PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Counselor Education

This dissertation reviewed the literature on alcohol use disorder (AUD) recovery definitions, prevalence, pathways, and psychometrics, identifying gaps, including a lack of clarity about the dimensionality of recovery and whether its domains have the same meaning between those experiencing who have and have not experienced AUD as well as between those using and not using services (e.g., formal treatment or 12 steps). The predictive validity of AUD recovery domains over more extended periods and across development is also largely unknown. Here, I used public data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n = 4,512) to (a) determine the structure of biopsychosocial domains included in definitions and measures of AUD recovery during young adulthood, (b) test this structure for measurement invariance across service utilization and non-service utilization as well as alcohol abuse and non-abuse subgroups, and (c) test whether AUD recovery domains exhibit predictive validity over 6 years. Exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) showed an eight-factor solution fit the data well (CFI = .968, RMSEA = .023). Bifactor ESEM showed evidence against a global recovery factor (e.g., common variance [ECVG = .146] and omega hierarchical [?h = .027]). Scalar invariance for the eight-factor model held across alcohol abuse and non-abuse (CFI = .973; RMSEA = .023) as well as service utilization and non-service utilization (CFI = .972; RMSEA = .021) subgroups, suggesting AUD recovery domains have the same meaning across them and scores may be compared. Longitudinal structural equation modeling showed that Wave III daily activities and physical health (βs = -.068 to -.134), parental support and connection (βs = -.059 to -.100), and religiosity and spirituality (βs = -.053 to -.100) significantly forecasted decreases in many AUD indicators over 6 years; whereas risky behavior and violence, psychological illness, self-esteem, and economic deprivation did not. (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: George Richardson Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Christopher Swoboda Ph.D. (Committee Member); Hok Chio (Mark) Lai Ph.D. (Committee Member); Michael Brubaker Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Counseling Education

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Psychology/Industrial-Organizational

The current study bridges the gap between the intelligence literature and applied psychology fields such as industrial-organizational psychology and educational psychology by examining the practical utility of psychometric network models of intelligence. Using data from Project TALENT, this study first demonstrated that a psychometric network provided a better fit to the data than common confirmatory factor models such as a g model, correlated factors models, hierarchical model, and a bifactor model. Second, the study demonstrated that specific ability scores based on the network may provide a marginal increase in the variance explained in outcomes of interest compared to g and factor scores; however, scores informed by the network may not provide much advantage in terms of subgroup differences over factor scores. For both validity and subgroup differences, the g composite was consistently the worst performing method in the study. The results of the study underline the importance of considering specific abilities in selection systems. In addition, researchers and practitioners should continue to explore psychometric networks.

Committee: Samuel McAbee Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Melissa Keith Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jari Willing Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jeanne Novak Ph.D. (Other) Subjects: Psychology

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2022, Psychology, Clinical

This M.A. thesis project included a number of studies further examining the psychometric properties of the Self-Efficacy for Advocacy Scale (SEAS). The SEAS is a 218-item scale that assesses a person's self-efficacy for advocacy across a wide variety of (a) ecological domains (micro to macro), (b) social justice and human rights issues, and (c) specific advocacy behaviors. Study 1 provided evidence of convergent validity by showing that the SEAS correlates with another agency-related construct (i.e., community service self-efficacy), and Study 1 also replicated findings from past research (e.g., strong internal consistency). In Study 2, further evidence of convergent validity was established by showing that the SEAS correlates with a different agency related construct (i.e., perceptions of sociopolitical power), and evidence of discriminant validity was obtained by showing that the correlations between the SEAS and a measure of social desirability (including both impression management and self-deception subscales) were nonsignificant and negligible in magnitude. Study 2 also replicated past research (e.g., strong internal consistency). In addition, Study 2 found that the SEAS was sensitive (able to capture) changes in self-efficacy for advocacy that occur due to advocacy training. Study 3 examined data from a number of studies in order to establish a Preliminary Short Form of the SEAS. To do this, Study 3 used a hybrid psychometric strategy that included an empirical approach (i.e., a series of follow-up statistical analyses to select items passing psychometric criteria) and a rational approach (i.e., content analysis to select items that represent critical domains of the SEAS). All studies employed undergraduate students at the University of Dayton. Major limitations of SEAS validation research thus far, including (a) a need to more fully examine different types of reliability and validity and define the construct's nomological network and (b) a need to determine i (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Roger Reeb (Advisor) Subjects: Psychology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2021, Nursing: Nursing - Doctoral Program

