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Violence Prevention In The Schools, Deborah B. Prothrow-Stith

New England Journal of Public Policy

Violence and its consequent injury and death represent a major health problem in this country. The United States has one of the highest homicide rates in the industrialized world: ten times higher than that of England and twenty times higher than that of Spain. Fatalities from violence represent only the tip of the iceberg: nonfatal intentional injuries occur as many as one hundred times more frequently: assault and intentional injuries identified in medical studies can be four times those reported to the police, suggesting that medical institutions are a primary site for identification of individuals with violence-related problems. Violence and …

Math Anxiety, Coping Behavior, And Gender, Sandra Joy Grossmann

Dissertations and Theses

Non-math majors enrolled in lower-division math courses at an urban university were surveyed on their math attitudes, coping behaviors, and math anxiety (MATHANX). The Revised Ways of Coping Checklist (RWCC), Revised Math Anxiety Rating Scale, and other questions were presented to 30 men and 32 women.

Hierarchical regressions showed that after controlling for attitudinal covariates, emotion-focused coping behaviors (EMOTFOC) were strongly associated with MATHANX (F(5,54)=18.66, p < .0001), but problem-focused coping behaviors (PROBFOC) were not. The RWCC subscale most highly correlated with MATHANX was Wishful Thinking (r = .70, p < .0001). Ss were then dichotomized on PROBFOC and EMOTFOC, providing four behavioral groups. An ANCOVA controlling for attitudinal covariates showed behavioral group membership significant with respect to MATHANX (F(3,58)=6.07, p < .001), and an ANOVA revealed that students who reported high EMOTFOC coupled with low PROBFOC experienced the greatest MATHANX (F(3,58) = 12.66, p < .0001).

Males and females reported virtually identical MATHANX (M=36.30 for males, 36.44 for females), and the only significant gender difference was for avoidance coping, which was used more by males (F(1,60) = 5.43, p < .03]. Results from this study suggest that fewer gender differences may exist in MATHANX and coping than have been found in the past. Additionally, this study identifies the need for future research to determine whether EMOTFOC is the behavioral component, or one of the determinants, of math anxiety.

The Effects Of Type Of Child Care Arrangement And Satisfaction With Care On Employee Job Satisfaction And Absenteeism, Hanh Hong Nguyen

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the effects of different types of child care arrangements (i.e., care by relatives; care by nonrelatives; self-care by child; and care by day care centers) and satisfaction with care on employee absenteeism and job satisfaction. A 53% response rate was obtained from a questionnaire administered to 501 classified staff employees at Portland State University. Only responses from employees with children under the age of 18 living at home were used. Eighty-six employees met this selection criterion.

It was hypothesized that parents using self-care by child would have the highest absences, followed by parents using day care centers, …

Impact Of Goal-Setting On Motivation As Affected By The Joint Influence Of The Attributional Dimensions Of Causality, Stability, And Control, Nancy Davis Hodges

Dissertations and Theses

A systematic, empirical study conducted in eight hospital operating rooms found that employees often select opportunity-dependent goals. These goals are self-set or chosen by the individual, but the opportunity to perform the goal chosen is dependent on others. For example, "learn to circulate on total joint surgeries" is a self-set, opportunity-dependent goal. The individual must be assigned to that job. It was found that when this type of goal is chosen and the individual is not given the opportunity to perform it, the individual attributes the failure to external causes. This failed opportunity-goal type was significantly related to lower motivation, …

Reporting On Risk: Who Decides What's News?, William Lanouette

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Dr. Lanouette argues that risks alone do not command national media attention; their implications must first be framed by broader national issues.

Community Structure And Media Risk Coverage, Sharon Dunwoody

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Professor Dunwoody regards media organizations to be community creatures; their accounts to be social constructions; and answers to, "Who's right?" to be relative.

Mass Media As An Information Channel And Public Arena, Hans Peter Peters

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Professor Peters argues that several functions of mass media compete and that attempts to improve risk coverage must avoid optimizing one at the expense of others.

