Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Well-Being Of People Incarcerated In United States Prisons, Kimberly Rivera

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the population as a whole. However, the incarcerated population (which also experiences a variety of health disparities) has been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Due to overcrowding, poor ventilation, and lack of resources, the incarcerated population already is at a heightened risk for negative health outcomes, made worse by the recent pandemic. To adapt to the rapidly changing conditions during the pandemic in 2020 and into 2022, new safety measures were implemented, but the unintended consequences associated with the implementation of these procedures have yet to be examined empirically. I conducted a qualitative content …

Mental Health Applications As A Resource For Reducing Access Disparities? A Case Example From A Disaster Mental Health App, Laura Perez-Villagomez

Honors Theses

Past research indicates Latinx individuals underutilize mental health services when it comes to addressing their mental health concerns, but often fail to mention the barriers to underutilization. Systemic barriers to seeking care largely fall under two larger umbrellas: cost and availability. A focus on whether disparities observed in traditional mental health services persisted for a trauma-focused app that recruited participants from the 2017 Hurricane outbreak provides us a unique outlook on a comparative analysis of utilization and engagement between the applications, Bounce Back Now (BBN) and Enhanced Usual Care. BBN is made up of four major components including tracking, …

Understanding Boundary Turbulence And Privacy Rules From The Receiver’S Perspective In Mental Illness Disclosures, Ian Maltas

Honors Theses

The present study aims to address a gap in current research focusing on relational outcomes of mental illness disclosures by studying the perspective of people who listen to the disclosures (called “receivers”). This study uses Communication Privacy Management Theory to analyze the process of disclosure, and its main research focus is on motivations for disseminating private information, and how that impacts relationships and privacy rules between co-owners of information. A thematic analysis was conducted to answer this inquiry, and a data conference was held to determine relevant themes in the data. The present study finds that people chose to tell …

Caregiver Participation Engagement In Child Mental Health Prevention Programs: A Systematic Review, Rachel Haine‑Schlagel, Kelsey S. Dickson, Teresa Lind, Joanna J. Kim, Gina C. May, Natalia Escobar Walsh, Vanja Lazarevic, Brent R. Crandal, May Yeh

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Prevention programs are a key method to reduce the prevalence and impact of mental health disorders in childhood and adolescence. Caregiver participation engagement (CPE), which includes caregiver participation in sessions as well as follow-through with homework plans, is theorized to be an important component in the effectiveness of these programs. This systematic review aims to (1) describe the terms used to operationalize CPE and the measurement of CPE in prevention programs, (2) identify factors associated with CPE, (3) examine associations between CPE and outcomes, and (4) explore the effects of strategies used to enhance CPE. Thirty-nine articles representing 27 unique …

Work Stress And Information Anxiety Of Library Personnel In Academic Libraries In Nigeria, Adenike Ayokari Adebamiro, Sunday O. Popoola Prof

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The paper investigates work stress and information anxiety of library personnel in academic libraries in South-west, Nigeria. The research design adopted for the study was survey method of the correlational type. Simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample population of 308 (60% of the population) out of 703 library personnel in academic libraries in South-west, Nigeria. The findings of this study revealed that the level of work stress of the library personnel is moderate with a mean score X = 52.45; SD=7.366. The level of information anxiety of is also moderate with mean score X=36.87; SD= 6.370. …

Libraries And Mental Health Initiatives: A Literature Review, Megan Smith

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic has increased the mental health needs of communities across America. Public libraries have responded by utilizing the existing resources they developed such as training staff in Mental Health First Aid and employing social workers and nurses. In addition, libraries have created new targeted programs to address mental health during the covid-19 pandemic. This literature review discusses how these various factors relate and further directions for research.

