Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Examining Variables Associated With Age Of First Concern And Diagnosis In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Amy Mathews Creel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a disorder that is present during a child’s early developmental ages; affects that child’s ability to communicate and socially interact with others; and involves the presentation of restrictive interests and/or repetitive behaviors. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) symptoms/behaviors are recognized by parents and can be reliably diagnosed at age two but often are not diagnosed until after age four. Delay in diagnosis results in loss of important intervention services that can improve the well-being of children with ASD. This study examined ethnicity, severity of symptoms, and type of symptoms and their effect on the age at …

The Moderating Effects Of Positive Religious/Spiritual Coping On Teachers’ Pain And Stress, Dawn Green

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this internet-based survey was to investigate the effects of positive religious or spiritual coping strategies on teachers’ chronic pain reports. Teachers in the United States may represent a vulnerable group due to a high prevalence of risk factors for chronic pain conditions. Teachers have been identified to experience high stress (Johnson, et al., 2005; Kyriacou, 2001) and report poor job satisfaction (Wang, Hall, & Rahimi, 2015), which are associated with development of chronic pain conditions (Kopec & Sayre, 2004). Religious coping strategies have been associated with beneficial associations with stress and health (Reutter & Bigatti, 2014). The …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Ethnic Identity Development, Cognitive Complexity, Differentiation Of Self, And Reports Of Racial And Ethnic Microaggressions, Deshae C. Gatti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although individuals may not engage in racism consciously due to social undesirability, they may have biases that manifest in more subtle and unconscious ways. Research has found that people of color experiencing different racial and ethnic microaggressions in their everyday lives are subject to pervasive and negative impacts on their mental health, though little is known about the influence of one’s ethnic identity formation, affective processes, and cognitive processes. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the degree to which ethnic identity development, cognitive complexity, and differentiation of self were associated reported experiences of microaggressions. The analysis indicated that …

Military Lifestyle’S Impact On Children’S Adjustment, Ashley N. Doss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Military families are an understudied population and the majority of research that does exist focuses on the effects of deployments on the family system. This study aims to answer the following questions: 1) “to what degree does the relationship with parents (mother and father) and military lifestyle (number of transfers and number of deployments) predict the variance in military children’s self-esteem?”, 2) “To what degree does the relationship with parents (mother and father) and military lifestyle (number of transfers and number of deployments) predict the variance in military children’s social belongingness?”, and 3) “To what degree does the relationship with …

The Efficacy Of An In-Vivo Chaining Procedure Compared To Pov-Vm Chaining Procedure To Teach A Task To Children With Autism, Elaine M. Turner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder which includes symptoms such as repetitive or restricted patterns of behavior, and deficits in social communication (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) and affects approximately 1 in 68 children (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Children with this disorder face unique challenges when it comes to learning academic and social skills (Gardner & Wolfe, 2013). Chaining is an effective intervention for teaching individuals with disabilities a variety of skills (Cuvo, Leaf, & Borakove, 1978; Horner & Keilitz, 1975; Shrestha, Anderson, & Moore, 2013; Tarbox, Madrid, Aguilar, Jacobo, & Schiff, 2009). Video modeling, where …

A Qualitative, Exploratory Case Study Of Self-Reported Influences Affecting The Decision Of Homeless Sexual-Minority Students To Leave Home, Michael P. Hill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to identify commonalities regarding influences within the decision-making process that attributed to sexual-minority students voluntarily or involuntarily becoming homeless in lieu of remaining in their respective familial home. An exploratory case-study research design was utilized to determine common themes present in the self-described events that led up to the respective decisions of three volunteer participants, who identified themselves as sexual-minority youths at the time of transition, to leave home. Results of this study discerned five commonalities among the participants’ experiences, which influenced their experiencing homelessness. The detection of these commonalities may provide school administrators and other …

The Experience Of Victimization As The Result Of Cyberbullying Among College Students: A Study Of Demographics, Self-Esteem, And Locus Of Control, Sonya P. Poole

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cyberbullying is commonly defined as a deliberate and aggressive act that is committed using an electronic form of contact. It has been linked to negative emotional and mental well-being along with incidents of suicide. The current study looks at the prevalence rates of cyberbullying among college aged adults. It uses a survey method design to examine the correlation of cyberbullying with gender, age, race, socioeconomic status, self-esteem, and locus of control. The results indicated a relatively high report of cyberbullying incidents when compared to previous studies. A significant difference was obtained when cyberbullying incidents were evaluated based on the participant’s …

