Thesis (Ph.D.)--Fairleigh Dickinson University, 1999. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 60-07, Section: B, page: 3567. Chair: Cynthia Radnitz. Available also in print.

Thesis (Psy.D.)--Fairleigh Dickinson University, 2001. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 62-01, Section: B, page: 0597. Chairperson: Judith Kaufman. Available also in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 2006. / Not embargoed. Vita. Bibliography: 100-110.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Canterbury, 2007. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-147). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (MEcon)--Stellenbosch University, 1990. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie ondersoek is om 'n psigometriese toets= battery te ontwikkel wat gebruik kan word in die keuringsproses van advertensieverteenwoordigers. Uit literatuur het geblyk dat daar 'n teoretiese raamwerk bestaan naamlik 'n samevallende geldigheidsmodel waarvolgens die navorsings= projek uitgevoer kan word. Eienskappe word ook geldentifiseer wat kerunerkend van suksesvolle verteenwoordigers is. Genoegsame bewyse is gevind dat persoonlikheid, belangstelling en aanleg belangrike eienskappe van suksesvolle verteenwoordigers is. Die navorsings= probleem wat ontstaan is "of die sukses van advertensie= verteenwoordigers in die koerantsektor voorspel word deur middel van 'n keuringsbattery bestaande uit psigometriese toetse?\I Psigometriese toetse wat psigometriese eienskappe meet gebaseer op belangstelling, aanleg en persoonlikheidsmetings wat Nasionale Pers se suksesvolle en onsuksesvolle advertensieverteenwoordigers van mekaar onderskei, wat sodoende in die toekoms tydens die keuringsproses gebruik kan word om beter advertensieverteenwoordigers te keur. Om'n antwoord op die navorsingsprobleem te kry was dit nodig om die advertensieverteen= woordigers by die verskillende dagblaaie wat onderskeidelik as die suksesvolle en onsuksesvolle presteerders bestempel kan word aan die hand van die volgende kriteria te identifiseer: kornrnissieverdien, prestasiebeoordeling en 'n kornbinasie van die kriteria. Dit was ook nodig om die nie-kognitiewe eienskappe naamlik: persoonlikheid, belangstelling en aanleg te identifiseer wat die suksesvolle presteerders beskryf. Hierdie eienskappe word gemeet deur die volgende toetse: Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za die Sest.ienpersoonlikheids~faktorvraelys, Gestruktureerde Objektiewe Rorschachtoets, 19-Veld-Belangstellingsvraelys en die Senior Aanlegtoets. Hierdie meetinstrumente is geselekteer op grond van die waarskynlikheid dat hulle die eienskappe meet wat kenmerkend van suksesvolle presteerders is gebaseer op grond van inligting voortspruitend uit 'n posontleding en literatuurstudie. Die respondente was 77 advertensieverteenwoordigers wat binne die koerante-sektor van Nasionale Pers werksaarn is. Vervolgens is van kontrasgroepe gebruik gemaak om die eienskappe wat kenmerkend van die suksesvolle advertensieverteenwoordigers is mee te bepaal asook 'n sarnevallende geldigheidsmodel waardeur die korrelasies tussen advertensieverteenwoordigers se metings op die psigometriese toetse en aanslae op die prestasiebeoordelingsinstrument bereken is. Op grond van die kontrasgroepe se resultate is daar nie genoegsarne be\vyse gevind dat daar 'n beduidende onderskeid tussen suksesvolle en onsuksesvolle advertensieverteenwoordigers op grond van hul persoonlikheid-, belangstelling- en aanlegtellings gemaak kan word nie. Dit was egter moontlik om op grond van die resultate van 'n meervoudige regressie-ontleding 'n psigometriese toetsbattery saarn te stel vir die keuring van advertensieverteenwoordigers. Deur stapsgewyse regressie is 'n regressie-vergelyking wat 6 veranderlikes insluit verkry met 'n meervoudige korrelasie van 0,62 tussen die betrokke voorspellers en die prestasiebeoordelingmetings. Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Deur die samestelling van 'n voorspellingsmodel is gevind dat die huidige keuringsmetode wat gebruik word met 19,34% verbeter kan word indien 'n psigometriese toetsbattery as een van die fases in die keuringsbattery ingesluit word. Sodoende slaag hierdie ondersoek in sy doel om 'n psigometriese toetsbattery daar te stel wat in die / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The pu.t"poseof .this investigation is to develop a pscyhometric test battery which can be used in the selection process of advertising representatives. Literature showed that a theoretical framework exist namely a concurrent validation model upon which such a research project can be based. Typical characteristics of the successful representatives are also identified. Sufficient proof was found that personality, interest and ability are important characteristics of successful representatives. The research problem which excist is whether "the success of advertising representatives in the newspaper industry can be predicted by means of a test battery consisting of psychometric tests?" Psychometric tests which measures characteristics