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The Sleep Problems Inventory: A Measure For The Assessment Of Sleep Problems In Adults With Intellectual Disabilities, Dennis R. Dixon

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Sleep problems can have a broad impact across the day-to-day functioning of an individual. Persons with intellectual disabilities are at a particular risk for developing sleep problems, with prevalence estimates much higher than is found in the general population. Nonetheless, the assessment of sleep problems in persons with intellectual disabilities has been widely overlooked. The Sleep Problems Inventory (SLEEPY) was created to measure various factors related to sleep problems in persons with intellectual disabilities. The present study represents the first steps in establishing the reliability and validity of the SLEEPY in adults with intellectual disabilities.

Sources Of Stress, Levels Of Stress, And Coping Strategies Of Faculty And Staff At Northern Caribbean University, Gloria Davis-Roberts

Dissertations

Statement of the problem. Northern Caribbean University, formerly West Indies College, attained university status in June 1999. The purpose of this study was to describe the levels and sources of stress and coping strategies of faculty and staff at Northern Caribbean University (NCU) and to determine if these (levels, sources, and coping strategies) are related to selected demographic characteristics (such as gender, age, marital status, years of employment, and employment status---faculty or staff).

Method. A descriptive survey research design was used to conduct this study in which the Occupational Stress Inventory (OSI) was administered to the facultyand staff of NCU. …

Training Parents In Consequence Delivery And To Initiate School Communication Using An Electronic Home-Based Reinforcement Program To Modify Students' Classroom Behaviors, Kashunda Lynn Williams

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Existing research has shown that when parents and teachers work together, everyone benefits; students tend to earn higher grades, perform better on tests, attend school more regularly, have better behavior, and show more positive attitudes toward themselves and toward school (Canter, 2004). This study builds upon these findings by examining the effects of parent training and a parent implemented intervention (parent initiated home-school note via email) on students’ maladaptive classroom behavior and teachers’ ratings on Achenbach’s Teacher Report Form and Conner’s Ratings Scales. In addition, the effects of emailing parental performance feedback on parents’ adherence to intervention procedures (parent initiated …

The Relationship Between Body Image And Self-Esteem In Older Adulthood, Lucie Guegan

Theses : Honours

Purpose: Given the global trend of population ageing and the fact that Australia will experience a significant increase in the proportion of older adults, research into ageing issues has become a National priority. Whilst body image and self-esteem have been empirically linked, the relationship among older adults has been neglected. The present study investigated several body image variables and their relationship to self-esteem in a sample of older adults. Design and Methods: Questionnaires consisting of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire were administered to 148 adults aged between 65 and 85 years, living independently in the …

The Psychological Implications Of Breast Cancer: A Review Of The Literature ; Shattered Motherhood: Young Mothers Living With Breast Cancer, Kelly Gibson

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical review regarding the psychological implications of breast cancer, with a particular focus on younger women. In general due to their life stage, it appears that younger women have more problems with psychological adjustment to breast cancer compared to their older counterparts. Specifically, younger women appear to be more psychologically vulnerable to greater disruption to their daily lives due to the untimely nature of a breast cancer diagnosis, and have greater unmet practical needs, such as childcare. Limitations of the research literature are explored with specific attention to sample characteristics. Suggestions …

The Role Of Implicit Memory In Visual Word Recognition: Principles And Processes Of Long- And Short-Term Repetition Priming, Matthew Robert Merema

Theses : Honours

This review examines the role of long- and short-term repetition priming research in the theoretical debate between episodic and abstractionist accounts of implicit memory. The empirical research and theoretical accounts of priming reviewed indicate that neither episodic or abstractionist theories alone can successfully account for the processes of long- and short-term repetition priming. The major variations between studies in experimental methods used to measure repetition priming are also examined, providing a possible explanation for contrasting results obtained within repetition priming research and a reason for why the episodic versus abstractionist debate persists. Finally, research examining the underlying mechanisms responsible for …

Factors Influencing Marital Satisfaction With A Specific Focus On Depression, Elizabeth K. Bagwell

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

How Children's Programs At Churches Promote Resilience And How They Can Be Enhanced, Dawn Blanton

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Sunday School teachers, their students, administrators and clergy in three Protestant churches were interviewed to discover the degree to which the cognitive, emotional, and material aspects which promote resilience in youths (Laursen & Birmingham, 2003) were incorporated into their programs. The results suggested that churches do possess attributes that promote healthy cognitive and emotional development in children. In addition, every church provided for the material needs of the children in their church and community. Thus, churches are important community resources for at-risk children that can help promote resiliency. Recommendations are made for improvement of the programs. More generally, a model …

