Counseling Psychology Commons^™

Facing The Caree/Family Dichotomy: Traditional College Women's Perspectives, Lisa Michelle Leavitt

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the experience of 32 traditional college freshmen women as they sought to choose a career with the idea of balancing career and family in the future. A traditional woman was defined as a woman whose central value system and cultural mores emphasize homemaking and childrearing as their primary role. Guided interviews were conducted to obtain in-depth descriptions of participants' experience. The interviews were transcribed and interpreted using a synthesis of qualitative methods based on Kvale's method. The six themes were as follows: 1. The concept of balancing careers and family life is not being discussed or …

An Exploration Of The Interactions Of Improvers And Deteriorators In The Process Of Group Therapy: A Qualitative Analysis, Laura Lee Hoffmann

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the interactions of individuals who showed symptom improvement and those who showed symptom deterioration during the course of 12-14 sessions of group process psychotherapy. Both general group themes, as well as themes specific to improvers and deteriorators were found. General group themes included (a) an initial difficulty distinguishing between improvers and deteriorators, and (b) a tendency for group to focus on past or future focus versus present group issues. Specific themes for deteriorators included (a) substantial early disclosure in the group process, (b) open praise of the process of group, (c) the stated expectation of sharing deep …

Perceived Impact Of The No Child Left Behind Act Of 2001 On Paraprofessionals, Heather Goodwin Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

Using the states' paraprofessional requirements, this study explored the effects of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) on the paraprofessionals' ability to assist in instruction as seen through the perceptions of paraprofessional and teacher teams. The literature review discloses data regarding the implementation of NCLB paraprofessional requirements into the accountability plans of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Tables synthesize the assessments used by states to meet NCLB paraprofessional requirements. The Council for Exceptional Children performance-based standards for paraeducators provides the framework for the development of two survey instruments, which measured the perceptions of paraprofessionals …

An Evaluation Of A Service-Learning Approach To Assist In Achieving The Goals Of A Comprehensive Guidance Program, Kathryn Ann Stott

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was twofold: (a) to investigate how a service-learning class assisted in achieving the goals of a comprehensive guidance and development program in a junior high school, and (b) to examine the effects of a service-learning class on junior high school students. Thirty students who had been in the service-learning class participated in semi-structured interviews. Parents and teachers were also interviewed to cross-validate student perceptions. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed to identify core meanings. Using phenomenological analysis, eight major themes were identified: personal awareness, social skills development, learning skills, career interests, character education, application of …

Matthew's Gift: Teaching Parents Of Children With Disabilities To Deal Effectively With Their Child's Problem Behavior, Karolyn King Peery

Theses and Dissertations

This study represents a unique collaboration between the State of Utah's Division of Services for People with Disabilities (DSPD) and Brigham Young University's Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education (CPSE) and the Family Studies Center. Families with children with disabilities and problem behaviors may spend 5 to 10 years on the Utah DSPD Family Support waiting list before receiving support services. Families with children with disabilities and problem behavior experience difficult challenges with limited amounts of resources. CPSE graduate students offered behavioral education to 17 families on the DSPD waiting list in the family's homes for 10 weeks. Positive …

The Relationships Among Literacy, Church Activity And Religious Orientation: A Study Of Adult Members Of The Lds Church In Utah County, Bruce R. Brewer

Theses and Dissertations

The study assessed the interplay among literacy, church activity, and religious orientation and examined the extent to which literacy predicts church activity in the presence of private religious behavior. One hundred fifty-seven subjects were administered measures of intrinsic religiousness, extrinsic religiousness, literacy levels and measures of church activity. The findings from this study suggest that literacy is related to activity, but in a way that is more complex than many investigators have considered. The results of the multiple regression analysis helped clarify the ability of literacy to predict church activity in the presence of religious orientation. Results further indicated that …

Melioration And The Behavioral Addiction Process: An Experimental Analysis, Jared Micah Dinehart

Theses and Dissertations

Melioration can be a factor contributing to behavioral addiction. In this study, 76 university undergraduates operated a "money machine" by selecting between choices that corresponded to maximization and melioration. Participants initially made choices consistent with a strategy of melioration and demonstrated significantly greater variability in choice behavior when visual cues were presented aimed at exposing the internality (or consequence) of the choice situation. Removal of the visual cues resulted in a return to lower responding. Visual cues may aid in interrupting the behavioral addiction pattern by limiting exclusive use of a melioration choice strategy. Methods of restructuring and experimentation with …

Environmental Factors That Predict Adolescent Smoking Behavior: The Influence Of Parent, Peer, And Sibling Smoking, Christopher J. Hogan

Theses and Dissertations

The majority of adult smoking begins during adolescence, and in order for prevention programs to be optimally effective it is critical to understand the influences of smoking initiation during this developmental period. However, little research has focused on how environmental factors, such as parent and peer smoking. influence smoking initiation exclusively within a rural population. The current study surveyed students from 23 middle schools in rural Virginia and New York State at the end of the sixth grade and then one-year later at the end of the seventh grade. Logistic regressions were used to predict changes in levels of adolescent …