Background: Chemotherapy exposure is an occupational hazard that affects the health of oncology nurses and other health care workers. The health complications of chemotherapy exposure among the health care workers are severe and include infertility, congenital anomalies, genotoxicity, and the increased risk to develop cancer. One important factor influencing the exposure among oncology nurses is the inadequate level of adherence to chemotherapy safe handling guidelines. Purpose: The purpose of this dissertation research was to develop and psychometrically test an instrument that measures oncology nurses' health behaviors determinants with regard to the adherence to the guidelines when handling chemotherapy. Methods: An integrative review of the literature were conducted to identify the current literature related to the factors that affect chemotherapy exposure among nurses who handle them. This review revealed the need to develop an instrument which has evidence of reliability and validity and measures the factors that influence oncology nurses' health behaviors when handling chemotherapy. After identifying this gap, the items of a new instrument, the Oncology Nurses Health Behaviors Determinants Scale, were developed by the investigators based on the Health Belief Model. The instrument's content validity was then judged by a group of seven experts using a cross-sectional study design with a qualitative component. Then, the instrument was psychometrically tested using a cross-sectional study design with a sample of 125 oncology nurses. Results: The Content Validity Index (I-CVI) at the item level and for the total Scale Content Validity Index (S-CVI) were calculated. Twenty-eight items in the final instrument met the required level of content validity (CVI=0.83). Four additional items were retained due to conceptual significance. Two items were added based on experts' suggestions. The instrument version after the content validity contai (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Elaine Miller Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Tamilyn Bakas PhD (Committee Member); Elizabeth Shaughnessy M.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Occupational Safety

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), University of Findlay, 0, Education

Ohio middle school teachers have had difficulty getting students to pass the state writing assessment (ODE, 2019b). A critical discourse analysis was conducted to examine the intertextuality of current compositional theory use in the IRA/NCTE's Standards for the ELA, Ohio's Learning Standards for ELA, and Ohio's State Test in ELA to search for possible misalignment. It was found that both sets of standards align with current compositional theory; however, the Ohio writing assessment, constructed by Ohio Department of Education (ODE) and American Institutes for Research (AIR), lacks sociocultural characteristics and diverges from the Ohio ELA standards due to the lack of inquiry, the inability to practice adequate attention to audience, and insufficient time to implement writing as a process effectively. It is recommended that the state use a sociocultural writing assessment that utilizes the social nature of these current compositional theory elements.

Committee: Christine Denecker (Committee Chair); Kathleen Crates (Committee Member); Jon Brasfield (Committee Member) Subjects: Composition; Education

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2020, Psychology

Transfer of learning refers to how learning in one context influences performance in a different context. A well-versed theory of transfer is paramount to understanding learning. Yet, a thorough understanding of transfer has been frustratingly elusive, with some researchers arguing that meaningful transfer rarely occurs or attempts to detect transfer are futile. In spite of this pessimism, we explore a model-based account of transfer. Building on the laws of practice, we develop a scalable, quantitative framework to detect transfer (or lack thereof). We perform a simulation study to explore under what conditions under which transfer can be detected and model parameters can be faithfully recovered. We then use our modeling framework to explore a large-scale game-play dataset from Lumosity. Our results suggest there are conditions in which transfer is more easily detected and there is evidence of specific game-to-game transfer in the Lumosity data.

