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N Pucci Dissertation 9_10_14.pdf (516.65 KB)

ETD Abstract Container

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The Girls Link Program: An Examination of the Efficacy of a Brief Prevention Program for Behaviorally Inhibited Female Adolescents

Pucci, Nicole Christine
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1410467175

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Psychology.
Behavioral inhibition (BI) is a temperamental style that is characterized by shyness, social avoidance, social withdrawal, and reticence in unfamiliar situations and towards people (Kagan, Reznick, & Snidman, 1988). Children who are behaviorally inhibited tend to exhibit fear when meeting or interacting with unfamiliar individuals and they prefer to avoid or withdraw from social situations when possible (Essex, Klein, Slattery, Goldsmith, Kalin, 2010; Kagan et al., 1988). An inhibited temperament is one of the strongest predictors of anxiety disorders, depressive symptomology and poor peer relationships, all of which can have a negative impact on the emotional and social development of children and adolescents. Various prevention programs have targeted anxiety, depression and peer relationships, yet none have specifically done so by screening for BI and none have specifically targeted middle school females. The purpose of the current study was to examine the efficacy of a brief (5 session) cognitive behavioral skills group, relative to a peer support group, at reducing internalizing symptoms and increasing adolescent connectedness in middle-school-aged females who have elevated levels of BI. Results revealed that participants in both conditions demonstrated decreases in social anxiety and generalized anxiety symptoms in addition to increased peer self esteem, increased connectedness to parents and for those in the skills condition, increased CBT skill use. The effects of the study were small, but the overall results are encouraging in that they support the efficacy of a brief, non-intensive prevention program for at-risk middle-school females. Results of the peer support group signify that participating in a non-competitive, supportive, adult-supervised group may be adequate in producing the positive benefits noted above for sub-clinically anxious middle-school females. Results of the cognitive behavioral skills group suggest that prevention programs need not be lengthy or time-intensive for participants to learn CBT skills and demonstrate meaningful changes in anxiety symptoms, self esteem, and connectedness to parents. Brief, CBT-based prevention programs such as the Girls Link program demonstrate utility as a first line intervention method for at-risk middle-school-aged females and use as a primer for those identified females who will require further intervention services.
Amy Przeworski (Advisor)
75 p.
Psychology
behavioral inhibition; female adolescents; brief prevention; anxiety

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Pucci, N. C. (2015). The Girls Link Program: An Examination of the Efficacy of a Brief Prevention Program for Behaviorally Inhibited Female Adolescents [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1410467175

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Pucci, Nicole. The Girls Link Program: An Examination of the Efficacy of a Brief Prevention Program for Behaviorally Inhibited Female Adolescents. 2015. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1410467175.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Pucci, Nicole. "The Girls Link Program: An Examination of the Efficacy of a Brief Prevention Program for Behaviorally Inhibited Female Adolescents." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1410467175

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1410467175
439
© 2014, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License The Girls Link Program: An Examination of the Efficacy of a Brief Prevention Program for Behaviorally Inhibited Female Adolescents by Nicole Christine Pucci is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.