Psychology Commons^™

Preventing Childhood Depression By Building Resiliency In Children, Sarah Carroll

Graduate Research Papers

This review of literature is a report of the success of programs designed to prevent childhood depression by building resiliency. Research results indicate that prevention programs focused on teaching children and parents coping skills, changing negative thought patterns, social problem solving, teaching the symptoms of childhood depression and how to discuss it with children, and fostering resiliency have reduced the incidence of depression in children (Comer, 1985; Gladstone & Beardslee, 2000; Seligman, 1995).

Additional research needs to address the following questions: a) How does building resilience differ for children from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds? b) . What are the …

The Importance Of Behavioral Interventions And Stimulant Medication Effects On Reducing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Elizabeth Alvarez

Graduate Research Papers

Overall, various avenues of research state that ADHD is a complex disorder that requires treatment by multiple modalities. Most research states that a combination of medication and behavior therapy is necessary to resolve the symptoms. It should be noted that the dose of stimulant medication prescribed to a child with ADHD should be adjusted based on the child's response to a behavioral intervention, as well as the combination of the behavioral and pharmacological treatments. Rapport et al. (1982), as well as others, have found that medication alone will not "cure" ADHD. But with multiple methods of treatment the symptoms will …

An Overview Of Bibliotherapy As An Intervention For Young Children, Lisa Ludwig

Graduate Research Papers

Young children can benefit from therapy to deal with disabilities, abuse, normal developmental issues such as famiily problems, and social-emotional issues. One approach to helping children manage psychological issues is bibliotherapy. In its simplest form, bibliotherapy can be described as the practice of using books in treatment, or helping with books (Pardeck & Pardeck, 1993; Pardeck & Pardeck, 1987). The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on bibliotherapy and to examine its possible applications, its effectiveness, and best practices in carrying out the intervention.

From Consumerism And Stereotypes To Pasta Sauce: A Study Of The Barriers Facing Stay-At-Home Fathers, Nastinia (Nina) Bailey-Dick

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In the following thesis I describe and analyze the experiences of stay-at-home fathers by focussing on understanding, analyzing, and changing the barriers that discourage fathers from choosing the role of primary caregiver of their children. In this study, 19 stay-at-home fathers in Ontario (defined as fathers who are or have been the primary caregivers of their children for over 30 hours a week for at least a year) shared their experiences and perspectives regarding their roles as full-time parents through a written survey. Three of these fathers also shared their experiences through qualitative interviews. I found that full-time fathers face …

Adult Attachment Disturbances In Panic Disorder : A Comparison With Social Phobia And Specific Phobia , Jesus A. Salas

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The present study used attachment theory as a framework to explore the role of attachment related constructs as potential risk factors for panic disorder. A group of panic disordered participants were compared with a group of social phobics, a group of specific phobics (fearful flyers), and a group of nonclinical controls. The groups were compared on attachment dimensions, fear of emotions, fear of bodily changes, death attitudes, information processing style and self-efficacy. Results indicated that the panic disorder group and control group differed in a number ofways. Panic disordered participants evidenced higher levels of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance than …

International Standard Organisation (Iso) : Keberkesanan Memenuhi Kehendak Pelanggan ; Satu Kajian Kes Di Institut Tadbiran Awam Negara (Intan), Maimunah Osman

Student Works (2000-2009)

INTAN Kiara dan INTAN Kampus Wilayah Tengah (INTENGAH) telah menerima persijilan ISO 9001 pada 30 April 1997. Mulai dari tahun itu, pelaksanaan kursus INTAN di kedua-dua buah kampus adalah berpandukan prosedur kerja di bawah sistem kualiti yang ditetapkan berasaskan MS ISO 9001. Kajian sejauh mana keberkesanan pelaksanaan ISO dalam membantu peningkatan kualiti kursus INTAN tidak pernah dllakukan. Walaupun INTAN mengamalkan sistem penllaian maklumbalas peserta kursus di akhir setiap kursus, namun analisis penilaian tidak pernah dikaitkan dengan pelaksanaan ISO. Oleh itu pelaksanaan sistem kualiti di bawah ISO 9001 seolah-olah terasing, sedangkan matlamat utama pelaksanaan ialah memenuhi kehendak pelanggan. Kajian ini dibuat …

Validity Of The Mizes Anorectic Cognitions Questionnaire-Revised With A Racially Mixed, Nonclinical Population Of 14- To 19-Year-Old Adolescents, Robert P. Guillard, Jr.

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Physician-Related Determinants Of Cervical Cancer Screening Among Caribbean Women In Toronto, Ilene Hyman, Punam Mony Singh, Marta Meana, Usha George, Lilian M. Wells, Donna E. Stewart

Psychology Faculty Research

BACKGROUND: Minority women in Canada are less likely to be screened for cervical cancer than their counterparts in the general population, despite the fact that the proportion of these women who consult a general practitioner about their health each year is similar to minority women. This study examined the physician and practice characteristics associated with Pap testing and perceived barriers to Pap testing of family physicians serving the Caribbean community of Toronto.

