Digital Commons Network^™

Examining The Potential Of Epigenetic Age To Mediate The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Locus Of Control Using The Alspac Cohort, Christopher Reddy

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are negative events and environments (e.g., poverty) that occur during childhood and are known to undermine health and wellbeing. Adverse childhood experiences are related to cognitive outcomes in populations of children. A specific area of cognition associated with ACEs is locus of control (LoC). While the association between ACEs and LoC is clear, what is not well understood is how—that is, through what mechanism—ACEs influence LoC. The purpose of this research was to evaluate epigenetic age as a potential mechanism connecting ACEs with LoC. To address this hypothesis, a mediation model was evaluated using the Accessible …

Factors Influencing Psychotherapy Completion In Children Exposed To Adverse Childhood Experiences, Cheryl Kayleen Best

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Child maltreatment and childhood adversity are associated with a broad range of poor mental and physical health outcomes throughout the lifespan. The consequences of childhood adversity have led psychologists in efforts to identify the most effective therapeutic approaches and interventions with which to address the negative effects of childhood trauma. Even as a number of efficacious treatments have been established as best practices for treating childhood trauma, barriers exist in community mental health settings that oftentimes prevent full implementation of these interventions and practices. A growing body of research has focused on better understanding the high rates of attrition from …

Cyberbullying: A Resource For Parents Of Elementary School-Aged Children, Lauren Broussard

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, the digital revolution, and, in particular, the widespread use of devices with internet access, has enabled a new form of bullying to emerge. The typical age at which youth begin using internet-enabled technology and social media continues to trend downward. Consequently, elementary school-aged children are increasingly subjected to cyberbullying. Therefore, this clinical resource is a text-based pamphlet for parents with elementary-aged children that will serve as an educational tool regarding cyberbullying prevention strategies. The development of the pamphlet included an initial literature review of the literature, gathered through searches from online academic databases, including Psychinfo, PsychArticles, and …

Examining The Therapeutic Process With Refugee Youth, Caroline Culbreth Mejía

Open Access Theses

In an effort to make mental health services more accessible to and appropriate for refugee and immigrant youth, mental health practitioners are increasingly adopting community-based, comprehensive models of clinical practice that bridge therapy, case management, and advocacy. Though existing empirical evidence, however limited, suggests these programs are successful in improving outcomes and reducing symptoms for refugee children and adolescents, little is known about the specific tactics individual clinicians employ to guide the therapeutic process within these settings. To answer the question, “How do mental health clinicians supporting refugee clients approach clinical practice?” this study used grounded theory coding to thematically …

Antecedents And Consequences Of Performance Information Use In Collaborative Networks, Manabu Nakashima

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study aims to explore antecedents and consequences of performance information use in collaborative networks, focusing on the effects of network members’ interaction patterns and relational characteristics on performance information use. Using a case of the Faraway County system of care wherein network participants engaged in collective decision making and service provisions to mentally-ill children and youth, this study addresses three research questions:

Mechanisms Of Change In An Organizational Culture And Climate Intervention For Increasing Clinicians’ Evidence-Based Practice Adoption In Mental Health, Nathaniel J. Williams

Doctoral Dissertations

Objective: Increasing the adoption of evidence-based practices (EBPs) is a focus of national and international efforts to improve the quality and outcomes of mental health services for youth; however, few studies have examined the multilevel change mechanisms that explain how successful implementation strategies increase EBP adoption. Identifying these mechanisms is necessary to develop more effective and efficient strategies. This study tested the multilevel mechanisms that link an empirically supported organizational implementation strategy called ARC (for Availability, Responsiveness, and Continuity) to increased EBP adoption.

Method: In a randomized controlled trial, 14 outpatient children’s mental health clinics in a large Midwestern city …

An Evaluation Of Eligibility, Accessibility, And Social-Emotional Outcomes For Young Children In The New York State Early Intervention Program, Kirsten M. Siegenthaler

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

A wealth of interdisciplinary research on early childhood development by the neurobiological, behavioral, and social sciences has occurred in the past 100 years. The findings from this research have led to an understanding and appreciation of the importance of early life experiences, the centrality of relationships in early childhood to support positive development, the complexity of social skills that are learned in early childhood and their long-term effect on adult success and well-being, and the ability to impact the trajectory of children’s development with effective early intervention. The New York State Early Intervention Program (NYSEIP) is one of the largest …

Examining Therapists' Perceptions Of Strategies For Overcoming Barriers To Treatment With Youth And Their Families, Lyndsay Brooks