Cultural Bereavement And Resilience In Refugee Resettlement: A Photovoice Study With Yazidi Women In The Midwest United States, Julie A. Tippens, Kaitlin Roselius, Irene Padasas, Gulie Khalaf, Kara Kohel, Elizabeth Mollard, Izdihar (Vianne) Sheikh

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

This study explored how ethnic Yazidi refugee women overcome adversity to promote psychosocial health and well-being within the context of U.S. resettlement. Nine Yazidi women participated in two small photovoice groups, each group lasting eight sessions (16 sessions total). Women discussed premigration and resettlement challenges, cultural strengths and resources, and strategies to overcome adversity. Yazidi women identified trauma and perceived loss of culture as primary stressors. Participants’ resilience processes included using naan (as sustenance and symbol) to survive and thrive as well as by preserving an ethnoreligious identity. Findings suggest that women’s health priorities and resilience-promoting strategies center on fostering …

Factors Associated With Smoking In Low-Income Persons With And Without Chronic Illness, Monique T. Cano, David L. Pennington, Sara Reyes, Blanca S. Pineda, Jazmin Llamas, Vyjeyanthi S. Periyakoil, Ricardo F. Muñoz

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION Tobacco disparities persist among low-income smokers who seek care from safety-net clinics. Many of these patients suffer from chronic illnesses (CILs) that are associated with and exacerbated by smoking. The objective of the current study was to examine the differences between safety-net patients with and without CILs in terms of nicotine dependence and related factors (such as depression, anxiety) and self-efficacy regarding ability to abstain from smoking. METHODS Sixty-four low-income smokers who thought about or intended to quit smoking were recruited from the San Francisco Health Network (SFHN) and assessed for CILs, nicotine dependence, depression, anxiety, and smoking abstinence …

Housework: Socialization Influences On Individual Performance, Couple Division Of Labor And Mental Health, Jaala Robinson

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Despite the continued gender inequality in the division of housework, little research has considered how family housework socialization influences the amount of housework a person performs and their mental health. Socialization processes occur via the amount of housework performed in the home during childhood by each parent and the parents’ gender division of household labor. This analysis details three studies that explore the impact of socialization to housework. All three studies take advantage of intergenerational data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). The first study uses a social learning framework to test whether the amount of housework a …

The Role Of Faculty In Fostering Psychosocial Wellbeing Among University Students, Kelley Wick

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The transition to college represents a major life event, and successfully navigating this shift has implications for students’ psychosocial wellbeing. While there is ample support for the idea that social relationships can facilitate student wellbeing during the transition to college, there is limited understanding of the unique role faculty may play in supporting students. The aim of this study was to determine the relation of faculty support to student wellbeing and self-efficacy, independent of peer support and student level of stress. Additionally, the primary questions were to examine whether self-efficacy mediated the relation of faculty support to student wellbeing, and …

Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders: A Musical Adaptation, Krista Connelly

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Creative Work, and Performance

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is an original song cycle for soprano and baritone voices with Pierrot ensemble (flute/piccolo, B-flat clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion), utilizing poetry taken from Autumn Slaughter’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders-Poetry. Of Slaughter’s poetic interpretation of 35 of the diagnoses within the psychiatric manual (the DSM-5), eleven poems/diagnoses are used for this musical work. This document is an analysis of the theoretical constructs of each movement and the musical representation of the poem and diagnosis.

Advisor: Tyler G. White

‘Do Unto Others’: Religiosity And Bullying In Adolescence And Emerging Adulthood, Joseph Jochman

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation examines associations between religiosity and bullying in adolescence and emerging adulthood across three empirical chapters. The first empirical chapter uses data from the National Study of Youth and Religion Wave 1 (N=3,137) to assess the likelihood of bullying and religious victimization by key religious factors in youth. Results show that religious affiliation, religious practices, and religious views and beliefs are all associated with differential likelihoods of bullying. Mainline Protestants and youth with higher religious salience and scripture reading had lower likelihoods of bullying perpetration. Higher service attendance and religious youth group participation, however, were associated with increased likelihood …

Testing Traditional Machismo And The Gender Role Strain Theory With Mexican Migrant Farmworkers, Laura M. Acosta, Arthur R. Andrews Iii, M. Natalia Acosta Canchila, Athena K. Ramos

