There is a dearth of studies investigating methods by which parental compliance may be enhanced. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the relative efficacy of four conditions--high information, prompting, incentive , and comparison control--in increasing parental compliance. The self-help recommendation was to obtain a book or video from a local library. Parents were from a small, rural, northern Utah community; their children were diagnosed with externalizing behavior problems. Chi-square analyses were utilized to assess statistically significant differences, and effect sizes were computed to assess magnitude of association. The incentive intervention influenced parental compliance to a greater degree than either the comparison control or other intervention conditions. A secondary purpose of the study was to investigate the association of certain sociodemographic variables with parental compliance. Results of a logistic regression were indicative of no contribution of sociodemographic variables to the prediction of parental compliance. The relationship of current results with previous studies is discussed, as well as implications for clinical practice and future research.

A non-concurrent multiple baseline design across eight participants was used to determine whether working through Hayes and Smith's (2005) book would help those with public speaking anxiety. Hayes and Smith (2005) is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. It encourages people to accept internal experiences as opposed to avoiding and struggling with them. For the purposes of this study, the book was divided into nine components, which participants discussed with the researcher. They also completed measures daily, during baseline and over the intervention period, as well as a battery of tests pre-baseline, mid and post intervention. The multiple baseline data showed that self-reported willingness to approach public speaking situations increased while self-reported avoidance decreased over the intervention. The pre and post measures also showed avoidance of internal experiences decreased significantly after the intervention. These outcomes are in line with changes suggested to result from engaging in such a therapy. The pre and post results also showed that quality of life increased significantly from mid to post-intervention. However, engagement with values did not change. While this measure is expected to change after such an intervention, this result may have occurred because the ideas about values were introduced last in the book. The intervention also led to significant decreases in anxiety, significant changes in thoughts about public speaking and significant increases in anxiety control as shown by the test battery. These findings are positive but are not predicted by processes posited for this therapy. However, there was no control group so these pre vs post comparisons must be interpreted with caution. Despite this limitation, the results suggest that the book, together with therapist contact, can help those with public speaking anxiety.

The purpose of this project was to design and evaluate a sport-based life skills intervention designed for indigenous New Zealand (Maori) youth who may be exposed to drug or alcohol abuse. An indigenous research approach known as Kaupapa Maori research was utilised. As an indigenous approach, Kaupapa Maori signifies the importance of research with Maori being initiated, determined, and validated by Maori and in particular, by those directly involved with the research initiative (Bishop, 1996; Tuhiwai-Smith, 1999). As a result of adhering to a Kaupapa Maori approach the participants determined additional areas of interest including academic self-esteem, intrinsic motivation for schoolwork and career awareness. Therefore, the initial project grew to include several other life skills areas identified by the participants. The life skills basis of the 'Hokowhitu' intervention was adapted from the Going for the Goal (GOAL) and Sports United to Promote Education and Recreation (SUPER) programmes developed by Professor Steve Danish (Danish, 1997; Danish & Nellen, 1997; Danish, Meyer, Mash, Howard, Curl, Brunelle & Owens, 1998). The GOAL and SUPER programmes taught life skills to adolescents including informed decision-making, health-enhancing activities (e.g., goal setting) and health-compromising activities (e.g., drug & alcohol abuse). A New Zealand (NZ) version of the GOAL programme was successfully pilot-tested in 1997-1998 in NZ schools with non-Maori adolescents (Hodge & Danish, 1999; Hodge, Cresswell, Sherburn, & Dugdale, 1999). The evaluation of the Hokowhitu programme used both quantitative and qualitative analyses. The qualitative investigation received an enthusiastic response and supportive results for the Hokowhitu programme. Many of the research participants preferred the qualitative investigative approach because of the culturally recognised components (e.g., Te kanohi ki kanohi or face-to-face method used to ask questions). The quantitative investigation used; Mann-Whitney U, Wilcoxon, Chi Square and McNemar statistical tests (Harraway, 1995). The outcome of the overall programme evaluation showed that the Hokowhitu programme provided improvements in; (a) academic self-esteem, (b) increased intrinsic motivation for schoolwork, (c) increased career awareness, and (d) increased drug and alcohol awareness in adolescent Maori. Also, there was some statistical support for the Hokowhitu programme and evidence that life skills and Kaupapa Maori ideologies were able to be successfully integrated into a sport-based programme.

The present study examined the efficacy of a self-help guide in the area of marital separation and divorce. The guide itself was written after an extensive series of interviews with people undergoing separation and professionals such as lawyers and counsellors who deal with separating people as part of their working day. The experiment demanded firstly a thorough investigation of two major areas viz.(a) the new Family Law Act and its effects, and (b) the current trend to self-help in many areas of our society. The particular style of self-help under investigation was help through reading-bibliotherapy. A factor analysis was performed in order to determine which facets of separation most required attention from those who have separated or are about to separate. Methodology involved using three groups matched for certain characteristics to test for changes after bibliotherapeutic interventions. The failure to find statistically significant results was discussed in terms of methodological problems. Socially significant results emerged as implications for welfare practice, and possible legal changes were examined.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Peter Rees, Dept. of Geography. Includes bibliographical references.