that differentiate between the successful and unsuccessful advertising representatives of Nasionale Pers based on their personality, interest and ability measures which in future can be used in the selection process to select successful advertising representatives. To answer the research problem it was necessary to identify the successful and unsuccessful achievers at the various newspapers based on the following criteria: commission earned, preformance evaluation and a combination of the named criteria. It was also necessary to identify the non-cognitive characteristics of the good achievers namely: personality, interest and ability. Four psychometric tests were used in the research project namely: the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, Structured Objective Rorschachtest, 19-Field Interest Questionnaire and the Senior Aptitude Test. Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za The measuring instruments were selected on the basis that they sufficiently measure the characteristics which are typical of successful representatives based on the job analysis and a study of the relevant literature. The respondents were 77 newspaper advertising representatives employed at Nasionale Pers. Contrast groups were used to determine the typical characteristics of a successful advertisement representative and a congruent validity model where by the correlations between the pscychometric tests and the scores of advertising representatives on the preformance appraisal instrument are determined. Based on the findings of the contrast groups no sufficient evidence could be found that a distinction can be drawn between the successful and unsuccessful advertising representatives based on their personality, interest and ability scores. By using a multiple regression analysis it was possible to construct a psychometric test battery that can be used in the selection of advertising representatives. By means of stepwise regression, a multipile equation including six variables were determined. A multipile correlation of 0,62 were found between the relevant predictors and the preformance appraisal scores. By making use of a prediction model it was found that the current selection procedure could be improved by 19,34% if the psychometric test battery is included as one of the phases in the selection battery. This study therefor succeeds in its purpose to develop a psychometric test battery which can be included in the selection process of advertising representatives.

abstract: Mediation analysis is a statistical approach that examines the effect of a treatment (e.g., prevention program) on an outcome (e.g., substance use) achieved by targeting and changing one or more intervening variables (e.g., peer drug use norms). The increased use of prevention intervention programs with outcomes measured at multiple time points following the intervention requires multilevel modeling techniques to account for clustering in the data. Estimating multilevel mediation models, in which all the variables are measured at individual level (Level 1), poses several challenges to researchers. The first challenge is to conceptualize a multilevel mediation model by clarifying the underlying statistical assumptions and implications of those assumptions on cluster-level (Level-2) covariance structure. A second challenge is that variables measured at Level 1 potentially contain both between- and within-cluster variation making interpretation of multilevel analysis difficult. As a result, multilevel mediation analyses may yield coefficient estimates that are composites of coefficient estimates at different levels if proper centering is not used. This dissertation addresses these two challenges. Study 1 discusses the concept of a correctly specified multilevel mediation model by examining the underlying statistical assumptions and implication of those assumptions on Level-2 covariance structure. Further, Study 1 presents analytical results showing algebraic relationships between the population parameters in a correctly specified multilevel mediation model. Study 2 extends previous work on centering in multilevel mediation analysis. First, different centering methods in multilevel analysis including centering within cluster with the cluster mean as a Level-2 predictor of intercept (CWC2) are discussed. Next, application of the CWC2 strategy to accommodate multilevel mediation models is explained. It is shown that the CWC2 centering strategy separates the between- and within-cluster mediated effects. Next, Study 2 discusses assumptions underlying a correctly specified CWC2 multilevel mediation model and defines between- and within-cluster mediated effects. In addition, analytical results for the algebraic relationships between the population parameters in a CWC2 multilevel mediation model are presented. Finally, Study 2 shows results of a simulation study conducted to verify derived algebraic relationships empirically. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Psychology 2010