Committee: Brandon Turner (Advisor); Patricia Van Zandt (Committee Member); Vladimir Sloutsky (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

PHD, Kent State University, 2020, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the newly developed measures entitled Decision-Making in College Course Selection (DMCCS), Satisfaction with College Course Selection (SCCS), and Importance of College Course Selection (ICCS) scales in a sample of current college students at a large public research university in the Midwest United States. This study also sought to explore the relationship between DMCCS, SCCS, and ICCS scales and college students' academic performance, after controlling students' demographics, the self-efficacy scale, and the engagement scale. The DMCCS scale focused on measuring undergraduate students' decision-making on the sources of information to help them decide which college courses to take. The SCCS scale focused on measuring undergraduate students' satisfaction with their decisions based on the sources of information that helped them to select their college courses. The ICCS scale focused on evaluating the importance of each source of information that undergraduate students use to decide which college courses to take. Data analysis techniques were employed to check the validity and reliability aspects of the newly developed scales. An online survey collected research data from 483 undergraduate students at a public university. First, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) analysis was used to explore the underlying factors of these newly developed scales. Second, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) analysis was used to explore and confirm the underlying factors of these newly developed scales. Third, Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Coefficient Alpha (CA) analysis were used to check the internal consistency reliability of these newly developed scales. Fourth, Hierarchical Multiple Regression (HMR) was used to find the relationship between these newly developed scales and students' academic performance, after controlling demographics and existing developed scales (i.e., self-efficacy and engagement (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jason Schenker Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Aryn Karpinski Ph.D. (Committee Member); William Bintz Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Statistics

PHD, Kent State University, 2020, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

Introduction: Social media has become a necessary form of communication for young adults in nearly all contexts of life. One such context is in higher education, specifically, university students who are connected and “online” nearly 24 hours a day. Not only are these young adults integrating social media into their collegiate academic experiences both formally and informally, university faculty are also using this form of communication to support their teaching. In recent years, a number of countries in the Middle East have started to use social-networking sites (SNSs) for communication with regularity. One country with a significant proportion of social media users is Saudi Arabia (SA), with Saudi university students being the largest group of active users. In the current study, two scales measuring social media use were translated into Arabic and used with a large sample of undergraduate students in SA. Purpose: Manuscript 1's objective was to examine the psychometric properties (i.e., content and construct validity; internal consistency reliability) of the Arabic version of the Social Networking Time Use Scale (SONTUS) among Saudi undergraduate students. Manuscript 2's purpose was to examine the same psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the Social Media and Academic Performance of Students (SMAPOS) scale in a sample of Saudi undergraduate students. Additionally, the functioning of items in both scales was evaluated across male and female students. Methods: A total of 508 undergraduate students at one, large university in SA participated in this study and completed the Arabic versions of both scales (i.e., the SONTUS and the SMAPOS). Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), Internal Consistency Reliability, and Differential Item Functioning (DIF) were used to analyze the data. Results: Manuscript 1 results showed that the Arabic version of the SONTUS contained three subscales and overall had good psychometric p (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Aryn C. Karpinski (Advisor); Jason Schenker (Committee Member); Lee Seon Jeong (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Tests and Measurements

PHD, Kent State University, 2019, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

The purpose of this study was to explore the psychometric properties of the newly developed Twitter and Scholastic Synchronicity Scale (TSSS) and Twitter and Scholastic Apportionment Assessment (TSAA) items. The study also sought to understand if and how attitude and behavior positively and/or negatively related to undergraduate students' academic performance. The TSSS scale focused on measuring how undergraduate students use Twitter for academics while the TSAA scale focused on their attitudes toward using Twitter for academics. A comprehensive statistical analysis was conducted to explore both the validity and reliability aspects of these newly developed scales. An online survey collected research data from 327 undergraduate students at one institution. First, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to understand the underlying factor structure. Second, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to check the proximity of the conceptual model's results to the hypothesized model. Third, reliability and validity aspects of the measure were investigated using Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Rasch Analysis (RA). Fourth, Hierarchical Multiple Regression (HMR) was used to understand the relationship between students' academics and the newly developed scales. The results here provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the newly developed scales. CFA confirmed that research data support the hypothesized data, and RA indicated that the items featured in these newly developed scales are based on a single measure. The HMR results indicated that students' academic performance and Twitter scales (TSSS and TSAA) are strongly correlated. Both scales help to explain the variance in undergraduate students' academic performance.

