Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Development Of The Couples Inventories And Testing The Reliability Of The Communications Items, James K. Sessions

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study is a revision of the Marital Inventories so that both self-perception and perception of other data can be collected. The revised inventory, titled the Couples Inventories, was administered to a population of 183 couples comprised mainly of university students from communities across the United States. From the collected data, principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation was used to analyze the items addressing couple communication. This study analyzed data from self-perception and perception of other, as well as including the variables of the respondent's age and gender as a test for structural equivalence. As a test of reliability …

Contingent Valuation Of Early Intervention Programs For Handicapped Children, Colette M. Escobar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Early intervention programs for handicapped preschool children may have long-term implications for the children and their families. Economic evaluations of these programs have been conducted to measure costs and benefits, but parental willingness-to-pay has been overlooked in these analyses. Parental willingness-to-pay, as a measure of consumer surplus, could complete the measure of benefits and provide both policymakers and practitioners with useful information for decision-making. In this study, the implications of eliciting willingness-to-pay responses for an early intervention program for handicapped preschoolers are discussed. A survey technique, known as the contingent valuation method (CVM), is applied to program to empirically estimate …

Marriage Enrichment: Does It Make A Difference, Eric R. Olsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine if participation in a marriage enrichment program had an impact on couple's relationships in the areas of regard, empathy, congruence, dyadic adjustment and self-esteem. Seven independent variables were also analyzed to see if they had any impact on the five outcome measures. A survey was given at four different time periods (pretest, immediately before the enrichment experience; posttest, immediately after the enrichment experience; three months following; and six months following the enrichment experience) to determine if change did occur and if it was maintained over time. There was no control group and …

Person-Environment Interaction Psychological Strain And Delinquency: A Longitudinal Test Of The Theory, Mahmood Gazi-Tabatabaie

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Utilizing longitudinal panel data from Youth In Transition Project, the Person-Environment fit (P-E Fit) theory and its specific application to the area of delinquency and aggression was investigated longitudinally. Analysis of Covariance Structure Technique (LISREL) was used to address the issues of multi-dimensionality, stability, measurement of total P-E fit and to test the proposed delinquency model. The relationships between P-E fit, psychological strain, and delinquency were tested both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. The student sub-group (those respondents who stayed in school after high school) and the working sub-group (those who went to work after high school) were tested separately. P-E fit …

The Effects Of A Social Skills Training Program On Interpersonal Communications In Parent Adolescent Dyads, Patrick Sean Noble

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this thesis was two fold. First, there was an experiment in which the independent variable was the behavioral skill levels of parents and their adolescents on a social skills training program and the dependent variable was the parent and adolescent perceptions of their interpersonal relationship regarding communication and problem solving. Second, there was an experiment comparing instructional styles wherein the independent variable was the length of time used to present the social skills training program and the dependent variable was the resulting scores on the behavioral measures of the program. A modified pretest -post-test control group design …

The Effects Of A Structured Intervention Program On Identity And Divorce Adjustment, Rodger Trent Wentz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to determine if a structured intervention program could assist individuals in adjusting to some of the disruption associated with divorce. A secondary purpose was to determine if identity status would mediate the effects of the intervention program upon divorce adjustment. The components of the intervention program were modeled on previous research. It was hypothesized that individuals participating in a structured treatment program would manifest greater gains in areas of divorce adjustment than the control group. However, results show that while there was greater gain for the experimental group than the control group in several …

Contextual Control Of Stimulus Equivalence With Preschool Children, M. Regina Green

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research asked whether a contextual stimulus in a visual conditional discrimination task controlled membership in classes of stimuli related hierarchically. Six experiments with nonreading preschool children posed the following question:

Does a stimulus juxtaposed with a conditional discrimination task control relations among the stimuli involved in the task? In Experiments I and II, printed instance or concept words were juxtaposed with conditional discrimination tasks involving symbols. Results for eight of nine children demonstrated neither conditional nor equivalence relations between words and symbols.

