Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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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 give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
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Item Scale Development and Dimensionality Analysis of a Protective Behavioral Strategies Multi-item Scale for Use with College Student Drinkers(2008-06-17) Griffin, Melinda; Boekeloo, Bradley O; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Protective behavioral strategies (PBS) have been defined as self-control behaviors individuals practice prior to, during, and/or after drinking to limit consumption and/or the negative consequences. Although a multi-item PBS measurement scale has been used in the research literature, the psychometrics, reliability, and validity of the PBS scale needed further examination. This study examined the 1) dimensionality of the PBS scale for self-identified college student drinkers as well as for gender and race/ethnicity subgroups, 2) internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the PBS sub-scales, and 3) construct validity of the PBS sub-scales. College students who self-reported as recent alcohol users (n=320) on a web-based survey administered during fall semester of the 2006 academic school year comprised the study sample. Factor analysis was utilized to determine the underlying factor structure of 22 item PBS scale. Additionally, congruence of the factor structure among gender and racial sub-groups was examined by rotating the sub-groups' matrices via the Procrustes orthogonal method. Reliability analysis was utilized to determine the internal consistency of the PBS sub-scales. Separate multiple linear regressions were performed to determine the construct validity based on relationships between the PBS sub-scales and potential motivations (refusal self-efficacy, protection self-efficacy, drunkenness avoidance self-efficacy, alcohol abstinence expectations) and potential alcohol-related outcomes (multiple alcohol use items, negative consequences) while controlling for gender and race. Examination of the output from repeated factor analyses, Procrustes rotation, and reliability analyses resulted in a 2-factor solution with 17 items. Both PBS sub-scales (Planning and Execution) had acceptable internal consistency across all samples and acceptable test-retest reliability. Construct validity of the Execution PBS was fully supported whereas the Planning PBS was partially supported. Specifically, the Planning PBS sub-scale was highly correlated with protection and drunkenness avoidance self-efficacy as projected but not alcohol-related outcomes. The Execution PBS sub-scale was highly correlated as projected with refusal, protection and drunkenness self-efficacy, alcohol use, and negative alcohol effects. Special attention was given in this study to PBS construct validity considering potential PBS motivations and PBS scale dimensionality across gender and race subgroups. This study contributes to parallel research attempting to identify a definitive, standardized measure of PBS.Item Therapist work with client strengths: Development and validation of a measure(2006-05-30) Harbin, James; Gelso, Charles J; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Drawing from the positive psychology literature, the Inventory of Therapist Work with Strengths and Assets (IT-WAS) was constructed to measure the degree to which clinicians incorporate strength-based approaches in their therapy work. Two different samples were gathered in the current study; a professional sample (n = 128) and a university sample (n = 97). The professional sample was randomly selected from the 2005 membership directory of Divisions 17 (Counseling Psychology), 29 (Psychotherapy), and 42 (Independent Practice) of the American Psychological Association (APA), and resulted in a 51% return rate. The university sample consisted of graduate students in counseling related fields as well as faculty and counseling center staff at a large Mid-Atlantic university; the return rate for this sample was 62%. T-test results found no significant differences between samples on IT-WAS scores, and thus samples were combined for analyses. Three factors (Theory of Intervention, Strength Assessment, & Supporting Progress) were extracted by factor analysis, accounting for 52% of the total variance. The IT-WAS demonstrated very good internal consistency (α = .96) and test-retest reliability (r = .83). Scale validity was supported by positive associations between the IT-WAS and measures of favorable attitudes toward human nature, benevolent world assumptions, as well as therapist work with the strengths of a most recent client. Most therapists generally conducted strength-based clinical work to a high degree, supporting propositions made by Seligman (2002; Seligman & Peterson, 2003). Cognitive-behavioral, humanistic, multicultural, and feminist theoretical orientations were positively related to the IT-WAS, while psychodynamic and psychoanalytic theoretical orientations were negatively correlated to the IT-WAS. No differences between clinical and counseling psychologists were found on IT-WAS scores. Implications of therapist work with client strengths are discussed and areas for future research are provided.