METHODS: A mail-back questionnaire was sent to Toronto family physicians practicing in neighborhoods with a high proportion of Caribbean Canadians.

RESULTS: Although 79.7% of the 64 participating physicians …

Cultural Identity And Diaspora In Selected Works By K.S. Maniam, R.M Theyuanboo

Student Works (2000-2009)

The majority of young male Singaporeans and permanent residents who reach the age of 18 to 21 years are conscripted for about two and half years to serve National Service in the Singapore Armed Forces. A review of research literature indicates that the transition from civilian to military life may be stressful for some, particularly during the first 10 weeks of Basic Military Training. The objectives of this study were to find out the factors that were related to the ability to cope with Basic Military Training, both in terms of psychological well being as well as in physical performance. …

Correlates Of Deviant Behaviour : An Etiological Study, Siok Gim Chan

Student Works (2000-2009)

This study aims to ascertain whether social and personal resources are related to deviant behaviour of adolescents. The social resources investigated are those available to them in their home, peer-group and school, and are measured in terms of parental support, peer-group support and school experiences. The personal resources studied are concepts of self, coping behaviour and moral development. Comparing delinquent subjects to controls will ascertain the resources that helped adolescents abstain from deviant behaviour. Survey method is used for data collection. The questionnaire is administrated to 63 male delinquent subjects in an approved school. The questionnaire is posted to 16 …

Predicting Work Stress Burnout In Rural And Urban Emergency Medical Technicians Through The Use Of Early Recollections, Susan M. Vettor

Dissertations

Problem . Literature on work-stress burnout among emergency medical technicians (EMTs) suggests that they have maintained the same levels of burnout and attrition rates for the past 20 years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between early recollections and burnout in EMTs working in urban and rural locations.

Method . A demographic questionnaire, the Staff Burnout Scale for Health Professionals (SBS-HP), and two early recollections, were used to survey 120 emergency medical technicians in Toronto, Ontario and Mojave County, Arizona to assess their level of burnout and to identify various themes in early recollections.

Results . …

The Effects Of Perceived Leadership Behaviors And Goal Orientation On Female Collegiate Athletes' Level Of Motivation, Melanie L. Krynski

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived coaching behaviors, goal orientation, and motivation among female collegiate athletes. Female athletes from Eastern Illinois University (n = 66) and Valparaiso University (n = 25), took part in the study. Specifically, the purposes of the study were; a) to examine if athletes who perceived their coaches to exhibit more democratic behavior, praise and encouragement, and training and instruction behaviors would demonstrate higher levels of intrinsic motivation, and b) to examine if athletes with a positive goal profile (high task/high ego) would have significantly greater motivation levels compared to …

The Effects Of Parents, Teachers, And Peers On Academic Motivation, Amanda R. Holden

Masters Theses

The focus of this study was to assess the relationship between perceived support of parents, teachers, and peers and academic motivation. The second focus was to assess which variable was more predictive of academic motivation. The Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory by Gottfried, 1986, the Peer Social Support, Peer Academic Support, Teacher Social Support, and Teacher Academic Support subscales of the Classroom Life Measure by Johnson, Johnson, Buckman, and Richards, 1985, and the Family Cohesion subscale of the Family Environment Scale by Moos and Moos, 1994 were administered to the students. A total of 72 students from 3rd, 4th, and …

Convergent And Discriminant Validity Of The Self-Report Of Personality (Srp) And The Youth Self-Report (Ysr), Jodi Buehnerkemper

Masters Theses

The present study examined the convergent and discriminant validity of the Behavior Assessment System for Children-Self-Report of Personality (BASC-SRP) and the Youth Self-Report (YSR). One purpose of this study was to examine the degree of relationship between the SRP and the YSR. This study also examined the degree to which each of these measures could successfully distinguish among samples of students who had been identified as LD or ED, or had not been referred. Participants included a total of 109 students between 12 and 18 years of age. Results of this study indicated that correlations between similar scales and composites …

Subjective Assessment Of Sleep Quality Across The Menstrual Cycle In Women With Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, Jonathan Bruce Santo, E. Chevrier, P. L'Esperance, D. B. Boivin

Psychology Faculty Publications

Existing evidence demonstrates that sleep structure varies across the menstrual cycle in healthy women (1). These variations could be more severe in women suffering from premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) (2). In a previous study of healthy women, subjective sleep quality was shown to be constant across both phases of the menstrual cycle (3). The current study aims to test whether there exists a variation in subjective sleep quality of PMDD sufferers across the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle.

