Digital Commons Network^™

The Effect Of Grief And Loss Training For Student Counselors On Grief Counseling Comfort Level In Two Educational Settings, Selin Sertgoz

Wayne State University Dissertations

Loss, whether death or non-death related, is a life-changing experience. When people grieve over their significant loss, they go through a multitude of emotional, behavioral, physiological, and cognitive changes that can be disruptive at times. Counselors report encountering various loss-related issues with their clients, yet novice counselors in particular do not feel comfortable dealing with these issues. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a grief and loss training program from a Rational Emotive Behavioral Theory perspective for counselors to improve their comfort level in grief counseling.

The literature highlights the increasing trend of online training in higher …

Robustness Of The Achievable Benchmark Of Care Method, Jeff Arthur Capobianco

Wayne State University Dissertations

The Achievable Benchmark of Care Method is a process of care performance improvement measurement approach for identifying top performing healthcare providers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the robustness of the method. This was achieved by comparing the robustness of the standard ABC method, which uses the mean to calculate the benchmark, to versions of the ABC method where the mean was replaced with either a 5%, 10%, or 20% trimmed mean, a 15% Winsorized mean or the one-step Huber ø1.28 calculation. Monte Carlo simulations where conducted using publically available, Medicare process of care data. The mean was …

Can Goal Specific Self-Efficacy Measures Predict Goal Choice: Understanding The 2x2 Achievement Goal Framework Through Self-Efficacy Theory, Richard James Lucido

Wayne State University Dissertations

The achievement goals that one adopts in an academic context have been shown to be associated with, as well as causally related to, important outcomes. Currently, the most widely accepted theory holds that achievement goals are the result of one's implicit

theory of intelligence. However, there is a lack of empirical support for this assertion. The current study tested the hypothesis that goal specific self-efficacy (self-efficacy measured separately for a mastery or performance outcome) is the primary driver of achievement goals. Two studies were conducted among a combined sample of 274

community college students. As was the case with most …

The Effects Of Two Group Counseling Interventions On Arab-American High School Students' Perceptions Of Their Primary Relationships (Parent, Teacher, Peer), Nuzmeya Bader Elder

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study specifically investigated the effects of two group counseling interventions on Arab-American high school students' perceptions of the strength of their primary relationships (parent, teachers, and peers). It was designed to help high school students increase their acceptance of the culture of their host society and develop a sense of comfort so they can retain some of their own culture and Arab identity without feeling they will totally lose them. One approach was Choice group theory grounded in the reality of making choices concerning thoughts and behaviors. Choice Theory is described as the idea that people have mental images …

An Examination Of The Role Of School Climate In Adolescent Test Anxiety, Lea Ann Imasa

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine intrapersonal and contextual variables in relation to test anxiety among adolescents. Participants (n=298) were students in grades seven and eight from a middle school in a suburb in southeastern Michigan. Academic self-concept was found to fully mediate the relation between academic performance (as measured by GPA) and test anxiety. The intrapersonal variables of perceived threat of tests, effortful control, and academic self-concept significantly predicted test anxiety. The contextual variables were unrealistic parental expectations and school climate. Unrealistic parental expectations was a predictor of test anxiety in a regression model including only those …

The Development And Validation Of A Conditional Reasoning Test Of Withdrawal, Levi Ryan Gust Nieminen

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study developed and evaluated a measure of implicit dispositional tendencies associated with lateness, absenteeism, and permanent withdrawal behaviors. The conditional reasoning framework developed by Lawrence James and colleagues was adopted. Novel cognitive biases or justification mechanisms associated with withdrawal were proposed, drawing on research and theory from the attribution (marginalization of withdrawal), commitment (revocable commitment), and fairness/equity (social injustice bias) domains. As part of the empirical validation design, college students enrolled in an Introductory Psychology course completed the conditional reasoning measure, and corresponding behavioral withdrawal criteria were collected unobtrusively throughout the 16-week course. Results of scale development analyses pointed …

A Model Of Student Engagement And Academic Achievement: The Role Of Teacher-Student Relationships And Teacher Expectations, Aja C. Temple

