Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2019, Psychology/Clinical

Abstract: Across studies, Post-Traumatic Growth is often positively correlated with unhelpful psychological processes (e.g., rumination) and post-traumatic stress (PTS). I hypothesized that these counterintuitive findings are due to inadequate measurement models of growth. Research has suggested there could be two types of growth: “illusory” (typically considered “cognitive growth”) and “real” (i.e., actualized growth, which could be considered “behavioral” growth). I had two aims in this dissertation: First, to create and validate a new measure of behavioral post-traumatic growth parallel to an existing measure of cognitive growth (Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory; PTGI). Second, I assessed relations between each type of growth and common trauma and coping-related precursors (i.e., time since trauma, severity of the trauma, adaptive coping, and rumination) and also adjustment variables (i.e., post-traumatic stress, anxiety/depression, and satisfaction with life). I hypothesized that if behavioral growth is the more “actualized” type of growth, that it would have stronger positive correlations with trauma/coping variables compared to cognitive growth, and that behavioral growth would moderate, or weaken, the expected negative relation between cognitive growth and adjustment variables. Method. 11 clinicians were surveyed: qualitative theme analysis informed item creation for the new behavioral growth measure in the same domains as the cognitive PTGI: relating to others, new possibilities, personal strength, spiritual growth, and appreciation of life. 199 US adults were surveyed from Amazon Mechanical Turk to test hypotheses. Results. The behavioral growth measure was adequately validated with Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The hypothesis that trauma and coping-related variables would have stronger positive correlations with behavioral growth than cognitive growth was mostly unsupported. Additionally, behavioral growth did not moderate the relation between cognitive gro (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Eric Dubow (Advisor); William Morrison (Other); Carolyn Tompsett (Committee Member); Dara Musher-Eizenman (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Psychology

PHD, Kent State University, 2018, College of Public Health

Most people have experienced a death-associated loss over the course of their lives, which has been shown to produce a wide range of emotions, most commonly characterized as grief. As of 2017, the annual number of United States (US) deaths almost reached three million. For each one of these deaths, the National Institutes of Health (2009) reported that four to five grievers remained to cope and mourn the loss. Due the essential provision of services required in order to recover from the grief experienced, grief has become a public health issue that has necessitated a population approach. Although several programs exist that aim to influence grief, many have not been theoretically evaluated for their effectiveness and have lacked valid and reliable instrumentation. Using The Grief Recovery Method®, a program that aimed to influence grief and promote grief recovery, this study described the development and validation of an instrument used to measure program variables. Using a construct validation of the treatment approach, a self-report instrument was developed to measure program variables believed to influence grief and promote grief recovery identified as a griever's 1) knowledge, 2) attitudes, 3) beliefs, 4) behaviors of grief (STERBs); and 5) behaviors of grief recovery as an outcome. The instrument was field tested using expert panel and peer-review. Pilot and validity tests were used to validate instrument. Confirmatory analysis (n=279) showed an overall adequate fit of the data to the hypothesized factorial structure (NFI=0.97; RFI=0.83; IFI=0.97; TLI=0.87; CFI=0.98; PNFI=0.19; PCFI=0.20; and RMSEA=0.09). The chi-square goodness of fit (CMIN=7.26) with two degrees of freedom (CMIN/df = 3.63) was large and significant (p=0.03), which suggested a potential area of misfit within the model. Internal consistency for the full measure was acceptable with Cronbach's alpha=0.87. This study established a content valid and reliable measure. With impending use of the meas (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jeffrey Hallam Dr. (Committee Chair); Mary Step Dr. (Committee Member); Clare Stacey Dr. (Committee Member); Lois Hall Mrs. (Committee Member); Douglas Delahanty Dr. (Other) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Public Health

PHD, Kent State University, 2017, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

