Psychology Commons^™

The Relationships Between Perceived Therapeutic Alliance, Therapist Self-Disclosure, And Dropout Expectancy Among Male Substance Abuse Treatment Participants, Harriett Elizabeth Reeh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There are contrasting views from Freudian, humanistic, and feminist theorists regarding whether therapist self-disclosure (TSD) affects the relationship between the therapeutic alliance (TA) and dropout of substance abuse treatment by males. However, there is a paucity of research regarding these topics yet therapists need clear empirical support for the use of TSD in enhancing the TA such that dropout can be averted. This study investigated whether or not TSD moderated the relationship between perceived TA and dropout expectancy. The research participants were 132 men attending residential substance abuse treatment. Four groups of men were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 …

The Theories Of Deindividuation, Brian Li

CMC Senior Theses

Has it ever occurred to you to wonder why a soldier would sacrifice his life by jumping on a bomb to save the rest of his brigade? Or why an individual in a gang might display respectable behavior when alone but swear and vandalize when in the group? The phenomenon of people getting pulled into crowds and adopting the group’s mentalities and behaviors has been recognized but not fully researched. However, it has been recorded in early literature and research that it is human nature to want to fit into a group, for example in Abraham Maslow’s (1943) paper, A …

Attachment To God: Its Impact On The Psychological Wellbeing Of Persons With Religious Vocation, Innocent F. Okozi

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Considering The Power Of Context: Racism, Sexism, And Beloging In The Vicarious Traumatization Of Counselors, Katharine J. Hahn

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Recent concerns have arisen about the effects on counselors of working with trauma survivors. Vicarious traumatization may be a normal developmental process of adapting to client trauma material and may ultimately result in vicarious posttraumatic growth, or positive changes arising from vicarious trauma. Most studies have focused on individual variables or clinician coping strategies that predict vicarious traumatization. Taking a feminist approach to vicarious traumatization, this study examined the role of workplace context variables, such as sense of belonging in the workplace and support for vicarious trauma at work, on counselor vicarious traumatization and vicarious posttraumatic growth. Stratified random sampling …

The Nature And Significance Of Groups, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

An understanding of group counseling requires an understanding of groups themselves, their basic nature and processes. Given that human beings are a social species and spend their lives in groups rather than alone, an individual-level analysis of adjustment, well-being, and treatment, with its focus on internal, psychological processes, should be supplemented by a group-level analysis. The defining features of a group are relationships linking a substantial number of members, boundaries, interdependence, structure, cohesion, and entitativity (perceived groupness): and groups with more of these features are more Influential than other forms of association, such as social networks. The chapter reviews a …

Attachment Styles, Social Skills, And Depression In College Women, Eileen L. Cooley, Amy Van Buren, Steven P. Cole

Psychology Faculty Publications

Attachment styles, social skills, and depression were studied in 93 college women using the Relationship Questionnaire (K. Bartholomew & L M. Horowitz, 1991), the Beck Depression Inventory-ll (AT. Beck, R.A. Steer, & G. K. Brown, 1996), and the Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire (D. Buhrmester,W. Furman, M.T.Wittenberg, & H.T. Reis, 1988).The self and other attachment models and the social skills of negative assertion, self-disclosure, and conflict management all correlated with depression. Conflict management partially mediated the relationship between attachment self-model and depression. Implications for counseling are discussed.

Where's My Daddy? Effects Of Fatherlessness On Women's Relational Communication, Latoya Marie Jackson

Master's Theses

The purpose of this thesis research was to understand the relationship between father absence and women's communication styles in romantic heterosexual relationships under social cognitive theory. Two studies were conducted using a multi-method research approach in order to triangulate the results. Seven fatherless women were interviewed to arrive at a better understanding of how father absence informed their romantic relational experiences. Specifically, the topics of relationship roles, self-disclosure, expression, and self-silencing in romantic relationships were examined in the interviews. Participants reflected on what growing up fatherless meant to them and whether or not this had any influence on the role …

The Effect Of Urban Hassles On The Subjective Well-Being Of Low-Income Urban Adolescents, Kimberly Vacek

Dissertations

Low income urban youth have been identified as an understudied and important population to explore. The psychological effects of stress on the well-being of children and adolescents are of particular interest, and the stressors faced by low income urban adolescents are unique in that they are more chronic in nature and due to adverse environmental circumstances. While researchers have examined the effect of stress on the subjective well-being of low income urban adolescents, none have done so utilizing a measure of stress developed specifically to assess the unique stressors experienced by such populations. The Urban Hassles Index (UHI) is a …

