Education Commons^™

Addressing Stress In Graduate Nurse Practitioner Nursing Students, Shandria K. Sawyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project was developed to address the issue of high stress levels among graduate nursing students, which is a common phenomenon that increases the risks of mental health disorders, professional burnout, and poor-quality patient care among students and professional nurses after earning their degrees. This project sought to utilize a simple educational intervention delivered online to impart coping skills to graduate nursing students to assist them in reducing their stress levels. The intervention was a brief, single-session, self-guided educational module featuring informational and participative elements related to stress causes, the impacts of stress, and stress reduction techniques. In total, 11 …

Addressing Student Stress: The Impact Of Training On Student Assistance Team Practices, Kaitlin Stanton

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)

This Improvement Science Dissertation in Practice investigated the impact of training and continuous support on the effectiveness of a high school Student Assistance Team’s ability to identify and discuss students experiencing high stress levels. In Phase 1 of this action research, the researcher determined the problem of practice to be high stress levels that impacted students’ academic, social, and emotional development. After conducting a root cause analysis and the identification of drivers of change, the researcher selected one high leverage practice to implement. In Phase 2, the researcher implemented training and support sessions to foster the Student Assistance Team members’ …

Dying For Change: The Impact Of Awareness Prevention And Intervention On Graduate Assistant Stress, Marla Bruner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As challenges surrounding mental health and well-being in doctoral graduate students (GAs), continue to rise, it is imperative that higher education institutions evaluate the stressors that GAs experience, their awareness and use of campus resources for dealing with stressors, and the impact that additional resources and programming may have on stress. The research questions for this study sought to examine the stressors experienced by doctoral level graduate students working in GA positions and their corresponding awareness and use of campus resources, and to determine what impact, if any, providing additional services, resources, and programming in had after a three-year implementation …

Meditation As An Intervention To Help College Students Cope With Stress, Marissa Bottos

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

According to the American College Health Association (ACHA) (2017), in a survey of 31,463 students, 31.7% stated that stress negatively impacts their academic performance (lower grades, dropped course, etc.). Additionally, 45.1% of the students stated they have more than average stress levels. The purpose of this evidence-based practice (EBP) project was to determine if mindfulness meditation was effective in helping college students cope with stress. Based on current evidence, Jon Kabat-Zinn’s online application for mindfulness meditation is supported as an effective way to help college students cope with stress (Regehr et al. 2013; Yusufov et al. 2018; Cavanagh et al. …

An Intervention Study On Mindfulness Meditation And Mindfulness, Stress, Flourishing, And Academic Achievement In A First-Year Experience Seminar, Elizabeth S. Bambacus

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the two research questions, 1) what are the relationships among the pretest latent variables mindfulness, stress, and flourishing and the manifest variables GPA and retention in first-year college students in a first-year experience seminar and 2) will there be differences in mindfulness, stress, flourishing, GPA, and retention between groups of students in a first-year experience seminar who received a brief mindfulness intervention and those who did not? To answer these questions, the author analyzed secondary data collected from 373 first-year college students at a large public research university who took Introduction to the University (UNIV 101).

The …

The Stress Problem: Exploring The Intersections Of Student Stress, Involvement, And Problem-Solving Self-Efficacy, Dawn L. Rendell

Doctoral Dissertations

College students over the last three decades have reported increasing levels of stress (Astin A. W., 1998; Twenge, 2006). As students come to college feeling overwhelmed, student affairs professionals must prepare to address the issue of stress and explore possible interventions and program. Previous research on college student stress has tended to focus on bivariate relationships. Researchers have explored how technology, gender, race, and problem-solving confidence are related to perceived stress. Many studies have focused on the relationship between problem-solving efficacy and stress, as well as problem-solving skill development as an intervention to help manage stress. Participants in this study …

Coping Resources, Coping Styles, Mastery, Social Support, And Depression In Male And Female College Students, Kristen J. Aycock

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

Depression is one of the most commonly-diagnosed disorders in college counseling centers (Adams, Wharton, Quilter, & Hirsch, 2008), so effective diagnosis and treatment are paramount to providing adequate care to college students. Treatment direction may depend on gender, however. Not only do males and females experience depression at different rates (Kessler et al., 2003), but there also is some evidence that factors predict depression differently by gender (Tamres, Janicki, & Helgeson, 2002). Specifically, the literature suggests that the choice of coping strategies may be gender-related; that perceived control is higher in males, yet more important to females; that social connectedness …

