Digital Commons Network^™

Childhood And Adolescent Depression: Association With Gender, Social-Cognitive, Behavioral, And Gender-Role Factors, Jessica Finn Hougham

Masters Theses

The current study examined the association between gender and depression in childhood and adolescence with respect to social-cognitive, behavioral, and gender-role factors. The participants for this study were 231 children and adolescents ranging in age from 8 to 17 years old. Participants completed a demographic survey and measures assessing depression, self-esteem, self and peer ratings of social standing, cognitive errors in social standing, peer rejected and aggressive behaviors, femininity, and masculinity. Results indicated that there were gender differences in depression scores, with females reporting higher levels of depression than males. Significant negative correlations were found between depression and the factors …

Small Group Social Norms Intervention With Students Involved In Greek Life, Krista A. Mazza

Masters Theses

The misuse of alcohol is often a concern on college campuses nationwide. This concern has created a need for effective alcohol interventions to reduce alcohol misuse. This study investigated college student's perceptions about peer alcohol usage and one's own actual alcohol consumption. A social norms presentation was used to with seven Greek letter organizations to attempt to correct the misperceptions students have about their peers alcohol consumption, and therefore reduce the amount of alcohol consumed. A total of 68 individuals completed all elements ofthe project relevant to this study, of which 22 were male and 46 were female. Furthermore, 17 …

Illinois Standards Achievement Test (Isat) Reading Test Performance And Oral Reading Rate Of 3rd And 5th Grade Illinois Students, Angela R. Herrera

Masters Theses

The relationship between Illinois Standard Achievement Test reading scores for 3rd and 5th graders and their oral reading fluency rates was examined. Four hundred fifty nine students in those grades were given reading probes to determine their reading rate. Reading rate was defined as words read aloud per minute correctly on reading probes composed of text from the students' basal readers as measured by the classroom teacher. The Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT) reading test results were obtained in the spring of each year in a group format. The results indicated a modest correlation between the two sets of data. …

Effects Of Self-Monitoring With Accuracy Feedback Versus Self-Monitoring With Corrective Feedback On Students' Performance In Mathematics, Kristina R. Baker

Masters Theses

The current literature suggests that when students are engaged in metacognitive activities, such as self-assessment, self-explanation, monitoring, or revising; their learning is enhanced (Xiaodong, 2001). Further, feedback, an integral element of self-monitoring, has been shown to increase the effectiveness of self-monitoring by guiding students through tasks, delivering corrective feedback that helps the learner identify errors, and providing hints about how to correct the problem (Pintrich, 1995). In this study, the effects of self-monitoring with accuracy feedback and corrective feedback on math performance of fourth grade students were investigated. During a regular mathematics instruction period, the classroom teacher implemented the intervention. …

Gender And Ethnic Biases In Personality Disorder Diagnostic Criteria, Christopher Lootens

Masters Theses

The present study examined bias within the diagnostic criteria for personality disorders, a category for diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association. Specifically, gender biases, ethnic biases, and interaction effects between the two were examined for the three Cluster C PD diagnoses. One of the more heated controversies concerning the DSM-IV involves the diagnosis of PD's, especially with regard to the notion of diagnostic bias. For the present study, 60 female and 60 male participants were recruited from the introductory psychology subject pool and given course credit for their participation.

Participants …

Incremental Validity Of The Learning Behaviors Scale, Jessica Willenborg

Masters Theses

Previous research on the incremental validity of the Learning Behaviors Scale (LBS; McDermott, Green, Francis, & Stott, 1999) has shown that good learning behaviors were associated with good academic achievement (Schaefer & McDermott, 1999; Yen, Konold, & McDermott, 2004). Additionally, research has indicated that learning behaviors account for appreciable variation in student grades and academic achievement test scores above and beyond the contribution of intelligence (Schaefer, 1996). The present study investigated the influence of cognitive ability and learning behaviors in the prediction of scores from standardized academic achievement tests. Learning behaviors were assessed with the LBS (McDermott et al., 1999) …

Effects Of Interspersing On Peer Tutoring Of Sight Words, Jennifer Schultz

Masters Theses

This study investigated the effects of short-term peer tutoring, with interspersal or without interspersal, on sight word acquisition. Four first grade students and two second grade students participated in the study. Student dyads (i.e., 1 tutor and 1 tutee) were either in the without interspersal condition or in the interspersal condition. Using an AB single case design, student performance was measured and graphed in two ways, cumulative learning and student learning rate. Contrary to expectations, results indicated the overall cumulative learning measurement for students in the without interspersal condition acquired the greater number of words learned, required less instructional time, …

Hormone Replacement Therapy: Attitudes, Knowledge, And Usage By Perimenopausal And Postmenopausal Women, Misty Lynn Rhoads

