The purpose of this study was to design the Abstinence Motivation Scale-Sex (AMS-Sex), a scale to assess adolescent motivations for sexual abstinence using the self-determination theory (SDT) motivation continuum as a framework. Previous sexual abstinence research, SDT measurement studies, pilot study data, and expert panel feedback were used to develop the initial 77-item AMS-Sex. The sample consisted of 695 adolescents (aged 15 to 18; M age = 16.49, SD = 1.08; 50.8% male) recruited online from the across the U.S. Participants completed an online survey. The sample was randomly split into two samples. Independent samples t-tests indicated that sample 1 (N = 351; M age = 16.53, SD = 1.09; 48% male) and sample 2 (N = 344; M age = 16.46, SD = 1.07; 51% male) did not significantly differ by age, gender, parent education, annual household income, sexual behavior, or social desirability. Sample 1 data was used to assess scale reliabilities and run exploratory factor analyses (EFA) to examine the factor structure of the 77-item AMS-Sex. The 77-item AMS-Sex had good internal consistency (α = .99), as did the four subscales. As anticipated, the EFA resulted in a four-factor structure. However, these factors did not represent the anticipated SDT motivation types. Rather, the autonomous motivation items loaded on a single factor; the controlled motivation items loaded onto three factors by source or reference (i.e., parents, peers/others, and self). A second EFA was examined, constraining the model to two factors (i.e., controlled, autonomous). The 77 AMS-Sex items were reduced to a final 24-item AMS-Sex measure with six items per motivation type through a rigorous process using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with modification indices and information from CFA loadings, item means, standard deviations, skewness, correlations with social desirability, EFA loadings, and item wording and clarity. Sample 2 was then used to validate the final 24-item AMS-Sex using CFA and structural equation modeling (SEM). CFA was used to assess the four-factor, three-factor, and two-factor models. Model fit indices indicated that the four-factor and three-factor models had acceptable model fit, but the two-factor model did not. SEM was used to assess the relationships between the factors (i.e., types of motivation) and age, gender, social desirability, and sexual behavior for the four-factor, three-factor, and two-factor models. The SEM models indicated that older teens tended to be less motivated towards abstinence; girls were more motivated towards abstinence than boys; and sexual behavior was negatively correlated with all four motivation types, but more strongly with the autonomous motivations; and, in general, autonomous motivations were negative predictors of sexual behavior, while controlled motivations positively predicted sexual behavior. EFAs with the final 24 items were assessed, resulting in a three-factor solution: external, introjected, and autonomous motivations.

The National Alliance of Mental Illness’s Ending the Silence (ETS) program focuses on the epidemic of mental illness stigma among school- aged youth. The program is targeted specifically at high school- age youth, and aims to educate, dispel myths about mental illness and instill a message of hope and recovery all while encouraging students to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness. A trained presentation team containing two people, one of whom is a young adult who is living with mental illness or recovered from mental illness, delivers the program. Participants (n=142) completed assessments measuring their thoughts and attitudes towards people with mental illness, as well as a mental health facts questionnaire. Data wereas gathered from participants before the ETS presentation, after the ETS presentation, and 6 weeks later. The assessments consisted of both qualitative and quantitative data. Content analysis of the qualitative data revealed a consistent improvement in participants’ understanding and definition of mental illness. Youth reported understanding that mental illness can be a biological as well as developed illness. The majority of students (61.3%) self-reported their attitudes towards people with mental illness had become more positive after the presentation. The results of this study indicate that the Ending the Silence program is meeting its identified goals and objectives.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: This study was designed to test the hypothesis that the expressed problems of adolescent stutterers are not significantly different from the expressed problems of adolescent non-stutterers. It was postulated also that published problem inventories developed for the general population may be inadequate for research with atypical groups. The individual with a stuttering handicap may have the usual kinds of problems tapped by various problem inventories. In addition, he may have unique kinds of problems associated with the stuttering handicap. RESEARCH PROCEDURES: A thorough research of the literature indicated that no problem inventory had been developed from research with stutterers. Hence, it was necessary to develop a problem inventory as part of this study. Thirty-six secondary-school stutterers and 164 secondary-school non-stutterers were asked to express their problems in ten areas: 1) My Personality; 2) My Speech; 3) My School Life; 4) My Personal Appearance; 5) My Home and Family; 6) My Abilities and Talents; 7) My Future; 8) My Friends; 9) Other People; and 10) Other Things I Want to Write About. Content analysis of the compositions in which they told of their problems resulted in the construction of a problem inventory containing 220 problem items [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-01

