Psychology Commons^™

Using Selected Scales Of The Mmpi-A To Differentiate Adjudicated From Nonadjudicated Adolescent Females., Brandon M. Robbins

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Juvenile crime has become an increasingly notable problem in society. Historically, a large portion of research on juvenile offenders centers on the psychological diagnosis of conduct disorder. Juveniles diagnosed with Conduct Disorder often possess other high-risk factors that further complicate their problematic behaviors. For example, deviant peer groups reinforce such behaviors as do home environments where parents exhibit antisocial behaviors and substance abuse (Kronenberger & Meyer, 2001 ). Female offenders constitute a small but important part of the population of adolescents who become involved in the legal system, yet they have been the subject of minimal research. Although only 7-27% …

Childhood Obesity, Problem Or Pandemic?, Roxanne Baudry

Whittier Scholars Program

This project is a close study of childhood obesity and finding a solution to unhealthy eating habits. This is a multiple-part project which includes an essay that features statistics and analysis of children's dietary habits as well as a specifically designed 6-week program to get kids actively involved with activities that are fun and promote health. Students would be engaged in activities, games, tutorials, work-shops, and lessons interwoven with opportunities for interaction with a trained canine. The program is designed to meet once a week for approximately one hour and 30 minutes a day over a six-week span. This study …

Masculine Ideology And High-Risk Behavior Among Disabled Veterans, Abby L. Braitman

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

There may be predictors for high-risk behaviors, such as alcohol abuse, aggression, and risky sexual behavior, that can help identify susceptible men. Previous research has shown that masculine ideology is linked to engaging in such high-risk behaviors (Jakupcak, Tull, & Roemer, 2005; Moore & Stuart, 2005). In addition, having a physical disability may threaten male masculinity and increase the probability of this behavior (Good, Thomson, & Brathwaite, 2005). This issue is especially important to investigate in the military population. Military personnel and veterans engage in more high-risk behaviors (Bray et al., 2006; Bray, Marsden, & Peterson, 1991). Furthermore, the number …

Perfectionism And Eating Disorders: Current Status And Future Directions, Anna M. Bardone-Cone, Stephen A. Wonderlich, Randy O. Frost, Cynthia M. Bulik, James E. Mitchell, Saritha Uppala, Heather Simonich

Psychology: Faculty Publications

The literature examining the relation between perfectionism and eating disorders was reviewed and content and methodological comparisons were made with the perfectionism literature in anxiety disorders and depressive disorders. A PsychInfo search using the key words "perfectionism/ perfect/ perfectionistic," "anorexia," "bulimia," and "eating disorders" was performed and the generated list of papers was supplemented based on a review of reference lists in the papers. A total of 55 papers published between 1990 and 2005 were identified that assessed perfectionism among individuals with diagnosed eating disorders. The key research questions were distilled from these publications and empirical findings were summarized for …

Datos Normativos Del Cuestionario Sobre El Comportamiento De Niños Versión Para Padres (Cbcl) Y Versión Para Profesores (Trf) En Una Muestra De Niños Venezolanos [Normative Data Of The Child Behavior Checklist (Cbcl) And Teacher's Report Form In A Sample Of Venezuelan Children], Cecilia Montiel-Nava, Isabel Montiel-Barbero, Joaquín A. Peña

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

The aim of the study was to obtain normative data for a representative sample of Venezuelan children for the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Teacher's Report Form. The sample was constituted by 1141 children, boys and girls aged 5 to 12 (Mean= 8.79; SD=1.85), 49% female and 51% male. Socioeconomic status was significant in a way that low SES parents scored their children as having more problems. Gender has an effect on the scores; males were perceived with more behavior problems than girls for both parents and teachers. Parents and teachers did not show agreement in the assessment of the …

The Effectiveness Of Communication Skills Training With Married Couples: Does The Issue Discussed Matter?, Tara L. Cornelius, Galen Alessi, Ryan C. Shorey

Peer Reviewed Articles

This study experimentally examines the speaker-listener technique on marital satisfaction and communication behaviors when couples (N = 30) were instructed to either discuss an issue within or outside the marriage on marital satisfaction and communication behaviors. This study was based the Gottman et al. hypothesis that the speaker-listener technique would lead to improved marital satisfaction when the couple is discussing a third-party issue, but discussing an issue about each other would weaken the marital relationship. A series of analyses of covariance were conducted on these data, and no differences were found between the two groups on their self-reported marital satisfaction …

Application Of Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment For Long-Standing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder In Law Enforcement Personnel, Tara L. Cornelius, Rita Kenyon-Jump

Peer Reviewed Articles

The development and maintenance of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be understood as a function of learning and cognitive processes. This case report addresses treatment of PTSD with a 72-year-old former police officer who was experiencing intrusive thoughts, nightmares, experiential and affective avoidance, and hyperarousal resulting from witnessing a series of traumatic events during his time in law enforcement. Although the latency between events and treatment was more than 20 years, this patient was responsive to a cognitive-behavioral, exposure-based treatment. Several other factors, including the client’s age and chronic pain, complicated this case. The aim of this study was …

