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The Mediating Effect Of Parental Involvement On Peer Influence And Belongingness On Adolescent Educational Aspirations, Thavy Van Garst

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Parental involvement has been found to be a significant influence in determining whether adolescents are more likely to succeed academically (Georgiou & Tourva, 2007). Amongst other influences, parental involvement has been shown to impact the ability to resist negative peer influence. Additionally, having a sense of belongingness influences the probability that an adolescent will aspire to achieve higher educational aspirations (Bouchard & Berg, 2017). However, researchers have yet to examine the combination of the importance of belongingness and the impact of positive peer influence on adolescents' educational aspirations. The present study aimed to investigate whether parental involvement had a significant …

Investigating The Lived Experiences Of Community College Students Who Have Practiced Meditation, Robert S. Withrow-Clark

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the lived experiences of community college students who have engaged in meditation practice during their time as community college students. Utilizing semi-structured interviews and a qualitative, transcendental phenomenological approach, the researcher investigated the phenomenon of meditation practice among community college meditators, while attempting to better understand the shared meaning respondents ascribed to the phenomenon, in this case meditation practice. Data was collected from eight respondents, generating four overarching themes, and several subthemes. All respondents who participated in the study reported perceived psychological benefits that they attributed to their meditation practice. Psychological stress was the motivating factor, a …

The Relationship Between The Cefi, As A Measure For Executive Function, And The Basc-3, As A Measure Of Externalizing Behavior, On School Problems For Children Receiving Special Education Services, David Looney

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between executive function and externalizing behaviors within a student population that was assessed for special education services. Executive function was measured by using the Comprehensive Executive Function Inventory (CEFI). Externalizing behaviors and school problems was measured using the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Third Edition (BASC-3). Four separate structural equation models were produced and analyzed to examine this relationship. The results from this study indicate that there is a significant direct effect from executive function on externalizing behaviors and school problems, such that higher scores in executive function yielded lower externalizing behavior and school problems …

Effects Of Eye Tracking During Infancy On Social Ambiguity And Emotional Distress, Gabriela Hernandez

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between early eye tracking and later non-suicidal self-injury, and whether this relationship was negatively impacted by distress and impulsivity, and conversely alleviated by emotional regulation and problem solving abilities. Briggs-Gowan et al. (2001) found that young children with recurrent and comorbid externalizing and internalizing problems have the most impairment; they exhibit greater difficulty with emotional stability, and require greater utilization of mental health services. Little research has focused on the relationship between eye tracking in early infancy and suicidal self-injurious (NSSI) behavior in early childhood. Multiple regression analysis was used …

Suicide Postvention Plans: Are Schools Prepared To Adjust To The New Normal, Wendi Aghily

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This project involves the review of suicide postvention plans across school districts in California. The goal is to identify which elements are meet the recommendation, address the recommendations or do not include the recommendations for best practices in suicide postvention. This has been done by analyzing the plans across five components: preparation, identification and support for immediate needs, triage, identification and support for long term needs and a return to a new normal. Consideration was given to the format in which the plans were developed: websites, school safety plans, emergency operations plans, crisis response plans and suicide response plans. Through …

The Effect Of Kindergarten Nonpromotion Of The Developmentally Immature Child On Self-Concept, Peer Acceptance, Academic Attitude, Classroom Adjustment And Academic Achievement, Betty M. Carlson Mccarty

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a second year in kindergarten on the self-concept, peer acceptance, academic attitude, classroom adjustment, and academic achievement of children who were identified by their kindergarten teacher as developmentally unready for first grade.

The ex post facto study, which was conducted in a large school district in northern California, was unique in its longitudinal nature. Whereas other studies looked at subjects over a 2 or 3 year period, no other study was found that examined the effects of kindergarten nonpromotion over an 8 year span.

The sample comprised 63 pupils …

A Study Of Catharsis (Abreaction, Emotional Discharge), In 4th, 5th, And 6th Grade Students, Drina Miriam Fried-Roberts

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Problem. Catharsis is becoming more widely talked about as a method to get rid of negative emotions, to gain increased achievement, social maturity, and emotional well being. The emphasis on affective education is one example. There have been few controlled studies testing the catharsis hypothesis directly. No formal research is available that uses (randomly chosen) young people as subjects in studying emotional discharge.

