Digital Commons Network^™

Cultural Moderation Of The Relationship Between Anticipated Life Role Salience And Career Decision-Making Difficulties, Emily Anne Schmidtman

Dissertations

The perceived importance of, and commitment to, work and family roles has significant implications for the career decision-making difficulty (CDMD) of undergraduate college students. Additionally, cultural variables have been shown to influence undergraduate students’ anticipated life role salience (LRS) as well as the amount of difficulty experienced in making a career decision. Given this information, the current study assessed the relationship between LRS and CDMD specifically in terms of differences that may occur within this relationship for different cultural groups. Using a sample of college students (total N = 246), an online survey was used to gather information about their …

Refinement Of The Attitudes Toward Anger Management Scale, David Jerome Boudreaux

Dissertations

Identifying and addressing potential problems with anger before they result in adverse consequences could be beneficial in improving quality of life and minimizing the disruptive effects of anger on one’s social environment. Excessive anger or anger which is expressed in maladaptive ways present particular challenges for college students due to their developmental stage, stressors, and environmental demands. Unfortunately, too few college students utilize available mental health resources. Individuals with problem anger are influenced by unique factors that affect help seeking decisions. A better understanding of these factors could facilitate outreach and improve service utilization. This study continued the development of …

Predictors Of Alcohol Consumption, Use Of Protective Behavioral Strategies, And Alcohol-Related Sexual Consequences: A Gendered Social Learning Perspective, Kayla Darlene Moorer

Dissertations

Given the long standing gender differences in regard to alcohol-related behaviors and consequences, understanding how conformity to gender norms may predict alcohol-related outcomes is an important next step in developing effective prevention efforts aimed at reducing alcohol-related sexual consequences for college women. The current study examined the relationships among conformity to feminine and masculine gender norms and alcohol-related outcomes (harmful drinking patterns, protective behavior strategy use, and sex-related consequences) among college women. Another primary aim of the study was to determine the extent to which sex-specific alcohol expectancies mediated the associations between gender norms and alcohol-related outcomes. Participants were 421 …

Profiles Of Academic Commitment, Anna Jill Womack

Dissertations

Tinto (1993) found that only 15-25% of students who dropped out of college did so due to academic failure, while the reasons for leaving among the remaining group of students who dropped out were unknown. This suggests that the majority of students who drop out of college are likely doing so for reasons other than academic struggles. Researchers have suggested that individuals who are committed to their major are more likely to obtain a bachelor’s degree (Bowling, Beehr, & Lepisto, 2006; Den Hartog & Belschak, 2007; Duffy, Dik, & Steger, 2011; Goulet & Singh, 2002; Landrum & Mulcock, 2007), indicating …

Multi-Sensory Emotion Recognition With Speech And Facial Expression, Qingmei Yao

Dissertations

Emotion plays an important role in human beings’ daily lives. Understanding emotions and recognizing how to react to others’ feelings are fundamental to engaging in successful social interactions. Currently, emotion recognition is not only significant in human beings’ daily lives, but also a hot topic in academic research, as new techniques such as emotion recognition from speech context inspires us as to how emotions are related to the content we are uttering.

The demand and importance of emotion recognition have highly increased in many applications in recent years, such as video games, human computer interaction, cognitive computing, and affective computing. …

Implementing A Positive Variation Of The Good Behavior Game With The Use Of A Computer-Based Program, Shauna Lynne

Dissertations

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is an interdependent group contingency designed to address behavioral concerns. The vast majority of published findings on the GBG have supported its effectiveness in decreasing disruptive behavior in classroom settings. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and the social validity of a positive variation of the GBG in which teachers were asked to use ClassDojo to manage each team’s progress. ClassDojo is a computer-based program that enables teachers to track student behavior and monitor progress by way of a virtual system. Dependent variables included class-wide disruptive and academically engaged behavior (AEB), …

Health Literacy As A Moderator In The Relationship Between Diabetes Knowledge And Diabetes Outcomes, Jameshyia Ballard Thompson

