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Full-Text Articles in Psychology

Culturally Relevant Parental Involvement: Perceptions Of Mexican Immigrant Mothers In Rural Wyoming, Sandra P. Sanderson Dec 2015

Culturally Relevant Parental Involvement: Perceptions Of Mexican Immigrant Mothers In Rural Wyoming, Sandra P. Sanderson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand Mexican immigrant mother's perceptions concerning parental involvement with their children's schools. It provides a perspective on cultural considerations relevant to the implementation of Epstein's model of parental involvement. Eight mothers, two documented and six undocumented, who had emigrated from Mexico and were living in rural Wyoming, were interviewed. The information provided by the participants included descriptions of practices the mothers considered meaningful when involved with their children's education. They shared their own experiences of their school attendance in Mexico and their own parents' involvement with their education. They also shared their understanding …


Bibliotherapy As An Intervention For Aggressive Elementary Children, Kari Newman Sep 2015

Bibliotherapy As An Intervention For Aggressive Elementary Children, Kari Newman

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effect of bibliotherapy as an intervention for aggressive elementary children at a residential treatment center in the western United States. Bibliotherapy was provided for six children, three boys and three girls, ages 9 to 11, Caucasian and Hispanic, who took part in one of two groups. The study involved a multi-baseline design, beginning with a baseline phase, followed by two separate intervention phases comprised of eight sessions of bibliotherapy. Data gathered from almost daily observations along with pre- and post-intervention ratings of aggressive behaviors indicated that four of the six students demonstrated notable decreases in observed …


School Resource Officers' Perceptions Of In-School Graffiti: Disciplinary Measures And Prevention Efforts, Bobbi Sue Van Leuven Jul 2015

School Resource Officers' Perceptions Of In-School Graffiti: Disciplinary Measures And Prevention Efforts, Bobbi Sue Van Leuven

Theses and Dissertations

The term graffiti has been adapted to mean any type of writings on a surface area that have been scratched, painted or marked. These writings, which are typically perceived from a negative point of view, may be something as small as doodles on a paper or something as large as paintings on a wall or the side of a building. Because graffiti is often part of gang culture and identified as criminal activity, when graffiti enters into a school the school's atmosphere and graffiti deters from a positive educational environment. In this study, five School Resource Officers from urban secondary …


A Mexican Woman's Journey In Becoming A Successful American Educator, Lucy Ordaz Sanchez Jul 2015

A Mexican Woman's Journey In Becoming A Successful American Educator, Lucy Ordaz Sanchez

Theses and Dissertations

This self-study explores the question of "What factors in my life shaped my journey in earning an American college degree and becoming a successful educator in the U.S.?" This question is explored in the context of my own lived experiences. Results contribute to the field of immigrant studies and may encourage others who wish to transition from first generation immigrant to successful professional educator in the U.S. This study employed hermeneutic phenomenology to answer the research question. It used in-depth narrative interviews to elicit my responses to lived experiences from growing up in Mexico to my current teaching position. Thematic …


Training Middle School Paraeducators Positive Behavior Support Strategies Through Job Embedded Feedback, Carrie Ann Eichelberger Jul 2015

Training Middle School Paraeducators Positive Behavior Support Strategies Through Job Embedded Feedback, Carrie Ann Eichelberger

Theses and Dissertations

The current training model for paraeducators traditionally consists of single-day workshops, emails, newsletters, in-service meetings or other similarly isolated and infrequent tips or no training at all. Such practices have caused many paraeducators and teachers to cite a lack of efficient and effective training as one of the major difficulties in their job. The purpose of the study was to establish a causal relationship between the independent variable: the direct instruction of precorrection through modeling and guided practice with bug-in-the-ear feedback and the dependent variable, the performance or nonperformance of positive behavior support strategies in the classroom. The study took …


Participation In Sports And The Development Of Resilience In Adolescents, Jason Johnson Jul 2015

Participation In Sports And The Development Of Resilience In Adolescents, Jason Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents today are faced with an array of risk factors including sexual activity and drug and alcohol use, as well as environmental factors that are beyond their control, such as parental divorce and poverty. The attribute of resilience is an extremely desirable quality that, if developed, has the capacity to reduce the effect of many of these risk factors that many adolescents are exposed to. Sport participation is a potential intervention that a large portion of adolescents can have access to through school and community programs that could potentially foster resilience. The current causal-comparative, non-experimental study sought to add to …


