Digital Commons Network^™

Intimate Partner Violence Among Male And Female U.S. Community College Students, Shakiera Benson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Intimate partner violence affects a significant portion of college-aged individuals, but researchers know little about how the intersection of age, race, class, and gender influence intimate partner violence among community college students in the United States. In this quantitative correlational study, I examined the relationship between intimate partner violence and gender, race, age, class, marital status, and past abuse among community college students using the intersectionality theory. I used the Abusive Behavior Inventory and a demographic survey to collect data via a convenience sample of the target population of men (n = 220) and women (n = 330) attending a …

The Gap Between What We Know And What We Do About Childhood Obesity: A Multi-Factor Model For Assessment, Intervention, And Prevention, Kim Hiatt, Linda Riebel, Harris Friedman

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Childhood obesity in the United States has increased alarmingly and much is becoming known about multiple factors that contribute to this epidemic. These include environmental (e.g., prevalent junk foods), behavioral (e.g., inactivity), intrapsychic (e.g., depression), interpersonal (e.g., parenting style), as well as biological, socioeconomic, and cultural factors, to name just a few. A comprehensive multi-factor model of childhood obesity is presented based on extant research and its implications for assessment, intervention, and prevention are explored. Emphasis is placed on the importance of developing sound assessment approaches, on the potential value of treatment matching using interventions focused on assessment results on …

Pretreatment Variables For The Innovative Application Of Urine Alarm Treatment For Young Children In Fourteen Outpatient Clinics In Israel, Bettina Shapira, Pamela K.S. Patrick

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

The influence of specific pretreatment variables (i.e., age, gender, birth order, number of children in the family, and family history of enuresis) on outpatient urine alarm treatment outcomes was examined. A total of 186 Israeli children between the ages of 4 to 7 participated in the study, and of those, 55 children were 4 years old. The entire sample was used to test the age-related pretreated variable, and all other pretreatment variables were solely analyzed using the sample of 4-year-old children at the time of treatment. The data were derived from two different sources: (a) treatment files from a clinical …

Risk And Protective Factors For Drug Use Among Polydrug-Using Urban Youth And Young Adults, Gary J. Burkholder, Jean J. Schensul, Raul Pino

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of traditional risk and protective factors for drug use on six different popular drugs on a population that is primarily Black and Latino between the ages of 16 and 24. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the relative importance of risk and protective indexes, and their interaction, in predicting drug use. Findings suggested: (a) traditional risk and protective factors, as well as situationally specific factors such as gang involvement, predicted drug use; and
(b) the relative contribution of risk and protective factors toward explained variances differs substantially among the …

Linking Beauty And Health Among African- American Women: Using Focus Group Data To Build Culturally And Contextually Appropriate Interventions, Karen Hye-Cheon Kim, Laura Linnan, Noel Kulik, Veronica Carlisle, Zoe Enga, Margaret Bentley

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

African-American women suffer a disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality compared to Caucasian women. Addressing racial/ethnic disparities in health requires the engagement of African-American women in the development of interventions that are culturally and contextually appropriate. Three age groups of African-American women who attend beauty salons (18-29; 30-49; 50+) were recruited into six focus groups. Participants reviewed a series of magazine pictures of African-American women and discussed their perceptions of beauty and health. In addition, we explored ideas for how to best intervene in beauty salons. Focus group discussions were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed with NVivo 2.0. After a thematic …

Relations Of Changes In Self-Efficacy, Exercise Attendance, Mood, And Perceived And Actual Physical Changes In Obese Women: Assessing Treatment Effects Using Tenets Of Self- Efficacy Theory, James J. Annesi, Jennifer L. Unruh, Ann C. Whitaker

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Obese and sedentary women ( N = 76) initiated an exercise and nutrition program based on self-efficacy theory. Significant within-group improvements in body fat, waist size, and body mass index were found over 6 months. Changes in Physical Self-Concept (task self-efficacy) and Exercise Self-Efficacy (self-regulatory efficacy) scores, together, accounted for a significant portion of the variance in exercise session attendance, R2 = .24, F = 11.67, p < .001, with both significantly contributing to the overall explained variance. Exercise attendance was significantly related to changes in Body Areas Satisfaction (β = .39) and Total Mood Disturbance (β = -.27) scores. Findings suggested a path from increased self-efficacy, to exercise attendance, to improvements in body satisfaction and overall mood. Suggestions for replication and extensions were given.

