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Depression In Caregivers Of Alzheimer’S Patients: Concurrent Validity Of Two Depression Scales, Joyce Sutton

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Forty-five male and female family caregivers of institutionalized and noninstitutionalized Alzheimer’s Disease patients were assessed for depression, using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Internal consistency and concurrent validity for the BDI and GDS were acceptable, based on item-total correlation, coefficient alphas, and a Pearson’s Product-moment correlation. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was carried out to determine which variables predict depression in Alzheimer’s caregivers. Using the traditional cut-off score of 11 for each scale, it was found that 42% were depressed on the BDI, while 58% were depressed on the GDS; these rates were not significantly …

A Comparison Of Awareness Training And Competing Response Training In The Treatment Of Muscle Tics And Nervous Habits, Gregory A. Wright

Masters Theses

This study examines two components of Azrin and Nunn's (1973) habit reversal procedure in an attempt to separate the effects of awareness training from the effects of competing response training. Research (Miltenberger, Fuqua, & McKinley, 1985) has indicated that an intervention combining awareness training and competing response practice is as effective as the entire habit reversal package in suppressing muscle tics. However, because the competing response component is always administered in conjunction with awareness training, the effects of each component are obscured. Four subjects, two with muscle tics and two with nervous habits, received an intervention of either awareness training …

Implications Of A Family Systems Orientation For Preventing Psychiatric Hospitalization, James Howard Bullock

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study evaluated the implications of a family systems approach for preventing psychiatric hospitalization by comparing the behavior of field clinicians who professed a systems view versus clinicians who held more traditional nonsystems views. The focus of the investigation was the clinical assessments and decisions of 31 clinicians who worked at five Virginia public mental health centers as they prescreened (i.e., evaluated need for inpatient treatment) 171 candidates for hospitalization. Q-technique was employed to determine theoretical orientation.

It was hypothesized that clinicians who held a systems view would be more likely than nonsystems therapists to evaluate and attempt to …

Psychologists' Volunteering: Attitudes, Beliefs, And Behaviors Toward Psychotherapy Research, James Perry Howell

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Psychologists' volunteering behavior and attitudes toward psychotherapy research were studied using a mail survey. A random sample of 248 male and 248 female doctoral-level members of Division 29 (Psychotherapy) of the American Psychological Association served as subjects. The cover letter requesting their participation in this study contained the systematic manipulation of variables believed to affect volunteering behavior: recruiter gender, normative nature of volunteering for the study, and perceived social importance of the study. The therapist variables of gender, age, and years of experience were also studied in order to determine if volunteerism might result in biased sampling across these variables. …

Effects Of Assertiveness Training And Cue Controlled Relaxation Training On Cardiovascular Reactivity To Social Stressors, Bernardine M. Pinto

Masters Theses

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of two interventions (assertiveness training and cue controlled relaxation training) on cardiovascular reactivity to role play simulations of social stressors. For this purpose, a single subject multiple-baseline experimental design was employed. Four subjects (three female and one male) received assertiveness training (which focused on behavioral components of assertiveness) and cue controlled relaxation training. Following assertiveness training, subjects responded assertively to the role plays but their blood pressure reactivity was not reduced. Cue controlled relaxation appeared to reduce blood pressure reactivity to a limited extent. Factors associated with the effects of …

The Effects Of Rational Emotive Education On The Rationality, Neuroticism And Defense Mechanisms Of Adolescents, Daniel John Kachman

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of Rational Emotive Education (REE) as a mental health prevention program for adolescents. The subjects included 109 eleventh and twelfth grade students who were enrolled in four introductory psychology courses. A nonequivalent control group design was used with experimental subjects receiving 12 biweekly sessions of REE. Subjects were pre and posttested on three measures of psychosocial adaptation: the Rational Behavior Inventory (RBI), the Defense Mechanism Inventory (DMI), and the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI). The effects of REE upon behavior were also examined by comparing academic effort grades, number of detentions …