Committee: Tricia Niesz Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Karl Kosko Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Richard Ferdig Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Statistics

Master of Education, University of Toledo, 2018, Educational Research and Measurements

This evaluation examines parent/guardian satisfaction with services delivered through Lucas County's Early Head Start Program based on the assessment of parent/guardian satisfaction in the program's first operating year. A 44-item parent/guardian satisfaction survey (PGSS) was created and administered for the purpose of this evaluation. An exploratory psychometric analysis of the 26 responses (47% response rate) using WINSTEPS (Linacre, 2010), version 3.70.1.1, provided evidence of validity. Findings suggest the need for some minor modifications to improve the PGSS. Responses indicate that overall, families are very satisfied with the services and support that they have received from the Early Head Start program. The relatively low response rate limits the generalizability of the findings. Based on the results of this evaluation, it is recommended that the program continues current practices at this time. Also, the unique needs of this population should be further evaluated to ensure that the program is adequately locating and linking these families to the resources that they may need. Additional psychometric analyses of the PGSS should be conducted with higher response rates.

Committee: Noela Haughton Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Laurie Dinnebeil Ph.D. (Committee Member); Gregory Stone Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Early Childhood Education; Educational Tests and Measurements

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Wright State University, 2018, Human Factors and Industrial/Organizational Psychology PhD

The validity of individual responses is required for valid inferences drawn from data. Insufficient Effort Responding (IER; Huang, Curran, Keeney, Poposki, & DeShon, 2012) is one possible threat to individual response validity. There are many methods to detect IER, but the Psychometric Synonyms Index, despite its practical utility, is understudied. The purpose of this study is to provide recommendations for its use that are empirically grounded. Using a simulation, I found that the strength of the within-pair correlations used for inclusion into the index, the number of pairs, the type of random responding, the correlation between the pairs, the skewness of the data, and IER severity with an individual case have an impact on the psychometric index and by extension the cut-off one should use for classifying cases as IER or careful. Recommendations for the index depend on the situation.

Committee: David LaHuis Ph.D. (Advisor); Gary Burns Ph.D. (Committee Member); Nathan Bowling Ph.D. (Committee Member); Scott Moore Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2018, Arts and Sciences: Psychology

HIV has become a public health concern among persons who use drugs (PWUDs), who are at significantly increased rates of risky sexual behaviors (e.g., unprotected sex and increased numbers of sexual partners) linked to HIV. Aside from abstinence, condom use is one of the only ways to prevent the contraction of HIV through sexual activity. Yet, PWUDs use condoms less than 25% of the time. Condom use self-efficacy (CUSE) is one factor shown to have a positive influence on condom use. However, PWUDs consistently have lower rates of CUSE compared to non-substance users. Gender and racial differences in CUSE are also prevalent. The 15-item Condom Use Self-Efficacy Scale (CUSES; revised from the original 28 item measure) was developed on college student populations to assess an individual's confidence in their ability to use condoms in different situations. Although studies have found that the CUSES is an appropriate assessment tool to adequately measure CUSE among college students, the CUSES has yet to be validated among samples of PWUDs, and those of different gender and racial groups. When compared to college students, PWUDs may encounter unique barriers that may impact CUSE making the generalizability of one standardized measurement tool for both college student and PWUDs unclear. Thus, the current study examined psychometric properties of the 15-item CUSES among a sample of substance using adults of different gender and racial groups. The current study is a secondary analysis using baseline data collected from the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network AWARE study. The final sample for the current study consisted of 1,356 substance users. Measures assessing demographics, CUSE and condom use were used for the current study. Correlation analyses found a significant positive relationship between CUSES and condom use for the overall sample, men and women, Black and White men, and Black and White women. Confirmatory factor analysis concluded that the 15-i (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jennifer Brown Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Ann Kathleen Hoard Burlew Ph.D. (Committee Member); Kristen Jastrowski Mano Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2016, Antioch New England: Environmental Studies

Capacity building has become the centerpiece of recent attempts to strengthen regional biodiversity conservation. Many conservation organizations aim to increase this capacity by training local conservation professionals. While many practitioners will agree that these trainings presumably have a psychological effect on their participants that may benefit long-term local action toward conservation goals, there also seems to be a resignation that these effects are difficult if not impossible to measure and target, especially within diverse cultures. The common result is a perfunctory evaluation of observable behaviors or basic knowledge, which may be easy to count but undoubtedly fails to represent the nuance of complex psychological variables associated with long-term capacity to conserve biodiversity. My dissertation is fundamentally aimed at investigating capacity for biodiversity conservation at this psychological level. Specifically, I explored the current understanding of capacity for biodiversity conservation and how this understanding can be supplemented by psychological theory to strengthen the development, evaluation, and prediction of this capacity over time. I did this within the context of case studies that focus on three separate populations of conservation professionals who participated in capacity building trainings in Africa and North America between 1994 and 2014. I administered surveys to these conservation professionals to create and validate an instrument that measures the construct I call psychological capacity for biodiversity conservation (PCBC). PCBC includes psychological dimensions such as meaningful ownership, effective autonomy, being needed, group effectiveness, and understanding. I administered the PCBC survey instrument to training alumni and conducted interviews with their trainers to the evaluate the effectiveness of the capacity building methods at increasing PCBC directly after and two to ten years after a training. I found that mea (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Carol Saunders Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Beth Kaplin Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Raymond De Young Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jean Kayira Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Education; Environmental Studies; Psychological Tests; Psychology

Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.), Xavier University, 2016, Psychology

The shift in emphasis on adaptive functioning when specifying severity level of Intellectual Disability (ID), as stated in the DSM-5 (APA, 2013), increases the need for reliable and valid adaptive functioning measures for clinicians to utilize during diagnostic evaluations. This study investigated the psychometric properties of a widely-used adaptive functioning measure, the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System- Second Edition, with adults (ABAS-II; Harrison & Oakland, 2003). Participants included 102 adults with ID, ages 18 to 79 years, who resided at a Midwestern developmental center. Test-retest and inter-rater reliability were demonstrated for the ABAS-II General Adaptive Composite (GAC) and domain scores. Additionally, concurrent validity was also demonstrated with the Vineland Adaptive Behavior System- Second Edition (VABS-II) by statistically significant correlations for GAC and domain scores, as well as with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale- Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) and the Stanford Binet- Fifth Edition (SB-V) IQ scores. Past research indicates that comorbid psychiatric disorders and behavior/emotional symptoms impact the adaptive functioning of individuals with ID differently (Di Nuovo & Buono, 2007; Lopata et al., 2012). Therefore, it seemed likely that individuals displaying behavior or emotional problems/symptoms would weaken the reliability of an informant-rated instrument. Although the ABAS-II test-retest reliability coefficients were not significantly different between two groups (individuals who scored above and below the clinical threshold for comorbid behavioral/emotional problems), inter-rater reliability coefficients for the GAC and Practical domain scores were. These findings can be cautiously extended to the recently published ABAS-3 (Harrison & Oakland, 2015) as there is significant overlap between these two editions.

Committee: W. Michael Nelson Ph.D. (Committee Chair) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Clinical Psychology; Psychological Tests; Psychology

Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.), Xavier University, 2017, Psychology

Since the proposal of the construct of maximizing tendency, a stable individual difference in the way one approaches decisions, there has been substantial debate in the literature regarding the most appropriate way to measure it. Multiple scales have been developed that purportedly assess maximizing tendency, including the Maximizing Scale (MS; Schwartz et al., 2002), the Maximizing Tendency Scale (MTS; Diab et al., 2008), the Maximization Inventory (MI; Turner et al., 2012), and the Modified Maximizing Scale (MMS; Lai, 2010). Although several studies have compared the psychometric properties of these scales, very few have examined the criterion-related validity of the scales using behavioral measures, and no studies have simultaneously evaluated all four scales. Thus, the present study evaluated the criterion-related validity of all four scales using self-report of past real-life decisions as well as hypothetical decision-making scenarios. Overall, the Alternative Search subscale of the MI (MI-AS) emerged with the highest number of positive significant correlations with the behavior criterion measures. However, it should be noted that there are theoretical limitations to the MI-AS, insofar as it only contains items related to the tendency to consider multiple alternatives and neglects what is arguably the most theoretically-relevant aspect of maximizing tendency, which is the desire to identify the optimal alternative. With regard to the criterion-related validity of the other scales, no clear pattern of results emerged, which contradicted a prior study in which the MTS was significantly correlated with more behavior-based criteria than was the MS. However, consistent with several prior studies, both the MS and MMS demonstrated poor internal consistency, a finding which warrants further investigation of the psychometric properties of these scales.

