The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether Children to Children's grief-support groups helped young participants cope with their grief, and which elements of the program were most helpful. The population for this study consisted of six bereaved children between the ages of 5 and 18 who were referred by Children to Children. The instrument used in this study was developed specifically to measure grief in children by self-report. Other information-gathering techniques were used to determine children's attributions for change and their view of their families before and after the loved one's death. It was found that the Children to Children grief-support groups were helpful to the participants. Participants cited two components of the program as most helpful: ritual, verbal sharing of the circumstances of the loved one's death, and being with other children who were going through a similar experience.

No description available.

In this paper, I replicate Erikson and Palfrey (2000) who propose that the simultaneity problem in measuring the effects of candidate spending can be resolved by restricting the sample to close elections. Vote-on-spending effects, which vary with the expected closeness of the election outcome in a systematic way, determine the extent of simultaneity bias. The simultaneity bias becomes progressively more severe as the anticipated vote margin decreases, plaguing the estimates of spending-on-vote effects on the full sample. In the range of a 50-50 expected vote, however, the vote-on-spending effects approach zero. Thus, by restricting the sample to extremely close races, I obtain unbiased estimates of candidate spending effects. I then extend their model using data that includes elections that took place after a pair of major campaign finance reforms: the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 and the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling of 2010. The BCRA heightens the perceived effectiveness of candidate spending by removing the hidden substitute for candidates’ campaign funds, namely, soft money. After the Citizens United ruling, however, as soft money starts to play a crucial role in electoral campaigns, candidates’ own funds matter less. The ruling appears to amplify incumbency advantage, perhaps because incumbents take advantage of their non-monetary incumbency benefits to attract soft money donations. This paper contributes to the ongoing debate in academia over the causal connection between candidate spending and vote share by presenting evidence that campaign spending has significant effects on election outcomes.

<p> Although numerous studies have identified the buffering effects of different coping strategies in stress and health research, few studies have considered the influence of cultural factors such as allocentrism (degree of collectivism). The present study examined whether the collectivistic coping strategies of support (support from racially similar others, support from experienced others, support from family) and avoidance (forbearance, fatalism) were associated with perceived and physiological stress levels, and whether allocentrism influenced this relationship, among a sample of low-income mothers. Results showed that higher use of support from family and lower use of avoidance coping were associated with lower levels of perceived stress and lower morning cortisol. Among women high in allocentrism, those who used support from experienced others had lower levels of perceived stress. These results contribute to our understanding of the role of culture in stress-coping research and how culture influences our physiological stress reactions.</p>

<p> The long-standing scientific and popular recognition of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a diagnosis of pervasive neurodevelopmental impairment attests to its clinical utility and legitimacy as a neuropsychological construct. However, its symptomatological overlap with proposed diagnoses that capture the pervasive behavioral and attentional sequelae of early developmental trauma as well as certain symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) give rise to etiological and diagnostic complications when considering the heterogeneous presentation of ADHD across the lifespan. The current study addresses this gap in knowledge by exposing systemic fluctuations in the neuropsychological profiles of individuals based on their exposure to trauma and trauma-related symptomology. In service of this task, the current study used a de-identified archival dataset from a neuropsychological testing facility in Austin, Texas. Only profiles of individuals 16 and older being assessed for attentional dysfunction were included. The first analysis aimed to develop a significantly predictive best fit regression model to differentiate the Conners&rsquo; Continuous Performance Test 2^nd Edition (CPT-II) profiles of trauma-exposed from non-exposed individuals. The second analysis sought to discover replicable patterns linking specific trauma symptom clusters and features with significant CPT-II scores identified in the first analysis. Women did not evince significant correlations differentiating traumatized from non-traumatized subjects, but males exhibited a significant three factor model. Trauma-exposure in the male sample was negatively correlated with omission errors and confidence index scores, and positively correlated with hit-rate standard error, a measure of response inconstancy. Response inconstancy was further predicted by peri-traumatic dissociation and re-experiencing. Confidence index scores, the rating of a profile&rsquo;s consistency with ADHD, were negatively associated with post-traumatic stress, and positively associated with re-experiencing. It was surmised that the analysis was influenced by discrete groups of testers seeking assessment for differing reasons. However, the discovery of a significant positive correlation between trauma-exposure and response inconstancy and the association of this measure with higher rates of peri-traumatic dissociation and re-experiencing provides evidence of attentional disturbance associated with traumatization. The association of confidence index scores with re-experiencing suggests a vulnerability factor of ADHD subjects for traumatization. Overall, a bidirectional relationship linking trauma and attentional-dysfunction was supported.</p>

