Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Premarital Preparation And Marital Satisfaction: What Utah Individuals Are Doing To Prepare For Marriage And How Premarital Preparation Can Enhance Marital Satisfaction, Fay L. Belnap Foster

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This is a systematic representative sample study of newlyweds designed to investigate aspects of participation in marriage preparation activities as well as determine what effect participation in activities had on marital satisfaction. A retrospective survey instrument was utilized which included the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale.

Statistical analysis revealed that the majority of individuals in Utah prepare for marriage by visiting with parents or relatives, visiting with other married couples, and talking with religious leaders, and considered these activities to be helpful in their preparation. The smaller percentage of individuals who participated in more formal preparation activities also considered these activities …

Sleep Problems In Young Children With And Without Behavior Problems, Penny L. Sneddon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

There are numernus social, emotional, and behavioral problems toddlers and preschool children can exhibit. Some of the more common problems reported by parents of young children are daytime behavior problems and sleep disturbances. This study investigated sleep difficulties in toddler and preschool-age children with (n = 31) and without (n = 59) significant behavior problems. Furthermore, the current study investigated the relationship between sleep difficulties and other psychological constructs (i.e., maternal general stress, maternal depression, and parenting stress), which might be related to sleep and behavior problems. Mothers of clinically referred children with behavior problems and nonclinically referred …

An Examination Of The Structure Of Affect In A Sample Of Inpatient Adolescents, Marietta A. Veeder

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Multiple studies investigating the validity of the tripartite model of affect in youth have been supportive of the model; however, few studies have examined the model in narrow age bands or large clinical samples. The current study examined the structure of affect in a sample of psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents. Structural equation modeling was used to examine two-factor (negative affectivity [NA] and positive affectivity [PA]) and three-factor models (NA, PA, and physiological hyperarousal [PH]) with item level data from the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS) and Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS), and from the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI), RADS, …

An Exploratory Qualitative Study Of Dual-Earner Couples In Great Marriages: The View From The Empty Nest, Reva C. Rosenband

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dual-earner couples raising children face stress that can interfere with marital happiness. Some of these couples seek help from marriage and family therapists, but many therapists claim they are not well trained in the issues facing these couples. In order to determine what might help therapists. researchers in the past have traveled two scholarly paths: (a) studying dual-income couples who still have children at home and are dealing with the stressors of this lifestyle with varying degrees of success, and (b) asking long-term, happily married couples what helped them stay together successfully. This study combined both approaches. Dual-earner couples whose …

Parenting Stress And Child Attachment: Child Age Of 10 And 36 Months/Father And Mother, Jeng Hyun Ok

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Parents are the most affective human environmental resources to children. Although the influences from parents continue even after parents passed away, very young children (up to age 3) get the biggest impact from their parents. According to children's independency to parents, parents' psychological well-being determines children's emotional-social development. However, in parenting stress, children also have their own influence to parents in the family context. Regarding parenting stress, many studies have been dedicated to defining the occurrence, co-occurrence, and predictors of parenting stress of parents in various conditions.

This longitudinal research conducted from surveys with 201 Early Head Start families reexamines …

Kindergarten Teachers' Developmentally Appropriate Beliefs And Practices And Perceived Problems Of Kindergarten Transition, K. Marie Sorenson Mecham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined kindergarten teachers' developmentally appropriate beliefs and practices, and kindergarten teachers' perceived problems of children entering kindergarten. The relationship between kindergarten teachers' beliefs and practices and their perceived problems of children entering kindergarten was studied, as was the relationship between teachers' beliefs and practices and their perception of children's successful kindergarten entry.

Participants included kindergarten teachers from eight Utah school districts. Teachers were surveyed using both the Transition Practices, and the Teacher Beliefs and Practices Survey. From these surveys, data were collected on kindergarten teachers' beliefs and practices, and perceptions of problems children may have upon entering kindergarten. …

Relationships Among Marital Satisfaction, Marital Conflict Dimensions, And Marital Conflict Strategies, Jennifer L. Hogge

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Marital distress has been shown to negatively affect child outcomes. John Gottman has claimed that he has developed a concept that can buffer children from the negative effects of marital distress. The concept is emotion coaching (EC), which teaches children about emotions, emotion regulation, and effective problem-solving. Children who are emotion coached have better outcomes regardless of level of marital distress. Gottman also claims that emotion coaching parents report higher marital satisfaction and tend to score higher in positive conflict resolution styles and lower in negative conflict resolution styles. This study set out to test Gottman's concepts of EC and …

The People Of Bear Hunter Speak: Oral Histories Of The Cache Valley Shoshones Regarding The Bear River Massacre, Aaron L. Crawford

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Cache Valley Shoshone are the survivors of the Bear River Massacre, where a battle between a group of US. volunteer troops from California and a Shoshone village degenerated into the worst Indian massacre in US. history, resulting in the deaths of over 200 Shoshones. The massacre occurred due to increasing tensions over land use between the Shoshones and the Mormon settlers. Following the massacre, the Shoshones attempted settling in several different locations in Box Elder County, eventually finding a home in Washakie, Utah. However, the LDS Church sold the land where the city of Washakie sat, forcing the Shoshones …

Examining The Relationship Between Connection Rituals And Marital Satisfaction: A Correlational Study, Heather Holmgren Brown

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine the types, frequency, and meaningfulness of connection rituals and the relationship between these items and marital satisfaction. Past research has shown that rituals correlate with marital satisfaction. Three research questions guided the study: (1) What connection rituals do couples participate in and with what frequency? (2) How meaningful are the connection rituals to the husband or wife? and (3) Are some connection rituals more strongly associated to marital satisfaction?