The Effects Of Counselor Trainee Stress And Coping Resources On The Working Alliance And Supervisory Working Alliance, Philip B. Gnilka

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

Counselor trainees’ stress and coping resources have the potential to influence the relationships formed with supervisors and clients. Two hundred thirty two (N = 232) Master-level counselor trainees completed surveys designed to measure perceived stress, coping resources, the working alliance, and the supervisory working alliance. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Working Alliance Inventory – Short Form Therapist Version (WAI-S; Tracey & Kokotovic, 1989), the Supervisory Working Alliance Inventory – Trainee Version (SWAI-T; Efstation, Patton, & Kardash, 1990), the Perceived Stress Scale – Short Form (PSS; Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983), and the Coping Resources Inventory for Stress – Short …

Coping With Perceived Racial And Ethnic Discrimination In Women Of Color In Graduate Education, Priti Shah

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

How one perceives and copes with such experiences in graduate education can have profound impact upon the personal and professional experiences of minority women in higher education. This study utilized a grounded theory approach (Glasser & Strauss, 1967; Cresswell, Fassinger, 2005) to investigate the impact of perceived racial and ethnic discrimination occurring in academia and effective methods of coping with perceived racial/ ethnic discrimination among 10 women of color in graduate education. Data sources included individual interviews and a group interview meeting. This study allowed women of color who have felt marginalized to experience a sense of connectedness as they …

An Exploration Of The Stressors, Coping Resources, And Resiliency Of Rural Mothers Of Children With Special Needs, Claudia D. Brasfield

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

A child with a severe disability intensifies the demands facing a family (Beck, Hastings, Daley, & Stevenson, 2004; Martin & Baker, 2001; Withers & Bennett, 2003). Mothers specifically face an intense challenge, a concern as a mother’s wellbeing directly impacts her child’s emotional well-being (Kobe & Hammer, 1994), physical development, and progress within treatment (Lessenberry & Rehfeldt, 2004). These challenges are further heightened for women living in rural communities as little has changed for individuals with disabilities in rural communities over the past twenty years (Letvak, 2002). Although heightened stress among these mothers is significant, it is unclear how best …

Increasing Coping Resources: An Experimental Intervention Approach, Wendy Lynn Dickinson

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

Recently, 44% of college students reported increased levels of stress, and 28% reported feeling overwhelmed (e.g., The American College Health Association: 2004). Stress has been linked to a variety of physical and emotional problems (e.g., Matheny & McCarthy, 2000). A number of studies (e.g., Matheny et al., 1993; Matheny et al., 1986) have identified coping resources as helpful in decreasing the negative effects of stress. However, there are still some questions in the literature regarding effective ways to increase coping resources. Reading written feedback about coping resources is one way to increase individuals’ awareness about their coping resources (e.g., Matheny …

Cross Generational Personality Variables And Stress Coping Resources Among Mainland Chinese, Yuehong Chen Foley

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

Mainland China has undergone drastic social and economic changes in the last century. Rapid social changes often transform individual values and family structures, which directly affect the personality development process and life quality of human beings. The review of English and Chinese-language publications will enhance the readers¡¯ understanding of the Mainland Chinese personality features, coping resources and social changes. The research assessed the impact of social changes on the patterns of personality traits, stress coping resources, and life satisfaction of 2359 people in Mainland China. Participants completed three surveys: 1) the Coping Resources Inventory for Stress (CRIS) (Matheny, Curlette, Aycock, …

Occupational Stress Among Nurse Administrators In General Hospitals In Tennessee, Ruby T. Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of occupational stress among nurse administrators and to identify the types of strategies used by nurse administrators to deal with or manage occupational stress. The study examined the relationship between selected demographic variables, occupational stress, and strategies. The research design included five research questions along with seven null hypotheses testing the relationship between occupational stress and demographic variables--age, gender, marital status, years of professional nursing experience, years as a nurse administrator, educational attainment, and hospital bed capacity. There were seven additional hypotheses testing the relationship between the same demographic variables …