Browsing by Author "Brun, Isabel"

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    Changes in Pre-Service Teacher Personal and Professional Attitudes Following a Comprehensive School Health Course
    (Canadian Society for the Study of Education/Société canadienne pour l’étude de l’éducation, 2022-03-20) Nutter, Sarah; Saunders, Jessica F.; Brun, Isabel; Exner-Cortens, Deinera; Russell-Mayhew, Shelly
    Comprehensive school health (CSH) is a framework that can support teachers in the delivery of health-related content as well as supporting health promotion within the school community. In this study, 222 Bachelor of Education students completed surveys at the beginning and end of a mandatory six-week course on CSH with a body weight-neutral focus. Following the course, participants had significantly positively increased attitudes toward CSH, self-efficacy to teach using CSH, and weight-related attitudes. These results support CSH as a useful framework for teachers in their future practice to improve the wellness of students, teachers, and the broader school community.
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    "It Scars": Meaning Making and Psychological Impacts of Parental Feeding Control
    (2017) Brun, Isabel; Russell-Mayhew, Shelly; Groen, Janet; Strong, Tom
    Given the negative physiological and psychosocial outcomes associated with childhood obesity, it is no wonder that parents may want to utilize parental feeding control practices in order to promote weight loss, or prevent weight gain, in their children. However, regardless of parents’ best intentions, parental feeding control practices have been found to have counterproductive effects on children’s eating behaviours and weight status. Despite these findings, minimal research has been conducted to examine how these parental feeding control practices are subjectively experienced by children. As such, the current study explored perceived meaning making and psychological impacts of parental feeding control practices through constructivist grounded theory methods. Results from the preliminary constructivist grounded theory indicate that individuals face lasting negative meaning making (e.g., viewing self-worth as contingent on weight), psychological (e.g., fearing weight gain), and behavioural (e.g., engaging in maladaptive eating behaviours) impacts as a result of experiencing parental feeding control practices during their childhoods. Findings have implications for counselling and future research.
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    Like Mother, Like Daughter? Understanding Maternal Experiences of Intending to End the Intergenerational Transmission of Body Dissatisfaction to Daughters
    (2024-03-08) Brun, Isabel; Russell-Mayhew, Michelle; Mudry, Tanya; Moules, Nancy; Laing, Catherine; Grimwood, Tom
    Addressing a critical gap in existing literature, this study ventures into the relatively unexplored domain of mothers' experiences of intending to prevent the passing of body dissatisfaction to daughters. In a society where thinness is often idealized, this research underscores the critical need to delve into the complex and nuanced experiences of mothers endeavouring to cultivate healthier body image for their daughters. Utilizing hermeneutic research methods, in-depth interviews were conducted with seven mothers, each navigating their own struggles with body image while being fiercely determined to protect their daughters from similar challenges. This study sought to understand the varied experiences of these mothers, exploring both the hurdles they faced and the triumphs they achieved. The findings illuminate the profound complexities inherent in the mother-daughter dynamic, particularly under the weight of societal expectations regarding body image. The insights gleaned from participant interviews underscore an urgent call for robust support systems for these mothers. Drawing upon the methodologies of Feminist Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, as well as family therapy, the findings of this study suggest a comprehensive approach, providing mothers with vital tools and psychological support. The suggested strategies are designed to empower mothers to effectively tackle their own body image concerns, while simultaneously shaping their daughters' attitudes and perceptions about their bodies. Moreover, this research envisions broader societal implications—paving the way for a new societal norm that embraces diverse body images and ideals. Altogether, the findings of this research transcend the realms of academia, offering significant insights for both ongoing research and clinical practice. This study highlights the imperative for tailored strategies and interventions that enable mothers to disrupt the cycle of intergenerational body dissatisfaction. Serving as a rallying cry for a more profound, empathetic understanding and fostering of healthier body images across generations, this research spotlights the crucial role of mothers in forging a future where body satisfaction is celebrated and normalized.
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    Validation of the Moral Disengagement for Adolescent Dating Violence Prevention Scale With Teacher Trainees
    (Sage Publications, 2021-12-14) Baker, Elizabeth; Exner-Cortens, Deinera; Brun, Isabel; Russell-Mayhew, Shelly
    Once in the workforce, teachers are often asked to participate in school-based adolescent dating violence prevention efforts. However, our understanding of how willing and able future teachers are to engage in dating violence prevention is limited. This may be due, in part, to the lack of available measurement tools. Understanding willingness before teachers are in the classroom is key to exploring how to help future teachers be more ready and able to engage in prevention efforts once they are in the classroom. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to develop and test a measure that assesses one aspect of teacher trainees’ willingness to engage in dating violence prevention efforts: moral disengagement. Using two independent samples of teacher trainees (N = 400; 64.5% White, 75.0% female, 84.5% heterosexual), we explored the factor structure of the Moral Disengagement for Adolescent Dating Violence Prevention (MD-ADVP) scale. We conducted exploratory factor analysis (Sample 1, n = 222) and confirmatory factor analysis (Sample 2, n = 178), and also examined the factor structure across sub-groups and assessed internal consistency reliability and construct validity evidence. Analyses suggest the MD-ADVP is unidimensional, and that this factor structure holds across sub-groups. We found strong evidence of both reliability and construct (convergent and divergent) validity. As hypothesized, scores on the MD-ADVP demonstrated significant negative bivariate associations with scores on three measures of adolescent dating violence prevention-related beliefs, and no association with scores on a measure of weight bias. The MD-ADVP will advance research investigating teacher preparation for adolescent dating violence prevention efforts. For example, use of the MD-ADVP can illuminate whether teacher trainees’ moral disengagement is an indicator of future implementation success. Further testing of this measure in racially and gender diverse samples is needed.