College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
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The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations..
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Item THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SENSATION SEEKING, ANXIETY, SELF-CONFIDENCE AND AIDS-RELATED SEXUAL RISK-TAKING IN A COLLEGE STUDENT SAMPLE(1994) Isralowitz, Stuart Adam; Teglasi, Hedwig; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)The researcher investigated how the personality traits of sensation seeking, anxiety, and self-confidence are associated with AIDS-related sexual risk-taking of college students. It was hypothesized that individuals who exhibited high levels of sensation seeking, low anxiety, and low self-confidence in specific domains would participate in a significant amount of sexual risk-taking. If this were true, then preventive approaches could be geared toward helping risk-takers cope with the characteristics that place them at-risk. The researcher administered the following measures to 313 college students: the Sensation Seeking Scale Form V (SSS V), the Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scales-Trait (EMAS-T), the Personal Evaluation Inventory (PEI), a modified Sexual Behavior Questionnaire, and a demographic questionnaire. Two aspects of sensation seeking (Disinhibition and Boredom Susceptibility) on the SSS V were significantly associated with AIDS-related sexual risk-taking. High sensation seekers engaged in more sexual risk-taking than low sensation seekers in these areas. In addition, moderate sexual risk-takers only exhibited less anxiety than low risk-takers in the Daily Routines aspect of anxiety on the EMAS-T. Moderate risk-takers displayed greater self-confidence regarding Romantic Relationships than low risk-takers on the PEI. The association between sensation seeking and anxiety was negative. High sexual risk-takers showed a greater worry about getting AIDS and higher perception of AIDS risk than low sexual risk-takers. No gender differences were found in sexual risk-taking. Implications for research included conducting studies regarding sensation seeking and AIDS-related sexual behavior with gay and lesbian college students, and with individuals of college age not attending college. Studies measuring the psychometric qualities of the SSS V and the PEI were also suggested. A practical outcome of this study was the proposed use of an updated measure to assess participation in novel, varied, and risky activities. Clinicians could employ this measure in public schools and college counseling centers, under certain circumstances.Item Supportive Messages Perceived and Recevied in a Therapeutic Setting(1994) Barr, Jeanine Rice; Freimuth, Vicki S.; Speech Communication; University of Maryland (College Park, Md); Digital Repository at the University of MarylandThis study examines how communication of social support influences the behavioral change process in a particular environment. Specifically, the research question is: How is social support related to commitment to recovery from alcoholism/addiction? A one group pre-test/post-test research design was used with subjects in two addictions treatment centers. Questions were designed to measure changes that took place in individual's perception of supportiveness of messages received, the network support available to them, changes in uncertainty and self-esteem. Finally, how these variables predict commitment to recovery was examined. Results showed no relationship between strength of network at time 1 and the supportiveness of messages received. Strength of network support, self-esteem, and uncertainty reduction improved from time 1 to time 2. The major predictor of a patient's commitment to recovery was the level of self esteem at time 2. However, a strong correlation was found between self-esteem and strength of network at time 2.Item Evaluation of Prince George's County, Maryland Day Reporting Program(1996) Trader, Lois LaChance; MacKenzie, Doris; Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)Prefaced by an ever-increasing prison population, departments of correction are turning toward alternatives to incarceration for many non-violent, low-risk offenders. The need for alternatives to incarceration has spurred the development of community based programs to house these offenders. Electronic monitoring, intensive probation, shock incarceration and community service are some of the community based programs currently available. The late 1980s introduced a further community based treatment program, day reporting. Based on a British model, day reporting is an extension of intensive supervised probation that incorporates counselling, rehabilitative and treatment services with intensive supervision. Since the inception of day reporting centers in Massachusetts, 22 states in the U.S. have developed and implemented 114 day reporting centers. While the content of each program differs, the underlying concept of public safety through intensive supervision and offender rehabilitation remains constant across all programs. In January, 1994, the Prince George's County, Maryland Department of Corrections, Community corrections Division, together with the State of Maryland, Division of Probation and Parole opened a day reporting program to facilitate community reintegration of low-risk, non-violent offenders. This report provides a descriptive analysis of the program's first year of operation. The results indicate that while the Prince George's County Day Reporting Program implemented many of the initially proposed features, further effort must be made to ensure that all participants receive the necessary treatment and