Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2009. / Title from title screen (viewed June 1, 2009) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine. Degree awarded 2009; thesis submitted 2008. Third "a" in "GABAA" on t.p. is a subscript. Includes bibliography. Also available in print form.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Comparative Medicine and Integrative Biology, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed July 31, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 165-198). Also issued in print.

Thesis (B.A.)--Haverford College, Dept. of Psychology, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--Wisconsin. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-97).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1966. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rutgers University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-91). "Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering." Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-91).

Thesis--University of Wisconsin--Madison. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 230-237).

Late in 1959, the Council on Social Work Education published a thirteen volume study on the desirable objectives of social work education. In the volume on casework method , it is proposed that the concepts of "role" and "stress" be used in combination for the assessment.of clients' problems. Leading social workers have expressed much interest in these proposals but have agreed that extensive research and testing are necessary to bring the theory to the level of practice. This thesis attempts a contribution in this area, applying the "social role theory" empirically to a sample of social casework practice. Such an evaluation must be made in relation to the social work profession's ultimate responsibility to the client. The criterion: Will this theory enable the social worker to help the client more effectively? The sample group are twelve cases from the files of the Children's Clinic, Mental Health Centre, where both parents and children receive treatment services. The social functioning of the parents has been examined in relation to the social functioning of the primary client, the child. The case record material was first analyzed on the basis of the concept of stress, the attempt being made to identify a) the sources of stress, b) the values threatened, c) the duration of stress, d) the response to stress, e) the major roles impaired and f) the reciprocal roles affected. The concept of role was utilized to describe and rate child and parents in terms of a) performance in major social roles and b) the interrelatedness of roles in the family network. The degree of role impairment was rated for the roles of husband, wife, father, mother, son or daughter, sibling, employee, student and member of community (for adults) or peer (for children). Assessment and redefinition of the client in relation to his problem was then attempted for each case. This study has brought a number of analytical features to light. There is need for clarification of specific roles, e.g., "employee,” where there are intersecting roles. Sibling relationships require considerably more study. It suggests the need for obtaining information regarding the adequacy of the client and those in his immediate role network in the early fact-finding phase of treatment, in such a way as to minimize additional resistance. It also suggests the necessity of eliminating confusion in the client role through a mutual understanding of the client-worker expectations in the early stage of treatment. An important feature of the theory that must be considered if it is to be put into practice, is that the client must be perceived not only in terms of general emotional responses to stress e.g., "anxiety" but in terms of how this reaction has affected his social functioning, i.e., which roles in his network of relationships are impaired and which threatened. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Psychiatrists and social workers are aware of the existence of relatives when a patient is hospitalized in a psychiatric treatment centre. Current research points to the importance, in the patient's environment, of many variables, and among these, the presence of relatives who inter-act with the patient is one which may have a significant bearing upon the outcome of treatment. This thesis examines the stress factors which influence the relatives behavior toward the patient, as they arise from the fact of hospitalization at the Crease Clinic of Psychological Medicine, and from the subsequent period of post hospital adjustment. Literature on the subject of environment in relation to personality has been consulted, and nine families were studied. The main technique employed was the structured research interview with the relatives. Supplementary information was obtained from a review of the Crease Clinic files on the patients, and from discussion with the caseworkers and the casework supervisor. The information obtained from the interviews concerned the relatives' responses to the fact of hospitalization, to their understanding of mental illness, and to the practical problems and emotional stresses of the rehabilitation period. The sample group was divided into two groups, wives and mothers, to examine the effect of family structure in the patient's post hospital experience. The sample also contained a number of cases receiving social casework services, but no conclusions could be reached in regard to this variable owing to the difficulty in placing specific research focus on this factor while examining the stress areas. The study reveals that the relatives of mentally ill patients experience stress in two phases, that of hospitalization and that of the post hospitalization period. In the first, stresses centre around fear of mental illness, the kind of hospital required, and the relative's isolation from the treatment program. In the latter phase, stresses originate in two sources, practical problems such as employment or housing, and the role relationships with the patient. The most forceful stresses are connected with interrelationships, and there are differences between the group of wives and the group of mothers in this regard. The results indicate a need for more family oriented casework both in hospital and community. Present trends to treat the patient in the community find support in the study. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Does having a positive family history of essential hypertension predispose one to greater cardiovascular reactivity? Could reactivity be assessed with stress tasks that have greater external validity than traditional laboratory stressors? To answer these questions? 2b subjects with parental history of essential hypertension and 3b subjects without) were induced to converse with an experimenter on (a) a neutral topic (the weather)? and (b) an affective topic (a frustrating person or event). The topics were selected from a Iist of 2b because they had been rated by undergraduates as being the least and most arousing topics to talk about with a stranger in an experimental situation. The ratings yielded no interactions of sex of experimenter with sex of the subject. Subjects also performed a mental arithmetic task which is a standard laboratory stressor. The order of task presentation was randomly assigned within groups but matched across groups and sex to control sequence effects. For each subject? a 15-minute base I ine period was al lowed before each task. Readings of blood pressure? heart rate and rate of respiration were made at minute one? three? and five of each task phase. Each conversation task consisted of five minutes of talking followed by Iistening for five minutes to the experimenter. The tasks were separated by five-minute intervals to allow return to baseline levels. Results indicated that compared to individuals without parental history of hyper tension? individuals with parental history displayed higher levels of blood pressure (but not heart rate and rate of respiration) whether talking or listening. When peak values were considered; positive parental history subjects showed greater reactivity to the affective topic on diastolic blood pressure. The results also indicated that the three kinds of stressors yielded different levels of physiological responses with the math task and talk phase of the affect task yielding higher levels of blood pressure and heart rate than talk about the weather. The difference between the math and affective tasks was not significant on systolic blood pressure? but math yielded higher responses on heart rate and lower responses on diastolic blood pressure than talking about a frustrating event or person. These results suggest that a more generalizabIe stress stimulus such as an affect-laden conversation? can be reasonably standardized across subjects and elicits an aIpha-adrenergic vaso-constrictive response? a response more readily given by individuals with positive parental history than individuals without. The results also suggest that individuals with positive parental history of hypertension have higher blood pressure levels than individuals without. With respect to the similarity of the findings of this study? with those of other studies which have used older populations? it is proposed that these results are generalizable to older populations and provide evidence that a positive family history of essential hypertension may be considered a risk factor for later cardiovascular disease. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate