Stigma and Attributions of Blame toward Persons with AIDS (PWAs) (open access)

Stigma and Attributions of Blame toward Persons with AIDS (PWAs)

A sample of 227 undergraduate students was administered pre-intervention paper-and-pencil questionnaires to assess homophobia, fear of AIDS contagion, symbolic representations of AIDS and homosexuality, and specific personality attributes including authoritarianism, religiosity, and conservatism. Participants then read one of eight intervention vignettes about an ill person; these vignettes varied by sexual orientation of the patient, disease (AIDS versus lung cancer), and mode of transmission (in the AIDS conditions). Participants then completed post-intervention measures assessing the degree to which the ill person in the vignette was responsible and to blame for his illness, the level of stigma toward him, and concerns about social interactions with him. Results indicate the following: a) Attributions of personal responsibility are primarily a function of mode of illness transmission; b) fear of AIDS contagion is predictive of stigma and social avoidance of PWAs; and c) AIDS-related stigma and attributions of blame are largely a function of symbolic associations between homosexuality and IV drug abuse (which were previously stigmatized) and AIDS.
Date: August 1996
Creator: Henschel, Peter W. (Peter William)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Imagery, Psychotherapy, and Directed Relaxation: Physiological Correlates (open access)

Imagery, Psychotherapy, and Directed Relaxation: Physiological Correlates

Thirty outpatients being treated at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center Department of Behavioral Health Psychology were randomly assigned to either a relaxation/imagery training class (R/I), a short-term psychotherapy group (P/G) or a no treatment control group. Subjects had psychological, physiological and immunological data taken before and after treatment. Results indicated that support for the hypothesis that relaxation/imagery training improves the psychological, physiological, and immunological functioning of participants was found.
Date: May 1992
Creator: Baldridge, Jeffrey T. (Jeffrey Turner)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Criterion Validity of the MMPI-2 in a State Hospital Setting (open access)

Criterion Validity of the MMPI-2 in a State Hospital Setting

The current study investigated the criterion validity of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 2 (MMPI-2) by comparing participants' profiles with other variables, including diagnosis, length of hospitalization, and chronicity. The specific diagnostic groups investigated were depressed (major depressive disorder; dysthymic disorder; and bipolar disorder, depressed), schizophrenic (schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, and schizoaffective disorder), and borderline personality disorder (BPD). Statistical analyses included use of univariate analyses of variance (ANOVAs), multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs), regression analyses, and measures of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive power (PPP), and negative predictive power (NPP). MANOVA results indicated significant differences between diagnostic groups on Scales F, 2, 3, 4, 7, ANX. FRS. DEP. BIZ. M f i , LSE, and FAM. There were considerable differences between males and females when separate MANOVAs were performed for gender groups. Cutoff see ires for classification by diagnosis resulted in significant specificity rates and negative predictive power, but sensitivity rates and positive predictive power were not significant.
Date: August 1996
Creator: Connell, Richard (Richard Nicholas), 1965-
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Cognitive and Emotional Correlates of Neglect in School Age Children (open access)

The Cognitive and Emotional Correlates of Neglect in School Age Children

The purpose of this study was to examine the cognitive and emotional functioning of neglected, physically abused, and clinical control children between six and thirteen years of age who were referred for testing at the Dallas Child Guidance Clinic.
Date: August 1997
Creator: Elisens, Merrie M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Maternal Stress and Cystic Fibrosis (open access)

