Digital Commons Network^™

'Means Of Survival' As Moderator Of The Relationship Between Cumulative Torture Experiences And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Refugees, Lydia Odenat

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

Refugee torture survivors often present with a myriad of psychological challenges, such as posttraumatic stress and depression, stemming from their exposure to torture and other pre- and post-settlement experiences (Gong-Guy and colleagues, 1991). The present study examined the moderating effect of four coping processes (i.e., family support, religious beliefs, political beliefs, and will to survive) on the relationship between cumulative torture and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among a sample of 204 (N=204) adult refugee torture survivors. Subjects completed a demographic questionnaire, the Torture Severity Scale (TSS; Kira, Lewandowski, Templin, Ramaswamy, Ozkan, Hammad, & Mohanesh, 2006), the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale …

The Impact Of Multiple Deployments On Military Spouses, Renee D. Rountree

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This mixed method, exploratory, retrospective study explores the impact of multiple deployments on military spouses. Previous studies have focused on single deployments while looking at stress, coping styles and stages of deployment. This study is exploring the afore mentioned topics with the stipulation that the spouse has to have experienced at least two deployments. Eighty spouses from all branches of the military, except the Coast Guard, participated in this study. The spouses completed an online survey where they were asked multiple choice, scaling and open-ended questions comparing the first and second/subsequent deployments. The questions were designed to learn more about …

Autonomic And Behavioral Reactivity To An Acute Laboratory Stressor, Jeremy C. Peres

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Stress has been widely shown to directly influence people’s emotional and behavioral processing as well as their underlying biological systems. This project examined physiological and behavioral responses as indicators of stress and coping in the context of a psychosocial stressor in a controlled laboratory setting. We examined the association between indicators of behavioral coping and underlying physiological reactivity within participants while experiencing stress. Participants included 68 emerging adults. Physiological measures include autonomic biomarkers (e.g., heart-rate, skin conductance) at rest and during the stressor while behavioral indicators that were coded include acute verbal and non-verbal actions exhibited by participants during the …

The Health Of Rural Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, Kimberly Y. Robitaille

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Introduction: Grandparents are becoming increasingly responsible for raising their grandchildren. Previous studies have noted physical and mental health limitations for custodial grandparents. Grandparents face numerous challenges in raising grandchildren and consequently, experience high stress levels. However, coping and social support have been found to mediate grandparent stress. Rural custodial grandparents have been an understudied population. Using the Stress Process Model, this study extends the knowledge of rural grandparents raising grandchildren by describing the relationships among physical and mental health, stressors, coping, and social supports for custodial grandparents living in Western Kentucky.

Methods: A mixed methods approach was used to examine …

The Relationship Among Maternal Parenting Stress, Coping, And Depressive Symptoms Across Time, Karen Foren Lake

Theses and Dissertations

This study was a secondary analysis in which the relationship among maternal parenting stress, coping, and depressive symptoms over time in 161 low-income mothers who participated in an Early Head Start Pathways Project were examined. Measurements were assessed longitudinally over a 12 year period of time. Direct and indirect relationships were proposed between maternal mastery, pre-existing depressive symptoms, relationship with significant other, child behavior, child temperament, maternal parenting stress, coping, and later depressive symptoms. Results from path analyses showed that when assessed earlier in the childbearing years, mastery, depressive symptoms, relationship with significant other, child temperament, child behavior, and maternal …

Bereavement Among Urban University Students: The Role Of Meaning Making In Adjustment To Loss, Rebecca L. Norris-Bell

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Employing Neimeyer's theory of meaning reconstruction as a guiding framework, this study examined meaning making in a diverse sample of bereaved university students. The aims of this study were to 1) identify types of meanings made about loss, 2) examine socio-demographic and bereavement-related characteristics that might influence meaning making, and 3) investigate associations between types of meanings and post-loss psychological adjustment. Participants were 229 students from an urban commuter university. This was a cross-sectional study, employing self-report data collected on a secure, Web-based system. Participants were 18 years or older and had experienced the loss of a friend or family …

