Psychology Commons^™

Non-Pedophilic Heterosexual Male Response To Affinity 2.0, Charles D. Crosby

Theses and Dissertations

Given that the Affinity 2.0 is a largely untested instrument that purports to measure sexual attraction, it was unknown whether or not the instrument is temporally stable and would provide a characteristic response curve for normal heterosexual male sexual interest. This study examined the Affinity 2.0, a newly standardized viewing time (VT) instrument that purports to measure sexual interest. More specifically, the Affinity 2.0 was examined in regard to its temporal stability and ability to generate a characteristic curve for non-pedophilic, exclusively heterosexual male interests. This examination was carried out by administering the Affinity 2.0 twice on a sample of …

Predicting Sixth Grade Performance On Criterion-Referenced Reading Tests With Third Grade Test Scores, Michael Sean Gallacher

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzed the correlation between students' third grade reading ability and sixth grade reading ability. The data were collected from an urban school district, and the participants were students whose records contained information from their third grade school year and their sixth grade school year. The Utah English Language Arts Criterion-Referenced Tests (ELA-CRT) administered in third and sixth grade were used to determine reading ability. Additional demographic data, including race, gender, special education identification, free/reduced lunch, and English Language Learner (ELL), was assessed and controlled for in the data analysis and provided important information concerning the overall findings. Analysis …

Males' Ipsative Score Distortion On Affinity 2.0, Jeffrey Brian Madsen

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the frequency of distortion that occurs when raw score patterns of Affinity 2.0, a viewing time measure designed to assess sexual interest, are converted to ipsative scores. Eighty-eight percent of a sample of ninety-nine non-pedophilic, exclusively heterosexual males' profiles sustained some degree of distortion. The study also applied Brown's (2005) approach to predicting distortion with this sample of males' responses. Brown's techniques were largely ineffective in predicting males' distortion scores.

Body Shape Dissatisfaction: Patterns Of Concern Among Subgroups Of College Freshmen Women, Kristina S Withers Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to determine if there are patterns of differences according to college major in terms of the percentage of freshmen women who score in the clinically significant range on a measure of attitude toward body shape. Participants (N = 1,982) completed a demographic questionnaire and the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) and were divided into subgroups according to their stated college major. Descriptive statistics regarding BSQ scores were calculated for the total sample and subgroups. Results indicated that a greater percentage of participants in Theater, Communications, Psychology, Dance, Business, and Dietetics majors scored within clinically significant ranges on the …

Secondary Intervention For Students At Risk For Emotional And Behavioral Disorders Within A Positive Behavior Support Model, Jennifer Anne James

Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring is an intervention growing in popularity with a weak research foundation. This study combines mentoring and social skill training within a positive behavior support framework. Targeting a fourth-grade, Latino student at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders, this single-subject study looks at his ability to master a specific social skill. The mentor served to reinforce social skill learning through practicing, role-playing, and goal setting. The student was chosen using the Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders and the social skill was created using the School Social Behavior Scales that identified social skill strengths and weaknesses. Student demonstration of the social …

Effects Of In-Home Positive Behavior Support Training On Parent Perceptions Of Parent-Child Relationships And Maladaptive Behavior, Elisha K. Kamalu

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of the positive behavior support program Family HOPE conducted in homes of families of children with disabilities. Graduate students conducted an 8-10 week collaborative method of training for parents of children with disabilities to reduce problem behaviors of their child with a disability. The Parent-Child Relationship Inventory (PCRI) and Scales of Independent Behavior-Revised (SIB-R) were given to both experimental and control group families to investigate the program effects on parents' perceptions of limit setting, parental support, frequency and severity of problem behaviors. Results indicated that there was not a significant pre-post difference for either group …

Assessing Item And Scale Sensitivity To Therapeutic Change On The College Adjustment Scales: Working Toward A Counseling Center Specific Outcome Questionnaire, Christian L. Wimmer