Wayne State University Dissertations

A MODEL OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: THE ROLE OF TEACHER-STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS AND TEACHER EXPECTATIONS

by

AJA C. TEMPLE

MAY 2012

Advisor: Dr. Jina Yoon

Major: Educational Psychology

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of academic achievement among minority students and investigate teacher-student relationships, teachers' classroom and future educational expectations for students, and students' levels of classroom engagement in order to better understand their patterns of academic achievement. Participants (n=522) were students in grades four through six from a suburban district in Michigan. Student achievement varied according to both gender and ethnicity …

Faith And (Un)Certainty In The Writing Of Stowe, Hawthorne, And Dickinson: The Intersecting Language Of Theology And Feminism, Denise Yezbick

Wayne State University Dissertations

This research considers how Hawthorne's, Dickinson's, and Stowe's writing express the prevailing culture's attitudes toward the operation of meaning in religion. It poses the question: Is a crisis of meaning threatening to the religious sensibility? Looking at Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and specific poems of Dickinson, I show how their writing gestures to a kind of religious sensibility that is not threatened by such a crisis, but suggests, rather, that it is essential to a genuine openness to otherness, and ultimately to the Divine. The fiction and poetry of these two authors express this both negatively, as an attack on …

Predictors Of Help-Seeking Behavior In Emerging Adults, Aleda Franz

Wayne State University Dissertations

Many people with psychological difficulties do not seek help for these problems, especially in the emerging adult population. While research has been done on the effect of individual variables (e.g., attachment style) on help-seeking, there is no published research that attempts to create a larger, overarching model to predict help-seeking. In this study, multiple factors were examined to predict help-seeking intent and behavior. Psychological distress was expected to be related to increased help-seeking. As well, anxious attachment, perceived need for treatment, resource awareness, belief in treatment efficacy, life events, and intent to seek help if necessary were also expected to …

Antecedents And Outcomes Of Workplace Engagement, Ariel Maya Lelchook

Wayne State University Dissertations

There has been a recent interest in positive organizational scholarship. Leadership stemming from a positive framework and employee engagement in the workplace have become of increasing interest to researchers and practitioners. Antecedents and outcomes of employee engagement were examined using a sample of 327 employees from retail organizations in the Midwest United States. The leadership styles of authentic, transformational, and transactional leadership were examined as antecedents of employee job engagement, beyond employees' psychological meaningfulness, safety, and availability. Engagement was examined as a mediator between the leadership constructs and employees' extra-role behaviors and work withdrawal behaviors. The results suggest employee job …

Accessibility For Aggression And Negative Self-Views Following Ostracism, David Eric Oberleitner

Wayne State University Dissertations

Previous research has found that ostracism (being excluded or ignored by others) can cause deleterious effects to one's sense of belonging, control, meaningfulness of life and self-esteem, as well as increasing negative moods. Exclusion has been studied using several methodologies including Cyberball and the Life-Alone task. Additionally, research has demonstrated that individuals react more aggressively following an ostracism event as compared to an inclusion event. Other research finds that ostracized individuals have greater accessibility for aggressive words, and negative self-descriptive words as compared to individuals who are included. These domains have not, however, been explored together to examine how these …

Perceived And Functional Disability In Adults With Chronic Pain: What Accounts For Discrepancies?, Dana Catharine Nevedal

Wayne State University Dissertations

Disability among patients with chronic pain can be assessed functionally (behaviorally) or subjectively (self-report). However, discrepancies--including low or zero correlations--between these methods are commonly reported. Research suggests that subjective disability may be more influenced by psychosocial factors than disability measured during functional tasks, leading to under/over reporting, but further investigation is needed. This study sought to identify correlates of discrepancies between subjective and functional disability in two samples of patients with chronic pain.