Falsification Of The Look, Rodrigo Andres Veas Jul 2015

Falsification Of The Look, Rodrigo Andres Veas

Theses and Dissertations

The LOOK is a viewing time measure that seeks to assess sexual interest patterns and is currently in development at Brigham Young University. This instrument is intended to aid current efforts to prevent child sexual abuse by identifying deviant sexual interests. A recently presented study on a similar viewing time measure has raised concerns regarding individuals' ability to falsify sexual interest patterns on average. This study seeks to extend this falsification research to the LOOK in order to assess if falsification of this measure is possible by means of speed or pretense. Participants were exclusively heterosexual non-pedophilic males and females. …


Teaching Self-Determination Skills To Middle School Students With Specific Learning Disabilities, Audryn Damron Jul 2015

Teaching Self-Determination Skills To Middle School Students With Specific Learning Disabilities, Audryn Damron

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of explicitly teaching self-advocacy skills to three middle school students with mild/moderate disabilities by having them memorize a script and request accommodations in a training and generalization setting. The intervention components included 16 lessons comprising discussion and reflection about their disabilities and educational rights under IDEA, a four-part script, and a prompting procedure. The script included (a) greeting teacher and asking if it's a good time to talk, (b) expressing concern with assignment, (c) asking for accommodation, and (d) thanking teacher. The dependent variables were (a) frequency, measured by the …


Respite Care And Marital Quality In Parents Of Children With Down Syndrome, Michelle Norton Jul 2015

Respite Care And Marital Quality In Parents Of Children With Down Syndrome, Michelle Norton

Theses and Dissertations

Parents of a child with a disability are at greater risk than other couples for having higher stress, adjustment difficulties, and lower marital quality. Respite care has been shown to reduce stress in parents of children with disabilities. This study focused on parents who have a child with Down syndrome and their reported marital quality and respite care received. One hundred and twelve couples, each consisting of a mother and a father who lived with their child with Down syndrome, completed questionnaires including the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Experience in Close Relationships Questionnaire, Daily Hassles and Uplifts Scale, and a …


Predictive Validity Of The Look, Joy Wiechmann Cox Jun 2015

Predictive Validity Of The Look, Joy Wiechmann Cox

Theses and Dissertations

The LOOK, an iOS app, is a viewing time measure used to assess sexual interest. The measure is based on the assumption that sexual interest can be assessed by the amount of time a participant spends looking at an image. The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of the LOOK, a newly developed viewing time instrument, to accurately screen and diagnose individuals with deviant sexual interest. The profiles of known sexual offenders were compared to norm-referenced profiles of an exclusively heterosexual, non-pedophilic, male, college student population. Researchers were not able to find a fair constant multiplier that …


Effect Of Latinos In Action Peer Tutoring On Elementary Student Oral Reading Fluency Scores, Darren M. Hansen Jun 2015

Effect Of Latinos In Action Peer Tutoring On Elementary Student Oral Reading Fluency Scores, Darren M. Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

The Latino population is the largest minority group in the United States, making up 16.3% of the total population. As the Latino population of the US grows, the Latino student population within schools across the nation is also growing, accounting for 10.5% of the student population. While the Latino student population continues to grow, there is evidence that this group is not achieving academically at the same rate as other groups. Latino statistics in Utah showed a similar situation within public schools. Fifty-one percent of Latino fourth graders were reading below the expected levels, compared to 22% for Caucasian students. …


A Career Course Follow-Up: Does A Student Development Elective Make A Difference?, Jamie Marie Hansen Jun 2015

A Career Course Follow-Up: Does A Student Development Elective Make A Difference?, Jamie Marie Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

Since its inception, work and career-related issues have been central to the aims and scope of counseling psychology as a discipline. One common career counseling intervention in the University setting is to offer elective, credit-bearing courses in career development and exploration to provide help and direction to college students as they decide on majors and prepare for careers. Much research has been conducted which suggests that the use of career courses in the university setting has strong, positive impact on students' career decision-making ability and other output variables. What is less established is the impact of these career courses on …


Adolescents' Perceptions Of Homophobic Language: Implications For Bullying Prevention, Benjamin M. Bailey Jun 2015

Adolescents' Perceptions Of Homophobic Language: Implications For Bullying Prevention, Benjamin M. Bailey

Theses and Dissertations

Large scientific studies have recognized homophobic language as a national concern (American Association of University Women [AAUW], 2001; Kosciw, Greytak, Diaz, & Bartkiewicz, 2010). Concerning perceptions of homophobic language use, quantitative studies were mostly conducted in specific areas of the United States and qualitative studies have largely approached the issue with the theory of masculinity. The current study proposed to approach the study actively challenging all assumptions about homophobic language use. This study assimilated 20 adolescents' perceptions of homophobic language, using a hermeneutic qualitative methodology. This study found that in addition to policing masculinity, homophobic language was used to police …


