Social Psychology Commons^™

Social Support In Marriage: Translating Research Into Practical Applications For Clinicians, Kieran T. Sullivan, Lauri A. Pasch, Kathleen A. Eldridge, Thomas N. Bradbury

Psychology

How spouses support one another may be important in understanding and preventing marital distress, but has received relatively little attention. Instead, the behavioral model of marriage and corresponding treatment protocols have focused on the importance of good conflict management skills in preventing and treating marital distress. This paper outlines recent research indicating that couples social support skills predict marital outcome two years later, above and beyond conflict management skills. These results indicate that successful prevention and treatment programs may need to incorporate support skills training as well as conflict management training. Practical implications of this research are outlined, and specific …

Perceiving And Feeling Personal Discrimination: Motivation Or Inhibition For Collective Action?, Mindi D. Foster, Kimberley Matheson

Psychology Faculty Publications

Relative deprivation and group consciousness theories differ in their predictions of how personal discrimination and personal discontent will be related to taking collective action. According to relative deprivation theory, assessments of personal status should be unrelated to taking collective action.

In contrast, group consciousness theories suggest that while perceiving personal discrimination is necessary for collective action to occur, feelings of personal discontent may inhibit it. Female students completed questionnaires assessing their perceptions of, and affective responses to personal discrimination, as well as their participation in collective actions. A hierarchical regression analysis found that personal discrimination and discontent interacted such that …

Sexual Victimization Recognition And Non-Disclosure Inventory Of Young Adolescents, Nancy S. Faulkner

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to assess sexual victimization recognition and nondisclosure of young adolescents proximate to the age of the abuse. Participants were 214 middle school pupils, ages 12 to 15 who were presented with Informed Consent giving them the right not to respond, presented brief information on Body Safety, and asked to respond to five questions. The Body Safety information and administration of the survey were on videotape for ease and consistency of data collection. Three null hypotheses were tested using Chi square and three research questions were analyzed by descriptive, non-statistical trend analysis. The following results were noted: …

The Relationship Of Autonomy Sociotropy And Depression To The Recall Of Autobiographical Memories, Jennifer Sue Cheavens

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Past research in the area of dysphoria and depression has examined two personality constructs known as autonomy and sociotropy. These personality constructs have been studied as predispositions to dysphoria and depression. The current study focused on the ability of Autonomy and Sociotropy, measured by the Personal Style Inventory (PSI), to predict both participants' and raters' autonomous and sociotropic ratings of autobiographical life events. The study also examined the differences in classifications of events as either sociotropic or autonomous when the classifications were made by both participants and objective raters. Participants were 72 female and 43 male undergraduate students enrolled in …

Social Support Mechanisms Among Athletes With Disabilities, Jeffrey J. Martin, Carol Adams Mushett

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

The purpose of this investigation was to describe social support mechanisms of swimmers with disabilities and examine relationships among social support, self-efficacy, and athletic satisfaction. Results indicated that athletes felt satisfied with the social support they received. Mothers and friends provided primary support in a variety of areas requiring non-sport-related knowledge. Additionally, there were important secondary sources of support in areas requiring sport-specific knowledge. Coaches were primary sources of support in areas that required sport expertise. Fathers were also important sources of secondary support in areas that required both sport expertise and nonsport expertise. Correlational results suggested that athletes who …

The Relationship Between Spirituality And Depression In Family Caregivers Of The Elderly, Mary Jean Chappel

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between spirituality and depression in family caregivers of the elderly. This study sought to test the following hypothesis: The level of spirituality will be negatively correlated with the level of depression for family caregivers of the elderly. A descriptive, correlational design utilizing Neuman's wholistic system theory was used with a convenience sample of 44 family caregivers aged between 32 and 88 years. Self-reporting questionnaires were mailed to clients (identified as caregivers) of a home care agency, a caregiver respite program, and a Parkinson's support group all providing services in Northern …

Graduate Bulletin, 1996-1998 (1996), Moorhead State University

Graduate Bulletins (Catalogs)

No abstract provided.

