Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Sonya L. Britt / There has been increased interest in understanding the significant disparity in U.S. households’ retirement preparedness due to concern about the stability of Social Security benefits, the shift from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans, and the decreased rate of saving. This dissertation explores a model that can be utilized to understand and enhance retirement preparedness by individuals, educators, practitioners, and policy makers. Retirement preparedness was measured in two different ways—using the income replacement rate and the capital accumulation ratio—for two separate empirical models. The general conceptualization of the framework is based on the retirement planning work of Hershey (2004). This study utilized the 2008 Rand version (Version L) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and 2006, 2008, and 2010 psychosocial and lifestyle questionnaire. The Rand HRS data file is a user-friendly version of the HRS data and contains cleaned data. The two hierarchical regressions were used to analyze the association between retirement preparedness and the theoretical concepts of cultural influence, environmental influence, task components, and psychological influence. Entering the conceptual components as four separate blocks allows for observation of changes in R[2] based on the addition of the conceptual components. This research investigates the following research questions: (a) How strongly are cultural influences associated with retirement preparedness?, (b) How strongly are environmental influences associated with retirement preparedness?, (c) How strongly are task components associated with retirement preparedness?, and (d) How strongly are psychological influences associated with retirement preparedness? Current retirement planning practices are often based on structural profiles such as financial resources, financial needs, and goals. The holistic approach used for this dissertation is based on the awareness of the influence of psychological and personal factors on financial decision making. The results showed that the variables positively associated with the retirement income replacement rate were self-perception of aging, homeownership, stock ownership, household pension ownership, IRA/Keogh ownership, and business ownership. Pre-retirement income log had a highly negative association with the retirement income replacement ratio. Big Five personality and perceived mastery were not significant. However, when asset ownership (excluding homeownership) was not controlled, conscientiousness and low emotional stability became significant and showed a positive association for conscientiousness and a negative association for low emotional stability. Self-perception of aging was a significant psychological variable in both models. The significant variables from the second model measured by the capital accumulation ratio were asset ownerships including homeownership, stock ownership, IRA ownership, real estate ownership, and business ownership. None of the psychological variables were significant, except for agreeableness, which was related negatively to the capital accumulation ratio when the asset ownerships (excluding home ownership) were not controlled. Other significant variables, when asset ownership was not controlled, were home ownership, pre-retirement income log, being non-White.

South African schools are quickly, and progressively, becoming arenas for violent behaviour. These days, schools are no longer considered safe and protected environments where children can go to learn, develop, enjoy themselves, and feel secure. Rather, schools are being defined as unsafe and dangerous settings for teaching and learning, plagued by various forms of school violence (Van Jaarsveld, 2008). According to De Wet (2003), the causes of school violence are numerous and exceptional to each violent incident. Research indicates that most perpetrators of school violence are in the adolescent stage of development (O‟Toole, 2000). Adolescence as a transition stage implies severe changes on both an anatomical and a psychological level, presenting psycho-social adjustment demands that could be too much for certain adolescents and end in dysfunctional adaptive behaviour such as aggression (Louw & Louw, 2007; Sigelman & Rider, 2006). According to Meece and Daniels (2008), there seems to be no single cause for aggression and it is seen as an interaction of the adolescent’s own characteristics, family environment, culture, peer relations and community. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether intra- and inter-psychological factors such as self related well-being, coping self-efficacy, general health and inter-personal relations contribute to manifested anger/hostility/aggression of learners in secondary schools. A quantitative research design of the cross sectional survey type was used to reach the aims of this study. The population included grade nine learners of four secondary schools who fitted the selection criteria. The size of the research group was N=512, which included male (N=217) and female (N=295), African (N=311) and White (N=201) adolescent learners. Quantitative data collection was done by means of the Personal, Home, Social and Formal Relations Questionnaire (PHSF) of Fouché and Grobbelaar (1971), the Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (CSE) of Chesney, Neilands, Chambers, Taylor, and Folkman (2006), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) of Goldberg and Hillier (1979) and the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ) of Buss and Perry (1992). A biographical questionnaire was also included to collect the participants‟ socio-demographic information. The empirical research was described and results reported in two manuscripts intended for publication. Descriptive statistics, reliability and validity of the measuring instruments used, correlations among the operationalized constructs, significance of differences on the scales for subgroups and regression analyses to identify predictors of aggression and moderating variables, were calculated. The results of the study indicated that although means and standard deviations correspond to those reported in literature for the same scales, the participants in this study manifested only moderate levels of the phenomena measured. The reliability and validity of the measuring instruments were mostly acceptable, with a few exceptions. Correlational results indicated that psychological factors have significantly negative relationships with aspects of aggressive behaviour, suggesting that the more psychological wellness and adjustment youth experience, the less they will experience or express aggressive behaviour. Significance of differences on several of the variables investigated was found between the gender and racial sub-groups with moderate to large practical effect. Furthermore, aspects of personal and social adjustment and of coping self-efficacy and mental health, significantly predicted features of aggression in youth who participated. Intra- and inter-personal aspects of psychological adjustment significantly moderated the strength of the relationships between coping self-efficacy and aggression as well as general mental health and aggression. These findings were theoretically expected and could be explained by means of research findings reported in literature and relevant theories. Conclusions and recommendations were discussed. / Thesis (MA (Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