Navajo Nation Brain Drain: An Exploration Of Returning College Graduates' Perspectives, Quintina Ava Adolpho Jun 2015

Navajo Nation Brain Drain: An Exploration Of Returning College Graduates' Perspectives, Quintina Ava Adolpho

Theses and Dissertations

American Indian tribes face the phenomenon known across the world as the brain drain. They invest millions of dollars in educating their members, only to have little return on their investments. Many nation members leave reservations to get postsecondary education but never return, contributing to the brain drain. Those who get education off the reservation and choose to return are the exceptions to this rule. Although there is an abundance of literature regarding the brain drain across the world, there has been little research done with American Indians. In order to begin to understand the brain drain phenomenon this study …


International Student Support Groups: Understanding Experiences Of Group Members And Leaders, Nathaniel W. Page Jun 2015

International Student Support Groups: Understanding Experiences Of Group Members And Leaders, Nathaniel W. Page

Theses and Dissertations

A multi-site qualitative study explored the group experiences of 6 group leaders and 10 group members who participated in 7 different university counseling center international student support groups. Data collection and analysis phases followed the process of hermeneutic interpretation articulated by Kvale and Brinkmann (2009), which resulted in nine major themes and ten sub-themes organized into four sections: (a) Recruitment and group design, (b) Experiences of group members, (c) Experiences of group leaders, and (d) Additional considerations. Implications for international student support groups are discussed.


The Role Of Spirituality In Treatment And Recovery From Eating Disorders, Carrie Caoili Jun 2015

The Role Of Spirituality In Treatment And Recovery From Eating Disorders, Carrie Caoili

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the use of spiritual counseling with patients with eating disorders (ED), with the goal of better understanding the relationship between spirituality and patient recovery. The researcher wanted to gain insight into how patients' spiritual practices and experiences may influence treatment processes and outcomes in eating disorder recovery. The researcher collected interview data at the Center for Change, a patient treatment center for women with eating disorders. Open-ended survey questions from forty seven respondents from a diverse range of clients with different religious and ethnic backgrounds, living in different national regions were qualitatively analyzed. The researcher also followed …


Expected Profiles And Temporal Stability Of The Look, Sierra Marie Baird Jun 2015

Expected Profiles And Temporal Stability Of The Look, Sierra Marie Baird

Theses and Dissertations

The LOOK is an iOS based iPad app designed to measure viewing time as an estimate of sexual interest. Participants used a 7-point Likert scale to rate 154 images based on sexual attractiveness. The images belonged to 14 differentiated gender and age categories from infants to elderly adults. Before rating each image participants were asked to complete an additional task of locating and touching a small dot found in one of the four corners of the screen. This was included to make sure that participants we attending to each image, and to add another level of information to the results.The …


Assessing Validity Of A Screener For Social, Emotional, And Behavioral Concerns: Analyzing Gender Differences In A Middle School Population, Kimberly Lowe Jun 2015

Assessing Validity Of A Screener For Social, Emotional, And Behavioral Concerns: Analyzing Gender Differences In A Middle School Population, Kimberly Lowe

Theses and Dissertations

Systematic screening for social, emotional, and behavioral concerns (SEBC) identifies at-risk students and provides information to guide interventions that may prevent negative outcomes (Glover & Albers, 2006; Kauffman, 1999; Severson, Walker, Hope-Dolittle, Katochwill, & Gresham, 2007). However, the screening process may be influenced by the gender of the student (Young, Sabbah, Young, Reiser, & Richardson, 2010). This study further examined the influence of student gender on screening by assessing the congruency of gates one and two of a screening process based on student gender. Participants included 59 middle school teachers who nominated at-risk students on the Teacher Nomination Form (TNF; …


The Effects Of Varied Opportunities To Respond Embedded In A Group Contingency Program, Teresa Donna Bolt Jun 2015

The Effects Of Varied Opportunities To Respond Embedded In A Group Contingency Program, Teresa Donna Bolt

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of using a group contingency program with three students with disabilities in a small group special education setting. These students exhibited both academic and behavioral difficulties. With the use of Class Wide Function-Related Intervention Team (CW-FIT) students increased their active engagement and correct responses, as well as decreased their disruptive behaviors; however, these behaviors did not maintain over time. CW-FIT with high opportunities to respond showed an even greater improvement than CW-FIT with low opportunities to respond. Increased opportunities to respond resulted in higher levels of active engagement and correct responses and decreases in disruptive …


