Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring How Latinx Gender And Sexually Diverse Youth In The Rio Grande Valley Experience And Confront Homophobia: A Qualitative Study Of Alumni Community Leaders/Advocates, Heraclio Flores Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Framed by queer theory, this qualitative study seeks to better understand the unique experiences of homophobia that occur amongst Latinx gender and sexually diverse youth (GDSY) in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). Latinx GSDY in the Rio Grande Valley are less likely to be in schools that adopt affirming policies and are therefore more likely to experience homophobia. It is also likely that their social, emotional, physical, and academic wellbeing are impacted negatively. The study collected written journal responses from nine Latinx gender and sexually diverse alumni of RGV schools (including the researcher) that presently serve as community leaders …

Espejismo: Imagen En Poemas, Mariela Cedillo

Theses and Dissertations

Espejismo: Imagen en Poemas is a collection of poetry that explores the idea that art – creating poetry can heal trauma wounds. This collection not only tackles the trauma of sexual assault, but the effects of mental health and its recovery. It is meant to portray a full story of womanhood, and all that that embodies. This collection explores these topics through the lens of personal narrative and experience through various poetry forms.

Association Between Lifetime Adverse Events, Emotion Dysregulation, Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, Acculturation, And Chronic Pain: A Moderated Mediation Model, Miriam El-Haj

Theses and Dissertations

The association between traumatic experiences and chronic pain is well established. Lesser is known about how acculturation might affect this relation, specifically with Hispanics. In the present study, self-report measures on traumatic experiences, posttraumatic stress symptoms, emotion dysregulation, chronic pain, and acculturation were administered to 140 participants (71.4% females) aged 18–65 years old (M = 35.06, SD = 11.55), to determine whether acculturation moderates the relation between adverse lifetime experiences and chronic pain as mediated by posttraumatic stress symptoms and emotion dysregulation.

Those who were highly acculturated to the U.S. Anglo culture were higher on chronic pain than those who …

Un Testimonio Del Abismo: The Figuring And Disfiguring Effects Of Trauma, Addiction, And Autobiography, Erin D. Knobloch

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the paradox present in trauma, addiction, and autobiography, which are all capable of figuring and disfiguring the self. The object of the study is the written testimonio of Liliana López Cabrera, a Cuban former sex worker, survivor of sexual abuse, and recovering drug-addict, who lives on the U.S.-Mexican border.

Using Paul de Man’s idea of defacement and Jacques Derrida’s concept of pharmakon, which shows how something can embody two opposite essences simultaneously, a critical deconstruction is offered, by acknowledging rather than dismissing the incongruous nature of her work. López Cabrera’s testimonio del abismo, spoken through …