Bullying And Victimisation In Primary Schools: Relations Between Bully Status, Empathy, And Gender, Teresa B. Sapienza

Theses : Honours

Bullying and victimisation at school has been associated with increased reports of psychological and psychosomatic health issues. As such, schools have sought to implement programmes to reduce the prevalence of bullying. These programmes commonly include empathy-raising strategies which are expected to reduce the incidences of bullying. The present paper reviews the empathy and bullying literature, focussing on the suggested relationship between the two. The literature revealed that the concepts of empathy and bullying have undergone rapid development over recent years and as a result, there is much methodological variation between studies, culminating in inconsistent results. However, early research pertaining to …

The Influence Of Genetics And The Environment On Human Personalities, Relationships And Experiences, Patrice Smith

Theses : Honours

It's no mystery that our genetic make-up plays an integral part in the outcome of our lives, but to what extent exactly are our personalities, relationships and experiences pre-determined by this genetic code? There are two forces that contribute to the outcome of these aspects of our lives. Genetics and Environment. The significance of the environment, i.e., our upbringing, lifestyle and the world around us is often emphasized by psychologists as the more dominant force, however our genes are just as, if not more, influential on our lives. My choreographic process is directly in relation to the group of artists …

Suicidal Behavior In Incarcerated Men In The Pennysylvania Department Of Corrections, Gregory John Estadt

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Suicide is a well-documented problem, ranking high in causes of death in the US and internationally. National and international programs have been designed to address the problem, as well as approaches targeting prison populations. Within these programs, knowledge of local risk factors is viewed as essential in identifying potential suicide completers. The current study expands existing knowledge of these risk factors in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections by a) collecting descriptive data of completers and b) conducting a retrospective case control study. The descriptive data is utilized to create a profile of typical suicide completers in the PA DOC. The …

Retrospective Comparison Of One-Time Inpatient Mental Health Admissions To Readmissions : A Look At Managed Care , Stuart R. Goldenberg

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study retrospectively reviewed 2,753 members from a managed behavioral health care organization who experienced at least one psychiatric inpatient hospitalization between July 1, 2003 and December 31, 2004. Demographic and clinical variables were examined in an effort to distinguish the factors that were present between members treated with one hospitalization versus members who required re-hospitalization. Readmission for the present study was defined as a psychiatric re-hospitalization within a 180 day timeframe. Particular focus included analyzing the variables of length of treatment, age groups, presence of a psychotic disorder, history of inpatient treatment, and managed care account funding types. The …

Prerequisites For Reading Proficiency In Preschoolers, Iuliana Elena Faroga

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The impact of a training program that combined phonological awareness activities with instruction in the alphabetic principle and teaching of basic vocabulary items (Zimmer, 2003) and commonly used words in school (Scarborough, 2003) was evaluated through a repeated measures design with a control group. The intervention targeted low-income preschool English-as-a-second language children (ESL) and low-income English speaking children, as well as middle-class ESL children. The results show that the children participating in the intervention group showed significantly better performance on phonological awareness and trained vocabulary measures than children in the control group. Additionally, ESL trained children demonstrated significantly better performance …

Cross-Sensitization/Tolerance Between Wheel Running And Amphetamine And Morphine In Rats, Clint Inkster

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Two experiments were conducted to determine whether cross-sensitization/tolerance between wheel running and the drugs amphetamine and morphine is possible in male Sprague Dawley rats. Each experiment compared a non-wheel control group and a chronic wheel access group of rats. Following a 24 day period of wheel access all animals were presented with a drug and saline challenge test (counterbalanced) with either 1 mg/kg of amphetamine (Experiment 1) or 10mg/kg or morphine (Experiment 2). Prior to the challenge tests all animals were habituated to the novel testing environment in two 1 hr sessions (Experiment 1) or one 2 hr session (Experiment …

Effects Of Smoking Cessation And Female Sex Hormones On Food Intake In Postmenopausal Women, Megan Ranae Apperson

LSU Master's Theses

Following smoking cessation, individuals increase their food intake. Women experience greater postcessation hyperphagia than men, and older women may increase their food intake more than younger women. Some research has suggested that postcessation increases in food intake may be macronutrient specific. However, previous investigations of macronutrient specific changes in food intake following smoking cessation have had significant methodological problems. The current study assessed changes in total food intake and macronutrient selection using the Macronutrient Self-Selection Paradigm (MSSP), a direct, laboratory based measure of food intake that is valid and reliable with respect to macronutrient intake. Fifty-five postmenopausal females completed the …

Animation In Artificial Grammar Learning: Can Animation Facilitate Learning?, Bill Sallas

