Community Psychology Commons^™

Undressing Consent –Preliminary Evaluation Of A Campus Sexual Violence Prevention Program, Angelina M. Cleroux

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The current study is a preliminary evaluation of the impact of the Undressing Consent post-secondary sexual violence prevention program on student attitudes and beliefs related to consent, understanding of desires and boundaries, societal gendered sexual scripts, and responding to rejection. A primary goal of the study was to create a reliable measure to be used for future evaluation of changes in student attitudes and beliefs related to core program content. In addition, we evaluated student responses to our newly created scales before and after participation in the intervention and between gendered groups. A total sample of 570 students (women and …

Understanding Transitional Mental Health And Interpersonal Needs Of Newcomer Youth During Resettlement: Seeking Guidance To Strengthen Mental Health Programming, Anjali Ruparelia

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study investigated the supports that newcomer youth may need to promote positive well-being and foster healthy relationships during early resettlement. This study employed qualitative methodology using semi-structured interviews with four newcomer youth between the ages of 14 and 21 years old who have been in Canada for at least two years. Interview data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis (RTA). The results indicated that newcomer youth experience significant resettlement challenges and barriers including language barriers, culture shock, and feeling lonely and isolated within their new environments. However, newcomer youth participants also reported that they found various strengths and resources …

Making Mindfulness Matter With Arabic Speaking Families: A Process Evaluation Study, Amal M. Baobaid

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Arabic-speaking refugees experience a significant amount of trauma in their pre-and post-migration journey in Canada, which can negatively impact their well-being. Mindfulness programs have demonstrated wide-ranging benefits for children and youth, but there is a gap in the literature on providing culturally based mindfulness programs to refugee families. The present study conducted a process evaluation for the culturally adapted version of the Making Mindfulness Matter (M3) program (an 8-week concurrent parent and children mindfulness intervention), to assess program successes and challenges with families. Three groups were run, and a total of nine families recruited from the Muslim Resources Centre for …

Lina Saadeddin_Supporting Transition Resilience Of Newcomer Groups (Strong) - Examining Impact Of Strong On Youth, Feasibility Of Community Implementation, And Parental Engagement, Lina Saadeddin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study investigated the feasibility of virtual Supporting Transition Resilience of Newcomer Groups (STRONG) delivered through a community agency. STRONG is a Tier-2 intervention developed to enhance resilience and coping among newcomer youth. Ten youth participants from two STRONG groups completed pre-and post-surveys and participated in a focus group to describe their experiences. Parent sessions were added to STRONG programming. Five parents completed a satisfaction survey and a focus group to share their feedback. Two clinicians and one community manager provided feedback on the implementation in two focus groups. The study used a mixed-method approach. While there were no significant …

Exploring The Feasibility Of A Concurrent Mindful Awareness Program, M3, For Children In A Community Setting, Alyssa E. Mueller

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study explored the feasibility of the Making Mindfulness Matter (M3) program for children. M3 is a universal eight-week, concurrent parent and child mindfulness program implemented in a community setting. The M3 curriculum includes mindful awareness concepts, social emotional learning, neuroscience and positive psychology. Ninety-seven children between the ages of 3-10-years and their parents participated in the M3 program. Children completed a mindfulness knowledge questionnaire pre and post-intervention and their responses to prompting questions related to using the skills at home were recorded. Parents completed the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning pre and post-intervention to investigate the efficacy of …

Coping And Stress Related To Support Needs: Assessing Needs In Parent And Caregivers Of Children With Down Syndrome, Yejin Esther Lee

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The present study aims to better understand support needs among parents/caregivers of children with Down syndrome, and its relationship to parental stress and coping strategies. 122 parents and caregivers of children with Down syndrome of various age groups completed an online survey including demographics information, Family Needs Survey - Revised, Questionnaire on Resources and Stress – Friedrich Version, and the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Scales. Descriptive statistics characterize the sample and determine which items are important and met as needs. Relationship between the important unmet needs (IUN), coping and stress were explored using Pearson correlations across the three measures. The …

Risk Factors For Domestic Homicide: Immigrant & Canadian-Born Populations, Sakthi Kalaichandran

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Domestic violence is a critical human rights issue that can escalate to cases of domestic homicide. Globally, approximately 30% of women in relationships have reported experiencing violence at the hands of an intimate partner. In Canada this pattern is echoed, as over 25% of police-reported violent offences were from victims of domestic abuse. Recent research has revealed that immigrant & refugee victims experience unique risk factors that may render them more vulnerable to this form of violence. Yet, despite this burgeoning research area, and Canada’s diverse population of 6 million immigrants, there is a dearth of research pertaining to domestic …

