Psychology Commons^™

Predictors Of Change For Parents Who Perceive Improvement In Their Family Functioning Following A Parent-Training Program, Linda Gayle Moore

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of the present study was to determine if perceptions of improved family functioning following a behavioral parenting program could be predicted by educational background, income, and pretest knowledge of behavioral principles. Subjects for the study were parents of elementary-school-aged children who volunteered for the parenting classes. Parents who perceived their families as dysfunctional, as measured by the pretest FACES II, were selected as subjects for the study. Parents whose perceptions of their families improved after the parenting class were then compared with parents who did not perceive improvement in their families on the predictor variables.

The results demonstrated …

Assessment-Based Treatment For Physically Abusive Parents: An Exploratory Study, Scott E. Blickenstaff

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Literature on child abuse supports the conception that physical abuse is a multidetermined behavior. Multifaceted treatment programs have shown some promise in dealing with the heterogeneity of abusive parents. Most of the reported comprehensive intervention programs have provided predetermined doses of a variety of treatment components to each subject. The intent of this study was two-fold: (a) to provide treatment components based on assessment of the parent and (b) to train the parent to a specified level of competency. A multiple baseline design was used in this clinical study of six agency-referred, physically abusive parents. Based on initial assessment and …

Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder And Undifferentiated-Attention Deficit Disorder: Differences In Cognitive And Affective Characteristics And Responses To Stimulant Medication, Richard Alan Campbell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The cognitive and affective characteristics and responses to stimulant medication of children who were diagnosed as having attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (AD-HD) or undifferentiated-attention deficit disorder (UADD) were investigated using a pretest-posttest experimental design. Nineteen AD-HD and 17 UADD children were compared using unpaired t-tests, prior to initiation of stimulant medication, on measures of intellectual functioning, impulsivity, problem behavior, and self-reported depression and self-esteem. Children from both the AD-HD (n = 12) and UADD (n = 12) groups were then compared before and after a 3-month trial of stimulant medication on measures of impulsivity, problem behavior, and self-reported depression …

Utah School Counselors: Present Status, Linda J. Kuwana

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study presented data gathered from Utah school counselors about demographic information, counseling and guidance programs in Utah, certification requirements, future personnel needs, quality and appropriateness of training programs, philosophy of public schools, and needs and/or concerns. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 450 school counselors employed in the State of Utah. Utah school counselors were found to be primarily Caucasians over the age of 36 years. The majority of counselors in Utah were employed in secondary schools. Caseloads for secondary school counselors ranged from 300 to 600 students per counselor, and caseloads for elementary school counselors ranged …

Ethical Beliefs And Practices: Do Psychologists Differ From Other Health-Care Professionals, Gary Percival

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ethical codes and principles, and laws govern the behavior of health-care professionals. Yet, the impact that ethical codes and laws have on the actual moral behaviors of health-care professionals is relatively unknown. A survey on the ethical beliefs and practices of health-care professionals was sent to the United States membership of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. AAPB's heterogeneous membership offers a unique opportunity to compare the ethical beliefs and behaviors of professionals across various health-care professions, educational levels, licensure and certification statuses, age, years in practice, and gender. The survey examined the respondents' ethical beliefs and practices in …

Comparing The Perceptions Of Family And Parenting Between Juvenile Sexual Offenders And Juveniles With No History Of Sexual Offending, Iva W. Trottier

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Juvenile sexual offenders and a matched sample of nonoffending youth were compared on the Family Environment Scale (FES), the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales (FACES ill), the Adult Adolescent Parent Inventory (AAPI), and a biographical inventory. The purpose was to determine whether or not juvenile sexual offenders and nonoffenders would prove to have different perceptions of family characteristics and whether the biographical inventory could distinguish between the two groups. "The sample consisted of 95 participants (46 offenders, 49 nonoffenders) in the northern Utah area. The offending population were in outpatient treatment for their sexual offending.

When the participants were …

Immunophenotyping Of Lymphoid Cells In Autism, L. Jeanne Yonk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research into the cause of autism continues without any clear-cut answers. However, recent studies suggest that abnormalities of the immune system are associated with this disorder and autism results from failure of the immune system to regulate itself. Proper immune regulation requires that the host have the appropriate number and percentage of each population of lymphocytes and monocytes. These populations can be distinguished from one another with monoclonal antibodies that react with unique protein structures on the cell surface designated as the "cluster of differentiation" (CD) antigens.

This investigation studied the possibility that the immune abnormalities seen in autism are …

The Development Of An Instrument For The Assessment Of Obesity-Related Cognitions, David E. Christian

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation involved the design and validation of the Obesity Cognitions Inventory (OCI) which was intended to quantify cognitions associated with obesity. An initial pool of 117 items was refined through expert ratings, a pilot test involving 59 subjects, and a major test and validation using 217 subjects.

The resulting 56-item instrument contains scales measuring five types of cognitions: Personal Control, Dietary Restraint, Cost-Benefit Beliefs, Health Knowledge, and Self-Concept. Test-retest reliabilities for these scales range from .69 to .83 and Cronbach alphas range from .57 to .82. Concurrent criterion validity of the OCI was assessed through two methods (a) correlations …

The Effects Of Parental Involvement With Preschoolers At Risk For Developmental And Behavioral Problems, Robin Skoien-Bradley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Parental involvement 1n early childhood intervention with children at risk has been reported as an effective variable in treatment both in popular literature and research reviews. However, the results of meta-analyses of early intervention literature have concluded that research evidence is not currently available to support this notion. Therefore, research which employs strong methodology to study the efficacy of parental involvement in early interventions with children at risk is needed. The purpose of this study was to determine whether, in a sample of preschoolers exhibiting developmental and behavioral risk, there are posttreatment differences between different levels of parent-involved groups in …

Using Direct Instruction To Teach Compliance To Seriously Noncompliant Students, Hans M. Michielsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research study investigated the effectiveness of a direct instruction program (Treatment 2) for increasing compliance with teachers' instructions in students for whom manipulation of conventional antecedent stimuli and consequences (Treatment 1) had not resulted in adequate compliance. Five students participated in this study. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate treatment effectiveness. Introduction of Treatment 2 was followed by an increase in compliance by all five participants. The relationship between compliance and other appropriate classroom behaviors, as well as the relationship between compliance and qualitatively good and qualitatively poor instructions, was also investigated. Those relationships were …