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The epidemic of violence now occurring in the United States constitutes one of the nation's most important social problems. Each year the boundaries of violence extend. Because its effects now touch all areas and populations, violence has been officially declared a major pubic health issue. The intent of this study was to explore the root causes of violence as reported by the violent offender. The study contains a review of the literature which looks at violence from a historical, biological, psychological, sociological, and psycho-social point of view. However, because the majority of research does not include direct interview or the perspective of the perpetrator, this study was designed to gather this absent information present it in their own voice. Twelve men from three different correctional facilities were interviewed. Each interview was conducted face-to-face in a private setting within the prison. Each participant was asked to talk about their life experience, history of violence, understanding of their violent activities, and finally based on their insight, offer recommendations for intervention. Additionally, they were asked to complete a powerlessness survey that queried their sense of self-esteem and self-efficacy at the time of their violent offense. In order to give the reader an opportunity to hear the voice of the participants, their stories are crafted in their own words and presented in narrative form. A number of interconnected thematic characteristics emerged from the interviews and survey. In addition to illuminating and verifying many of the speculations presented in the literature review, the findings suggest the presence of deficient, inadequate, or damaging conditions which occurred during critical developmental periods in the lives of the participants. Commonality of experience was noted within the following areas: lack of safety, lack of stable relationships, lack of education, lack of power and resources, lack of respect, lack of self-esteem, lack of self-worth, lack of self-efficacy, lack of coping skills, and lack of meaning. In this study, these deficits appear as significant predictors of eventual violent behavior. Based on the above findings, implications for clinical practice, programmatic development, and future research is suggested.

Introduction: Dental anxiety, fear, and phobia are common factors that prevent individuals from seeking dental care by delaying dental care or terminating the visit entirely, which may cause a decline in oral health-related quality of life. Dental anxiety often has a correlation with other psychological constructs. There is a significant prevalence of dental anxiety among various ethnic groups, which highlights the importance of understanding and addressing these issues to improve oral health outcomes and access to care.Aim: To examine the associations between psychological constructs, dental anxiety, and phobia, as well as the associations between key demographics and dental anxiety and phobia among patients seeking dental care at TUKSoD. Methods: Baseline data from 499 patients who participated in a randomized clinical trial that evaluated the efficacy of an online intervention in managing dental anxiety (National Institute of Health U01DE027328) was used. Subjects completed a semi-structured interview according to the Diagnostic Schedule Manual-IV (DSM-IV) criteria and self-reported measures on dental anxiety (Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS)), fear or avoidance of dental care, sensitivity to pain (PSI), ability to tolerate distress (DTS), blood-injection-injury (BII) phobia, and other psychological factors. Bivariate analysis was done using paired sample t-tests and analysis of variance to evaluate differences in mean scores for MDAS by sex, race, gender, and ethnicity. Multivariable Regression Models were used to explore the association between MDAS, selected demographic variables and psychological constructs while controlling for potential confounders, likewise for clinical severity rating (CSR). These analyses were performed using R 4.3.2 and statistical significance was set at two-sided p-value < 0.05. Results: Mean age of subjects was 48.9±14.7 years old, most were female (71.6%), non-Hispanic (88.6%) with an income lower than $30,000 (40.0%) and most had completed a high school diploma /GED (26%). The majority (63.3%) reported high dental anxiety (MDAS≥19) and 64.57 % met criteria for specific phobia (CSR≥4), with mean scores of 19.53 ± 3.62 and 4.49 ± 1.69 respectively. Mean scores for FQBII, PSI, DTS, and ASI were 15.51 ± 10.15, 68.02±22.9, 44.73±13.2, and 31.0 ± 16.87 respectively. Significant differences in Clinical Severity Rating were observed by age (p< 0.01), sex (p = 0.02), and race (p<0.01), while the psychological constructs FQBII, DTS and PSI varied significantly across age, race, and ethnicity (p<0.05). The Hispanic group had clinical severity ratings that were approximately 10.1% higher than the non-Hispanic group. This was not statistically significant (p=0.07). Conclusion: Dental anxiety scores were higher among African American low-income women compared to Caucasians. Age, sex, income, and race demonstrated to have a strong association with Dental anxiety. Having high pain sensitivity and fear of blood/injections seem to increase dental anxiety. Key words: Dental anxiety, Dental phobia / Oral Biology

