Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Relationship Between African Self Consciousness And Attitudes In Heterosexual Relationships Among African American College Students In Two Different Settings, Rhonda M. Dalrymple

Electronic Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between African Self-Consciousness and attitudes toward interpersonal relationships among African American college students ending classes at a predominantly white university, Northwestern State University, and at a predominantly black university, Southern University. The ASC scale was used to assess the Black personality construct of African self-consciousness. The BHR survey was used to assess the subjects' perceptions concerning heterosexual relationships. The findings support the hypothesis that ASC is directly related to whether the individual possesses Afrocentric or Eurocentric beliefs and attitudes. A direct relationship was found between the environment and attitudes of …

Officer Involved Shooting: The Emotional Impact And The Effective Coping Strategies, Patrick P. Charoen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The emotional impact of a shooting incident on the individual police officer has been recognized and detailed by both police and mental health professionals (Lippert & Ferrara, 1984). The human cost and financial costs to Police Departments as a result of "post shooting" trauma has sensitized many departments to the need for professional support for officers involved in shootings. Recent survey research has provided information about the percentage of officers who experienced great, moderate, or no emotional impact after being involved in shootings (Stratton, 1982). However, information about the degree to which police departments have responded to this need has …

Psychological Correlates Of Pain Perception: An Assessment Of False Biofeedback, Tobie Jay Escher

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Effects of suggestion and placebos in pain therapy have become a modern theme in pain management. This study was designed to investigate whether suggestive false biofeedback, compared with a true biofeedback control condition, would have an effect on pain perception ratings in a simplified version of a cold pressor task (CPT). Psycho-physiological measures of electrical cortical activity (EEG) and muscle tension (EMG) combined with psychological correlates (verbal and visual pain ratings) were also assessed.

A separate 2 (gender) x 2 (feedback condition) x 6 (time segment) mixed-design ANOVA was performed for (a) EEG frontal and (b) parietal lobe alpha activity, …

Diagnostic Issues With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Conditional Probabilities And A Measure Of Symptom Ratings, Margo Adams Larsen

Dissertations

Current assessment taxonomy, including the DSM -IV and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) (World Health Organization, 1990) editions, have provided semistructured criteria sets to aid professionals in making a diagnosis of ADHD or ADD. The diagnostic taxonomy criteria, however, have resulted in a very heterogeneous population of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disordered (ADHD) individuals. Several studies have attempted to assess the behavioral syndromes— Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)/Conduct Disorder (CD)/ Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)—in terms of test or symptom sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive power, and negative predictive power (Landau, Milich, & Widiger, 1991; Milich, Widiger, & Landau, 1987; Waldman & …

Perceptions Of Couple Functioning Among Female Survivors Of Child Sexual Abuse, David Dilillo, Patricia J. Long

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

A sample of 51 college women retrospectively reporting a history of childhood sexual abuse and 91 women failing to report such a history was examined in order to investigate the relationship between victimization history and survivors' self-reports of functioning in adult intimate relationships. Specifically, relationship satisfaction, communication, and trust were examined in heterosexual relationships of at least six months' duration. As hypothesized, even when demographic differences between groups were controlled, survivors reported significantly less relationship satisfaction, poorer communication, and lower levels of trust in their partners than did women with no history of sexual abuse. The implications of these results …

Why Are Girls Less Physically Aggressive Than Boys? Personality And Parenting Mediators Of Physical Aggression, Gustavo Carlo, Marcela Raffaelli, Deborah J. Laible, Kathryn A. Meyer

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The primary goal of the present analysis was to determine whether the commonly observed gender difference in physical aggression could be accounted for by gender differences in selected personality and social contextual factors. Eighty-nine adolescents (M age = 16.0; 52% female; 53% European-Americans, 38% Latinos) completed self-report measures, including sympathy (empathic concern and perspective taking) and parental involvement (support and monitoring). Mediation analyses revealed that relatively high levels of both empathic concern and parental monitoring accounted for relatively low levels of physical aggression. In addition, sympathy (for males) and parental involvement (males and females) were negatively related to physical aggression. …

