Digital Commons Network^™

Organizational Stressors As Predictors Of Burnout, Kristen Albritton

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine if organizational stress, measured by role conflict and role ambiguity, predicts burnout among employees. A review of the related literature identified variables that demonstrate a relationship with burnout, supported by the Maslach (1998) theory of burnout and Katz and Kahn’s (1966) organizational role theory. The researcher also examined whether organizational level and demographic variables (gender, education level, and job tenure) moderate the relationships between role conflict, role ambiguity, and burnout.

The study follows a non-experimental, cross-sectional design using data collected from a survey. Results of linear regression analyses reveal role conflict and …

Exploring Dissociation As A Facilitator Of Suicide Risk Using Virtual Reality, Nicole Caulfield

Master's Theses

Research shows that suicidal behavior is not a result of a single cause or single event, but instead is an interaction of facilitators. One potential facilitator that needs further exploration is dissociation. Dissociation has been consistently linked to suicidal behavior, and treatment for dissociative disorders seem to be associated with a reduction of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Prior theories have posited that dissociation increases the possibility of a suicidal act because of intensified disconnect from the body. However, these theories do not indicate whether dissociation is a facilitator of suicide risk by increasing suicidal ideation, attempt behaviors, and capability …

The Impact Of A Casve-Cq Enhanced Intervention On Group Career Counseling Outcomes, Kendall L. Klumpp

Master's Theses

This study aimed to investigate the effect of using the CASVE Cycle Questionnaire (CASVE-CQ) on career group intervention outcomes, specifically career decidedness, negative career thoughts, career decision-making difficulties, and career decision-making self-efficacy. Participants included 45 undergraduate students who receive scholarships from a student retention program which includes a career group intervention as a requirement to receive the scholarship. It was predicted that the use of the CASVE-CQ would result in greater increases in career decidedness and career decision-making self-efficacy, as well as greater decreases in negative career thoughts and career decision-making difficulties compared to those receiving the same intervention that …

Romantic Relational Aggression Among College Students: A Moderated Mediation Study Of Attachment Style, Romantic Jealousy, Mate Value, And Relationship Investment, Skylar Hicks

Dissertations

Most of the research on intimate partner violence has concentrated on overt physical and verbal aggression, and less is known about relational aggression in the framework of romantic relationships. Relational aggression is more prevalent in college students’ romantic relationships compared to physical aggression and may be a risk factor for intimate partner violence. Additionally, a number of adverse correlates have been associated with romantic relational aggression, suggesting that it is worthy of study independent of its association with intimate partner violence. The present study explored the relationships among adult attachment, romantic jealousy, mate value, relationship investment, and romantic relational aggression …

The Mediating Effects Of Drinking Refusal Self-Efficacy On The Associations Between Alcohol Protective Behavioral Strategies And Alcohol Use Outcomes, Kray Scully

Dissertations

Alcohol use continues to pose a serious public health problem at universities across the U.S., largely due to the extent of consumption and frequency of negative consequences experienced among college students. Alcohol protective behavioral strategies (PBS-A) are an empirically supported repertoire of safe drinking behaviors college students can use to monitor and control their alcohol consumption as well as limit harm while drinking. However, there remains a need to better understand how cognitive mechanisms, such as drinking refusal self-efficacy (DRSE), help explain college student safe alcohol use behaviors to enhance evidenced-based intervention and prevention efforts. Recently, studies that examined the …

The Role Of Masculinity In The Development Of Capability For Suicide, Claire Houtsma

Dissertations

Males account for over two-thirds of suicide deaths annually. Additionally, more than 50% of American suicide deaths annually are firearm-related. Suicide risk is elevated within firearm owning households and men are more likely to own firearms, which suggests that male firearm owners are at disproportionate risk for suicide. Prior research has argued that certain stereotypically male traits (e.g., lack of help-seeking) may explain sex differences in suicide death; however, this remains a poorly understood phenomenon. Male gender norms (e.g. physical toughness, self-reliance) may contribute to the development or expression of capability for suicide, primarily through their impact on behavior. The …