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<p> With divorce rates increasing among Christian marriages, it is important to identify the significant factors of this phenomenon. At the time when this study was conducted, there was a need to explore the impact of religiosity in Christian marriages on the likelihood to divorce. Religiosity was expected to affect a couple&rsquo;s interaction, which plays a fundamental role in the partners&rsquo; relationship and marital satisfaction. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine whether and to what degree there is a relationship between the level of religiosity of married Christians in the United States and those couples&rsquo; likelihood to divorce. The theoretical foundation of the study was the concept of religiosity as a cognitive dimension. The researcher collected predictor data for religiosity using the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire and criterion data for the likelihood to divorce using the Wallace Marital Adjustment Test (LWMAT). The study sample was comprised of 100 Christian individuals from the United States. The data analysis involved bivariate correlations and simple linear regression. The results showed a significant negative correlation between the level of religiosity and the likelihood to divorce of married Christians in the United States, <i>r</i> = -0.26, <i>p</i> = 0.004. The level of religiosity was a significant negative predictor of the likelihood to divorce, <i>F</i> (1, 98) = 7.16, <i>p</i> = 0.01, <i> R²</i> = 0.07. The findings of this study may be used in premarital and marital counseling to facilitate marital adjustment and decrease the likelihood to divorce. </p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> Divorce, marriage, religiosity </p>

<p>This quantitative research study examined the relationship between degree attainment of 99 African American males from dual-parent and single parent families. This empirical investigational study examined the relationship between type of family support from dual and single parent families on African American males&rsquo; academic success. The variables tested were dissimilarities, the amount, and the differentiation in degree attainment. Participants completed an online survey that included an informed consent form, demographic questions as well as survey questions regarding their relationship with and support from their families. The survey also required the participant to answer questions that provided information about family activities, structure and relationships, organization, activities, emotional support, and methods of communication. Moos and Moos&rsquo; (2002) Family Environment Scale (FES) Real Form (Form R) was used to measure people&rsquo;s perception and attitude of their actual family environments. The relationship subscale was used to ascertain measurements of cohesion, expressiveness, and conflict. This study addressed three research hypotheses pertaining to the type of family situation (dual versus single-parent homes). None was statistically significant, thereby providing support to retain all three null hypotheses. Study results indicated the success of African American males and their degree attainment is due in part to the familial support and encouragement. The outcomes yielded from the study suggest that regardless of the type of family structure whether dual or single parent, there are common variables within both family systems that aid the individuals in persisting in their efforts to obtain their undergraduate degree. </p>

<p> Intelligence was defined by early psychometricians as capabilities that could be measured by standardized tests. This definition of intelligence is largely accepted to underlie academic achievement. More recent psychological theory posits a broader definition of human intelligence. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility that the historic definition of intelligence could be expanded to include transpersonal capabilities as features of intelligence which contribute to academic achievement. This study utilized a quantitative, descriptive, and correlational method to explore the possibility of relationships between intelligence, as traditionally measured by standardized tests in academic settings, and four other psychological constructs&mdash;multiple intelligences, spiritual intelligence, concept imagery, and empathy. By its nature this type of research is exploratory only and does not reveal causal relationships. One hundred ninety-five English-speaking college undergraduates, 18 to 25 years old, attending university in the United States, were recruited via SurveyMonkey Audience. Data were gathered via Survey Monkey using the following instruments: a demographic questionnaire, the Multiple Intelligence Survey (MIS); The Integrated Spiritual Intelligence Scale (ISIS); the Style of Processing Scale (SOP); and the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ). It was hypothesized that higher standardized test scores and GPA would correlate positively with concept imagery (SOP), spiritual intelligence (ISIS), empathy (TEQ), logical-mathematical intelligence (MIS), and linguistic intelligence (MIS). Findings did not support the hypothesized relationships. However, an unpredicted negative correlation, between spiritual intelligence and the ACT and SAT standardized test scores, was found. Further analysis revealed that higher ISIS scores correlated with, and predicted, lower ACT/SAT scores. This research contributes to the limited literature available that investigates the relationship between spiritual intelligence, spiritual beliefs/participation, and academic achievement. Future research is recommended to replicate these findings, and to look for causal and/or directional explanations of the negative correlation between SI and ACT/SAT scores found in this study.</p>

