Psychology Commons^™

Be Cool, Stay In School: The Habits, Resources, And Confidence College Students Need To Succeed, Matthew Staheli

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Earning a college degree yields many benefits. In addition to an increased income, college degree earners generally have greater job satisfaction, make healthier life choices, are better communicators, and have greater social mobility. Even with all of these benefits, however, some colleges are seeing graduation rates as low as 32%. One of the greatest contributing factors affecting the dropout rate of undergraduate college students is poor academic performance in their courses. In this study, we sought to identify several academic resources, study behaviors, academic self-confidence scores, and demographic information to assess what types of behaviors and resources may lead to …

The Efficacy Of Treatments For Childhood Depression: An Integrative Review, Kurt David Michael

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Prevalence estimates of child depression are substantial and morbidity leads to an increased risk of recurrence during adolescence and adulthood. Further, early-onset depression is associated with a number of negative outcomes including: poor physical health, social and interpersonal impairments, academic problems, substance abuse, future maladjustment, and suicidal behavior. In light of the prevalence, persistence, and negative outcomes associated with depression in children and adolescents, several treatments ranging from psychosocial to pharmacological interventions have been developed and evaluated. However, the overall efficacy of treatments remains equivocal because the majority of existing reviews of the child and adolescent depression treatment literature are …

Alcohol, Abstinence, Efficacy, And Social Normative Expectancies: The Relationship To Alcoholics' Level Of Drinking Following Inpatient Treatment, Martin John Toohill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

It has been argued that individuals receiving traditional alcohol treatment do not necessarily perceive life-long abstinence from alcohol as a favorable treatment outcome, and that negative expectations associated with this abstinence goal may have an adverse effect on treatment outcome. However, "abstinence expectancies" have never been systematically explored. This study used the Theory of Planned Behavior to investigate the relationship between the abstinence outcome expectancies of alcoholics beginning treatment and subsequent alcohol consumption. The independent and combined effects of abstinence outcome expectancies, alcohol outcome expectancies, self-efficacy expectancies (to abstain from alcohol use), and the normative beliefs of individuals beginning inpatient …

A Meta-Analytical Review Of The Literature On The Efficacy Of The Systematic Training For Effective Parenting (Step) Program, David George Gibson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An analysis of previous reviews of the parent education literature revealed that few reviewers have incorporated sound methodological practice in their review process. Most reviewers included too few studies and ignored important information about the primary research studies that they reviewed. The Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) program has received less attention from reviewers than any of the other popular programs and information about its effectiveness is lacking.

Forty primary research studies, addressing the effectiveness of the STEP program, were located and analyzed using the meta-analytic method of review. Research questions for this study addressed the issues of effectiveness …

The Role Of Relaxation And Systematic Desensitization In The Efficacy Of Assertiveness Training, Larry J. Carlson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study is to clarify the role of anxiety management techniques (cue-controlled relaxation, systematic desensitization) as components of an assertiveness training program.

Volunteers from Utah State University and the surrounding community were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups and a control group which were used in a pre-post change comparison design. Treatment groups consisted of: (1) cue-controlled relaxation plus assertiveness training, (2) systematic desensitization plus assertiveness training, and (3) assertiveness training extended. The control group was a delayed treatment control. All subjects were administered pre-tests with the following instruments: two self report inventories (the College …