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Volume 42 Number 1 2014 NATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE JOURNAL Official Journal of the National Social Science Association Name of Publication: NATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE JOURNAL Issue: Volume 42 # 1 ISSN 2154-1736 Frequency: Quarterly Offices of Publication: National Social Science Association Mailing Address 2020 Hills Lake Drive El Cajon CA 92020 Office Address 9131 Fletcher Parkway, Suite 119 La Mesa CA 91942 On Line journals: http://nssa.us e-mail address: [email protected]; [email protected] The National Social Science Journal is being abstracted in: Cabell's Directory; Eric Clearinghouse; EBSCO, Economic Abstracts; Historical Abstracts; Index to Periodical Articles; Social Science Source; Social Science Index; Sociological Abstracts; the University Reference System. We wish to thank all authors for the licensing of the articles. And we wish to thank all those who have reviewed these articles for publication This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Editor, Alfonso Nava EDITORIAL BOARD Editorial Board: Nancy Adams., Lamar University Mark Bellnap, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Richard Bieker, Delaware State University Benita Bruster, Austin Peay University Jose da Cruz, Armstrong Atlantic State University Robert Dewhirst, Northwest Missouri State University Amy Shriver Dreussi, University of Akron Jack Covarrubias, University of Southern Mississippi Talitha Hudgins, Utah Valley University Calvin Meyer, Dalton State College James Mbuva, National University Barbara Peterson, Austin Peay University Pegly Vaz, Fort Hays State University NATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE JOURNAL Volume 42 #1 Table of Contents The Relationship Between Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress and Levels of Self-efficacy in Sexually Abused Children Larry L. Anderson, Janet A. Carter, James N. Olson, University of Texas of the Permian Basin 1 Player Development as a Common Pool Resource: MLB in the Dominican Republic Craig Arceneaux, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo 6 Discovery Learning: Best Practice or Guessing Game for Students with Disabilities? Dawn Behan, Mount Mercy University Jacquelyn Moorman, University of Northern Iowa 18 Home and School Collaboration: Effective Decision Making Rebecca S. Davis, Kathie Good, Eastern New Mexico University 28 Tools to Empower: Integrating “Other” Knowledge(s) through Mother-Tongue Education in Africa Evelyne Delgado-Norris, Chicago State University 33 Identifying the Successful Strategies in an Efficacious Story-based Behavioral Intervention System: A Study of a Summer Day Camp for At-Risk 7 to 12-year Olds Joseph Hunter, Western Washington State University Sharon Aller, Rebound of Whatcom County 39 Defining the Nation in the Social Sciences: A Utilitarian Approach Lamont DeHaven King, James Madison University 50 The Process of Implementing Electronic Portfolios into a Teacher Education Program: Pitfalls and Successes Lorri J. MacDonald, University of Detroit Mercy 60 A Strike-Wise Community of Women: Hawaii’s Twentieth Century Labor Feminists Megan Monahan, Fordham University 65 Changing College Student Development and Learning Styles: Campus Implications Jeffrey S. Pittman, LaTrelle D. Jackson, Regent University 71 Geo-point Graphs: An Alternative to Marshallian Cross Diagrams Edward M. Scahill, University of Scranton 79 Instructional Discourse and English Language Learners: What Teachers Should Know Mahmoud Suleiman, California State University, Bakersfield 87 Student Paper Competition Winner – Undergraduate An Issue of Legitimacy: Hmong Religious and Ethnonational Borders in Northern Thailand Belinda C. Ramirez, Brigham Young University 96 The Relationship Between Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress and Levels of Self-efficacy in Sexually Abused Children Larry L. Anderson Janet A. Carter James N. Olson The University of Texas of the Permian Basin Abstract Sexually abused children often display symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Past studies have explored the effects of childhood sexual abuse using adult samples, but little research has been conducted with children who have been sexually abused. The present study examined childhood PTSD and its relation to self-efficacy in a sample of 39 children (7 males, 32 females) ranging in age from 8 through 18 years (M = 12.5 years old). Each participant’s level of PTSD was assessed using the Trauma Checklist for Children, and level of self-efficacy was assessed using The General Self-Efficacy scale. Results indicated a negative relationship between levels of PTSD and self-efficacy. The authors suggested that there is a need to focus therapeutic