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Full-Text Articles in Psychology

Factors Contributing To The Shortage Of Speech-Language Pathologists In Utah Schools, Stephanie Harris Jul 2007

Factors Contributing To The Shortage Of Speech-Language Pathologists In Utah Schools, Stephanie Harris

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined factors contributing to Utah's critical shortage of school-based speech-language pathologists. Specifically, this study focused on the following three constructs: (a) stress levels among professionals currently in the field, (b) attrition and the reasons professionals leave their positions, and (c) factors at the university level. Stress among Utah's speech-language pathologists was assessed using the Speech-Language Pathologist Stress Inventory (Fimian, Lieberman, & Fasteneau, 1991). Of the 230 potential participants, 97 completed and returned questionnaires. Results indicated that Utah's school-based speech-language pathologists experience less overall stress than a normative sample of speech-language pathologists throughout the United States; however, Utah's professionals …


A Meeting Of East And West: Can Eastern-Influenced Therapies Be Effective In The Treatment Of Stress And Mood Disorders?, Paula Pelavin Jan 2007

A Meeting Of East And West: Can Eastern-Influenced Therapies Be Effective In The Treatment Of Stress And Mood Disorders?, Paula Pelavin

Undergraduate Research Symposium (UGRS)

Given that the human brain is plastic and that structural alterations have been seen in monks who meditate on a regular basis, the question arises of whether these two facts are actually related. Furthermore, if this is in fact the case, would it be possible to apply these findings to the public? In this paper I will present the different conditions that induce neuroplasticity as well as give an overview of meditation and the ways that it is practiced nowadays. To this end I will argue that if monks are able to alter the structure of their brains and the …


Posttraumatic Growth Among College Students At A Large Urban University: The Role Of Social Support And Unsupportive Social Interactions, Wendy E. Balliet Jan 2007

Posttraumatic Growth Among College Students At A Large Urban University: The Role Of Social Support And Unsupportive Social Interactions, Wendy E. Balliet

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to investigate the association between both social support and unsupportive interactions and psychological outcomes, in a sample of college students who recently had experienced a stressful event. The research design was cross-sectional, and data were collected from 142 college students. As hypothesized, a significant positive association was found between unsupportive interactions received by participants and depressive symptoms. Contrary to hypotheses, no significant associations were found between unsupportive interactions and positive emotion or posttraumatic growth. Additionally, no significant relationship was evident between received emotional support and the outcome variables. Exploratory analysis revealed that positive reappraisal …


Structure Of Aggression Among Urban Youth: Competing Factor Models Of Subtypes Of Physical And Relational Aggression, Sarah W. Helms Jan 2007

Structure Of Aggression Among Urban Youth: Competing Factor Models Of Subtypes Of Physical And Relational Aggression, Sarah W. Helms

Theses and Dissertations

Aggression has been demonstrated to pose a serious threat to the adaptive development of youth, with decades of research demonstrating the negative associations between aggression and other problem behaviors, both concurrently and predictively. However, despite this body of research, the current psychological literature continues to suffer from a lack of an overarching organizational framework from which to structure the construct(s) of aggression. Furthermore, existing discrepancies across the literature, particularly in the definitions of and outcomes associated with non-physical forms of aggression (e.g., relational aggression, social aggression), exacerbate the complexities facing prevention and intervention specialists. Insofar as research can isolate the …


Expectations And Stress Related To Choosing And Providing Treatment: A Comparative Study Of Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders Or With Down Syndrome, Virginia H. Mackintosh Jan 2007

Expectations And Stress Related To Choosing And Providing Treatment: A Comparative Study Of Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders Or With Down Syndrome, Virginia H. Mackintosh

Theses and Dissertations

This study looked at the level of stress experienced by parents (N = 280) of children with an autism spectrum disorder (Autism, n = 134; Asperger's disorder, n = 36; & PDD-NOS, n = 42) or with Down syndrome (n = 68) as it related to child's impairment and to the process of choosing and providing treatments. Using the new Family Access to Disability Services (FADS) measure, it was discovered that parents of children with an autism spectrum diagnosis had more difficulty in accessing and providing the treatments they wanted for their children. Higher FADS scores predicted parenting stress, even …


The Impact Of College Student Immersion Service Learning Trips On Coping With Stress And Vocational Identity, Brad A. Mills, Richard B. Bersamina, Thomas G. Plante Jan 2007

The Impact Of College Student Immersion Service Learning Trips On Coping With Stress And Vocational Identity, Brad A. Mills, Richard B. Bersamina, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

This study examined the impact of service learning immersion trips on vocational identity and coping with stress among college students. Fifty-one students (15 males, 36 females) who participated in immersion trips and 76 students (25 males, 51 females) in a non-immersion control group completed a series of questionnaires directly before and immediately after both fall and spring break immersion trips, and during a four-month follow up. Results suggest that, after returning from an immersion trip, students report a greater ability to cope with stress and a somewhat stronger sense of vocational identity relative to students who do not participate in …


Binge Eating In Ethnically Diverse Obese Adolescents, Clarice K. Gerke Jan 2007

Binge Eating In Ethnically Diverse Obese Adolescents, Clarice K. Gerke

Theses and Dissertations

Rates of pediatric obesity in America are reaching epidemic proportions. Studies using both community and treatment-seeking samples of obese adolescents indicate that a subset engage in binge eating behaviors. This study investigated the prevalence and severity of binge eating behaviors among 86 primarily African American 11 to 17 year old adolescents seeking outpatient treatment for obesity. This study also examined the associations of stressful experiences (specifically, weight-related teasing, trauma, and daily hassles) with binge eating, as well as potential mediators and moderators of these relationships. Twenty-eight percent of the sample reported at least one episode of binge eating in the …


The Effect Of Food Deprivation On Cigarette Smoking In Females, Darla E. Kendzor Jan 2007

The Effect Of Food Deprivation On Cigarette Smoking In Females, Darla E. Kendzor

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Studies have shown that food deprivation is associated with increases in the self-administration of nicotine and other substances in laboratory animals. However, little is known about the effects of food deprivation on substance use in humans. The purpose of the present study was to compare smoking rates, expired carbon monoxide levels, and smoking topography in 15 female participants during a state of acute food deprivation and in a non-deprived state. A within-subjects design was utilized to test the primary hypotheses that smoking rate and expired carbon monoxide levels would be greater among the participants in the food-deprived condition than in …


Locus Of Control And Self-Efficacy: Potential Mediators Of Stress, Illness, And Utilization Of Health Services In College Studen, Angela Roddenberry Jan 2007

Locus Of Control And Self-Efficacy: Potential Mediators Of Stress, Illness, And Utilization Of Health Services In College Studen, Angela Roddenberry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Stress has been linked to increased illness in several biologically based studies. In contrast, only a limited number of studies have assessed psychological variables related to stress, with self-efficacy and locus of control serving as potentially important variables. Thus, the current study investigated the mediating effects of self-efficacy and locus of control in the relationship between stress, psychological and physical symptoms, and the utilization of health services in college students. Results suggested that stress was correlated positively with symptoms. External locus of control was correlated positively with stress and symptoms, and self-efficacy was correlated negatively with stress and symptoms. Further, …