Making Exit Interviews Useful To A Correctional Agency, Marian Layman, Laura Farris, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Erin Gallagher, Shawna Williams

Psychology Faculty Publications

Exit interviews serve as a tool to uncover departmental characteristics and areas in which departmental change should occur,¹ and they are effective in gathering information from departing employees regarding impressions and experiences in their department.² Ultimately, the goal of using exit interview questionnaires is to obtain objective information, increase efficiency of the interview process and evaluate aspects of the department through data analysis.³

The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (DCS) contracted with the Center for Applied Psychological Services (CAPS) at the University of Nebraska at Omaha to evaluate the reasons for personnel voluntarily leaving their jobs. This …

Causes & Perceptions: An Exploratory Study Of Suicide In Indo-Fijian & Fijian Youth, Marcie L. Grambeau

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In a culture that is extremely religious, traditional and conservative, one may not first assume that suicide is one of Fiji’s leading causes of death amongst its youth population. However, the number of suicides today is one of the highest in the world and is rising at alarming rates. This study was designed to understand the underlying pressures that directly affect Indo-Fijian and indigenous Fijian youths, both the majority race in Fiji. The study focuses mainly on interviews conducted in the urban area of Suva but includes references to the rural areas, where a large number of suicides occur. The …

Clinical Psychologists' Perceptions Of Persons With Mental Illness, Lynn M. Servais, Stephen M. Saunders

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Clinical psychologists have an ethical responsibility to monitor the nature and appropriateness of their attitudes toward persons with mental illness. This article presents the results of a survey of randomly selected clinical psychologists who were asked to rate the effectiveness, understandability, safety, worthiness, desirability, and similarity (to the rater) of persons with moderate depression, borderline features, and schizophrenia. The results show that psychologists perceive these individuals differently with respect to these characteristics. The results also suggest that psychologists disidentify or distance themselves from persons with personality and psychotic conditions. Implications for quality improvement and stigma reduction in the field of …

Work-Family Predictors Of Parenting Outcomes, Marian L. Troutman

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine the direct relationship between stress (i.e., economic strain and work-family conflict) and parenting outcomes (i.e., parenting satisfaction, authoritative parenting and authoritarian parenting), and how social support moderates the relationship between the two predictors (i.e., work-family conflict and economic strain) and the three parenting outcomes. Participants included 135 parents who were workers. They completed questionnaires that assessed work-family conflict, economic strain, social support, parenting satisfaction and parenting style. The researcher hypothesized that for participants who face multiple demanding roles (i.e., worker and parent), work-family conflict and economic pressure would be negatively related …

Methods Of Detecting Differential Item Functioning: A Comparison Of Confirmatory Factor Analysis Methods, Jenny Chia Yi Kuang

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present Monte Carlo study compared four confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) methods for detecting differential item functioning (DIF). The four methods were the noniterative and iterative mean and covariance structure analysis (MACS) methods, the modification index (MI) method, and the modification index-divided sample (MI-divided) method. Reference and focal groups responded to 12 items with 3 of the 12 items designed to exhibit DIF. Sample sizes of 250 and 500 were examined. In addition, three types of DIF were examined: DIF on loadings, DIF on thresholds, and DIF on both loadings and thresholds. Results indicated that for sample size 250, all …

The Topography Of Healing From East To West, Brandi Sullivan

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

No abstract provided.

Examinations Of Future Time Perspective, Self Determination Theory, And Self-Talk As Correlates Of Exercise Behavior, Thomas Desena

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Environmental Factors Influencing Obesity In The Workplace, Jagdish Khubchandani, Crystal Rowland

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

A research project that aims to conduct focus groups in an industrial setting which will provide information to design surveys on “employees perceptions of environmental factors that influence obesity at workplace”

Attentional Focus, Intensity, & Level Of Expertise, Diana Gieske, Melissa Abo, Dustin Strupp

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

No abstract provided.

A Proposal Of A Cinematography For A Fictional Documentary On The Semiological Manifestation Of A Place Called Death Valley, Emmett D. Barton

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

No abstract provided.

Group Production Manipulations Influence Decision Criteria In Group Brainstorming, Bryan Thomas Hall, Brandy Johnson

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

No abstract provided.

Motor Interference On Memory Tasks, Brandy Johnson

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

No abstract provided.

37th Annual Wku Student Research Conference, Student Research Council, Western Kentucky University

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

No abstract provided.

Perceived Purpose Of Midterm Evaluations And The Effect On Student Responses, Andrew Caudill

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

No abstract provided.

