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Construct Validity Of The Behavior Assessment System For Children-Third Edition Teacher Rating Scales (Basc-3 Trs): Comparisons With The Adjustment Scales For Children And Adolescents (Asca), Shannon Burback

Masters Theses

The Behavior Assessment Scale for Children-Third Edition Teacher Rating Scale Child Form (BASC-3 TRS-C) and the Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents (ASCA) are both teacher rating scales which may be used by school psychologist to assess youth behavior problems. The BASC, BASC-2, and BASC-3 have limited replicated research of the studies reported in their respective manuals. Therefore, it was important to empirically compare the BASC-3 TRS-C with the ASCA to examine construct validity (convergent, discriminant, and divergent) as there were, at present, no published studies replicating BASC-3 Manual research. The present study analyzed BASC-3 TRS-C and ACSA ratings which …

Staff Engagement And Training In Supported Addiction Recovery Program For Adults With Intellectual Disabilities, Hannah Carlson Jurewicz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The prevalence of substance use disorder (SUD) is similar among individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities (ID/DD) and the general population, yet there is a disparity between treatment and outcomes for these two groups due to a lack of appropriately adapted treatment and staff training. The purpose of this case study was to examine how leaders in a behavioral health organization understand the engagement and training experience for staff who provide substance abuse treatment for individuals with ID/DD. Governance and operational data were collected and analyzed from internal archival sources and organizational leader interviews. Themes identified from coding indicated that …

Experiences Of A Loss Of A Parent To Aids During Adolescence On Young Adults, Angela Thorpe-Moss

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) continues to be a major healthcare issue for many countries, including the United States. Millions of adolescent children under the age of 18 have lost 1 or both parents to AIDS-related complications. The death of a parent to AIDS-related complications is severe; however, limited data describes how this type of death affects adolescents after they have become young adults. It is important to determine how these adolescents are affected by exploring their lived experiences of losing a parent to AIDS-related complications. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences associated with …

Efficacy Of Preventions And Interventions For At-Risk Students In Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs, Helga Venus

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students, who are repeatedly referred to Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs (DAEPs), are at risk for future school dropout and for feeding the pipeline from schools to prison. In the United States, this is true especially for minority students, and regardless of referral reasons or intervention efforts. The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to examine attitudes of DAEP students and teachers regarding the influence of mandatory versus discretionary referrals, frequency and duration of referrals, and punitive versus creative interventions on positive behavioral outcomes. Data for the quantitative phase were collected via an online survey from public high …

Exploring Teacher Confidence Using Behavioral Interventions In The Classroom, Etoile Denise Swift

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The original purpose of this study was to conduct a quantitative quasi-experimental study to compare a treatment group of teachers with training in the cognitive behavioral ABC model to a control group and examine differences in the average count of referrals to school counselors for students who exhibited disruptive behaviors. However, due to lack of participation, this study examined teacher perceptions of their confidence to use behavioral interventions with students who are disruptive in the classroom and the relationship to the number of referrals teachers made to the school counselor. This study included 99 teachers from pre-K through 12th grade …

Community-Based Counselors’ Experiences Counseling Female Adjudicated Youth: A Basic Qualitative Study, Ericka Pinckney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Licensed professional counselors (LPCs) have encountered difficulties engaging at-risk youth in meaningful treatment. Youth who faced great stress such as abuse, neglect, truancy, family problems, homelessness, and traumatic events have presented with challenging behaviors. Literature suggested adjudicated youth engaged in relational and physical aggression; these behaviors increased the risk for out-of-home placement. Research on community based LPCs’ professional experiences in working with adjudicated female youth is scarce. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore community-based counselors' experiences treating female adjudicated youth. Professional counselors' techniques and strategies were explored. The relational-cultural theory provided the conceptual lens through which …

A Multiple Case Study Of School Administrators On Use Of Disciplinary Measures, Michele L. Jones-Pace

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disproportionately high rates of out-of-school suspension and expulsion of African American children represent an ongoing issue in the U.S. public school system. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory was used as the theoretical framework for this multiple case study. The research question focused on the perceptions, perspectives, and experiences of a purposeful sample of 7 high school principals and what they believed were the reasons for persistently high rates of out-of-school suspension for African American students. The principals represented Title I and non-Title I schools located in urban, rural, and suburban regions of a southern state. Data from individual interviews and archival data …

Lived Experiences Of Gay Men And Barriers To Reporting Intimate Partner Violence, Nicola A. Seahorn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Gay men encounter barriers when reporting same-sex intimate partner violence (IPV) to officials. This phenomenon is vital to address, given that IPV impacts gay men more than others in the LGBTQ community, with gay men making 31.5% of the IPV reports among that population. The identified gap in the literature showed the lack of research regarding the lived experiences of barriers encountered by gay men in reporting IPV, which was the purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study. Merten’s strain theory served as a framework to answer the study’s two research questions on how barriers in reporting IPV affect gay men’s …