Motherhood is an ideal that is ostensibly valued and rewarded in American culture. It is no wonder, then, that a disease which threatens a woman’s ability to adequately fulfill her motherly duties receives a great deal of attention. My study aims to explore how ideas about postpartum depression (PPD) are presented in popular media through an examination of the messages and advice in PPD self-help books. Findings reveal that self-help authors make two significant assumptions: motherhood is a woman’s job that should bring happiness, and when mothers are not happy medical intervention in necessary. Through their gendered assumptions about parents’ roles and their insistence on a biological explanation for PPD, self-help authors prevent a healthy dialogue that examines patriarchal structures in the institutions of family and medicine. By focusing solely on the biological factors at play when women have babies, self-help authors alienate fathers, adoptive mothers, and foster parents who experience depression without biological origins. Only when PPD is discussed within the context of our social realities can we truly understand parenthood and depression.

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Įvairaus amžiaus, profesijų ir socialinių sluoksnių atstovus jungia vienas tikslas – sportas kaip viena iš asmenybės raiškos, ugdymo, saviugdos formų, kuri apima vis didesnę visuomenės dalį, todėl svarbu bendrai kurti partnerystę, išsiaiškinti sporto klubų lankytojų poreikius ir galimybes. Tyrimo tikslas – ištirti veiksnius, lemiančius sporto klubų lankytojų (vyrų ir moterų) požiūrį į fizinę saviugdą. Tyrimo objektas - veiksniai, lemiantys požiūrį į fizinę saviugdą. Suformuluota hipotezė: tikėtina, kad rūpinimasis sveikata, kūno įvaizdžiu ir sporto klubuose teikiamos kokybiškos paslaugos lemia įvairaus amžiaus lankytojų pozityvų požiūrį į fizinę saviugdą. Tyrime dalyvavo 168 sporto klubų lankytojų. Pagrindinis veiksnys, lemiantis tiek moterų, tiek vyrų sveikatą – fiziškai aktyvus gyvenimo būdas: režimas, elgesio ir maitinimosi įpročiai. Galima daryti prielaidą, kad vienas iš sveikatinimosi uždavinių – fizinės, dvasinės ir socialinės gerovės siekimas. Moterų ir vyrų nuomone, vienas iš reikšmingiausių sveikos gyvensenos veiksnių – sveika mityba, bet to maža, svarbu ir fizinio aktyvumo įgūdžių kūrimas (aktyviai mankštinantis). Nemaža dalis moterų ir vyrų teigia, kad svarbus veiksnys, lemiantis gerą sveikatą – žalingų įpročių (alkoholinių gėrimų, rūkymo) atsisakymas. Mažiausiai priimtinu būdu sveikatai stiprinti sporto klubų lankytojai linkę laikyti gyvenamosios vietos keitimą į ekologiškai mažiau užterštą. Pagrindinis sportavimo motyvas tiek tarp moterų, tiek tarp vyrų yra... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / People of various ages, profession and social background are united by one goal – sports, as one of personal expression, training and self-development ways, which involves the further the larger part of society. Therefore it is important to jointly develop the partnership and find out the requirements and opportunities of the sports clubs’ visitors. The aim of the research is to explore the factors, which determine the sports club’s visitor’s (both men’s and women’s) attitude towards physical self-development. The object of the research is factors, which determine the attitude towards physical self-development. The following hypothesis was formulated: it is likely that taking care of one’s health, body image as well as quality services provided in the sports clubs determine the positive attitude of differently aged visitors towards physical self-development. 168 sports clubs’ visitors have participated in the research. The main factor, determining both women’s and men’s health was a physically active way of life: regime, routines involving behavior and nourishment. It can be presumed that one of the tasks when seeking for good health is striving for physical, spiritual and social wellbeing. In both women’s and men’s opinion – one of the most significant factors of a healthy life-style is healthy nutrition. This is not enough, however, as it is very important to develop physical activity skills (by active exercise). A large part of men and women state that major factor... [to full text]

This thesis research is an ethnographic account of how identity and a sense of community are discursively constructed and managed among participants in mutual aid groups. Research findings are based upon interview and observational data collected from two support groups located in a Canadian city. While members' accounts provide a basis for interpreting the meaning of support as experienced, researcher observations focus on discursive identification practices. My interpretation sheds light on the dynamic interplay between notions of community, symbolic boundary and identity. Participant stories grounded in experiential knowledge, serve as critical connecting nodes in the construction and reproduction of community and as legitimate leverage to resist denied agency. These case study findings suggest how support, community and identity are collectively accomplished, in part, by managing symbolic boundaries through positioning practices. An understanding of these micro-processes has practical implications for the development of mutual aid groups to meet health and social needs. / xiv, 310 leaves ; 29 cm.