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Victims' Perspectives On The Process Of Seeking A Protective Order: Predictors Of Perceived Empowerment, Sara-Beth Plummer Jan 2007

Victims' Perspectives On The Process Of Seeking A Protective Order: Predictors Of Perceived Empowerment, Sara-Beth Plummer

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined victims' perceived sense of empowerment during the process of seeking a Preliminary Protective Order. A cross sectional survey design with stratified sampling was used to gather information from women seeking Preliminary Protective Orders in Richmond City, Virginia. During a six month period 89 women agreed to participate, for a response rate of 83 percent. In general, the sample consisted of women who identified themselves as African-American, single, with either a high school/GED degree, and/or some college education.Overall, the women found the steps during the process of seeking an Order, either easy or very easy. In general, the …


Residential Outcomes Of Hope Vi Relocatees In Richmond, Va, Lallen Tyrone Johnson-Hart Jan 2007

Residential Outcomes Of Hope Vi Relocatees In Richmond, Va, Lallen Tyrone Johnson-Hart

Theses and Dissertations

In 1997 the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority received a HOPE VI grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in the amount of $26.9 million to revitalize the Blackwell scattered site public housing community. The mixed income approach of HOPE VI calls for a reduction of public housing units, thus requiring all households to relocate to other neighborhoods. This research analyzed socioeconomic data to examine the relocation of households, assess whether they moved to better neighborhoods, and compare them to other poor households. Over half of all households moved to other distressed neighborhoods in the Northside, East …


The Muse In The Classroom: Some Effects On American Nonprofit Arts Organization Of Partnering With Schools, Susan A. Fitzpatrick Jan 2007

The Muse In The Classroom: Some Effects On American Nonprofit Arts Organization Of Partnering With Schools, Susan A. Fitzpatrick

Theses and Dissertations

Nonprofits, including cultural organizations, are increasingly relying upon fees for service as part of their operating budgets. Arts organizations have taken an increasingly prominent role in arts education starting with federal budget cuts in the 1960s and 1970s. There is a lack of data on the effects of partnering with schools on nonprofit arts organizations as well as the effects of government contracting on nonprofits.This study consists of an email/internet survey to determine how contracting with schools to provide arts activities affects nonprofit arts agency independence, vendorism, bureaucratization, costs, and artistic quality. The survey was pilot tested with 22 leaders …


Evaluating The Psychosocial Effects Of Two Interventions, Tai Chi And Spiritual Growth Groups, In Women With Breast Cancer, Sarah M. Rausch Jan 2007

Evaluating The Psychosocial Effects Of Two Interventions, Tai Chi And Spiritual Growth Groups, In Women With Breast Cancer, Sarah M. Rausch

Theses and Dissertations

One in seven women will develop breast cancer. Most will suffer medically and psychologically from the disease. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) interventions such as tai chi and spiritual growth groups have proven to be beneficial for this population, however, many questions remain regarding the mechanisms of action in these techniques. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychosocial effects and mechanisms of two 10-week interventions (tai chi and spiritual growth groups) within the context of a larger randomized, controlled NCI-funded study (R01 CA114718, Nancy McCain, PI) in women recently diagnosed with breast cancer. The present study evaluated …


Familial And Self Systems As Contributors To Sexual Decision-Making Patterns Of Young African American Women, Christina M. Grange Jan 2007

Familial And Self Systems As Contributors To Sexual Decision-Making Patterns Of Young African American Women, Christina M. Grange

Theses and Dissertations

This study utilized a is a two-phase mixed methods design to examine partner-based expectations and perceptions of factors that affecting condom use among African American women recruited at a sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic. Phase One utilized qualitative methods to analyze interviews from 25 unmarried, African American women between ages 18--26. Interviews explored the following two research questions: (1) How do young adult African American women conceptualize relationships as illustrated by their expectations of their partner and their expectations of themselves in the relationship? (2) What messages do women recall receiving from their family members about sexual opportunities, intercourse, consequences …


Achieving High Performance In Local Government: Linking Government Outcomes With Human Resource Management Practices, Richard F. Huff Jan 2007

