Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Somatization As A Coping Style In Families, Joseph A. Lipetzky

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

This study addresses two questions relating to somatic family interaction. The first question is: What is the prevalence of somatic family interaction in a non-clinical sample? The sample consisted of 500 volunteer families obtained by sequential door to door solicitation in Newberg, Oregon, 25 miles southwest of Portland, Oregon. There was a 32% response rate within this area (n = 161) consisting of Caucasian, Hispanic (5%), and oriental families (2%). There was a full range of economic, educational levels and family sizes. The prevalence rate of somatic family interaction was found to be consistent with other research at approximately 21%

Using Peer Mediators To Teach Social Skills To Children With Behavior Disorders As A Means Of Facilitating Regular Education Placement, Melissa Herring

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Study Of Integrity Tests: The Effect Of Situational And Individual Variables On Response Distortion, Nannette Shayne Searles

Dissertations and Theses

The paper-and-pencil integrity test, which is used in industry as an employee selection device, has been largely developed outside the mainstream of psychological testing. The result has been that some testing programs have inadequately standardized testing conditions and/or other safeguards to ensure valid test results. Studies have shown that response distortion, or faking, is a problem with all types of tests, integrity tests being no exception. A correlation between the construct underlying integrity testing, such as the personality trait of conscientiousness, has yet to be investigated.

The primary purpose of the present study was to determine how response distortion on …

A Child's Perception Of Bullies In Grades 3-4, And 7-8, Kristine E. Nebeling

Theses & Honors Papers

The study was conducted to determine if differences exist in bullying behavior between elementary and middle school students. The sample consisted of 192 children: 57 third graders, 29 girls and 28 boys; 40 fourth graders, 26 girls and 14 boys; 47 seventh graders, 20 girls and 27 boys; and 48 eighth graders, 26 girls and 22 boys . A rural school district in central Virginia was used. A likert scale survey containing 10 questions was administered to determine the perceptions children hold regarding fear of bullying, the number of bullying experiences, why children are bullied, and what adults do or …

The Involvement Of Students With Learning Disabilities And Emotional-Behavioral Disorders In Gang Membership, Melinda L. Kates

Theses & Honors Papers

Commonalities exist between gang members and individuals with learning disabilities and/or emotional-behavioral disorders. These characteristics are low self-esteem, poo social skills, difficulty maintaining personal relationships, and behavioral problems. Through a series of interviews conducted at a private facility for individuals with behavioral disorders, this study investigated the involvement of students with learning disabilities and/or emotional-behavioral disorders in gang membership.

Program Evaluation: A Look At A Case Management Program Of Big Spring State Hospital Community Services, Sharon Root Treadway

Graduate Theses

Case management services are an expanding program in the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (TXMHMR) system's treatment for chronically mentally ill individuals (CMI). CMI’s are individuals who are unable to maintain a stable adjustment to community life because of persistent and serious emotional disabilities. Previous research findings as to the effectiveness of this type of service in other programs have been mixed, and because of differences in program guidelines are not directly applicable to the TXMHMR program. The hypotheses of this study, which was a program evaluation of one specific program of case management, were two-fold; one, …

Impact Of Television Violence On Young Minds In An Urban Setting; An Introspective Study, Nirupama Sagar

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

An institution such as broadcasting affects and is affected by the society, which encompasses the viewers and listeners it serves. The increase in crime and violence and the fear of crime may actually help explain the popularity of TV violence. Media violence has been a topic of popular interest right from the fifties, when television was still being applauded as one more of those human marvels. Therefore, for my study, I will concentrate on television, a medium that involves both the visual and hearing senses and to which young people are particularly drawn. The sample for this study involved five …

A Case Study On Elective Mutism Using A Consultation Model, Nancy Reeves

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In the present case study, shaping/desensitization procedures, along with behavioral contracts, were implemented through a consultation model in an attempt to treat a seven year-old elective mute female within the school setting. The author (consultant) provided information to the subject's teacher (consultee) in order to treat the subject's elective mutism. The procedure consisted of trials using a sound-level meter to successively approximate the desired behavior of speaking at school. The goal was for the subject to respond verbally to questions and requests invoked by her teachers and peers within the school setting and to improve her social interactions. The results …

