Bullying is an issue that has a presence felt by individuals residing all across the United States. There is not one universal accepted definition of this problem, but the types of bullying are as diverse as the individuals who are affected. This study looks at an under researched demographic of Biracial children in comparison to single-race children and the prevalence of bullying. The study uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study. The original study took place in 20 urban cities across America with mothers and fathers of newborns (N=4,898). This study looks at the prevalence of bullying made possible from the 9 year follow up child survey (N=3,266). After analysis, results show that race is not a significant factor when comparing the prevalence of bullying between biracial children with their single-race peers.

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Individuals with communication impairments (CI) are at a distinct disadvantage when attempting to interact through more traditional conversational means. Although their intentions may be similar to peers, physical limitations make verbal articulation of thoughts and feelings a more laborious undertaking. For some, the use of external augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) has offered an otherwise unavailable communicative opportunity. However, this type of communication requires more of the non-AAC using conversation partner and, unlike traditional forms of communication, may increase the likelihood of miscommunication. Although there is agreement as to the importance of understanding the experience of individuals using external AAC, there is limited research in the area of miscommunication, conflict, and conflict resolution. This phenomenological study explored the experiences of six individuals who use external AAC devices. The purpose of this study was to address the following research questions:1) What are the conflict behaviors, beliefs, values, or thoughts of individuals using external AAC devices? 2) Does miscommunication between AAC and non-AAC users contribute to conflict? 3) Do identity standards and empowerment needs contribute to the development of conflict? and 4) For those using external AAC devices, what is the impact of, and what do successful resolutions mean? This study finds similarities in the interpersonal conflict experience of external AAC users and non-users. However there were differences in their experience with larger societal-level conflict. Understanding these areas of similarity and difference is beneficial to anyone who endeavors to support the interpersonal and societal level conflict resolution of this unique population.

The decision to marry and choice of mate are two issues contemplated by most individuals during their lifetime. It is our belief that the manner in which an individual makes these decisions is a reflection of that individual’s level of emotional maturity. In our society, the right to enter into a marriage agreement is largely determined by chronological age. Our research problem began with the hypothesis that there is no direct relationship between chronological age and emotional maturity at the time of marriage. For our study, marriages were divided into two general categories: 1) teenage marriages in which at least one partner was 20 years of age or younger, and 2) adult marriages in which one partner was Z1 years of age or older. The three independent variables studied were: age, sex of respondent, and sex of spouse. The dependent variable was emotional maturity. Emotional maturity was operationally defined by a questionnaire consisting of 67 statements about why people decide to marry, and why they chose their particular spouse. A panel of 12 experts in the field of marriage counseling were asked to rate each statement on a seven point scale of maturity-immaturity. The range and mode for each statement was computed and used to construct a new questionnaire consisting of 30 statements. Emotional maturity was defined by the absolute difference between the individual respondent’s rating and the expert’s modal response. A sample population was selected using recently married individuals who had applied for marriage licenses in Multnomah County, Oregon. The second questionnaire was mailed to the respondents. A 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design was used to identify which variable or combination of variables accounted for any discrepancy. A multiple regression analysis and a F test were run to test the hypothesis of the study. The data received supported the null hypothesis. However, there were several conceptual and methodological limitations to the study which raise questions as to the reliability of the measuring instrument and use of the concept of emotional maturity.

The study examined the relationships between subjects' degree of alienation and descriptions of their behaviors. The subjects were 42 male, senior students at Benson Polytechnic High School who attended one of two required social science classes. Benson High School is an all male, technical high school which admits students from all parts of the City of Portland, Oregon. Alienation was defined as a syndrome of feelings consisting of apathy, distrust, pessimism, cynicism, and emotional distance. The degree of subjects' alienation, as defined, was measured by the Multiple Alienation Measure devised by Dr. Laurence J. Gould. Subjects' were thereby divided into three alienation groups: high alienation, moderate alienation, and low alienation. School personnel described subjects' behaviors by selection of descriptions from a questionnaire. Two counselors described subjects' engagement in extra-curricular activities in terms of (1) whether they were inactive, (2) active in sports or other extra-curricular activities only, or (3) active in both sports and other extra-curricular activities. Two teachers described subjects' involvement in their social science classes in terms of (1) whether they did well in assigned work and did extra work, (2) did well in assigned work only, (3) or did not do well in assigned work. The vice-principal described the conduct of subjects in terms of whether they were (1) well behaved, (2) had problems that were handled in the classroom, (3) had problems for which they were sent to the office and, perhaps, suspended once, or (4) had problems for which they had been suspended more than once. A positive relationship was found between the degree of alienation and the degree of conduct problems as described by the vice-principal. This relationship was significant at the .05 level by a chi-square test. No relationships were found between the degree of alienation and extracurricular activities and behavior in social science classes. However, the alienated were described by teachers as either unmotivated or very motivated students. A tendency for the alienated to be described by the extreme statements concerning activities also appeared. The findings of the study were interpreted by a theory developed in the introduction and in the concluding chapter of the thesis. The theory presented the alienation process as an interaction of the individual and his social world in which difficulties in the formation of identity result in a tension expressed by the feelings measured as alienation by the Multiple Alienation Measure. The tension gives rise to intense and, often extreme attempts to explore the social world in order to establish identity, or to a lapse into apathy. The greater conduct problems of the highly alienated was seen as a result of the intense activity of the search for identity. The highly alienated subjects' tendency to be either very good or poor students was seen as an intense, and therefore, extreme drive to resolve alienation tension by embracing the student role or by rejecting it.

