Counseling, Higher Education & Special Education Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2757

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Psychology, Clinical

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 19
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    Treatment Effectiveness in Preschool Education- A Look at Affective Variables
    (2009) Tsakiris, Elizabeth Ann; Strein, William O; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Autism now occurs in 1 out of 150 births in the United States (Centers for Disease Control, 2008). Increasing numbers and complexity of the disorder make the need for identifying effective interventions critical. DSM-IVTR identifies core characteristics of autism as significant deficits in communication, social interaction, and symbolic play. Neither intellectual ability nor academic achievement, two variables frequently used for measuring intervention effectiveness, are included as diagnostic criteria. Yet IQ scores are often used as entry criteria for treatment studies (Tsakiris, 2000). Therefore, intervention effectiveness has utilized variables other than the primary deficits and cannot be applied to the wider range (and truer representation) of children with autism.. From 1980 to 1999, Applied Behavior Analysis (Lovaas, 1987) and the Developmental-Individual Differences Relationship model (Greenspan & Wieder, 1998) were associated with improvement for children with autism; they remain the foundation for most current interventions. While researchers have examined gains in language and academic skills for these models, few empirical studies have examined improvement in the core deficits for autism. This study examined the core affect variables for 28 children with autism who had undergone a minimum of two years of intensive intervention. This study used a retrospective descriptive design to examine treatment effectiveness in development of social interaction, play, and communication competencies. Assessment instruments measured these skills in young children, incorporating both quantitative behavioral data and qualitative psychodynamic interpretation. Results were analyzed to determine relationships between social interaction, communication, and play with the intervention. Parent interviews and record reviews were used to examine child characteristics that might differentiate the presence or lack of relationship to the selected therapies, including age at symptom onset and treatment initiation, self-stimulation levels, echolalia, motor planning and language skills, and biomedical factors. No differences were seen between treatment programs on all outcome measures. The individual characteristics of the children played the more significant role in determining social interaction and communication improvements regardless of the child's intellectual functioning level. The results have important implications for determining which treatments may have better potential for addressing the core deficits of autism and identifying skill trajectories that warrant more attention.
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    A Biopsychosocial Model of Body Image in New Mothers
    (2009) Welsh, Anne Cavanaugh; Hoffman, Mary Ann; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The vast majority of eating disorders literature to date focuses on adolescent and college aged women. However, recent research suggests that eating disorders and struggles with body image are not limited to younger women, but instead occur in women of all ages (e.g. Hay, 1998). One group of women that might be particularly at risk for decreases in body image are first time mothers, as their bodies go through immense changes during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Thus far, the literature has shown a relationship between biological changes, such as weight retention, and low body image in postpartum women (e.g. Walker, 1998). However, little research has explored the role of psychosocial factors in postpartum body image. The current study explored a biopsychosocial model of postpartum image, drawing on psychosocial variables that had been shown to relate to body image in adolescent and college aged women. This study found that psychosocial factors (internalization of the thin ideal, pressure for thinness, and negative affect) accounted for variance in body satisfaction and disordered eating, above and beyond that of biomedical factors (weight change, postpartum BMI, and shape change). Additionally, psychosocial factors partially mediated the effect of weight change and shape change on body satisfaction and disordered eating. These findings have important implications for psychologists and health care professionals who work with new mothers.
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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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    An Examination of the Narratives of Men in Power-Sharing Marital Relationships: A Feminist Perspective
    (2008-12-04) Ades, Alisa Joy; Fassinger, Ruth E; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    One of the distinguishing characteristics of the late 20th and early 21st century is the dramatic change in the work and family roles of mothers in the United States. Despite evidence indicating that managing the multiple roles of work and family is healthy for both men and women, and that couples in equitable marriages report higher levels of relationship satisfaction and stability, marital partnerships often fall prey to traditional roles. In the vast majority of heterosexual marriages, men continue to hold the power. For true equality to exist, men and women need to share roles and, ultimately, power. The present study examined the lives of men in power-sharing marriages. The purpose of this study was to develop a framework for understanding what motivates men to pursue a non-traditional path and engage in power sharing marital relationships, where partners hold mutual status, actively negotiate roles, share decision-making and provide mutual attention to family and household tasks. This research was a qualitative study of 13 men in this type of power-sharing marital relationship. These men self-identified as power-sharing and eligibility was confirmed by the primary researcher. Data were gathered through semi-structured in-person interviews. The emerging theoretical framework suggests that the participants followed a complex path that led them to a power-sharing marital relationship. The path was composed of contextual spheres of influence (the sociopolitical context, the family of origin, the community and the academic environment) which worked together to foster the development of societal (justice, gender equality, equity) and interpersonal (mutual respect, reciprocity, family-first, complex connection with partner) values. In turn, the theory proposes that these values inspired the men to embrace a power-sharing orientation. The path did not end for these men with the initiation of the power-sharing marriage because the men in this study constantly confront challenges and rely on facilitators in order to maintain their power-sharing status.