The assessment of interpersonal functioning is an important aspect of both diagnosing certain mental disorders as well as identifying targets for intervention. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008/2011) is an empirically supported assessment tool measuring a broad range of personality and psychopathology. The MMPI-2-RF is hierarchically structured with 9 Validity Indicators, 3 Higher-Order, 9 Restructured Clinical (RC; Tellegen, Ben-Porath, McNulty, Arbisi, Graham, & Kaemmer, 2003), 23 Specific Problems, 2 Interest, and 5 Revised Psychopathology-5 Scales (PSY-5; Harkness, McNulty, & Ben-Porath, 1995; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008/2011). Considerable research has been conducted on the Validity Indicators, RC, and PSY-5 Scales; however, the Specific Problems, and the Interpersonal Specific Problems Scales, which assess interpersonal functioning in several domains, have not received as much attention in in the literature. The present study aimed to elucidate the construct validity of the MMPI-2-RF Interpersonal Scales via a theoretically informed examination of the convergent and discriminant validity of these scales. This study utilized four datasets from samples of university students enrolled in introductory psychology courses. After exclusion criteria, the first dataset consisted of 301 students, the second 513, the third 424, and the fourth 145 students. Each sample was administered self-report measures, including the MMPI-2-RF, over two, 1.5 to two-hour testing sessions, one week apart and self-report measures tapping into interpersonal functioning, including the Big Five Inventory, HEXACO, M5-120, Revised NEO Personality Inventory, and the Personality Inventory for DSM-5, among others. Bivariate correlations between the MMPI-2-RF and these collateral measures were conducted to examine convergent and discriminant validity and correlation comparisons were analyzed using Hotelling's T-Tes (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Yossef Ben-Porath PhD (Advisor); Mary-Beth Spitznagel PhD (Committee Member); John Updegraff PhD (Committee Member); Susan Roxburgh PhD (Committee Member); Richard Serpe PhD (Other) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Personality Psychology; Psychology

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2008, Human Factors and Industrial/Organizational Psychology MS

The current study is a construct validation of the Neutral Objects Satisfaction Questionnaire (NOSQ). The study includes tests of convergent and discriminant validity. Specifically, the NOSQ had more empirical overlap with affective-oriented dispositions (i.e., positive affectivity, negative affectivity, neuroticism, extraversion, trait anxiety, trait anger, trait depression, and cheerfulness) than with cognitive-oriented dispositions (i.e., need for cognition, general self-efficacy, and locus of control). In addition, the NOSQ had greater empirical overlap with the aforementioned affective-oriented dispositions than with a measure of temporal affect (i.e., mood). Correlations between the NOSQ and both job satisfaction and job cognitions were also compared, but no significant difference in correlation strength was found. Limitations, suggestions for future research, and the utility of the NOSQ in dispositional and job attitude research are discussed.

Committee: Nathan Bowling PhD (Advisor); Martyn Whittingham PhD (Committee Member); Corey Miller PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2006, Psychology

In an increasingly connected and multicultural world, it is imperative that organizations address and manage diversity. In response to the need for effective management of diversity, diversity researchers have urged organizations to conduct assessments of their current diversity climates. Despite the need for organizational diagnosis, there is little evidence of systematic or comprehensive efforts to conceptually and operationally define organizational climate for diversity. Part of this lack of theoretical and empirical progress may perhaps be attributed to the difficulty of making the construct operational and of deriving scales amenable to empirical testing and validation. The current research goals were to develop a multidimensional measure of climate for diversity, and to investigate the psychometric properties of the instrument developed, using a construct validation approach. This study evaluated the utility of the construct of organizational climate for diversity within a network of theoretical relations, with practical implications. A domain sampling approach was used to delineate dimensions and items for the new measure. Empirical data collected from an independent school was used to carefully examine the scales of the new measure. Climate for diversity was operationally defined as comprising of students' perceptions of top management support, formal institutional policies, student admissions policies, teaching equity and fairness, observations of teachers' behaviors in classes, fellow students' behaviors in classes, organizational resources and support, and personal diversity experiences. A global measure of climate for diversity was also introduced, as a molar-level measurement of the climate construct. Results indicate that both the dimensional and global approaches are reliable and valid indicators of the construct. Examination of the empirical indicators within a nomological network of expected relationships allow inferences to be made about the valid (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Robert Billings (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Psychology

