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Spiritual Wellbeing And Depression In Psychotherapy Outpatients, Rodger K. Bufford, T. Wilson Renfroe

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

In a quasi-experimental intact groups design the effects of psychotherapy on spiritual wellbeing and depression were assessed in two groups of adult psychotherapy outpatients. Both groups showed significant gains on the Spiritual Wellbeing Scale (SWB), and significant decreases on the Beck Depression Scale. Further, both casual and committed Christians showed similar effects. The BDI and Existential Wellbeing (EWB) were significantly negatively correlated, but BDI and Religious Wellbeing (RWB) were unrelated. While causal effects cannot be firmly established, results are consistent with the hypothesis that successful psychotherapy increases spiritual wellbeing, including religious wellbeing. The SWB scale appears useful as a treatment …

The Effects Of Educational Kinesiology On The Self-Esteem Of At-Risk Students, Julian W. Thrasher Iii

Graduate Theses

A study was performed on at-risk students in the Midland Independent School District, Midland, Texas utilizing Educational Kinesthetics as an alternative counseling technique for improving the self-esteem of the students. Students were divided into control and experimental groups and pretested and posttested with the School Attitude Measure. The experimental group was given twelve sessions of treatment utilizing Educational Kinesthetics. Results of the study showed a trend toward improved self-esteem at the conclusion of the study.

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 …

Factor Analytic Study Of Spatial Abilities In Second-Grade, English-Speaking Navajo And Non-Navajo Children, Laurie Sullivan-Sakaeda

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was conducted to continue the investigation of apparent differences in cognitive abilities between Navajo Indian children and non-Navajo children. Subjects were 248 second-grade students, ranging from 7 to 9 years old. The Navajo sample lived in the Shiprock, New Mexico, area of the Navajo Indian Reservation, and the non-Navajo sample lived on the east side of Salt Lake City, Utah. Data were collected using six tests designed to measure spatial abilities in primary grade children. Results indicated that the non-Navajo children scored significantly higher on two individual tests and on the total test score under timed conditions, with …

Task Experience, Assigned Goals, And Performance Norms As Determinants Of Goal Choice And Performance, Jon Shanahan

Student Work

A cognitive mediation model of goal setting (Garland, 1985; Meyer & Gellatly, 1988) is explored from a perspective that combines the social information processing, expectancy-valence, and control systems literatures. Assigned goals, performance norms, and task experience are viewed as information sources that influence goal choice, and therefore effort and performance, through performance expectancy (expectancy of success) and performance valence (anticipated satisfaction with any given performance level). Subjects were 100 introductory psychology and sociology students who participated in exchange for extra credit. Subjects performed a card sorting task and were assigned to one of five treatment conditions. Each experimental subject was …

Elderly Hispanics In The United States: Their Use And Non-Use Of Social Services, Paulina X. Ruf

Masters Theses

The Commonwealth Fund Commission on Elderly people Living Alone (1988), conducted the National Survey of Hispanic Elderly, 1988. Using data from this survey, the present descriptive work, examines the use and non-use of selected social services by general demographic characteristics of the elderly Hispanic sample. In addition, general characteristics of this sample are discussed. A summary of the findings and recommendations for future research conclude this thesis.

The findings indicate that although the elderly Hispanics in the United States reported needing the selected social services used in this thesis, many of them reported not using these services. Additionally, as the …

Guidelines For Handling Domestic Violence Cases In Community Mental Health Centers, Carol E. Jordan, Robert Walker

Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women Publications

Community mental health centers are becoming increasingly involved in the delivery of services to victims and perpetrators of domestic violence. To help centers plan a domestic violence program and address the risk of liability in treating clients who may be dangerous, the authors suggest principles to guide clinical decisions, standards for service delivery, and standards for staff development.

