Digital Commons Network^™

Don't Fear The Nobodies: A Critical Youth Study Of The Columbiner Instagram Community, Brianna L. Wright

Theses and Dissertations

This research sheds light on how one particular group of young people, Columbiners, use social media to build and maintain a sense of community. Through a content analysis of 200 Instagram posts containing a school shooting fandom hashtag, or #Columbiner, and drawing on both Critical Youth Studies and Sense of Community Theory, this research demonstrates how Columbiners use their hashtag to create a sense of community on Instagram, to explore what it means to be young and cool, and to make sense of the problems that shape their social world, including school shootings. Exploring how this particular group of young …

Exploring United Methodist Adults’ Racial Attitudes And Beliefs From A Critical Race Framework To Inform Outreach Efforts With Low-Income, Black Youth In Mississippi, Brittany Radford

Theses and Dissertations

Extensive literature has documented The United Methodist Church’s’ (UMC) commitment to social justice. A current focus in the church is working with economically marginalized populations, including the 231,170 Black children and youth in Mississippi. To better understand adults that serve this population, I conducted an exploratory study to gather baseline data about UMC adults’ contemporary attitudes and beliefs about race, racism, and discrimination. A cross-sectional survey was administered at the 2017 Mississippi Annual Conference of The UMC. Using a critical race lens, I found that most of the attendees espoused moderate color-blind racial attitudes and beliefs about the frequency that …

Examining Non-Targeted Effects Of The Connect Through Play Project: Implications For Addressing Mental Health Of Underserved Middle School Youth, Jessica Dandan

Theses and Dissertations

Early adolescence is a developmental phase accompanied by several changes occurring in various biopsychosocial domains, associated with an increased vulnerability to mental and physical health problems. Youth of minority status and/or low socio- economic status have been shown to be more susceptible, as they are more likely to incur greater exposure to stressors accordingly. Coincidently, as psychological problems emerge such as internalizing disorders, physical activity engagement declines; those trends seem to persist into adulthood and have been associated with numerous negative health outcomes. Evidence points to the direct impact of physical activity, as well as, social variables such as social …

Multidimenstional Balance In Youth With Visual Impairments, Adam Pennell

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three studies which examined multidimensional balance in youth (≤ 21 years; Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2004) with visual impairments (VIs) using the Brief-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Brief- BESTest). These studies have the potential to inform (adapted) physical education curricula and therapeutic/rehabilitative practices by providing novel understandings of balance performance in youth with VIs. If identified as a meaningful mechanism of action, the assessment and development of multidimensional balance in youth with VIs should be given elevated status by practitioners. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation was to investigate multidimensional balance in youth with VIs.

The …

Dead Eye Open., Carlos Guillermo Gomez

Theses and Dissertations

This collection chronicles the youth and adulthood of a speaker, and how those experiences shaped considerations of masculinity, intimacy, and sexuality.

Assessing Readiness For A Physical Activity Intervention In Positive Youth Development Afterschool Programs, Brittany Skiles Cook

Theses and Dissertations

Physical inactivity has been identified as a primary health threat to youth, and existing afterschool programs (ASP) are a promising context for implementing physical activity (PA) interventions. However, few PA interventions have been effective and generalizability of programs has been poor. Assessing organizational readiness during the testing of a PA intervention can help inform generalizability and sustainability. The R=MC2 heuristic separates readiness into motivation, innovation-specific capacity, and general capacity, each of which are further divided into subcomponents. The current multiple-case study pilot tests the feasibility and effectiveness/efficacy of a readiness assessment tool based on R=MC2 developed for the Connect through …

Examining Mother And Father (Dis)Agreement Of Youth Mental Health Among Ethnically Diverse Families, Areti Vassilopoulos

Theses and Dissertations

Many children and adolescents in the United States experience externalizing behavior problems identified as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and conduct disorder. These behavior problems cause disruptions in the youth’s socioemotional functioning and academic success. The assignment of a diagnosis from the DSM-5 is often the first step in treatment planning, because many clinics and third-party payers require a diagnosis for authorization of treatment payment. However, research has repeatedly revealed that informants differ in the information they provide regarding youth mental health. While studies have separately examined the association of youth characteristics, parent characteristics, and family characteristics and informant agreement, …

Adaptation Of A Resilience-Oriented Stress Management Intervention For Youth With Type 1 Diabetes, Tamara Michele Rumburg

Theses and Dissertations

Managing type 1 diabetes involves a complex treatment regimen, and often results in increased stress and mental health issues in youth and families as youth enter adolescence. Research indicates that effective management of diabetes-related stress can have a positive impact on both the psychological and physical health of youth and their families. While traditional stress management interventions have aimed to reduce stress through coping, building resilience is a more recent approach to stress management that can be cultivated even in the absence of stress. Interventions specifically aimed at increasing resilience in youth with chronic illnesses have shown promising results; however, …

Identifying Targets For Quality Improvement In A Community Child Mental Health Agency, Natalie K. Finn

Theses and Dissertations

The implementation of evidence-based practices has great potential to improve the quality of children’s services; however, with a large variety of available practices, it can be challenging to select targets for quality improvement in community-based treatment. This study used a method called relevance mapping to identify how thoroughly evidence-based programs could cover a specific population of children seeking services at a large public agency and identify practice elements relevant to these clients. A therapist survey was used to examine current practice at the agency. Eight therapists at the agency reported on their practice delivery for 141 clients. Results from relevance …