The research questions were tested with data from eighty couples who completed a survey designed specifically for this study. The top three reported …

Efficacy Of A Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment For Weight Loss In Adults With Type 2 Diabetes, Kathy Wickersham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is increasing across all sociodemographic groups. Obesity and overweight are major risk factors in the development of the disease and in the development of complications. Conversely, weight loss improves glycemic control, which reduces likelihood of complications. Interventions combining cognitive and behavioral components show promise in addressing the problem of weight loss maintenance. The objective of this study was to test the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral intervention. Participants were 54 adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes randomly assigned to either a treatment group or a control. The assessment measures utilized in this study were the …

Student Teachers' Explicit And Implicit Perceptions Of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Hollie K. Berglof

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined student teachers' explicit and implicit perceptions of ADHD and the relationship between perceptions of ADHD and social desirability. In addition, the relationship between a current measure of implicit perceptions of ADHD and one that was adapted for this study was also investigated. Findings indicate that student teachers view a student portrayed as exhibiting symptoms consistent with ADHD more negatively than a "normal" child in terms of their self-reported first impressions of the child as well as their predictions for the child's future success. Participants' perceptions, as measured by two implicit measures, however, were mixed, with results from …

Effects Of A Synthetic Cannabinoid On The Reinforcing Efficacy Of Ethanol In Rats, Ericka M. Bailey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The co-abuse of alcohol and marijuana is widespread, although the mechanisms underlying this behavior are unclear. There is some evidence of a relationship between the neural processes that mediate the effects of ethanol and marijuana. For example, research has shown that exposure to marijuana increases responding for, and intake of, ethanol. The alcohol deprivation effect is an anima l model of alcoholism that suggests that the reinforcing efficacy of ethanol, as measured by intake, increases following a period of deprivation. Recent research indicates that rats chronically exposed to marijuana during periods of alcohol deprivation consume ethanol above and beyond deprivation …

Exploring Predictors Of Parent Involvement For Rural Head Start Children, Benjamin E. Wynn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the present study we examined parent participation in an extrafamilial context (Head Start) and the family and child development conditions that predicted such participation.

Participants included 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds and their parents in the Northern Utah and Southeastern Idaho areas. The families were grouped according to the child's previous Head Start experience: those who had received home-based services in year one followed by center-based services in the second year (HB to CB); those who had received no services in year one and home-based services in year two (HB only); and those families who had received no services in …

A Comparison Of Cognitive Autonomy In Adolescents From A Residential Treatment Center And A Traditional Public High School, Matthew Laurence Reiser

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which factors influencing cognitive autonomy differed for "identified" and "not identified" troubled adolescents. One hundred and nineteen residential treatment youth aged 14 to 18 and 137 public high school adolescents were compared using the Cognitive Autonomy Self Evaluation (CASE) inventory, which examines five elements of cognitive autonomy including evaluative thinking, voicing opinions, decision making, self-assessing, and comparative validation. Findings reveal that generally cognitive autonomy did not differ according to troubled status. However, ninth-grade females at the traditional public high school rated themselves much higher in evaluative thinking, voicing opinions, …

Father Involvement, Nurturant Fathering, And The Psychological Well-Being Of Young Adult Daughters, Camille C. Peterson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between father involvement, nurturant fathering, and the psychological well-being among young adult women. A total of 99 young adult, female, university students completed retrospective measures of nurturant fathering, father involvement, and measures of current psychological well-being (measured in terms of self-esteem, life satisfaction, and psychological distress). Results indicated that retrospective perceptions of both father involvement and nurturant fathering were positively correlated with daughters' current levels of self-esteem and life satisfaction. Perceptions of expressive involvement, and nurturant fathering were found to have the strongest relationship with self-esteem and life satisfaction. Results, however, …

Preparation For Remarriage: Utilization Of Different Forms And Their Rated Helpfulness, Julie J. Miller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Remarriage has gained special attention in the past couple of decades from clinicians, researchers, and educators because of the unique issues faced by individuals entering such a relationship. Recognition of these issues increased marriage practitioners' hope that a shift in the social climate had led individuals to prepare for remarriage through various means. This study sought to, one, gain a current perspective on remarriage preparation; two, learn how individuals rate the helpfulness of preparation; and three, note any differences in remarital quality (remarital satisfaction and adjustment) and perceptions of preparedness between individuals who did or did not participate in preparation. …

Depression, Coping Mechanisms, Help-Seeking Behaviors, And The Perceptions Of Purpose In Life Of Older Adults, Cheryl Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Depression in older adults and their methods of coping were examined using a mixed methods approach. The data were from the Quality of Life Study (QLS), an ancillary study of the NIH-funded Cache County Study on Memory Heath and Aging (CCSMHA). Forty-two individuals completed a qualitative interview, the Center for Epidemiological Studies—Depression scale (CES-D), Revised Ways of Coping measure, and Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS).

