Taking a Closer Look at Physically Disabled Young Adults' Emotional Behavior
This study examined physically disabled participants' emotional behavior. 100 adults ages 16-60 were asked to complete a twenty-five minute survey that consisted of forty-three questions. It was hypothesized that family is essential in participants' lives, socialization occur more in small than large groups, and women are more likely to be depressed than men. Also, females are more likely to refuse food than males, subjects had difficulties seeking employment, forming educational and professional goals, and women are more predictable to commit suicide than men.
2. DEPENDENT VARIABLES:
family, food refusal, hope, depression, suicide, (note: I was not allowed to include suicide in my survey, in my results, and in my discussion.), employment, and education
OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS
Steps in Operationally Defining
Dependent Variables
(1) FOR DEPENDENT VARIABLES: family (Family Relationship)
(a) What device, type of test, Interview or observational technique will be used what is measurement based on)? Family Relationship was based on the survey.
(b) How will the device/test/ratings/evaluation vary? Descriptive Statistics was used to calculate how many "frequency" participants rated their family relationships from poor to excellent.
Five Types of Quantification:
(1) Amplitude = How big or intense?
(2) Frequency = How many?
(3) Ratio = How many per unit of time?
(4) Latency = How fast to get started?
(5) Duration = How long does it last?
(c) What is the actual range of measurement, and what do the low and high numbers represent? The range of measurement went from 13 to 43. 13% "very few" participants had a very good family relationship. 43% "the majority" participants had a fairly good family relationship.
(2) FOR DEPENDENT VARIABLES: family (who are you closest to)
(a) What device, type of test, Interview or observational technique will be used what is measurement based on)? Family (who are you closest to) was based on the survey.
(b) How will the device/test/ratings/evaluation vary? Descriptive Statistics was used to calculate how many "frequency" participants rated who they felt closest to
from mom to other.
(c) What is the actual range of measurement, and what do the low and high numbers represent? The range of measurement went 17 to 35. 17% participants were closest to their spouse and children. 35% participants were closest to their parents and siblings.
(3) FOR DEPENDENT VARIABLES: education (Education Goal)
(a) What device, type of test, Interview or observational technique will be used what is measurement based on)? Education (Education Goal) was based on the survey.
(b) How will the device/test/ratings/evaluation vary? Descriptive Statistics was used to calculate how many "frequency" participants rated their education goals
from other to none.
(c) What is the actual range of measurement, and what do the low and high numbers represent? The range of measurement went from 9 to 34. 9% participants' educational goals were to earn a PhD and to earn a degree in computers. 34% participants' educational goal was to earn an undergraduate degree.
(4) FOR DEPENDENT VARIABLES: employment (Professional Goal)
(a) What device, type of test, Interview or observational technique will be used what is measurement based on)? Employment (Professional Goal) was based on the survey.
(b) How will the device/test/ratings/evaluation vary? Descriptive Statistics was used to calculate how many "frequency" participants rated their professional goals
from electric engineer to other.
c) What is the actual range of measurement, and what do the low and high numbers represent? The range of measurement went from 8 to 48. 8% participants' professional goal was to be a financial director of a company. 48% participants had other professional goals.
(5) FOR DEPENDENT VARIABLES: food refusal (not eating in the past)
(a) What device, type of test, Interview or observational technique will be used what is measurement based on)? Food refusal (not eating in the past) was based on the survey.
(b) How will the device/test/ratings/evaluation vary? Chi-Square was used to calculate how many "frequency" female and male participants did not eat in the past.
(c) What is the actual range of measurement, and what do the low and high numbers represent? The range of measurement went from approximately 42 to 58. There was no significant association between 58% males and not eating in the past. There was no significant association between 42% females and not eating in the past.
(6) FOR DEPENDENT VARIABLES: food refusal (in the present)
(a) What device, type of test, Interview or observational technique will be used what is measurement based on)? Food refusal (in the present) was based on the survey.
(b) How will the device/test/ratings/evaluation vary? Chi-Square was used to calculate how many "frequency" female and male participants refuse food presently.
(c) What is the actual range of measurement, and what do the low and high numbers represent? The range of measurement went from approximately 42 to 58. There was no significant association between 58% males and refusing food presently. There was no significant association between 42% females and refusing food presently.
(7) FOR DEPENDENT VARIABLES: depression
(a) What device, type of test, Interview or observational technique will be used what is measurement based on)? Depression was based on the survey.
(b) How will the device/test/ratings/evaluation vary? Oneway Analysis of Variance was used to calculate how many "frequency" female and male participants experienced depression.
c) What is the actual range of measurement, and what do the low and high numbers represent? The range of measurement went from 41 to 57. There was not a significant effect of 57 male participants on depression scores. There was not a significant effect of 41 female participant on depression scores.
