Community Psychology Commons^™

The Effects Of Poly-Strengths On Psychological Wellbeing Amongst Young Adults With Childhood Poly-Victimization, Nakisa Asefnia

Theses and Dissertations

The field of trauma and victimization has undergone many evolutions in its efforts to conceptualize the impacts of victimization and more recently poly-victimization. Poly-victimization refers to the experiencing of multiple types of victimization over the lifespan. This has led to an ever-growing base of literature highlighting the many deleterious effects of these experiences on individuals’ wellbeing, and the factors which may make a person more vulnerable to victimization. However, a growing movement in the field aims to take a more strengths-based perspective that highlights the resilience of individuals, rather than risk factors, in the hopes of better understanding the factors …

Permanent Shelter In The Empire City: Youth Experiencing Family Homelessness And Navigating The Homeless Industrial Complex With A Narrative Inquiry Approach, Henry O. Love

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Many studies have examined unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness; however, a relative silence persists about the lives of youth and young adults (YYA) while in family homeless shelters. This study aims to fill the gap in the literature about the lives of youth residing in family shelters and to learn about successful transitions from adolescence to young adulthood while experiencing family homelessness. This transition interacts with various social collectives (family, peers, community), political institutions (municipal, state, and federal), and an overwhelming economic system (global racial capitalism). These complex perspectives are considered with a narrative activity-meaning system research design to understand the …

Sticky Situations: Understanding The Law And Life, Krystal Banks

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

Law and life go hand in hand. Understanding the law and how it connects to life can be an effective tool in teaching youth and adults the value of making good decisions when it comes to life and the law. Sticky Situations places real-world situations in the context of learning how to apply the law and effectively respond to life's sticky situations.

Social Capital And The Nonprofit Infrastructure; An Ecological Study Of Child Maltreatment, Duncan J. Mayer

Student Scholarship

Child maltreatment is a significant social problem that responds to neighborhood conditions, including disorder and support. Using administrative sources with the census response rate and geocoded nonprofit tax forms in a cross-sectional ecological design (N = 443), this article explores two understudied supportive factors in neighborhoods: aggregate social capital and nonprofit organizations. A series of Poisson models show aggregate social capital and nonprofit density are negatively related to child maltreatment rates, while the relationship between social capital and child maltreatment rates varies by the number of nonprofits present in the neighborhood. The results provide new insights into the ecology of …

An Intersectional Lens To Covid-19: Promoting Youth Well-Being In The Midst Of Social-Political Stressors, Magdalena S. Moskal

Theses and Dissertations

Guided by interpretative phenomenological methodology and intersectionality theory, this thesis aims to uncover the mental health experiences of youth surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. This study also seeks to situate these experiences with the subsequent stressors that young people face in the current social-political context (e.g., witnessing trauma in the media, uprisings to address racism and the resulting backlash, rhetoric of the 2020 presidential election). Furthermore, this thesis aims to give insight and voice how intersectionality shapes the COVID-19-related experiences of youth in South Carolina. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 23 participants aged 16-21 years old in South Carolina. …

Race, Racial Matching, And Cultural Understanding As Predictors Of Treatment Engagement In Youth Mental Health Services, Wendy Chu

Theses and Dissertations

Racially marginalized youth experience barriers that impact their ability to maximally benefit from mental health services; thus, efforts to identify strategies that support youth treatment engagement may address mental health and treatment disparities. This study examined the role of youth race, youth-therapist racial matching, and youthreported therapist cultural understanding on youth’s early treatment engagement in mental health services. The youth sample (n = 1159; M_age = 13.8 years, SD = 2.9; 52.1% female) comprised of 778 (67.1%) Latinx, 221 (19.1%) African American, 139 (12.0%) White, and 21 (1.8%) Asian American clients. The therapist sample (n = 126; Mage …

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 …

Young People’S Perception Of Opportunities To Participate In Democratic Governance, Jennifer Nga Yu Tang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations General Assembly, 1989) accords all young people the right to be heard and make decisions on matters affecting them. Despite the fact the United States remains the only country in the world not to have ratified this document, a number of American cities have nevertheless begun to engage young people in community decision-making (e.g., in neighborhood associations or community boards). However, as of yet there are few actual opportunities for youth to participate fully in the governance of their cities. This study examined the perspectives of young people …

