With the growing number of older adults in the general population, there is also a concomitant rise in the number of older adults who require mental health services, making the measurement of psychological conditions in later life a priority. However, due to a lack of measures created for older adults, researchers and clinicians must often rely on measures created for younger populations. Three studies were designed to add to the field of evidence-based assessment and determine which anxiety measures possess strong evidence when used with older adults to warrant their use with this specific population. In the first study, I systematically reviewed the literature to identify the anxiety measures most commonly used with older adults. I reviewed each measure to examine its psychometric properties (e.g., internal consistency, test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, concurrent and discriminant validity) and the availability of age-appropriate norms in order to evaluate whether the instruments are appropriate for use with older adults. In the second study, I conducted a reliability generalization meta-analysis to estimate the mean reliability of each commonly used anxiety measure identified in the first study. Finally, in the third study, I examined whether the anxiety measures commonly used with an older population can be consistently and accurately categorized as evidence-based. The literature review and the reliability generalization study both revealed that most of the most commonly used measures lacked sufficient evidence to warrant their use with older adults. However, three measures (Beck Anxiety Inventory, Penn State Worry Questionnaire, and Geriatric Mental Status Examination) showed psychometric properties sufficient to justify the use of these instruments when assessing anxiety in older adults. In addition, two measures developed specifically for older adults (Worry Scale and Geriatric Anxiety Inventory) were also found to be appropriate for use with older adults. This suggests that based on their overall level of reliability and previous psychometric evidence, both researchers and clinicians assessing anxiety in a geriatric population should consider these measures as likely to be the best currently available.

Hepatitis B is a serious global health problem with over 2 billion people infected worldwide and 350 million suffering from chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection. Infection can lead to chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounting for 320,000 deaths per year. Numerous treatments are available, but with a growing number of therapies each with considerable trade-offs, the optimal treatment strategy is not transparent. This dissertation investigates the relative efficacy of treatments for CHB and estimates the health related quality of life (HRQOL) and health utilities of mild to advanced CHB patients. A systematic review of published randomized controlled trials comparing surrogate outcomes for the first year of treatment was performed. Bayesian mixed treatment comparison meta-analysis was used to synthesize odds ratios, including 95% credible intervals and predicted probabilities of each outcome comparing all currently available treatments in HBeAg-positive and/or HBeAg-negative CHB patients. Among HBeAg-positive patients, tenofovir and entecavir were most effective, while in HBeAg-negative patients, tenofovir was the treatment of choice. Health state utilities and HRQOL for patients with CHB stratified by disease stage were elicited from patients attending tertiary care clinics at the University Health Network in Toronto. Respondents completed the standard gamble, EQ5D, Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3), Short-Form 36 version-2 and a demographics survey in their preferred language of English, Cantonese or Mandarin. Patient charts were accessed to determine disease stage and co-morbidities. The study included 433 patients of which: 294 had no cirrhosis, 79 had compensated cirrhosis, 7 had decompensated cirrhosis, 23 had HCC and 30 had received liver transplants. Mean standard gamble utilities were 0.89, 0.87, 0.82, 0.84 and 0.86 for the respective disease stages. HRQOL in CHB patients was only impaired at later stages of disease. Neither chronic infection nor antiviral treatment lowered HRQOL. Patients with CHB do not experience lower HRQOL as seen in patients with hepatitis C. The next step in this area of research is to incorporate the estimates synthesized by the current studies into a decision model evaluating the cost-effectiveness of treatment to provide guidance on the optimal therapy for patients with HBeAg-positive and HBeAg-negative CHB.