Achieving High Performance In Local Government: Linking Government Outcomes With Human Resource Management Practices, Richard F. Huff

Theses and Dissertations

Historically public sector personnel policies and practices have been targets of reform. These reforms consisted of transferring private sector techniques to a public sector perceived to be more bureaucratic and less efficient. Private sector research is replete with evidence of a connection between "superior" human resource management (HRM) practices and the performance outcome of profitability. Public sector outcomes are more difficult to connect directly to management practices. As a result, the focus of public sector reform has become one of improving the processes of management rather than improving the outcomes of government. The linkage between reform and outcome is assumed.This …


Study Abroad And Carnegie Doctoral/Research Extensive Universities: Preparing Students From Underrepresented Racial Groups To Live In A Global Environment, Felecia D. Williams Jan 2007

Study Abroad And Carnegie Doctoral/Research Extensive Universities: Preparing Students From Underrepresented Racial Groups To Live In A Global Environment, Felecia D. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify current practices in study abroad offices and to investigate factors that may impact the number of minority students that participate in study abroad programs. The predictors, commitment to study abroad, proportion of staff and student workers, and awareness were selected for this current exploratory study are a result of the literature review. The other selected variables: endowment, financial aid and SAT/ACT scores are predictors typically used in higher education. This exploratory research focused on the policies, procedures, and strategies implemented allowing us to comprehensively describe the activities and efforts study abroad personnel …


Changes In Bmi Among First Semester College Students, Rachel L. Walker Jan 2007

Changes In Bmi Among First Semester College Students, Rachel L. Walker

Theses and Dissertations

The transition to college has been identified as a critical period for weight gain; however, only a limited number of studies have examined this phenomenon. The college setting may promote weight gain, thus the purpose of the present study was to quantify changes in BMI in first year students during their first semester of college and to understand factors associated with weight gain, such as eating behaviors, physical activity, and body shape ideals. Significant changes in weight were detected between Time 1 and 2 with a mean weight gain of 1.24 kg. The majority of participants (73.1 %) gained weight …


Overweight And Obesity: A Comparative Study Of Black And White Non-Hispanic Women In The United States, Fai R. Howard Jan 2007

Overweight And Obesity: A Comparative Study Of Black And White Non-Hispanic Women In The United States, Fai R. Howard

Theses and Dissertations

The population of the United States is increasingly gaining weight each year.Americans are heavier than they have ever been. African American women are at the forefront of this pandemic. This study addresses the higher prevalence of overweight and obesity among African American women in comparison to White women. Behavioral, psychological, and social known contributors to overweight and obesity using the National Health Interview Survey, 2001 dataset were examined in this study. The research concluded that even when controlling for vigorous exercise, education, income, depression, emotional support, smoking, health coverage, and age, race is the most important predictor of body mass …


Pathways To Externalizing Behavior: The Effects Of Mother's Harsh Parenting And Toddler's Emotional Reactivity, Sandra H. Henderson Jan 2007

Pathways To Externalizing Behavior: The Effects Of Mother's Harsh Parenting And Toddler's Emotional Reactivity, Sandra H. Henderson

Theses and Dissertations

Externalizing behavior is stable as early as 2 years of age and is a precursor to many childhood and adult negative outcomes. Although global self report data show a relationship between parenting and children's externalizing, few studies have examined the proximal effect of observed mother's parenting on children's expression of aggression. A sample of 55 primarily African American, toddler-mother dyads were observed in their homes. Data was collected on the 2-year-old children's emotional reactivity, externalizing behavior, social competence and mother's harsh and supportive parenting. A second wave of data was collected one year later with a smaller sample, n=37.Children who …


Residual Symptoms After Treatment Of Chronic Depression: A Comparison Across Treatment Modalities, Katherine L. Schaefer Jan 2007

Residual Symptoms After Treatment Of Chronic Depression: A Comparison Across Treatment Modalities, Katherine L. Schaefer

