Personality and Social Contexts Commons^™

Personality And Substance Abuse, Juliana Gonzalez

Masters Theses

The Big Five have shown to be distinct personality traits that do not overlap and have universal applicability, so this study examined whether there are specific personality trait differences in users of Marijuana, Pain Medication, Sedative/Hypnotics, and Stimulants.

Study was placed in the 50 most visited Craigslist pages in the United States. Anonymous web users (N = 547) were recruited through Craigslist. High Neuroticism was associated with Marijuana and Stimulant use. Low Conscientiousness was associated with Marijuana and Stimulant use. High Extraversion was associated with Pain Medication use only. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research were discussed.

Personality Variables Of Adult Children Of Alcoholics In A Treatment Sample As Measured By The Personality Research Form-E, Tamara K. Young

Masters Theses

There has been much personality research in the area of Adult Children of Alcoholics with varying results. This study examines personality variables in archival data of alcoholic clients in a residential treatment center with the use of the Personality Research Form-E (Jackson, 1984). A comparison was made between groups of non-ACOA clients and those with alcoholic parents in the areas of aggression, defendence, dominance and desirability. No significant differences were found between groups. Two other hypotheses were generated concerning male participants only. No significant differences were found for the trait of autonomy; however, male ACOA alcoholic participants were found to …

Mmpi Profiles Of Sexual Perpetrators, Steven G. Vaupel

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare MMPI scores of 60 men referred for assessment and/or counseling at community mental health facilities. No MMPI protocols were excluded due to elevated validity configurations (70T or above). Forty of the referrals were referred for suspected child sexual abuse. Twenty of the referrals admitted (Admitter) to sexually abusing a child at the time of referral and twenty did not admit (Nonadmitter) to sexually abusing a child when referred. A control group of the remaining twenty subjects were referred for various offenses, none of which included sexual offenses against children. Significant differences were …

Irrationalism In Affective And Cognitive Personality Types, Steven F. Mcarthur

Masters Theses

Psychologists generally consider personality to be a collection of characteristics and traits. These characteristics are manifested through two domains: affect (emotion) and cognition (thinking). Evidence has shown affect and cognition to be closely related.

Psychotherapy modalities can be categorized along a continuum, from highly rational and logical (cognitive) on one end, to highly affective on the other.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between cognitively and affectively oriented persons and irrational thoughts or ideas as defined by a highly rational therapy modality (Rational-Emotive Therapy) in an effort to determine a treatment of choice for these persons. …

A Didactic Method Of Preparation For Encounter Group Participants, Lawrence H. Bergmann

Masters Theses

The utilization of group procedures has mushroomed in the past ten years. While developing in part from group psychotherapy, involvement in groups has become a movement in its own right. Encounter groups, marathons or other intensive group experiences are no longer seen as a "second-best" treatment but a useful technique to be added to the tools of the psychotherapist. However, the rapid development of these treatments have often exceeded a strong theoretical rationale and the negative consequences have become increasingly evident. Preparation for individual therapies has been shown to be one method for improving outcomes and avoiding undesirable consequences. However, …

The Social History Of Therapists And Their Clients, As Related To Outcome Of Therapy, Howard A. Bernstein

Masters Theses

The present study was concerned with the concept of therapist-patient pairing or similarity-dissimilarity. From previous research, it appears that certain therapist types work better with certain client types.

In the current study, three therapists and twenty-four clients were used to develop the concept of pairing further using social history as a basis. The results indicate that global similarity generally leads to more positive outcome. However, we are unable to draw any firm conclusions, primarily due to the small sample size. It does appear that social history may be a useful area to continue investigations in the area of pairing.