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Perceptions Of Family Functioning And Suicide Attitudes, Stephanie Lynch

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the general functioning of a family is related to attitudes regarding suicide. Past research has examined the impact of family functioning on suicide attitudes and found that the relationship between families and children are different in families of suicidal children than in families who have nonsuicidal children. This study combined three variables of suicide acceptance, suicide normality, and perceptions of family functioning in the hopes of gaining more information to assess risk of harm to self in adolescents. The participants were 94 students from Introductory Psychology classes at Eastern Illinois University. …

Father's Parenting Style And Childhood Mealtime Experiences: Predictors Of Bulimia, Marci C. Smith

Masters Theses

Although many factors may contribute to the etiology of bulimia (Killian, 1994; Root et al., 1986; Striegel-Moore et al., 1986; Weiss et al., 1994), only a few factors differentiate between individuals who will or will not develop bulimia nervosa. There is a need to further explore and narrow the determinants of bulimia nervosa in order to develop a universal model to understand and treat the disorder. This study investigates the extent that childhood mealtime experiences and father's parenting style contribute to the manifestation of bulimic symptoms. The Bulimia Test-Revised (Thelen & Farmer, 1991) is used to classify 146 college-age females …

The Interaction Between Religiosity And Depression Among Students At Two Universities, Nils Anders Haldorsen

Masters Theses

The association between religion and mental health has been a long standing topic of the debate. Some have felt that religion leads to emotional and mental disturbances and thus is detrimental to mental health (Freud, 1907/1924, 1927/1961; Ellis, 1980, 1988); while others believe religion is helpful to mental health (Jung, 1932, 1933; Bergin 1980, 1983) . This study used 180 male and female (79%) college students from a Midwestern state university (62%) and a Christian liberal arts college. It was found that for women, private religiosity was negatively related to depression, as measured by the BDI. Students from the state …

Bosnian Civilian Survivors Of War In Exile And In Bosnia: A Comparative Study, Ines Lajla Matijas

Masters Theses

This study describes the psychological consequences of war for 111 female Bosnian civilians, 59 of whom are survivors in exile and 52 of whom are living in Bosnia. These participants, ages 18-23, completed anonymous self-report questionnaires which provided information about the prevalence of traumatic stress symptoms and the relationship between traumatic events experienced during the war and current symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Contrary to expectations, no significant differences were found in PTSD diagnosis and PTSD severity between survivors in exile and survivors in Bosnia. No significant differences were found between groups in the frequency of reexperiencing, avoidance and …

Growing Old And Growing Wise? Parenting And Maturation In Henry James' Selected Tales And Novels, Judit Magyar

Masters Theses

My thesis examines young people portrayed in Henry James' selected novels and tales, exploring the theme of the maturing process, with special emphasis on the influence of the adult world on the psychological development of the young. To this end, I focus on the following works: Daisy Miller, The Portrait of a Lady, “A London Life,” “The Pupil,” What Maisie Knew, “The Tum of the Screw” and The Awkward Age. James, through the experience of his young characters, explores not only the depths of moral corruption in society, but also the necessary steps to be taken …

The Effect Of Post-Prostatectomy Urinary Incontinence On Quality Of Life, Martha Ellen Rheault

Masters Theses

The purpose o f this study was to evaluate the effect of post-operative urinary incontinence on the quality of life of men after radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP). A convenience sample consisted of 128 males, aged 40 to 75 years, who underwent RRP between May, 1994 and June, 1996 at a 529 bed acute care hospital in a Midwest city.

Subjects were asked to complete 3 data collection tools: The Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index Cancer Version (Q.L.I.-C.V.); The Urinary Function Questionnaire for Men After Radical Prostatectomy (Herr, 1994); and a Demographic/Related Information Questionnaire, developed by the researcher.

A …

The Relationship Between Knowledge Of Breastfeeding And Success In Breastfeeding, Sherry M. Knoppers

Masters Theses

This correlational study examined the relationship between knowledge of breastfeeding and success in breastfeeding. A convenience sample of women attending prepared childbirth classes in a Midwestern metropolitan area was used. The women were pregnant with their first child and planning to breastfeed. Gulick’s (1981) Information on Breastfeeding Questionnaire was used to test knowledge of breastfeeding before delivery and Rentschler's (1991) Breastfeeding Experience Questionnaire was used to measure knowledge and experience.

