Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Tobacco Use, Cessation, And Locus Of Control Among College Students, Bernard Ambe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to (a) determine the locus of control among American college students (b) determine if tobacco use or cessation correlate with any demographic variables to better understand the efficacy of tobacco interventions and help design an intervention most effective in the prominent LOC of college students.

The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) was modified for the purposes of this study and used to determine demographic factors and tobacco usage status. The modified GATS survey also included the LOC questionnaire which yielded the data. Seventy-four responses were recorded. The mean locus of control scores were …

Effects Of A Text Message-Based Motivational Interviewing Intervention On Cigarette Smoking In College Students., Anna Jorayeva

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the effects of a novel text message-based motivational interviewing intervention on cigarette smoking behavior in college students. Three manuscripts comprised this dissertation and included: a state of the science review of motivational interviewing and text message-based smoking behavior interventions in adolescents and young adults; a critical review and analysis of instruments used to measure nicotine dependence in young adults; and a quasi-experimental study testing the effects of a novel text message-based motivational interviewing intervention on cigarette smoking behavior in college students. Background: Cigarette smoking is the number one preventable cause of …

Using The Theory Of Planned Behavior To Predict Executives’ Intentions To Hire Psychologists In Federally Qualified Health Centers, Robert M. Tolliver

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Health psychologists with training in integrated care are ideal candidates to work in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). However, despite the large documented need for more behavioral health providers in FQHCs, psychologists are underrepresented in this setting compared to other behavioral health professions. The purpose of this study was to: 1) examine the specific beliefs that are most relevant to executives’ intentions to hire psychologists, 2) determine how executives’ perceived control over hiring psychologists varies by several demographic variables, and 3) examine how well the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) predicts executives’ intentions to hire psychologists. Method: Executives (N …

Life Balance In Adult Healthy Siblings Of Individuals With Childhood Cancer., Yolanda Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Siblings of children who were diagnosed with cancer in childhood experience significant stress and psychological difficulties as a result of the cancer. Furthermore, the needs of siblings have often been overlooked in the cancer literature, prompting the need for more studies. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the life balance and social support outcomes of adults who grew up in the household with a sibling that was diagnosed with cancer. The study sample consisted of 120 adult healthy siblings who grew up in a household with a sibling that was diagnosed with cancer prior to age 19. Participants …

Optimism Bias In Fitness, Katrielle Marx

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The people of the United States of America have been concerned with the population’s overweight and obesity rate for a while. The purpose of this study was to find out if optimism bias had an influence on fitness. Optimism bias is overestimating the likelihood of positive events and underestimate the likelihood of negative events happening in one’s life. This study created a fitness optimism scale and used a set of fitness assessments and exercise questions to correlate with the fitness optimism bias. There were 105 students who participated in this study, 82 females and 23 males with a mean age …

Women And Healthcare In Appalachia: Impeding Circumstance And The Role Of Technology, Ashley Cano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For decades, healthcare access and quality in central and southern Appalachia have trailed the rest of the country. Entrenched poverty and low educational attainment compound healthcare problems. This study examines the healthcare obstacles women encounter in southern and central Appalachia and analyzes how technology use, such as Internet searching and social media affect women’s healthcare decisions. Data were analyzed from four focus groups conducted with women from the region. Results indicate that seeing a physician or not did not influence women’s propensity to search the Internet for health-related information or to seek support through social media sites. Additionally, women reported …

Assessing Cultural Competence In A Mental Health Outpatient Facility., Alexis N. Keen Crook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cultural competence is a concept that has been thoroughly investigated in healthcare, but there is a dearth of literature and research on this topic as it pertains to mental health services. In healthcare, research has shown that a lack of cultural competence is directly linked to high levels of misdiagnoses, mistrust of healthcare and professionals, and overall poor health in minority populations. Using the Campinha-Bacote model for cultural competence in health care, I explore how cultural competence is defined and operationalized in an outpatient mental health facility. I hypothesize that, similar to research addressing cultural competency in healthcare systems, cultural …

Spirituality And Psychological Well-Being Among Als Caregivers: Hope And Perceived Stress As Mediators, Bridget R. Jeter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The empirical study of the salutary relationship between spirituality/religiousness and psychological well-being is burgeoning. However, mechanisms of this association have received less empirical attention. Theory suggests that spirituality/religiousness may lead to positive psychological characteristics such as hope, which may function as a means of coping in the context of a significant stressor or stressful situation. The perceived burden and stress associated with caring for individuals with chronic illnesses such as ALS is significant, and caregivers may be at risk for increased symptoms of depression, symptoms of anxiety, somatic symptoms, and other deleterious psychological well-being related outcomes. Within the context of …

Depression Outcomes In Care Coordination, Primary Care And Psychiatry Patients After Pharmacogenetic Testing, Julie Kittelsrud

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective. The purpose of the study is to compare the outcomes of patient activation before and after pharmacogenetic care in a coordinated care population. The process of pharmacogenetic care includes the patient’s acknowledgment of medication changes which are based on their genetic profile. This study will be framed by Dorothea Orem’s Self-Care Theory and Davies and Conley’s framework of genetic influences in prescribing anti psychotropic therapy.

Background. Understanding patient’s behavioral reactions to pharmacogenetic care in terms of patient activation is important to understanding patient’s health outcomes. No published studies were identified in literature reviews conducted by this author which …

Alcohol Use As A Precipitant And Comorbidity In Primary Headache, Rachel Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Migraine and tension-type headache (tth) are two of the most prevalent pain conditions diagnosed throughout the world and can be extremely disabling with many economic, social, physical and psychological health costs. A plethora of research indicates a strong, positive association between co-occurring psychiatric disorders (e.g., major depressive disorder, anxiety, panic) and migraine and tth, however co-occurring alcohol-use disorders are relatively unexplored. The limited studies that have explored alcohol-use disorders have produced mixed findings, potentially as a result of differing methodology, sample source, and the debated precipitating nature of alcohol use on headache. An abundance of research suggests that many environmental …

Body Satisfaction And Ability To Identify Weight Status Of Preschool-Aged Children By Their Caregivers, Andrea Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rates of childhood obesity have been rising consistently across the nation and internationally. As a result, interventionists have been working to develop ways to combat this and have focused on interventions involving caregivers. Previous research indicates caregivers experience challenges in identifying obesity among their own children, which leads to barriers in addressing and reducing rates of obesity as caregivers remain unaware of any problems. The current study explored caregivers’ ability to correctly assign their child to the appropriate weight category and whether their ability was impacted by caregivers’ own weight status. Further, it also explored caregivers’ level of body satisfaction …