Effect of Racial Attitudes Toward Attributions of Child Behavior
Document Type
Poster Presentation
Start Date
20-4-2018 11:15 AM
End Date
20-4-2018 12:15 PM
Keywords
caregivers, nonparental attributions, race
Biography
My name is Brooke Baker and I am in my final semester of undergraduate studies. I am a double major in criminal justice and psychology with hopes of going on to research interaction between law enforcement and mental health systems. My goal is to apply my findings in hopes of improving the relationship between these two institutions. I have maintained a job with Autism Services Center, which has fueled my desire to help the mentally ill as well as those with special needs.
Major
Psychology & Criminal Justice
Advisor for this project
Dr. Jennifer Tiano
Abstract
Abstract
Child misbehavior, as well as the emotional and behavioral problems associated with it, may derive from parental and caregiver attributions of behavior. There is a vast amount of literature that examines parental attributions of child behavior, which continuously supports these problem behaviors being a derivative of parents and/or caregiver roles in the child’s life. Research suggests that caregivers with negative attributions toward children, in regard to socio-economic status (SES), gender, race, etc., may be more likely than those with positive attributions to respond to child misbehavior in an aversive manner. Considering the amount of time children spend with nonparental caregivers, the amount of research examining their attributions to child behavior is limited. Limitations are even more evident when seeking research about these attributions in regards to race. However, research investigating child diagnosis suggests that minority children experience higher rates of psychosocial dysfunction and that minority boys are more likely to have problems related to neurological, attention, and conduct functioning. This study seeks to examine young adults’ attributions of African American and Caucasian children’s behavior through the responses obtained from nonparental psychology students. Students completed an online survey through Qualtrics which included a demographics questionnaire, a scenario of child misbehavior, the Parent Cognition Scale, and the Parent Attribution Test-Student Form. Result indicate marginal significance in racial effects on attributions of child behavior, F (1, 190) = 3.154, p = .077.
Keywords: caregivers, nonparental attributions, race
Effect of Racial Attitudes Toward Attributions of Child Behavior
Abstract
Child misbehavior, as well as the emotional and behavioral problems associated with it, may derive from parental and caregiver attributions of behavior. There is a vast amount of literature that examines parental attributions of child behavior, which continuously supports these problem behaviors being a derivative of parents and/or caregiver roles in the child’s life. Research suggests that caregivers with negative attributions toward children, in regard to socio-economic status (SES), gender, race, etc., may be more likely than those with positive attributions to respond to child misbehavior in an aversive manner. Considering the amount of time children spend with nonparental caregivers, the amount of research examining their attributions to child behavior is limited. Limitations are even more evident when seeking research about these attributions in regards to race. However, research investigating child diagnosis suggests that minority children experience higher rates of psychosocial dysfunction and that minority boys are more likely to have problems related to neurological, attention, and conduct functioning. This study seeks to examine young adults’ attributions of African American and Caucasian children’s behavior through the responses obtained from nonparental psychology students. Students completed an online survey through Qualtrics which included a demographics questionnaire, a scenario of child misbehavior, the Parent Cognition Scale, and the Parent Attribution Test-Student Form. Result indicate marginal significance in racial effects on attributions of child behavior, F (1, 190) = 3.154, p = .077.
Keywords: caregivers, nonparental attributions, race
