Department
Counseling and Human Services
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Date of Award
11-2001
Format
Degree Level
Ph.D.
LCSH subject
Wit and humor -- Therapeutic use -- Research; Wit and humor -- Psychological aspects -- Research; Wit and humor in medicine; Marriage counselors -- Attitudes; Family therapists -- Attitudes; Marriage counselors -- Training of; Family therapists -- Training of
Medium
manuscript
Identifier
50096865 (OCLC)
Description
A descriptive study was conducted exploring attitudes toward and usages of humor among marriage and family therapists. This was an internet study, novel for both St. Mary's University and for marriage and family therapy research in general. The literature review highlighted the research and theory that has evolved over the past century, addressing the topic of humor in mental and physical health and development. It was noticed that humor has not been a significant topic of study in marriage and family therapy research, nor have attitudes toward and usages of humor been measured among any of the health professions, though case studies, anecdotal reports, and experimental research ventures have suggested strong relationships between humor and the improvement of physical and psychological health. This project was developed by the researcher in an effort to understand currently held attitudes toward and usages of humor among marriage and family therapists, and variables that may impact these attitudes and usages. Independent variables such as age, gender, experience, theoretical orientation, and modality of practice were tested against dependent variables such as attitude toward humor, liking of humor, and use of humor *s a coping mechanism. Results showed that the proposed independent variables did not relate significantly to the proposed dependent variables, suggesting that participants' attitudes toward and usages of humor were not significantly related to their age, gender, theoretical orientation, or practice modality. Frequencies in the responses of the participants revealed interesting information, such as the majority of respondents reporting a strong understanding of humor in psychotherapy while also reporting a strong lack of training in humor in psychotherapy.
School/University
St. Mary's University (San Antonio, Tex.)
Size or duration
172 pages
Document Type
Dissertation
First Advisor
Lyle, Randall
Recommended Citation
Wilkens, Nicholas Todd, "Attitudes Toward and Usages of Humor Among Practicing Marriage and Family Therapists" (2001). Dissertations. 83.
https://commons.stmarytx.edu/dissertations/83
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.