Identifying Knowledge And Understanding Of Learning Disabilities In High School Students Classified With Learning Disabilities, Kylie Ann Roth Jun 2015

Identifying Knowledge And Understanding Of Learning Disabilities In High School Students Classified With Learning Disabilities, Kylie Ann Roth

Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that students with learning disabilities know little about their condition. The purpose of this study was to investigate the depth and breadth of high school students' understanding of their learning disabilities. Using semi-structured individual interviews, the researcher collected, transcribed, and analyzed data to determine 12 participants' knowledge of learning disabilities, about how they learn, and about their potential to succeed in school and adult life. Results indicate varying levels of self-knowledge and varying perceptions of future success.


Cultural Models Of Latino Immigrant Parent Knowledge Of Their Children's Specific Learning Disabilities, Harriet Faith Welling Jun 2015

Cultural Models Of Latino Immigrant Parent Knowledge Of Their Children's Specific Learning Disabilities, Harriet Faith Welling

Theses and Dissertations

The author investigated shared cultural models among nine Latino immigrant parents of children with specific learning disabilities aged 6-12 years old. Interview questions addressed what participants thought it meant to be educated, their descriptions of specific learning disabilities, and their reports of effective teaching methods for their children. Although many varying themes emerged from the interview data, three distinct cultural models surfaced from the data on education and disability. Implications include cultural beliefs informing IEP content, knowledge of cultural models enabling increasingly open communication between school and home, and culturally sensitive classroom instruction.


Utah Elementary School Teachers’ Perceptions Of Students’ Problematic Behaviors And Critical Social Skills, Kimberly Weed Apr 2015

Utah Elementary School Teachers’ Perceptions Of Students’ Problematic Behaviors And Critical Social Skills, Kimberly Weed

Theses and Dissertations

Teachers are faced with the dual task of teaching academic skills and managing students’ problematic behaviors. Randomly selected kindergarten through sixth-grade teachers (N=295 of 1,144; 26% return rate) in rural, urban, and suburban Utah were asked to identify students’ five most problematic behaviors, as well as students’ five most desired social skills which supported social-emotional wellbeing and academic achievement. Teachers’ responses were summarized and information will be used to enhance universal Tier 1 social skills interventions, part of school-wide positive behavior support in Utah’s elementary schools. The top five problematic behaviors identified by participating teachers included (a) defiant and refuses …


Student Perceptions Of Book In A Bag As An Integrated Social Skills Instruction Program, Hans Ryckaert Gaul Apr 2015

Student Perceptions Of Book In A Bag As An Integrated Social Skills Instruction Program, Hans Ryckaert Gaul

Theses and Dissertations

Positive behavioral support and social emotional learning (SEL) are important ingredients in fostering student success and mitigating the incidence of aggressive and harmful behaviors. Although schools provide the ideal environment in which to implement these interventions, there are obstacles to doing so. These obstacles include the amount of time and resources an intervention takes, as well as the social validity of the intervention. To determine social validity, those who implement interventions must consider stakeholder groups’ perceptions and buy in towards the intervention. Because students are typically the primary target population, their perceptions of proposed interventions are particularly important. Each month …


The Effects Of Classwide Function-Related Intervention Teams On Preschool Behavior, Krystine Alycia Jolstead Apr 2015

The Effects Of Classwide Function-Related Intervention Teams On Preschool Behavior, Krystine Alycia Jolstead

Theses and Dissertations

Challenging behavior in preschool is a serious concern for teachers. In recent years, positive behavior support (PBS) has been shown to be effective in reducing such behaviors. Class-Wide Function-related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) is a specific program for implementing PBS principles in classroom settings. CW-FIT is a group contingency that utilizes social skills training, teacher praise, and positive reinforcement to improve student behavior. Students are taught specific social skills and then work in teams to earn a group reward based on the use of these skills. CW-FIT has been shown to be effective in elementary classrooms but has not yet been …


Examining Masculine Gender-Role Conflict And Stress In Relation To Religious Orientation, Spiritual Well-Being, And Sex-Role Egalitarianism In Latter-Day Saint Men, Loren B. Brown Apr 2015

Examining Masculine Gender-Role Conflict And Stress In Relation To Religious Orientation, Spiritual Well-Being, And Sex-Role Egalitarianism In Latter-Day Saint Men, Loren B. Brown

