Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Unit Cohesion, Attachment, Personality Factors, And Mental Health In Veterans Of Iraq And Afghanistan, Allison Adrienne Whitesell

Doctoral Dissertations

One hundred forty seven veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom (Iraq) and/or Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) completed an internet survey with questions related to unit cohesion, romantic attachment style, personality factors, and mental health symptoms. Participants completed five self-report measures: the PTSD Checklist-Military, the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-21, Deployment Social Support scale from the Deployment Risk and Resiliency Inventory, the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-Short Form, and the International Personality Item Pool Big Five Short Form Questionnaire. Most participants were male and Caucasian. Hierarchical linear regression analysis results indicated that emotional stability predicted both general distress and PTSD symptom severity, while avoidant attachment …

An Examination Of Shame And Traditional Gender Roles On Behavioral Response In Non-Stranger Sexual Assault With College Females, Alison Megan Nathanson

Doctoral Dissertations

Non-stranger sexual assault commonly occurs on college campuses across the country, placing college females at risk for the negative consequences, including increased psychopathology, social difficulties, and academic failure. Research suggests that college women with a history of sexual abuse are often revictimized by acquaintances during their college experience. The mechanisms underlying the connection between sexual abuse and adult sexual assault remain unclear. The present study examines the indirect effect of shame and traditional gender role beliefs on heterosexual females’ behavioral response based on history of sexual trauma. Results indicate that neither shame nor benevolent sexist ideals mediate the relationship between …

The Impact Of Relational Aggression And Friendship Quality On The Pathway From Parental Psychological Control To Child Internalizing Symptomology, Alden Elizabeth Gaertner

Doctoral Dissertations

The current project examined two competing models investigating the role of child relational aggression and friendship quality in the association between parental psychological control and child internalizing symptomology. An at-risk sample of predominantly minority children (n = 132, 55% male, 86% minority) ranging from 5 to 14 years of age (M = 8.83, SD = 2.43), recruited from a Knoxville, Tennessee area Boys and Girls Club was used to examine the proposed construct relations. Interaction terms between study variables and gender and age were also examined. All structural equation models yielded a poor fit to the data. Multiple regression …

Predicting Substance Abuse Treatment Participation With The Personality Assessment Inventory: An Investigation Of How Personality And Interpersonal Factors Affect Treatment, Annese Baum Hutchins

Doctoral Dissertations

The prevalence of alcohol and drug abuse or dependence among Americans ages 12 and over is thought to be about 9.4% of the total population, or 22 million Americans (Karpiak & Norcross, 2005; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association [SAMHSA], 2003). According to Vuchinich (2002), substance use disorders (SUD) are the most common mental health problem in our society today. Additionally, estimates are that anywhere from half to 84% of all substance use disorder patients also experience a co-occurring disorder (Johnson, Brems, & Burke, 2002).

Traditional treatment facilities usually are focused primarily on either substance abuse treatment or psychiatric …

Openness To The Unconscious: Clinical Validity, Scott Andrew Swan

Doctoral Dissertations

Theory provides a background for the underlying construct of Openness to the Unconscious and in turn for the Openness to the Unconscious scale (OU), which was designed to predict personal fit for different kinds of psychotherapy. Two studies test the clinical validity of the scale using records review from a training clinic. Cross-sectional analysis with MMPI-2 data failed to support hypotheses regarding OU's relationship to personality psychopathology. More importantly, the scale failed to predict attrition from psychotherapy, which had been expected. Results also fail to support the hypotheses that OU interacts with treatment type to predict attrition. These findings are …

Psychological Effects Of Intensive And Comprehensive Training Centers On Blind And Visually Impaired Adults, Caitlin Singletary

Doctoral Dissertations

Omvig (2002) stated that adjustment to blindness means that a blind individual views his or her blindness as a characteristic that may be inconvenient at times, but "does not define the entire person" (p. 31). This belief provides the philosophical foundation for and supports the training model in intensive and comprehensive training centers for blind individuals. The training curriculum is believed to foster adjustment to blindness and acceptance of self by creating an environment in which essential lifestyle skills improve, independence is achieved, and positive changes occur in psychological factors such as depression, self-esteem, and self-efficacy.

In the current study, …

Evidence Based Practice Implementation: Perceptions And Expectations Of Master Of Social Work Students, Mholi Kent Vimba

Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

Efforts to develop sustainable Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) implementation strategies in work settings have been generally unsuccessful. Scholars have focused on perceptions of workers already in work settings to identify implementation barriers and facilitators. None have focused on perceptions of social workers in training. This nationwide non-probability correlational study assessed Master of Social Work (MSW) students’ perceptions of EBP using a self-administered online survey. A total of 212 (57%) completed this survey with 164 (43%) timed out.

Perceptions were assessed using three sets of questions corresponding to the independent variables: EBP knowledge, attitude toward EBP and EBP self-efficacy. A …

Examining The Interplay Of Rejection Sensitivity, Self-Compassion, And Communication In Romantic Relationships, Jennifer Anne Christman

Doctoral Dissertations

This cross-sectional study examined the potential associations between rejection sensitivity, self-compassion, self-silencing, and couple communication patterns in a college undergraduate population. Participants (n=205) attended group data collection sessions in campus computer labs where they completed an online survey. Multivariate path analyses did not support the hypothesis that self-silencing mediates the relationship between rejection sensitivity and couple communication patterns. Self-compassion also did not moderate the relationship between rejection sensitivity and self-silencing. However, post-hoc analyses revealed that self-compassion moderated the previously established relationships between rejection sensitivity and depression, and rejection sensitivity and relationship satisfaction. These findings indicate that self-compassion may serve as …

The Relationship Between Personality And Forgiveness Of Sexual Infidelity In Marriage, Karen Suggs Roper

Doctoral Dissertations

Discovery of sexual infidelity is often accompanied by a strong desire for infidelity relevant information (Peluso, 2007). This study explored how information and conceptualization of situational factors affects forgiveness in a spouse who discovers the extramarital sexual activity of his or her spouse. The current study focused on knowledge of details and how such knowledge affected rumination and motivations of revenge, avoidance, and benevolence. Popular literature currently promotes a process of healing that begins with a revelation of the details associated with the extramarital behaviors of the offending spouse. A unique objective of this study was consideration of the specific …

Research Motivation In Professional Psychology Doctoral Students: Examination Of The Psychometric Properties Of The Research Motivation Scale, Carly Bischoff Mayer

Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research suggests that the majority of clinical and counseling psychology doctoral students report low levels of research interest while in graduate school, and indicate little or no intention to pursue postdoctoral research despite having been trained within a scientist-practitioner model. Contextual and individual factors related to research interest, such as the research training environment (RTE) and self-efficacy, have been identified as potential contributors to research outcomes. Although these variables seem to be linked, many studies have found that they do not account for a substantial portion of variation in research interest. Recently, Deemer, Martens, and Buboltz (2010) developed the …