Thesis advisor: James E. Lubben / This study examined the roles cohesion, coping, and perceived threat have in buffering the effect of war-zone stress on mental health symptoms. Specifically, six factors were tested as potential moderators of the relationship between combat-related stressors and posttraumatic stress symptomatology (PTSS), including horizontal (peer) cohesion, vertical (NCO) cohesion, vertical (officer) cohesion, problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, and perceived threat. In addition, direct effects and curvilinear interaction effects were examined. This study was a secondary analysis of Mental Health Advisory Team (MHAT) VI data collected by military researchers as part of an ongoing effort to assess soldiers' behavioral health. This study analyzed data from a total of 1,824 male and female U.S. Army soldiers from 15 active-duty brigades who anonymously completed the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) Deployment Well-Being Survey during their deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). PTSS, combat-related stressors, horizontal (peer) cohesion, vertical (NCO) cohesion, vertical (officer) cohesion, problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, and perceived threat were measured. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to identify both risk factors and protective factors for PTSS. The analysis revealed three risk factors and four protective factors. During a war-zone deployment, higher levels of combat-related stressors, problem-focused coping, and perceived threat (i.e., risk factors) were independently associated with greater report of PTSS. Higher levels of horizontal (peer) cohesion, vertical (NCO) cohesion, vertical (officer) cohesion, and emotion-focused coping (i.e., protective factors) were independently associated with decreased levels of PTSS. Hierarchical moderated multiple regression analysis indicated that vertical (NCO) cohesion, vertical (officer) cohesion, and emotion-focused coping buffered the effect of combat-related stressors on PTSS; soldiers higher in vertical (NCO) cohesion, vertical (officer) cohesion, and emotion-focused coping showed weaker relationships between combat-related stressors and PTSS. No support for curvilinear interaction effects were found, suggesting that for this population of soldiers deployed to Iraq, the moderating effect of vertical cohesion and emotion-focused coping on the relationship between combat-related stressors and PTSS is linear in nature. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

Notre recherche porte sur la participation d’individus âgés fragilisés à un essai clinique destiné à prévenir les syndromes démentiels dégénératifs. 812 personnes âgées, dont 527 ayant accepté de participer à une étude destinée à prévenir la maladie d’Alzheimer et 285 ayant refusé de participer à ce même essai ont rempli un questionnaire comprenant des renseignements sociodémographiques et des échelles évaluant les variables psychologiques suivantes : le soutien social perçu, le lieu de contrôle de la santé, la facette anxiété du Névrosisme, la menace perçue de la maladie d’Alzheimer, les motifs d’acceptation et de refus de participer un une étude destinée à prévenir la maladie d’Alzheimer. Les résultats mettent en évidence que le niveau d’étude, l’âge, la menace perçue de la maladie d’Alzheimer, le contrôle interne et le contrôle externe «personnages puissants» participent à distinguer les « acceptants » et les « refusants ». Les «acceptants» ont un niveau d’étude plus élevé et sont plus jeunes que les «refusants». Les « acceptants » se sentent davantage menacés par la maladie d’Alzheimer et ont plus tendance à présenter un contrôle de la santé de type interne ou externe «personnages puissants» que les «refusants». Trois facteurs motivationnels d’acceptation de participer ont été mis en évidence : le facteur I «Bénéfices perçus», le facteur II «Influence sociale» et le facteur III «Orientation sur soi». Trois facteurs motivationnels de refus de participer ont émergé : le facteur I «Manque d’intérêt», le facteur II «Raisons médicales» et le facteur III «Contraintes perçues». La présente étude contribue à une meilleure compréhension des caractéristiques psychologiques des individus âgés acceptant ou refusant de participer à une étude préventive conduite dans le domaine de la maladie d’Alzheimer, ce qui pourrait notamment aider à la mise en place d’actions améliorant la participation des personnes âgées. / Our research deals with frail elderly persons participation in a dementia preventive study. 812 elderly persons: 527 which accepted and 285 which refused participation in an Alzheimer disease preventive program, completed a questionnaire which evaluated sociodemographic variables and psychological variables: social support, health locus of control, anxiety facet of Neuroticism, perceived threat about Alzheimer disease, motives to accept or to refuse to take part in an Alzheimer disease preventive study. Results show that level of education, age, threat about Alzheimer disease, internal control and external «powerful others» control, contribute to discriminate «acceptors» and «refusers». Persons who accepted participation have a higher level of education and are younger than people in the refusing-to-participate group. Persons who accepted to take part in the study showed an internal control, a «powerful others» control, and felt more threatened by Alzheimer disease than people in the refusing-to-participate group. Motivational factors to accept to take part in a dementia preventive study are: factor I «Perceived benefits», factor II «Social influence», factor III «Focus on self». Motivational factors to refuse to take part are: factor I «Lack of interest, factor II «Medical reasons», factor III «Perceived constraints». This study contributes to a better understanding of psychological characteristics of elderly people which accept or refuse to take part in an Alzheimer disease preventive study. This knowledge could help to develop actions improving elderly’s participation.

