Digital Commons Network^™

Understanding The Experience Of Teenage Parents: An Empirical Examination Of Attitudes And Expectations Among Education Professionals, Janet Lynn Pietrowski

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Approximately 10% of all adolescents between 15-19 years old in the United States become pregnant, with about half of these pregnancies resulting in birth. Several variables have been correlated with long-term outcomes for teenage mothers, including poor academic achievement, lower occupational attainment, poor mental health, and socioeconomic hardship. Social support is one factor that moderates these outcomes. This study employed the use of written vignettes to examine differences in expectations for success (educational, economic, and psychological) that educational professionals have for teenage mothers and non-mother adolescents (N=145). Vignettes were varied according to levels of social support and parenting status, with …

The Contribution Of Self-Determination Theory To An Understanding Of Psychological Distress Among Young Adults: Mediation Of Practical Involvement And Autonomy Support By Autonomy, Controlled, And Impersonal Orientations, Bradley D. Rockafellow

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The concept of autonomy, as conceptualized by SDT researchers, in relationship to the development of psychopathology has received little empirical attention. According to Selfdetermination theory (SDT; Ryan, Deci, & Grolnick, 1995), if parents facilitate, rather than undermine, the critical parenting dimensions of autonomy support, involvement, and structure, then children will develop as psychologically healthy adults. In addition, SDT would also predict that based on these critical parenting dimensions, children will develop differential inner motivational orientations (i.e., autonomy, control, and impersonal) representing varying degrees of autonomy (i.e., self determined behavior), which in turn should predict psychological distress or health. To test …

An Ecological Momentary Assessment Of Retrospective Memory Accuracy In Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Andrew T. Gloster

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Numerous studies have demonstrated the pervasiveness of inaccuracies in patients’ retrospective recall of their symptoms (e.g., Stone, Broderick, Shiffman, & Schwartz, 2004). Assessment methods that rely heavily on retrospective recall may lead to faulty clinical inferences should a patient’s recall be biased or inaccurate. Despite lingering concerns about the accuracy of retrospective recall in a variety of clinical and nonclinical populations, investigators have not studied individuals diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This is troubling given findings from laboratory studies that OCD patients may have deficits in episodic memory (Muller & Roberts, 2005). This study investigated memory accuracy in OCD patients …

Telemedicine And Ptsd Assessment Of Veterans: A Study Of Equivalence Between Videoconferencing (Vtc) And Face-To-Face (Ftf) Methods, Carole Porcari

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Telemedicine systems use telecommunications technology to provide health care services to clients with distance barriers to providers. This is relevant for America’s veterans who require services for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but find that these specialty services are not always available locally. This study compared a face-to-face (FTF) Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) interview and a videoconferencing (VTC) administration of the CAPS. Participants were 20 male veterans referred to a veteran’s affairs center for a PTSD assessment. Correlations between assessments ranged from .74 - .92, and statistical equivalence was demonstrated at 90% confidence intervals. Sensitivity of the VTC interview was found …

Causal Attributions And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: The Relationships Among Dispositional Attributional Style, Trauma-Specific Attributions, And Ptsd, Sarah Reiland

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The learned helplessness model (Seligman, 1975) and its various revisions suggest that both dispositional attributional style and event-specific attributions may influence people’s responses to events. Attribution theory has been applied to the search for risk and resiliency factors in trauma survivors, but few studies have compared dispositional attributional style with traumaspecific attributions in relation to posttraumatic stress symptoms. In addition, studies of attributions and PTSD fail to take into account the importance to the individual of the events about which attributions are made. The importance of the situation is a key component of the hopelessness model. Attributions for causes of …

Coping And Quality Of Life Of Adolescents With Idiopathic Scoliosis, Elizabeth Shannon Kuhl

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

How adolescents cope with the stress of bracing or spinal fusion surgery for idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) and how coping might impact quality of life (QOL) for this population is unknown. The primary aim of this study was thus to examine these relationships.

Forty-eight adolescents participated in this cross-sectional study and completed the SRS-22r, the PedsQL, and the A-COPE during regularly scheduled orthopedic appointments. Treatment groups did not differ significantly on either dimension of coping (approach or avoidant) or on either measure of quality of life. In addition, neither dimension of coping moderated QOL. However, higher use of avoidant …

Conditional Error Variance In The Wisc-Iv, Laszlo Attila Erdodi

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Measurement error at different ability levels in the WISC-IV was studied to empirically test the conditional error variance hypothesis. Graduate students in clinical psychology at a Midwestern university scored fictitious WISC-IV Vocabulary subtests constructed to yield actual scaled scores of 4, 10, and 16. Classical measurement theory assumes error rate will be constant across the three conditions. Modern test theories (Item Response Theory), however, predict that the precision of a measurement instrument will change as a function of the examinee's ability level. Data supported the conditional error variance hypothesis. Scorers made significantly more errors in the low- and high-abilitylevel conditions …

Family Functioning And Coping Behaviors In Parents Of Children With Autism, Matthew J. Altiere

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

We looked at how a child with autism affects the dynamics and coping behaviors of a family. A majority of studies on families with a child with autism collect information from the mother but not the father. Therefore, this study examined the involvement of both parents from a family systems theory approach, which compares relationships among different familial variables, to determine the contributions of each individual to the developmental outcomes of the family unit. It was hypothesized that moderate levels of cohesion and adaptability would be associated with higher levels of positive coping mechanisms. Further, the more coping strategies implemented …

Religious Orientation And Flow, Scott Robert Brown

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study explored the nature and extent of relationships between religious orientations, religious orthodoxy, and flow, which is an experience akin to “being in the zone” in sports. The three religious orientations examined were intrinsic religiosity, which involves shaping one’s life around religious beliefs and practices; extrinsic religiosity, which involves trying to gain rewards, such as social status, from religious participation; and quest, which involves seeking religious meaning as opposed to accepting traditional doctrines. Data analyses indicated that high scorers on extrinsic religiosity tended to have less intense flow experiences and that they tended to experience flow more often during …

College Integrated Care: Effectiveness Of The Use Of A Modified Version Of The Patient Health Questionnaire For Patients In A University Health Clinic, Kevin Alschuler

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

In primary medical care settings, problems with providing appropriate behavioral care led to development of the integrated care model providing behavioral services alongside medical services. The present study explored the potential need for this model at a Midwest university health center, by investigating how two behavioral questionnaires influenced providers’ prescription of psychotropic medications and referrals for behavioral intervention. After random assignment to condition, 109 participants in the experimental condition completed the mentalhealth- oriented Patient Health Questionnaire and the college-adjustment-oriented College Health Questionnaire, and 91 control participants received treatment as usual. Results indicated significantly higher rates of discussion of behavioral problems …

Gambling By College Students: Personality Characteristics And Acceptability Of Internet-Based Treatment, Andrew E. Cameron

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Personality disorders are associated with Pathological Gambling (PG) among adults. Little is known, however, about these symptoms in college-student gamblers. In addition, little is known about the current prevalence or treatment preferences of college gamblers. An online survey of gambling practices and personality characteristics was conducted, as well as a series of focus groups evaluating a web-based gambling treatment program. A higher prevalence of PG was observed among college students than previously reported. College students with PG displayed similar personality disorder symptoms to those observed among adults with PG. Students preferred free or reduced cost treatment. Focus group participants provided …