The phenomena of disfluency clusters have been examined in the speech of children who stutter (CWS) and children who do not stutter (CWNS). Little is known about disfluency clusters in the adult population. The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of disfluency clusters in adults who stutter (AWS). The participants were ten AWS ranging in age from 18 to 60 (mean age = 35), with a stuttering severity of 9 to 30% (mean = 19%). Each participant provided a conversational speech sample of at least 300 words. Analysis focused on disfluency type, utterance length, speaking rate, and perceptual measures. Findings indicated that utterances containing disfluency clusters were significantly longer than fluent utterances and the speaking rate of fluent utterances was found to be significantly faster than that of disfluent utterances. Collectively the results appear to support a linguistic interpretation of disfluency clusters. The clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

Recent research has demonstrated that depressed people elicit rejection and induce negative mood in those with whom they interact. The present study sought to replicate earlier research which demonstrated these effects in adult-child interactions when the child was depressed. It also was designed to determine how establishing a mental set about the etiology of a particular child's depression would mediate these findings. A total of 80 male and 80 female undergraduates viewed one of three tapes of a child actress interacting with an adult. The roles portrayed were those of a depressed child, a nondepressed but highly stressed child, and a normal nondepressed control child. Subjects who viewed the depressed child were also assigned to three different groups which either received no information about the child's mood and behavior, were told she was depressed due to physical causes, or that she was depressed due to a pattern of negative thinking. Subjects provided an explanation of the depression were also given an informative summary to read about the etiology of the depression. The depressed child was more rejected than the normal and stressed child, but providing a physical explanation of the depression significantly mediated the effect. Subjects did not differ in their expressed desire for further interaction with the normal and depressed child, but did express greater desire to interact when the depression was explained as a physical disorder than when no information was presented. The nondepressed normal child was viewed as significantly higher in general functioning than the child in any other role. Two mood induction findings were significant. Subjects viewing the normal control expressed higher degrees of positive affect than those viewing any other child. Subjects who viewed the depressed child without any further information were significantly more depressed than those in any other condition. Groups did not differ on measures of anxiety and hostility. Subjects did endorse differential intervention suggestions based on the role portrayal. These results are discussed in relation to the interpersonal model of depression and in terms of their implications for clinical practice.

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The purpose of this study was to better understand value development in an emerging adult, college student population, and to further define, identify and clarify family characteristics that influence values. Theories have sought to examine the developmental influences in emerging adulthood, but little research exists examining the role of the family, particularly in regards to value development. The current study reviewed the literature on emerging adulthood, values, and self-determination theory with attention to family influence. Questions addressed in this study included: 1) are perceived parent values predictors of emerging adult values, 2) will the quality of communication between parents and emerging adults and the presence of an emotionally supportive relationship with both mother and father moderate the relationship between the perception of parent values and emerging adult values, and 3) does the family environment influence the types of values emerging adults perceive to be important to their parents? For this purpose, 200 college students completed 5 different self-report questionnaires measuring the constructs of values, perceived parent values, family environment variables, family communication variables, and quality of relationship with both father and mother. Parents of college students completed a self-report questionnaire measuring their socialization values for their children and a questionnaire measuring family communication; however, the small number of parent responses prevented the data from being used in statistical tests. Multiple regression analyses indicated that perceived parent values predicted emerging adult values. Moderation analyses showed that family communication and the quality of the relationship with father and mother did not strengthen the relationship between perceived parent values and emerging adult values. Lastly, a warm family environment and family activities were significantly related to how important emerging adults’ perceived intrinsic values to be to both their father and mother. Family structure was significantly positively correlated the importance emerging adults’ perceived their fathers to place on extrinsic values, but not their mothers. Implications for the findings of the current study will be discussed, as well as, limitations and future research recommendations.

This secondary research study uses data from two convenience samples of homeless persons in Central Arkansas collected during 2004 and 2011 Point in Time Counts. The prevalence of predictors of homelessness are compared across years, and also compared by age (<50 and > 50) controlling for year of survey. The number of older adults increased significantly between 2004 and 2011 surveys, and reporting serious mental illness and veteran status significantly decreased from 2004 to 2011. Age differences were noted in 2004 with older adults more likely to report serious mental illness in comparison to younger adults. Older adults were also more likely to report veteran status in comparison to younger adults during both the 2004 and 2011 surveys. The predictors of homelessness -- including serious health problems, substance abuse, race, age, and developmental disabilities-- remained fairly consistent from 2004 to 2011 and across "age groups". In addition to Point in Time data, qualitative surveys and interviews of providers were performed for their observations of the older homeless population. Providers indicated their belief that the older homeless population is increasing. Providers suggested possible challenges and reasons for the increase among older adults who are homeless. In central Arkansas, service providers feel the current economy, programs, and agencies that provide homeless services and funding sources are adequate at this time as evidenced by no increase in numbers. Due to new funding, improvement has occurred with the veteran population through VA programs. Even though this research did not find any change in gender, the providers feel that for future homeless, trends in gender (women in poverty), as well as older adults becoming homeless for the first time, should be watched in addition to other predictive factors such as the economy, increase in substance abuse, and physical and mental health concerns.

MA, School of Literature and Language Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, 2003