Theses and Dissertations

Many college counseling centers use outcome measures to track therapeutic change for their clientele. These questionnaires have traditionally looked primarily at a client's symptom distress (e.g. depression, anxiety, suicidality, etc.) and are used to detect changes in the client's life that are due to therapy. Unfortunately, there is no measure that has been exclusively created and validated for use with college students. The College Adjustment Scales (CAS) form a multidimensional psychological measure designed specifically for use in college and university settings. Even though the CAS was created as a screening tool, it contains items that provide insight into changes that …

A Qualitative Study Of Buddhist Informed Psychotherapists, Michael Sean Harris

Dissertations

The field of psychology has a history of distancing itself, if not outright dismissing, both religion and spirituality. In recent years, however, psychology has come to move more toward an embrace of religious and spiritual experience. Buddhism, often expressed as a philosophical system without regard to theistic or nontheistic underpinnings, has been integrated with psychological theory in recent scholarly literature. This dissertation is an exploratory study regarding howBuddhist psychological perspectives are applied in actual psychotherapeutic practice. A participant pool of ten psychotherapists who self-identified as utilizing Buddhism in their work was studied along a variety of dimensions. Demographic questionnaires, audiotaped …

Ptsd Symptoms And Self-Rated Recovery Among Adult Sexual Assault Survivors: The Effects Of Traumatic Life Events And Psychosocial Variables, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Sarah E. Ullman

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Prior research has demonstrated that self-blame is predictive of more PTSD symptoms and poorer recovery (Frazier, 2003; Koss, Figueredo, & Prince, 2002), and perceived control over recovery is associated with less distress (Frazier, 2003) in adult sexual assault (ASA) survivors. A structural equation model was tested to examine the role of traumatic events, self-blame, perceived control over recovery, and coping strategies on PTSD symptoms and self-rated recovery in women ASA survivors. Adaptive coping partially mediated the effects of other traumas, self-blame, and perceived control over recovery on PTSD symptoms, and showed a small positive association with increased PTSD symptoms. As …

Promoting Positive Youth Development The Miami Youth Development Project (Ydp), William M. Kurtines, Laura Ferrer-Wreder, Steven L. Berman, Carolyn Cass Lorente, Ervin Briones, Marilyn J. Montgomery, Richard Albrecht, Arlen J. Garcia, Ondina Arrufat

Faculty Publications - Graduate School of Counseling

The Miami Youth Development Project (YDP) had its beginnings in the early 1990s as a grassroots response to the needs of troubled (multiproblem) young people in the community (Arnett, Kurtines, & Montgomery, 2008, this issue). YDP is an important outcome of efforts to create positive youth development interventions that draw on the strengths of developmental intervention science outreach research in the development of community-supported positive development programs (i.e., an approach that focuses on meeting community needs as well as youth needs by generating innovative knowledge of evidence-based change intervention strategies that are feasible, affordable, and sustainable in “real world” settings, …

Future Psychologists' Perceptions Of Managed Care, Michele Renae Boyer Blood

Dissertations

This study was designed to examine future psychologists' perceptions of managed care, as well as their managed care related training and work experience. Data for this project were gathered electronically via a specially designed website. Participants were 119 future psychologists completing predoctoral internships in university counseling centers (n = 61) and hospitals (n = 58). Variables examined included predoctoral interns' attitudes towards managed care and their perceptions of the importance of knowledge in three critical domains relevant to service provision in the contemporary marketplace (i.e., general reimbursement, risk management, misdiagnosis). One measure, the Demographic and Practice Information Form (DAPIF), was …

A Longitudinal Study Of Cortical Eeg Activity In Adolescents., Patrick Pössel, Hanna Lo, Anna Fritz, Simone Seemann

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Background: The objective of this study is to test Davidson’s, and Heller and Nitschke’s models stating cortical activity in adolescents to be a marker for increased risk for depression.

