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 …

This Is Me: Anxiety And Depression Awareness Event, Stephanie Cotrone

Honors Projects

College and life are stressful, but they don't have to be. We've all been in that place where it feels like life is caving in and there's nowhere else to turn, but it does get better. This event brings awareness to mental illnesses common on college campuses and in the community. There will be engaging and interactive activities to learn about anxiety & depression, and healthy ways to cope through music, art, theatre, amusement parks, learning, reading, and more. Performances by the Humanities Troupe and testimonies by current students who have had experience dealing with mental illness before or who …

Surviving Or Thriving: Educator Change Following School-Based Trauma, Mona M. Johnson

Ed.D. Dissertations in Practice

Situated in the Pacific Northwest, this qualitative study explored coping, change, and systemic support experienced by thirteen K-12 educators following a school-based trauma. It is based on a theoretical framework of posttraumatic growth, the systematic study of how individuals are changed by traumatic encounters in positive ways. Study participants witnessed school shootings, physical assaults, or accidents resulting in injury or death and were responsible to care for the life and death needs of others.

Research questions guiding this study: (1) How do educators cope following school-based trauma? (2) How do educators change following school-based trauma? (3) What systemic supports are …

Stress, Coping, And Well Being Of African American College Women: A Grounded Theory Study, Christine R. Hannon

Doctoral Dissertations

African American women are a rapidly growing population on college campuses. Though enrollment trends suggest an increase in African American women’s pursuit of educational attainment, they face unique challenges and obstacles (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). Researchers have noted that stressful life events have detrimental effects on the emotional, physical, and mental well-being of college students (Greer & Brown, 2011; Reynolds, Sneva, & Beehler, 2010; Hall et al., 2006; Larson, 2006; Andrews & Wilding, 2004; Nonis et al., 1998; Shapiro et al., 1998; Cohen & Herbert, 1996; Van Eck et al., 1996). Research focused on the unique challenges of …

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 …

International Students' Psychological And Sociocultural Adaptation In The United States, Seda Sumer

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

International students constitute an important cohort in the United States (U.S.) colleges and universities. In order for the U.S. colleges and universities to better accommodate the significant number of international students and to recruit them in the future, it is critical to identify factors that influence these students’ acculturation and adjustment processes and provide professionals with guidelines for creating culturally appropriate services and programs for them. Therefore the current study examined international students’ adaptation to the U.S. in relation to their acculturation levels, coping processes, and intent to stay in the U.S. after their graduation. Center for Epidemiologic Studies - …

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 …

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 …

Using Life-Style And Coping Resources To Differentiate Between Gay Men With And Without Alcohol Problems: An Adlerian Study, Joffrey Scott Suprina

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

Addictions are prevalent in the United States with gay men’s drinking habits considered as problematic as their heterosexual counterparts (Bux, 1996). Although some research has compared gay men and heterosexual men’s drinking behaviors, further research is needed to identify the life-style and coping resource differences between gay men with and without drinking problems. This study explores gay men and problem drinking from an Individual Psychology perspective by comparing the life-style themes as measured by the Basic Adlerian Scales for Interpersonal Success – Adult Form (BASIS-A: Wheeler, Kern, & Curlette, 1993) and coping resources as measured by the Coping Resources Inventory …

Resilience Strategies Of South Asian Women Who Have Survived Child Sexual Abuse, Anneliese Amanda Singh

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the resilience strategies of 13 South Asian female survivors of child sexual abuse. Two research questions guided this study: (a) How does a small sample of South Asian adult women in the United States (U.S.) describe their experiences of child sexual abuse? and (b) What resilience strategies do these South Asian female survivors of child sexual abuse report using to cope with child sexual abuse? The phenomenological research design was grounded in feminist theory to capture the lived experiences of resilience related to child sexual abuse (Patton, 1990). Data were collected …

The Stress Management Self-Efficacy Inventory (Smsei): Development And Initial Psychometrics, Kristin Higgins

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of the current study was to develop, pilot, and establish the initial psychometrics of the Stress Management Self-Efficacy Inventory (SMSEI). Once developed and positive psychometrics established, middle school counselors and other mental health professionals can use the SMSEI to identify children who lack self-efficacy in the area of stress management. Once adolescents are identified as having low stress management self-efficacy, this measure can also aid professionals in creating programs and interventions. The SMSEI measures how well adolescents believe they can manage their stress as well as measures specific areas or management techniques that a child believes they …