Psychology Commons^™

The Influence Of Integrated Behavioral Health Primary Care Setting On The Utilization Of Mental Health Services And Depression Treatment Response Among Men, Tendai Masiriri

Dissertations

The 2010-2013 National Health Interview Survey showed that nearly 9% of men had daily feelings of anxiety or depression, yet less than 41% sought help for their symptoms (Blumberg et al., 2016). Men are more reluctant than women to seek help (Angst et al., 2002; Brownhill et al., 2005). The failure to seek help among men is associated with multiple factors related to stigma and gender, yet male suicide rates are approximately 3-5 times higher than their female counterparts. However, they have a higher likelihood of seeking help from a medical provider rather than a mental health provider. If men …

Disability And Health In African Americans: Population Research And Implications For Occupational Therapy Community-Based Practice, Emily Schulz, Debarchana Ghosh, Eddie M. Clark, Beverly R. Williams, Randi Williams, Lijing Ma, Crystal L. Park, Cheryl L. Knott

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Population-based research and community-based interventions are integral to occupational therapy’s scope of practice, yet they are underdeveloped in actual implementation. Therefore, this paper focuses on some health challenges facing the African American population, guided by the Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance Model.

Method: Using data from an observational cross-sectional nationwide telephone survey of African American adults, we examined differences between African Americans who are receiving disability payments (RDP) and those who are employed full time (FTE) on several physical health behaviors and psychosocial health indicators. We further compared the differences between African Americans RDP versus those FTE on those physical health …

Adult-Onset And Adolescent-Limited Suicidal Ideation: A Developmental Approach To Suicide, Brent Teasdale, Michelle N. Harris, Mindy Bradley, Suraiya H. Shammi, Jerreed D. Ivanich

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Suicidal thoughts and actions have typically been studied from an eventsbased perspective. Some emerging studies, however, have begun to examine suicide and related behaviors through a longitudinal perspective, specifically focusing on establishing trajectories of suicidal behavior. In general, this work produces three-class trajectories of suicide attempts among adolescents, including groups such as: (1) no or low suicidal behavior; (2) moderate suicidal behavior; and (3) high suicidal behavior. Less is known about potential trajectory patterns of suicidal ideation associated with later stages of the life course. Moreover, identifying a low-, moderate-, and high-risk group does not inform the developmental processes that …

Delusional Mitigation In Religious And Psychological Forms Of Self-Cultivation: Buddhist And Clinical Insight On Delusional Symptomatology, Austin J. Avison

The Hilltop Review

This essay examines Buddhist forms of self-cultivation and development that enable a psychosocial capacity for emotional, cognitive, and behavioral adjustment by improving an individual's characteristic mode of interaction within the world. First, we will consider the religious form of self-cultivation seen in the context of Buddhism and its desire to remove delusional perspectives through developmental practices. In this, we will consider the cultivating function of clinical psychology through the therapeutic application of cognitive restructuring techniques as a form of cultivation. Next, considering psychological self-cultivation, training, development, and education concerning the treatment of schizophrenia and its characteristic criterion of delusions. Further, …

Compassion For Self-Identity: An Evaluation Of A Compassion-Based Intervention For Stigmatized Sexual Identities, Du T. Nguyen

Dissertations

Sexual minority persons often experience notable negative mental and physical health disparities when compared to their heterosexual counterparts. According to the minority stress framework, it is posited that these discrepancies are due to additional, group-specific stressors that they experience beyond stress felt by the general population. One such minority stress variable that has received considerable attention is sexual stigma. Not only has sexual stigmatization been found to be related to negative mental and physical health outcomes, it has also previously been found to hinder adaptive emotion regulation.