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The current study examines the moderating role of traditional machismo on mental health outcomes. We hypothesized that machismo would enhance the effects of stressors that are incongruent with traditional machismo beliefs (discrimination, adverse childhood experiences [ACEs], and fear of deportation) on depression and anxiety outcomes but would not enhance stressors that are congruent (harsh working conditions and poverty) on depression and anxiety. Participants were 190 male Mexican migrant farmworkers. As hypothesized, endorsing high traditional machismo was associated with stronger effects of fear of deportation and discrimination on depression outcomes compared with low traditional machismo. The interaction of machismo and …

Husker To Husker Nightline: A Peer-Run Warm Line Texting Service Development At University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Audrey Wilhelm

Honors Theses

A desire to develop a service where students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) could reach out to their fellow students in search of improving their mental health and well-being laid the groundwork for this project. After reviewing various ideas, a peer-run warm line service best matched the goals of the project. After completing preliminary research, costs and benefits of warm lines were compared to determine the operations and best practices for warm line services. Obtaining funding for the development of this service was another main focus because funding is required for this idea to become a reality. Consequently, this …

Does Money Buy Healthiness: An Examination Of The Effects Of Socioeconomic Indicators On Physical And Mental Health, Caleb Nigrin

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact of socioeconomic status indicators on physical and mental health. This study hypothesizes that higher socioeconomic status indicators are correlated with better physical and mental health while examining the extent of these relationships. In order to determine this, previous literature regarding health and socioeconomic status will be evaluated. The results of the General Social Survey (2016) will be used to test the effects of socioeconomic status on health using regression analysis. The responses of 1418 participants were used in this analysis, controlling for age, gender, race, political ideology, and religiosity. Two …

Differences In Psychological Distress For United States Native And Foreign Born Populations: Testing For Mediation Of Neighborhood Satisfaction, Poverty, And Health Insurance, Madison L. Woodward

Honors Theses

The current study examines the difference in frequency of psychological distress between people born in the United States and people born outside of the United States. Further, this study tested for mediating effects of neighborhood satisfaction, poverty status, and health insurance. This study included data from the National Health Interview Survey. Those born outside of the United States were found to report slightly better mental health outcomes. They experienced psychological distress at a lower rate than those born in the United States. Neighborhood satisfaction, living above the poverty line, and having health insurance were all negatively associated with psychological stress. …

The Protective Influence Of Self-Compassion Against Internalized Racism Among African Americans, Alexandra Emery

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Racist experiences and internalized racism may lead to poorer mental health outcomes for African Americans born and socialized in the United States (Graham, West, Martinez & Roemer, 2016; Mouzon & McLean, 2017). Self-compassion has been shown to protect against poor mental health outcomes, but limited research exists with respect to African Americans specifically (Lockard, Hayes, Neff and Locke, 2014). The present study explored whether self-compassion could serve as a protective factor between the relations of internalized racism and racist experiences, and the negative mental health outcomes of anxiety, depression, and stress among (N = 230) African American adults. To …

Interpersonal Discrimination And Mental Health Among Minority Students At Predominantly White Institutions: Does Racial Identity Matter?, Marissa Lynn Cardwell

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Large proportions of minority group members commonly report experiencing interpersonal racial discrimination in many different domains of their lives, and this exposure to discrimination may be particularly salient for minority group members attending Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). Persistent exposure to discrimination has been linked to diminished wellbeing. Given this link, research has begun to identify potential buffers to the association between racial discrimination and diminished mental health. One such protective factor is racial ideology. The current paper investigates whether racial identity attitudes serve as protective factors between racial discrimination and mental health outcomes using daily diary data from 146 students …

Mental Health Outcomes Of Discrimination Among College Students On A Predominately White Campus: A Prospective Study, Joseph C. Jochman, Jacob E. Cheadle, Bridget J. Goosby, Cara Tomaso, Chelsea Kozikowski, Timothy Nelson