abstract: Code-switching, a bilingual language phenomenon, which may be defined as the concurrent use of two or more languages by fluent speakers is frequently misunderstood and stigmatized. Given that the majority of the world's population is bilingual rather than monolingual, the study of code-switching provides a fundamental window into human cognition and the systematic structural outcomes of language contact. Intra-sentential code-switching is said to systematically occur, constrained by the lexicons of each respective language. In order to access information about the acceptability of certain switches, linguists often elicit grammaticality judgments from bilingual informants. In current linguistic research, grammaticality judgment tasks are often scrutinized on account of the lack of stability of responses to individual sentences. Although this claim is largely motivated by research on monolingual strings under a variety of variable conditions, the stability of code-switched grammaticality judgment data given by bilingual informants has yet to be systematically investigated. By comparing grammaticality judgment data from 3 groups of German-English bilinguals, Group A (N=50), Group B (N=34), and Group C (N=40), this thesis investigates the stability of grammaticality judgments in code-switching over time, as well as a potential difference in judgments between judgment data for spoken and written code-switching stimuli. Using a web-based survey, informants were asked to give ratings of each code-switched token. The results were computed and findings from a correlated groups t test attest to the stability of code-switched judgment data over time with a p value of .271 and to the validity of the methodologies currently in place. Furthermore, results from the study also indicated that no statistically significant difference was found between spoken and written judgment data as computed with an independent groups t test resulting in a p value of .186, contributing a valuable fact to the body of data collection practices in research in bilingualism. Results from this study indicate that there are significant differences attributable to language dominance for specific token types, which were calculated using an ANOVA test. However, when using group composite scores of all tokens, the ANOVA measure returned a non-significant score of .234, suggesting that bilinguals with differing language dominances rank in a similar manner. The findings from this study hope to help clarify current practices in code-switching research. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. German 2011

Esta dissertação é composta por quatro estudos acerca de instrumentos para a avaliação de sintomas de ansiedade. O objetivo do Estudo 1 foi realizar uma revisão sistemática dos instrumentos disponíveis para avaliar sintomas de ansiedade e transtornos de ansiedade (TA) em população brasileira. O objetivo do Estudo 2 foi realizar o processo de adaptação transcultural da Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) para o Brasil. O objetivo do Estudo 3 foi examinar a sensibilidade e especificidade da Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) para o diagnóstico de TA em uma amostra comunitária de crianças e adolescentes brasileiros. O objetivo do Estudo 4 foi investigar as propriedades psicométricas da SCAS em amostras comunitária e clínica de crianças e adolescentes brasileiros. Os resultados do Estudo 1 fornecem um panorama das características e evidências de adequação dos instrumentos disponíveis para avaliar sintomas de ansiedade e TA em população brasileira. Os resultados dos Estudos 2, 3 e 4, em conjunto, apresentam a versão brasileira da SCAS como um instrumento adequado para avaliar sintomas de ansiedade infantil em contextos comunitário e clínico no Brasil. Implicações para a avaliação e o tratamento psicológico e psiquiátrico de TA são discutidas. / This Master Thesis encompasses four studies about instruments to the assessment of anxiety symptoms. The aim of the Study 1 was to conduct a systematic review of the instruments available to assess anxiety symptoms and anxiety disorders (AD) in Brazilian population. The aim of the Study 2 was to perform the cross-cultural adaptation process of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) to Brazil. The aim of the Study 3 was to examine the sensitivity and specificity of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) to the diagnosis of AD in a community sample of Brazilian children and adolescents. The aim of the Study 4 was to investigate the psychometric properties of the SCAS in a community and a clinical sample of Brazilian children and adolescents. Results from Study 1 provide an overview of the characteristics and the adequacy evidences of the instruments available to assess anxiety symptoms and AD in Brazilian population. Results from Studies 2, 3, and 4, altogether, present the Brazilian version of the SCAS as an instrument suitable to assess pediatric anxiety symptoms in Brazilian community and clinical settings. Implications for the psychological and psychiatric assessment and treatment of AD are discussed.

