Counseling Commons^™

Religious Orientation, Jungian Personality Type, And Stage Of Ego Development Of The Machiavellian Personality, Jerome E. Elson

Dissertations

This study explored the religious orientation, Jungian personality type, and stage of ego development of the Machiavellian personality. Eighty-six freshman students, from a 4-year college with an emphasis on business subjects, completed four questionnaires. These questionnaires were: (1) the Mach V (a measure of the Machiavellian personality), (2) the Religious Orientation Scale (a survey of religious orientation), (3) the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (an appraisal of Jungian personality type), and (4) the Sentence Completion Test (an assessment of ego development).

Subjects whose Mach V scores were in the top fourth of the population were called "High Machs" (and were referred to …

Gender Differences And Training Effects On Empathy, Carol S. Jones

Dissertations

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the gender of aspiring therapists and empathy as well as the relationship between training and empathy. Four bodies of literature were reviewed: (1) feminine psychological development with a particular focus on how it differs from masculine development, (2) the relationship between empathy and gender, (3) the role of empathy in psychotherapy, and (4) the relationship between training and empathy.

An empirical study was conducted to test the proposed hypotheses that (a) there is a relationship between a student's gender and his or her self-report of empathy on cognitive and …

Community College Student Success: The Relationship Of Basic Skills, Study Habits, Age, And Gender To Academic Achievement, Margaret Lynn Hills Wonnacott

Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to determine if a relationship existed between reading ability, writing ability, math ability, study skills, age and gender and first semester grade point average of Glen Oaks Community College students. A secondary purpose was to determine if these variables acting together could predict student academic success.

The subjects were 374 full and part time students matriculating at Glen Oaks for the fall semester, 1988. The ASSET instrument was used to measure basic skills and study skills. It was administered at orientation sessions in August and September prior to enrollment. Pearson product moment correlation coefficients …

Personality Characteristics And Personality Styles Of Adult Children Of Alcoholics As Compared With Adult Children Of Nonalcoholics, George David Thomson

Dissertations

The focus of this study was to explore the impact of parental alcoholism on personalities of college students who identify themselves as adult children of alcoholics. There were two main areas of research. One explored the degree of difference between adult children of alcoholics and adult children of nonalcoholics on personality characteristics identified by the literature to be dominant traits of adult children of alcoholics. These traits were: (a) dominance, (b) serious-mindness, (c) social recognition, (d) abasement, (e) autonomy, and (f) defendence. The second explored the possibility that adult children of alcoholics are prone to certain personality styles. These personality …

Sleep Disorders And The Elderly: The Effect Of Progressive Relaxation Training Versus Sedative-Hypnotic Treatment On Insomnia, Klaus J. Sauerbrey

Dissertations

Progressive relaxation training (PRT) and sedative-hypnotics (S-H) were compared as a treatment for insomnia in the elderly. This study used the following definition of insomnia: Sleeping less than six hours a night, a sleep onset latency (SOL) more than 30 minutes, and waking up one or more times a night. Individuals also had to exhibit these symptoms longer than six months and these complaints had to be present at least 50 percent of the time. This study was conducted with seniors ($N$ = 30) over a period of three weeks with the first week being baseline.

The purpose of this …

The Concept Of Foreseeability As It Relates To Personal Injury Litigation In College And University Residence Halls, F. Bruce Johnston Jr.

Dissertations

The study of the concept of foreseeability as it relates to personal injury litigation for assaults in college and university residence halls reveals three significant implications for higher education. Duarte v. State of California (1978), Mullins v. Pine Manor College (1983), and Miller v. State of New York (1984) are three important cases reviewed. Each case is analyzed using foreseeability, the student/institutional relationship, the various duties owed to the student, the breach of the duty, the presence of negligence, and the imposition of liability.