The Effectiveness Of Viewing The "Life After Brain Injury" Video Tape By Family Caregivers, Nan Meyers

Masters Theses

Family caregivers readily identify the physical signs of brain injury but the cognitive dysfunction and behavioral change symptoms are less easily recognized. Families need to be knowledgeable about brain injury and how to manage its symptoms. Nurses are in the unique position to provide brain injury education for family caregivers early in the acute hospitalization. This study replicated the works of Sanguinetti and Catanzaro (1987) and Pardee (1993).; Statistical comparison of pretest and posttest knowledge and the pretest and posttest application scores were used to evaluate the effectiveness of family caregivers' ability to apply learned information about brain injury and …

Loss Associated With Chronic Illness: Application Of The Roy Adaptation Model, Linda M. Dehaan

Masters Theses

The Roy Adaptation Model guided this pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study to test an intervention addressing loss associated with chronic illness. Differences in adaptation and well-being were evaluated between control (n = 20) and experimental groups (n = 20) 30 days after intervention. Adaptation was measured by PAIS-SR scores and analyzed using ANCOVA to adjust for pretest differences. T-test and Mann-Whitney U was used to evaluate well-being as measured by the Global Well-being Scale. Changes in adaptation were not significantly different between groups, but well-being improved 12.8% in the experimental group as compared with 1.4% in the control group. Inconsistency of results …

Affective Reactions, Social Support And Willingness To Self-Disclose To Hiv Seropositive Individuals: Impact Of Sexual Orientation And Responsibility For The Infection, Susan Paige Sherburne

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

An attributional model of controllability suggests that perceptions of someone's controllability of an event lead to anger and rejection, whereas perceptions of uncontrollability lead to pity and helping. This study examined the impact of an HIV victim's sexual orientation and "responsibility" for infection on subjects' affective responses, self-disclosure to the person, social support, and liking and trust for the person. Subjects received messages from their "partner" (a confederate) stating that he had just learned he was HIV positive. The message either stated that he was heterosexual or homosexual, and that he had either only one partner or many partners. Subjects …

Views Of Feminist Family Therapy: A Q-Methodological Inquiry, Bronwen Cheek

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The feminist critique of family therapy has had a growing impact on theory and practice for almost two decades (Hare-Mustin, 1978; Bograd, 1990). Writings on feminist family therapy (FFT) reveal both common and diverse opinions about what FFT is. The present study examined how views of FFT are segmented using Q-methodology (Stephenson, 1953; Brown, 1980; McKeown & Thomas, 1988), a small-sample empirical technique for identifying emergent viewpoints and studying their similarities and differences. A Q-sort instrument of 60 statements was constructed to sample diverse discourse on FFT. Magraw's (1992) interviews with leading experts in FFT served as a primary source …

The Association Between Perceived Family Support And Psychological Well-Being In Infertile Couples, Linda Marquardt Mintle

Health Services Research Dissertations

A correlational research design utilizing a cross-sectional survey methodology was used to investigate the association between perceived family support and psychological well-being in infertile couples. Family stress theory and the construct of boundary ambiguity were conceptual frameworks applied to the developmental family life cycle. Respondents were 35 married infertile couples with primary infertility recruited from a private For-profit infertility clinic located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Responses on the Moos and Moos (1984) Family Environment Scale and from the SCL-90-R developed by Derogatis (1977) measured perceived family support and psychological distress respectively. Major findings indicated that infertile couples rated their families …

Athletic Identity And Sport Orientation Of Adolescent Swimmers With Disabilities, Jeffrey J. Martin, Carol Adams Mushett, Kari L. Smith

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

Measures of athletic identity and sport orientation, developed from self-schema theory, social role theory, and achievement motivation theory, were used to examine international adolescent swimmers with disabilities. The multidimensional Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (Brewer, Van Raalte, & Linder, 1993) was used to assess self-identity, social identity, exclusivity, and negative affectivity. The Sport Orientation Questionnaire (Gill & Deeter, 1988) measured competitiveness, win orientation, and goal orientation. Swimmers reported (a) a strong self-identity, (b) a moderate to strong social identity, (c) negative affectivity with lower levels of exclusivity, (d) strong competitiveness and goal orientation, and (e) moderate win orientation. Self-identity was correlated …

Double Relative Deprivation: Combining The Personal And Political, Mindi D. Foster, Kimberley Matheson

Psychology Faculty Publications

Double relative deprivation, which has been virtually ignored in research on relative deprivation, was expected to predict women's collective action over and above egoistic and collective deprivation. The role of socio-political resources in perceiving deprivation and participation in action was also investigated. Female students (N=164) completed a questionnaire designed to assess their perceptions of egoistic, collective, double relative deprivation (defined as the interaction between egoistic and collective deprivation), resource availability and participation in collective action. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that double relative deprivation predicted collective action over and above egoistic and collective relative deprivation, and that resource availability also uniquely …

Relationship Of Perceived Social Support To Readmission Of The Congestive Heart Failure Patient, Margaret A. Guthaus

