Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 30 of 51

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Social Networks And Sense Of Community Effects On Psychological Distress Among Community X Residents, Marci A. Salone Jan 2019

Social Networks And Sense Of Community Effects On Psychological Distress Among Community X Residents, Marci A. Salone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A certain community within the southern region of Texas has consistently been linked to escalating poverty, high crime rates, low educational achievement, and poor physical and mental health. For the purpose of this research, this community will be referred to as Community X. Although some researchers have found that sense of community and supportive social networks are associated with healthy mental and physical functioning, others have suggested that in a debilitated community social networks can facilitate psychological distress and a strong sense of community is difficult to develop. Guided by Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study …


Self-Injurious Behavior And Social Media Use By Adolescents, Victoria Lynn Fye Jan 2019

Self-Injurious Behavior And Social Media Use By Adolescents, Victoria Lynn Fye

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a surprising dearth of research related to the phenomenon of self-injurious behavior/nonsuicidal self-injury (SIB/NSSI), such as cutting. Research conducted on SIB has revealed that this maladaptive behavior is more common among adolescents than other populations. The act of posting SIB on social media deserves research attention, as it seems to contradict what had previously been considered a very private behavior. The goal of this qualitative case study was to better understand why adolescents engage in SIB as well as investigate why they post these behaviors on social media. Merton's theory of social strain and anomie, which focuses on …


Courtroom Psychology During Criminal Trials And Its Therapeutic Role On Victims And Offenders, Tierra Wilson Jan 2019

Courtroom Psychology During Criminal Trials And Its Therapeutic Role On Victims And Offenders, Tierra Wilson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the legal and mental health fields little is known about the therapeutic impact of courtroom psychology during criminal trials. The purpose of this research study was to investigate the inter-relating factors of law and psychology throughout criminal trials as experienced by lawyers and psychologists. Research questions explored the influence of courtroom psychology on criminal trial proceedings and challenges as experienced by both criminal trial attorneys in presenting mental health evidence, and by psychologists when testifying during criminal trials. Further exploration focused on the significance of courtroom psychology, and how lawyers and psychologists perceived courtroom psychology impacting justice for victims …


The Psychological Impact Of Testosterone Replacement Therapy In Middle-Aged Men, Gregory E. Coles Sr. Jan 2019

The Psychological Impact Of Testosterone Replacement Therapy In Middle-Aged Men, Gregory E. Coles Sr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Decreased testosterone levels (hypogonadism) in middle-aged men (aged 45-64) has been associated with increased levels of depression. Studies have suggested that increases in anxiety and/or attention problems may also be associated with hypogonadism but have not provided empirical evidence to support these suggestions. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine depression, anxiety, and attention problems in middle-aged men using a psychological self-report inventory. The theoretical model used in this study was the biomedical model, which combined pharmacological treatment with psychological self-report inventories to determine if there was an association or relationship between the testosterone levels in men and …


Clinicians' Attitudes Toward Sex Offender Treatment, Vallerie Hancock Jan 2019

Clinicians' Attitudes Toward Sex Offender Treatment, Vallerie Hancock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Clinician attitudes toward a client have a significant influence on outcomes for that client's treatment. Exploring the attitudes of clinicians toward sex offenders can provide additional insights into methods to improve treatments for this population. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to examine the attitudes of clinical professionals who work with sex offenders to identify the specific ways that these attitudes influenced professional behaviors and client interactions. Grounded theory was used to move beyond a general description of the issue to formulate a theory regarding clinician work with sex offenders and its implications. The sample comprised 10 …


Effectiveness Of Yoga Therapy On Pain And Related Depression, Anxiety, Perceived Stress, And Quality Of Life, Karen Romani Jan 2019

Effectiveness Of Yoga Therapy On Pain And Related Depression, Anxiety, Perceived Stress, And Quality Of Life, Karen Romani

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Individuals are becoming more dependent on medication for conditions such as chronic-pain, anxiety, and depression. It is reported that patients are often overprescribed medication while health outcomes do not improve. The medicalization of society is distracting attention from the possibility of other therapies such as complementary or alternative medicine (CAMs) that can improve health outcomes if they were as supported as pharmacological research and better received by the medical community. Yoga and meditation, the components of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and yoga therapy, have been shown as effective CAMs for cases of anxiety and depression related to chronic illness …