Due to the minority stress felt by sexual minority persons, there is a …

Exploring Generational Difference Of Acculturation, Ethnic Identity And Racial Identity In Liberian Immigrants And Their Children Living In The United States, Breezie J. Gibson

Dissertations

Prior literature on immigrants has focused on the impact of acculturation for groups such as Asians and Hispanic or Latinx immigrants (Orjiako & So, 2014; Sall, 2019). Compared to these two groups, the literature on Black immigrants’ experience of acculturation is scarce. In addition to the minimum visibility of Black immigrants in the acculturation literature, there is also limited knowledge relating to differences in the ethnic identity and racial identity of Black immigrants because these immigrants are often grouped monolithically with minimum attention to their diverse countries of origin. Understanding the influence of acculturation, ethnicity, and race is important because …

Community Attitudes Toward Police In Benton Harbor And St. Joseph, Michigan, Brian Molina

Dissertations

The present study sought to help investigate which public safety interventions may be appropriate for improving the safety and quality of life of Benton Harbor community members. To begin answering this question, researchers collected baseline measures of community attitudes toward police (ATP). St. Joseph residents were sampled to allow for a direct comparison of two sister cities within the same county, with nearly opposite racial and economic characteristics.

To obtain these data, surveys were administered to both Benton Harbor and St. Joseph community members. There were nine demographic/predictor variables included in the community perception survey. The variables were (a) location, …

Impact Of 9/11-Induced Adverse Experiences On The Mental Health Of Latino Americans And The Role Of Religious Service Attendance, Soyoung Kwon, Yongsok Kim, Jiyoung Moon Dr.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Much research has documented the mental health consequences of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; however, little is known about how the 9/11 attacks affect the mental health of Latino Americans. This study uses a nationally representative sample of Latino Americans (N = 2,346) from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) to examine the relationships between 9/11-induced negative life experiences and mental disorders. The former includes losing a job, reducing family income, feeling less safe and secure, discrimination, loss of optimism, and inability to cope with things. For the latter, mental disorders may exhibit as psychological distress, …

The Experiences Of African American Men At Predominantly White Institutions Of Higher Education, After Successfully Transferring From A Community College, Keenan King

Dissertations

African American men complete post-secondary education among the lowest rates of any other subgroup in higher education (Brooms & Davis, 2017; Farmer & Hope, 2015; Palmer, Wood, Dancy, & Strayhorn, 2014; Warde, 2008). This study focuses on addressing this problem by attempting to understand the experiences of African American men who successfully navigate a higher education pipeline from community college to a four-year, predominantly White institution (PWI). Half of all African American men enter higher education at the community college level (Villavicencio, Bhattacharya, & Guidry, 2013); therefore, community college plays a key role in shaping their experiences in higher education …

Integrating Social Emotional Skill Development Throughout College Access Program Activities: A Profile Of The Princeton University Preparatory Program, Catherine M. Millett, Marisol J. C. Kevelson

Journal of College Access

In a prior study we demonstrated that college access program participants have positive views of the extent to which the program supports the development of their social and emotional skills and related college help-seeking behaviors in college. In this follow-up study, we explore the extent to which participant views vary by length of participation in the program in high school (i.e., dosage) and the extent to which alumni enrolled in college differ from college graduate alumni in their perceptions of the influences of the college access program. Results reveal that a multi-year college access program may influence different social and …

Subjective Religiosity And Organized Religiosity As A Predictor Of Sexual Affect Among African Americans, Janelle B. Grant, Kyla Day Fletcher

The Hilltop Review

Historically, religiosity and attendance at a church with a majority African American or Black population was of practical value for African Americans, these branches of practicality extended to sexual health, such as delayed sexual intercourse and higher instances of using contraception. Overall, however, public sexual discourses show some African American communities as “at risk” regarding sexual health, which can make an African American individual feel negatively about their sexual experiences. The current study aimed to understand how subjective religiosity and organized religiosity influenced African Americans to experience a positive, negative, or shameful sexual affect, We found that higher levels of …

Assessment For Mild Cognitive Impairment: Striving For Best Practice, Julie Leigh Dalmasso

Dissertations

This dissertation is a series of three studies aimed at determining the best assessment practices for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) that can employed by speech-language pathologists (SLPs). The first study was non-experimental and descriptive examining whether three commonly used assessment instruments yielded similar categorical results. The data were analyzed to determine whether the Eight-Item Interview to Differentiate Aging and Dementia (AD8), the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and the Cognitive-Linguistic Quick Test (CLQT) identified the same participants from a neurotypical sample as having cognitive deficits. Very little agreement was found amongst the three tools.