Over the past two decades an increasing number of theorists and practitioners have called for a thorough rethinking of the underlying assumptions of the concept of rrental illness and the traditional psychiatric nodes of responding to mental disorders. The work of this group of writers has come to be referred to as the "antipsychiatry" literature. The insights of this perspective center largely about a rejection of those theories and methods of treatment that are based upon the medical model. Many writers point to the use of traditional psychiatric practice as an oppressive instrument of social control. While much of this perspective is directed toward the analysis of specifically sociological factors there have been few attempts by sociologists to provide focus for the claims that have been made. This paper proposes a synthetic sociological framework with the intention of providing sociological focus for the otherwise disparate insights found within this literature. A general model is constructed by incorporating aspects of the labeling perspective, the sociology of knowledge, and Marxian analysis. The model provides the analytical tools for investigation of the manner in which "mental illness" as a concept, and the phenemenon which it allegedly describes, are rooted in the nature of everyday life. The framework that is developed places particular emphasis upon the political dimensions . of everyday life. This dimension is especially useful in explicating the role of labeling as a device to discredit the claims of .people as they attempt to identify the oppressive aspects of .their social environment. The nature .of socialization within Western culture is analyzed in terms of the various factors which are instrumental in the mystification of consciousness and its relationship to "mental illness." The observation is made that the majority of the claims that are proffered by the "antipsychiatrists" are devoid of a firm empirical foundation in that they rely primarily upon findings from case studies and a series of loose inferences. An attempt is made to overcome this problem by mapping out the empirical points of departure for the model by developing a set of testable propositions and corollaries. It is concluded that a radical sociology of knowledge framework does provide a useful method of conceptualizing the "antipsychiatry" literature from a sociological perspective. The validity of the claims themselves, however, must wait until much more of the empirical evidence is in. It is pointed out that extreme caution be taken to avoid contentions to the effect that all mental disorders can be fruitfully Suggestions are made as to the likelihood that some diagnostic categories, more than others, may be subject to analysis by this model. It is implied that further research into the role of biopsychological factors will undoubtedly show the interactive effects of such factors with defective socialization and oppressive social relationships.

The purpose of this descriptive study was to reveal the typical life style of a representative sample of fifty male opiate addicts participating in the Oregon Methadone Treatment Program. An important goal of the research was to assess the reliability of information gathered from patients compared to data obtained from an equal number of informants. A highly structured questionnaire was designed to elicit specific responses in order to calculate the degree of concordance between patients and informants to identical items. The findings depicted the modal life style of the subjects as more socially conventional, more responsible, and less antisocial. Although only 20% of the patients occasionally used heroin, it was common for them to rely on alcohol or marijuana. The results showed a pattern of high agreement between patients and informants in the information they provided suggesting that the data were reliable. It is judged that the self- report of methadone patients should be given considerable credence when information is gathered in a context of trust and confidentiality. The investigators conclude that the Oregon Methadone Treatment Program deserves the full support of the community as one with significant dividends to the patients and to the state.

This research project was focused on elderly people and their living arrangements in an attempt to discover whether elderly people would prefer to live alone or with other elderly persons. If it was found that the elderly people interviewed would like roommates, then this would provide information which would be helpful in assessing the need for and determining the feasibility of a roommate service for elderly people. Willingness to roommate served as the dependent variable. This study tested the relationship between each of two psychological variables, loneliness and independence, and the dependent variable. Loneliness was defined as an elderly person's feeling of being alone, and independence as an elderly person's ability to do things unaided. In addition, twelve demographic variables were used to describe the sample: sex, age, marital status, separation time, health, religion, length of time living in Portland, length of time living alone, income, education, occupation, and number of activities. The data obtained from these variables enabled the researchers to answer the following questions: What are the characteristics of the sample? What are the relationships of loneliness and independence to willingness to roommate? What are the correlations between each of the demographic and psychological variables and the dependent variable? The population consisted of all those elderly people 62 years of age and over who lived alone in Portland Public Housing as of May 15, 1970. The sample was composed of 220 people from this population who were selected by choosing every sixth name from a list of 1,699 names. Letters were sent in two different mailings, and of the sixty-four who responded, fifty-six were interviewed. The student researchers collected the data by using the structured interview. The data was coded, programmed and processed through an IBM 1130 computer. The data analysis indicates that independence is correlated with willingness to a higher degree than any other single variable. Loneliness is negatively correlated with willingness, but the correlation is so small it is not meaningful. An analysis of the data reveals the sample to be mostly White, Christian, female, healthy and highly in­ dependent. As a group they are not lonely and not willing to roommate: these people prefer privacy and living alone. They are not really willing to share their bathrooms, furniture or rent; however, they may be willing to help another homeless elderly person by allowing that person to stay temporarily. It was concluded that the people in the sample do not feel that they need roommates; therefore, a roommate service probably is not feasible for this group of people. Since the population studied in this project was characterized by a high level of independence, future research will be necessary to determine if a less independent population would be more willing to roommate.