Roy’s Theory of Adaptive Modes (Andrews & Roy, 1991) was used as a theoretical framework. This study focused on the role function mode and role transition, looking at the secondary …

Chlamydia: Universal Vs Selective Screening, Verneal Y. Glispie

Masters Theses

Women, age 20 to 39, attending three family planning clinics within a Michigan health department, were screened for Chlamydia trachomatis. A nucleic acid hybridization test (Gen-Probe) was used to collect cervical specimens for seven consecutive months. A chlamydia risk assessment form, using Michigan Department of Community Health's selective screening criteria, was used to determine the client's risk group. A chi-square test with Yates correction was used for data analysis. The prevalence rates of high and low risk groups were compared with no significant difference (p = .18). The prevalence rates were 12.% in Site A; 1.7% in Site B; …

Reanalysis Of Tendon Data: Availability Of Dilated Eye Exams By Optometrists, Patrice Conrad

Masters Theses

Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of new blindness among adults. Dilated funduscopic eye exams are necessary to screen for this complication of diabetes. It is often asymptomatic in the earliest stages when it is the most treatable. Nurses often need to refer people with diabetes for these screens.

Data were collected by TENDON through a survey of optometrists and were reexamined. The TENDON region includes ten counties in Western and Central Michigan. The original survey was sent to optometrists in the ten counties to gather information to print a survey used by nurses and others making referrals for screening. …

Pain Management Practice In The Acute Adult Trauma Patient, Sally B. Ossewaarde

Masters Theses

The purpose o f this study was to compare the pain management o f acute adult trauma patients during the first hour of resuscitation at a Level I Trauma Center versus non Level 1 Trauma Center Emergency Departments.

A descriptive two group comparison design was used for this study. The sample consisted o f 74 patients at the Level I Center and 65 patients at the non Level I Centers. Data was obtained through a retrospective chart review. Type, route, dose of analgesic, time from admission to first dose, and number o f consecutive doses were determined and analyzed by …

A Comparison Of Postpartum Clients' And Nurses' Perceptions Of Priority Information Needs For Early Discharge, Karen E. Lincoln

Masters Theses

The purpose of this descriptive study was to compare the perceptions of postpartum clients and nurses as to priority information needs for early discharge. King's Theory of Goal Attainment provided the conceptual model. A convenience sample of 33 nurses and 62 clients was used for the study. A 50-item instrument by Degenhart-Leskosky (1989) was used to compare perceived maternal and infant needs.

Though the analysis of data suggested there were no significant differences between the clients' and nurses' perceptions, there were discrepancies in 14 of 50 topics, and in some mean rankings. Infant feeding appeared as top priority for both …

A Description Of The Health Beliefs And Skin Cancer Prevention Practices Of Michigan Farmers, Denise Ann Coats

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the skin cancer knowledge, health beliefs, prevention practices and cues to action o f a sample of Michigan farmers. A sample o f 106 randomly selected male farmers responded to a mailed questionnaire comprised of 40 items measuring variables of the Health Belief Model and demographic information.

The farmers spent an average of 4.05 hours in the sun each day between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., and an average o f 45.13 years living and/or working on a farm. They were quite knowledgeable about skin cancer (M = 77% correct), but most …

Women's Perceptions Of Postpartum Appointment Keeping Barriers, Carol L. Czuk

Masters Theses

An exploratory, descriptive design was used to examine women's perceptions of barriers that inhibited them from keeping their postpartum appointments. The Health Belief Model (HBM) was used as a theoretical framework, with special attention to the barriers dimension. A three-part survey consisting of basic demographic questions, a five point response scale for assessment of perceived barriers, and open-ended questions were used for data collection. A convenience sample of 15 women in a rural southwestern Michigan community who had not kept their postpartum appointment by the sixth week after delivery were included in the study. Data were collected by a structured …

Comparison Of The Effectiveness Of Intradermal Injection Of Lidocaine, Iontophoretic Delivery Of Lidocaine, And Topical Emla Cream As Local Anesthetics For Venipuncture, Carol Straight

Masters Theses

The study was undertaken to establish whether the administration of a local anesthetic, lidocaine, significantly reduces the pain of venipuncture in adults, to establish the degree of tolerability and effectiveness of each of three delivery methods for lidocaine, and to identify recipient's preferences among the three pain-relieving measures. In this study, lidocaine was administered using three different delivery techniques: (1) intradermal injection of lidocaine, (2) iontophoresis of lidocaine, and (3) topical application of lidocaine/prilocaine cream, prior to undergoing venipuncture. Participants were asked to measure the level of pain experienced with each method of local anesthesia as well as the level …

Cancer Health Beliefs And Knowledge In Relationship To Korean American Cigarette Smoking Status, Melissa Sue George

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to describe health beliefs and knowledge in relationship to Korean American cigarette smoking status. The data for this study came from the Asian American Cancer Control Study conducted at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The Asian American Cancer Control Survey examined the cigarette smoking status, demographic variables, cancer knowledge and beliefs, and alcohol use of 263 Korean Americans. The health belief model was the conceptual framework for the study. Chi square analysis indicated a statistically significant relationship between cigarette smoking status and gender, education, spoken English proficiency, years of residency in the United …

Nurses' Beliefs And Perceptions About Children In Pain, Patricia A. Gorney

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine nurse's beliefs and perceptions of children in pain amongst nursing personnel employed in Northwestern Michigan, and to determine if a relationship existed between nursing education, age and years experience in nursing, and the scores on the Beliefs and Perceptions Scale. The sample consisted of 74 registered and licensed practical nurses in the area working in acute and ambulatory settings. Data collected was analyzed using Pearson's Correlational Coefficient. The Roy Adaptation Model served as a framework for the study.