rehabilitative services.Item African-Americans and African-English-Speaking West Indians: Relationships Between Racial Identity Attitudes, Self-Attitudes, Self-Esteem, Skin Color Perceptions and Sex-Role Attitudes(1994) Murray-Carney, Melita Josephine; Fretz, Bruce; Psychology; Digital Repository and the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)This study examined the relationship of racial identity attitudes to skin color perceptions, sex-role attitudes and self-esteem among 106 African-Americans and 102 African-English speaking West Indians. Skin color perceptions were measured by Helms and Carter's (in press) skin color scale and the present author's (1992) skin color chart. Sex-role attitudes were measured by the Bem's Sex-role Inventory and self-esteem by the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale respectively. It was hypothesized that differentially statistically significant relationships would be found among racial identity attitudes, skin color perceptions, sex-role attitudes and self-esteem for African-Americans and African-West Indians . For African-Americans , the results indicated racial identity was associated with self-esteem but was not related to skin color perceptions or sex-role attitudes when gender was controlled. For African-English speaking West Indians, racial identity was associated with sex-role attitudes but was not related to either skin color perceptions or self esteem. Additional exploratory results pointed to a need to include other variables such as socioeconomic status and education in understanding more about racial identity attitudes of African-Americans and African-English speaking West Indians. Research and counseling implications for African-Americans and African-English speaking West Indians are discussed.Item The Role of Gender, Race and Racial Identity in Relation to Attitudes Toward Interracial Dating(1991) Murray, Melita Josephine; Fretz, Bruce R.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)The purpose of this study was to examine whether an individual's gender, race, and racial identity significantly relate to interracial dating attitudes. Two hundred subjects (101 Blacks, 99 Whites) were administered an interracial dating questionnaire and a racial identity measure. Findings indicated that there were no significant main effects for gender, but race was significantly related to interracial dating attitudes with blacks having more positive attitudes. As hypothesized, racial identity was also found to be Significantly related to both Blacks' and Whites' attitudes toward interracial dating.Item Island Land Loss in the Chesapeake Bay: A Quantitative and Process Analysis(1992) Wray, Rachel Donham; Leatherman, Stephen P.; Geography; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)The rates and processes of land loss were studied for seven islands in the Chesapeake Bay: Barren, Bloodsworth, Hooper, James, Poplar, Smith and South Marsh Islands. Rates and patterns of land loss were quantified for the years 1848 to 1987 with the Metric Mapping technique which utilizes digitized data from historical maps and vertical aerial photographs. Processes of land loss were determined through field surveys and correlated with environmental factors. Two distinct island types were identified which exhibited different, long-term patterns of land loss. Small, upland islands, termed the Northern Group, showed rapid land loss along the main stem of the Bay primarily due to wave action driven by the predominant westerly winds. Land loss appeared to accelerate during periods of high storm frequency. The long-term averaged land loss rate for Northern Group islands is 1.9 ha/yr. The averaged erosion rate on the western side of the islands is 4.9 m/yr, compared to 0.68 m/yr on the eastern side of the islands. In contrast, the large, marshy islands of the Southern Group experienced uniform marsh edge erosion and interior marsh degradation. The Southern Group islands lost land at an averaged rate of 5. 6 ha/yr, with an averaged rate of marsh edge erosion of 1.2 m/yr. Land loss appeared to be weakly correlated to storm frequency. Interior marsh loss was not quantified for this study, however, so this study provides an underestimation of total land loss of coastal wetlands.Item PREDICTORS OF PARENT AND CHILD BEHAVIORS DURING DAILY SEPARATIONS AND REUNIONS AT DAYCARE(1996) Livesey, Karen Anne; Fein, Greta F.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)To test a model which describes the factors expected to predict parent and child behaviors in separations and reunions in daycare, 88 dual-career mothers (n= 54) and fathers (n= 34) were observed during interactions with their infants and toddlers in this context. Simultaneous regression analyses and path analyses provided mixed support for the model. In general, separation behaviors were predicted better by the model than reunion behaviors. At separation, parent sensitivity was predicted by parent gender and increased levels of child distress was predicted by lower levels of parental involvement in child-care and increased parental separation anxiety. Parents who were less involved in their children's daily care had children who were more distressed at separation as did parents who were anxious about the effect of separation. At reunion, parent sensitivity was predicted by separation anxiety. Parents who were more anxious about employment-related separations were more sensitive in their interactions with their children. Child happiness at reunion was not predicted by any variables included in the model. There were mean differences between mothers and fathers on a number of variables including parent sensitivity (mothers were more sensitive), involvement in child-care (mothers were more involved), and anxiety about employment-related separations (mothers were more anxious). There were no significant differences in regression coefficients between mothers and fathers suggesting that the model held equally well for mothers and fathers. The results are discussed in terms of their support for the model and attachment theory.Item A COMPARISON OF THE MMPI-2 AND RORSCHACH INKBLOT TECHNIQUE IN ASSESSING SCHIZOPHRENIA(1995) Lindgren, Karen N.; Smith, Barry D.