mobile, Alabama. The sample was over 99% African American and participants were between the ages of 10 to 18. To assess participants longitudinally four waves of MYS data (2006-2009) were paired with subsequent academic years. Results indicated that school context explained a greater amount of the variance in the outcome variables in comparison to neighborhood context. Results also indicated that adolescent perceptions of neighborhood connectivity predicted higher reading achievement and increased school violations. Further, higher perceptions of school belongingness predicted increased reading and math achievement and lower rates of school violations and absences. High neighborhood-level population densities predicted increased student absences. Additionally, non-African American students had higher rates of absences. Lastly, students who qualified for free lunch had more school violations. Consistent with Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, the present study highlights the importance of examining multiple contexts when assessing adolescent outcomes. The results reiterate the complex nature of adolescent development. In future MYS and neighborhood-based studies, it may be favorable to compare different school-based policies and examine the influence of adolescent peer pressure.
Literacy and dramatic play: storytelling with props increases preschool children's language skills during play
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2013) Barton, Kelly; Hernandez-Reif, Maria; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Literacy and play are two of the greatest influences to children's social and cognitive growth. To examine how literacy influences play, research on the impact of children's literature on dramatic play is reviewed followed by a study that examined how aspects of children's environment may affect children's play. In the current study, classrooms of preschool children were randomly assigned to an adult reading a novel story with props (experimental group), or to the same adult reading the novel story without props (control group). Subsequent to the story telling, the children were videotaped and coded for dramatic play. Children were also interviewed. Parents and teachers were asked to complete surveys about children's exposure to literature in the home or classroom environment, respectively. Analyses conducted revealed that, children in the prop condition used more story language to describe their roles in action than the children in the control group. Gender difference analyses revealed that parents reported girls to be more engaged with literacy at home, and to use more imagination. Both parents and teachers may want to use the tools and findings presented in this study as a way of assessing their interactions with their children, their understanding of how children play and learn, as well as how they can be more informed facilitators of positive play and literacy relationships.

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