UMD Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item Are the voices of customers louder when they are seen? Evidence from CFPB complaints(2022) Mazur, Laurel Celastine; Hann, Rebecca; Business and Management: Accounting & Information Assurance; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This paper exploits a unique policy change in the banking sector – the first disclosure of the customer complaints submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – to examine whether regulatory scrutiny represents one mechanism through which the disclosure of customer complaints can affect bank behavior. I find that banks with a higher complaint volume on the disclosure date increase mortgage approval rates relative to banks with fewer complaints in the same county, and that this effect is strongest in financially underserved communities. I further find that the disclosure effect is larger for banks under more regulatory scrutiny, namely, those operating in states with stronger consumer financial protection enforcement and those with prior consumer affairs violations. Taken together, the results suggest that the public disclosure of customer complaints, especially when accompanied by regulatory pressure, can serve as a mechanism for customers to influence banks’ consumer lending behavior.Item Secrets in Psychotherapy: A Longitudinal Study of Client Concealment and Disclosure(2017) Marks, Ellen Christina; Hill, Clara E.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study investigated how secrets unfold over the course of therapy in a naturalistic setting, including identifying longitudinal patterns and investigating relationships with other session-level variables. Participants were 39 client and graduate student therapist dyads in open-ended therapy at a community psychotherapy clinic. Data on concealment, disclosure, working alliance, real relationship, and session evaluation were collected after each session. Data were analyzed using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM). Results demonstrated that disclosure and concealment of secrets are relatively infrequent occurrences, with disclosure occurring more often than concealment. Over time, clients became less likely to disclose a secret and less likely to conceal a significant secret. Clients rated the working alliance as lower for sessions where secrets were disclosed, but this relationship was less pronounced when the disclosed secret was viewed as significant. Clients rated session quality as higher for sessions in which they both concealed and disclosed secrets, as well as for sessions in which a preoccupying secret was shared. Clients tended to feel neutral or positive about their disclosures and believe that the disclosure had no change on how they were viewed by their therapist. Implications for practice and research are discussed.Item Pathways to assistance for victims of intimate partner violence(2015) Stabile, Rebecca Michelle; Dugan, Laura; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Efforts to understand disclosure of abuse for victims of intimate partner violence have largely focused on characteristics of disclosure rather than the consequences of disclosure. Past research has found that disclosure of abuse to formal and informal sources of support is common among victims of intimate partner violence (Fanslow & Robinson, 2010), however little research exists that attempts to explain the effect that disclosure has on a victim’s ability to survive abuse. This thesis draws upon arguments from Edward Gondolf’s survivor theory (Edwards & Gondolf, 1988) and contends that the act of disclosing is an important step in seeking help from public services in order to escape or reduce abuse. It posits that the effect of disclosure of abuse varies across a number of characteristics. Using National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey data, this thesis finds that the effect of disclosure on the likelihood that a victim receives needed services varies across type of support to whom the victim discloses, type of service needed, and seriousness of violence.Item Client Concealment and Disclosure of Secrets in Outpatient Psychotherapy(2014) Baumann, Ellen Christina; Hill, Clara E; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study investigated client motivations for concealing versus disclosing secrets in therapy as well as how this negotiation process relates to therapeutic process and outcome. About half of the participants had both revealed a secret and were concealing a secret in therapy. Disclosed secrets were most likely to be related to relationships and were disclosed because the clients felt they could trust their therapists and because they thought they could benefit from sharing the secret. Concealed secrets were most likely to be sexual in nature and to be concealed due to shame or embarrassment. Clients initially experienced comparable levels of negative and positive emotions when they first disclosed their secret. However, over time, their feelings about the disclosure became more positive and less negative. Concealment was negatively related to the real relationship.Item Elements of Employment Related Disclosure of Disability after Brain Injury(2012) Burnhill, David Asher; Fabian, Ellen; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Few studies have examined the elements of disclosing a disability in the workplace. Those few studies had a primary focus on reasonable accommodations (RA) where the disclosure process was either secondary or tertiary to the study. Further, there have been no studies to date which have examined elements of disclosure for individuals with brain injury (BI). Disclosure of disability is a crucial first step in the request process for a reasonable accommodation in the workplace and is required by the ADA for individuals requesting job related accommodations. This study examined the (a) experiences of work-related disability disclosure for individuals with BI, (b) the injury, demographic and other factors associated with the decision to disclose a disability at work, and (c) employment-related outcomes associated with disclosure. The primary goal of the current study is to describe the population of people with brain injury who disclose their disability in the workplace and to make inferences about the contributing factors involved in the disclosure process. The study used a cross-sectional survey methods research design. The study consisted of 200 individuals recruited from an online survey hosted on the Brain Injury Association of America's website. Of these participants, 144 (74.6%) disclosed their disability on at least one job and 91 (45%) were currently working. Level of education (X2 =11.945, 3, p=.008), self-efficacy score (F=7.52; p=.007) and time between injury and current age (F=4.56; p=.034) were significantly related to disclosure. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the combined effects of several predictor variables with disclosure. In this analysis, only time since injury and self-efficacy (SE) scores were significant, where higher SE scores increased the odds of disclosure, and time since injury decreases the odds of disclosure (the more recent the injury, the more likely the individual was to disclose).Item Heterosexual Parents' Gender Role Attitudes, Religious Orientation, Heterosexist Beliefs, Support Group Experiences, and Relationship Functioning with their Lesbian or Gay Children(2006-08-02) Gallor, Susanna Maria; Fassinger, Ruth; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to explore how support group experiences are related to parents' attitudes and relationships with their lesbian, gay, or bisexual children in an effort to understand the development of positive attitudes and relationships and what experiences might facilitate this process. This study assessed the interrelationships among parental attitudes (including gender role attitudes, religious orientation, and heterosexist beliefs), parent-child and family relationships (including current family and parent-child relationship functioning, and changes in relationship functioning following disclosure or participation in a support group), and parents' experiences with psychoeducation and social support (including overall involvement in a support group as well as involvement in support, education, and advocacy activities). Participants were contacted through chapters of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). The final sample consisted of 167 individuals, 110 females and 52 males, who identified as heterosexual parents of one or more same-sex oriented children. Some key findings suggested that greater parental endorsement of heterosexist attitudes was associated with less positive views of their current parent-child relationship functioning and fewer reports of positive changes in their relationships with their children since their child's disclosure of her/his same-sex orientation. Results further indicated that the more participants were involved in PFLAG overall as well as in its support, education, and advocacy activities, the less they endorsed heterosexist attitudes. Regression results indicated that parents with higher levels of PFLAG involvement, especially involvement in advocacy, were least likely to endorse heterosexist attitudes. Also, the more parents were involved overall, and the more they were involved in support, education, and especially advocacy, the more they perceived positive changes in their relationships with their children since disclosure. The results of this study confirm previous research that explored some of the steps that parents may take as they attempt to understand, accept, and integrate their lesbian, gay, or bisexual child. It appears that accessing resources in the community, participating in supportive or self-help groups, and engaging in social advocacy are some of these important steps for parents. Additional findings and implications for future research, practice, and advocacy are discussed.