Hepatitis B is a serious global health problem with over 2 billion people infected worldwide and 350 million suffering from chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection. Infection can lead to chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounting for 320,000 deaths per year. Numerous treatments are available, but with a growing number of therapies each with considerable trade-offs, the optimal treatment strategy is not transparent. This dissertation investigates the relative efficacy of treatments for CHB and estimates the health related quality of life (HRQOL) and health utilities of mild to advanced CHB patients. A systematic review of published randomized controlled trials comparing surrogate outcomes for the first year of treatment was performed. Bayesian mixed treatment comparison meta-analysis was used to synthesize odds ratios, including 95% credible intervals and predicted probabilities of each outcome comparing all currently available treatments in HBeAg-positive and/or HBeAg-negative CHB patients. Among HBeAg-positive patients, tenofovir and entecavir were most effective, while in HBeAg-negative patients, tenofovir was the treatment of choice. Health state utilities and HRQOL for patients with CHB stratified by disease stage were elicited from patients attending tertiary care clinics at the University Health Network in Toronto. Respondents completed the standard gamble, EQ5D, Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3), Short-Form 36 version-2 and a demographics survey in their preferred language of English, Cantonese or Mandarin. Patient charts were accessed to determine disease stage and co-morbidities. The study included 433 patients of which: 294 had no cirrhosis, 79 had compensated cirrhosis, 7 had decompensated cirrhosis, 23 had HCC and 30 had received liver transplants. Mean standard gamble utilities were 0.89, 0.87, 0.82, 0.84 and 0.86 for the respective disease stages. HRQOL in CHB patients was only impaired at later stages of disease. Neither chronic infection nor antiviral treatment lowered HRQOL. Patients with CHB do not experience lower HRQOL as seen in patients with hepatitis C. The next step in this area of research is to incorporate the estimates synthesized by the current studies into a decision model evaluating the cost-effectiveness of treatment to provide guidance on the optimal therapy for patients with HBeAg-positive and HBeAg-negative CHB.

Using meta-analysis, the current paper reveals a modest difference between Black and White employees in terms of job satisfaction (d = -0.13; k = 65; N = 29,560). Several potential moderators of this relationship were investigated, but only two were supported: the proportion of Black employees in the organization and historical time period (i.e., year of publication and year of data collection). Specifically, Black employees tend to be relatively more satisfied when their proportional representation is larger and White employees have tended to be relatively more satisfied than Black employees over the years, with maximal White advantage occurring at the present day. This study further attempts to investigate race effects on job satisfaction through mediational analysis, with job complexity as the mediator. This analysis at the individual level does not support job complexity as a mediator. Further analyses involving race and job complexity at the job level of analysis show promise but are not fleshed out in detail. Results are discussed in light of both the job characteristics model and frame-of-reference (Cornell model) explanations for the origin of job satisfaction.

The purpose of this study was to review the empirical research evidence on the effect of teacher certification on student achievement. An exploratory meta-analysis was conducted on studies that examined the effect of fully certified and less-than-fully certified teachers on student achievement. The meta-analysis focused on the areas of mathematics, science and reading and explored trends across areas of achievement, school level and research design. The study was directed towards (a) a synthesis of findings, and (b) recommendations for future research and policy decisions.The meta-analysis population consisted of five individual studies that generated twenty-seven effect size estimates. Three studies utilized either an individual level or class level of analysis and yielded twelve mean difference effect size estimates. Two studies utilized either a school or state level of analysis and yielded fifteen correlational effect size estimates. The majority of findings in mathematics favor the positive effect of fully certified teachers. In science, the findings pointed towards equivalent levels of student achievement for fully certified and less-than fully certified teachers. All the findings associated with reading favored the positive effect of fully certified teachers. It appears that certification may be more crucial to student achievement in reading and mathematics than in science. Across school levels, the overall trend suggests that full certification may be more crucial to student achievement in elementary school than middle or high school. Across levels of analysis and research design, studies that utilize an aggregate level of analysis yield a greater number of positive study outcomes than designs conducted at the individual or class level. A key finding is that given the specifications of the meta-analysis, direct evidence of the relationship between certification and student achievement is limited to five peer-reviewed, published studies. Additional findings illuminated several issues that are vital to improving the quantity and quality of research on teacher certification. Eight specific recommendations were directed towards academic researchers who plan to study the topic. Four recommendations are directed towards policy-makers at the state and federal level who are involved in setting standards and planning legislation for educator preparation.

