Counseling, Higher Education & Special Education Theses and Dissertations

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End date: 2009Subject: search.filters.subject.Psychology, General

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    The Assessment of the Forms and Functions of Childhood Aggression Reconsidered
    (2009) Potter, Tracey Meryl; Teglasi, Hedwig; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This study examined the relationships between aggression and adjustment with a configuration of aggression categories derived from factor analyses of two commonly used scales to measure aggression, Dodge and Coie's (1987) Reactive/Proactive scale and Crick and Grotpeter's (1995) Children's Social Behavior Scale (relational and overt aggression). Second and third grade students and their teachers completed aggression ratings and a battery of adjustment measures. Teacher and peer rated aggression scales were constructed from an exploratory factor analysis of the aggression items. The teacher rated scales that emerged were pure overt, reactive relational, and reactive overt, and emerging peer rated scales were pure overt and reactive relational. The factor analysis of the teacher ratings revealed numerous cross-loaded as did the analysis of peer ratings. Cross-loaded teacher-rated items captured the construct of emotional dysregulation whereas the cross-loaded peer-rated items represented pure relational aggression. Unique associations were observed between teacher-rated pure overt aggression with externalizing behaviors, peer rated reactive relational aggression with self-rated depression and anxiety symptoms, and peer rated pure overt aggression with self-rated depression symptoms. The results regarding overall gender differences were consistent with prior research in that boys were perceived as more purely overtly aggressive than girls when rated by both their teachers and peers, and girls were perceived as more reactively relationally aggressive than boys when rated by both teachers and peers. Gender was also found to moderate certain relationships between aggression and adjustment. Importance of informant, as well as implications for understanding the construct of aggression and its relationship to adjustment are discussed.
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    Teacher Identification of Students for a Social-Emotional Intervention
    (2009) Sedlik, Samantha Lynn; Teglasi, Hedwig; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This study described how students received services for social-emotional issues in several schools where a social competence program was implemented. The study examined several variables including a) teacher referral practices in the context of a program designed as a prereferral intervention for these issues in elementary school-aged children; b) child characteristics; and c) group dynamics. Referring teachers completed pre and post-test behavior rating forms for 45 children (N=45) in the program. All students completed pre and post-test measures of listening comprehension and self-report measures of depression, anxiety, and anger. A case study of two children with different initial profiles highlights how initial child characteristics affect performance and progress in the group situation. The variability in child performance demonstrates the need for careful selection of participants when conducting group interventions in schools. Implications for prereferral interventions are discussed.
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    Development and Initial Validation of the Work Addiction Inventory
    (2009) Bryan, Nicole A.; 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 develop and validate the Work Addiction Inventory (WAI). The WAI is designed to assess individual's addiction to work via self-report. Data were collected from 127 working professional employed on at least a part-time (20 hours per week) basis. Results of an exploratory factor analysis retained 24 items and indicated that the WAI consists of three underlying factors. The WAI subscale and total scores showed adequate internal consistency reliabilities. Convergent and discriminant validity was initially supported by the relationship between WAI scores, an existing measure of workaholism, and social desirability. Also, WAI scores correlated highly with several criterion variables. Finally, evidence was found to suggest that the WAI accounts for unique variance beyond an existing measure of workaholism. In conclusion, psychometric properties of the WAI were initially supported by findings of the study.
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    Personal Growth Initiative as a Moderator of Expressive Writing Tasks: Test of a Matching Hypothesis
    (2009) Martin, Helena M; Lent, Robert W; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This study advances knowledge regarding a new potential client variable moderator to therapeutic writing. Therapeutic writing, also referred to in the literature as expressive or experimental writing, utilizes the expressive nature of writing as a therapeutic means to recovery and growth. The current study tested the moderating effects of a client variable, personal growth initiative (PGI; Robitschek, 1998), on cognitive and affective therapeutic outcomes including depression, the impact of the event, subjective well-being, positive affectivity, and the subjective evaluation of the task. More specifically, this study explored whether participants differ in the extent to which they profit from two different versions of expressive writing depending on whether they are high or low on the personality dimension of personal growth initiative (PGI). Findings revealed that, overall, those lower in PGI found greater benefit from the traditional writing task than the BPS task. In contrast, those higher in PGI found greater benefit from the BPS task than the traditional writing task.
