This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of the 10-week filial therapy model as an intervention for Native American parents and their children residing on the Flathead Reservation in Montana. Filial therapy is an approach used by play therapists to train parents to be therapeutic agents with their own children. Parents are taught basic child-centered play therapy skills and practice those skills during weekly play sessions with their children. The purpose of this study was to determine if filial therapy is effective in: 1) increasing parental acceptance of Native Americans residing on the Flathead Reservation of their children; 2) reducing the stress level of those parents; 3) improving empathic behaviors of those parents toward their children; 4) changing the play behaviors of children with their parents who participated in the training; and, 5) enhancing the self-concept of those children. The experimental group parents (N=11) received 10 weekly 2-hour filial therapy training sessions and participated in weekly 30-minute play sessions with one of their children. The control group (N=10) received no treatment during the 10 weeks. All adult participants completed the Porter Parental Acceptance Scale and the Parenting Stress Index. Child participants completed the Joseph Pre-school and Primary Self Concept …

Although most institutions offer a parent program option to the orientation program, there has been little formalized research into the quality, planning or programming of parent orientation. There has been very little research into the impact parent orientation has on parents and whether or not they feel that such programs have met their needs, particularly by gender, minority status, educational background, or by geographic distance from the institution. This study seeks to determine the effectiveness of the parent orientation program at the University of North Texas to the parents who participate in this program. The study attempts to measure whether parents feel that they have adequate information about the institution to adequately support their student through the college transition; if parents feel welcomed by the UNT campus community; and if they feel that they have developed resources and institutional contacts that may be useful in the future in assisting their child to have a successful college experience at UNT. The study, conducted in the summer of 2002, had 736 respondents. An instrument developed to determine parent's perceptions of the effectiveness of the parent orientation program consisted of 31 questions using a Likert scale. A t-Test was utilized to analyze the …

The purpose of this study was to critically examine differences in levels of anxiety, locus of control and stress between adoptive and biological parents of adolescents.

This qualitative study examined the characteristics of the mother-child relationship of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse at the time of the abuse. The study consisted of data from the McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD), the Family of Origin Scale (FOS), and a set of structured interview questions designed by the researcher. Autonomy/intimacy concepts from the FOS examined constructs of clarity of expression, responsibility, respect, openness, acceptance of loss and separation, expression of a wide range of feelings, conflict resolution, mood and tone, and empathy.

This study was an examination of faculty and student perceptions of a campus-wide computer network at Cedarville College in Cedarville, Ohio. The most important conclusion of this study is that the computer network at Cedarville College has significantly impacted interactions between faculty and peers and faculty and students. It is recommended that a longitudinal study be conducted to explore the possibilities of the computer network and its importance to and impact on the teaching/learning process. It is also recommended that an evaluation program be set up to monitor the usefulness of the computer network to the teaching/learning process.

This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of intensive sibling group play therapy in: (a) improving the self-concept of child witnesses of domestic violence; (b) reducing internalizing behavior problems, such as withdrawal, somatic complaints, anxiety and depression, of child witnesses of domestic violence; (c) reducing externalizing behavior problems, such as aggression and delinquency, of child witnesses of domestic violence; and (d) reducing overall behavior problems of child witnesses of domestic violence. A second objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of intensive sibling group play therapy and intensive individual play therapy on the above identified dimensions.

This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of filial therapy training in: (a) increasing immigrant Chinese parents' empathic behavior with their children; (b) increasing immigrant Chinese parents' acceptance level toward their children; (c) reducing immigrant Chinese parents' stress related to parenting; (d) reducing immigrant Chinese parents' perceived number of problem behaviors in their children; and (e) enhancing the self concept of the Chinese children of immigrant Chinese parents.

As states begin to highlight the system supports used to include English language learners with disabilities in standards-based assessments and accountability programs, implementation of those supports will be closely examined by school districts. This case study investigates the classroom culture in an early childhood preschool program for four-year-old children with disabilities. Classroom observations were used to determine how two young children with disabilities were acquiring English as a second language. Specific focus was given to activities that allowed for second language acquisition, native language development, the attainment of developmental skills, and alternative communication skills such as sign language and a communication board. An investigation took place into current theories to create a knowledge base for understanding how young children acquire linguistic skills in English and how classroom culture was created.

