The symptoms of females with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) have been underreported, possibly due to the fact that their symptoms of inattention are often overlooked. Research has revealed that individuals report low selfesteem as a result of undiagnosed AD/HD. Thus, if these individuals are not diagnosed and exposed to the proper treatment for their AD/HD symptoms, they may continue to endure progressive psychological impairments in the years to come. The current study is an attempt to contribute to the literature concerning the presentation and outcome of AD/HD in women. This study aims to determine the relationship of self esteem and AD/HD in college women. A sample of 74 women participated in this study. A total of 24 students diagnosed with AD/HD and 50 students without AD/HD comprised the sample. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and an AD/HD and Self-Esteem inventory. Results of this study indicated that women who were diagnosed with AD/HD scored higher than the comparison sample on all scales measuring AD/HD symptoms. As predicted, AD/HD symptoms were found to be negatively related to self-esteem. On the other hand, no significant correlations were found between the age of women when they were first diagnosed with AD/HD and their current level of self-esteem. It was also determined that family support was related self-esteem. Thus, family support was examined as a moderator of the relation between self-esteem and AD/HD. Unfortunately, family support does not appear to moderate the relation between AD/HD and self-esteem. Limitations of this study included a small sample size, the use of self-reports, not examining subtypes of AD/HD individually, and not requiring a medication abstinence period. Despite limitations, this study provides some insight on the outcomes of women with AD/HD. It also provides evidence for the need of additional research in the area of women with AD/HD; their life-span experience with AD/HD and the effects of a late diagnosis. Further studies in this area of interest that include larger sample sizes from multiple postsecondary institutions will be necessary to determine that the results in this study are in fact generalizable to other college women diagnosed with AD/HD.

Teasing is prevalent throughout the lives of most individuals beginning in childhood. Teasing can be a positive "pro-social" interaction, or a negative "anti-social" experience. Childhood teasing on the "anti-social" level has been show to have detrimental effects on an individual's self-esteem and has been linked to increased psychological distress in adulthood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an individual's environment, as defined by his or her teasing history with their peers and families, at different stages during their development on their level of self-esteem. Two hundred and three adult participants completed a questionnaire packet designed to measure teasing history, self-esteem, and perceived social support from family and peers. Results indicated that negative teasing interactions were related to lower reported levels of self-esteem. Negative teasing from one's family during elementary school and negative teasing from one's peers during middle school were found to have the greatest influence on current self-esteem levels. Results also showed that early and concurrent exposure to teasing at the pro-social level during elementary school could negate the later influence future anti-social teasing might have on one's self esteem levels. Implications for practice and recommendations for future research are presented.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-110). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Central Connecticut State University, 2002. / Thesis advisor: Raymond Chip Tafrate. " ... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Criminal Justice." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 26-28). Also available via the World Wide Web.

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Self-esteem involves a variety of cognitive processes that help people perceive, interpret, and process social information. A central component of people's self-esteem is their sense of belonging and feelings of acceptance. It follows that people react strongly to social rejection and that being attuned to signs of real or potential social rejection can serve a self-protection function. However, being overly attuned and sensitive to social rejection can have a paradoxical effect, whereby aberrant attentional processes can contribute to the perpetuation of the vicious cycle of low self-esteem. The goal of the research presented in this dissertation was twofold: to investigate whether people with low self-esteem are more vigilant for rejection information, and to investigate whether a rejection-inhibiting attentional training task that reduces their vigilance for rejection can help buffer against social and performance threats. I hypothesized that people with low self-esteem are more vigilant for rejection information than for acceptance information. I also hypothesized that training people, particularly those with low self-esteem, to inhibit and disengage from rejection promotes effective regulation of emotions and has positive psychological, behavioural, and physiological effects. Results from the first study show that people with low self-esteem have a greater attentional bias for rejection than for acceptance information. Across 7 other studies, participants with low self-esteem trained to inhibit rejection with a specially designed attentional training task showed a lower rejection bias for rejection information, less feelings of rejection after overt rejection, and less ineffective persistence. Regardless of level of self-esteem, participants trained to inhibit rejection showed less interfering thoughts about rejection while working on a task, higher state self-esteem after having been rejected and experiencing failure, less stress about their final exam, increases in self-esteem and decreases in perceived stress after a stressful work week, lower levels of cortisol, and increases in sales performance. Following a vicious cycle framework of low self-esteem and social stress, these results show that attentional bias training can circumvent the experience of social stress and possibly break the vicious cycle of low self-esteem.

The purpose of the study was to assess the effects that labeling a person has on his/her self-esteem, self description and behavior. Two conditions of labeling were studied: the valence of the label (positive vs. negative) and the focus of the label (personality vs. behaviorally focused label).Ten hypotheses were developed from three theoretical schools: labeling theory, social learning theory and the self-esteem protection process.A total of 95 undergraduate male and female college students volunteered to participate in a study they were led to believe was aimed at understanding the correlation between ESP and personality. Of these, 66 participated in the entire study. Subjects were given tasks to perform, supposedly related to the ESP study. Completion or non-completion of these tasks was the basis for assigningthem to the positive or negative label conditions. Subjects were randomly assigned to the two focus conditions. The labels "dependable" and "undependable" were used in this study.Subjects completed the Tennessee Self Concept Scale and an Adjective Checklist both before and after the labeling manipulation. These served as the dependent measures of self-esteem and self-description, respectively. The dependent measure of behavior consisted of another task that was requested of subjects, following the labeling manipulation. The data were analyzed using three different statistical techniques: multivariate analysis of variance, multivariate analysis of covariance, and chi square analysis.The results indicated that the valence of the label did have a significant effect on subject's self description. There was a significant difference at the .027 level on the posttest measure of self-description between subjects in the positive and negatively labeled conditions. Subjects labeled "dependable" described themselves as significantly more dependable than did those subjects labeled "undependable". Changes in self-description and self-esteem from pre to posttest proved non-significant. No significant effect on behavior was found. Additionally, the focus of the label did not prove to have any effect on the dependent measures.It is possible that self-description is the first area upon which labels have an impact. This study looked at only the immediate effects of labeling. It is possible that changes in self-esteem and behavior result from long-term effects of being publicly labeled time and again. Future research might use a case study, longitudinal approach to study these possibilities.