<p> Background: A significant number of children in the US are placed in the child welfare system every year. Among the multiple negative outcomes associated with being in the foster care system is a wide academic achievement gap between foster students and the general population, as well as other disadvantaged groups (e.g. low income). Low academic achievement is particularly pronounced in college. The government and higher education institutions are recognizing these educational gaps and developing specialized programs to address the unique needs of foster students; however, the effectiveness of these programs remains unclear. This study aims at evaluating the effectiveness of one program, the Transition to Independence Program (TIP), in improving academic outcomes for foster students at Wayne State University (WSU) during the first 2 years of the program initiation (2012-2014). Methods: patterns of TIP service utilization (mentoring; financial aid; contact with campus coach and community partners) among 120 individuals who had been wards of the court, and its association with academic outcomes were examined on the following variables: GPA, academic probation status, first year retention, remedial classes, being on track for graduation, and graduation status. Further, TIP students&rsquo; performance on those same academic variables was compared to two groups: (1) 120 low income, non-foster care youth, and (2) 26 former foster care youth who did not receive TIP services. Results: 73% of TIP students used at least one service and students who used any program services were 5.7 times more likely to be retained than those who had not. Additionally, TIP students performed better than foster, non-TIP students on the academic variables, and the academic gap with low-income students was reduced. Discussion: TIP is effective in improving academic outcomes for students from the child welfare system. Implications and future directions are discussed.</p>

<p>Opioid drug abuse represents a serious public health concern with few effective therapeutic strategies. A primary goal for researchers modeling substance abuse disorders has been the delineation of the biological and environmental factors that shape an individual’s susceptibility or resistance to the reinforcing properties of abused substances. Early-life environmental conditions are frequently implicated as critical mediators for later-life health outcomes, although the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie these effects have historically been challenging to identify. Previous work has shown that a neonatal handling procedure in rats (which promotes enriched maternal care) attenuates morphine conditioning, reduces morphine-induced glial activation in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), and increases microglial expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10). The experiments described in this dissertation were thus designed to address if inflammatory signaling in the NAc may underlie the effects of early-life experience on later-life opioid drug-taking. The results demonstrate that neonatal handling attenuates intravenous self-administration of the opioid remifentanil in a drug concentration-dependent manner. Transcriptional profiling of the NAc reveals a suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokine and chemokine signaling molecules and an increase in anti-inflammatory IL-10 in handled rats following repeated exposure to remifentanil. To directly test the hypothesis that anti-inflammatory signaling can alter drug-taking behavior, bilateral intracranial injections of plasmid DNA encoding IL-10 (pDNA-IL-10) or control pDNA were delivered into the NAc of naïve rats. pDNA-IL-10 treatment reduces remifentanil self-administration in a drug concentration-dependent manner, similar to the previous observations in handled rats. Additional experiments confirmed that neither handling nor pDNA-IL-10 treatment alters operant responding for food or sucrose rewards. These results help define the conditions under which ventral striatal neuroimmune signaling may influence motivated behaviors for highly reinforcing opioid drugs.</p> / Dissertation