Factors Influencing Teachers' Decisions To Refer Students For Special Education Evaluation, Amanda R. Perry

Masters Theses

This study examined the factors that influence teachers to refer students for psycho-educational evaluation. Fifty seven teachers from Midwest and Southwest suburban and rural school districts completed a questionnaire designed to gather information about the factors teachers consider when referring students for evaluation, as well as their opinion of the etiology of Learning Disability and their preferences for services. Results indicated that the most influential factors in participants' referral decisions were low achievement and behavioral problems. The majority of teachers agreed that eligibility decisions should be based on the child's needs. However, there was no agreement that an ability-achievement discrepancy …

An Investigation Of Motivations Influencing Participation In Marathons, Courtney Hague

Masters Theses

This study examined the varying motivations of runners participating in marathon races. Several variables were explored including age, gender, marathons attempted, marathons completed, and best personal performance time. Five hypotheses were considered: 1) Younger runners will most likely be motivated by Achievement Motives (competition and personal goal achievement) than the older runners. 2) Females will be more motivated by Physical Health Motives (weight concern and general health) than males. 3) Males will participate in marathons more for Achievement Motives (competition and personal goal achievement) than females. 4) Females and males will be similar along Psychological Motives (self-esteem and psychological coping) …

The Effect Of Telepathic Assistance On Performance In A Visual Target-Search Task, James A. Wachtel

Masters Theses

Given the significant controversy regarding parapsychology and the study of psi phenomena, there appear to be opportunities to improve design in parapsychological experimentation through the use of more sensitive and reliable means of measurement. The current study was an attempt to introduce a design that employs time as an outcome measurement, the use of groups and individuals as opposed to just individuals, and the use of more specific and focused content through the use of problem-solving tasks, in an attempt to create a sensitive and replicable experiment in telepathy. Twenty-three undergraduate participants completed 12 trials each by finding targets in …

Predictive Validity Of Measures Of Phonological Awareness On First Grade Reading Achievement, Jennifer Hervey

Masters Theses

The purposes of this study were to evaluate the degree to which three measures of phonological awareness (Test of Phonological Awareness (TOPA), Torgesen & Bryant, 1994; Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), Kaminski & Good, 1996; Read America Diagnostic Tests, McGuinness & McGuinness, 1998) correlate with each other and with selected measures of reading skills (Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Basic Skills, Brigance, 1976, 1977; Woodcock Diagnostic Reading Battery (WDRB), Woodcock, 1997). The study also evaluated which of the measures of phonological awareness best predicts reading skills in a first grade population. The current study is an extension of …

Non-Directive Play Therapy: Past, Present And Future, Jeslina Jayanti Raj

Masters Theses

The paper focuses on the history, research and future directions of non-directive play therapy. According to the history of play therapy, the first person to advocate studying the play of children in order to understand and educate them was Henry Rousseau. The history of play therapy is discussed with further details. Few studies have been done that empirically support the effectiveness of non-directive play therapy and there have been no investigations of therapeutic processes. From a behavioral perspective, it is understood that non-contingent attention in the form of attention, the absence of demands and the environmental richness of the playroom …

Making Friends To Last A Lifetime: An Ethnographic Study Of Parasocial Relationships And Soap Opera Characters, Emmalee Elizabeth Haight Pryor

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to build theory about parasocial relationships and to examine what affect, if any, religion had on parasocial relationships. Using qualitative methods, the researcher watched the show three times with five women followed by an in-depth interview. The women chosen were LDS stay-at-home moms who had watched a soap opera for at least a year.
From this data came several surprising findings about religion and soap opera viewing. The women said they did not feel guilty about the content of the shows, rather the time required to watch. This guilt was alleviated by structuring their …

The Political Personality Of U.S. President George W. Bush, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper presents the results of an indirect assessment of the personality of U.S. president George W. Bush, conducted 1998–2000 from the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon.

Psychodiagnostically relevant data regarding Bush was extracted from biographical sources and media reports and synthesized into a personality profile using the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC), which yields 34 normal and maladaptive personality classifications congruent with Axis II of DSM–IV.

The personality profile yielded by the MIDC was analyzed in accordance with interpretive guidelines provided in the MIDC and Millon Index of Personality Styles manuals. Bush was found to be …

Feedback Seeking In Customer Service Relationships, Aletta Machell Barnard

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

With the shift to a service economy (Cascio, 1995), customer service effectiveness is a critical measure of success for service firms. In service relationships, where a single employee may be the only point of contact for customers, monitoring service effectiveness becomes incumbent upon the employees delivering the service (i.e., boundary spanners). The purpose of this study was to provide an investigation into service effectiveness (i.e., customer satisfaction and repatronage and word-of-mouth intentions) in service relationships. Specifically, boundary spanners' perceived organizational support (POS) was proposed to impact customer satisfaction through its impact on feedback seeking behaviors (i.e., direct inquiry, monitoring, positive …