The Effects Of Activity Group Structure On Cohesion, Engagement, And Affective Meanings In Acute-Care Psychiatric Patients, Hope L. Brucki

Masters Theses

Through activity analysis, occupational therapists identify various components of group structure and group processes for use in therapeutic activities. This study compared the effects of individual activity group structure (members engage in individual projects) and common activity group structure (members share a common project) in a sample of 38 acute-care psychiatric patients. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of eight theme-oriented poster-making groups, four for each experimental condition. Cohesion among group members was measured by the Group Environment Scale (GES), engagement was assessed by the Group Climate Questionnaire-Short Form (GCQ-S), and affective meanings were evaluated by Osgood's short-form semantic differential …

An Experimental Study Of The Effects Of A Prescriptive Mental Health Consultation Approach On The Adjustment Of Children Enrolled In The Blue Water Head Start Program St. Clair County, Michigan, Michael J. Duffy Jr.

Dissertations

Head Start mental health services have the goal of primary prevention. The principal vehicles for achieving primary prevention are education and consultation. In St. Clair County, Michigan, the Blue Water Clinic's Early Intervention Program provides Blue Water Head Start participants with mental health services.

This study was concerned with mental health consultation as a service delivery vehicle for achieving the goal of primary prevention. More precisely, aspects of primary prevention were investigated particularly as they relate to the Blue Water Clinic's Early Intervention Program and the Blue Water Head Start Program and specifically, to two mental health consultation approaches used …

The Effect Of Assertiveness Training On Assertive Behavior And Corresponding Self-Descriptive Statements, James Scott Boland

Masters Theses

This study examines the changes in subjects' assertive behavior and corresponding changes in self-perceptions/-cognitions after assertiveness training. Based on the findings from cognitive dissonance studies, it is suggested that nonassertive subjects would begin to evidence assertive self-perceptions/cognitions if they learned to behave assertively via behavioral skill training methods. Three males and five females volunteered to undergo one session of baseline measures and four training sessions. Pre-treatment RAS, EIBS, and Baseline measures of behavior and cognitions as measured by changes in behavioral ratings and post-trial form responses. Post-training RAS and EIBS responses were similar to those found in assertive subjects. Results …

Guilt, Ego Development, And Christian Faith, Dane Ver Merris

Dissertations

This research addressed the problem of whether a relationship exists between a particular level of ego development and guilt engendered by a rigid conscience based upon orthodox Christian beliefs. It was anticipated that forty-five graduate students at a conservative midwestern seminary who experienced higher levels of guilt and demonstrated a more rigid conscience/superego would score at the Conscientious stage of ego development measured by the Washington University Sentence Completion Test. Guilt and rigidity of conscience were measured by the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire.

Object relations theories of the origins of guilt were examined along with the relationship between object relations …

Depression In College Students: Construct Validity Of The Student Experience Inventory, Angela Kramp

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Research suggests that the population of undergraduate college students may be especially prone to depression. While the prevalence of depression within the general population ranges from 3 to 9 percent (Boyd & Weissman, 1981), it has been shown that between 15 and 46 percent of undergraduate college students suffer the symptoms of mild to severe depression (Beck & Young, 1978; Oliver & Burkham, 1979). Although depression is prevalent among college students, there are no known instruments yielding indices of depression specific to the college population. In fact, depression measures frequently employed in college settings seldom recognize the unique features of …

Stress Of The Caregiver: Effective Management Of Dementia Patients In Hospital And Community Settings, Ruth E. Dunkle, Michael Nevin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study explores the management problems among elders with dementia and their medical and family caregivers. Twenty-five patients were interviewed as well as professional health care personnel and a family member. Findings indicated that professional assessment facilitates home caregiving but has little bearing on successful coping by the caregiver. Variability of coping relates to the strategy employed.

