Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Issues Of Substance Use Among Special Populations, Victoria Churchill

Public Health Dissertations

Reducing the burden of tobacco and drug use in the United States (U.S.) is a public health priority. Certain populations are at higher risk of harms associated with tobacco and cannabis use, including youth and people with mental health issues. For tobacco, adults with symptoms of serious psychological distress (SPD) smoke at higher rates than those without SPD. Youth who use tobacco have a greater lifetime risk of serious disease, such as lung cancer compared to youth who do not initiate tobacco use. Some research has shown that cannabis use is associated with risk to youth, including changes in neurodevelopment. …

Toleration By Victimized Coffeeshops In Amsterdam, Scott Jacques, Kim Moeller

CJC Publications

Dutch coffeeshops are quasi-illegal. Their sale of cannabis is de jure prohibited but de facto permitted. In this sense, their criminal acts are tolerated. Less often explored, and less well understood, is that coffeeshops also tolerate crimes against them. “Doing nothing” is a common way to manage conflict. Why and how does it occur? In this article, we use the opportunity and rationality perspectives to analyze qualitative data obtained during interviews with 50 personnel of coffeeshops in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. After presenting our findings, we discuss their general implications for tolerant, and intolerant, ways to manage conflict.

Context Matters: Controlling The Narrative About The College Board's Ap Expansion To Urban Minority Youth, Angelann Teretta Stephens

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

With the help of federal and state legislation, starting with the Clinton administration, the Advanced Placement (AP) program is used as an education reform to fight “intergenerational poverty.”The program is also promoted as an instructional tool, helping lower-socioeconomic and students of color access post-secondary institutions. The assumption is that if students from these groups have access to AP courses, they will have a better chance of attending and completing college. The assumption infers that access to post-secondary education helps break the cycle of poverty. This dissertation explores minority students’ and their teachers’ experiences with AP access and equity in AP …

Nutrition Program Survey For Outpatient Oncology Population, Emily Gardner, Kate Wiley, Mary Forbus, Anita Nucci

Nutrition Masters Projects

Objective: To evaluate patient opinions on nutrition's role in cancer treatment and attitudes towards healthy eating before and after working with a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN).

Methods: A qualitative study was conducted using a convenience sample of patients in an urban safety net hospital cancer center. Patients completed electronic surveys before and after their 3-month nutrition counseling program, which included 3 thirty minutes sessions with an RDN. Data collection occurred from August 2019 to March 2020.

Results: Pre- and post-intervention surveys were completed by 25 patients. The only statistically significant change was in patients’ report trying to make healthier food …

Georgia’S Child Sexual Abuse And Exploitation Prevention Technical Assistance Resource Guide (Targ) Evaluation Report, Maureen Oginga

Public Health Capstone Projects

Georgia is the 35th state to pass a version of Erin’s Law, a law that requires all public schools to implement a prevention-oriented child sexual abuse program that is directed at students, school personnel, parents, and guardians. Critical components of Erin’s Law were used to revise Georgia’s Quality Basic Education Act (Code Section 20-2-143), which relates to student sex education and AIDS prevention instruction. Currently, the most comprehensive tool educators have available to them to implement this law is the Georgia Child Sexual Abuse Technical Assistance Resource Guide (TARG), which was published by the Georgia Statewide Human Trafficking Task Force …

Relationships To Alcohol Among Black Queer Women And Non-Binary People, Brittany Jean Taylor

Sociology Dissertations

Black queer experiences with alcohol use are largely still underrepresented in the sociological study of substance use. Available research indicates Black/African-American queer women are drinking at higher prevalence rates than white queer women. However, little is known about the relationships Black/African-American queer women (and non-binary AFAB people) form and maintain with alcohol. Even less is known about how relationships are formed and maintained over time. This dissertation attempts to center the relationships that Black/African-American queer women and non-binary people have with alcohol through a conceptual model that bridges anti-racist, queer, and medical sociology theoretical frameworks. Eighteen semi-structured, in-depth interviews were …

African American Parents' Socialization Around Racism In The Education System, Allana Zuckerman