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    The role of communication, life role commitments, and sexist ideologies in dual-earner marriages
    (2008-05-31) Sullivan, Catherine Mary; Hoffman, Mary Ann; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The dual earner family is now the norm among married couples of all races; yet research has shown that even dual-earner couples are not generally able to attain marital equality. This study investigated inequality in marital relationships as it related to wives' psychological distress and marital satisfaction by examining variables that appear to correspond with invisible power, namely the gendered ways men and women commit to various life roles, how they communicate in times of conflict, and the sexist ideologies that serve to shape these roles and behaviors. Participants were 287 married women who worked full-time outside the home and whose oldest child was under the age of six. The sample was predominantly White, highly educated and had a relatively high income. Participants completed a web-based survey, which included measures of relationship satisfaction, psychological distress, life role commitments, ambivalent sexism, constructive communication, and social support. Participants responded to several measures twice - once from their own perspective and once based on their perceptions of their husband's perspective. Results suggested that while the variables of interest, particularly constructive communication, predicted a large among of variance in relationship satisfaction, they only predicted a small amount of variance in psychological distress. The three variables that were found to predict unique variance in wives' reported marital satisfaction were constructive communication, wives' perceptions of their husband's commitment to the parental role, and wives' own commitment to the marital role. Findings support the importance of these variables for predicting women's reported marital satisfaction and the importance of examining these variables together. Overall, it was found that wives' perceptions of their husbands' perspective were more strongly predictive of wives' marital satisfaction than wives' own ratings. Results suggest that constructive communication is a particularly important tool for women in dual-earner marriages, a way that they are empowered to make marriage more satisfying and possibly as a protective factor or way to cope with what would otherwise be distressing. These findings can be used to inform the development of interventions to help dual-earner couples with young children.
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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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    The Exploration of Identity, Relationships, and Health in Adult Men
    (2008-04-07) McGann, Kevin; Hoffman, Mary Ann; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The current study is an investigation of health, sexuality, and relationship attachment in adult men. Drawing on the sexual identity literature and the body of work on men who have sex with men (MSM), predictions were made about level of congruence between self-defined sexual orientation and self-reported sexual thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. One thousand male graduate students from a large, Mid-Atlantic university were emailed a web survey containing questionnaires asking about their experiences in close relationships, aspects of their sexuality, and their levels of depression. The return rate was only 10%, and the final sample consisted of 99 male graduate students. The hypotheses predicting that congruence would predict better health outcomes were carried out using one-way ANOVAS, and were not supported. Potential reasons for this are given, along with suggestions for clinical practice with adult men and areas for future research.
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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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    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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    APPLICATION OF THE SOCIAL RELATIONS MODEL TO THE CORE CONFLICTUAL RELATIONSHIP THEME IN GROUP PSYCHOTHERAPY: EVALUATION OF THE SOCIAL MICROCOSM THEORY
    (2007-03-20) Markin, Rayna; Kivlighan, Dennis M; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The group therapy literature is plagued with methodological and statistical pitfalls. Likewise, researchers have struggled to develop an accurate method of assessing transference. The study at hand used The Social Relations Model to circumvent common problems in group research and is proposed as a way of measuring transference in group therapy. We used the Central Relationship Theme, a derivative of the Core Conflictual Relationship Theme, as a measure of transference. Additionally, while the social microcosm theory is the cornerstone of interpersonal-process groups, few studies exist to support it. This study assessed the social microcosm theory by comparing group members' central relationship themes with other group members to their central relationship theme with a romantic partner outside of the group. The results suggest that transference is present in member to member relationships.. Mixed results were found to support the social microcosm theory, i.e., that a group member's transference themes outside of the group are repeated within the group.