Retrospective data was compiled from clinical records of 389 patients evaluated at a university multidisciplinary chronic spinal pain treatment program (52.7% men; 88.9% White, 9.8% Black; spinal …

The Dependent Samples T And Wilcoxon Sign Rank Maximum Test, Saverpierre Maggio

Wayne State University Dissertations

A maximum test using the parametric dependent samples t-test and the non-parametric Wilcoxon sign rank test was created using a FORTRAN program and various subroutines of the International Mathematical and Statistical Libraries (IMSL, 1980). Two tailed critical values were derived from a mixed normal distribution. Critical values obtained were at the 0.05, 0.025, 0.01 and 0.005 alpha levels via sample sizes (n) 8 through 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120. Critical values were compared to values obtained through the application of the Bonferroni correction method. It was concluded that the Bonferroni is an unnecessary method. Findings of the study are …

Investigating A Leadership Fix For A Suboptimal Mix: A Transformational Leadership Intervention For Teams With Incompatible Personalities, Marcus Daniel Weller

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study uses experimental methodology to examine transformational leadership as a buffering mechanism for problematic personality combinations. 118 German university students comprising 59 dyadic teams participated in a lab-based investigation to examine matched high levels of extraversion within dyadic teams. The presence of transformational leadership (TL) as opposed to a non-leadership intervention was investigated to examine the effects of TL on group members' task performance on both conjunctive and disjunctive tasks. To assess conjunctive task performance, participants performed an employee selection task, and to assess disjunctive task performance participants performed a NASA survival ranking task. Performance was measured against expert …

Development And Initial Psychometric Evaluation Of A Culturally- Sensitive Beliefs About Personal Weight Survey, Stephanie Pickett

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

DEVELOPMENT AND INITIAL PSYCHOMETRIC EVALUATION OF

A CULTURALLY-SENSITIVE BELIEFS ABOUT PERSONAL WEIGHT SURVEY

by

STEPHANIE PICKETT

December 2012

Advisor: Dr. Rosalind Peters

Major: Nursing

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

The purpose of this study was to develop and perform initial psychometric evaluation of an instrument that measures beliefs about personal weight in young African American women. Beliefs about personal weight were defined as a multidimensional concept consisting of the convictions regarding the descriptive characteristics, causal attributions, and consequences of one's personal weight. The theory of self-care (Orem, 2001) was used to conceptualize concepts and conceptual relationships.

The Beliefs about Personal …

Using The Protection Motivation Theory To Examine The Effects Of Obesity Fear Arousal On The Physical Activity Of Young Adult Female College Students, Bibia Renee Redd

Wayne State University Dissertations

The national rate of physical activity has been consistently declining while obesity and obesity-related illnesses are on the rise (French, Story, & Jeffrey, 2001; James, Leach, Kalamara, & Shayeghi, 2001; Malnick & Knobler, 2006). The current study employed a 2 (severity) x 2 (susceptibility) x 2 (intention implementation plan) x 3 (time) longitudinal within subject design examining the effects of the Protection Motivation Theory (Rogers, 1975, 1983) on the physical activity among 87 overweight young adult college females. A main effect was hypothesized for short-term severity, personal susceptibility, and the development of an intention implementation plan messages and an interaction …

Influences Of Early Child Characteristics And Health On Later Parent And Parent-Child Relationship Factors, Jennifer Degroot Hanawalt

Wayne State University Dissertations

The aim of this study was to evaluate ways in which infant temperament and health difficulties influence maternal characteristics over the first three years as well as the mother child relationship. We used longitudinal data from 1364 families, collected as part of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (NICHD SECCYD). Longitudinal growth curve models were employed to evaluate influences of infant temperament and health at 6 months on maternal depression, employment, role satisfaction, parenting stress and marital satisfaction when the child was 6, 15, 24 and 36 months of age as well as mother child interactions …

Generational Differences In Evaluation And Expression Of Leadership Style, Abigail E.B. Reiss

Wayne State University Dissertations

Generational differences in the workplace have received a great deal of attention in the

past few years. The present study used 360° data to examine the agreement of Generation Y, Generation X, and Baby Boomers target leaders with other raters. Archival data generated by the TalentSage leadership assessment was used. Both self-reported leadership style and perceived leadership style was considered. Significant differences were observed between Generation X and Generation Y for self-reported leadership style, however no significant increase in agreement between targets and raters was observed for generation matched versus generation mismatched pairs.