Relational aggression is a pivotal concept associated with the trend toward increasing attention toward aggression in girls. Specifically, acts of relationship manipulation are hypothesized to be especially salient for girls, who are expected to covet social acceptance and inclusion more than boys. Past studies have supported a distinction between relational and physical forms of aggression and identified unique correlates of relational aggression. However, characteristics of relational aggression have been largely examined in isolation, thereby providing only indirect information about the nomological network of relational aggression. The present study adopted a construct validation approach to replicating and expanding upon existing research. Two hundred twenty-four children, aged 11 to 14, completed measures of relational, reactive, and proactive aggression as well as various other behaviors. One parent and one teacher per child completed parallel measures. At the manifest variable level, hierarchical regression analyses, which were conducted separately for child, parent, and teacher reports, varied across informants. Overall, these analyses suggested that relational aggression is both uniquely reactive and uniquely proactive in nature. Consistent with previous research, relational aggression was associated with such harmful correlates as social and internalizing problems. In many cases, such associations were mediated by either reactive or proactive aggression. Moreover, although there were generally no gender differences in mean levels of relational aggression, there was some suggestion that the implications of relational aggression may differ for boys and girls. At the latent variable level, a multitrait-multimethod approach was used to model associations between relevant constructs. Overall, these analyses provided consistent support for the convergent validity of all relevant constructs. However, there was less evidence for the discriminant validity of relat (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Michael Vasey (Advisor) Subjects: Psychology, Clinical

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2003, Physical Activity and Educational Services

Rates of physical activity have been shown to decline across the lifespan, particularly between adolescence and adulthood. The purpose of the study was to complete a construct validation of a web-based physical activity intervention for college students and to pilot-test the efficacy of the intervention in changing physical activity. The study involved three groups: an online group (n=46), a traditional group (n=22), and a health group (n=22). The online group received a fitness and self-regulatory knowledge and skill intervention. Students in this group were required to complete at least three days of physical activity and record it in their weekly activity logs. Students in the traditional group attended a fitness lecture one day per week, as well as a three-day per week physical activity lab. Students in the health course were not required to be physically active for their course. Self-regulation, family social support, friend social support, self-efficacy, outcome expectations and expectancies, physical activity, and estimated fitness measures were collected at pretest, post-test, and six-week follow-up. There was a significant interaction between time and group for self-regulation (Pillai's Trace = .235, F(4,174)=5.789, p<.001. A post-hoc One-Way ANOVA found the difference occurred at post-test, and that there was a significant difference between the online group and the health group. There were no group differences for any other construct variables. There was a significant time effect on vigorous physical activity from pre-test to post-test F(1,87)=11.434, p=.001. There was no group effect for moderate or vigorous physical activity. A regression analysis was conducted to assess if change in constructs led to a change in physical activity. A regression model for the sample indicated that 16% of the variance in change in vigorous physical activity could be accounted for by change in self-regulation. For the online group, 10% of the variance in change in vigorous (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Rick Petosa (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Education, The Ohio State University, 2002, Physical Activity and Educational Services

The purpose of this study is to complete a construct validation of a physical activity intervention on the subjects' knowledge and use of 8 self-regulation strategies: self-monitoring, goal setting, social support, environmental aid, self-reinforcement, time-management, self-efficacy, and tailoring. Using a one group pre-test post-test design, a physical education instructor delivered a 5-week intervention to all sixth (n=20), seventh (n=28) and eighth (n=24) graders at a private school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A self-report self-regulation instrument was administered at baseline and immediately post-intervention. Students also completed a knowledge test at the end of the intervention. Seven of the eight subscales as well as global self regulation for physical activity were found to be significantly changed from pre-test to post-test (p<.006). The mean score on the knowledge test was 17.5 out of 22 points.

Committee: Rick Petosa (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Physical