Effects Of The Youth Fit For Life Protocol On Physiological Factors, Mood, Self-Appraisal, Voluntary Physical Activity, And Fruit And Vegetable Consumption In Children Enrolled In Ymca After-School Care, James J. Annesi, Avery D. Faigenbaum, Wayne L. Westcott, Alice E. Smith, Gayle M. Dixon

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Changes associated with the Youth Fit For Life physical activity intervention were assessed with 5- to 12-year-old children in after-school care ( N = 477). Body mass index (BMI), strength, and flexibility significantly improved over 12 weeks. Initial BMI was negatively related to observed changes, r = -.29, p < .001. Significant within-group improvements in tension, vigor, and physical self-concept scores, and levels of voluntary moderate-to-vigorous physical activity/week were also found in the 9- to 12-year-olds (n = 91). Multiple regression analysis indicated that changes in physical self-concept, exercise self-efficacy, and general self scores explained a portion of the variance in changes in voluntary physical activity that approached significance, R2 = .08, F = 2.55, p = .06. Revisions and extensions of the protocol were suggested.

Predictors Of Middle School Girls' Engagement In Suspendable School Offenses., Barbara Harlow Cavanaugh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite research evidence that social context and personal characteristics are related to girls' violent behavior, little is known about the relative contribution of such antecedents. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the relative strength of predictors of school violence among a sample of middle school girls. Of special interest were the intervening variables, because knowledge of their relative strength could enable schools to design targeted interventions to reduce school violence. Social learning theory formed the theoretical foundation for the study. A four-part survey consisting of sociodemographic items, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, an amended version of the Attitudes …

'Science Of Trivalency', Kwaku L. Carlisle Woods Rn Md Metd1, Dr. Kwaku L Carlisle Woods Rn Md Metd1

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

Due to mine cross cultural living, (I was born in the U.S. but grew in Southeast Asia), I became very interested in the Anthological, Social and Scientific difference between cultures. This led to a historical meta evaluation of humanity in general. Using the principals of Noetic Science, this evaluation reviled the ignorance and down right absence of any educational opportunities to learn the true functional abilities of mankind.

A Study Of The Decision To Remove Children From Their Parents By Child Welfare Supervisors, Charles F. Lorbeer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A STUDY OF THE DECISION TO REMOVE CHILDREN FROM THEIR PARENTS BY CHILD WELFARE SUPERVISORS

by Charles F. Lorbeer

Dissertation Chair: Dr. Aqueil Ahmad

Committee Members: Dr. Aqueil Ahmad, Dr. Robert Butters, and Dr. Ashakant Nimbark,

The goal of this study was to analyze the decision by child welfare supervisors to remove children from their parents. This was accomplished by studying the effect that three specific factors have on that decision. The three factors were 1) physical abuse, 2) domestic violence and substance abuse, and 3) availability of services to help the family.

Decision theory provided the conceptual framework for …

Public Humiliation As A Mitigator In Criminal Sentencing, Barbara Benoliel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study examined the relationship between the public humiliation and shaming of offenders in the sentencing portion of a criminal trial and the subsequent severity of the sentence the offender receives. Judicial moral shaming of offenders is returning to popularity in the courts, influencing the final sentence outcome as an under-identified mitigator, that substitutes for judges’ other punitive sanctions. Support for this shaming is found in Heider’s attribution theory and in Homans’ theory of social exchange; however Braithwaite found this form of shaming is overly punitive and ineffective. This four phase study used a sequential, mixed method, exploratory research design. …

A Probabilistic Multidimensional Data Model And Its Applications In Business Management, Bhaskara Reddy Moole

