The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility of determining acculturation in a Deaf Navajo Indian through an assessment of art work, accompanying narratives, and interview data. It was concluded that the cultural characteristics of the subject examined in this case study were reflected in his art work and stories, with his Navajo identity revealed as the primary cultural affiliation. Interview data indicated the presence of a significant, albeit less predominant, Deafness cultural affiliation that was not notably reflected in the art pieces or accompanying narratives. Art therapy alone was not established as a reliable medium through which to assess acculturation. However, used in concert with the interview and the subject's own narratives, art therapy proved to be of value in the assessment of acculturation patterns in a Deaf Navajo Indian.

This study examines the relationship of sexual abuse and eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa) in a non-clinical population. Questionnaires were completed by 553 women belonging to 13 sororities at a large southwestern state university and were evaluated with respect to the prevalence of eating disorders and their relationship to sexual abuse. The Bulimia Test (BULIT), Eating Disorders Inventory-2 (EDI-2), and questions from the Women's Life Experiences Longitudinal Interview were used. Women who report severe abuse were found to score significantly higher on the BULIT than those not reporting such abuse. X²(1) = 5.54, p =.019. Women reporting severe abuse also scored higher on the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) and questions related to alcohol consumption.

This study explored the most critical problems encountered by Mexican-American women in professional careers. These women were employed in art, science, engineering, education, medicine, law, writing, and administrative and managerial specialties. Both single (N = 38) and married (N = 33) women participated in this study. There were no restrictions on age, number of years on the job, or educational level. A questionnaire designed by the researcher was used to gather information on the subjects. The questionnaire was divided into three parts: Part 1 solicited demographic information, Part 2 addressed issues encountered in the workplace, and Part 3 examined issues encountered at home. Findings from the study indicated that the most critical problems encountered by Mexican-American women in the workplace included the "Superwoman complex," being the "only," and establishing legitimacy. At home, crucial issues consisted of the Superwoman complex, self-imposed guilt/torment, and family pressure. Additional questions revealed critical problems encountered by these women.

This study explored the stress, coping strategies and importance of mothering and working roles in eight postpartum women. The objective was to identify any relationships that existed between the variables of interest by analyzing quantitative and qualitative data. The participants were volunteers who were contacted through their obstetrical office and through a women's resource center at a local hospital. One finding was that it was difficult to get postpartum women to participate in this study. The cause of this difficulty remained unknown at the conclusion of the study. / Some significant relationships were identified in the quantitative data. Subsequent analysis of the qualitative data called for three alternate hypotheses to be considered. Hypothesis one called for the acceptance of a consistent linear relationship between certain coping and adjustment variables. Hypothesis two suggested that some threshold might exist which influenced the two least adjusted participants (Cases 7 and 8) to choose different types of stressors (from Cases 1-6) to address on one of the free response instruments. The final hypothesis was one that suggested that no consistent relationship existed. This final hypothesis could be substantiated by analyzing scatterplots that suggested Cases 7 and 8 were outliers and artificially inflated the correlation coefficient. The final decision was to retain the three alternate hypotheses. / Potential relationships found in the qualitative data suggested that future research should initially address the process of selection of stressors, rather than the process of reaction to stressors. This type of analysis could ultimately lead to further theory development and insight into the phenomenon of postpartum adjustment. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-03, Section: A, page: 0473. / Major Professor: Gary W. Peterson. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

Maturana's (1988) theory of constituted reality is used to explain the relationships among language, cognitive domain and emotion. His theory is applied to explain distressed couples' conversations about their own marital problems. The sample was composed of 30 married couples who had requested marital therapy at the Florida State University Marriage and Family Therapy Center. The researcher used 7 measurement instruments: (1) self report measure of marital distress (Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Spanier, 1976); (2) Brief Structured Interview; (3) self-report Affect Checklist; (4) self report Objectivity Checklist; (5) self-report Representative Simulation Questionnaire; (6) Demographic Questionnaire; (7) Interpersonal Influence Strategies Coding System (Newton & Burgoon, 1990). Couples completed Affect Checklists and Objectivity Checklists at predetermined intervals during their conversations. Conversations were videotaped then coded by trained raters. Results indicate that specific emotions of anger, sadness, frustration, hatefulness, hopelessness, and hurt are correlated with marital distress. Accusatory statements were correlated with high marital distress and supportive statements were correlated with low marital distress. Direct correlations between marital distress and cognitive domain were not evident. Results suggest correlations among verbal strategies, cognitive domain and specific emotions. Although no clear pattern of correlation was evident from turn to turn, findings lend support to Maturana' s theory. Methodological issues concerning operational definitions of cognitive domain, inter-rater reliability, and the verbal strategy coding system are addressed. Discussion of implications for marital therapy includes the importance of clinical evaluation that emphasizes clients' desires to maintain their marriages. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-07, Section: B, page: 3758. / Major Professor: Thomas E. Smith. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

