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Effect Of Acceptance Versus Psychoeducation On Hoarding, Clarissa W. Ong

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Hoarding disorder (HD) is a mental health condition characterized by difficulty letting go of possessions, resulting in clutter that prevents use of active living spaces. Consequences associated with hoarding include strained family relationships, distress for children in the home, and increased burden on social services. Currently, the most empirically supported treatment for HD is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which includes such components as education about the nature of hoarding, challenging unhelpful thoughts, and exposure to distressing stimuli. Despite its demonstrated effectiveness, CBT does not result in clinically significant improvement for at least 50% of individuals, indicating the need for alternative interventions …

Developing And Testing A Novel Intervention To Reduce Household Food Waste, Paul Van Der Werf

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The amount of food wasted is a topic of societal and academic interest. As academic research in this area is nascent, there are significant knowledge gaps, which this dissertation seeks to narrow, pertaining to: (1) the measurement of food waste; (2) the human behaviors that lead to wasting of food; and (3) the development of efficacious food waste reduction interventions.

A systematic literature review of 55 food waste estimates showed that on average 114.3 kg/capita/year is wasted from consumption (i.e., household) and 198.9 kg/capita/year across the entire food supply chain. There is considerable uncertainty with this data because of the …

An Attachment-Based Group Intervention, Shannon Dillon

Doctoral Dissertations

This mixed method study aimed to understand and describe the effectiveness of an intervention and the experiences of mothers raising their children in a transitional living home. This was achieved through interviewing four mothers in Gilead House. Initially, participants completed the Depression, Anxiety and Stress scale (DASS-21), the Trauma History Screening (THS), the Adolescent Adult Parenting Inventory-2 (AAPI-2) and a demographics form. The first interview was also completed. Interview questions were based on the Working Model of the Child Interview (WCMI). Following this time 1 meeting an attachment-based group intervention was utilized for eight weeks. This intervention was based on …

Toward Pay Equity: A Motivational Intervention To Reduce Gender Differences In Salary Negotiations, Mary Margaret Keegin

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

A persistent wage gap exists between women and men in the United States (Catalyst, 2015; Hegewisch, Ellis, & Hartmann, 2015). Although the reasons behind the wage gap are extremely complex, one of the methods through which pay equity may be reached could involve altering the way people approach their goals at the bargaining table, especially since women tend to underperform relative to men in salary negotiations (Mazei, Hüffmeier, Freund, Stuhlmacher, Bilke, & Hertel, 2015). Salary negotiations represent a critical piece of the pay equity puzzle, particularly when individuals are starting their careers. If equally qualified men and women begin their …

Stack The Deck: An Intervention For Regulating Verbal Participation In Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Katherine Ensign Montgomery

Theses and Dissertations

Some students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) struggle with social reciprocity, or the ability to engage in chains of back-and-forth conversation, interfering with other students' ability to respond to a question that is posed by the teacher in classrooms. The participants were 11 fifth grade students with autism spectrum disorder. We used a simple differential reinforcement intervention within a token system in direct instruction sessions for math to help balance the participation in a class of children with ASD as well as lower the number of talk-outs made by all students. Using a single-subject design, data were analyzed for changes …

The Application Of The Specific Learning Disability Exclusionary Clause As Practiced By Virginia School Psychologists, Kaitlynn Carter

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

When special education eligibility is being determined under Specific Learning Disability, the exclusionary clause needs to be carefully considered. The current study was concerned with the exclusions of cultural factors, environmental or economic disadvantage, and limited English proficiency. The study used a semi-structured interview to explore when and how the exclusionary clause is considered by school psychologists in Virginia and what type of impact it has on eligibility decisions. Ten school psychologists were contacted via the email database of the Virginia Department of Education and completed a phone interview. Grounded theory was used to investigate the themes and ideas regarding …

A Growth Mindset Intervention In Female Collegiate Athletes, Cierra Latrice Williams

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Growth mindset interventions have been evaluated within academic settings for years and have demonstrated links between one’s mindset and achievement goals. However, despite this research, limited research has evaluated the effectiveness of a growth mindset intervention within an athletic setting. This research aimed to remedy this shortcoming by conducting a growth mindset intervention within a sample of 27 female collegiate athletes. Participants viewed two videos about the malleability of the brain, listened to the researcher discuss personal sport experiences, and wrote a letter to a future athlete. Measures of growth mindset, fixed mindset, competitiveness, win orientation, and goal orientation were …

The School Psychologist’S Role In The Problem Solving Process: How Assessment Can Inform Intervention, Rachel Larkin

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

This study serves as an investigation into the role of school psychologists within the problem solving process, intervention selection, and the role assessment in guiding intervention selection. School psychologists have many different roles that they can carry out and the roles of assessment and intervention tend to be the two largest. Assessments are designed for clinical decision-making and interventions are designed to target the specific needs of a student. As problem solvers and decision makers, it would make sense to use the tools that school psychologists have, including assessment and intervention, in combination in order to help students succeed. The …

Investigating The Effects And Mechanisms Of A Brief Savoring-Based Intervention In Partnered Individuals, Binghuang A. Wang

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Due to numerous barriers to mental health care access, there exists an extensive need for brief cost-effective interventions for couples. Savoring, which invites individuals to prolong and extend the positive aspect of their experiences, is a promising intervention candidate. Research on savoring has established savoring-based interventions to be efficacious at producing positive intra and interpersonal outcomes. The current investigation expands upon existing savoring research by examining the effects of savoring on an adult population in committed romantic relationships. We expect savoring to be better than control at improving intra and interpersonal outcomes. Furthermore, we aim to investigate intrapersonal factors as …

Effects Of Yoga On The Motor Skills Of A Ten-Year-Old Male With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Amber Schmitt

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD} is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is typically diagnosed in childhood due to the presence of atypical development, social interactions, and repetitive stereotypical patterns of behavior. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of a yoga intervention on a ten-year-old male diagnosed with ASD. It was hypothesized that the yoga intervention on select instructed poses would increase both pose duration and pose performance and that the results would generalize to longer pose duration and better pose performance on non-instructed poses. Pre-intervention assessments of motor functioning were administered, including the Movement ABC, BOT-2, TGMD, …

Response To Intervention Implementation And Special Education Eligibility In Rural Wisconsin Schools, Jessica Golburg

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate differences among special education enrollments for specific learning disabilities (SLD) and other disabilities within districts using school-wide response to intervention (RTI). Differences between rural and suburban school districts during the phases of the insufficient criterion rollout for SLD identification were explored as were environmental factors' impact on RTI implementation. Systems theory framed how concerns in rural districts impact the ability to use RTI data for special education enrollment. The research questions examined prevalence rates of SLD and other disabilities, compared RTI implementation fidelity in rural and suburban districts, and explored environmental …