Counseling Commons^™

The Development Of An Instrument For Multicultural Counseling Effectiveness, Michael J. Laird

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop and administer an instrument designed to measure the participants' ability to identify cultural variables affecting the therapeutic process with individuals with and without training in multicultural counseling. The study also examined four areas of difference among trainees to determine their influence on the ability to identify cultural variables affecting therapeutic process: gender, age, undergraduate curriculum, and socioeconomic status of the biological family.

The sample consisted of 60 subjects between the ages of 21 and 52. All subjects were graduate students in the Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology Department at Western Michigan University, …

An Evaluation Of A Method Of Suicide Assessment Training, Gerald A. Juhnke

Dissertations

This quasi-experimental study used a Randomized Groups, Posttest-only Design, to determine if significant differences between three groups existed in their: (a) ability to accurately assess high- and low-risk clients, (b) ability to accurately assign clinical actions, and (c) self-reported confidence to accurately assess suicide risk and assign clinical actions. The 59 volunteer subjects who participated in the study were master’s level counselors-in-training enrolled in a counseling prepractica training course within a Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accredited counselor education and counseling psychology department of a large Midwestern university. Two of the three groups were experimental …

Biblical Self-Esteem And Psychopathology: A Psychological/ Theological Integration, Allan Warren Crummett

Dissertations

With the plethora of definitions for and the vague and confused understanding of self-esteem/worth/image/love/value, the mental health professional is hard-pressed to define it accurately. To the Christian therapist, an area of concern is a Christian versus secular definition.

This study explored this issue in two ways. First, it addressed two hypotheses: (1) Is there a Biblical definition of self-esteem/worth?; (2) Does the Shepherd Scale (Bassett, 1981), an established measure of levels of Christianity, adequately assess self-esteem and Biblical self-esteem? These hypotheses are answered through a search of current literature and correlational analysis.

The second part of the study tested two …

The Relationships Between Marital Adjustment, Family Functioning, Task Management And Family Relationship Concerns In Couples Incorporating A Second Child, Amy Diguiseppe Bade

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among variables identified as potentially significant during the transition to second time parenthood. The theoretical framework for this study was based on the Circumplex Model of family systems (Olson, Sprenkle & Russell, 1979; Olson, Russell & Sprenkle, 1983), and a five domain structural model of marital and family adaptation (Cowan & Cowan, 1988).

The convenience sample consisted of 49 Caucasian middle class couples all expecting their second child. This was a one group pretest-posttest design with the birth of the second child functioning as the independent variable. The dependent variables …

The Effects Of Television Viewing On The Academic Performance Of Elementary School Children With Attention Deficit Disorder, Wayne G. Schaefer

Dissertations

Research suggests that increased hours of television (more than 20-30 hours a week) viewing has a negative impact on the academic performance (as measured by grade point average (GPA)) of elementary aged school children (Fetler, 1984; Winn, 1985). With the reported increased hours of TV viewing time over the past three decades (Ploughoft & Anderson, 1981; Winn, 1985) and the increased proliferation of cable TV and video cassette recorders, it has been projected that the average elementary school aged child will spend more than one-third of his or her waking hours watching television (Winn, 1985).

Although research (Mendelson, cited in …

Level Of Ego Development And Degree Of Distress Experienced During Marital Separation, Richard A. Strait

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether reactions to marital separation and divorce could be differentiated on the basis of level of ego development. A sample of 72 divorcing persons was drawn at random from court records, divided into groups on the basis of sex and level of ego development (using Loevinger's [1970, 1989] Sentence Completion Test [SCT]), and compared on three measures of emotional adjustment (attachment distress, general distress, and social adjustment).

The results indicated that level of ego development did not differentiate short-term reactions to separation (8.7 months) on the three dependent measures, although ego level …

A Validation Of The Family Of Origin Scale Using Alcoholic And Mental Health Patients, Arthur J. Fedor

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to add to the knowledge of family of origin assessment by demonstrating the utility of the Family of Origin Scale (FOS; Hovestadt, Anderson, Piercy, Cochran, & Fine, 1985) as a posttreatment measure of change with clinical samples. In this context, a second feature of the study was a further validation of the FOS.

Eighty-one clinical subjects in inpatient alcoholism treatment centers and outpatient mental health clinics were administered the FOS prior to treatment and again following treatment. Although the pretest-posttest model of the study was a quasi-experimental design, the focus was on the FOS's …

Psychological Correlates Of Sinus Headache, Stanley R. Carlock

Dissertations

This study comprised a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial for evaluating the pharmacological efficacy of ibuprofen when given in combination with pseudoephedrine on an outpatient basis to 52 patients diagnosed with sinus headache. The patients were administered a psychological test battery consisting of the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) (Gough, 1948), the Millon Behavioral Health Inventory (MBHI) (Millon, Green, & Meagher, 1979), and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire (Nowlis & Green, 1957) to evaluate the possibility that specific psychological and personality characteristics might differentiate these patients from individuals on whom the psychological test instruments were normed. Additionally, the probability …

A Comparative Study Of Intrinsic And Extrinsic Work Values And Career Maturity For Minority College Students, Marvin Hall

Dissertations

This study was conducted to investigate comparisons of intrinsic and extrinsic work values and career maturity for minority college students. Results of this study may enhance efforts to provide more effective career development programs for minority college students. The investigation compared participants in a personal and academic support services program (PASSP) by sex, and PASSP and non-PASSP participants by groups. The PASSP which consisted of business majors was based upon expectations and self-efficacy of the success of program participants.

The study consisted of forty participants, 20 females and 20 males. The volunteers included 10 males and 10 females who were …

A Study Of Dual Relationships In Small College Counseling Centers, Terry W. Darling

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to address the following questions; What are the attitudes and practices of counselors in small college counseling centers regarding dual relationships? What are the counselor characteristics that appear to affect counselors' attitudes and practices? How do the attitudes and practices of counselors in small colleges compare to other professionals' attitudes and practices?

A nationwide, random sample of 300 small college counselors was surveyed. Half of the sample received a Counseling Practices Survey: Ethics, which sought information about the respondents' attitudes regarding 17 nonsexual and sexual dual relationship behaviors. The other half of the sample …

Therapeutic Group Approaches For Issues Related To Suicide, Ardis Sherwood

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to (a) summarize a sample of the literature that pertains to suicidal behavior; (b) explore the benefits of the group approach for people who experience suicide-related issues; (c) provide information and models for special suicide-related groups; and (d) discuss age-variations of suicidal behavior.