Digital Commons Network^™

Identification Of The Causes And Characteristics Of Suicide Among American Indian Youth, Rebecca R. Crawford

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Blackfeet youth suicide Attempters and a sample of non-suicide Attempters were compared on the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales (FACES- 111), the Family Environment Scale (FES), the Scale for Suicide Ideation (SSI), the revised Beck Depression Scale (BDI) and a biographical inventory. The purpose of this study was to define a set of variables that identify Indian youth with a high potential for suicide. The study sample consisted of 60 participants between the ages of 15-24, 30 suicide Attempters and 30 non-suicide Attempters, from the Blackfeet reservation.

Fifteen identified variables were proposed to differentiate between the two groups. Analyses …

Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Of Adolescent Depression: Effects On Multiple Parameters, Steven E. Curtis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Clinical depression is the most frequently reported mental health problem for adolescents. Previously studied psychological treatment approaches for adolescent depression have recently been combined and packaged into a comprehensive psychoeducational intervention titled the Adolescent Coping With Depression Course (ACWDC). This study investigated whether treatment of clinically depressed adolescents using the ACWDC resulted in significant emotional, behavioral, and/or academic performance changes as reported by the adolescent, and observed by the parents and teachers.

Nineteen clinically depressed adolescents were identified by screening 876 students in a local high school, using a multistage screening procedure. All selected subjects met the DSM III-R criteria …

Presentation Of A Standard Intervention During The Intake Interview, Gregory Burns

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The provision of psychotherapeutic services has undergone many changes in its history. Recently the field of therapy has seen an increased emphasis on providing services in briefer periods of time, which has resulted in greater investigation into the parameters that influence rapid therapeutic growth by clients. Despite this push for quick results, many service agencies continue to utilize initial intake interviews that focus exclusively on gathering diagnostic and demographic information. Therapeutic intervention is therefore reserved for some later time when the clients can be accommodated from the agency's waiting list. The present study investigated the influence of a standard intervention …

Neurolinguistic Programming Treatment Of Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Susan Rogers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The goal of the study was to determine the effect of the neurolinguistic programming procedure of visual-kinesthetic dissociation on symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in a sample of Vietnam combat veterans. Thirty-eight veterans in a Veterans Administration treatment program were given three sessions of either visual-kinesthetic dissociation or regular program activities. Overall post-traumatic symptoms, re-experiencing symptoms, and amount of sleep were measured before and after treatment and at a three month follow-up. Results indicated that the treatment program itself had no significant effect on symptoms measured, nor did the addition of visual-kinesthetic dissociation provide any incremental symptom relief.

The Influence Of Social Support On The Stress Level Of Parents With Disabled Children, Shannon J. Pratt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated the relationship between social support and stress in 572 families of disabled children in various parts of the United States. To utilize multidimensional models such as Dunst's ecological model and the Double ABCX model of stress, additional variables were investigated; these included family characteristics and recent life events (FILE). A regression design was used, with family characteristics, recent life events (FILE), perceived helpfulness of social support (FSS), and perceived adequacy of resources (FRS) as independent variables, and parental stress (PSI) as the dependent variable (PSI). Helpfulness of social support, recent life events, and family characteristics all predicted …

Knowing Which Way Is Up: Sex Differences In Understanding Horizontality And Verticality, Gary A. Goodrich

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In previous research men have been shown to obtain higher mean scores on tests of horizontality (H) and verticality (V) than do women. This study investigated the role of experiential factors in this gender difference. Undergraduate psychology students were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: training, enhanced training, and placebo. The pretest measure of verticality and horizontality (V/H), training, and posttest were administered via videotape. Major findings were: men obtained higher mean V/H scores than women; V and H scores correlated significantly; and training increased performance relative to a placebo, but enhanced training was not superior to standard …

The Relationship Of Depression, Gender, And Sex Roles, Scott V. Cutler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between gender and depression as a function of sex roles. Four hundred twenty subjects were recruited from two introductory psychology courses at Utah State University. Subjects completed the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).

A difference was found in the rate of depression between females and males that exceeds the generally accepted 2:1 ratio. There was a female to male ratio of approximately 4:1 in the group of subjects who indicated a high level of depression on the Beck Depression Inventory.