Theses and Dissertations

Youth who are untreated for mental health problems are at risk for a number of consequences, including academic underachievement, substance use, delinquency, and future mental illness in adulthood. Nearly 80% of youth who need mental health services do not receive them, and of those children and families referred, it is estimated that between 30 and 80% terminate from therapy prematurely. Some common barriers to treatment retention for youth clients and families have been identified in the literature, including financial barriers, transportation and other logistical barriers, as well as therapeutic barriers, such as poor therapeutic alliance. Therefore, it is imperative to …

Invisible Victims : The Effects Of Secondary And Vicarious Trauma On Milieu Staff Members, Jennifer K. Mello

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) and Vicarious Trauma (VT) in non-clinically trained milieu staff members working in close collaboration with victims of trauma. This study also aimed to discover the extent to which these individuals experience these effects, and will hopefully help bridge the existing gap in the literature around VT and STS in non-clinically trained populations of helpers. In a study of 49 participants including milieu staff members from both inpatient and residential school settings, prevalence of PTSD symptomology as a result of Secondary Traumatic Stress was explored through the use …

How Are The Children: Challenges And Opportunities In Improving Children's Mental Health, Ramona W. Denby, Sandra D. Owens, Sarah Kern

Lincy Institute Reports and Briefs

The mental health of children is critical to their growth and development, but when their well-being is considered, discussions more often gravitate toward physical health, nutrition, education, parental influences, and living conditions. While these all represent important indicators of well-being, discussions also need to consider the importance of children’s mental and behavioral health. In this brief we explore the status of Southern Nevada’s children as it relates to mental health outcomes. Like physical health, good mental health is paramount to children’s overall functioning and maturation. Frequently when a child experiences mental and behavioral health challenges, signs and symptoms manifest in …

Urban Teachers' Perspectives On Promoting Social And Emotional Well-Being In The Classroom, Sara Lipton-Carey

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This qualitative study explored urban elementary school teachers' perspectives on promoting mental health in the classroom. Despite the increased research indicating the value of classroom-based mental health interventions and the growing availability of social and emotional health curricula, there is yet to be a widespread adoption of mental health promotion practices in classrooms. As there is little empirical research on what teachers believe their role is regarding the promotion of social and emotional well-being, this study attempts to reduce the research to practice gap by eliciting teachers' perspectives on this topic. Teachers increasingly need to meet the social and emotional …

Screening For Mental Health Problems Among Incarcerated Youth In Nevada: Practice And Policy, Michelle Chino, Jennifer Personius-Zipoy, Denise Tanata

Nevada Journal of Public Health

Incarcerated youth in Nevada with serious mental health problems are not being effectively identified. The current study examined the utility of simple screening instruments as a mechanism for identifying incarcerated youth who may have a mental health disorder. Adjudicated youth, incarcerated at each of Nevada’s 12 juvenile detention facilities, participated in the study by completing a demographic questionnaire and a standardized mental health screening instrument: the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-Version 2 (MAYSI-2). Findings indicate a high prevalence of mental health disorders among incarcerated juveniles in Nevada. Identifying youth with mental health problems is complicated by the lack of a systematic …

Interdisciplinary Collaboration In A Psychiatric Treatment Setting : A Project Based Upon An Investigation At Bradley Hospital, Riverside, Rhode Island, Timothy John Albro

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This purpose of this exploratory, qualitative study was to explore interdisciplinary collaboration as experienced by clinicians in a psychiatric hospital setting, where collaboration is a routine part of mental health treatment. This study examined how individual practitioners brought their unique theoretical and personal perspectives to their work, and how interdisciplinary collaboration shaped their own clinical thinking and actions. The subjects in this research were social workers, psychiatrists, and psychologists, working in clinical roles at Bradley Psychiatric Hospital for Children and Adolescents in Riverside, RI.; they were divided into two focus groups, each meeting for one and a half hours. Questions …

Mental Health Service Access Among Children And Adolescents Involved With Child Welfare Services, Junqing Liu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Most research on children's access to mental health has focused on child and family factors (e.g. child's age and ethnicity), with little attention being paid to service system factors such as service referrals and insurance. Furthermore, most research conducted to date on mental health service access has been cross-sectional without considering how service access and needs change over time. This dissertation study aims to address these oversights by examining over time service system change and the impact of service system factors on the relationship between service needs and access. The study employs multilevel and longitudinal regression analyses (STATA) using five …

Infusing Culture Into Practice: Developing And Implementing Evidence-Based Mental Health Services For African American Foster Youth, Harold E. Briggs, Bowen Mcbeath

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The lack of culturally appropriate health and mental health care has contributed to the large number of African American youth and families involved in the child welfare system. This article reviews the consequences of the insufficient access to culturally sensitive, evidence-supported interventions for African American foster youth. The authors describe a framework for the development of culturally appropriate mental health interventions responsive to the needs of African Americans.

