The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between two constructs: principled moral judgment and ego identity status. At issue was whether individuals measured to have different ego identity statuses differed systematically in terms of principled moral judgment as had been previously found in the literature. The hypotheses that were tested were a) the use of principled moral judgment is different among individuals having different ego identity statuses, and b) high ego identity individuals are higher in principled moral judgment than low identity individuals. Research regarding gender differences in moral development during the past decade warranted the further study of these two constructs, particularly because earlier research had formed the basis of existing theory. Principled moral judgment was measured by the Defining Issues Test (Rest, 1979), and ego identity status was measured by the Revised Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (Bennion & Adams, 1986). Analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. The sample was drawn from a population of residential senior-status men and women at a small, four-year public college in the southeastern United States. Instruments were distributed and collected in the residence halls through the efforts of a peer student group over a three and one-half week period. The findings revealed that there were no differences in principled moral judgment among individuals having different ego identity statuses. There were no differences in principled moral judgment between men and women with different ego identity statuses. High ego identity individuals did not have higher principled moral judgment scores than low ego identity individuals. / Ed. D.

This study was conducted to investigate whether or not there were differences in self-concept between elementary grade students participating in the ESEA, Title I resource program and students not participating in this program in Loudoun County, Virginia. Possible differences in student self-concept were identified through the use of the total self-concept score and related subscores produced from a factor analysis conducted on the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory. These subscores were self-appreciation, self-assuredness, social adaptability, adequacy in school, and personal adequacy. Further relationships between self-concept and types of classrooms were investigated through analyzing student data according to these personal characteristics: sex, race, grade, and socio-economic status. This study also investigated factors in the school setting to determine which factors contributed most significantly to the student's self-concept. Factors investigated were classroom environment and teacher influences. Variables relating to classroom environment included (1) individualization, and (2) variety of materials and activities. Variables relating to teacher influences included (1) warmth, (2) provision for freedom, and (3) feedback. Students selected for the sample in this study were third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade educationally disadvantaged students enrolled in eight elementary schools in Loudoun County, Virginia. The resource or experimental group of students had participated in the ESEA, Title I resource program for at least one year, while the non-resource or control group participated only in the regular county educational program. The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI) was used to assess student self-concept. The McDaniel Observer Rating Scales were used to assess classroom environment and teacher influences. Significant differences (p<.05) were observed through the use of ANOVA and t-Tests. Results indicated that the self-concept of resource students was significantly more positive on the subscore’s self-assuredness and adequacy in school; on the other hand, the self-concept of non-resource students was significantly more positive on the subscore’s self-appreciation and personal adequacy. In addition, the self-concept subscore’s self-assuredness and adequacy in school were significant only in classrooms rated high in individualization, wide in variety, and high in teacher warmth; the subscores self-appreciation and personal adequacy were significant only in classrooms rated low in individualization and teacher warmth and feedback. / Ed. D.

goals of this study were to modify efficacy and outcome expectancies related to moderate alcohol consumption through written communications and determine subsequent changes in behavioral intentions to consume alcohol. Furthermore, two theoretical models which have attempted to conceptualize the relationships between efficacy and outcome expectancies with regards to their predictive utility were evaluated. The results indicated that outcome and efficacy expectancies related to moderate alcohol use were affected by information specifically targeting them. The results did not find support for the hypothesis that negative and positive outcome information would significantly effect perceived efficacy. Nor were main effects found for efficacy information on either positive or negative outcome expectancies. However, a two-way interaction of negative outcome by efficacy on negative interpersonal outcome expectancies were observed. Subjects who were exposed to low efficacy and low negative outcome information indicated higher expectations that negative outcomes would happen to them if they drank in moderation relative to individuals exposed to high efficacy and low negative outcome information. The study found no support for effects of expectancy information on any of the intentions to drink indices. However, post hoc analyses indicated partial support for the hypothesis that past alcohol use moderates the effects of expectancy information on intentions to consume alcohol. In testing the relative utility of outcome and efficacy expectancies in predicting different indices of alcohol use it was found that efficacy expectancies consistently predicted a significant proportion of variance in subject's future drinks per occasion and future frequency of heavy drinking occasions. outcome expectancies were unable to add to the prediction of future drinks per occasion or future frequency of heavy drinking occasions. Several of the drinking indices assessed in this study were individualized for each subject. The utility of this approach is discussed in the paper. The study's results are interpreted in relation to different theorists conceptualizations of the relationship between outcome and efficacy expectancies and directions for future research are discussed. / Master of Science