LSU Master's Theses

Domangue, Mathews, Sun, Roussel, and Guidry (2004) trained participants to generate valid exemplars from an artificial grammar using either memory-based or model-based processing. Their results showed that learning by memory-based processing resulted in fast but inaccurate performance, while model-based learning resulted in slow but accurate performance. Attempts to integrate both types of training did not result in fast and accurate string generation. Fast and accurate performance was achieved by Sun and Mathews (2004) using a computer animated display to train participants. The current study used a 2x2x2 factorial design to determine why participants who view an animated display of a …

The Relationship Between Parent-Adolescent Conflict And Academic Achievement, Marie S. Nebel-Schwalm

LSU Master's Theses

Previous research has shown family conflict to have a detrimental effect on the academic functioning of children and adolescents. Most research conceptualizes family conflict as marital distress or divorce. Additional factors that have been shown to effect academic functioning include cognitive ability (i.e., intelligence), academic skills (e.g., homework behaviors), and amount of resources (i.e., socioeconomic status, SES). The present study investigated whether parent-adolescent conflict is related to adolescent academic achievement after accounting for cognitive ability and homework behaviors. Participants include 74 middle school students attending public school in a low-SES urban environment. Prior to conducting analyses, parent and adolescent reports …

Impact Of A Stage-Matched Weight Loss Intervention On Stage Of Change Progression In Predominantly African-American Female Primary Care Patients, Jamie Sue Bodenlos

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Obesity is associated with several chronic medical conditions. Certain individuals are at higher risk for obesity including low-income African American females. Despite the many benefits to weight loss, many individuals do not seek treatment. Individuals are likely to attend primary care appointments where obesity can be targeted. Although stage matched interventions based on the Transtheoretical Model (TM) have been used successfully to aid in health behavior change, few studies have examined the use of stage matched weight loss interventions in African American females. There is also a paucity of research examining the effects of stage matched weight loss interventions on …

Evaluation Of Cost Effective Preference Assessments For Use In General Education Settings, Jennifer Luella Resetar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigated the effectiveness of various preference assessments when used in a general education setting. Three separate experiments were conducted to elucidate the usefulness of various forms of preference assessments with the elementary general education population. The first experiment compared the outcomes of a teacher survey, teacher ranking, child survey, and brief multiple stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessment. A Spearman rho correlation found that the indirect assessments either did not or only weakly correlated with the preference assessments. The second experiment utilized a single subject alternating treatments design to compare the reinforcing effectiveness of items identified as the …

Silenced Voices: Experiences Of Grief Following Road Traffic Crashes In Western Australia, Lauren Breen

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Despite the introduction of road safety measures and media campaigns, crashes are a leading cause of death in Western Australia. While economic costs of crashes are relatively easy to determine, their psychosocial burden remains appreciably under-studied, as are the social, cultural, historical, temporal, and political contexts within which grief experiences are housed. As such, I explored the experience of grief resulting from losing a loved one in a crash in Western Australia and described the influence of contextual factors on those grief experiences.

Public Reasoning About Criminal Justice: The Role Of Victim, Offence, And Offender Characteristics And Victim-Offender Relationships. Public Reasoning About Criminal Justice: Effects Of Victim Age And Victim-Offender Relationship, Donald Foy

Theses : Honours

The formulation and amendment of legislation which forms the basis for the operation and administration of the Australian criminal justice system may be the role given to elected government officials but it is the citizens who elect them who bear ultimate responsibility. The way that members of the public reason about criminal justice issues therefore has the capacity to greatly influence decision making in this area. This paper will review some of the research which has attempted to explain the influence that several variables may have on the way that people reason about criminal justice. These research topics include fear …

Ethnic Identity, Perceived Discrimination And The Psychological Adjustment Of Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Children, Erin Louise Pratt

Theses : Honours

Ethnic minorities can suffer detrimental health consequences as a result of their experiences with racial discrimination. A strong ethnic identity may buffer the impact of racial discrimination for the members of ethnic minority groups. The current paper reviews research on the negative health consequences associated with perceived racial discrimination. It presents research to support the notion of a strong ethnic identity providing a protective effect on the health status of ethnic minorities. Inconsistencies and limitations of the various studies are discussed. Abundant throughout the literature on this topic is correlational research design and experimental design is scarce; reasons behind this …

Examination Of Different Levels Of Restorative Behaviour Utilising The Affect, Affirmation And Action Model, Jessica Sumner

Theses : Honours

The present paper reviews the relevant literature to determine whether there is support for the Affirmation, Affect and Action Model of Apology and True Sorriness (AAA model) that was developed by Slocum, Allan and Allan (2006). The chronological review of the literature examines how the constructs of apology and true sorriness evolved. Initially, apologetic types were perceived on a continuum, however, with time researchers' acknowledged different components of apologetic behaviour. These components were later named affirmation, affect and actions in the development of Slocum's et al. AAA model. In further research, such components were quantified for manipulation in experimental research …