Frank Dilley Award for Outstanding Doctoral Study

This dissertation develops a conceptual data model that can efficiently handle huge volumes of data containing uncertainty and are subject to frequent changes. This model can be used to build Decision Support Systems to improve decision-making process. Business intelligence and decision-making in today's business world require extensive use of huge volumes of data. Real world data contain uncertainty and change over time. Business leaders should have access to Decision Support Systems that can efficiently handle voluminous data, uncertainty, and modifications to uncertain data. Database product vendors provide several extensions and features to support these requirements; however, these extensions lack support …

Information-Processing Skills Related To Working Memory In Individuals With Asperger's Disorder, Nancy Lynn Musarra

Harold L. Hodgkinson Award for Outstanding Dissertation

The present study examined information-processing (IP) deficits specific to the ability of individuals with Asperger's disorder (AD) to interpret and respond to nonverbal and verbal information inherent in social relationships as it relates to working memory capacity. Sixty boys between the ages of 11.0 and 15.7 years (30 diagnosed with AD [Group A], and 30 typically developing, same-age peers [Group T]) were assessed using the Working Memory Test Battery for Children (WMTB-C). The present study combined theories from cognitive, neurological, and clinical psychology, isolated specific working memory components, and identified a connection between working memory capacity and the social skill …

Psychological Resilience: The Influence Of Positive And Negative Life Events Upon Optimism, Hope, And Perceived Locus Of Control, Michael Philip Hand

Frank Dilley Award for Outstanding Doctoral Study

The purpose of this study was to clarify the optimal levels of optimism, perceived locus of control, hope, and degree of adversity experienced in life, in the development and maintenance of psychological resilience. A sample of 328 male and female students from Walden University and Washington State University completed either online or paper versions of a questionnaire consisting of the Life Orientation Test-Revised, Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, HOPE Scale , and the Life Experiences Scale . A series of bivariate correlation and multiple regression analyses tested the relationships between and among the five variables. As predicted, the bivariate analyses …

A Narrative Inquiry Into The Experiences Of Individuals In The Midst Of Organizational Change: A Shift From Systems To Stories, Stanley M. Amaladas

Harold L. Hodgkinson Award for Outstanding Dissertation

This study explores how individuals understand and make meaning of their experiences while in the midst of radical organizational change. Empirical materials for this research were obtained though written stories and interviews of two groups of managers within the Canadian public sector who were themselves in the throes of organizational change. The findings of this study were analyzed through a three-dimensional-narrative-inquiry-space framework.

The results of this study (a) support the postmodernist notion of a recursive relationship between metaphors and stories, and (b) between metaphors/stories and experiences, namely that they dialectically inform, structure and maintain the other. It was also discovered …

The Relationship Of Consideration And Structure Leadership Styles To Employee Job Satisfaction In Nonprofit Child Care Organizations, Stephanie L. Brooke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study examined the relationship between leadership style, as measured by the Leadership Opinion Questionnaire, and job satisfaction, global job satisfaction, and satisfaction with supervision, as measured by the Job Satisfaction Survey. Past research suggests that leaders with a considerate style of leadership are associated with greater job satisfaction compared to leaders who initiate structure. Although many studies of leadership style have been conducted in for-profit organizations, the objective of this research was to better understand the relationship of leadership style to job satisfaction in nonprofit child care centers. Eight directors in nonprofit child care centers in Rochester, New York, …

Nursing Students' Experiences Of Workplace Violence And Aggression: Making Sense Of The Phenomenon For Educators, Bonnie Jean Beardsley

Frank Dilley Award for Outstanding Doctoral Study

This phenomenological study explored female nursing students' perceptions of their experiences of workplace violence and aggression, their methods for coping with and adjusting to the violence, and the implications for nursing education.

A notice soliciting volunteers was posted on student bulletin boards in multiple schools of nursing throughout Illinois. Ten participants were selected from a pool of volunteers who met predetermined criteria. Open-ended interviews each lasting approximately 60 minutes were conducted and tape-recorded. Four interview questions that guided the process changed as the narrative unfolded, and in some cases, probing became necessary to gain a rich description. Data analysis was …

Beliefs About The Appropriate Degree Of Directiveness In The Management Relationship, As Related To Demographic Characteristics, Educational Background, And Organizational Position, Janet L. Pershing

