Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Empirical Essays On The Impact Of Health-Aid On Health Outcomes, Elsy Thomas Kizhakethalackal

Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays that empirically explore the impact of multilateral health-aid on health outcomes like infant mortality rate (IMR) and incidences of an infectious disease, Tuberculosis, in developing economies. The first essay uses parametric and semiparametric mean regressions (additive and non-additive specifications) to capture the impact of education and health-aid on the IMR, after controlling for other covariates. Both specifications confirm education as an important factor in reducing IMR. However, the effect of health-aid on IMR is not significant. In our additive model, we do see a threshold level of health-aid after which the impacts of health-aid …

An Evaluation Of A Sexual Assault Education Program, Angela P. Hatcher

Dissertations

Sexually aggressive behavior, especially on college campuses, is an issue of major concern. Previous research has found that 54% of college women report being sexually victimized (Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987). Given the scope of this problem, effective prevention strategies are necessary. Sexual assault prevention programs have included those targeting a mixed gender audience as well as gender specific programs. Research examining the effectiveness of these programs, at both post-intervention and follow-up, have provided mixed results.

The goal of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of a video-based sexual assault education program in decreasing rape myths, increasing victim …

The Collective Voices Of Asian International Doctoral Students In Counseling Psychology In The U.S.: Recommendations For Faculty And Training Programs, Miki Koyama

Dissertations

There is growing interest among scholars to understand the training experiences of international students in applied psychology. Few empirical studies have specifically investigated international doctoral students in counseling psychology. The purpose of the present study was to create an opportunity for the voices of Asian international students in U.S. doctoral counseling psychology programs could be expressed, and to convey their collective voices.

Twelve Asian international students, predominately women from East Asia, participated in two phone interviews. Participants were asked to illustrate their overall training experiences, share helpful and unhelpful aspects of their training, and identify recommendations for faculty and training …

The Ethnic Identity Of Returning Immigrants To A Pueblo In Yucatan, David Piacenti

Dissertations

This study seeks to understand: 1) motivations for leaving and, if applicable, racialized, segregated environment, which is represented by the returned cholo, whose "urban gangbanger" mentality confronts the traditional, rural ethnic identity. San Francisco also affects the overall perception of immigration and desire for permanent U.S. residence. Of the San Francisco cohort, 42% say immigration is "positive overall." Conversely, 62% of the Kalamazoo cohort says that immigration is "positive overall." Only 29% of the San Francisco cohort desire permanent residence in the U.S. while 54% of the Kalamazoo cohort desire permanent U.S. residence. Therefore, the suburban context of Kalamazoo may …

Three Essays On Foreign Aid, Poverty And Growth., Aberra Senbeta

Dissertations

This dissertation studies how foreign aid impacts poverty and economic growth and addresses three interrelated issues: whether aid reduces poverty, how aid affects economic growth, and whether the poverty mitigating role of aid depends on the levels of poverty.

The first essay, "Does Foreign Aid Reduce Poverty?" examines the direct effects of foreign aid on poverty in developing countries using dynamic panel estimation techniques. The results suggest that aid has a significant poverty reducing effect even after controlling for average income. The findings are robust to model specification and estimation techniques. The policy implication is that poverty reduction can be …

Important Or Impotent? Radical Right Political Parties And Public Policy In Germany And Austria, Marcella J. Myers

Dissertations

Across Western Europe throughout the 1990s radical right political parties emerged and gained some electoral success. Since that time, particularly in the face of the popularity of the National Front in France and the Freedom Party in Austria, many studies have been conducted examining the voting behavior, party membership and ideologies of these parties, and what the parties mean to democratic governments. Largely unexamined are the effects of radical right political parties on public policy. This study attempts to evaluate the effect of radical right parties on public policy by using a most similar, case study research design, relying heavily …

Validating The Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders Scale, Charmeka. Whitehead

Dissertations

This study investigated the reliability and validity of the Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders Scale (ATS) measurement by assessing attitudes of counselors in training towards juvenile sex offenders. The specific aims of this study were to determine (a) internal consistency of the ATS, (b) construct validity of the ATS based on exploratory factor analysis, and (c) the degree to which this instrument has convergent and discriminate validity. The intellectual merit of this study was to provide appropriate scale validation of the ATS so that it might be used to assess attitudes of mental health professionals who work with juvenile sex offenders. …

The Impact Of A Simulation Based Leader Development Training Program On Transformational And Transactional Leadership Behavior, Robin Louise Mccoy Phd

