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An Investigation Of The Relationships Among Work Values, Personality Traits, Job Satisfaction, And Career Satisfaction, Shannon Danielle Salyer

Doctoral Dissertations

In this study, the relationships among work values, personality variables, job satisfaction and career satisfaction were investigated. The specific work values assessed in this research included: achievement, autonomy, challenge, creativity, ecology, family, informality, income, leadership, leisure, geographic locale, excitement, work space aesthetics, social responsibility, security, expertise, integrity, power and teamwork. Personality was assessed broadly by using the Big Five personality variables and narrowly, using more specific constructs of personality. An archival data source was used consisting of a sample of 457 employees from various industries. Several research questions were addressed answered including: How are work values related to broad and …

Type I Diabetes Mellitus In Children And Pre-Adolescents: Affective, Behavioral, And Social Correlates, Meredith P. Schwartzman

Doctoral Dissertations

Type I diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is the most common metabolic disorder among children and adolescents (Wysocki, Greco, & Buckloh, 2003) and research has indicated that children with T1DM are more likely to develop clinical depression and anxiety relative to children without T1DM. Building on this literature, the present study utilized a multi-method assessment strategy of self- and parent-reported depression, anxiety, behavioral regulation (i.e. internalizing and externalizing behaviors), social competence, personality, and family dynamics to identify whether preadolescents with T1DM were distinguishable from children without T1DM, and also whether psychosocial differences were evident in the T1DM group as a function of …

Evaluation Of A Psychoeducational Program Designed To Affect Attitudes Associated With Intimate Partner Violence In An Inmate Population, Melani Magee Wheeler

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a group intervention designed to impact male attitudes associated with the perpetration of intimate partner violence in a correctional setting. Specifically, the group intervention addressed gender role stereotypes and conflict, healthy and unhealthy entitlement attitudes, attitudes toward women, and effective communication and anger management. The group intervention also sought to increase positive attitudes toward seeking psychological assistance among participants. Results of the MANCOVA did not support the efficacy of the psychoeducational program in impacting attitudes among inmates. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Predicting High School Truancy And Academic Performance Among Students In The Appalachian South, Melissa Kathryn Hunt

Doctoral Dissertations

Truancy and academic underachievement are significant problems among adolescents. Considering the historical emphasis on studying delinquency in populated urban areas, a more concerted effort is needed to examine this issue in rural areas to determine the extent to which findings are culturally generalizable. As a move in this direction, truant behavior was examined in an East Tennessee county in the southern region of the Appalachian Mountains. The primary objective of this exploratory investigation was to assess personality, behavioral, religious, and environmental factors most associated with high school absenteeism and academic achievement in the Appalachian south. Participants were 374 adolescents in …

Saying Yes When You Mean No: A Phenomenological Analysis Of Consensual Unwanted Sexual Activity, Samantha C. Litzinger

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to conduct a phenomenological analysis of the experience of consensual unwanted sexual activity (CUSA). College men and women (N=10) in relationships ranging from casual to committed who were enrolled at a university in the southeastern United States were interviewed about experiences of CUSA. Interviews were conducted in person with participants who were asked to answer the following research question: “Describe a time in which you did not want to participate in some sexual activity, but you decided to anyway.” Interview transcripts were analyzed using phenomenological research methods in the context of an interpretive research …

The Experience Of Retiring From Sport Following A Career In High School Football: A Phenomenological Investigation, Douglas J. Muccio

Doctoral Dissertations

The major objective of this research was to explore the experience of retiring from high school football. Previous research has neglected qualitative investigations of high school athletes’ experiences of retirement. High school football was chosen due to its popularity and importance in American communities. The purpose of this study was to give participants an opportunity to voice their experiences of retiring from high school football so that others may be better able to understand and learn from their experiences.

The phenomenological method was used to interview ten retired high school football players identified as elite based on team and individual …

Conflict, Connection, And Aggression In Adolescent Romantic Relationships, Sharon C. Risch

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation describes two projects aimed at understanding the role of conflict, connection, and aggression in adolescent romantic relationships. The first project is an empirical investigation that seeks to understand how the developmental task of separation-individuation is negotiated in adolescents’ romantic relationships via their communication processes. We hypothesize that participants who exhibit higher levels of connection and lower levels of conflict will be less physically aggressive and feel more satisfied in their relationships. We also hypothesize a moderation model whereby participants who exhibit conflict in the context of higher levels of connection will have better relational outcomes than participants who …

Impediments To Presence: Oblivious And Reactive Mindlessness, Noah L. Roost

Doctoral Dissertations

Mindfulness and mindlessness are often theoretically and psychometrically treated as opposing poles of a single dimension (e.g. Langer, 1989; Kabat-Zinn, 1990; Brown & Ryan, 2003). The present study examines the possibility of two differing styles of mindlessness, an oblivious form based upon defensive avoidance of experience and a reactive form based upon ruminative reaction to experience. These differing styles of mindless are theoretically similar to adult attachment status. The avoidant attachment style is conceptually related to an oblivious style of mindlessness in that both involve a defensive denial of certain aspects of experience, particularly those aspects that evoke feelings of …