This study was designed to assess the difference in litigation between two courts: one mandating For Kids' Sake, a psycho-educational seminar for divorcing parents, and the other not so mandating. The level of difficulty of children's adjustment to divorce has been positively correlated with parental hostility. More hostile parents would have more contested cases, interim motions, and relitigations. This research compared final dispositions, interim motions, and relitigation between parents in two courts in Collin County, Texas. The treatment group was from the 219th District Court which mandated all divorcing parents with minor children to attend the For Kids' Sake Seminar and the control group was from the 199th District Court which did not so mandate. Archival data was collected from a computer generated list for the Total group data to assess final dispositions and directly from District Clerk files for the In-Depth group data to assess interim motions and relitigation. The Total group was comprised of 679 research subjects with 330 cases in the treatment group and 349 cases in the control group. The In-Depth group consisted of 182 cases from both courts with 84 cases in the treatment group and 98 cases in the control group. Chi square analysis …

The social interactions between children with special needs, learning disabilities and/or attention deficit disorder (ADHD), were investigated. The children were observed in groups of three/four while creating a cooperative art project. During this activity, their interactions were recorded and coded for patterns of verbal communication. Verbal communication was evaluated through statements reflecting requests for information and materials; helping/cooperation/giving; consideration/positive reinforcement; competitiveness; intrusiveness; rejection; self-image; neutral statements; and persuasiveness. Results indicated that children with special needs tended to engage in a greater frequency of helping/cooperative/giving statements as opposed to any other verbal statements. Specifically, positive statements as opposed to negative statements classified their verbal interactions. These children also appeared to demonstrate more internalizing behaviors than externalizing behaviors. The influence of children's behaviors on children's verbal statements was examined. Results indicated that children who evidenced a disability in reading or language appeared to engage in a greater frequency of cooperative or helping statements than their non-disabled peers. Intrusive tendencies may be associated with the following: presence of a reading disability, absence of ADHD, and absence of a disability in written expression. Additionally, the conversations of children with a disability in mixed receptive language tended to evidence a greater frequency of neutral statements …

Body image may be defined as the perception or attitude one has regarding the appearance of his or her body. Body image concerns are not only central to the diagnostic criteria of eating disorders, but also create distress for nonclinical populations. Females (n = 167) from three universities participated in a study by completing the Eating Disorder Inventory - 2 (Garner, 1991) and the Figure Rating Scale (Stunkard, Sorenson, & Schulsinger, 1983); watching a video; and then completing the instruments again. Subjects in the treatment group (n = 89) viewed a video designed to increase awareness of unrealistic body sizes and shapes seen in the media (Kilbourne, 1995). Subjects in the comparison group (n = 77) viewed a video unrelated to female body image.

This investigation was concerned with determining the effectiveness of filial therapy as a method of intervention for families of children with pervasive developmental disorders.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of filial therapy in: (a) increasing Chinese parents' empathic behavior with their children; (b) increasing Chinese parents' attitude of acceptance toward their children; and (c) reducing Chinese parents' stress related to parenting. The experimental group, consisting of 18 Chinese parents, received 10 weekly 2-hour filial therapy training sessions and conducted a weekly 3 0-minute play session with one of their children. The control group, consisting of 16 Chinese parents, received no treatment during the ten weeks. All the parents were videotaped playing with their child before and after the training as a means of measuring change in empathic behavior. The two written self-report instruments completed for pretesting and posttesting purposes were the Porter Parental Acceptance Scale and the Parenting Stress Index. Analyses of Covariance revealed that the Chinese parents in the experimental group had significant changes in all 12 hypotheses, including (a) a significant increase in their level of empathic interactions with their children; (b) a significant increase in their attitude of acceptance toward their children; and (c) a significant reduction in their level of stress related to parenting. This study supports filial therapy as an effective intervention for Chinese …

This study examined the way in which the top 100 "most wired" colleges and universities provide online student services. Named by a national publication in May 1998, these colleges and universities were chosen because of their technological infrastructure, courses offered online, public computers on campus, and online student services, among other aspects.