Crisis Of Infertility: Effects Of Length Of Treatment On Emotional And Marital Adjustment, Christie L. Markestad

Graduate Theses

Twenty infertile couples participated in the present study to investigate whether infertile couples receiving medical treatment experience changes in their emotional, marital and sexual adjustment as a result of the length of time they have been in treatment. The couples were divided into three groups based on how long they had been seeking medical attention for infertility. The instruments administered were: SCL-90-R (Symptom Checklist), Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) and Index of Sexual Satisfaction (ISS). It was predicted couples who were in the initial stages of treatment would experience increased levels of emotional, marital and sexual distress, however those levels would …

Martial Adjustment Among Nontraditional Graduate Students, Virginia Siegfried

Graduate Theses

This study used a pretest-posttest design to examine the marital adjustment of 108 nontraditional graduate students as-compared with 42 adults in the general population. Participants' scores on the Dyadic Adjustment Scale showed no significant differences between the two groups, contrary to the study hypothesis. It was also hypothesized that the marital adjustment of graduate students would be better at the beginning of the semester term rather than at the end of the term, and that male graduate students would have a higher level of marital adjustment than female graduate students. Neither of these hypotheses were supported by the data. Overall, …

The Relationship Between Intelligence And Perceptual Motor Performance In Fourth Grade Students, Jaima Andrea Knox

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between intelligence and perceptual motor performance in fourth grade students. An intact fourth grade class consisting of ten males and ten females was administered tests reflecting their intelligence and perceptual motor performance levels.

The "Unstinted Effort" Of Social Comparison : Biases In The Retrieval Of Behavior Among Depressives And Nondepressives, Michele Christine Fejfar

Master's Theses

The egocentric bias, peoples' tendency to view themselves as better than others, has been found to exist in many different domains (Messick, Bloom, Boldizar, & Samuelson, 1985). Fejfar, Proudfoot, Allison, and Beggan (1994) uncovered evidence supporting two components to the bias: the motivation to be egocentric and the construction of strategies to fulfill this motivation. In the present research, this model was used to determine the biases inherent in depressive (as opposed to nondepressive) cognitions by having subjects list good and bad behaviors performed by themselves and others. Subjects directly or indirectly compared themselves to others (to test the motivation …

The Hormones Of Pregnancy Alter Somal Size In The Medial Preoptic Area Of The Rat Brain, Lori A. Keyser

Master's Theses

Formerly non-responsive females will display maternal behavior (MB) following pregnancy and parturition. The behavioral alterations are believed to occur in response to hormonal changes that accompany pregnancy. The medical pre optic area (MPOA) regulates hormone-induced MB. The current study examined neuronal changes which might account for the modified behavior. Twenty adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned a hormone condition: ovariectomized (OVX), ovariectomized/hormone-treated (P+E₂), intact diestrus (DI), or pregnant (PREG). Animals were killed, and their brains fixed in Golgi-Cox solution. Somata of the MPOA and related cortex were measured in each group using a Bioquant imaging system. Pregnant females …

Meta-Analysis Of Home Visiting Research With Low-Income Families: Client, Intervention, And Outcome Characteristics, Christopher H. Morris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Leaders in the field of home visiting and family support research have indicated that the inclusion of home visiting in comprehensive services for low-income families with young children can play a key role in improving a wide variety of outcomes for at-risk children and their families. These recommendations have been based in part on selected empirical findings from the home visiting literature. However, synthesis of empirical findings has proven difficult, due to the heterogeneity of this population and the diverse applications of home visiting as a service delivery strategy.

The present meta-analysis examined a representative sample of the peer-reviewed literature …

The Child Sexual Abuse Interview: An Exploratory Evaluation Of Recommended Interview Components And Tennessee Department Of Human Service Interviews, Kirstin L. Elliott

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

A direct consequence of the increasing number of reported cases of child sexual abuse is an influx of court cases involving allegations of sexual abuse. These allegations are accompanied by investigative interviews of the parties involved in the cases, including the alleged child victims. It is imperative that the investigative interviewing process be objective and reliable enough to be admissible in court in order for justice to be served in the best interests of the child through the due process of law. Cases such as the infamous McMartin trial (People v. Buckey, 1984), which ended in a hung jury after …

Relationship Between The Menstrual Cycle, Mood And Overeating In Women, Veronica Lynne Broussard

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Who's More Cruel, Johnny Or Jenny? Sex Differences In Adults' Perceptions Of Cruelty To Animals By Children, Teresa Michelle Thompson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

As a symptom of Conduct Disorder, cruelty to animals (DSM IV, 1994) is often assessed via parental checklists (e.g., Child Behavior Checklist). However, little information exists on the criteria that adults use to make judgments of cruelty.

