Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Piers-Harris'

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of career group counseling in raising the self-concept of at-risk high school students. The following subgroups were represented in the sample: male and female students, white and non-white ethnic groups, and students from sophomore, junior, and senior classifications. Two groups of students in the Lewisville Independent School District meeting the criteria for at-risk as defined by House Bill 1010 were administered a pretest and posttest using the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. The experimental group was from the Lewisville Learning Center. The control group was students enrolled in the Coordinated Vocational Academic Education (CVAE) classes at Lewisville High School. A treatment sample of 25 students received career group counseling. A nontreatment sample of 25 students did not receive any group counseling. The t-test for independent samples was used to analyze the data. The pretests for the experimental and control groups showed no significant difference at the .05 level. The treatment sample received 30 hours of group counseling in the Fall semester of 1994. At the end of 30 hours of counseling a posttest was administered to the treatment sample and to the control sample. The t-test for independent samples was used to analyze the data. While career group counseling appeared to impact the students in the experimental group, the limitations of sample size and population may have effected the results. The treatment was significant at the .05 level and the null hypothesis was rejected. The findings showed that career group counseling was not an effective tool for increasing positive self-concept. It is concluded that self-concept was not effectively enhanced through group interaction conducted by the school system in this study. Further research is recommended.

The problem of this study was to determine if there was a difference in the self-concept of two groups of ninth-grade students when one group received the services of junior and senior students in a Peer Assistance and Leadership class. The results of the Piers-Harris Children's—Self—Concept Scale were used to determine the difference between the mean self-concept scores of the two groups and also to determine if there was a relationship between the criterion variable of the total self-concept score and eight predictor variables as identified by House Bill 1010: Limited English proficiency, age, school attendance, achievement scores two or more years below grade level in reading and mathematics on a norm-referenced test, failure to master any portion of the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills, failure in two or more subjects, grade retention, and eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch. A total of 105 students, 50 in the experimental group and 55 in the control group, participated. The findings revealed that there was no significant difference in the mean self-concept scores of the two groups. The correlation revealed that there were significant differences between self-concept and the variables of mathematics achievement scores, failing grades, and eligibility for free lunch.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between self-concept and study habits among different subgroups of 9th grade at-risk students. The study included the administration of two independent measures: The Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale and the Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes. Other data were self-reported by the students. The five subgroups selected in this study were: (1) male and female, (2) white and non-white, (3) socioeconomic groups determined by eligibi1ity in the Free/Reduced Lunch Program, (4) retained and non-retained students, and (5) participants and non-participants in school activities. Raw scores from the self-concept scale and study habits survey were converted into percentile scores. A correlation coefficient was calculated for each subgroup. The significance of the two correlation coefficients was tested using Fisher's Zr transformation. Of the five hypotheses tested at the .05 level, all were rejected. Major findings of the study verify other research regarding characteristics of at-risk students. Also, more than half of the subjects had deficient study habits but only a small percentage (19,5V#) had signif icant ly low self-concept scores. In addition, at-risk students who participate in school activities had higher self-concept scores and study habits scores than non-participating at-risk students. It was concluded that low self-concept does not appear to be as significant a factor of students being at risk as does their poor study habits. Recommendations were made to encourage school districts to include self-concept and study habit evaluations for at-risk students and to involve more at-risk students in school activities.