This study investigated enrollment management practices found in higher education. The research identified enrollment management and retention practices described in the higher education literature. These suggested practices were incorporated into a sixty-six question survey that was distributed to a random sample of colleges and universities taken from the 1999 US News and World Report of college rankings. The survey data were used to identify which of the suggested enrollment management practices were of greatest utility. First, the sixty-six items were grouped into 14 categories of enrollment management strategies. Second, the institutional responses for each category were averaged and then correlated with each institution's graduation rate. Finally, each institution's "yes" responses for the entire survey were totaled and correlated with each institution's graduation rate. This study developed a list of the 26 most frequently used enrollment management practices in higher education, and as well, identified the 10 least used enrollment management practices. Given the results of this study graduation rate is not a sufficient criterion to assess enrollment management practices at a college or university. Enrollment management strategies contribute to many institutional and student outcomes; thus, multiple indicators are required to accurately evaluate enrollment management practices.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the possible relationship between social interest and marital adjustment in a selected group of married couples. Another variable relating to spiritual well-being and religious participation is also considered. In the studies reviewed, the concept of social interest as proposed by Adler has been supported as a psychological construct. It has generally correlated with characteristics that are viewed as social interest components. By contrast, it has generally related negatively with characteristics that are inconsistent with the concept. Of the investigations conducted, most have focused on the relationship between social interest and some aspect of individual functioning, such as psychological well-being, health, mood states, and locus of control. There has been little investigation between social interest and some aspect of individual functioning, such as psychological well-being, health, mood states and locus of control. There has been little investigation between social interest and marital satisfaction and, additionally, the possible relationship to religious participation. The results of this study support a positive relationship between social interest and marital satisfaction, a positive relationship[ between social interest and religious participation, and a positive relationship between marital satisfaction and religious participation.

This study was designed to examine: (1) the extent to which cheating occurs in fundamentalist Christian colleges; (2) the attitudes of fundamentalist Christian college students toward cheating; (3) attitudes of fundamentalist Christian college students toward cheating among their peers; (4) the kinds of cheating practices of fundamentalist Christian college students; (5) the degree to which students engage in neutralizing behavior to justify cheating; (6) differences in cheating behaviors according to gender; (7) differences in cheating behaviors according to ethnicity; and (8) differences in cheating behaviors according to the length of duration of Christian commitment. Based upon the responses of 337 students attending 3 different Christian colleges, it was concluded that: (1) most Christian fundamentalist students do not engage in cheating; (2) respondents believe that each of 17 self-reported cheating behaviors are serious forms of cheating; (3) respondents are unlikely to report cheating among peers; (4) plagiarism is the most common cheating behavior; (5) most respondents justify cheating on the basis of the workload at school and the pressure to obtain good grades; (6) there are no differences in cheating behavior according to gender; (7) there are differences in cheating behavior according to groups; and (8) most respondents do not cheat …

Admissions processes for health professions programs result in students entering these programs academically homogeneous. Yet some students have great difficulty with the programs. Research has shown a limited ability of traditional academic indicators to predict successful outcomes for health professions education. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between learning motivation and academic outcomes for students in health professions programs. The Modified Archer Health Professions Motivation Scale (MAHPMS) and a demographic survey were administered at orientation to 131 medical and 29 physician assistant students at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in the fall of 2005. At the end of the semester, the same version of the MAHPMS was administered, and final course grades and semester averages were collected. Descriptive statistics were analyzed for all the study variables. Analysis of variance was utilized to examine within subjects and between subjects differences for the learning motivation scores among programs and demographic categories. Linear regression analyses were used to determine the relationship between learning motivation scores and end-of-semester grades. And finally, logistic regression was performed to explore the ability of the motivation scores to predict academically high-risk students. Approximately three-fourths of the students indicated a preference for …

A study was conducted to gather information from department chairs serving in the 26 two-year colleges that are members of the North Texas Community College Consortium using the International Community College Chair Survey (ICCCS). The ICCCS is designed to gather insights into four aspects of the chairs' professional lives: personal characteristics, responsibilities challenges, and strategies. The study compared the demographic data and the respondents' perceptions of the challenges their units will face in the next 5 years to the original survey conducted in 1992. The regional sample included 616 first-line administrators, and a 30.5% response rate was achieved. The demographic distribution of the regional respondents shows significant shifts in gender, age, education, experience and release time but constancy in race and stability of the population. Similarities between the two samples exist regarding the challenges of maintaining program quality, providing technology, and managing financial issues. The regional sample expresses greater concern about the challenges of distance education, external accountability, and student matters.