Microaggressions Towards Individuals With Learning Disability Within The College Setting, Cordava Valentina Aranda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Learning disability mircroaggressions refer to the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights and mistreatment which convey a derogatory feeling or message to individuals with a learning disability across various settings. Learning disability microaggressions may contribute significantly to the negative aspects of mental health issues often perceived in individuals with learning disabilities. The purpose of this study was to develop a microaggression scale designed to assess microaggressions displayed towards individuals with learning disabilities (LD) within the academic setting. A scale designed to assess LD microaggressions was constructed and modeled after the Racial Microaggression Scale (RMAS). A confirmatory factor analysis was …

Weight Stigma, Cognitions, And Disordered Eating, Sarah E. Pelfrey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Weight stigma experiences affect people of all weights and have many negative consequences; despite this, weight stigma is still an acceptable prejudice in our society. Research has established that weight stigma is predictive of disordered eating (DE) cognitions, which are, in turn, predictive of DE behaviors. The current study explored the unique contribution DE cognitions make to DE behaviors while controlling for other DE cognitions. The DE cognitions examined in the current study were drive for thinness, weight bias internalization, and perfectionism. The DE behaviors examined were emotional eating, restrained eating, inappropriate compensatory behaviors, and binge-eating. Weight bias internalization and …

Relationships Of Weight-Related Dissatisfaction, Body Image Flexibility, And Coping In Women, Pooja Shah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The present study examined the relationships between body image flexibility, body image dissatisfaction, body image evaluation, and specific coping factors based on the WEIGHTCOPE measure. Body image flexibility was also examined as a mediator of the relationship between body image dissatisfaction and weight-related coping factors in women. Methods: An online link of the survey (Qualtrics Research Software Program) was distributed through social media and word of mouth to women of all body shapes and sizes (N= 267). The survey included the BICS as a measure of body image dissatisfaction, the MBSR (AE) as a measure of body …

Predicting Success In A Counselor Education Graduate Program, Ranleigh J. Mcadams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the predictive value of Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) scores and undergraduate grade point average (UGPA) upon students’ success in a counselor education graduate program. Graduate programs must weigh the benefits of various entrance criteria to predict successful completion. Data for the study consisted of 233 students who had been admitted to a graduate program, and had either successfully completed the program through graduation or had been unable to graduate through personal attrition or removal by the faculty. The relationships between the independent variables and the dependent variable of program graduation were analyzed using correlations and models of …

Effects Of Prosocial Video Games On Resulting Prosocial Behaviors, Danielle Langlois

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Past research indicates that prosocial video game play has a role in subsequent prosocial behaviors, affect, and accessibility of prosocial thoughts via the General Learning Model. The exposure time in this past research has varied widely, so an experiment that both replicates existing research and looks at exposure time was developed. In this study participants played either a prosocial game, or a neutral game for 10 or 20 minutes (participants in the control condition did not play a game at all). Differences between these groups were assessed, while correcting for trait measures of altruism and aggression. In general, there were …

The Relationship Of Intimate Partner Violence And Help-Seeking With Eating Disorder Symptoms, Rachel Amerson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study used the SVAWS, MMEA, BES, and EAT 26 to test the hypothesis that victims of IPV would have a greater number of and more severe eating disorder symptoms than those who have not been victimized. The current study also used the SRQ, BES, and EAT 26 to test the hypothesis that of those who experienced IPV and sought help, those who received positive reactions would have a different number and severity of eating disorder symptoms than those who received negative reactions. Two MANVOVAs did not find support for these hypotheses however, exploratory analyses did find relationships of …

Gender, Population Type, And Coping As Predictors Of Ptsd Symptom Severity, Stacey A. Kerr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has demonstrated that a salient predictor of PTSD is experiencing a traumatic event. Additional research has indicated that there are other risk factors involved with predicting the development of PTSD including gender, population type, and emotion-focused coping. The purpose of the current study was to examine gender, population type, the interaction effect between gender and population type, and emotion-focused coping, specifically avoidant emotional coping and active emotional coping, as independent predictors of PTSD symptom severity. In total, 124 individuals participated in the current study. The sample consisted of 64 civilians and 60 military personnel. The results indicated that gender …