Running Head: ASSIGNMENT #2: DATA PRESENTATION

Assignment #2: Data Presentation

Tori Rolston
SW 4810
Professor Harrison
Wayne State University

Rolston 1

ASSIGNMENT #2: DATA PRESENTATION

Rolston 2

Sample
Upon submission to the program, the 50 participants taking part in this study were asked
to complete an assessment which provided researchers with important demographic information
about each client including gender, ethnicity, and age. In addition to this assessment, each
individual completed a pretest consisting of the Trauma Symptoms Scale which measured how
often each individual experienced undesirable things due to traumas faced prior to the admission
into this program. These things may include nightmares, outbursts, sadness, fear and withdrawal,
amongst others. Due to the negative nature of these things, lower scores are more desirable on
this pretest. After the treatment had been implemented, researchers again administered a test in
order to gather a post-treatment trauma score. The researchers were then able to observe how
much each participants score changed after treatment.
After these assessments, participants were randomly assigned to receive either the new
treatment or the routine treatment. Along with this, participants were also randomly assigned to
cottage 1, 2, or 3. During the intervention data was gathered regarding the number of behavioral
incidents, the number of cancelled therapy sessions, the client-therapist relationship, and whether
or not off campus privileges were earned (both before and after the treatment).
Descriptive statistics were gathered as a way to examine the demographic composition of
the sample population. The results revealed that 50 youth participated in this program, 25 males
and 25 females, ages 7-15 years. A majority of these youth identified themselves as being
Caucasian. The full results of this analysis can be found in table 1 below.

Table 1: Demographic Characteristics of Sample Population

n (%)
Gender
Male
Female
Ethnicity

25 (50)
25 (50)

ASSIGNMENT #2: DATA PRESENTATION

Rolston 3

Caucasian
African American
Hispanic
Other
Age
7 years
8 years
9 years
10 years
11 years
12 years
13 years
14 years
15 years

20 (40)
15 (30)
13 (26)
2 ( 4)
2 ( 4)
3 ( 6)
8 (16)
11 (22)
9 (18)
5 (10)
7 (14)
3 ( 6)
2 ( 4)

The population was divided evenly between the new and routine treatment, with 25
participants in each. There was also a rather even distribution between the three cottages with 17
participants in both Cottage 1 and 2, and 16 participants in Cottage 3. Along with this descriptive
data, the number of serious behavioral incidents was gathered. This data revealed that the
number of serious behavioral incidents occurring amongst this population ranged from 0-22. This
data was further analyzed, with the mean and standard deviations shown in Table 2 below
Table 2: Serious Behavioral Incidents

Number of Serious Behavioral Incidents

Mean

50

5.50

Standard Deviation
5.48

The standard deviation of 5.48 indicates that the number of serious behavioral incidents
amongst this population deviate, on average, by 5.48 from the mean of 5.50 incidents. The large
standard deviation and its proximity to the mean shows that the number of serious behavioral
incidents occurring amongst this population are wide-spread. According to the descriptive
statistics 12% of cases fall on the low end of 0.0 serious behavioral incidents, 30% fall around
the mean of 5.5, and another 10% fall on the high end of 18.0-22.0 serious behavioral incidents.

ASSIGNMENT #2: DATA PRESENTATION

Rolston 4

This can be seen visually through the histogram pictured in Figure 1, which shows that the data
does not fall along the normal curve.
Figure 1: Histogram of Serious Behavioral Incidents

The presence of off-campus privileges was also evaluated for each individual both before
and after the treatments were implemented. The results displayed that before the treatment was
implemented 25 out of the 50 participants had off-campus privileges. Following the
implementation of treatment the number rose to 35 participants, exhibiting that the treatment
seemed to yield positive results. This information is presented in Table 3 below.
Table 3: Off-Campus Privileges
n (%)
Participants with privileges (pre-treatment)
Participants with privileges (post-treatment)

25 (50)
35 (70)

ASSIGNMENT #2: DATA PRESENTATION

Rolston 5

The sample population and results of this study may be considered representative of the
larger population due to its diversity. Within the sample population of this study there is an equal
proportion of male and female participants, individuals from a variety of ethnic backgrounds,
and adolescents from a broad age range. The diversity within this sample population increases
the chances that it will be representative of the larger population within the United States. This
diverse composition and likelihood for representativeness also increases the chance for
generalizability within this study. With a more diverse population, there is a better chance that
the data presented within this study may be replicated again if a similar study was conducted.
Bivariate Analysis
Researchers focused on three research questions during this study in order to test the
effectiveness of the treatments implemented through this program. Each research question, its
null and alternative hypotheses, and the results obtained through statistical tests will be presented
below. All results presented are from tests conducted at the 0.05 alpha or rejection level.
Research Question #1: Is the treatment group that the youth is placed in associated with
whether or not off campus privileges are earned?
Null Hypothesis #1: There is not an association between the treatment group that the youth is
placed in and whether or not off campus privileges are earned.
Alternative Hypothesis #1: There is an association between the treatment group that the youth
is placed in and whether or not off campus privileges are earned.
Independent Variable: Treatment group
Dependent Variable: Off campus privileges
A chi-square analysis was conducted using cross-tabulation data of variables, treatment
group and off campus privileges. This test was conducted in order to determine whether there
was a relationship between the treatment group that the individual was assigned to and whether
or not off campus privileges were earned. The results of the cross-tabulation table exhibited that
of the 25 individuals who participated in the new treatment, 64% earned off campus privileges,
as compared to only 36% of the 25 individuals who took part in the routine treatment. The

