Counseling, Higher Education & Special Education Theses and Dissertations

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End date: 2009Subject: search.filters.subject.Education, Guidance and Counseling

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    The Relationships between High School Sports Participation, High School Completion, and College Enrollment for African-American Males
    (2009) Harris, Paul Christopher; Lee, Courtland; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The purpose of this study is to explore the direct, indirect, and total effects of high school sports participation on high school completion and college enrollment for African-American males using a large, nationally representative, longitudinal database (ELS:2002). The lens through which this phenomenon is viewed in this study is the sports-impedes-mobility hypothesis (Braddock, 1981). A path analysis procedure for determining underlying causal relationships between variables was presented for six different sports participation models. The only sports participation variable to have a significant effect on either high school completion or college attendance was that of junior varsity sports participation significantly influencing (totally) high school completion and (indirectly) college attendance for African-American males. The effect was positive. While the implications of the results of this study are relevant for all who work with this population, school counselors are specifically highlighted.
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    THE INFLUENCE OF MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING TRAINING ON SCHOOL COUNSELORS' SELF-PERCEIVED MULTICULTURAL COMPETENCE
    (2008) Sweeney, Samantha Courtney; Strein, William O; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    With the changing demographics of the school population, the multicultural competence of school counselors has become increasingly important. This study examined the influence of formal training and exposure to persons different from the school counselor on multicultural competence. A demographic questionnaire and the Multicultural Counseling Inventory (MCI) were mailed to a random sample of American Counseling Association (ACA) members. Overall, formal training was not correlated with multicultural competence. However, working with and exposure to people who were different than the school counselors in terms of race/ethnicity, disability status, and sexual orientation was correlated with multicultural competence. When asked to comment broadly on important multicultural experiences that influenced them as professionals, school counselors mentioned race/ethnicity most frequently. Implications for training school counselors includes the importance of exposing trainees to people who are different than them and examining the content and style of school counseling multicultural courses.
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    Cost-Effectiveness of an Enhanced Whole-School Social Competency Intervention
    (2008-10-22) Huang, Sharon; Gottfredson, Gary D; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Background The cost and efficacy literature regarding elementary school-based preventative programs is limited, and many cost and efficacy studies suffer from research design and methodology problems. Purpose This study compares the marginal costs of a specific whole-school intervention to marginal costs of control school programs. It also assesses the cost-effectiveness of treatment and control interventions with respect to self-reported aggression, academic grades, and Maryland State Assessment (MSA) scores. Setting The study takes place in elementary schools in Anne Arundel County, a relatively diverse, suburban county in Maryland. Subjects Counselors (n=9) and principals (n=11) from 12 schools; the project manager, data clerk, and coordinator of guidance from the school system central office; and five research team members completed questionnaires about their time use. The study relies on efficacy data from another study. Intervention Implemented for three years, Second Step is a popular preventative, school-wide social competency program that aims to augment students' social skills and prevent problem behavior (Frey, Hirschstein, & Guzzo, 2000). Using manual-based lessons, classroom teachers in first through fifth grades were trained to deliver 30-minute lessons once a week to their classes in the areas of empathy, anger management, problem solving, and impulse control. Teachers also supplemented the formal lessons by reinforcing what had been taught at other times during the day (Frey et al., 2000). The intervention was enhanced by adding specific implementation standards and the use of periodic feedback about implementation to intervention managers and teachers. Research Design and Methods This study makes use of results from a large-scale randomized controlled trial that investigated the efficacy of Second Step. Researchers selected 12 elementary schools that had never implemented Second Step to participate, and these schools were matched based on their demographics and achievement history. Within each pair of schools, researchers randomly assigned one school to the treatment group and one to the control group. The methodology used for assessing costs is the ingredients approach (Levin & McEwan, 2001). Data Collection and Analysis Effect sizes for third and fourth graders for the third year are obtained from outcome evaluation reports. Third-year costs are added to retrospective training costs to estimate three-year costs. Data for costs of personnel time are collected in the form of time-use questionnaires, supplemental teacher questionnaires, and implementation logs. Accounting expenditures, rental agreements, and contacts with district personnel provide other cost data. To reflect current and annual costs and to account for opportunity costs, costs are discounted (expressing future costs in terms of their present values) and amortized (distributing a cost across its lifetime). Finally, incremental cost-effectiveness ratios are calculated for some of the outcome measures examined. Sensitivity analyses are conducted to consider variability in cost and cost-effectiveness estimates. Results Results imply that the enhanced whole-school social competency intervention attained no positive effects in student self-reported aggression, academic grades and MSA scores, at a cost of only $69 less per student over a three-year implementation period. Conclusions The enhanced whole-school social competency intervention is no more cost-effective than the control programs: annual marginal student costs are only slightly less than those of the control program, and the program is not efficacious. Limitations include the small number of schools and personnel and correspondingly large standard errors for effect sizes, the use of self-report methods to estimate time, and dependence on unreliable accounting expenditure data from the school district. Undependability of cost data may result from both measurement error and bias. In addition, since this particular Second Step program was implemented in only one school district, its generalizability to other school districts or variations of program implementation is unexplored. Despite these limitations, the study provides a range of credible values for cost-effectiveness for the program. It may provide insight to the scientific community about the costs involved in operating an enhanced whole-school intervention to share with school administrators and educators in their considerations of elementary school-based preventative interventions.
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    Role of biopsychosocial variables in predicting positive well-being and health-promoting behaviors in individuals with autoimmune diseases.
    (2008-05-09) Taylor, Nicole Erin; Hoffman, Mary Ann; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This project investigated the role of biopsychosocial variables in predicting positive well-being and health-promoting behaviors in individuals with autoimmune diseases. The predictors included disease severity, depression, arthritis self-efficacy, and social support. The dependent variables were positive well-being and health-promoting behaviors. Participants included 175 individuals with connective tissue or musculoskeletal autoimmune diseases who were over age 18. Participants were recruited through various health agencies and clinics serving people with autoimmune diseases and eligible respondents completed the survey online. Results of the study showed that disease severity and social support are not related, suggesting that an individuals' ability to access and utilize social support is unrelated to the severity of their autoimmune disease. Second, a significant relationship was found between self-efficacy and depression suggesting that individuals who believe they can handle the consequences of their disease report lower depression. Third, it was found that depression and social support predict both positive well-being and health promoting behaviors. Depression and social support added significant contributions to the regression model predicting well-being and healthy behaviors. Self-efficacy and disease severity did not add significant contributions to this model. It was found that self-efficacy does not mediate the relationship between depression and positive well-being but social support does. Fourth, a cluster analysis revealed four different clusters of participants that react to their autoimmune disease in four different ways. The cluster analysis suggested that, in general, people may react strongly favorably, strongly unfavorably, or not at all to their autoimmune disease. Finally, qualitative data for three open-ended questions related to perceived causes of disease, openness to counseling or psychotherapy, and positive consequences of autoimmune diseases were analyzed by three independent raters. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
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    Work-Family Balance: An Exploration of Conflict and Enrichment for Women in a Traditional Occupation
    (2007-08-13) Hennessy, Kelly Dae; Lent, Robert; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This research project presented and tested an integrative conceptual model of work/family balance, including the predictors and consequences of work/family conflict and work/family enrichment. The predictors included work/family conflict self-efficacy and support, while the dependent variable was domain satisfaction. Work/family balance can be thought of as an individual's overall experiences related to the interface between work and family related roles, tasks, and responsibilities. In this study, work/family balance is represented by the relationship between work/family conflict and work/family enrichment. Participants for this study included 161 women who were employed either part- or full-time, were in a heterosexual marriage, and had a least one child under the age of 18 living at home. In an effort to locate women who were simultaneously managing work and family roles, participants were recruited in a professional setting rather than among the population of university students. Path analysis was used to test the model of work/family balance. Two basic variations of the model of work/family balance were tested. First, a mediated model, which implied that the relations of support and self-efficacy to work and family satisfaction would be mediated by the conflict and enrichment variables, was tested. Second, a direct effects model was tested. In the direct effects model, paths were added from support and self-efficacy to the satisfaction criteria. Goodness of fit indices suggested support for the direct effects model. Implications for research, practice, and policy are also explored.