The implication involves the student/institutional relationship. This implication demonstrates the incongruity of the legal duty to …

A Study Of Personality Factors And Music Preference, Involvement, And Use Among Youth, Sheila Ann Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between the music preferences, level of music involvement, and music uses among young people and the personality dimensions of internality (introversion), norm-acceptance, and sense of self-realization and psychological integration as measured by the Structural scales of the California Psychological Inventory.

An investigator-developed instrument was used to assess subjects' music preferences, level of music involvement, and uses of music. One hundred and sixty-three females and 137 males attending various southwestern Michigan colleges volunteered to complete both instruments. Subjects ranged in age from 18 to 20 years.

A one-way MANOVA …

A Pilot Test Of The Career Adjustment And Development Inventory As A Career Needs Analysis Technique, Richard W. Zinser

Dissertations

A review of the career development literature in current journals revealed several important trends that accentuate the need for additional career services for working adults. Moreover, assessment techniques currently used are transparent and rely mainly on participants' self perceptions. A new career inventory (Crites, 1982), which is based on a taxonomy of adult career problems, has been developed to measure the career adjustment of establishment stage individuals. The instrument was developed as a more effective assessment instrument for the purpose of uncovering employee needs, and for designing appropriate career development programs.

The Career Adjustment and Development Inventory (CADI) was administered …

Psychotherapists' Responses To Anger Manifested By Female Clients, Lisa L. Morshead

Dissertations

The responses of therapists to anger directed at them by female clients was the topic under investigation. Sixty-nine professional therapists were engaged as subjects, with each therapist reading two fictitious transcripts depicting the first portion of a therapy session. The two transcripts portrayed an angry client and a nonangry client, with client sex varied in each condition for a total of four transcripts. Each subject read both an angry and nonangry transcript of either two male or two female clients. Subjects were then asked to rate the client on competence, and interpersonal functioning, along with providing diagnostic impressions. A four …

Evaluation Of A Psychoeducational Curriculum For Promoting Psychological Health And Self-Esteem, Michele Susan Meola

Dissertations

This study was designed to investigate the effectiveness of a psychoeducational curriculum in psychological health skills, entitled Psychological Health and Self-Esteem (PHSE). The study evaluated PHSE which is a 10-week class offered through the Psychology Department at Michigan State University, East Lansing, and is part of the Health Promotion Program, partially funded by a Kellogg Foundation grant.

Two hundred students participated in the study, and complete data were obtained from 117, 56 of them enrolled in PHSE and 61 enrolled in a different class designated as a control group. The design of the study was a pretest-posttest quasi-experiment with a …

Construct Validation Of The Family Of Origin Scale: A Factor Analysis, Omar L. Mangrum

Dissertations

The major purpose of this two-part study was to contribute to the body of knowledge concerned with the construct validity of the Family of Origin Scale (FOS). The issues of construct and discriminative validity were specifically addressed. The first phase was an attempt to empirically establish the underlying factor structure of the Family of Origin Scale (FOS) through factor analytic techniques. The analysis utilized data collected from a previously studied population (i.e., college students) and a demographically different population (i.e., prison inmates). Results from this study indicate that the FOS appears to measure at least seven distinct factors/constructs, four of …

A Study Of Factors Correlated With Career Persistence Of Male Pastors In The Free Methodist Church In Michigan, Robert Q. Bailey

Dissertations

The research objective was to create a descriptive profile of clergypersons who are persisting in career roles as pastors of the Free Methodist Church in Michigan.

An original instrument was administered to 113 male pastors, soliciting biographical data (age, pastoral tenure, educational background, statistical growth of churches served, family background, health and influences in career decisions) and responses to fifty value statements about the pastors' careers. The value statements were applications of ideas from the "Motivation-Hygiene" theory of career satisfaction and more individualized concepts as reinforcers of personal needs.