No description available.

<p> The purpose of this study was to evaluate, auditory feedback as a training procedure to increase the effectiveness of throwing a "right cross.&rdquo; Auditory feedback was evaluated in multiple baselines across behaviors design with 4 mixed martial arts students, two males and two females, 25-54 years old. The percentage of correct steps of the right crosses&rdquo; was stable during baseline for all participants improved substantially following the introduction of the auditory feedback, and maintained at 90 percent or more for all participants during follow-up.</p>

No description available.

<p>The aim of this dissertation, Do No Harm: Trauma-Informed Lens for Trauma-Informed Ministry: A study of the Impact of the Helping Churches in Trauma Awareness Workshop (HC-TAW) on Trauma Awareness Among Predominantly African- and Caribbean-American leaders in Church of God 7th Day churches in the Bronx and Brooklyn, New York, is to conduct an experimental study assessing whether HC-TAW is an effective intervention to increase trauma awareness among participating leaders?pastors and lay leaders. The study used a trauma-informed quiz as a pretest to measure trauma awareness of 41 participants (participants from churches in the two experimental groups)) prior to participation in HC-TAW. The same trauma-informed quiz was given to participants as a posttest to assess whether change in levels of trauma awareness occurred. A control group of 10 participants also completed the trauma-informed quiz but did not participate in HC-TAW. Chapter 1 develops the purpose, goal, ministry context, and general scope of this study. Chapter 2 provides a review of germane literature related to the need for trauma awareness, nature and impact of psychological trauma, healing trauma, the fundamental elements of trauma-informed care (TIC)/trauma-informed ministry (TIM), and biblical and theological literature advocating for trauma-informed ministry. Chapter 3 sets forth the research methodology utilized in recruiting and selecting participants, description of instrument used to collect and measure data, and a description of how the intervention was executed. Chapter 4 presents an analysis of the findings. Chapter 5 assesses the data and points to strategies for areas of further research of trauma awareness among leaders in the Church of God 7th Day and leaders in other denominations or faith-based organizations.

<p> More U.S. men and women are returning from military service obligations with physical and mental disabilities which complicate their transition to civilian life. Few researchers, however, have examined the post service experiences of blind veterans and whether they are affected by societal expectations of people living with disabilities. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain knowledge about the experiences of U.S. veterans who suffered vision loss, and the influence of societal expectations on their lives. Hermeneutic phenomenological methodology was used to explore the personal meanings 8 veterans, who lost their vision during active service, attached to their experiences as they transition into daily routines. Using a 4 stage hermeneutic analysis and an interpretive lens resulted in the emergence of 6 major themes: (1) Never give up, (2) Mantras and declarations, (3) Previous beliefs and helping, (4) Struggles after vision loss (5) Current thought about disabilities and (6) Independence. Key findings suggested the veterans&rsquo; previous thoughts about disabilities hindered their initial adjustments to losing their vision. All of them experienced a time of distress that aligned with their previous thoughts concerning people living with obvious disabilities requiring help, and independent skills training programs greatly contributed to their increased confidence to live independently. Blind veterans&rsquo; personal descriptions of becoming blind may provide social workers, vocational rehabilitation counselors, and other human service professionals with information they can use to enhance programming and services for these individuals. Other implications for positive social change include the possible development of social change initiatives to change public perceptions of blind veterans.</p>