Advertising Preferences When Presented With Various Ad Stimuli: The Impact Of Stereotypical Versus Non-Stereotypical Advertising, Jodi L. Bremer

Modern Psychological Studies

Past research has shown that the preferences for different types of advertising shift as social attitudes change. Whereas in the past people preferred advertising portraying men and women in gender-stereotypical roles, today's more liberal social attitudes seem to reflect a trend for people to prefer ads depicting those men and women in non-stereotypical gender roles. In the current study, 30 university students were tested for their preferences among stereotypical, nonstereotypical and neutral ads. Stimuli were 30 magazine advertisements, 10 each of the three types of ads, rated on a five point like-dislike scale, with higher scores reflecting greater ad appeal. …

Eyewitness Credibility As A Function Of Grammatical Usage And Presentation Medium, Gregory P. Shelley

Modern Psychological Studies

The present study investigated the perceived credibility of an eyewitness as a function of the grammar he uses on the stand, as well as the way in which his testimony is presented (written or videotaped format) to mock jurors. Fifty students, 19 males and 31 females, from Kutztown University participated in the study. Ages of the subjects ranged from 18 to 42 with a mean age of 21.94. Subjects were asked to read an exchange of dialogue between two lawyers, a defendant, and a plaintiff. Dialogue was taken, in part, from Levy (1950). Subjects either read or watched a videotape …

The Relationship Of Low Self-Esteem And Somatic Complaint In Children, Jan Frazier

Modern Psychological Studies

This research attempts to determine the relationship of low self-esteem and somatic complaint in children. It is hypothesized that subjects reporting low self-esteem will also report frequent psychosomatic symptoms. Replication of Rosenberg' s (1965) study of adolescents was attempted using 69 children, ranging in age from 8 to 12 years, M = 9.6. Thirty-three females and 36 males completed Guttman' s tenitem self-esteem scale and an eight-item, self-report somatic complaint inventory (Rosenberg, 1965). Fisher's exact probability test indicated a significant relationship between low self-esteem and frequency of somatic complaint, p<.001. This association has been found in earlier studies; however, the present research focused on this relationship in children at an earlier age than previously examined.

Peers + Performance Pressure = Math Anxiety?, Dawn M. Boyung, R. Reed Hardy

Modern Psychological Studies

Math anxiety interferes with many students' ability to learn math (Richardson & Suinn, 1972). Our research indicates that students' peak math anxiety years are those immediately following puberty. Research by Costanzo and Shaw (1966) suggests that children are most powerfully influenced by their peers during the months immediately following pubescence. In this light, we theorized that the amount of time students spend working math problems in front of peers (exposure to peer performance pressure) during the months proximal to puberty will be positively correlated with measures of math anxiety. Fourth through eighth grade public and private school students completed measures …

A Millon-Based Study Of Political Personality: Nelson Mandela And F. W. De Klerk -- Part Ii: Further Results And Implications, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper reports the results of a psychobiographical investigation, using the Millon-Type Political Personality Checklist, of the political personalities of outgoing South African president F. W. de Klerk and newly elected South African president Nelson Mandela, and examines the interactional influence of their respective personalities in facilitating South Africa’s transition from apartheid state to nonracial democracy.

Recognition Of Facial Expressions By Socially And Emotionally Disturbed Children, Janice E. Bollman

Modern Psychological Studies

Twenty-two children, 18 boys and 4 girls, classified as socially and emotionally disturbed (SED) were compared with 19 children, 6 boys and 13 girls, without social and emotional disturbances on their ability to match pictures depicting six basic emotions (as identified by Ekman and Friesen, 1975) which were accompanied by a story about that emotion. The children were matched by chronological age ranging from 8.1 to 12.4 years of age. A difference between the two groups was noted and was significant at the .04 level for a one-tailed test. A Tukey test of pairwise comparisons was also performed and a …

