Since 2008, the United States (USA) has resettled thousands of Bhutanese refugees, providing brief financial support and pathways to citizenship. Despite the efforts of governing bodies and voluntary agencies which facilitate resettlement, many refugees struggle with adapting to the vastly different lifestyle, economy, language and social structures. In particular, effectively addressing psychological needs of this population is a challenge for service providers operating within an expensive health care system based on Western constructs of mental health. In response to this challenge, refugee resettlement agencies throughout the country use community gardens to promote psychological healing, self-sufficiency, community engagement, and a return of human dignity. Though success of these programs is being shared in the media, there has yet to be empirical data examining their impact. The current study tested whether Bhutanese refugee engagement in a community garden impacts symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD and somatic complaints. The study also investigated whether community gardening is associated with perceptions of social support and adjustment to life in the United States. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected from 50 adult Bhutanese refugees in Fort Worth, Texas. Gardening was significantly related to increased social support overall, a key factor in overall functionality within communal cultures; …

The main objective of this investigation was to study the influence of sex on extreme response style as measured by a semantic differential. The previous studies led to a general hypothesis formulated as follows. Normal males and females differ from each other with regard to their mean extreme response style scores with females having the greater extreme response scores on the semantic differential.

Research points out the many complex problems of the disadvantaged child. The purpose of establishing many preschool programs throughout this country has been to seek the most effective ways of educating the culturally deprived and to utilize the standardized measurements to assess various programs. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the intellectual functioning and sensory-motor abilities of the disadvantaged child at the preschool level, to determine his growth in these areas during his participation in the program, and to determine whether or not four different teaching models are instrumental in bringing about intellectual and sensory-motor improvements.

Rational-emotive therapy was proposed as a therapeutic treatment approach to romantic jealousy. It was hypothesized that rational-emotive therapy would be significantly more effective than an attention placebo group in the reduction of romantic jealousy with undergraduate single female subjects. It was also hypothesized that reductions in romantic jealousy would be sustained to a significantly greater extent in the rational-emotive therapy group rather than the attention placebo group on a follow-up evaluation after a 2-month period. Advertisements soliciting single females who were romantically jealous and who felt that this was a problem in their love relationships yielded 18 female subjects from the North Texas State University campus. The pre-treatment, post-treatment, and follow-up assessments consisted of two self-report questionnaires. The pre- and post-treatment also included a physiological measurement (heart rate) while the subject was imagining a jealousy scene. Both of the self-report questionnaires (Sexual Jealousy, Irrational Beliefs) were given to a significant other (such as a boyfriend or lover). Results support the hypothesis that rational-emotive therapy is more effective than an equally credible placebo in the reduction of female romantic jealousy.

The present study was concerned with the relationship between level of aspiration and anxiety. Level of aspiration is a term used for goal setting behavior. In other words, if a person sets his goals high it is said that he has a high level of aspiration. Anxiety, for the purpose of the present study is assumed to possess drive properties. Theoretically, at least, a highly anxious person has a high drive level. This assumption may be warranted in terms of physiological unrest--causing an effort toward equilibrium or homeostasis; or it can be defended psychologically as the need to achieve or the need to prove one's abilities to himself. However, the present paper was not concerned directly with the current controversy of anxiety as a drive mechanism. Rather it was the general purpose of the study to determine whether or not highly anxious college students set their goals higher, in response to previous experimental success or failure experiences than low anxious students. To be more specific the purpose was to determine whether or not highly anxious subjects differ significantly from low anxious subjects with respect to responses on a level of aspiration task. The particular response measures or scores investigated on …

This investigation is concerned with the problem of determining the variation of test achievement obtained by students enrolled on a MWF and a TTh schedule. The purpose of the study is to determine if either schedule is superior. The Ss were students enrolled in an Introductory Psychology course at North Texas State University. A t test was administered to the experimental data. The experimental hypothesis of an expected higher test achievement by students enrolled in the TTh schedule was rejected. It was concluded that test achievement for this study was not affected by scheduling.