(8) FOR DEPENDENT VARIABLES: hope
(a) What device, type of test, Interview or observational technique will be used what is measurement based on)? Hope was based on the survey.
(b) How will the device/test/ratings/evaluation vary? Oneway Analysis of Variance was used to calculate how many "frequency" female and male participants experienced hope.
(c) What is the actual range of measurement, and what do the low and high numbers represent? The range of measurement went from 42 to 58. There was not a significant effect of 58 male participants on hope scores. There was not a significant effect of 42 female participants on hope scores.
(9) FOR DEPENDENT VARIABLES: hope (care for oneself)
(a) What device, type of test, Interview or observational technique will be used what is measurement based on)? Hope (care for oneself) was based on the survey.
(b) How will the device/test/ratings/evaluation vary? Oneway Analysis of Variance was used to calculate how many "frequency" participants experienced hope while caring for themselves.
(c) What is the actual range of measurement, and what do the low and high numbers represent? The range of measurement went from 35 to 65. 65 participants experienced hope while caring for themselves. Only 35 participants did not experienced hope while caring for themselves. Furthermore, there was a significant effect of caring for oneself on hope scores.
B. 1. Based on the literature review, hypothesis one stated that family is essential in participants' lives. Hypothesis two said that socialization occur more in small than large groups. Hypothesis three claimed that women are more prone to be depressed than men. Hypothesis four found that females are more likely to refuse to eat than males. Hypothesis five remarked that participants have difficulties seeking employment, forming educational and professional goals. Hypothesis six concurred that women are more predictable to commit suicide than men.
B. 2. Data supported hypothesis one, which stated that family is essential in participants' lives. Data failed to support hypothesis two which claimed that socialization occur more in small than large groups. Data failed to support hypothesis three which indicated that women are more prone to be depressed than men. Data failed to support hypothesis four which suggested that females are more likely to refuse eating than males. Data supported hypothesis five which remarked that all participants experience difficulties seeking employment, forming educational and professional goals. Data failed to supported hypothesis six concurred that women are more predictable to commit suicide than men.
THREATS TO INTERNAL VALIDITY:
1. Maturation- Physiological processes within the Ss operating as a function of time.
B. According to the results, there was no significant association between gender and not eating in the past. Also, there was no significant relationship between sex and refusing food presently. Furthermore, the data failed to support hypothesis four which suggested that females are more likely to refuse eating than males. Based on this information, participants did not change between test sessions because no physiological processes, hunger, could be proven.
2. Regression- The tendency of Ss with extreme scores on a first measure to score closer to the mean on a second measure.
B. My study was based on a survey. The survey measured how many (percentages) participants felt that family was essential in their lives. Participants felt that they socialize more in small than large groups. The survey measured how many participants felt women are more prone to be depressed than men. The survey measured how many participants felt that females are more likely to refuse to eat than males. The survey measured how many participants felt that they have difficulties seeking employment, forming educational and professional goals. Finally, the survey measured how many participants felt that women are more predictable to commit suicide than men.
3. Selection of Subjects- Any bias in selecting and assigning Ss to groups that results in systematically differences between subjects of each group.
B. Based on the title Physically Disabled Young Adults' Emotional Behavior of the study, I surveyed participants who were physically handicapped. I included participants who had the following physical disabilities: Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Muscular Scoliosis, Deaf, Blind, Traumatic Brain Injury, Amputee, Spinal Bifida, Traumatic Paraplegia, Fibrous Displasia, Polio, wheelchair / crutches car accident, Ataxia, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, and Muscular Scoliosis / Blind.
4. Mortality- Differential dropping out of some subjects from the comparison groups before the experiment is completed resulting in differences between the remaining subjects.
B. Some participants reported feeling insecure when completing the survey over electronic mail due to divulging personal information. If participants had responded anonymously, they might have felt more confident about completing the survey.
C. I avoided the threat by constantly electronically mailing the survey to different discussion groups and newsgroups designed for the physically handicapped. In addition, the survey was administered at two small northeastern colleges. As a result, a total of 100 participants participated in the study.
5. Instrumentation- Differences in the obtained scores due to differences or changes in the testing instrument, calibration, or changes in the observers or judges.
B. Since I did not change my survey, the survey did not affect my results. Even though I (judge) enhanced my debriefing method to convince more participants to participate in the study, I (judge) did not affect my results.
6. Testing- Differences in the scores due to practice or knowledge about the test procedure gained from an earlier experience.