Committee: Dalia Diab Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Cynthia Dulaney Ph.D. (Committee Member); Susan Kenford Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Psychological Tests; Psychology

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2015, Psychology, Clinical

This study aimed to validate the Behavioral Activation Treatment Efficacy Measure (BATEM), a new evaluation instrument designed to assess an ongoing Behavioral Activation (BA) research program. The study posed three hypotheses, which predicted BATEM would show: (1) strong internal consistency; (2) an ability to distinguish between individuals with mental illness and/or substance abuse history and those with no such history; and (3) an ability to distinguish between frequent and infrequent program participants. Results supported Hypothesis 1, but were less supportive of Hypotheses 2 and 3. Outcomes for these hypotheses were mostly inconclusive and subject to methodological limitations. Results of exploratory analyses and recommendations for future research are also described.

Committee: Roger Reeb Ph.D. (Advisor); Theo Majka Ph.D. (Committee Member); Ronald Katsuyama Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2014, Educational Leadership

Despite the constant demands placed on schools to excel academically, there is a combination of core components necessary for school systems to be successful. Although schools want to offer a climate that is conducive to all of their stakeholders (staff, students, and family members) many of them strive to understand the existing climate and the impact it has on the school. Because measuring climate is difficult many schools struggle to find a valid means of gathering information in order to improve the school climate. The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) designed a second version of the Comprehensive Assessment of School Environment (CASE) survey to measure school climate in 2010 (the original version was designed in 1986) and, to date, it had not been validated. According to NASSP, the information gained from the survey can be utilized by schools to make better decisions for school improvement. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the construct validity of the 2010 version of CASE through exploratory factor analysis. Additionally, the researcher also analyzed the usability of the instrument's design, clarity, and ease of use by intended stakeholders at the local school level. The entry points for data collection in schools were a national random sample of high school principals (N=28) who were members of the National Association of Secondary Principals. The principals distributed an online link to the survey to the staff, students, and parents/guardians in their buildings, consistent with the CASE design. Over 4,000 stakeholders representing 28 schools across 21 states completed the CASE survey. A four-factor solution was derived from a factor analysis of combined responses from three groups of stakeholders (students, parents, and instructional staff). The four factors retained were: (1) Savvy Teaching Practices, (2) Student Responsibility and Safety, (3) Cohesive School Relationships and Belonging, and (4) Posi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Carolyn Ridenour Ed.D. (Committee Chair); Thomas Lasley Ph.D. (Committee Member); Charles Russo Ed.D. (Committee Member); Keri Kirschman Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Leadership; Educational Tests and Measurements

