Digital Commons Network^™

Examining The Impact Of Discrimination, Shame, And Acculturation On Psychological Wellbeing Of East Asian International Students, Shao-Jung Stella Ko

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the impact of discrimination, shame, and acculturation on the psychological wellbeing of East Asian international students in the U.S. Using the Minority Stress Theory as a framework, discrimination and shame were hypothesized to have a significant negative relationship with wellbeing while acculturation was hypothesized to moderate these relationships. A sample (N = 281) of East Asian international undergraduate students completed a web-based survey with measures of perceived discrimination, interpersonal shame, acculturation, and mental health outcomes. Regression analyses containing wellbeing (outcome), acculturation (moderator), discrimination (predictor), and shame (predictor) were performed to test the hypotheses using SPSS PROCESS macro …

Inviting The Perspectives Of Refugee Mental Health Interpreters: A Critical Narrative Analysis, Emme Y. Paik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research literature lacks examination into several areas concerning mental health interpretation for refugee clients. This includes the management of interpreters’ vicarious trauma and retraumatization, interpreter’s perspectives on the appropriateness of hiring refugees as mental health interpreters, how interpreters define their trauma as well as their clients’ trauma, and support that interpreters seek for their traumatic responses from their work. The literature is also missing an analysis of how oppressive power differentials are repeated in workplace institutions, specifically for refugee mental health interpreters. Thus, this study aimed to invite the perspectives of refugee mental health interpreters on several issues pertaining …

Exploring The Potential For Therapeutic Art-Making In School Psychology Practice: A Single Case Study Of A Training Experience, Alexandra G. Manion

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a training experience on the use of therapeutic art-making for school psychologists, with a focus on how to incorporate these concepts into their school-based mental health practice. Therapeutic artmaking includes the use of visual art activities (drawing, painting, clay, and collage) with specific therapeutic intent. Although there are examples of art therapists providing inschool therapeutic art-making services to support the mental health needs of students, there is far less information regarding the use of therapeutic art-making by school-based mental health providers, including school psychologists. This single case study explored …

The Experiences And Mental Health Impact Of Islamophobia On Muslim Americans Following The 2016 U.S. Presidential Election: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study, Hadeel Ali

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current hermeneutic phenomenological qualitative study was to understand the phenomenon of Muslim Americans’ lived experiences of Islamophobia prior to and two years into Donald Trump’s presidential administration. 14 participants from multiple regions in the United States completed a semi-structured interview via telephone. The data analysis revealed seven major themes: 1) Muslim Americans experience different dimensions of Islamophobia, 2) Muslim Americans experience various forms of Islamophobia, 3) Variables that impact the prevalence of Islamophobia, 4) Islamophobia impacts various areas of Muslim Americans’ lives, 5) Muslim Americans may react differently to experiences of Islamophobia, 6) Islamophobia impacts the …

Parental Self-Efficacy, Parenting Stress, And Mental Health Among Latina Mothers Of Young Children, Thania Galvan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Parenthood can increase the risk for mental health concerns, especially for Latina mothers. Poor maternal mental health can result in significant negative maternal and child outcomes, particularly if a mother’s mental health needs go unmet. In an attempt to better understand the factors that impact Latina mother’s mental health, this study explored the relations among parental self-efficacy, parenting stress, and mental health. It also explored mother’s self-reported resource availability and sociocultural factors as potential modifiable points of interventions in these relations.

Methods: The study was conducted using data from 132 Latina mothers that participated in a larger project examining stress …

Beyond School Engagement: School Adaptation And Its Role In Bolstering Resilience Among Youth Who Have Been Involved With Child Welfare Services, Skyler S. Leonard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: Youth involved with the child welfare system are at significant risk of poor school functioning and mental health. Little research has explored how the connection to school impacts known relationships between adversity and youth outcomes. The following project sought to shed light on the role of schools in conferring risk or resilience for youth in contact with the child welfare system, with regard to their mental health. The overall aims of this project were to (1) improve our conceptualization of school adaptation, with particular attention to individual variation along multiple dimensions of school adaptation, (2) examine the relationship of …

Predicting Help-Seeking Attitudes And Intentions In A Diné Sample, Chesleigh N. Keene

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between cultural factors, psychological distress, barriers, and attitudes toward seeking psychological help among Diné tribal members. This study is in response to calls to consider psychological and cultural factors in the underutilization of mental health services by ethnic minorities. The present study examines psychological and cultural antecedents to seeking professional psychological help among Diné tribal members (N=119). It examined the mediating role of attitudes toward help seeking in the relationship between psychological distress, barriers to care, three acculturation variables, and intentions to seek counseling. Mediation was assessed with …

Psychotropic Medications And Children: Perceptions Of Mental Health Professionals, Elinor Jane Brereton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project explores mental health professionals' perspectives on the prescription of psychotropic medications to children. It emphasizes the placement of biomedicine within its larger social, economic, and political context, and the influence these structures have on the way mental illness is conceptualized and treated in children. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted in Denver, Colorado with psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and a pharmaceutical board member to capture multiple perspectives from different positionalities within the field. Participants discussed factors that they believe influence prescribing practices including: professional role changes, issues of access, limited evidence, cost, and institutional pressures to practice within a …

The Caregiver–Child Relationship, Youth Mental Health, And Placement Stability In A Child Welfare Sample, Laura A. Rindlaub

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: Healthy relationships between adolescents and their caregivers have been robustly associated with better youth outcomes in a variety of domains. Youth in contact with the child welfare system are at higher risk for worse outcomes including mental health problems and home placement instability. A growing body of literature points to youth mental health problems as both a predictor and a consequence of home placement instability in this population; the present study aimed to expand our understanding of these phenomena by examining the interplay among the caregiver-child relationship, youth mental health symptoms, and placement change over time. Method: The sample …