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Smashing The Stigma: Promoting Mental Health And Resilience Among Veterans, Anna Wagle

Selected Social Change Portfolios in Prevention, Intervention, and Consultation

Goal Statement: This portfolio aims to bring awareness and identify strategies and interventions to reduce veteran suicide rates by starting with the problem's source.

Significant Findings: This portfolio focuses on the high rate of U.S. veteran suicide, with 16.8 suicides per day and 51% more likely to die by suicide than non-veterans ("National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report," 2022; Vincent-Roller, 2022). Key findings highlight the complexity of suicide risk across various levels. The portfolio recommends enhancing mental health services, destigmatizing mental health, strengthening social support, and providing tailored interventions like peer support and trauma-informed care for transitioning veterans (Hester, 2017; …

Dissecting The Interrelations Of Suicidality And Mental Health Across First Responder Subtypes Seeking Treatment: A Cross-Sectional Study, Alaina Beauchamp, Warren Ponder, Katelyn Jetelina

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

First responders are routinely exposed to traumatic events that can affect their mental health to the extent of suicidal ideation and suicide completion. The purpose of our study is to inform the comparability of predictors of suicidality across first responder types to elucidate the most efficacious targets for intervention and clinical intercession. Clients (N = 224) sought counseling services between 2015 and 2020 at a not-for-profit organization. We conducted a matched study with cases defined as those with suicidality at baseline and those without suicidality at baseline (controls). First responder types were law enforcement officers (LEOs), firefighters, and emergency …

The Effects Of Secondary Traumatic Stress And Resilience On The Indicators Of Compassion Fatigue Among Occupational Therapists, Gayla Ann Aguilar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractCompassion fatigue (CF) has been described as the “cost of caring” for traumatized individuals, which may lead to missed workdays, diminished work satisfaction, increased turnover, and decreased client care. CF has long been studied in other caring professionals, but occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) have been largely overlooked. The purpose of this quantitative correlation study was to determine the relationship between secondary traumatic stress (STS) and resilience (RES) on burnout (BO) and compassion satisfaction (CS; i.e., indicators of CF) in OTPs. In this study, the moderation effect that RES has on STS and BO as related to CF in 68 completed …

The Effects Of Secondary Traumatic Stress And Resilience On The Indicators Of Compassion Fatigue Among Occupational Therapists, Gayla Ann Aguilar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractCompassion fatigue (CF) has been described as the “cost of caring” for traumatized individuals, which may lead to missed workdays, diminished work satisfaction, increased turnover, and decreased client care. CF has long been studied in other caring professionals, but occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) have been largely overlooked. The purpose of this quantitative correlation study was to determine the relationship between secondary traumatic stress (STS) and resilience (RES) on burnout (BO) and compassion satisfaction (CS; i.e., indicators of CF) in OTPs. In this study, the moderation effect that RES has on STS and BO as related to CF in 68 completed …

Resilience Characteristics In Law Enforcement Officers, Jocelyn Grace Jameson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Resilience characteristics in law enforcement officers have been a focus of scholars for several decades. Repetitive trauma requires officers to establish coping mechanisms and manufacture varying resilience factors. Researchers have demonstrated that interventions to improve resilience may result in a higher demand for psychoeducation, training and well-being, and stress management. Researchers have yet to establish what shared characteristics are among law enforcement officers that promote resilience. The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences of law enforcement officers’ experiences, beliefs, and knowledge about their exposure to repetitive traumatic events. The resilience theory supported the research. A qualitative, …

Adolescent Rejection Sensitivity And Anxiety: The Moderating Effects Of Problem-Solving Skills And Gender, Kathleen Naumann

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractRejection sensitivity is the ongoing anxious or angry expectation of interpersonal rejection. Anxiety can potentially have a significant detrimental impact on the mental health of adolescents who are characterized as having rejection sensitivity. Although negative consequences of anxiety on mental health have been studied, there is a limited understanding regarding how rejection sensitive adolescents are at risk for anxiety. This study involved examining relations between adolescent rejection sensitivity and anxiety and whether they were moderated by problem-solving skills, an indicator of resiliency, as well as gender. Theoretical frameworks in this study were the rejection sensitivity model and resilience theory. This …

Fathers’ Perceptions Of Stress And Resiliency In Raising Children With Down Syndrome: A Qualitative Study, Latanya M. Randolph

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Little was known about how fathers perceived stress and resiliency when parenting children diagnosed with Down syndrome. Therefore, the purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore perceptions involving stress and resiliency among fathers whose children had been diagnosed with Down syndrome and understand how stress and resiliency affected the parenting skills of those fathers who resided in Prince George's County, Charles County, or St. Mary's County in Maryland. This involved recruiting eight participants who completed semi-structured interviews where they were asked the same 10 open-ended questions. This study involved using a qualitative thematic analysis, was guided by the …

Resilience Characteristics In Law Enforcement Officers, Jocelyn Grace Jameson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Resilience characteristics in law enforcement officers have been a focus of scholars for several decades. Repetitive trauma requires officers to establish coping mechanisms and manufacture varying resilience factors. Researchers have demonstrated that interventions to improve resilience may result in a higher demand for psychoeducation, training and well-being, and stress management. Researchers have yet to establish what shared characteristics are among law enforcement officers that promote resilience. The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences of law enforcement officers’ experiences, beliefs, and knowledge about their exposure to repetitive traumatic events. The resilience theory supported the research. A qualitative, …

Personal Resilience As An Interventional Strategy To Reduce Physician Burnout, Towahna D. Rhim

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractPhysician burnout is prevalent in healthcare today. Contributing factors include emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a sense of loss of autonomy. Physician burnout negatively affects a physician’s ability to provide high quality patient care. Physician burnout indicators include poor behavior, mental decline, depression, narcotics and alcohol abuse, suicidal ideation, and suicide completion. Given the negative impact of physician burnout, it is necessary to understand what can counter this phenomenon. Through lived experiences of physicians who self-identified as burned out, the purpose of this study was to explore personal resilience as an interventional strategy to reduce physician burnout. Personal resilience is adapting …

Fathers’ Perceptions Of Stress And Resiliency In Raising Children With Down Syndrome: A Qualitative Study, Latanya M. Randolph

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Little was known about how fathers perceived stress and resiliency when parenting children diagnosed with Down syndrome. Therefore, the purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore perceptions involving stress and resiliency among fathers whose children had been diagnosed with Down syndrome and understand how stress and resiliency affected the parenting skills of those fathers who resided in Prince George's County, Charles County, or St. Mary's County in Maryland. This involved recruiting eight participants who completed semi-structured interviews where they were asked the same 10 open-ended questions. This study involved using a qualitative thematic analysis, was guided by the …

Personal Resilience As An Interventional Strategy To Reduce Physician Burnout, Towahna D. Rhim

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractPhysician burnout is prevalent in healthcare today. Contributing factors include emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a sense of loss of autonomy. Physician burnout negatively affects a physician’s ability to provide high quality patient care. Physician burnout indicators include poor behavior, mental decline, depression, narcotics and alcohol abuse, suicidal ideation, and suicide completion. Given the negative impact of physician burnout, it is necessary to understand what can counter this phenomenon. Through lived experiences of physicians who self-identified as burned out, the purpose of this study was to explore personal resilience as an interventional strategy to reduce physician burnout. Personal resilience is adapting …