Digital Commons Network^™

The Effectiveness Of Behavioral Activation Group Therapy: Treating Comorbid Depression On A Specialized Inpatient Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Unit For Combat Veterans, Theodore P. Wright

Dissertations

The comorbidity of depression and PTSD has been shown to be relatively prevalent. Researchers have found a 70% lifetime prevalence o f comorbid PTSD and depression among combat veterans. This study examined the effectiveness of a behavioral activation (BA) group treatment when administered to combat veterans with comorbid depression and PTSD in the residential treatment program at the Battle Creek Veteran Affairs Medical Center. Forty-five veterans participated in the study. Twenty-four veterans participated in a BA treatment group while in the treatment program. Twenty-one veterans attended the treatment program, but did not participate in the BA treatment group and served …

The Effects Of Group Size On Incentive Effectiveness: A Meta-Analysis, Angelica C. Grindle

Dissertations

A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the effects of group size on incentive effectiveness using data obtained from incentive systems implemented in 13 companies. Other predictor variables included the organizational level targeted for improvement, long/short-term profitability type, company number, and length of exposure to the incentive system. The main dependent variable was the monthly score for each measure of performance. Three types of meaningful comparisons were defined for these data: (1) Between-Group - Within-Company comparisons in which a performance measure was in place in two or more units of an organization; (2) Between-Group - Across-Company comparisons in which a performance …

Testing The Effectiveness Of Behavioral Activation Therapy In The Treatment Of Acute Unipolar Depression, Jenifer M. Cullen

Dissertations

The present study sought to investigate the clinical effectiveness of Behavioral Activation (BA) Therapy, the behavioral activation component of Beck's Cognitive Therapy (CT; Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979). Seventeen adults seeking mental health services for Unipolar Depression were recruited from the Kalamazoo and Southwestern Michigan regions. All participants were randomly assigned to either (a) an Immediate Treatment Group, or (b) a waitlist control group, while both received 10 weeks o f BA therapy. Depressive symptomatology for both conditions were assessed at pretreatment, post-treatment, and 3-month follow-up with the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; Beck, Steer, Ball, & Ranieri, 1996), the …

Economic Development And Social Diversity: The Origin And Composition Of A Systemic Growth Regime In Louisville, Kentucky, 1897-1933, John W. Mctighe

Dissertations

Between the years 1897 and 1933, a systemic growth regime controlled the urban development of Louisville, Kentucky. The city’s growth regime was created in response to changing national patterns of production resulting from industrialization, and was dedicated to both urban economic expansion, as well as internal political and social control. The growth regime functioned in an informal manner through the formal organizations of the city by co-opting selective representatives from the various economic, ethnic, and racial leadership pools of the city. As an informal entity, the growth regime achieved a high degree of urban hegemony and was a structural hierarchy …

Teaching My Son To Be A Father: The Plight Of Unmarried Adolescent African American Fathers, Michael George Till

Dissertations

A quantitative research design was utilized to examine and understand the perceptions of fatherhood and manhood held by unmarried African American adolescent fathers. In face-to-face 60-90 minute interviews using a semistructured interview guide developed by the researcher, participants were asked open-ended questions to provide these young men with a voice and an opportunity to express their needs, support, neglect, understanding, and perception of how society views them and its impact on the functioning of the family unit. Using purposeful sampling, 10 unmarried African American adolescent fathers, located in the southwestern area of Michigan, were interviewed for data collection.

Interviews were …

A Comparison Of One-To-One And Small Group Instruction For Young Children With Autism: Focus On Effective Teaching And Behavior Management, Kathy Marie Bertsch

Dissertations

Over the past two decades, research has focused on identifying successful instructional methods and appropriate programming for young children with autism. Much of this early research focused on the effectiveness of intensive one-to-one behavioral programs. Support for intensive one-to-one instruction for children with autism began a long-term debate over the effectiveness, efficiency and appropriateness of one-to-one instructional strategies for young children with autism. In response, researchers and educators began considering and studying small group instruction, a less restrictive alternative to intensive one-to-one instruction. While support is mounting for the use of small group instructional strategies, there continues to be limited …

Social Anxiety: Attentional Bias In Reaction To Emotional Faces Before And After Participation In A College Level Public Speaking Course, Scott Walter Maieritsch

