Thesis (Ph.D.)--Fairleigh Dickinson University, 2002. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 63-02, Section: B, page: 1034. Chair: Margaret Gibbs. Available also in print.

America is aging, older alcoholic numbers rise. Disagreement has long existed as to whether elderly should be treated within traditional programs or in special age-specific modalities. Few studies measure variables selected to show either need or efficacy of elderly specific programs. This study was designed to answer the question: What is the perception of certified alcohol and other drug abuse counselors regarding the best way to treat the elderly, mainstream or elderly specific? The study is based on a bias that addiction counselors have been delivering services to elderly for years in both program types and offer valuable perceptions on the question of treatment effectiveness. A random sample of 788 counselors from a nationwide population of over 25,000 was persistently solicited to participate in a survey addressing the treatment of alcoholics 55 years and older. The most common education level was a master degree; length of experience 9-15 years; age 46. The study analyzed data from the 574 returns, a 72.8% response rate, of a lengthy questionnaire previously validated by gerontology and alcoholism experts. Items selected as variables were clustered into three domains which indicated tendencies toward (a) choice of either traditional or special age-specific programming as most effective, (b) cognizance of elderly and alcohol treatment issues, and (c) willingness to counsel the elderly. On the main research question, according to domain scores, there was no statistical significance in counselor-perceived efficacy of either mainstream or elderly specific treatment of elderly alcoholics. The literature body also is ambiguous on the question. Amount of education predicted degree of gerontology knowledge. Greater gerontological acumen predicted preference (perceived greater effectiveness) for elderly specific programming. Females had more gerontologic knowledge than males. Gender predicted willingness to counsel the elderly; males were more willing than females. Counselor training should include more gerontology studies. Foci and loci for future research were identified with suggestions for treatment planning. Appendices include the questionnaire, item response frequencies, and an extensive annotated bibliography specifically devoted to elderly alcoholic treatment issues.

Thesis (M.A.)--Lehigh University, 2009. / Adviser: Judith Lasker.

<p> This study examined the experiences of Pentagon employees who survived the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on their workplace. Six participants provided individual stories of their human experiences. One-on-one interviews were used to gather data, which was analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings indicated that survivors who did not sustain physical injuries also had not received psychological evaluation or care. Social trauma of that magnitude required my awareness of the impact on participants to revisit elements associated with the experience. Unexpected traumatic experience through survivors' stories added to literature descriptions and meanings of individual employees in the United States. Trauma experience stories by people of various cultural development uncovered their support systems, coping techniques, and delved into stories which surfaced questions about the psychological and sociological impact of unexpected trauma on human life beyond this study. Patriotism, employee group cohesiveness, family support, and grief, duty, and dedication to the employees who died and were physically injured were responsible for Pentagon employee survivors' resilience to immediately pick up the pieces after the attack and beyond to continue to carry out the mission of the United States government. </p>

<p> What is the experience of being artistically creative, undergoing a major interruption in creativity and, finally, transitioning through that interruption to return to being creative? There is important literature on resilience, yet little mention of creativity. </p><p> This qualitative multiple case study explored the roles creativity played in resilient coping, wellness, and actualizing human potential by revealing experiences and life changes preceding, during, and following adversity. An intentional sampling yielded six adults, two males and four females, who experienced prolonged disruption lasting at least six months that impeded ordinary creative activity. Possible factors pertaining to people, conditions, and events were assessed. </p><p> Research data included: (a) participant essay response to specific questions about experiences before/during/after disruption; (b) a semi-structured qualitative interview expanding on the essay; (c) artwork relating to the three periods examined, and (d) a follow-up phone interview. Artistic expressions included poetry, writing, paintings, music, and design. Tape-recorded interviews were transcribed for thematic content analysis to identify major themes for the individual participants for the three periods that were investigated, as well as a cross-case comparison. </p><p> Seventeen major areas of importance, found in one or more of the three periods, involved: 1) creative environment; 2) creative output; 3) emotions; 4) financial status; 5) healing modalities; 6) insight/self-discovery; 7) loss; 8) perception; 9) perseverance; 10) productivity; 11) renewed passion for creativity; 12) self-esteem; 13) skill/training/talent; 14) "something higher"; 15) support; 16) time/space; and 17) utilizing creativity. Five themes, reflecting an overall pattern for participants' process, were: 1) support; 2) self-esteem; 3) perception; 4) perseverance, and 5) insight and self-discovery. </p><p> Results showed that using one's creativity was not only vital for overcoming adversity, but that creative activity itself evolved to meet the circumstances. As they persevered, the participants reported finding more universal meaning in their creations. They also gained greater self-confidence, renewed optimism, and found increased compassion and respect for self and others. Unfortunately, not everyone with adversity will recover, and by studying survivors such as these, we can learn what nurtures resilient responses.</p>

<p> Crime and drug use are social issues that have profound negative effects on society. Trait displaced aggression (TDA) is the tendency of an individual to respond to a provocation by aggressing against a target other than the original provocateur. The current study was the first to examine whether TDA was associated with (a) specific criminal behaviors, and (b) specific types of drug use as well as the first to assess the potential mediating effect of impulsivity on these relationships. Participants were administered self-report questionnaires assessing TDA, drug use, criminal behavior, and impulsivity. TDA was related to violent but not nonviolent crime and this relationship was mediated by impulsivity. In addition, TDA was related to the use of several specific drugs including crack, marijuana, and cocaine. Implications of these findings for reducing both crime and drug use will be discussed.</p>

<p> The present study aimed to investigate the impact of psychological resilience and daily stressors on physical activity levels among mothers completing a three-month physical activity program. The sample consisted of 30 low-income mothers recruited to participate in a larger community-based physical activity intervention study. It was expected that women higher in resilience would participate in more physical activity over the program than women lower in resilience, and women lower in resilience would be more negatively affected by daily stressors than those higher in resilience, resulting in less physical activity over the program. However, results showed a pattern that among the women lower in resilience, those experiencing a higher severity of daily stressors throughout the program participated in more physical activity than those experiencing a lower severity of daily stressors. Implications for targeting mothers to use physical activity as a coping mechanism are discussed.</p>

<p> There is limited understanding of the variables that impact trainee performance in clinical settings. As such, investigating the tools used to assess performance was warranted. In the first part of the present research study, I investigated the independent factors that comprised the FPEF using 294 archival forms completed by clinical supervisors at the California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University, San Francisco. The five conceptually derived domains of clinical competency of the FPEF included: psychological intake, evaluation and assessment; clinical interventions; professional roles and behaviors; self-examination and development; and supervision. A principal factor analysis was conducted to determine whether the items of the FPEF comprised performance factors that were based on these FPEF domains. Results yielded a four-factor solution based on how the items clustered together. Thus, subscales were retitled as follows: Clinical Development, Professional Roles and Behaviors, Psychological Conceptualization and Intervention, and Psychological Assessment Skills. The second part of the present study included trainee self-ratings and supervisor ratings on the FPEFs for 47 school-based mental health trainees. This part of the study focused on whether the internal psychological variables of role conflict, role ambiguity, and self-efficacy (domain specific), and the external variables of both organizational support and supervisory support were associated with performance ratings on the FPEF. Findings indicated that the internal and external variables were both associated with trainees' performances across various domains. However, some of these relationships were contrary to what was expected. Organizational support and supervisory support were found to have negative associations with specific performance domains, which may have been due to limitations of the instruments or moderating variables that were not measured in this study.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1992. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-07, Section: B, page: 3918. Chairperson: Ben Tong.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1993. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-05, Section: B, page: 2775.