Abstract

The present study examines whether the Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies (PATHS) curriculum has an ameliorating effect on internalizing symptoms among 68 low-income and maltreated participants between the ages of 7 and 11. Participants attended a six-week after school program, which implemented the PATHS curriculum. Pre and post measures were obtained and a repeated measures design was used to analyze all participants across three measures of anxiety, depression, and self-esteem. Results indicated that participants did not report clinical significant levels of anxiety, but that those children whose parents had 11 years or more of education reported significantly lower levels of anxiety after participating in the PATHS curriculum. This is in contrast to those children whose parents did not obtain 11 years of education, who did not report lowered levels of anxiety after participating in the PATHS curriculum. Participants' reports did show clinically significant levels of depression both before and after completing the PATHS curriculum, and demonstrated statistically significantly higher levels of self-reported depression after completing the PATHS curriculum. Girls tended to report a higher level of depression, but no interaction was found between genders. Participants reported a clinically significant level of Negative Self-Esteem as well, and did not show improvement after completing the PATHS curriculum.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Depression in children--Testing; Self-esteem in children--Testing; Anxiety in children--Testing; Abused children--Psychology; Curriculum evaluation

Publication Date

7-11-2012

Document Type

Thesis

Department, Program, or Center

Department of Psychology (CLA)

Advisor

Lukomski, Jennifer

Comments

Note: imported from RIT’s Digital Media Library running on DSpace to RIT Scholar Works. Physical copy available through RIT's The Wallace Library at: RJ506.D4 R39 2012

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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