Thesis (M.S.)--Florida State University, 2003. / Advisor: Dr. Thomas E. Joiner, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Psychology. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Mar. 02, 2003). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

No description available.

There is a clear call to use evidence-based practice (EBP) in schools, and a growing knowledge base of practices that have proven to be effective in helping students achieve in educational settings. In addition, the current trends of Positive Behavior Supports (PBS) and Response to Intervention (RtI) advocate for preventative and proactive strategies. Token economies (TE) are one intervention that is proactive and can be flexible to use with students across a wide range of behaviors and settings. According to Higgins, Williams, and McLaughlin, token economy (TE) is an effective way to improve classroom behavior. Unfortunately, limited recent research is available that evaluated the effects and moderators of token economies in classroom settings. The purpose of this investigation was to Meta-analyze the single case research on TE implemented in school and is the first to offer effect size analysis and identify moderators. The use of TE's has been widely established as an evidence-based intervention for use in prisons, psychiatric hospitals, and school settings. However, very few articles discuss size of effects to expect, the essential elements required, or the practical implementation issues within a classroom. Many myths surround the use of a TE, i.e., many assume a token system is effective only for individuals and this is not so, as TE is effective for groups as well as individuals. In an age of accountability and emphasis on preventative evidence based practice evidence for using a TE and how to implement a TE is needed in our literature. Empirical evidence for the use of a token economy in a classroom is presented along with suggested implementation ideas. Twenty four studies were included in this Meta-analysis with an overall combined Tau-U ES of .78 of data showing improvement between phase A and B with CI90 [.72, .83]. Tau-U effect sizes ranged from .35 to 1.0. TE is effective with all ages evaluated (ages 3 - 15); however, statistically significant results indicated it was more effective with ages 6 - 15. Active ingredients (i.e. procedural steps) were evaluated, combined, and reported. Results indicate that TE is an evidence-based intervention to increase academic readiness behaviors and to decrease inappropriate behaviors.

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the concepts, characteristics, and variables addressed in other dissertations deemed highly relevant to the literature on adult faith development. The principle contribution of this dissertation was a 44-page matrix and an accompanying 29-page index that reveal the "Primary" and "Secondary" concepts addressed in these other documents. The study employed meta-analytical techniques to design this pictorial tool for future faith development researchers.A search for the keyword "faith development" on the CD-ROM Dissertation Abstracts database yielded 141 documents written from 1980-1994. One hundred and thirty-six abstracts were obtainable for review. Based on these abstracts and aided by a second reader, the author deemed 60 dissertations as being highly relevant to the adult faith development literature. These dissertations were then ordered via interlibrary loan for further analysis of their concepts, etc.Following the pilot study, a decision was made to include an analysis of the dissertations in terms of three tpes of classification. A classification code was assigned to all 60 dissertations in terms of their "Type of Research," "Type of Methodology," and "Type of (Religious) Tradition."Over 900 "Primary" and "Secondary" concepts, etc., were gleaned from the 60 documents. Using Spradley's ethnographic technique of organizing concepts, the concepts were arranged in 35 clusters. The clusters were tallied in 10 possible ways.The results suggest that the dissertations were fairly balanced in terms of those which constituted "Application" research and "Theoretical" research. The most frequently used methodology was "Creative Project," followed by "Qualitative" methods. The vast majority of dissertations were written from the "Protestant" tradition, followed by "Catholic," and "Other."Of the 35 clusters of concepts, etc., analyzed, the results suggest a gap in doctoral research in terms of studies pertaining to concepts related to "Transcendence," "Symbolism," "Evangelism," and "Gender." Much "Secondary" emphasis has been give to concepts, etc., related to "Devotional" but this cluster was not of "Primary" emphasis in any of the 60 studies. The work of faith development pioneer James W. Fowler was of "Primary" emphasis in 37 of the 60 dissertations. / Department of Educational Leadership