Digital Commons Network^™

Predictors Of Graduation And Rearrest In A Contemporary Juvenile Drug Court Program, Anthony Phillip Tranchita

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research on the efficacy of drug courts for substance-abusing criminal adult offenders has generally found reduced recidivism rates, and both actual and potential cost savings to the public. However, outcome research on juvenile drug courts has been limited. Furthermore, little research has examined variables that may be predictive of outcome in this population. This study reports graduation and rearrest rates for a sample of juvenile drug court participants in Salt Lake City, Utah. Also, this research assessed whether demographics, prior arrest history, attendance at drug education classes, serving detention time, or a preprogram measure of degree of substance abuse (SAS …

Multiple Mentors And Family Involvement In Mentoring At-Risk Youth, Christine W. Woodbury

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined whether higher family involvement plus additional mentoring relationships had a greater positive effect than a one-on-one relationship with a mentor and low family involvement. The study demonstrated, in this sample, that having two mentors does not have a greater impact on academic motivation, social competency, family unity, self-esteem, and deviance than having one mentor. It was also shown, in this sample, that higher family involvement does not have a greater impact on academic motivation, social competency, family unity, self-esteem, and deviance than lower family involvement. Although additional studies are needed to fully understand the impacts of mentoring …

Relationship Satisfaction And Stability Among Latinos With Respect To Communication Styles And Conflict Resolution Types, Adam C. Munk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This secondary analysis employed data from portions of the Spanish and English versions of the RELATionship Evaluation inventory, a self-report questionnaire (RELATE) The present research analyzed conflict resolution types, communication styles, and relationship satisfaction and stability among Latino men and women compared to Caucasian men and women. Multiple linear regression analysis was used for analyzing the data.

Communication styles and conflict resolution types were more different than similar among Latino males and females in predicting relationship satisfaction and relationship stability; however, they were more similar than different among Caucasian males and females. The communication style of love was the only …

Practicum Students' Beliefs About Developmentally Appropriate Practice For Infants And Toddlers, Kaelin Olsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined practicum students' beliefs and experiences about developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) prior to a practicum experience and following it. Another goal was to examine differences between the practicum students' majors and their pre- and posttest DAP beliefs and experiences scores. Finally, this investigation sought to determine the differences between practicum students' DAP beliefs and experiences and the amount of time they spent in a practicum setting.

A total of 95 students completing a practicum in the Adele and Dale Young Child Development Laboratory in the infant (Group I) or the 2-year-old classroom (Group 2) participated in the study. …

Intermediate Trainee Perspectives Of Family Therapy Skills, Margo Benson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Marriage and family therapy training involves the development of therapy skills that lead to effective treatment, and the family therapy literature recognizes the importance of skill development in training. The training literature dealing with specific skills most often refers to beginning-level skills and obtains data largely from supervisors and trainers. Intermediate-level skills appear to be overlooked and no apparent attention is given from the perspective of trainees.

This research examined the perspectives of trainees concerning family therapy skills at the intermediate level. Intermediate trainee perspectives were compared with the perspectives of their supervisors. Comparisons were also made with perspectives of …

The Skull Valley Goshute And Nuclear Waste: Rhetorical Analysis Of Claims-Making Of Opponents And Proponents, Jesse T. Weiss

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

One of the greatest challenges to modem society is the management and disposal of hazardous by-products that have accompanied the industrial advances of the twentieth century. One of the most difficult by-products to deal with has been radioactive waste. Previous research has shown that due to the real and perceived risks associated with this type of waste, the burden of storing said waste has fallen on minority communities, including Native American groups. This research examines the proposed temporary nuclear waste storage facility to be located on the Skull Valley Indian Reservation in Utah. Using an ethnographic case study approach, this …

The Effects Of Auditory Stimulation On Academic And Behavior Performance In Children With And Without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Penny L. Sneddon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study evaluated the relationship between noise and academic performance and behavior of children with ADHD (n = 15) and without ADHD (n = 18). Children completed math sheets under four noise conditions: no noise, standard classroom noise, classroom noise with verbalizations, and classroom noise with classical music. There were no differences in math performance between the two groups. Children with ADHD exhibited more problem behaviors than children without ADHD. Group-by-condition interactions were not significant. Significant effects were found for noise condition; children completed more math problems and had fewer inappropriate behaviors in the no-noise condition. However, there …

Power Distance Perceptions In Post-Soviet Russia: Understanding The Workplace Environment, Olga Kamenchuk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The modem business economy is characterized by increased collaboration among different organizations across nation al boundaries. Post-Soviet Russia is one of the regions that is witnessing rapid economic growth and development of international business relations. Because of the challenges in intercultural communication the current study focuses on the problem of power distance, specifically in the workplace (in post-Soviet Russia).

