Dissertation Defense: Marsha Ariol

The College of Education has scheduled the final oral examination of Marsha Ariol for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in School Psychology. The title of the dissertation is: "Moderated-Mediation of Behavior from Early Childhood to Adolescence in Youth from Diverse Backgrounds."

 

Children and adolescents from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds have a high likelihood of experiencing internalizing and externalizing behavioral challenges, which contribute to long-term, negative outcomes in their academic and interpersonal trajectories. Although parents serve as primary informants in early childhood, teachers (mediator) and a child’s connectedness with the school (moderator) become prominent agents of a child’s behavioral and emotional growth in middle childhood through adolescence. With age and maturity, adolescents can self-report behavioral and emotional functioning. Thus, the current study aimed to use multi-informant reports to examine the trajectories of child behavior from early childhood through adolescence as mediated by teacher-reported behavior in elementary school and moderated by school connectedness (i.e., a secondary moderated mediation model). 
 

Unfortunately, there were no significant paths on the social behavior model. Results from these analyses demonstrate durable behavioral trajectories across developmental stages. Clinicians and teachers who serve these communities should encourage healthy school partnerships in addition to encourage early intervention to better support positive long-term behavioral, emotional, and social outcomes for adolescents.