A presente tese teve por objetivo avaliar diferentes aspectos do construto sentido de vida (SV) e suas relações com variáveis biossociodemográficas e outros construtos psicológicos positivos (otimismo, esperança, satisfação com a vida, felicidade subjetiva, autoestima e autoeficácia) em uma ampla amostra nacional. Para atingir os objetivos propostos, foram desenvolvidos um artigo teórico e seis artigos empíricos. O primeiro artigo apresentou o construto SV, e discutiu as potencialidades e limitações dos principais instrumentos existentes na literatura para avaliação do construto sentido de vida. Posteriormente, foram elaborados três estudos empíricos de adaptação e validação de instrumentos psicológicos para o contexto brasileiro. Os três instrumentos validados foram: 1) Questionário de Sentido de Vida (QSV); 2) Questionário de Fontes de Sentido e de Sentido de Vida (QFSSV); e 3) Escala de Felicidade Subjetiva (EFS). O quinto artigo da tese avaliou como diferentes categorias de sentido interagem com variáveis biossociodemográficas, fontes de sentido e com características psicológicas positivas. O sexto artigo investigou como o construto “busca por sentido” se relaciona com as diferentes categorias de sentido. Além disso, buscou-se compreender se a busca por sentido poderia moderar a relação entre as diferentes categorias de sentido com os índices de bem-estar subjetivo, mensurado pelos construtos satisfação com a vida e felicidade subjetiva. Por fim, o último artigo empírico investigou como diferentes características biossociodemográficas e psicológicas influenciam a intenção das pessoas em participar de futuras etapas desta pesquisa. A amostra total empregada foi de 3,034 sujeitos (63,9% mulheres), com idades variando entre 18 e 91 anos (M = 33,9, DP = 15,01), oriundos de 22 diferentes estados do Brasil. Do total da amostra, 91,4% responderam aos instrumentos em uma plataforma virtual, enquanto 8,6% o fizeram no método papel e caneta. Os três instrumentos adaptados para o contexto brasileiro apresentaram adequadas propriedades psicométricas, sugerindo sua possibilidade de uso em estudos futuros. Os resultados também demonstraram a existência de diferentes categorias de sentido de vida (realização existencial, indiferença existencial, crise existencial, conflito existencial), e que sujeitos inseridos nestas categorias apresentam importantes diferenças no que se refere a suas características biossociodemográficas e psicológicas. Foi descoberto, também, que a busca por sentido é maior entre os que apresentam conflito existencial, embora esteja positivamente relacionada com os níveis de crise existencial. Os resultados desta tese apontam para a necessidade da continuidade dos estudos acerca da temática. Esta tese pretende contribuir para a área da Psicologia Positiva ao fornecer três novos instrumentos psicométricos para uso no contextobrasileiro, e ao apresentar resultados anteriormente não discutidos na literatura da área do sentido de vida. / This dissertation aimed to evaluate different aspects of the construct “meaning in life” (MIL) and its relations with sociodemographic and other positive psychological constructs (optimism, hope, life satisfaction, subjective happiness, self-esteem and self-efficacy) in a large Brazilian sample. To attain the proposed goals, one theoretical and six empirical articles were developed. The first theoretical article presented the MIL construct and discussed the benefits and limitations of the main existing scales designed to evaluate the MIL construct. Further, three validation articles of psychological measures were developed. The three questionnaires were: 1) Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ); 2) Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (SoMe); and 3) Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS). The fifth article of the dissertation aimed to show how different categories of meaning interacted with sociodemographic variables, sources of meaning and positive psychological characteristics. The sixth article sought to evaluate to what extent the construct “search for meaning” relates to the different categories of meaning. Furthermore, we aimed to assess if search for meaning moderates the relation among the different categories of meaning with subjective well-being. Finally, the last empirical paper evaluated how different sociodemographic and psychological variables influence the intention in participating in the future waves of the present study. Participants were 3.034 subjects (63.9% women) with ages varying from 18 e 91 years old (M = 33.9; DP = 15.01), originated from 22 different Brazilian states. From the total, 91.4% answered the questionnaires in a web-based platform, whereas 8.6% answered in the paper-and-pencil method. The three adapted instruments presented adequate psychometric properties, and suggests its possible use in future studies. The results also showed the existence of different categories of meaning (meaningfulness, existential indifference, existential crisis, existential conflict), and that people inserted in these categories present important differences in their bio-psychossocial and psychological variables. It was also shown that search for meaning is higher among those in the existential conflict group, although search for meaning is positively related to crisis of meaning. The results of this study point to the need for further studies on the subject. This dissertation seeks to contribute to the Positive Psychology field by offering three different psychometric scales to use in the Brazilian context, and to present empirical results not previously achieved, contributing to the knowledge on the MIL literature.

