Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Ethical Standards Of Human Services Professionals In Trauma Informed Care Across Diverse Settings, Emily Burroughs

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Ethics are important in every aspect of our professional lives. Actions have consequences and in the Human Services field, decisions that we make will potentially directly impact our clients. A human services professional’s responsibility is to care for their clients and provide them with the appropriate resources needed to succeed in their daily lives. When a professional begins working with a trauma victim, they must be sure to assess their ethical behaviors and provide proper resources to the victim. This work is often referred to as trauma informed care which goes beyond the typical helping process of professionals. It is …

Can Spiritual Experiences Promote Empathy In The Context Of Past Adverse Childhood Experiences?, Alison Ickes

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Previous research suggests that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can greatly impact a child’s physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing later in life. ACE exposure has been associated with lower levels of empathy in the literature. Spirituality is often associated with a number of positive outcomes, including those associated with empathy, like prosocial behaviors. The present study examines spirituality as a buffer against reduced empathy in those with exposure to adverse events in childhood. Participants for this study were recruited through the SONA research platform at East Tennessee State University as part of a larger research project, the REACH (Religions, Emotions, and …

Is There A Relationship Between Experiences Of Workplace Discrimination And Self-Stigmatization Among Mental Health Peer Support Workers?, Nicole King

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis aimed to explore whether a statistically significant relationship existed between experiences of workplace discrimination and self-stigmatization among mental health peer support workers. This relationship has not previously been explored in this group. The Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMI) was used to measure self-stigmatization, and a 3-measure scale adapted by Stromwall, Holley and Bashor (2011), alongside a newly created measure, were used to assess perceived workplace discrimination. The sample was a convenience sample of 20 participants. The researcher expected a positive correlation between workplace discrimination and self-stigmatization. Ultimately, no statistically significant relationship was found between the two …

How Resilience-Building Interventions Impact Parenting Stress And Cortisol Reactivity In Mothers With Adverse Childhood Experiences, Victoria Jones

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Research has found that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with changes in both parenting stress and cortisol. Resilience-building interventions may be able to help diminish the effects of ACEs, thus impacting parenting stress and cortisol reactivity. This study aims to examine how two resilience-building interventions (emotion-based and behavior-based) will impact parenting stress and cortisol reactivity in mothers with ACEs. This project is in the preliminary stages of data collection; as such, this honors thesis will review the relevant literature, describe current methodology and proposed analyses, and discuss possible implications and future directions. Participants (goal N=100) undergo a pre-assessment where …

An Analysis Of Substance Use In College: Identifying Possible Risk And Protective Factors, Stephanie Penpek

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the United States, an estimated 20% of college students have an Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). AUD is conceptualized as compulsive use of alcohol even when presented with adverse effects. Historically, student activities and organization-involvement (e.g., Greek life) was a hypothesized risk factor for student substance use. However, other studies suggest that joining clubs and developing a support system during college can protect against substance use disorders. Undergraduate students were recruited from a South Eastern University using a university-sponsored, online recruitment website. The sample was predominantly White (n = 150; 86.70%) and female (n = 127; 73.40%). We …

The Effects Of Nursing School Peer Tutoring On Tutors, Yelyzaveta Soboleva

Undergraduate Honors Theses

An integrative review was used to examine the effects of being a tutor versus not being a tutor. The matrix method was used to guide the research process, to identify articles that met the inclusion criteria, and to reduce data into common topics of peer tutoring. The results of the integrative review yielded 20 articles and suggested that students in the position to assist others are more confident in communicating in groups and have higher knowledge in the subject they help with than their fellow peers. The literature showed that students in the position to assist others have defined personal …

Views Of Addiction Etiology Predict Religious Individuals’ Willingness To Help., Emily Brady, Joseph Barnet, Valerie Hoots, Andrea Clements

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

Views of addiction etiology predict religious individuals’ willingness to help.

Emily Brady, Valerie Hoots, Joseph Barnet, and Andrea Clements, Department of Psychology, East Tennessee State University.

Addiction to drugs and alcohol is an accrescent societal problem. Individuals with substance addiction face stigma in their daily lives, specifically from religious individuals as explored in this study. The stigma these religious individuals might portray could be related to their ideas on addiction etiology. The purpose of this project is to evaluate if different views of addiction etiology predict religious individuals’ willingness to help individuals with substance addition. Our hypothesis for this …

Menstruation Regulation: A Feminist Critique Of Menstrual Product Brands On Instagram, Max Faust

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Much research about advertisements for menstrual products reveals the ways in which such advertising perpetuates shame and reinforces unrealistic ideals of femininity and womanhood. This study aims to examine the content of Instagram posts by four different menstrual product brands in hopes of understanding how these functions may or may not be carried out by social media posts by these brands as well. Building on the body of research about menstrual shame and advertising, I specifically ask: How do the Instagram pages for four menstrual product brands dissuade individuality; how do they prescribe femininity; and how do these functions differ …

Aces, Onset Of Aggression, And Initiation Of Out-Of-Home Placements In A Sample Of Youth In Residential Treatment For Sexually Abusive Behavior, Teliyah Cobb

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) exhibit a strong influence on later functioning in adolescence and adulthood, including impacts on physical and mental health, as well as behavioral and risk-related outcomes. Youth who have engaged in sexually abusive behaviors experience ACEs and negative outcomes at significantly elevated rates. The current study evaluates the relationship between ACEs and the youth’s own behavior and onset and length out-of-home placements, including family- or home-based, residential, and correctional placements. Data for this study consisted of archival records that were collected from a nonprofit inpatient treatment facility for adolescents who had engaged in sexually abusive behavior. The …

College Students’ Attitudes Towards Police Officers And Their Perceptions Of Prison Systems, Lee Poff

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The current research seeks to study and gauge current perceptions of police among college students at East Tennessee State University. As well as studying perceptions of police among students, the research will compare police perceptions among students with student opinions on incarceration. Correlations will be attempted to be observed through various demographical characteristics and similar standardized viewpoints. This will build on prior research from Lim (2015) and others in which college students were used to gauge results around perceptions of police. It is important to understand college student perceptions on police and incarceration as they form the future work force …

Maternal Stress And Child Internalizing Symptoms: Parent-Child Co-Regulation As A Proposed Mediator, Tatum Harvey

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The effects of maternal stress on child behavior, especially externalizing problems such as aggression, defiance, and lack of self-control, are well-established within psychological literature. Few studies, however, have examined the effects of maternal stress on child internalizing problems, such as loneliness, withdrawal, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Moreover, there is much research within developmental psychology to support the notion that parent-child co-regulation, sometimes called dyadic synchrony, can predict child behavioral outcomes. Currently, researchers lack an understanding of how this process can interact with maternal stress to predict child internalizing symptoms. The following thesis details a multi-method assessment which is …

Putin's Invisible Hand: Why Are Gongos Increasingly Resurfacing Under The Putin Administration?, Sydnee Merritt

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Government Organized Non-Governmental Organizations (GONGOs), once common during the Soviet-era, are now increasingly resurfacing under the Putin administration. Once completely abolished from Russia, these deceitful organizations are accompanying various new laws signed by President Putin in the Russian Federation. While Russia does not claim to be a liberal democracy with a free civil society and Putin has described his state as a “managed democracy,” the puzzle still remains why the Putin administration is secretly using organizations to fulfill government ploys. This thesis will analyze the types of GONGOs along with new laws and policies signed into effect under the Putin …

No Hope For Rousseau In Tomorrowland: Limits Of Civil Religion In E.L. Doctorow’S The Book Of Daniel: A Novel (1971), Gabrielle R. Johnson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Current scholarly work on E.L. Doctorow’s (1931-2015) novel The Book of Daniel: A Novel (1971) often ignores the narrator Daniel Isaacson’s implicit critique of Rousseau’s civil religion. This paper will show the importance of civil religion within the novel despite its being overlooked by most scholars. In The Book of Daniel, Daniel frequently examines instances of American civil religion and even goes as far as to describe it as inevitable and intrusive on freedom. Daniel implies throughout the novel that the American government models their civil religion on Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s (1712-1778) conception as described in his treatise The Social …

Adverse Childhood Experiences (Aces) And Temperament In Children Aged 14 To 36-Months, Elysabeth Sexton

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Researchers have explored the effects of early adverse life experiences (ACEs) on children’s developmental outcomes for decades. In this study, I explored whether ACEs in toddlerhood were associated with temperament. I tested the hypotheses that: 1) children who were determined to have a difficult temperamental profile would have higher parent-reported ACE scores than children with an easy temperamental profile, and 2) children’s temperament types would have stronger associations with abuse and neglect ACE scores than with household dysfunction ACE scores. Parents of 94 toddlers, who were between 14 and 36 months of age, completed online surveys on behalf of their …

Employer Perceptions About Addiction Recovery And Hiring Decisions, Haley Henderson, Joseph Barnet, Valerie Hoots, Andrea Clements

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Drug and alcohol addiction is a nationwide epidemic with an increasing number of Americans being affected. Individuals who seek treatment for their addiction often face barriers, such as costs, waiting time, and available support, and those who are able to receive treatment are likely to experience or anticipate stigma from others. Existing literature has found that many employers have negative perceptions of individuals in addiction recovery. However, there is limited research that has analyzed whether these negative perceptions affect hiring decisions. We predicted that employers would have negative perceptions of those in recovery, would be less likely to hire individuals …

Polysubstance Exposure And Its Relationship To Pharmacological Treatment Characteristics, Parker Miller

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) remains an ever-growing public health issue and a continued avenue for future research. The research question for this retrospective study was whether polysubstance exposure is related to the dose of medication the infant received or to the number of opioid-medications required to treat the infants’ withdrawal symptoms? The hypothesis for the retrospective study was there will be a significant relationship between polysubstance exposure and the dose of medication the infant received as well as the number of opioid-medications required to treat the infants’ withdrawal symptoms. A bivariate correlational indicated that there was not a significant association …

Creative Gender Expression Performativity As A Coping Mechanism For Minority Stress, Emerson A. Todd

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Creative Gender Expression Performativity may be a coping mechanism for dealing with minority stress in sexual and gender minority populations. The current study suggests the creation of a new scale that measures effortful presentation rather than directional presentation. Rather than examining whether someone identifies as masculine or feminine – the proposed model would instead look at how much effort an individual is putting into their gender expression. In this mixed methods study, participants (N = 187) completed a survey based on gender expression, minority stress, and mental health, while 10 participants completed a qualitative post-survey interview via email. Multiple regressions …