A Clinical Trials Evaluation Of A Double-Blinded Protocol To Assess The Therapeutic Effectiveness Of Stimulant Medication Prescribed For Children Diagnosed Adhd, Ann V. Thompson

Dissertations

This clinical trials investigation developed and evaluated a protocol for determining the therapeutic effectiveness of medication prescribed for children diagnosed ADHD. The protocol included two separate baseline periods of two week durations, each of which were followed by four randomly assigned probes of one week duration, consisting either of Methylphenidate or placebo capsules. Baseline probes were unblinded, but medication and placebo probe trials were double-blinded. Therapeutic effect, expectancies, and integrity of the double-blind control were assessed through a battery of rating scales and forms completed by the parent, teacher and child at the end of each protocol week, including baseline …

Nsu Ed.D. Program In Child And Youth Studies Catalog 1994–1995 (Includes Application And Admission Forms), Nova Southeastern University

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice College Archive

No abstract provided.

Reducing Dietary Fat And Cholesterol Consumption: An Evaluation Of A Behaviorally Focused Nutrition Education Program, Peter F. Carey

Dissertations

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in the United States, killing more than 500,000 people annually. Serum cholesterol is a principal risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis, a primary precipitant of CHD. Unfortunately, elevated serum cholesterol is a common but often undetected health risk for many Americans. Furthermore, the typical American diet contains high levels of fat and cholesterol which contribute to elevated serum cholesterol levels. The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP), created to improve awareness of serum cholesterol as a CHD risk factor, recommends that dietary changes constitute the initial step in the treatment …

Mother-Daughter Olfaction Identification, Linda N. Johnson

Modern Psychological Studies

Research was undertaken to see if it is possible for females to identify their mother or daughter by olfactory cues alone. Twenty-two females, 11 daughters and 11 mothers, participated in the experiment. Mothers ranged in age from 37 to 46 and daughters ranged in age from 11 to 21. Each subject was blindfolded and asked to smell (hairline level) the necks of two different individuals. The individuals consisted of one relative (a mother or a daughter) and one control subject. Each subject, of course, was asked to identify her relative. Seventeen of the 22 subjects correctly identified her relative (p < .01, 2-tailed binomial test). A second experiment was administered to determine if subjects could correctly distinguish between cotton pads that had been placed, for the duration of experiment one, under the arm of another subject and under that of a relative. Fifteen of the 22 subjects correctly identified the cotton pad of their relative, (p <.05, 2-tailed binomial test). The null hypothesis that there would not be a statistically significant difference in the number of females able to recognize their mother or daughter and those who could not was rejected.

Inhalant Abuse In The Pacific Islands: Gasoline Sniffing In Chuuk, Federated States Of Micronesia, Mac Marshall, Rocky Sexton, Lee Insko

Pacific Studies

No abstract provided.

Historical Notes On German Press Coverage Of Technology, Hans Mathias Kepplinger

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Professor Kepplinger accounts for increased negativism in German media coverage of technology by pointing to changes in journalists' role definitions and attitudes.

Technical Risk In The Mass Media: Introduction, Allan Mazur

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Special editor, Professor Mazur introduces and explains the origins of the symposium.

School Of Social And Systemic Studies Department Of Family Therapy M.S. Program Student Handbook [1994], Nova Southeastern University

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

No abstract provided.

Behavioral Effects Of Irreversible Dopamine Receptor Inactivation In The Preweanling Rat: Assessment Of The Receptor Reserve Hypothesis, Suzanne L. Reid, Sanders A. Macdougall

Modern Psychological Studies

EEDQ is an irreversible receptor antagonist that eliminates the dopamine (DA) mediated behaviors of adults rats. In contrast, EEDQ does not seem to affect the DA mediated behaviors of preweanling rat pups. One explanation for this age dependent difference is that rat pups may have a DA receptor reserve, not available to adults, which is sufficient to mediate behavior. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to determine whether a Di and D2 receptor reserve exists in preweanling rats. A total of 96, 17-dayold rat pups were injected with EEDQ (7.5 mg/kg) or its vehicle immediately after being trained …