Would conditional discrimination training establish classes of visual stimuli composed of selectively nonequivalent subsets? In Experiment III, …

Factor Analysis Of A Self-Report Problem Inventory For Use In Clinical Settings, William F. Corey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A factor analysis was performed using 609 subjects, each of whom completed the 265 Hem self-report problem inventory. Factor analysis was used in this context as the logical first step in the development of the problem inventory. For the purpose of analysis, 240 of the Hems were used. Results suggest that there may be utility in further research involving the problem inventory. A literature review of current diagnostic issues, se 1 f-report inventory issues, diagnostic interviewing issues, and finally, self-report inventory development is included.

Demand Characteristics In The Hypnotic Elicitation Of Multiple Ego States, Laura M. Sturgis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Hypnotic elicitation of multiple ego states was explored using Hilgard's "hidden observer" paradigm. Twenty subjects in two groups: hypnosis and simulation were utilized to examine the impact of experimental demand characteristics on the production of multiple ego states. Self-report and hypnotist-report measures were obtained in a test-retest design. Multiple t-tests and chi-square analyses were computed with significant differences on key multiple ego state items found between groups. Results demonstrated retest reliability, but not inter-rater reliability of this dissociative phenomena, since hypnotists failed to discriminate real from "faked" hypnotic involvement. Exploration of multiple ego states using non-hypnotic control conditions and multiple …

The Impact Of Twelve-Mile Canyon Mudslides On Downstream Water Users In Sanpete County, Utah, Danny L. Boore

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of major landslides during 1983-84 in Twelve-Mile Canyon, Sanpete County, Utah on agricultural water users in the Gunnison Irrigation System. Sediment content and stream flow data were gathered from Twelve-Mile Creek during the irrigation season of 1984. This information was used to estimate the sediment load of Twelve-Mile Creek and to compare historical averages. A survey of Gunnison Irrigation System Water Users was conducted to obtain information defining the damage and production losses caused by an increase in sediment carried by irrigation water. This information was tabulated and used as …

Trade Liberalization: The Impact On Utah's Dairy And Meat Industries, Tyler J. Bowles

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Trade liberalization in dairy and meat products is of significant interest for Utah since 75 percent of Utah farm cash receipts are from these two products and both product groups are net U.S. imports. This thesis analyzes the impact that trade liberalization in dairy and meat products would have on Utah's dairy and meat industries and Utah's general economy.

A model based upon the current level of imports and exports, the price elasticity of import demand, and the tariff equivalent of import restrictions is used to estimate the production changes in Utah's dairy and meat industries that would result from …

Parental Attitudes Toward Mainstreaming Of Handicapped Children, Afsaneh Ahooriyan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate attitudes of parents of school-aged and preschool aged children with and without handicaps, toward the issue of mainstreaming. A sample of 212 individuals responded to a parent questionnaire which was mailed to each household to be completed by both parents. This questionnaire examined attitudes and concerns of parents across 14 mainstreaming issues (Appendix 2) . Of the total sample, 123 responses were used for the final analysis. Cases were discarded because some were missing the age of their child, some were not qualified because of their child's age, and others had …

Parental And Teacher Expectations For Kindergarten Preparation And Priorities For Kindergarten Curricula, Kimberly Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Participants for this investigation were 146 kindergarten teachers and 436 parents of kindergarteners in Davis and Weber School Districts. Self-administered questionnaires were utilized, 1) to determine if teachers, mothers and fathers believe that parents could do more to prepare children for kindergarten, 2) to delineate what each group believes parents can do, 3) to investigate what mothers and fathers have done in preparing their children for kindergarten, 4) to explore what skills teachers, mothers and fathers credit as most important for children to possess upon kindergarten entry, and 5) to examine what skills these three groups feel should be emphasized …

Parent And Adolescent Education In Relation To Adolescent Sexual Attitudes And Behavior, Karen R. Sneesby

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine relationships between several educational variables and adolescents' sexual attitudes and behavior. The sample consisted of high school students who were enrolled in health, family living, and home economics classes in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Pretest and posttest surveys were given to these students to evaluate the effectiveness of a prevention program which addressed teen attitudes and behaviors in the areas of peers, families, and morality. The pretest and posttest surveys contained items that specifically measured family background, school achievement, and sexual attitudes and behaviors. Data collected for these …

Transfer To And Operation Of The Cache Citizen By The Utah State University Department Of Communication, William P. Davis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

On January 21, 1985, the USU Department of Communication assumed the responsibility of providing editorial content for The Cache Citizen, a weekly newspaper published in Preston, Idaho. The department plans to continue operation of the paper, to provide professional experience for undergraduate and graduate students.

