Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Predictors Of Pap Smear Utilization Among Female Mexican American College Students, Sylvia M. Morales

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The Pap smear is a diagnostic screening test that detects abnormal cell growth, which may lead to cervical cancer. Pap smears are performed at a consistently lower frequency among Hispanic than non-Hispanic American White women, potentially contributing to a 70% higher rate of cervical cancer in Hispanic Americans. This study examined possible predictors of Pap smear utilization among 165 Mexican American female college students aged 18 to 30 attending the University of Texas-Pan American situated near Texas’s United States – Mexico border. Significant predictors were: recommendation by a health care professional; sexual activity; mother’s educational level; and external locus of …

Emotion Understanding And Social Competence In Balanced Bilinguals And Language-Dominant Children, Katrina Meza

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The present study investigated the development of emotion understanding and social competence among 106 culturally and linguistically diverse children (50 girls and 56 boys). It investigated if there were differences in the development of emotion understanding and social competence between balanced bilinguals and language-dominant children. Balanced bilinguals outperformed language-dominant children on two advanced tasks of emotion understanding, in which they evidenced an increased understanding that emotions can be based on desires and that emotions can be hidden. Balanced bilinguals and language-dominant children follow a similar developmental trajectory on emotion understanding. There were no significant differences between language groups in social …

Does Tactile Stimulation Attenuate The Adverse Effects Of Maternal Separations In Rats?, Nancy I. Salinas

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Handling has been used as a stressor and a stress-protector in research on development in rats. Tactile stimulation (TS), on the other hand, has consistently been shown to favorably affect the performance and exploratory behaviors of stressed rats in novel environments and this effect is usually interpreted as evidence of attenuating the developmentally-related emotional consequences of stress. In the present study, the effects of TS during maternal separation (MS) were explored during a critical period of development in rats. An open-field task to measure exploratory behavior was used as a dependent measure of anxiety at a pre-pubertal period. It was …

The Relationship Between Darkness Of Skin Tone And Mediators Of Elevated Blood Pressure, Brandy Trevino

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Numerous studies have found that blood pressure is higher in persons with darker skin tone but the reasons for this remain unclear. This study attempted to investigate this relationship in Hispanics. If such a relationship was found, then it will be addressed whether or not one or more mediators, e.g., hostility, locus of control and perceived racial discrimination mediated the relationship. No such relationship between darkness of skin tone and blood pressure was found. However, statistically significant positive relationships between perceived racial discrimination, locus of control, and hostility were revealed. Discussion of these results focused on the plausible explanation of …

Adult Sexual Adjustment After Experiencing Sexual Abuse In Childhood, Liliana G. Moyers-Ruiz

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

A sample of 465 Junior and Senior college students was tested at the University of Texas-Pan American to test our primary hypothesis that argues that individual who had suffered CSA rely more on cybersex activities as a means of sexual gratification to cope with the long term effects of sexual abuse as a result of adulthood sexual maladjustment, as opposed to individual who did not suffered CSA. The statistical analyses performed failed to reject the null hypothesis of this thesis that the experience of CSA has no effect on adult use of internet cybersex. Further research is suggested using measures …

Racial Discrimination, Skin Tone, Locus Of Control, And Acculturation Among Mennonite Latino/As Of The Rio Grande Valley, Nancy Rivera

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study assessed the relationship between perceived racial discrimination, and skin tone, locus of control and acculturation among Latino/a Mennonites of the Rio Grande Valley. Eighty nine Latino/a Mennonites were recruited. The following measures were used: Schedule of Racist Events, Intrinsic Spirituality Scale, a short version of the revised Acculturation Scale for Mexican Americans-II, and Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale. A window tint meter assessed skin tone. Multiple regression analysis and multivariate analysis of variance was used to determine how rates of perceived discrimination among Mennonite Latinos/as were related to skin tone, locus of control and acculturation. The results …

Reproduction Of Cultural Knowledge And Practices Interviews With Spanish-Speaking Parents Of Deaf Children In South Texas, Christina J. Quilantan-Cavazos