Harold L. Hodgkinson Award for Outstanding Dissertation

Correlations between beliefs about management and age, gender, nationality, level of education, education field, functional area, and hierarchical level were examined. Analyses were conducted at the ecological level and focused on beliefs regarding appropriate degree of directiveness in the managerial relationship. Two thousand staff members of an international intergovernmental organization received an electronically distributed written survey. Factor analysis was used to develop summated rating scales for each independent variables. Differences between subgroup means were then examined using ANOVA or t tests. The strength of the association between the independent variables and a common scale was assessed using eta squared. Directiveness …

Effectiveness Of A Relaxation Technique To Decrease The Memory And Behavior Problems Of Alzheimer's Patients, Stella Maris Verna

Frank Dilley Award for Outstanding Doctoral Study

This study explored the effects of instruction in a relaxation technique on patients diagnosed with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). The two-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was implemented with 34 pairs of AD patients and caregivers in a group setting. It was hypothesized that treatment patients, compared with controls, would show (a) increased mental functioning, measured by their scores on the Annotated Mini-Mental State Examination (AMMSE) (Folstein, Folstein, & McHugh, 1975); and (b) decreased memory and behavior problems, measured by caregivers' scores on the memory and Behavior Problems Checklist (MBPC) (Zarit, Orr, & Zarit, 1985). Treatment subjects were instructed in …

Hiv/Aids In Context: The Culture Of Health Promotion Among Ndau Women In Rural Zimbabwe, Lynne Duffy

Harold L. Hodgkinson Award for Outstanding Dissertation

This ethnographic study explored factors that facilitate or hinder women's participation in health promotion and HIV prevention in the Mt. Selinda area of rural Zimbabwe. Rates of HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe are among the highest in the world and increasing most quickly among young females. A purposeful convenience sample of 11 Ndau women (key participants) was interviewed twice. Seventeen key informants and four focus groups offered further perspectives. The resulting narrative presents a picture of Ndau women's existence that is difficult and oppressive. Females are socialized early to be workers and mothers within a context of limited voice, subservience, …

The Influence Of The Louisiana Systemic Initiatives Program On Instructional Practices In Classrooms, Rochelle Gilbert

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the stages of concern and levels of use that LaSEP fostered in 16 third-, fourth-, fifth-, and sixth grade-teachers that were involved in the 1999-2000 LaSIP Mathematics project. A fixation point was produced regarding the existent stages of concern and levels of use these teachers. The data provided a basis for making inferences regarding LaSIP training modifications and for determining which strategies were required to move these teachers to the next levels.

The study derived its theoretical constructs from concerns theory found in the Concems-Based Adoption Model (CBAM). The Stages of Concern …

Psychosocial Adjustment To Breast Cancer: The Role Of Marital Support And Approach Coping, Jacqueline K. Schonholtz

Frank Dilley Award for Outstanding Doctoral Study

This quantitative correlational study examined the role of approach coping and marital support in predicting psychosocial adjustment in 21 married women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer. Psychosocial adjustment was assessed with the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale, a measure of overall adjustment to illness. Approach coping was assessed with the Coping Responses Inventory, an inventory that measures coping strategies for dealing with a stressful event. Marital support was assessed with the Family Relationships Index, a measure of relationship functioning that focuses on the amount of togetherness, open communication, and conflict in the marriage. The independent variables of approach coping and …

Theater Education And Emerging Technologies, Michael E. Butterworth

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Theater educators need compelling arguments for including the use of emerging technologies in the secondary theater classroom. The research documents the current uses of emerging technologies in the secondary theater classroom and contrasts the uses of traditional theater technologies with the uses of emerging technologies. Interviews with theater professionals identify current issues and practices in the theater community regarding the usage of technology.

A telephone survey of theater teachers reveals patterns of technology use in the Seattle School District. The research concludes that theater teachers have many tools at their disposal to teach students the processes of artistic problem solving …

An Analysis Of Physicians' Reluctance To Follow Terminally Ill Patients' Advance Directives, Norma Poirier

Harold L. Hodgkinson Award for Outstanding Dissertation

This explanatory study examined the reasons why physicians have difficulty respecting the wishes of terminally ill patients who refuse treatment. Consistent with the relevant literature, three alternative explanations were hypothesized in answering the question: fear of litigation, religious beliefs, and medical professional values.