The objective of this bachelor thesis was to examine and analyse the psychological factors that were important in mediation processes on local, regional, national and international levels in Ethiopia. The research questions were what these psychological factors were and how they affected the mediation process. A qualitative, semi-structured method was used and six informants with experience as mediators have been interviewed in Ethiopia. The psychological factors identified were self-esteem, losing face, ability of letting go, and mirroring. The conclusion was that this research confirmed the findings of much of the previous research, in regards to the psychological factors active in the process. The research also revealed that the psychological factors needed to be considered in the light of the Ethiopian culture and it´s collective nature.

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is defined as a low incidence, high cost condition, however there is little information in the UK regarding the incidence, prevalence or associated costs of SCI. Additionally there is little evidence identifying outcomes or issues associated with delays in referral, admission or discharge from an SCIC or the impact of delays in provision of resources on reintegration outcomes. Research Aim: This novel study aims to determine factors and timings which may facilitate or limit successful rehabilitation and community reintegration for individuals with SCI. Map timescales and key indicators in the SCI injury and rehabilitation and reintegration pathways. Establish the impact of delays in provision of required resources on reintegration outcomes. Methods: An observational longitudinal study, collecting data regarding individuals from injury to one year post-discharge. Rehabilitation, reintegration and healthcare systems outcome measures to be evaluated were identified and included: community participation, quality of life, residential situation, readmission rate and vocational activity. Results: Delays in accessing services occur for a variety of issues and can have lasting impact. Many issues can affect progress and may have a more profound effect at particular points of the injury and rehabilitation pathway. At one year post discharge some subjects have fallen short of the identified outcomes; potential reasons for this are discussed in addition to issues that may have facilitated improved outcomes in some subjects. Conclusion: Some assumptions in SCI rehabilitation and reintegration have been challenged and some partially or fully supported. Novel findings have been identified in relation to physical social and psychological barriers or facilitators of outcomes following SCI. Potential areas for further research to increase our knowledge of issues for SCI individuals, SCIC services, acute hospital services and community services are identified.

A significant subset of mild traumatic brain injury (mild TBI) and chronic pain (CP) patients report, and sometimes show objective evidence of, persisting cognitive problems. Despite differences in injury mechanisms, there is considerable overlap in the types of persisting cognitive symptoms that are reported by the two populations. Psychogenic, rather than physiogenic, factors are thought to play an important role in the maintenance of these persisting symptoms. The current investigation examined the contributions somatization, depression, and anxiety had on an objective measure of “working attention.” In order to best elucidate the influences these psychological factors had on attentional performance, only individuals who passed well-validated and popular indicators of cognitive and self-report validity were included in the study. Two hundred and forty-nine individuals (n = 116 TBI; n = 133 CP) met the inclusionary criteria for the study. Psychological factors were assessed using Scales 1 (Hypochondriasis), 2 (Depression), 3 (Hysteria), and 7 (Psychasthenia) of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-II. “Working attention” was measured using the demographically-adjusted T-scores for the Working Memory and Processing Speed Indexes of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale- 3. Results indicated that a high rate of psychological complications was observed in the mild TBI and CP groups but not the moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (M/S TBI) comparison group. Analysis indicated that psychological elevations were not significantly related to spontaneously-reported symptoms or working attention deficits for the mild TBI group but were for the CP and M/S TBI groups. The current results are important for understanding the psychological complications that may occur in individuals exhibiting persisting cognitive problems in these clinical populations.