Attempts to describe the persisting pastors by correlating tenure to their …

A Study Of Licensed Psychologists And The Problem Of Addressing Spiritual/Religious Issues In Therapy, Suzanne Lorenz Brennan

Dissertations

The study was done in response to a documented concern in the literature that therapists are unprepared to treat the spiritual concerns of their clients who come from a population in which 95% profess a belief in God.

One objective of the study was to determine the spiritual orientation of licensed psychologists and their attitudes toward religious belief and addressing religious issues in psychotherapy. Other objectives were to determine the amount of help received in addressing these issues during training and supervision and how competent they perceived themselves to be in this regard. Responses of the two license levels, full …

The Effects Of A Wilderness/Adventure Program On The Self-Concept, Locus Of Control Orientation, And Interpersonal Behavior Of Delinquent Adolescents, Timothy J. Zwart

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 26-day therapeutic wilderness program for delinquent adolescent males on three conceptually distinct but closely related constructs: self-concept, locus of control orientation, and interpersonal behavior. Justification for the study was derived from the limitations of past wilderness/adventure research which suggested that there was a need for additional research on the effects of this type of alternative program for delinquent adolescents.

It was hypothesized that following participation in this program the youths would exhibit increased self-concept, more internal locus of control orientation, would express higher needs for inclusion and affection …

The Effect Of Attending A Bereavement Support Seminar On The Level Of Depression Of Bereaved Spouses Within The First Year After The Spouses' Deaths; An Experimental Study, Carole Jeanne Weidaw

Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effect of providing information about the grief process and a supportive environment of peers on depression in recently bereaved spouses.

The treatment intervention consisted of the Bereavement Support Seminar, which provided didactic material relating to the normal aspects of the grief process with emphasis on dealing with anger, guilt and progressive growth while allowing for feelings and memories to be vented and supported.

The subjects were divided into two groups: experimental (those who were involved in the 4-week Bereavement Support Seminar) and control (those who received no intervention). The experimental …

The Effect Of Attending A Bereavement Support Seminar On The Level Of Expressed Physical Symptoms Of Bereaved Spouses Within The First Year After The Spouses' Deaths: An Experimental Study, Susan Jean Zonnebelt-Smeenge

Dissertations

Morbidity and mortality have been identified as potentially negative outcomes for bereaved spouses. Intervention is theorized to be an important factor in bereavement outcome, but few investigators have reported relevant studies depicting a decrease in somatic symptoms relative to planned treatment. The present research was conducted to explore the effect of attendance at a 4-session bereavement support seminar on the expressed physical symptoms of the widowed, within the first year subsequent to spousal death.

Subjects were obtained for this experimental study by the random sampling without replacement method, utilizing the obituary notices appearing in local newspapers. To facilitate generalization of …

An Assessment Of The Counseling Services Provided To Juvenile Delinquents In Jordan Through The Perceptions Of Juvenile Probation Officers And Administrators, Ahmad Suleiman Zaghalil

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the present status of counseling services provided to juvenile delinquents in Jordan. More specifically, this study focused on the characteristics, priorities, major strengths and weaknesses, problems of counseling services provided to juvenile delinquents, portion of time spent in counseling juvenile delinquents individually and in groups, as perceived by juvenile probation officers and administrators in Jordan, and the academic courses studied by both groups which helped them to practice the profession of counseling with juvenile delinquents.

The subjects for this study consisted of 28 juvenile probation officers and 10 administrators. A questionnaire developed …

American Indian Perception Of Counselor Characteristics In A Counseling Interview, Francis Donald Mcleod

Dissertations

This investigation of Native Americans determined to what extent counselor expertness, effectiveness and trustworthiness affect their perception of the counseling interview. The study was specifically designed to assess Native American attitudes as they relate to situational counselor characteristics and behavior. The attitudinal preferences investigated were: (a) racial characteristics of counselor, (b) personal attractiveness of counselor, (c) expertness of counselor, and (d) trustworthiness of counselor.