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    WELL-BEING AND NEGATIVE MOOD OF SOUTH ASIAN AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS: CONTRIBUTIONS OF ADULT ATTACHMENT, ACCULTURATION, AND RACIAL IDENTITY
    (2008-07-08) Patel, Sheetal; O'Brien, Karen M; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Traditional psychological theories of development (e.g., attachment theory) have been criticized for their inability to fully explain well-being and negative mental health outcomes in ethnic and racial minority populations (Rothbaum, Weisz, Pott, Miyake, & Morelli, 2000; Wang & Mallinckrodt, 2006). Specifically, the intersection of developmental theories and salient sociocultural variables in predicting the well-being of Asian Americans has not been well elucidated, as little research has been conducted in this area. Yet, the need for understanding the mechanisms underlying the well-being of Asian Americans has been rising as the Asian American population is the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the United States (Zhou, 2004). The goal of this study was to extend knowledge regarding the applicability of attachment theory using a cross-cultural lens. Specifically, this study examined the joint contributions of a traditional developmental theory and sociocultural variables to better understand optimal development and well-being among South Asian Americans. This study advanced knowledge by finding that for South Asian American college students, adult attachment, acculturation and racial identity account for robust variance in the prediction of self-esteem, anxious mood, and depressed mood. Adult attachment, acculturation and racial identity accounted for variance in self-esteem, and more specifically, avoidant attachment, anxious attachment, and racial identity's internalization accounted for unique variance in self-esteem. The variance in anxious mood was accounted for by adult attachment, acculturation, and racial identity, with racial identity's conformity status accounting for unique variance in anxious mood. Finally, adult attachment, acculturation and racial identity accounted for variance in depressed mood. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
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    Outcomes of an elementary grades social competence experiment according to student self-report
    (2008-06-30) Harak, Elise Touris; Gottfredson, Gary D; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Problem behaviors that emerge in early childhood often persist through adolescence. Evaluations provide evidence that social skills programs in elementary schools can reduce student aggression. There is some evidence that social skills programs also increase social skills, academic commitment, and achievement. Outcome evaluations have more often focused on aggression than on social skills and academics, however. The present study is a randomized, controlled trial evaluating the effects of one popular social skills instructional program, Second Step, in six treatment and six control schools after two years of implementation. Despite the widespread use of Second Step, few evaluations have assessed its effects. The existing evaluations have either: (a) lacked randomization, (b) had small samples, (c) not measured implementation, or (d) were implemented for one year or less. In the present evaluation, implementation data were collected from all teachers as each lesson was completed. Overall implementation was high across two years. Treatment effects were assessed on nine self-report measures including Engagement in Learning, prosocial behaviors (Altruism, Empathy, and Self-Restraint) and problem behaviors and attitudes (Rebellious Behavior, Aggression, Victimization, Acceptability of Aggression, and Hostile Attribution Bias). Analyses completed using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) implied that treatment did not statistically significantly affect individual student self-reports net of individual characteristics. In almost all cases, the non-significant estimates of treatment effects were in the desired direction but mirrored non-significant pre-intervention differences.
