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Community-Based Accompaniment For Adolescents Transitioning To Adult Hiv Care In Urban Peru: A Pilot Study, Valentina Vargas, Milagros Wong, Carly A. Rodriguez, Hugo Sanchez, Jerome T. Galea, Alicia Ramos, Liz Senador, Lenka Kolevic, Eduardo Matos, Eduardo Sanchez, Renato A. Errea, Karen Ramos, Catherine Beckhorn, Andrew Lindeborg, Carlos Benites, Leonid Lecca, Sonya Shin, Molly F. Franke

Social Work Faculty Publications

We piloted a community-based intervention to improve outcomes among adolescents living with HIV who were transitioning to adult-oriented care in Lima, Peru. We assessed feasibility and potential effectiveness, including within-person changes in self-reported adherence, psychosocial metrics (NIH Toolbox), and transition readiness (“Am I on TRAC” questionnaire, “Got Transition” checklist). From October 2019 to January 2020, we enrolled 30 adolescents (15–21 years). The nine-month intervention consisted of logistical, adherence and social support delivered by entry-level health workers and group sessions to improve health-related knowledge and skills and social support. In transition readiness, we observed within-person improvements relative to baseline. We also …

Patient And Provider Perceptions Of A Community-Based Accompaniment Intervention For Adolescents Transitioning To Adult Hiv Care In Urban Peru: A Qualitative Analysis, Jerome T. Galea, Milagros Wong, Brennan Ninesling, Alicia Ramos, Liz Senador, Hugo Sanchez, Lenka Kolevic, Eduardo Matos, Eduardo Sanchez, Renato A. Errea, Andrew Lindeborg, Carlos Benites, Leonid Lecca, Sonya Shin, Molly F. Franke

Social Work Faculty Publications

Introduction: Adolescents living with HIV (ALWH) experience higher mortality rates compared to other age groups, exacerbated by the suboptimal transition from paediatric to adult HIV care, during which decreased adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and unsuppressed viremia are frequent. Care transition—a process lasting months or years—ideally prepares ALWH for adult care and can be improved by interventions that are youth-friendly and address psychosocial issues affecting ART adherence; however, such interventions are infrequently operationalized. Community-based accompaniment (CBA), in which laypeople provide individualized support and health system navigation, can improve health outcomes among adults with HIV. Here, we describe patient and provider …

A Non-Specialist Depression Care Pathway For Adolescents Living With Hiv And Transitioning Into Adult Care In Peru: A Nested, Proof Of Concept Pilot Study, Jerome T. Galea, Carmen Contreras, Milagros Wong, Karen Ramos, Valentina Vargas, Hugo Sánchez, Renato A. Errea, Leonid Lecca, Molly F. Franke

Social Work Faculty Publications

Background: Adolescents living with HIV (ALWH) are disproportionally impacted by depression, experiencing worse HIV outcomes. Integrated depression and HIV care may support antiretroviral adherence. This study pilot tested for proof of concept a basic depression care pathway for ALWH to inform depression care integration with HIV services in Peru.

Methods: ALWH were screened for depression with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Participants with PHQ-9 scores of ⩾10 or suicidal ideation (SI) were eligible for Psychological First Aid (PFA) delivered by non-mental health specialists. Participants with PHQ-9 re-assessments of ⩾20 or SI were referred to specialized services.

Results: Twenty-eight (11 female, …

A Mathematical Model For The Upper Limits Of Thyroid Volume In Adolescents, Jacob Treanor

Undergraduate Journal of Mathematical Modeling: One + Two

This paper describes a mathematical model that relates age to the volume of the thyroid gland, given in milliliters, of adolescents based on data from a 1997 study by the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) (World Health Organization, 1997). Using the upper limit per age group provided by the data, a model was constructed through integration of the second derivative of the data for males and females, ages 6-15. It was concluded that the upper limit for the thyroid volume could be expressed by one of two second order polynomial equations, depending on gender, with any values significantly larger than those …

