Counseling Psychology Commons^™

Validation Of The Self-Compassion Scale: Correlations With The Beck Depression Inventory-Ii, Pär Daniel Andréasson

Master's Theses

Self-compassion denotes a compassionate and empathic attitude toward oneself (Neff, 2003b). In the past decade, the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) has been used to measure self-compassion in individuals and its effects on social, psychological, and physiological functioning. While many studies have found positive effects of high self- compassion showing promise for the use of the construct in clinical and empirical applications, there is a dearth of literature regarding the psychometric properties of the SCS. Furthermore, previous studies have not evaluated the individual subscales of the SCS as they relate to other inventories. This study evaluated the SCS and its subscales in …

Personality And Interpersonal Predictors Among Ministers: Preference For Pastoral Counseling Tasks, Jessica Young Brown

Theses and Dissertations

A review of vocational assessment in ministry populations revealed that since the 1950s, ministers have been assessed using psychological and vocational assessments in an effort to ascertain goodness of fit for ministry tasks. However, ministers consistently produce profile reports that are significantly different from the population as a whole. In addition, while there has been much research on the general ministerial vocation, there has been little research on particular ministerial roles and the predictors for ministers who will excel in those tasks. The literature on ministers is outdated and has not taken into consideration the peculiar characteristics of the ministry …

Relationships Among Acculturation, Self-Positivity Bias, Stigma, And Condom Use In A Sample Of Urban College Students, Molly Neff

Theses and Dissertations

Despite an increase in interventions targeted at lowering the rate of HIV/AIDS among college students, the rate of HIV/AIDS infections has not decreased. The purpose of this study was to identify factors (i.e., HIV-sexual knowledge, self-positivity bias, peer norms, acculturation, perceived risk of HIV, HIV-related stigma, and condom use) that may affect condom use among college students who live in an area where the prevalence of HIV is relatively high. The current study utilized a sexually active sample (N=397) of diverse college students (predominantly African American and White) in an urban setting to examine the relationships. Path analysis was used …

Increasing Positive Social Interaction Among Kindergarten Students, Scott M. Trinh

Theses and Dissertations

The current literature lacks empirically-supported preventative approaches for kindergarten students who are socially withdrawn and behind in the development of social skills. Furthermore, parents are underutilized in interventions during this critical period of social development. In response to this need, a classroom-based intervention consisting of (a) social skills training, (b) self-evaluation and reinforcement, (c) home notes and parent involvement, and (d) adult mediation was implemented to increase the positive social engagement of three kindergarten students. The effects of this intervention were evaluated on the playground during recess using partial interval recording of target students’ positive or negative engagement with at …

Jewish Perspectives On Christian Privilege: A Consensual Qualitative Study, Robert Kinney

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Although multicultural considerations, privilege, and oppression are of current interest across the field, much of the extant research has failed to explore religiosity as a component of the psychological literature. Using Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) the authors set out to gain an understanding of Christian privilege and the impact it has on Jewish Identity. A sample of 12 adult, American, non-Orthodox Jews were interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol. The interview data was collected to better understand the manifestations of Christian privilege and the impact of said issues on participant’s lives and identities. Seven themes were identified (1) Personal Conceptualization …

Integral Counseling Psychology Newsletter, Ciis

Integral Counseling Psychology Newsletter

This is the Fall 2012 issue of ICP Newsletter

Predicting Substance Abuse Treatment Participation With The Personality Assessment Inventory: An Investigation Of How Personality And Interpersonal Factors Affect Treatment, Annese Baum Hutchins

Doctoral Dissertations

The prevalence of alcohol and drug abuse or dependence among Americans ages 12 and over is thought to be about 9.4% of the total population, or 22 million Americans (Karpiak & Norcross, 2005; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association [SAMHSA], 2003). According to Vuchinich (2002), substance use disorders (SUD) are the most common mental health problem in our society today. Additionally, estimates are that anywhere from half to 84% of all substance use disorder patients also experience a co-occurring disorder (Johnson, Brems, & Burke, 2002).

Traditional treatment facilities usually are focused primarily on either substance abuse treatment or psychiatric …

Exploring The Experiences Of Racial Identity And Stereotype Threat In African American Male Medical Doctors, Christopher G. Beaumont

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

No abstract provided.

A Resource For Pastors And Counselors: Ministering To Spiritual And Emotional Needs Of Those In Ministry, Shirley Craven

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Some pastors are in need of pastoral care and counseling; unfortunately, many will never receive the care they need. Pastors often suffer in silence because they feel they cannot trust revealing their deep dark secrets with fellow clergy. The lack of confidentiality among pastors has caused leaders to struggle in silence with the very issues they preach against: adultery, fornication, pornography, drug, alcohol, etc. The fear of exposure has driven some pastors to seek help in other states where they can remain anonymous. Providing this type of resource will enable pastors to take control of their lives, and seek the …

Randomized Clinical Trial Of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Cbt) Versus Acceptance And Commitment Therapy (Act) For Mixed Anxiety Disorders, Joanna Arch, Georg Eifert, Carolyn Davies, Jennifer C. Plumb Vilardaga, Raphael D. Rose, Michael G. Craske

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Objective—Randomized comparisons of acceptance-based treatments with traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders are lacking. To address this research gap, we compared acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to CBT for heterogeneous anxiety disorders.