The sample for the study was composed of 60 Native American students randomly selected through Project M.A.I.S.S. (Making American Indians Self-Sufficient), an academic remedial program for American Indian students from the area around Kalamazoo, Michigan. The …

Prescriptive Supervisor Verbal Responding And Its Effect Upon Trainee Satisfaction In Counseling Supervision, Douglas A. Riley

Dissertations

An experimental strategy of supervisor verbal responding was compared to two other strategies. Termed "direct responding," it involved answering trainee requests for information, opinion, or suggestion, by giving information, opinion, or suggestion. Trainee statements of fact or opinion were answered by a request for elaboration. This strategy was compared with a reflective-type response, modeled on base-rate studies of supervisor verbalizations, and with a random-type of response in which supervisor responses were not necessarily related to trainee statements.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a direct strategy of responding to trainee verbalizations would be perceived as superior to …

Perceptions Of Western Michigan University International Students Regarding Seeking Personal Counseling, Nader F. Al-Qasem

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of the international students at Western Michigan University toward seeking personal counseling and to answer the following questions: (1) Is there a relationship between international students' duration of stay in the United States and their perceptions toward seeking personal counseling? (2) Is there a relationship between international students' previous contact with counselors and their perceptions toward seeking personal counseling? (3) Are the perceptions of international students toward seeking personal counseling affected by their sex? (4) Is there a relationship between the academic level of international students and their perceptions toward …

Loneliness And Graduate Students: A Descriptive Study, Mary Zirpoli

Dissertations

The major purposes of this study were to identify the lonely among graduate students, the types and degree of loneliness they experience, and the possible variables associated with graduate student loneliness. The Belcher Extended Loneliness Scale (BELS), and a second questionnaire about the causes of loneliness, were administered to 337 graduate students in 23 classes at Western Michigan University (WMU).

The BELS identified two types of loneliness that some graduate students experience as well as 104 significant differences which were found to relate mostly to an unspecified type of loneliness. The following variables were found to be very important in …

The Incidence And Nature Of Dating Violence Among Never-Married Students At One Junior College, Nancy Cole Masterson

Dissertations

The subjects were a convenience sample of 151 never-married junior college students who completed the Violence Index Schedule (VIS).

Analysis of the VIS indicated that 30.5% of the subjects had been the victim of at least one incident of dating violence, and that the majority of those victims, 67%, reported receiving no injuries. Of those who were injured, bruises and welts were the most common form of injury. Significant differences were found in nonassaultive partner behaviors present in the relationships of the victims and nonvictims of dating violence, t = -10.55 (149), p < .001. Chi-square analyses of the Nonassaultive Index items revealed significant differences for 24 of the 25 nonassaultive characteristics. Partners of the victims displayed significantly more jealously, coercive anger, verbal abusiveness, and controlling behaviors than did the partners of nonvictims.

An analysis of the quantitative and qualitative …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Self-Esteem And The Ability Of The Family Of Origin To Promote Autonomy, Expression Of Feelings, And Trust Development In Adult Children Of Alcoholics, Paula Andrasi

Dissertations

Several theories have been proposed in the last 5 years suggesting that adult children of alcoholics (ACAs) comprise a unique population in need of specialized treatment services. The purpose of this study was to test two of the basic assumptions underlying the various theories. The first assumption considered was that ACAs have poorer self-esteem than adults who are not children of alcoholics (non-ACAs). The second assumption was that an alcoholic home is less facilitative in the promotion of trust development, autonomy, and expression of feeling than the nonalcoholic home. The researcher proposed that poor self-esteem in ACAs would be positively …

A Comparison Of The Personal Values Of A Sample Of Unemployed American Males And A Normative Sample Of American Males As Measured By The Rokeach Value Survey, Timothy J. Howard

Dissertations

Problems of the unemployed and unemployment are evidenced in personal, social, and economic areas. The measurement of the personal values of unemployed American males may yield information that could be useful to individuals in the helping professions.