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated two aspects of masculine gender role strain—gender role conflict and gender role stress—and their relationship to religious orientation, spiritual well-being, and sex-role egalitarianism among Latter-day Saint (LDS or Mormon) men. To investigate these variables, a sample of 201 LDS undergraduate men who were predominantly White/Caucasian and single completed the Gender Role Conflict Scale, Masculine Gender Role Stress Scale, Intrinsic/Extrinsic Religious Orientation Scale-Revised, Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and the Sex-Role Egalitarianism Scale. As predicted, LDS men who reported higher levels of religiosity and spiritual well-being reported lower levels of gender role strain. This study also found that participants who …


Using Video Prompting To Teach Math Skills To Adolescent Students With Specific Learning Disabilities (Sld) Via Ipad, Sean Elbert Edwards Mar 2015

Using Video Prompting To Teach Math Skills To Adolescent Students With Specific Learning Disabilities (Sld) Via Ipad, Sean Elbert Edwards

Theses and Dissertations

A plethora of research exists suggesting video-based interventions such as video modeling (VM) and video prompting (VP) assist students with severe/profound disabilities, such as autism and intellectual disabilities, to learn academic skills. This study used a single subject multiple-baseline-across-subjects design to evaluate if a VP intervention on a functional, academic math skill had similar effects for adolescent students with mild/moderate specific learning disabilities (SLD). Five high school students (three female and two male) aged 16-17 viewed the video on an iPad to find out about how much money an item would cost if it were a certain percentage on sale. …


Perceptions Of Individuals With Disabilities In The Justice Systemabout Their Transition Preparation, Justine Nicole Howarth Mar 2015

Perceptions Of Individuals With Disabilities In The Justice Systemabout Their Transition Preparation, Justine Nicole Howarth

Theses and Dissertations

This study gathered information about adults with disabilities who were served with special education services during high school and incarcerated after high school, on their job preparation plan and explored the effects of that preparation on the individual's perception of successful transition after high school. It also investigated what, if anything, could have been done in high school to prevent their entrance or continuation in the criminal justice system. Due to the difficulty in accessing this population, only three individuals were interviewed. However, the rich information provided from this study indicated that to help them live independently and successfully transition …


Bibliotherapy For Children Coping With A Loved One's Military Deployment: What Do Children's Books Tell Us?, Aimee Tubbs Feb 2015

Bibliotherapy For Children Coping With A Loved One's Military Deployment: What Do Children's Books Tell Us?, Aimee Tubbs

Theses and Dissertations

This study extracted descriptive information and analyzed content in 23 children's books related to military deployment using a coding instrument entitled, “Military Bibliotherapy Coding Instrument for Children's Books,” developed for this study. Additionally, the content from the books was compared to themes found in current research literature. The books were not as racially diverse as the military population. Books for black children are underrepresented with only 8% of books having black characters compared to the 16.9% black population in active duty military service. The most prevalent response to the deployment of a loved one described is sadness with 65% of …


Parent Perceptions Of Their Involvement In And The Effectiveness Of An Integrated Social Skills Program, Karen Burton Feb 2015

Parent Perceptions Of Their Involvement In And The Effectiveness Of An Integrated Social Skills Program, Karen Burton

Theses and Dissertations

Social and emotional learning is an important element in educating the whole child. When social skills are taught and reinforced in a school-wide model, which incorporates positive behavior support, both students and faculty experience a better learning environment. The Book in a Bag intervention invites parent volunteers to teach social skills in the classroom. Supplementing this school-wide intervention, parents also receive a monthly newsletter informing them of the identified social skill and recommending associated children's picture books, which further reinforce the skill. The purpose of this study was to determine parent perceptions on the effectiveness of the Book in a …


The Effects Of A Small-Group Direct Instruction Intervention On The Reading Achievement Of English Language Learners, Laurie Ottehenning Feb 2015

The Effects Of A Small-Group Direct Instruction Intervention On The Reading Achievement Of English Language Learners, Laurie Ottehenning

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes the effects of a Tier 2, small group intervention developed by the Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction (ECRI) that employs direct instruction strategies (including scripted sequenced lessons, teacher modeling, and repeated practice). The reading achievement of 15 English language learners (ELLs) in the ECRI intervention was compared to the reading achievement of 12 ELLs in a computer-based reading intervention. The reading achievement of 27 ELLs was also compared to the reading achievement of 48 non-ELLs in the interventions. Repeated measures ANOVAs and independent t-tests analyzed the results of the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement-II Brief, pre- and …