Dans cette thèse, nous étudions le lien entre la distance culturelle perçue entre les immigrés et le groupe majoritaire français d’une part et les préjugés d’autre part, en examinant le point de vue des Français. Plusieurs facteurs peuvent influencer ce lien : l’adhésion au multiculturalisme par rapport à d’autres modèles d’intégration, la perception de ce modèle comme étant une menace à l’identité nationale ou encore la présentation du multiculturalisme en des termes abstraits (renvoyant à ses objectifs) ou concrets (renvoyant à sa mise en place dans un contexte national). Les résultats montrent que chez les Français qui adhèrent au multiculturalisme, la perception de distance culturelle corrèle plus faiblement avec les préjugés que chez les Français qui adhèrent à l’assimilation. En examinant davantage les attitudes intergroupes chez les Français qui adhèrent au multiculturalisme, nous avons montré que la perception de ce modèle comme étant menaçant pour l’identité nationale peut aussi influencer l’impact de la distance culturelle sur les préjugés : chez les Français qui perçoivent le multiculturalisme comme menaçant, la distance culturelle implique plus de préjugés que chez les Français qui le perçoivent comme moins menaçant. Une source de menace pour le multiculturalisme serait le degré d’abstraction de sa présentation, avec une menace plus importante lorsque l’on fait référence à la politique concrète mise en place dans un pays plutôt qu’au modèle idéal, abstrait. En effet, dans une étude comparative entre la France et les Pays-Bas, nous avons montré que le lien entre la distance culturelle et les préjugés à l’égard des immigrés est plus important lorsque le multiculturalisme est défini en termes concrets que lorsqu’il est défini en termes abstraits / In this thesis, we have studied – on the one hand – the way how perceived cultural distance between the immigrants and the French majority group is linked to prejudice by examining French people’s point of view. Several factors can influence this link: the endorsement to multiculturalism compared to other integration models, the perception of this model as a threat to national identity or the presentation of multiculturalism in abstract terms (i.e. its objectives) or concrete (i.e. its implementation in a national context). The results have shown that among the French who endorse multiculturalism, the perception of cultural distance weakly correlates with prejudice whereas it correlates more among the French who endorse assimilation’s integration model. By focusing on French people who prefer multiculturalism, we showed that the perception of this model as a threat to national identity can also influence the impact of cultural distance on prejudice. Among the French who perceive multiculturalism as threatening, cultural distance involves more prejudice than among those who perceive it as less threatening. A source of threat to multiculturalism could reside in the way it is presented – its degree of abstraction – with more threat when we refer to concrete policy achievement in a country rather than the abstract ideal model. Indeed, in a comparative study between France and the Netherlands, we showed that the link between cultural distance and prejudice towards immigrants is higher when multiculturalism is defined in concrete terms than with its abstract definition.

As a growing body of research has focused on the individual, social, and environmental factors that facilitate life after spinal cord injury (SCI), particular emphasis has been placed on health conditions that are modifiable and preventable. Subsequent injuries are a serious health problem for individuals with SCI. They are a direct threat to further morbidity and mortality, and are both a cause and consequence other secondary health conditions. As a first step toward understanding this public health problem, the purpose of this dissertation research was to describe the patterns, burdens, and prevention of subsequent injury among individuals with SCI. In three distinct, but related studies, this dissertation examined the characteristics of hospitalizations due to an injury among individuals with paraplegia, and compared the differences in length of stay (LOS) and hospital costs of injury hospitalizations between individuals with quadriplegia versus paraplegia. In addition, it explored the experience of subsequent injury among individuals with SCI who return to work and examined perceptions of threat and efficacy in preventing subsequent injury using the Extended Parallel Process Model. Using discharge level weighting available in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, Study 1 calculated national estimates of injury hospitalizations for individuals with paraplegia by patient, hospital, and injury characteristics. Most injury hospitalizations occurred among males, to individuals 35-49 years, and were due to falls, poisonings, or motor vehicle traffic. With the same dataset, Study 2 used logistic regression to estimate the effect of patient characteristics on odds of hospitalized patients with quadriplegia versus paraplegia, and linear regression to estimate predicted differences in hospital costs for individuals with quadriplegia compared to paraplegia. Fewer injury hospitalizations but longer hospital stays, and higher hospital costs per discharge were found for individuals with quadriplegia compared to individuals with paraplegia. Males, younger age, and the uninsured were significant predictors of higher hospital costs. Finally, Study 3 used in-depth interviews to qualitatively explore the perceptions on subsequent injury among individuals with SCI who return to work, and found individuals with SCI who return to work recognized the importance of preventing subsequent injury, and were taking actions to prevent subsequent injury in their daily life and in the workplace. The significance of this research is that it is the first description of injury hospitalizations for all causes of injury by specific type of SCI, and the associated medical outcomes of LOS and direct medical costs. Prevention of subsequent injury should be a priority. The perceptions of individuals with SCI about the severity of and their susceptibility to injury and the efficacy of individual and environmental actions to prevent subsequent injury described in this research should be used to inform the development of interventions that prevent subsequent injury.

No description available.

The purpose of this study is to measure and examine whether terrorism continues to be highly feared and over-predicted, whether exposure to mass or news media influences perceptions of terrorism, whether mass media remains a significant source of information on terrorism related matters and whether people are prepared to act in the event of a terrorist attack. The respondents in this research consisted of a sample of 135 students aged 18 and over, at a participating mid-size university in a southern state, who completed a self-reported online survey on voluntary basis. The findings of the study suggests that the respondents access terrorism related news-media on both weekly and daily basis. Those with frequent access tend to overestimate the likelihood of a domestic terrorist attack and the threat posed by terrorism and tend to show higher levels of fear associated with terrorism. The majority of the respondents indicated average access of news-media of once or twice a week, or no use at all and they tend to not overestimate the likelihood of a terrorist attack, indicate some or no fear in relation to terrorism and tend to have more accurate perception of the current threat posed by terrorism.

No description available.