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)The study examined the concordance of Rorschach and MMPI-2 variables relating to schizophrenia. 85 psychiatric inpatients were administered both the MMPI-2 and Rorschach. A profile analysis compared individuals who elevated on the Rorschach SCZI index to nonelevators. No significant profile differences were found using a SCZI index cutoff of 4. When more distinct SCZI index groups were created ( ≥ 5 vs. ≤ 2) the profiles were found to be significantly different (average MMPI-2 profile for elevated SCZI group = 8-6-7) and the elevated SCZI group evidenced higher MMPI scale scores overall. The 8-6-7 profile has been associated with schizophrenia in previous research. The sensitivity, specificity, and hit rate of both instruments in predicting clinical diagnoses were also calculated. The MMPI-2 demonstrated better sensitivity while the SCZI index yielded higher specificity; the combination of instruments produced the best hit rate. The study demonstrated a relationship between MMPI-2 and Rorschach variables related to psychosis.Item THE USE OF NARROW SPECTRAL BANDS FOR IMPROVING REMOTE SENSING ESTIMATIONS OF FRACTIONALLY ABSORBED PHOTOSYNTHETICALLY ACTIVE RADIATION(1994) Kim, Moon Sung; Townshend, John R.G.; Geography; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)Most remote sensing estimations of vegetation variables such as leaf area index (LAI), absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (Apar,), and primary production are made using broad band sensors with a bandwidth of approximately 100 nm. However, high resolution spectrometers are available and have not been fully exploited for the purpose of improving estimates of vegetation variables. The study was directed to investigate the use of high spectral resolution spectroscopy for remote sensing estimates of f apar in vegetation canopies in the presence of nonphotosynthetic background materials such as soil and leaf litter. A high spectral resolution measure defined as the chlorophyll absorption ratio index (CARI) was developed for minimizing the effects of nonphotosynthetic materials in the remote estimates of f apar CARI utilizes three bands at 550, 670, and 700 nm with bandwidth of 10 nm. Simulated canopy reflectance of a range of leaf area index (LAI) were generated with the SAIL model using measurements of 42 different soil types as canopy background. CARI calculated from the simulated canopy reflectance was compared with the broad band vegetation indices such as normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), and simple ratio (SR). CARI reduced the effect of nonphotosynthetic background materials in the assessment of vegetation canopy f apar more effectively than broad band vegetation indices.Item DREAM INTERPRETATION GROUPS WITH DIVORCING WOMEN(1993) Falk, Dana Rachel; Hill, Clara E.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)The effectiveness of dream interpretation groups with recently separated and divorced women was the topic of this investigation. 34 women aged 23 - 57 participated in this study; 22 were assigned to a dream interpretation group and 12 to a wait-list control condition. Four eight-week groups, with a semi-structured dream interpretation format were run. It was hypothesized that dream interpretation group intervention would help this population to feel less anxious, less depressed, to experience higher self-esteem and to cope better with the stress of the divorcing process. Outcome measures were administered at pre- and post-test points. Client psychological-mindedness was expected to moderate treatment effectiveness. Women in the experimental condition were expected to gain dream interpretation skills. Trained raters judged the insight of interpretations collected from all subjects at pre- and post-test points. In an effort to understand the role of group process in treatment effectiveness. three process measures were examined: (a) Clients and therapists utilized a sociometric instrument after each session to nominate whom they believed to be most "involved," (b) clients and therapists both rated the working climate of the group each week. using the Group Climate Questionnaire, and (c) trained Judges viewed 30 minute segments of the three middle sessions (4, 5. and 6) on videotape and rated group cohesion. An overall MANOVA for treatment effectiveness was significant. indicating that group participants made more progress on outcome measures than did controls. However. due to low statistical power, univariate analyses of the effects due to each of these factors were all nonsignificant. A t-test of independent means for insightfulness of dream interpretations was significant. suggesting that group members improved their dream interpretation skills more than control subjects did. Psychological-mindedness was not found to be related to any of the predictors and thus was dropped as a covariate. In general. measures of group process (cohesion. group climate, client involvement) were neither significantly related to client outcomes nor to each other. Clients and therapists were not in agreement concerning group climate or client involvement. Observer and participant perspectives of group cohesion differed. as well.