Objetivos: Avaliar o impacto da Enxaqueca e de outros subgrupos de DTM na severidade da Dor Miofascial da musculatura mastigatória e cervical. Adicionalmente, comparar índices de depressão e ansiedade, além da intensidade de dor subjetiva e outras características associadas entre pacientes com Dor Miofascial com e sem o diagnóstico adicional de Enxaqueca. Material e Métodos: Foram selecionados 203 pacientes, com idade média de 40,3 anos (89,2% do gênero feminino), que se apresentaram à Clínica de Dor Orofacial da UCLA-USA, todos com diagnóstico primário de Dor Miofascial. Pacientes com diagnóstico secundário de Enxaqueca, Cefaléia Tipo-Tensional, Osteoartrite e Capsulite também foram incluídos. Para a análise do impacto, foi utilizado o teste de Regressão Linear Múltipla. O teste de Mann-Whitney foi utilizado para comparar o grupo 1 (Dor Miofascial) com o 2 (Dor Miofascial +Enxaqueca) quanto à intensidade de dor objetiva (palpação) e subjetiva (EAV), ansiedade (BAI) e depressão (BDI), estado de humor, problemas com a função e qualidade do sono (EAV), e incapacidade (EAV e MIDAS). Em todos os testes foi adotado um nível de significância de 5%. Resultados: O modelo de regressão demonstrou um impacto significante de todos os diagnósticos incluídos na amostra (p<0,05) na severidade da Dor Miofascial, com valores de beta maiores para Osteoartrite (0,314), seguido da Enxaqueca (0,299), Capsulite (0,244) e Cefaléia Tipo-Tensional (0,232). O grupo 2 apresentou níveis de dor à palpação muscular estatisticamente maiores que o grupo 1 (p<0,05). Ao se analisar a intensidade de dor subjetiva obtida através de EAV, o grupo 2 apresentou níveis maiores em todas as medições, com significância estatística para \"dor no momento\" e \"dor máxima\" (p<0,05). Da mesma maneira, o grupo 2 mostrou níveis maiores, obtidos através de EAV, de problemas com humor, incapacidade, problemas com a função mandibular e problemas com sono/descanso, sendo que apenas o último apresentou significância estatística (p<0,05). Níveis estatisticamente maiores de ansiedade e depressão foram encontrados também no grupo 2 em relação ao 1 (p<0,05). A análise dos resultados do questionário MIDAS demonstrou que o grupo 2 apresentou níveis de incapacidade (dias perdidos por causa da cefaléia) significativamente maiores em 4 das 5 perguntas e no total de dias (p<0,05). Conclusões: O diagnóstico adicional de Enxaqueca, numa população com Dor Miofascial, exerce forte impacto na severidade da dor e na qualidade de vida do paciente. / Objectives: To assess the impact of migraine, tension-type headache and TMD subgroups on pain levels of masticatory and cervical Myofascial Pain (MFP) patients. Moreover, to compare anxiety and depression scores, pain intensity and associated characteristics in MFP patients with and without migraine. Material and Methods: The sample was comprised by 203 consecutive patients, mean age of 40,3 (89.9% of females), primarily diagnosed with MFP, who presented to the UCLA Orofacial Pain Clinic. Secondary diagnoses of Migraine, Tension-Type Headache, Osteoarthritis and Capsulitis were also included. Linear Regression Analysis was used to assess the impact. In order to compare group 1 (Myofascial Pain) with group 2 (Myofascial Pain + Migraine) regarding pain objective (palpation scores) and subjective (VAS) levels, anxiety (BAI) and depression (BDI) scores, mood problems, jaw function problems and sleep quality (VAS), and disability levels (VAS and MIDAS), Mann-Whiney test was performed. A significance level of 5% was adopted. Results: The regression model detected a significant impact of all diagnoses included (p<0,05) on the pain levels of the MFP patients, with higher beta values for Osteoarthritis (0,314), followed by Migraine (0,299), Capsulitis (0,224) and Tension-Type Headache (0,232). Mann- Whitney test revealed that group 2 presented significantly higher pain levels on palpation of masticatory and cervical muscles in comparison to group 1 (p<0,05). Group 2 also presented higher levels of subjective pain, with statistical significance for \"pain at the moment\" and \"highest pain\" (p<0,05). Additionally, the group 2 showed higher levels of mood problems, disability, jaw function impairment and sleep problems than group 1 with statistical significance for the later (p<0,05). Significant higher levels of anxiety and depression were found in group 2 as well (p<0,05). MIDAS questionnaire revealed that group 2 presented significantly higher levels of disability (number of missed days due to the headache) on 4 out of 5 questions and on the total of missed days (p<0,05). Conclusions: Additional diagnosis of Migraine demonstrated a significant impact on pain intensity and life quality of patients with Myofascial Pain. Clinicians should approach both conditions in order to achieve better treatment outcomes.