Study two was modified to include two …

Race And Sexual Orientation Lssues In Graduate Classrooms: How Faculty In Psychology Experience Them Emerging Alongside One Another, Raymond L. Sheets Jr.

Dissertations

The inclusion of sexual orientation and race-related issues into mainstream psychology has gained much needed momentum in recent years. The field of counseling psychology, in particular, has helped fuel this momentum with its appreciation for, and commitment to, developing academic and applied psychologists who attend to an evolving multicultural society. Within the academic environment, faculty members have the responsibility of facilitating student learning in their respective classrooms; this facilitation becomes challenging in the face of emotionally charged topics such as race and sexual orientation. How then do graduate faculty who teach these courses experience race and sexual orientation comingling within …

The Impact Of Concentrations Of African Americans And Latinos/Latinas On Neighborhood Social Cohesion In High Poverty United States Neighborhoods, Laurie A. Walker, Daniel Brisson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

United States research concludes concentrations of Latinos/Latinas and African Americans have a negative impact on Neighborhood Social Cohesion (NSC); however, European research finds higher levels of NSC when controlling for measures of concentrated disadvantage. This study utilizes a longitudinal stratified random sample of 7,495 households in 430 Census Blocks within 10 United States cities that participated in the Making Connections Initiative. Results show higher NSC is associated with higher percentages of residents who are Latino/Latina, African American, and homeowners when controlling for measures of concentrated disadvantage. The study findings challenge the stigma associated with concentrations of racial minorities in …

The Association Between Neighborhood Factors And Mexican Americans’ Mental Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review, Kai Wei, Jaime Booth

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This systematic review seeks to elucidate the association between neighborhood factors and Mexican American mental health outcomes. We searched PsycINFO and Academic Search Premier for studies related to neighborhood factors and mental health. Google Scholar was used to identify additional studies, followed by a manual inspection of the related work. Eleven studies were identified. Nine studies found that neighborhood factors had a significant impact on mental health among this group. Neighborhood compositional factors influenced mental health directly, among which minority concentration was found to be protective for Mexican American mental health. Neighborhood contextual factors influenced mental health directly and indirectly …

An Evaluation Of The Acceptability And Effects Of A Computer-Delivered Values-Based Behavioral Activation Treatment For Depression Among Older Adults, Kellie Reynolds

Dissertations

Depression is a common psychological disorder among older adults and is associated with serious secondary effects to health and social well-being. Behavioral activation has been found to be an efficacious treatment for depression. However, there is limited research on the treatment effects of behavioral activation with older adults. In general, older adults under-utilize mental health treatments. Computer-delivered treatments have been developed to address access and under-utilization. The purpose of this dissertation was to evaluate the acceptability and effects of a computer-delivered values-based behavioral activation treatment for depression in older adults. This study consisted of two phases. Phase I consisted of …

Facing Our Demons: Psychiatric Perspectives On Exorcism Rituals, Joel R. Sanford

The Hilltop Review

Belief in possession by malevolent spirits exists in many cultures and religions throughout the world, and such beliefs often serve as explanations for a variety of psychological and emotional afflictions. Traditional remedies in these cases often involve exorcism rituals, which are believed to expel spirits from a person's mind and/or body. Some of the cases commonly attributed to involuntary spirit possession are diagnosed within the psychiatric community as schizophrenia or some sort of dissociative disorder and treated with psychotherapy and/or medicine. For some in the psychiatric community, exorcisms and their use by patients are viewed as problematic due to their …

Memory Deficits In Older Adults: Evaluating Spaced Retrieval With Multiple Probe Techniques, Christopher Walmsley

Dissertations

Difficulties in recognizing and remembering the names of individuals are a common behavioral symptom of major neurocognitive disorder. A number of behavioral strategies have been proposed to improve memory deficits, including spaced retrieval, an intervention that emphasizes delayed recall of target information. Unfortunately, many of the studies that report beneficial effects of spaced retrieval use a very limited range of outcome measures, thus calling into question the magnitude and generality of any reported memory improvement. This study reports on the impact of spaced retrieval using four older adults with cognitive impairment living in an assisted living facility. All participants demonstrated …

