Dissertation (Ph. D.)--University of Akron, Dept. of Urban Studies and Public Affairs, 2005. / "August, 2005." Title from electronic dissertation title page (viewed 01/15/2006) Advisor, Sonia Alemagno; Committee members, Peter Leahy, Lucinda Deason, Dennis Keating, Jesse Marquette, Zili Sloboda; Department Chair, Raymond Cox III; Dean of the College, Charles Monroe; Dean of the Graduate School, George R. Newkome. Includes bibliographical references.

Alcohol consumption has been widespread among young people in the Czech Republic. Since our society accept this phenomenon the problematics has become more and more serious. The thesis should map the situation concerning alcohol consumption among 15{--}19 year old students of secondary technical schools in Chomutov, their first experience with this drug, where they first tasted it and how often they use it, and compare the results of the survey to the ESPAD study. Some other information was requested, e.g. students´ opinion on abstinence from drinking at social events or their personal experience of illegal drugs. The theoretical part of the thesis is concerned with the impact of alcohol use on a human body, alcohol abuse rise, alcoholism as a psychosomatic disease, risks resulting from drinking alcohol and prevention of this pathological phenomenon. The hypothesis stated at the beginning, that most students have personal experience with alcohol drinking, has been proved. A quantitative method based on the unnamed questionnaires for 15{--}19 year old students was used for collecting the data. It was proceeded by a test survey at secondary nursing school where only some students were chosen to respond so that the functionality and completeness of the questionnaire could be checked. There were 259 students asked to fill in the questionnaire. 96,5 % of them drink alcohol occasionally, they first tasted it at home parties when they were 13 years old. The results of this survey were referred to school headteachers and those who are working on social pathological phenomenon prevention so that they can use the information in the framework of primary prevention at schools.

Substance abuse is a major social issue within the South African Police Service (SAPS). To address this issue, the SAPS implement an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) as an intervention to address problems that may affect the work performance of employees. Despite the existence of this programme, substance abuse is still occurring and has a negative impact on work performance. This concern has fuelled the researcher to initiate this study. The goal of this study is to gain an understanding of Port Elizabeth SAPS employees’ perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the EAP substance abuse prevention programme. A qualitative research methodology, with a descriptive, exploratory and contextual research design was implemented. The researcher elected to use non-probability sampling, specifically, purposive sampling for this study. A sample of ten employees was chosen from an area demarcated for the purpose of the study, within the SAPS in Port Elizabeth. Data was collected through semi-structured, individual interviews. Interviews were continued until saturation point was reached. The interviews were analyzed according to the detailed guidelines set out by Tesch (in Creswell, 2003:192). The data was verified according to Guba’s principles (in De Vos, Strydom, Fouche & Delport, 2002:351). The researcher also employed the services of an independent coder in order to enhance the trustworthiness of the study. The perceptions of EAP as a substance abuse prevention programme, by employees of the SAPS in Port Elizabeth, have not been highlighted adequately within the South African context. The researcher’s study will hence contribute to the existing body of knowledge of the discipline.

The research problem for this study was fathers’ low participation in child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention with their children. The purpose of this study was to explore how fathers perceive their self-efficacy in talking to their children about CSA prevention. Bandura’s self-efficacy concept, which is a part of social cognitive theory, was used as the theoretical foundation for this study. The primary research question addressed fathers’ perceptions of their self-efficacy in discussing CSA prevention with their children. The secondary research question addressed what fathers think could be affecting their comfort level in talking to their children about CSA prevention. A generic qualitative design was used to address these research questions. Fathers of children between the ages of 7 years and 13 years were included in this study. The participants were interviewed via telephone. Data were analyzed using a 12-step process to performing an inductive analysis on qualitative data. The findings from this study showed that 90% of the participants talked to their children about CSA prevention, even though some of them expressed doubt about their efficacy and competency in having the discussion. Participants stated that they wanted easily accessible resources to increase their efficacy and gave suggestions on how to make the resources available. This study has important social implications because increasing fathers’ self-efficacy in talking to their children about CSA prevention could lead to the increased protection of children in their environment. Increasing the protection of children could contribute to fewer cases of CSA.

Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) are at an increased risk of experiencing sexual abuse. While there are evidence-based prevention programs for typically developing children, research addressing the IDD population is lacking. Research is also lacking in parent's attitudes towards sexual abuse prevention in the IDD population. Study 1 used a mixed-methods design to measure parent's perceptions of a sexual abuse prevention program. A survey method was used to gather information from parents (n=79). Differences of a variety of variables were considered but only those focusing on the nature of disability, communication abilities, and severity of disability were significant. Overall, the parent survey found that parents believe sexual abuse prevention was important for their children to learn and should be taught in the home and at school. Parents did not feel their children had adequate knowledge, and were interested in having their children participate in a sexual abuse prevention program. The most common fears and barriers held by parents were that their children would not be able to understand or generalize sexual abuse prevention, and that the topic is sensitive and can be difficult to teach. Parents who participated in the survey were invited to enroll their children in the sexual abuse prevention program used for the Study 2. The purpose of Study 2 was to evaluate the effects of a sexual abuse prevention program on adolescents with IDD using a single case design. A total of five adolescents were enrolled in the program. Four out of the five adolescents met criterion indicating that sexual abuse prevention programs can be effective in increasing knowledge among adolescents with IDD.

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to determine what influence scheduled phone contacts would have on the extent of follow-through of continuing care recommednations by participants after treatment. Continuing care recommendations associated with ongoing sobriety include going to another level of care (individual therapy, group therapy, outpatient treatment), attending twelve-step meetings and communicating with a sponsor. Continuing care recommendations are typically written and referred to as a continuing care plan.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Child abuse remains a serious health problem in the U.S. Yet, there are preventative programs that can significantly improve the parenting experienced by very young children and result in lower incidence of maltreatment. Home visitation is the most prevalent and successful form of primary prevention. These programs are staffed by home visitors who empower parents and are the lynchpin of home visitation programs. What makes some home visitors excel at this work is the focus of this research. A small, non-random, purposive sample of excellent home visitors and their administrators was used to learn about the personal characteristics of outstanding home visitors. The mixed methods design of this research included qualitative interviews, home visiting situational vignettes, and quantitative tests of personality attributes. The results indicated that this group of outstanding home visitors possessed important similarities. First, the home visitors were effective at forming and maintaining empathic relationships. The variables that facilitate the formation of the therapeutic relationships between home visitor and client include: (a) “good enough empathy” (need not be extraordinarily empathic but at least averagely so), (b) positive regard (showing respect to the families and recognizing that the parent is the expert on their child), and (c) congruence. Secondly, the home visitors possessed self-awareness allowing for reflective practice and forming and maintaining better client relationships. Thirdly, the excellent home visitors possessed an attitude of lifelong learning. Fourthly, the home visitors strongly believed in the ability of their clients to change. This was accomplished by focusing on client strengths. Finally, in order for the home visitors to assist parents in therapeutic change, they had a belief in and understanding of systems theory and the impact that the environment can or has had on those clients. Without an ecological approach, home visitors are likely to blame the families with which they work for their unfortunate situations such as poverty. Each of the five characteristics can be taught and improved, but entrenched beliefs are less easily manipulated. The five characteristics are ordered with the first (effective at forming relationships) the most amenable to change and the last (an ecological approach) the least.

This project explores the perceptions of fourth and fifth grade students who participated in a substance abuse prevention program. Risk and protective factors are presented to assist the reader in understanding this project.