Methods: Alpha activity was measured in 80 adolescents from medial-frontal (F3/4), lateral-frontal (F7/8), and medial-parietal (P3/4) electrodes, as well as self-reported depression and anxiety twice within 12 months. Stepwise hierarchical regression analyses with anxiety as covariate were calculated with alpha asymmetry as predicting variable and depression as target variable and vice versa.

Results: Independent of whether anxiety was used as covariate or not, frontal and parietal alpha asymmetry predict depression, but …

Using The Tools Of Crisis Intervention And Empowerment Counseling In The Reference Interview, Wendy S. Wilmoth

Georgia Library Quarterly

The article explores similarities between reference service and the concepts of empowerment counseling, as defined by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, and crisis intervention, as defined by the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, in the hope of enabling academic librarians to provide assistance that is informative and relevant to patrons who may be survivors of sexual assault. It is inferred that reference interview is important to providing the best library service possible. The role of reference librarians in giving empowerment counseling and crisis intervention to sexual assault survivors is discussed.

Supervision Experiences And Needs Of New-Entrant Professional School Counselors: A Qualitative Study, Shawn Allan Allan Bultsma

Dissertations

Although the field of professional school counseling has recognized the positive impact that supervision offers, discussion of its use with new-entrant school counseling professionals has been limited. This study responds to the limited discussion of supervision with new-entrant professional school counselors by describing the supervision experiences and perceived needs of 15 new-entrant professional school counselors.

Participants of this study described advantages and disadvantages of receiving supervision. When discussing supervision activities as new-entrant professionals, participants frequently confused the process of supervision with mentoring and evaluation. Supervision quality was described as deficient, and the structure of supervision varied among participants. Participants described …

Effects Of Positive Behavior Support Training On Maladaptive Behavior, Parenting Skills, And Parental Support Of Families With Children With Disabilities, Alla Sergeyevna Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Family stress is affected by a child's challenging behavior and by the disruption of family routines as a result of the child's disability. Therefore, families with children with disabilities need professional support as they work with their children to decrease their children's behavior problems and to reduce the level of parental stress. This study examines in-home training in Positive Behavior Support using the model of parent-professional collaboration. Parents of 35 children with disabilities and challenging behaviors participated in this research. All participants were on the state of Utah's Family Support waiting list. Graduate students provided behavioral education to families by …

Characterization Of Autism Spectrum Disorders In Children's Picture Books, Charlene Weaver

Theses and Dissertations

Forty-two children's picture books portraying characters with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) were evaluated to determine how symptoms of ASD are being portrayed as well to determine common themes found in these books. Books were evaluated using behavioral checklists created using symptoms found in common ASD diagnostic rating scales for both autism and Asperger Syndrome (AS). Of the 42 books, 35 books had characters with autism and 7 had characters with AS. The most commonly found symptoms were relating to people, verbal communication, and taste, smell and touch responses. Personal characteristics such as gender and race were identified as well as …

Evaluating Your Educational Program For Students With Autism, Tina Taylor

Faculty Publications

How do you decide what critical educational features need to be included in your service to students with autism? In the November issue of The Utah Special Educator, Cathy Longstroth (p. 75-76) outlined several characteristics of effective educational programs for students with autism. These recommendations are based upon substantial research evidence from the professional literature. You may wonder why you should design your educational programs with research in mind, when you already know "what works" for your students. On the other hand, many students with autism are hard to figure out and you may not be sure "what works" for …

Measuring Work Preferences: A Multidimensional Tool To Enhance Career Self Management, G. Ronald Gilbert, Ravipreet S. Sohi, Adriana G. Mceachern

Department of Marketing: Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce a multidimensional work preference research instrument, and to relate scores on these dimensions with subjects' real world work choices.

