Counseling, Higher Education & Special Education Theses and Dissertations
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Item The Influence of Behavior Rehearsal Techniques on Children's Communicative Behaviors(1973) Cassidy, Edward W.; Rhoads, David; Counseling, Higher Education & Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of behavior rehearsal techniques on the behavior of shy children as determined by a measure of verbal behavior. Answers were sought to the following questions: 1. Does participation in a behavior rehearsal program affect the verbal behavior of shy children? 2. Is there a difference between standard and personal hierarchies used in behavior rehearsal? 3. Is there a difference between group and individual behavior rehearsal approaches? The sample included one hundred seventy-seven elementary school children from nineteen fourth, fifth, and sixth grade classrooms. The subjects were pupils who had a history of low frequency of verbal participation in group and individual settings. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two principal treatments or a control group. The first treatment was identified as Behavior Rehearsal-Personal. In this treatment subjects developed their own personal anxiety hierarchy. The second principal treatment was identified as Behavior Rehearsal-Standard. In this treatment the subjects were assigned to rehearse items from a hierarchy developed by the experimenter. The two treatments were applied in both one-to-one and group counseling settings. Besides treatment and setting, sex of subject and counselor were used as classification variables and included in a 2^4 factorial analysis of variance design. At the conclusion of a four week treatment period the subjects were observed on the criterion behavior, unsolicited communicative response, during a thirty minute controlled discussion session. Analysis of the data demonstrated that there was no change in verbal behavior as a result of participating in a behavior rehearsal program. It appears that in this study the behavior rehearsal procedures had no differential effect on the verbal behavior of the shy children. No significant difference was found on any of the other factors which· were measured. Neither the treatment setting, nor the sex of the subject, nor the counselor appeared to have a significant effect on the final results of the study. Although research studies indicate that the behavior rehearsal technique should be an effective technique for shaping assertive behaviors, no such evidence was found in this study. Nor was support found for the traditional view that personalized hierarchies are more effective than standard hierarchies. The lack of research on the behavior rehearsal technique suggests that more intensive and systematic research is needed to assess the specific effects behavior rehearsal has on the behavior of shy children.Item Development and Preliminary Validation of the Religious Identity Development Scale(2002) Veerasamy, Suthkaran; Hoffman, Mary Ann; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a new measure of religious identity development, the Religious Identity Development Scale (RIDS). The study also explored the relationship among religious identity development, anxiety and dogmatism to determine convergent and discriminant validity for the RIDS. The concurrent validity for the RIDS was determined by exploring the relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientations. The religious identity measure that was validated in this study was based on a proposed model of religious identity development, the Experiential/Rational Model of Religious Identity Development. The participants for the study were 211 students and adults from the Midwest and East coast. They completed the Religious Identity Development Scale (RIDS; V. Suthakaran, 2002), the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale (Rokeach, 1960), the State subscale of the State-Trait Anxiety Scale (Spielberger, 1983), Age Universal Intrinsic-Extrinsic Scale (Gorsuch & Venable, 1983), and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960). Exploratory factor analysis supported a six-factor model better than a seven-factor model. Discriminant validity was demonstrated by the negative correlations of the Acceptance status with anxiety and dogmatism, and the negative correlation of the Cognitive-Rationalization status with anxiety. Convergent validity was demonstrated by the positive correlations of the Concrete, Relational and Cognitive - Rationalization statuses with dogmatism, and the positive correlation of the Confusion status with anxiety. Some evidence, albeit modest, was found for concurrent validity, in that the Relational status was positively correlated with extrinsic religious orientation, and the Exploration status was positively correlated with intrinsic religious orientation. The negative correlation of the Cognitive-Rationalization status and the Confusion status with intrinsic religious orientation also provided tentative evidence for concurrent validity. Additional preliminary support for the concurrent validity of the RIDS was provided by examining the relationship of the six statuses with a two-dimensional definition of intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientation. Finally, results appeared to indicate that the internal consistencies and test-retest reliabilities were adequate, except for the Relational status. The methodological limitations of the study and implications for counseling psychology were discussed. Suggestions for future research for refinement of methodology were offered.Item The Effect of a Structured Group Experience on the Transition from the Role of College