Psychology Theses

African American youth experience individual and institutional level discrimination (e.g., Berkel et al., 2009; Jones, 1997). These experiences negatively impact their overall well-being (e.g., Harris-Britt et al., 2007; Wang & Huguley, 2012). African American parents use racial socialization to teach their children strategies to cope with racial discrimination (e.g., McAdoo, 2002; Peters, 1997). Given the positive impact of racial socialization on the negative outcomes associated with discrimination (e.g., Bynum et al., 2007), more work is needed to understand how contextual factors influence this process. The current study used qualitative methods to examine racial socialization in response to two levels of …

‘‘The Internet Is A Mask’’: High School Students’ Suggestions For Preventing Cyberbullying, Leandra N. Parris, Kris Varjas, Joel Meyers

Psychology Faculty Publications

Introduction: Interactions through technology have an important impact on today’s youth. While someof these interactions are positive, there are concerns regarding students engaging in negativeinteractions like cyberbullying behaviors and the negative impact these behaviors have on others. Thepurpose of the current study was to explore participant suggestions for both students and adults forpreventing cyberbullying incidents.

Methods: Forty high school students participated in individual, semi-structured interviews. Participantexperiences and perceptions were coded using constant comparative methods to illustrate ways inwhich students and adults may prevent cyberbullying from occurring within their school and community.

Results: Students reported that peers would benefit from increasing …

Sexual Minority Women's Experiences Of Sexual Violence: A Phenomenological Inquiry, Tracy N. Hipp

Psychology Theses

Sexual minority women have been repeatedly overlooked in violence against women research. As a result, we know little about the experiences and needs of non-heterosexual or gender non-conforming survivors. Given the paucity of information available on this topic, this study was exploratory in nature and used a phenomenological approach. Open-ended, unstructured interviews focused on the lived experience of surviving sexual violence and the impact that this experience has had on the survivors’ same-sex sexuality.

While a number of reoccurring themes generated from this project are well represented within the broad and well-developed canon of sexual violence research, participants also introduced …

Medical-Surgical Nurses' Attitudes Toward Patients Who Are Homeless: How Attitudes Develop And Transform, Lora Crowe

Nursing Dissertations (PhD)

People who are homeless rely heavily on acute health care facilities to meet basic health care needs. Medical-surgical nurses play a fundamental role in the health care and health outcomes of patients who are homeless. According to the Institute of Medicine, health care providers’ bias and stereotyping contribute to health disparities among marginalized and vulnerable populations. Because attitudes are linked to clinical decision making and behaviors, revealing how nurses’ attitudes towards patients who are homeless develop and transform is paramount to improving health disparities of the homeless population. The purpose of this study was to explore nurses’ clinical experiences with …

An Evaluation Of The Pre-Release Planning Program Of The Georgia Department Of Corrections And A Qualitative Assessment Of Reentry Experiences Of Program Participants, Alison N. Mccullough

Public Health Theses

Higher rates of HIV are seen within correctional systems across the United States. Georgia has one of the largest correctional populations in the country and HIV rates among prisoners are elevated when compared to the state as a whole. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the Pre-Release Planning Program of the Georgia Department of Corrections and to identify reentry needs unique to persons living with HIV. This evaluation was informed by the post-release experiences of participants who described their own reentry journeys through semi-structured qualitative interviews. A convenience sample of 45 program participants was recruited to complete a …

Through The Eyes Of Gay And Male Bisexual College Students: A Critical Visual Qualitative Study Of Their Experiences, Matthew K. Robison

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender (LGBT) college students have a history of suffering from discriminatory, marginalizing, and prejudicial attitudes and practices on American college and university campuses. Implementing a critical qualitative methodology, this study examined the lived experiences of 9 out gay and bisexual male college students at an urban research university located in the southeastern United States. The study focused on three research questions:

1) What is the college experience like for an individual who identifies as an out gay or male bisexual student?

2) What does safety mean to an individual who identifies as an out gay or …

Exploring “Home” At An Assisted Living Facility: Looking Through Residents’ Lenses With Photovoice, Terri Lewinson, Vanessa Robinson-Dooley, Kathryn W. Grant

SW Publications

An increasing number of older adults are moving into assisted living facilities when living independently becomes difficult. These facilities afford older adults a home-like environment with opportunities for social activity and a minimal level of professional care, although relocation can negatively impact well-being. Because it is important to study home environments of aging adults, 10 residents of an assisted living facility were engaged in Photovoice to explore perceptions of the facility as home. Through photographic expression, residents identified environment enhancements for home at an assisted living facility. Findings of this study have implications for program planning at long-term care facilities.