strategies that enhance self-efficacy to lower PTSD symptoms. Keywords: sexual abuse, PTSD, self-efficacy, children According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops after an individual experiences, witnesses, or faces an extraordinarily stressful event involving “actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others” (p. 467). The traumatic event leads to persistent re-experiencing, avoidance of stimuli associated with the stressor, and increased arousal. In children, the feelings of helplessness and fear may manifest as disorganized or agitated behavior. The lifetime prevalence of PTSD in the general population approximates 8%, with females twice as likely to meet diagnostic criteria as males (DSM-IV-TR, 2000; Maxmen, Ward, & Kilgus, 2009). Retrospective research involving adults has linked child sexual abuse to higher prevalence rates of PTSD among women. Saunders, Villeponteaux, Lipovsky, Kilpatrick, and Veronen (1992) sampled 391 adult women to assess the risk for developing mental health disorders in victims of child sexual assault, which they categorized as rape, molestation, and noncontact assault. The results indicated that 33.5% (n = 131) experienced at least one sexual assault before 18 years of age. Of those respondents, 63.2% of molestation victims (n = 57) and 66.7% of rape victims (n = 39) reported a lifetime history of sexual disorders, 33.3% of molestation victims and 64.1% of rape victims reported a lifetime history of PTSD, and 45.6% of molestation victims and 48.7% of rape victims reported a lifetime history of depression. These findings ranked PTSD third in prevalence for molestation victims and second in prevalence for rape victims. Epstein, Saunders, and Kilpatrick (1997) found a lifetime prevalence rate of 26% among a sample of 288 adult women who reported childhood rape (n = 74). Briere (as cited in Epstein et al., 1997) noted that 54% of adult victims of child sexual abuse reported anxiety attacks, 54% reported nightmares, and 72% reported sleep disturbances. Given the high frequency of child sexual abuse and the adverse impact on victims, several researchers have investigated PSTD symptoms among child samples. Deblinger, McLeer, Atkins, Ralphe, and Foa (1989) reviewed medical records 29 sexually abused, 29 physically abused, and 29 nonabused children admitted to a child-inpatient treatment facility. Their record review found that 20.7% of the sexually abused, 6.9% of the physically abused, and 10.3% of the nonabused children appeared to meet diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Sexually abused children displayed more re-experiencing PTSD symptoms and more 1 sexually inappropriate behaviors. Both sexually abused and physically abused children tended to display more avoidant/dissociative PTSD symptoms than did children in the nonabused group. King et al. (2000) included the Deblinger et al. (1989) study in their brief review of studies involving samples of sexually abused children who met diagnostic criteria for PTSD. The prevalence rates from the four cited studies in the King et al. review ranged from 26% to 50%. The extant research literature clearly indicates that children who have experienced child sexual abuse frequently display PTSD-related symptoms such as high levels of anxiety, depressive symptoms, hypervigilance, nightmares, social withdrawal, sleep problems, anger, shame or guilt, and school difficulties. Children who have experienced sexual abuse may also demonstrate other symptoms such as problems with gender identity, impaired social skills, increased aggression, mental inflexibility, disruptions in personal hygiene, compulsive compliance, and physical symptoms such as headaches and stomachaches (Deblinger et al., 1989; King et al, 2000; Reyes & Asbrand, 2005). The trauma associated with child sexual abuse and the potentially adverse impact of PTSD symptoms combine to hinder the normal development of self-efficacy in victims of child sexual abuse (Diehl & Prout, 2002). Bandura defined perceived self-efficacy as an individual’s belief about one’s ability to engage in actions that will successfully produce a desired result or outcome (Bandura, Pastorelli, Barbaranelli, & Caprara, 1999). Diehl and Prout (2002) noted that the combination of sexual abuse and symptoms of PTSD diminished individual perceptions of self-efficacy, with victims of child sexual abuse reporting less competence, lower acceptance by others, less self-esteem, more inferiority, more negative self-evaluations, and more negative core beliefs than peers who had not experienced abuse. According to Diehl and Prout, the combination of trauma and PTSD symptoms forces a child to attend to external threats, which inhibits the child’s ability to develop self-awareness skills and hinders the development of healthy