Seventy-seven unemployed Job Training Partnership Act male participants were administered the Rokeach Value Survey in their employability skills sessions. The Median Test was applied to compare the unemployed sample of American males and the Rokeach Value Survey normative sample of American males. The Kruskal-Wallis One-Way Analysis of Variance was calculated with several demographic characteristics of the unemployed American male sample (age, education, ethnicity, …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Marital Expectations And Satisfaction For First Married And Remarried Couples On Factors Extracted From Two Marital Adjustment Scales, Daniel K. Ehnis

Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to establish the construct validity of the Marital Comparison Level Index (MCLI), an instrument designed by Sabatelli (1984) to assess the degree to which married individuals' outcomes compare with their marital expectations. A subordinate goal was to examine the relationship between expectations and satisfaction in marriage.

To accomplish these goals, the factorial content of the MCLI was compared with the factor structure of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), a well-validated measure of marital satisfaction. Responses of 170 married individuals on both scales were factor analyzed using a principal components analysis with varimax rotation …

The Status Of Counseling Education In American And Canadian Bible Colleges, Joan Eileen Mayers

Dissertations

Bible colleges are the primary post-secondary training institutions of the Evangelical segment of Christianity, and they exist to train men and women for Christian service positions. This study was designed to determine: (a) if Bible college graduates are expected to counsel as a part of their ministry responsibilities; (b) if there has existed, on the part of the evangelical Christian community, a negative bias against the fields of psychology and counseling; (c) the amount of counseling education currently provided by Bible colleges; (d) whether it is now appropriate to begin to incorporate basic counseling courses into the Bible college curricular …

The Intuitive Dimension Of The Therapist's Consciousness: A New Paradigm, Bonnie Marie Truax

Dissertations

The major purpose of this study was the examination of the incidence and nature of the intuitions of therapists. A secondary purpose was to create and evaluate an alternative approach to the study of human subjective experience. The research was completed in three phases.

Phase 1 involved creating a paradigm about intuition based on historical perspectives and viewpoints. Sixteen basic theoretical constructs about intuition were developed following an extensive synthesis and integration of philosophic and psychological literature.

In Phase 2, the paradigm was evaluated using the constant comparative method of qualitative analysis, which allows for the continual emergence of new …

The Effect Of Task Responsibilities On Assistant Principals' Roles, Sandra B. Sirotti

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect that increased responsibilities had on the assistant principal's role. Because of increased responsibilities, it was believed that the assistant principals had been forced to become more task and less person oriented as a result of inadequate time to deal with both tasks and people. The study was designed to ascertain whether there had been growth in task responsibilities and, if so, whether the growth had caused the role to become more task than person oriented.

The sample consisted of 400 Michigan assistant principals. From this sample, 67% of the administrators …

The Development And Evaluation Of An Educational Therapeutic Group Procedure To Assist Preadolescent Children To Process Parental Divorce, Donna K. Prins

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate an educational therapeutic group procedure to assist preadolescent children to understand and assimilate the process of parental divorce.

The group procedure is a short term therapeutic approach which focused on general problems experienced by children processing parental divorce. A prestructured format was developed, and the entire procedure was designed to occur in a small group setting.

The major goal of the study, developing the group procedure Things Have Changed At My House, was accomplished. The complete text of the procedure is contained in the appendix of the dissertation.

Both process …

Personality Predictors Of Academic Success In Underachieving First Year College Students, Carolyn Wilson-Garrison

Dissertations

In this study, the role of nonintellective variables as predictors of academic success in underachieving first year college students was explored. Traditional predictors of college grades, high school grade point average and standardized scores on the American College Testing examination (ACT), were also examined.

The purpose of this study was to assess whether college grades at the end of the first year would differ according to underachieving students' personality styles, expressed concerns, and behavioral correlates thereby offering the possibility that such nonintellective factors may be useful in the prediction of grades.

The sample was a randomly selected group of eighty-seven …