Design/methodology/approach: Repeated samples of 1,002 and 975 adult subjects were used to identify 17 empirically derived constructs, using both EFA and CFA statistical applications. The CFA revealed measurement invariance among the predicted and measured constructs. The 17 validated constructs were culled from career development-related psychology that has variously been identified with learning styles, work interests, work values, and temperament. Using a third sample of 590 subjects, MANOVA analyses of work preference scores …

Effects Of Contextual And Individual Difference Factors On Perceptions Of Victims, Melody Dawn Combs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Victim blame can have detrimental effects on victims' coping with traumatic events. The current study examined contextual (i.e., victim-observer ingroup membership and safety of the environment) and individual difference (i.e., world beliefs, trauma exposure, and cognitive semantic associations) factors in relation to victim blame. Ingroup membership predicted greater character praise in females, while outgroup membership predicted greater praise in males. Victim praise was also greater when the environment was safe versus dangerous. Stronger beliefs about the manageability of the world marginally predicted greater victim blame, while stronger benevolent world beliefs predicted less victim blame and less character derogation. Further, the …

Impact Of Comorbidity In Prevention Of Adolescent Depressive Symptoms., Patrick Pössel, Simone Seemann, Martin Hautzinger

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Despite the well-known relevance of comorbidity, few studies have examined the impact of comorbid anxiety or externalizing symptoms on the prevention of depressive symptoms in adolescents. To replicate earlier positive effects of a cognitive-behavioral prevention program of depressive symptoms and to test the hypothesis that the prevention program would be less effective in adolescents with comorbid anxiety and externalizing symptoms, a study was conducted involving 301 8th-grade students, randomly divided into an intervention group and a non-intervention control group. The randomized design included baseline, post-intervention, and 6-month follow-up. The prevention program included 10 sessions held in a regular school setting. …

Exploring A Multidimensional Model Of Victimization And Eating Disturbances For College Women, Malinda Martin Sudduth Isaacs

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Research demonstrates that sexual harassment, sexual assault, and eating disorders are pervasive gender-based social problems on college campuses. These phenomena can cause long- term psychological consequences, and negatively impact women’s ability to succeed in both academia and the workplace. Not only have the prevalence and effects of these issues been documented, a significant number of studies have found a relationship between various forms of victimization and eating disorders/symptoms. Research has shown that eating disorders may function as coping strategies for managing the psychological distress that often results from the trauma of sexual harassment and sexual assault. Although, this link has …

Enhancing Special Educators' Knowledge And Understanding Of Hiv/Aids, Mary Anne Prater, Nancy M. Sileo, Thomas W. Sileo

Faculty Publications

HIV/AIDS continues to spread among children, youth, and young adults across all racial, ethnic, and cultural populations, including those with disabilities. This article considers information on HIV/AIDS such as individuals' health-risk behaviors, environmental circumstances, and perceptions that may contribute to HIV-infection; how disability characteristics, and cultural traits and values impact school-based HIV/AIDS prevention programs; and, culturally competent instructional considerations that acknowledge these variables.

Parenting In Filipino Transnational Families, Amethyst Reyes Taylor

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study analyzed the experience of parenting within Filipino Overseas families as perceived by adult children. The impact of overseas workers is invaluable to the Philippine economy. The current study explored the dimensions of having a parent, mother or father, who is an overseas worker, acknowledging that there are clear challenges of parenting children with the barriers of geographical distance. International long distance telephone interviews were conducted with adult children of Filipino overseas workers. Results from consensual qualitative research analysis (C. E. Hill et al., 2005; C. E. Hill, B. J. Thompson, & E. N. Williams, 1997) indicated two …

The Role Of Inspiration In Scientific Scholarship And Discovery: Views Of Theistic Scientists, Kari Ann O'Grady

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research study examined the ways those who identify themselves as theistic scientists and scholars experience inspiration, as defined as divine guidance or influence, in their scientific scholarship and discovery. It also explored participants' beliefs about how scientists and scholars can seek and prepare to receive inspiration in their work. Open-ended surveys of 450 participants from the behavioral and natural sciences and from a variety of religious backgrounds were analyzed for content themes in the areas of experiences with inspiration, preparing to receive inspiration, and further thoughts on inspiration in science. The themes extracted indicated that these scientists and …