Eustress In Advanced Placement (Ap) And International Baccalaureate (Ib) Students, Amanda C. Moseley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Eustress, the positive response to stress, is a relatively understudied concept. Most of the research on eustress has been concentrated in the occupational and management setting. Empirical studies of eustress in adolescents are absent, even though youth experience unique sources and magnitudes of stress. Specifically, Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) students report more stress than their general education peers but excel in their rigorous academic program. Eustress is related to a variety of positive psychological and physiological outcomes among adult samples, which makes it an important concept to explore in adolescent samples. Many constructs such as self-efficacy, hope, …

Academic Stress, Depression, And Social Support: A Comparison Of Chinese Students In International Baccalaureate Programs And Key Schools, Wenjun Chen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how academic stress affects Chinese high achieving secondary students’ mental health. Potential moderating effects of perceived social support and gender on the relationship between academic stress and depression were also examined. Current literature suggests Chinese high school students report greater academic stress and depression than their counterparts overseas (Sun, Dunne, Hou, & Xu, 2013), but it is unclear about the status of high achieving Chinese students as well as how social support works as a protective factor on this particular population. In order to fill this gap, the current study recruited a …

An Examination Of Factors That Affect The Utilization Of Mental Health Services By Adolescents, Nichole A. Murray

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mental disorders among adolescents are on the rise and are among the most common chronic conditions, constituting a national epidemic. Prevalence rates indicate that 20–40% of the adolescent population in the U.S. suffers from emotional or behavioral difficulties significant enough to lead to functional impairment. Further, estimates suggest that more than 20% of the adolescent population has a diagnosable mental disorder, which significantly impacts their functioning substantially at school, at home and in their communities. Despite national agendas to address the mental health needs of adolescents, studies suggest that approximately 50 percent of adolescents with mental health needs do not …

There’S A Creepy Guy On The Other End At Google!: Engaging Middle School Students In A Drawing Activity To Elicit Their Mental Models Of Google, Christie Kodama, Beth St. Jean, Mega Subramaniam, Natalie Greene Taylor

School of Information Faculty Publications

Although youth are increasingly going online to fulfill their needs for information, many youth struggle with information and digital literacy skills, such as the abilities to conduct a search and assess the credibility of online information. Ideally, these skills encompass an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the ways in which a system, such as a Web search engine, functions. In order to investigate youths’ conceptions of the Google search engine, a drawing activity was conducted with 26 HackHealth after-school program participants to elicit their mental models of Google. The findings revealed that many participants personified Google and emphasized anthropomorphic elements, …

Smoking Among Youth Living With Hiv: The Intersection Of Behavioral Health And Chronic Disease, Todd Wells

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Smoking amongst youth living with HIV (YLWH) has major public health implications. When combined with the complications associated with smoking such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) or heart disease, the impact of a HIV positive diagnosis increases morbidity exponentially (Nahvi & Cooperman, 2009). The purpose of this study was two-fold, to investigate the perceptions of smoking amongst YLWH aged 18-25 who received care at the CMS Clinic located at the University of South Florida and to determine factors related to cessation. A study design utilizing two components, a systematic literature review and primary qualitative data was used in this …

Sleep Duration Patterns From Adolescence To Young Adulthood And Their Impact On Asthma And Inflammation, Chighaf Bakour

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation includes three studies that examined the impact of inadequate sleep duration in adolescents and young adults on asthma and systemic inflammation. We used data from the Florida Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), years 2009-2013, and from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add health), which was conducted between 1994 and 2008.

The first study used data from 16,738 high school students participating in the Florida YRBS. We examined the cross-sectional association between sleep duration and asthma, and the interactive effects of sleep duration and BMI. We found that short and long sleep durations were associated …

Bit By Bit: Using Design-Based Research To Improve The Health Literacy Of Adolescents, Mega Subramaniam, Beth St. Jean, Natalie Greene Taylor, Christie Kodama, Rebecca Follman, Dana Casciotti

School of Information Faculty Publications

Background: Although a low health literacy level has been found to be among the most powerful predictors of poor health outcomes, there is very little research focused on assessing and improving the health literacy skills of adolescents, particularly those from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. The vast majority of existing research focuses solely on reading comprehension, despite the fact that health literacy is actually a multifaceted concept, which entails many different types of skills.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to first mine existing literature to identify the many different skills that have been posited to constitute health literacy, and then, …