Master of Science

Bulimia has recently emerged as an increasing threat to the health of young women in Western society. Though thought by some to be primarily prompted by psychological and physiological instabilities, this research attempts to explore the association between bulimic symptoms and the external pressures to conform to accepted standards of excessive thinness. It is noted that the bulimia trend primarily appears among the population which is overwhelmingly targeted by messages promoting the ideals of success through excessive beauty and thinness. Therefore, this study explores the relationships among several variables: the level of pressure felt by young, achievement-oriented women to control their weight in order to accomplish their goals; the level of difficulty experienced in achieving weight control; and the presence of bulimic symptoms. The sample for this study was taken from five undergraduate sociology courses at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The research found that among women who held career, social, and family relationships to be of high priority, the pressure to be thin in order to succeed in these areas, along with the difficulty experienced by the respondent in achieving weight loss, was positively associated with the appearance of bulimic attitudes and behaviors. Analysis of responses of males in the study did not produce significant findings with regard to the relationships between bulimic symptoms, the pressure to lose weight to achieve goals, and the difficulty in controlling one's weight. This study concludes that the unrealistic expectations imposed on young women in Western culture regarding their bodily appearance, and the difficulty in adhering to these expectations, have a direct impact on the appearance of bulimia in young achievement-oriented women. / Master of Science

The purposes of this study are as follows: 1. To measure, compare, and evaluate the level of self-esteem of college women in two colleges. 2. To show the relationship of certain background factors to dominance-feeling in college women.

As third-year medical students transition from the classroom to the high-stakes, high-stress environment of the emergency department (ED), they confront a unique set of challenges that result in significant personal trauma. The literature offers limited insight into the trauma experienced specifically during the shift to emergency medicine (EM) as medical students’ first clinical rotation. The purpose of this study was to bridge this gap by examining the interplay between students’ perceived psychological safety of their ED teams and their own self-efficacy on the trauma they experienced as learners when working in this unique learning environment. This mixed-methods study included interviews with 17 third-year medical students who immediately completed the EM clerkship at an urban, academic ED. The study addressed four main questions: 1) What types of trauma do students experience in the EM clerkship as they transition from the classroom into the clinical learning environment for the first time in their training? What are the factors of the learning environment that trigger trauma? 2) In what ways, if any, do students’ intersectional demographics affect their experiences of trauma during the EM clerkship? 3) To what extent does general self-efficacy predict medical students’ perceptions of the psychological safety afforded by their clinical team during the EM clerkship? 4) How are students’ experiences of trauma associated, if at all, with perceived psychological safety? What factors in the clinical learning environment contribute to psychological safety or its lack? This study utilized several data collection methods: (a) a pre-interview questionnaire soliciting information on student demographics and responses to items on the General Self-Efficacy Scale, (b) in-depth interviews using the critical incident technique, and (c) responses to items from the Team Psychological Safety Questionnaire. Several key findings emerged. A substantial amount of trauma that students experienced was rooted in a lack of peer support and student empowerment. Various triggers for trauma were identified that transcended different types of trauma. Demographic factors, such as race/ethnicity and gender, influenced the prevalence and nature of these traumatic experiences, with students from underrepresented backgrounds reporting deeper emotional connections with patients. While student self-efficacy was generally high, it did not correlate with the perceived psychological safety provided by their clinical teams. Furthermore, the perception of psychological safety within ED teams correlated with the nature of trauma experienced; those with lower safety scores reported trauma connected to peer support or issues related to cultural, historical, and gender considerations. Lastly, the opportunity for students to safely take risks or learn from mistakes, coupled with their own medical knowledge limitations, emerged as central to their perception of psychological safety within the team dynamic. Deeper insights into the data were revealed through a cross-interview analysis, and several analytical categories were used to further synthesize and interpret the data. Six conclusions were drawn from the study’s findings and analysis: 1) Medical students experience different types of primary trauma when immersed in the ED. 2) Several forces that are intrinsic to the ED workplace influence the trauma students experience. 3) Clerkship leadership must be aware of the unique experiences underrepresented students have in the EM clerkship. 4) The psychological safety provided to students by their teams impacts their experiences of trauma in the ED. 5) Self-efficacy offers a lens to understand students’ experiences of trauma in the ED, but it is insufficient. 6) Clerkship-specific interventions exist to amplify the team psychological safety afforded to medical students.

