The Institute for Women's Policy Studies (2017, September) reported that only eight percent of single mothers enrolled in higher education completed their studies and graduated with a degree in six years. This may be due to a lack of social support and not using the counseling services for their own well-being. Studies show that behavioral…

Children with emotional disturbance have historically poor outcomes, including separate school environments, exclusion from school due to disciplinary actions, high dropout rates, poor employment outcomes, and incarceration. Therefore, it is imperative that children displaying early warning signs for risk of emotional disturbance receive effective…

The experiences of a child in the foster care system rely heavily on the preparedness of the foster parent. For decades, researchers and practitioners have written about the challenges that foster children face while in the foster care system and discussed ways to assist them. This research discusses another way to improve the preparedness of a…

Parenting stress not only correlates with child behavioral and emotional problems, it is also a risk factor for child abuse, child psychopathology, and students dropping out of school. Although in-person mindfulness programs have shown significant effects in decreasing parenting stress, the time and cost demands for participants may serve as…

Child abuse, violence against women, and the increasing occurrences of violence in schools, churches, and movie theaters are opening a debate on the possible causes and solutions in child welfare and other disciplines. Research on the detrimental effects of hitting and other forms of physical discipline has been available for over 30 years. A…

As the number of students on the autism spectrum rises, educational services and social support for this population continue to develop and expand. Parents of those diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) receive information, guidance, and support as they work closely with K-12 teachers, therapists, medical professionals, and social service…

Background: Healthy child development is imperative for future success, parents/caregivers are at the helm of guiding children down a path that supports health and wellbeing for future success. When there is a lack of education, information, and resources readily available to families there is a risk for delayed development and lack of engagement.…

In this study, the relationship between the perception of financial stress (measured by income inadequacy), parenting quality (measured by positive parenting, consistent discipline, and good supervision), and the moderating effect that cooperative co-parenting (measured by co-parenting alliance) were investigated within a sample of parents who…

The dissertation aims to understand how individual efforts/choices, family environment, and education systems contribute to human capital development and shape educational outcomes. The first chapter studies what drives the parental investment gaps in children in both time and money across socio-economic groups. I develop a dynamic model of…

The Families of Merit Program was designed as an adult education course that could build individual self-efficacy and parental self-efficacy to effect outcomes that would benefit their child and the school. Building this self-efficacy in a community where those children served are predominately in poverty presents a compounded challenge. The…

During preadolescence, concerns about maintaining and developing friendships, gaining peer acceptance, and avoiding peer victimization become central concerns. The transition to middle school can create or exacerbate these concerns. Parents may be in a position to help preadolescents navigate these developmental and ecological challenges, promote…

A parent is a child's first educator in communication, social/emotional skills, motor development, and academics. As the achievement expectations placed on schools increase and the schooling population continually diversifies, the need to increase the overall parental involvement in schools and their ability to assist with academics in the home…

This study sought to understand how parental cultural competence (PCC) develops for transracial adoptive parents. PCC refers to the use of cultural socialization by parents for supporting the racial and ethnic identity development of their transracially-adopted children. PCC remains an under researched area within transracial adoption research…

Parents often respond to challenging behavior exhibited by their children in such a way that unintentionally strengthens it. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is a research-based science that has been proven effective in remediating challenging behavior in children. Although many parents could benefit from using strategies from the field of ABA with…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a parent-training program on parenting practices and children's misconduct in a predominately low performing school in the Northeastern region of the United States. The study included 26 parents of children in kindergarten through third grade. The participants were predominately African…