No significant correlation was found to exist between the participant's age, years of nursing …

Measurement Of Self-Care In Patients With Cystic Fibrosis, Chrysanthe Porter Fooy

Masters Theses

The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to contribute to theory regarding the self-care agency in a population of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients ≥ 11 years of age (n=30). The following research questions were addressed: (1) w hat is the level of self-care in a group of CF patients; (2) what is the relationship between self-care and the basic conditioning factors of age, gender, years since diagnosis, and severity of illness; and (3) what is the relationship between locus of control and self-care.

Baker’s Cystic Fibrosis Self-Care Practice Instrument was used to measure CF self-care. Wallston’s Multidimensional Health Locus …

Comparison Of Pulmonary Artery, Tympanic, Oral, And Axillary Temperatures, Linda Oravec Walter

Masters Theses

Hypothermia depresses the myocardium and shifts the oxygen dissociation curve to the left. Accurate tem perature monitoring Is essential. Studies conflict regarding the accuracy of sites other than the pulmonary artery (the gold standard) In temperature measurement of intubated patients. Using Roy’s Adaptation Model as a conceptual framework, repeated measures analysis of variance found a significant difference between the pulmonary artery, tympanic, oral, and axillary temperatures when taken within 15 minutes of arriving to the cardiothoracic unit and then hourly for four hours after open heart surgery. Post hoc t-test showed significant differences during rapid temperature changes. When temperatures were …

Humor And Its Relationship To Cohesion Of Work Group Members In The Acute Care Setting, Marla J. Niedzwiecki

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the relationship between the use of humor and cohesion of work groups. It was hypothesized that individuals with a high value and use of humor to cope would have a tendency to use humor with others. Additionally, groups with more members who value and use humor to cope would exhibit more group cohesion than groups consisting of members with minimal or no humor use. A descriptive correlational design was used. A convenience sample of hospital based staff nurses was studied. The participants completed three surveys measuring individuals’ use of humor to …

Stress, Coping, Adaptation, And Family Hardiness In Families With An Adult Child Who Is Developmentally Disabled And Living In The Parental Home, Joan M. Vansolkema

Masters Theses

Families who successfully cope and adapt to having a child with a developmental disability are of interest to health professionals. The Typology Model of Adjustment and Adaptation and family hardiness provided the conceptual framework to explore and describe the relationships between family hardiness and family coping and adaptation. Sixty-three families returned a mailed survey that included the Family Hardiness Index, Coping Health Inventory for Parents, and Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales II. Higher levels of family hardiness were associated with better family coping and adaptation. Results of ANOVAs and multiple regression indicate the level of mental retardation of the …

Social Support And Well-Being In Early And Mid-Adolescents: The Mediating Role Of Hopefulness, Peggy S. Norman

Masters Theses

Adolescence is known to be a time of transition and special needs. A descriptive correlational study was conducted to examine the impact of hopefulness upon the relationship between perceived social support and general well-being in early and mid-adolescents in a convenience sample of 61 early adolescents and 54 mid-adolescents. The Hopefulness Scale for Adolescents, the Adolescent General Well-Being Questionnaire and the Personal Resource Questionnaire Part II were completed by the subjects of a rural, Midwest, high school health class.

The hypothesized and assumed positive relationships between the three variables of perceived social support, hopefulness, and general well-being were supported. Hopefulness …

Health Beliefs And Adherence To Cardiac Exercise Following A Cardiac Event, Vince Worthington

Masters Theses

The purpose o f this study was to examine the relationship between health beliefs and adherence to cardiac exercise at eighteen to twenty four months post cardiac event. Ninety subjects participated in a study by Foster (1995) and McGinn (1995), examining the relationship of health beliefs and adherence to cardiac exercise six to eight weeks post cardiac event. This study contacted the same sample at eighteen to twenty four months post cardiac event. Thirty five subjects responded to a mailed questionnaire measuring perceived benefits, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, adherence to exercise, and demographic information.