Masters Theses

With an increased life expectancy, women are living an average of 30 yearars after the set of menopause. With the change in life, there is a significant change in t onse the production of female hormones which causes unpleasant side effects that includes hot flashes, osteoporosis, nausea, and palpitations. Hormone replacement therapy was promoted to provide relief for women. However, research has shown that HRT may increase the risk of endometrial cancer, strokes and breast cancer. Therefore, women are given contradictory information concerning HRT. The current study explored the attitudes, knowledge and intentions of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women concerning hormone …

Searching For What Was Lost: An Autoethnography On Disclosure, Identity, And Social Construction From A Rape Victim And Survivor's Perspective, Sarah R. Moll

Masters Theses

Research has indicated that rape victims perceive their environment differently, or with a "new reality" after their rape, and their recovery process can be lengthy and traumatic. This auto-ethnography focuses on the recovery process that the author journals, and her transformation from victim to survivor. How are the labels of "victim" and "survivor" important to the rape recovery process? How is the decision to disclose the rape a trust issue? What drives the phases of disclosure development at different communication levels (intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, and public communication)? Once a person has accepted that they were raped and a healing process …

Childhood Predictive And Protective Factors Of Adult Substance Abuse, Melissa A. Grossman

Masters Theses

Psychological abuse in childhood is believed to have an affect on psychological wellbeing in adulthood, specifically in the area of substance abuse. Following the lead of studies in psychological abuse, substance abuse and protective factors, the present study examined the relationship between childhood psychological abuse and adult substance use, along with the role of protective factors in that relationship. Participants, consisting of college undergraduates, completed a series of measures of family cohesion, bonding, substance use, and psychological maltreatment. Although results did not show a relationship between childhood psychological abuse and adult substance abuse, family cohesion was shown to be related …

Effects Of Education On Gender Income Inequality In The United States, Jiang Li

Masters Theses

This paper examines the relationship between gender income inequality and educational attainment level with reference to the United States (US). The population under consideration is divided into several groups based on their educational levels. Then gender income inequalities are calculated under each educational level. The total educational effect is shown to be composed of three effects. By measuring these effects, it is found that like past studies, more education reduces gender income inequality, but not in every case. Moreover, this paper explores the relative size of each of the component effects within the educational effect.

The Tootling Intervention: Verbal Vs. Private Reports Of Prosocial Behavior, Jessica Torbeck

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the tooling intervention, developed by Skinner, Skinner, and Cashwell (1998), through the use of verbal versus private reports of peers' prosocial behavior. Previous tootling studies have focused on private reports of prosocial behavior, but verbal reports of prosocial behaviors utilizing the tootling intervention have not been investigated. Two classrooms of 3rd grade students were taught to tootle by either verbally reporting or by privately writing down observed prosocial behaviors of their peers. Both classrooms were reinforced for reaching a desired number of tootles. The results of the current study …

Agreement Among School Psychologists On Behavioral Function Using Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence Logs As A Functional Behavior Assessment Method, Beth Bourque

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to a) determine if school psychologist hypotheses of behavioral function would be consistent with direct behavioral observation data collected via computer program, b) determine if school psychologists agreed with the teacher's hypotheses on behavioral function, and c) determine if school psychologists agreed with each other on behavioral function based on information from the A-B-C logs. Minimal agreement was found between the computer-based hypotheses and the school psychologist's hypotheses, and between the school psychologists and the teacher hypotheses. Agreement on behavioral function was found in two of the cases among school psychologists.

Community Mental Health Care In The U.S.: The Impact Of Deinstitutionalization And Assertive Community Treatment, Mariana A. De Oliveira

Masters Theses

The current review was designed to provide a better understanding of the present situation of mental health care in the U.S. Therefore, a review of the history of deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill in the U.S. and an exploration of the role of a prominent current model in mental health care, Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) were undertaken. Deinstitutionalization changed the paradigm of mental health care in the country. This process underwent different stages from religious based care, to large stated hospitals and to community care, where it stands now. Research articles on ACT in urban and in rural areas were …

Home: A Concept Analysis With Application Of The Concept To Experiences Of Individuals With Serious And Persistent Mental Illness, Corinne A. Overmyer

Masters Theses

The purpose of this paper was to explore and define the concept of home through an extensive review of the literature. The concept analysis framework of Walker and Avant (1995) was used to structure the paper and the theories of Johnson (1980) and Maslow (1954) were used for operationalization. The literature search examined characteristics of home applicable to all individuals. The concept’s defining attributes were discovered and applied to the home experiences of those living with serious and persistent mental illness. Homes were evaluated to assess for attribute presence and to determine if the homes were model, borderline, or contrary. …

A Focused Study Of The Social Outcast In Literature: A Healing For America's Youth, Darcey A. Voyles