The present investigation evaluated the efficacy of a Cognitive-Behavioural Therapeutic Approach for the anger management of three adolescent males. The study is noteworthy because it utilised essential features of Beck's Cognitive Therapy in the cognitive restructuring phase of treatment. Previous studies have commonly employed Rational Emotive Therapy's disputation of irrational beliefs for this phase. For this reason it is considered to be an original contribution to the literature. A multiple (three) single-case study research design was employed. The three adolescents, aged 13 to 17 years, attended seven to nine one-hour counselling sessions over a two to three month period. Pre-, post-treatment and long-term followup psychometric measures of aggression and anecdotal reports of anger-control were obtained from parents and teachers. Self-reports in the affective and cognitive domain, progress in therapy, psychometric measures (aggressive behaviour subscale of the Child Behaviour Checklist, Adapted Novaco Anger Inventory and Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale) and continuous (including pre-, post-treatment and long-term follow-up) assessments of the frequency of angry outbursts were obtained. Counsellor assessments of cognitive homework and behaviour in therapy were also made. Results reveal marked reductions in the average daily frequencies of angry outbursts in all cases by post-treatment and treatment effects were maintained throughout the three-month follow-up period. It was concluded that the cognitive-behavioural therapeutic approach warrants further investigation as it is proposed that it is a comprehensive and efficacious treatment for male adolescent anger problems.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate post-burn adjustment in light of the self-esteem of child burn survivors. The study attempted to assess the viability of using a single, explicit self-report measure of self-esteem (Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale) as an index of post-burn adjustment. It appears that pediatric burn patients do not suffer a compromised self-concept secondary to the burn injury and, rather, are successful in incorporating their post-burn state, physically and psychologically, into a positive self-concept. It is suggested that evaluation of overall self-esteem incorporate a comprehensive picture of post-burn adjustment, based upon psychological and physiological parameters. Further research is justified and suggestions for future examinations are presented.

The relation between temperament and happiness in children aged 8-12 was examined. Participants included 311 students in Grades 4-6 and their parents, recruited from public and private schools in the Central Okanagan. Parents rated their children’s temperament using the Emotionality, Activity, and Sociability (EAS) Temperament Survey (Buss & Plomin, 1984) and rated their children’s happiness using a single-item measure. Children rated their own temperament using the EAS Temperament Survey and the Piers- Harris Self Concept Scale for Children, Second Edition (Piers-Harris 2) (Piers & Herzberg, 2002). Children also rated their own happiness using a single-item measure, the Oxford Happiness Scale, Short Form (Hills & Arygle, 2002), and the Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999). Confirmatory factor analyses established that parent and child ratings on the EAS Temperament Survey conformed to the four-factor structure proposed by Buss and Plomin (1984). Multiple regression analyses revealed that temperament accounted for between 9-29% of the variance in children’s happiness depending on the rater (i.e., parents vs. children) and the measure of happiness. Individual temperament variables that predicted a unique amount of the variance of children’s happiness over and above the combined effect of all temperament variables varied with the rater of children’s temperament (i.e., parents vs. children) and with the measure of happiness. Children who were more social, less shy, less emotional, and more free from anxiety rated themselves, and were rated by others, as happier. Children who scored higher on the activity temperament rated themselves, and were rated by others, as happier. The results of the current study parallel results of research investigating the relation between happiness and personality in adults. It establishes a strong relation between temperament and happiness, and iii supports the use of self-reports with children. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The problem of this study was to determine if there were differences in perceived attitudes of self-concept between young people who returned to alternative education after dropping out of public education and educationally disadvantaged at-risk youth in Coordinated Vocational Academic Education (CVAE) classes as measured by the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. The hypotheses formulated for the study predicted no significant difference in mean attitude self-concept scores of returned dropouts to alternative schools and CVAE students enrolled in junior high school preemployment laboratories and high school students enrolled in Cooperative Education classes as measured by the Piers-Harris scale; and no significant change in mean attitude self-concept scores of former dropouts enrolled in alternative education centers and CVAE students as measured by the Piers-Harris scale over a two-month period utilizing an extended Solomon Four-Group Design, with and without the treatment. The scale was administered to 351 students from junior high and high school CVAE classes in Ector County (Odessa), Fort Stockton, and Midland Independent School Districts and alternative schools in Denton, Fort Stockton, Midland and Odessa, Texas. The self-concept scores were treated for significance by an analysis of variance. Findings were that all groups tested scored within the age range, junior high school CVAE students scored lowest, but not significantly lower (p > .05); and junior high school CVAE students, alternative school students, and high school CVAE students all had a slight increase in self-confidence scores over the two-month period. All null hypotheses were retained. It was concluded that, overall, junior high school CVAE students, former dropouts who returned to an alternative school, and high school CVAE students possessed positive self-concepts that were above the national mean for the scale; and that CVAE classes enhance the self-concept of academically disadvantaged students in Cooperative Education classes.