Method—One hundred twenty eight individuals (52% female, mean age = 38, 33% minority) with one or more DSM-IV anxiety disorders began treatment following randomization to 12 sessions of CBT or ACT; both treatments included behavioral exposure. Assessments at pre-treatment, post-treatment, 6-month, and 12-month follow-up measured anxiety specific (principal disorder Clinical Severity Ratings [CSR], Anxiety Sensitivity Index, Penn State Worry Questionnaire, Fear Questionnaire avoidance) and …

Supporting Children's Grief After A Death: A Guide For School Psychologists, Catherine Alexandra Bergeson

Theses and Dissertations

The death of a loved one is a significant stressor for children. Most children are exposed to grief at an early age. Without necessary support and guidance, children are much more susceptible to negative emotional, cognitive, and developmental effects. Expressive therapies such as bibliotherapy are supposed to provide a safe and healthy outlet for children's grief. However, school psychologists have limited pre-service training and readily available resources to effectively address children's death-related grief. This study included a survey of school psychologists from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Crisis Management Group. Of the 431 potential members, 22% (N=95) responded …

The Impact Of Professional Development On The Delivery Of Written Praise And Office Disciplinary Referrals, Shalon Stephanie Wilmott

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of professional development on teachers' delivery of written praise notes and the number of office disciplinary referrals (ODRs). The professional development consisted of training teachers on the effective use of behavior specific written praise, as well as on how to analyze and respond to praise-note and office disciplinary referral data. It was hypothesized that this process could help support and increase teachers' delivery of behavior-specific written praise notes and would subsequently decrease in the rate of office discipline referrals (ODRs). As baseline data, this study used the participating school's existing …

Cooperative Parenting: Building A Bridge, Jeanne Brooks

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Ambiguous Versus Blatant Race Related Stress On Ego Depletion In African American Adults, Benita Belvet

Theses and Dissertations

The aim of the current study was to examine variations in the impact of ambiguous versus blatant race related stressors on ego depletion in a sample of African American adults. Blatant race related stress was compared with ambiguous race related stress in regards to the relative impact on the constructs of ego depletion and perseverative cognition. Perseverative cognition was also examined as a potential mediating variable in the relationship between race related stress and ego depletion. Additionally, attributional ambiguity was hypothesized to moderate the effect of race related stress on perseverative cognition. The study implemented an experimental design, and assessed …

Examining The Relationship Between Emotional Schemas, Emotional Intelligence, And Relationship Satisfaction, Gregory Mears

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A review of the literature revealed that the relationship between emotional intelligence, emotional schemas, and relationship satisfaction has not been fully explored. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between emotional schemas, emotional intelligence and relationship satisfaction in a sample of married individuals, utilizing a cross-sectional, correlational design to assess the constructs via validated assessment tools. Baron and Kenny's methodology for assessing mediating relationships was used to explore the relationship between these variables. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the higher values dimension of emotional schemas accounted for 4.1% of the variance in relationship satisfaction after controlling …

The Foundations Of Hope In Therapy, John M. Winslade

Special Education, Rehabilitation & Counseling Faculty Publications

Hope is a necessary construct in narrative therapy but we need to be careful how we think about it. It does not lie in the essence of persons. There are not categories of people who are hopeful or hopeless. Rather, hope lies in the stories that we use to make sense of our lives but dominant stories from the world around us sometimes interfere with our access to hopeful stories. Therapy can help us reconnect with these stories, leading to the exercise of personal agency in our own lives. This presentation will explore how to help people do this through …

Health And Religious Commitment Among College Students: The Effects Of Health Behavior, Mental Health, And Social Support, Monica Yvette Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Empirical findings supporting the connection between religion and spirituality and health have been consistently found in the literature, whereas the factors explaining this relationship have lacked clarity. The present study sought to explore this relationship and establish health behavior, mental health, and social support as mediating factors to the proposed association between religious commitment and physical health. Physical health was measured by a number of indicators: body mass index, self-reported medical conditions, prescription drug use, over-the-counter medication usage, and problem use of drugs and alcohol. A sample of 150 college students from a university in Central Virginia participated in this …

No-Suicide Contracts With Suicidal Youth: Utah Mental Health Professionals' Perceptions And Current Practice, Andrea L. Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among youth and young adults ages 10--24. In 2001 the U.S. Surgeon General laid out a national strategic plan to more effectively address suicide prevention (United States Public Health Service, 2001). In 2008, Gene Cash, then president of The National Association of School Psychologists, made a "call to action" to prevent suicide. Although suicide prevention has been repeatedly identified as a priority in mental health care, the vast majority of interventions with suicidal youth are not evidence based due to a lack of research utilizing controlled studies (Daniel & Goldston, 2009). Unfortunately …

Influence Of Family On Native American Students, Lisa Jeannette Fox

Theses and Dissertations

Native American* postsecondary education students encounter several barriers to academic persistence including cultural assimilation issues, limited access to career information services, and an individual sense of duty and responsibility to remain tied to traditional spiritual values and beliefs systems, joined with family pressure to stay home. While the presence of Native American students in postsecondary education has increased, the number of students persisting through to graduation remains alarmingly low. Much of the research on Native American academic persistence has focused on acculturation and assimilation issues, leaving the influence of family largely unexplored. To help enrich this aspect of Native …

Social Validity Of Teacher-Written Praise Notes In A Title One Elementary School, Angela Howell

Theses and Dissertations

Praise notes have the potential to positively influence student behavior and relationships. Few studies have examined the social validity of praise, however, and these studies have focused on students' perceptions. The purpose of this study was to describe student, parent, and teacher perceptions of a school-wide praise note intervention at a Title I elementary school. Twenty-three teachers, 203 parents, and 203 students completed surveys regarding a pre-existing praise note intervention. Surveys consisted of 13 quantitative items and two open-ended questions. Quantitative and qualitative results indicate that participants had positive perceptions of praise notes. Participants also believed that praise notes helped …