Masters Theses

This study examined the relationship between perceived social support and the time between hospital admissions for congestive heart failure (CHF) patients based on Lazarus' Stress and Coping Theory. A descriptive correlational design was used with a convenience sample of 40 inpatients aged 33-100 at a mid-western hospital. The Personal Resource Questionnaire was used to measure social support.; Data indicated that 50% of the sample were readmitted within 90 days of discharge. However, the hypothesized positive relationship between perceived social support and the number of days between admissions was not supported. Subjects' age was related to time between admissions(r =.33, df …

Attachment Theory And Self-Disclosure Of Hiv Status, Amy H. Grimshaw

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the influence of attachment style on self-disclosure of HIV seropositive status. Subjects were classified according to Bartholomew's model of adult attachment (i.e., secure, preoccupied, fearful, or dismissing). Steps were then taken to assess differences in the subjects' willingness to disclose their HIV seropositive status, the communication style chosen for disclosure, the subjects' perceptions of the importance of disclosing their HIV seropositive status, and the feared negative consequences of disclosure. To increase generalizability subjects were asked to assess their self-disclosure to three types of target persons: lover, same-sex friend, and opposite-sex friend. Attachment style significantly affected perceived importance …

Personality Variables In Weeping Propensity, Michelle C. Lamb

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Until recently, few empirical studies have explored crying reactivity in normal adults. The present study investigated adult weeping by first developing the Weeping Propensity Scale (WPS) and then by comparing scores on that scale to traits which had been hypothesized to be related to weeping propensity. The WPS is a self-report, 22 item, Likert-type scale designed to measure an individual's tendency to react to emotional stimuli with tears. Factor analysis results and internal consistency are reported for the WPS. In order to investigate traits hypothesized to be related to the WPS, 173 university students completed the WPS, the Questionnaire Measure …

Psychosocial Determinants Of Age-Appropriate Immunizations Of Infants In Norfolk, Virginia, Hoda Youssef Atta

Health Services Research Dissertations

This study represents an investigation of psychosocial factors affecting age-appropriate immunizations of infants in Norfolk, Virginia. A household survey was conducted in Norfolk, Virginia, from 4/93-8/93, to assess immunization coverage of children 12-30 months of age. This survey included a total of 389 children in the target age range. A subset of 201 mothers were randomly selected and reinterviewed to assess their knowledge and attitudes and the relationships of these factors to age-appropriate immunizations at 12 months of age. Sixty-two percent of children were not age-appropriately immunized at 12 months of age. Almost all mothers (99%) considered vaccines to be …

Recovered Memory Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This article examines the psychological basis for repression and recovery of traumatic memories, presents the results of research on potential sources of error in delayed or recovered memories, and offers possible reasons (primarily related to clinical practice and collective behavior) for false accusations of sexual abuse.

The Effect Of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Education Program On Knowledge, Attitudes And Sexual Behavior Of Selected College Students, Arlene Jaine Jackson Montgomery

Health Services Research Dissertations

The problem studied in this investigation was whether a behaviorally focused Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Program affects the knowledge, sexual attitudes and sexual behavior of college students.

Three hundred and six first-and third-year college students were included in the study from one university located in Southeastern Virginia. The sample was predominately female, African-American and mainly between the ages of 16-22 years of age.

Freshmen students were presently enrolled in the institution's HIV/AIDS education program, which was a part of a required course. The class sessions consisted of a pretest prior to student's completing the reading assignment …

Responding To Sexual Discrimination: The Effects Of Societal Versus Self-Blame, Mindi D. Foster, Kimberley Matheson, Megan Poole

Psychology Faculty Publications

While self-blame has been considered to be a useful coping tool for victims, its benefits within the context of group discrimination are equivocal. The present research hypothesized that women encouraged to engage in self-blame for sex discrimination would be more likely to endorse accepting their situation or endorse the use of individual, normative actions. In contrast, women encouraged to engage in societal blame for sex discrimination would be more likely to participate in non-normative actions aimed at enhancing the status of the group as a whole. Female students in Canada were subjected to a situation of discrimination and were encouraged …

The Occurrence Of Alexithymia In Children And Adolescents With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Michael S. Routh

Graduate Theses

Previous studies of the relationship between alexithymia and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have utilized samples of combat veterans with PTSD. However, children and adolescents who have experienced trauma and are diagnosed with PTSD exhibit similar or identical symptomology. The current study examined alexithymia in a sample of children and adolescents diagnosed with PTSD. It was hypothesized that the sample, when compared to non-PTSD and control samples, would reveal a significantly greater severity of alexithymia and PTSD. Although overall results were not consistent with previous research, trends of group means supported a relationship between alexithymia and PTSD. 1

Graduate Bulletin, 1993-1995, Moorhead State University

Graduate Bulletins (Catalogs)

No abstract provided.