A phenomenological perspective, based on qualitative methodology, guided this research into the meaning of power experiences for individuals. Symbolic interactionism was used as a research paradigm of the study to view humans as active participants of the workplace, who engage in …

Predictors Of Outcome Of Surgery For Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Clayton T. Manning

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wrist surgery is a common method for treating carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) although few studies have examined patient outcomes or predictive correlates of such procedures. The objectives of this study were to characterize Utah workers who received surgery for CTS in terms of relevant presurgical and outcome variables and to identify presurgical correlates of patient outcomes. Participants were 75 Utah workers' compensation patients who underwent surgery for CTS from 1999-2002 and were at least 6 months postsurgery at time of follow-up. A retrospective cohort design was utilized consisting of a review of presurgical medical records and a postsurgical telephone survey. …

An Analysis Of Bilingual Programs In The Context Of A Schoolwide Reading Program, Jonathan A. Stewart

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

There has been much controversy over the effectiveness of bilingual education in helping English language learning (ELL) students to become successful students. One variable overlooked in this literature has been the use of effective instruction in these programs. This investigation compared students in a schoolwide reading program that utilizes research-based practices, Success for All (SFA) and its Spanish counterpart Éxito Para Todos (EPT). Three groups of third-grade students were compared at 8-week intervals throughout the school year: English-speaking students in SFA, ELL (English language learning) students in SFA with ESL (English as a Second Language), and ELL students in EPT. …

A Longitudinal Analysis Of Socioeconomic Differences In Obesity And Weight Change During The Early Adult Years, Young-Taek Kim

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in American society. However, not enough attention has been given to weight change by temporal and dynamic detailed social characteristics, controlled for unobserved heterogeneities nested in county and state. Using the National Longitudinal Survey Youth (NLSY79), this study examined weight change and its development into unhealthy conditions like being overweight or obese, in relation to change in social characteristics including life course events. This study also examined the social characteristics of remaining at a normal weight through all time intervals over a 19-year period. Using hierarchical linear multilevel analysis, this study found that changes in …

Maternal And Paternal Attributions And Perceptions Related To Parent-Child Interactions, Angela L. W. Ehrlick

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Parent cognitions, including parent attributions for and perceptions of children's behaviors , are related to negative parent-child interactions and have been hypothesized to negatively affect treatment outcome in parent training studies. Specifically, parents who attribute children's disruptive behaviors to internal, stable, uncontrollable, and global causes and believe that they are not personally responsible for their children's behavior are less likely to engage in positive interactions with their children and successfully manage child behavior. Additionally, parents who expect their children to demonstrate aversive behavior and perceive their children's neutral behaviors as aversive are less likely to engage in positive interactions with …

Physicians' Health Promotion Practices For Mexican American Patients At Risk For Type 2 Diabetes, Holly Day Mcfarland

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The relationship between physicians' perceptions of Mexican American patients at risk for Type 2 diabetes and the subsequent care they provide was studied. Primary care providers responded to questionnaires about their health promotion practices. A 2x2 analysis of variance was used to identify differences in reported treatment of patients that accounted for both ethnicity and risk. Results indicated Hispanic patients received less time with their providers than Caucasian patients regardless of risk for Type 2 diabetes. Both groups received about the same reported care in terms of information gathered for diagnosis, diagnosis made, and treatment regimen prescribed. Data also suggested …

The Effectiveness Of Peer Tutoring Programs In Elementary Schools, Melinda Gee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present review examined the effectiveness of three peer tutoring programs: cross-age peer tutoring, Classwide Peer Tutoring (CWPT), and Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS), for elementary students in the academic areas of math and reading. The research reviewed indicates students who participated in cross-age peer tutoring and CWPT had improved test scores on basic math facts as well as increased math scores on standardized assessments. Students also showed improvement in reading fluency, reading comprehension, spelling, and reading level after participating in cross-age peer tutoring and CWPT. High-, average-, and low-achieving students as well as students in special Ill education benefitted from …

Roles Of Religious Orientation And Health Locus Of Control In An Aging Population, Jennifer A. Fallon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An intrinsic religious orientation has been linked to improved cardiovascular health. Individuals may be protected by their beliefs against anger/hostility, which have been linked to increased cardiovascular reactivity and disease. Health locus of control differentiates between internals, who take responsibility for health, and externals, who attribute responsibility to chance or powerful others. Internal health locus of control has been linked to healthy behaviors, but its relationship to religious orientation is unclear.