Purpose. The purpose of the study is to see whether elementary school students can accept training in this re-evaluation counseling mental health model. Comparisons of those who hear about the model are made with those who hear …

A Comparative Study Of Three Methods For Raising Self-Esteem Among The Elderly, Laila Gitelle Melin Davidson

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The self-concept of elderly people as a group is generally considered low. Self-concept is negatively influenced by an external source, i.e., cultural regard, and by the internal or personal adaptive changes of the aging process. To age successfully, positive or high concept of self is considered necessary. The literature indicates that self-concept can be changed. This study tested whether involvement in one of three educational processes (class groups) was effective in raising the self-esteem of the elderly participants. The class groups were (1) Current-Events or Job-Preparation, (2) Psychology, and (3) Memory and Relaxation Techniques. A fourth group, not in an …

Teaching Friendship Making Skills To Emotionally Disturbed Children, Alison Stewart Agras

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of teaching children appropriate social skill behavior. The present study investigated a coaching procedure to teach emotionally disturbed children appropriate social skills within the context: of fourteen arts and crafts sessions. Using a multiple baseline across groups design, two groups of four children received training. As a result of training, cooperation behavior showed a moderate change, while eye contact increased substantially for both groups. The behaviors of on task and communication changed only slightly. In addition, these changes generalized to different settings and were· maintained over time. However, praising, receiving praise, as well as …

The Effectiveness Of Rational-Emotive Therapy In The Reduction Of Trait Anxiety Of College Undergraduate Students, Thomas Stanley Golabek

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Rational-Emotive Therapy (RET) in reducing levels of trait anxiety in undergraduates who enrolled in anxiety reduction workshops. S's were 44 volunteer male and female students from the University of the Pacific who enrolled in either an independent study or a mini-course series of 8 sessions, and were assigned to one of the three randomly designated groups: Rational-Emotive Therapy (RET), Attention Placebo (AP), or No-Treatment (NT). The AP procedure consisted of exposure to various nutritional aspects of physical fitness which focused on vitamin and mineral intake. Two self-report measures, the …

Reaction To Social Pressure From Adults Versus Peers Among Mexican, Mexican-American, And Anglo-American Rural Children, Ana Maria C. Donini

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to investigate whether there was a significant difference in the adherence to conventional morality and the reaction to social pressure from adults versus peers among Mexican, Mexican-American, and Anglo-American children. The instrument used was the Moral Dilemmas Test (MDT) developed by Bronfenbrenner, Devereux, Suci, and Rodgers, which measures the reported readiness of children to engage in morally disapproved behavior and their reaction to social pressure exerted by adults and peers. The subjects were asked to respond to a series of conflict situations under three experimental conditions of confidentiality, scrutiny by parents, and scrutiny by …

The Effects Of Parent Effectiveness Training On Parents' Personal And Child Rearing Values, James Lee Witty

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

There is growing evidence of a need for training parents to be more effective in child-rearing practices regarding values acquisition and clarification. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Parent Effectiveness Training, a parent education program, in changing the personal and child-rearing values of the participating parents.

Contraceptive Sterilization As A Life Change Event: Its Effects Upon The Mmpi And Cpi Scales, Joseph Lee Anastasio

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study concerned itself with voluntary contraceptive sterilization in general, and involved both vasectomy and female sterilization individually. Vasectomy and female sterilization were not considered to be the same and were treated individually, yielding two studies in one. Males were studied for psychological, marital and sexual reactions to vasectomy; and females were studied for the same reactions to female sterilization. Although references will often be made to sterilization as a general term, this distinction should be maintained throughout the research. All hypotheses, while states as though they referred to sterilization in general, will consider vasectomy and female sterilization are compared, …

A Comparative Study Of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Profiles Of School, Counseling And Clinical Psychology Trainees, Howard Marvin Budwin

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study was designated to examine and compare the profiles of school, counseling and clinical psychology graduate students, each with the other and with the MMPI male and female normal population. Furthermore, it was intended to extend our knowledge of the emotional adjustment of individuals already studying within the above stated existing programs. It was hypothesized that each of the groups differ from each other and from the MMPI normals.

A Study Of Early Reasoning Skills In The Trainable Mentally Retarded : As Related To Piaget's Seriation Theory, Robert William Ginther

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

In terms of Piaget's theory of cognitive development and the relationship he attributes between reasoning and the development of classification and seriation skills, the following questions arise: can early reasoning ability be enhanced through training? If IQ tests are accepted as measures of intellectual function, do they then contain a significant number of seriation type questions? If so, will the seriation test be an accepted measure of intellectual function?

An Abbreviated Form Of The Wechsler Intelligence Scale For Children, William Lee Gainer

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

It is the purpose of this study to develop an abbreviated form of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children which can, with satisfactory reliability, identify the child of superior, normal, or retarded intellectual development.