THE INTERSECTION OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, SELF-REGULATION AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS

In recent years young children have concurrently experienced startling rises in their rates of obesity and stark reductions in their opportunities for physical activity. These trends have potentially serious implications for young children’s school performance. However, much of the current physical activity research is concerned with health-related outcomes and the prediction of physical activity. Less work has examined the influence of activity on other domains of child development, such as academic and social skills. The current dissertation is comprised of two studies examining opportunities for and levels of physical activity in two distinct developmental periods (preschool and elementary school) and elucidating associations of physical activity with children’s self-regulation and achievement. Examining two independent samples facilitated comparisons of physical activity characteristics and associations across age groups, school settings and demographic contexts. The first study consisted of a within-group analysis of a primarily low-income minority subsample of 4 and 5 year-old preschoolers (N = 104) drawn from the Pitt School Readiness Study, a study of preschoolers from the metropolitan Pittsburgh area. Results from this examination suggest that, although children’s moderate to vigorous activity was not related to self-regulation or achievement, opportunities for physical activity seemed important. Specifically, more time in free play predicted worse attention, and more time in recess predicted more externalizing behavior, less self-control, and worse math achievement. In contrast, more physical education time predicted better reading and math skills. The second study consisted of analyses on a large, economically and ethnically diverse sample of third and fifth graders (N = 993) and a low income subsample (n = 297). Across these samples, more physical education emerged as a positive predictor of self-control but more recess time was negatively associated with math achievement. Accelerometry measured physical activity was not predictive across outcomes. Finally, post-hoc examinations revealed that attention, self-control, and externalizing behaviors acted as possible agents of indirect associations between opportunities for physical activity and achievement. Overall, findings across both studies suggest that children benefit most from physical activity that is structured and regularly scheduled within school settings. Furthermore, large quantities of unstructured activity seemed detrimental for self-regulation and achievement

Do sexist mothers change more diapers? Ambivalent sexism, maternal gatekeeping and the division of childcare

This study examined the role of ambivalent sexist ideologies in the division of childcare responsibilities. It proposed maternal gatekeeping as a mediator through which hostile sexist attitudes toward men and women facilitate gendered division of childcare. A sample of 207 mothers with at least one child aged 6 years or younger completed extensive questionnaires. As hypothesized, the mother’s hostile sexist attitudes toward men and women were positively related to maternal gatekeeping tendencies. Gatekeeping, in turn, was related to the mother’s greater time investment in childcare and greater share of childcare tasks relative to the father. Finally, hostile sexist attitudes toward men and women had an indirect effect on the mother’s hours of care and relative share of childcare tasks, mediated though maternal gatekeeping. The findings underscore the importance of investigating the mechanisms through which sexist ideologies are translated into daily behaviors that help maintain a gendered social structure. They may be utilized to inform parenting interventions aimed at increasing collaborative family work and fathers’ participation

GETTING READY: RESULTS OF A RANDOMIZED TRIAL OF A RELATIONSHIP-FOCUSED INTERVENTION ON THE PARENT– INFANT RELATIONSHIP IN RURAL EARLY HEAD START

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of a relational intervention (the Getting Ready intervention) on parenting behaviors supporting the parent–infant relationship for families enrolled in Early Head Start home-based programming. Two-hundred thirty-four parents and their children participated in the randomized study, with 42% of parents reporting education of less than a high-school diploma. Brief, semistructured parent–child interaction tasks were videotaped every 4 months over a16-month intervention period. Observational codes of parent–infant relationship behaviors included quality of three parental behaviors: warmth and sensitivity, support for learning, and encouragement of autonomy; two appropriateness indicators: support for learning and guidance/directives; and one amount indicator: constructive behaviors. Parents who participated in the Getting Ready intervention demonstrated higher quality interactions with their children that included enhanced quality of warmth and sensitivity, and support for their children’s autonomy than did parents in the control group. They also were more likely to use appropriate directives with their children and more likely to demonstrate appropriate supports for their young children’s learning. Results indicate an added value of the Getting Ready intervention for Early Head Start home-based programming for families of infants and toddlers

A Randomized Trial Examining the Effects of Parent Engagement on Early Language and Literacy: The Getting Ready Intervention

Language and literacy skills established during early childhood are critical for later school success. Parental engagement with children has been linked to a number of adaptive characteristics in preschoolers including language and literacy development, and family-school collaboration is an important contributor to school readiness. This study reports the results of a randomized trial of a parent engagement intervention designed to facilitate school readiness among disadvantaged preschool children, with a particular focus on language and literacy development. Participants included 217 children, 211 parents, and 29 Head Start teachers in 21 schools. Statistically significant differences in favor of the treatment group were observed between treatment and control participants in the rate of change over 2 academic years on teacher reports of children’s language use (d = 1.11), reading (d = 1.25), and writing skills (d = .93). Significant intervention effects on children’s direct measures of expressive language were identified for a subgroup of cases where there were concerns about a child’s development upon entry into preschool. Additionally, other child and family moderators revealed specific variables that influenced the treatment’s effects

Theory of the diode surface-wave storage correlator

A detailed theoretical study for the operation of the surface-acoustic-wave diode storage correlator is presented. A circuit model describing the device is developed which is used to analyze the signal storage characteristics and the different read-out modes of operation for both p-n and Schottky diode structures. The calculated predictions of the proposed theory are in excellent agreement with experimental data published by independent researchers. The theory presented is self consistent and takes into account, for the first time, the minority carrier lifetime in the dynamics of charging the p-n diode structures which was neglected in previous theories. A straightforward transmission line theory approach is developed for finding the surface-wave amplitude excited by the diode potential during the read-out process. The frequency response characteristics predicted for these structures is a fairly slowly varying function of frequency; hence such correlators are essentially bandlimited by the input and output surface-wave transducers