Masters Theses

Adolescence can be a difficult time in life, and today's teenagers face even more difficult situations in the high school atmosphere. A frequent element in the high school social scene is alienation of the "uncool" kids. This social isolation can have devastating effects on the outcasts and school community as a whole. Within this thesis, I reveal my plan for alleviating the emotional trauma of social isolation by bringing the discussion of social outcasts into the literature classroom. Literature reflects society, thereby giving young readers a lens through which to view the alienation in our global world that they may …

The Sadness Of Great Fame: The Conflict Between Individuality And Expectation In The Works Of Don Delillo And Jim Morrison, Sue Ellen Norton Francis

Masters Theses

In their work and in their lives, Don DeLillo and Jim Morrison have been fascinated by the dialectic between famous figures and those whose adoration makes them famous. Each writer has written extensively about (and lived with) the conflict between a famous figure's individuality and the expectations of his fans. DeLillo depicts tensions between famous figures and admiring crowds in several ofhis novels, especially in his most thorough analyses ofthe subject, Great Jones Street, a portrait of a suddenly reclusive rock star, and Mao II, where he depicts a legendarily reclusive novelist. Morrison also has a personal connection with the …

Parting Of The Ways: The End Of The Spirit Of Empire In Paul Scott's Raj Quartet, Blake Strong

Masters Theses

Paul Scott's The Raj Quartet consists of four novels dealing with the waning of British imperial control of India: The Jewel in the Crown (1966), The Day of the Scorpion (1968), The Towers of Silence (1972), and A Division of the Spoils (1976). This thesis analyzes the Quartet as historical fiction, defined according to the criteria laid out by Georg Lukacs in The Historical Novel (1937). The characters that populate Scott's Quartet live in an age of historical transition: they are shaped by reverberations from World War II as well as the more immediate struggle for Indian independence. As drawn …

The Tunnel At The End Of The Light: Victimization In The Films Of Roman Polanski, Christopher Weedman

Masters Theses

Polish-expatriate film director Roman Polanski's career has been largely overshadowed by the bizarre and tragic events of his personal life. After a horrific childhood that saw him watch helplessly as his Jewish parents were taken away by the Nazis to the concentration camps, Polanski again experienced familial tragedy when his eight-month pregnant wife Sharon Tate and four houseguests were brutally murdered in 1969 by members of the Charles Manson cult. In the aftermath of the Manson murders, the director was further victimized by the American popular press, which, according to biographer Barbara Leaming, unfairly suggested that he unwittingly "brought the …

A Multicomponent Intervention System Using Human Performance Technology Concepts To Improve Performance In Small Service Businesses, Doug Lafleur

Masters Theses

A small business servicing dealerships in the chimney lining industry was responsible for training and resupplying contractors in a propriety chimney lining system. A process was developed for sharing and comparing the dealerships' financial reports and business processes. The process involved a small group of dealers attending regular 6- month meetings called Impact Groups. Dealers took turns hosting the meetings and having the attending dealers analyze their business. A detailed list of problems and solutions was provided to each host business.

Testing The Relationships Among Depression, Communication Competence, Relational Satisfaction, And Social Support, Rebecca Sue Devries

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to test the relationship between depression, communication competence (CC), and social support. This relationship is rooted in the premise that central to CC is one's ability to solicit and receive social support from interpersonal relationships in terms of 3 dimensions: assertiveness, responsiveness, and cognitive flexibility. It was hypothesized that depression is negatively associated to cognitive flexibility, and in tum the assertiveness and responsiveness CC dimensions are positively related to quality interpersonal relationships and the social support received from such relationships. Bivariate correlation results indicate the data are consistent with the predicted relationships between the …

Examining Restricted And Repetitive Behavior In Children With Autism: A Descriptive Study, Dawn Deann Detweiler

Masters Theses

This exploratory study examined the specific topographies and corresponding demographic information of restricted, repetitive and stereotyped behaviors, interests and activities of children with autism, and evaluated developmental differences between age groups. Previous literature has largely neglected this core feature of autism despite the need, and frequent call for such foundational data (Bodfish et al., 2000; Kennedy et al., 2000; Mercier et al., 2000; Turner, 1999). Participants included primary caregivers of 104 children who met DSM-IV-TR criteria for autism (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) and ranged in age from 3 to 7 years (M = 4. 7). The behaviors reported as occurring …

The Effectiveness Of Personal Data Assistants In Improving Daily Function Of Adults With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Connie Lee Budiwarman

Masters Theses

This study evaluated the effectiveness of using Personal Data Assistants to help with memory and/or organizational difficulties with adult patients who had survived mild Traumatic Brain Injury. Utilizing an AB single subject design method with a training period, one subject ultimately completed the study. The study demonstrated mixed results. Through the use of daily record sheets, the subject reported improvement in three areas of daily function but reported negative improvement in three areas of daily function. This study suggests, but does not completely support, the potential use of Personal Data Assistants with patients with Traumatic Brain Injury.

