Digital Commons Network^™

Attachment Security: The Genesis Of Parenting Style?, Ian P. Haag

Masters Theses

There is a great deal of literature examining attachment security and parenting styles but little research has considered these topics in relation to each other. This paper examines the nature of this relationship with a particular focus on Baumrind’s (1978) categorical parenting styles and Bowlby’s (1969) attachment theory. Utilizing a clinic population of 20 parents, it was proposed that securely attached parents would evidence authoritative parenting styles, while insecurely attached parents would evidence no-authoritative parenting styles. The Adult Attachment Projective (AAP), the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ), and the Adult Attachment Scale (AAS) were utilized in assessing attachment security. The Parental Authority …

Television News Violence And Children’S Fear Reaction, Lin Wang

Masters Theses

Do parents perceive that exposure to violence on television news programs is a problem for their young children? Although considerable research has shown that media violence in other forms (cartoons, movies, television entertainment programs) has several negative effects on children, almost no research or policy attention has been given to children’s exposure to violent events in television news broadcasts. The purpose of this study was to examine the rates of 4-5 years old children’s exposure and fear reaction to television news violence as it relates to several ecological variables, including parental gender, race, education level, household income, family structure and …

Exploring Behavior And Social Relationships Of A Captive Group Of Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), Crystal E. Anderson

Masters Theses

An observational study was conducted on a captive group of chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes to determine the overall behavior patterns, social organization, grooming relationships, and enclosure usage. Adolescence is a very dynamic time for young males and new group dynamics were expected to occur. The aim of the study was to investigate any shifting of social bonds among the group members and changes in the ranks of the two adolescent males. The two adolescent males (Lu and Mugsy) should have been demonstrating dominance behaviors towards the females, towards each other, and exhibiting sexual behaviors. Due to the unique group composition and …

Adolescent Gender Attitudes: Between And Within Couples Effects, Joseph Warren Dickson

Masters Theses

This study examines gender attitudes in the context of romantic relationships, and explores the relationship between gender attitudes and individual and relational outcomes. Participants (208 couples) were recruited from a previous study of the dating behaviors of 2200 students who attended 17 East Tennessee High Schools (Harper, Welsh, Grello, & Dickson, under review). Multilevel modeling was utilized in order to maximize the reliability of our models as a technique specifically designed to address the non-independence of partner members’ data (Raudenbusch & Bryk, 2002). Our findings indicate an association between gender attitudes and communication, relationship satisfaction, and depressive symptoms in adolescent …

Predictors Of Children’S Understandings Of Death: Age, Cognitive Ability, Death Experience, And Maternal Competence., Sally Beville Hunter

Masters Theses

Several factors have been documented as major factors affecting children’s formation of a mature death concept. Among these factors are the child’s age, cognitive ability, and exposure to death in his or her environment. The effects of parent communication patterns on children’s understanding of death have been understudied. This has left a gap in our knowledge of parents’ influence on their children’s conception of death.

In addition to the investigation of individual child factors, the present study investigated the relationship between mothers’ styles of communication about death and their children’s understandings of the subconcepts of death (i.e., inevitability, universality, finality, …

A Comparative Study Of Behavior In Neonate Gartersnakes, Thamnophis Butleri And T. Radix (Colubridae), In An Area Of Potential Hybridization, Lauren Elizabeth Kirby

Masters Theses

An isolated population of Butler’s gartersnake, Thamnophis butleri (Colubridae), in southeastern Wisconsin has recently been listed as Threatened by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. One of the possible reasons for the decline of T. butleri in Wisconsin is pressure from a closely related species, the plains gartersnake, T. radix. The possibility of hybridization between T. butleri and T. radix has received recent attention because T. butleri is threatened in the area where the hybridization may be occurring. This study addresses the issue of hybridization by studying the behavior of neonatal T. butleri born to females originating from areas where …

Physiological Response Associated With Select Rorschach Codes, Chad Ryan Sims

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of Rorschach codes that have been theoretically and empirically linked to the experience of affect in the Comprehensive System (Exner, 2003) through the use of skin conductance and heart rate data. Twenty-four university undergraduates (18 females and 6 males) were administered the Rorschach while physiological data were recorded in an adjacent room. It was anticipated that responses yielding particular codes (C, C’, m, T, V, Y, minus form quality, or cognitive special scores) would evidence higher levels of affective arousal as compared to …

The Effects Of Depressive Symptomology On Women’S Childbearing Considerations, Andrea Darlene Marable

Masters Theses

Empirical literature dedicated to pursuing knowledge of the relationship between women who suffer from depression and their considerations of childbearing is lacking. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to determine the types of relationships that exist between depressive symptomology in women and their childbearing considerations.

Secondary data analysis was the chosen form of research analysis, and the National Survey of Families and Households (Wave 1) was the data set employed. There were a total of four independent variables (depressive symptomology, global life satisfaction, global optimism, and self-esteem) and two dependent variables (10 constraint items and 4 motivational factor …

Mindfulness And Narrative: Connecting Experience And Story, Noah Lyons Roost

Masters Theses

Autobiographical narrative is the verbal summary of an individual's personal history. The quality of autobiographical narrative has been found to correlate with both emotional wellbeing (Oppenheim et al., 1997; Baerger & McAdams, 1999) and quality of social relationships (Van IJzendoorn, 1995; Shields et. al., 2001), and yet little has been done to examine other predictors or causes of narrative quality. Mindfulness training could potentially be a promising method of narrative enhancement. Mindfulness is the nonjudgmental, open awareness of what is currently occurring in the self and in the environment. Mindfulness is likely to promote open, objective awareness of new information …