A Parametric Analysis Of Opportunities To Respond On Academically Engaged Behavior, Morgan G. Mccargo

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adequate rate of opportunities to respond (OTR) to provide to students that would result in the highest rates of Academically Engaged Behavior. This study utilized a parametric analysis to evaluate and assess the effects of altering the number of OTR provided per minute (i.e., 1, 3, 5) on academically engaged behavior, disruptive behavior, and passive off-task, as an antecedent intervention in a general education elementary school setting. An alternating treatments design was utilized with three treatment conditions. All treatment conditions were implemented in a predetermined pattern, meeting the standards of Kratochwill …

Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms And Alcohol Outcomes: The Mediating Role Of Drinking Motives And Protective Behavioral Strategies, Hallie R. Jordan

Dissertations

The present study evaluated the sequentially mediating role of drinking motives (i.e. social, enhancement, coping, conformity) and alcohol protective behavioral strategy (PBSA) subtypes (i.e. serious harm reduction [SHR], stopping/limiting drinking [SLD], manner of drinking [MOD]) on the relationships posttraumatic stress symptoms had with hazardous drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences in college students. Participants were 492 (50.8% men) traditional age (i.e. 18 to 25 years old) college students reporting past 30 day alcohol consumption and the experience of at least one potentially traumatic event over their lifetime. Participants reported their gender and completed measures of posttraumatic stress symptoms, drinking motives, PBS …

Student-Athlete Success: An Examination Of Parenting, Grit, Academic Success, And Mental Health Outcomes, Jackson Howard

Dissertations

Factors such as poor adjustment, substance misuse, and mental health concerns have been found to be detrimental to college student success. Considering this, researchers have focused on investigating protective factors, which may enhance performance in higher education. Specifically, non-cognitive traits, such as grit, or an ability to maintain determination and passion for long-term goals in the face of adversity, and positive parenting strategies, such as psychological autonomy granting, have been tied to positive outcomes for college students in higher education. Conversely, overparenting behaviors and negative outcomes, such as burnout, have been found to be damaging to student success. Student-athletes are …

Brief Intervention With Holland’S Theory And Vocational Calling: Three Conditions With Pre-Existing Calling Status As A Covariate, Nathan Ross

Dissertations

In a series of workshops, Holland’s RIASEC Theory and elements of Cognitive Information Processing Theory were infused with vocational calling language. Participants were largely college freshman in a community learning group and students participating in an extra credit opportunity in the School of Psychology. An in-person quasi-experimental design compared outcomes between three career workshops (i.e., Holland, Calling, and Control) on career decision-making self-efficacy, cognitive and emotional career decision-making difficulties, and vocational identity. The Calling workshop outperformed Holland and Control for all measured career variables (i.e., career decision-making self-efficacy, cognitive career decision-making difficulties, emotional and personality career decision-making difficulty, and vocational …

An Examination Of Parental Locus Of Control, Stress, Social Support, And Depression Among Parents Of Children And Adolescents With Intellectual Disabilities, Brandi Ellis

Dissertations

Caregivers (i.e., mothers and fathers) of youths with ID seem to be at a much higher risk of having symptoms of depression than caregivers of typically developing youths (Cantwell, Muldoon, & Gallagher, 2015; Giallo et al., 2015; Hu et al., 2010; Lee, 2013). A concurrent link has been found between parental locus of control (PLOC) and depression; however, there is a lack of support for a longitudinal association between these constructs among caregivers of youths with ID (Campis, Lyman, & Prentice-Dunn, 1986; Coyne & Thompson, 2011; Freed & Tompson, 2011; Lloyd & Hastings, 2009). Researchers have hypothesized that the lack …

Exploring The Maladaptive Cognitions Of Moral Injury, Rachel L. Martin

Dissertations

Moral injury and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are two prominent mental health problems that affect military personnel. Moral injury results when the individual is exposed to a situation or event that violates their moral code; however, PTSD results when there is a substantial threat of harm. Moral injury is a relatively new construct within the literature with research starting in the late 2000s. Although distorted cognitions are core components of PTSD symptomatology, there has been no research of cognitions in moral injury. The current study sought to differentiate PTSD and moral injury using the specific maladaptive cognitions associated with trauma …

