Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring The Physician’S Processes: Diagnosing Autism, Gwennyth Li Sze Palafox

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Physicians are customarily the first point of contact for parents who are concerned about a child’s development. Thus, it is important for physicians to be current and educated about childhood disorders and subsequent treatment for those disorders. Recently, empirical evidence has led to the proposal of early indicators of autism supporting that autism may be diagnosed accurately in children less than three years old. Furthermore, formal screening and assessment parameters developed by medical organizations have been proposed in order to identify autism as early as possible (American Academy of Neurology, 2000). While the proposed parameters and empirical evidence support early …

Are Asian Thinking Styles Different? Acculturation And Thinking Styles In A Chinese-Canadian Population, Jenny M. Tang

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

This research examined the theory of mental self-government and its various thinking styles. The theory of mental self-government (Sternberg, 1988a) has established its utility in verbal contexts including education, occupation, partner choices, and cross-culturally. The Associated Thinking Style Inventory (TSI; Sternberg & Wagner, 1991; 1992) has also demonstrated its reliability and validity in a Hong Kong population (Zhang, 1999; Zhang & Lcks, 1997; Zhang & Sternberg, 1998), but it has not been used with Chinese-Canadians. It was hypothesized that as Chinese individuals become more acculturated to the North American cultural system, their thinking styles approach European-American norms. This study found …

Cultural And Psychological Influences On Diabetic Adherence, Keikilani Mcmillin-Williams

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Diabetes mellitus is a serious disease that poses a particular healthcare challenge because progression is considered controllable (Cox, et al, 1985; Vinicor, et al, 1996) yet treatment adherence, and thus outcome, is very poor (Gonder-Frederick, Cox, & Ritterband, 2002; Goodall, 1991). Culture is a lethal risk factor for diabetic contraction and treatment maintenance. Latinos within the United States are two-to-three times more likely to develop complications and die than non-Latinos (Haffner et al, 1996; Rubin, Peyrot, & Saudek, 1991) and are less likely to adhere to treatment (Lipton, Losey, Giachello, Mendez, & Girotti, 1998). Efforts to eliminate health disparities have …

Factors Predicting Disrupted Versus Continuous Memory For Child Sexual Abuse, Tami Lorraine Young

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Information regarding the nature of disrupted memory for childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is limited. To increase understanding, repressive coping, dissociative tendencies, and characteristics of CSA were measured via survey in college students to determine if they predicted disrupted memory for CSA. Dissociative tendencies, but not repressive coping, predicted disrupted memory. Furthermore, repressive coping and dissociative tendencies were negatively correlated in those with disrupted memory for CSA. Characteristics of CSA loaded onto four factors: less physically intrusive CSA, significantly intrusive CSA, pornographic exploitative CSA and psychological impact of CSA. The psychological impact of CSA factor, greater number of years abused, and …

Ethnic Identity And Racial Attitudes In A Minority Group Of Mixed Racial Origin, Timothy B. Smith, Joy Stratton, Christopher R. Stones, Anthony Naidoo

Faculty Publications

Limited information exists on the racial attitudes and ethnic identities of groups of mixed racial origin. The present research tested the hypotheses that the construct of ethnic identity is valid among such groups and that ethnic identity is related to out-group prejudice, as predicted by social identity theory. The Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure, the Anti-White Scale, and the Subtle Racism Scale were administered to 70 South Africans of mixed racial decent, the so-called Coloureds. A factor analysis supported the structural validity of the measure of ethnic identity with this sample, but correlations between scales did not support the prediction that …

Announcements, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

IBPP announcements pertaining to reader requests, editor nominations, and relevant conferences, as well as online and print publications.