This qualitative dissertation conducted a critical discourse analysis of youth and adult discourses about the transition to high school. Despite being a well-researched field, studies of the transition to high school and interventions in the transition to high school do not prioritize youth perspectives. To remedy this shortcoming and examine youth discourses, I collected data from youth giving advice about beginning high school on TikTok. By conducting a critical discourse analysis of these videos and comparing discourses from school website data and school counseling textbooks, I developed findings that showcase the complexities of the transition to high school and call into question views based solely on academic measures. Youth and adult discourses agree that timeliness, organization, and self-knowledge are important for a successful transition. Youth discourses uniquely focus on advice to avoid relational violence and present an ambivalent view of friendship. Discourses of school tours that showcase amenities and serve as advertising for the school are uniquely adult. I used these findings to theorize the transition to high school as a curriculum and call for a vision of youth and adults co-creating the transition-as-curriculum.

Deciding to exercise requires trade-offs between immediate and delayed benefits. These momentary decisions may be moderated by personality such that patterns of individual behavior emerge. The aim of the current study was to determine if higher levels of optimism and lower levels of delay discounting were related to exercise frequency. A sample of 360 undergraduate students completed a survey study related to understanding the choices made by undergraduates and how other factors relate to their decision-making. The survey included measures of optimism, delayed discounting, and self-reported exercise frequency in four domains: cardiovascular, resistance, sports, active lifestyle. Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine optimism and delay discounting as predictors of exercise frequency. Optimism and delay discounting were negatively correlated, but neither was related to exercise frequency. Furthermore, optimism and delay discounting were not significantly related to frequency spent in cardiovascular, resistance, or active lifestyle exercise. However, women scoring higher in delay discounting were more likely to participate in physical sports. The present study helps inform future research by showing potentially important psychosocial variables related to optimism, delay discounting, and exercise.

School garden programs have become increasingly popular for their diverse, positive benefits. School gardens are often promoted as a relatively low cost means to offer hands-on learning opportunities that may foster academic achievement, particularly in the sciences, however only six studies have been published on the impact of garden education programs on science achievement. Five out of six of these studies focused on elementary age students. One study has identified motivational engagement as the mechanism responsible for fostering academic success. School gardens are more common in elementary schools. However, they may be most beneficial in a secondary school setting, when students tend to lose interest in academics and often perform poorly on national assessments of science. Thus, in this study we evaluated adolescent students at three schools with well-established garden education programs. We used pre-test and post-test measures to see how students' levels of various predictors of engagement (e.g. autonomy, competence, relatedness, and intrinsic motivation), actual engagement (in the realms of academics, science, and the garden), garden learning, and academic achievement measures (e.g. overall grade point average and science grade point average) would change over the course of this study. We also assessed how the different realms of engagement correlated with predictors of engagement, with garden learning, and with academic achievement measures. In addition, we examined correlations among the different realms of engagement. At one of the schools, a non-gardening group participated in the study as a control group. Thus, we also compared the gain scores in predictors of engagement, engagement, and academic achievement between the control and garden group from that school. At all three schools, academic or garden engagement significantly increased for the garden groups. Garden engagement was significantly correlated with academic engagement, science engagement, or both, at each of the three schools for post-test measures. Predictors of garden-based engagement were significantly correlated with academic and/or science engagement at each school, at least for post-test measures. These results show that gardening may have the potential to be a contributor to positive motivational changes that in turn can be related across academic domains. The non-gardening group showed significant gains in predictors of- and engagement itself, while the gardening group either marginally declined or maintained its level. However, the non-gardening group had significantly lower pre-test scores in comparison to the gardening group, which in part accounts for their comparative significant gain. The garden group showed significant increases in predictors of garden engagement and garden engagement itself. These results show that the garden group, comprised of at-risk students, are experiencing positive motivational benefits, which can possibly prevent further decline in their general performance. The lack of improvement in academic achievement suggests that the full academic benefit of garden education programs has yet to be consistently reached. We recommend that researchers use a more refined evaluation test and survey, specific to the garden program at hand and include qualitative measures. / Graduation date: 2013