Social Relationships In Young Offenders: Relevance To Peers, Poverty, And Psychological Adjustment, Victoria Sabo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The increasing influence of peers in adolescence is related to a developing array of skills, aspirations, attitudes, and behaviours. The nature and magnitude of this influence and the potential association of certain youth with deviant peers is among the most prominent risk factors in predicting youth crime. This becomes of greater concern for economically disadvantaged youth, whose neighbourhoods harbour greater susceptibility to negative peer influence. With social affiliations at the forefront of youth development and criminality, research efforts need to further characterize the nature, constitution, and influence of peers on adolescent offending. Two hundred and eighty-one Canadian youth were sampled …

Madness In The Media: Understanding How People With Lived Experience Interpret Newspaper Headlines, Da Qing Wang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There is research on media representations of mental health that suggests there is a tendency to portray mental health as problematic and those who are affected by mental illness as dangerous. It is evident there has been an increase in anti-stigma media campaigns. However, the effects of these efforts on beliefs held by members of the public has been mixed. What is most surprising from the literature is a lack of research about how people who have personal experience with mental illness interpret media messages. Individuals with and without lived experience participated in a structured conceptualization process known as concept …

An Exploration Of Service Needs For Adults Who Live With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Armush Salahadin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Families who care for children with disabilities feel that supports are essential. However, little is known about the support needs of adults who live with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, and few specialized services exist to meet their needs. This study examined caregivers' perceived support needs for their children when they grow into adults. Sixteen caregivers of children aged 10 years or older with FASD participated in telephone interviews. Participants provided responses to the following two questions: “What do caregivers need to help young adults live as independently as possible?” and “What services would help young adults live as independently as …

The Sixties Scoop Among Aboriginal Veterans: A Critical Narrative Study, Munira Abdulwasi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study explored the experience of Aboriginal Veterans adopted and/or fostered during the Sixties Scoop using critical narrative inquiry. The objectives were to: 1) understand the lived experience of Aboriginal veterans adopted and/or fostered during the Sixties Scoop, 2) explore any health needs expressed by Aboriginal veterans adopted and/or fostered during the Sixties Scoop, and 3) provide recommendations for the implementation of health services and programs to assist this group of Aboriginal veterans with their health needs. Eight individual interviews were conducted with participants in Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Vancouver. All interviews were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using …

Caregivers' Experiences Raising A Child With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Aamena Kapasi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of this study was to identify challenges and strengths of caregivers to a child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Thirty-two caregivers raising a child with FASD participated in phone interviews that included the questions: "What challenges do you face in making your household function well?" and "What strengths do you have to make your household function well?" Responses to the questions were sorted by participants and the data was analyzed using multi-dimensional scaling and cluster analysis. In response to the question about challenges, seven concepts emerged: 1) Extra Responsibility on Caregivers, 2) Difficulty Keeping Daily Routine, 3) …

Examining The Shift In Occupational Identity After A Brain Injury, Mikelle Bryson-Campbell

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Occupational identity is defined by Kielhofner (2002) as a sense of who we are as an occupational being, based on our past, current, and future occupational roles. When a life disruption occurs such as a brain injury (BI) and the disruption impacts the ability to conduct an occupation deemed meaningful an important process of transition occurs (Muenchberger, Kendall, & Neal, 2008). In turn occupational identity may shift to reflect the current health and economic status of the individual and what occupations are judged as meaningful.

The current study examined the shift in occupational identity in BI survivors in a two …

Continuity Of Care In Children’S Mental Health: Development Of A Measure, Juliana I. Tobon

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Continuity of care, which is how a patient experiences care over time as coherent and linked, has been identified as an indicator of health system performance and is considered an ethical principle of care. Yet, no instrument exists to measure continuity of care as experienced by families receiving services through the children's mental health (CMH) system. A new measure, Continuity of Care in Children’s Mental Health (C3MH), is presented. The project involved four phases: item generation, pre-testing, pilot testing, and validation. In the validation study, the 42-item C3MH was administered to 364 parents of children and youth (M =12 …

Cultural Connectedness As Personal Wellness In First Nations Youth, Ben Davis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Adolescent development involves changes in self-concept and identification with different groups or cultural norms. Many First Nations adolescents have additional difficulties due to disconnections with family, schooling and cultural background, as a legacy of colonisation and social marginalisation. The present study used data from the First Nations Regional Longitudinal Health Survey, Youth, Phase 2 to test the hypothesis that connectedness to social and cultural factors would predict lower rates of reported depression in First Nations youth, using a logistic regression analysis. The findings indicated that connectedness to family and school, as well as having a sense of control over one's …