碩士
中國文化大學
心理輔導學系
101
This study aimed to assess the reliability and validity of the scores of the Chinese version computer-game-based Piers-Harris children’s Self-Concept Scale 2 for elementary school students with learning disability. This study included 151 children with learning disability from 19 elementary schools in Taipei and New Taipei City. The results were analyzed by statistical SPSS18.0 and were concluded as follows: 1. The internal consistency reliability of Chinese Computer-game-based Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale 2 estimates for the Total scores Cronbach's α is .92, and the scores of the six domain scales, Cronbach's α ranged from .77 to .81. The results of test-retest coefficient was .90 (n=44) for the Total scores, and ranged from .77 to .88 for the scores of the six domains. 2. The Chinese Computer-game-based Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale 2 and the Elementary School Children’s Self-Concept Scale have significant correlation for the total score ((r = .83) . The two scale of each subscale has highly correlations (rs = .38 to .82) An exploratory factor analysis found six factors explained the 42.56% of variance. Compared with the original Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept 2 of exploratory factor analysis, they shared similar scale intra-structure. 3. Compared the Computer-game-based version with the Paper-and-pencil version of Piers-Harris Childrens Self Concept Scale 2,the results in reliability and validity are similar. The results of this study indicate the scores of Chinese version computer-game-based Piers-Harris children’s Self-Concept Scale 2 which was administered in elementary school students with learning disability has demonstrated adequate reliability and validity.

Dissertação de mestrado em Psicologia (Psicologia da Educação, Desenvolvimento e Aconselhamento), apresentada à Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade de Coimbra
O autoconceito, enquanto constructo referido à perceção e imagem de si próprio(a), é tido como uma variável importante que influencia os sentimentos em relação a si próprio e ao modo como o indivíduo lida com as situações e com as outras pessoas. Esse conhecimento e sentimentos acerca de si podem refletir-se nas trajetórias de desenvolvimento. O autoconceito revela a perceção que o indivíduo tem da sua competência em diversas dimensões do self, bem como da sua aceitação no meio social próximo, designadamente, na família, na escola e entre pares. Com a presente dissertação pretendemos explorar possibilidades da escala de autoconceito comummente utilizada, a “Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale” (PHCSCS-2), adaptada à população portuguesa por Veiga (1989, 2006), numa versão “simplificada” para crianças que frequentem o 1.º Ciclo do Ensino Básico, principalmente, crianças do 1.º ano de escolaridade, ou cuja competência de leitura e de compreensão não esteja ainda consolidada. Nesta versão adaptada, com audição da leitura em voz alta dos itens e resposta nãoverbal, procedemos ao estudo psicométrico da escala, com determinação dos coeficientes de fiabilidade, análise fatorial exploratória forçada a seis fatores (seguindo os estudos de Veiga e de Piers, cit in Veiga, 2006) e respetivos coeficientes de consistência interna. Procedemos, ainda, ao estudo da escala em função do contexto de referência: Eu, Escola, Família e Amigos. Numa tentativa de concorrer para a validade externa, procedemos ao estudo da relação da escala com medidas de conhecimento emocional (EACE – Escala de Avaliação do Conhecimento Emocional, Schultz, Izard & Bear, 2004; adap. port. por Alves, Cruz, Duarte & Martins, 2008) e de regulação emocional (ERICA –Emotion Regulation Index for Children and Adolescents) (MacDermott et al., 2010, adap. port. por Reverendo & Machado, 2010). A investigação realizada evidenciou bons índices de fiabilidade e correlações significativas entre subescalas das escalas utilizadas, designadamente, entre os itens relativos ao “EU” e à “Escola” do autoconceito e as componentes “autoconsciência emocional” e “responsividade situacional” da escala de regulação emocional. Conclui-se que formas alternativas (ao autoregisto) para avaliar o autoconceito são possíveis e pertinentes para uma população como a das crianças em início de escolaridade que ainda não dominam a capacidade de leitura.
Self-concept as construct referred to self-perception and self-image is an important variable that influences feelings about the self and how people handle situations and relationships with others. This knowledge and feelings could be determinant of developmental trajectories. The self-concept reveals the perception that individuals have of its competence in different dimensions of the self, as well as their acceptance in the social environment, particularly in the family, school and with peers. With this thesis we intend to explore possibilities of the self-concept scale commonly used, "Piers- Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale" (PHCSCS-2), adapted to the Portuguese population by Veiga (1989, 2006), when a "simplified" version is used for children attending the 1st cycle of basic education, especially children in the 1st grade, or whose reading competence and understanding is not yet consolidated. In this adapted version, the items were read aloud and non-verbal responses were asked. We proceeded to the psychometric study of the scale, its reliability coefficients, exploratory factor analysis forced to six-factor (following the studies of Veiga and Piers, cited in Veiga, 2006) and the respective coefficients of internal consistency. Furthermore, we proceeded to study the scale depending on the context of reference: Self, School, Family and Friends. In an attempt to compete for external validity, we proceed to the study of the scale compared with measures of emotional knowledge (ACES - Assessment of Children’s Emotions Skills, Schultz, Izard & Bear, 2004, in Portuguese adaptation by Alves, Cross, & Duarte Martins, 2008) and emotional regulation (ERICA -Emotion regulation Index for Children and Adolescents, MacDermott et al., 2010, Port. adap. by Reverendo & Machado, 2010). The research showed good levels of reliability and significant correlations between subscales, in particular among the items related to the "Self" and "School" itens of the self-concept scale and the "emotional self" and "situational responsiveness" of the scale of emotional regulation. We conclude that alternative forms (to the self-record way) to assess selfconcept are possible and relevant for a population such as children in early education or children that have not yet mastered the ability to read.

Tese de doutoramento em Psicologia (Avaliação Psicológica) apresentada a Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade de Coimbra
A dissertação de doutoramento intitulada "Avaliação da Perturbação pós-stress Traumático (PTSD) em crianças e adolescentes vítimas de maltrato" estrutura-se em duas partes distintas. A primeira parte, caracteriza-se por uma revisão da literatura e inclui cinco capítulos. No capítulo 1, "Caracterização do maltrato infantil", faz-se uma descrição do maltrato infantil nas suas diferentes formas, bem como as suas consequências nas crianças e adolescentes. Neste capítulo apresentam-se ainda alguns modelos explicativos do maltrato infantil, salientando-se o contributo do modelo ecológico. No capítulo 2, "Abuso sexual, uma forma particular de maltrato infantil", realçam-se as características específicas deste tipo de maltrato. Este capítulo surge igualmente da relevância que o abuso sexual de menores tem assumido a nível da investigação e da literatura. No capítulo 3, "Perturbação pós-stress Traumático (PTSD)", faz-se uma caracterização desta síndroma, apresentando-a como uma das conse-quências centrais do maltrato infantil. No capítulo 4, "Caracterização do maltrato infantil na realidade portuguesa", faz-se uma reflexão sobre a legislação e abordagem legal das situações de maltrato infantil, bem como uma referência sumária a algumas instituições e organismos vocacionados para esta problemática. No capítulo 5, "Processos e estratégias de prevenção e intervenção", salienta-se a importância da prevenção primária e secundária, assim como de implementação de uma intervenção terapêutica superando as desvantagens associadas às intervenções punitivas, ou meramente protectoras. A segunda parte da dissertação, relativa ao estudo empírico, compõe-se de três capítulos: o capítulo 6, "Metodologia", integra a descrição e caracterização da amostra, das variáveis em estudo, das hipóteses e do procedimento, o capítulo 7 sobre os "Instrumentos de avaliação" e o Capítulo 8, referente à apresentação e discussão dos resultados obtidos, tendo como linhas principais de investigação as diferenças entre vítimas de maltrato e do grupo de controle, em função do diagnóstico de PTSD e em função do tipo de maltrato. A tese termina com uma conclusão.