Descriptive analysis of the data was conducted …

The Relationship Between Level Of Knowledge And Instruction On Sublingual Nitroglycerin Use In Cardiac Patients, Nancy Jean Rogers

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate patients’ level of knowledge of the use of sublingual Nitroglycerin (SL NTG) after receiving individually tailored pre-discharge instructions. The study tested the following hypothesis. There will be a difference in the knowledge level between patients who receive the usual SL NTG hospital teaching and those who receive individually tailored and structured SL NTG teaching. The study utilized a pretest-posttest comparison group design with a convenience sample of 40 patients admitted to a rural 368 bed hospital. Knowledge levels were not significantly higher for those in the intervention group than for those in …

The Relationship Between The Timing Of Self-Care Information And Adjustment To Ostomy Surgery, Carol Irene Teneyck

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the timing of self-care information and a person's adjustment to ostomy surgery. A retrospective, descriptive, correlational approach was used. Information from 57 subjects was obtained by using Quality Assurance Questionnaires from the archived files of an Enterostomal Therapy (ET) Nurse Service in West Michigan. Data from these questionnaires were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS/PC+) software.

Analysis by linear regression indicated that timing of self-care information is a predictor of adjustment to ostomy surgery. Further analysis of variance after collapsing the groups of respondents indicated a …

The Relationship Between Organizational Climate In The Hospital And Rn Satisfaction, Dawn R. Shoemaker

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of organizational climate in the hospital and RN satisfaction. This study examines the hospital work climate and how it affects the level of quality of care, cost-efficiency, and job satisfaction. A meta-analysis (Irvine & Evans, 1995) with Maslowian underpinnings as the basis of the conceptual framework of job satisfaction and organizational climate was used in this study. A secondary analysis was preformed on previously obtained data from a large scale database (n=330 registered nurses). This descriptive correlational study utilized two main instruments, both of which were modified for this study; …

Nurse-Physician Collaboration And Nurse Satisfaction, Michelle R. Troseth

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (a) to describe nurses' perception of collaborative practice behaviors with physicians in a 529 bed mid-western acute care hospital setting and to relate those findings to nurses' satisfaction, and (b) to describe the perceptions of collaborative practice behaviors reported by physicians.

The study was a cross-sectional descriptive correlational design. The convenience sample included 264 nurses, 72 staff physicians and 22 medical residents in a sample setting of medical-surgical, critical care, pediatrics, women's health services, emergency, and surgical services departments. The study used the Collaborative Practice Scales (CPS) to measure nurse and physician perceptions …

The Effect Of Cancer Diagnosis Information On The Anxiety Of Patients With An Initial Diagnosis Of First Cancer, Kim S. Allen

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of differing educational programs on state anxiety of patients with an initial diagnosis of first cancer. The Neuman Systems Model was used as the conceptual framework. The convenience sample included 40 patients in an outpatient chemotherapy clinic. The control group (n=21) received the standard cancer education, the experimental group (n=19) received additional cancer diagnosis information. The dependent variable, state anxiety, was measured using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Two-way ANCOVA demonstrated that, after controlling for pre-test trait and state anxiety, the experimental group who received additional cancer diagnosis information had …

Nursing Students' Perceptions Of Clinical Instructor Behaviors That Affect The Development Of Self-Confidence, Debra E. Veltkamp

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine clinical instructor behaviors that students perceive as important in promoting or hindering their development of self-confidence. One hundred fifty-eight associate degree and baccalaureate nursing students rated 21 clinical teaching behaviors on the degree each helped or hindered their self-confidence as nurses and responded to two open-ended questions by identifying additional behaviors. Factor analysis of these behaviors revealed six dimensions of clinical teaching that characterized the instructor as: encourager, evaluator, discourager, enabler, benevolent presence, and resource. All behaviors contributing to the dimensions of clinical instructor were rated by students as helpful in their …

Perceived Sources And Level Of Stress Experienced By Student Nurses In Associate And Baccalaureate Degree Programs, Lori J. Kane

Masters Theses

This study examined possible differences in levels of stress and perceived sources of stress in student nurses attending associate degree programs and baccalaureate degree programs. A combination of Lazarus' theory of cognitive appraisal with Roy's Adaptation Model provided the conceptual framework. One hundred and sixteen students from a public university, two private Christian colleges and two community colleges participated in the study. The Student Stress and Coping Inventory (SSCI) questionnaire was used to measure stressful situations and/or experiences from students beginning the second semester of their first year in the nursing program. Reliability of the questionnaire was established at 0.91. …

Importance And Fulfillment Of Family Needs In The Icu, Linda L. Baker

Masters Theses

The family is a major source of support for the intensive care patient. To provide optimal support to the patient the family’s needs must be met. A convenience sample of thirty family members of intensive care patients were interviewed. The continuing importance of primary needs established in previous studies was demonstrated. None of the needs were universally perceived as being fulfilled. The nurse was most often cited as the best person to meet needs. Many respondents couldn’t choose a single best person emphasizing the need for a multi disciplinary approach to meeting needs. Seven additional needs were identified (a) to …