Mental Health Service Providers' Engagement Experiences Of Homeless Individuals, Tarsha Thomas-Richardson Jan 2019

Mental Health Service Providers' Engagement Experiences Of Homeless Individuals, Tarsha Thomas-Richardson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Limited literature exists regarding best engagement practices of mental health service providers in encouraging the homeless individuals to participate in clinical mental health services in New York City. New York City has a population of more than 8.5 million, and in 2017 more than 129,803 homeless individuals slept in shelters. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to gain more insight and knowledge about the best engagement practices and experiences of mental health service providers in encouraging homeless individuals to participate in clinical mental health services. The conceptual framework used to guide this study comes from Kearsley and Shneiderman's …


Effect Of Supportive Versus Assertive Case Management On Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitalization For Patients With Schizophrenic Diagnoses, Quentin Brown Jan 2019

Effect Of Supportive Versus Assertive Case Management On Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitalization For Patients With Schizophrenic Diagnoses, Quentin Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Schizophrenia has been a public mental health barometer for many decades, and health professionals and government agencies continue to look for treatment options that produce the best outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of assertive community treatment (ACT) and supportive case management (SCM) outpatient treatment interventions as an alternative to inpatient psychiatric hospital care. Social cognitive learning theory and choice theory provided the framework for the study. Archival data from inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations for 153 adult men and women with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia who received ACT or SCM services were analyzed using regression …


Post-Hurricane Sandy Coping Strategies And Resilience Factors Among People With Disabilities, Miriam Mukasa Jan 2019

Post-Hurricane Sandy Coping Strategies And Resilience Factors Among People With Disabilities, Miriam Mukasa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

People with disabilities are likely to experience difficulties overcoming the impact of natural disasters. Few scholars have focused on this population's ability to recover and handle stress following a natural disaster. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe coping strategies and resilience factors that people with physical or mental disabilities used in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Resilience theory was used as the theoretical framework. Through face-to-face interviews, 10 persons with disabilities shared their experiences of coping and resilience. A lens of interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to identify emergent themes related to persons with disabilities' …


Peer Support And Academic Resiliency For Recently Relocated High School Student, Melanie Marie Kennebeck Jan 2019

Peer Support And Academic Resiliency For Recently Relocated High School Student, Melanie Marie Kennebeck

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Residential relocation requiring a change of school enrollment can negatively disrupt academic achievement, extracurricular participation, attendance, and ability to appropriately regulate emotions/behaviors. This disruption impacts military-affiliated students every 2 to 3 years. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively inform Student 2 Student’s (S2S’s) continued development and the Military Child Education Coalition’s (MCEC’s) pursuit of better serving newly relocated students. This will help the program to reach beyond good intentions and mitigate the perils of assuming that benefits occur without quantitative support. The three-factory model of Academic Resiliency was used as the theoretical framework guiding this study. Two American …


The Relationship Between Military Deployment And Spouses' Anxiety, Depression, And Stress, Tanya Suzanne Bailey Jan 2019

The Relationship Between Military Deployment And Spouses' Anxiety, Depression, And Stress, Tanya Suzanne Bailey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Military families experience increased levels of stress during times of deployment. Previous research has examined the effect of deployment on female spouses but not on male spouses. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between military deployment and male and female spouses' anxiety, depression, and perceived stress. The theoretical framework used for this study was the contextual model of family stress and coping. The research questions focused on whether military deployment, gender, communication ability, and coping skills were related to spouses' depression, anxiety, and stress. Multiple regression was used to examine the relationships among the variables. A …


Social Anxiety, Quality Of Life, And Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Of Women With Infertility Problems, Esra Savaş Jan 2019

Social Anxiety, Quality Of Life, And Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Of Women With Infertility Problems, Esra Savaş

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Not having a child has significant psychosocial effects on women experiencing infertility problems. There is a gap in research on social anxiety, quality of life, and healthy lifestyle behaviors of women during infertility, fertility treatment, and subsequent pregnancy. The purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to investigate the social anxiety, quality of life, and healthy lifestyle behaviors of Turkish women with infertility issues and Turkish women who conceived after infertility treatment, as measured by the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, the Fertility Quality of Life Questionnaire, and the Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Scale II. The social support and stress buffering theory …