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine if health literacy was a moderator in the relationship between diabetes knowledge and diabetes outcomes, and explore the relationship between diabetes knowledge and health literacy. The target population included adults living in Mississippi with a diagnosis of diabetes at any point in life. A pilot study was performed to determine if the Functional Communicative Critical Health Literacy scales (FCCHL) and the Spoken Knowledge in Low Literacy in Diabetes scale (SKILLD) were appropriate for use in a population of adults in Mississippi with a diagnosis of diabetes. Participants for the pilot study were …

The Role Of Parental Locus Of Control In The Relations Among Early Childhood Temperament, Parenting Practices, And Child Externalizing Behavior, Amanda Kathryn Stary

Dissertations

Child externalizing behaviors are a common reason for children’s referral for mental health services, and parenting practices are a primary target of efficacious interventions. In turn, child temperament and parent beliefs, such as parental self-efficacy and locus of control, relate to use of specific parenting practices. The present study aimed to evaluate whether parental locus of control and related components moderate the indirect effect of preschool-aged children’s temperament on their externalizing behaviors through parenting practices. Specifically, child temperament was expected to predict parenting practices only at certain levels of locus of control. Female caregivers of 146 children ages 3-5 years …

Predictive Effects Of Parenting Styles, Self-Regulation, And Resistance To Peer Influence On Drinking Behaviors In College Freshmen: A Social Learning Perspective, Saarah Danielle Kison

Dissertations

The first year of college may be a salient time period for the development of drinking practices in college populations. While parenting styles have been associated with global self-regulation, resistance to peer influence and college student drinking behaviors, a comprehensive evaluation of these relationships has yet to be established. Researchers have demonstrated that self-regulation acts as both a predictor and moderator of resistance to peer influence, which has been shown to be a more proximal predictor of drinking behaviors. While relationships between global self-regulation, parenting and drinking have been empirically established, less attention has been given to specific methods of …

Emotion-Related Factors As Mediators In The Relation Between Family Stress And Adolescent Externalizing Problems, Kristy Marie Disabatino

Dissertations

Adaptive regulation of emotions, maternal depression, parenting stress, and environmental stress have all been related to adolescent psychosocial outcomes. Considering these established relations, the current study examined serial mediation models in which it was hypothesized that (1) maternal distress or community stress (examined in separate models) would positively relate to adolescent externalizing behaviors directly and (a) indirectly through maladaptive maternal emotion socialization (ES) practices (i.e., magnify, neglect, and punish), (b) indirectly through adolescent emotion regulation (ER) difficulties, and (c) indirectly through both maternal ES practices and adolescent ER difficulties; (2) maternal distress or community stress would positively relate to adolescent …

The Effect Of Auditory Stimulation On Sleep Disruption In West Indian Manatee (Trichechus Manatus Latirostris), Natalija Lace

Dissertations

Florida manatees inhabit waterways where motorized boats are common. Although manatee mortalities resulting from boat strikes are well documented, the effect of boat noise on some manatee behaviors, including rest, has not been investigated. This study focuses on rest behavior and used a playback experiment with four manatees at the Lowry Park Zoo in Florida. We tested their responses to playback stimuli of either boat noise, silence, or manatee calls. A playback trial was initiated when the focal animal showed behavioral characteristics of rest.

Results showed that rest was interrupted in response to the playback of boat noise for each …

A Library Of Coumarin-Enaminone Chemodosimeters For The Detection Of Analytes, Aaron Berrell Davis

Dissertations

Many anions and metal ions are of biological and environmental importance. This work describes our attempts to synthesize molecular probes to specifically target cyanide, zinc, cadmium and mercury as these species can often result in negative effects to the environment and the human body.

