Abstract not available

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of parental participation in a Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) course upon the classroom behavior and reading achievement of those parents' Title 1 children. Parental perception of child behavior, and children's perception of their own self-concept and locus of control were also examined. Parents of Title 1 children in a Northeastern United States elementary school volunteered to participate in the study when it was offered to all Title 1 parents. Their children are assigned to Title 1 for reading tutorials on the basis of teacher recommendations and scoring at least a half grade level on a measure of reading achievement. Eleven parents of 10 children volunteered for the intervention group and 11 parents of 11 children were assigned to the control group. The dependent variables were measured in the following manner: classroom behavior was assessed by administering the Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale to the children's classroom teachers; academic achievement was assessed using the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests; children's self-concept was measured by children's responses to the McDaniel-Piers Young Children's Self-Concept Scale; children's locus of control was measured by children's responses to the Pre-Primary Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Scale; changes in the children's behavior at home were measured by administering the Adlerian Parental Assessment of Child Behavior Scale to parents. The same measures were administered to teachers, children and parents for the intervention and for the control groups. All of the measures were administered pre- and post-treatment in February and ten weeks later in April except for the reading tests which were administered in September and again in May. A t-test of the differences between means of the pre-test and of the post-test scores between intervention and control groups was performed as well as the differences between pre- and post-test means within each group. Analysis of the data showed that there were no statistically significant differences for any of the variables. In addition, intervention group parents responded to a post-test questionnaire and to an eight-week follow-up interview. All parents reported perceiving changes in their own and in their children's behavior at home and some of them perceived changes in their children's behavior at school. Suggestions were made for further research: (a) adding follow-up measures, (b) initially selecting a larger population from which to seek volunteers for parent education, (c) using other measures for assessing teachers' and parents' perception of child behavior, and other means of assessing reading achievement.

The purpose of this study was to examine the processes by which White Americans develop a sense of racial identity as members of a racially privileged group in a society that has at its foundation, White racism. As an exploratory study it was designed to address five research objectives, rather than to test a specific hypothesis. These five research objectives were: (1) to review and critique literature on White racial identity; (2) to identify generic principles and processes in selected theories of social identity development; (3) to apply these generic principles as a framework to analyze the self-described experiences of White Americans; (4) to present a description of White identity development stages illustrated by autobiographical data from selected White authors; and (5) to suggest possible uses of the model and to discuss implications of the study for future research. The author presented a conceptual basis for the existence of White identity stages by constructing a model of generic stages that occur in social identity theory. This generic model was developed from sex-role identity and racial identity development theory, and was used as the basis for describing a theory of White racial identity development. Supporting data from these stages was provided by passages excerpted from six autobiographies by White anti-racist activists. The White Identity Development Model described in this study consists of five distinct stages of consciousness and four transition periods that occur between the stages. These stages are named: (1) Lack of Social Consciousness which is characterized by a lack of awareness of racial differences and racism; (2) Acceptance, marked by the acceptance of White racist beliefs and behaviors and the unconscious identification with Whiteness; (3) Resistance, characterized by the rejection of internalized racist beliefs and messages and rejection of Whiteness; (4) Redefinition, marked by the development of a new White identity that transcends racism; (5) Internalization, marked by the integration of the new White identity into all other aspects of the identity and into consciousness and behavior.

This dissertation was a beginning attempt to investigate the effects of participation in a systemic family education program on the family system. The six week program developed for the study consisted of an initial home assessment and five one and one-half hour didactic and experiential sessions based on the key concepts of Salvador Minuchin's structural family theory. Sessions focused on the family system, the family developmental life cycle, how the family is organized, interactional patterns, and family assessment. The program was implemented with two groups, and entitled "Understanding Your Family". Participants evaluated each session for content, teaching technique, facilitator style and group process. The study includes a final home assessment and a three month telephone follow-up. The results suggest that participation in the program changed family interactions patterns in sixteen of the nineteen participants. Changes continued at the three month telephone follow-up. Participant families tended to be enmeshed families with diffuse boundaries. Participants reported movement toward clearer boundaries as a result of participation in the program. Case studies of the subjects are presented. The significance of an educational, versus a therapeutic approach and implications for future research are discussed.