The sample faced many life challenges and sought help from spouses first, then other family members, and then friends, clergy, and physicians. Blames Others and Wishful Thinking were significantly associated with depression and Religious Coping was …

Congruence Of Perceptions Of Motivation Between Adolescent Clients, Their Therapist, And Parent, Amberly R. Johnson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of adolescent's motivation to change in therapy, specifically while residing in a residential treatment center (RTC) and participating in family therapy. Motivation for change was examined in three contexts. The first context for examining the adolescent's motivation for change was in relation to their stage of therapy. The second and third contexts for examining the adolescent's motivation for change was in relation to perceptions the adolescent's therapist and parent had of their motivation to change. In addition, the study explored whether there was a relationship between the congruence of perceptions of …

Characteristics Of Helping Relationships For Emotional Distress: Older Adults' Perceptions, Alison L. Rencher

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Geriatric depression reduces older adults' quality of life, yet few will seek formal help. Older adults often seek help for emotional distress from informal helpers, which appears to have a therapeutic benefit for them. This qualitative study was designed to investigate older adults' perceptions of helping relationships that they used when faced with emotional difficulties or concerns, characteristics that facilitated their approaching helpers, and what they perceived as helpful in those relationships. This study also looked at older adults ' perceptions of professional mental health practitioners and barriers to seeking help.

Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with 8 older adults …

Does Teaching Problem-Solving Skills Matter?: An Evaluation Of Problem-Solving Skills Training For The Treatment Of Social And Behavioral Problems In Children, Bryan B. Bushman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Parent training combined with problem solving skills training has been proposed as a comprehensive treatment for childhood oppositional behaviors, poor child social skills, and parental stress. The current study compared Parent Training + Problem Solving Skills Training with a Parent Training + nondirective condition. Parents of 32 children first attended Parent Training. After the parents completed Parent Training, children were randomly assigned to individual therapy in either a Problem Solving Skills Training condition or a nondirective condition. Data comparisons between the groups were made at postindividual therapy and at 6-week follow-up. Results indicated that children in the Problem Solving Skills …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Supplemental Labels In Museum Exhibits, Clint B. Eliason

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present study used an experimental design to investigate the efficacy of using short (12 words or less), prominently placed supplemental labels to increase the effectiveness of select extant labels in museum exhibits. The experimenter-developed supplemental labels were designed to leverage exogenous/bottom-up and endogenous/top-down sources of influence on selective attention. Measures of patron behavior, knowledge retention, and attitude found no significant differences between group means under control and treatment conditions. These outcomes were surprising and inconsistent with findings from similar research conducted by Hirschi and Screven. The supplemental labels in the present study might have failed to capture attention because …

Relationship Among Team Collective Efficacy, Cohesion, And Coaching Competency In Sports, Clayton T. Manning

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A team's performance in any sport can be predicted by many factors. Some of these factors include team collective efficacy, team cohesiveness, and coaching competency. Currently, there is little research investigating the relationships among teams' beliefs about their capabilities, their level of cohesion, and their perceptions of coaching competency on overall sport performance. The purpose of this study was to document the relationship among collective efficacy, cohesion, and coaching on sport performance in a sample of university athletes. The objectives of this study were to identify the level of cohesion, collective efficacy, and perceptions of coaching competency by each athletic …

Psychosocial Variables And Their Relationship To Diabetic Outcome Among The Strong Heart Study Cohort, Brian D. O'Leary

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Diabetes mellitus is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United Sates. Certain Native American groups have been harder hit than the mainstream population, both in prevalence of the disease and in rates of related complications. The highest known prevalence in the world is found among a Southwestern U.S. Tribe, and other Native American Tribes have demonstrated similar prevalence rates. It has been shown that certain psychological factors such as depression and hostility impact both the occurrence and outcome of certain diseases, including diabetes.

This study examined whether those individuals who have not met the criteria …

The Temporal Relationship Between Environmental Factors And Psychological Symptoms In Native American Adolescents, Georgia Lee Matt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Native American youth often experience high rates of environmental risk factors that may put them at increased risk for developing psychological problems, yet research within this high-risk population is severely limited.

The present study was designed to provide information on the rate of psychological symptoms in a sample of Native American youth, and evaluate the impact of environmental factors (risk, protective, and cultural) on psychological disorder symptoms over time. Data were collected with a sample of Native American youth using the Youth Self Report, the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory–Adolescent 2, and a researcher-designed Biodemographic Questionnaire.

Findings indicate that clinically …