Maternal Stress and Cystic Fibrosis

The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between parent and child factors for mothers of children diagnosed with cystic fibrosis to predict mother's psychological distress. Mothers were surveyed to identify measurement models in areas of Child and Parental characteristics and a Full Causal Model of Maternal distress. Factors related to Child Characteristics include general parental stressors and cystic fibrosis specific parental stressors. Factors related to Parental Characteristics include the mother's sense of parental competence and self-esteem. Additional factors related to the Full Causal Model include social support, major and minor life events, and demographics. Results were analyzed using LISREL IV structural equation modeling. Measurement model analysis found a good fit for the Child Characteristics model (Chi Square = 6.85, df = 4, JD = .144, Goodness of Fit Indices = .972) and Parental Characteristics model (Chi Square = 5.89, df = 3, p = .117, Goodness of Fit Indices = .971), but not for the full causal model of maternal distress (Chi Square = 114.98, df = 66, E = .000, Goodness of Fit Indices = .853)
Date: August 1996
Creator: Bizzell, Laurie
System: The UNT Digital Library
Attitudes Toward Psychodiagnostic Testing and Doctoral Clinical Psychology Students' Professional Expectations and Training (open access)

Attitudes Toward Psychodiagnostic Testing and Doctoral Clinical Psychology Students' Professional Expectations and Training

Responses of 111 doctoral clinical psychology students to Garfield and Kurtz' (1973) Testing Attitude Scale were subjected to a 2 x 2 factorial analysis. Attitudes toward psychodiagnostic testing were found to be related both to academic versus nonacademic professional expectations (academics scoring more negatively, M = 32.69, than nonacademics, M = 37.19), F (1, 107) = 5.994, p < 0.016, and to internship training exposure (non-interns scoring more negatively, M = 34.64, than interns, M = 38.80), F (1, 107) = 10.321, p< 0.002. Results paralleled previous research on academic and nonacademic working psychologists' attitudes. Similarities in students' and role models' attitudes were discussed in terms of Kelman's (1953; 1958), Festinger's (1957), and Bem's (1970) attitude theories. Results seemed to imply continued controversy over both the desirability of producing psychodiagnostically oriented clinicians, and also traditional paradigms of psychodiagnostic training.
Date: August 1976
Creator: Steele, J. Richard
System: The UNT Digital Library
Anger/Hostility: Reliability of Measurement and Correlates of Health History (open access)

Anger/Hostility: Reliability of Measurement and Correlates of Health History

The purpose of this study was to (1) assess the reliability and validity of anger/hostility measures, (2) examine the relationship between anger/hostility and other negative emotions, and (3) examine the relationship between anger/hostility and health history. Sixty-five subjects were given the Buss Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI), the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI), the Profile of Mood States pomsS), the Clinical Analysis Questionnaire (CAQ), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Health and Wellness Attitude Inventory (HWAI), and a health questionnaire designed to provide information about past disease and alcohol/drug use. Overall, the BDHI and POMS displayed good test-retest reliability. All six of the global indices of anger/hostility intercorrelated at a significant level, thus demonstrating good concurrent validity. The six global measures of anger/hostility also correlated at a significant level with other negative emotions.
Date: August 1990
Creator: Buri, Robert J. (Robert John)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Depressive Subtypes and Dysfunctional Attitudes: a Personal Construct View (open access)

Depressive Subtypes and Dysfunctional Attitudes: a Personal Construct View

The influence of cognitive organization, dysfunctional attitudes, and depressive "subtype" on the perceptions of negative life events is explored. BDI scores are used to delineate symptomatic and non-symptomatic groups. Construct content (sociotropic versus autonomous, as first defined by Beck) is used to identify predominant schema-type. Subjects completed a Problematic Situations Questionnaire with Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale. Results indicate that depressed individuals display more dysfunctional attitudes and negative affect in all types of negative situations; further the endorsement of dysfunctional attitudes is significantly more likely to occur in the context of schema-congruent situations. Findings are discussed a) in terms of the utility of personal constructs in the assessment of schema-type and b) in accordance with a person-event interactional model of depression.
Date: December 1990
Creator: Longhorn, Alison J. (Alison Jane)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Educational Level on the Appreciation of Sexist Humor (open access)

