Abstract This study proposes a model for meeting increasingly mandated outcome research objectives in a university counseling center setting. It is proposed that counseling centers utilize their existing intake forms, along with an annual satisfaction survey to determine the effectiveness of counseling services. Effectiveness is defined as improvement and measured by the reduction of the symptoms or presenting concerns with which the client initially presented. It also introduces the Relative-Change Index (R-Chi) as an objective way to quantify intra-individual change occurring as a result of therapy. This new mathematical procedure allows for a more meaningful assessment of the client's degree of improvement, relative to their potential for improvement. By re-administering the problem checklist, routinely included as part of the initial paperwork for each client at intake, again post-therapy, it is possible to quantify improvement by measuring the difference in distressing concerns. Additionally, including a subjective, retrospective survey question asking the client to indicate their perceived rate if improvement at follow-up provides construct validity and allows for correlational comparisons with R-Chi. Results suggest that student/client ratings of the degree to which the services they received satisfactorily addressed their presenting concerns were significantly rated to their R-Chi score. This model suggests that …

A culturally-based theoretical model about how cultural beliefs about cancer and breast cancer screening techniques influence the screening behaviors of women of Mexican descent was developed using grounded theory. Across levels of acculturation and socioeconomic status, 34 women (49 to 81 years old) were interviewed through focus groups. Women who hold more traditional health beliefs about causes, nature, and responsibility with regard to breast cancer are more likely to "feel healthy" and not engage in breast cancer screening. Women who hold more traditional beliefs about propriety of female and health care provider behavior are more likely to "feel indecent" and also not engage in screening. The cultural health belief model is integrated within a sociocultural and a socioeconomic context.

The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics that distinguish children with behavior disorders who drop out of psychotherapy treatment from those who remain in treatment. The sample included 379 children (268 male and 111 female) who were diagnosed with a behavior disorder at Dallas County Mental Health/Mental Retardation (MH/MR), a community mental health clinic in Dallas, Texas. The results indicated that certain characteristics increased the likelihood that a child would drop out of therapy, including reliance on aid, the presence of maternal psychopathology, and more severe externalizing and internalizing behaviors. This study also found that younger children with behavior disorders had a greater probability of dropping out of treatment. Minority status, gender, parent marital status, and referral source were not found to be associated with dropping out of treatment. Future studies should focus on specific interventions that clinicians could employ to deter premature termination from treatment.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate Linville's (1982) ingroup-outgroup complexity hypothesis through descriptive card sorts created by young, middle-aged, and older adults regarding their own and other age groups.

This study examined two theoretical factors proposed to explain the relationship between sexual abuse experiences and disturbed eating patterns. Over 300 women completed questionnaires designed to assess sexual abuse histories, bodily shame, body disparagement, and disordered eating behaviors. Multivariate analyses indicated that bodily shame, body image dysphoria, and bodily dissatisfaction were significantly higher in participants with previous sexual violations. In addition, disordered eating symptoms and behaviors were related to reported severity of sexual abuse experiences. However, the relationship between the severity of disturbed eating patterns and sexual abuse histories appears to be more meaningful in relation to the presence of bodily shame and body dissatisfaction, as proposed in previous research. Future research implications are discussed.

Relationships between body dissatisfaction, dieting methods, father absence, and puberty timing were investigated in this study. Participants included adolescent females from Wave 1 of the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health. Logistic regression results indicated that girls without a biological father in the home were significantly more likely to have an early onset of puberty than on-time or late. Girls who experienced early puberty exhibited higher levels of body dissatisfaction, but didn't use more dieting methods. Early onset girls more likely used dieting methods if their biological father was present than absent; however, no significant difference in body dissatisfaction was shown. A negative relationship with fathers indicated more body dissatisfaction. None of the attained findings were found when the biological mother was absent, and having a stepfather did not seem to matter. Evidence was revealed that fathers play a role in their daughters' view of their own bodies.

The relationship between occupational stress and burnout was investigated through a meta-analysis of 81 studies and 364 correlations. Occupational stress was measured by role conflict, role ambiguity, workload, cumulative role stress, job specific stress/stressors, and work setting characteristics. Burnout was measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory, 1981 and 1986 versions, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment components of burnout, measures of tedium, and the Staff Burnout Scale for Health Professionals. Thirty occupations in human and non-human service organizations throughout four publication periods were examined. Results indicated occupational stress strongly predicts burnout in non-human service organizations like industry and manufacturing as well as the human services. Job specific stressors most strongly predict burnout across organization types and occupation. Occupational stress predicts emotional exhaustion and depersonalization more than perceptions of reduced personal accomplishment. The findings support the use of transactional models of stress which consider occupational context as a precipitator of burnout, especially emotional exhaustion.

