Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Survivor Experiences Of Male Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Literature Review, Elizabeth Burch B.S., Joseph T. Kenneally Psy.D., Stephanie Zepeda Phd

Psychology from the Margins

The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes childhood sexual abuse (CSA) as a global health issue. CSA is a human violation that affects both female and male children and has a stronger detrimental impact on mental health than other traumatic childhood experiences. Despite a growing awareness of male survivors of CSA, male survivors are a marginalized group as most CSA research focuses on females. In addition, masculine norms can keep male adults from disclosing further, which can delay support and increase mental health issues. This meta- analysis reviews the current literature on this group of marginalized people and concludes with a …

Development Of A New Measure To Assess For Poverty-Based Stress: The Poverty-Based Stressor Scale (Pbss), Brianna N. Allen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Poverty, typically measured by economic well-being or depravation, is the result of systemic flaws built into the structure of society that adversely impact multiple dimensions of health and well-being. The specific stressors that disproportionately impact low-income individuals are called poverty-based stressors, and they encompass multiple categories of risk including physical, psychosocial, and financial risks. Currently, there is not an adequate measure of poverty-based stressors for low-income adults in the United States (U.S.), which restricts our ability to accurately determine the effects of poverty on important health-related outcomes. The purpose of this dissertation was to develop a psychometrically sound measure of …

The Effectiveness Of A Transaffirmative Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Group-Based Intervention To Help Transgender Individuals Suffering From Depression, Joy Riach

Doctoral Dissertations

Transgender individuals report higher levels of elevated symptoms of depression and anxiety due to psychological distress caused by pervasive transphobic discrimination and prejudice that persist in pathologizing and stigmatizing their lived experiences. An important first step would be to develop, implement, and assess transaffirmative interventions that address the mental health issues that this population is particularly susceptible to, such as depression. This current study was designed to assess the effectiveness of one such culturally adapted intervention, which was a 5-week-long, group-based therapy developed for treating depression in transgender individuals using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This was then followed with one …

Empty Cribs: Infertility Challenges For Orthodox Jewish Couples, Itay Kohane

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation discusses an issue that is of importance to many people throughout their lifetime—infertility. One in every eight couples (12%) is incapable of carrying a pregnancy to term after one year of natural attempts. This paper further examines the prevalence of infertility among couples, bringing into focus more common variables such as gender and age. But, going beyond these, the present study will demonstrate that other variables including stressors such as social factors, interpersonal dynamics, and personal judgment affect couples in a manner which indirectly reduces their chances of conceiving a child. This research will touch on a number …

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 …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Peer Engagement And Knowledge (Peak): A Community-Based Group Intervention For Youth In Hawai‘I, Jennifer T. T. Ho

Doctoral Dissertations

This study is a program evaluation with a mixed methods design that evaluated the effectiveness of Peer Engagement and Knowledge (PEAK), a six-week community-based group intervention that incorporates mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) to address multiple health behaviors for multiracial youth in Hilo, Hawai‘i. A total of 51 youth, ages 12-23 years old, participated in this study which included pre-/posttest analyses of health risk factors such as substance use and depression and health promoting factors such as resilience, self-esteem, and mindfulness. Responses from two subsets of participants, who engaged in a focus group (n = 11) and composed gratitude letters ( …

The Role Of Meaning-Making In Posttraumatic Growth Among Eritrean Refugees With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Yacob Tewolde Tekie

Doctoral Dissertations

The study examined the moderating role of meaning made, meaning making and social support on the relationship between negative life events and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression as well as the facilitating role of these moderating variables for posttraumatic growth(PTG). Eritrean refugees (N = 135) who were residing in Europe were recruited. The results showed that post-migration living difficulties significantly related with negative outcomes. In addition, the results showed that social support moderated the relationship between the number of traumatic life events and anxiety symptoms. However, meaning made and social support were not significant moderators on the …

Stop, Meditate, And Listen: A Treatment Modality For Iraqi Refugees With Depression, Katherine Goehring