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    The Effect of Working Alliance on Client Drop-out for Persons with Disabilities in a State-Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Agency
    (2007-08-13) Stapleton, Mary; Fabian ,Ph.D., Ellen; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The existence of a working alliance between a counselor and a client has been viewed as a critical component of the therapeutic process in the psychological literature (Bachelor, 1995). The construct of working alliance has been the focus of interest in research literature as a measure of positive therapy outcomes. According to Horvath (2001 ) two decades of empirical research have consistently linked the quality of the alliance between therapist and client with therapy outcome. The 1998 Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act mandate that persons with disabilities must be "active and full partners" in the rehabilitation process. In the federal-state rehabilitation setting there is limited time to form an alliance( Safran&Muran, 1998), so that the initial interview becomes critical in engaging the client in this process. Therefore, this study measured the working alliance after the initial in-take session. Working alliance was measured by the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) developed by Horvath & Greenberg (1989). The dependent variable was the Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) which represents the agreed upon goals and tasks between the DORS counselor and client. The major hypothesis was that a strong working alliance between counselor and client would predict an IPE, and a poor alliance would not. The study participants were 111 persons with disabilities who applied and were found eligible for services in FY 2006 through the Maryland Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS). The investigation was conducted at 16 DORS offices throughout the state . The major finding was the lack of any significant relationship between working alliance and IPE . The second major finding was the clients gave generally high WAI scores to DORS counselors and 59 % (66) had an IPE. Despite this positive finding , those with high WAI scores were no more likely to have an IPE .Additionally, there was an effect of disability category upon the WA. In summary, the findings suggest that factors external to the WA may be more significant barriers to employment outcomes for DORS clients. The implications for people with disabilities, counselors, and counselor educators are discussed within the context of these findings.
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    Internalized Racism and Ethnic Identity in Chicana/o and Latina/o College Students
    (2007-08-01) Hipolito-Delgado, Carlos Porfirio; Lee, Courtland C; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This study sought to investigate if perceived racism and internalized racism are predictors of ethnic identity development in Chicana/o and Latina/o college students. This study also aimed to identify factors that serve as predictors of internalized racism. Finally, this study sought to identify if differences exist between those who self identify as Chicana/o, Latina/o, Hispanic, hyphenated American, or by nationality in terms of ethnic identity, acculturation, internalized racism, Spanish language fluency, and English language fluency. Chicana/o and Latina/o undergraduates who were members of ethnic student organizations were asked to complete an online survey that asked about their ethnic identity, U.S. acculturation, English language competence, Spanish language competence, internalized racism, and perceived racism. A sample of 500 undergraduate students was obtained. Using multiple linear regression this study found: that internalized racism was negatively related to ethnic identity; that Spanish language competence, perceived racism, and English language competence were all positively related to ethnic identity; that U.S. cultural identity and perceived racism were both positively related to internalized racism; and that perceived racism in the media was negatively related to internalized racism. Using Multivariate Analysis of Variance a statistically significant difference in ethnic identity, acculturation, internalized racism, Spanish language fluency, and English language fluency was found between those who identify as Chicana/o, Latina/o, Hispanic, hyphenated American, and those who identify by nationality. The findings of this study point to the negative effects of perceived racism and internalized racism. Moreover, these results indicate the importance of culturally affirmative therapy and educational practices when working with Chicanas/os and Latinas/os. This study also highlights the heterogeneity of the Chicana/o and Latina/o community. Additional research is needed to further understand the heterogeneity of the Chicana/o and Latina/o community.
