Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Artists, Activists, And Therapists Making Meaning Of Collective Violence In Lebanon: A Community-Engaged Participatory Research Study, Nawal Muradwij

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study collaborated with community-engaged artists, activists, and mental health workers living in Lebanon to explore the community narratives that exist around collective violence in Lebanon. With the support of a community advisory board, in-depth interviews, and focus groups were utilized to understand the associations that participants had with the construct of collective violence as it pertains to communities in Lebanon and their understanding of its impact on collective mental health. The sample of artists, activists, and mental health workers framed collective violence in Lebanon as intergenerational, perpetual, and institutionally and politically entrenched. Cultural concepts that described the impact of …

Voiding The Unwanted Self: An Examination Of Racialized Violence In The United States, Benjamin Stark

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is concerned with the role of the psychic defenses projection and projective identification in the processes which lead to racialized violence in the United States. The dissertation posits that projection has been less considered as a primary driver of racialized violence than other psychic processes and should be better integrated into psychological research and literature on racialized violence. The thesis begins with a detailed examination of two instances of racialized violence, the first a macro example of nation vs. nation: the United States’ invasion of Iraq in 2003, before which the United States fantasized Iraq was developing weapons …

The Impact Of Racial Microaggressions And Major Discriminatory Events On Mental Health, Florence Lui

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The current study, a secondary data analysis, sought to determine the number and nature of latent groups for experiences of spectrum racial discrimination (i.e., both major and microaggressive racial discrimination) in a sample of emerging adults from a people of color (POC)-majority public university setting in the United States, and to understand the role of socio-demographic variables in defining each group. In addition, the study aimed to ascertain the extent to which endorsing spectrum racial discrimination experiences predicted anxiety and/or depression above the effects of general, non-race-related stress. Finally, the analyses gauged the mediating and/or moderating role of coping in …

Does Ethnic Identity, In-Group Preference, And Acculturation Protect Latinas With A History Of Interpersonal Trauma From Developing Symptoms Of Ptsd?, Evelyn M. Ramirez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Previous research suggests ethnic identity, a sense of belonging to a particular cultural group, may be protective against symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the role of ethnic identity, in-group preference (i.e., an individual’s preference for interactions with members of their own ethnic group) and acculturation (i.e., the level of comfort with the mainstream culture) have not been investigated as protective factors for Latinas with a history of interpersonal and sexual trauma. In this study, ethnic identity, in-group preference and acculturation were assessed via self-report on the Scale of Ethnic Experience in two samples of undergraduate Latina and non-Latina …

Casualties Of Racism: Racial And Ethnic Discrimination And Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviors Among Racial And Ethnic Minority Emerging Adults, Lillian Anais Polanco

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The evidence demonstrating that experiences of racial/ethnic discrimination is detrimental to the mental health of racial/ethnic minority youth is unequivocal. What remains unclear, however, is whether racial/ethnic discrimination increases vulnerability for suicidal thoughts and behaviors in particular, and if so, what are the underlying mechanisms to explain this relation. Drawing upon the Race-based Traumatic Stress Theory (Carter, 2007), which suggests that some individuals may experience racial/ethnic discrimination as a traumatic stressor, and thus, eliciting a traumatic stress response, the present study examined posttraumatic stress reactions (i.e., posttraumatic stress, depression, dissociation, stress sensitivity) as mediators in the relation between racial/ethnic discrimination …

Beyond The Binary: Gender Identity And Mental Health Among Transgender And Gender Non-Conforming Adults, Chassitty N. Fiani

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Despite increasing endorsement of non-binary gender identities among TGNC (transgender or gender non-conforming) populations, research regarding TGNC experiences often over-emphasizes pathology relative to positive psychology and reinforces binary conceptualizations of gender (exclusively male/female). TGNC individuals face increased rates of depression, suicide risk, anxiety, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, homelessness, victimization, and negative police interactions. These disparities are exacerbated by discrimination, lack of culturally competent resources, and internalized stigma. Despite these negative experiences and increased risks, TGNC individuals hesitate to seek treatment and/or police assistance due to fears of discrimination, cultural incompetence, and/or re-victimization. To address these gaps, the present investigation utilized a …

My Mother Needs Me! Is It Possible To Stay Connected While Being My Own Person? The Object Relations Of The Latina “Dutiful Daughter”, Juliana Martinez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: Latinas are culturally expected to be “dutiful daughters” establishing strong attachments and adhering to the traditional values characterized by loyalty, cooperation, respect and interdependence within family members. Conventional Latina mother-daughter bonds, therefore, are expected to be exceptionally close. Healthy mother-daughter closeness can be a valuable source of support while closeness without differentiation from the mother may result in a lack of independence and poor interpersonal and personal growth. Mutuality of autonomy, a dimension of object relations (OR) theory, focuses on the progression of separation – individuation from developmentally normative fused representations in infancy to highly differentiated self-other representations as …

Boundaries And Belonging: Asian America, Psychology, And Psychoanalysis, Natalie C. Hung

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation addresses a vexing problem. In psychology and psychoanalysis, Asian Americans are more often understood as a collective Other than as individual Selves, more frequently an object of study than a subject. Through two overarching aims, my dissertation sheds light on neglected aspects of Asian American selves, the meanings of the invisibility surrounding them, and implications for clinical practice.

First, the project challenges extant psychological perspectives on Asian Americans, which often implicitly assume a wide gulf of difference between Asian American cultural values and the Western epistemologies of psychology and psychoanalysis. Through the examination of academic research, clinical literature, …