Compassion Fatigue And Police Use Of Force, Amanda K. Devan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Compassion fatigue is a natural response to caring, where burnout and exhaustion result from helping professions which includes police officers. Exposure to trauma and stress increases the risk of developing compassion fatigue in helper professions and may have negative implications on overall mental health and physical well-being. However, not much is known about the behavioral effects of compassion fatigue among police officers during use-of-force incidents. The purpose of this study was to examine whether compassion fatigue in police officers is predictive of use-of- force incidents. The theoretical foundation was Figley’s theory of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue. Survey data were …

Sexual Consent Perceptions Of Child Sex Offenders Who Experienced Childhood Sexual Abuse, Traci Lordan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sexual consent is the necessary and mutual permission of 2 parties to engage in age-appropriate sexual activity. Child sex offenders (CSOs) target children, an age group who is not legally or ethically permitted to engage in or provide consent to sex. Yet, CSOs overstep all sexual, consensual, and moral boundaries to commit a sexual offense against a child. In this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study, CSOs’ perceptions of sexual consent and the experiences of their own childhood sexual victimization shaped their conceptualizations of sexual consent were explored. The conceptual framework of implicit theory was used to gain the detailed and …

Association Of Working Therapeutic Alliance And Psychopathy In Civilly-Confined Sex Offenders, Kearie Ann Newman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over the past decade, researchers have focused attention on the therapeutic alliance (TA) and its impact in treatment outcomes. The literature on TA has been focused primarily on its impact on the client’s participation, the accomplishment of goals, and treatment completion. However, very little of this research includes individuals who have psychopathy. Therefore, the purpose of this quantitative survey study was to explore the relation between the level of psychopathy (high versus low) and TA ratings of 16 therapists and 64 clients in the population of convicted civilly-confined male sex offenders. Bordin’s theory grounded the study. Data were gathered from …

A Phenomenological Study Of Christian Conversion And Recidivism In Ex-Prisoners, Christopher Featherstone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Recidivism rates are high in the United States. According to the Bureau of Justice

Statistics, within 5 years of being released, 77% of ex-prisoners are arrested, with 37%

arrested within the first 6 months and 57% arrested within the first year. Past research has

indicated that religiosity functions as a protective factor in relation to criminal behaviors

that is consistent across genders and developmental periods. The purpose of this

qualitative study was to examine Christianity as a protective factor against offending. The

theoretical framework of the study, self-determination theory, with its focus on

individuals’ growth tendencies based on self-motivation and …

Loneliness, Prosocial Relationships, And Recidivism In Long-Term Incarcerated Juveniles, Amy Rhoads Jozan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Prosocial bonds have been key in juvenile criminal desistance. Juvenile facility placement has resulted in deterioration of important prosocial supports and social isolation, increasing risk for recidivism. Loneliness has been increasingly prevalent in a facility setting, often leading to ongoing behavioral and health problems. Youth incarcerated longer than 1 year have experienced higher rates of physical and mental health challenges, lasting into adulthood. Lengthy juvenile incarceration impacts loneliness, postrelease prosocial relationships, and desistance implications have been underexplored. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore themes associated with reaffiliation motive, or lifelong problems resulting from loneliness, after experiencing youth …

Academic Incivility: Can The Dark Triad Personality Traits Predict Academic Entitlement?, Melissa M. Foley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Academic entitlement is a view held by students that can cause dissent and student incivility. Academic entitlement can be driven by various factors, including the personality traits of the Dark Triad (personality traits of Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism). Other researchers have examined the relationship between these traits and academic entitlement, but further research on this subject is needed. Adams’ equity theory, which proposes that people experience distress when they identify as either under- or over rewarded individuals, provided the theoretical foundation for this study. Using a quantitative approach, 160 participants were recruited using online methods and asked to complete a …

Forensic Insight On Predatory Behavior: Fantasy And Relational Paraphilic Attachments In Stalker Processing, Elizabeth Ann Duemig

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the push to criminalize stalking, many of the actions that would legally fall under these provisions do not materialize into stalking-based arrests or convictions as stalking frequently becomes a lesser included offense under charges that escalate into violence. Insight into offender pathways related to predatory pursuit could serve to inform individuals faced with the forensic challenges of legal decision-making. The dynamics of stalking behavior include elements of fantasy and attachment. The objective of this study was to examine patterns of violent sexual fantasies and relational paraphilic attachment (RPA) in an offender’s process of stalking preselected victims. The research question …

