Copyright (c) 2013 Northeastern University All rights reserved. http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss Recent documents in Counseling Psychology Dissertations en-us Tue, 21 May 2013 16:23:56 PDT 3600 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/38 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/38 Wed, 27 Mar 2013 09:27:29 PDT While school lunch has the potential to be a time for students to develop appropriate social skills, most cafeterias are rife with disruptive and aggressive behavior. Lunch monitors struggle to effectively manage the many students eating lunch and yet few evidence–based cafeteria interventions exist. The purpose of this study was to implement and evaluate the effects of a modified version of the evidence–based Good Behavior Game (GBG) on elementary students' appropriate social and disruptive behaviors in the cafeteria. Based in social learning theory and influenced by the principles of School Wide Positive Behavior Support (SW–PBS), the modified Lunchroom Behavior Game... ]]> Rebecca Parrish http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/37 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/37 Tue, 19 Mar 2013 12:41:39 PDT A laboratory based mood induction study was conducted on 61 non-clinical participants at the University of Massachusetts Medical School with secondary analysis of data to assess the impact of trait and state anger on emotional eating behavior based on post-mood induction caloric consumption. Results of linear regression, ANOVA and general linear model (GLM) analyses revealed a significant correlation of trait anger (as assessed by STAS score at participant screening) with post-induction caloric intake (p = .0008), after removal of data point outliers. State anger, as assessed by difference in pre- and post- induction POMS score, was not significantly correlated with... ]]> Lisa K. Sussman http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/36 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/36 Tue, 12 Mar 2013 12:44:30 PDT The purpose of this study was to examine the association between executive functioning and complex trauma within an adolescent inpatient population. This study utilized archival data on 39 subjects from the University of Massachusetts Continuing Care Adolescent Treatment Program, an inpatient long-term psychiatric facility that is funded by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health. The study explored the contribution of theory through a developmental transactional model and attachment perspective, and reviewed the neurobiological underpinnings typically present among individuals with a history of chronic and severe trauma. Using a descriptive group comparison approach, the study hypothesized that adolescents with complex trauma,... ]]> Lauren Gallo Ziady http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/35 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/35 Fri, 11 Jan 2013 06:55:33 PST This study explored the ethnic identity development of U.S.-born Dominican elementary school age children as told through the lived experiences of their Dominican-born mothers. Following an ecological and feminist ecological perspective, the main goal of this study was to understand how the dynamic process of ethnic identity development of U.S.-born Dominican elementary school age children takes place as perceived through the lived experiences of their Dominican-born mothers in their negotiations, tensions, and interactions within multiple contexts. Within the realm of a political context, this study also confronted oppressive systems and structures associated with this process. While there may exist similarities... ]]> Julio E. Sabater http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/34 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/34 Wed, 19 Dec 2012 13:17:36 PST Although there has been research on ways to reduce disruptive behavior in elementary school students during class time, a need for interventions that target disruptive behavior in elementary students during unstructured school times, such as lunch and recess, remains. In addition, there has been little research on school-based interventions that address the unique needs of students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds who live in urban areas. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two cafeteria-based behavioral interventions on students' disruptive and prosocial behaviors. The study was conducted with 250 kindergarten and first grade students in... ]]> Victoria Joy Downes http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/33 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/33 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 08:35:35 PST Using social capital theory as a theoretical framework, this study examined the associations of time spent and number of friends on Facebook as they relate to gender, introversion/extroversion, and sense of belonging. The study was conducted using a national sample of 305 undergraduate and graduate students, recruited through a snowball sampling approach through Survey Monkey. The measures included a demographic questionnaire, the Facebook Usage Questionnaire, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised-Short-scale (Eysenck, Eysenck, & Barrett, 1985), and Sense of Belonging Instrument (Hagerty & Patusky, 1995). Results of a one-way MANOVA indicated no significant gender differences on time spent on Facebook, substance of... ]]> Laurie Anne Dickstein-Fischer http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/32 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/32 Wed, 12 Dec 2012 13:26:04 PST Using the feminist ecological model (Ballou, Matsumoto, & Wagner, 2002), I explore the lived experiences of ten college-aged Muslim American women in the context of a post-September 11^th United States in this qualitative narrative research study. The informants are individually interviewed and their voices, stories, personal experiences, and perceptions