The Psychometrics Of Student Evaluations Of Instructors And Courses At Eastern Michigan University, Thomas P. Proctor

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The study applied Classical Test Theory to the student evaluation forms for 25 departments to assess reliability. The study also applied Generalizability Theory to assess the reliability of the Psychology Department evaluation form. Regression analysis on the Psychology Department form assessed the effect of absolute expected grades on student ratings of teaching effectiveness and courses. The results show that the reliability of the 25 department forms is very high, exceeding .80 for each form. Generalizability theory indicates the Psychology Department form to be reliable for assessment of student ratings of the effectiveness of teaching but not necessarily of courses. Results …

Announcements, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

IBPP announcements pertaining to reader requests, editor nominations, and relevant conferences, as well as online and print publications.

The Influence Of Acculturation On The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test By Mexican Americans, Dean M. Coffey

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

The relationship hctwccn the level of acculturation anManual de Normas y procedimientos para la Bateria Neuropsicologica en Espanol (Artiola i Fortuny, Hennosillo, Heaton, & Pardee, 1999) using the Mexico/U.S. border region norms in the manual. Significant differences were demonstrated for Total Number Correct (p < .01) for the less acculturated subgroup (n = 26). There were no significant differences between the more acculturated subgroup (n = 8) and the Spanish normative sample. This study demonstrates that the WCST is not a culture-free neuropsychological instrument. The results provide supporting evidence for the use of the Mexico/U.S. border region norms with Spanish-speaking Mexican Americans in the Northwest region of the United States.

Predictive Validity Of Kindergarten Phonemic Awareness Measures On Second Grade Reading Skills, Sarah Midden

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In order to succeed and progress in the academic domain, a student must possess basic reading skills. One characteristic of poor readers is their lack of understanding of phonological structure and lack of awareness of phonemes. Phonemic awareness tasks are divided into two broad categories: synthetic or analytic. Both have been shown to be accurate indicators of later reading ability. Little research has been conducted on the predictive nature of some of the recently published measures of phonemic awareness. The purpose of the current study is to examine four published measures to determine which measures are the best predictors of …

Content Validation And Modification Of The Aauw Survey On Sexual Harassment In The Schools For Use With Juvenile Sexual Offenders, Daniel Belding

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This project was conducted to validate the survey used by the American Association of University Women in the study of sexual harassment in the schools, for use in studying the behaviors of juvenile sexual offenders in schools. The original survey was modified to decrease bias in the questions and eliminate questions that did not pertain to information that may be significant for juvenile sexual offenders. The project solicited information from juvenile sexual offenders (n=9) and experts (n=6) in the field of juvenile sexual offending to validate and modify the survey to better look at juvenile sexual offender behaviors in schools. …

Married Asian-Indian Women's Attitude Toward Divorce And Its Relationship To Acculturation In The United States, Kavita K. Ajmere

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between married predominantly Hindu Asian-Indian women's attitude toward divorce and their acculturation in the United States. The final data set included a total of 66 participants (33 first generation and 33 second generation). These participants were administered The Majority Minority Relations Survey (MMRS), the Attitudes Toward Divorce Questionnaire, and a Demographic Information Questionnaire. Results showed on average, first generation participants endorsed more conservative attitudes toward divorce, higher levels of perceived prejudice by the majority group, and higher level of language usage in their native Indian language. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that acculturation added 15% …

Inside Unlv, Gian Galassi, Richard Morgan, Carol C. Harter

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Mental Health Referral Patterns Of Rural Pastors, Alicia A. Clark

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

This research evaluated the role of the rural pastor in making mental health referrals. A questionnaire was mailed to pastors in several rural California counties in order to assess the referral patterns of pastors to mental health professionals. The questionnaire consisted of demographic information and Likert-style questions inquiring about pastoral interaction, willingness to refer, and referral history with mental health professionals. It was expected that many variables including levels of education, counseling experience, exposure to mental health, specific denominations, and belief systems would affect the referral pattern to mental health professionals. It was also expected that all rural pastors would …

