Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Exploring The Role Of Therapy Process And Outcome In Interventions That Target Adolescent Identity And Intimacy, Janene R. Bussell

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the feasibility of using a session impact measure with a sample of 24 at risk high school students participating in an intervention targeting identity and intimacy. Three therapists led 3 intervention groups with the same format. The study investigated the impact of therapy process, including Group, Facilitator, Skills, and Exploration impacts as measured by the Session Evaluation Form (SEF). The study also investigated the differential impact of session process on intervention outcome as measured by the CPSS, EPSI, RAVS, EIPQ and Youth Report Form. Analyses were conducted using descriptive statistics, frequencies, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and …

Parental Behaviors In Child Anxiety: An Observational Study, Delight Hicks Carmichael

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The increasing awareness of the prevalence, impairment, and long-term consequences of childhood anxiety disorders have led investigators to explore psychosocial factors in the etiology of these disorders. Recent investigations have begun to focus on family-level processes in the etiology and/or maintenance of childhood anxiety disorders, specifically patterns of parent-child interaction. The present study compared parent-child interactions across three problem-solving tasks of clinically anxious children and their mothers versus non-referred children and their mothers in terms of: 1) direct observation measures, 2) children's, mothers', and independent observer's subjective ratings, 3) and children's evaluations using videotape-aided thought reconstruction.

Results suggested that the …

A Test Of A Tripartite Framework Of Team Strategy Development, Kevin William Brown

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study provided further insight into the process (or processes) of team strategy development and its relationship with team performance. Building upon the taxonomies introduced by Marks, Mathieu, & Zaccaro (in press) and Wood and Locke (1990), this thesis attempted to test a tripartite framework of team strategy development. Specifically, this model posits that strategy development consists of three unique, though interrelated, processes: deliberate planning, contingency planning, and reactive adaptation. It was hypothesized that 1) task complexity would moderate the relationship between the three types of strategy development and team performance, and 2) that the three types of strategy formation …

Social Networks Of Immigrant Preadolescents : Network Structure,Sources Of Support, And Psychological Well-Being, Gastón Luis Bustos

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored social network characteristics and sources of support for immigrant and nonimmigrant preadolescents. The relation between social support and psychological well-being for these children was also addressed. Participants were 782 preadolescents, including 172 immigrants, of diverse income and backgrounds. Students completed the social convoy mapping procedure, answered social support questions, and completed the short form version of the Children's Depression Inventory, the Loneliness Scale, and Self Perception Profile. Immigrant children perceived significantly less total support and close family support than did nonimmigrants. Immigrant children's levels of well-being were significantly lower. Close Family Support was an individual predictor of …

The Role Of Death Qualification In Venirepersons' Evaluations Of Aggravating And Mitigating Circumstances In Capital Trials, Brooke M. Butler

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Death qualification is a part of voir dire that is unique to capital trials. Unlike all other litigation, capital jurors must affirm their willingness to impose both legal standards (either life in prison or the death penalty). Jurors who assert they are able to do so are deemed "death-qualified" and are eligible for capital jury service; jurors who assert that they are unable to do so are deemed "excludable" or "scrupled" and are barred from hearing a death penalty case. During the penalty phase in capital trials, death-qualified jurors weigh the aggravators (i.e., arguments for death) against the mitigators (i.e., …

Typologies Of Teachers In Florida Tobacco Use Prevention Education (Tupe) Programs, Jessica E. Barr

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study described teacher perceptions of TUPE program effectiveness in Florida in an attempt to determine whether teacher training or teachers' perceptions of tobacco norms may predict teacher amenability. A statewide survey provided information about how teachers' perceptions of program effectiveness are affected by variables such as: tobacco use norms, training variables, and classroom activities. Data were obtained from a telephone survey conducted in Florida as part of the Tobacco Pilot Project (TPP). The sample included 296 middle school teachers and 282 high school teachers as well as 193 middle school principals and 190 high school principals. Correlational and hierarchical …

Criminal Appearance And Legal Decision-Making, Marisa Evelyn Collett

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has found that people are able and willing to assess whether an individual is a criminal or a non-criminal based on facial observations. What has not been looked at is whether an attribution of criminality could influence decisions as verdict choice, culpability, or punishment severity. The present study examined the effects of target photos that depicted pre-determined “bad guys” and “good guys” on legal decision-making. Participants viewed a case file of an armed robbery and attempted murder. Half the participants viewed a photo of a defendant who was previously deemed a “bad guy” and the other half a …

Examination Of The Overlap Between Dsm-111-R Overanxious Disorder And Dsm-Iv Generalized Anxiety Disorder In Childhood, Candice A. Alfano

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since DSM-III-R criteria for Overanxious Disorder (OAD) was subsumed under Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in DSM-IV, three studies have investigated the overlap between the diagnoses. Although two studies have identified children meeting both OAD and GAD criteria (OAD/GAD group), a third study has identified children who met criteria for OAD, but not GAD (OAD group). Based on finding these two groups of children, we examined whether children in the OAD group (n= 30) could be differentiated from children in the OAD/GAD group (n=81) based on self and parent report of anxious symptoms and level of functional impairment. Conditional probability rates …

Countering The Consideration Of Extra-Legal Factors In Damage Award Decisions, Tracey Renee Carpenter

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Compensatory and punitive awards were created to serve two separate and distinct purposes: to compensate the plaintiff for his/her injuries and to punish the defendant for negligent conduct, respectively. Thus, defendant characteristics should have no impact on compensatory award decisions. Extensive research, however, indicates that these extra-legal factors do impact damage awards. The purpose o f this study was to examine whether varying types of judicial instructions could be used to reduce the effects o f such extra-legal considerations, particularly a defendant’s status as an individual or a corporation and defendant reprehensibility. As hypothesized, participants awarded larger compensatory awards in …

Group Conflict Handling: Effects On Group Conflict Type-Group Outcome Relationships, Leslie A. Dechurch

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Intragroup conflict research has shown task and relationship conflict have different effects on group outcomes, and suggests groups promote task conflict while avoiding relationship conflict. However, these suggestions have not yet been tested. This study examines the moderating role of group conflict handling on conflict type-group outcome relationships. Results of a field survey of 96 business school project groups showed task conflict inhibited performance when groups used avoidance tactics; however, these effects were negated when avoidance tactics were not used. Similarly, relationship conflict was only harmful to performance when avoided. When the use of avoidance was low, relationship conflict improved …