A Functionalist Approach To Emotions, Julien Guillaumot

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

There are at least two ways in which emotions can be conceptualized. The first, and most widespread, one is the cognitive approach which implies the presence of internal processes or psychological mechanisms. The cognitive approach says that emotions are the result of evolutionary processes. The second approach is behaviorological. It states that emotions are learned and are nothing more than behaviorological and physiological events. Both approaches, even if different, have an extremely important effect on our world because they may help make societal decisions and therefore manage our environment in a better way. As we will see, though, authorities do …

Socio-Cultural Variations In Interactions: A Study Of Children With Disabilities And Their Mothers, Elina O. Alexandrova

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This investigation compared interaction behaviors of African-American and European-American mothers with children who had or were at medical risk for disabilities as measured by Maternal Behavior Rating Scale (MBRS; Mahoney, 1992). The relationships between these mothers' interaction ratings and three groups of independent variables (mother/family demographic characteristics, measures of family functioning, and child characteristics) were also examined. T-tests were used to examine the differences between the two groups. Significant differences were found on SES variables, particularly income. Samples were restricted to those with incomes of $32,500 or less. Analysis of covariance procedures were performed using race and family structure as …

The Relationship Between Depression And Anxiety, And The Personality Traits Of Dependency And Self-Criticism, Douglas E. Craig

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The relationships between depression and the traits of dependency and self-criticism are well documented in the research literature. However, relatively few studies have investigated anxiety in relation to the two traits. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship each trait has with general anxiety and with social anxiety. Also, because depression and anxiety overlap, a multivariate analysis examined the relationships among the trait and mood constructs while accounting for the overlap between constructs. Subjects completed the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (assessing dependency and self-criticism), the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Fear of Negative Evaluation …

An Analysis Of Item Bias In The Wisc-R With Kainaiwa Native Canadian Children, Deborah Faith Pace

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present study examined the responses of 332 Kainai students ranging in age from 6 to 16 years to the Information, Arithmetic, and Picture Completion subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) in order to determine the validity of these subtests as a measure of their intelligence. Two indices of validity were assessed: (a) subtest unidimensionality, and (b) order of item difficulty. With regard to the assumption of unidimensionality, examination of the data indicated low item-factor loadings on the Information, Arithmetic, and Picture Completion subtests. Examination of difficulty parameters revealed a nonlinear item difficulty order on all three …

A Psychometric Evaluation Of Five Commonly Used Measures Of Family Functioning And How They Correlate With Development Of Children With Disabilities, Matthew J. Taylor

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In response to the increased emphasis in early intervention on assessing family functioning, there has been substantial effort over the past 15 years to develop instruments that can measure important aspects of family functioning with families of children with disabilities. While the multitude of recently developed family measures has given researchers and clinicians a variety of instruments from which to choose, research on the quality of the data derived from these instruments has lagged behind. Considering the importance of family functioning in current early intervention programs and the potential impact on the type of intervention delivered, further investigation of the …

The Effects Of Therapist Gender On Group Therapy For Eating-Disordered Clients, Todd A. Soutor

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This present study examined the session-by-session content of group therapy for eating-disordered clients. The main objective of this study was to identify how therapist-client gender match affects group therapy process , regarding the disclosure of important issues relevant to eating-disordered clients. It was hypothesized that the group therapy process for eating-disordered clients would be qualitatively different if therapy was facilitated by a female as opposed to a male therapist. The evaluation of the research question required using an alternating treatments single-subject research design, in which the presentation of treatment conditions was counterbalanced across two therapy groups. The treatments consisted of …

