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Sensitization To Indirect And Direct Dopamine Agonists: Behavioural Differences In Wheel Running, Vanhthong Vilaysinh

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Five experiments examined the effects of repeated exposure to stimulants, largely apomorphine (APO), on wheel running in male Sprague-Dawley rats. In these experiments, minor changes in procedure resulted in profound differences in the effects of APO on wheel running. Experiment 1 I compared changes in wheel running after repeated injections of 3.0 mg/kg amphetamine (AMP), 5.0 mg/kg of APO or vehicle (VEH). AMP resulted in a suppression in wheel running which become more pronounced over trials, while running in APO animals remained similar to the VEH group. Testing provided support for a conditioned suppression of wheel running rats previously treated …

Center For Psychological Studies 2001-2002 Catalog, Nova Southeastern University

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

No abstract provided.

The Psychosocial Well-Being Of Children From Fly-In/Fly-Out Mining Families, Anne Margaret Sibbel

Theses : Honours

The children of fly-in/fly-out (FIFO) mining employees are exposed to the risk factors for depressive disorders of regular father absence associated with hazardous employment conditions, together with disruptions to family routines. In the absence of previous research in this area, this exploratory study sought to determine whether the levels of depressive symptomatology, anxiety and perceptions of family function of 30 primary school-aged children whose fathers were in FIFO employment were less healthy than those of a Control Group of 30 children whose fathers did not have FIFO employment. The mothers' perceptions of family function were also compared. The children were …

The Effectiveness Of Pre-Interview Training In Helping Preschool Children Overcome Compliance In An Interview Setting, Jo-Anne Naylor

Theses : Honours

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether a pre-interview training package was effective in reducing compliance to misleading questions with pre-school children and if the effects of the pre-interview training package could be generalized to interviewers other than those conducting the pre-interview training. Sixty preschool children, aged between four and five years, were randomly allocated to one of three interview conditions. The first group was given no pre-interview training (control group). In the second group, the same person administered the pre-interview training package and subsequent interview (same interviewer group). In the third group, different people conducted the …

Pet Bonding And Pet Bereavement Among Adults, Kelli Brosam

Masters Theses

This study was designed to examine the relationship between the intensity of bonding and grief responses among adults following the death of their dogs or cats. Three hypotheses were considered: 1) The strength of the bond between an adult and a pet will predict the intensity of grief following the death of that pet. Specifically, adults who are more strongly bonded with a pet will experience more intense grief following the death of that pet than adults who are less strongly bonded. 2) Regardless of type of animal, women will be more highly bonded to pets, and women will report …

Depressive Symptoms And Academic Achievement In Fourth Grade Students, Michelle L. Harrison

Masters Theses

The relationships among depressive symptoms, peer acceptance, and academic competence were examined in 43 fourth-grade students using a self-report measure of depression (Children's Depression Inventory); a teacher-rated measure of depression (Behavior Assessment System for Children — Teacher Rating Scale); peer acceptance and peer rejection; and grade point average. Results indicated higher levels of self-reported depression than previously found in children of this age. Correlations between self-reports of depression and peer rejection and self-reports of depression and grade point average were significant. The current study also found a significant positive correlation between the two depression scales (Children's Depression Inventory and Behavior …

Relationship Between Belief In An Active Satan And Intolerance Of Minority Groups, Jennifer L. Acord

Masters Theses

For years researchers have explored the issue of intolerance of minority groups. Research has suggested that intolerance is related to general religiosity. More recently the focus of investigation has been the relationship between intolerance and specific religious beliefs, such as belief in an active Satan, religious fundamentalism, and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA). In a previous study Wilson and Huff (in press) found that belief in an active Satan was related to intolerance of gay men and lesbians and ethnic minority groups. The current study re-examined the relationship between belief in an active Satan and intolerance of various minority groups. In addition, …

The Effectiveness Of Non-Directive Play Therapy On Decreasing Inappropriate Behavior, Heather M. Sawyer

Masters Theses

The present study investigated the effectiveness of non-directive play therapy, operationalized as non-contingent attention (NCA), no-demands, and an enriched environment, on three developmentally normal children with a history of abuse or neglect. A single-case reversal-replication design was employed. Baseline consisted of contingent attention, demands, and a relatively non-enriched environment. Results indicated that for one of the participants, NCA, no-demands, and an enriched environment successfully decreased inappropriate play behaviors. More specifically, destructive and disrupted play behaviors occurred much less frequently in both treatment conditions compared to the two baseline conditions. The other two participants did not show any clear pattern of …