Consumer Xenocentrism And Consumer Cosmopolitanism: The De-Velopment And Validation Of Scales Of Constructs Influencing Attitudes Towards Foreign Product Consumption, Steven James Lawrence

Wayne State University Dissertations

Like many other attributes, consumers exhibit varying degrees of preference with regard to foreign and domestic products. Some consumers have preferences for domestic products while other, seemingly similar, consumers prefer the foreign counterpart. Product quality differences aside, we aim to investigate the attitudinal constructs behind the varying preferences among consumers as they relate to foreign and domestic products.

The author created two new scales for the measurement of the consumer xenocentrism and consumer cosmopolitanism constructs. The consumer xenocentrism scale is intended to measure consumers' favorable orientations to products from outside their membership group. The consumer cosmopolitanism scale is designed to …

The Impact Of Spirituality On The Self-Reported Recovery Of Adults Who Experienced Childhood Trauma, Chijioke Alphonsus Chigbo

Wayne State University Dissertations

Objective: To examine whether adults who had experienced childhood trauma, and who had a higher sense of personal meaning or spirituality, would have improved mental health and lower trauma symptoms such as depression, lower self-esteem, anxiety, dissociative disabilities, PTSD, and the like.

Method: 115 participants were randomly selected from five mental health centers in the southeast of the State of Michigan of the United States. Each participant had an experience of one or multiple childhood abuses, namely: physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal/emotional abuse, child neglect or cumulative trauma. They had also been to treatment, and were between 18 and 60 …

Sex Differences In Marital Satisfaction And Happiness: The Contribrution Of Children, Attractiveness, And Financial Status, Lisa Marie Dillon

Wayne State University Dissertations

Though numerous studies in the evolutionary psychology literature have investigated how humans select mates in order to successfully reproduce and raise progeny to reproductive maturity, few have examined if factors involved in mate selection matter in marital satisfaction and individual happiness. Being youthful and attractive are indices of reproductive viability and are traits preferred by men universally while women are most known to prefer a mate of high financial status (Buss, 1989), thus underscoring the importance of a male's ability to offer financial investment to potential mates. In addition, women are more likely to evaluate the parental ability of potential …

The Relationship Of Rehabilitation Counselors' Knowledge Of The Americans With Disabilities Act 1990, Attitudes Toward Reasonable Accommodation, And Job Development Efficacy, Joy Elizabeth Inniss-Johnson

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the relationship between the rehabilitation counselors' level of knowledge, attitudes towards reasonable accommodations and job development efficacy. The more knowledgeable rehabilitation counselors are about ADA, reasonable accommodations, and their attitude toward job development, the less likely their attitudes will be expected to fluctuate. In addition, there has been very little research in terms of evaluating rehabilitation counselor's level of job placement efficacy. A survey-based design was utilized to create both a quantitative description of knowledge of the ADA, beliefs about reasonable accommodations and job placement efficacy and qualitative information concerning the barriers …

The Effects Of Motivational Interviewing On Marital And Pain Adjustment In Chronic Pain Patients And Their Spouses, Lisa Miller

Wayne State University Dissertations

Chronic pain is a costly health condition that is estimated to affect 150 million Americans. Numerous studies have shown that chronic pain affects a variety of aspects of life including mood, daily activities, and relationships. Not only does the individual with chronic pain suffer, spouses often do as well. The purpose of this study was to develop and test an intervention that utilized motivational interviewing techniques while providing tailored feedback to couples who are affected by chronic pain. This study examined which changes arose following the intervention and explored potential reasons for why these changes occurred.

Participants consisted of 47 …

Effects Of Sex, Free Testosterone, And Androgen Receptor Cag Repeat Number On Spatial Cognition And Virtual Navigation Performance, Nicole Therese Nowak

Wayne State University Dissertations

The male advantage typically found on some measures of spatial cognition (e.g., mental rotations) has been approached for three decades from the perspective that androgens contribute to this sex difference. To date, evidence to support the notion that androgens affect spatial cognition in healthy young individuals is balanced by evidence to the contrary. The present study sought to clarify the association between androgens and spatial performance by extending our measurements of androgenicity to include both a measure of circulating testosterone as well as a receptor-specific marker.