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the development of several effective treatments for depression, symptoms often persist in a number of individuals. Unfortunately, these residual symptoms are associated with several negative outcomes, including persistence of depressive illness. Few studies have examined the exact nature of individual residual symptoms across specific treatment modalities, and studies have failed to distinguish between depression courses. The current study expands on previous findings by examining, among a chronically depressed population, differences in individual residual symptoms and clusters between treatment modality (medication, psychotherapy, combination) and treatment response (full response, partial response). Five hundred and nineteen chronically depressed participants completed the study. …


Maternal Caregivers' Organization Of And Reasoning Behind Coping Suggestions To Deal With Community Violence Exposure, Melinda B. Moore Jan 2007

Maternal Caregivers' Organization Of And Reasoning Behind Coping Suggestions To Deal With Community Violence Exposure, Melinda B. Moore

Theses and Dissertations

Children and adolescents exposed to community violence can experience a plethora of negative outcomes including both internalizing symptoms and externalizing problems. Coping strategies can either buffer the effects of violence exposure or exacerbate negative outcomes following exposure. Given the diversity of strategies youth use to cope with violence, one unanswered question is how youth come to learn coping strategies to deal with community violence, and the roles that proximal others such as caregivers play in that process. The current study had several aims including understanding (a) how caregivers organize and conceptualize the suggestions they give to their children to cope …


Work Hope As A Mediator Between Proactive Coping And Career Planfulness In Domestic And International University Students, Juan Juana Wu Jan 2007

Work Hope As A Mediator Between Proactive Coping And Career Planfulness In Domestic And International University Students, Juan Juana Wu

Theses and Dissertations

This study applied proactive coping theory (E. R. Greenglass, 2002; R. Schwarzer, 2000) to the domain of career development in domestic and international student transition-to-university. Participants were recruited from a large southeastern state university. No significant between-group differences were identified in the present study. Within both groups, proactive coping, work hope, and career planfulness were positively correlated. The role of work hope as a mediator between proactive coping and career planfulness was tested in domestic and international students respectively. For domestic students, a partial mediation model was established with a direct effect of proactive coping on career planfulness and an …


Intensive Co-Parenting Therapy: Piloting A Manualized Treatment For Divorced Families, Jill Allison Ferrante Gasper Jan 2007

Intensive Co-Parenting Therapy: Piloting A Manualized Treatment For Divorced Families, Jill Allison Ferrante Gasper

Theses and Dissertations

Although resilience is the normative psychological outcome of divorce, parents and children of divorce are disproportionately represented in the mental health and legal systems. Due to the great financial and psychological costs of incessant divorce litigation, interventions that promote positive child adjustment while alleviating the costs of litigation are in high demand. Social policymakers and clinicians have responded to this demand via a number of intervention strategies; however, the implementation of many current interventions has predated supporting empirical evidence.The present study seeks to establish the efficacy of a child-focused, intensive co-parenting therapy (ICT) intervention for divorced parents. ICT is a …


Examining Spatiotemporal Change In Neighborhood Crime Using Social Disorganization As A Theoretical Framework: A 10-Year Analysis Of Homicide In The City Of Richmond, Va, Suleyman Demirci Jan 2007

Examining Spatiotemporal Change In Neighborhood Crime Using Social Disorganization As A Theoretical Framework: A 10-Year Analysis Of Homicide In The City Of Richmond, Va, Suleyman Demirci

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates both space and time aspects of neighborhood crime distributions using social disorganization as a theoretical framework in the City of Richmond, VA. Neighborhood crime, in this study, might be considered as any type of index crime aggregated to neighborhood level. For the purpose of the present study, however, neighborhood crime only includes "homicide" categorized as an index crime in the Uniform Crime Report (UCR). Homicides in neighborhoods have been realized as rare events, and have become problematic to establish robust statistical models in the literature. With the focus of neighborhood homicide, this study questions the consistency of …


Measuring Hispanic/Latino Satisfaction With Health Services In Chesterfield County, Virginia, Lynell H. Mcclinton Jan 2007