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that time-keeping devices influence our perception of time in a way apart from their usual role of telling time. The subjects obtained for this project consisted of forty-two students enrolled in freshman psychology courses at North Texas State University.

Many of the causes for delinquency are known, but more investigation is needed in the prediction of future delinquent behavior. It was in this area of delinquency that this study was concerned. The problem was to compare scores made on the IES Test by a group of nondelinquent males with those made by a group of delinquent males to determine if the IES Test would discriminate between these two groups.

Thirty-three children from a community sample, ages 5 to 13, were administered the Rorschach Inkblot Test, along with projective Draw-an-Animal and Draw-a-Person tasks and other psychological measures. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three test order conditions: Draw-an-Animal followed by the Rorschach, Draw-a-Person followed by the Rorschach, and Rorschach before any other projective test. The number of Human and Animal contents in the test records was examined. Analysis showed no significant differences among the three groups for production of the content variables, suggesting that the Rorschach Inkblot Test is relatively robust with respect to test order effects.

The purpose of this study was to propose an exploratory causal model that examines the influence of several antecedent variables on burnout. The antecedent variables included age, marital status, education, tenure, Type A personality, Jungian types, death anxiety, leadership style, job satisfaction, stress, coping efficacy, and marital satisfaction. The validity of the causal model was tested by using path analysis. Subjects were 100 male firefighters who completed self-report measures of the predictor variables. Instruments included the Jenkins Activity Survey, Myers- Briggs Type Indicator, Collett-Lester Attitudes Toward Death Scale, Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire, Job Descriptive Index, Perceived Job Stress, The Coping Inventory, Dyadic Adjustment Scale, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Perceived work stress made the only direct contribution to the variance in burnout. Direct paths were found to stress from job satisfaction, Type A personality, and single marital status. Job satisfaction was directly related to leadership (consideration) and the Jungian Introversion, Feeling, and Perceiving preferences. Direct paths were found to marital satisfaction from death anxiety, leadership (consideration), and leadership (structure). Leadership (consideration) was directly related to structure. From the above results, it can be concluded that perception of stress is an important factor in predicting burnout. Other factors are important contributors …

Postoperative spinal patients were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions and were taught five adaptive movements by occupational therapists. The Control group received routine hospital occupational therapy; the Placebo group participated in an imagery relaxation task unrelated to the mental practice task of the Imagery group, which was shown line drawings of the adaptive movements under study, provided movement instructions, and asked to mentally practice each movement in a familiar, daily living situation. Thirty-five patients returned for follow-up, and a measure of outcome was obtained through the use of a quantified movement assessment instrument. Subjective ratings for anxiety, rumination, and imagery were made by the occupational therapists. An occupational motoric-symbolic rating scale was developed to assess the symbolic portion of the patient's job experience. Statistical procedures including chi square, analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation were performed. Results were in the predicted direction although statistical significance was not achieved. Possible explanations for the obtained results were discussed.

The factor structure of the Luria Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery (LNNB) Form II was examined. A principle components factor analysis was performed on a sample of 102 psychiatric and neurologic subjects. It was necessary to remove 45 items from the analysis due to perfect performance by most subjects. The results were orthogonally rotated to simple structure using a Varimax method of rotation, and then compared to previous LNNB Form I and Form II results. Thirty-three factors were generated in the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) . There was a very high agreement with the factors from Form I. Only one new factor was identified that didn't have a comparable Form I factor, and this factor appears to have neurological support. The similarity of the factor solutions between the two forms supports the continued use of factors derived from Form I for the interpretation of Form II, and supports the underlying structure presupposed by Lurian constructs. The present study also tested the significance of the hypothesized factor structures through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). No hypothesis about the underlying factor structure based on previous exploratory studies was supported. The CFA did suggest that the best factor solution to the LNNB Form II is one …

