The purpose of this study was to examine how parental separation is related to eating disturbances and assertiveness in females who struggle with bulimic symptoms. Two-hundred ninety-two undergraduate females from the University of North Texas comprised the subject group. Using pen and paper measures of assertiveness, bulimia, and parental separation, support was found for the prediction that there would be a relationship between assertiveness and parental separation. Likewise, partial support was found for the prediction that there would be a relationship between bulimia and parental separation. Parental separation was found to affect levels of bulimia and assertiveness. Finally, it was found that subjects endorsed greater emotional independence from fathers than from mothers.

This study examined two theoretical factors proposed to explain the relationship between sexual abuse experiences and disturbed eating patterns. Over 300 women completed questionnaires designed to assess sexual abuse histories, bodily shame, body disparagement, and disordered eating behaviors. Multivariate analyses indicated that bodily shame, body image dysphoria, and bodily dissatisfaction were significantly higher in participants with previous sexual violations. In addition, disordered eating symptoms and behaviors were related to reported severity of sexual abuse experiences. However, the relationship between the severity of disturbed eating patterns and sexual abuse histories appears to be more meaningful in relation to the presence of bodily shame and body dissatisfaction, as proposed in previous research. Future research implications are discussed.

The purpose of the study was to compare the academic stress of freshmen in a community college with that of freshmen in a university. An additional purpose was to determine if gender, ethnicity, or semester course load was related to perceived academic stress. The sample consisted of a total of 303 university and community college freshmen from English and Psychology classes at the University of North Texas and Richland Community College during the spring semester, 1989. The instrument that was administered to these volunteer students was the Academic Stress Test, a 35-item checklist of possible academic stressors. The students were asked to check the items which were perceived by them to be stressful and had occurred during the current semester. The T-statistic was used to analyze the total mean stress score for each variable being considered. Multiple regression was used to determine if there was any possibility that the variables might have a predictive effect for academic stress. It was found that for these freshmen students there was a significant difference between the perceived academic stress of community college freshmen and university freshmen. The mean academic stress score for university freshmen was higher than the mean for community college freshmen. Likewise, the perceived academic stress of females was significantly higher than that of males, and higher for those taking more semester hours than for those taking fewer semester hours. There was found to be no significant difference in the perceived academic stress of white and non-white freshmen college students.

Ninety-six undergraduates were given four tasks under either reward or punishment conditions. Each task consisted of 20 trials of pressing or not pressing a button to make a light come on. Monetary reinforcement was contingent on light onset for all tasks and on accuracy of judgment of control for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th tasks. Cognitive processing was comprehensively assessed for each task by measuring expectancy, judgment of control, perception of environmental stimuli, evaluation of performance, attribution, and reinforcement value. Results showed that subjects were more accurate in moderate than in low control and in low than moderate frequency. Females were more accurate in perceiving environmental stimuli and had lower self-esteem, lower efficacy expectancies, and higher self-rated reinforcement values for monetary incentives than males. Low defensives were accurate in expectancy of control, judgment of control in punishment, and estimation of environmental stimuli. Subjects in reward were more accurate in perceiving reinforcing events and they gave themselves more credit for task performance than subjects in punishment gave themselves blame for comparable performance. Those in punishment had more stable and external attributions and were more anxious, depressed, and hostile. Depressives and nondepressives reacted differently to the monetary contingency on accuracy of judgment of control. Depressives showed overestimation of control immediately after initiation of this contingency, then gradually decreased their estimation until they were relatively accurate on the last task. Nondepressives showed more accurate judgment of control immediately after monetary contingency on accuracy, but returned to overestimation on subsequent tasks. These findings gave partial support to Alloy and Abramson (1979) in that mild depressives became increasingly accurate in judgment of control across tasks. Female depressives, compared to female nondepressives, were less accurate in perceiving environmental stimuli and gave themselves less credit in reward. Although depressives did not set a particularly high criterion for success as suggested by Beck and Seligman, all subjects set criteria for success higher than both estimated and actual maximal control (ps < .05).

This study explored whether depression was related to the way college students interact with their parents. A second purpose was to explore whether the emotional states of depression, anxiety, and hostility were associated with different types of adolescent dependence (Functional, Attitudinal, Conflictual, and Emotional) on each parent. A total of 108 undergraduate students from intact families completed self-report measures of depression, anxiety, hostility and psychological separation. A non-significant relationship was found between the way students relate to their parents and level of depression. However, subjects reporting angry or guilty feelings toward parents had significantly greater depression and hostility scores. Subjects reporting attitudes, values and beliefs that are not distinct from their parents also displayed significantly greater hostility scores. Furthermore, anxiety in the sample was significantly related to subjects' reports of dependence on approval, closeness and emotional support from parents.

This study is a description and analysis of change in selected personality characteristics of junior-level undergraduates in the first phase of the curriculum for the Guidance Associate degree at North Texas State University.

This investigation was designed to determine whether or not a significant relationship existed between personality and the selection of a required physical education activity and whether or not personality traits exhibited by freshman women were related to specific type activities. Sources of data were 107 freshman women enrolled in activity classes at North Texas State University, 1974-75. The Cattell 16 Personality Factor Inventory, Form A and an information sheet were the instruments utilized in the study. An analysis of variance was calculated to ascertain whether or not differences existed among the four groups in personality scores. This study concluded that no significant relationship appeared to exist between personality and the selection of specific physical activities.

While current research indicates that traumas high in social betrayal are more closely associated with symptoms of posttraumatic stress and identity disturbances than are traumas low in betrayal, the psychological mechanisms by which identity problems occur are less understood. The current project explored the relationships between traumas high and low in betrayal and their influence on self-complexity, through the RFT and ACT conceptualization of three types of self-experiencing: self-as-content, self-as-process, and self-as-context. The roles of experiential avoidance, dissociation, and severity of PTSD symptoms were also considered within this framework. A sample of 548 undergraduate students at the University of North Texas completed online self-report questionnaires, and results suggested that self-as-context more strongly predicted PTSD symptoms than trauma exposure, dissociation, and experiential avoidance. Moreover, high betrayal trauma was found to be a stronger negative predictor of self-as-context than low betrayal trauma. Exposure to trauma was found to significantly predict self-complexity, and self-as-context more strongly predicted self-complexity than did self-as-process. Interestingly, self-as-context did not moderate the relationship between trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms, nor between trauma exposure and self-complexity. Implications of the current study’s findings, as well as suggestions for further research related to the impact of interpersonal betrayal on the self and psychological health, are discussed.

Based on theoretical reasoning and empirical evidence, the present study examined the unique and shared effects of attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, and acculturation on attitudes toward seeking professional help among Latino college students. The research participants included 149 bilingual Latino college students from a large, public southwestern university. Results of a multiple regression analysis indicated that attachment avoidance was positively associated with both the recognition of need for psychological help and stigma of seeking professional help. Acculturation to American society was found to be statistically insignificant in predicting help-seeking attitudes in this sample of the population. Findings from exploratory questions suggested that Latino individuals would most likely seek help from parents, close friends, and then professionals. This study suggested that Latino individuals with high attachment avoidance acknowledge the potential benefit of professional help-seeking but distrust the process of approaching others for help. Limitations, implications, and future research directions will be discussed.

M.Ed. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract