Dissertation Defense-Sean Hall
<p> The ODU community is invited to attend the dissertation defense of Sean Hall on December 6th at 11 a.m. Check in room ED 110 for the location.</p> <p> </p> <p> His committee is: Dr. Nina Brown (chair), Dr. Woody Schwitzer, and Dr. Lenora Thompson.</p> <p> </p> <p align="center"> ABSTRACT</p> <p> Swift and Greenberg (2012) observed that variables influencing the decision to drop out fluctuate according to the primary presenting problem, the amount of structure in therapy, the length of treatment, and the clinical setting. Due to these reports, researchers may focus on predictors of premature termination (PT) in treatment settings where the unique situational characteristics may have an idiosyncratic influence on the decision to withdraw from services (Phillips, 1985; Swift & Greenberg, 2012). The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine client characteristics that impact dropout in University Based Clinics (UBC). Results from the logistic regression analysis indicated that higher levels of social anxiety and lower levels of functional impairment reduced the probability of PT. Findings from the Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis suggested that elevated levels of hostility may increase the dropout rate even when accounting for the protective influence of social anxiety and level of functioning. This effect may also be intensified as the severity of generalized anxiety increases. Results from the Survival Analysis suggest that the risk of PT was lowest during the early stages of counseling and steadily increased for clients who remained in services. These findings indicate that higher levels of social anxiety and lower levels of pretherapy functioning may partially attenuate the risk of PT as clients progress along the episode of care. Results from this analysis are triangulated against the existing PT literature and implications for teaching, practice, and future research are discussed.</p> <p> </p> <p> Tim Grothaus, Ph.D., NCC, NCSC, ACS</p> <p> Associate Professor and School Counseling Coordinator</p> <p> Counseling and Human Services Department</p> <p> Old Dominion University</p> <p> Education Building, Room 110</p> <p> Norfolk, VA 23529</p> <p> <a href="mailto:tgrothau@odu.edu">tgrothau@odu.edu</a></p> <p> (757) 683-3007</p> <div align="center"> <hr align="center" size="2" tabindex="-1" width="100%" /> </div> <p> </p>
Posted By: Saysha Malbon
Date: Tue Nov 20 09:21:49 EST 2012