An Investigation Of The Construct Validity Of The Preschool And Kindergarten Behavior Scales, Clarice E. Jentzsch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A relatively recent measure, the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS), has been developed to measure both problem behavior and social competence in young children. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the construct validity of the PKBS through the application of several validation procedures. Results of the study support construct validity of the PKBS. In a discriminant analysis, the PKBS classified correctly 89.36% of the 94 subjects. A secondary purpose of this study was to examine social-emotional behavior differences between kindergarten students who were divided into different behavioral status groups based on a teacher nomination procedure: a …

The Effects Of Critical Thinking Skills Training On Student Performance In An Educational Psychology Class, Eric J. Gee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Critical thinking skills have become an important part of current educational practices. However, there is little empirical evidence comparing the effectiveness of the programs teaching these skills. In addition, there are questions as to whether the skills should be taught within the class content or separate from the class content.

This study assigned students attending labs as part of an educational psychology class to two experimental conditions (content-based and content-free) and a control condition. Measures were scores on lab papers and test scores for the class. In addition, an attitude survey was used to assess student attitudes to each condition, …

A Meta-Analytic Review Of Studies Examining The Effects Of Childhood Sexual Abuse In Women, Sheryl A. Dagang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Childhood sexual abuse is a prevalent problem that impacts adult women and the mental health professionals who treat them. Decades of studies have been conducted examining the impact of childhood sexual abuse in order to be better able to treat clients with this history. Yet, few clear guidelines have resulted from these activities.

In order to gain a clearer picture of this research, a meta-analysis was conducted on 41 published studies to describe the nature of the problem, the subjects involved in these studies, the measures used to determine effect, and the impact of eight variables that potentially mediate the …

Gender And Depression: Analysis Of The Effects Of Sex Roles, Sex-Role Self-Discrepancy, And Attributional Style, Scott V. Cutler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of attributional style, sex roles, and sex-role self-discrepancy in the relationship between gender and depression. Epidemiological studies report a higher incidence of depression among women then men (approximately 2:1). Among the various theories suggested to explain this gender difference, sex roles, attributional style, and self-discrepancy have been conceived as possible explanations. The relationship between gender and depression may be better understood through examining the possible contribution of these three independent variables.

To examine these theories, a sample of 130 subjects was drawn from clients at the USU Counseling Center, the …

The Efficacy Of A Self-Administered Cognitive Behavioral Treatment Program For Body Image Dissatisfaction In Women With Subclinical Bulimia Nervosa, Ellen N. Emerson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Subjects for this study were 40 women (N = 40) with subclinical bulimia nervosa who were randomly assigned to either a Cognitive Behavioral Treatment group (CBT) or to a waiting list control group. Treatment was provided for 8 weeks in an individual, self-administered format, using an audio-taped treatment package for Body Image Dissatisfaction (BID). Cognitive behavioral treatment focused on changing negative thoughts and feelings about one's body. No specific treatment focused on changing eating symptomatology or concomitant symptoms, although these were assessed. The waiting list control condition received assessment, followed by 8 weeks of no treatment. Treatment outcome measures …

Taxonomic Or Thematic : Categorization Of Familiar Objects By Preschool-Aged Children, David Owen Calhoun

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

To acquire language, children must learn how to categorize objects on the basis of the meanings that cultures have assigned to the objects. A series of six experiments tested how preschool-aged children categorize familiar objects. Each experiment used a matching-to-sample format in which children matched pictures of familiar objects (comparisons) to a sample stimulus picture. The sample and one comparison related taxonomically (on the basis of similar features) and the other comparison related thematically (on the basis of function) from which the children were to find another stimulus that was the same as the sample. Each experiment was a systematic …

Cross-Generational Similarities Between Mothers' And Daughters' Abnormal Eating Behaviors, Kimberly K. Bushman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was an investigation of the similarities and differences between mothers' and daughters' self-reported eating and dieting behavior. Also investigated was actual eating behaviors of mothers and daughters after consuming a milk shake preload presented as containing the caloric equivalents of one average meal.

Thirty-five mothers and their sixth-grade daughters completed a series of self-report instruments including the Bulimia Test-Revised, the Revised Dietary Restraint Scale, and the Anorexia-Bulimia Inventory. Subjects then individually completed a contrived ice cream taste test, which involved consuming a milk shake preload prior to tasting vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream. The relationship between mothers' …