Predicting Competency In Motivational Interviewing Through An Objective Empathy Task, Kylah Moneek Clark

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the process of disseminating motivational interviewing (MI) it is important to identify who benefits from initial workshops and which trainees would benefit from an extended training model that involves coaching and performance feedback, which has recently been advocated. Prior research attempting to determine who benefits from training has failed to show associations between baseline self-reported empathy and training outcomes. However, the use of an objective empathy task may address the shortcoming of prior research. The purpose of the present study was to predict competency in motivational interviewing skills following training using an objective empathy task. In addition, we investigated …

The Development Of The Rapport Scales For Investigative Interviews And Interrogations, Observer Version (Rs3i-O), Justin Loren Magee

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Rapport between an interviewer and a source is a vital component of successful investigative interviews and interrogations. Accurate measurement of rapport in these interactions is crucial to understanding its development and maintenance. The Rapport Scales for Investigative Interviews and Interrogations, Source version (RS3i-S; Duke et al., 2018) was developed to measure sources' perception of rapport, but no tool has been developed to measure rapport from a third-party observer's perspective. The primary purpose of this study was to develop the Rapport Scales for Investigative Interviews and Interrogations, Observer version (RS3i-O), a tool that allows observers to rate the rapport generated in …

The Longitudinal Relationship Between Callous-Unemotional Traits And Exposure To Community Violence: Examining Primary And Secondary Psychopathy In Serious Adolescent Offenders, Elizabeth Sargent

Master's Theses

in youth, psychopathy is often represented by callous-unemotional traits, characterized by a lack of guilt and empathy. While justice-involved youth can exhibit such traits, less research has been done in adolescents than has been with adults in the justice system. Still, previous research supports that callous-unemotional traits in particular can predict higher risk for adverse outcomes and violent behavior in youth. Various vulnerabilities and experiences contribute to the development of callous-unemotional traits, and while some individuals with psychopathic traits are thought to have been born with an innate inability to feel empathy (primary psychopathy), others may experience psychological distress in …

Moral Reconation Therapy: Efficacy And Predictors Of Dropout, Amber Maiwald

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

No known research has been conducted on whether Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT) actually reduces criminogenic thinking. Similarly, no known research has been conducted to identify factors associated with dropout from the MRT program (i.e., choosing to leave the group before completion/release). Therefore, the purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to discover whether MRT reduces criminogenic thinking, and (b) to determine if criminogenic thinking, ACEs, cognitive abilities, and personality traits, particularly impulsivity, psychoticism, and antisocial traits, influence dropout. If significant effects in one or more of the aforementioned areas are discovered, individuals predicted to have the same profile as past …

Evaluating Implementation And Adaptation Of Moral Reconation Therapy At A Local Jail, Branwen Gregory

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Recidivism among criminal offenders has been a persistent and intractable problem for many decades. Cognitive behavioral interventions, particularly when implemented with adherence to the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) treatment model, have proven to be effective in reducing recidivism rates. However, real world circumstances in penal institutions place restrictions on how these programs are implemented and may make it difficult for these interventions to be instituted with integrity and/or adherence to the RNR model. This is a particular challenge at local jails, which house shorter-term populations and have fewer resources. Currently there is a lack of research looking at the effectiveness of treatment …

Saving A Seat For A Sister: A Grounded Theory Approach Exploring The Journey Of Women Reaching Top Policing Executive Positions, Nicola D. Smith-Kea

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The world of women in law enforcement is a thought-provoking one that has received increasing attention both in academia as well as in practice over the past few decades. Even more intriguing, and despite advances in the profession, is the low number of women in executive leadership positions in law enforcement. There is a vast underrepresentation of women in top executive leadership positions across the 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the complex journey of women to top executive policing leadership positions. Embracing a positive psychology approach, …

Bad Boys, Bad Boys: Masculinity, Performance Theory, And Prisoner Re-Entry, Jannae D. Bratcher

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Men and boys commit more crime, are more violent, and are more likely to be involved in the criminal justice system than women and girls (Cohen & Harvey, 2006; Carson, 2018; Zimmerman & Messner, 2010). Within the past two decades, criminal studies have begun to consider masculinity as a social construct to explain the gender gap in crime rates. However, more research is needed to understand its relationship to reentry and recidivism. The lens of masculinity as a performance is valuable and has a proud scholarly history, including the works of Judith Butler and Erving Goffman. This paper conceptualizes prisoner …

