The purpose of the present study was to examine the influence that feedback and goal setting have on overall job satisfaction when incorporated into the appraisal review process. The participants consisted of a sample of 100 (N=100) employees from an electronic repair service located in northern Indiana. Participants were given a survey consisting of basic demographic information plus the following three scales: The International Communication Audit (Goldhaber, Yates, Porter, & Lesniak, 1978), The Job Descriptive Index (Smith, Kendall, & Hulin, 1969), and a scale used by Greller (1978) to examine goal setting. The demographic questions consisted of sex, number of years with the company, supervisory/nonsupervisory position, and full/parttime work. Data were analyzed using multiple regression and Pearsonian correlations. The data suggest that feedback and goal setting do not increase overall job satisfaction. The results may have been influenced by the negative climate of the organization and sample population. Recommendations for future research are discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This study examined the relationship between the attitudes of counselors toward gays and lesbians and their ratings of this population, as compared to the heterosexual population, in terms of mental health. Participants (N=92) were masters and doctoral level graduate students at a midsized midwestern university. Counselors who were more prejudiced toward gay and lesbian targets rated them as less mentally healthy than heterosexual targets. Counselors who were less homophobic did not differ significantly from more homophobic participants in terms of their ratings of mental health. The implications and limitations of these findings are discussed, and future avenues of research are suggested. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Stepfamilies are the fastest growing family type in America. Unfortunately, our society holds unwarranted negative attitudes about and negative stereotypes of stepfamilies and stepfamily members. Research indicates that stepfamilies are not an inherently dysfunctional or deficient type of family. On the contrary, stepfamilies can be as healthy as nuclear families, and they can produce emotionally healthy individuals. Healthy stepfamilies, however, are often different in the roles of family members and the quality of interactions between members. It is this difference between stepfamily functioning and the normative nuclear family expectations of society that appears to perpetuate negative stereotypes of stepfamilies.Some evidence suggests that counselors hold negative stereotypes of stepfamilies. As s-:ich it is likely that they will diagnose and treat stepfamilies from an inappropriate nuclear family model, perceiving stepfamilies to be more pathological than they are and, in treatment, attempting to fit stepfamilies into roles and relationships inappropriate for healthy stepfamily functioning. No research to date, however, has examined whether counselors' attitudes about stepfamilies affect diagnostic and treatment decisions.This dissertation conducted a national survey of counselor attitudes about stepfamilies. It examined three areas where counselor bias may affect service delivery: judgments regarding stepfamily health, diagnostic decisions, and treatment decisions. It found that counselors appear to generate differential ratings of family health and differential diagnostic impressions on the basis of family interaction style (healthy nuclear family versus healthy stepfamily) and on the basis of family label (nuclear family versus stepfamily). These differential ratings and impressions favor a nuclear family style combined with a nuclear family label in comparison to other family style and label combinations. Additionally, the Parent-Child relationships in a nuclear family that acts like a healthy stepfamily were rated to be more in need of treatment and more important to treatment than in other family styles.The results of this study suggest that experienced counseling psychologists may express bias against stepfamilies and against nuclear families that function outside a traditional nuclear model. They appear to use the traditional nuclear family as a standard against which other family interaction styles and types are found lacking. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Therapist variables are considered an important research topic, because studies suggest that as clients improve in therapy their values shift towards that of their therapist. This study examined the relationship of professional counseling affiliation and counselor values.Five hundred surveys were sent nationally to counselors based on their membership in the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC), the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA), and the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD). Counselors completed a questionnaire which was comprised of a subset of the Jensen and Bergin Mental Health Value Instrument, the Religious Commitment Inventory10, and the Multicultural Counseling Inventory. Based on their primary affiliation as either a Christian, Multicultural, or General Mental Health counselor a final sample of 129 respondents was obtained. Group scores were analyzed through MANOVA and ANOVA techniques.The results of this survey found no differences among the various counseling groups for the mental health value of Autonomy or Self-growth. Christian counselors were found to report higher levels of the mental health value of Religiosity and Religious Commitment. Multicultural counselors were found to report higher levels of multicultural counseling competencies, especially in the areas of Multicultural Counseling Awareness and Multicultural Counseling Knowledge.These findings support the notion that there are differences in values among counselors based on their professional affiliation. Accordingly, it is suggested that future research efforts continue to examine the effect of professional counselor affiliation on counselor values. Special consideration should also be given to researching the process by which counselor values affect change in the part of their clients. Finally, counselors are encouraged in their therapeutic practiceto be aware of their operative value systems and share them with their clients as part of an informed consent. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This study was conducted to determine why counselors use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Third Edition, Revised) (DSM-III-R), to describe their opinions regarding the advantages and disadvantages of its use, to determine whether they believe deliberate misdiagnosis of clients occurs, to determine whether they believe they are adequately trained in the use of the DSM-III-R, and to identify counselor characteristics that are significantly related to their evaluations of the DSM-III-R. A mailed questionnaire was used to collect data from a random sample of 550 Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselors. The response rate was 70.7%. Results of the study indicate that the respondents use the DSM-III-R for billing insurance, case conceptualization, treatment planning and communication with other professionals, meeting requirements of employers and external entities such as the courts, and for educational and evaluative functions. These reasons for its use are also considered to be the advantages of using the DSM-III-R. Disadvantages of the using the DSM-III-R identified include possible negative results of its use, bias and labeling, and difficulty in usage as well as difficulty applying it in marriage and family counseling. Respondents believe clients are deliberately misdiagnosed using the DSM-III-R, and a majority of respondents (62.87%) who indicated whether reported they had training in the use of the DSM-III-R and whether they believe they are adequately trained in its use said their training is adequate. Results of canonical correlation analyses indicate that respondents' amounts of training in the use of the DSM-III-R, their work settings, and their clients' being charged for counseling services are significantly related to various aspects of their evaluations of the advantages and disadvantages of the DSM-III-R. / Ph. D.

