Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Examination Of The Issues And Scientific Evidence For The Identification Process Of Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Individuals With Learning Disabilities To Enhance Academic Outcomes, Scot Ferre

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Although the identification of learning disabilities (LD) is a viable means to provide appropriate

instructional and support services for students with academic difficulties, there is a limited

knowledge base about the identification, assessment, and intervention of and for LD in deaf and

hard of hearing (D/HH) students. Given the potential consequences of test results, this review

examined current and recent developments in the field of learning disabilities concerning the

conceptualization of learning disability and the validity and empirical support of earlier

identification methods and various assessment identification options with D/HH students.

Challenges to the process and the need for additional …

Training Program To Improve Estimation Of Patients' Periodontal Pain Experience, Yoon Jeong Kim

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine if periodontal residents could enhance their ability to appraise the pain levels experienced by their patients from probing, using Visual Analog Scale (VAS) to record pain. We hypothesized that with increasing experience by repeated comparisons of the patients' VAS pain ratings with independent ratings by the residents, they would improve their ability to appraise their patients' pain experiences.

Methods: For each of three periodontal residents, 40 consecutive periodontitis patients were asked to express the degree of pain they experienced during the probing. Independently, the residents rated the pain level they perceived …

The Relationship Between Physical Activity In Adulthood And Late-Life Cognitive Decline: A Population Study, Tera L. Lensegrav-Benson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present study examined the relationship between occupational physical activity, late-life leisure time physical activity, and cognitive performance/change over time considering vascular factors. The study followed participants over 7 years (baseline 1995/96; wave 2, 1998/99; wave 3, 2002/03) from the ongoing Cache County Study on Memory, Health, and Aging. Mean age at baseline of the 3,366 participants was 74.55 years (SD= 6.64) and 53.03% were female. Occupational physical activity was assessed via the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. Late-life leisure time physical activity based on light, moderate, and vigorous activity was assessed at baseline. Cognitive status was measured with …

Acculturative Factors And Mental Health Among Latinos: A Meta-Analytic Review, José De Jesús Rodríguez

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research on the relation between acculturation and mental health has yielded discrepant findings, with some studies finding a positive association between the two variables, others a negative association, and still others a curvilinear association. A meta-analysis of 84 studies yielding 3 73 individual effect sizes was conducted to examine the relation between acculturation and mental health among Latinos. The meta-analysis spanned the years of 1989 to 2004 and was comprehensive in its design. Several variables were chosen a priori to determine whether these would moderate the relation between acculturation and mental health. Results of an initial meta-analysis that disregarded the …

Therapeutic Processes In A Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment For Depressed Adolescents With Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Meredith Brent

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Youth with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have higher rates of depression than healthy youth. A cognitive-behavioral treatment, primary and secondary control enhancement training-physical illness (PASCET-PI), for depressed adolescents with IBD was associated with reductions in depressive symptoms. The purpose of this study was to examine the salience of nonspecific processes (factors inherent in any human relationship) and specific processes (factors related to therapy content) during PASCET-PI sessions and their association with improvements in psychological functioning.

Participants included 10 adolescent patients with IBD with mean illness duration of 31.9 months. At intake, eight participants qualified for a diagnosis of major depressive …

New Perspectives On The Relationship Between Emotion Decoding And Social Acceptance In School-Age Children, Eri Suzuki

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The relationship between children's emotion decoding ability and their social acceptance was examined, with a major focus on potential nonlinear components. Based on the display rules literature, the prediction was tested that social acceptance and emotion decoding skills can be best described as an inverted U-shaped function. Children in kindergarten through fifth grade (113 girls and 123 boys) completed measures of postural and facial decoding accuracy (FACES and TALK) and their social acceptance was assessed using child and teacher reports (SPPC or PSPC). The results showed only a statistically significant quadratic relationship for girls and a statistically significant linear relationship …

Expressive Writing And Breast Cancer: Outcomes And Linguistic Analyses, Kelly N. Hughes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This project examined the imp act of an expressive writing intervention as compared to a general health in formation control on breast cancer patients' postradiation treatment. It further examined the content of the expressive writing narratives. The sample included women who were completing radiation treatment for breast cancer at the Huntsman Cancer Institute and City of Hope hospital. The measures utilized in this study were self-report instruments targeting psychological distress (PANAS, JES) and general functioning (SIP), as well as demographic questionnaires. Results revealed the expressive writing intervention significantly impacted positive affect over time. Furthermore, participants from both the treatment and …