Attributional Style Of African-American Adolescents, Stephen B. Hillman, Paula C. Wood, Shlomo S. Sawilowsky

Theoretical and Behavioral Foundations of Education Faculty Publications

This study ascertains how positive and negative life events are viewed by stigmatized youngsters. The causal attributions of a sample of 139 at -risk AfricanAmerican adolescents are analyzed in a doubly multivariate repeated measures design. These students were participants in either the federally funded Summer Training and Education Program or the Student Academic and Leadership Enhancement Program funded by the Detroit Compact. Previous research on these students indicated that they have higher than norm global self-concepts and their locus of control is more external than would be expected for their age. The findings of the current study suggest that the …

Cultural Commitment And Attitudes Toward Seeking Counseling Services In African-Americans, Jessamine M. Montero

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this project was to explore possible relations between African-American acculturation level and attitudes of seeking professional psychological help. A sample of 120 African-American residents of Huntington, WV, completed survey questionnaires designed to assess: cultural commitment levels; attitudes toward counseling; and awareness of the Prestera Center for Mental Health Services, a local mental health center. Cultural commitment levels were assessed by self-ratings of African-Americans to the Anglo- and African-American cultures, and to the specific Huntington Anglo- and African-American cultures; respondants also rated their perceptions of mental health professionals' commitment levels to the Anglo-, African-, Huntington Anglo-, and Huntington …

Dementia Caregivers: Educational Intervention And Coping Styles, Joan Dolores Ladderbush

Theses Digitization Project

Caregivers of dementia patients who were referred to a community-based comprehensive assessment program for demented and/or chronically ill older adults by physicians or community agencies were studied for this thesis.

Young Children's Stigmatization Of The Children Of Divorce, Anna Marie Avila

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Role Conflict And Hardiness As Predictors Of Role And Life Satisfaction For Women Occupying Multiple Roles, Cynthia Ann Fillpot

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of Socio-Psychological Factors That Influence Adolescent Gang Membership, Tanja Ballinger

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to identify socio-psychological differences in youths who may be at risk to joining gangs.

The Effects Of Obesity And Gender On Selection Of Therapist And Expectations About The Therapeutic Process, John Anthony Carville

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Assessing Recognition Of Sexist Language: Development And Use Of The Gender-Specific Language Scale, Mark R. Mcminn, Paul E. Williams, Lisa Graham Mcminn

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Teaching effective writing in the social sciences includes teaching recognition of sexist language. The development and teaching uses of the Gender-Specific Language Scale (GSLS), an instrument designed to assess recognition of sexist language, are described. Three experiments with predominantly European-American male and female students provide support for the reliability and validity of the GSLS, and suggest that it measures a different construct than an essay questionnaire used in previous studies of sexist language. Implications for teaching are discussed.

Risk-Taking Predispositions Among Mormon Women: Improving Communication About Health And Environmental Risks, Shelly Nicholls

Theses and Dissertations

This study measures risk-taking predisposition among a conservative religious population of women, in this instance Mormon women. Risk taking is defined as a recognition of some probability of negative consequences to an action, which can include the loss of a potential reward as well as a punishment. A risk-taking predisposition results when individuals are not risk aversive but, in fact, enjoy risk taking.

Survey research collected at two conferences in Utah reveal the likelihood of moderate levels of rebellious and adventurous risk-taking predisposition among the over 500 Mormon women respondents. It is suggested that religious affiliation or economic and educational …

Other-Centeredness And Depression In A Sample Of Mormon Women, Janice G. Nielson

Theses and Dissertations

Other-centeredness and depression were examined to see if a relationship existed between the two. One scale measuring other-centeredness and another measuring depression were given to a sample of married Mormon women who did not work outside the home. Other-centeredness and depression were significantly negatively correlated. The women scoring in the top one-third of the range of other-centeredness scores suffered no depression on the depression scale. The factor most predictive for depression was the relationship the women had with her husband, and other-centeredness was found to overlap with this variable to some extent. The factors of health, income, and education were …

School Of Social And Systemic Studies 1994-1995 Catalog, Nova Southeastern University

College of Psychological Services / College of Psychology Postgraduate Student and Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Social Comparison Processes On The Perception Of Self Esteem And Achievement In The Learning Environment, Linda Steiner Thomas

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Gender And The Meaning Of Difference: Postmodernism And Psychology, Rachel T. Hare-Mustin , '49, Jeanne Marecek

Psychology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

A Study Of The Adaptive Functioning And The Behavioral And Emotional Problems Of Child Victims And Witnesses Of Family Violence, Christine E. Rinkel