Multiple Regression Analysis was computed …

The Role Of Prior Knowledge And Elaboration In Text Comprehension And Memory: A Comparison Of Self-Generated Elaboration Versus Text-Provided Elaboration, Sung-Il Kim

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A series of six experiments investigated the effect of text-provided elaborations and prior knowledge on memory for text. In all experiments, subjects read 28 episodes, half of which were associated with well-known individuals, and the other half were associated with unknown individuals. In Experiment 1, text-provided elaborations enhanced recall only when the reader did not possess a high level of prior knowledge. The findings from Experiment 1 were hypothesized to be the result of readers generating relevant elaborations during text comprehension. Experiment 2 supported this hypothesis by providing evidence of self-generated elaborations. Experiment 3 provided evidence that this generation process …

An Examination Of Operant-Respondent Interaction In The Development Of Tolerance To Ethanol, Brady Justin Phelps

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In four experiments, pigeons performed on schedules of food reinforcement across two different contexts. One context consisted of having the operant chamber fully illuminated, with increased noise levels, and reflective aluminum foil draped over the chamber sidewalls. This context was paired with oral injections of water. Another context consisting of having the chamber dark except for response keylight and at ambient noise levels was paired with oral injections of ethanol. Ethanol dosages were determined by using a dose that doubled the average variable-ratio postreinforcement pause. These procedures established the dark context as a conditioned stimulus capable of producing Pavlovian conditioned …

The Effect Of Dyad Interaction And Marital Adjustment On Cognitive Performance In Everyday Logical Problem Solving, Donna R. B. Rogers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The theory of formal operations as a final stage of adult development has come under criticism for various reasons, primarily the overemphasis on logical thought processes which are based on invariant and absolute rules within a closed system. Everyday problems, in contrast, are typically "open-ended" and are defined by the context in which they are embedded.

The purpose of this study was to investigate cognitive behaviors that occurred between two individuals as they cooperatively worked together to solve logical problems. Of interest were the effects of marital adjustment on cognitive performance, the relation between social behaviors, marital adjustment, and cognition, …

The Impact Of Psychosocial Variables On Immune System Functioning In A Sample Of Hiv-Positive Males, Gary K. Richey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study addressed the issue of the relationship between psychological well-being and immune function in a sample of HIV seropositive homosexual and bisexual males. A control group of HIV seronegative gay males was included. The study assessed the relationship between various psychological independent variables and immune system functioning over a 24-month time period for the seropositive subjects. Data on depression, coping style, psychosocial stress, and psychomatic symptoms were collected at baseline, as well as data on depression at 12 months and CD4 counts at 6-month intervals over a 2-year period. Preliminary analyses comparing HIV seropositive to HIV seronegative subjects showed …

Cognitive Variables And Marital Satisfaction, Carol Green

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Researchers and therapists have given increasing attention and recognition to the cognitive components of marital distress. Numerous investigators have attempted to identify and operationalize key cognitive variables that are related to marital satisfaction. In doing so, researchers have looked at the differences between distressed and nondistressed couples in relation to certain categories of cognitive variables, hoping to demonstrate that a significant relationship exists between certain types of cognition and marital satisfaction. Although investigators agree that certain categories of cognition are directly related to marital satisfaction, there is no clear consensus on the degree of influence that these cognitive variables have …

The Relationship Between Students' Evaluation Of Faculty And Students' Grades, Eun-Hee Shin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The study examined (a) the relationship between the grade students expect to receive and their evaluation rating, (b) the relationship between students' prior cumulative GPA and their evaluation rating, and (c) to what extent do other variables account for the relationship between grade and evaluation rating.

The present study found a significant, consistent relationship between students' expected grades and their evaluation ratings of professor. The relationship between students' cumulative GPA and ratings is negligible and should not be considered an important score of bias. The implication of this study is that great caution should be exercised when using such ratings …

Changes Over Time In Sensory Thresholds Of Individuals With Diabetes Mellitus And The Relationship To Food Preference, Marnie Ricks Spencer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The effect of time on taste threshold was examined in 30 diabetics and 30 control subjects (ages 22-30) who had participated in a sensory study 14 years previously. Detection and recognition taste thresholds for sweet (sucrose), salty (sodium chloride), sour (citric acid), and bitter (quinine sulfate) were assessed using triangle testing. Food preferences related to concentration of the stimuli in model food systems were tested using a nine-point hedonic scale. Mashed potatoes were used as the carrier for different levels of salt. A beverage composed of water, sucrose, and citric acid was varied to measure preferences for sweet and sour …

Identifying Differences Among Male Sex Offenders: Child Molesters Versus Exhibitionists Versus Voyeurs, David P. Defrancesco

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Social histories and testing data were compiled during initial placement assessments of 147 individuals arrested and charged as child molesters, exhibitionists, and voyeurs. These data were statistically analyzed using discriminant analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Child molesters, exhibitionists, and voyeurs were found to differ with regards to history of voyeurism; Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) L scale scores; sexual arousal in response to a violent scenario involving a 12-year-old male, measured via penile plethysmography; and age. Implications of these results are discussed relative to the population sampled and future research.