The Effects Of Culturally Competent Messaging On Willingness To Engage In Firearm Means Safety, Sarah E. Butterworth

Dissertations

Little is known regarding how to most effectively deliver messaging that promotes safe firearm storage behavior. This study examined the extent to which engagement with firearm means safety messaging is conditional based on type of messaging, political beliefs, past suicidal ideation, and implicit associations of firearms with safety or danger. A sample of 909 American firearm owners recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (mTurk) was randomized to receive standard or gun culture-friendly firearm suicide prevention messaging at baseline, with 608 completing one-month follow-up. Main effects of messaging condition on means safety openness, intention to change firearm storage practices, and actual changes …

The Role Of Acculturation And Acculturative Stress In The Association Between Generational Status And Factors Related To Suicide Among South Koreans In The United States, Hyejin Jin

Dissertations

Korean Americans have the highest suicide mortality rates among Asian American subgroups (6.84 per 100,000 population; U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). Therefore, it may be important to examine the unique factors that account for the suicide rates of Korean Americans, especially since current knowledge on suicide with Korean Americans is limited. Thus, the present dissertation study sought to examine the role of acculturation and acculturative stress in the association between generational status and factors related to suicide among Korean Americans.

A sample of 150 participants completed a study protocol consisting of various self-report measures on MTurk. The results supported the hypothesis …

The Roles Of Violence Exposure And Gender On The Relationship Between Adolescent Psychopathic And Conduct Disorder Traits And The Capability For Suicide, Tiffany Harrop

Dissertations

Suicide represents one of the leading causes of mortality for adolescents. Externalizing behaviors, such as psychopathic and conduct disorder traits, represent risk factors for adolescent suicide. Investigation of suicide capability is especially important, as it is theorized to distinguish individuals who evince suicide ideation from those who progress to making a suicide attempt. Currently, associations between psychopathic and conduct disorder traits and capability in youth are understudied, as well as factors that may potentiate these associations, such as exposure to violence and gender. The aim of this study was to explore the interactive nature of psychopathic and conduct disorder traits, …

Evaluating The Effects Of Behavior Bingo On Students' Academically Engaged Behaviors, Kristi White

Dissertations

This study sought to extend the current literature regarding the use of an interdependent group contingency intervention (i.e., Behavior Bingo) for increasing students’ academically engaged behavior and decreasing students’ disruptive behaviors. Participants included three 6th grade Science teachers and their students. An ABAB design across classrooms was used to examine the effects of the Behavior Bingo intervention on students’ behaviors. Specifically, this study consisted of four phases: a) baseline, b) behavior Bingo intervention, c) withdrawal from intervention, and d) intervention reinstated. Results indicated increases in student’s academically engaged behaviors following implementation of the Behavior Bingo intervention with moderate to large …

Natural Disasters And Attachment Quality: The Mediating Roles Of Self-Compassion And Positive Mental Health, Alexandra Teller

Dissertations

Emerging adults exposed to natural disasters may develop posttraumatic stress symptoms, mood disorders, and anxiety disorders. Attachment quality has been found to be negatively associated with psychopathology in emerging adult hurricane survivors; however, the mechanisms by which this occurs have not yet been explored fully. Self-compassion may act as a protective factor against developing psychopathology while potentially promoting positive mental health outcomes following hurricane exposure. Furthermore, positive mental health has been identified as a potential resilience resource and may be impacted by attachment quality and self-compassion. The present study investigated the relationships between attachment quality, self-compassion, positive mental health, posttraumatic …

Multi-Tiered Systems Of Support For Head Start Teachers Behavior Specific Praise, Elizabeth Lown