The Effects Of Positive Emotions On Eyewitness Memory, Brandy R. Hutton

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of positive emotions on eyewitness memory. Though little research has been done investigating this question, it has serious implications within the criminal justice system, towards our understanding of emotions, and in creating a fuller comprehension of how memory works. The current study chose two distinct positive emotions and participants were randomly assigned to one of three emotion inductions (joy, gratitude, or neutral). Participants then watched a computer video of a minor crime and responded to questionnaires testing them on their recall accuracy of central and peripheral details of that crime. …

An Exploration Of The Criminal Thinking Processes In Criminal Offenders, Mark V. Lemieux

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study sought to learn about Criminal Thinking patterns of thought in former criminal offenders. The discovery of this information is important to several fields in the formulation of treatment programs toward the elimination of criminal behavior. This research is based on the theory formulated by Yochelson and Samenow, and expanded on by Walters, that holds that Criminal Thinking patterns develop along a continuum and can lead to criminal behavior in some. Specifically, this study sought to learn whether criminal offenders were aware of their Criminal Thinking patterns and if that awareness impacted their criminal behavior. This qualitative phenomenological study …

Factors Associated With Steady Employment Among Felons, Rosalind Holley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has shown that a felony conviction record negatively impacts an individual’s employment prospects. Although stable employment has been shown to reduce recidivism, the stigma associated with being labeled a felon is a significant barrier to employment for this population. This phenomenological study, guided by Roy’s adaptation model, labeling theory, and social identity theory, explored the lived experiences of individuals with a felony conviction in seeking and obtaining employment postconviction. Participants were recruited from the Adult Probation offices of the Community Supervision and Corrections Department of Brazoria County near Houston, Texas. Six adult males who were currently on adult community …

Traumatic Early Life Stress In The Developing Hippocampus: A Meta-Analysis Of Mri Studies, Sharon Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Advancements in neuroimaging techniques afford researchers the opportunity to examine the actual brains of living persons, which exponentially contributes to new insights regarding brain and behavior phenomena. However, empirical studies investigating stress and the hippocampus attend primarily to adult populations - less on children and adolescents. Covariates such as the type of trauma, the duration and severity of the abuse, genetic predispositions, gender, poverty, and age often present as confounding factors that muddle the attempts to establish linkages between interpersonal, environmental, and neurobiological correlates. Although researchers primarily agree that traumatic early life stress (TELS) has some impact on early brain …

A Multiple Case Study Of School Administrators On Use Of Disciplinary Measures, Michele L. Jones-Pace

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disproportionately high rates of out-of-school suspension and expulsion of African American children represent an ongoing issue in the U.S. public school system. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory was used as the theoretical framework for this multiple case study. The research question focused on the perceptions, perspectives, and experiences of a purposeful sample of 7 high school principals and what they believed were the reasons for persistently high rates of out-of-school suspension for African American students. The principals represented Title I and non-Title I schools located in urban, rural, and suburban regions of a southern state. Data from individual interviews and archival data …

Therapeutic Wilderness Experiences And Empathetic Perception Of At-Risk Adolescent Youth, Sandra Short-Robbins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Current research involving wilderness therapy (WT) programs indicates that therapeutic wilderness or outdoor interventions have increased in popularity as alternative approaches for treating at-risk or adjudicated adolescents. However, the role that empathetic perception plays in advancing the efficacy of WT intervention absent from the majority of extant literature. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to address a gap in research involving how empathetic perception may be affected by WT program participation. The conceptual framework for the project involved ecopsychology, a branch of science that addresses the connection between human beings and the natural world. Nine young adults between …

Effects Of Ethnicity And Type Of Crime On Juvenile Offenders’ Recidivism Risk, Larry E. Taylor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Juvenile crime in the United States has been a persistent social problem that has reached epidemic proportions. The purpose of this between-subjects, comparative quantitative study was to examine the relationship between recidivism risk and the type of crime, ethnicity, and race of the juvenile. Social learning theory was used to guide the study. Archival data of 59,653 cases were collected from Inter-University Consortium Political and Social Research. Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions was used to assess the dependent variable recidivism risk. The independent variables were ethnicity and type of crime of the offender reported in the Transcript of …

The Predictive Ability Of Self-Efficacy On Recidivism Among Adult Male Offenders, Marianne Kelly

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With crime rates high and increasing numbers of offenders receiving community-based corrections sentences, factors related to risk of recidivism should be a high priority for researchers. The impact of crime on offenders, victims, and communities is costly. Traditional punishment has done little to reduce crime, particularly among repeat offenders. The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive ability of self-efficacy on recidivism, based on social cognitive theory. The research design was quantitative and nonexperimental, using regression analyses. The nonrandomized sample consisted of adult males incarcerated on felony charges at a large urban jail in the Midwest of the …