Examining Racial Ethnic Socialization, Ethnic Identity Development, And Their Psychological Correlates In A Sample Of Ethnically Diverse Youth, Denada Hoxha

Dissertations

Research on racial ethnic socialization experiences among ethnically diverse youth from their perspective is limited. Additionally, little is known about the relationship between specific racial ethnic socialization messages and positive youth outcomes such as subjective well-being. This study sought to examine the prevalence of specific types of racial ethnic socialization messages in a group of ethnically diverse high school students. The study also examined the role of preparation for bias and cultural socialization messages on youth's ethnic identity development and private group esteem. The study also examined the mediating role of ethnic identity and self-esteem in the relationship between racial …

The Effects Of Uncontrollable Stress On Subjective Well-Being And Coping Behavior In Urban Adolescents, Laura Darr Coyle

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine whether uncontrollable and controllable stressors differentially affected levels of subjective well-being in a group of ethnically diverse urban adolescents. Additionally, the researcher examined what types of coping skills were utilized in the face of high levels of uncontrollable stress. Lastly, a moderational model was proposed, wherein active coping was hypothesized to strengthen the inverse relationship between uncontrollable stress and subjective well-being. Results revealed that higher levels of uncontrollable stress were related to higher levels of negative affect. Additionally, the use of active and adaptive coping strategies was associated with higher levels of …

Resilience And African American Early Adolescents: The Protective Function Of Religion And Structured After-School Activities, Gloria Patricia Montgomery-Walters

Dissertations

Resilience is defined as the ability to overcome unfavorable circumstances to achieve positive developmental outcomes. Studies of resilience and vulnerability generally reflect individuals' susceptibility to either positive or adverse outcomes when subjected to high-risk circumstances and environments. The current study examines the protective function of religiosity and structured after-school activities against the development of depression for young adolescents exposed to high incidence of community violence and deviant peer affiliation. The results suggest that religious beliefs and practices protects against depression for adolescents exposed to community violence. The implications of this finding as well as the study limitations and future research …

The Influence Of Rape Empathy And Demographic Variables On Counselor Rape Myth Acceptance, Julia M. Forman

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

In 2007, 248,300 individuals were raped (National Crime Victimization Survey [NCVS], 2007). It is likely that counseling professionals will provide services to rape survivors, and they should be aware of their biases towards survivors so that they can provide the most competent care possible. Some biases and attitudes may stem from the acceptance of rape myths. Rape myth acceptance (RMA) can lead to blaming the survivor for an attack (Campbell & Raja, 1999) and other consequences, including the exacerbation of psychological and physical symptoms (Campbell, Ahrens, Sefl, Wasco, & Barnes, 2001). Furthermore, a lack of rape empathy may inflict injury …

The Association Between Parental Perceptions Of Children's Residential Mental Health Treatment And The Parent-Child Relationship, Susanne Elizabeth Preston

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Residential mental health treatment for children as an intervention for children is increasing, potentially affecting the relationship within families. The purpose of this study was to examine the parental perspectives of the associations between the parent-child relationship and children's residential mental health treatment. This study explored parental perspectives of specific aspects of the parent-child relationship: parental support, satisfaction with parenting, parental involvement, communication, and limit setting-and the association between these aspects and the child's residential mental health treatment. Paired samples t-tests were conducted; resulting in statistically significant changes on all scales measured, with varying effect sizes. Results indicated parents …

Facilitating The Generalization Of Social Skills With Bibliotherapy And Positive Peer Reporting, Angelina C. Krieger

Theses and Dissertations

Social competence is needed for interaction among peers, teachers, and families in order for children to be successful in school. Children enter school with various levels of social competence. Social skills training is an effective method for building social skills; however, many programs fail to generalize these skills across settings and time. This study investigated the effects of a social skills training intervention for first and second grade students with emotional and behavioral problems. The intervention blended direct instruction, role-plays, and children's literature, with peers supporting both the acquisition and generalization of the social skills through positive peer reporting (PPR) …

College Students And Stress Management: Utilizing Biofeedback And Relaxation Skills Training, Shannon Jones Anstead

Theses and Dissertations

This study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of biofeedback and relaxation skills training to help alleviate college students' stress symptoms. Data was collected from 659 full-time college students who attended a total of 1,170 biofeedback sessions over the course of two years. Results of the study indicated that the top three stress-related symptoms students experienced were (a) feeling overwhelmed, (b) feeling anxious, and (c) difficulty concentrating. Furthermore, the top three stressors rated by students were (a) too much to do, (b) homework, and (c) classes and school. In addition, the top three coping strategies utilized by students to manage …

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 Heterosexual Mother-Lesbian Daughter Relationship: Using Consensual Qualitative Research (Cqr) To Understand Perceptions Among Predominately White, Formally Educated Mothers, Julie Meredith Davis

Dissertations

Little research specifically addresses the heterosexual mother-lesbian daughter relationship. Given this, a core research team of six utilized a Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) approach to gain insight into two broad ideas. The first broad idea was about how heterosexual mothers perceive that their relationship with their lesbian daughters unfolds after the mothers accepted their daughters' minority sexual orientation. The second broad idea was how changes in the heterosexual mothers' values, beliefs, and attitudes (from the mothers' perspectives) influenced their postacceptance relationship with their daughters. The 10 women who agreed to participate in the study were predominately white, formally well-educated, psychologically …

Adolescents' Experience Of The Factors Influencing Their Diabetes Treatment Regimen, Roger W. Apple

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to better understand and provide a description of the factors that influence adolescents' adherence to the diabetic treatment regimen from the adolescents' experience. The sample consisted of nine adolescents diagnosed with Type I diabetes. A qualitative phenomenological methodology is used to look for significant statements, meanings, and themes that resulted in an exhaustive description of the adolescents' experience.

In-depth interviews are the primary method of data collection. Data analysis includes: transcribing the interviews and reading the transcripts, extracting significant statements, developing formulated meanings, organizing the formulated meanings into clusters of themes, and developing an …

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. …

Mothers' Perceptions Of Website Information In Solving Behavioral Problems In Children With Disabilities, Heather Collins

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated the needs of mothers in regard to designing an educational website for parents/caregivers of children with disabilities. This research was designed to provide information to inform outreach efforts of Brigham Young University's Family HOPE (Happiness, Optimism, Promise, and Excellence) Project. This project assists families struggling with child behavior problems. Results from this study provided an initial understanding of the potential for a website to offer support to families not directly served through the Family HOPE project. Participants included 26 adult females, 25 mothers and one female caregiver. Each participant was the primary caregiver of a child with …

Perceptions Of School Civility: A Survey Of School Of Education Alumni, Keely Marie Swanson

Theses and Dissertations

Very little empirical data exists on the topic of civility in schools, although much theory and philosophy are proffered in the literature. Literature on moral education and character education also informs the study of civility. Many of the philosophical theories mention education as a way of increasing civility in society. Some schools have attempted to implement various civility interventions and research supports the use of similar interventions to teach social skills; however, none have systematically collected data for these interventions to evaluate their effectiveness for teaching civility. The present research systematically gathered data on perceptions of civility and incivility in …

The Genetic Epidemiology Of Purging Disorder, Anorexia Nervosa, And Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder, Sara Trace

Theses and Dissertations

Although a variety of factors influence the development of eating disorders, genetic factors contribute notably to their etiology. Understanding genetic factors associated with eating disorders is important, as they can influence how these disorders are recognized, researched, and treated. This dissertation included two studies addressing important questions within the fields of eating disorders and genetics; specifically, Study 1 addressed the prevalence and heritability of purging and purging disorder in a population-based sample of female twins from the United States; and Study 2 investigated the nature of the co-morbidity between anorexia nervosa and obsessive compulsive personality disorder in a population-based sample …

Portrayal Of Characters With Disabilities In Newbery Books, Melissa Leininger

Theses and Dissertations

Newbery books represent quality literature that is likely to be used for bibliotherapy, yet these books have not been systematically evaluated for their portrayal of characters with disabilities. Thirty Newbery Award and Honor books from 1975–2008 were identified that contained 40 characters with disabilities. These books were evaluated using a rating scale that combines literary standards and standards relating to individuals with disabilities. The types of disabilities and personal characteristics such as gender, age, and race were documented and the personal portrayal of characters with disabilities and exemplary practices in these books were evaluated. This information was compared to the …

A Phenomenological Study Of Clinicians Treating Traumagenic Compulsions Resulting From Childhood Sexual Abuse, Albert Sarno

