Psychology Commons^™

Shame, Trauma, Resiliency And Alcohol Related Behaviors In Puerto Rican Populations, Manuel Blasini-Méndez

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Puerto Rico has endured horrendous natural disasters in the last few years, leaving thousands to cope with the aftermath; a mental health crisis. Therefore, understanding how Puerto Ricans navigate adversities, be that childhood adversity, natural disasters or daily stress is of utmost importance. Understanding the role resilience and drinking play in Puerto Rico will help us to further understand how they navigate adversities. Hence the reason why in this study we looked at how Adverse Childhood Experiences, Perceived Stress, Natural Disaster Adversity and Shame relate to each other and to Drinking behaviors and Resiliency. Data were collected on Puerto Rico …

Cultural Humility And Grace In Explicitly Christian Programs, Tricha L. Weeks

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Cultural Humility is a vital component of healthy attitudes characterized by lack of superiority towards other’s cultural experiences (Hook, Davis, Owen, Worthington, & Utsey, 2013). To date, no published research has examined the impact of cultural competency training on the development of Cultural Humility and Grace among doctoral psychology students. Utilizing Hook et al.’s definition of Cultural Humility, this study examined how participation in an American Psychological Association accredited clinical psychology program affected the Cultural Humility and Grace of enrolled students.

Data were collected from students, faculty, and clinical supervisors across three training settings during the 2017-2018 academic year. Students …

Psychosocial Adjustment In Children Of Immigrants, Shaza A. Karam

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

For immigrants, assimilation into mainstream society is complex, with numerous layers and experiences across multiple settings (e.g., employment, education, healthcare). In addition, immigrant populations are underserved and under-resourced compared to native populations, with major systemic barriers that influence socioeconomic status as well as immigrant ability to maximize education and employment potential. In turn, these difficulties have an adverse impact on psychosocial wellbeing in immigrants broadly. Immigrant youth are a particularly vulnerable population facing an even more complex set of barriers and challenges in addition to the typical challenges associated with identity development in adolescence. However, multiple factors have been explored …

The Effects Of Language Brokering Among The Korean Population, James J. Kim

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Children of immigrant families frequently are immersed in a process called language brokering (LB) in which they interpret and translate between various linguistic and cultural parties for their families. Previous studies that investigated correlations among LB, mental health and behavioral outcomes revealed both positive and negative effects of well-being and development. The current study expanded this research by examining the relationship of LB, acculturation, hope, and resilience among 53 Korean adults. This study revealed a significant negative relationship between the frequency of LB and levels of hope. Additionally, the results did not demonstrate any significant relationships between the frequency of …

Diversity Awareness And Multicultural Experiences In Psychology Graduate Students, Chloe’ Nicole Freeman

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Doctoral psychology students represent multiple interchanging cultural identities that influence their behaviors, attitudes, and interactions with others. While training the next generation of psychologists, psychology doctoral programs have the challenging but vital responsibility to incorporate diversity training into their curriculums. Diversity training along with graduate students’ diversity awareness and experience work together to widen cultural mindsets (Chao, Kung, & Yao, 2015). The objective of this study was to explore variables associated with doctoral psychology students’ diversity awareness and multicultural experiences. Furthermore, the study explored graduate students’ insight into their own implicit biases, knowledge of issues of power and privilege, and …

American Cultural Symbolism Of Rage And Resistance In Collective Trauma: Racially-Influenced Political Myths, Counter-Myths, Projective Identification, And The Evocation Of Transcendent Humanity, Nahanni Freeman

Faculty Publications - Psychology Department

Sociopolitical conflicts in America reveal the latent microcosms of communities, linguistic forms, bodies, and shared cultural narratives, which are driven by polarities and aggression. Considerable political alterity has arisen, promoting dehumanization, prejudice, sexism, and collective trauma as factions war over counter myths that create opposing American stories, including the debate over the role of science, the fusion of religion with politics and material gain, and the nature of truth. Individual psychic and projective events are also represented in sociopolitical events, creating aliens of external communities, promoting objectifying language, and enlisting alienation and dissonance within the self. These darker forces represent …

The Unique Role Of Ethnic Identity In The Resilience Of Korean Transracial Adoptees, Sue Han

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Korean transracial adoptees (KTAs) participated in this quantitative research studying the roles of ethnic identity, self-esteem, acculturation, social support, and family cohesion in predicting resiliency for KTAs using self-report measures. KTAs also completed a demographics questionnaire in which they self-identified in terms of Korean, Korean-American, American, or other. The correlation between self-identification and level of acculturation and ethnic identity was also analyzed. Age and level of ethnic identity was assessed. Results showed that selfesteem is the only significant predictor of resilience. It was found that those who self-identified as Korean American had higher ethnic identity levels. No significant relationship was …

Undiscovered Meanings Of Minority Doctoral Students In Counselor Education Programs, Beronica M. Salazar

Faculty Publications - Graduate School of Counseling

Higher education institutions aim at being more receptive to attract, recruit, and retain diverse students (“Diversity & the Ph.D.,” 2005). The increase of racial/ethnic diverse minority doctoral students in counselor education programs has created a need to understand their individual challenges. The dearth of research related to the in-depth experience of doctoral students in counselor education program affirms the need for exploration of minority doctoral student experience. This research proposal aspires to give voice to minority doctoral students’ stories of their challenging experiences, employing a reflexive process to discover the meanings connected to the experiences and identifying essential themes for …

Determinants Of Child Labor In Malawi And Tanzania, Courage C. Mudzongo, Christopher M. Whitsel

Faculty Publications - Psychology Department

Using the Malawi Integrated Household Survey of 2009 and the Tanzania National Panel Survey of 2010, this study seeks to understand the factors that increase a child`s likelihood of labor participation. A greater percentage of children in the Tanzania sample than those from the Malawi sample participate in child labor. Logistic regression analyses showed that, as hypothesized, the greatest influence on child labor observed at the individual level is the child`s school enrollment status. Enrollment reduces the likelihood of engaging in child labor in both countries. When tested in the combined model older children in Tanzania remain at higher risk …

The Poverty Puzzle: The Surprising Difference Between Wealthy And Poor Students For Self-Efficacy And Academic Achievement, Diomaris E. Jurecska, Kelly B.T. Chang, Mary A. Peterson, Chloe E. Lee-Zorn, Joav Merrick, Elizabeth Sequeira

Faculty Publications - Psychology Department

This study explored the relationship between intellectual ability, socioeconomic status (SES), academic achievement and self-efficacy in a cross-cultural sample. Data from 90 students (63 students from Central America and 27 from the US) showed that regardless of culture or IQ, students from low SES families had signifi cantly lower grade point averages than students from medium- or high-SES families. Unexpectedly, data showed that regardless of culture or IQ, students from high-SES families had the lowest self-efficacy, but the highest academic performance. Results suggest that self-efficacy is likely to be related to expectations and selfperception beyond IQ or culture.