The Impact Of A Peer-Led Program On The Peer Leaders' Leadership-Related Skills, Christopher J. Hogan

Theses and Dissertations

Leadership and goal setting skills were examined for 49 high school students who implemented a peer-led health and life skills program for sixth grade students. Participants completed surveys that included a leadership scale and a goal setting scale constructed for this study. and an adapted version of the Goals Inventory. Surveys were administered to the participants prior to a 3-day training (Time Point I), immediately following the training (Time Point 2). and at the completion of leading 12. 1-hour workshops (Time Point 3). The results indicate that high school peer leaders perceived an increase in both their leadership and goal …

Unsupportive Social Interactions As Moderators Of Adjustment In Acute Cardiac Patients, Scott L. Green

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of unsupportive social interactions, within Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) cognitive appraisal model, on individual's mood states following an acute cardiac event (i.e., myocardial infarction, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, coronary artery bypass grafting). It was hypothesized that unsupportive social interactions would exacerbate the effects of a patient's appraisals of threat secondary to an acute cardiac event. Participants in the present investigation were 67 patients from the cardiology unit of the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia. Each participant had incurred an acute cardiac event, as classified by the International …

Child-Parent Attachment Style And Adult Attachment Style As Predictors Of Psychological And Interpersonal Problems, Lisa Deutsch Nava

Theses and Dissertations

The relationship among perceptions of child-parent attachment, current adult attachment style, psychological symptoms, and interpersonal problems was investigated. Subjects were 94 female undergraduate students at a large urban university in Richmond, Virginia. The modal age of the subjects was 22 years. Subjects were administered a packet comprised of six pencil-and-paper measures: Parental Caregiving Measure, Bartholomew Adult Attachment Style Questionnaire, Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-Revised, and Inventory of Interpersonal Problems. The results indicated that the set of child-parent attachment and adult attachment style variables significantly predicted fear of negative evaluation, social avoidance and …

Interpersonal Perceptions As Function Of Personality Styles, Suzanne R. Gascoyne

Theses and Dissertations

One hundred, sixty-nine undergraduates participated in a study that investigated the effects of interpersonal self-perceptions on judgements made about others. Subjects' interpersonal styles were assessed by self-ratings using the Interpersonal Adjective Scales (IAS). Subjects also rated the interpersonal styles of two video-taped stimulus others using the IAS. In addition, subjects' degree of identification and desire to affiliate with the stimuli were assessed. The general design was a two-group rating comparison (Friendly-Dominant and Friendly-Submissive, and more extreme and less extreme) across two stimulus conditions, Hostile-Dominant and Hostile-Submissive. There were several findings and interpretations were forwarded. Extreme subjects assigned higher, more extreme …

An Investigation Of Identity And Self-Esteem In Traditional Married Women During Their Middle Years, And The Impact Of The Life Planning Seminar, Susan E. Ellett

Theses and Dissertations

There is contradictory evidence as to whether the middle years are problematic for women. The research indicates that the middle years, particularly the empty nest period, are traumatic for some women, but for others a time of relief. More recent research suggests that for women who do find the middle years problematic, certain types of group experiences may be helpful. The purpose of this study was to investigate this time of life for a specific population of women, traditional married women who have devoted their time primarily to raising a family. This study examined identity and self-esteem in these women …

The Effects Of Religious Beliefs On Preferences Among Four Types Of Christian Counseling, Suzanne Ruth Gascoyne

Theses and Dissertations

Forty-five participants from Protestant denominations completed surveys designed to investigate the effects of religious beliefs on preferences among four types of Christian counseling. The proponents of the counseling theories were Clyde M. Narramore, Jay E. Adams, Lawrence J. Crabb, and Andre Bustanoby. Participants read a case history of a fictitious client, and four short treatment plans which represented each Christian counselor's approach. Then, they completed questionnaires designed to assess their preferences for the counseling approaches, as well as completing other measures, including a religious fundamentalism scale, the Religious Orientation Scale (ROS), and the Rokeach Value Survey (RVS). It was found …

The Measurement Of Anger In Children: A Multi-Modal Approach, Edward Shirrell Eastman Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to utilize self-report, peer-report and teacher-report techniques in measuring (reporting) anger in children; and to determine the intercorrelation between these three approaches in order to determine their relationship to one another and in turn, to assess these reporting tools. Subjects were 38 male and female emotionally disturbed children from the Virginia Treatment Center for Children, a short-term residential psychiatric facility in Richmond, Virginia. There were 28 boys and 10 girls, with a mean age of approximately 11 years.

Each student was given the Children's Inventory of Anger (CIA) and the Peer-Report of Anger (PR). …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Maternal Employment History And A Woman's Sex Role Orientation And Career Development, Susan Elizabeth Ellett

Theses and Dissertations

Much of the research reviewed suggests that there is some relationship between a woman's mother's employment history, a woman's sex role orientation, and a woman's commitment to a career. In this study, the sex role orientation, career commitment, and career decision making of college women were examined in relation to length of maternal employment history. It was found that the longer a mother worked during the daughter's lifetime, the greater was the daughter's own desire to work. The length of maternal employment history was not found to significantly influence the daughter's sex role orientation or career decision making process. It …