Research that examines the effects of noncognitive variables in the area of academic performance for Black American students is receiving increasing attention. There is growing awareness that academic performance is more than just a function of academic ability. Noncognitive variables have been found to relate to the academic performance of Black American students and are equally as important as the traditional cognitive variables of SAT scores and high school GPA. / The subjects for this research were comprised of one hundred and fifty-nine Black American students in a model teacher education preparation program, Teacher Education for America's Minorities. T.E.A.M. is a consortium of seven southeastern colleges and universities, funded by the Ford Foundation to increase the number of minority graduates out of teacher preparation programs and to institute curricular changes at the institutional level. Thirty-nine and eight tenths percent of the T.E.A.M. population are from historically black institutions and the other 60.2% are from predominantly white institutions representing 5 public universities and 2 private colleges. / Data collection included an SAT total score or a converted ACT composite score as the control variable and five of the eight noncognitive variables identified by Sedlacek & Brooks in 1976 in reviewing the noncognitive predictor studies for minorities. The five predictor variables were: positive self concept, realistic self appraisal, availability of a strong support person, understanding and dealing with racism, and knowledge acquired in a field. Cumulative grade point average, obtained from the last transcript available at the end of the study was used as the criterion variable. / A stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to test the first hypothesis of this study. A two group t-test with a Bonferroni adjustment for a possible family-wise error rate was used to test the second hypothesis. Both hypotheses were found to be significant for positive self concept. The results of this research were consistent with previous findings using the Noncognitive Questionnaire. This research found evidence to support the existing research on noncognitive variables and academic performance for Black American students. The relationship between the five selected noncognitive variables and academic performance was found to be statistically significant and a prediction equation was developed. These findings lend themselves to several future research implications using subsets of the original eight noncognitive factors identified by Sedlacek et al., (1976) for prediction and to explain how academic performance behavior is defined for Black American students. These findings may also be useful in advising for academic support services. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-12, Section: A, page: 3814. / Major Professor: James P. Sampson, Jr. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

This research explored the processes of relational healing in couples with one partner recovering from alcoholism or other psychoactive substance dependence. The participants were successfully recovering married couples, defined as couples (a) with one or both partners having been substance dependent while in the current marriage; (b) with the formerly substance dependent partner having attained at least two years of sobriety; and (c) with both indicating their desire and intention to continue their marriage. Focused joint interviews of six couples were conducted, videotaped, and transcribed to written text. Social constructionism and narrative psychotherapy provided the philosophical and practical bases for the questions. Couples were invited to be co-investigators offering their theories about their own and others' ideas and practices that had contributed to their relational resilience, and commenting on the researcher's interpretations of their stories. Norman Denzin's method of interpretive interactionism provided a framework for the research design and analysis of data, which included deconstruction of prior understandings of the phenomenon in the literature and of experiences in the cultural context of the interviews, the bracketing of key words and themes, and a search for epiphanies, or the moments and experiences that had been particularly salient in shaping the meanings the co-investigators attributed to their lives or relationships. Key words found included fear, love, work, honesty , synonyms for gratitude, loss of control or detachment, Twelve-Step language, and the language of spirituality. A narrative analysis explored the co-investigators' uses of contrastive rhetoric. Questions for further research are raised, and implications for social work education, practice, and policy are suggested / acase@tulane.edu

A study was conducted comparing an Educational Support Group (N = 5) with a Waiting-List Control Group (N = 5) in the treatment of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD). Subjects met diagnostic criteria for PMDD as outlined by the DSM-IV (1994). It was hypothesized that the educational support group would exhibit less severe symptoms of PMDD than the control group as a function of exposure to educational support. To measure changes between the groups, (across the one month pre-treatment, two month treatment, and one month post treatment phase) the Premenstrual Assessment Form, the Daily Record of Severity of Problems (content specific to the DSM-IV criteria for PMDD), and a Daily Monitoring Form were utilized The hypothesis that educational support would decrease PMDD symptoms was not supported by the results of this study. However, there appeared to be an advantage to participating in an educational support group as was determined by responses to a Final Questionnaire / acase@tulane.edu

The opposing cultural mandates to enact both affiliative female-role and dominant therapist-role nonverbal behaviors is examined through initial impressions of a female therapist. Client perception is assessed through therapist evaluations for the social meaning and influence of feminine smiling, masculine visual dominance, and an exploratory, combination, asymmetrical arm posture/hand gesture. Subject gender and analogue type (videotape versus role-play) were also hypothesized to be pertinent mitigators of perception. After 10-minute counseling sessions in a therapy setting, 125 male and female students evaluated the therapist highest with traditional female smiling, but subject gender interacted with other behaviors. Females showed an aversion to the nonresponsive visual dominance that males rated high, whereas males disliked the expansive arm posture/thinker gesture that females rated high. Therapist expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness ratings were also highly dependent on the medium of the message, with unique differences exhibited between observer and participant judgments / acase@tulane.edu

This research explores the relationships between work experience and self-esteem, delinquency, educational attainment, and future income among youths of Mexican descent. Social scientists have addressed the concern that teenage work experience might undermine the emotional well-being of adolescents as well as their investment in education. Despite what appears to be a propensity for early labor market participation among adolescents of Mexican-origin, investigators have focused little attention on the effects of employment vis-a-vis this segment of the population. But the question remains an important one in light of demographic projections for population growth among Hispanics, the majority of whom claim Mexican ancestry, as well as their relatively low rate of high school completion. Using multivariate regression techniques and data from two distinct national surveys, I find that for U.S.-born youths of Mexican descent early work experience lowers self-esteem, increases delinquency, stymies educational attainment, but increases income gains over the long-run. In contrast, among Mexican immigrant adolescents, employment increases self-esteem, reduces delinquency, and enhances high school completion as well as future earnings. That outcomes for the former group more closely resemble those for non-Hispanic White adolescents than Mexican immigrants, suggests that U.S.-born youths of Mexican descent may suffer adverse effects from assimilation processes that Mexican culture appears to nullify / acase@tulane.edu