Employability Of Individuals With Varying Disabilities And Costs Of Needed Workplace Accommodations., Bram Cassidy Bevins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the relationship between an individual's disability and needed workplace accommodations and employability. The participants for this study were businessmen and businesswomen in Southwestern Virginia who possessed the ability to hire employees. Results indicated that an individual with a physical disability was thought of as more employable and favorable than a nondisabled individual, a blind individual, and an obese individual. Results also indicated that a physically disabled individual would be hired before a blind individual and an obese individual when workplace accommodations were needed. One possible explanation for these findings is that it is desirable to hire …

The Relationship Between Participation In Goal Setting, Company Size And Performance, Commitment, Acceptance And Job Satisfaction In The United States And Macedonia., Kristin Michelle King

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While some researchers have suggested that participative goal setting increases performance, acceptance, commitment, and satisfaction, others have suggested that it does not. Additionally, much research on goal setting has been done in the US while none has been done in Macedonia.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between participation in goal setting and company size on these variables and to determine if there are differences in the effects of participation in goal setting in the US and Macedonia. The independent variables were country, company size, and type of participation and dependent variables were performance, commitment, acceptance, …

On-Campus And Off-Campus Students' Ratings Of Instruction And Courses, Noriko Saeki

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The associations of student ratings of instruction and courses (SRIC) with noninstructional variables (e.g., class size, expected grade) were examined in three instructional delivery groups--on-campus, off-campus face-to-face, and distance education courses. Factor analysis of SRIC from a 20-item form yielded two highly correlated factors, which differed somewhat across the groups ("Course " and "Instruction"; "Course/Instruction" and "Interaction Opportunities /Instructor Availability"; "Course/Instruction" and "Interaction Opportunities/Helpfulness"). The only educationally significant (r² > .05) zero-order correlations were between SRIC total scores and expected grade, and were positive in all three groups (r² = .07, .08, .06). In multiple regression analyses, …

Community Factors That Correlate With Middle-Adolescent Antisocial Behavior, Olga Kamenchuk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many adolescents nowadays display antisocial behavior. A large number of theories explaining origin of antisocial behavior have been developed in the last several centuries. The current study utilizes the "ecological" theoretical framework that allows the researcher to consider multiple ecological systems in which individuals operate and to focus on the community factors influencing antisocial behavior.

The researcher used part of the Prevention Needs Assessment survey to identify which community risk and protective factors correlate with middle-adolescent antisocial behavior. Analysis included intercluster, cluster-item correlations, and partial correlations. Results indicated correlations between antisocial behavior and a number of community risk factors, and …

Announcements, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

IBPP announcements pertaining to reader requests, editor nominations, and relevant conferences, as well as online and print publications.

Announcements – 04-18-2003, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

IBPP announcements pertaining to reader requests, editor nominations, and relevant conferences, as well as online and print publications.

Hierarchical Processing In Spoken Language Comprehension., Matthew H Davis, Ingrid Johnsrude

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Understanding spoken language requires a complex series of processing stages to translate speech sounds into meaning. In this study, we use functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the brain regions that are involved in spoken language comprehension, fractionating this system into sound-based and more abstract higher-level processes. We distorted English sentences in three acoustically different ways, applying each distortion to varying degrees to produce a range of intelligibility (quantified as the number of words that could be reported) and collected whole-brain echo-planar imaging data from 12 listeners using sparse imaging. The blood oxygenation level-dependent signal correlated with intelligibility along the …

Racial Attitudes Among South African Young Adults: A Four-Year Follow-Up Study, Timothy B. Smith, Christopher R. Stones, Anthony Naidoo

Faculty Publications

Due to many social changes that have occurred in South Africa since the first democratic elections in 1994, careful scrutiny must be given to the racial attitudes of South Africa’s young adults. Their degree of acceptance of the doctrine of deracialisation and reconciliation represents a hope or a warning in regard to a stable future. A follow up study was thus carried out in order to update data collected in 1995, with the hypothesis that, over time, greater acceptance of other racial groups would be reported. The authors examined the differences among the 180 Xhosa-speaking black, 89 so-called coloured, and …