Health-Related Quality Of Life And Positive Mental Health Indicators In Youth With Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Sim Yin Tan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a chronic health condition that is increasingly affecting both children and adolescents (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). Although many studies have investigated the impact of HIV on cognitive, physical, academic, and psychosocial functioning, little is known about the self-perception of health-related quality of life, subjective well-being, social-emotional well-being, and psychopathology risks of youth who are infected with HIV. This study is one of first to examine the presence of these positive and negative health indicators and the relationship among these factors in youth with HIV and a community-based sample.

A total of 84 …

Assessing Numeracy In The Upper Elementary And Middle School Years, Carol Ann Gittens

Numeracy

Numeracy is the ability or tendency to reason critically about quantitative information. The preponderance of published research on numeracy examines this construct among either pre-K or early elementary samples, students with developmental challenges, or is focused on post-secondary and adult cohorts. The numeracy skills of upper-elementary and middle school students is less documented and understood, most notably because of the lack of valid instruments that are developmentally appropriate for the age range. A numeracy scale for use among upper-elementary and middle school students is introduced in this paper. Scale validation was performed using a gender-balanced, racially / ethnically diverse sample …

Fear Conditioning And Extinction In Childhood Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Joseph F. Mcguire

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fear conditioning and extinction are central in the cognitive behavioral model of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which underlies exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Youth with OCD may have impairments in conditioning and extinction that carries treatment implications. The present study examined these processes using a differential conditioning paradigm. Forty-one youth (19 OCD, 22 community controls) and their parents completed a battery of clinical interviews, rating scales, and a differential conditioning task. Skin conductance response (SCR) served as the primary dependent measure across all three phases of the conditioning procedure (habituation, acquisition, and extinction). During habituation, no meaningful differences were observed between …

Predicting Adolescents' Academic Achievement: The Contribution Of Attention And Working Memory, Diane Elizabeth Napier

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the direction and strength of the relation between three different areas academic achievement and working memory with adolescent students. The data analyzed included ratings for inattention, a diagnosis of ADHD (or not), and demographic information for race/ethnicity. Fifty children aged 11 to16 years of age participated in the study. Participants were recruited from several middle schools, homeschooling networks, and churches from a southeastern state of the United States. Each participant completed a standardized achievement test, a behavioral rating scale, and visual and verbal working memory tests. The research questions investigated: 1) the relation between visual and …

Improving Middle School Students' Subjective Well-Being: Efficacy Of A Multi-Component Positive Psychology Intervention Targeting Small Groups Of Youth And Parents, Rachel Anne Roth

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A dual-factor model of mental health conceptualizes mental health status as a combination of both psychopathology and subjective well-being. Current literature indicates that complete mental health (i.e., low psychopathology, high subjective well-being) is associated with the best academic and social functioning among youth. Thus, the absence of psychopathology alone is not sufficient for student success. While research on interventions for improving subjective well-being, termed positive psychology interventions (PPIs), is increasing, PPIs for youth in particular lag behind similar interventions for adults. Additionally, a majority of youth-focused PPIs have targeted singular constructs (e.g., gratitude, character strengths), have neglected to include relevant …

Learning From Voices Of Diverse Youth: School-Based Practices To Promote Positive Psychosocial Functioning Of Lgbtq High School Students, Troy Nicholas Loker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify school-based practices that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth endorse as ways for high schools to provide social, emotional, and academic support to LGBTQ youth. A diverse sample of LGBTQ high school students (N = 18) from one large urban school district in a southeastern state participated in individual semi-structured interviews and/or small group brainstorming sessions. Eleven individual interviews were conducted to gather detailed accounts of a) supportive behaviors and policies that youth had experienced in their schools, as well as b) supportive behaviors and policies that were suggested as …