Parental Satisfaction With Child Mental Health Services, Frances Ahunna Ohaeri

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to identify to what degree specific factors influence the level of satisfaction experienced by foster parents whose foster children are recieving mental health services from agencies that they have been referred to by a Coming of Age Foster Family Agency.

Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation: A Developing Profession, Mary Dallas Allen, Eileen M. Brennan, Beth L. Green, Kathy S. Hepburn, Roxane K. Kaufmann

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

As a career path, early childhood mental health consultation MHC is an emerging and growing work force opportunity. In keeping with the vision of an effective transformed service system expressed in the final report of the Presidents' New Freedom Commission, and communities are expanding capacity to meet the mental health needs of young children and caregivers through mental health sultation. ECMHC supports children in naturalistic community and avoids the excessively ^"expert^" tude⁹ and works through collaboration with families and other providers who care for them. In addition, is growing experience and research evidence to suggest that ECMHC …

Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation: An Evaluation Tool Kit, Kathy S. Hepburn, Roxane K. Kaufmann, Deborah F. Perry, Mary Dallas Allen, Eileen M. Brennan, Beth L. Green

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

For states, communities, agencies and programs investing in early childhood mental health consultation and committed to quality data. This web-based resource combines a brief review of the literature and current research addressing the effectiveness of early childhood mental health consultation with guidance for designing and implementing program evaluation. It will help states, communities, and programs increase their capacity for high-quality evaluation of early childhood mental health consultation in community-based settings. Researchers, policy makers and program evaluation teams will find: A brief review of the evidence base, current issues, and questions; Defining characteristics of early childhood mental health consultation; Components of …

Expanded School-Based Health: The Mental Health And School Connection, Dr. Jill D. Duba

Counseling & Student Affairs Faculty Publications

Research suggests that expanded school-based mental health (ESMH) programs can offer benefits and hope for children and their families. Such programs are part of a national progressive movement involving collaborative relationships between schools and community mental health agencies. The purpose of this article is to highlight the constructs and details of ESMH programs, as well as counselor training possibilities.

The Relative Effectiveness Of Face-To-Face And Telephone Contact By Community Mental Health Workers During Psychiatric Inpatient Treatment Of Children And Adolescents, Bruce Patrick Hackworth

Dissertations

Problem. With the advent of managed care has come the increasing necessity to provide effective and efficient services to children and families experiencing severe emotional disturbances. The use of cost-effective and therapeutically effective services is at the crux of an effective service delivery system. Few studies have considered the usefulness and comparative effectiveness of face-to-face versus telephone interventions in therapeutic situations. This study considered the clinical value of face-to-face community mental health worker involvement during and after psychiatric inpatient hospitalizations of children and adolescents ages 11-17. The study also considered the comparative value of this follow-up when using master's-trained, mental …

Mental Health Service Utilization By Child Victims Of Natural Disasters, Bill J. Locke

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

Mental Health Service Utilization By Child Victims Of Natural Disasters Service Utilization, Bill J. Locke, University Of Colorado, Boulder -- Natural Hazards Research And Applications Information Center, University Of Colorado, Boulder -- Institute Of Behavioral Science

Natural Hazards Center Collection

Includes bibliographical references (p. 12-13). Also issued online as part of a joint project with the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute (FMHI) Research Library's disaster mental health initiative. Bill J. Locke. Cover title.

A Study Of Behavior Changes Among Children Who Have Left The Children's Psychiatric Day Treatment Center, Julia A. Jones, Larry G. Pederson

Dissertations and Theses

This study began with the authors' interest in the Portland Public Schools' program for Emotionally Handicapped children. Originally, the researchers were interested in assessing behavioral characteristics and changes among children in that program and in relating these variables to the kind and extent of parental involvement. Such a study was particularly timely, it was felt, since some schools were considering eliminating the parent involvement component of the program and there was discussion of phasing out the entire program as it then existed in favor of "mainstreaming." The researchers soon discovered the paucity of research information relating to program effects on …