Hope, Coping Style, And Dietary Behaviors Of Early And Late Postgastrectomy Stomach Cancer Patients, Cynthia Collins

Doctoral Dissertations

Stomach cancer is the second leading cause of all cancer deaths worldwide and will increase yearly as the population increases (Lambert, 2000). Psychosocial interventions to promote optimal adaptation to stomach cancer and the special circumstances of gastrectomy should be guided by research on personality characteristics, other psychological factors and the health behaviors which characterize phases of recovery. Although coping styles of gastrectomy patients had been examined in an earlier study, no study had been conducted from a biopsychosocial perspective. In the present study, a group of stomach cancer patients (15) surviving less than five years postsurgery were compared to a …

Mindfulness In Everyday Life: An Empirical Study Of Mindfulness As It Is Experienced In Ordinary Life Among Long-Term Vipassana Practitioners, Jacqueline Kracker

Doctoral Dissertations

This phenomenological look at the experience of mindfulness in everyday life situations is framed against the background of traditional Theravadin Buddhist descriptions and contemporary Western psychoanalytic ideas of the experience of mindfulness. The research laid out by Pollio, Henley, and Thompson (1997) and by Thomas and Pollio (2002) was used. In-depth, open-ended interviews are conducted with none participants who were judged to have stable, long-term (four years or longer) vipassana meditation practices, as determined by three full-time vipassana teachers. The emergent thematic structure includes six major themes and several subthemes: (1) Present and Aware, (2) Spacious and Open, including subthemes, …

Examining The Ability Of The Halstead -Reitan Battery And The Wide Range Achievement Test To Utilize Severity In Discriminating Among Alzheimer's Dementia Patients, Gina Gibson-Beverly

Doctoral Dissertations

Measuring change in cognitive status is essential for the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of brain dysfunction. Psychological abilities are differentially affected by brain dysfunction severity, as some abilities are more vulnerable to brain dysfunction than others. Neuropsychological assessments can be viewed as a continuum of "hold" and "don't hold" tests. "Hold" tests assess abilities that remain stable in spite of brain dysfunction, while "don't hold" tests measure skills that are significantly compromised by brain impairment. The present study ranks the Halstead-Reitan Battery (HRB) and the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) subtests based on their ability to discriminate between two levels …

Evaluation Of A Sleep Hygiene Program To Improve Inmate Sleep Quality, Jennifer F. Hodges-Crowder

Doctoral Dissertations

Research investigating the effectiveness of treatments for inmates with poor sleep quality appears minimal. Some difficulties related to poor sleep quality can be addressed effectively with little time and expense. Studies show that psychoeducational interventions are effective in reducing sleep complaints and improving sleep quality in a variety of populations including college students and adults. However, the effect of sleep hygiene interventions on inmate sleep complaints is unknown. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate a psychoeducational intervention program aimed at improving prison inmate sleep habits, length, and quality.

Participants of this study were inmates at a department …

More Than A Mean: Broadening The Definition Of Employee Performance, Amanda M. Baugous

Doctoral Dissertations

The detrimental impact of performance variation within the mechanics of an organizational process is well established within the field of Operations Management. Furthermore, determining the causes of and resolutions for variability in the performance of system mechanisms has become a key focus for improving organizational performance (Womack & Jones, 1996). This dissertation extends this research as it examines the prevalence and nature of human performance variability within organizations, its relationship with individual mean work performance, and its impact on individual- and group-level performance within a manufacturing context. Moreover, this study investigates the relationships between individual difference variables (conscientiousness, cognitive ability, …

Cognitive Prototypes Of The Mentor And Protégé Roles, Stacy Mcmanus

Doctoral Dissertations

Organizational mentoring is associated with positive events and experiences for protégés, mentors, and their organizations. Research on what makes those relationships successful – and potentially replicable with formal programs – has looked at the structure of the mentorship (e.g., formal vs. informal), the demographic make up of the mentoring dyad (e.g., race, gender), and attitudinal similarity between the mentor and protégé. Generally, results have been mixed and it appears that these factors do not account for a great deal of mentorship success. Cognitive prototypes of the mentor and protégé roles may be one as yet unexplored factor that might help …

Shared Leadership: A Social Network Analysis, Erika Engel Small

Doctoral Dissertations

Current leadership theory and research has centered on the attributes, behaviors, and relationships of a single leader. However, researchers now recognize the team as an alternative source of leadership. Theories of shared leadership propose that leadership is a process that can be shared among team members, and that this behavior is beneficial to team performance. The purpose of this study was not only to examine the performance benefits of shared leadership, but also to explore factors that may facilitate its development. Moreover, a social network analysis was used to measure the distribution of leadership among team members and the degree …