Dissertations

A variety of evidence-based studies have examined teachers’ intervention implementation and its effects on student outcomes. This study tested a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support approach to supporting teachers’ intervention implementation. Specifically, the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support approach was comprised of Tier 1 (didactic training), Tier II (tactile prompting), and Tier III (performance feedback). The primary dependent variable was Head Start teachers' use of behavior specific praise. Secondary dependent variables included teachers' use of reprimand statements and child outcomes, which included academically engaged behavior and disruptive behavior. This study further examined if Head Start teachers' use of behavior specific praise was …

Merging Two Scales: A Comprehensive Measure Of Physical Appearance-Related Social Anxieties, Kimberly Smith

Dissertations

Physical appearance-related social anxieties have been identified as feelings individuals experience in general and in different social situations based on their outward appearance. Two instruments have been used to assess the construct of social anxiety, the social physique anxiety scale (SPAS) and the social appearance anxiety scale (SAAS). This cross-sectional study implemented a non-experimental design with randomization of the total sample (n=1214) into three equal groups. Participants were recruited using a crowdsource sampling platform, MTurk. This study was broken into three Phases: confirming the factor models for the SPAS and SAAS, using an exploratory technique to determine the factor structure …

Using Two Reinforcement Contingencies To Alter Teachers' Rates Of Praise, Ashleigh Eaves

Dissertations

The current study evaluated the effects of a positive and negative reinforcement contingency on teachers’ use of behavior specific praise (BSP) in the educational setting. An alternating treatments design was used across four participants in a rural, Southern elementary to determine if one or both conditions was successful in increasing the use of BSP. Data were collected on teachers’ use of BSP, general praise, general reprimands, and behavior specific reprimands (BSR). Additionally, student engagement in academically-associated and/or disruptive behaviors was measured throughout baseline, treatment, and follow-up phases. Results indicate both the positive and negative reinforcement contingency were successful in improving …

Anger, Relational Victimization, And Vengeance In The Context Of Relational Aggression, Alison Poor

Master's Theses

Relational aggression involves the aggressor harming the victim’s social status, reputation, and/or relationships. This form of aggression is a relatively new topic in the literature that would benefit from additional research with emerging adults. The present study examined two models involving relational aggression in a college student sample (N= 247). First, we predicted, based on the general aggression model, that anger rumination would partially mediate the relationship between trait anger and relational aggression. Second, based on the rejection-aggression link, we predicted that vengeance would partially mediate the relationship between relational victimization and aggression. We tested each model separately …

Non-Religious Employee's Perceptions Of Microaggressions And Their Relationship With Job Satisfaction As Moderated By Calling, Jessica Schultz

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between microaggressions, person-organization fit (P-O fit), job satisfaction, and calling in non-religious individuals. Established research demonstrates that job satisfaction is predicted by P-O fit (Dawis, 2005). Research with minority groups has found that microaggressions are negatively related to P-O fit and job satisfaction (Lyons, Velez, Mehta, & Neil, 2014). However, research has yet to examine these interactions with a non-religious population. Previous investigations have found that calling is positively correlated with both P-O fit and job satisfaction (Duffy & Dik, 2013; Duffy, Allan, & Dik, 2011; Hirschi, 2012), suggesting the …

Does Race Matter? An Examination Of Defendant Race On Legal Decision Making In The Context Of Actuarial Risk Assessments, Riley Davis

Master's Theses

Numerous examples show how consideration of extra-legal factors, like defendant race, in legal decision-making are contributing to the overrepresentation of minorities in the legal system. Because triers of fact may be less familiar with risk assessment results presented by expert witnesses, there is a need to examine how legal decision-making is being affected by race in this context. This study aimed to examine whether individuals are in fact relying on race as a factor above empirically supported expert opinions of actual violence risk predictions. The sample consisted of 280 participants recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. To test the primary hypothesis …

Effects Of Perceived Poverty And Chaotic Living Conditions On Externalizing Problems In At-Risk Adolescents, Margaret Bullerjahn