Persuasive Impact Of One-Sided Videos On Reasoning About Abortion, Suzanne M. Dodd, Andrea Bailey Sims, Stephen E. Buggie

Modern Psychological Studies

A study was conducted to assess the volatility of college students' reasoning about abortion. It is widely believed that individuals' views on this controversial issue have crystallized and are resistant to persuasion. The study investigated the persuasive impact of an opposing argument on subjects' current beliefs on the abortion issue. Thirty-three unpaid students of either gender at a private liberal arts college were shown a one-sided video on abortion presenting either the pro-life argument or the pro-choice argument. Subjects were Christians of various denominations. Abortion attitude was measured before and after the video using the Reasoning About Abortion Questionnaire (Parson, …

Interactions Of Depressed Mothers And Their Infants: A Review Of The Literature, Anita Kochanoff

Modern Psychological Studies

This paper reviews various research conducted to understand the effect of maternal depression on mother-infant interactions. It begins by reviewing theories on infant behavior that focuses on self-regulation and theories on mothers' behavior, including the causes of depression following the birth of a child (i.e. postpartum depression). A review of published empirical results of mother/infant interactions are presented along with descriptions of the coding systems used in these studies. Evidence suggests that infant behavior and emotion is significantly affected by the emotional state of the mother.

Female Managers: Their Struggle At Work And In The Home, Beth A. Mull

Modern Psychological Studies

The struggles that female managers face at work and in the home are reviewed. Research suggests that sex role stereotypes, discrimination, lack of mentors, and tokenism contribute to the "glass ceiling effect." Studies on the struggle in the home focus on female managers' role conflict and role overload as they juggle home and employment responsibilities. Spousal influences are also noted in their amount of contribution to child and household duties, their attitudes of career precedence, and their earning power as compared to their wives. Consequences of the female manager's struggle are noted, including lower pay, lack of upward influence, "fear …

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 Testing Of A Protocol For Validating Claims Of Facilitated Communication, Jorge Teodoro

Masters Theses

Facilitated Communication (FC), is a new and controversial augmentative communication technique. This study examined the facilitated messages of six severely mentally impaired school children, produced under naturalistic, yet controlled, experimental conditions. The students were removed from the presence of their facilitators and experienced out-of-classroom events. When the students returned, their facilitators read descriptions containing True, False or No Information about the students' experiences. Messages produced in the ensuing facilitation sessions indicated that the facilitators influenced the facilitated messages, although they appeared unaware that they were doing so. Meanwhile, students showed little resistance to the testing procedures. Based on these results …

Connections, Symbols, And The Meaning Of Intelligence, Peter M. Asaro '94

Honors Projects

More recently, debates in AI have focused on the implications of Connectionism. Connectionism is the hypothesis that distributed computations are capable of instantiating intelligent functions without relying on the representational character of symbols, but rather on the computational states themselves which are cal1~ distributed representations (Haugeland, 1991). This distinction puts connectionism at odds with symbolic theory. The current debates tend to be over which theory will yield intelligent systems--symbolic or connectionist? But as we will soon see, this really amounts to a debate over which representational scheme is required for general intelligence.

Psychosocial Variables As Prospective Predictors Of Violent Events Among Adolescents, Alan W. Stacy, Steve Sussman, Clyde W. Dent, Dee Burton, Brian R. Flay

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

Violent events are main causes of mortality among children and include intentional (e.g., homicide) and unintentional (e.g., accidents) circumstances. This study investigated the prediction of the self-reported occurrence of 14 violent events among eighth-grade youth from psychosocial variables measured in these same youth in seventh grade. Psychosocial variables ineluded tobacco and alcohol use, demographic variables, interpersonal variables such as family conflict, and intrapersonal variables such as risk taking. An iterative procedure, involving selection of a set of predictors and a test of the correlation of the set of predictors to the set of events, provided support for an extension of …

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.