Evidence was gathered from three different sources. Semistructured interviews were carried out with 24 emergency physicians from the Moncton Area in the Canadian province of New Brunswick and submitted to both quantitative and qualitative content analysis. Nineteen cases of terminally ill patients whose wishes not to be treated were not respected were collected and submitted to content …

Oyster Fisheries Management Of Maryland's Chesapeake Bay, Diana Locke

Frank Dilley Award for Outstanding Doctoral Study

This study examines the concept of property rights in relation to fisheries resource management in the Maryland oyster fishery. An analysis of the past and present state of this fishery on the Chesapeake Bay focused on the administrative, biological, social, economic, and political influences in fisheries management and their potential consequences. This single fishery once provided a quarter of America's oysters but, if the oyster population decline continues, it may soon become a memory. Though Maryland has a dual property rights structure, private and public, the public fishery predominates. The reasons why privatization has not been a successfully implemented strategy, …

Portrait Of Success: A Situational Analysis Case Study Of Students Challenged By Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Sandra Hundley Zimmermann

Harold L. Hodgkinson Award for Outstanding Dissertation

This study examined factors that encouraged and supported academic success for students diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Students with ADHD are often not academically successful and do not graduate from high school, due in large measure to ADHD symptoms of (a) impulsive and reckless behaviors, (b) alienation from significant others including peers, and (c) disorganization. Students in this study overcame symptoms of ADHD and were academically successful.

The situational analysis case study design for this research utilized both qualitative methods (interview, observation, and record review) and quantitative instrumentation. Five students with ADHD comprised the case study sample. Data from student, …

The Father-Wound In Folklore: A Critique Of Mitscherlich, Bly, And Their Followers, Hal W. Lanse

Frank Dilley Award for Outstanding Doctoral Study

Bly, following the work of Mitscherlich, posits that the Industrial Revolution divided fathers and sons, because they no longer bond while working together on family farms. Bly claims that one result is that fathers feel angry and disenfranchised and their sons consequently suffer a father-wound (either physical or psychic abuse) at their hands.

This, according to Bly, causes young men either to be so angry that they become a threat to society, or so dependent on their mothers that they are socialized as ineffectual, soft males. Many writers and therapists have embraced this theory--despite a lack of historical evidence. This …

A Content Analysis Study Of Portable Assisted Study Sequence Mathematics Curricular Materials For Migrant Students Using The National Council Of Teachers Of Mathematics Standards, Karen I. Conger

Harold L. Hodgkinson Award for Outstanding Dissertation

The need for change in the mathematics curricula in our public schools has been well documented (Kirwan, 1990; National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983; National Research Council, 1989; Overby, 1993). Testing surveys show low overall performance at every age throughout the K-12 levels. The Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics, (Standards) issued by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in 1989 are designed to move mathematics curricula forward to meet the needs of students for the future. The analysis of new curricular materials is essential in order to produce materials that meet recommended standards.

Migrant students …

Coping Strategies And Adaptation Mechanisms Utilized By Female Holocaust Survivors From The Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Joy Erlichman Miller

Harold L. Hodgkinson Award for Outstanding Dissertation

The female experience during the Holocaust has largely been ignored as significantly different than that of male counterparts. This gender-specific research study investigates the "unique, poignant voices" of women's coping strategies utilized during internment in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

Focusing specifically on the video oral history testimonies of the complete collection of female survivors of Auschwitz, which were produced by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the study suggests that the predominate coping strategies used by females was affiliation with others as the means of survival. Through the utilization of clustering sheets, the data suggested that affiliation and assistance from …

Parent Satisfaction With Staff Interactions At A Community Based Mental Health Center, Chrisanne Marie Christensen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study investigates an important issue in mental health service provision, the level of parental satisfaction with staff interactions at a community based mental health center. A small target population, which included all families who had received services within a one year time frame, were surveyed via mail to determine levels of satisfaction. Parents responded to a questionnaire and data were collected to determine overall satisfaction, areas of service in need of improvement and areas of interaction which were most unsatisfactory. Additionally, data were compared to past study material to determine either an increase or decrease in parent satisfaction within …