The Effects Of Personal Grief On Organizational Outcomes: A Qualitative Investigation, Charlotte Ann Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Most individuals experience considerable emotional pain and grief due to the death of someone near and dear to them in their lifetimes. These painful experiences have the potential to affect individually-valued and organizationally-valued outcomes. In most organizations, employees are provided with a very limited amount of time for coping with the grieving process before they are expected to perform the normal duties and responsibilities associated with their work roles. Even though we know that the process of grief associated with the loss of a loved one can have traumatic consequences for the employee, there is little in the research literature, …

Negative Event Appraisals, Cognitive Processing, And Adjustment, Kristen E. Riley

Master's Theses

Appraisals of stressful events are linked to their adjustment to those stressful events. Appraisals can include perceptions of an event as threatening, uncontrollable, controllable, central, or challenging (Peacock & Wong, 1990). Many studies have examined effects of these appraisals on adjustment and cognitive processing (Aldwin, 2007; Lazarus, 1993; Tan, Jensen, Thornby, & Anderson, 2005), and a few have suggested that cognitive processing mediates relationships between appraisals and adjustment (Peacock & Wong, 1996). We tested cognitive processing in mediation models between appraisals and adjustment, and compared to active coping, in the context of ongoing stressors. Active coping appears to be particularly …

Coping Resources And The Effects Of A Cognitive-Behavioral Stress Management Intervention Among Women At Different Points In Breast Cancer Treatment, Sara Vargas

Open Access Dissertations

Breast cancer diagnosis and treatment constitute stressors that can lead to both temporary and long-lasting problems with psychosocial adaptation. The types of stressors and available coping resources may vary by point in cancer treatment (e.g., immediately after surgery versus months after the completion of adjuvant treatment). Cognitive-behavioral stress management (CBSM) is an intervention aimed to buffer against the negative effects of having breast cancer by enhancing protective factors that may facilitate psychosocial adaptation (i.e., use of relaxation, adaptive coping strategies, and social support). Two studies at the University of Miami have assessed the effects of a 10-week CBSM program among …

The Mediating Role Of Coping On The Relationship Between Attachment Style And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Suicidal African American Women, Wendy Heath-Gainer

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

The literature on clinical interventions for suicide prevention indicates that low-income, suicidal African American females are an historically underserved population. Contributing to this lack of service are the intersecting influences of race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and related oppressions (APA, 2007). In suicidal African American females, a higher level of reported symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder has been found in suicide attempters as compared to nonattempters (Kaslow et al., 2000), and PTSD has been shown to be associated with heightened risk of an ensuing suicide attempt (Wilcox, Storr, & Breslau, 2009). One factor affecting manifestation of PTSD …

Is There Justice In Trauma? A Path Analysis Of Belief In A Just World, Coping, Meaning Making, And Posttraumatic Growth In Female Sexual Assault Survivors, Danielle Grace Fetty

Theses

By using the theoretical framework developed by Schaefer and Moos (1998), this study examined the mechanisms through which personal beliefs in ultimate justice affect posttraumatic growth in female survivors of sexual assault. Problem solving, spiritual coping, and meaning making were examined as potential mediators between beliefs in ultimate justice and posttraumatic growth through a path analysis. In total, 144 female community survivors, psychology students, and other participants were recruited from a large mid-western university (mean age = 29.3). The online survey was composed of a demographic questionnaire, the Revised Sexual Experiences Survey (Koss et al., 2007), Emotion Thermometer (Mitchell, 2001), …

Managing Sibling Conflict And The Relation Between Mothers' Emotion Socialization Beliefs And Children's Coping With Peer Victimization, Melissa Anne Faith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the degree to which children's strategies for coping with peer victimization were related to their strategies for coping with sibling victimization. Also examined were the relations among mothers' sibling conflict management strategies, their emotion Socialization beliefs, and children's coping with peer and sibling victimization. Data were obtained from 98 4th grade children and their mothers. Results indicated that children's peer victimization coping strategies were significantly related to their sibling victimization coping strategies. I found that mothers who value and accept children's negative emotions were more likely to coach their children through sibling conflict. Unexpectedly, I found that …

What Psychotherapists Have To Teach Us About Childhood Developmental Trauma: The Roles Of Attachment Orientation And Coping Strategy, Rebecca Klott

Dissertations

Psychotherapists have been found to have higher rates of childhood developmental trauma when compared to non-clinicians, yet they do not report more distress. The current study added to the literature regarding the experiences of psychotherapists and explored a theoretical model integrating attachment and coping as mediators for the relationship between childhood developmental trauma and psychological distress among psychotherapists.