Homeward The Course Of Empire: The Popularization Of The American West In Great Britain, 1850-1913, Ian Craig Breaden

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Images of the American West in Britain became prevalent in British popular culture during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. This popularity arose out of the shared ethic of the Anglo myth. This myth was based upon the confidence gained from a growing industrial complex and the application of the Christian "Genesis" to the new Edens, the American West and the British Empire.

The Anglo myth could be found in British adventure novels set in both the West and empire. "Buffalo Bill" Cody used it in his Wild West, and Samuel Franklin Cody utilized it in his frontier melodramas as well …

The Efficacy Of Multidisciplinary Treatment Programs For Chronic Low-Back Pain: A Meta-Analysis, Jane E. Curtis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Chronic low-back pain is a prevalent and costly problem for many adults in the United States. Currently, multidisciplinary treatment approaches are the treatment of choice for this problem. A meta-analysis was conducted on 43 published studies to describe the nature of these programs, the patients involved in them, treatment efficacy at discharge and follow-up, and possible relationships between these characteristics and outcome.

Results show that these programs were often in university medical settings, with an emphasis on active patient participation. Common treatment approaches included physical therapy, skills training, medication management, supportive therapy, and behavior modification. Patients involved in these programs …

Effects Of Knowledge Of Accountability In Mastery Learning Programs On Academic Achievement, Goal Setting Characteristics, And Locus-Of-Control Orientation, Donn C. Ritchie

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

During the past quarter century, over 1000 articles have documented changes in student behaviors related to participation in mastery learning programs. Although the results have been generally positive, a debate continues as to the cause for increased student performance: Are results due to changes in how students attend to the information, or simply due to increased study time as a result of remediation?

In this study, a videodisc-based program in fractions was used with fifth-grade students. The videodisc-based instruction was chosen to help minimize differences in instructional materials, instructional time, and instructional delivery. A pretest-posttest, control-group design was used to …

Disconjugacy And Oscillation Theory Of Linear Differential And Difference Equations, Yuhua Xu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation is both a literature survey and a presentation of new and independent results.

The survey gives an overview of disconjugacy and oscillation theory for linear differential and difference equations with an emphasis on comparing the theory of difference equations to the theory of differential equations. Second order scalar equations, higher order scalar equations, matrix equations (systems) and Hamiltonian systems are discussed. A chapter on three-term recurrences of systems is also included. Both similarities and differences between differential and difference equations are described.

The new and independent results are for Hamiltonian systems of difference equations. Those results include the …

Implications Of Mediating Parent-Child Interactions In The Treatment Of Child Abuse, Connie Faye Nelke

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Child abuse has been shown to have a detrimental effect on the emotion development of the abused child. Due to a history with the parent that includes a high proportion of negative interactions and an impaired parent-child relationship, the child who has been subjected to physical abuse often manifests psychological symptoms. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect that treatment aimed at increasing the frequency of positive interaction in the parent-child relationship had on the emotional status of the abused child. Results showed that parent-child interaction play sessions were effective in increasing positive interaction and decreasing subsequent …

Knowledge Of Infant/Toddler Development Among Low-Income Families, Ann B. Parkinson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Pretest data from a two-year project entitled "An Early Intervention Program for Parents of Young Children at-Risk" were collected and analyzed, in a sample of 2,191 low-income parents, for Head Start participation and baseline information. Respondents participating in the sample were from the states of California, Delaware, Nevada, South Carolina, and Utah. For their participation in the study, respondents received a free subscription to age-paced newsletters, which contained information about appropriate growth expectancies, nutrition, and guidance for their child of 36 months or younger. Newsletters were mailed monthly to parents who had children 12 months and younger and every other …

Agency Policies And Personnel Attitudes Toward Adolescent Fathers, Sandra Gunderson Warner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Adolescent parenting research has typically focused on the mother and ignored the father. Researchers have suggested that adolescent fathers are disregarded as the child's other parent because their parenting role is devalued. An emerging body of literature indicates that adolescent fathers are excluded from the pregnancy and parenting services provided to adolescent mothers because they are viewed as unnecessary to the parenting process and unimportant to the child's development. Moreover, researchers have alleged that service providers treat adolescent fathers as outcasts based on stereotypical beliefs that they are uncaring, irresponsible victimizers who disappear at the first mention of pregnancy. However, …

The Play Of Visually Impaired Preschoolers With Their Mothers, Claudia Weber

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis answers the following questions: (a) Is the Play Assessment Scale a true measure of development? (b) Does the mother have a significant, positive influence on the child's level of development? (c) Does the mother's interactional style influence the child's development as measured by the Play Assessment Scale and the Battelle Developmental Inventory? The subjects were 13 visually impaired preschoolers. Development was measured with the Play Assessment Scale and the Battelle Developmental Inventory. Maternal interactional style was assessed with the Parent/Caregiver Involvement Scale. The study indicated that the Play Assessment Scale is a valid, reliable measure of development in …

Family Naming Practices And Intergenerational Kinship Affiliations, Nancy Immel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The study of naming practices has captured the interest of researchers in a variety of related disciplines. Studies of names and naming have led to a body of literature suggesting that naming practices are infused with meaning and reflect emotional ties between family members.