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Purposes: To implement a mindfulness meditation program with Arabic speaking clients as an adjunctive treatment of depression

Background: Depression rates among Iraqi refugees are between 28.3 and 75% compared to 8.6% in the general population (Slewa-Younan, Guajardo, Heriseanu, & Hasan, 2015). Treatment options are limited at Neighborhood Healthcare in El Cajon due to budget limitations, cultural beliefs and language barriers, among other reasons. Individual therapy is intended to be a brief intervention due to limited staffing. Many middle eastern refugees decline group therapy due to stigma surrounding mental health treatment and concerns about privacy. Even though traditional treatment …

Perceived Social Support And Suicide-Related Depression Symptom Clusters Among Queer College Students, John Kellerman, Daniel Krauss

CMC Senior Theses

LGBTQ+ individuals report disproportionately high rates of depression and suicidal behaviors compared to the general populations, particularly among queer youth. Certain depressive symptoms and symptom clusters, namely hopelessness and self-blame, are predictive of suicidal behavior and outcomes. In contrast, perceived social support may act as a buffer against suicide ideation. The disparity in the rate of queer suicidality may be predicted by higher rates of hopelessness and self-blame, as well as lower rates of perceived social support among depressed queer youth in comparison to depressed non-queer youth. The current study will test this hypothesis using a sample of depressed queer …

Cumulative Sexual Victimization And Mental Health Outcomes Among Incarcerated Women, Jennifer Hartsfield, Susan F. Sharp, Sonya Conner

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This research explores the relationship between three different types of self-reported sexual victimization and subsequent mental health problems in a sample of incarcerated women. Previous literature establishes a link between victimization histories and poor mental health outcomes. This study focuses on sexual victimization experienced as a child, as an adolescent and as an adult, both individually and cumulatively, in relation to entering prison with a mental health diagnosis as well as reporting current depressive symptoms while incarcerated. Each type of victimization is significantly related to both prior mental health diagnosis and current depression in prison. Furthermore, there is an additive …

Healing From Racism With Compassion Meditation: Effects Of Coping On Mental Health, Courtney Chan

CMC Senior Theses

This study examines whether Compassion Meditation (CM) can help ethnic minority college students heal from race-related stress. The present study hypothesized that through participation in a CM intervention, the augmentation of adaptive coping strategies (i.e., self-compassion) and the reduction of maladaptive coping strategies (i.e., internalization, defined as self-blame, and detachment, defined as social isolation) would reduce depression and PTSD. Participants (N = 9) participated in an 8-session weekly CM intervention and completed three questionnaires at the beginning, middle, and end of the intervention. Results demonstrated that increasing self-compassion predicted decreases in depression, and that reducing coping via detachment predicted …

Slam Poetry: An Online Intervention For Treating Depression, Spencer J. Ruchti, Mercedes Becker, Cara Mckee, Austin Herron, Alex Swalling

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Given that depression is the “leading cause of disability worldwide,” and that less than 50% of people suffering from depression receive treatment, this study aims to provide support for a globally accessible depression treatment (WHO, 2012). The study conducted implemented an internet-based treatment for depression in which users were provided an opportunity to watch slam poetry videos related to mental health issues and write free responses regarding the content of the videos and their subjective experience of depression. Numerous studies provide support for the effectiveness of expressive writing, online mental health interventions, and slam poetry in particular for reducing symptoms …

Remembering Together: The Relationships Of Historical Loss, Social Support, Depression, And Resilience, Matthew Croxton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Colonization, genocide, boarding schools, and relocation programs have created complex psychological issues for Native American people. Although these events are rooted in the past, the resulting political, social, and economic situations continue to play a role in influencing the mental health of Native Americans. There are considerations to be given to social support as a protective factor that provides resiliency for Native Americans. Historical trauma (as measured by the Historical Loss Scale, HLS), social support (as measured by the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, MSPSS), depression (as measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, CES-D) and resilience …