Dissertations

Organizations devote considerable resources developing employees' capacity for leadership because they believe that "leaders" are essential in the operations of their organizations. Unfortunately, organizations do not have the time or resources to send their employees off for lengthy leader development training programs. This has contributed to the growing popularity of short-term training programs which are relatively inexpensive to conduct. However, researchers are increasingly requesting more empirical studies that examine the impact of these programs, yet these requests have remained largely disregarded. Additionally, there is a lack for developing methodologies to determine whether or not involvement in a short-term program facilitates …

On The Construct Validity Of Stereotype Threat Measures: Some Possible Boundary Conditions, Andrea Jane Marsden

Dissertations

Since 1995, much research has focused on the negative effects that stereotype threat (ST) may have on task and test performance (e.g., Nguyen & Ryan, 2008). To date, however, no research has examined the underlying meaning of this construct in a manner precise enough to determine if it is indeed a unique and meaningful concept and any potential boundaries. Therefore, the main goal of the current research was to obtain a better understanding of what distinctions, if any, exist between ST and similar constructs. Using a factorial design and examining correlations among variables, measures of ST were compared to measures …

An Examination Of Body Objectification And Social Physique Anxiety In Women And Men: The Priming Effects Of Anticipating A Brief Social Interaction, Erin Renee Barnett

Dissertations

Body objectification occurs when individuals adopt an observer’s view of their body and treat their body as an object. This process has been linked to a host of harmful consequences, including appearance anxiety and shame, decreased awareness of internal bodily states, eating disorders, depression, and sexual dysfunction (see Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997, for a review). The current investigation is based on objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), a sociocultural framework that describes the experiences and psychological risks of those who objectify their bodies. This study examined trait levels of self-objectification and social physique anxiety in women and men, as well …

Why Do We Blame Victims Of Sexual Assault?, Meghna Nalinkumar Patel

Dissertations

Sexual assault is a formidable concern in American society with alarming rates of victimization among women and men. Based on the high prevalence of rape, some researchers have argued that America has a rape supportive culture (Burt, 1980; Wakelin & Long, 2003). The culture is particularly supported by the high incidence of victim blame that is commonly reported upon in research evaluating perceptions of rape victims. The purpose of the current study was to determine what types of variables are associated with victim blame and the theories which best explain why victim blame occurs. In particular, the current study evaluated …

Comparison Of The Trauma Symptom Checklist For Children, Ucla Ptsd Index, And Child Behavior Checklist In Children With A Trauma History, Melissa Verish Broome

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to study a host of PTSD assessment-related problems in children with a trauma history (N = 110) who were seeking treatment at a community mental health clinic. Exploratory factor analyses using the trauma-related and non-trauma-related subscales on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach 1991), UCLA PTSD Index (Pynoos 1998), and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC; Briere 1996) were conducted. Results indicated that in children aged 7 to 11, but not in older children aged 12 to 17, the UCLA PTSD Index and the TSCC trauma-related scales formed a trauma factor. The CBCL …

Migrant-Led Organisations And Their Communities: Participation, Shirine Beausang

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the processes of participation of migrant-led organisations and migrant communities in the Irish ‘intercultural’ sector, and also the broader third sector. The rational behind this research is to gain an understanding of the types and levels of participation in order to ascertain if inequities exist between the involvement of migrant communities and indigenous Irish people. Participation is assessed in relation to the emergence of barriers to participation, and how involvement is supported and facilitated by the organisations and the intercultural sector in general. This qualitative research utilises a critical ethnography, which integrates …

Does Gender Impact On Career Progression In The Garda Síochána?, Goretti Sheridan

Dissertations

Little is generally known about the factors affecting the managerial advancement of women in police forces internationally. There is a dearth of research on women and policing in the Garda Síochána. Women are 50 years in policing in Ireland and would appear to have been totally restricted in their progression up until the last decade. The principle aim of this study is concerned with exploring the research question ‘Does Gender Impact on Career Progression in the Garda Síochána?’ It concentrates solely on policewomen. A comprehensive analysis of national and international literature is summarised in a literature review. An extensive examination …

An Exploration Of Manager’S Practices In And Attitudes Towards Staff Vetting In Children’S Residential Centres, Catherine Hanly

Dissertations

The aim of this study is to explore the practices of centre managers in vetting staff for employment in residential child care. The study also aims to explore the attitudes of these managers towards current vetting requirements. The study examined practices and attitudes of managers of children’s residential centres within the non-statutory sector only but on a national basis. The methodology utilised in this study is a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted and the data was subsequently analysed in order to develop a questionnaire. On development, sixty-nine anonymous self completion questionnaires were distributed …

Síolta The National Quality Framework For Early Childhood Education; Teacher’S Perspectives., Sandra O'Neill