The Monopoly Study of Authority was an institutional grant project designed to test the variables of authority and protection in a laboratory experiment conducted in the Small Groups Laboratory. Subjects (Ss) were recruited and paid a minimum wage to play Monopoly, while the Experimenter (E) manipulated the relevant variables, observed and video-taped the games. The hypothesis states that the greater the investment, the more likely will the individual make efforts to protect it. The dimensions of investment were ego involvement (desire to win, competitiveness), and resource commitment (Ss were offered rewards of double-time pay for winning the Monopoly game). Efforts to protect the investment were expected to take the form of personal authority, whereby Ss would overrule or otherwise ignore written rules/or rule changes instigated by E; or, delegated authority, whereby the Ss would accept E and/or the written rules as the legitimate authority over the game. Various and sundry administrative, technical and design problems resulted in the decision to prepare a research chronicle to provide a fuller accounting of investigative activity and to document the role of the circumstantial, the irrational, and nonrational, as well as the systematic logic and specific methodology of the research process. While the development of the research chronicle is well grounded in the work of William F. Whyte' s famous Appendix, the most useful rationale for this project was provided by Phillip E. Hammond's collection of chronicles, Sociologists at Work. This presentation is organized around the sequence of events in time and the sequence of ideas in the mind of E. The chronologic form is compatible with the underlying methodological approach of the project based on Barney G. Glaser and Anselm L. Strauss' work, The Discovery of Ground Theory, wherein theory is understood to emerge from data and the notion of theory as process is presented, the research process was loosely structured, each day's design emerging from the previous experimental session. This methodology allowed that questions peripheral to the initial hypothesis could be examined, and, in fact, a follow-up questionnaire study is presented in Appendix D. The discussion of the chronicle form and the methodology of grounded theory comprises Section One of this thesis. To conduct the actual experiments chronicled in Section Two, five, four person Monopoly sessions were scheduled. Ss were recruited on the basis of sex and affectual relationship. The Trial Session consisted of two males and two females instructed to play "ordinary Monopoly." The session was video-taped, and from the resultant tapes a demonstration tape was prepared documenting S sensitivity to the laboratory situation. In Session I the Ss were required to play Monopoly 'strictly according to the written rules,' attempting to create an external authority condition. In Session II E instituted "Barry's Rule," an arbitrary variant of the basic income rule in Monopoly. This design change was intended to enhance a condition of arbitrary, external authority in the form of E's created rule. In addition, the Ss were advised that the winner would be paid double-time. Session III repeated the double-time pay for winners condition, and Session IV was cancelled. All the sessions were videotaped, and all the tapes were reviewed. However, no adequate coding system was developed, and no quantitative data was produced. Impressionistic analysis, fortunately, afforded several useful interpretations which are cited in Section Three. Firstly, the double-time incentive did not create an investment condition, most likely because the reward (paid by check, several weeks later) was too abstract and too small ($12.00). "Barry's Rule" condition did elicit a strong negative response from the Ss, but also netted compliance. Section Four presents an "ideal" research design, thus rounding out the thesis from a chronicle of a research process, to an examination of the results, to the articulation of an approved design

An experiment was designed to test the effectiveness of using standard laboratory environments in producing a broad class of problem behaviors which defined Mother-Child (M-C) interaction difficulties. The effects of four environments, free-time (X), child's game and rules (B), mother's game and rules (C), and clean-up (Z), on the frequency of eight criteria behaviors were tested on 12 M-C pairs over three days of baseline data collection. It was predicted that the frequency of problem behaviors would decrease as a function of environment (X) and increase as a function of environments (B), (C), and (Z). A two factor repeated measures design was used for the baseline data analyses. Analysis of the data confirmed the experimental predictions. It was concluded that the use of standard laboratory environments was effective in increasing the frequency of problem behaviors which define M-C interaction difficulties. These conclusions were discussed in view of the contribution made by the use of' environmental control in the application of behavior modification techniques to M-C interaction difficulties.