Literature Review: Mental Health Outcomes Associated With Exposure To Ethnic Discrimination, Peer Victimisation And Peer Rejection : Gender Differences In Internalising And Externalising Behaviour. Research Project : Gender As A Moderator Of The Relationship Between Perceived Discrimination And Problem Behaviour Among Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Children, Jarrod Turner

Theses : Honours

The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between gender, perceived discrimination, and mental health among young ethnic-minority children. To address this aim, 32 participants (mean age= 10.8 years), with an even sample across gender and cultural backgrounds, were asked questions relating to two types of discrimination (day to day and lifetime experiences) and their' primary caregiver was asked questions relating to child internalising (e.g. anxiety, withdrawal) and externalising (aggression, breaking things) behaviour. Almost all participants reported exposure to at least one type of discrimination. Girls, on average, scored higher on all measures compared to boys. Regression …

Implicit Theories Go Applied: Conception Of Ability At Work, Charles N. Thompson

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Implicit theories have been extensively studied in educational psychology (e.g. Dweck, 1999; Dweck & Leggett, 1988). Implicit theories have been related to goal orientation, response to failure, attributional style and perception of effort. With a few exceptions (e.g. Heslin, Latham, & VandeWalle, 2005; Martocchio, 1994) the potential applicability of this research to industrial/organizational psychology has been largely ignored. The current study proposed a measure specifically designed to measure implicit theories about work, assessed its relationship to other implicit theory measures, and explored potential relationships with work domain antecedents. Scales assessing conception of ability at work, goal focus, perception of effort, …

Gender And Forgiveness In Early Married Couples, Andrea J. Lerner

Theses and Dissertations

Ninety-five studies that addressed the possibility of gender differences in forgiveness literature are reviewed. Gender differences were examined with respect to predictor variables and outcome variables. Participants were 314 couples from the community who had been married less than one year. Participants filled out questionnaires. Males were more forgiving and were more committed to the marriage. However, females were more successful at granting forgiveness. In addition, females were more religious and reported more symptoms of depression, anxiety, and hostility. Four structural equation models were tested in order to test for gender differences. Structural models including the latent variables of martial …

Diabetes Self-Management: Patient Cognition And The Development Of Expertise, Katherine D. Lippa

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Expert decision making has been widely researched among professionals, but non-professionals make many equally complex decisions. This study uses the case of type II diabetes to explore complex decision making among non-professionals. It was hypothesized that three cognitive aspects of expertise, problem detection, functional relationships, and problem solving, would be linked with higher levels of self-management (higher adherence and lower glucose). Twenty participants with diabetes were interviewed concerning their knowledge and experiences with diabetes. Participants also completed a questionnaire concerning their self-management practices. Interviews were transcribed and thematically coded. Participants who displayed characteristics of expert cognition reported higher levels of …

Active Regulation Of Speed During A Simulated Low-Altitude Flight Task: Altitude Matters!, April M. Bennett

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

This study examined active regulation of speed during a low-altitude flight task as a function of global optical flow rate, speed, and the presence or absence of a concurrent altitude disturbance. The results showed that altitude clearly had an impact on speed control; specifically, control of speed was much more difficult when altitude disturbances were present. Even in the no altitude disturbance conditions, performance tended to be best at lower altitudes. Consistent with previous research, the results suggest that speed and altitude changes have additive effects on speed judgments. This is inconsistent with the simple global optical flow rate hypothesis …

Interactive Effects Of Feedback Type And Feedback Propensities On Task Performance, Kristin M. Delgado

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of feedback types (i.e., outcome, process, and task feedback), feedback propensities, and their interactions on task performance in an attempt to determine, first, which types of feedback produced better task performance and, second, how feedback propensities influenced relationships between feedback type and performance. Process feedback and task feedback were expected to interact in their effects on task performance. In addition, I predicted that external feedback propensity would moderate the effects of process feedback on performance and initial task performance would moderate the effects of internal feedback propensity on task …

Spaced-Retrieval Effects On Memory For Scenes In Older Adults With Probable Alzheimer's Disease, Emily Olinde

LSU Master's Theses

Previous studies have found the spaced-retrieval memory intervention technique to be successful in training people with probable Alzheimer’s disease (AD) to learn new, simple associations. In the present study, we expanded on these previous findings by training eight participants with probable AD to learn the names and pictures of countries via spaced retrieval. We demonstrated the flexibility of the technique, gave insight as to the effects of distracters on the spaced-retrieval training performance, and demonstrated the memorial effects of adding pictorial support to the text.