The Offenders’ Perspective On Prevention: Guarding Against Victimization And Law Enforcement, Scott Jacques, Danielle Reynald

EBCS Articles

Law-abiding citizens are concerned with deterring and preventing crime. One strategy to accomplish this goal is to increase the costs and reduce the benefits that particular situations present to offenders. This form of crime control is known as situational crime prevention. Like law-abiding persons, offenders must concern themselves with being victimized. Differently, however, offenders must also worry about being detected and punished by formal agents. Thus, situational prevention from the offenders’ perspective is relatively complex, encompassing efforts to block not only opportunities for victimization but also for law enforcement. Building on the work of Clarke, the present study uses qualitative …

The Experiences Of Medically Fragile Adolescents Who Require Respiratory Assistance, Regena Spratling

Nursing Dissertations (PhD)

The population of medically fragile adolescents has grown in recent decades because of the sequelae of prematurity, injuries, and chronic or terminal illnesses. Medically fragile adolescents who require respiratory assistance are part of this unique population with challenges in their daily lives, yet as nurses, we know little about their experiences and the best approaches to use in caring for them. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of medically fragile adolescents who require respiratory assistance.

Interpretive phenomenology was used to describe and interpret the experience of 11 medically fragile adolescents who required respiratory assistance. The adolescents …

Assessing Problem Gambling And Co-Occurring Substance Use And Criminal Activity Among Drug Court Clients, Jennifer L. Zorland

Psychology Dissertations

Research has demonstrated that problem gambling is associated with substance and alcohol abuse (Petry, Stinson, & Grant, 2005), participation in criminal activities (McCorkle, 2002; Meyer & Stadler, 1999), and involvement in the criminal justice system (NORC, 1999). This study assessed problem gambling and its relation to crime and substance use within a population in which these risk factors are compounded: Adults mandated to participate in drug and DUI courts. Results indicate that the prevalence and severity of problem gambling may be higher within this population than any other. Furthermore, the results of qualitative and quantitative analyses converged to highlight that …

African American School Psychology Program Leavers, Sherrie L. Proctor

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

This phenomenology used 21 in-depth interviews to explore seven African Americans’ experiences at the school psychology programs they left. The purpose was to investigate what experiences contributed to participants’ decisions to leave programs; if programs used retention strategies and if so, participants’ view of the strategies; and what participants believe might have encouraged their retention. Findings indicate that misalignment between participants’ career aims and their perceptions of school psychology practice as well as poor relationships with faculty and peers contributed to decisions to leave programs. Five participants reported that programs did not utilize retention strategies. Two reported that a sole …

African Descent Women's Conceptualization Of Ethnic/Racial And Gender Identities, Wendi Saree Williams

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

This qualitative study explored racial/ethnic and gender identities of African descent women. Specifically, 13 African descent women were interviewed about influences on their racial/ethnic and gender identities, the process by such identities developed in order to assess the applicability of current theories, and whether they perceive an interaction between their racial/ethnic and gender identities. Phase One, an initial focus group informed Phase Two of the study; individual interviews. Phase Three, a member-checking focus group, validated themes generated from data analysis. All focus groups and interview sessions followed a semi-structured format. Family, educational experiences, physical features, oppressive experiences, political movements, and …

Religious Coping Among Sexually Abused Adolescent Girls: A Phenomenological Investigation., Ndiya Nkongho

Psychology Dissertations

Sexual abuse is defined as any act which forces or coerces a child into engaging in non-consensual sexual activities that they may not understand. As child sexual abuse is recognized as a mental health and public health concern, increased research efforts have been directed towards identifying the physical, emotional, and cognitive effects of child sexual abuse. The majority of such research uses adult survivors of child sexual abuse and is quantitative, retrospective, and correlational in design. Qualitative approaches with adults are few; thus far, descriptive research with children is largely limited to forensic applications. Pargament (1997) proposes the existence of …