The thesis has a twofold purpose. First, it is an historical document, designed to preserve the details of the transfer and first year of operation by the department, for use by future journalism scholars and historians. Second, it analyzes the transfer, identifies problems encountered and steps taken to correct them, and makes recommendations for …

Cable Television Utilization In Logan, Utah, Kathryn Whittle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The recent expansion in the cable television industry has brought about a kind of media revolution. Many more types of programs are being made available to the public via cable than would have been possible through regular network broadcasting.

Perceptions Of Menstruation As An Indicator Of Stereotypic Beliefs Within Marriage, Debra L. Caswell-Madsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research examined husband and wife attitudes toward menstruation and how these attitudes related to certain behaviors within marriage. The sample consisted of 48 Married couples, some living in Davis, California and some living in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Specifically, four objectives were pursued:

1. Assess husbands' and wives' perceptions of how behaviors within marriage vary over the wives' menstrual cycles.
2. Assess husbands' and wives' attitudes toward menstruation.
3. Examine how husband's and wives' attitudes toward menstruation might be associated with perceptions of how behaviors within marriage vary over the wives' menstrual cycles.
4. Examine how wives' perceptions of differences in behavior over …

Factors Affecting Ownership And Use Of Small Electrical Kitchen Appliances, Shana C. Weisgram

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors related to ownership and frequency of use of small electrical kitchen appliances. Data were collected from 116 Women's Week participants and 61 Adult Leaders' School participants who completed a self-administered survey questionnaire.

The 177 homemakers owned a total of 2500 appliances with a mean of 14.15 appliances per homemaker. The number of small electrical appliances owned ranged from 3 to 33 items.

No significant differences were found in the number of small electrical kitchen appliances owned and employment status of the homemaker, educational level of the homemaker, income level of …

Client Writing In Individual Therapy: A Review Of The Literature, Karla Esplin Bennion

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Client writing has been used in association with individual therapy for many years, but published research on its effectiveness is sparse. Such research could provide a potential tool for therapists, as well as expand scientific knowledge. This review includes all available reports on the topic of client writing in individual therapy. The studies fall into three general categories: the systematic, "experimental" studies; the anecdotal reports; and the didactic reports. All studies considered show some benefit from the use of client writing in therapy. Writing appears to be beneficial whether initiated by the client or directed by the therapist; beneficial to …

Factors Influencing Grief Adjustment In The Elderly, Jo Anne Pauline Johnson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this paper was to attempt to identify variables which may enhance the ability of older widowed persons to adjust to viii bereavement. Depression and perceptions of physical health were the two aspects of adjustment selected for study. Several variables which current literature suggests may mediate grief adjustment were examined for their potential relationship to bereavement outcome. These were gender, level of grief, anticipatory grief and social network. The possible relationship between depression and perceptions of physical health was also examined for.

Subjects were 75 men and women, age 55 and over, who were recently widowed, and 29 …

The Role Of Vicarious Reinforcement For Modeled Or Alternate Behavior, Brian C. Lech

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research on vicarious reinforcement has answered many questions but whether vicarious reinforcement increases the likelihood that an observer will imitate a model, a social learning theory would predict, or sets the occasion for the observer to perform an alternate response, as a discriminative stimulus interpretation of vicarious reinforcement suggests, seems to depend on (1) the setting, (2) procedure, and (3) reinforcers used. In an effort to better understand the function of vicarious reinforcement, while controlling for subjects; histories and using tangible reinforcers, 47 preschool children participated in two experiments that (1) provided an experimental history of responding on several levers, …