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The Hispanic population is the largest and fastest growing cultural and language minority group in the United States (Figueroa et al. 1989); consequently, "as the number of Hispanic individuals in the United States increases, so does the number of Hispanic hearing impaired children" (Walker-Vann 1998: 46), making them the fastest growing population among deaf and hard of hearing school age students (Gerner de García 1995b). Yet, little is known about Mexican families raising a deaf child because "there is a shortage of research that looks at Hispanic deaf children in their home environment or in the community of their families" …

The Effects Of Ethnicity, Gender, And Urgency Of A Message On Prosocial Behavior, Orlando Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

A study by Christensen et al. (1998) looked at prosocial behavior toward strangers via responses to wrong-number messages on a telephone answering machine and found a higher than anticipated prosocial response. However, additional research was required in order to determine whether or not manipulation of gender and ethnicity would have produced different results. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of gender (male or female) of the caller, ethnicity (white-non Hispanic or Mexican American) of the caller, and urgency ("low," "medium," "high," & "high with prod") of a message on telephone helping behavior. One hundred …

A Study Of Self-Imposed Silence And Perceived Listening Effectiveness, Cynthia Marroquin-Baldwin

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study examines the affects of self-imposed silence on perceived listening effectiveness. The subjects used in this study were 15 males and 17 females from the McAllen area (n = 32). These subjects were nonsystematically approached at the Lark Community Center/Library to solicit participation in the study. Four tests were performed to test the possible affects that 12 hours of self-imposed silence may have on listening. The independent t-test used to analyze differences in posttest scores between the treatment group and the control group revealed that no significant difference was found. The independent t-test used to analyze differences in pretest …

Medication Mismanagement Among Elderly In Starr County, Romeo Garcia Jr.

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Given the current and projected rises in prescription drug use among the elderly in the United States and the current and projected rises in prescription drug costs, this research attempts to examine this national trend within the specific context of poverty and rurality manifested in Starr County, Texas. Starr County offers an ideal naturalistic laboratory for examining demographic predictors for improper medication use in the United States, poverty and rural residence. Hence within this context of poverty and rural location, the following questions are posited for investigation in Starr County. To what extent do high drug costs and low incomes …

Prayer As A Treatment Modality In Patient Healthcare: Physicians' Spiritual Beliefs And Religious Practices And Their Relationship To Patient Health, D. Ronald Rickerhauser

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The intention of this study was to determine whether physicians' spiritual beliefs and the integration of prayer in medical practice are associated with patient health. In this study, 546 physicians from 40 different family practice residency programs in the contiguous United States completed and returned surveys. Regression analyses using these data and patient statistics provided by the clinics were performed. Patient's length of hospital stay and a ratio of clinic patients to hospital patients were used as dependent measures. The results did not show a relationship between physician beliefs, prayer, and patient health. However, there was a significant relationship between …

The Working And Living Conditions Of Migrant Farm Workers, Hilario Molina Ii

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this thesis was to explore the world of migrant workers, through first hand account, through the description of the living and working conditions of migrant farms by focusing on each camp (A, B, and C), by observing and describing the line of work, by discussing the social and cultural dynamics of migrant farm working—the role and culture of the migrant women, children, and alpha males—and by documenting the exploitation of migrant farm workers. This is a qualitative research, based on ground theory, which consisted of participant observation of these factors. There was no hypothesis due to the …

Extraversion/Introversion And Subclinical Self-Harm In Undergraduate Students, Norma Salazar-Cortez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Objective. To examine the relationship between the extraversion/introversion personality dimension and mildly injurious (fingernail biting, skin picking, etc.) and more injurious (cutting, burning, etc.) self-harming behaviors.

Method. An undergraduate sample of 146 students volunteered to complete several measures including the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised and Self-Harm Information Form.

Results. Participants with no history of self-harm endorsed similar levels of extraversion in comparison to participants with a history of mildly or moderately injurious self-harm. Comparison between the groups using a One-Factor Between Subjects Analysis of Variance was not significant.