Do Mothers And Teens Disagree About Sexual Communication? A Methodological Reappraisal, Marcela Raffaelli, Lori A. Smart, Sarah C. Van Horn, Angela D. Hohbein, Jennifer E. Kline, Wei-Lik Chan

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study investigated whether parent-teen disagreement in reports of sexual discussions is due to methodological factors. Forty-four mothers and their 12- to 15-yearold daughters (n = 18) and sons (n = 26) completed parallel questionnaires including measures of communication about 18 different sexual topics during the teen’s entire life and during the past year. Analyses examined whether congruence rates were infl uenced by the use of global as compared to specifi c items, assessment of conversations during the teen’s entire life as compared to the past year, and use of forced-choice as opposed to continuous-response categories. Taken as a whole, …

A Longitudinal Examination Of The Consequences Of Sexual Victimization For Rural Young Adult Women, Janine Zweig, Lisa J. Crockett, Aline Sayer, Judith Vicary

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This longitudinal study examined the consequences of sexual victimization in a sample of 237 young adult women from a rural community. Of the total sample, 71 (30%) reported experiencing some type of unwanted sex. Multiple regression was used to examine the effects on psychosocial adjustment of unwanted sex that occurred through nonviolent coercion and violent coercion, respectively, controlling for prior psychological adjustment. Results indicated that women who reported physically violent sexual coercion exhibited poorer psychological and social/relational adjustment than either nonvictimized women or women who had experienced nonviolent forms of sexual coercion. Additionally, nonviolent sexual coercion was associated with higher …

Correlates Of Suicide Risk In Adolescent Inpatients Who Report Histories Of Childhood Abuse, Carlos M. Grilo, Charles A. Sanislow, Dwain C. Fehon, Deborah S. Lipschitz, Steve Martino, Thomas H. Mcglashan

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

The study objective was to examine correlates of suicide risk in psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents with a reported history of childhood abuse. Predictors of suicide risk were examined in 74 subjects who reported a history of childhood abuse and 53 depressed subjects who did not report a history of childhood abuse. Subjects completed a battery of psychometrically well-established self-report instruments to assess childhood abuse, suicide risk, and internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. Correlational analyses showed that higher levels of depression, self-criticism, and hopelessness were significantly associated with suicide risk in both study groups and violence was significantly associated with suicide risk in …

Consistency And Development Of Prosocial Dispositions: A Longitudinal Study, Nancy Eisenberg, Ivanna K. Guthrie, Bridget C. Murphy, Stephanie A. Shepard, Amanda Cumberland, Gustavo Carlo

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The issue of whether there is consistency in prosocial dispositions was examined with a longitudinal data set extending from ages 4 to 5 years into early adulthood (N = 32). Spontaneous prosocial behaviors observed in the preschool classroom predicted actual prosocial behavior, other- and self-reported prosocial behavior, self-reported sympathy, and perspective taking in childhood to early adulthood. Prosocial behaviors that were not expected to refl ect an other-orientation (i.e., low cost helping and compliant prosocial behavior) generally did not predict later prosocial behavior or sympathy. Sympathy appeared to partially mediate the relation of early spontaneous sharing to later prosocial dispositions. …

Facilitating And Disinhibiting Prosocial Behaviors: The Nonlinear Interaction Of Trait Perspective Taking And Trait Personal Distress On Volunteering, Gustavo Carlo, James B. Allen, Dion C. Buhman

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Prior theorists and researchers have suggested that multiplicative models of prosocial behavior may account for weak and inconsistent relations between traits and prosocial behaviors. This study examined the multiplicative relations of trait personal distress, trait sympathy, and trait perspective taking on prosocial behaviors. Nonlinear, 2-way interactions were hypothesized, such that as trait personal distress decreased from moderate to low levels, and trait perspective taking or trait sympathy increased, volunteering would increase. One hundred and eighty-two undergraduate students completed a battery of trait measures that included trait perspective taking, trait sympathy, and trait personal distress. Approximately 6 weeks later, the students …

Taste Quality And Extinction Of A Conditioned Taste Aversion In Rats, Rick A. Bevins, Heather C. Jensen, Todd S. Hinze, Joyce Besheer