Masters Theses

Behavior problems and adaptive behavior were evaluated in a sample of 30 children, mean age 9.5 years, whose mothers had been temporarily residing in a shelter or had been receiving shelter services during the 6 1/2 months of data collection. Using a sequential sampling design, the mother of every child exposed to family violence, was selected. Fifteen mothers were interviewed regarding the nature of the violence that their children had witnessed and/or experienced (including type, frequency, duration, and recency of the violence) as well as the nature of their children's adaptive behavior (Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales). Mothers also rated their …

Intact Families With A Multiple Sclerotic Parent: Social And Emotional Adjustment Of Parents And School-Age Children, Jean A. Mccutchan

Dissertations

Problem Statement. Research on children with a multiple sclerotic parent has been minimal and until recently focused only on negative aspects. This study investigated how families successfully cope with multiple sclerosis (MS) and how their school-age children are affected, positively or negatively.

Methodology. This research used the case study approach with intact Caucasian families, 10 where the mother was the patient and 3 families where the father was the patient. The 20 children were ages 5 through 19. Following a clinical interview, the family members responded to the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales-II, the Family Hardiness Index and the …

Coping Strategies, Psychological Distress Experience, And Perceived Adjustment Of Long-Term Survivors Of Pediatric Leukemia, Mario B. Natta

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Person-Organization Fit: A Quantitative Assessment Of The Match Between Actual And Ideal Culture, Susan Sheffey

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Toward An Epistemology Of The Poor: Conversations With People In The Margins, Robyn Dent Draper-Praetz

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Neuropsychological Functioning Among Violent And Nonviolent Sex Offenders, Pamela Knox-Jones

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Violent sex offenders, nonviolent sex offenders, violent non-sex offenders, and nonviolent non-sex offenders were compared on neuropsychological testing and on personality testing. A neuropsychological test battery and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 2 (MMPI-2) were administered to 93 and 50 male felons respectively. Subjects were drawn from a data base provided by the state Department of Corrections. Potential indicators of neuropsychological impairment were controlled during the selection process. Analyses of Variance (alpha =.05) found that violent sex offenders scored significantly lower than the other three groups on two measures that are sensitive to left hemisphere impairment and one that …

Family-Expressed Emotion, Childhood-Onset Depression, And Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: Is Expressed Emotion A Nonspecific Correlate Of Child Psychopathology Or A Specific Risk Factor For Depression?, Joan Asarnow, Martha Tompson, Elizabeth Burney Hamilton, Michael J. Goldstein, Donald Guthrie

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Expressed emotion (EE) was examined, using the brief Five Minute Speech Sample measure, in families of (1) children with depressive disorders, (2) children with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and (3) normal controls screened for the absence of psychiatric disorder. Consistent with the hypothesis of some specificity in the association between EE and the form of child disorder, rates of EE were significantly higher among families of depressed children compared to families of normal controls and families of children with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Within the depressed group, the presence of a comorbid disruptive behavior disorder was associated with high levels of critical …

Racism More Than Private Belief, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This letter to the editor of the St. John’s University student newspaper, The Record, points out that racism is multifaceted, constituting more than simply a personal belief. Racist attitudes comprise a cognitive component (stereotypes), an affective component (prejudice), and a behavioral component (discrimination).

The Occurrence Of Alexithymia In Children And Adolescents With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Michael S. Routh

Graduate Theses

Previous studies of the relationship between alexithymia and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have utilized samples of combat veterans with PTSD. However, children and adolescents who have experienced trauma and are diagnosed with PTSD exhibit similar or identical symptomology. The current study examined alexithymia in a sample of children and adolescents diagnosed with PTSD. It was hypothesized that the sample, when compared to non-PTSD and control samples, would reveal a significantly greater severity of alexithymia and PTSD. Although overall results were not consistent with previous research, trends of group means supported a relationship between alexithymia and PTSD. 1

A Comparative Study Of Christians To Wiccans And Pagans, L. Diane Curtis

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Levels of affect were assessed in twenty-five Christian participants and twenty-four Wiccan and Pagan participants. Zucherman and Lubin's Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist-Revised (1985) was utilized to measure levels of anxiety, depression, hostility, sensation seeking and positive affect. It was hypothesized that Christians would rate higher in levels of anxiety, depression, and hostility. None of these hypotheses were supported, and there was no significant difference between Christian and Pagan levels of positive affect. There was however, a significant difference between the two groups in the area of sensation seeking- Pagan scores rating higher than did Christian scores. Possible explanations for this …