Dissertations

The current fragmentation of the early education field in Ireland (primary schools, sessional services, full day care and childminding all coming under this umbrella term) has lead to difficulties in implementing universal quality initiatives. The government has taken steps to address this with the introduction of Síolta, the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education. Now in its pilot phase, there has been poor uptake from National schools. In this study, semi structured interviews and focus groups were carried out with a group of Infant class teachers and Principals from the pilot programme to explore what factors influence their decision …

Children As Victims, Children As Clients Towards A Framework Of Best Practice In Services For Children Who Experience Domestic Violence, Emma Byrne-Macnamee

Dissertations

Historically, the core focus of domestic violence services in Ireland and elsewhere has been to support and empower women. Children’s needs have been seen as secondary to their mothers’, although services have generally provided opportunities for play and recreation. An increasing recognition of the direct effects of family violence on children and a growing trend in child and family provision towards monitoring progress and identifying outcomes has created a necessity for services working with children who experience domestic violence to examine and appraise the nature and scope of their work. Within this context, this study describes existing provision for children …

What Do Young People Think Of The Gardaí?:An Examination Of Young Peoples Attitudes Toward And Experiences Of The Gardaí, Niamh Feeney

Dissertations

National strategies point toward the importance of young people being consulted in relation to services and policies that affect them. Interest in the attitudes of young people to police has increased in recent decades yet this has not yet been explored in Ireland. This thesis examines the attitudes of a sample of young people in the Garda Dublin Metropolitan Region North to the Gardaí as well as their experiences of contacts with members of An Garda Síochána. This is done mainly through the quantitative research method of a survey. One hundred and three young people aged 15-19 in four different …

A Cross-Cultural Study Of Intergenerational Communication In Workplace, Yan Guan

Dissertations

This study investigates intergenerational relationships in organizational settings and uses Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) to examine the influence of age, power, culture, and self-construal on young workers' perceptions of intergenerational communication. According to CAT, communication is stereotypical due to outgroup bias, people favor their own age or power group more than other age or power groups. CAT research showed that young Asians' perceptions of intergenerational communication may be more negative than their Western counterparts. Self-construal was studied to understand the nature of culture's influence. Research and theory supported nine hypotheses and three research questions.

A study using self-report measure was …

An Assessment Of Democratic Policing In The Turkish National Police: Police Officials' Attitudes Toward Recent Police Reforms, Akin Karatay

Dissertations

This study defines democracy, describes democratic policing, analyzes the development of democratic policing principles in the developing country of Turkey and contends that democracy can be enduring only when the police embody democratic values. As Turkey transforms itself in order to become a member of the European Union, the process has fostered national, institutional, cultural and socioeconomic adaptations, all of which lead towards democracy. This process has influenced the Turkish National Police (TNP) as well. In theory, these efforts towards political democratization, legal reform and the adoption of European Union police policy guidelines should have a positive effect on Turkish …

Scarred Images: Using Appearance As A Motivator To Reduce Driving Under The Influence Of Alcohol, Mary-Theresa Mcnabb

Dissertations

In response to continued driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) amongst young adults and increased drinking and driving amongst females, the current study aimed to decrease such risky behavior using threats to appearance as a deterrent. One hundred and thirty-three undergraduates at the University of Southern Mississippi completed a threepart study after sequential assignment to one of three groups, a no-photo group, a crash scene photo group, or a personalized-photo group. Baseline measures were taken concerning participants' alcohol-related behaviors. One week later all groups were given statistical information commonly available in DUI prevention pamphlets together with strategies to avoid …

Sport As A Vehicle For Socialization And Maintenance Of Cultural Identity: International Students Attending American Universities, James Taylor Allen

Dissertations

Sport can be utilized by immigrants as a vehicle for maintaining cultural identity. Conversely, sport participation provides immigrants with opportunities for adopting an entirely new culture. Previous research also suggests that sport provides individuals with opportunities for attaining social capital. While this can be a beneficial situation for some, sport is also promoting elitism and serving as a powerful mechanism for exclusion. Globalization has led large numbers of foreign nationals to seek educational opportunities in the United States. Due to the increase in the number of international students and the lack of empirical studies, the need to study their participation …

A Psychometric Evaluation Of The Revised Optimism-Pessimism Scale Of The Mmpi-2, Ginger Burge Debrule

Dissertations

The present study tested the psychometric properties of the Revised Optimism-Pessimism Scale (PSM-R) of the MMPI-2. This scale purportedly measures the respondent's explanatory style on a dimension of optimism and pessimism. Participants included 92 college undergraduates and 2,729 participants from archived outpatient data. The PSM-R is a reliable measure, based on test-retest reliability and internal consistency. However, the construct validity of the measure is questionable. Evaluation of the PSM-R items suggests that the items are not all related to the optimism-pessimism construct. In addition, convergent validity of the PSM-R was assessed using measures of attributional style, dispositional optimism, hope, depression, …