Student to the Role of Working Professional(1980-04-23) Lyons, John C.; Schlossberg, Nancy K.; Counseling, Higher Education, and Public Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)This study was conducted to investigate the effects of a structured group experience on the transition of new college graduates from the role of student to worker. Fifty-seven subjects,who were employed in their first professional job upon graduating from college,were formed into an experimental group of twenty-nine and control group of twenty-eight subjects . A needs assessment identified ten behaviors which supervisors considered to be indications that a new employee was functioning as a worker rather than a learner. A twenty-two item questionnaire was developed which allowed supervisors to evaluate the degree to which their subordinates were performing the ten target behaviors . A second instrument containing seven items was developed which allowed subjects to report the degree to which they felt they were performing these behaviors . Data were collected from supervisors and subjects using these instruments both before and after treatment. Treatment consisted of a workshop having two components: 1) the presentation of the ten behaviors which supervisors had identified as being desirable, and 2) a structured approach to skill mastery which utilized fantasy, planning and problem solving. Post-treatment evaluations of subjects by supervisors were significantly higher than the corresponding pre-treatment evaluations, t (28) = 3.11, p < .01, providing support for the hypothesis that a structured group experience has a beneficial effect on the transition from the role of college student to the role of working professional.Item CAREER CERTAINTY OF COLLEGE STUDENT ATHLETlCS IN REVENUE VS. NON- REVENUE SPORTS(2002) Davtyan, Arman; Adams-Gaston, Javaune; Counseling and Personnel Services; University of Maryland (College Park, Md); Digital Repository at the University of MarylandThis thesis explored the career certainty of college student-athletes, specifically looking for differences between athletes in revenue and non-revenue sports. The My Vocational Situation survey was administered to a sample of Division I athletes representing both revenue and non-revenue sports to assess their vocational identity, as well as to gain information regarding possible difficulties and barriers against career certainty in student-athletes. Additionally, this thesis sought to find relationships between the following variables: (a) vocational identity and perceived barriers to career decision-making, (b) intent to pursue professional athletics and other non-athletic career aspirations, (c) vocational identity and career aspirations, and (d) sport type and intent to play professionally. Although no significant differences were observed between revenue and non-revenue athletes with respect to career certainty, chi-square analyses revealed significant relationships between all four sets of variables above (a-d). Based on these findings, implications for practice and future research are discussed.Item Increasing Vocational Information Seeking Behaviors of High School Students(1972) Redmond, Ronald E.; Byrne, Richard Hill; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)This study was an outgrowth of previous research which investigated reinforcement techniques used to increase the frequency of vocational information seeking behaviors (VISB). Based on the Larramore (1971) finding that subjects (Ss) intended but did not always carry out the suggested vocational information seeking behaviors (VISB), it became apparent that additional research was required to increase the actual performance of certain career seeking behaviors. This research was designed to evaluate the reinforcing effects of the Self-Directed Search (SDS, Holland, 1970) and contingency contracts on the frequency of VISB performed by high school Ss. It was assumed that the administration of the Self-Directed Search (SDS) followed by a contingency contract would increase the performance of a greater number of VISB than the administration of the SDS alone.Item Cognitive Processing in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder as Measured by the Thematic Apperception Test(2001) Young, William F.; Teglasi, Hedwig; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)The present study attempted to add to the growing body of knowledge of ADHD by using the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) to measure cognitive processing in children with ADHD. Forty-five Children between the ages of 7 and 13 were evaluated for ADHD through a semi-structured interview and behavioral rating scales. IQ, achievement, visual-motor integration tests as well as a continuous performance test were administered as part of a comprehensive evaluation. Out of the 45 children, 15 were identified as having ADHD ( clinical group), 18 had attention deficit symptoms but were below the threshold for diagnosis (sub-clinical group), and 12 were found to be ineligible. Comparisons were made between the three groups of children referred for evaluation for ADHD and a group of 15 normal-control children taken from archival data who were matched for age and gender with the clinical group. Significant differences were found between all three of the referred groups and the control group for the following four cognitive processing variables from the TAT; Perceptual Integration , Level of Abstraction, Cognitive-Experiential Integration , and Level of Associative Thinking. The three groups of children referred for evaluation did not differ from each other. Gender differences were noted in the clinical group only with girls with ADHD scoring higher on