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Rats (Rattus norvegicus) that received a taste cue (saccharin, saline, quinine, or sucrose) paired with a lithium chloride (LiCl) injection displayed a robust decrease in consumption of that taste, relative to controls that had the taste unpaired with LiCl. Consumption of the paired taste increased with each nonreinforced presentation (i.e., extinction). After asymptotic extinction, rats that had had a 0.1% saccharin cue paired with LiCl consumed less of the saccharin solution than did controls. A similar data pattern was observed with a 10% sucrose solution. These results are consistent with the view that some aspect of the excitatory …

Patient Preference For The Management Of Mildly Abnormal Papanicolau Smears, Marta Meana, Donna E. Stewart, Gordon M. Lickrish, Joan Murphy, Barry Rosen

Psychology Faculty Research

The article provides information on a study that investigated management preference and desire for decision-making involvement in women who have received a first mildly abnormal Papanicolaou smear. The majority of women in this highly educated sample preferred active management of their mildly abnormal Pap smears, although a substantial minority either opted for the surveillance strategy or reported no strong preference. Furthermore, management preference in this sample was not related to knowledge but rather to level of state anxiety. This indicates that these decisions may be guided more by emotions than by facts. Research has shown repeatedly that abnormal Pap smears …

Predicting Aggression And Stress In Law Enforcement Using The Mmpi : A Vulnerability Hypothesis, Byron Earle Greenberg

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study addresses the use of scales and subscales from prehire MMPI’s to predict levels of aggression and stress among law enforcement professionals in the field (n=75). Multiple regression analysis revealed promising results in support of the MMPI’s predictive utility.

Two scales, Aggression (AGR) and Stress Vulnerability (SYS) were developed as outcome measures through a three step validation process: (a) theoretical-substantive, through a literature review and analysis of pilot data (n = 202); (b) internal-structural, statistical analysis on sample data and (c) criterion-external, through corelational analysis with externally derived departmental assessments of each officer. The final Aggression index (AGR) is …

Double Discounting: The Effects Of Comparative Negligence On Mock Juror Decision Making, Douglas J. Zickafoosel, Brian H. Bornstein

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Two experiments were conducted to ascertain the effects of comparative negligence on damage awards. Participants awarded damages for a mock medical malpractice case in which the level of the plaintiff’s negligence was varied. Both experiments showed that damage awards were doubly discounted for partially negligent plaintiffs. Experiment 1 also found that the responses of college students did not differ from those of people who had been called for jury duty. Experiment 2 examined four components of the damage award and showed that the reduction due to the level of the plaintiff’s negligence occurred only in damages for bodily harm. Implications …

Race, Gender, And Partnership In The Patient-Physician Relationship, Lisa Cooper-Patrick, Joseph J. Gallo, Junius Gonzales, Hong Thi Vu, Neil R. Powe, Christine Nelson, Daniel E. Ford

Publications from Provost Junius J. Gonzales

Context Many studies have documented race and gender differences in health care received by patients. However, few studies have related differences in the quality of interpersonal care to patient and physician race and gender.

Objective To describe how the race/ethnicity and gender of patients and physicians are associated with physicians' participatory decision-making (PDM) styles.

Design, Setting, and Participants Telephone survey conducted between November 1996 and June 1998 of 1816 adults aged 18 to 65 years (mean age, 41 years) who had recently attended 1 of 32 primary care practices associated with a large mixed-model managed care organization in an urban …

Treating People With Information: An Analysis And Review Of Approaches To Communicating Health Risk Information, Alex Rothman, Marc T. Kiviniemi

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The communication of risk information is a fundamental aspect of nearly all health promotion interventions. However, no consensus exists regarding the most effective way to provide people with risk information. We will review and evaluate the relative merits of two approaches to risk communication. One approach relies on the presentation of numerical information regarding the probability of a health problem occurring, whereas the other relies on the presentation of information about the antecedents and consequences of a health problem. Because people have considerable difficulty understanding and using quantitative information, the effectiveness of interventions that rely solely on numerical probability information …

Data-Based Clinical Decision Making In The Treatment Of An Adolescent With Severe Conduct Problems, Douglass W. Nangle, Rebecca E. Carr, David J. Hansen

