Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Utilization Of Mental Health Services At Domestic Violence Agencies In Pennsylvania, Kealsey Mcneil

Social Work Student Research

In this research, I examined the use of mental health services at domestic violence (DV) programs in rural and urban Pennsylvania and agency size. I examined the needs, characteristics, and availability of mental health services for DV survivors across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I looked at DV service use from a variety of sources to provide a well-rounded understanding of the factors that contributed to mental health service use. I used three secondary data sources: the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP), Adequacies of Network of Services Provided to the Survivors of Domestic Violence in Pennsylvania–Phase II study, and data obtained from …

Assessing Clinical Social Workers’ Self-Efficacy Regarding Perinatal Mental Health Disorders, Ashley Sullivan

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation sought to explore social workers’ perceived levels of knowledge, self-efficacy, and awareness of perinatal mental health. This study looked at how identifying as a parent, different social work licensures, and having additional training on perinatal mental health affect social workers' knowledge, self-efficacy, and awareness responses. Utilizing a quantitative survey, this dissertation found having additional training on perinatal mental health to have a significant impact on social workers’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and awareness.

Exploring social workers’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and awareness of perinatal mental health allows for self-reflection of one's own ability to assist this vulnerable population. Continued research in this …

African-American Pastors' Mental Health Literacy, Leadership And Counsel: A Systematic Review, Michelle A. Townsend

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

The African-American pastor is a trusted provider of leadership and counseling within the Black church and community. Pastors and ministry leaders are often the first responders of mental health issues faced by their congregants and community members. As a trusted and sought-after source for counseling, the African-American Pastor is a mental health provider to a community who often does not pursue professional mental health counseling. Although the community is susceptible to the same mental illness as other ethnic groups, there is mistrust for the medical and mental health community and inequality in the available resources. This study 1) examined what …

Mental Health Issues In First Responders: Their Causes And How To Help Treat Them, Anna M. Hoffnagle

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

In recent years mental health issues and how to deal with them has become a widely discussed topic in society. Causes and treatments tend to be major factors in the discussion, but they also tend to be far too general. The broadness of the targeted audience for these discussions often creates more issues than it solves due to treatments not being effective for every population. This paper highlights the causes of mental health issues in first responders while also discussing treatment methods designed specifically for this population that have had promising outcomes. Causes and treatments discussed are given solidity through …

Social Media & Negative Effects On Body Image, Jack Fechter

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Since the beginning of the 2010’s, social media has grown to affect every aspect of our daily lives. With children using it earlier in their lives, they are getting mass exposure to societal ideals about what body type should be. This has negatively impacted adolescents’ view of body image, which has led to dissatisfaction with their own bodies. This leads to depressive symptoms and even in some cases suicide, which has gone up among adolescents in the past decade. The article that follows details how and why these issues occur, as well as solutions to fix them. These solutions discussed …

Mental Health And Covid-19, Haley Thiel

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

The recent pandemic has taken a toll on everyone’s mental health. Transitioning to full freedom and opportunity to lockdown with no human interaction was a huge adjustment. The global pandemic especially hit home to college students and had a significant impact on universities. In this paper we discuss and analyze how the pandemic has shifted college students mental health and the negative toll it had. We will examine how anxiety, depression, and other general mental health disorders have skyrocketed in college students during the pandemic. The need for reform and attention on college campuses to preserve students mental health is …

Music Making Connections, Laura M. Breslin

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

The Covid-19 pandemic has made mental health issues sky rocket. Many people are suffering from anxiety, depression, OCD and many other mental health problems now more than ever. Without the in-person interactions, many people are eager to be able to hug friends and family again. People are also eager to see their favorite music artist live in concert again. In this paper, we discuss how music can help your mental health, how to prevent contracting the coronavirus, and ways you can help speed up the process of getting life back to normal.

Hunger In The United States, Trey A. Henry

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

The issue of hunger in the United States is descriptively explained through the standpoints of child hunger, mental health, food security, and elderly people. It is detailed with explanations on how to overcome and adapt to the wicked problem that have plagued our country since it became one. The information produced by authors cited in this essay talk about the main points and the substantial issues that have progressed over time. It sheds light on how prevalent hunger can be with low-income families and the elderly people that do not have the aid to receive enough meals a day. In …

Life After A Pandemic, Vito Zazo

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

This paper is a research paper designed to explain how Covid-19 is a wicked problem. I talk about the symptoms that Covid-19 can cause and how this disease does not affect everyone the same way. I talk about the death count from Covid-19 and the statistics behind it. I then talk about how the news has not informed the people correctly on how to prevent the spread of the virus and how it is being handled, because all major news networks are fueled by political views. I talk about the bipartisan views our country has and why it is so …

Online Learning's Impact On Mental Health, Alexandria Palmieri

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Due to the global pandemic education has evolved and started online learning. While online learning is helping it brings its own set of problems and impacts. This paper will talk about 3 aspects of online learning, social interaction, motivation, and participation and how students’ mental health is being impacted. The paper includes a research study done by giving a number of college aged students a survey. The survey asked questions about the 3 aspects of online learning and how each of them impact students’ mental health as well as ways to relieve the stress and lessen the impact of online …