Women's Perceptions Of Parents, Peers, Romantic Partner And God As Predictive Of Symptoms Severity Among Women In Treatment For Eating Disorders At An Inpatient Facility, Samuel B. Tobler

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined whether perceptions of parents, peers, romantic partners and God were predictive of eating disorder symptom severity among women in treatment for eating disorders. The sample included 417 women (ages 12 to 56 years) at an inpatient treatment facility for eating disorders. Participants completed a battery of assessment measures at intake and discharge. Change scores were also computed on all measures. Measures included indices of eating disorder symptomology, parental relationships, peer relationships, romantic partner relationships, and religious well-being. Multiple regression analysis showed perceptions of peers and romantic partner to be significant predictors in all analyses; however perceptions …

Existing Practice And Proposed Changes In Cognitive Assessment Of Utah Students Identified As Deaf And Hard Hearing, Leah Voorhies

Theses and Dissertations

This study presented the past, current, and proposed practice of intelligence testing with a unique population, students identified as deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH). As a basis for describing the cognitive ability of Utah's D/HH students and to improve practice guidelines, 61 D/HH students served by Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB) were administered the Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test (UNIT) standard battery and the Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) subtests from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). Based on these data, composite score distributions were described and compared with national standardization samples. Participants' WISC-IV PRI …

Description Of The Trio/Upward Bound Students' Construction Of Vocations Using George Kelly's Rep Test Method, Maraia Sokia Weingarten

Theses and Dissertations

The Information Age is revolutionizing the way we communicate, acquire knowledge, and perform work. Society is shifting from occupations rooted in industrial production to those associated with knowledge and information, requiring the development of new skills for changing occupations and updating old educational methods. Educators need to be aware of economic and social changes and have a vision for how to design career education to respond to those changes. Individuals must also be prepared to learn on their own as careers evolve and change. The training necessary to adapt to the changing career culture needs to be made available to …

Therapists' Handling Of Secrets Between Partners In Couple Therapy, Michael Alan Jansen

Dissertations

This study examines couple therapists' policies, procedures, and perspectives regarding secrets between partners in couple therapy. Handling secrets appropriately is necessary to avoid legal, ethical and therapeutic problems, especially when the secret involves contentious or potentially dangerous material such as infidelity, divorce, paternity, and HIV/AIDS infection. One hundred sixty randomly selected Clinical Members of the AAMFT participated in a 38-question researcher-generated mail survey. Data provided descriptive statistics and allowed for between-groups comparisons to explore for differences between therapists with regard to experience and several specific practices related to handling secrets. The study also examined whether courses in HIV/AIDS confidentiality law …

A Study Of Intake And Assessment In Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Christopher J. Richmond

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare clients' assessment of two different counseling intake procedures used by clinicians. This study compared a Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) intake intervention with an intake intervention constructed from the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I). The SCID-I is one of the most widely used diagnostic interviews and reflects a "gold standard" in formulating accurate diagnoses. The SFBTintake intervention developed for this study stands in stark contrast to the SCID-I and its primary objective, evaluation of the problem. SFBT is a strength-based model that maintains a positive and future-oriented focus. …

A Qualitative Exploration Of First-Generation Asian Indian Women In Cross-Cultural Marriages, Monica Thiagarajan

Dissertations

The literature on Asian Indian women has not adequately addressed the experiences that first generation Asian Indian women face while going through the process of making the decision to marry cross-culturally. The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify, describe, and understand the struggles, challenges, and conflict experienced by Asian Indian women who decide to marry cross-culturally and to understand the consequences of the decision on the lives of these women and their interpersonal relationships.

Initial and follow-up phone interviews were conducted with eight Asian Indian women who had experienced cultural and familial challenges regarding their decision to marry …