Increasing The Efficacy Of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy For Fear-Of-Flying, Chad Macmillan Jan 2019

Increasing The Efficacy Of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy For Fear-Of-Flying, Chad Macmillan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) is a treatment often used to treat fear-of-flying (FOF), which research shows is effective for treating this phobia. Researchers have identified that the realism of the virtual environment is an important component in the efficacy of VRET and increased realism is likely to increase the efficacy of VRET. Guided by cognitive theory, emotional processing theory, and behaviorism, the purpose of this quantitative study was to demonstrate if a new generational technique called true reality-virtual reality exposure therapy (TR-VRET) is at least as efficacious as traditional VRET for treating the fear and anxiety associated with FOF. …


The Impact Of Peer-Mediated Video Modeling On Social Interactions Of Adolescent Males Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cheryl Marie Botting-Hammack Jan 2019

The Impact Of Peer-Mediated Video Modeling On Social Interactions Of Adolescent Males Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cheryl Marie Botting-Hammack

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Individuals with ASD demonstrate deficits in social communication and social interaction. Video modeling (VM) has been successful in teaching new skills through short, targeted videos. Prior research in VM heavily focused on academic settings with primary age children. There is a gap in the literature on teaching social skills in natural settings to adolescents with ASD. The current research used a single- subject, multiple-baseline design to examine the impact of VM on the social behaviors of adolescent males, diagnosed with ASD, in natural social settings. The data were acquired from a developmental disability agency licensed and authorized by the Idaho …


Predicting Outcomes Of American Youths' Shift Toward E-Cigarette Use, D J. Resendez Jan 2019

Predicting Outcomes Of American Youths' Shift Toward E-Cigarette Use, D J. Resendez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There has been a shift toward e-cigarette use and away from tobacco smoking among American youth. Despite effects of ongoing public health campaigns that bring attention to the harmful effects of tobacco and nicotine use generally, youths might not perceive e-cigarette use to be unhealthful in terms of psychological functioning. This study was an investigation of the impact of the method of tobacco use (cigarette or e-cigarette), past cessation attempts, cravings or needs to use tobacco, and serious cognitive difficulties, upon youths' intentions concerning future tobacco usage. The conceptual framework was based upon the self-medication hypothesis, biopsychosocial model, and social …


Parent Stress Adaptation Among Caregivers Of Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Victoria M. Ambrus Jan 2019

Parent Stress Adaptation Among Caregivers Of Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Victoria M. Ambrus

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study was a nonexperimental correlational study that took a strengths-based approach and utilized family systems theories to examine parenting stress, as measured by the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, and posttraumatic growth (PTG), as measured by the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, and the relationship between the two constructs. The study was conducted with a national sample of 136 maternal caregivers of transition-age youth on the autism spectrum (ASD), ages 14 to 22 years, recruited through social media, flyers, and referrals. Participants were primarily biological mothers (83.9%), White (87.5%), and resided in the South (68.4%); the mean age of the adolescent with …


Second Language Recall In Methods Of Learning, Maria Garza Jan 2019

Second Language Recall In Methods Of Learning, Maria Garza

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This dissertation examined the relationship between the acquisition and recall of English language vocabulary. This study explored 2 different learning recall strategies to determine which approach was the quickest or more efficient way to remember vocabulary words. Previous researchers had focused on learning a second language phonetically and had not explored different instructional strategies to study the most useful or quickest way to learn a second language for adults. However, there remains an important gap in the current research regarding how to present different methods of instruction to acquire a new second language more rapidly. The purpose of this study …


Post-Hurricane Sandy Coping Strategies And Resilience Factors Among People With Disabilities, Miriam Mukasa Jan 2019

Post-Hurricane Sandy Coping Strategies And Resilience Factors Among People With Disabilities, Miriam Mukasa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

People with disabilities are likely to experience difficulties overcoming the impact of natural disasters. Few scholars have focused on this population's ability to recover and handle stress following a natural disaster. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe coping strategies and resilience factors that people with physical or mental disabilities used in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Resilience theory was used as the theoretical framework. Through face-to-face interviews, 10 persons with disabilities shared their experiences of coping and resilience. A lens of interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to identify emergent themes related to persons with disabilities' …


The Relation Of Court Appointed Special Advocate Education To Foster Care Outcomes, Leah Danelle York Jan 2019