The work in this dissertation, describes the synthesis of a family of coumarin-enamine chemodosimeters, in a straightforward synthetic procedure, the reaction between 7-(diethylamino)-4-hydroxycoumarin and a primary amine. The work presented in this dissertation demonstrates that these molecules can play dual roles and therefore the work is split into two distinct parts: Part 1 describes one role …

Administrators', Counselors', And Teachers' Opinions Regarding The Impact Of Freshman Academies, Schools-Within-Schools, And Ninth Grade Schools As It Relates To Effective Transitioning, Robyn Suzanne Killebrew

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether administrators, counselors, and teachers believe that implementing freshman academies, schools-within-schools, and ninth grade schools is an effective way to transition ninth graders into high school. This study included an introduction and a review of literature that discussed the following: adolescent years, transition from 8^th to 9^th grade, drop-out prevention, school reform in secondary education, professional learning communities, the freshman academy, and a conclusion. This study was also comprised with a methodology section, research results, conclusions, recommendations for policy makers and practitioners, and recommendations for future research.

The questionnaire for …

An Evaluation Of African American Fathers’ Perceptions And Influences On Child Food Choices And Physical Activity Behaviors, Valerie Annette Richardson

Dissertations

Child obesity is affecting children’s health nationwide. Rates are highest among African Americans (AA) in the South. Research has explored parents’ influence on child eating and activity, but most has reported on mothers’ influences. The purpose of this research was to investigate perceptions about AA fathers’ influences on their children’s eating and physical activity. Using a structured focus group questionnaire based on the parent layer constructs of Birch and Ventura’s Ecological Model for Child Overweight (2009), four focus groups were conducted with 28 AA fathers with children 6- to 11-years-old in a rural and an urban church setting in southeast …

Analysis Of The Intricacies Of Substrate Recognition Of High Mobility Group Proteins And Aminoacyl-Trna Synthetases Using Non-Cognate Substrates, Douglas Van Iverson Ii

Dissertations

The studies presented in section 1 (Chapters I-IV) focus on the design and development of nucleic acid four-way junctions (4WJs) to target a member of the high mobility group (HMG) proteins, the proinflammatory cytokine high mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1). In the present study, hybrid PNA-DNA 4WJs based on a model DNA 4WJ were constructed to improve the thermal stability of 4WJs while maintaining strong binding affinity toward HMGB1. An electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) was used to examine the binding affinity of an isolated DNA binding domain of HMGB1, the HMGB1 b-box (HMGB1b), toward a set of PNA-DNA …

The Associations Among Expressed Emotion, Relationship Satisfaction, Ptsd Symptoms, Alcohol Use, And Depression: A Longitudinal Investigation With A Military Sample, Laci Lee Zawilinski

Dissertations

PTSD in military personnel is highly prevalent and accompanied by elevated rates of additional issues such as depression, problematic alcohol use, and interpersonal relationship problems. Family members and spouses of military personnel have also been shown to be negatively impacted by PTSD symptoms. Previous research has indicated that family members and spouses’ expressed emotion regarding the PTSD patients’ symptoms negatively impacts treatment outcome in civilian populations. However, studies have yet to investigate the effect of expressed emotion on the course of PTSD symptoms and associated problems in military personnel. Therefore, the purpose of the present investigation was to examine the …

The Tootling Intervention With Classdojo: Effects On Classwide Disruptive Behavior And Academically Engaged Behavior In An Upper Elementary School Setting, Melissa Mchugh Dillon

Dissertations

The current study was designed to replicate and extend the literature on the effectiveness of a classroom intervention known as Tootling (Skinner, Skinner, & Cashwell, 1998) to include an interactive technological component, ClassDojo, to decrease disruptive classroom behavior as well as increase academically engaged behavior. Tootling is a peer-monitoring intervention that encourages students to report instances of appropriate behaviors they have seen their peers perform. Thus far, studies utilizing direct observation data to measure disruptive behavior during Tootling (Cihak, Kirk, & Boon, 2009; Lambert, 2014, Lambert el al., 2015, Lum et al., 2015; McHugh et al., 2014) have shown reductions …

The Psychological Flexibility Model And Ptsd Intrusion Symptoms, Kaylin Jones

Dissertations

The psychological flexibility model offers a lens through which to view the development and maintenance of PTSD symptoms. The model consists of six behavioral processes, including cognitive fusion, experiential avoidance, and lack of contact with the present moment, which are said to interact with each other to either resolve or maintain symptoms of PTSD. The mediation models proposed within the psychological flexibility model have yet to be examined within any sample. This study examined the relationships between cognitive fusion, experiential avoidance, lack of contact with the present moment, and PTSD intrusion symptoms within a sample of trauma-exposed adults experiencing symptoms …