Adult Perceptions Of Their Relationships With Siblings Diagnosed With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Paula K. Aguilar

Masters Theses

How young adults' perceptions of their relationships with their siblings with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder differ from the perceptions of other young adults having non-disordered siblings were examined. Participants' perceptions of warmth, conflict, and rivalry with their siblings were measured using the Adult Sibling Relationship Questionnaire. The results indicated that perceptions of warmth, conflict, and rivalry were not significantly different for these two groups. An inverse relationship between warmth and rivalry was found for participants having siblings with ADHD. As feelings of warmth increased, feelings of rivalry decreased. Findings suggest future research in this area is needed for results that …

Effects Of Gender And Position Of Test Stimuli On Undergraduates ' Spatial Task Performance, James Brenton Curley

Masters Theses

This study predicted that sex differences in performance can occur where the sense of touch serves as vision, and that the position of the test array may significantly affect performance. Sixty-four college undergraduates (32 males and 32 females), with ages ranging from 18-27 (M = 20.06, SD = 1.82) were recruited from the psychology subject pool of Eastern Illinois University for participation. Apparatus consisted of templates with raised line drawings of tilted jars containing water drawn on them. The subjects were blindfolded and instructed to interpret four jar drawings at a time. The task consisted of identifying the jar with …

The Construct Validity Of The Behavior Assessment System For Children (Basc) And The Preschool And Kindergarten Behavior Scale (Pkbs), Lindsay A. Barton

Masters Theses

The Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) and the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS) are two relatively new behavior assessment scales that measure emotional and behavioral problems of children. The BASC is designed to evaluate the behavior and self-perceptions of children aged two and a half to eighteen years old. The PKBS is designed to evaluate social skills and problem behavior patterns of preschool and kindergarten aged children including the ages of three, four, five, and six years old. There are no studies in the empirical literature comparing the preschool form of the BASC and the PKBS behavior rating …

Protective Factors Of Verbal Aggression, Yuria Morimoto

Masters Theses

The present study aimed to examine the negative long-term outcomes of parental verbal aggression in childhood. It also examined the roles of problem-solving coping skills, family cohesion, and a parental emotional bond as moderators of negative psychological outcomes. Sixty-four-male and169 female university students were recruited from psychology courses and completed a demographic questionnaire, measures of physical maltreatment, psychological maltreatment, family cohesion, parental emotional bonding, and use of coping strategies. Psychological adjustment was assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Aggression Questionnaire, and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems. Results indicated that individuals reporting greater verbal aggression histories …

Perceived Parenting Style, Adolescent Family Life Satisfaction, And Self-Esteem As Predictors Of Adolescent Substance Use, Megan Cox

Masters Theses

This study was conducted to identify predictors of adolescent substance use. Eighty-seven junior high school students completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Adolescent Family Life Satisfaction Index, Parental Authority Questionnaire, and the Michigan Alcohol and Other Drug School Survey. When examining self-esteem, adolescent family life satisfaction, and perceived parenting style, it was found that the authoritarian father parenting style was the best predictor of total adolescent substance use and, more specifically, tobacco use. Self-esteem and the authoritarian father parenting style were found to be the best predictors of adolescent alcohol use. Furthermore, the authoritarian father parenting style was significantly correlated with …

Functional Analysis Of Abused/Neglected Children's Inappropriate Play, Jessica Bauer

Masters Theses

This study investigated the possible governing mechanisms of inappropriate play behaviors of three developmentally normal children with a history of abuse/neglect. A functional analysis was performed using three conditions—contingent attention plus demands, contingent attention, and non-contingent attention. For one child, functional analysis revealed that inappropriate play behavior occurred more frequently in those conditions where contingent attention was present. Demands, at least when contingent attention was provided, did not appear to elicit or evoke inappropriate play behavior. For the other two children, functional analysis did not reveal any significant differences between conditions. The results of this study suggest that for some …

Family Environment, Family Structure, And Personality Traits Of Adult Children, Michelle A. Rallins

Masters Theses

There have been several studies on the long-term impact of divorce on children; however there have been relatively few studies on the personality characteristics of adult children of divorce. This study investigates the personality traits and family environments of young adults from varied family structures. College students (n = 75) completed the Personality Research Form (PRF-E) and the Family Environment Scale (FES) and demographic forms. A multivariate of analysis (MANOVA) was conducted. The results revealed no significant differences in regard to personality or family environments between young adults from intact families and divorced families. There were, however, marginal differences in …

Review Of Miller's "Integrating Spirituality Into Treatment: Resources For Practitioners", Mark R. Mcminn

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

No abstract provided.