Master's Theses

Adolescent externalizing behaviors have consistently been related to both poverty and family dysfunction within the psychological literature; however, the distinction between the effects of objective poverty and perceived poverty on adolescent behavior is relatively new. The current study aimed at understanding the relationship between adolescents’ perceived poverty and their engagement in externalizing behaviors. The sample for this study is 194 at-risk youths in a military-style residential program. Participants completed a series of questionnaires addressing perceptions of their family’s financial status, family chaos, the number of daily routines practiced within their home, and history of externalizing behaviors. Additionally, information about participants’ …

Mental Healthcare Providers' Personality And Its Relation To Preferences Of Client Personality, Taylor R. Rodriguez

Master's Theses

The incorporation of personality assessment and client treatment preferences in psychotherapy has implications for therapeutic processes and outcomes (e.g., treatment engagement, retention). While this research has largely focused on client characteristics and traits, mental healthcare providers seem to demonstrate differing perspectives of clients as a function of both their own and their clients’ personalities. However, no prior literature has considered providers’ pretreatment preferences of clients. The current study aimed to examine providers’ unique personality profiles and their associations with preferences for client personality characteristics utilizing a person-centered personality approach (i.e., latent profile analysis). Specifically, the study (1) examined providers’ personality …

The Role Of Potential For Interaction In Parasocial Relationships, Aaron Bermond

Master's Theses

Previous research suggests that individuals can develop parasocial relationships, or strong emotional attachments to figures in the media. While these relationships typically only involve a one-way exchange of information (target to viewer), viewers still receive many positive benefits that are typical of friendships and other interpersonal bonds. The current literature on parasocial relationships provides detailed information on why they are formed, who forms them, and why they are useful, yet no research has investigated whether the potential for interaction between a media figure and a viewer moderates their psychological effects. We proposed that the most beneficial types of parasocial relationships …

Social And Individual-Level Identities And College Male Alcohol Use Behaviors: Examining The Utility Of Protective Behavioral Strategies, Robert Bearden Whitley

Dissertations

Recent literature has consistently identified conformity to traditional masculine norms as motivating hazardous drinking behaviors of college men. Given the high prevalence of hazardous drinking among college men and the particular negative consequences that emerge secondary to it, additional research is needed in this area to better identify possible intervention targets. The present study sought to better elucidate the proximity of male norm conformity to drinking behaviors through including a specific identity factor related to alcohol use: drinking identity. Secondary to this goal, this study also sought to examine how these factors of identity predicted the safe drinking behaviors of …

Memories Of Emotions Of First Consensual Sexual Encounters, Mario Herrera

Dissertations

Are people’s memories of their most intimate moments prone to memory distortions? There is some limited research that has found that to be the case—memories of past consensual sexual encounters have been prone to memory biases. However, no past research has looked into whether memory of emotions toward a person’s first consensual sexual encounter are malleable. A combination of reconstructive memory and appraisal theories would predict that memory for emotions are prone to distortions based on the changes in current appraisals of the event and/or person. In the current experiment, we investigated the effects of current reappraisals of participants’ first …

Agonistic Grooming In Multiple Lemur Species, Jennie L. Christopher

Dissertations

Social behaviors are represented in every animal species regardless of the level of sociability found in the species. At the very least, conspecifics must interact for the continuation of the species. Depending on species, social behavior could merely consist of mating and territorial disputes, it could consist of a multitude of social behaviors that provide a way of navigating a complex societal structure, or it could consist of any level of interaction between those extremes. However, the behaviors that make up these social repertoires are not universal across species. They could differ in either the form or function of the …

Regional Differences In Wild North American River Otter (Lontra Canadensis) Behavior And Communication, Sarah Walkley

Dissertations

This study focuses on the vocalization repertoires of wild North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) in New York and California. Although they are the same species, these two established populations of river otters are separated by a significant distance and are distinct from one another. River otters are semi-aquatic social predators that can be found throughout North America. This is the first study to examine the vocalizations of wild river otters, and results are compared across field sites in the different regions. River otter vocalizations and behaviors in New York were recorded using Bushnell Aggressor trail cameras that …