Depression and anxiety in patients with cancer and their families

This thesis identified aspects of family relationships and the patients' illness that were associated with depression and anxiety in patients and their relatives after a cancer diagnosis and during treatment. It also tested the ability of a measure of family relationships to identify psychological distress in these families.

Violent offending : the efficacy of a unitary and transtheoretical intervention

Examines "best practice" in reducing recidivism. Compares two interventions for violent offenders, and examines whether their different theoretical orientations (unitary or transtheoretical) affected program efficiency. Although the transtheoretical intervention was more efficacious, insufficient adherence to best practice principles within implementation of both programs significantly impinged upon program success.

Manualised treatment and dropout : a study of parent training

Parents who dropped out of manualised parent training programs for children with externalising behaviour disorders were interviewed retrospectively and compared prospectively with parents who continued in these programs. Parents who dropped out tended to feel more overwhelmed by their situation, because their child's behaviour problems were more severe, they had single parent status or had more than one child with difficulties.

Anger and aggression in the presence of anxiety and depression

This portfolio considers major theories of aggression and relates them to four individual case studies. Each client has difficulties with anger and aggression and all had additional emotional difficulties, specifically depression and anxiety.

Cognitive ability and FFM personality predictors of military training performance

This study demonstrated the validity of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality trait domains over a measure of general cognitive ability in predicting training performance among military trainees. The results provide support to the growing consensus on the superiority of the FFM traits in predicting criteria on practical importance.

Enhancing juror decision-making through provision of transcripts

This thesis explored how much evidence jurors remember when instructed to reach a verdict. Results indicated that jurors required to rely on memory recalled significantly less evidence than jurors provided with access to the court transcript and were less confident than aided jurors that they had returned the 'right' verdict. The portfolio explored a possible association between chronic childhood challenging behaviours and later offending behaviour in individuals with intellectual disability. Includes four clinical case studies. The importance of early intervention is illustrated.

Spectator, Fetish, Gaze

This thesis argues for a contemporary concept of the gaze. A brief history of film and of psychoanalysis sets up the history of the spectator, of the fetish and of the gaze. From this context, the contemporary spectating process is examined through the film "Boys don't cry".

The age of criminal responsibility

In recent times there have been claims that the sentencing of serious juvenile offenders does not reflect community sentiment and legal policies are based on outdated ideas about adolescent development. The findings of this thesis call into question the suggestions that the law's assumptions about the development of competence is out of step with community attitudes and developmental research. The professional portfolio examines several hypotheses that have been generated to explain why disabled individuals engage in sexually inappropriate behaviour. It also highlights the importance of exploring the aetiology of this behaviour. Four case reports are presented.

Shareholder participation in the corporation

Given that recent empirical happiness findings demonstrate that psychological needs are more important to individuals than the generation of wealth, the coporation should be considered as a mechanism utilised by individuals, through the acquisition of shares, to satisfy psychological needs, rather thean simply a means to generate and maximise wealth.

Shared parenting

The thesis addresses shared parenting, an arrangement which emphasises the equal responsibility of both parents for children after separation, which is often assumed to ameliorate the supposed negative effects of parental separation. This study found that from children's perspective, the most important consideration was not the type of family they lived in but rather the quality of their relationship with each parent that impacted on their emotional adjustment. The portfolio focuses on the challenge of dealing with allegations of child sexual abuse in the context of the Family Court. The comples issues involved in these types of cases are illustrated by four case studies.

Situational and dispositional influences on student learning

This research investigates influences of situational and personal factors on student learning. Personal factors (e.g. test anxiety, student life values, culture) are considered more influential than situational factors (e.g. assessment weighting, assessment type). The findings have implications for policies and practices associated with teaching, assessment, and effective study skills.

Mothers' and fathers' experiences of complicated childbirth

The thesis examined the differences between mothers and fathers who experienced complications during childbirth and whose infant required hospitalisation. It was found that parents took on markedly different roles, with differing needs, stressors and emotional reactions. More gender-role specific recommendations are made to improve support services during this time. The portfolio uses four case studies to demonstrate not only the general overarching impact of reproductive difficulties and the benefits and limitations of therapy, but also the context specific themes that are unique to each woman.

Beyond mental illness

The Introducing Me program was developed as a recovery-oriented intervention program for people with mental illness. Program trials revealed improvements in self-concept, self-esteem, reduced social anxiety, and overall positive feedback. This novel and innovative program has important implications for the treatment and wellbeing of persons with a severe mental illness. The Professional Portfolio discusses issues relating to the assessment and diagnosis of depression in adolescents and factors determining appropriate treatment recommendations. Four case studies are presented.

Third-generation responses to holocaust video-testimony

This research investigated responses of grandchildren of Holocaust survivors ("third generation") to Holocaust video-testimony. The analysis revealed that video-testimony can transmit memories of survival experiences to viewers, enabling them to "work through" their positions as witnesses and make active decisions relating to remembrance.