ASSIGNMENT #2: DATA PRESENTATION

Rolston 6

Pearson chi-square test conducted from this cross-tabulation table resulted in a two-sided
significance of 0.048 (See Table 4). At the 0.05 level of significance chosen for this test, the null
hypothesis will be rejected as 0.048 is less than 0.05. Therefore, one may conclude that there is,
in fact, an association between the treatment group that the youth is placed in and whether or not
off campus privileges are earned, with more individuals in the new treatment group earning off
campus privileges.
Table 4: Chi-Square Test

Pearson Chi-Square

Value

df

Asymp. Sig.
(2-sided)

3.920

.048

Research Question #2: Is there a relationship between the number of traumas experienced and
the amount of serious behavioral incidents exhibited?
Null Hypothesis #2: There is not a relationship between the number of traumas experienced and
the amount of serious behavioral incidents exhibited.
Alternative Hypothesis #2: There is a relationship between the number of traumas experienced
and the amount of serious behavioral incidents exhibited.
Independent Variable: Number of traumas experienced
Dependent Variable: Amount of serious behavioral incidents
In order to determine whether or not there was a relationship between the number of
traumas experienced by participants and the amount of serious behavioral incidents exhibited,
researchers conducted a correlation analysis. For this situation, the Pearson r test was conducted.
The results of this test exhibited a two-tailed significance level of .000 (See Table 5). This would
be statistically significant at the previously determined rejection level of 0.05 as the value of .000
presented within the results is lower than the 0.05 rejection level. This statistical significance
would lead to a rejection of the null hypothesis and a conclusion that there is a relationship

ASSIGNMENT #2: DATA PRESENTATION

Rolston 7

between the number of traumas that an individual has experienced and the number of serious
behavioral incidents exhibited.
Table 5: Correlation
Serious Behavioral
Incidents
Serious Behavioral Incidents

Number of Traumas

Pearson Correlation
Sig. (2-Tailed)
N

50

Pearson Correlation
Sig. (2-Tailed)
N

.975
.000
50

Number of
Traumas

.975
.000
50
1
50

Research Question #3: Is there a difference in the number of traumas experienced between male
and female participants?
Null Hypothesis #3: There is not a difference in the number of traumas experienced between
male and female participants.
Alternative Hypothesis #3: There is a difference in the number of traumas experienced between
male and female participants.
Independent Variable: Gender
Dependent Variable: Number of traumas experienced
In order to assess whether or not there was a difference in the number of traumas
experienced between male and female participants an independent-samples t-Test was conducted.
This t-Test resulted in a table displaying both Levenes test for equality of variance results as
well as t-Test for equality of means results. The results from Levenes test exhibited a
significance level of 0.152, which informs the researcher that the formula that assumes equal
variances is to be used since the significance provided by Levenes test was lower than the 0.05
rejection level (See Table 6). The results from the t-Test for equality of means is then considered.
Within this table, researchers will use the p-value listed under the row, equal variances
assumed. The results for this research question provided a two-tailed p-value of 0.949 when
equal variances were assumed (See Table 7). Due to this high p-value, the null hypothesis cannot

ASSIGNMENT #2: DATA PRESENTATION

Rolston 8

be rejected as 0.949 is much larger than the 0.05 rejection level. This means that researchers fail
to reject the null hypothesis and risk making a Type II error as they cannot assume that there is a
difference in the number of traumas experienced between male and female participants
Table 6: Independent Samples Test Levenes Test
Levenes Test for Equality of Variances

Number of Traumas

Equal variances assumed

Equal variances not assumed

Sig.

2.123

.152

Table 7: Independent Sample Test t-Test for Equality of Means

t-Test for Equality of Means
t
Number of Traumas

Equal variances assumed

Equal variances not assumed

-.064
-.064

df
48
41.974

Sig. (2-tailed)
.949
.950

Implications
The results of this study exhibited that more individuals taking part in the new treatment
received off campus privileges than those who were a part of the routine treatment group. This
data suggests that perhaps the new treatment was more effective, leading to more adolescents
exhibiting positive behaviors and earning off campus privileges. This would be an important
result to keep in mind for future work in this area. This information could help researchers to
more effectively work with youth that have faced traumas, as it displays what treatments prove to
be most effective in such situations.
The results of this study also suggested that the number of traumas experienced is related
to the serious behavioral incidents exhibited. This suggests that individuals who experience more
or less traumas may be more or less likely to exhibit serious behavioral incidents. This
information should be visited again in future research regarding youth traumas and serious
behavioral incidents. Further research on this topic could help allow for a better understanding of

ASSIGNMENT #2: DATA PRESENTATION

Rolston 9

the effect that traumas have on youth and thus help researchers to determine treatments that may
be effective in helping adolescents to work through such traumas in a more positive manner and
not allow them to negatively affect their behaviors, ie: leading to serious behavioral incidents.
Overall, researchers could use the information gathered from this study and its statistical
tests to assess how traumas affect an individuals attitude and behaviors. This assessment can
then help researchers to generate new treatments for at-risk youth who may have encountered
traumas and may be facing negative behavioral acts because of it. This information could be used
to create new treatments that may prove more effective in helping these adolescents lower their
rate of serious behavioral incidents and learn to handle traumas in a more positive manner. In
addition to this, researchers can evaluate the effect that a client-therapist relationship can have on
an individuals behaviors and attitudes and work to implement strategies and procedures that
help to ensure a positive relationship and positive results for the client.