Measuring Hispanic/Latino Satisfaction With Health Services In Chesterfield County, Virginia, Lynell H. Mcclinton

Theses and Dissertations

The objectives of this study were to measure and describe the overall satisfaction of Hispanics/Latinos with services they receive from Chesterfield County's Health Department and compare it to that of African Americans and Caucasians. Also, the objectives were to analyze reasons for different levels of satisfaction, assess the nature and degree of satisfaction with particular services, and suggest implications of the Hispanic/Latino opinions for public policy. While the empirical literature revealed that Hispanics/Latinos experience lower levels of satisfaction with health care services, this study did not provide evidence to support this theory.This is a multi-method non-experimental research design combining a …


Posttraumatic Growth Among College Students At A Large Urban University: The Role Of Social Support And Unsupportive Social Interactions, Wendy E. Balliet Jan 2007

Posttraumatic Growth Among College Students At A Large Urban University: The Role Of Social Support And Unsupportive Social Interactions, Wendy E. Balliet

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to investigate the association between both social support and unsupportive interactions and psychological outcomes, in a sample of college students who recently had experienced a stressful event. The research design was cross-sectional, and data were collected from 142 college students. As hypothesized, a significant positive association was found between unsupportive interactions received by participants and depressive symptoms. Contrary to hypotheses, no significant associations were found between unsupportive interactions and positive emotion or posttraumatic growth. Additionally, no significant relationship was evident between received emotional support and the outcome variables. Exploratory analysis revealed that positive reappraisal …


Cognitive Mechanisms Of Memory Impairment Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Mark D. Whiting Jan 2007

Cognitive Mechanisms Of Memory Impairment Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Mark D. Whiting

Theses and Dissertations

Memory impairment is common following traumatic brain injury (TBI). In recent years, researchers have demonstrated that the processes underlying memory formation (working memory, encoding, consolidation, and retrieval) are interrelated but dissociable events.The following study was designed to determine how these processes contribute to memory impairment following experimental TBI in the rat. Experiment 1 indicated thatTBI induces severe working memory deficits in a delayed non-matching-to-place task.Although all animals displayed intact acquisition, only injured animals displayed poor performance as the delay between the sample and choice phases was increased.Experiment 2 was designed to determine if TBI produces a transient period of posttraumatic …


The Effects Of Concerted Cultivation On Academic Achievement, Jeremy Brandon Redford Jan 2007

The Effects Of Concerted Cultivation On Academic Achievement, Jeremy Brandon Redford

Theses and Dissertations

Anne Lareau (2003) argues that parents' child-rearing practices have a profound effect on academic and later occupational success for children, even holding constant such important factors as gender, race and school effects. She says that social class impacts these child-rearing practices and that middle-class families use a specific type of practice called concerted cultivation. Concerted cultivation involves parents organizing children's daily activities, using reasoning skills in talking with children, and teaching them how to interact with the institutions around them. Using the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS) of 1988, the current study tests the theoretical validity of concerted cultivation. Results …


Structure Of Aggression Among Urban Youth: Competing Factor Models Of Subtypes Of Physical And Relational Aggression, Sarah W. Helms Jan 2007

Structure Of Aggression Among Urban Youth: Competing Factor Models Of Subtypes Of Physical And Relational Aggression, Sarah W. Helms

Theses and Dissertations

Aggression has been demonstrated to pose a serious threat to the adaptive development of youth, with decades of research demonstrating the negative associations between aggression and other problem behaviors, both concurrently and predictively. However, despite this body of research, the current psychological literature continues to suffer from a lack of an overarching organizational framework from which to structure the construct(s) of aggression. Furthermore, existing discrepancies across the literature, particularly in the definitions of and outcomes associated with non-physical forms of aggression (e.g., relational aggression, social aggression), exacerbate the complexities facing prevention and intervention specialists. Insofar as research can isolate the …


Intrapersonal Grief As A Clinical Entity Distinct From Depression: Does It Exist Among A Medically Ill Parkinson's Disease Population?, Rashelle Brown Hayes Jan 2007

