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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Insidious Trauma, Heteronormative Steeping, And Help-Seeking: Exploring The Rural Non-Heterosexual Experience, Jennifer Towns Oct 2020

Insidious Trauma, Heteronormative Steeping, And Help-Seeking: Exploring The Rural Non-Heterosexual Experience, Jennifer Towns

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Non-heterosexual (NH) individuals are often exposed to stressors based on their non-heterosexual status and, therefore, may have unique needs related to help-seeking for mental health, especially in rural areas where residents are more likely to identify as religious or conservative, groups that have historically been opposed to NH individuals. This study was completed to explore the lives of 10 non-heterosexual individuals in rural northern Michigan related to their daily encounters with minority stress and their experiences with help-seeking for mental health symptomology. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted, and transcriptions were analyzed to identify the occurrence of traumatic experiences at a …


Societal Impacts Of Sports Betting In Colorado, Lawerence Wall Jr. Jan 2020

Societal Impacts Of Sports Betting In Colorado, Lawerence Wall Jr.

Selected Social Change Portfolios in Prevention, Intervention, and Consultation

Sports betting has become legal in many states across the Unites States after the Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association United States Supreme Court case was ruled in favor of the former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on May 14, 2018. This case overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), allowing state-sponsored sports betting. PASPA was passed by Congress in 1992 to prohibit state-sanctioned sports gambling, except in four states: Delaware, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon, which already established legal sports betting regulations. New Jersey failed to apply in 1991 to be added to the list of exempt states …


Experiences Of Ptsd Sufferers Who Participate In Internet-Based Virtual World Activities In Desktop Virtual Reality Environments, Colleen Margaret Crary Jan 2020

Experiences Of Ptsd Sufferers Who Participate In Internet-Based Virtual World Activities In Desktop Virtual Reality Environments, Colleen Margaret Crary

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Treatments for posttraumatic stress have remained largely static for 3 decades, resulting in low recovery rates, high degrees of retrogression, and noncompliance by patients, calling for new approaches for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of people with PTSD who participate in Desktop Virtual Reality Environments (DVREs). The research questions asked about the lived experiences of adults with PTSD who use the DVRE, and what they perceive as changes in their narratives about PTSD through their use of the DVRE. Twenty-three participants responded to a 10-item, open-ended questionnaire. Findings show that although each …


Identifying Strategies That Address Race-Based Traumatic Stress Of African Americans In Rural Mississippi, Syrenia Johnson Jan 2020

Identifying Strategies That Address Race-Based Traumatic Stress Of African Americans In Rural Mississippi, Syrenia Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There has been a dramatic increase of race-based encounters that have had an extensive health impact on African Americans. Social workers and other mental health professionals play a crucial role in working with African American adults who experience race-based traumatic stress. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify strategies to address race-based traumatic stress from a mental health perspective. Racial encounter coping appraisal and socialization theory (RECAST) guided this study where eight social workers from the local community mental health center in rural Mississippi completed an open-ended questionnaire to identify and determine culturally competent treatment strategies for African …


Impact Of Adverse Childhood Experiences On Direct Care Workers Working With Juveniles, Brittany Anne Shaughnessy Jan 2020

Impact Of Adverse Childhood Experiences On Direct Care Workers Working With Juveniles, Brittany Anne Shaughnessy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study investigated the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on the development of vicarious traumatization (VT) and burnout among direct care staff working in juvenile justice residential facilities. Measures used included the ACE module of the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System historical to assess for ACEs, the Trauma and Attachment Belief Scale (TABS) to measure VT, and Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) to measure burnout. Workplace organization was also included in data collection and analysis as a covariate as past research has indicated a relationship between workplace organization and burnout and VT. A covariate of workplace …


Factors Affecting Commitment For Military Couples, Laura Villalobos Garza Jan 2020

Factors Affecting Commitment For Military Couples, Laura Villalobos Garza

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The reintegration process for combat veterans is challenging not only for soldiers but also for their spouses and family members. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine factors affecting relationship commitment in military couples in which a service member has shown signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Sternberg’s triangular theory of love provided the framework for the study. Independent variables were passion, intimacy, age, and social support, and the dependent variable was commitment. Survey data were collected from 116 participants using Sternberg’s Triangular Love Scale and the Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale. The results of multiple linear regression …