Dissertations

This study was designed to examine the effectiveness of a semester-long public speaking course in reducing the self-reported levels of communication anxiety and social anxiety among college students enrolled in such a course. The current study also sought to replicate and extend a recent line of research that has demonstrated that highly socially anxious individuals show an attentional bias away from emotional faces under conditions of social-evaluative threat. The current study extended this line of research by conducting the same reaction time procedure with participants in a pretest/post-test design. The project was designed to determine if groups (rating high vs. …

Assessment N>E Discriminative Stimulus Effects Of (±)-3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (Mdma, "Ecstasy") And (+Lysergic Add Diethylamide (Lsd) In A Three-Lever Drug Discrimination Procedure, Amy K. Goodwin

Dissertations

(±)3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a common drug of abuse known as "ecstasy." Currently, MDMA is classified into the traditional drug classes as both a "stimulant" and a "hallucinogen" because it is reported to share both subjective and physiological properties of both classes. MDMA is thought to produce its psychoactive effects by acting as both a serotonin and a dopamine agonist. However, the relative importance of the serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitter systems in mediating the stimulus properties of MDMA remains unclear.

The drug discrimination assay is used to classify drugs as "similar" or "dissimilar," as well as to examine underlying neurochemical changes …

Factors Predicting Distress At Marital Therapy Onset, Joseph J.H. Horak

Dissertations

Higher levels of distress at marital therapy onset predict poorer treatment outcomes in several studies. This study selected nine variables to determine their ability to predict distress at marital therapy onset. The first two predictor variables, shame (measured by the Internalized Shame Scale; Cook, 2000) and expressive atmosphere in the family of origin (measured by the Family of Origin Expressive Atmosphere Scale; Yelsma, Hovestadt, Anderson, & Nilsson, 2000), were chosen from the literature and studies that considered these variables to be related to marital distress. The remaining seven sociodemographic predictor variables—(1) parental divorce as a child, (2) pregnancy before marriage, …

Self-Control Training In Young Children, Laura Kay Murray

Dissertations

The incidence of conduct and behavioral disorders is steadily on the rise. Externalizing problems in the preschool years are considerable predictors of problems in later childhood, and even adulthood. There is a growing need for effective prevention programs for young children that can be implemented in school environments. Prevention efforts with young children often focus on self-control training for the reduction of impulsive behaviors. Impulsivity is an early presenting behavior pattern that can lead to a variety of disorders. The present study had two goals: (1) to measure the effects of a package intervention containing cognitive and behavioral treatment techniques …

Using Bibliometric Journal Citation Analysis As A Technique To Assess Trends In School Psychology Journal Publications From 1995-1999, Meg Kwak

Dissertations

School psychology is a field influenced by die many different areas within psychology and education. School psychologists respond to many challenges and when working in the schools it is imperative that they stay abreast of the newest research findings. In order to remain informed, as well as to develop new knowledge, it is essential that professionals are aware o f the influences of the publications and the relative strength of specific journals (Kawano, Kehle, Clark, & Jenson, 1993). One way to assess publication trends is through journal citation analysis. Citation analysis is characterized by its objective ability to highlight the …

An Examination Of The Effects Of Fluency Training On Retention, Distractibility, And Generativity, Victoria Mary Pellettiere

Dissertations

The Precision Teaching movement grew out of a commitment to use frequency as a universal measure of behavior, as well as the desire to employ research methods derived from the experimental analysis of behavior in education (Lindsley, 1991). One component of instruction employing the precision teaching model is fluency training that typically involves exposing learners to the training materials until they have met criteria for both accuracy and speed. Proponents of fluency training ascribe a number of specific benefits to this instructional tool. Lindsley (1992, 1995) and others (Binder, 1993, 1996; Haughton, 1981b) suggested that fluency training enhances retention, endurance, …

Documenting Lines Of Communication Between School Personnel And Physicians For Medication Evaluation Purposes For Students With Adhd, Pamela M. Radford

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to document current and desired lines of communication between school personnel and physicians for the purpose of making medication decisions for students with ADHD. School-physician communication practices-were assessed utilizing a national survey of primary care physicians who are members o f the American Medical Association (AMA) and school psychologists who are members of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). Specific information exchange practices that were assessed included: (a) on what student characteristics is information collected (e.g., academic performance, disruptive behavior, social interactions), (b) how school-based information is collected (e.g., direct observations, rating scales), …