cognitive processing variables than boys with ADHD. Factor analysis of all the measures used revealed four factors; cognitive processing, behavioral performance, hyperactivity, and inattention. Exploratory analysis was conducted on 16 children from the clinical and sub-clinical groups who were retested using behavioral rating scales, the continuous performance test, and the TAT; however, the number of children retested was too few to draw conclusions from the data. These results are discussed along with issues surrounding the diagnosis of ADHD and future directions for research regarding the nature of cognitive processing in children with ADHD.Item Client Perceptions of Psychotherapists: An Analogue Study(1970) Campbell, Terence W.; Goering, Jacob D.; Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)In the last decade, an impressive body of empirical evidence has accumulated which strongly suggests that psychotherapy outcome is a function of the levels of therapeutic conditions expressed by the therapist during the course of therapy. The empirically established role of these "levels of therapeutic conditions" (LTC) in determining process movement and therapy outcome suggested that they deserved and demanded systematic investigation in their own right as dependent variables. The primary concern of this investigation, then, was to determine whether LTC varied in its expression across therapists, and its perception across clients. It was hypothesized that psychotherapeutic orientation and client interpersonal style interact in determining client perceptions of psychotherapists. The experimental design developed for this study was a modification of Strupp's (1962) analogue procedure. Measures of interpersonal style-using Schutz's FIRO-B (1966)--were gathered from 378 college students at the University of Maryland. Approximately a week later, the Ss were randomly assigned to view one of the films in the film series Three Approaches to Psychotherapy. Immediately after viewing the film, the Ss were instructed to complete Barrett-Lennard's Relationship-Inventory in regards to how they would perceive the therapists if they were working with him as a client. The data were analyzed by means of analysis of variance procedures. The design was a 3 x 3 x 2 factorial analysis of variance (three therapeutic orientations x three client interpersonal styles x client sex). The first order interaction between therapists and clients was not significant (p <.240). However, the second order interaction (therapeutic orientation x client interpersonal style x client sex) did approach significance (p < .065), indicating that the first order therapist x client interaction was differential by sex. Subsequent analyses of variance were performed separately for males and females. For females, the therapist x client interaction was significant (p < .05), but this interaction was not significant for the male data. In discussing these results, two points were emphasized: (1) Those therapist behaviors which were perceived as facilitative and favorable by some clients, were not necessarily perceived as such by other clients; (2) The sources of variance in client perceptions were not as attributable to either therapist or client effects by themselves, as they were attributable to the interactive, system effects of the therapist-client dyads. Furthermore, the differential interaction effects between therapist and client variables and client sex were discussed in the context of sex-roles as conventionally defined at a societal level. Finally, the psychotherapeutic and research implications of the study, and its limitations, were considered.Item The Relationships Among Temperament, Attachment and Initial Adjustment to College(1989) McAndrew-Miller, Carol; Teglasi, Hedwig; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)Attachment theory suggests that the nature of the infant's first relationship with its primary caretaker is the foundation of normal development and influences adjustment in various domains throughout the life-span. Temperament research also indicates a relationship between temperament attributes and adaptation to change. The research in attachment and temperament has primarily focused on young children and adolescents. This research project sought to investigate the relationship of the constructs of attachment and temperament with initial adjustment to· college. A total sample of 261 first semester college freshmen from two college/universities completed a series of questionnaires. The questionnaires included indices of students' perception of past attachment relationships (Parental Bonding Instrument; Parker, Tupling, & Brown, 1979), temperament profile (Revised Dimensions of Temperament Survey; (Windle & Lerner, 1986) and adjustment to college (Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire; Baker & Siryk, 198 6 ); Perceived Social Support Scale- Friends; Procidano & Heller, 1983). Through multiple regression analyses, results indicated that temperament (positive mood, low distractibility, and rhythmicity/ positive mood flexibility, rhythmicity-eating and persistence) correlated with attachment (care/low overprotection). Temperament was found to correlate with the five areas of adjustment (academic: distractibility, flexibility, activity level-general, rhythmicity-daily habits, persistence; social: approach, mood, flexibility, persistence; personal/emotional: flexibility; rhythmicity-eating, activity level-sleep, distractibility; goal attainment: mood flexibility, persistence, approach; perceived social support: mood, approach, rhythmicity-eating). Post hoc analyses indicated school and gender differences within specific domains of attachment and adjustment. High school grade point average was best predicted by the temperament dimensions of flexibility, mood, and persistence whereas first semester college grade point average was best predicted by the low distractibility, rhythmicity-sleep and activity level-sleep. For the relationship of attachment to college adjustment, care was the most significant predictor for the five aspects of adjustment. The results of this research are supportive of the earlier work with children and adolescents and validates that attachment and temperament are influential variables in adjustment during the life-span.Item WORK STATUS AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH CHRONIC MENTAL ILLNESS(1988) Fabian, Ellen Sue; Power, Paul W.