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    Attachment style, relationship satisfaction, intimacy, loneliness, gender role beliefs, and the expression of authentic self in romantic relationships
    (2008-05-28) Downing, Vanessa Lynn; Fassinger, Ruth; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The current study sought to explore the possible facilitators and inhibitors of the expression of authentic self in heterosexual romantic relationships, and specifically, to increase understanding about the possible influence of gender role attitudes. Additionally, the study sought to assess the factor structure of the Authenticity in Relationships Scale (AIRS; Lopez & Rice, 2006)--initially normed on a college population--in a sample of post-college adults involved in a range of romantic attachments. A non-experimental field survey explored how variables of interest related to each other in a sample 241 male and female heterosexuals between the ages of 25 and 38. Analyses revealed strong associations between authenticity and attachment style, relationship satisfaction, intimacy, loneliness, and egalitarianism. Findings also included significant differences in regards to authenticity, relationship satisfaction, intimacy, and loneliness among participants depending on relationship type. Exploratory factor analysis suggested that Lopez & Rice's two-factor solution did not hold for this non-college sample, and suggested a one-factor solution for the AIRS. Implications of the study and suggestions for future research building upon the findings are discussed.
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    Managers, Mentoring, and Moving Up: The Role of Mentoring in Women's Career Advancement in the Chemical Industry
    (2008-05-13) Paquin, Jill Denise; Fassinger, Ruth E; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The underrepresentation of women in White male-dominated science and technology fields (STEM) has been documented, with special attention on the lack of women's advancement within these fields, including industry (NSF, 2004; Fassinger, 2001; Fassinger, 2002). Mentoring has been shown to be a key variable in the career advancement of both men and women. Lack of mentoring for women also has been demonstrated as a barrier to career advancement (Fassinger & Hensler-McGinnis, 2005). The chemical industry is the largest employer of U.S. scientists and therefore represents an important testing ground for identifying barriers and facilitative factors, such as access to mentoring, that could impact women's career success in this arena (NSB, 2000). Managers represent an untapped mentoring resource for women trained in science and engineering working in industrial chemistry. This study sought to better understand how managers think about mentoring and women's advancement within their field. Specifically, results suggest that managers' experiences with mentoring may have some influence on their perceptions of mentoring more generally, and that their perceptions of gender may be linked to their beliefs about mentoring for women in the workplace.
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    Evaluation of a Culturally Inclusive Model of Sexual Minority Identity Formation
    (2008-05-19) Risco, Cristina Maria; Fassinger, Ruth E.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    In the current work, the reliability and validity of a measure of sexual minority identity formation (the Same-Sex Orientation Identity Questionnaire; SSOIQ) was assessed with a racially/ethnically diverse sample. The SSOIQ was developed to measure one's location in a sexual minority identity formation process. The measure was derived from the Fassinger and colleagues (McCarn & Fassinger, 1996)) dual-trajectory model that hypothesizes two separate but reciprocal processes of individual sexual identity development and group membership identity development. Estimates of internal consistency reliability were assessed through Cronbach's alpha. A preliminary evaluation of the theoretical model underlying the measure was conducted by examining the interrelationships of the conceptually distinct phases of the model. Convergent validity was partially established through relationships of the measure to measures of identity confusion, internalized homonegativity, same group orientation, and outness. Discriminant validity was partially established using a measure of dogmatism.
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    An Instrument Development Study of Men's Planning for Career and Family: Contributions of Parental Attachment and Gender Role Conflict
    (2008-05-02) Mereish, Ethan H.; Kurotsuchi Inkelas, Karen; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The present study first investigated the factor structure and assessed the psychometric properties of a scale that measures the degree to which future family responsibilities are considered by men when making career decisions. The study then examined the contributions of parental attachment and gender role conflict in predicting men's career and family planning. Participants included 205 college men. The findings suggested that two subscales comprise the measure: the Incorporating Future Family in Career Plans subscale (IFFCP; α = .80) and the Choosing a Career Independent of Future Family subscale (CCIFF; α = .80). Convergent validity was supported through a negative correlation among the IFFCP subscale and career aspirations. Discriminant validity was supported, in which the IFFCP subscale lacked a correlation and the CCIFF subscale had a low correlation with the career decision-making self-efficacy. Attachment to father positively predicted incorporating future family considerations in career planning, and gender role conflict in the success, power and competition domain positively predicted choosing a career independent of future family considerations.