Treatment Acceptability For The Prevention Of Obesity And Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: The Effects Of Ethnicity, Weight, And Genetic Predisposition, Jean Marie Thaw

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Childhood obesity and its associated health consequences, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, have dramatically increased over the past 30 years, with the greatest rise in African-American female children and adolescents. Although current prevention efforts show promising results, recent genetic findings may soon expand treatment strategies to include new medications and gene therapies specifically designed to prevent the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes in children. However, little is known about the acceptability of these interventions. The primary aim of this study was to examine the hypothetical impact of genetic knowledge on treatment acceptability in the prevention of childhood …

Organizational Perceptions And Their Relationships To Job Attitudes Effort, Performance And Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, Keith Douglas Mccook

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study integrates and expands two models of organizational support perceptions, job attitudes, effort, and employee behavior (i.e., Brown & Leigh, 1996; Netemeyer, Boles, McKee, & McMurrian, 1997). An integrated model was hypothesized, in which Perceived Organizational Support and Perceived Opportunity for Reward impacted job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job involvement, which in turn influenced effort (work intensity and time commitment), which subsequently impacted Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCBs) and in-role performance. Employee – supervisor dyads were surveyed (n = 279), and structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model and several alternative models. Results indicated that the hypothesized …

Relationship Between Weight Loss And Body Image In Obese Individuals Seeking Weight Loss Treatment, Deborah Lynn Reas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The present study investigated the nature and extent of changes in body image following weight loss treatment in an obese sample and examined the role of weight loss in predicting body image improvement. Participants were 53 obese individuals (BMI > 30) recruited from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, the Scripps Clinic in San Diego, CA, and the Weight Management Center at the St. Charles Hospital in New Orleans. Measures of psychological functioning and a figural body image rating procedure (Body Image Assessment for Obesity; BIA-O, Williamson, et al., 2000) were administered at baseline and after a 6-month follow-up …

Please Forgive Me: Transgressors’ Emotions And Physiology During Imagery Of Seeking Forgiveness And Victim Responses, Charlotte Witvliet, Thomas Ludwig, David L. Bauer

Faculty Scholarship

We assessed transgressors’ subjective emotions and physiological responses in a within-subjects imagery study involving 20 male and 20 female participants. Two imagery conditions focused on the transgressor’s actions: participants 1) ruminated about a real-life transgression and 2) imagined seeking forgiveness from the victim. Three imagery conditions focused on the victim’s possible responses: participants imagined their victims responding with 1) a grudge, 2) genuine forgiveness, and 3) reconciliation. Compared to ruminations about one’s transgression or an unforgiving response from the victim, imagery of forgiveness-seeking and merciful responses from victims (forgiveness and reconciliation) prompted improvements in basic emotions (e.g., sadness, anger) and …

Using Latent Semantic Analysis To Assess Reader Strategies, Joseph P. Magliano, Katja Wiemer-Hastings, Keith K. Millis, Brenton D.. Muñoz, Danielle Ncnamara

Psychology Faculty Publications

We tested a computer-based procedure for assessing reader strategies that was based on verbal protocols that utilized latent semantic analysis (LSA). Students were given self-explanation-reading training (SERT), which teaches strategies that facilitate self-explanation during reading, such as elaboration based on world knowledge and bridging between text sentences. During a computerized version of SERT practice, students read texts and typed self-explanations into a computer after each sentence. The use of SERT strategies during this practice was assessed by determining the extent to which students used the information in the current sentence versus the prior text or world knowledge in their self-explanations. …

Defining Imaginary Audience Scores Via Gender Attributes Versus Biological Gender, George M. Freeman

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Imaginary audience scores for males and females have not demonstrated consistent differences in the literature. In this study, scores on the Imaginary Audience Scale (lAS) and on the Imaginary Audience subscale of the Adolescent Egocentrism-Sociocentrism scale (ABS) were compared to self-rating of gender attributes on the Personality Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ). Results for 64 females and 32 males surveyed at a southeastern university indicate that one's self-rating of gender attributes correlates with imaginary audience scores while biological gender does not. As masculine attribute scores increase, lAS scores and Abiding Self subscale scores decrease. As masculine-feminine attribute scores (traits favored by both …

Attachment Object Effects On Children's Anxiety During School-Related Transitions, Lauriann M. Jones

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Because a child's first day of school can be anxiety provoking, familiar soothing inanimate objects, such as blankets, might help to minimize discomfort related to this novel situation. The current study examined the anxiety level of twenty-six one- to four-year-old children and their mothers at three times 1) before the first day of school, 2) during separation from their mother on the first day of school, and 3) after home from their first day of school. Maternal report was used to assess child and mother anxiety levels (Likert scale 0- 10) and child level of attachment to a familiar inanimate …