This study examined four research hypotheses related to family naming practices in an intergenerational sample of Mormon women. Ninety women from three generations of 30 families participated in the study. Through telephone interviews, each woman completed a survey designed to gather information about sources of children's names, kinship affiliations, and religiosity.

The information gathered from the …

A Descriptive Study Of The Use Of An Education-Sponsored Suicide Riskline, R. Kelly Haws

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study is to provide a descriptive evaluation of Jordan School District's riskline as a step toward assessing the effectiveness of education - sponsored suicide risklines. The riskline received over 1000 calls from mid 1988 to mid 1989 for a variety of problem areas. Demographics and risk assessment for the calls relating to suicide are presented and evaluated. The findings indicate that risk assessment is independent of all variables considered except the age of the counselor and the grade of the caller. The number of calls is independent of every variable considered except the grade level of …

Creating Ethnicity In The Hydraulic Village Of The Mormon West, Charles M. Hatch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study has looked behind the mask of nineteenth-century theocracy to see Mormons in the Great Basin creating a democratic society of regionally concentrated kin groups where obligations and rewards for individuals were increasingly determined by age and life cycle position. As generations of young adults acted together in self-interest dispersing their villages on receding frontiers, they forged a balance between competition and cooperation which merged the immediate need of individuals to establish and support families with the collective memory of their Mormon past. In so doing, they created an identity for themselves which was unique in the arid West. …

Assessment-Based Treatment For Physically Abusive Parents: An Exploratory Study, Scott E. Blickenstaff

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Literature on child abuse supports the conception that physical abuse is a multidetermined behavior. Multifaceted treatment programs have shown some promise in dealing with the heterogeneity of abusive parents. Most of the reported comprehensive intervention programs have provided predetermined doses of a variety of treatment components to each subject. The intent of this study was two-fold: (a) to provide treatment components based on assessment of the parent and (b) to train the parent to a specified level of competency. A multiple baseline design was used in this clinical study of six agency-referred, physically abusive parents. Based on initial assessment and …

Predictors Of Change For Parents Who Perceive Improvement In Their Family Functioning Following A Parent-Training Program, Linda Gayle Moore

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of the present study was to determine if perceptions of improved family functioning following a behavioral parenting program could be predicted by educational background, income, and pretest knowledge of behavioral principles. Subjects for the study were parents of elementary-school-aged children who volunteered for the parenting classes. Parents who perceived their families as dysfunctional, as measured by the pretest FACES II, were selected as subjects for the study. Parents whose perceptions of their families improved after the parenting class were then compared with parents who did not perceive improvement in their families on the predictor variables.

The results demonstrated …

The Effects Of Parental Involvement With Preschoolers At Risk For Developmental And Behavioral Problems, Robin Skoien-Bradley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Parental involvement 1n early childhood intervention with children at risk has been reported as an effective variable in treatment both in popular literature and research reviews. However, the results of meta-analyses of early intervention literature have concluded that research evidence is not currently available to support this notion. Therefore, research which employs strong methodology to study the efficacy of parental involvement in early interventions with children at risk is needed. The purpose of this study was to determine whether, in a sample of preschoolers exhibiting developmental and behavioral risk, there are posttreatment differences between different levels of parent-involved groups in …

Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder And Undifferentiated-Attention Deficit Disorder: Differences In Cognitive And Affective Characteristics And Responses To Stimulant Medication, Richard Alan Campbell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The cognitive and affective characteristics and responses to stimulant medication of children who were diagnosed as having attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (AD-HD) or undifferentiated-attention deficit disorder (UADD) were investigated using a pretest-posttest experimental design. Nineteen AD-HD and 17 UADD children were compared using unpaired t-tests, prior to initiation of stimulant medication, on measures of intellectual functioning, impulsivity, problem behavior, and self-reported depression and self-esteem. Children from both the AD-HD (n = 12) and UADD (n = 12) groups were then compared before and after a 3-month trial of stimulant medication on measures of impulsivity, problem behavior, and self-reported depression …