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This case illustrates the contributions of continuous data monitoring to clinical decision making in the treatment of an adolescent with severe conduct problems. Treatment began with a comprehensive point system that required the continual monitoring of a range of target behaviors. Beginning each session with a review of graphs of the monitored behaviors helped keep the sessions focused and rewarded the client and his parents with visual feedback of their progress. A subjective rating system was also implemented in which the client’s parents quantified their evaluations of his overall behavior on a daily basis. This system enhanced the client’s parents’ …

Early Adolescence And Prosocial/Moral Behavior Ii: The Role Of Social And Contextual Influences, Gustavo Carlo, Richard A. Fabes, Deborah Laible, Kristina Kupanoff

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This is the second installment of the special issue on prosocial and moral development in early adolescence. This issue focuses on social and contextual processes in young adolescents’ prosocial and moral behaviors. In this introductory article, a brief review of the research on parents or family, peers, school environment, culture, and nationality as correlates of prosocial and moral development was presented. The research indicates that the social context plays an important role in prosocial and moral development. However, research on the social and contextual correlates of prosocial and moral development in early adolescence is at an embryonic stage. Research is …

The Public Dream: A Jungian Interpretation Of "The Waste Land", Obed Sanchez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

A Jungian interpretation of The Waste Land was undertaken in this thesis. The symbolic underpinnings of the poem were found to resonate with archetypal significance. A comparative study of key ideas developed by C. G. Jung and T. S. Eliot was adopted in order to illuminate the psychological aspects of the poem. The theme of individuation and the archetypes which accompany it were revealed in the symbolic imagery of The Waste Land. The emotional tenor of Eliot's disposition and the philosophical direction of his thinking at the time The Waste Land was written were found to correlate with and parallel …

Acculturation Level And Performance Of Mexican Americans On A Test Of Malingering, Sonya Rosa Flores

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The detection of malingered neuropsychological impairments is an essential issue for mental health professionals. Acculturation level and performance of Mexican Americans on the Computerized Assessment of Response Bias, (CARB), was investigated in the present study. The CARB was administered to 89 subjects comprised of 51 student volunteers and 38 community volunteers. There were 41 males and 48 females, with ages ranging from 18 to 46 years of age. All subjects were instructed to try their best to "fake" a memory deficit. Subjects were grouped into four acculturative typologies according to their performance on the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II, …

Silent Messages In Negotiation: A Descriptive Study Of Negotiators' Perceptions Of The Role Of Nonverbal Communication In Multi-National Business Negotiations, Yun Chu

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study specifically explored the perceived importance of the following nonverbal factors in the negotiation process: proxemics (location and negotiation site), physical arrangement (seating and furniture arrangement), and kinesics (eye contact, facial expressions and gestures). The findings show that the negotiators' perception about the three categories and their role in negotiation are consistent with nonverbal communication theory.

Child Physical Abuse And Neglect, Jody E. Warner-Rogers, David J. Hansen, Debra B. Hecht

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Children ideally develop and learn about their world from the safe and stimulating environment of their home. Therefore, it is quite disturbing when violence occurs within the supposedly protective domains of the home and the parent-child relationship, although such acts have been committed throughout history (Zigler & Hall, 1989). Even though acts of child maltreatment have a long history, the concept that society should be responsible for the protection of children, including identification, reporting, and treatment of both the victims and perpetrators of maltreatment, is a relatively recent development.

This chapter addresses the physical abuse and neglect of children by …

Adolescent Victims And Intergenerational Issues In Sexual Abuse, Debra B. Hecht, David J. Hansen

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The transitional period of adolescence is characterized by a number of changes and challenges that occur both within and outside the individual. Many developmental events occur during adolescence that have a significant impact on an adolescent’s functioning, including a variety of physical, cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and social changes. In addition, adolescents may experience a variety of other important events, such as peer group changes, school moves, changes in family structure or functioning, and alterations in societal and community expectations (Hansen, Giacoletti, & Nangle, 1995; Peterson & Hamburg, 1986). Unfortunately, many adolescents are further challenged by being a victim of sexual …