What Do Police Officers Know About Eyewitness Memory? A Comparison Of Knowledge Between Eyewitness Experts And Police Investigators, Emily Dunlap

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

In October of 1999 the United States Department of Justice published a set of guidelines to assist law enforcement in the collection of identification evidence. The purpose of the present study is to assess the knowledge possessed by police investigators about the Guidelines and other variables that can impact the accuracy of eyewitness memory. In the present study police investigators were given a questionnaire originally developed by Kassin, Tub, Hosch, and Memon (2001) for "experts" or psychologists, who were teachers and researchers in the area of eyewitness memory. By comparing the responses by police investigators with those provided by the …

Announcements, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

IBPP announcements pertaining to reader requests, editor nominations, and relevant conferences, as well as online and print publications.

The Politics Of Helping: An Example From Guatemala, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article identifies a complexity of helping others based on beliefs in the therapeutic value of such constructs as reliving memories, venting, catharsis, and the return of the repressed.

Mother-Child Conversation And Children's Understanding Of Biological And Nonbiological Changes In Size, Jennifer Jipson, Maureen A. Callanan

Psychology and Child Development

This article explores the ways that mothers and children from primarily middle-income European American backgrounds reason about events in which biological and nonbiological objects change in size. In Study 1, mother–child conversations were examined to investigate the events mothers described as growth, as well as the ways mothers explained events occurring in different domains. Findings indicate that although mothers primarily discussed events in domain-specific ways, they exhibited some domain blurring in their talk to children. In Study 2,3-year-old children (M = 3 years, 2 months) and 5-year-old children (M = 5 years) provided descriptions and explanations of the same events. …

Treatment- And Cost-Effectiveness Of Early Intervention For Acute Low Back Patients: A One-Year Prospective Study, Robert J. Gatchel, Peter B. Polatin, Carl Noe

Psychology Faculty Publications - Archive

In an attempt to prevent acute low back pain from becoming a chronic disability problem, an earlier study developed a statistical algorithm which accurately identified those acute low back pain patients who were at high risk for developing such chronicity. The major goal of the present study was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of employing an early intervention program with these high-risk patients in order to prevent the development of chronic disability at a one-year follow-up. Approximately 700 acute low back pain patients were screened for their high-risk versus low-risk status. On the basis of this screening, high-risk patients were …

Culture Shock Due To Contact With Unfamiliar Cultures, Stephen Bochner

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

The topic of this chapter is the social psychology of cross-cultural interaction. We discuss the psychological processes that take place during and after meetings between individuals and groups who differ in their cultural backgrounds. We identify two types of cross-cultural contact: a) meetings that occur between two societies when individuals travel from their place of origin to another country for a specific purpose and a limited amount of time, such people being called sojourners in the literature; and b) meetings within multi-cultural societies among its ethnically diverse permanent residents. Contact with culturally unfamiliar people and places can be unsettling, and …

Neuropsychological Outcome Following Perinatal Hie: Utility Of Mr Spectroscopy, Joy Michelle Gardner

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Outcome following hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a neurodegenerative process caused by prolonged asphyxiation during birth, can vary between minimal impairment and cerebral palsy, mental retardation, or death (30%) (McCulloch, Taylor, & Whyte, 1991). Prognosis after HIE is often difficult to establish because traditional predictors, such as Sarnat scores, Apgar scores, and pH, do not always account for adequate variance in outcome. The prognostic utility of MR Spectroscopy in the pathogenesis of asphyxia is promising (Wyatt, 1994). Innovative research indicates that MR Spectroscopy can accurately predict outcome at one year in 91% of neonates with central nervous system injuries (Holshouser et al., …

Experience Sampling: Promises And Pitfalls, Strengths And Weaknesses, Christie N. Scollon, Chu Kim-Prieto, Ed Diener

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Focuses on experience sampling methodology (ESM) in psychological research. History of ESM; Types of experience sampling; Pros and cons of ESM.