Predictors Of Recidivism In An Adolescent Substance Abusing Population, Christine Pacetti

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many adolescents with substance use disorders have ongoing problems with abuse and/or dependence throughout their lives. Little research has been conducted examining the differences among adolescents who do and do not continue to have difficulties. This study compared adolescents who recidivate versus those who do not recidivate after receiving treatment for substance abuse. Adolescents were compared on four categories of variables: (a) demographic variables, (c) delinquency /substance use history, (c) social/educational support, and (d) treatment history. It was found that the most powerful predictors of recidivism within these categories were criminal history severity, age at intake, and treatment completion. The …

Towards A More Comprehensive View Of The Use Of Power Between Couple Members In Adolescent Romantic Relationships, Charles George Bentley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated the construct of power in adolescent romantic couples using multiple measures. The project examined gender differences in power, created models of powerlessness for each gender, and examined relations between power and aggression and relationship quality. Participants were 90 heterosexual couples, aged 14-18 years old, living in rural areas in Utah and Arizona. Couple members completed surveys assessing attitudes and behaviors in their relationships and a video-recall procedure in which partners rated their own and their partner's behaviors during problem solving discussion.

Few gender differences emerged in reports of perpetration of aggression, but boyfriends reported higher levels of …

Identity Development, Identity Disclosure, And Identity Exploration Among Adolescent Sexual Minorities, Jenna A. Glover

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated the utility of applying the social constructionist perspective to adolescent sexual minority identity development, disclosure, and identity explorations. Differences between middle and late adolescents and male and females were examined. No differences were found between middle and late adolescents on measures of identity development and identity exploration; however, differences in identity disclosure were found regarding history of accidental discovery of sexual orientation. Biological sex differences were found for identity development, disclosure, and exploration. Relationships between same- and opposite-sex attractions, behaviors, romantic experiences, and self-labels are presented. Trends in intentional disclosure patterns and unintentional discovery identify predicted reaction …

Social Interactions And Bullying In Withdrawn Children: An Evaluation Of Generalization Strategies Within A Social Skills Training Intervention, Kyle Max Hancock

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Socially withdrawn children are at increased risk for various maladaptive outcomes. One intervention suggested to mediate these outcomes is the use of peermediated social skills training. However, little research supports its use with socially withdrawn children; even less research has investigated the role of peer mediators in the generalization of treatment effects. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a generalization training package on the generalization of socially withdrawn students and their peer mediators' interactions. This study compared the effectiveness of various procedures in a peer-mediated intervention on the generalization of prosocial interactions with socially withdrawn students and examined …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of A Telepresence-Enabled Cognitive Apprenticeship Model Of Teacher Professional Development, R. Shawn Edmondson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This exploratory research used a mixed-methods design to compare the effectiveness of a telepresence-enabled cognitive apprenticeship model of teacher professional development (TEAM-PD) to that of a traditional workshop model by examining outcomes in teacher pedagogy and student achievement. Measures of the degree to which teachers in both groups enacted mathematics pedagogy provided mixed results. Both groups demonstrated similar patterns of behavior and cognition, indicating modest levels of pedagogy implementation. Although the experimental group demonstrated higher levels of enactment of the mathematics pedagogy, the comparison group demonstrated a faster rate of growth. Student outcome data were clear: students of teachers in …

Linkages Between Family Cohesion And Sibling Relationships In Families Raising A Child With A Disability, Mary L. Jefferson

Theses and Dissertations

Family researchers have often reported that siblings of children with disabilities have mixed outcomes, some harmful, and some beneficial, but have neglected to investigate how the sibling relationship might be correlated with other factors, such as family cohesion. Therefore, 72 mothers and fathers raising a child with a disability and a child without a disability completed the Family Cohesion subscale of Bloom's family functioning measure and the Sibling Inventory of Behavior to determine interactions between parents' perceptions of family cohesion and sibling relationships. Results indicated that mothers and fathers' perceptions of cohesion and sibling relationships were not significantly different. Mothers' …

Self-Appraisal Decisions Evoke Dissociated Dorsal-Ventral Ampfc Networks, Taylor W. Schmitz, Sterling C. Johnson

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

The anterior medial prefrontal cortex (aMPFC) is consistently active during personally salient decisions, yet the differential contributory processes of this region along the dorsal-ventral axis are less understood. Using a self-appraisal decision-making task and functional magnetic resonance imaging, we demonstrated task-dependent connectivity of ventral aMPFC with amygdala, insula, and nucleus accumbens, and dorsal aMPFC connectivity with dorsolateral PFC and bilateral hippocampus. These aMPFC networks appear to subserve distinct contributory processes inherent to self-appraisal decisions, specifically a dorsally mediated cognitive and a ventrally mediated affective/self-relevance network. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Disclosure Interviews David Buss. Evolutionary Psychology And Intimacy: The Science Of Violence, Competition, And Sex

disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory

No abstract provided.

Breaking Down The Wall: An Examination Of Mental Health Service Utilization In African American And Caucasian Parents, Idia O. Binitie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the influence of parents' gender, race, and psychopathology on barriers and attitudes to mental health utilization for themselves and for their children. It was hypothesized that mothers and Caucasian¹ parents would have more positive attitudes and would perceive fewer barriers to mental health services than fathers and African American² parents. A total of 194 African American and Caucasian parents were recruited from the community to participate in this study. Parents completed measures on barriers and attitudes toward treatment for themselves and their children, utilization of mental health services for themselves and their children, and their own current …

Low Doses Of Memantine Disrupt Memory In Adult Rats, Catherine Creeley, David Wozniak, Joanne Labruyere, George Taylor, John Olney

Psychology Faculty Works

Memantine, a drug recently approved for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, has been characterized as a unique NMDA antagonist that confers protection against excitotoxic neurodegeneration without the serious side effects that other NMDA antagonists are known to cause. In the present study, we determined what dose of memantine is required to protect the adult rat brain against an NMDA receptor-mediated excitotoxic process and then tested that dose and a range of lower doses to determine whether the drug in this dose range is associated with significant side effects. Consistent with previous research, we found that memantine confers a neuroprotective effect beginning …

2nd Annual Undergraduate Research Conference Abstract Book, University Of Missouri--Rolla

Undergraduate Research Conference at Missouri S&T

No abstract provided.

Bibliotherapy: School Psychologists' Report Of Use And Efficacy, Marci A. Olsen

Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on the use of bibliotherapy by school psychologists. A survey was created and distributed to 119 registered and licensed school psychologists in Utah to obtain information on this topic. Forty-one percent returned a completed survey. Results indicated that bibliotherapy is used by 82% of the participants in the study, and 31 of 34 (91%) use bibliotherapy with children grades K-6. Topics most used with bibliotherapy included self-esteem, bullying, divorce, anxiety, and grief. Efficacy varied depending on the topic of bibliotherapy. However, school psychologists regarded bibliotherapy across all topics to be very effective to effective.

Depression In Older Adults, Fred Stickle, Dr. Jill D. Duba

Counseling & Student Affairs Faculty Publications

The purpose of this article is to address selected aspects of depression in older adults. Specifically, symptoms, risk factors, diagnosis, and interventions for depression in older adults are reviewed.

Personality Characteristics As Predictors Of Health Risk Behaviors, Adam A. Torres

McNair Scholars Research Journal

This study examines personality characteristics as predictors of risky behavior, utilizing the widely accepted Big Five personality dimensions as indicators. The Big Five dimensions include: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness. Researchers utilized a 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey that investigates different types of risky behavior and for our purposes we utilized: delinquency, smoking & drinking, disorderly eating, and engagement in risky sexual behavior. Previous research has shown varying relationships between personality dimensions and risky health behavior. In addition, some problem behaviors have been investigated more thoroughly than others. Utilizing anonymous questionnaires, researchers surveyed 272 college undergraduates. For each risky …

Adult Attachment And Disordered Eating In Undergraduate Men And Women, Jenna Elgin

McNair Scholars Research Journal

Eating disorders threaten the physical and mental health of an alarming number of people today. Attachment theory has been identified as having important utility in many areas of psychological functioning and is commonly used as a way to conceptualize emotional, social, and interpersonal problems. Attachment theory, therefore, may have important implications in the development and maintenance of eating disorders. Recently, a line of research has demonstrated a link between attachment styles and eating disorders. Nearly all of the research in this area, however, is on women. The purpose of this study is to examine both female and male undergraduate students …

Adult Attachment As A Risk Factor For Intimate Partner Violence, Christine L. Pearson

McNair Scholars Research Journal

This study examined the relationship between intimate partner violence and adult attachment in a sample of 35 community couples. Both partners’ attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were examined simultaneously as predictors of male-perpetrated verbal and physical intimate partner violence. Results from hierarchical regression analyses indicated high levels of female attachment anxiety predicted high levels of male-perpetrated verbal and physical violence. In contrast, male attachment was not predictive of male-perpetrated violence. These findings suggest for females, fear of abandonment and rejection may be a risk factor for becoming a victim of violence. Alternatively, exposure to violence may contribute to the development …

