Digital Commons Network^™

Review Of "The Strengths-Based Guide To Supporting Autistic Children: A Positive Psychology Approach To Parenting", Robert J. Oliverio

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Relationships Between Burnout, Isolation, Secondary Trauma, And Self-Compassion In Mental Health Providers, Michael Underiner, Rodger K. Bufford, Mary Peterson, Daniel Rodriquez

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Burnout is a common challenge among mental health professionals.

It is the main catalyst for professional misconduct (Morse, et al., 2012) and common among mental health professionals (Prime, et al., 2020; Sampiao, et al, 2021; Simionato & Simpson, 2018).

COVID-19 increased social isolation, decreased social support, and strained family systems among mental health practitioners increasing risk (Prime, et al., 2020; Sampaio, et al., 2021). Social distancing also diminished systemic resources and increased reliance on personal resources for coping. Ongoing vicarious trauma increased, thus fostering burnout (McBride, et al., 2020; Shoji et al., 2016). Self-compassion is proposed as a possible solution …

Impacts Of Stigma On Female Service Members, Alisha Weatherly-Kershaw

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

There are a variety of factors that prevent people from seeking mental health treatment. The stigma associated with mental health disorders or seeking treatment is a primary deterrent. This stigma is particularly impactful within the armed forces when they are assessed for fitness for duty. Because most research examines stigma’s impact on male military members, this study aims to identify the type of stigma that creates the most significant barrier to female service members seeking mental health treatment. Results indicate that stigmatizing perceptions of service members significantly impact female service members holding negative views towards seeking treatment.

The Adult Moral Injury Scale: An Initial Validation Study, Robert Wingerter

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Moral injury (MI) is a construct that has gained significant traction over the past decade and holds great implications for the etiology, nosology, and treatment of trauma. MI literature is currently limited by established measures of MI which share various strengths and weaknesses, and there has been a call in the literature to address measurement of MI (Griffin et al., 2019). In this study we propose a new measure of MI, the Adult Moral Injury Scale (AMIS), and will conduct initial validation of this measure. The AMIS is designed to be a content valid measure of MI symptoms in the …

The Relationship Of Religious Coping To Adverse Childhood Experiences And Expression Of Traditional Masculinity, Jake D. Bigon

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Men are subject to a variety of physical, mental, and social challenges (Garside & Klimes-Dougan, 2002; Lawson et al., 2015; O’Neil, 1981; Pleck, 1995, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have also been a major predictor of negative health outcomes (Felitti et al., 1998, p. 251). While many studies have observed the correlation of masculinity and these negative health outcomes, few have sought to understand the relationship between masculine presentation and ACEs. Religious coping has been seen to reduce distress and contribute to posttraumatic response (Pargament et al., 2000; Prati & Pietrantoni, 2009; Fallot & …

Relative Impact Of Human & Natural Trauma On Psychological Functioning, Javeen Lynette Beard

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Trauma, both natural and human induced, affects numerous people daily, often significantly impairing their quality of life. Human trauma and the subsequent quality of life has been extensively examined, but natural trauma remains largely overlooked. This study compares the quality of life following human and natural trauma. Because no suitable measure could be located, a 12-item Natural Disaster Assessment (NDA) was developed. Reponses were rated on a 7-point continuum from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Participants were recruited using Mechanical Turk. Among 136 participants, 56 were male (41.2%), 79 were female (58.1%), and one identified as other (0.7%). Participants completed …

Relationships Between Burnout, Isolation, Secondary Trauma, And Self-Compassion In Mental Health Providers, Michael Underriner

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Experiencing burnout as a mental health provider is a growing concern with a number of personal and professional issues related to it; organizational and self-directed interventions are often used to combat the issue (Morse et al., 2012). With the onset of coronavirus (COVID-19), mental health providers face more isolation at work due to social distancing measures and more instances of hearing trauma reports from their patients. Self-compassion might be a solution to address the concerns stated above (McCade et al., 2021; Richardson et al, 2018). Participants in this study were members of a state psychological association, many of whom are …

Increasing Conceptual Clarity Of Act Interventions For Burnout: A Novel Workshop For Women In Ministry, Lydia Hogan

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

The purpose of this study is threefold; to address a gap in the literature concerning mechanism of change of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) interventions for burnout, to create an evidence-based burnout intervention for women in ministry, and to propose a theory of burnout etiology and recovery. Participants in this novel 6-week online ACT-based workshop showed significant improvement in burnout, particularly those who endorsed higher pre-intervention burnout. Change in burnout scores was inconsistently mediated by changes in psychological flexibility across dimensions of personal burnout, work burnout, and client burnout as measured on the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. Findings of this study …

Trauma-Informed Care In Native American Education: Compassion Satisfaction, Secondary Traumatic Stress, Burnout, And Resilience As Mediating Factors To Implementation, Peter Tissell