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    Relation of Efficacy Beliefs and Working Alliance to Psychotherapy Outcomes: A Multilevel Analysis
    (2007-07-16) Sheu, Hung-Bin; Lent, Robert W.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The purpose of the study is to investigate the contributions of several common factor variables to individual psychotherapy outcomes at both individual and dyad levels. Two dyad-level variables (i.e., the working alliance and collective counseling efficacy) were hypothesized to mediate the relation of client individual-level predictors (i.e., coping efficacy, adult attachment, positive and negative affect) to outcomes (i.e., client-rated progress and session quality). The study involved a naturalistic research design in which no variables were manipulated and psychotherapy occurred without alteration. A novel instrument - the Collective Counseling Efficacy Scale (CCES) - was developed to measure the concept of collective counseling efficacy. Data collected from 73 dyads of clients and therapists were analyzed using multilevel structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques. Results of principal axis factoring procedures revealed a 1-factor structure for the CCES, and internal consistency estimates of the total scores were .96 and .93 for clients and therapists, respectively. Based on data from both clients and therapists, intraclass correlations showed that 59% and 34% of the variances of the alliance and collective counseling efficacy, respectively, occurred at the dyad level as opposed to the individual level. To model them as dyad-level factors, 2nd-order intercepts and slopes were created to represent the midpoint and the discrepancy of clients' and therapists' ratings of the two constructs. The alliance and collective counseling efficacy were further integrated by a set of 3rd-order intercept and slope, denoted relational factors. Multilevel SEM analyses provided evidence for the mediating effect of relational factors on the relation of pre-therapy client predictors to post-therapy client-rated outcomes. Specifically, client coping efficacy indirectly predicted client-perceived progress and session quality through the 3rd-order intercept. Also, client coping efficacy (positively) and avoidance attachment (negatively) were indirectly predictive of session quality through the 3rd-order slope. Post-hoc analyses indicated that clients' ratings of the alliance and collective counseling efficacy were significantly higher than those of therapists, and this pattern was positively associated with session quality. In conclusion, the importance of modeling common factor variables at different levels and the inclusion of collective counseling efficacy in psychotherapy research were initially supported by the findings of the study.
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    Team Cognition in Group Interventions: The Relation Between Co-Leaders' Shared Mental Models of the Group and Group Climate
    (2007-05-01) Miles, Joseph R.; Kivlighan, Jr., Dennis M.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The relation between convergence in group co-leaders' schemas, or mental models, of their groups and group members' perceptions of group climate was examined. Co-leaders of eight inter-group dialogue groups provided paired comparison ratings of the similarity of group members, and group members provided group climate ratings, following each of seven sessions. Paired comparison ratings were analyzed using Pathfinder Network Analysis (Schvaneveldt, 1990) to examine the structure of each co-leader's mental model of her or his group, and to compare these mental models within co-leader pairs to determine degree of match in co-leaders' mental models for each co-leader pair, for each week (i.e., how similarly co-leaders of a group view their group). Cross correlations and growth curve analyses of the match and group climate data showed an increase in match of co-leaders' mental models across sessions, and that match in co-leader mental models was related to group climate.
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    The Relationship of God Support and Religious Community Support to Career Exploration and Career decision Self Efficacy
    (2006-11-20) Duffy, Ryan D; Lent, Robert; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The current study examined the relationship between religious support, social support, career exploration, and career decision self efficacy in a sample of 133 undergraduate students involved in religious organizations. Hypotheses were partially confirmed as one's level of social support and religious support, as measured by God support and religious community support, significantly correlated with CDSE but not career exploration. Regression analyses were conducted to explore the ability of the support variables to collectively predict CDSE, where results indicated that overall support accounted for 11% of the variance in CDSE, with God support and social support being significant predictors. It is suggested that, at least for religious students, support gained from religious sources may be equally as important in predicting career outcomes as social support. Further, it is recommended that additional research be conducted to explore the wide range of relationships religion may have on career development.