A atenção qualificada à gestante no período pré-natal deve garantir a identificação precoce de fatores de risco gestacionais para além dos fatores biológicos. Deve-se valorizar o bem-estar psicossocial, pois este pode influenciar situações adversas à gestante. Em 1994, nos Estados Unidos, enfermeiras desenvolveram um instrumento denominado Prenatal Psychosocial Profile (PPP) para avaliar o bem-estar psicossocial de gestantes. Esta escala tem 44 itens divididos em quatro subescalas: estresse, apoio social recebido do companheiro, apoio social recebido de outras pessoas e auto-estima. O presente estudo teve como objetivos realizar a adaptação transcultural do PPP para uso no Brasil e testar suas propriedades psicométricas em uma amostra de gestantes de Porto Alegre (RS). O processo de adaptação seguiu as seguintes etapas: tradução para português; síntese da primeira versão; avaliação por comitê de especialistas; back translation para idioma original (inglês); avaliação por comitê de especialistas para verificação de equivalência e validade de conteúdo; avaliação da back translation pela principal autora do instrumento; pré-teste da versão em português do PPP (PPP-VP); aplicação do PPP-VP em gestantes brasileiras. Participaram do estudo 241 gestantes que realizaram pré-natal na rede básica de saúde do município de Porto Alegre/RS. A idade das gestantes variou entre 18 e 42 anos (média=26,4; DP= 6,12); a idade gestacional variou entre 12 e 41 semanas (média=29; DP=8,41); 89 (36,9%) eram primigestas; o número de consultas de pré-natal variou entre 1 e 18 (média=5; DP=2,82). Todas as subescalas do PPP-VP são compostas de 11 itens cada; as subescalas de estresse e de auto-estima têm escore mínimo de 11 e máximo de 44; ambas subescalas de apoio social têm escore mínimo de 11 e máximo de 66. Os escores médios e desvios-padrão obtidos foram de 18,84 (DP=5,01) para a subescala de estresse; 53,49 (DP=14,06) para o apoio do companheiro; 50,33 (DP=14,85) para apoio de outras pessoas; e 32,54 (DP=5,07) para a auto-estima. Ao analisar a confiabilidade do PPP-VP, constatou-se que o mesmo apresenta características de estabilidade; a consistência interna foi verificada através do coeficiente de alfa de Cronbach, que teve valores de 0,71 para a subescala de estresse; 0,96 para o apoio do companheiro; 0,96 para o apoio de outras pessoas; e 0,79 para a auto-estima. A validade foi comprovada através da análise fatorial; a validade de construto confirmou a correlação negativa do estresse com o apoio social e a auto-estima, e a correlação positiva entre estes dois últimos. Diante dos resultados, propõe-se que o PPP-VP seja utilizado como ferramenta clínica, como meio para obter um escore de risco psicossocial que leve a intervenções de enfermagem para reduzir comportamentos de risco à saúde durante a gestação e suas conseqüências, como prematuridade e baixo peso, por exemplo. / Qualified attention to women during the prenatal period must guarantee early identification of gestational risk factors beyond biological factors. It is necessary to value psychosocial well-being since it might influence adverse situations to the pregnancy. In 1994, a group of North American nurses designed a tool called Prenatal Psychosocial Profile (PPP) to assess psychosocial well-being of pregnant women. This tool has 44 items divided in four subscales: stress, social support from partner, social support from other persons, and self-esteem. The purposes of this study were to perform the cross-cultural adaptation of the PPP for use in Brazil and to test its psychometric properties in a group of pregnant women of Porto Alegre/RS. The adaptation process followed these steps: translation to Portuguese; first version synthesis; expert committee evaluation; back translation to English; expert committee evaluation to verify equivalence and content validation; evaluation of the back translation by the main author of the tool; pretest of the PPP version in Portuguese (PPP-VP); validation of the PPP-VP with Brazilian pregnant women. The sample consisted of 241 pregnant women enrolled on prenatal care at the Basic Health Program of the city of Porto Alegre/RS/Brazil. The age of the women varied between 18 and 42 years (mean=26.4; SD=6.12); gestational age varied from 12 to 41 weeks (mean=29; SD=8.41); 89 (36.9%) were primigravida; the number of prenatal consultations varied from 1 to 18 (mean=5; SD=2.82). All the subscales from the PPP have 11 items each; stress and self-esteem subscales have a minimum score of 11 and a maximum of 44; both social support subscales have a minimum score of 11 and a maximum of 66. The mean scores and standard deviations obtained were of 18.84 (SD=5.01) for the stress subscale; 53.49 (SD=14.06) for support from the partner; 50.33 (SD=14.85) for social support from other persons; and 32.54 (SD=5.07) for the self-esteem subscale. While verifying the reliability of the PPP, it was established that it has stability characteristics; the internal consistency was verified by the coefficient of Cronbach’s alpha, with values of 0.71 for the stress subscale; 0.96 for support from the partner; 0.96 for support from other persons; and 0.79 for the self-esteem subscale. Validity was supported through factorial analysis; construct validity confirmed the negative correlations between stress with social support and self-esteem, and also by the positive correlation of the least. The results allow proposing that the PPP-VP should be used as a clinical tool, as means to obtain a psychosocial risk score which can lead to nursing interventions that will reduce health risk behaviors during pregnancy and its consequences, such as premature births and low birth weight.