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

With increased awareness and discussion of trauma-informed care, both within the educational setting and the Native-American community, this study went about developing a training series on trauma and resilience for educational and residential staff at a Native-American boarding school. This study sought to identify the effectiveness of this training series on improving participant’s attitudes towards trauma-informed care, while also assessing individual characteristics including Resilience, Burnout, Secondary Traumatic Stress, and Compassion Satisfaction as possible predictors of trainees’ attitudes. Results determined the training series did not significantly change trainees’ attitudes on trauma-informed care. Additionally, while resilience and secondary traumatic stress proved to …

Videoconference Administration Of The Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System, Zachary T. Stine

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Neuropsychological assessments rely on standardization, reliability, validity, and normative data to increase the accuracy of clinicians’ interpretations (Lezak et al., 2012). One particular assessment that focuses on examining comprehensive executive functioning is the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS; Delis et al., 2001). Videoconference is gaining in use to provide services within multiple healthcare domains to increase access to care and convenience, potentially reduce costs, and sustain patient satisfaction (Brearly et al., 2017). The literature has shown support for the growing field of telehealth neuropsychology (Brearly et al., 2017); however, many neuropsychological assessments, such as the D-KEFS, have not been normed …

Virtuous Dialogues: A Study On Wisdom And Quiet Ego In Church Settings, Jeffrey A. Dunkerley Ii

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

An individual’s ability to balance the identity of self with the identity of the other, Quiet Ego, consider situations from various perspectives (Reflective Wisdom) and reflect on emotional reactivity (Affective Wisdom) are influential components to engaging in dialogue. The context for dialogue within the United States is increasingly impacted by the backdrop of polarization and defensiveness, impacting one’s ability to develop and maintain the characteristics above. The Christian Church in the United States is not immune to the shifts in dialogue and are experiencing similar difficulties with dialogue seen in the broader society. Virtuous Dialogues is a training curriculum that …

Covid-19 And Fall Rates In Older Adults: Longitudinal Study On The Impact Of Covid-19 On Geriatric Fall Rates In A Care Facility, Britton Holman

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Falls in the geriatric population are continuing to increase around the world. Along with this, COVID-19 caused significant distress and changes in many older adult populations living in care facilities. Our study used archival data to determine if an association existed between fall rates at a specific care facility before COVID-19, during COVID-19, and during an outbreak of COVID-19 at the facility. An analysis of variance and Bonferroni’s post-hoc analysis was conducted, which found falls tended to be lower during outbreaks at the facility compared to pre-COVID-19 times. Reasons for this finding may be due to restrictions on activities and …

Retention Rates In Medication For Opioid Treatment: The Effects Of Social Determinants Of Health, Melissa Flores

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Background. Medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), the use of pharmacotherapy, behavior, and psychotherapy, has been implemented in the treatment of opioid use disorders. MOUD seeks to retain patients in treatment to stabilize medication management and implement coping skills, and many studies have described an association between retention and recovery. Social Determinants of Health (SDH) are important to consider in efforts toward retention in MOUD programs. Method. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of SDH on retention rates in MOUD, specifically evaluating a program that uses a Collaborative Community Approach Model (CCAM), which aims …

Inner Work Community: Shadow Work As Spiritual Formation, Michael Simmons

Doctor of Leadership

The NPO statement surrounding this doctoral project is that A theological, practical, and community-centered framework for shadow work is disconnected from Christian spiritual formation. This doctoral project is the culmination of a three-fold process: discovering the need for shadow work in the context of spiritual formation, designing multi-faceted virtually-based opportunities to address this need among individuals and groups, and delivering those opportunities via online courses, one-on-one shadow work, and digital content such as essays, articles, and podcasts. My vocational context is my unofficial organization, and MVP, Inner Work Community, which provides these opportunities. Inner Work Community is extended through partnerships …

Racial Healing In The Church: The Usefulness Of The Interpersonal Process In Therapy Model, Winston Seegobin

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Racial disunity is a major challenge facing the Christian church. This article examines psychological factors that contribute to and maintain both racial disunity and racial unity through the lens of the Interpersonal Process in Therapy model (Sullivan, 1968; Teyber & Teyber, 2017). It looks at how early interpersonal relationships in childhood influence interpersonal relationships as adults and how the therapeutic relationship as a healing influence can be applied to racial healing as adults. Spiritual factors that contribute to and maintain racial disunity and racial unity are also discussed. Understanding that it is the relationship that heals, specific strategies such as …

Trauma Clusters And Iorns Measure For Sex Offense Treatment Outcomes, Katherine Carlson

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs are traumatic experiences that occur for children including abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). The pattern of ACEs grouping together, or what will be known as ACEs Clusters, has impact on outcomes for specific populations (Lacey et al., 2020). Individuals convicted of a sexual offense (ICSO) have often experienced childhood physical and verbal abuse (Levenson et al., 2014). It was hypothesized that ACEs clusters for the ICSO population will be: low ACEs, household dysfunction, and household violence. To evaluate whether an ICSO is at risk for engaging in violent …