The Effects of Educational Level on the Appreciation of Sexist Humor

Superiority, control, and dominance theories of disparaging humor were reviewed, and sexist humor was studied as representative of the field. The effects of educational level and sex of subject on the judgment of humor in sexist material were investigated, utilizing a set of 50 cartoons and jokes devised to approximate overlapping standard curves on the dimensions sexist content and humor. Subjects were 71 males and 73 females, comprising 84 undergraduates and 60 doctoral graduate students. Each subject performed a forced Q sort of the jokes, with 104 rating for humor and 40 rating for sexism to establish content weights. Subjects' rankings, age, sex, and educational level were recorded upon completion of the task. Significant negative correlations were found between educational level and judgment of humor in sexist material, and female subjects judged sexist material to be significantly less funny than males. Some support was indicated for existing theories.
Date: August 1982
Creator: Gravley, Norma J. (Norma Jean)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Continuous Versus Non-Continuous Noise and Level of Intensity on a Serial Learning Task (open access)

The Effects of Continuous Versus Non-Continuous Noise and Level of Intensity on a Serial Learning Task

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of two noise conditions, continuous and noncontinuous noise, and three intensity levels, upon a serial learning task and the interaction effects of these factors on learning.
Date: August 1972
Creator: Ware, William S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Retrospective Perceptions of Early Parent-Child Relations and Occupational Orientation (open access)

Retrospective Perceptions of Early Parent-Child Relations and Occupational Orientation

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between early perceptions of parent-child relations, as measured by the Roe and Siegelman Parent-Child Relations Questionnaire (PCR), and the occupational orientation of the child, as measured by the Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB).
Date: December 1971
Creator: Smith, Richard E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Early Recognition of Minimal Brain Injury through Use of the Metropolitan Readiness Tests (open access)

Early Recognition of Minimal Brain Injury through Use of the Metropolitan Readiness Tests

This study explored the usefulness of the Metropolitan Readiness Tests (MRT) as a screening device for minimal brain injury. It was hypothesized that brain injured (BI) children would score significantly lower on Test Six of the MRT than non-brain injured (NBI) children. Test Six is a visual-motor perceptual task.
Date: December 1971
Creator: Spurgin, Raymon David
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Preference for Simplicity or Complexity as a Function of Personality (open access)

A Preference for Simplicity or Complexity as a Function of Personality

This study is designed to determine if people have a particular stimulus or perceptual preference which is congruent with their personality. Seventy-six male and female college students completed three personality tests, consisting of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the Revised Art Scale of the Welsh Figure Preference Test, and the Gough Adjective Check List. A preference for simplicity or complexity in designs for four different personality dimensions was examined. The personality dimension of introversion and extroversion was looked at in particular.
Date: August 1972
Creator: Norman, Susan
System: The UNT Digital Library
Dogmatism and Sex Role Differentiation in Adults (open access)

Dogmatism and Sex Role Differentiation in Adults

This study is an investigation of the general questions Is there a relationship or interaction between a subject's dogmatism score (as measured by the Dogmatism Scale) and his self-rating of the perceived stereotypical masculinity-femininity dimension (as measured by the abridged Mf scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory)?
Date: May 1973
Creator: Westmoreland, Robert W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Stimulation of Breast Growth by Hypnosis (open access)

Stimulation of Breast Growth by Hypnosis

The purpose of this study was to determine whether hypnotic suggestions could influence the physiological mechanisms associated with breast growth to produce a significant increase in breast- size in an adult female population.
Date: May 1973
Creator: Williams, James E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Investigation of I.Q. and Achievement Score Increase in Classes for the Emotionally Disturbed and Minimally Brain Injured as a Result of Operant Conditions Using Tangible Reinforcers (open access)

An Investigation of I.Q. and Achievement Score Increase in Classes for the Emotionally Disturbed and Minimally Brain Injured as a Result of Operant Conditions Using Tangible Reinforcers

This study was an objective investigation of an operant program in behavior modification using tangible reinforoers, which was conducted in two Special Education classes in the Denton Independent School District.
Date: August 1973
Creator: Cooksey, James Roy
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Comparative Effectiveness of Behavior Rehearsal and Systematic Desensitization in the Treatment of Social Anxiety (open access)