Educators’ Perceptions Of Student Mobility During The Intermediate Elementary Grades In Two Rural Counties In Missouri, Landon S. Gray

Dissertations

Student mobility is “students moving from one school to another for reasons other than being promoted to the next school level” (Rumberger, 2002, p. 1). In this qualitative study, the researcher detailed how student mobility impacted four rural intermediate elementary schools in two select counties in southwest Missouri. Four principals, four counselors, and four classroom teachers were interviewed to learn how high student mobility impacted these participants, mobile and non-mobile students, and schools overall. There has been ample research on student mobility in the primary grades and in high school, but very little research exists dealing with intermediate elementary students. …

The Relationship Between Accuracy Of Facial Emotion Recognition, Perceived Empathic Ability, And Cognitive Ability In Domestic Violence Offenders, Blair Nicole Nyline

Dissertations

The inability to decode emotional cues has been associated with violence in men. The purpose of the study was to learn more about the connection between emotion recognition accuracy as it related to self-identified empathy in adult men convicted of a domestic violence offense while accounting for any significant cognitive deficits and demographic factors. Domestically violent (n = 35) and non-violent (n = 35) men were asked to label pictures of facial emotion at different levels of intensity (30.0%, 40.0%, 60.0%, 70.0%, and 100.0%). In addition, they were given the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), a brief empathy measure; the General …

A Case Study Of The Station Rotation Blended Learning Model In A Third Grade Classroom, Apricot Ann Truitt

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to provide educators and other individuals who are interested in the Station Rotation blended learning model with an opportunity to peek inside a classroom setting as the model was being implemented in a third grade classroom. Specifically, this study researched what happened in a third grade classroom during an implementation of the Station Rotation blended learning model and the resulting perceptions of the model by the third graders who were part of the study. One teacher and 31 third graders participated in this case study over the period of a semester. Through a teacher …

The Effectiveness Of Dialectical Behavior Therapy-Based Group Skills Training In A Traditional High School Setting, Emily Oros

Dissertations

Many adolescents in America suffer from serious symptoms related to borderline personality disorder (BPD) such as self-harming and suicide attempts. These reasons alone provide a strong case for researching effective therapies for adolescents with borderline traits. One treatment for BPD called dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) has been demonstrated to be empirically effective; however, in its current form DBT requires significant amounts of time, clinical training, and resources to carry out. Comprehensive application of DBT is too time intensive and cost prohibitive for some agencies to implement. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of the DBT group …

Academic Stress And Working Memory In Elementary School Students, Maile Maria Blashill

Dissertations

Although it is sometimes believed that children do not suffer from stress and its negative consequences as adults do, children are equally affected by the harmful potential of excess stress. Because childhood is a period of rapid neurological growth, the effects of unnecessary stress may be more pronounced and enduring throughout the individual’s life. Past investigations suggest that individuals who experience excessive levels of psychological stress associated with anxiety show reduced executive functioning, especially within the area of working memory ability. Further, poor working memory has been shown to affect educational achievement across many different academic subjects. The purpose of …

Exploring Cognitive Complexity Development In A Hybrid Counseling Theories Course Designed Using The Recursive Superstructure, Ashley Nichole Branson

Dissertations

The purpose this research was to explore how an intentionally scaffolded hybrid counseling theories course facilitated cognitive complexity development for counselors in training (CITs). A qualitative portraiture case study design was utilized to illuminate CITs experiences regarding the impact of face to face and online learning on the development of cognitive complexity in the context of theoretical application. Data were collected in five ways: (1) pre, mid, and post questionnaires; (2) online reflection journals and discussion responses; (3) case study and treatment plan; (4) final reflection paper; and (5) individual or dyadic qualitative interviews. Developmental portraits were constructed from the …