A Longitudinal Examination Of Outcomes Related To Emotional Abuse In Children, Lauren Seale Fryer

Dissertations

Emotional abuse has been linked to both intemalizing and extemalizing outcomes in adults and children, even after controlling for the presence of physical and/or sexual abuse in childhood (Braver, Bumberry, Green, & Rawson, 1992; Gibb et al., 2001; Kaufman & Cicchetti, 1989; Kim & Cicchetti, 2006). The developmental/organizational perspective, as well as attachment theory, suggests that emotional abuse occurring in childhood will result in disrupted views of subsequent relationships, leading to maladaptive outcomes such as aggression, depression, and low self-esteem (Cicchetti & Toth, 1995). The current study examined these relations in an archival sample of lowincome urban children ages 5 …

Attachment Anxiety And Avoidance: Relationship To Body Image And Exercise Behavior, Kathryn Louise Brown

Dissertations

This study was designed to investigate the role of attachment anxiety and avoidance in predicting persons' body image, body appreciation, and obligatory exercise behavior. Two hundred and twenty eight participants (100 men and 128 women) completed the Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ; Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994), Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ; Cash, 2000), Body Appreciation Scale (BAS; Avalos et al., 2005), and Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire (OEQ; Pasman & Thompson, 1988). Results provided at least partial support for many of the hypotheses. The current study replicated results from previous research pertaining to the relationship between attachment and body image. However, the results …

The Relation Among Sleep, Routines, And Behavior In Children With An Autism Spectrum Disorder, Jill Angelique Henderson

Dissertations

Children with an ASD have a propensity for routines and reportedly have a greater incidence of sleep disturbance and externalizing behaviors than typical children. In addition, significant relations have been identified among routines, sleep behavior, and externalizing behavior in a community sample of children, suggesting that a lack of routines maybe related to sleep disturbance and externalizing behaviors. However, to date, no known studies have thoroughly examined the relation between these variables in children with an ASD. The primary purpose of the present investigation was to examine relations among routines, sleep, and behavior in children with an ASD. Primary caregivers …

Posttraumatic Spiritual Growth: A Phenomenological Study Of Cancer Survivors, Ryan Myles Denney

Dissertations

A small but growing body of research has sought to investigate the specific role of religion and spirituality in posttraumatic growth. Recently investigations have begun to focus on spiritual growth following trauma, specifically that of cancer patients and survivors. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how having cancer effects the spiritual growth of cancer survivors across a multidimensional conceptualization of spirituality (Hill 2005; Tsang & McCullough, 2003). The researcher investigated the lived experience of thirteen cancer survivors with posttraumatic spiritual growth using a phenomenological method of data analysis. Participants reported experiencing spiritual growth across the following domains …

Interrelations Among Personality, Religious And Nonreligious Coping, And Mental Health, Jude Martin Henningsgaard

Dissertations

Religion's involvement in the coping process remains an underexplored area of coping research despite most psychologists agreeing that religion is integral to this process for many individuals. Interestingly, there is some disagreement among psychologists regarding whether religious coping can be "reduced" to nonreligious coping (Siegel, Anderman, & Schrimshaw, 2001). To better understand how religious and nonreligious coping contribute uniquely to the prediction of mental health outcomes, the study's first and second goals were to determine the incremental validity of each type of coping, above and beyond the other. The study's third goal was to determine whether select coping strategies mediated …

The Effects Of Differential Negative Reinforcement Of Task Engagement On Escape From Academic Tasks, Brett Vivian Mehrtens Prince

Dissertations

The effects of differential negative reinforcement of alternative behavior (DNRA) were examined on the escape behavior of four 1st and 2nd grade general education students. The alternative behavior that was negatively reinforced was task engagement during reading or math periods. The DNRA treatment was evaluated for its effects on task engagement in either a DNRA with access to a preferred activity condition or a DNRA without access to a preferred activity condition. In the preferred activity condition, the participants were allowed to engage in a high preferred activity when they had been engaged with an academic task for a certain …

The Effect Of Holland's Person-Environment Fit On Trait Anger, Interpersonal Conflict At Work, And Workplace Aggression, Aimee Chantelle Pseekos

Dissertations

This study examined the effect of Person-Environment fit, as defined by Holland's (1997) theory, on trait anger, interpersonal conflict at work, and workplace aggression in a sample of employees in the United States. Job satisfaction was also examined with regard to concurrent and discriminant validity information for this sample. Results indicated that there was not a statistically significant effect of Person- Environment fit on trait anger, interpersonal conflict at work, or workplace aggression. The concurrent and discriminant validity of findings was supported through relationships between job satisfaction, Person-Environment fit, and workplace aggression. Limitations and implications for further research related to …