No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

An experimental, randomized, control-group, pretest-postest design was employed in this study to examine the efficacy of the use of two short-term group counseling interventions employing Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy with at-risk adolescents in changing their beliefs, altering their attitude toward school, and moderating behaviors that are problematic in an educational setting. Forty-eight subjects were included in this study from an alternative evening high school setting and were assessed in the initial stage of treatment using The Idea Inventory and The Majoribanks Attitude-To-School Inventory. The School Social Behavior Scale was employed at this beginning point to observe these students by teachers and administrators with regard to social competence and anti-social behaviors. Subjects were selected from a pool of regularly attending students in an alternative high school program and randomly assigned to three groups, one employing REBT concepts and techniques alone, one using REBT concepts and techniques in conjunction with the therapeutic board game, Let's Get Rational, and a control group. The treatment and control group designations were also randomly assigned to the counseling groups. Ten weekly 50 minute group counseling sessions were conducted by two master's level counselors employing the tenets of REBT with adolescents. Group participants had the opportunity to learn new interpersonal skills and behaviors that may be helpful to them in staying in school. At the conclusion of the 10 week treatment group sessions, the subjects in the three groups were re-assessed employing the same instruments mentioned before to determine if the activities in the group sessions made significant differences in the rational thinking, attitude to school, and school social behaviors of these at-risk students in an alternative setting. Data were analyzed using descritpive statistics in addition to a factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) to measure the pretest and posttest performance and understanding of the subjects. Results revealed that the differences in the scores of the treatment groups were significant the REBT group employing the game, Let's Get Rational, contributing to students learning and understanding of the tenets of REBT at the .05 alpha level on the four dependent variables. There were no significant differences between genders regarding the four dependent variables, and there was a lack of a significant interaction between the intervention approach taken and the gender of the group member. There was no significant interaction between the gender of the subject and the treatment group placement. The results from both REBT groups support the efficacy of using the tenets of REBT with school aged populations who are at risk for failure. Appropriate conclusions and recommendations based upon the study findings were made. Implications for secondary school counselors and those counselors working with at-risk students were delineated. / Ed. D.

Results of a functional analysis indicated that the self-injurious behavior (SIB) of an adult female with profound mental retardation occurred primarily in the alone and demand conditions. Graphs of the separate topographies (head slaps and head bangs) showed that head banging occurred in the alone condition and that both head banging and head slapping occurred in the demand condition. A data analysis procedure to identify within-session trends across sessions and fluctuations in rates of SIB by topography revealed that most of the demands escaped were escaped by head slaps and that over 80% of all head slaps were associated with escape, compared to less than 1%of all head bangs, indicating that head banging and head slapping were members of separate functional response classes. Treatment consisted of noncontingent availability of preferred leisure materials, and produced substantial decreases of both head banging and head slapping. Interpretation of the results are discussed, as well as some implications and limitations of the study.

This research investigates the question of how people undertake health behavior change. It attempts to define what people experience and do during the process of changing health related aspects of their lives. The question of how people make health relevant changes in, their habits and actions has become increasingly important as the responsibility for one's health has shifted from the medical care system to the individual... / Ph. D.

This study utilized a pre-, post-, follow-up design for comparison between treatment and control groups to determine the impact of differential treatments upon assertive behavior and locus of control in adult women. The treatments were designed to separate the following assertion training procedures: assertion training, rational-emotive techniques, and rational-emotive techniques paired with assertion training. A one-way ANOVA performed at pre-test time showed no significant differences between groups prior to treatment. Repeated measures ANOVA were computed for all times of testing across all treatments. Significant (p<.05) movement towards an internal locus of control, as measured by the Rotter Internal-External Scale, was found for the assertion/rational-emotive group and the assertion group across pre- to post-test time. No significance was found for the treatment or time/treatment interaction effects with the Rotter. No significance was found for increases in reported assertive behavior, as measured by the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule, across all times and treatments. Significance (p<.05) was found for observed assertive behavior, as measured by the Behavioral Observation Checklist, for the assertion and assertion/rational-emotive group for time/treatment interaction. The Behavioral Observation Checklist was an instrument developed by ~he researcher of this study. Spearman-Brown split-half reliability testing demonstrated the Checklist to be a reliable instrument. Inter-rater reliability was also demonstrated. / Doctor of Education