More Than Whoever Made You Suffer: A Culturally-Informed Trauma-Focused Intervention For Latina Adolescents, Katherine Helena Valadez-Sanchez

Dissertations

This dissertation study explored how the integration of common Latino cultural values within Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) influenced the treatment outcomes of Latina adolescents with a history of trauma. Latino adolescents and their parents often experience great difficulties in attempting to access effective mental health services that are sensitive to their cultural needs. Therefore, the present study sought to understand the impact of participation in Culturally-Modified Trauma-Focused Treatment (CM-TFT) on working alliance, therapeutic engagement, and overall posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology. In this mixed methods study, four adolescents and two mothers participated in CM-TFT. A self-report scale to measure …

Preservice Elementary Teachers' Understandings Of Topics In Number Theory, Kristin Michelle Noblet

Dissertations

Research suggests that preservice elementary teachers may lack the mathematics understanding necessary to teach mathematics for understanding. The literature has consistently linked student success in mathematics with teacher pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and recent study suggested a link between teachers’ mathematical content knowledge and student achievement. There are gaps in the literature concerning preservice elementary teachers’ understanding of number theory, and little is known about how they develop number theory PCK or the relationship between their content knowledge and their PCK. The goals of this dissertation were to investigate the nature of mathematics concentration preservice elementary teachers’ content knowledge of …

A Phenomenological Study Of Justice-Involved Veteran Experiences Of Veterans Court, Tanya Watson

Dissertations

As of 2015, over 300 veterans treatment courts have opened across the nation in the United States, providing an alternative to incarceration to eligible justice-involved veterans. Despite the proliferation of veterans courts around the country, research on veteran experiences in veterans court is minimal at best. This study sought to examine veteran experiences in veterans treatment court through interpretive phenomenological analysis. Eight veterans from five western U.S. veterans treatment courts were interviewed regarding the circumstances of their referral to court, the treatment they received, their interactions with their treatment team, and how veteran identity impacted their receipt of treatment. Four …

Being In Transition: Accessing The Transition Experience Of Bachelor Of Science In Nursing Graduates Using A Heideggerian Hermeneutic Approach, Tracy Lynn Poelvoorde

Dissertations

This study used Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology to access the transition experience of baccalaureate prepared nurses with 12-18 months of practice experience. The transition theory of Chick and Meleis (2010) was used to frame existing knowledge relative to the transition experience. The philosophy of Martin Heidegger (1927/1962) provided a philosophical framework for this study and was used to guide study methodology. The following overarching research question guided this study: Q1 What is the experience of moving/transitioning from being a student in a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program to being a practicing professional registered nurse? The Diekelmann, Allen, and Tanner (1989) …

The Moderating Effect Of Anticipatory Grief On The Relationship Between Attachment And Perceived Closeness With Satisfaction Of Life And Marriage For Spousal Caregivers Of Individuals With Dementia, Steven C. Pote

Dissertations

With the population of individuals with dementia growing every year, spouses are frequently finding themselves in caregiving roles. The progressive nature of dementia often leads to grief over actual and expected declines in the physical and psychological functioning of those with the disease. Spouses may grieve over losses that have not yet occurred. This anticipatory grief may affect how spousal caregivers perceive their relationship. This may further affect the spouses’ satisfaction with life and marriage and impact the quality of care they provide to their loved one with dementia. Using electronic data collection through three national organizations that support caregivers, …

Exploring The Lived Experience And Meaning Of Resilience For Nurses: A Descriptive Phenomenological Inquiry, London Draper-Lowe

Dissertations

Using descriptive phenomenological investigation, this study shed light on the phenomenon of resilience for nurses in high acuity clinical settings. The purpose of this study was to explore, understand, and describe experiences of resilience by nurses in the clinical setting who demonstrate characteristics of resilience and investigate the meaning these experiences held for them. Another purpose for this study was to increase the knowledge base that nurses and nurse educators have regarding resilience including what factors contribute to the emergence and maintenance of resilience. One-on-one interviews with 14 female nurses and one male nurse who had five or more years …