Intrapersonal Grief As A Clinical Entity Distinct From Depression: Does It Exist Among A Medically Ill Parkinson's Disease Population?, Rashelle Brown Hayes

Theses and Dissertations

There has been growing support for the idea that complicated grief symptoms following bereavement are independent of symptoms of depression and anxiety. However, the loss of a loved one is not the only or the most frequent type of loss to be encountered. The onset of an insidious medical illness may trigger a mourning process for the lost function or body part that is posited to also involve feelings of grief. While the risk of depression is high among a medical or rehabilitative population, the impact of grief over functional losses has never been empirically investigated as a contributing factor …


Binge Eating In Ethnically Diverse Obese Adolescents, Clarice K. Gerke Jan 2007

Binge Eating In Ethnically Diverse Obese Adolescents, Clarice K. Gerke

Theses and Dissertations

Rates of pediatric obesity in America are reaching epidemic proportions. Studies using both community and treatment-seeking samples of obese adolescents indicate that a subset engage in binge eating behaviors. This study investigated the prevalence and severity of binge eating behaviors among 86 primarily African American 11 to 17 year old adolescents seeking outpatient treatment for obesity. This study also examined the associations of stressful experiences (specifically, weight-related teasing, trauma, and daily hassles) with binge eating, as well as potential mediators and moderators of these relationships. Twenty-eight percent of the sample reported at least one episode of binge eating in the …


Merging Task-Centered Social Work And Motivational Interviewing In Outpatient Medication Assisted Substance Abuse Treatment: Model Development For Social Work Practice, Andreas Fassler Jan 2007

Merging Task-Centered Social Work And Motivational Interviewing In Outpatient Medication Assisted Substance Abuse Treatment: Model Development For Social Work Practice, Andreas Fassler

Theses and Dissertations

To advance social work practice and decrease the research practice gap, this dissertation followed a model development paradigm consisting of several phases. Based on the task-centered model of social work practice and motivational interviewing, a new combined model was construed. The two underlying models were analyzed and synthesized, using technical eclecticism as the integrative approach. The resulting combined model was described by guidelines and manualized. To test the combined model in an applied setting, a study was designed in collaboration with social workers at a substance abuse counseling center. There, the combined model intervention was implemented in an outpatient medication …


Attention Style And Appreciation: The Differences Between Gratitude And Indebtedness, Maureen A. Mathews Jan 2007

Attention Style And Appreciation: The Differences Between Gratitude And Indebtedness, Maureen A. Mathews

Theses and Dissertations

Gratitude and indebtedness are construed as separate constructs in recent research.It is hypothesized by this thesis that self-focused attention affects feelings of gratitude and indebtedness. Focusing less attention on the self, thus turning attention resources outward, may allow for the experience of gratitude, whereas focusing inward may create feelings of indebtedness. Two studies examined how focusing one's attention inward may be related to indebtedness, whereas being focused outward may be related to gratitude. A correlational study showed that people who self-focus tend to feel more indebtedness and less gratitude. An experiment was designed to show that manipulating social anxiety, a …


Determinants Of College Students' Opinions Towards Felon Voting Rights: An Exploratory Study, Edwards Brenda Cherie Dawson Jan 2007

Determinants Of College Students' Opinions Towards Felon Voting Rights: An Exploratory Study, Edwards Brenda Cherie Dawson

Theses and Dissertations

The disenfranchisement of felons follows a long American tradition of selectively granting the most coveted democratic tradition - voting. As a collateral "civil" consequence to criminal conviction that is legally deemed as non-penal, felon voting prohibitions have been used as an exclusionary tool for certain otherwise eligible voting populations. Current research finds that African-Americans individually and collectively may experience diminished voting power due to felon voting laws (Uggen & Manza, 2002; Manza & Uggen, 2004; King & Mauer, 2004). The purpose of this research is to examine opinions toward felon voting prohibitions in a state that has one of the …


Expectations And Stress Related To Choosing And Providing Treatment: A Comparative Study Of Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders Or With Down Syndrome, Virginia H. Mackintosh Jan 2007