Sexually-Abused Adolescent Females Versus Nonsexually-Abused Adolescent Females Regarding Rorschach Inkblot Assessments, Angela D. Jones Jan 2020

Sexually-Abused Adolescent Females Versus Nonsexually-Abused Adolescent Females Regarding Rorschach Inkblot Assessments, Angela D. Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study explored differences between female adolescents who experienced sexual abuse as children and those who experienced other forms of trauma or abuse. There is no previous research assessing the differences between these two groups. Some female adolescent victims of sexual abuse are sexually revictimized, sex trafficked, and exhibit delinquent behaviors. If differences are determined, a more tailored and appropriate intervention could be introduced to reduce these youths' revictimization and minimize adult sexual risk. This study was quantitative in nature and assessed the clinical profiles of 27 female adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system for being sex trafficked or …


How To Reduce Mental Health Crises By Improving Training And Education For Law Enforcement First Responders, Ashley Shulski Jan 2020

How To Reduce Mental Health Crises By Improving Training And Education For Law Enforcement First Responders, Ashley Shulski

Selected Social Change Portfolios in Prevention, Intervention, and Consultation

This writer chose to focus her social issue on creating an improved 911 system staffed with trained mental health emergency workers who respond to mental health emergencies, and crisis calls concurrently with law enforcement officers. This method will help law enforcement officers ascertain the correct level of care for a person experiencing a mental health crisis. The same would be considered a prevention effort to reduce persons being revictimized by being arrested by uniformed police officers or providing appropriate mental health services at the time of crisis. There are advanced trained law enforcement officers competent to deal with behavioral health …


Measuring Levels Of Posttraumatic Growth In Firefighters, Anna Lisa De Lima Jan 2020

Measuring Levels Of Posttraumatic Growth In Firefighters, Anna Lisa De Lima

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Firefighters provide essential lifesaving services to the community. They are at high risk for mental health issues due to their exposure to trauma in the line of duty. Moreover, adverse effects on mental health can affect their ability to provide appropriate care to the community resulting in a serious social problem. Researchers have explored the concept that individuals can also experience growth from trauma. However, there are few studies that explore the factors that can predict growth in firefighters. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the degree to which selected variables such as the level of posttraumatic …


Adult Male Survivors’ Disclosure Of Childhood Sexual Abuse: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, James M. Smith Jan 2020

Adult Male Survivors’ Disclosure Of Childhood Sexual Abuse: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, James M. Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The lack of understanding of the experience of disclosure to mental health professionals for adult male survivors of child sexual abuse means that counseling assessment instruments and diagnostic criteria are problematic and may contribute to counselors inadvertently perpetuating social stereotypes that prevent disclosure. The purpose of this study is to understand how adult male survivors of childhood sexual abuse understand their experiences of disclosure to mental health professionals. The conceptual framework is existential and approaches the problem from a phenomenological perspective. An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) design was employed to answer the research question of how adult male survivors of …


Supporting Intervention For Adolescents Of Incarcerated Parents In Rural Areas, Jeanette Kathleen Loudy Jan 2020

Supporting Intervention For Adolescents Of Incarcerated Parents In Rural Areas, Jeanette Kathleen Loudy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study was focused on the challenges experienced by children who had a parent incarcerated during their adolescence. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of adult child survivors of parental incarceration in a rural community and to describe the impact that parental incarceration had on children during adolescence and into young adulthood. The research questions were designed to examine the perceived challenges facing adult children of parental incarceration in rural areas and policy intervention programs that would be most effective at supporting children of parental incarceration during adolescence and the transition into adulthood. …


Secondary Trauma Of Lay Mental Health Workers In Low Resource Locations: Bukavu, Janny Jinor Jan 2020

Secondary Trauma Of Lay Mental Health Workers In Low Resource Locations: Bukavu, Janny Jinor

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

A general consensus exists in the literature that working with a trauma population will produce negative personal, psychological, and professional consequences including secondary trauma. However, a significant research gap occurs with regard to how secondary trauma affects psychosocial assistants (PAs) who work in low-resource and conflict-stricken Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The DRC is plagued by psychological problems resulting from numerous past and ongoing conflicts, but sufficient trained mental health personnel and resources are lacking. As a result, the dire responsibility of providing mental health services to survivors of rape has shifted to minimally trained PAs. This …