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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

A Phenomenological Study Of Church Leader's Experiences With Vicarious Trauma In Oviedo, Florida, Judy Rivera-Melendez Jul 2023

A Phenomenological Study Of Church Leader's Experiences With Vicarious Trauma In Oviedo, Florida, Judy Rivera-Melendez

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand and explore the need to help church leaders who are experiencing stress. Christian clergies are classified as priests, pastors, ministers, chaplains, and deacons who interact with the congregation by identifying the Bible Scriptures. Church leaders follow the teachings of the divine and are pulled from many angles. It is up to the congregation to help themselves and church leaders to relieve this stress to avoid vicarious trauma. This study digs deep to decipher if church leaders in Catholicism and Baptist teaching are aware of the stress they acquire from their …


"My Dog Is In Teletherapy With Me": The Impact Of A Pet Dog On Their Owner's Teletherapy Session, Carlette Anne Layne May 2023

"My Dog Is In Teletherapy With Me": The Impact Of A Pet Dog On Their Owner's Teletherapy Session, Carlette Anne Layne

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The connection between humans and animals has led to practices such as animal-assisted therapy, equine therapy, service animals, and pet ownership. Strong bonds and attachments can form between pet owners and their pets. It is no wonder that owning a pet is commonplace in the United States. Many pet owners identify their pet as a member of their family. In addition to companionship, research has indicated that pet ownership can have health benefits, reduce stress, increase empathy, and facilitate openness. In a therapeutic setting, the presence of a pet may comfort its owner simply by being near them. The ease …


An Investigation Of Oconus Military Spouses Coping Responses During Deployment, Clare Maura Bush May 2023

An Investigation Of Oconus Military Spouses Coping Responses During Deployment, Clare Maura Bush

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological qualitative research study was to understand the coping responses of military spouses residing OCONUS during a deployment. Although coping is exhibited, deployments and OCONUS relocations can impact military spouses' physical and emotional well-being. The theory guiding this study was Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) transactional model of stress and coping related to the central research question: How do OCONUS military spouses describe their coping experiences during deployment? The sub-questions addressed: How do OCONUS military spouses describe the role of self-care practices, social connections, and availability of resources during deployment? Criterion sampling was used to select …


The Effects Social Media Has On Depressive And Neuro Developmental Disorders, Daniel James Goble Apr 2023

The Effects Social Media Has On Depressive And Neuro Developmental Disorders, Daniel James Goble

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Social media has played a huge role in society today and is one of the most common activities in everyday life for people of all ages. Due to the long amount of time that most users spend on social media daily, some trends seem to grow and become very visible over time that have a negative impact on mental health but also on neuro developmental disorders. Neurodevelopmental disorders are identified through a list of symptoms and characteristics that show a problem in how the brain is developing. Due to social media still being very new in this generation and with …


A Quantitative Examination Of The Relationship Between Workplace Environment, Religion, And The Stigma Of Mental Health On Openness To Mental Health Services, Cooper Ann Hove Apr 2023

A Quantitative Examination Of The Relationship Between Workplace Environment, Religion, And The Stigma Of Mental Health On Openness To Mental Health Services, Cooper Ann Hove

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Individuals within the workplace experience stressors that can negatively impact their health long term if not effectively managed. The level of stress within the workplace environment, religious beliefs, and mental health stigma may affect employees differently in their openness to receive mental health services. Research lacks data to understand the gap between employees struggling with mental health and unused, available resources in organizations. Most current research focuses on implementing mental health interventions, with the highest number of studies focusing on police officers' and nurses' experiences. This study was a quantitative, correlational study to gather participants with prior work experience of …


Work, Stress, And Christian Spiritual Coping, Guillermo Villasenor Apr 2023

Work, Stress, And Christian Spiritual Coping, Guillermo Villasenor

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Stress is a common theme in today's work environment. Stress can positively and negatively impact an individual's ability to do work. It has been found that perceived stress at work can impact a person's physical, emotional, and mental state. Studies show a correlation between stress with anxiety, depression, work efficiency, and burnout syndrome. Christian spiritual/ religious coping is one of the significant ways people cope when faced with stress. Spirituality is the belief in a Supreme Being, and Christianity is based on the belief in Jesus Christ as God and the director of humankind. Christian-based spiritual coping with work stress …


The Role Of Military Chaplains And Effective Spiritual Care For Strengthening Military Marriages During Deployments, Carl Michael Johnson Mar 2023

The Role Of Military Chaplains And Effective Spiritual Care For Strengthening Military Marriages During Deployments, Carl Michael Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Military chaplains provide spiritual support and counseling to the military populations alongside conducting religious services. As a military process, chaplaincy operates as a liaison between military personnel, mental health professionals, and clinical marriage counselors. In this context, the military population is extensive and consists of military personnel, military chaplains, and their civilian families. It must be acknowledged that various service-motivated challenges confront these individuals. For instance, military marriages are threatened by lengthy deployment and family separations. Therefore, it is significant to contextualize military marriages’ coping, survival, and strengthening as most contemporary researchers have focused on this subject. Most studies have …


The Impact Of Pre-Hire Fitness Scores On Resilience And Burnout Among New Castle County Patrol-Level Police Officers, Eugene Joseph Reid Mar 2023

The Impact Of Pre-Hire Fitness Scores On Resilience And Burnout Among New Castle County Patrol-Level Police Officers, Eugene Joseph Reid

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study seeks participation from patrol-level officers with at least two years’ experience in the New Castle County Police Department in Delaware (n=134) and requests that they respond to two questionnaires measuring resilience and job burnout: the 25-item Resilience Scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Additionally, participants are asked to self-report their pre-hire fitness scores. Police officers are repeatedly exposed to trauma, which has negative mental and physical consequences, often leading to extreme stress, fatigue, and emotional imbalance. Repeated trauma also impacts physical fitness, which is critical for not only physical and mental health but also work performance, especially for …


Police Demographics And Stress Relief Program Utilization, Michael Wayne Whittington Feb 2023

Police Demographics And Stress Relief Program Utilization, Michael Wayne Whittington

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Police officers face challenges from operational and organizational stressors. Officers often have access to stress relief programs offered by their employers such as Peer Support Programs, Employee Assistance Programs, or Chaplaincy Programs. The implementation of these stress relief programs is based on the perception of need and anecdotal evidence. Police stress and stress relief studies offer mixed results as to the way an officer chooses one program or another. One understudied area to determine stress relief program utilization is demographics. Variables such as experience, education, marital status, race, sexuality, and gender may factor into the decision as to which stress …


Pressures Of African American Christian Women Who Serve As Leaders In A Secular Environment, Tania Yvette Cooper Jan 2023

Pressures Of African American Christian Women Who Serve As Leaders In A Secular Environment, Tania Yvette Cooper

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The pressures of African American Christian women (AACW) who function as leaders in a secular environment are unknown. This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to explore the experiences of AACW who lead in a secular environment in Eastern North Carolina under pressures such as stress and anxiety. Data received from conducting this qualitative study will reveal the perspectives of six AACW who function as leaders in a secular environment. It will reveal the causes for their pressures, their ways of coping with those issues, and their thoughts on ways to lessen stress while serving as an African American Christian (AAC) leader …