A total of 130 masters' level psychologists participated in this study. These participants were asked to complete the following measures: The Child Abuse and Trauma Scale (Sanders& Becker-Lausen, 1995), the Ways of Coping-Revised (Folkman & Lazarus, 1985; Folkman, Lazarus, Denkel-Schetter, DeLongis, & …

The Relationship Between Coping, Stress, And Breastfeeding Outcomes, Angela Nicole Sberna

Masters Theses

Background: Breastfeeding is the optimal form of nutrition for infants in their first year of life. While the benefits of breastfeeding are numerous, national rates remain below professional recommendations. Multiple barriers to breastfeeding have been identified, including various sociodemographic, psychosocial, and biomedical and health-carerelated barriers. Maternal stress may be another barrier, as it has been previously associated with breastfeeding outcomes. Coping strategies are used to manage the demands of a stressful environment and can be categorized as problem- or emotion-focused. Emotion regulation emerged from the coping literature, but describes a unique set of techniques that affect the emotion-generating process. Social …

A Transactional Model Of Job Insecurity, Personality, And Coping, Alaina Courtney Keim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study examines the role personality plays in influencing how people cope with job insecurity by utilizing the theory of psychological contracts. Specifically, this study examines the extent to which personality moderates the relation between job insecurity and coping strategies. Also, the relation between job insecurity and job attitudes (i.e., job satisfaction and job security satisfaction) are addressed. Lastly, the possibility that the relation between job insecurity and important organizational outcomes (i.e., organizational citizenship behavior (OCBs) and counterproductive work behavior) are moderated by different coping strategies is considered. Participants included undergraduate students who were employed at least part-time. Results …

Perceived Parenting Style, Mindfulness, Experiential Avoidance, And Values-Based Action: Connections And Relations, Christianne Lynn Mobley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Transitioning to college life frequently requires making unique adjustments as individuals face new psychological demands such as adapting to a variety of social situations, financial worries, and increasing academic stress. Research suggests that three core intra and interpersonal processes of mindfulness, experiential avoidance, and values-based action (components of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) provide valuable indications of one's ability to make necessary adjustments in stressful situations. Also known to contribute to an individual's ability to make important adjustments is the perceived parenting style in which the individual was raised. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived …

Coping With Homonegative Experiences Among Gay Men: Impacts On Mental Health, Psychological Well-Being, And Identity Growth, Seth T. Christman

Open Access Dissertations

While minority stress research increasingly show that high rates of homonegative experiences can contribute to negative mental health outcomes in gay men, less is known about the ways in which gay men cope with these experiences and their potential to experience positive outcomes such as well-being and identity growth. Understanding the strengths of gay men in coping with numerous, multi-faceted homonegative experiences is essential in creating an accurate understanding of gay men’s development and informing research, policy, and practice around gay men’s well-being and growth. This study seeks to describe the nature of gay men’s homonegative experiences, describe the coping …

Coping Mechanisms And Level Of Occupational Stress Among Agriculture Teachers And Other Teaching Populations, Kasee L. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Teacher stress has been a concern in educational research for several decades. This research sought to identify the specific coping methods which Utah agriculture and non-agriculture teachers utilize to manage potentially stressful events, and to determine if differences exist in the coping mechanisms used between agriculture teacher and non-agriculture teacher groups.