The aims of this dissertation were to assess the effects of sex, testosterone, and …

On The Disambiguation Of Meaning: The Effects Of Perceptual Focus And Cognitive Load, Lynne Kennette

Wayne State University Dissertations

Most research supports a non-selective (or exhaustive) account of activation whereby multiple meanings of a word are initially activated (as discussed in Degani & Tokowicz, 2009). But what happens to the non-selected meaning of an ambigious word (e.g., bark) and how is the decision made to select one meaning over the other? A great deal research by Gernsbacher and colleagues suggests that the non-selected meaning is "discarded" via active suppression, but a competing activation-only account is also proposed by Gorfein's research group. The present dissertation examines meaning-selection in ambiguous words using a word to elicit meaning context (rather than a …

An Investigation Of Cultural Competence In Teachers, Leslie Allison Evola

Wayne State University Dissertations

Using a set of scales to measure cultural competences which have been used in previous research, this study examined the relationships between Cultural Attitudes and Beliefs, Cultural Intelligence (CQ), and Ethnic Identity, as well as the Big Five personality traits and demographic variables, within a sample of 87 high school teachers. Cultural Attitudes and Beliefs predicted Metacognitive CQ, Cognitive CQ, Motivational CQ, and overall CQ above and beyond Openness. Teachers with ten years of experience or less were found to have higher CQ than teachers with more than ten years of experience, which may be attributed to age. Also, teachers …

Emotional Expression And Coping Style In Predicting Well-Being After Traumatic Brain Injury, Kaja Telmet Harper

Wayne State University Dissertations

Many survivors of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their significant others face the chronic stress of living with cognitive and physical impairments associated with TBI; this stress takes a toll on well-being. Unfortunately, research on the mechanisms of coping after TBI has been sparse. Thus, the present study examined the influence of acquired cognitive impairment on the pattern of relationships between emotional expression, coping styles and health outcomes. Sixty individuals with moderate to severe TBI as well as 63 significant others of individuals with TBI participated. Coping style was assessed via the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations. Emotional expression was …

Narrative Exposure Therapy To Treat Traumatic Stress In Middle Eastern Refugees: A Clinical Trial, Alaa Mohammad Hijazi

Wayne State University Dissertations

There are millions of refugees and displaced persons around the world. Refugees often experience multiple stressors and traumas across the various stages of their journey such as witnessing political upheaval, loss of property and loved ones, a perilous journey, and difficulty in countries of resettlement. The multiple stressors that refugees experience place them at significant risk for various mental health problems, especially depression and post traumatic stress disorder, as well as physical health problems. Yet, despite the growing number of refugees and their vulnerability to various mental and physical health problems, knowledge about appropriate treatments for PTSD and other conditions …

Motivating Adolescents To Chat For Health (Match): Improving Nutrition And Physical Activity In Urban Youth, Jaclyn Beth Issner

Wayne State University Dissertations

Adolescence represents a unique period of development that is filled with both opportunities and challenges. Choices and health patterns, such as sedentary activity or poor dietary intake, which are established during adolescence can set the stage for adulthood. Obesity in youth has emerged as a major health problem in the United States and across the globe (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2012). One way to help prevent obesity is by incorporating preventive intervention services into primary care health systems. The current study, therefore, evaluated the effects of a brief 1-session intervention delivered in a primary care setting in …

Tell Me More About It: A Query Into Intelligence Scores And Their Relations With Achievement And Problem Behavior, Alicia Mariana January

Wayne State University Dissertations

Research has demonstrated negative outcomes associated with significant childhood cognitive, behavioral, emotional, or academic problems. These associations may reflect the importance of cognitive skills for mediating social and emotional functioning, however the directions of these relations remain a point of contention. Additionally, most of the child research is based on early editions of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Little attention has been given to examining the relations between behavioral adjustment, achievement, and IQ utilizing the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV). The WISC-IV uses different subtests, index scores, and norms than its predecessors and has been described as being …