Professional Autonomy In Community Mental Health Centers, William E. Buffum

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Professional community mental health workers want considerable autonomy in doing their work, but too much autonomy can lead to frustration and less satisfaction with work. This finding of a study of 93 mental health professionals in three community mental health centers is in sharp contrast with a comparison group of 60 professionals in a chemical plant. The article cautions against the direct translation of research on all professionals to community mental health professionals.

Structural-Equation Models Of Current Drug Use: Are Appropriate Models So Simple(X)?, Ron D. Hays, Keith F. Widaman, M. Robin Dimatteo, Alan W. Stacy

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

The simplex and common-factor models of drug use were compared using maximum-likelihood estimation of latent variable structural models in two samples: a sample of 226 high school students, using ratio-scale measures of current drug use, and a sample of 310 industrial workers and 811 college students, using ordinal-scale measures of current drug use. Latent variables of alcohol, marijuana, enhancer hard drugs, and dampener hard drugs were specified in a series of structural models. Contrary to previous findings with cumulative drug-use data, the common-factor model provided a more acceptable representation of the observed current-use data than did the simplex model in …

Perspectives On Familial And Social Adjustment Of Children Of Alcoholics, Laura Marie Troyer

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Screening For The Psychological Consequences Of A Major Disaster In A Developing Country, Bruno R. Lima

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

The Emotional Impact Of Post-Disaster Relocation, Michael E. Durkin

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

Nutritional Aspects In Alcoholism Treatment Programs In Regions 3b And 2 Excluding Chicago, Koralie Murad

Masters Theses

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between nutrition and alcoholism in general, specifically how nutritional therapy and education can benefit the recovering alcoholic, and to explore the degree to which nutritional aspects have been developed and practiced in residential and inpatient programs in region 2, excluding the city of Chicago, and in region 3B as defined by the Division of Alcoholism, Illinois Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, January 15, 1980.

Procedure

A standardized questionnaire was used in a telephone survey of 40 alcoholic treatment programs in the two regions. The addresses, …

Psychosocial Impact Of Disaster: The Baldwin Hills Fire, Norma S. Gordon

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

Kalamata Earthquake, 1986: Psychological Reactions And Roles For Health Care Workers, Jerri Laube

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

The Spherical Vision, Nancy Topping Bazin

English Faculty Publications

Virginia Woolf's experiences as a manic-depressive influenced her vision of reality and, in tum, her aesthetics. Manic-depression is a "cyclic" illness-cyclic in the sense that the manic-depressive moves alternately between two extreme psychological states. Hence, he experiences reality in terms of two opposite perspectives. Psychotic depression involves what Jung describes as the experience of the "shadow." That is, looking into the unconscious, the individual sees his own reflection. He takes a risk in looking, for as Jung says, "The mirror does not flatter, it faithfully shows whatever looks into it; namely, the face we never show to the world because …

Family Problems In The Background Of Mental Health Professionals, Linda Elaine Mccarter

Masters Theses

It has been proposed by some that students choose to study in mental health related fields in an effort to find solutions for their own personal emotional or family problems. Some believe that those who assumed or were assigned a family role of the good or parentified child (a role which requires that the needs of others be placed ahead of one's own) are over-represented among mental health professionals. Others contend that there are no significant differences in family background between psychotherapists and other individuals with a similar level of education. Little empirical investigation has addressed these issues. Studies which …

Nazi Doctors, Psychology, And Evil, University Faculty Senate

CUNY UFS Publications

University Faculty Senate, Annual Dinner Meeting, Dec. 16, 1986

V. .Dessert/Guest Lecturer: Distinguished Professor Robert J. Lifton -"Nazi Doctors, Psychology, and Evil." Professor Lifton was appointed to John Jay College, the Graduate School and University Center, and the CUNY Mt. Sinai School of Medicine.

This talk was produced and distributed after the meeting Minutes.

Measuring Domestic Violence In An Alcoholic Population, Larry R. Livingston

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A survey of 107 adults receiving residential treatment for substance abuse was conducted, to determine characteristics of domestic violence in relationships. The survey incorporated instruments to measure the degree of substance abuse (the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test or MAST) as well as types and frequencies of domestic violence (the Conflict Tactics Scale or CTS-N). Findings are then compared to a national study of 2143 normals (Straus, Gelles, & Steinmetz, 1980) to ascertain differences in domestic violence.