Intrinsically held religious beliefs and internally held expectancies for health may, through the mechanism of reactivity, reduce risk for cardiovascular disease. This study explored relationships among health …

School Counselors' Referral Practices Of Children With Internalizing Symptoms, Kelly Hughes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This project proposed to examine school counselors' knowledge of and experiences with internalizing issues in children. The sample included all elementary and middle/secondary school counselors employed in Utah. The measure used in the present study was a questionnaire adapted from a study by Green, Clopton, and Pope. Analyses revealed that few elementary school counselors would meet with a student struggling with internalizing symptoms, but many would meet with the students' teacher(s) and parents. Overall, fewer secondary school counselors endorsed the presented responses as compared to elementary school counselors. More than half of both elementary and secondary school counselors indicated they …

The Use Of Stress Management In Combination With Parent Training: An Intervention Study With Parents Of Preschool Children, Theresa L. Gunderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many preschool children exhibit a number of problematic, acting-out behaviors. Parents of preschoolers exhibiting behavior problems often experience a great deal of stress associated with these problem behaviors. Consistently robust improvements have been found in the use of stress management for adult stress, pain, and medical wellbeing. Likewise, studies have shown parent training decreases the severity of child behavior problems. However, only a few studies have examined effects of parent training on both child behavior and parent stress. Some studies have found that parents who complete parent training also report lowered stress levels commensurate with improvement of child behavior. It …

Developmental Changes In The Structure Of Affect: Is The Tripartite Model Equally Valid For Younger And Older Children?, Bryan B. Bushman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many studies investigating the validity of the Tripartite model of affect in children have been supportive of the model. However, few studies have examined if older and younger children structure affect similarly. The current study used confirmatory factor analytic techniques (SEM) to test the validity of the tripartite model in two developmentally distinct populations of children (third and sixth grade). Confirmatory factor analytic methods examined one-factor, two-factor correlated, and two-factor uncorrelated models. Furthermore, the pattern of correlations between positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), and dependent measures of anxiety and depression was calculated.

The results indicated the two-factor correlated and …

Pharmacological And Behavioral Treatments For Migraine Headaches: A Meta-Analytic Review, Kristi Lowe Stewart

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Migraine headache is a painful and often serious problem in the United States. There are many prophylactic pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments available for migraine headaches. However, choosing between them can be difficult for individuals and treatment providers alike. The primary literature regarding the effectiveness of pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments is quite dense. More than 191 primary studies were identified as providing information about the effectiveness of one or more treatments for migraine headaches. Of these, 82 articles were retained for meta-analyses on six prophylactic treatments for migraine: propranolol, flunarizine, divalproex sodium, thermal biofeedback, relaxation treatments, and combined treatments. These results …

Risk Factors For Selected Health-Related Behaviors Among American Indian Adolescents: A Longitudinal Study, Amy Jo Williams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Suicide and accidents are the leading causes of death among American Indian (AI) adolescents. Engaging in health-compromising behaviors (HCB) is higher among AI youth than among multicultural, national samples of adolescents. These HCBs include: smoking, drinking alcohol, drug use, and delinquency. Studies that identify legitimate predictors of these behaviors among AI adolescents are needed to guide research and interventions.

Primary socialization theory (PST) suggests that peer groups, family, and school are the only areas where adolescents are directly taught to accept or reject deviant or normative behavior. Gateway theory indicates that use of certain drugs by adolescents, such as cigarettes …

The Reliability And Validity Of The Boatwright-Bracken Child Attention Deficit Scales: Child And Parent Versions, Erica S. Thomas

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined the psychometric properties of a new measure of attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD) symptoms, the Boatwright-Bracken Child Attention Deficit Scale (BCADS), self- and parent-report forms. Parents and children with and without ADHD completed the BCADS to determine the reliability and validity of the BCADS. The BCADS-Child and Parent had high internal consistency reliability. The total sample parent-selfratings were moderately correlated, indicating a typical level of cross informant agreement.

Results indicate that the BCADS differentiates children with ADHD from children without ADHD. Children and parents in the clinical sample reported more symptoms of ADHD than those in the comparison sample. …

Changes In Child Symptomatology Associated With Animal-Assisted Therapy, Catherine C. Woolley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined the changes in symptoms of anxiety, depression, and social dysfunction associated with a history of child trauma after adding animal-assisted therapy (AAT) to conventional psychotherapy for adolescents living in a residential treatment facility in northern California. Using a quasiexperimental design, participants were followed over a period of nine weeks, with both groups completing the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, an abbreviated version of the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Youth Self-Report, and residential staff completing the Youth Outcome Questionnaire at three time points. In addition, the treatment group completed state anxiety and depression assessments before …

A Comparison Of Rational Versus Empirical Methods In The Prediction Of Psychotherapy Outcome, Glen I. Spielmans