Conclusion. A proposition is made to expand future research …

Longitudinal Analysis Of Behavior Patterns In A Captive Chimpanzee Population, Amy Augusta Tirone

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Data collected over an 11 year period were analyzed for behavioral constancy, reaction to environmental change, and the differential influence of environment and genetics in a group of captive chimpanzees using the framework of the Five Factor Model of Personality. Results suggested environment was a more influential factor in behavioral production, although expected reactions of specific individuals were not evidenced. Improvements upon this research include use of a more chimpanzee-specific personality model and more detailed data collection to support more precise conclusions regarding behavioral etiology.

Adult Survivors Of Family Violence And Abuse, Marcie De La Cruz

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The topic of family violence and abuse is a very sensitive issue. Yet, violence is a part of everyday life. Although people are constantly being bombarded by violent acts on television and in newspaper articles, family violence and abuse is a topic that is to a certain extent, taboo. Even with this taboo topic, family violence and abuse has been widely studied and researched; however, the majority of the research has concentrated on a quantitative aspect. Thus, this study looks at family violence and abuse through qualitative eyes. In the grand tradition of case studies and narratives, this qualitative study …

Acculturation Level And Performance Of Mexican Americans On A Test Of Malingering, Sonya Rosa Flores

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The detection of malingered neuropsychological impairments is an essential issue for mental health professionals. Acculturation level and performance of Mexican Americans on the Computerized Assessment of Response Bias, (CARB), was investigated in the present study. The CARB was administered to 89 subjects comprised of 51 student volunteers and 38 community volunteers. There were 41 males and 48 females, with ages ranging from 18 to 46 years of age. All subjects were instructed to try their best to "fake" a memory deficit. Subjects were grouped into four acculturative typologies according to their performance on the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II, …

A Comparison Of Prison Rehabilitation Classes, Linda Sue Jackson

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study employed a Pretest-Posttest Comparison Group Design in order to determine the comparative effectiveness of two prison rehabilitation classes. The experimental group was comprised of 14 adult, male, incarcerated offenders enrolled in a Prerelease class designed to impact their attitudes, thinking, and values. The comparison group consisted of 22 adult, male, incarcerated offenders enrolled in a GED preparation class. Both groups received a battery of pretests and posttests consisting of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, the Adjective Checklist (ACL), and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2). There was an interval of 23 school days between the pretests and posttests. Between …

A Research Model Of Care-Givers And/Or Socializing Agents Explored In Terms Of Grandparenthood, Susanna Imelda Guadalupe Stephens

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

A collection of secondary (literature) information which revealed the relevant elements and conditions that surround the psychosocial aspects of family kinships were integrated to form the Kin-Psychosocial-Systems Model (KPSS). The KPSS Model is an investigative model (that includes a set of inter-related concepts, definitions, and propositions) which presents a systematic view of family kinships by specifying relationships among culture and family social systems, care-giving and socialization, and psychosocial development for the purpose of providing researchers with a means for explaining and predicting psychological and social phenomena related to the expression and enactment of family kinships.

Perceived Health Competency And Health Value, Acculturation And Obesity In A Mexican American Population, Roberto Eliud Maldonado

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Mexican Americans have a higher incidence of obesity than non-Hispanic whites, yet this population seems to be less concerned with maintaining an ideal body weight than non-Hispanic whites. This puts the Mexican Americans population at higher risk for illnesses associated with increased body fat and obesity. One important factor found to influence health maintenance behavior is perceived self-efficacy, or the degree to which the individual feels capable of effectively managing his or her behavioral outcome. This study examines the moderating effect of health competency and health value on body weight in individuals undergoing acculturation.

Although no significant correlations were found …

Acculturation And Response Style On Mexican Americans On The Millon Index Of Personality Styles, Alicia Stephens Guffey

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This research investigated response style differences between highly acculturated and low acculturated Mexican-Americans on the Negative Impression (NI) and Positive Impression (PI) Scales of the Millon Index of Personality Styles (Millon, 1994). The MIPS is a questionnaire designed to measure personality styles of normally functioning adults. Research has suggested that culturally distinct response styles are common in less acculturated Mexican-Americans. If present, these culturally distinct styles could be misinterpreted and have a negative or harmful impact on the assessment of Mexican-Americans. Analyses of covariance on data from two culturally distinct groups of Mexican-American college students, with age, gender, educational level, …