Livia M. D'Andrea

A Comparative Study of Psychosocial Development in Nontraditional and Traditional College Students

Students who do not fit the definition of the traditional student are becoming an increasingly large segment of the college population. In order to effectively promote retention in todays college students, the student development professional must understand these changing demographic and academic characteristics. This study compared student development in nontraditional and traditional college students. Student development was measured using the Student Developmental Task and Lifestyle Assessment (SDTLA). Nontraditional students were defined by the degree to which they ascribed to a set of nontraditional characteristics. This study of 163 students found that nontraditional students scored significantly lower than traditional students on all three Tasks measured by the SDTLA—Establishing and Clarifying Purpose, Developing Autonomy, and Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships. In addition, the more nontraditional characteristics the student ascribed to, the lower the reported level of development. Implications for student development practice are discussed.

Cluster Analysis of Adult Children of Alcoholics

To determine if adult children of alcoholics (ACOA) are heterogeneous with respect to personality characteristics, 97 ACOAs took the California Psychological Inventory (CPI), and the results were analyzed through cluster analysis techniques. The resulting three-cluster solution showed that, in one subgroup (44%), all CPI scales were at or above the mean; another subgroup (40%) achieved scores at or slightly below the mean; and the third subgroups (16%) scores were considerably below the mean. Therefore, clinical claims regarding ACOAs may only be accurate for a small proportion of ACOAs. Research on resiliency in children may explain why many ACOAs have normal personality profiles.

Assessing Human Impact of Organizational Crises: Reliability and Validity of the Triage Assessment Scale for Organizations (Tas:O)

The present study evaluated the reliability and validity of the Triage Assessment Survey: Organizations (TAS:O), a 27-item, 5-point, Likert summated rating scale. One hundred and seventeen participants responded to the TAS:O after reading mild, moderate, marked and severe organizational crisis scenarios. The overall Cronbachs alpha and split-half reliability were both .93. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed three factors, supporting the hypothesis that the TAS:O is comprised of three distinct factors (i.e., Affect, Behavior, and Cognition). An analysis of variance provided evidence that the TAS:O has the capacity to distinguish among mild, moderate, marked, and severe crises. Because this research is the first to evaluate the TAS:O, further studies are needed to strengthen confidence in the psychometric properties of this scale.

Compassionate Detachment: Managing Professional Stress While Providing Quality Care to Bereaved Parents

This phenomenological study examines the lived experience of professionals who have assisted parents after the sudden unexpected death of their child from sudden infant death syndrome, sudden unexpected infant death, and sudden unexplained death in childhood. Interview material was analyzed using Creswells six-step approach to qualitative data. Three types of involvement emerged as themes: early enmeshed emotions, emotional detachment, and compassionate detachment. Compassionate detachment marked a balance between emotional engagement with the newly bereaved parents and cognitive detachment from the trauma. All professionals mentioned relying on a philosophy of life and death as a means of coping with the stress of these cases. Having a solid cognitive belief structure seemed to be a protective factor when working with the sudden and unexplained death of a child. A case is made for the need for organizations to mitigate the deleterious effects of stress and burnout among health and emergency workers by providing psychological first aid and support to individuals that regularly respond to unexplained child deaths.