Juror's Perception Of Recovered Memory, Type Of Trauma And Adult Witness Demeanor, Donna Marie Vigilante

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

College students judged the testimony in a civil trial in which a childhood memory had been recovered after 20 years. Participants were 108 students (n = 79 female and 29 male) enrolled in undergraduate psychology courses. The design was a 2 X 2 X 2 between subjects factorial design which investigated effects of the type of incident (sexual abuse/hit-and-run), how the memory was recovered (therapy/wedding), and type of testimony (assertive/emotional). The study determined that mock jurors were likely to perceive the plaintiff's testimony as credible when she testified she was sexually abused as a child rather than when she was …

Granting Forgiveness Or Harboring Grudges: Implications For Emotion, Physiology, And Health, Charlotte Witvliet, Thomas Ludwig, Kelly L. Vander Laan

Faculty Scholarship

Interpersonal offenses frequently mar relationships. Theorists have argued that the responses victims adopt toward their offenders have ramifications not only for their cognition, but also for their emotion, physiology, and health. This study examined the immediate emotional and physiological effects that occurred when participants (35 females, 36 males) rehearsed hurtful memories and nursed grudges (i.e., were unforgiving) compared with when they cultivated empathic perspective taking and imagined granting forgiveness (i.e., were forgiving) toward real-life offenders. Unforgiving thoughts prompted more aversive emotion, and significantly higher corrugator (brow) electromyogram (EMG), skin conductance, heart rate, and blood pressure changes from baseline. The EMG, …

Specificity Of The Social Interaction Self-Statement Test In Social Phobia, Carolyn Becker, N. Namour, Claudia Zayfert, M. T. Hegel

Psychology Faculty Research

The specificity of the Social Interaction Self-Statement Test (SISST) was evaluated in sample of 277 patients seeking treatment for anxiety. Both the positive and negative scales significantly discriminated between patients diagnosed with social phobia and other anxiety disorder patients. Patients with social phobia scored significantly higher on the negative scale and significantly lower on the positive scale as compared with other treatment-seeking anxiety disorder patients. Negative SISST scores were significantly correlated with the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The positive scale was significantly correlated with the BDI. Despite this relationship, differences in BAI and BDI scores …

Levels Of Acculturation Of Children Of Mexican Descent As Perceived In Their Kinetic Family Drawings, Kevin Adolfo Rosado

Dissertations

Problem. Information on Hispanic children and their families is limited. More research activity is crucial in the light of the rapidly expanding population of Latino/Hispanics. Mexican families present a particular challenge to clinicians and to treatment settings, as well as to researchers. The impact of acculturation on psychological assessment instruments is largely unknown. This study sought to use the Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD) as a tool to gain information about how differences in acculturation are reflected through drawings done by children of Mexican descent.

Method. Private and public schools with representation of Mexican-American and Caucasian children from rural, semi-rural, small …

An Analysis Of Role Perceptions And Job Satisfaction Of Secondary-School Counselors In Trinidad And Tobago, Hillman St. Brice

Dissertations

Problem. The increasing emphasis on school counseling by the Ministry of Education in Trinidad and Tobago highlights the need to clarify and standardize the role of the counselor in the secondary schools. The satisfaction of these needs can be facilitated by determining the perceptions held by counselors, principals, teachers, and students about the counselor’s role in the school system; by clearly articulating this role; and by identifying the relationships between the counselor’s role and the counselor’s job satisfaction. The burden of this study was to determine these perceptions and relationships.

Method. A descriptive mode of inquiry was used to explore …

The Impact Of The College Experience On The Lives Of Female Single-Parent Students, Elizabeth Darby Watson

Dissertations

Problem. Poverty affects all people groups, but women are systematically poorer than men are. The feminization of poverty aptly defines the plight and consequence of women's poverty. In the United States the current federal mandate requires all able-bodied adults to be gainfully employed. Minimum-wage jobs, for unskilled and untrained workers, do not move poor women and their families out of poverty.

Method. This study used quantitative and qualitative data to explore the impact of the college experience on 56 single parents who had attended a tuition-driven, faith-based college during the 10-year period of 1987-1997. Responses from a mailed questionnaire and …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Police Stress And Moral Reasoning, Coping Mechanisms, And Selected Demographic Variables, Harvey J. Burnett

Dissertations

Problem. Past research provides information on stress and its relationship to the law enforcement officer's coping mechanisms. However, there is no research on how the element of moral reasoning relates within the conceptual framework of Police stress and coping. This present study investigated the relationship between police stress and moral reasoning, coping mechanisms, and selected demographic variables among police officers.

