Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Self-Mutilation : Using Pain To Cope, Wendy S. Cook

Graduate Research Papers

Self-mutilation is a serious mental and physical health problem that is often under-reported and misdiagnosed. The mutilation is a reaction to negative internal feelings, such as despair, anxiety, anger, or cognitive constriction. The goal of the self-mutilation is relief from emotional pain by using physical pain. The self-mutilator has low self-esteem, bouts of depression, difficulty forming intimate relationships, and usually suffered some type of trauma such as physical or sexual abuse. Pharmacological treatment for the self-mutilator has been experimental but has not been well researched. However, research seemed to indicate that individual and group therapy, specifically cognitive-behavioral therapy, is helpful …

Effective Multidisciplinary Team Problem Solving : A Review Of Literature, Debra S. Meyer

Graduate Research Papers

The historical legislation mandating multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) in schools is well known, yet relatively little attention has been directed toward either evaluating systematic processes that would lead to the desired outcome of better services to all students or educating team members in problem solving content and process. The purpose of the study was to examine the factors that influence problem solving outcomes and other aspects of service delivery in MDT settings, including the changing role of school psychologists.

Results indicated much variability and little consensus in several areas: clarity of role expectations, family involvement, interdisciplinary collaboration, continuing educational training, and …

Impact Of Insecure Attachment On Children's Social Skill Development, Kimberly A. Conrad

Graduate Research Papers

This paper focuses primarily on the importance of secure parent/child attachment to healthy development of children. Attachment theory is utilized to explain possible causes of pathological and anti-social behavior. In particular, it describes how insecure (both anxious and avoidant) attachments between parent (caretaker) and child may lead to angry, coercive, immature, withdrawn, or even suicidal behaviors in children. Parent/child attachment problems are linked to social skill deficits and problems in peer relationships. Implications for school psychologists and for future research are offered.

Television Violence : The Impact And Influence On Children And Adolescents, Preston B. Hoskins

Graduate Research Papers

This paper will look at the history of violent youth, and the unique development of youth violence in our country. The author will examine the unique characteristics that make media such a powerful communicative source. The author will show how living in a media culture affects the way youth behave, and will explore the extent to which media messages have power over their lives. Information on the significance of television violence on the behaviors of youth will be included.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (Odd) In Children And Adolescents, Maria J. Garlie

Graduate Research Papers

This paper is a review of the literature on Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) in children and adolescents. Included in this review is information on the history of changes through which the diagnosis of ODD has gone, a comparison of children with ODD to "normal" children in terms of development, gender differences, co-morbidity, etiology, and treatment interventions.

The Effects Of A Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Intervention On Irrational Beliefs And Burnout Among Middle School Teachers In The State Of Iowa, Shirley Anderson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) bibliotherapy intervention on the level of burnout and irrational beliefs. This study specifically examined the impact of a REBT bibliotherapy intervention on middle school teachers' irrational beliefs and level of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment, using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (Maslach, Jackson, & Schwab, 1986) and the Irrational Beliefs Test (Jones, 1968).

The subjects in this study consisted of 167 middle school teachers in the State of Iowa. These teachers taught sixth, seventh, or eighth grade or a combination of these …

Similarities In Aggression, Inattention/Hyperactivity, Depression, And Anxiety Between Friends And Nonfriends, Kristin A. Clark

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Friendship similarities on behavioral and psychopathological characteristics have been proposed as being risk factors for maladaptive development, yet these similarities have not been thoroughly examined. The purpose of the present study was to examine the similarities within children's friendships. It was expected that friends would be more similar than nonfriends on aggression, inattention/hyperactivity, depression, and anxiety. Friendship similarities should also differ across grades, with similarity decreasing as grade increases, and across gender, with boys' friendships more similar on depression and anxiety and girls' friendships more similar on aggression and inattention/hyperactivity.

Two hundred thirty-four 4th through 9th grade students completed self-report …

Integrating Spirituality Into Mental Health Counseling, Mary Jane Madsen

Graduate Research Papers

This paper represents an attempt to bring together information from the existing literature that, when combined, could form a basic framework of thought and application for counselors who wish to integrate spirituality into mental health counseling. As mental health counseling students or more seasoned professionals consider this information, they may choose to take practical ideas into their work with clients, or at least become more involved in further reading and research on the topic. The paper concludes with a presentation of ethical issues that specifically relate to the integration of spirituality into the traditional mental health counseling paradigm.

Play Therapy For Children With Aggressive Behavior, Jennifer M. Brehm

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this literature review was to investigate the effectiveness of various play therapy interventions for decreasing developmentally inappropriate aggression of children. Psychoanalytic, cognitive-behavioral, and person-centered approaches of play therapy were reviewed. Each of the three theoretical approaches to therapy was described in relation to the aggressive behaviors of children. Similarities and differences among the three therapies were discussed. Efficacy of the interventions was presented based on published literature only. More studies of the various types of play therapy, particularly in relation to the aggressive behaviors of children, need to be conducted and results disseminated.

Project Body Image, Elaine M. Eshbaugh

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

I have chosen to develop an intervention intended to improve body image in middle/junior high school girls. This project has been conducted in four parts: 1) literature review, 2) initial screening, 3) college interviews, and 4) middle school group interview. My goal in interviewing college women was to compare the ideas and experiences of those with positive and negative body images and incorporate these findings into my intervention. My motivation for interviewing middle school girls was to explore more fully their culture, in particular the media images that are most influential in their lives. I will detail each of these …