Interactional and contextual models have been conceptually proposed in understanding parental influences on children. Yet, empirical model testing has been limited. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the direct and indirect effects of parenting style on child social competence using structural equation modeling in a sample of 544 Chinese families with 6-9 years old children, mainly singleton, residing in Nanjing, China. Five latent models were tested: (a) the direct model between parenting style and child social competence, (b) child temperament as a moderator, (c) parent-child relationship as a mediator, (d) the interaction model between parenting style and family functioning, and (e) bidirectional models of parenting style concurrently with parent-child relationship, and family functioning predicting child social competence. Findings showed: (a) The direct relationship between parenting style and child social competence was significant in both parents with authoritative parenting style on the positive direction, whereas authoritarian and permissive parenting styles on the negative direction; (b) child temperament did not moderate parenting style on child social competence; (c) father-child relationship mediated paternal parenting style on child social competence, whereas maternal parenting style did not; (d) family functioning neither moderated nor mediated the relationship between parenting style and child social …

Differences in self-reported depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and coping were evaluated in two groups of pediatric oncology patients: newly diagnosed (less than six months post-diagnosis) (n=5) and patients on cancer treatment for seven months or longer (n=5). Participants (6 males, 4 females, ages 7-17 years) completed the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC), and the Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory (CFSEI-2); nine of the ten participants discussed in a semi-structured interview their personal experiences and feelings about having cancer. Although the newly diagnosed group had a higher mean score on the CDI than the 7 months or greater group, the difference was not significant (p = .054). The newly diagnosed group also had higher mean state and trait anxiety scores on the STAIC, indicating higher anxiety levels, and a slightly lower CFSEI-2 mean score, indicating slightly lower self-esteem than the 7 months or greater group, but differences were not at a statistically significant level (p>.05).

This study attempted to determine the types, extent, and quality of student personnel services in colleges and universities accredited by the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (AABC). The Basic Services Questionnaire (BSQ) was adapted for use among Bible colleges and universities and mailed to chief student affairs officers representing 69 Bible colleges in the United States accredited by the AABC. Of the 71 surveys mailed (two institutions employed both a Dean of Men and Dean of Women), 46 were returned for a response rate of 65 percent. Chi-square tests of goodness-of-fit were performed on the data in order to categorize the types, extent, and quality of student services provided by the institutions. The Mueller-Schuessler Index of Qualitative Variation was used to determine the homogeneity, or heterogeneity, of the chief student affairs officers when grouped according to specific variables (gender, ethnic origin, major for highest degree earned, and highest degree earned). Frequency counts and percentage distributions were used on demographic data to present a profile of chief student services administrators at AABC schools. The results of the study point to four conclusions. First, the types of student personnel services provided by American Bible colleges and universities accredited by the AABC closely …

This mixed design study surveyed members of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) to determine the baseline for wellness among student affairs administrators and within the profession. In addition to describing the wellness levels of the administrators and comparing them to the wellness of the general population, the study explored how wellness is represented within the student affairs profession, as reflected in the literature and practice. Student affairs administrators' wellness was assessed utilizing the Five Factor Wel Wellness Inventory (Myers & Sweeney, 2004). Collectively, the administrators posted "well" scores on the six factors utilized in the study and scored higher than the norms reported for the 5F-Wel general population. However, there was a broad range of actual scores across individuals indicating that not everyone can be considered to be maintaining a well-balanced lifestyle. The administrators' wellness was not affected by their length of time in the student affairs profession but was negatively associated with the number of hours they worked per week. The administrators possessed a holistic view of wellness and could articulate the behaviors and conditions associated with achieving, and failing to achieve, balance. However, reported engagement in certain wellness behaviors (e.g., physical activity and healthy eating) …

Recent studies reveal that a considerable number of U.S. community college leaders will be retiring in the next several years. The concern is that with the large turnover, history, culture, and important lessons of leadership will be lost. The current research on the lives of presidents, their career paths, and experiences in community college leadership centers on approaches to the study of leadership at the macro level. Limited research exists in the published literature that reports and analyzes the development of individuals as community college leaders at the micro level. This results in a gap regarding understanding leadership development and strategies to prepare leaders. This study addresses this gap by providing a critical description of the leadership development of one individual who became a community college chancellor and who the literature on the community context indicates contributed to the local and national context for community colleges. Biography is gaining prominence as a legitimate and viable tool in the study of leadership. Few biographical studies currently exist which focus on leadership development in context at the micro level. This dissertation is a biographical, qualitative study of the leadership path and legacy of R. Jan LeCroy, a community college leader. The study …