Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009. / Title from title screen (site viewed June 26, 2009). PDF text: vii, 120 p. : ill. ; 855 Kb. UMI publication number: AAT 3350451. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Recent epidemiological data from the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) estimate significant lifetime prevalence rates for anxiety and mood disorders, suggesting nearly one in three people would meet diagnostic criteria for an anxiety and/or mood disorder at some point during their lifetime (NCS, 2007). Comorbidity research has also revealed that people often suffer from these disorders concurrently (Rodriguez et al., 2004). Many have argued that anxiety and mood disorders frequently co-occur because they share similar etiological factors (Barlow, 1991; Clark & Watson, 1991; Watson, 2005). Additional empirical research has suggested that depressive and anxiety disorders share similar genetic diatheses and merely present differently because of variation in environmental stressors (Hettema, Neale, & Kendler, 2001; Rutter Moffit, & Caspi, 2006). As a result, an investigation of shared emotion regulation and affective processes across anxiety and mood disorders may reveal parallel etiological factors and areas for intervention. Research examining emotion and affective dysregulation indicates that mood and anxiety pathology may be characterized by similar emotional control and understanding deficits (Amstadter, 2008; Bradley, 2000; Sandin et al., 1996). Models of emotion dysregulation suggest that individuals suffering from anxiety pathology report decreased understanding of emotions, higher reactivity and sensitivity to emotions, and poor emotional management and mood repair skills (Mennin et al., 2005). Similarly, studies have observed parallel difficulties in those with depression (Liverant, Brown, Barlow, & Roemer, 2008; Rude and McCarthy, 2003). Additionally, research has indicated that efforts to reappraise or suppress emotions may affect the intensity and valence of emotional experiences (Gross & John, 2004). The current study builds off this research by incorporating elements of previous models of emotion dysregulation and anxiety and mood pathology in an effort to develop a comprehensive model of affective process that may underlie both anxious and depressive symptomatology. A total of 526 undergraduate students participated in the present investigation by completing a series of self-report instruments measuring affect and psychopathology. Response patterns were analyzed using AMOS 4.0 in order to examine the structural relationships between negative affectivity, positive affectivity, emotion reappraisal, emotion suppression, negative emotional reactivity, and poor understanding of emotions. Initial tests of a single model of emotion dysregulation suggested that the development of two separate models best represented subject responses. As a result, distinct models for suppression and reappraisal were tested concurrently. Tests of model invariance revealed similar structural qualities across gender, ethnicity, and levels of general distress for both models. Following modification, final fit indices suggested good fit for the reappraisal model (CFI = .99, TLI = .99, RMSEA = .057); however, the suppression model did not appear similarly representative of subject response behavior (CFI = .89, TLI = .85, RMSEA = .073). Findings of the current study suggest that the use of emotional reappraisal may be associated with increased positive affective and decreased negative affective states. Further, attempts to reappraise emotional experiences may influence the relationships poor understanding of emotions and fear of strong affect demonstrated with negative and positive affect. Data support previously articulated psychotherapy treatment strategies (Beck, 1979; Barlow & Cerny, 1988; Linehan, 1993; Hayes, 2004), but also indicate that current cognitive behavioral therapies may benefit from heightened attention to emotions and the incorporation of affective regulation skill building strategies. Future research directions, study strengths and limitations, and additional implications of present results are included.

Three cases of food safety issue occurred in South Korea were chosen to test whether message frames influence on consumers’ purchasing intention. In addition, this study not only investigates the relationships among constructs, but also evaluates the path coefficients of rela-tionships. Empirical Results indicates that consumers’ intention to purchasing was negatively affected by message frames including negative headline, negative information and less amount of information. Also, knowledgeable group was more sensitive to prior-knowledge with respect to their attitude than other group when there are food risks around. Group received negative mes-sage reacted more sensitively to trust than group received relatively positive message.

Academic entitlement is defined as the belief that academic benefits, positive outcomes, or preferential treatment should be given regardless of individual effort (Chowning & Campbell, 2009; Greenberger, et al., 2008; Kopp et al., 2011). The current study investigated antecedent and outcome relationships of endorsing academic entitlement beliefs (AEBs) among undergraduate college students using structural equation modeling (SEM). Specific variables evaluated in the model as predictors of AEBs included students’ beliefs regarding achievement goals (i.e., mastery-approach, mastery-avoidance, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance), control beliefs (i.e., internal, chance, and powerful others), consumerism, narcissism, and parental involvement; as well as the background characteristics of students’ age and exposure to community college. Outcome variables included in the model consisted of students’ beliefs regarding academic policies, in-class behaviors, and academic expectations. An email was sent to all undergraduate students at a large university in the south eastern region of the United States soliciting participation for an online questionnaire. The responses of 904 participants were randomly divided into two equal subsamples: one for model evaluation and modification, and one to evaluate model stability. Results of the SEM model gave indication of multiple relationships. Specifically, powerful others, chance, mastery-avoidance goals, performance-avoidance goals, beliefs in consumerism, and parental over-involvement were all observed to positively predict AEBs. Endorsements of AEBs and consumerism beliefs were observed to positively predict students’ beliefs in preferential academic policies regarding grading, scheduling, and personal accommodations. The findings of the current model present a contemporary perspective on how AEBs relates to an array of both general and specific student beliefs. The positive correspondence between students’ endorsements of AEBs and students’ beliefs in accommodating academic policies suggests that AEBs are potential precursors to maladaptive in-class beliefs. The positive relationships observed between students’ AEBs and students’ beliefs in powerful others, parental over-involvement, consumerism, and chance all indicate that AEBs are an externally oriented system of beliefs. Future recommendations include improving measures as well as investigating developmental changes, behavioral consequences, parental over-involvement and individual differences in academic entitlement.

No description available.

E-Government is the use of information technology particularly web applications to deliver convenient services for citizens, business and government. Governments worldwide spend billions of their budgets in order to deliver convenient electronic services to their citizens. There are two important points; government offers online services, and citizens consume these services. In order to maximize the benefits of these projects and to avoid possible failures, the gap between these points should be addressed. Yet there are few empirical studies that have covered the relevant issues of adoption from the citizen perspective in developing countries. This research study investigates citizens’ acceptance of e-government services in the context of Saudi Arabia. It posits an integrated model of the key elements that influence citizens’ adoption of e-government. The framework includes a combination of attitudinal, social, control and trust factors as well as the influence of gender. The model is validated by surveying 533 citizens and utilising the structural equation modeling technique for data analysis. Findings show that both measurement and structural models exhibit good model fit to data. The study shows that all constructs satisfy the criteria of constructs reliability and convergent and discriminant validity. The paths estimations show that of the sixteen designed casual relationships, eleven paths relationships were found to be significant while the other five paths remained unsupported.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Jared R. Anderson / The current study tests a theoretical model exploring the relationship between hooking up and marital quality and whether this relationship is mediated by sexual satisfaction and communication using public-use data from currently married participants in Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health, n = 1,729). Gender proved to significantly moderate the association between the variables in the model, but college education did not. The results indicate that hooking up has a direct negative relationship with marital quality for men that is not mediated by either sexual satisfaction or communication. The results for women revealed no direct relationship between hooking up and marital quality, but an indirect influence via communication.

The 24 items of the original English version of the Social Justice Scale (Torres-Harding et al., 2012) were translated into Korean by four translators, who discussed and agreed upon consensus versions. Four different translators then back translated this version into English. The resulting Korean version of SJS (K-SJS) was completed by 537 adult native Korean speakers. Confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the K-SJS has high internal consistency, factors appropriately, fits the original model well, and demonstrates invariance across Korean men and women. Structural equation modeling indicated that the effects of attitude, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms on behavioral intentions were positive and significant. In short, the K-SJS showed acceptable reliability and validity based on a large sample of South Korean adults and shows promise as a new tool to study social justice attitudes among Korean speakers.

The present study examined a model of Black Cultural Strength and its relation to psychosocial health (N = 496). The purpose of the current study was to test a model of Black Cultural Strength, an interdependent combination of Black racial identity, communalism, cultural spirituality, positive racial socialization, and effective racism-related coping. Further, the study sought to understand if Black Cultural Strength could predict psychosocial health, a combination of life satisfaction and psychological well-being. The Black Cultural Strength model, which was tested through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), hypothesized that higher levels of Black Cultural Strength lead to increased self-reported psychological well-being and life satisfaction. Results from this study indicated that Black Americans’ levels of mature racial identity, exposure to positive racial socialization (preparation for bias and cultural socialization), effective racism related coping (constrained resistance, empowered action, confrontation, and spiritual coping), culturally-based spirituality, and communalism were all interdependent and loaded onto one factor, Black Cultural Strength. Further, results showed that Black Cultural Strength was positively predictive of Blacks’ psychosocial health. Although the proposed hypotheses were supported, and an overall acceptable model fit was found, two modifications were made to the original proposed model. These modifications were conducted with theory and past empirical findings in consideration, therefore the current study provides strong evidence to support that interdependent Black cultural values are positively predictive of psychosocial health. Limitations, clinical implications, and further directions of research are discussed.

Kwan, Lok Yin. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-83). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter CHAPTER ONE: --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / The basic mediation model --- p.1 / General approaches in mediation analysis --- p.2 / Resampling methods --- p.8 / Comparing indirect effects --- p.9 / A sequential model fitting method --- p.10 / Current interest of study --- p.13 / Chapter CHAPTER TWO: --- STANDARDIZATION OF PATH COEFFICIENTS --- p.15 / Chapter CHAPTER THREE: --- COMPARING STANDARDIZED INDIRECT EFFECTS --- p.19 / Chapter CHAPTER FOUR: --- REAL EXAMPLES --- p.28 / Chapter CHAPTER FIVE: --- DISCUSSION --- p.55 / Chapter CHAPTER SIX: --- CONCLUSION --- p.57 / APPENDICES --- p.58 / REFERENCES --- p.80