Military Chaplains’ Provision Of Psychological Assistance To Soldiers In Ukraine, Artem Makovskyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article presents the results of a theoretical analysis of and the author's personal practical experience with the work of military chaplains in providing psychological assistance to Ukrainian servicemen. Researchers in the field of psychology of religion have identified a number of functions of religion,--namely communicative, regulatory, integrating, ideological and compensatory--on which the pastoral activity of a military chaplain can be analyzed in their provision of psychological assistance to combatants. A comparison of the tasks facing military psychologists and military chaplains is carried out based on legal documents. Emphasis is placed on those moments where they can functionally complement each …

Spiritual Well-Being Scale (Swbs): Measuring Spiritual Well-Being In International Contexts, Rodger K. Bufford, Raymond F. Paloutzian

Faculty Publications - Psychology Department

The Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) is a 20-item measure of self-perceived spiritual health. Developed in the 1980s, it includes 2 subscales with 10 items each. Responses are made on a 6-point continuum from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree with no neutral point; 9 of the items are negatively worded to minimize response biases. The US samples show good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Content validity was established in construction. Expected correlations with religion and spirituality indices, social and psychological mea-sures, and physical functioning and demonstration of expected group differences support criterion validity. Factor analysis commonly shows 2 factors corresponding to …

Psychologists-In-Training Attitudes Towards Complicated Grief, Caroline A. Williams

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Complicated grief as a diagnosis has been in development in the United States and United Kingdom since World War II through the utilization of diagnostic manuals, resulting in grief being commonly explored from an intervention standpoint. The inclusion of prolonged grief disorder in the International Classification of Disease (11th ed.; ICD-11; World Health Organization, 2020) and in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5 TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2022) has instigated a debate on whether these complicated grief disorders are culturally appropriate and sensitive with the consensus that generally providers advocate for a diagnosis, but not …

Relationship Of Resilience With Well-Being And Loneliness In Individuals With Severe And Persistent Mental Illness, Krysta Young

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Resilience research has evolved from interest in understanding why some people thrive despite early adversities (Davino, 2013) to explain people’s adaptability when faced with challenge or adversity (Karaırmak & Figley, 2017). It has three components: adaptability, ability to succeed despite poor expectations, and persistent engagement instead of avoidance (Werner-Wilson et al., 2000), and is impacted by the severity of adversity, trait characteristics, and environmental characteristics (Chung, 2008). Resilience is a predictor of psychological well-being (Miranda & Cruz, 2022), is negatively correlated with loneliness (Tan et al., 2021), and while resilience is a protective factor against anxiety and depression (Cusack et …

Body Shame And Wellness: Consequences Of Being Fat, Edith Halina James

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

People who live in larger bodies have unique experiences which may influence their overall wellbeing. While primary care providers may choose to focus on weight and physical health, there are numerous emotional consequences to being fat, including social stigma and shame. Unfortunately, there are few studies researching the experience of fat people, resulting in a significant gap in knowledge. The present study seeks to provide some preliminary information about the fat experience, which can be utilized in future research and in clinical and interpersonal settings. A convenience sample of young adults (ages 18−30 years) was derived from undergraduate and graduate …

Callosal Malformations: Developmental Impacts And Parental Adjustment During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kera Larson

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

In March 2020 the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was determined to be a global health crisis (Lee et al., 2021). As the virus continued to spread rapidly, individuals had to adjust their daily routines to reduce disease transmission. Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum (AgCC) is a broad term used when there is a presence of congenital brain malformation in the region of the brain responsible for transmitting information to both left and right hemispheres (Paul, 2011). Evaluation of individuals with AgCC have been observed to demonstrate specific deficits including cognitive efficiency, transfer of sensory-motor information, and complex reasoning (Brown & …

Political Polarization In College Students, David Franks

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Political engagement in the United States has been increasing over the last several years and with it a seeming rise in political polarization. Specifically, recent research supports that there has been a significant increase in affective polarization, which is characterized by strong negative emotions and impressions of one’s political opponents. Political science surveys have found that individuals rate their political opponents as being less intelligent and more selfish in recent years and individuals open to inter-party marriages have drastically declined in recent years compared to decades past. This study explored the relationship of personality, as understood in the Big Five …

Thwarted Belongingness And Burdensomeness As Moderators Between Entrapment And Suicide Ideation In College Students, Tupelo Witte

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

College students are amid their search for identity development, desire to meet social expectations, and are juggling stressors that often lead to mental health concerns including suicidality. The integrated motivational-volitional model of suicidal behavior has established a three-phase framework to describe the process of suicidality. Life factors and feelings of defeat lead to entrapment and suicidal ideation followed by suicidal ideation and behaviors, as influenced or intervened by moderating factors. This study used data from the American College Health Association National College Health Assessment III to further investigate the integrated motivational-volitional model and specifically the motivational phase and relationship between …