Lever-Press Acquisition By Rats: Effects Of Some Historical Variables, Susan M. Snycerski

Dissertations

Traditionally, behavior analysts and behavioral pharmacologists have emphasized the study of steady-state behavior, while neglecting behavior in transition. In the last 10 years, researchers in these fields have begun to investigate behavioral transitions, particularly the transition from near-zero to above-zero responding involved in response acquisition. This research has focused on variables (e.g., reinforcement delay) that affect acquisition and on procedures (e.g., resetting vs. nonresetting delays) used to assess acquisition. Most studies of acquisition have provided their subjects with behavioral histories prior to testing for acquisition, but few have systematically investigated the importance of historical variables. Consequently, the present study examined …

Using Measures Of Intervention Integrity, Intervention Acceptability, And Intervention Effectiveness To Evaluate A Toilet Training Program In A Preschool Classroom For Children With Special Needs, Katherine M. Holverstott-Cockrell

Dissertations

The primary objective of this study is to use measures of intervention integrity, intervention acceptability, and intervention effectiveness identified by Witt and Elliott (1985) to evaluate the toilet training program in a preschool classroom. The second objective is to assess the effects of parent participation with the toileting program. The third objective is to assess the effects of the toilet training intervention. Specifically, this study investigated (a) the relationship between intervention integrity, acceptability, and effectiveness of a toilet training intervention implemented in a preschool setting and at home; (b) the relationship between parental participation with the intervention and the efficacy …

Study Of The Efficacy Of A Christian-Based Inpatient Hospital For Treating Eating Disorders, Depression, And Spiritual Distress, Robert Alan Darden

Dissertations

Problem . Outcome studies continue to indicate that a substantial proportion of individuals with eating disorders have a dangerously limited response to treatment. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if a Christian cognitive-behavioral-based inpatient hospital that specializes in eating disorders was an effective program for treating eating disorders. Next, this study sought to determine if this inpatient hospital was effective in treating both depression and spiritual distress. Finally, this study examined the relationship between depression and spiritual distress with treatment outcome.

Method . Five hundred and eighty-two patients were admitted to an inpatient hospital between July 1, …

The Relationship Between Spiritual Belief, Life Attitude, And Mental Health Among Physical Fitness Participants In Northern Indiana, Sharon K. Sacks

Dissertations

Problem. The purpose of this study is to explore spiritual beliefs as defined by an interconnectedness with self and others, generated from a relationship with a higher power, and consider its impact on attitude toward life and mental health.

Method. This study employed the survey research method to collect data investigating the relationships between spiritual beliefs, attitude toward life, and mental health. A battery of three instruments was selected for this study. The Royal Free Questionnaire on Beliefs and Experiences, developed by King, Speck, and Thomas (1994), was used for measuring spiritual beliefs. The Optimism and Pessimism Questionnaire provided a …

Predicting Work Stress Burnout In Rural And Urban Emergency Medical Technicians Through The Use Of Early Recollections, Susan M. Vettor

Dissertations

Problem . Literature on work-stress burnout among emergency medical technicians (EMTs) suggests that they have maintained the same levels of burnout and attrition rates for the past 20 years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between early recollections and burnout in EMTs working in urban and rural locations.

Method . A demographic questionnaire, the Staff Burnout Scale for Health Professionals (SBS-HP), and two early recollections, were used to survey 120 emergency medical technicians in Toronto, Ontario and Mojave County, Arizona to assess their level of burnout and to identify various themes in early recollections.

Results . …

Differences Between Undergraduate And Graduate Students In Self-Concept And Depression, Ann L. Woolley

Dissertations

Problem.

Students have an opportunity for personal growth as they learn about themselves and the world around them. However, their levels of self-concept and depression can influence how they view' themselves, their relationships, and their world. This research compared undergraduate and graduate students with respect to their levels of self-concept and depression.

Method

A quantitative research design was used for an ex post facto study of 239 students from Andrews University and Western Michigan University. They completed the Demographic Questionnaire, the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale: Second Edition (TSCS:2), and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II).

Results

Using 13 as the B D …