Workplace Incivility And The Low-Status Target, Sonia Winhorst

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The goal of the present research was to discover if employees in low-status social groups (i.e., women, people of color, sexual minorities, and non-Christians) experience more incivility in the workplace compared to their high-status counterparts. Data come from four different samples of working adults: employees from a property management company (N = 90), employees of a northwestern university (N = 1,843), a national sample of law school faculty (N = 1,256), and employed students from a southern university (N = 243). Participants in all studies completed measures of demographics and personal experiences of incivility at work. A series of t-tests …

Understanding Reported Cognitive Dysfunction In Older Adults With Cardiovascular Disease, Robert H. Paul, John Gunstad, Ronald A. Cohen, David F.

Psychology Faculty Works

High HIV-1 DNA (HIV DNA) levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) correlate with HIV-1-associated dementia (HAD) in patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). If this relationship also exists among HAART-naïve patients, then HIV DNA may be implicated in the pathogenesis of HAD. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between HIV DNA and cognition in subjects naïve to HAART in a neuro AIDS cohort in Bangkok, Thailand. Subjects with and without HAD were recruited and matched for age, gender, education, and CD4 cell count. PBMC and cellular subsets were analyzed for HIV DNA using real-time PCR. The median …

The Effect Of Gender Schematicity On The Assessment Of Male And Female Pilots’ Competence Given Identical Scenarios, Jan D. Laplante

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

Gender has been identified as one of the top three categories, along with race, and age that are subject to stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination (Fiske, 1998). With the emergence of women in stereotypical male domains, gender research has never been more important. The aviation community is a prime example of one such domain.

This study examined the presence of an existing perception that male pilots are more competent then female pilots. It suggested that there does not appear to be evidence that would explain why there should be a difference in this perception of competence. It also discussed social theories …

The Effect Of Music On The Human Body And Mind, Dawn Kent

Senior Honors Theses

Music has a vast influence over the nations and peoples on this planet. It has been used in every culture, and is often connected with anxiolytic and analgesic properties. Today it is used in many hospitals to help patients relax and help relieve or ease pain, confusion and anxiety. Music is also commonly used in counseling. Music therapy techniques may include guided listening or improvisational playing and are used within the context of many theories, and for many types of mental disorders, from depression to schizophrenia. Many of the healing qualities of music in counseling are connected to its use …

Effects Of Single Versus Multiple Verbal Operant Arrangements On The Acquisition Of Mands And Tacts In Preschool Children, Tina M. Sidener

Dissertations

Verbal Behavior programs for children diagnosed with autism typically teach novel language in the context of multiple verbal operant arrangements. Commonly called "mixed verbal behavior", this involves the interspersal of various exemplars across verbal operant categories. Despite the current recommended use of this teaching procedure, only 2 studies to date have empirically evaluated its effectiveness (i.e., Arntzen & Almas, 2001; Carroll & Hesse, 1987). In both of these studies, mixed mand-tact training resulted in faster mean acquisition of tacts than tact-only training. In Experiment 1 of the current investigation, a systematic replication of previous studies was conducted with 3 typically-developing …

More Than In And Out Of The Classroom Closet: A Study Of Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Teachers’ Identity Management Strategies, Teresa S. Lance

Dissertations

Two advancements in the study of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals’ workplace sexual identity management, the Workplace Sexual Identity Management Measure (WSIMM) and the Workplace Sexual Identity Management (WSIM) social cognitive model of identity management are incorporated in the current study of LGB K-12 teachers’ workplace sexual identity management strategies. The purpose of this study was to assess the psychometric properties o f a revised version the WSIMM, investigate the workplace sexual identity management strategies of LGB teachers, and gain further understanding of the complex process LGB individuals navigate related to managing their sexual identity at work by exploring …

Investigating The Effects Of Real-Time Visual Feedback On Computer Workstation Posture, Sigurdur Oli Sigurdsson

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a package intervention that included discrimination training, real-time visual feedback, and self-monitoring on postural behavior at a computer workstation in a simulated office environment. A total of 21 participants were screened for participation, and eight of those participated throughout the study. A non-concurrent multiple baseline design across participants was used to assess the effects of the interventions across three postural variables. Following an information-only phase, participants were exposed to the intervention for the lowest stable postural variable. For most targeted postural variables, the intervention implemented in this study led …