The Relation Of Court Appointed Special Advocate Education To Foster Care Outcomes, Leah Danelle York

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program is an organization that utilizes lay volunteers as advocates for children in foster care to improve outcomes for those children. The effectiveness of CASAs in achieving permanency outcomes for children in foster care has been established; however, the literature has significant methodological flaws and is outdated. The purpose of this study, guided by the theory of change and social cognitive theory, was to explore whether CASA self-efficacy, through a proxy measure of education level, is related to permanency outcomes such as reunification with parents and rate of reentry to the foster care system …


Do American Psychological Association (Apa) Or Council For Accreditation Of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (Cacrep) Accreditations Make A Difference? A Look At Glb Competency Among Faculty And Graduate Students, Veronica Castro Jan 2019

Do American Psychological Association (Apa) Or Council For Accreditation Of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (Cacrep) Accreditations Make A Difference? A Look At Glb Competency Among Faculty And Graduate Students, Veronica Castro

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A lack of knowledge and training on the topic of gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons (GLB) in mental health graduate programs can lead to a culture of ignorance and ineffective treatment for a subset of the population. Multicultural competency is defined as having self-awareness of one's own values and biases, knowledge, and skills to work with a given population; and it is important in order to ensure appropriate mental healthcare. The purpose of the current study was to identify if there is a difference in GLB competency among graduate students and faculty (dependent variables) from mental health programs that are …


Psychological Effects Of Training In Martial Arts After Interpersonal Trauma, Alexandro Garcia Vargas Jan 2019

Psychological Effects Of Training In Martial Arts After Interpersonal Trauma, Alexandro Garcia Vargas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Individuals who experience a traumatic event may have an adverse emotional reaction that negatively impacts their quality of life. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the influence of training in the martial arts as an intervention in the treatment of interpersonal trauma. The biopsychosocial model provided the framework for the study. The research questions addressed the effects of training in the martial arts and the biological, psychological, and social functioning of individuals who had sustained a form of interpersonal trauma. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with 9 participants. Data were analyzed using Moustakas's modified van …


Mental Health Service Providers' Engagement Experiences Of Homeless Individuals, Tarsha Thomas-Richardson Jan 2019

Mental Health Service Providers' Engagement Experiences Of Homeless Individuals, Tarsha Thomas-Richardson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Limited literature exists regarding best engagement practices of mental health service providers in encouraging the homeless individuals to participate in clinical mental health services in New York City. New York City has a population of more than 8.5 million, and in 2017 more than 129,803 homeless individuals slept in shelters. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to gain more insight and knowledge about the best engagement practices and experiences of mental health service providers in encouraging homeless individuals to participate in clinical mental health services. The conceptual framework used to guide this study comes from Kearsley and Shneiderman's …


Appointment Follow-Up, Health Outcomes, And Hospitalizations For Individuals Receiving Psychological Treatment, Sandra Ivelisse Silvestre Jan 2019

Appointment Follow-Up, Health Outcomes, And Hospitalizations For Individuals Receiving Psychological Treatment, Sandra Ivelisse Silvestre

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

To improve how healthcare is being provided, many states have focused on enhancing patients' health experiences and outcomes and reducing the per capita cost of care. Even though appointment follow-up is an important part in outpatient treatment programs, not much is known about practical methods to help individuals with mental illnesses into ongoing treatment. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine to what extent patient appointment follow-up adherence at a family health center in New York predicts negative health outcomes and hospitalizations among patients receiving psychological treatment. The theoretical foundation that framed this study was the theory of …


Psychological Distress Among High-Risk Youths First-Year In Collegiate Sport, Cassidy Janay Jenkins Jan 2019

Psychological Distress Among High-Risk Youths First-Year In Collegiate Sport, Cassidy Janay Jenkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

It is well documented that students from low socioeconomic backgrounds face a significant degree of deficiencies in college opportunity. Previous researchers have shown an estimated 1 in 5 student athletes given the opportunity to compete at the college level come from low socioeconomic backgrounds and encounter more adjustment issues than other students because of the psychological barriers they face. Using Pearlin's theory of psychological distress and Selye's GAS as the foundation, this study explored the extent to which the difference between the perceived time needed and actual time spent in both sports and academic commitment predict psychological distress in first-year …