Socially Deviant Communities Online: How The Pro-Anorexia Movement Utilizes The Anonymity Provided By The Internet To Thrive, Samantha Thomas

Honors Theses

The creation of the internet has produced an environment in which many communities have been able to develop into strong and thriving societies. A large number of communities that are now predominantly online were unable to exist successfully before the establishment of the internet for a variety of reasons. The internet has made it easier for people from different backgrounds and locations to network, form communities, and share information with one another. Unfortunately the internet has also given harmful underground communities the opportunity to develop and thrive as well. Socially deviant communities, groups that support ideas and behaviors deemed unacceptable …

Tongues Untied Truth Revealed: Body Image, Social Media, Identity Development, And Meaning-Making In Overweight And Obese Black Gay Msm, Amari Ja-Lynn Enam

Dissertations

This phenomenological study explored the meanings attributed to internalized messages about body image within the context of identity development from the perspectives of overweight/obese men of African descent (OMAD) among a group of 6 men who have sex with men (MSM). I was interested in those messages that have been incorporated, adopted, or integrated into OMAD-MSM’s sense of self. Informants shared body image-related experiences from interactions with family, friends, dating/sex partners, and the media/social media.

Academic literature has explained identity development processes among African Americans through various lenses but research has not adequately explored the convergence of multiply oppressed social …

The Effects Of Electronic Response Systems On Student Learning, James D. Morrison

Masters Theses

One of the most technologically advanced methods of implementing active student responding is the electronic response system (Judson & Sawada, 2002). This technology is known under several names including audience response system, classroom response system, and colloquially as clickers (Smith, Shon, & Santiago, 2011). To accurately assess the impact of clickers on learning performance and classroom achievement, more quantitative analysis and systematic replication of studies was needed (Kay & LeSage, 2009). This study examined the effects of ASR questions on exam performance in two sections of an organizational psychology class for majors and non-majors. A social validity questionnaire was also …

Expanding The Ecological Lens In Child Welfare Practice To Include Other Animals, Christina Risley-Curtiss

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Sixty-nine million U.S. households have companion animals and most of these families consider these animals to be family members. Research shows that children have powerful emotional connections with animals that can be both beneficial and harmful. Considerable research findings report that violence against animals often co-occurs with, indicates, or predicts other forms of family violence, including child abuse. A companion animal may be an abused child's confidante, and separation from that animal through foster care may be a source of stress and grief for that child. Child welfare agencies are slowly acknowledging some animal-human relationships, especially in regard to animal …

Coveting The Backstage: A College Student Audience Study Regarding Authenticity Construction In The Reality Television Viewing Process, Lisa Marie Kruse

Dissertations

Television is a major staple of daily life for those who live in the United States and reality television has persisted as a primary genre of television programming. While it is unclear just how much reality television (RTV) viewers are watching, the genre’s dominance in primetime lineups suggests that RTV is a main type of programming viewed by television audiences.

Many audience studies have focused on the primary motivations for viewing the genre of reality television converging on four: to satisfy psychological desires (voyeurism, vengeance, and status); to connect with others; to socially learn; and the “quest for authenticity.” The …

Examining The Role Of Research Mentoring In Predicting Research Self-Efficacy Among Minority Professional Psychology Doctoral Students, Donald Edward Knight

Dissertations

The involvement of racial/ethnic minority doctoral students in the conduct of psychological research is of significance in meeting the mental health challenges of an increasingly diverse US population. However, scant empirical evidence exists regarding the mentored research experiences and resulting increases or decreases in confidence these students encounter in conducting research. The purpose of this study is to examine predictors [i.e., Research Mentoring Experiences (RME), perceptions of the Research Training Environment (RTE), and Interest in Research (IRQ)] of research self-efficacy among a sample of racial/ethnic minority PhD students in APA-accredited clinical and counseling psychology programs. The study is guided by …