are brought forth in this study. Based on a critical review of the existing literature, the interviews address salient issues for coming of age as Muslim women after 9/11. I use thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) to analyze the narratives collected in the interviews. I investigate the sociocultural contexts and... ]]> Saleha Zaffir Chaudhry http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/31 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/31 Fri, 30 Nov 2012 05:28:05 PST Diabetes mellitus is on the rise in the United States with 8.3% of the population currently affected by the disease. High rates of depression are common among diabetes patients, complicating diabetes self-care. Inadequate self-care leads to impaired glycemic control and disease complications. Social support has been identified as a resource in managing diabetes self-care; however, associations among psychological distress, diabetes self-care, and social support are not often studied for adult patients with diabetes. The purpose of this study was to conduct a cross-sectional, secondary data analysis examining relationships among social support, diabetes self-care, depressive symptoms and diabetes-related emotional distress for... ]]> Nina Frances Lewis-Schroeder, http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/30 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/30 Fri, 19 Oct 2012 09:24:57 PDT The purpose of this research is to identify any relationships between parental involvement, defined as parental monitoring, warmth, and communication, and adolescent internalizing and externalizing behavior, comparing adolescents of both biological sexes in two-parent, single-mother, and single-father families. Data are from a sample of 60 parent and adolescent dyads (20 two-parent, 20 single-father, 20 single-mother) taken from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) database Child Development Supplement II (CDS-II). Respondents were adolescent boys and girls ages 13-17 in grades 8-12 (mean age = 14.7, mean grade = 9.7) and the mean age of the parents was 43. Multiple regression... ]]> Nicole H. Camp http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/29 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/29 Mon, 27 Feb 2012 09:25:30 PST The goal of this study was to evaluate the impact of yoga on post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, resilience, and mindfulness in military personnel. Participants were 12 military members who met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. The study assessed pre-post within-subject scores on PTSD, resilience and mindfulness measures. It also compared, through benchmarking, results obtained from the PTSD measure utilized in this study (Clinician Administered PTSD Scale: CAPS; Blake et al., 1998) with those of other military intervention studies of PTSD using the CAPS as an outcome measure. Results of within-subject analyses supported the study's primary hypothesis that yoga... ]]> Jennifer Johnston http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/28 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/28 Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:31:18 PST Quality of life (QOL) is an increasingly popular outcome measure in medical and mental health research. Studies of determinants of QOL have primarily focused on variables in the physiological and psychological realms. If quality of life is to remain a useful construct, it needs to be investigated within an ecological framework that attends to systemic and structural variables, and more models grounded in theory need to be developed and empirically tested. This project augments the existing QOL literature by expanding on previous attempts to bring environmental factors into the conceptualization of quality of life (defined as subjective satisfaction with life... ]]> Charity Tabol http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/27 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/27 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 07:45:14 PDT This mixed-methods study explores the relationships and social connections of urban middle school girls who participated in a strength-based, participatory action program- StrongLinks. It was developed under the framework of an existing youth program, Responsive Advocacy of Life and Learning (RALLY). The StrongLinks program was also evaluated as a secondary aim of this dissertation project. The participants were 11 urban adolescent girls from a variety of cultural backgrounds. The quantitative component of this project included an analysis of pre and post-group scores on two instruments developed from the foundations of the Relational Cultural Theory - the Relational Health Indices and... ]]> Christina C. Tortolani http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/26 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/26 Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:00:19 PDT Using a Participant Action Research model, this study explores the experiences of stress, coping, and resilience in a group of Latina adolescent girls participating in Stronglinks, a strengths-focused, school-based girls program. This project aims to understand how girls defined and understood the constructs of stress and coping, ways they coped with stress, and whether aspects of the Stronglinks program they experienced as helpful were associated with factors and/ or systems implicated in resilience development. Both qualitative interview data from pre- and post-Stronglinks participation and scores from a coping checklist were used to explore the girls' experiences. Findings suggest that different... ]]> Amanda K. Allen http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/25 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/25 Thu, 11 Aug 2011 10:22:35 PDT The purpose of this study was to investigate three potential explanations for children's early developmental cognitive and educational experiences that could contribute to