Results showed that agriculture teachers showed a greater level of occupational stress than non-agriculture teachers. It was also concluded that occupational stress for the two teaching groups came from different sources. In regard to the agriculture teacher group, certain demographic characteristics that led to a higher frequency of use …

Perceptions Of The Psychological Rehabilitation Of A Student-Athlete With An Injury In Sport At The Ncaa Division I Level : A Narrative Approach Of Student-Athletes And Athletic Trainers, Hannah Rita Bennett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

How an athlete responds and recovers from an injury varies with each unique situation. One's reaction to their sport injury can be an influential determinant of their return to sport (Ahern & Lohr, 1997; Podlog & Eklund, 2005; Podlog & Eklund, 2009; Podlog, Lochbaum, & Stevens, 2009; Walker, Thatcher, & Lavallee, 2007). Those working directly with injured athletes are in a unique position to administer both physiological and psychological rehabilitation. Research has surfaced regarding the need of athletic trainers to also focus on the mental aspects of recovery (Barefield & McCallister, 1997; Gordon, S., Milios, D., & Grove, J.R., 1991; …

Coping Experiences Of 911 Communication Workers, Sarah G. Horsford

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research explored coping experiences among emergency communications personnel. Ten individuals from a communication centre of a policing unit in Ontario participated in semi-structured interviews. Seven themes emerged to form the content analysis including Meaning-Focused Coping, Emotion-Focused Coping, Problem-Focused Coping, Reappraisal, Comm Centre Culture, Occupational Dimensions and Organizational Structure. Themes were compared to workplace stress, coping and burnout literature in addition to literature regarding organizational interventions and emergency responders. Implications were presented for counselors working with communications personnel and emergency responders.

Stress, Coping Strategies, And Marital Satisfaction In Spouses Of Military Service Members, Charlene Haapala

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

The literature emphasizes that civilian spouses of military service members experience significant stress, utilize coping strategies, and experience marital issues. A survey of civilian spouses (N = 10) of military service members identified levels of perceived stress, common coping strategies, and marital satisfaction. The focus of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived stress, coping strategies, and marital satisfaction. There were not enough participants in this study to determine these relationships. Descriptive statistics show averages of low perceived stress, and high marital satisfaction. Coping strategies most often used by civilian spouses were active coping, positive reframing, planning, …

Testing A Model Of Bacterial Vaginosis Among Black Women, Jessica Brumley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bacterial Vaginosis is an inbalance of vaginal flora which has been associated with increased risk of numerous gynecological and obstetric morbidities including increased risk of acquisition of HIV from an infected partner and increased risk of preterm delivery. Black race has been consistently identified as a risk factor for BV. Black women also suffer from significant disparities in most of the morbidities also associated with BV when compared to women of other ethnicities and races. Traditional predictors of BV such as douching practices and sexual behaviors do not fully account for the racial disparities in BV prevalence. Researchers have begun …

Dispositional Mindfulness In People Diagnosed With Cancer: The Relationship To Depressive Symptoms And Well-Being, Karen Kersting

Theses and Dissertations

Coping with a cancer diagnosis is known to be a stressful experience that can be related to declines in personal well-being and increases in distress. Dispositional mindfulness is known to be related to depressive symptoms and well-being. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between mindfulness and experiences of depressive symptoms and well-being in people recently diagnosed with cancer. Seventy-four participants who were diagnosed with cancer in the last 12 months completed an initial self-report survey, and 43 of those completed another survey 3 months later. Cross-sectional regression analysis showed that higher levels of mindfulness were …

The Self-Described Experience Of Coping And Adaptation Associated With Workplace Stress Of Registered Nurses In The Acute Care Setting In Florida: An Ethnographic Study, Joyce Burr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Little is known about how nurses learn and use coping and adaptation skills in the workplace. Quantitative studies have identified the factors, nature, and outcomes of nursing stress. However, qualitative studies describing the human experience associated with workplace stress are lacking. The phenomenon of interest for this study using focused ethnographic method is the self-described experience of coping and adaptation associated with workplace stress of registered nurses working 12-hour shifts employed in acute care hospital facilities in east central and central Florida. Three aspects of the phenomena were examined: the self-described experiences of stress, the manner in which coping skills …

