Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 150-155). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oklahoma, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Criminology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

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The Aggression Replacement Training Program (ART) is an approach to reduce aggression in Young Offenders. This program was implemented with a sample of youths on probation and living in the community (N = 21). The goal was to evaluate the efficacy of the program, and to measure changes in aggression, skill acquisition and recidivism rates. A quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design was used. The Aggression Questionnaire and Skillstreaming Checklist were the main source of data and results were compared pre- and posttest. Recidivism rates were determined six months after the start of the program. An improvement in aggression scores was found in the ART sample, but this was not statistically significant. Only 5.8% of the total sample that had recidivated, committed an aggressive crime. Recommendations are made to maximize the efficacy of the ART program for the future.

Although the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument – Second Version (MAYSI-2) has been widely accepted as a short mental health screener in the juvenile justice system, its utility in predicting juvenile recidivism has not yet been explored. This study comprised of 424 subjects who have been detained at Allen County Juvenile Justice Center (ACJC) for criminal charges. Participant's MAYSI-2 total scores without the Alcohol/Drug Use subscale and Alcohol/Drug Use subscale scores were used to assess their utility in predicting juvenile recidivism. A correlational analysis using urinalysis results and Alcohol/Drug Use subscale scores suggested Alcohol/Drug Use subscale is an efficacious measure for assessing substance use among juvenile offenders. A multiple hierarchical regression and ROC analyses were conducted. Findings indicated that the MAYSI-2 total score and Alcohol/Drug Use subscale scores were not adequate predictors of recidivism. However, in exploratory analysis the Anger-Irritability subscale was found to be a significant predictor of juvenile recidivism. / Department of Psychological Science

This thesis investigated and statistically analyzed the responses of delinquent and non-delinquent female adolescent subjects to J. B. Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale. Internal control refers to the perception of positive and/or negative events as being a consequence of one's own actions and under personal control. External control refers to the perception of positive and/or negative events as being unrelated to one's own behaviors and beyond personal control.Delinquent subjects were obtained through a juvenile court. Non-delinquent subjects were obtained from schools and social agencies. Variables of age, race, socio-economic level and number of parents in the home were controlled.Delinquent females were found to be significantly more external than the non-delinquent females. Race was not found to be significant for the total sample, but the black non-delinquent females scored significantly more external than did the white non-delinquent females.

The Old Curiosity Shop, Charles Dickens' fourth novel, has been given little serious critical attention by modern scholars. The purpose of this study was to analyze the novel, ignoring the accepted prejudices against it and establishing it as a complex artistic creation.The organization of the study rests on the thesis that after Master Humphrey, the narrator of the first three chapters, dismisses himself from the story, the novel divides into four sections each focused on one of the four major characters--Nell, Kit, Quilp, and Dick. The sections are not divided in the novel, but are complexly interwoven with the sections presenting different views of the major themes of the novel.Master Humrhrey's three-chapter introduction to the novel sets the plots of the four sections in motion and establishes the major concerns of the novel—alienation, creativity, and materialism. More important, Master Humphrey is the only artist whose consciousness is penetrated while he is in the act of creating.Nell’s section contains the most lengthy treatment of the major themes, but does not present the novel’s and as with Nell, his self-imposed, alienation ends in death. The similarity between Mrs. Quilp anid Nell, and Nell, Mrs. Quilp's enjoyment of her suffering combine to raise the doubt that Nell's problems are imposed externally. Quilp's creativity is reflected in his ability to appear differently to different people around him. He recreates himself constantly.Dick Swiveller's progression from a morally careless rogue to a caring hero is the triumph of the novel, and his section contains the novel's solutions to the thematic problems. Unlike Nell, Kit, and Quilp, who retreat from society, Dick searches for companionship. He and the Marchioness solve the problem of alienation by finding each other. He also presents a compromise between the greed of Quilp and the grandfather and Nell's renunciation of material goods with his theory that money simply makes things more pleasant. Dick is the greatest creative artist in the novel for be uses his imagination to create a refuge for himself and his friends within an alien world. He creates through imaginative power the haven which Nell cannot find in her flight.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of group counseling on the connotative meanings of "father", "mother", "myself", and "peers" held by adolescent delinquent girls in a state training, school. The research hypothesis of the study was that the connotative meanings of these four concepts expressed by girls who participated in short-term group counseling would become more positive than those who did not.Subjects for the study were inmates at the Indiana Girls School at Clermont, Indiana.. They were selected for the study on the basis of counselor recommendations, reading ability, and proximity to possible parole. Forty-eight subjects participated in the study.A list of variables such as persons, situations, and social institutions was compiled. Juvenile delinquents, as a group, tend to hold negative attitudes toward these variables. This list was reduced to the four most critical concepts selected by the raters: "father", "mother", "myself". and "peers".A semantic differential, constructed as prescribed by Osgood et al. (1957, p. 77-81), was used to measure the connotative meanings of the control and experimental groups toward the four derived concepts.The forty-eight subjects were randomly placed in either the control group or the experimental group. The experimental group was further divided into four subgroups, each with six members.The twenty-four subjects in thee experimental group participated in a one and one-half to two hour group counseling session per week for a period of eleven weeks. The control group experienced the same institutional environment except that they did not receive group counseling. Two of the groups were led by the female staff psychologist of the Indiana Girls School and two of the groups were led by a male doctoral intern from Ball State University. At the end of eleven weeks, the semantic differential was-again administered to the control group and the experimental group.A mean of each of the four-concepts was computed for each subject in the study and group means for the experimental group and the control group were calculated for each of the four concepts on the pre-test and post-test administrations. Significance of the difference of the differences between the experimental and the control groups from pre-test to post-test was determined by a two-tailed t-test. The degree of significance was established at the .05 level.Analysis of the data indicated that the experimental group, when compared to the control group, made significant positive changes in their connotative meanings of father, mother, myself, and peers. The null-hypothesis was rejected since the derived t-values exceeded the critical point at the .001 level. It may be concluded that group counseling had a positive effect on negative feelings and attitudes which are considered by penal authorities to impede treatment and rehabilitation.As a group, the control subjects tended to score lower on the research instrument. Their connotativee meanings of mother, myself, and peers, respectively, were slightly more negative at the conclusion of the experiment. Only "father" was seen as slightly more positive. It appears that the general institutional environment has some negative effects, over a period of time, on the attitudes of the incarcerated girls.The results of this study indicated several areas that are worthy of further exploration.Replication in other types of penal institutions to ascertain the effectiveness. of group counseling.Follow-up of the experimental group to determine the permanence of the changes effected by group counseling.Follow-up after parole to determine if positive changes are related to better post-institutional adjustment.The differences between the attitudes of Negro and Caucasian delinquent girls.The feelings of delinquent girls toward other concepts that were highly ranked by the raters, e.g., home, school, work, and marriage.