In today‟s computerized society every organization need a sophisticated “Information System” to compete in the business world. Some of the organizations outsource their Information Systems and some implements their own custom designed information Systems. Business information systems implementation has been historically bothered by failures for which users resistance has been identified as an important reason. Users‟ satisfaction can be achieved by solving the psychological problems and technical issues which are creating psychological problems during the implementation of IS. Some important aspects during implementation of business information systems like, interdepartmental relationship, knowledge management, independence of tasks and user satisfaction importance is highlighted for organizations. To find the Psychological problems during implementation of business information system and how the resistance from the users can be tackled is the aim of the study. This study also presents suggestions to organizations for enhancing users‟ satisfaction and making the Implementation process of “BIS” a success. / Program: Magisterutbildning i informatik

Despite the increasing attention being paid to waste recycling, there is a dearth of both empirical evidence on recycling at work and examination of any spillover effects of recycling behaviour from home to work. Situated at the confluence of three social science debates (the study of recycling set within the waste management literature; the examination of spillover in the social psychology literature, and the work on pro-environmental behaviour at work in the organisational behaviour literature), this research seeks to understand recycling at work and the relationship between recycling behaviour at home and recycling at work using a sequential mixed methods approach. Due to the complexity of human behaviours including the heterogeneity of the factors underpinning recycling, this research adopts a sequential mixed methods approach with its pragmatic philosophical assumptions to examine recycling at work. Initially, semi-structured interviews with 15 key informants from different organisations including environmental/waste organisations in the UK were conducted. The findings from the interviews were used along with the evidence from the literature to develop the conceptual model and the research hypotheses. The quantitative data were collected, using a web-based questionnaire survey, from 367 respondents representing 43 different organisations across the UK. The collected quantitative data were analysed using SPSS for windows and IBM AMOS for path and causal analyses. Based on the findings, this research demonstrates that contextual factors such as organisational support are better determinants of recycling at work than personality/psychological factors such as attitudes that have dominated empirical and theoretical studies on pro-environmental behaviours for decades. Also, the findings of this research suggest that the concept of spillover of recycling from home to work is complex and inconsistent. Whilst there is a tendency for spillover of recycling behaviour, there is a significant difference between recycling at home and at work with regards to the volume of materials, the range of materials, and frequency of recycling. Nonetheless, the PROCESS macro allows the identification of various conditions that are likely to facilitate spillover of recycling from home to work. As a result, factors that are likely to determine recycling at work including the possible spillover of recycling from home to work are classified into personal/psychological and situational factors. These findings contribute to the existing bodies of knowledge on recycling behaviour, spillover effects, and organisational citizenship behaviour for the environment (OCBE). Also, the findings could assist businesses in finding proactive measures to increase recycling within their organisations. This would consequently reduce the total amount of resources being disposed of in the UK landfill sites.