Gender Differences In Depressive Symptoms: The Interaction Of Cognitive Avoidance Coping And Specific Stressor Domains During Freshmen Adaptation To College, Daniel Dickson

Master's Theses

The first year of college can be a stressful experience that can lead to depressive symptoms in emerging adults. Due to the significant impairments that are associated with depressive symptoms across the lifespan, it is important to understand the elements of the first-year college experience that contribute to depressive affect. The goals of the current prospective study are to examine sex differences in the relationship between life stressors (i.e., social and achievement stressors) and cognitive avoidance coping in the development of depressive symptoms in first-year college students. The findings suggest that although cognitive avoidance is predictive of more depression, there …

Quality Of Life Of Parental Caregivers Of Children (1-36 Months) With A Tracheostomy, Rachel A Joseph

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Children's health and well-being are invariably related to the health and well-being of their parents or caregivers. Many parents undertake home care of children with a tracheostomy who require highly complex and technology driven care that would have been formerly assumed by health care providers. Parents accept multiple responsibilities- that of an advocate, case manager, parent, nurse, and much more. A cross sectional descriptive study using survey method was conducted to gather data on stress, coping and quality of life in parents of children with a tracheostomy aged one month to 36 months. The survey was administered via a secure …

Exploring Cervical Cancer Treatments, Coping And Sexual Self-Concept After Cervical Cancer, Barbara Hollie

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

EXPLORING CERVICAL CANCER TREATMENTS, COPING ADAPTATION AND WOMEN'S SEXUAL SELF-CONCEPT AFTER CERVICAL CANCER

By

BARBARA G. HOLLIE

Cervical cancer survivorship is increasing as a result of improved biomedical science and health care. Due to the nature of cervical cancer treatments most cures are not without consequences. Despite the progress in cancer treatments, associated side-effects persist and it is well established that sexual problems result from most of the available treatment options. Subsequently, cervical cancer treatment alters how women cope and experience their sexual self-concept after treatment. Poor coping and a non-adaptive sexual self-concept following cervical cancer treatment can result …

The Role Of Attachment In Young Adults' Use Of Facebook For Coping, Jaime Michelle Arseneault

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Internet has become integrated into the daily lives of adolescents and young adults, and researchers have begun to investigate the predictors, correlates, and consequences of Internet use. Research has suggested that individuals with social strengths and individuals with social weaknesses both may benefit from using the Internet to cope. The purpose of this study was to explore the relations among attachment, offline coping, online coping, and adjustment, as well as to evaluate whether the rich-get-richer or social compensation hypotheses of Internet use explained these relations. Undergraduate students aged 17 to 25 years ( N = 296) completed online measures …

Perceptions Of Severity And The Role Of Coping In University Students' Experiences With Online Partner Aggression Victimization, Mary G. Simmering Mcdonald

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the frequency with which individuals are currently communicating via forms of technology and the unique features of online communication (i.e., lack of verbal and nonverbal cues, ability to send messages with greater frequency, opportunity to make personal information public, etc.), few studies have considered individuals' perceptions of and experiences with online partner aggression victimization. Through quantitative and qualitative methods, the present research investigated university students' ( N = 349; 82.1% female) experiences of online partner aggression victimization occurring via email, instant messaging, and social networking sites and their perceptions of severity of the aggressive acts. In addition, information was …

Psychometric Re-Evaluation Of The Spiritual Support Scale, Angela M. Bowman

LSU Master's Theses

Informal caregivers provide a substantial amount of emotional, financial, physical, and social support to their loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s caregivers often report immense levels of burden, which are associated with the demands of their caregiving duties. Caregivers mediate this burden through various means of coping, including spiritual support. Individuals who successfully manage the negative stressors related to Alzheimer’s caregiving are often highly resilient. The purpose of this study was to re-evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spiritual Support Scale among a sample of Alzheimer’s caregivers. The Spiritual Support Scale was initially utilized to measure spiritual coping among a …