Although there is significant prevalence of serious emotional disturbance in adolescents, research concerning the determination of appropriate levels of care is lacking. This study examined predictors of successful treatment completion in male adolescents (n=132) who were admitted to a suburban residential treatment center during a ten year period. Data on pre-treatment client variables, family participation in treatment, and length of stay were collected on each subject. Data were collected by sequentially reviewing 132 file records of previously discharged clients. Five variables (age upon admission, family constellation, family participation, previous out-of-home placements, criminal involvement) did not predict successful treatment completion. A significant relationship was found between length of stay in residential treatment and successful treatment completion. Implications for decision-making regarding admissions to residential treatment programs and needs for future research are discussed. / Master of Science

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University

Discrimination is associated with poor health outcomes in minority groups. Minority adolescents often do not have the same access to health care providers as white adolescents. In this study, I analyzed the impact of discrimination on the frequency of depressive symptoms in African American and Caribbean black adolescents. I used data from the National Survey of American Life Adolescent supplement and multivariate regression for this study. The dependent variable in this study is the frequency of depressive symptoms. The independent variables in this study are the Everyday Discrimination scale and the psychological coping mechanism John Henryism. I analyzed the relationship between discrimination and depression and the mediating effects of John Henryism. I found that there was a positive significant relationship between self-reported discrimination and depression and that John Henryism has a small indirect effect on this relationship.

No description available.

No description available.

This study was a descriptive examination of the likelihood that adolescents would utilize online counseling to address their school counseling needs as compared to face-to-face counseling. Ninth to twelfth grade students at a suburban high school with proximity to a large metropolitan city were chosen for this study. This convenience sample was chosen due to the high academic profile of the students, the integration of computers into the school curriculum, the strong utilization of the counseling program, and the high counselor/student ratio. The research questions were explored using a two-part questionnaire with a sample size of 300. Individual Internet frequency and type of use as well as knowledge of the services that were available to them at their school were assessed. Counseling style preference for either online or face-to-face counseling was compared for specific school related issues. Frequency tables and cross tabulations were used to analyze the data. As would be expected, analyses showed that students were frequent users of the Internet as well as frequent users of email and instant messaging. They were mostly unaware of the counseling services that were offered at their school and completely unaware that there were counseling services available online. Students said they would not go to a school counselor either online or in person for any of the specified issues. However, more students reacted positively about having access to a school counselor at times of the day and night that went beyond the traditional school hours. / Ph. D.

The primary purpose of this qualitative study was to discover the kinds of issues that were troubling sixth-grade students while they were in school through focus groups which were led by eighth-grade peer helpers in the school, the Natural Helpers. The second purpose of this study was to evaluate the information that the Natural Helpers gathered in the focus groups and to compare this information to the information that the participants reported on a personal problem checklist. Third, the purpose of this study was to keep a tally of the types of worries about which the sixth graders sought help from heir guidance counselor. Fourth, the purpose of this study was to compare these findings to information in the existing literature. The participants were 48 sixth-grade students (21 males and 27 females) whose heterogeneously-grouped classes at a suburban middle school in the Roanoke Valley in Virginia were randomly selected to participate in this study. After the students and the parents of the students signed informed consent forms, the students completed personal problem checklists and participated in one of nine student-led focus groups. Two of the focus groups were exclusively male, two were exclusively female, and the remaining groups contained males and females. Results from the study indicated that the participants reported a variety of worries, but the majority of their discussions pertained to issues concerning grades, social lives, violence, trouble at school, and family issues. The sixth graders reported similar issues as concerns on the personal problem checklist and sought assistance from their guidance counselor for similar concerns. However, there was one main difference in the findings between the three methodologies: the students sought assistance for worries concerning violence and spoke extensively about their concerns regarding violence during the focus groups but did not report violence as a main concern on the problem checklist. Probable reasons for these differences were addressed. Overall, the participants reported many concerns that were similar to the concerns that were reported by other adolescents in the professional literature, and they reported concerns that were consistent with the developmental literature. Exclusively male focus groups, exclusively female focus groups, and mixed focus groups generated similar information with a few noted exceptions regarding the content of their discussions and with a few noted exceptions regarding the extent to which the males spoke during the groups. This study generated recommendations for future research and for the counseling profession. / Ed. D.