This study was designed to explore transpersonal crises and to gain a fuller understanding of the experiences people have before, during and after a Spiritual Emergency. Qualitative research was done with ten subjects, five females and five males. Data consisted of in-depth interviews and written documents which yielded new insights about Spiritual Emergencies. The findings include: a rich description of a Spiritual Emergency, including listings of precipitating factors; feelings and emotions during the experience; how the experience was integrated into the individual subject's life; and what was or was not helpful during the Spiritual Emergency. The author provides a model reflective of the literature and current data. The Model is a visual interpretation of the inner processes of a Spiritual Emergency. Precipitating events create pain. This pain is manifested through emotional and physical ailments. The pain also creates fear and anxiety and pushes one into crisis. The crisis leads to a turning point at which one follows a path for growth, psychopathological phenomena, which may include any and all addictions or behaviors as ways to suppress and repress the anxiety, or a recommitment to former way of being. If one continues on the path for growth, one will experience despair. This despair is extremely painful and creates still another crisis and turning point which leads to a surrender to a higher force for help, psychopathological phenomena, or a recommitment to former ways. When one surrenders, one lets go of the old sense of self or there is a death of the "old" self so that a rebirth or a "new" self can emerge. Integration of the Spiritual Emergency takes many forms. New truths surface and there is a value re-orientation. One experiences increased clarity and awareness of life and a new or deepened connection with the cosmos. One becomes more inner-directed. There is a trusting of one's path. There is a desire to help others, to be in touch with nature, and to experience improved health. There is also an increased desire for further spiritual development and growth. By studying Spiritual Emergencies, we learn better about how to identify Spiritual Emergencies and how to help a person through them toward growth and a healthier, happier life.

The Human Figure Drawings (HFDs) of 34 female subjects, ages 5-16, who experienced incest were compared with the HFDs of 26 matched emotionally disturbed subjects and 34 matched subjects with no known adjustment difficulties to determine if children or adolescents who had experienced sexual abuse exhibit significant features in their drawings when compared with non-sexually abused subjects. The Sidun and Chase Human Figure Drawing Coding Manual was used to evaluate the HFDs. Of 76 measures analyzed when the sexually abused subjects were compared with the emotionally disturbed subjects, hands omitted, fingers omitted, clothing omitted, presence of phallic like objects and differences in developmental scores were significant. When the sexually abused subjects were compared with the subjects with no known adjustment difficulties and the same 76 measures analyzed, presence of large circular eyes, mouth emphasized, long neck, arms omitted, hands omitted, fingers omitted, clothing omitted, presence of phallic like objects, sexuality of figure undifferentiated and differences in developmental score were significant. The Kinetic Family Drawings of 27 female subjects, ages 5-16, who experienced incest were compared with the KFDs of 21 matched emotionally disturbed subjects and 37 matched subjects with no known adjustment difficulties to determine if children or adolescents who had experienced sexual abuse exhibit significant features in their drawings when compared with non-sexually abused subjects. The Chase and Sidun Kinetic Family Drawing Coding Manual was used to evaluate the KFDs. Of 70 measures analyzed when the sexually abused subjects were compared with the emotionally disturbed subjects, figure encapsulated was significant. When the sexually abused subjects were compared with the subjects with no known adjustment difficulties and the same 70 measures analyzed, nurturance of the self, nurturance of mother and size of siblings were significant. The results suggest that HFDs discriminate sexually abused subjects from the non-abused subjects better than the KFDs. Significant features, particularly in the HFDs, appear to be clinically relevant. Additional research should be conducted comparing the HFDs and KFDs of sexually abused subjects with other measures. This study is a pilot study and should be replicated to further validate its findings.

A student engagement model is proposed to provide a conceptual framework for understanding the bond between student and college. The impetus for developing this model originated from examining the literature on college student attrition; a literature that is diffuse and negative. The present model focuses attention away from attrition per se and toward a broader array of college outcomes. It also provides a rationale and a method for measuring student engagement. The validity of the model is examined in a study that tracks entering students through their first year in college. The model has two components. First, the engagement schema depicts students' psychological attachment to college. Second, the social context denotes social factors that influence psychological attachment. Four dimensions of engagement are described to facilitate measurement. The study employed available data for the 1984 and 1985 entering first-year classes at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The primary source of data was the Cooperative Institutional Research Program's entering student survey--the Student Information Form (SIF). The SIF data were linked to data from administrative records and from the University's yearly Cycles survey of student life. Although the study was limited by the available data, several findings supported the validity of the model. Two contrasting engagement orientations were discovered. Students who were initially more oriented toward college as an educationally enriching experience were more likely to desire making a significant contribution to society and they later performed slightly better academically. Students who were initially more interested in college for increasing their job prospects were more likely to desire personal gain after college and, on the average, they later performed less well academically. Students with the most conventional engagement orientations were less likely to withdraw from college during the first year or to change their majors or living arrangements. However, the more conventional students also tended to perform less well academically than those with more atypical motivations. The student engagement model provides a systematic perspective for examining college student life but comprehensive longitudinal data are needed to fully assess its validity. Further research is suggested to explore changes in engagement over the entire course of a student's years in college.

This dissertation explores the impact of a counseling model on the lives of a group of Third World women residing in the United States. The model is Re-Evaluation Counseling (RC), an emotional/educational growth and awareness process. Its main focus is on the existing oppressive and socioeconomic and political environment, its effects on people and the possibilities RC holds for self- and social transformation. The premise of this thesis is that the distresses which limit the human potential to be loving, intelligent, cooperative, powerful and effective result from the competitive and exploitative nature of capitalism. In the quest to remain human, people struggle against oppression, transcend adverse circumstances, grow, and influence their environment. Yet, to varying degrees, the system dehumanizes and causes people to internalize negative experiences and adopt distress patterns involving false values and distorted views of self and others. Consequently, people lose elements of themselves which are crucial to their wholeness as human beings. The study explores these dynamics. Qualitative methodology, based on in-depth interviewing, is used. The impact of this study results from the depth of the information that it presents on oppression experienced by the participants--in the intertwining of external oppression with their personal/psychic limitations which are manifested as internalized oppression. The experiences are recounted by the women who speak on their own behalf. The results indicate that through RC the participants in the study: (1) eliminated many of the inner blocks created by oppression; (2) became fully aware that their personal problems (internalized oppression) were the effects of an exploitative society; (3) recognized and recovered lost aspects of themselves (e.g., intelligence), and regained some of their creative powers to become more effective in changing their lives and society. In using RC, Third World women overcome the pull to adjust to a repressive society and begin to realize that the attainment of full human potential requires a collective effort directed toward the transformation and reconstruction of the socioeconomic and political environment. The harmful effects of oppression can be overcome with the use of RC. The model can be of significance in reaching world-wide populations. The simultaneous development in people of deeper self-awareness and new political awareness can generate greater strengths toward the creation of a more just and humane society.

This study measured the effects of social skills training on the development of positive and neutral verbal statements by maladjusted adolescents at a northeast American vocational high school. A single subject research paradigm was used. A set of cognitive behavioral procedures, including self management, presentation of a rationale, positive reinforcement of alternative responses, modeling, practice and feedback were used to develop positive and neutral verbal statements over a seven week training period. There were three additional maintenance weeks. The social and behavioral effects of this social skill training on the five experimental subjects were then compared to the five control subjects. Before treatment, experimental subjects were presented with an oral formal rationale. This included information that helped them decide whether to accept participation in this study. A longitudinal time line design was used to assess direct and collateral behavior change. The most notable among the changes in behavior was the dramatic reduction in detentions by four of the five experimental subjects. There were no further suspensions by any experimental subject after treatment. Also, teachers rated these experimental subjects higher in co-operation, constructiveness, and rapport with peers. Other measures used did not yield significant results. These were the Hahnemann High School Rating Scale, sociometric measures of social attractiveness, self rating scales of perceived mental health and happiness, and Semantic Differential factor scores for four different concepts.

Female athletes have often experienced internal conflict because society still expects them to be passive and submissive women. This behavior is diametrically opposed to the characteristics which a good competitor should possess. In recent years, the area of psychology of sportswomen has received the research attention which for years was reserved only for men. Research which dealt with the personality profiles of female athletes, or their sex-role orientations, was examined and critiqued. Most of the studies in this area concluded that there were psychological differences between female athletes and female non-athletes, or the general female population. While it is difficult to point to definitive conclusions from these studies because of diverse samples and different instruments, with great caution it may be stated that female athletes are achievement-oriented and very independent. After the background methodology was presented, a number of instruments were administered: the Personality Research Form (PRF), the PRF-Andro, and the Sports Background Inventory. The sample was composed of 99 Division I female athletes from several different New England teams. A number of statistical tests were conducted (t-test, Pearson's Correlation, Spearman's Correlation, ANOVA, ANCOVA, MANOVA, and MANCOVA) to determine whether women athletes differ among each other and between themselves and other college women. The women athletes in this study were found to have greater needs for achievement, aggression, and dominance. The sample was found to be distributed differently across the sex-role categories from what was expected from probability or from the normed population. The four sex-role groups were also found to differ in personality traits (achievement, aggression, and dominance).