Faculty Dissertations

Various types of traumatic compulsive behaviors have been observed by practicing mental health clinicians and yet there is a lack of consensus among such clinicians for treating people in such a problematic state when there is also a history of childhood sexual abuse. Ten seasoned clinicians, each with over 15 years experience in treating patients with traumagenic compulsions and childhood sexual abuse were interviewed to explore their lived experience treating people with traumagenic compulsions due to childhood sexual abuse. A phenomenological design was used to asses the data collected in the study. The data were analyzed to determine the best …

Incarcerated Male Adolescent Suicide In Utah: A Case Study, Kristy Straubhaar

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescent suicide has been described as a major public health problem calling for the aid of researchers willing to better identify factors related to suicide risk. Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for 15 to 24 year olds. Despite the fact incarcerated adolescents act in self-destructive ways, minimal research has focused on suicide behavior among incarcerated adolescents. Existing data indicates that suicide among adolescent males is especially prevalent in the juvenile justice system. Several variables have been identified as risk factors for suicidal behavior, including interpersonal relationship dysfunction, substance abuse, and psychological variables such as depression and dichotomous thinking. …

Cognitive Error Questionnaire (Ceq) : Psychometric Properties And Factor Structure Of The German Translation., Patrick Pössel

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

A central component of Beck et al.’s (1979) cognitive theory of depression is faulty information processing reflected by so-called cognitive errors. These cognitive errors are the reason why depressed individuals systematically misinterpret the significance of events in a negative way. They are usually assessed with the application of the Cognitive Error Questionnaire (CEQ). This study examines the psychometric properties and factor structure of the German version of the CEQ in a sample of 796 volunteers at a German university. Results confirmed that the German CEQ has satisfactory to very good psychometric properties, like the American original. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated …

Development Of The Test Item Pool For A Screening Instrument Of Emotional And Behavioral Disorder Of Elementary School Students., Laura Eileen Conley

Theses and Dissertations

The functioning of children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) is a concern for parents and educators. Screening focuses efforts to identify and prevent/remediate EBD for students most at risk. Current screening instruments fail to meet three factors that may be related to successful early identification. The three factors are universality (rates all students), brevity, and identification of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. This thesis began the construction of a screener with all three factors. The thesis determined a conceptual basis for the instrument and created an item pool. The conceptualization was based on a literature review. The item pool was …

Exploring The Relationship Between Religious Faith, Mental Health Help Seeking Attitudes, And Preferences For Counselor Characteristics Among Black American Churchgoers, Darryl P. Plunkett

Dissertations

Empirical data has shown that Black American churchgoers have generally higher baseline rates of religious involvement than the general U.S. population, as well as higher rates of religious involvement than most Black Americans (Chatters, Taylor & Lincoln. 1999). Researchers have noted the influence of religion on the help seeking attitudes of Black Americans (Abernethy, Houston, Mimms, & Boyd-Franklin, 2006) and have also identified counselor characteristics preferred by Black Americans when seeking help for mental health problems (Atkinson, Furlong, & Poston, 1986). However, Black American churchgoers are rarely identified as the target population in empirical studies and little is known about …

Informed Consent As A Predictor Of Working Alliance And Perception Of Counselor/Psychotherapist, Scott E. Kerby

Dissertations

Client informed consent is an important component and ethical dimension of counseling and psychotherapy required by each of the mental health professions. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which informed consent in counseling/psychotherapy may relate to client perceptions of the working alliance, measured by the Working Alliance Inventory - Short Version (WAI-S) (Tracey and Kokotovic, 1989), and clients' general opinion of the counselor/psychotherapist, measured by the short form of Counselor Rating Form (CRF-S) (Corrigan and Schmidt, 1983). In particular, the study investigated: (1) how discussion and understanding of informed consent related to client perceptions of …

Phenomenological Study Of Resilience In The Lives Of White, Midlife Lesbian Psychologists In Clinical Practice, Melissa A. Lidderdale

Dissertations

The unique experiences and adversities encountered by midlife lesbian therapists have not been directly investigated. How the midlife lesbian women in this study were influenced by their individual experiences and cultural changes, both in general society and within the mental health profession, are paramount to more fully understanding the adversities, support, and resilience that they experienced while becoming psychologists. Due to the scarcity of empirical literature pertaining to the therapist's experience of resilience and the paucity of empirical literature related to resilience in lesbians, phenomenological research methods were chosen for this study. The goal of this study was to provide …