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Racial discrimination is a social stressor harmful to mental health. In this paper, we explore the links between mental health and interpersonal discrimination-related social events, exposure to vicarious racism via social media, and rumination on racial injustices using a daily diary design. We utilize data from a racially diverse sample of 149 college students with 1,489 unique time observations at a large, predominantly white university. Results show that interpersonal discrimination-related social events predicted greater self-reported anger, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and loneliness both daily and on average over time. Vicarious racism from day to day was associated with increased anxiety symptoms. …

Gray Space And Green Space Proximity Associated With Higher Anxiety In Youth With Autism, Lincoln R. Lawson, Brian Barger, Scott Ogletree, Julia C. Torquati, Steven Rosenberg, Cassandra Johnson Gaither, Jodie Marie Bartz, Andrew Gardner, Eric Moody, Anne R. Schutte

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

This study used ZIP code level data on children's health (National Survey of Children's Health, 2012) and land cover (National Land Cover Database, 2011) from across the United States to investigate connections between proximity to green space (tree canopy), gray space (impervious surfaces), and expression of a critical co-morbid condition, anxiety, in three groups of youth: children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n=1501), non-ASD children with special healthcare needs (CSHCN, n=15,776), and typically developing children (n=53,650). Both impervious surface coverage and tree canopy coverage increased the risk of severe anxiety in youth with autism, but not CSHCN or typical …

Mental Health And Teammates, Carly O'Dell

Honors Theses

Mental health is an aspect so essential throughout the human experience, yet an aspect overlooked by many. Specifically, mental health in youth is an area hardly touched by different initiatives, programs, and organizations that are put in place in order to bring assistance and guidance to youth. This is despite overwhelming statistics regarding youth and mental health. After analyzing the TeamMates Mentoring Program and finding inadequate measures in place regarding mental health, different initiatives were created in order to increase the program’s use of advocacy, awareness, and actions regarding mental health in youth.

Gendered Responses To Stress: Differences Across Type Of Stressor And Mental Health Outcomes, Erin Voichoski

Honors Theses

It is well known in mental health literature that men and women tend to manifest distinct mental health outcomes. Specifically, women tend to report higher levels of internalizing symptoms, such as depression and anxiety, whereas men tend to report higher levels of externalizing symptoms, such as alcohol abuse and antisocial behavior. This research will further explore the relationship between stress and mental health, as well as the moderating effect of gender. Drawing from the differential vulnerability hypothesis and self-salience theory, I take a novel approach to examining a variety of stressors and mental health outcomes. I assess whether stressors that …

Examining Retrospective Measurement Of Ambivalence About First Births And Psychological Well-Being Using A Hybrid Cross-Survey Multiple Imputation Approach, Stacy Tiemeyer

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation follows a 3 article format. First, I implement strategies for combining the three surveys and evaluating the individual unique measures of fertility intentions status to a combined survey latent class analysis. I found that the best fitting solution, based upon theories, qualitative research, and prior research with each survey alone, included four latent classes of first birth intentions: intended, unintended, and two categories of ambivalent: okay either way and conflicted. Second, using fertility intentions classes identified in the second chapter, I use three theories (Theory of Planned Behavior, Traits-Desires-Intentions-Behaviors and Theory of Conjunctural Action) to extend research …

Disabled And Out? Social Interaction Barriers And Mental Health Among Older Adults With Physical Disabilities, Raeda Anderson

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Over one-third of older adults in the U.S. are physically disabled. Having a disability is a chronic stressor for older adults, and this chronic stress significantly compromises mental health. Because disablement likely restricts older adults' ability to engage in interpersonal interactions, the link between physical disability and mental health may reflect consequences of such unmet social needs. Social interactions are associated with better mental health, yet prior work on social context of disablement focuses on the quality of social relations or perceptions of support, not on actual access to social interactions. There remains a need to understand how and why …