A Longitudinal Investigation Of Stress, Complete Mental Health, And Social Support Among High School Students, Ashley Chappel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Examinations of stress in relation to adolescent mental health have not often utilized a comprehensive definition of psychological functioning. Recent literature has found support for the importance of examining optimal psychological functioning as the presence of high life satisfaction in addition to low psychopathology (Antamarian, Huebner, Hills, & Valois, 2011; Suldo & Shaffer, 2008). Most research on stress has focused on either major stressful events or chronic environmental stressors; further research is needed on the psychological model of stress, which conceptualizes stress as involving both environmental events and one's cognitive appraisals of the stressor. The current longitudinal study determined how …

Does D-Cycloserine Augmentation Of Cbt Improve Therapeutic Homework Compliance For Pediatric Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?, Jennifer M. Park

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

D-cycloserine (DCS), a partial agonist that acts on the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor of the glutamatergic receptor complex, may enhance fear extinction learning during exposure-based therapy. Clinical studies in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and non-OCD anxiety disorders - and a recent trial in pediatric OCD - have shown that DCS can improve treatment response to exposure therapy relative to placebo and exposure therapy. Some have hypothesized that improved treatment response is a function of increased compliance and engagement in therapeutic homework tasks, a core component of behavioral treatment. The present study examined the relationship between DCS and homework compliance in …

A Comparative Historical Analysis Of Post-War Moral Panics And The Construction Of Youth From 1938 To 2010, Judy L. Castillo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For the past 50 years, various moral panics have emerged in response to concerns about children and teens. In particular, interest in entertainment appealing to youth has been the focus of social and legislative changes aimed at protecting youth from increased sexual and violent content associated with comic books, music lyrics, Internet content, and film and television.

The intent of this study is to compare the emergence and progression of moral panics related to entertainment appealing to youth, such as comic books, music lyrics, the Internet, and film and television, since 1938 to 2010 to better understand the ways we …

Parent Response To Adolescent Self-Injurious Behavior: A Collective Case Study, Kylee Sue Tuls

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research in the area of self-injurious behaviors and the family context is still emerging. The majority of research available is quantitative in nature. The limited qualitative research available in this area has been conducted outside of the United States. A collective case study was conducted with four parents with an adolescent that had been admitted to an inpatient psychiatric residential facility with a presenting problem of self-injurious behavior. The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth, qualitative understanding of the parent perspective and comprehension of adolescent self-injurious behavior including the parents' ideas on how the parent-child relationship or …

Life As A Student At An Independent Day School, Diana R. Torres

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the interconnectedness of social class, education, and cultural capital. Considered academically elite, the independent school is be an ideal environment to find increased instances and opportunities for the acquisition and reproduction of elite, or "dominant" cultural capital. By implementing an ethnographic approach within an independent school setting, this study attempts to illuminate the student experience through adolescents' eyes. Past cultural capital studies focus on the relationship between cultural capital and academic achievement and/or social reproduction; instead, this study focuses on the everyday student experiences as they point to potential indicators of cultural capital. Results suggest that students' …

Cuidate: Tourism, Drugs, Sex And Hiv Among Young People In Monteverde, Costa Rica, Andrea Lee Freidus

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The main goal of this thesis is to understand a community’s perceptions of the potential impact of tourism on the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV/AIDS in Monteverde, Costa Rica. In particular, I examine the ways in which globalization and increased travel affect the overall health and behavioral patterns among young people from a community reliant on tourism. The impact of migration and population movement on the spread of infectious diseases has already been well documented. Moreover, there is a clear understanding of the impact of sex tourism on the spread of STIs. However, this project seeks to …

Racial Equity In Exclusionary Discipline Practices, Mary M. Tremper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined whether external (out-of-school) suspensions are applied equitably to students of different ethnic backgrounds who commit violent and nonviolent offenses. The hypotheses presented in this study were addressed through secondary analysis of disciplinary records from a large metropolitan school district in Florida.

The results indicate that, for the group of 1,667 tenth grade students included in this analysis, racial equity was related to the type of offense, as well as to the student's socioeconomic status. Racial differences were found when SES was not considered, with African American students more likely to be suspended from school for status …