The Comparative Effectiveness of Behavior Rehearsal and Systematic Desensitization in the Treatment of Social Anxiety

The present study was concerned with comparing the relative effectiveness of behavior rehearsal and systematic desensitization in the treatment of social anxiety.
Date: May 1972
Creator: Friedberg, Roger M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Physiological and Verbal Responses to Erotic Visual Stimuli in a Female Population (open access)

Physiological and Verbal Responses to Erotic Visual Stimuli in a Female Population

In recent years, there has been a growing acceptance of sexual behavior as a legitimate area of research. An impetus for research utilizing erotic visual stimuli was supplied by the Presidential appointment of the Commission on Obscenity and Pornography (1963). Research into the effects of erotic visual stimuli has typically employed male subjects (Neiger, 1966). The paucity of adequate research has not been a deterrent to the formulation of strong opinions regarding the nature of female sexuality. The present research has focused on female responses to visual representations of the nude male figure.
Date: December 1972
Creator: Hamrick, Narecia D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Investigation of the Relationship between Intelligence, Self-Concept and Social Competency among the Mentally Retarded (open access)

An Investigation of the Relationship between Intelligence, Self-Concept and Social Competency among the Mentally Retarded

The purpose of this study is to add to the body of knowledge concerning intelligence, self-concept, and social competency as related to the habilitation of retardates by investigating the following problem: what is the relationship between intelligence, self-concept, and social competency among the mentally retarded?
Date: December 1972
Creator: Terrill, Nolan Allan
System: The UNT Digital Library
Insight versus Desensitization: a Comparative Study (open access)

Insight versus Desensitization: a Comparative Study

The present study was an attempt to show that the behavioral technique of desensitization is superior to insight-oriented psychotherapy in terms of not only behavior change for individuals undergoing desensitization but in terms of case of acquisition to novice therapists who have virtually no clinical experience.
Date: August 1971
Creator: Juda, Robert A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Different Confidentiality Conditions on Adolescent Minor Patients' Self-Report of Behavioral and Emotional Problems (open access)

The Effects of Different Confidentiality Conditions on Adolescent Minor Patients' Self-Report of Behavioral and Emotional Problems

The primary purpose of the present study was to determine if information regarding potential parental or legal guardian access to mental health information would deleteriously impact male and female adolescent psychiatric patients' willingness to self-report personal problems and symptoms.
Date: May 1992
Creator: Drake, David Warren
System: The UNT Digital Library
Interpersonal Responsiveness as a Function of Self-Concept (open access)

Interpersonal Responsiveness as a Function of Self-Concept

This study considers the relationship between scores on the "Experimental Draw-A-Group Projective Technique for Measuring Interpersonal Responsivenesss" (DAG), and self-concept as indicated by scores on the Tennessee Self Concept Scale (TSCS). The study assumes a significantly positive relationship between interpersonal responsiveness and self-concept. The study further seeks to establish sound empirical data to justify the use of the DAG scale in the research of self-concept.
Date: August 1973
Creator: Olson, Robert E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Extraversion-Introversion and the Sexual Behavior of College Students (open access)

Extraversion-Introversion and the Sexual Behavior of College Students

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between extraversion-introversion and the sexual behavior of college students. Five predictions were proposed based on previous research which indicated the possibility of a relationship of the personality types of extraversion and introversion with some aspects of sexual behavior.
Date: August 1973
Creator: Orgeron, Donald J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Use of Systematic Desensitization in the Prevention of Pervasive Anxiety (open access)

The Use of Systematic Desensitization in the Prevention of Pervasive Anxiety

This investigation was concerned with the potential effectiveness of systematic desensitization as a technique in the prevention of pervasive anxiety. It was hypothesized for investigatory purposes, that if two specific, potentially anxiety-evoking stimuli could be pre-desensitized, this would be strongly suggestive that pre-desensitization programs might also prove successful in the prevention of pervasive anxiety.
Date: August 1972
Creator: Jaremko, Matthew E.
System: The UNT Digital Library