The effects of neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic-lateral sclerosis (ALS) eventually render those suffering from the illness unable to communicate, leaving their cognitive function relatively unharmed and causing them to be “locked-in” to their own body. With this primary function compromised there has been an increased need for assistive communication methods such as brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Unlike several augmentative or alternative communication methods (AACs), BCIs do not require any muscular control, which makes this method ideal for people with ALS. The wealth of BCI research focuses mainly on increasing BCI performance through improving stimulus processing and manipulating paradigms. Recent research has suggested a need for studies focused on harnessing psychological qualities of BCI users, such as motivation, mood, emotion, and depression, in order to increase BCI performance through working with the user. The present studies address important issues related to P300-BCI performance: 1) the impact of mood, emotion, motivation, and depression on BCI performance were examined independently; and 2) pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral emotions were induced in order to determine the influence of emotion on BCI performance. By exploring psychological mechanisms that influence BCI performance, further insight can be gained on the best methods for improving BCI performance and increasing the number of potential BCI users. The results from Study 1 did not reveal a significant relationship between any of the four psychological factors and BCI performance. Since previous research has found a significant impact of motivation and mood on BCI performance, it may be the case that these factors only impact performance for some individuals. As this is the first study to directly investigate the impact of emotion and depression on BCI performance, future research should continue to explore these relationships. The results from Study 2 were inconclusive for the pleasant condition, since it appears the pleasant emotion manipulation was unsuccessful. The findings indicate that unpleasant emotions do not have a significant impact on BCI performance. This result is promising since it indicates that individuals should still be able to use the BCI system to communicate, even when they are experiencing unpleasant emotions. Future research should further explore the impact of pleasant emotions on BCI performance.

Childhood overweight and obesity is a significant and increasing health problem both nationally and globally. Yet few interventions for preventing obesity have been successful, particularly in the long-term, suggesting that important factors are being overlooked. The aims of this thesis were to investigate (a) the prevalence of childhood overweight, obesity, and binge eating; and (b) the relationships between body weight, binge eating behaviour, and a set of physical, psychological, and psychosocial variables including parent body size, body dissatisfaction, size-related teasing experiences, internalisation of sociocultural messages, depression, dieting attitudes and behaviour, and emotional eating. Participants were 569 grade five and six primary school children (272 boys and 297 girls) from Catholic and Government schools across metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. Almost 25% of participants were classified as overweight or obese. Thirteen percent of participants reported engaging in overeating (with or without loss of control), 14% reported loss of control (with or without overeating), and 6% reported engaging in binge eating (overeating and loss of control). Structural equation modelling analyses found that body weight and binge eating were indirectly related. Body weight was directly and positively associated with parent body size, size-related teasing experiences, body dissatisfaction, and internalisation of sociocultural messages, negatively associated with emotional eating, and indirectly associated with depression, and dieting attitudes and behaviour. Binge eating was directly and positively related to parent body size, emotional eating, depression, and body dissatisfaction, while indirect associations were found with size-related teasing experiences, internalisation of sociocultural messages, and dieting attitudes and behaviour. A direct relationship between body dissatisfaction and loss of control was also found. Some gender differences were detected. Multivariate analysis of variance also revealed that binge eaters scored significantly higher on measures of depression, size-related teasing experiences, internalisation of sociocultural messages, and angry and worried related emotional eating than non-binge eaters. Differences were also found for participants reporting the presence or absence of overeating (regardless of loss of control) and loss of control (regardless of overeating). Overall, the study demonstrated that psychological and psychosocial factors have a significant association with both weight and binge eating behaviour in a non-clinical sample of preadolescent Australian school children. As such, future intervention programs may benefit by addressing these factors. In addition, these results support the idea of working toward the prevention of obesity and eating disorders simultaneously in children, and of extending research in this area to examine causality.