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 0, Clinical Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Evidence from the literature and the current study suggests that disease-specific measures may be more sensitive to variations in the health-related quality of life of adolescents with migraine than general measures. The Migraine Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire, Adolescent form (MSQ-A) and the Headache Disability Inventory, Adolescent form (HDI-A) were designed to specifically assess direct and indirect functional impairment due to migraines, and migraine-related affective distress. There have been only limited attempts to evaluate the psychometric properties of MSQ-A and HDI-A and the current study aimed to examine the factor structure, validity and reliability of these instruments. 97 adolescents (age 11-17) with episodic migraine were recruited to participate in this study. Upon recruitment participants completed MSQ-A and HDI-A and additional validity measures. Participants then recorded their migraine symptoms in an electronic daily headache diary over a four week period. At the end of the four week period, participants were invited to visit the test setting again, submit the electronic diary and complete follow-up MSQ-A and HDI-A. Confirmatory factor analysis found the proposed three factor model for MSQ-A yielded only marginally good fit to the data. Modification indices suggested that the fit of the three factor model can be improved by the addition of six residual correlations between errors of items within the same subscale. The modified model was good fit to the data. However, high inter-correlatedness between the three subscales of MSQ-A raised concerns about their discriminant validity. The internal consistency of MSQ-A was adequate at both baseline and follow-up (a = .72-.94), but item-subscale correlations suggested that multiple MSQ-A items relate equally to two or more of its subscales. Similarly, while MSQ-A demonstrated significant relationships in the expected directions with criterion measures in this study, correlations between its (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kenneth Holroyd (Committee Chair); Victor Heh (Committee Member); Ronaldo Vigo (Committee Member); John Garske (Committee Member); Debbie Thurneck (Committee Member) Subjects: Health; Psychology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2013, Clinical Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Increased awareness of the signs of dementia can lead to early detection, but also to heightened levels of health anxiety, particularly among older individuals who may have difficulty distinguishing between normal symptoms of aging and pathological symptoms of dementia. Dementia worry results from ruminative anxiety associated with self-reported memory problems among older adults and likely reflects an overestimation of perceived risk for dementia. Individuals with high dementia worry, but who show no evidence of actual cognitive impairment, may still search for signs of dementia in their own behaviors and might be at risk for misdiagnosis. The current study provided further validation data for a recently developed measure of dementia worry. Older adults (N=100) completed a packet of measures including the Dementia Worry Scale; psychometric characteristics of the scale were examined. Factor analysis suggested a revised shorter version of the scale was appropriate, and the revised scale demonstrated strong internal consistency and (interval) test-retest reliability. As expected, higher scores on the scale were related to higher memory complaints, more depressive symptoms, and higher general worry among older adults. Partially consistent with expectations, individuals with genetic dementia experience reported higher worry on average than those with either non-genetic experience or no experience. Contrary to expectations, higher scores were not related to being female. Also contrary to expectations, age did not interact with worry to predict self-reported memory complaints. Supplemental analyses suggested that correlates of the Dementia Worry Scale differed depending on genetic experience with dementia, with the general patterns of correlations generally supportive of the construct validity of the scale. The scale appears to be a sound measure of dementia worry and a useful way to identify the “worried well” who present for evaluation and diagnosis. (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Julie Suhr PhD (Advisor); Justin Weeks PhD (Committee Member); Christopher France PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Health; Neurosciences; Psychology; Public Health

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2013, Antioch Seattle: Clinical Psychology

This study is a preliminary investigation of the validity of using time-based measures to quantify sustained attention in children ages 6-12. Problems with sustained attention negatively affect childhood learning and development. The prevalence of disorders known to impact sustained attention performance continue to rise in the United States. Currently, commercially available, objective measures of sustained attention use normative comparisons that provide limited information about the effect such problems have on child performance in natural settings. We reviewed test data from 290 charts of children ages 6-12 referred for neuropsychological evaluation. The Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch) is an ecologically oriented measure of attention; however, the test provides only normative data about child sustained attention. We examined the validity of two time-based scores derived from the Code Transmission subtest of the TEA-Ch. The Code Transmission Time on Task (CT-TOT) estimates the total time a child spends processing the subtest stimulus and the Code Transmission Longest Duration (CT-LD) estimates the maximum duration of a child's sustained attention before an attentional lapse. We correlated CT-TOT and CT-LD scores with age, criterion sustained attention measures from the TEA-Ch, and a measure of intelligence. Analysis of the data revealed significant differences in performance on the time-based measures by age-band. Correlations reached significance for both measures with the four criterion measures, with the CT-TOT achieving higher correlations with all criterion measures. Correlations were non-significant between both measures and intelligence. Overall, the findings of the present study suggest that the CT-TOT may provide additional, valid performance-based information about childrens' sustained attention that, to date, is missing from any commercially available measure of sustained attention for children. The electronic version of this (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Alejandra Suarez PhD. (Committee Chair); Gayle Fay PhD. (Committee Member); Patricia Linn PhD. (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Cognitive Psychology; Developmental Psychology; Educational Psychology; Psychological Tests; Quantitative Psychology; Statistics