Coping With Multiple Roles, Deborah J. Laughlin

Masters Theses

Women in increasing numbers have been combining career and family. Balancing the multiple roles may be stressful at times. The purpose of this study was to examine how different stressors influence a woman's ability to utilize coping responses. This study examined the relationships between situational variables and a nurse's ability to cope with multiple roles. The situational variables studied were: age, educational level, number of hours worked, job type, number of children, ages of the children, view of nursing, husband's agreement with the wife on the number of hours worked, and satisfaction with child care. The survey tool, the "Coping …

Symptoms Of Stress And Social Support In Wives Of State Legislators, Kimberly Montgomery

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine if wives of politicians differ from other wives in terms of symptoms of stress and social support. There were N = 50 political wives and N = 68 nonpolitical wives who served as subjects. Using the General Health Questionnaire-28, the two groups were compared on aspects of stress (e.g., somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction, and severe depression) and coping (e.g., emotional and practical support as measured by the Significant Others Scale). The results indicated that political wives report more stress symptoms than nonpolitical wives. Significant differences were also found between …

A Study Investigating The Cognitive Variables Involved In Adolescent Use Of Alcohol, William E. Fahey

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship of adolescents• level of alcohol use to various cognitive and contextual variables. The cognitive variables of concern included (a) alcohol knowledge, (b) generation of alternatives thinking, (c) means-ends thinking, and (d) selfefficacy. The contextual variables were specific factors associated with most recent alcohol use experiences. The sample consisted of 113 high school sophomores from two separate high schools located within a rural county in the upper Midwest. Subjects were separated into three groups (Nonusers, Occasional Users, and Heavy Users) based on their self-reported level of alcohol use in the past month. Subjects completed various questionnaires …

Examination Of Community Mental Health Services For Persons With Serious Mental Illness: A Descriptive Study Of 31 Counties In Michigan, Pamela C. Werner

Masters Theses

Thirty-one out of 55 Community Mental Health Boards participated in a survey conducted by the Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Michigan. This study examined a number of variables in the questionnaire using a product-moment correlational analysis.

Results indicated that family and consumer input is modestly correlated with comprehensive service delivery and staff/consumer education and training. Budget and the active number of mentally ill cases had a low correlation with comprehensive service delivery and staff/consumer education and training. Interagency collaboration was modestly correlated with program evaluation, and comprehensive services available to consumers. Weaknesses were noted in the management structure of …

Differential Perception Of Histrionic Personality Disorder Symptoms In Males Vs. Females, Susan L. Swihart

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research examined the differential perception of severity of histrionic personality disorder symptoms in males versus females in order to investigate one possible explanation for the increased rates in diagnosis of this disorder in females. Thirty male and thirty female volunteer undergraduates from a midwestern university were asked to sort the DSM-III-R criteria for all the personality disorders, including the two proposed categories, selfdefeating and sadistic personality disorders, according to degree of abnormality. Each criterion was typed on a separate index card for a total of 142 cards and subjects were asked to sort the symptom cards on a Likert-type …

Individual Response To Risk As A Function Of Normative Social Pressure: A Pilot Study Of Seat Belt Use, Kenneth D. Boehm, John T. Keating, Karl W. Pfefferkorn, Audra J. Pfeltz, Brady G. Serafin, Jessica L. Sullivan, Karen L. Thode, Kevin M. Vincent, Juanita V. Field

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The authors attempt to clarify some of the variables that influence whether people act appropriately when a Risk is substantial and subject to individual control. They do so by reporting results of a pilot study of seat belt use. Also, the authors believe their approach to be generalizable to problems such as encouraging people to test for radon, to use condoms to prevent AIDS or to quit smoking.

Social Support For Family Caretakers Of The Chronically Mentally Ill, Gina L. Bankes

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study examined the relation between coping style, social support, family member symptom severity, and negative affect. Fifty-one caretakers of chronically mentally ill family members completed a demographic questionnaire, a general appraisal questionnaire, a family member symptom severity questionnaire, the Coping Strategy Indicator, the Social Support Questionnaire, and the Multiple Affect Anxiety Checklist. Caretakers with family members living at home were different than caretakers with family members living away from home (HOME) in several respects. Controlling for HOME, family member symptom severity was related to negative affect, coping strategies were related to negative affect and the Social Support Questionnaire …