Method. The subjects for this study were 71 full-time certified law enforcement officers in Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties of Michigan. A brief demographic questionnaire was utilized, followed by the Police Stress Survey (PSS), the Defining Issues Test …

Stroop Interference And Working Memory - Reply To Stafford On Koch On Stroop-Differences, Chris Koch

Faculty Publications - Psychology Department

Koch et al. (1999) presented two studies in which cluster analysis was used to examine individual differences in Stroop processing. Stafford (2000) raised two questions concerning the methodology of Study I and the results from Study II. This reply addresses those issues. It is concluded that cluster analysis can be used examine individual differences but that multiple methods of cluster analysis may be appropriate when analyzing data. Further, the results from Study II are consistent with current research on working memory when comparing across participants. The results, however, do suggest that additional research is needed to determine the role of …

Stress, Coping, And Success Among Clinical Psychology Graduate Students, Nancy G. Nelson, Carol Dell'oliver, Chris Koch, Robert Buckler

Faculty Publications - Psychology Department

No abstract provided.

Impact Of A Short-Term Shelter Program On Selected Outcome Indicators Among Youths And Their Parents, Gale Sandra Hackworth

Dissertations

Problem. Innovative services have been developed over the last 10 years to assist families in coping with the increased demands associated with child rearing. One burgeoning area of resource development has been that of"respite" for parents. A variety of programs and methods have been utilized in providing these services. While families frequently proffer the benefit of these programs, there is a relative paucity of data to substantiate these claims. This study has attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of respite programming using outcome indicators which include both objective and subjective measures. This study focused upon families utilizing a short-term respite …

Intergovernmental Mediation : A Technique For Successful Local Government Partnerships, W. Thomas Wiseman

Dissertations

Problem. Statement Local government officials are faced with ever-increasing citizens' demands and unfunded Federal and State mandates while competing with neighboring governments for dwindling federal and state monies. Both of these tend to fuel intergovernmental conflicts. Research is necessary, therefore, to determine the most effective ways of addressing the alarming rate at which intergovernmental conflict is occurring in order to meet the needs of local government officials.

Methodology. This study examined the relationship between local government organizations in terms of intergovernmental mediation, conflict resolution, and the sharing of revenues and resources. Data were collected from county commissioners in Ohio, …

Stress In 1st-Year Women Teachers: The Context Of Social Support And Coping, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

The effects of adverse work environments were examined in the context of other risk/protective factors in this extension of a short-term longitudinal study involving 184 newly appointed women teachers. Regression analyses revealed that, adjusting for preemployment levels of the outcomes and negative affectivity, social support and adversity in the fall work environment were among the factors that affected spring depressive symptoms, self-esteem, job satisfaction, and motivation to teach. Support from nonwork sources was directly related to future improved symptom levels and self-esteem; supervisor and colleague support were directly related to future job satisfaction. Effects of occupational coping, professional …

Mental Health Needs And Resources In Christian Communities Of South Korea, Lisa Graham Mcminn

Faculty Publications - Department of Sociology

In an effort to understand the mental health needs and resources of Korean Christians, we collected quantitative and qualitative data through surveys and interviews with Korean pastors and Christian educators. Several mental health concerns were identified: the high level of daily stress faced by many Koreans, marriage and family concerns, conflicts between Korean culture and the teachings of the church, and a tendency to keep emotional discomfort suppressed. Mental health resources include deep spiritual commitment to a life of prayer, high levels of commitment to family and community, cultural values of persistence and patience, and reliance on Christian communities for …

Playing “Sherlock Holmes”: Enhancing Students’ Understanding Of Prejudice And Stereotyping, Ellen N. Junn, L. Grier, D. Behrens

Office of the Provost Scholarship

A very simple, innovative classroom exercise designed to heighten students' understanding of stereotyping and prejudice is described. Students' evaluation of the exercise was very positive. Students reported greater awareness and understanding of their own and others’ stereotypes and prejudice and of the negative effects of prejudice, with females more than males reporting enhanced awareness of others’ stereotyping. Students also rated the exercise as very enjoyable. There was a trend among Non-White more than White students to report that the exercise helped show them how to reduce stereotypes and more Non-White than White students offered solutions for reducing prejudice that involved …