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)Work has always been the goal of the vocational rehabilitation process, and has assumed major importance in the field of psychiatric rehabilitation. The significance accorded work is apparent in the appropriation of millions of federal dollars for improved vocational training technologies (Rehabilitation Acts Amendments, 1986: P.L. 99-506), as well as in the volume of vocationally-oriented literature in the field of psychiatric rehabilitation. Despite policy and program attention, competitive employment success for individuals who are mentally ill remains marginal, with most national and local reports citing employment rates as low as 5 percent and only as high as 25 percent. These poor outcomes are generally attributed to individual disabilities or environmental obstacles, but few studies have attempted to determine the meaning of work to this population by examining the impact that employment status has on overall quality of life. The present study explores the impact of work status for a sample of 81 individuals with chronic mental illness participating in community rehabilitation programs in Maryland. Individuals who met the study criteria were randomly selected form programs, and were assessed using the Quality of Life Interview (Lehman, 1988) and the Vocational Development Scale (Hershenson & Lavery, 1978). Quality of life theory and research suggests that specific domains of an individual's life have an impact on overall reports of well-being. Therefore, this study assesses the relationship between work status and life satisfaction as an analysis of main effects, and then analyzes selected variables that might mediate this relationship. Job satisfaction and vocational development are also analyzed. Results indicate that competitive employment per se does not have a direct effect on life satisfaction, but that gender and satisfaction with employment status mediate this relationship. Although quality of life research suggests that motivation might mediate the relationship between status and satisfaction, this did not appear to be the case for this sample, nor did there appear to be a relationship between work competence and job or life satisfaction. The study explores the implications of the results both for public policy and for program planning. Recommendations for further research are discussed.Item SHATTERING THE COLLEGIATE GLASS CEILING: UNDERSTANDING THE EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN STUDENT GOVERNMENT PRESIDENTS(2019) Davis, Kristen Rupert; Griffin, Kimberly A; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In the last few decades, leadership skills have arisen as a core part of undergraduate education. The general outcomes associated with leadership skills in college include decision-making skills, increased cognitive complexity, and navigating group dynamics and relationship building (Kouzes & Posner, 2012). While leadership skills are derived from a variety of experiences on campus, positional leadership experiences help students develop concrete and specific outcomes associated with self-confidence, the development of a sense of competence higher levels of psychosocial development, a stronger ability to clarify their purpose in life, and greater aptitude for career planning and life management (Astin & Leland, 1991; Foubert & Grainger, 2006). In particular, serving as the president of a student organization has been associated with increased self-efficacy and growth in perceived leadership ability specifically for women (Bardou, Bryne, Pasternak, Perez, & Rainey, 2003; Dugan, 2006; H. S. Astin & Kent, 1983). However, women less likely to reap these gains, as they are less likely to take on positional leadership roles in college (Stevens, 2011). This is especially apparent in high-ranking leadership role like student government president. The purpose of this study was to better understand women college students’ journey to and through being a student government president, and whether and how gender and sexism influenced their presidential experiences. Case study methodology and a narrative approach to data collection was used to answer four research questions. Participant interviews garnered 5 themes including: (a) Systemic Issues of Diversity and Inclusion on Campus, (b) Catalysts, Influencing Factors, and the Impact of Identity on Running for Office, (c) Impact of Leadership Style, Assumed Biases, and External Feedback on Women Leaders, (d) External Expectations of Image and Presentation, and (e) Relationships with Administrators. Findings from this study suggest that more research on women in leadership in both college and in the workforce is necessary. They also suggest that administrators and campus community members need to be cognizant of bias and stereotypes when engaging with women student leaders. Lastly, findings indicate that issues of inclusion and diversity on campus impact how women engage in leadership roles on campus.