Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, November, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 120-128).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-91).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-97).

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a significant exposure (six months) to a State School environment on selected personality traits and identity factors of adolescent girls. A second objective was to ascertain whether greater change takes place early in the period of residency (three months) or in a later stage. A third aim was to determine whether there is a significant difference in the degree of change between girls showing fewer pathological signs and healthier identity than those who show a greater number of such signs and a stronger delinquent identification.

No description available.

Most studies on organizational justice have focused on individuals’ reactions to justice. As such, a key question has been left largely unanswered: Why do individuals act fairly or unfairly? The present research adopted a person-situation interactionist approach (Trevino, 1986) to examine psychological and situational antecedents of individuals’ fair behavior. The social identity model of deindividuation (SIDE; Reicher, Spears, & Postmes, 1995) and side-bet theory of continuance commitment (Becker, 1960) was used to examine how organizational identification and continuance commitment might influence employees’ fair or unfair behavior depending on an organization’s justice climate. Based on SIDE, it was hypothesized that organizational identification relates positively to employees’ feelings of deindividuation. Based on side-bet theory, it was further hypothesized that employees’ continuance commitment relates positively to their adoption of a subordinate role. Both deindividuation and adoption of a subordinate role were argued to make employees more susceptible to external influences and, therefore, make individuals more likely to behave in ways that are normative in a given context. Individuals who have higher levels of continuance commitment and organizational identification were, therefore, argued to engage in fair or unfair behavior depending on the level of the justice climate and the strength of the justice climate of their workgroup. The results of three studies provided support for the majority of hypotheses. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Vulnerability to Feminine Gender Role Stress (FGRS), defined as the tendency to evaluate the self along feminine dimensions, was introduced as a psychosocial mediator between environmental stressors and maladaptive outcomes to explain the higher rate of particular mental health problems among women relative to men. FGRS was proposed to result from 1) vulnerability, adherence to feminine standards for self-appraisal, and 2) exposure to environmental conditions which directly threaten or challenge one's ability to live up to these standards. Two studies investigated the FGRS construct. In Study 1, women who appraised threats and challenges to feminine commitments as highly stressful, rated feminine traits as more personally important to exhibit, than did women who did not appraise these situations as highly stressful. Additionally vulnerability to FGRS interacted with inadequate social support to predict depressive symptomatology in women. Study 2 compared subjects high and low in FGRS vulnerability in responses to a counseling task presented as either a feminine or gender-neutral stressor. When the task was presented as a feminine stressor, women whose scores on the FGRS scale indicated adherence to feminine self-evaluation criteria evidenced greater physical stress, and cognitive engagement, including attempts to cognitively reframe the situation in order to cope with it, than did women who did not show adherence to these criteria. Across stressors high FGRS subjects reported greater reliance than low FGRS subjects on feminine styles of coping, including providing and soliciting social support. These findings elucidate the processes underlying women's vulnerability to FGRS and contribute to the understanding of gender-role mediated psychopathology in women. / Ph. D.

The purpose of the present study was to develop a measure of feminine gender role stress appraisal (FGRS), the cognitive tendency to appraise threats and challenges to femininity as stressful. Stressors particularly salient for women were identified. Through factor analysis these stressors were categorized as situations involving emotional detachment, evaluation of physical attractiveness, potential victimization, assertive coping, and evaluations of nurturance. The FGRS appraisal style should create additional stress in the lives of women to the extent they are faced with these types of stressors. Thus, it was predicted that women high on FGRS would be more vulnerable to stress related disorders that disproportionately afflict women. Supporting this hypothesis, women with high FGRS scores reported more depression and, to a lesser extent, anxiety. Additionally, the psychometric properties of the FGRS scale were investigated. Women scored higher on FGRS than men and scores among women showed good two week testretest reliability. The tendency to appraise situations on the FGRS scale as stressful was moderately associated with the tendency to perceive masculine threats and challenges and daily hassles as stressful as well. Discriminant validity was demonstrated between FGRS appraisal and the expression of hostility and self-perceived femininity. / Master of Science