Yuen Man-tak. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 430-477). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

AIDS-related stigma and mental health professionals.

This study examined the attitudes and perceptions of resident assistants towardgay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (GLBT) students. Attitudes and perceptions of floor environments, hall environments, and the campus community were looked at. The original intent of this study was to find a relationship between resident assistants' attitudes and perceptions toward GLBT individuals and its relationship to the environment created on the RA's floor. The sample of GLBT students was too small to make reference to it in this study.A significant difference was found between hall staffs' attitudes. The study suggests that their hall environment can influence RAs' attitudes and perceptions. Consistent with past research, male resident assistants (RAs) had more negative views toward gay men and lesbians than female RAs. Inconsistent responses were found to individual questions, which suggests a lack of education on GLBT issues. The majority of RAs believed there should not be more GLBT material integrated in the classroom, however they felt they didn't have adequate training on GLBT issues. RAs felt that GLBT students experience less harassment and discrimination in the residence halls then on campus and in society. / Department of Secondary, Higher, and Foundations of Education

Although school counselors strive to address the needs of all students, children with learning disabilities are often overlooked (Bergin & Bergin, 2005; Dahir, 2004). Under federal requirements, all federally funded schools are required to provide services to students with disabilities. Further, the American School Counselor Association's (ASCA) model for school counseling programs stipulates that school counselors should ensure appropriate services are provided to all students (Milsom, 2002). Research has been completed regarding teachers' attitudes toward complying with the federal mandates (Bateman & Bateman, 2002; Rea & Davis-Dorsey, 2004). There is, however, considerably less information regarding school counselors' roles, and only minimal information on their attitudes and background experience regarding learning disabilities (Frye, 2005; Greene & Valesky, 1998; Milsom, 2002). School counselors from ASCA's southern region were asked to respond to the Attitudes Toward Learning Disabilities Instrument online survey. The findings of this study demonstrated that although school counselors overwhelmingly support ASCA's guidelines, few have the full credentials outlined by the ASCA model. A majority of the counselors in this study had little or no educational training and reported feeling unprepared to address educationally-based tasks such as developing classroom accommodations, or acting as a consultant to the school staff on learning disability issues. In contrast, one third of the participants in this study were certified teachers who reported feeling prepared and confident about all areas of academic and disability services. These results support the conclusions of previous research which indicated that counselor preparation and years of experience were found to be related to more positive attitudes toward inclusion (Greene & Valesky, 1998; Greer & Greer, 1995; Milsom, 2002; Milsom & Akos, 2003) Availability Unrestricted: Release the