Child Abuse, Mental Health And Sleeping Arrangements Among Homeless Youth: Links To Physical And Sexual Street Victimization, Kimberly A. Tyler, Rachel Schmitz

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Physical safety is a primary concern among homeless youth because they struggle to secure basic necessities and a permanent place to live. Despite this, studies have not fully examined the numerous linkages that might explain risk for victimization within the context of material insecurity. In this study, we examine multiple levels of both proximal and distal risk factors at the individual (e.g. mental health), family (e.g. child abuse), and environmental levels (e.g. finding necessities) and their associations with physical and sexual street victimization among 150 Midwestern homeless youth. Results from path analyses show that child physical abuse is positively associated …

Workforce Well-Being: Personal And Workplace Contributions To Early Educators' Depression Across Settings, Amy M. Roberts, Kathleen C. Gallagher, Alexandra Daro, Iheoma Iruka, Susan Sarver

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

Building on research demonstrating the importance of teachers' well-being, this study examined personal and contextual factors related to early childhood educators' (n =1640) depressive symptoms across licensed child care homes, centers, and schools. Aspects of teachers' beliefs, economic status, and work-related stress were explored, and components of each emerged as significant in an OLS regression. After controlling for demographics and setting, teachers with more adult-centered beliefs, lower wages, multiple jobs, no health insurance, more workplace demands, and fewer work-related resources, had more depressive symptoms. Adult-centered beliefs were more closely associated with depression for teachers working in home-based settings compared …

Depressive Symptoms In Mexican-Origin Adolescents: Interrelations Between School And Family Contexts, Prerna G. Arora, Lorey Wheeler

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

This study, as guided by cultural-ecological frameworks, examined multiple contextual stressors, including subjective economic hardship, acculturation, discrimination, and negative perceptions of school safety, as simultaneously linked to adolescents’ depressive symptoms, as well as the role of gender, familism values, family cohesion, and school connectedness on these associations. Data come from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (Portes and Rumbaut 2012) that included second-generation 8th- and 9th-grade children of foreign-born parents from the Mexican-origin subsample (n = 755; 52% male; time 1 M age = 14.20 years). Adolescents were either born in (60%) or immigrated prior to age 5 to …

Gender Differences In Social Support, Self-Salience, And Mental Health, Ee Shin (Emily) Hum, Christina Falci

UCARE Research Products

Men and women tend to manifest distinct mental health outcomes. Specifically, women report higher levels of internalizing symptoms, such as depression and anxiety, whereas men report higher levels externalizing symptoms, such as alcohol abuse (Rosenfield, S., Lennon, M. C., & White, H. R., 2005; Rosenfield, S., & Smith, D., 2010). However, it is unclear what mechanisms shape the gender differences in mental health outcomes. This research will explore two key possible mechanisms: social support and self-salience. Our aims in this study are to examine how and why mental health outcomes vary by gender? And also to what extent do social …

Daily Bidirectional Relationships Between Sleep And Mental Health Symptoms In Youth With Emotional And Behavioral Problems, Tori R. Van Dyk, Ronald W. Thompson, Timothy D. Nelson

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objective The present study examined the daily, bidirectional relationships between sleep and mental health symptoms in youth presenting to mental health treatment. Methods Youth aged 6 to 11 (36% female, 44% European American) presenting to outpatient behavioral health treatment (N = 25) were recruited to participate in the study. Children and parents completed daily questionnaires regarding the child’s sleep, mood, and behavior for a 14-day period, while youth wore an actigraph watch to objectively measure sleep. Results Examining between- and within-person variance using multilevel models, results indicate that youth had poor sleep duration and quality and that sleep and mental …

Chinese Students’ Perceptions Of Level Of Stress, Qinwei Veronica Zhang

UCARE Research Products

With a hope of providing more contextual effective and culturally appropriate services for Chinese and international students in the future, this descriptive study aims at finding out current Chinese students' perceptions of their experiences and stress in US colleges along with a variety of coping strategies they utilize to combat the stress during their process of adaptation and adjustment to the new environment.