Personality And Religiosity: The Influence Of Normative Personality On Black Sunni Muslims' Religious Attitudes And Practices, Halim Khidher Naeem

Dissertations

There is a dearth of literature on Black Sunni Muslims in the field of psychology. More so, there is no literature specifically analyzing the influences upon Black religiosity. The literature has established that personality has significant influence upon religiosity. The literature also says that females are more religious than their male counterparts. The present study analyzed the influence of personality, gender and social class upon religiosity for Black Sunni Muslims. The following hypothesis was investigated: Personality, gender, and social class will affect religious attitudes and practices.

A canonical regression analysis using SPSS revealed that personality, gender and social class had …

First-Generation, African American Students' Experiences Of Persisting At A Predominantly White Liberal Arts College, Candy S. Mccorkle

Dissertations

Generational status of students is one of the variables that colleges and universities are starting to track and study in order to gain a better understanding of its impact on retention and persistence of students. This phenomenological study provides narrative from five first-generation, African American students who attend a predominantly White liberal arts college in the Midwest; their stories provide a snapshot of how they experienced college, made meaning of those experiences and the impact of these experiences and meaning-making on their motivation to persist in college. These five students participated in individual audio-taped interviews that were analyzed and coded. …

Social Justice, White Racial Identity, And Multicultural Competency Among White Master Level Trainees In Counselor Education And Counseling Psychology, Sara Rebecca Streufert

Dissertations

In recent years, scholars have become more vocal regarding counselors and counseling psychologists’ responsibilities to advance efforts for social change (Goodman et al., 2004; Speight & Vera, 2004; Vera & Speight, 2004). As a result, empirical investigations have started to evaluate variables that may contribute to trainees and mental health professionals’ desire to participate in social justice advocacy (Beer, 2008; Caldwell, 2008; Landreman et al., 2007; Nilsson & Schmidt, 2005). However, most of these studies do not focus on trainees and mental health professionals who identify as White. The present study used quantitative analyses to explore nine hypotheses regarding the …

In Their Own Words: The Lived Experiences Of Unemployed African American Men, Kenlana R. Ferguson

Dissertations

Due to staggering unemployment rates, African American men's experience with work in the U.S. has historically received widespread attention in the media and social science literature. Terms such as black male unemployment crisis, puzzle, epidemic and catastrophe have been used to describe the unemployment woes of black. Attempts at explaining why African American men are experiencing such difficulty in the world of work has been undertaken across the disciplines, however much of this work has amounted to nothing more than acknowledgement that isolating independent factors as causes does not suffice and that a more interdisciplinary framework is needed if we …

The Impact Of Structured Group Counseling On Resiliency, Self-Efficacy, And Racialidentity Among African American Female Teenagers, Lashonda B. Fuller

Dissertations

African American female teenagers are at-risk for low academic achievement as well as personal and social problems. These concerns have the potential to impact their psychological development including resiliency, self-efficacy, and racial identity. This is an issue that needs focused attention. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation was to determine if a structured group counseling model effectively impacts African American female teenagers‟ resiliency, self-efficacy, and racial identity. The researcher conducted four structured counseling groups over a period of 20 weeks; however, the teenagers participated in consecutive 10 week sessions. The treatment was applied to two groups simultaneously, and the groups …

Social Justice Advocacy And Counselor Education: A Study Of Counselor Educators' And Counseling Interns' Perceptions Of Social Justice Advocacy Training, Darryl C. Steele

Dissertations

Social justice and advocacy have become increasingly important topics in counselor training. The 2001 Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) training standards require counselor education programs to provide studies in social justice and advocacy processes. Moreover, 2009 CACREP standards stipulate that accredited programs must provide advocacy training specific to each specialty area. The American Counseling Association (ACA) adopted advocacy competencies, in part, to guide this training (Goodman, 2009; Lewis, Arnold, House, & Toporek, 2003). Despite training standards and frameworks such as the ACA Advocacy Competencies to help prepare students for advocacy, few studies have explored …