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Several systems have been designed to monitor psychotherapy outcome, in which feedback is generated based on how a client's rate of progress compares to an expected level of progress. Clients who progress at a much lesser rate than the average client are referred to as signal-alarm cases. Recent studies have shown that providing feedback to therapists based on comparing their clients' progress to a set of rational, clinically derived algorithms has enhanced outcomes for clients predicted to show poor treatment outcomes. Should another method of predicting psychotherapy outcome emerge as more accurate than the rational method, this method would likely …

Factors That Influence Marital Satisfaction In Couples Raising A Child With Cerebral Palsy, Sarah L. Stoker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined factors that influence marital satisfaction in couples raising a child with cerebral palsy. The theoretical frameworks for this study were drawn from family systems theory and the social ecology model.

Twenty-eight married couples raising a child between the ages of 3-17 years, with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy, comprised the sample for this study. Participants were classified as raising a child who is mildly/moderately or severely impaired by cerebral palsy. Participants were recruited through referrals of professionals working in local organizations that provide services and support for persons with disabilities and their families.

Data were analyzed using …

The Role Of Deception In Mediating Relationship Involvement Of Couples Interacting On The Internet: Stages Of Intimate Formation, Dustin W. Edgerton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A vast majority of individuals involve themselves in an intimate relationship at one time or another. This study looks at a new, but increasing, forum of relationship development, that of the Internet. More specifically, this study addresses various stages of Internet relationship development, and deception individual 's use during the process of forming and maintaining these relationships.

This research gathered quantitative and qualitative information from 134 individuals involved in online relationships. The quantitative analyses provided only a few significant findings and it is suggested that the current methods of measuring deception are inadequate and do not appear to represent the …

Adolescent Peer Perceptions Reflected In The Yearbooks Of Mormon Homosexual And Heterosexual Men, David C. Pruden

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study explored the peer perceptions of adolescent heterosexual males and their homosexual counterparts who had not disclosed their feelings of erotic same-sex attraction to their classmates. The study focused on members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a conservative Christian denomination with clear doctrinal prohibitions against homosexual behavior. The handwritten messages from peers found in the senior high school yearbooks of 30 heterosexual and 30 same-sex attracted adolescent men were content analyzed to examine similarities and differences in the themes that emerged from the data.

The results indicated that there is a difference in the kind …

Responding To Crises In The Public Schools: A Survey Of School Psychologists' Experiences And Perceptions, Austin Douglas Adamson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A survey was created and mailed to 500 school psychologists randomly selected from the National Association of School Psychologists' membership lists. The final sample consisted of 228 school psychologists working at least half-time in a school setting. The survey's purpose was to gather information from school psychologists on their perspectives on crisis training and on crises experienced by public schools, as well as what schools have for crisis plans/teams, and what they do for crisis response.

Nearly all of the participants (98.2%) reported that they had some type of crisis intervention training. The majority of respondents indicated that their schools …

Impasse In Marriage And Family Therapy, Valentina V. Popkova-Massé

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this exploratory study was to learn about practicing Marriage and Family Therapists' experiences with therapeutic impasse. The study had several objectives: investigate the incidence of impasse; look into therapists ' experiences with impasse, their attitudes toward it, and their views on its etiology; and explore clinicians' strategies for impasse resolution.

One hundred and six clinical members of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) responded to a self-designed questionnaire. The majority of the respondents (83%) reported being stuck in therapy for a few minutes and 35% reported being stuck for three or more sessions during …

The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence And Adolescent Deviant Behavior, Jennifer R. Lance

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis summarizes a study conducted to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence and adolescent deviancy. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the relation between 1) overall emotional intelligence plus its subscales and overall normative deviant behavior, and 2) emotional intelligence subscales and subscales of a deviancy measure. Tapia's Emotional Intelligence Inventory (EII) and Vazsonyi's Normative Deviancy Scale (NDS) were used to measure the two variables of this study. Subjects included 152 high school students, aged 14-18, from a small city in Northern Utah. One hundred seventeen students came from a local high school comprising grades 10-12 …

Marital Happiness: Undergraduate University Students Assess Their Parents' Marriage Regarding Communication, Power, Education, And Religiosity, Margaret F. Oak

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was designed to investigate undergraduate university students' appraisals of their parents' marital happiness, and how those views affect respondents' current attitudes toward marriage. The sample included 1,437 undergraduate students between the years 1970 and 1999. The dependent variable was perceived marital happiness in the family of origin. The independent variables were perceived communication quality, perceived level of egalitarianism, level of education, and perceived religious activity of the respondents' parents as reported by the respondents. Respondents' desire to have a communication situation in their own marriage similar to that of the parents' marriage, and desire to have a power …