Factors Influencing Success In Day Treatment Programs For Children Ages 5 To 10, Leah Morken Jan 2019

Factors Influencing Success In Day Treatment Programs For Children Ages 5 To 10, Leah Morken

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Improving the success rates of children in mental health treatment is an important step to bettering lives. Day treatment programs are intermediate level treatment modalities that help children who are struggling with their mental health. Success rates differ for children in day treatment programs and several studies have been done evaluating various factors. This research addressed whether a child who had been exposed to trauma showed as much success in a program as a child that had not been exposed to trauma. Other variables were to determine if children have different levels of success based on their diagnosis. The study …


Professional Identity Development In Blended Clinical Psychology Doctoral Students, Lindsay Nolan Jan 2019

Professional Identity Development In Blended Clinical Psychology Doctoral Students, Lindsay Nolan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As online graduate programs gain popularity, it has become more important to understand how students enrolled in these programs develop their professional identities. Researchers have demonstrated that there are both benefits and drawbacks to participation in blended learning programs (which incorporate in person and online instruction). It is not known how students enrolled in blended clinical psychology PhD programs experience the in-person portion of these programs and what their experiences mean for their professional identity development. This study examined the perceived impact of one part of an online clinical psychology doctoral program, the in-person classroom experiences, on the professional identity …


Social Workers And Early Intervention With Diabetic Clients, Rievu Agiri Jan 2019

Social Workers And Early Intervention With Diabetic Clients, Rievu Agiri

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social workers are uniquely positioned to facilitate early intervention services that minimize the impact and burden of Type 2 diabetes. There is little evidence on the specific role that social workers play in addressing the psychosocial factors that exacerbate the condition or impact treatment outcomes. The purpose of the study was to examine the role of social workers in facilitating early interventions for clients with Type 2 diabetes. The theories of role and organizational systems provided the conceptual framework. Data was collected from interviews with eight participants with Master'€™s degrees in Social Work in a large Southwestern state in the …


Approved Victim Contact And Treatment Outcomes Among Domestic Violence Offenders, Brian Timothy Longworth Jan 2019

Approved Victim Contact And Treatment Outcomes Among Domestic Violence Offenders, Brian Timothy Longworth

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Batterer intervention programs (BIPs) were developed to address high recidivism rates and low treatment completion rates in domestic violence offenders. Segregation between these offenders and their victims has been traditional in BIPs, but there has been no research exploring if this separation is related to treatment outcome. This research explored the relation between offender contact with their children or victims and outcomes including recidivism and treatment completion. Most domestic violence interventions are psychoeducational in nature and are based on the cognitive behavioral theory premise that if an individual'€™s thinking process can be changed, a change in actions can result. This …


Parenting Styles And Children's Usage Of The Internet In The Digital Age, Micere Sidi Oden Jan 2019

Parenting Styles And Children's Usage Of The Internet In The Digital Age, Micere Sidi Oden

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research is limited on the differences between mothers and fathers on traditional and Internet parenting styles, particularly fathers' Internet parenting styles. Baumrind's parenting styles typology guided this quantitative, cross-sectional assessment of mothers and fathers of children age 6-13 years old on 4 dimensions of the Parenting Style Scale; 6 subscales of the Internet Parenting Style Instrument, hours a child spent on the Internet for school versus entertainment, and several key demographics to examine canonical correlation dimensions relating traditional and Internet parenting styles and to examine differences in styles between mothers and fathers. A convenience sample (N =129) was collected from …


Factors For Parent-Reported Adhd Diagnosis In Hispanic Elementary School-Aged Children, Maria Elva Diaz-Garcia Jan 2019

Factors For Parent-Reported Adhd Diagnosis In Hispanic Elementary School-Aged Children, Maria Elva Diaz-Garcia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Attention/deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects a sizable number of children ages 4 to 17 and can be impairing into adulthood. Genetics are partly responsible, but research shows that psychosocial disparity and the interaction of select demographic factors significantly influence ADHD prevalence. There is limited research on the primary factors for an ADHD diagnosis in Hispanic elementary school-aged children. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional survey research was to determine the impact of disparity and interaction of psychosocial factors on an ADHD diagnosis. The research questions asked whether there was a relationship between the independent variables (mother's marital status, family income, …