The Mmpi As A Predictor Of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Vietnam Veterans, Susan Rogers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) could be used to discriminate between Vietnam veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and those with other mental disorders. Scores on the 13 validity and clinical scales of the MMPI were used as predictor variables in two discriminant analyses. The first of these was performed in replication of studies in which cases of substance-abuse disorder were eliminated from the non-PTSD comparison group. Substance- abuse cases were included in the second discrimination. The results indicated that while the MMPI can be used to discriminate PTSD from non-PTSD …

A Comparison Of The Verbal Productions Of Normal And Behaviorally Disordered Children Using Interview And Color Book Techniques, Alan L. Muhlestein

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to test the usefulness of The Color Book in facilitating interactions between an interviewer and a child. Interviews employing The Color Book were compared with interviews in which no art materials were used. More specifically the question of whether the length of utterances, number of emotional words used and statements about self by the subjects differed between groups using the Color Book and interviews without art materials.

Subjects were forty grade school age children attending public schools. Twenty had previously been classified as behaviorally disordered and the other twenty had no such classification. Half …

The Effects Of Recreation Specialization And Motivations On The Environmental Setting Preferences Of Backcountry Hikers, Randy J. Virden

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study explored how recreation specialization and different types of motivations were related to environmental settings preferred by backcountry hikers. A questionnaire was developed that measured the level of hiking specialization, desired psychological outcomes, and preferred environmental setting attributes. Questionnaires were mailed to 619 backcountry hikers from three Intermountain West hiking areas; a response rate of 68 percent was attained.

Results of the study revealed significant associations between the level of hiking specialization and the psychological states desired by backcountry hikers. In general, increased hiking specialization served to increase the importance of specific psychological outcomes such as autonomy, exercise, achievement …

The Effect Of Geographical Setting, Duration In A Single Parent Family, Sex And Dethronement On Stepsibling Relationships After Parental Remarriage, Sharon D. Cannon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This exploratory study investigated how four independent variables, namely post-marital residence, length of time in a single parent family, gender and change in relative age position in the family, affect the closeness of stepsibling relationships. This research focused primarily on families in which stepsiblings lived together in the same household; however, individuals who had stepsiblings living in another location were also included in the study.

A sample of 139 people was generated through a purposive method of requesting names of eligible persons from county extension agents in four Western states (Utah, Idaho, Oregon and Arizona), and from ten introductory classes …

Teaching Minimum Based Competency Test Skills To Secondary-Aged Learning Disabled Students Through The Use Of Precision Teaching, Michael E. Byrnes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This project investigated whether a precision teaching method used with learning disabled high school students (grades 9-12) could give them the skills needed to pass a minimum based competency test in the area of local, state and national government. The specific objective of this project was to determine if the use of precision teaching enabled the students to retain the facts needed to pass a competency test required for graduation. A multiple-baseline design across behaviors was used to show the effect of precision teaching in mastering the needed facts. The data from each baseline improved and surpassed the set criteria …

The Psychological And Social Consequences Of Htlv-Iii Infection: Homosexuals In Orange County, Ca, Kenneth Burton Kaisch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to identify the psychological and social consequences experienced by homosexual men who learn that they have positive results on the HTLV-III antibody test, but who have not yet developed AIDS or ARC. Employing a census survey of the membership of three California homophile organizations (n=1905), 30 HTLV-III positives and 55 negatives completed a biographical questionnaire, the IPAT Anxiety Scale Questionnaire, the IPAT Depression Scale, and the Coping Strategies Inventory. Results indicate that HTLV-III positives show considerable disorganization after hearing test results, have clinically high levels of anxiety (n=10), and clinically high levels of depression …

A Neuropsychological Approach For Differentiating The Residual Effects Of Neonatal Intraventricular Hemorrhage, Glenn Thomas Goodwin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

It is well documented in the literature that low-birth-weight (LBW) and prematurity are associated with a variety of developmental disabilities. Within this population of LBW children it is estimated that at birth, up to 45% of them experience intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). Only recently has pediatric research begun to look at the potentially unique effects of IVH, and attempt to separate these out form the effects of LBW in general. The purpose of this study was to investigate the neuropsychological differences that may occur in children with a history of mild or sever IVH, who are now approaching school age. The …