Expectations And Stress Related To Choosing And Providing Treatment: A Comparative Study Of Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders Or With Down Syndrome, Virginia H. Mackintosh

Theses and Dissertations

This study looked at the level of stress experienced by parents (N = 280) of children with an autism spectrum disorder (Autism, n = 134; Asperger's disorder, n = 36; & PDD-NOS, n = 42) or with Down syndrome (n = 68) as it related to child's impairment and to the process of choosing and providing treatments. Using the new Family Access to Disability Services (FADS) measure, it was discovered that parents of children with an autism spectrum diagnosis had more difficulty in accessing and providing the treatments they wanted for their children. Higher FADS scores predicted parenting stress, even …


Comparison Of Three Methods For Measuring Smoking Behavior, Melissa D. Blank Jan 2007

Comparison Of Three Methods For Measuring Smoking Behavior, Melissa D. Blank

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the factors that influence regular tobacco use often involves detailed assessment of individuals' smoking behavior (i.e., puff topography), including measuring puff number, volume, duration, and inter-puff interval (IPI) via mouthpiece-based, computerized devices. For example, puff topography measurement has been used to study smoking cessation medications, as well as to demonstrate brand-induced changes in smoking behavior. However, some research suggests that the use of a mouthpiece to evaluate puff topography may alter natural smoking behavior. Thus, this study was designed to compare topography measurement using mouthpiece-based methods (i.e., desktop and portable computerized devices) to methods that do not use a …


The Effects Of Early Postnatal Pcp Administration On Performance In Locomotor Activity, Reference Memory, And Working Memory Tasks In C57bl/6 Mice, Alan L. Pehrson Jan 2007

The Effects Of Early Postnatal Pcp Administration On Performance In Locomotor Activity, Reference Memory, And Working Memory Tasks In C57bl/6 Mice, Alan L. Pehrson

Theses and Dissertations

There is a growing consensus, based on several converging lines of evidence, which suggests schizophrenia is the product of a developmental insult occurring in the late 2 nd or early 3 rd trimester. Additionally, it has been observed that adults who abuse the noncompetitive NMDA antagonist PCP present with symptoms that mimic schizophrenia, such as hallucinations, formal thought disorder, delusions, unstable or flattened affect, social withdrawal, and impaired cognition. Thus, several labs have attempted to use early postnatal PCP administration in rodents as a drug model of schizophrenia. The current study investigated the cognitive effects of early postnatal PCP administration …


Impact Of Eu's Decisions On Euro-Skepticism Of Two Turkish Nationalist And Religious Peripheral Parties, Imdat Ozen Jan 2007

Impact Of Eu's Decisions On Euro-Skepticism Of Two Turkish Nationalist And Religious Peripheral Parties, Imdat Ozen

Theses and Dissertations

This study achieved a group of objectives such as measuring the impact of theEU's decisions on trust-based, nationalism-based, and religion-based Euro-skepticism, measuring the impact of the EU's decisions on overall Euro-skepticism, and searching and investigating the reasons behind Euro-skepticism in detail by conducting content analysis on statements of two Turkish nationalist and religious peripheral parties' elites.The study basically asked two important questions about Euro-skepticism and answered each question by testing four main hypotheses. The hypotheses were tested on two different parties, ,the Nationalist Action Party and the Felicity Party, and on two different events (on December 17,2004 and on October …


The Influence Of Parental Monitoring And Peer Deviance On Substance Use Among Middle School Students, Sally Ann Mays Jan 2007

The Influence Of Parental Monitoring And Peer Deviance On Substance Use Among Middle School Students, Sally Ann Mays

Theses and Dissertations

Substance use is a significant problem among middle school students in the United States. Research indicates that the early use of substances increases the likelihood of negative outcomes including long-term use and abuse. Both parenting and peer variables exert strong influences on children's decisions to use or abstain from substances. As children age, peers begin to exert a stronger influence, but parenting practices can significantly reduce peers' harmful influences. In this study, three waves of data (collected at the end of 6th grade, and the beginning and end of 7th grade) from a large multi-site study were used to examine …