The Influences Of Identities And Social Connectedness On Self-Objectification, Melissa Grey

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

According to objectification theory, girls and women are socialized to adopt an external observer’s view of the self. Self-objectification occurs when there is an emphasis on physical appearance and a de-emphasis and devaluation of internal and physical competence features, all of which have been related to negative psychological consequences. Trait self-objectification is chronic preoccupation with physical appearance that occurs with little or no environmental appearance cues. While self-objectification has been demonstrated in diverse samples, research suggests self-objectification is particularly prominent for women. This study investigated the relationships between different feminist and sexual identities and trait self-objectification. A sample of 187 …

Culturally Adapted Mental Health Treatments: A Meta-Analysis, Derek Griner

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years psychologists have increased awareness and concern regarding the quality of mental health services provided to people of color. For several reasons clients of color often find traditional mental health services foreign or unhelpful. To help diminish obstacles faced by clients of color, several authors have advocated traditional mental health treatments be modified to better match clients' cultural contexts. Researchers have also begun investigating outcomes associated with culturally modified mental health treatments, often contrasting them with traditional mental health services. Recently numerous studies containing empirical data have been published. To date there has been no attempt to review …

Stability Of A Normal Heterosexual Female Response To Affinity 2.0, Kara L. Harmon

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the temporal stability of a normal heterosexual female response to the Affinity 2.0, a newly standardized viewing time (VT) instrument that purports to measure sexual interest. Participants were 120 female undergraduate and graduate students from a private university (mean age = 21.67 years) who met inclusion criteria of non-pedophilic interest/history, identified as “Exclusively Heterosexual" on the Kinsey Scale, and who took the Affinity 2.0 both at test and at retest (approximately two weeks later). Participants also filled out a questionnaire following the retest composed of demographic questions, a shortened version of …

Future Promise For Women In Science, Christine Armett-Kibel

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article examines possible reasons why women are still not making it to the top in the hard sciences in academia. It considers two major difficulties that women face. The first concerns the psychological nature of women, which is alleged to be unsuited to the competitive and aggressive mindset considered necessary for scientific achievement. The second concerns the childbearing and child-nurturing roles of women, which make it difficult for them to conform to the intense, time-consuming demands of an academic career in science. The article argues that many of the qualities associated with the female stereotype are actually human characteristics …

Legislation, Litigation, Regulation, And Implementation Of Paraprofessional Supervision In School Settings, Sungti Hsu

Theses and Dissertations

Since the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2002 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) of 2004, there is a strong emphasis on the supervision of paraprofessionals who provide instructional assistance to classroom teachers. Scholars have stressed and litigation has highlighted the importance of paraprofessional supervision. However, there is limited information regarding the definition of supervision, who should and how that supervision should happen. The NCLB and IDEIA legislation leaves room for states to establish state regulation and litigation to interpret supervision. This study explored the current litigation and scholarly works concerning how …

Stop The Treadmill!, Barry Schwartz

Psychology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Perceptual Functions Of Perirhinal Cortex In Rats: Zero-Delay Object Recognition And Simultaneous Oddity Discriminations., Susan J Bartko, Boyer D Winters, Rosemary A Cowell, Lisa M Saksida, Timothy J Bussey

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

The perirhinal cortex (PRh) is widely accepted as having an important role in object recognition memory in humans and animals. Contrary to claims that PRh mediates declarative memory exclusively, previous evidence suggests that PRh has a role in the perceptual processing of complex objects. In the present study, we conducted an examination of the possible role of PRh in perceptual function in rats. We examined whether bilateral excitotoxic lesions of PRh or PPRh (perirhinal plus postrhinal cortices) in the rat would cause deficits in a zero-delay object-recognition task and a simultaneous oddity discrimination task. Both of these tasks measured spontaneous …

Hope For The Fatherless?: A Grounded Interpretive Approach, Anna Manja Larcher

Theses and Dissertations

Psychology's literature regarding fatherlessness is not only grim, mainly pointing out the negative consequences of fatherlessness, but it also does not provide much specific information about fatherless individuals' experiences. A pilot study revealed that fatherless individuals do not always suffer from the loss of their father and that they also have the ability to overcome the negative consequences commonly associated with father loss. The research questions for this study presented themselves naturally after reviewing the literature and after considering the results of my pilot study, namely, “What do fatherless individuals actually experience in being fatherless, and what is the nature …

The Effects Of Social Network Centrality On Group Satisfaction, Peter M. Choi

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to identify how various social network centralities affect a person’s satisfaction level. Simple degree centrality has been utilized to specify an individual’s location in a network by measuring the number of direct links with other members in the organization (Brass & Burkhardt, 1992, 1993). This study examines how location in friendship, task, and avoidance networks affect an individual’s satisfaction with the group. To determine the relationship between social network centrality and work group satisfaction, a longitudinal field study was conducted on 440 active duty enlisted military members in a leadership development training course. While …