Homeless And Working Street Youth In Latin America: A Developmental Review, Marcela Raffaelli

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

In most Latin American countries, a substantial proportion of children grow up in circumstances of extreme deprivation and early independence. These include "street youth", youngsters who work and sometimes live on city streets in developing countries. Most street youth research has been conducted from an applied perspective and emphasizes service and policy needs. Little developmental research has been conducted with street youth, and the long-term impact of street life is largely unknown. This review synthesizes empirical findings on the developmentally-relevant experiences of sub-groups of street youth in Latin America. It includes research in four areas: social networks, daily survival, health …

From Housing To Homes: A Review Of The Literature On Housing Approaches For Psychiatric Consumers/Survivors, Shannon Parkinson, Geoffrey Nelson, Salinda Horgan

Psychology Faculty Publications

In this paper, we review the literature on housing for psychiatric consumer/survivors since the publication of the Nelson and Smith Fowler (1987) review more than a decade ago. First, we review research and propose a definition to contrast key features of three approaches to housing: (a) custodial, (b) supportive, and (c) supported. Second, we examine studies of the relationships between the characteristics of housing and adaptational outcomes for residents (e.g., personal empowerment). Third, we review studies which have examined out-comes for residents for these three different housing approaches. We conclude by critically reflecting on the values and research of the …

A Research Model Of Care-Givers And/Or Socializing Agents Explored In Terms Of Grandparenthood, Susanna Imelda Guadalupe Stephens

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

A collection of secondary (literature) information which revealed the relevant elements and conditions that surround the psychosocial aspects of family kinships were integrated to form the Kin-Psychosocial-Systems Model (KPSS). The KPSS Model is an investigative model (that includes a set of inter-related concepts, definitions, and propositions) which presents a systematic view of family kinships by specifying relationships among culture and family social systems, care-giving and socialization, and psychosocial development for the purpose of providing researchers with a means for explaining and predicting psychological and social phenomena related to the expression and enactment of family kinships.

Transgenerational Attachment, Life Stress, And The Development Of Disruptive Behavior In Preschool Children, Mary Jane Call

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

While a great deal of research focuses on representations of attachment, behavioral disorders, and life stress separately, research integrating these concepts has just recently begun (DeKlyen, 1996). The current study focuses on the links between transgenerational attachment, life stress, maternal psychopathology, and the development of behavior problems in preschool boys. Participants included 52 mothers of preschool boys (Mean Age = 56 months) who attended private preschool (N = 23) or a Head Start Program (N = 29). Participants completed a battery of assessment instruments including the Attachment Style Inventory (ASI) (Sperling & Berman, 1991), the Q-Set (Waters & Deane, 1985), …

Vulnerability To Depression: Reexamining State Dependence And Relative Stability, David C. Zuroff, Sidney J. Blatt, Charles A. Sanislow, Colin M. Bondi, Paul A. Pilkonis

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Treatment-related decreases in Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (DAS; Weissman & Beck, 1978) scores have been interpreted as evidence that dysfunctional attitudes are state-dependent concomitants of depression. Data from the National Institute of Mental Health Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program were used to reexamine the stability of dysfunctional attitudes. Mean scores for Perfectionism, Need for Approval, and total DAS decreased after 16 weeks of treatment. However, test-retest correlations showed that the DAS variables displayed considerable relative stability. Structural equation models demonstrated that dysfunctional attitudes after treatment were significantly predicted by initial level of dysfunctional attitudes as well as by posttreatment depression. …

Psychological And Behavioral Functioning In Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatients Who Report Histories Of Childhood Abuse, Carlos M. Grilo, Charles A. Sanislow, Dwain C. Fehon, Steve Martino, Thomas H. Mcglashan

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine psychological and behavioral functioning in psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents who report histories of childhood abuse. Method: Three hundred twenty-two subjects completed an assessment battery of psychometrically well-established instruments. Childhood abuse was assessed by using the childhood abuse scale of the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory. Childhood abuse scores of 30 or less and 70 or greater were used to create two study groups—no abuse (N=93) and high abuse (N=70), respectively. The two study groups were compared demographically and on the battery of instruments. Results: The two groups differed substantially on most measures of …