B. Even though expectations had been formed, they did not improve the test scores. The expectations were the following: Based on the literature, parents had a significant role in physically handicapped children's development (Huang & McCubbin, 1989). Disabled adolescents and adults developed psychological problems due to unemployment, intimate relationships, and unsettled educational plans (Gortmaker, Homer, Perrin, & Weitzman, 1993). Handicapped teenagers socialized with disabled peers in small groups (Miura, 1993). Disabled adolescents had difficulties relating to able-bodied peers and teachers (Mack, 1996). Self-esteem was not related to disability (Berg, Hafeman, & Rinck, 1989; Stensman, 1985). Females were more likely to be depressed than males (Baron and Campbell, 1993). Disabled adolescents were equally depressed as nondisabled teenagers (Berg, Hafeman, & Rinck, 1989). Girls were more likely to stop eating to gain control and develop eating disorders than boys (Andrea, Phelps, & Rizzo, 1994). Disabled adults were more likely to commit suicide than nondisabled adults (Longmore, 1996). It was easier to predict when girls were suicidal than boys (Bonner, Kirkpatrick-Smith, Jans, & Rinck, 1992).
7. History- Extraneous events occurring after the experiment began that are confounded with the independent variable.
B. My study did not have any independent variables. My study only had dependent variables. Furthermore, no extraneous events confounded with the independent variable before or after the survey was administered.
D. THREATS TO EXTERNAL VALIDITY:
8. Participants characteristics- The participants studied are not a representative sample of the target population.
B. Some participants reported feeling insecure when completing the survey over electronic mail due to divulging personal information. My results did not represent the general physical population's emotional behavior accurately. For instance, there was no significant association between gender and not eating in the past. There was no significant relationship between sex and refusing food presently. Most subjects' personal goal was to live well. There was no significant association between living arrangements and not eating in the past. There was no significant relationship between living arrangements and refusing food presently. There was no significant effect of ability to care for oneself on depression scores. There was no significant effect of living arrangements on depression scores. There was a significant effect not eating in the past on depression scores. There was not a significant effect of sex on depression scores. There was a significant effect of caring for oneself on hope scores. There was not a significant effect of sex on hope scores. There was no significant effect of living arrangements on hope scores. According to these scores, all one hundred participants, who were participated in my study, were basically happy, well adjusted, nondepressive, hopeful people. These participants also had little difficulties coping in their daily lives. My participants did not accurate represent the whole physically handicapped population.
C. If participants had responded anonymously, they might have felt more confident about completing the survey accurately.
9. Contextual characteristics- Specific research context is not a representative sample of the target context. How far can one take the study out in the world?
B. The majority of the participants completed my survey over electronically mail and only a few participants completed the survey at two small northeastern colleges. Essentially, my study did not require a specific setting.
10. Measurement characteristic- Specific observations made are not a representative sample of the target behavior, which is the behavior that the researcher really wants to study and understand.
B. I really wanted to know if the general physically handicapped population refused food, were depressed, felt that family played a vital part in their lives, viewed themselves entering the job market, had positive of negative outlook toward life.
11. Experimenter Expectancy- Experimenter's own behavior provides inadvertent cues that influence the response of the participants.
B. When I first debriefed and administered the survey over electronic mail, participants refuse to participate in the study. Even though I introduced myself and specifically explained the purpose of my study, participants reported feeling insecure when completing the survey over electronic mail due to divulging personal information. They also thought that I was psychologist who only had intentions of degrading and institutionalize them based on their experiences in the mental health field. Furthermore, I had to further debrief participants by specific reinforcing my identity, the purpose of my study, and having Professor X electronically mail a character reference letter to several newsgroups and discussion groups designed for the physically handicapped. This helped participants not to see me as Nurse Ratched from the movie entitled One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. Since I still felt that my data collection had been damaged by how participants' view my behavior as dangerous, the survey was also administered at two small northeastern colleges. As a result, a total of 100 participants participated in the study.
C. If participants had responded anonymously, they might have felt more confident about completing the survey. If I had received better guidance on debriefing over electronic mail from my advisor, I would have been able to avoid the threat.
12. Testing Reactivity- Participants are motivated to make sense of the experimental situation, to avoid negative evaluations from the experimenter, and to cooperate to help the experimenter to confirm the research hypothesis.
B. Instead of being motivated to understand the experimental situation, participants just assumed that I was out to get them and I was a spammer. Since I tried my very best to clearly explain who I was the purpose of launching my study, I was forced to negatively evaluate them. I would have thought that participants would have been jumping for joy knowing that I was conducting further research to educate the public that the physically handicapped population has psychological needs as well as the nondisabled population. Also, I thought that participants would have encouraged me to conduct my study knowing that I am physically handicapped and I wish to become a psychologist for physically disabled young adults. Instead of trying to help me to confirm my six researched hypothesises, the participants tried their very best to ruin my study.
13. Hawthorne Effect- Participants' knowledge they are apart of an experiment influence the results differentially. Just by feeling special for being in an experiment, and makes them work harder of their motivation increases to perform.
B. Participants did not feel special for being in my study. They were not motivated at all to perform because participants reported feeling insecure when completing the survey over electronic mail due to divulging personal information.
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