The effects of the counselor's religious values on the counseling process has been a focal point recently in the literature on counseling and psychotherapy, especially with regard to how the counselor's announced values might effect potential clients' selection of a counselor. In the present study, the investigator addressed this issue in a study with 125 male and 125 female undergraduate students assigned to five different groups in which they read a script that differed with respect to the counselor's religious orientation. The content of the five scripts ranged from no mention of religious values to describing in detail the specific religious values of the counselor. Subjects' responses to the scripts were measured by having them rate (1) the degree of similarity in their own values and the announced values of the therapist; (2) their rating of how helpful they thought the therapist would be with their problem; and, (3) their stated willingness to see the counselor. Results indicated that subjects who read the script describing an agnostic counselor saw a significant degree of dissimilarity between their own and the counselor's values, but this did not affect subjects' perceptions of the counselor's helpfulness or their willingness to see the counselor. Differences …

This investigation sought to identify anxiety responses to weight measurement, assessed by verbal report and cardiovascular reactivity CCR3 (systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate), which might differentiate females with either high or low self-reported bulimic behavior. Secondar i ly,, the study attempted to examine specific autonomic nervous system (ANS) arousal patterns of each group over time. The Bulimia Test (BULIT), Body Dissatisfaction Scale (BD), and a demographic questionnaire were administered to 105 undergraduate females at The University of North Texas. Based on BULIT scores, females were divided into high or low bulimic behavior groups. Of the 105 females screened, forty participated in the experiment which consisted of four phases: relaxation, anticipation of weight measurement, weight measurement, and recovery. Subjects had no prior knowledge of the weight stressor until presentation during the experiment. Results showed that subjects' notion of ideal weight was substantially lower than measured weight. During weight measurement, all subjects reported increased anxiety although the high group reported significantly more anxiety. Contrary to prediction, no significant group differences in CR were found when repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed. Orthogonal polynomial trend analysis was done with pooled groups, resulting in significant within-subject trends for …

Review of previous research on cultural differences in pain experience and/or pain behavior revealed that cultural affiliation affects pain perception and response. Unfortunately, the many inconsistent findings in the literature on cultural differences in pain experience and behavior have made interpretations and comparisons of results problematic. These inconsistent findings could be attributed to variations in acculturation level among cultural groups. The purpose of this study was to investigate cultural differences in pain experience (assessed by McGill Pain Questionnaire, the Box Scale, the Headache Pain Drawing, and the Headache Questionnaire) and pain behavior (measured by determining medication use and interference of daily functioning due to headaches) among Mexican (n = 43), Mexican American (n = 36), and Anglo American (n = 50) female chronic headache pain sufferers. The contribution of acculturation to differences in pain experience and behavior among cultural groups was measured by the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans. The three cultural groups of women significantly differed on pain experience and pain behavior. Specifically, Mexican women experienced their headache pain more intensely, severely, and emotionally than Mexican American and Anglo American women. Furthermore, Mexican women were more willing to verbally express their pain than the other two groups. As …

Male and female college students were administered scales assessing their daily hassles, negative life events, control, commitment, challenge, psychological symptomatology, psychological distress, and physical symptomatology. Stepwise multiple regression analyses showed that control, commitment, and challenge act in an additive (rather than multiplicative) manner in relation to psychological and physical outcome measures.

Parents of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are often reported as experiencing more stress than parents of normal children. The bulk of this research has been conducted primarily on a Caucasian population, however, providing little information regarding multicultural aspects of parenting stress. Research has also been lacking in attention given to the stress related to parenting a child with internalizing disorders. The purpose of this study was 1) to compare parenting stress reported by mothers of children with ADHD to parenting stress reported by mothers of children with depressive disorders, and 2) to compare parenting stress as reported by Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic mothers. Results indicated that mothers of ADHD children experienced more parenting stress related only to their children's hyperactive and distracting behaviors. Contrary to previous research, Caucasian mothers reported significantly more overall and parent-related parenting stress than African American mothers.

The purpose of this study was to compare pre- and post-treatment differences in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in male adolescents with conduct disorder. The Children's PTSD Inventory and the PTSD Reaction Index were used to diagnose PTSD and determine trauma type (Type I single trauma or Type II recurring trauma). Pre- and post-treatment measures included the PTSD Reaction Index, the Children's Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, the Dissociative Experiences Scale, and the Youth Self-Report. The six-week, biweekly group treatment included education, exposure, and cognitive elements. Primary hypotheses that the abused group would statistically differ from the non-abused group in terms of pre- and post-treatment levels of avoidance, dissociation, anger/aggression, self-destructiveness, social problems, and overall levels of PTSD symptoms, were not confirmed. Overall, group therapy participants experienced statistically significant decreases in PTSD symptoms over the course of therapy. Results are discussed in light of clinical implications, recommended cautions given the lack of a robust control group, and directions for future research.

It has been suggested that the use of standardized intelligence tests is biased against minorities. This study investigates the newly revised Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III in which Wechsler states that the new scale has eliminated biased items. Comparisons of the scores on the WISC-R and the WISC-III of a clinical population of sixteen African American and eighteen Caucasian males, ages ten to sixteen, revealed significant differences between the two groups on the WISC-III. The minority scores decreased predictably from the WISC-R to the WISC-III, but the Caucasian scores increased rather than decreasing. The findings of this study do not support the predictions and goals of revision as stated in the manual of the WISC-III.

The Personality Inventory for Youth (PIY) is a recently developed, multiscale assessment instrument designed specifically for adolescents between the ages of nine and 18. The purpose of this archival study was to establish clinical correlates for the PIY scales. PIY profiles were collected from 100 juvenile files at the Gainesville State School and examined in conjunction with the Child Assessment Scale (CAS) and the Personal Attitude Scale (PAS) to provide evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. Results indicate modest to moderate convergent validity according to Campbell and Fiske's criteria for construct validity; however, discriminant results indicate considerable overlap among traits which are not expected to be highly correlated.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) was one of the most widely used psychological tests administered to adolescents. The MMPI-A is a revised version of the MMPI that was developed specifically for adolescents. The purpose of this study is to establish clinical correlates for the MMPI-A standard scale codetypes.

The purpose of the study is to examine adult attachment relationships among a group of college students and their parents. Two attachment hypotheses were tested: The mental model hypothesis for attachments with parents and romantic partners and the compensation hypothesis for attachment with God. Hypothesis 1 attempted to determine if there was agreement between parents and children about a self-reported attachment style. Support was found as students and parents had a significantly higher level of agreement when reporting a secure style of attachment between them, with sons being significantly highest. Hypothesis 2 examined agreement on attachment style between generations: Children's report of attachments to parents and parents' report of attachment to their parents. Results indicated that parents' reporting a secure style of attachment to their parents was significantly higher with their same gender parents. Hypothesis 3 produced two 15 x 15 correlation matrices including measures of romantic attachment and religiousness for children and parents. In general, further validity for measures used is provided in numerous expected correlations. Anxious and avoidant romantic attachment styles and desperate love were significantly positively related and were often negatively related to a secure style of attachment. Results indicate significant relationships between fathers' and children's (particularly …

Ninety-nine African-American undergraduates, at a historically Black college, completed the African American Acculturation Scale to compare fraternity/sorority members with independents' participation in Black cultural traditions versus dominant White society. Greek members were hypothesized to be more traditional, because these organizations represent ethnic enclaves, have duplicate institutions, and communicate ethnic socialization; findings did not support this, but reasons for joining did. They were more superstitious in their beliefs than nonmembers, likely related to pledgeship and initiation rituals. Validity data on the new measure were provided. Why participants join fraternities, why they like/dislike them, and what purposes they serve was also examined.

The present investigation evaluated sport-related motivational climates by assessing personal and perceived parental goal orientations and perceived parental pressure in children and adolescents. Data were collected from 202 middle-class, racially diverse students, including 43 male and 50 female children aged 12 or below (M age = 10.6) and 51 male and 58 female adolescents aged 13 or above (M age = 14.7), who had participated in a variety of organized sports, and were enrolled in elementary, middle, and high schools of the Dallas (TX) Independent School District. Measures included personal and parental projected versions (mother's and father's) of the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ), the Sport Parental Pressure Scale (mother's and father's versions), and a background assessment.