The potential for human exposure to pesticides exists particularly for agricultural workers (i.e. migrant workers) and individuals within close proximity to pesticide-sprayed crops (i.e. those living on or near agricultural farms). Children, through biology and behavior, may be more susceptible and vulnerable to exposure to pesticides than adults. The purpose of this study was to examine young populations particularly at-risk for occupational or accidental exposure to pesticides and determine associated behavioral, emotional, and physical symptoms. A total of 444 students from two South Texas school districts completed questionnaires assessing level of risk of exposure to pesticides and were categorized into at-risk and low risk categories. Physical, emotional, and behavioral symptoms were obtained using the Youth Self-Report. Children who were at-risk demonstrated significantly higher scores on the Youth Self-Report (YSR) in the areas of anxious/depressed, attention problems, social problems, somatic complaints, thought problems, withdrawal, internalizing behaviors, and total problem behaviors than children who were at lower risk of pesticide exposure. Odds ratios were obtained and suggested that children in the at-risk category were more five times more likely to score in the clinically significant range on the Attention Problems subscale, and three times more likely to score in the clinically significant …

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between masculine gender role conflict, attachment variables, narcissism, and adjustment. It was expected that men who reported higher masculine gender role conflict would also report unhealthy attachment, have a greater degree of narcissism and poorer adjustment. This study employed a sample of undergraduate males who completed self-report questionnaires measuring masculine gender role conflict, narcissism, adjustment, and attachment. Hypotheses were tested using canonical correlation techniques. Results indicated that healthy attachment was related to low masculine gender role conflict; however, unhealthy attachment was not related to high masculine gender role conflict. In terms of narcissism, higher amounts of narcissism were related to high amounts of gender role conflict, but in a subset of results individuals who reported low masculine gender role conflict also reported higher narcissism in areas that are assumed to relate to positive self regard. Results related to adjustment indicated that high masculine gender role conflict was related to less psychological well-being replicating past studies. Theoretical and methodological issues were discussed in light of these findings.

The sexual identity development process in gay men was the focus of this study. It was theorized that, as a result of negative experiences with the dominant heterosexual culture, gay men might feel mistrustful of heterosexuals in various settings. A new theoretical construct, that of heterosexual mistrust, was identified and explored. A new scale, the Heterosexual Mistrust Inventory (HMI), was created to measure this construct. Gay male subjects' stage of homosexual identity formation (HIF) was also determined. Results indicated that heterosexual mistrust existed to a significantly stronger degree among gay men than among heterosexual men. Heterosexual mistrust was strongly related to stage of HIF. The various settings in which heterosexual mistrust was found to occur were discussed. Implications for current knowledge about HIF and about cultural belief systems unique to gay men were identified and explored.

A questionnaire was used to study causal attribution to social roles as influenced by perceived deviance of the role, instructions to identify with the role, and participant gender. The perceived deviance or nondeviance of the roles was determined by a pilot study. The roles were varied randomly through 12 hypothetical events, and identification or nonidentification instructions randomly assigned. The participants were 194 male and female university students. Participants gave the cause of each event and rated the cause on five dimensions: internality, externality, stability, globality, and controllability. Causal attribution to deviant social roles was found to result in a significantly higher across-scales score and to be more internal, less external, and more global than attribution to nondeviant roles. Participant gender showed an interaction with deviance overall and on the dimensions of stability and globality due to significantly higher ratings by women participants than those by men. Identification instructions did not produce a significant effect.

The current study discussed the development and validation of the Checklist for Differential Diagnosis of Attentional Problems (CDDAP), a tool for use with adults seeking diagnosis and treatment of an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Normative data are provided on three subject groups (ADHD adults, controls, and adults with other psychiatric disorders). Convergent validity was established with the SCL-90, and criterion validity established through comparing scaled scores with final diagnoses. Overall, this measure was accurate at differentiating adults with ADHD from controls and adults with other psychiatric disorders. Results indicated that the CDDAP was also able to identify other psychiatric disorders with 71 to 92% accuracy, depending on the disorder.

Studies addressing racial/ethnic identity development have often overlooked the developmental cultural context. The impact of growing up with contradictory cultures has not been well explored. Immersion in multiple cultures may produce mixed patterns of strengths deficits. This study reviews the literature's currently inconsistent usage of the terms race, ethnicity, and culture; introduces the concept and theoretical framework of Cultural Homelessness; relates CH to multicultural integration; and develops two study-specific measures (included) to examine the construct validity of CH. The sample’s (N = 448, 67% women) racial, ethnic, and cultural mixture was coded back three generations using complex coding criteria. Empirical findings supported the CH-specific pattern of cognitive and social strengths with emotional difficulties: social adaptability and cross-cultural competence but also low self-esteem and shame regarding diff