Findings indicate that 83% of alcoholic subjects behaved violently in past relationships, compared to 28% of the normal population. Fifty-five percent of the alcoholics …

The Effect Of Feedback Given To Nurse Aides On Response Latency To Patient Call Lights In A Geriatric Nursing Home, Patricia L. Matuszak

Masters Theses

Feedback has been used in staff performance and management systems in various human service settings. It was applied to four female nurse aides in a geriatric nursing home to decrease response latency to patient call lights. A multiple-baseline-across-subjects design was used with each aide receiving feedback on her mean response time to assigned patients' call lights. Two of the four subjects demonstrated a decrease in mean response times, while two showed little effect after feedback.

A Perspective On Differential Services In Counseling: Altruism And Likeness, James Latimore

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this exploratory study using a small sample, an attempt is made to understand the differential services provided by vocational counselors in a non-profit agency, a setting in which a strong identification with clients is encouraged. The services are measured and the unequal measures of service are related to the degree to which the client is seen as an image of the counselor in certain respects. Counseling is viewed as an altruistic occupation and the differential services are analyzed in this context. In general, it is suggested that the differential counseling and psycho-therapeutic services noted by other writers all reflect …

The Sociology Of Alcoholism Counseling: A Social Worker's Perspective, Katherine Van Wormer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

An occupation - alcoholism counseling - strives to gain professional status. Still a field largely dominated by counselors who derive their status more from personal attributes - the fact of being recovering alcoholics - rather than from achievement of impersonally applied standards, chemical dependency counseling is in a state of flux. This sociological analysis examines recent developments in the field. Special emphasis is on roles for social workers.

Performance Of Brain Dysfunctional And Non-Dysfunctional Subjects On The Bip And A Multiple-Choice Bip With Varying Degrees Of Background Interference, Michael Joseph Ezzo

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the visual and motor behavior of brain dysfunctional patients and the effects of varying the line density on the Background Interference Procedure for the Bender-Gestalt (BIP). Various claims have been made for the increased diagnostic accuracy of the BIP over the regular Bender-Gestalt, yet few investigations have been conducted to explore the BIP phenomenon. A model for the process of drawing geometrical figures was proposed in hopes of clarifying how this procedure and others intervene in the graphomotor task.

The original BIP paper was considered to have lines of single-density. A transparency …

Effects Of Seating Arrangement On Affective Meanings And Group Interaction In Healthy Senior Citizens, Judith Ann Boughton

Masters Theses

Occupational therapists state that environmental factors (seating arrangements) influence behavior. This ex post facto study examined the effect of peripheral versus central seating arrangement on interaction (verbalizing and looking), affect, and group climate in 41 healthy senior citizens. Nine men and 32 women aged 62 to 83 participated in two collage activities (creative and imitative) in either a parallel/nonsharing group or a project/ sharing group. Seating arrangement was added to an earlier study's independent variables (creative and imitative activities, and sharing and nonsharing groups). Dependent variables consisted of three factors of affective meaning from the Osgood Semantic Differential, evaluation, power, …

The Effects Of Two Contracting Methods On Altering The Eating And Exercise Behavior Of Seven Obese Adolescents: An In-Home Weight Treatment Study, Donald Edward Montgomery

Masters Theses

Seven obese males and females, ages ranging 12-15 years, served as participants in an eight-week in-home treatment program. The purpose of the study was to compare the effects of two contracting methods to influence eating and exercise patterns. Individualized exercise and nutrition programs were designed for each participant based on their health and behavior patterns at the time of the study. Four subjects were assigned to Group A (Self-Management) where contracting was established with each adolescent and based their compliance with the program. In Group B (Parental Modeling) contracting was established with the mothers of three subjects who participated along …