differences in the representation of women compared to men in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. This study utilized data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K), a project conducted by the United States Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Longitudinal data from a nationally representative cohort of children from the 1998-1999 kindergarten class in the American schools were collected beginning in kindergarten and continuing through eighth grade. The... ]]> Jannon C. Farkis http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/24 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/24 Thu, 11 Aug 2011 08:00:49 PDT The primary purpose of this study was to work with an existing organization, and the group of girls it served, to develop and evaluate an arts-based program/curriculum. The curriculum was designed to help the girls express themselves in healthful ways, bolster resiliency, and build on their strengths in a safe environment. The research questions focused on how the girls experienced the expressive activities and whether or not they learned to express themselves through the use of arts in the program. A participatory action research approach was used; therefore, researchers were also the program leaders. Program evaluation occurred through: the analysis... ]]> Lindsay Blake Amper http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/23 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/23 Tue, 12 Jul 2011 07:49:19 PDT This exploratory studied utilized a quantitative approach to examine beliefs about depression and treatment held among African American Christian women. The convenience sample consisted of 106 African American Christian women from three Boston area churches. Standardized instruments included Center for Epidemiological Studies- Depression Screen (CES-D), Robinson Resistance Modality Inventory (RRMI), and the Shepherd Scale (SS). The non-randomized Beliefs about Depression and Treatment (BHBI) was also utilized. Results from the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale indicated that depression was prevalent in the sample (n= 64). Results from MANOVA and Rasch Rating Scale Models indicated that education, age and psychological resistance... ]]> Marilyn A. Braithwaite-Hall http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/22 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/22 Mon, 09 May 2011 09:25:29 PDT The primary purpose of this study was to examine whether or not there is a predictive relationship between life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect (these three variables widely accepted as determinants of subjective well-being), and acceptance of the past with self forgiveness in older adults. Participants were 101 adults over the age of 65. The sample was derived from members of a continuing education program for older adults in the northeastern United States and from independently living residents at a senior community. Participants completed the Heartland Forgiveness Scale: Forgiveness of Self Subscale (HFS: SF), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule... ]]> Deanne L. Swanson http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/21 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/21 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:06:35 PDT The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of individualistic and collectivist influences within a rural sample population in northern Maine. There is not a significant amount of research on the mental health needs of rural populations in the United States. Moreover, no current studies have assessed worldview variables in relation to rural American populations. Worldview variables may be significant factors in the way that people understand who they are and who others are. In addition, worldview may connect to behaviors that may ultimately influence mental health. The values of specific interest in this research were individualism (a... ]]> Stephanie Helena Poplock Rural health services--Maine Individuality--Maine Collectivism--Maine http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/20 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/20 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 07:51:16 PDT This exploratory study examined the experiences of fifteen women trauma survivors who were returning to work. All participants had histories of interpersonal violence and were receiving mental health counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder and vocational services from a state vocational rehabilitation program. Using a feminist qualitative research method, the participants were interviewed and the data analyzed for common and emergent themes. The findings underscore significant factors that include health concerns, treatment, family and community support, and accessing resources such as affordable housing, health care, and disability benefits. Implications for mental health and vocational rehabilitation counselors include increased awareness of the... ]]> Galina E. Gittens http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/19 http://iris.lib.neu.edu/couns_psych_diss/19 Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:23:35 PST Borderline personality disorder (BPD is a mental illness with etiological foundations in psychodynamic theory. BPD is characterized by difficulty with emotion regulation and social functioning. Major theoretical orientations have varying accounts of the causes of BPD, and these theoretical approaches have guided treatment. However, neuropsychological studies of people with BPD have identified specific deficits, which may have implications for treatment efficacy. In this dissertation, individuals with BPD were recruited from a cognitive-behavioral partial hospital program. Treatment outcome measures were administered as part of a larger study on program effectiveness. The study participants were administered the Picture Arrangement subtest of the... ]]> Catherine B. Mulrooney