Reinforcement Schedules Modulate Discriminative Stimulus Properties Of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine And Cocaine, Daniel Kueh

Masters Theses

Drug discrimination is a model used to assess the subjective effects of different psychoactive drugs such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and cocaine. However, results from MDMA discrimination studies across different laboratories have not been consistent. Possible confounds for this inconsistency may include the use of different reinforcement schedules such as the fixed-ratio 20 (FR20) and the variable interval 15 seconds (VI15 s) during discrimination training. Studies examining the effects of these two schedules on the discriminative stimulus properties of MDMA and cocaine have not been conducted. Thus, the present study compared the FR20 and the VI15 s schedules to determine their …

Evolution Of Leadership Theories, Ann M. Maslanka

Masters Theses

Evolution of Leadership Theories is a comprehensive study of leadership trends over the years, and in various contexts and theoretical foundations. This study presents the history of dominant leadership theories and research, beginning with the Great man thesis and Trait theory, to the Transformational and Transactional leadership styles to various leadership characteristics. This thesis also offers an example of how a current health care organization utilizes leadership knowledge through an employee satisfaction survey. The researcher took questions from an employee satisfaction survey that directly related to leadership and analyzed how questions as such are beneficial for improving employee job satisfaction. …

Preferences Of Chinese Alzheimer’S Patients For Music Therapy Activities: Singing, Instruments, Games, Dance/Movement, And Composition/Improvisation, Karen Kwok

Masters Theses

This research, based on Brotons and Pickett-Cooper’s 1994 study, examined the preferences of Chinese Alzheimer’s patients for music therapy activities. Fifteen Chinese senior residents residing in a Toronto, Canada ethnic nursing home participated in this study. Five different language and culturally appropriate music therapy activities were used, which included singing, dance/movement with music, musical games, instrument manipulation and improvisation/composition. Subjects met in small groups of 3 for a total of five 30-minute sessions in two weeks. During each session, one of the five music therapy activities was presented. At the end of each session, subjects were asked to state how …

Hybrid Or Counterpoise? A Study Of Transitional Trebuchets, Michael J. Basista

Masters Theses

This study investigates the engineering and use of a proposed type of trebuchet in the Middle Ages. A study by a prominent historian has suggested the existence of a type of siege weapon that made use of both human and gravitational forces to fire its projectile. My research will investigate this claim by examining select sources, reviewing the engineering principles involved, and determining the viability of such a machine.

After dealing with this theory I will offer my own new interpretation made from the sources. This interpretation will center on the application of ancient technology to make trebuchets more efficient. …

Current Practices, Preparation, And Demographics Of Music Therapists Working With School-Age Clients Who Have Severe, Profound, And Multiple Impairments, Erin Dalby

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine (a) which music therapy techniques may most effectively assist school-age clients with severe, profound, and multiple impairments to achieve certain goals; (b) assess whether music therapists currently feel that they were prepared to adequately serve the target population; and ( c) describe the demographics of music therapists who work with the target population. A researcher-designed questionnaire was completed by music therapists who served school-age clients who have severe/profound and multiple impairments. Results indicated that the use of singing and therapist-composed music were the most effective methods to develop nearly all types of …

Intersections Of Race, Identity, And Co-Cultural Practices: A Qualitative Content Analysis Of A 'White Black Woman', Tammy Lynn Jeffries

Masters Theses

Notes of a White Black Woman by Judy Scales-Trent (1995) was the text used for this analysis and offered insight to the process of identity development, and the co-cultural communication practices of an African American woman whom others mistake as European American-a 'White Black Woman.' The basis for this body of research was embedded in the premise that co-cultural communication practices are intrinsically linked to the normal communication of the White Black person's identity development negotiation process. The initial exploration of this study began with explaining Kich's (1992) bi-racial identity model from a mono-racial perspective allowing for new interpretations of …

Job Satisfaction In Nonprofit Organizations: The Factors That Influence Employee Job Satisfaction At Goodwill Industries Of Greater Grand Rapids, Inc., Andrea L. Speers

Masters Theses

Research shows there are several variables that influence employee job satisfaction, including salary, benefits, job tasks, autonomy and independence, relationships with supervisors and coworkers, communication from management, vacation time, and professional development opportunities. Nonprofit organizations face increased challenges with employee job satisfaction issues because they lack the budget to be competitive with for-profit organizations in terms of salary and benefits.

For the purpose of this study, the researcher defines "hard" variables as those that are concrete and can be measured, including salary and benefits, and “soft” variables as those that are less measurable and more relational in nature, including relationships …