Rainbow Writes: Peer-Led Creative Writing Groups’ Potential For Promoting 2slgbtq+ Youth Wellbeing, Ceilidh Harrison

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Though mainstream acceptance for the 2SLGBTQ+ community is on the rise, elevated risks of mental health challenges still pervade this community, particularly for youth growing up in this changing environment. Based on previous literature citing the benefits of creative interventions and youth autonomy, the current study sought to explore the implementation of an online, peer-led creative writing program as a possible means to increase emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing in 2SLGBTQ+ youth. Twenty self-identifying 2SLGBTQ+ youth from across Canada were recruited to form two 10-week, online peer-led creative writing groups titled “Rainbow Writes”. Based on Lerner et al.’s (2003) “Five …

A Literature Review Of Community Art Therapy With Youth In Inner City Communities Of Color, Jennifer Habeeb

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This literature review was developed to synthesize the research surrounding community-based art therapy with youth who reside in inner city communities of color. Youth of color in inner city communities face a number of different challenges such as low socioeconomic status, social inequality, discrimination, and lack of political representation. There is currently little research on the impact of art therapy and expressive arts interventions with this population, however; these interventions have shown to be effective in a number of different areas. Literature revealed that community-based art therapy with inner city youth of color has shown to increase self-esteem, decrease symptoms …

Targeting Youth’S Motivation To Change Substance Use Behaviors: Feasibility And Preliminary Outcomes From An Open Trial Of The Free Talk Program In A Short-Term Juvenile Detention Facility, Cassidy L. Tennity

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Juvenile offenders who use substances are at an increased risk for multitude of negative outcomes, including substance use problems in adulthood and recidivism. Interventions that are effective in community settings or long-term juvenile justice settings may not be well suited for implementation in short-term juvenile detention facilities. Free Talk (FT; D’Amico, Chan Osilla, & Hunter, 2010) is a brief motivational intervention that targets motivation to change substance use. The current study aimed to determine whether youth participating in FT within a short-term juvenile detention center reported expected changes in motivation to change substance use. Additionally, we aimed to assess whether …

A Housing First Model For Youth And Its Relation To Social Integration, Alexandra Amiri

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present study explored how a Housing First for Youth intervention, working from an empowerment theory approach, influences the social integration of youth experiencing homelessness. This was done by contrasting between groups of individuals who either did or did not receive the intervention. The sample consisted of 86 youth in the city of Ottawa between the ages of 17-24 who were randomized into the intervention (n=44) or treatment as usual group (n=42). Quantitative data from baseline and 6-month follow-up were analyzed using the Community Integration Scale (CIS) and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Repeated measures ANOVA revealed an …

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 ( …

Assessing Readiness For A Physical Activity Intervention In Positive Youth Development Afterschool Programs, Brittany Skiles Cook

Theses and Dissertations

Physical inactivity has been identified as a primary health threat to youth, and existing afterschool programs (ASP) are a promising context for implementing physical activity (PA) interventions. However, few PA interventions have been effective and generalizability of programs has been poor. Assessing organizational readiness during the testing of a PA intervention can help inform generalizability and sustainability. The R=MC2 heuristic separates readiness into motivation, innovation-specific capacity, and general capacity, each of which are further divided into subcomponents. The current multiple-case study pilot tests the feasibility and effectiveness/efficacy of a readiness assessment tool based on R=MC2 developed for the Connect through …

Social Support, Discrimination, And Self-Esteem In Lgbtq+ High School And Post-Secondary Students, Kirstie Taylor

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus) people are at a disadvantage compared to their heterosexual and cisgender (non-transgender) counterparts. LGBTQ+ people are likely to be discriminated against based on their gender or sexual identities. Drawing on data from the OutLook Study in Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, this paper examines discrimination and social support among high school and post-secondary students, and how they are related to self-esteem. Using t-tests, we found that transgender students in high school reported significantly higher levels of direct transphobia and of victimization compared to transgender post-secondary students. Using multiple linear regressions, we found indirect homophobia …

Predictors Of Health-Related Quality Of Life Among Youth With Spinal Cord Injury, Kathleen E. Mcauliff

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the different dimensions of psychosocial HRQOL for youth

with spinal cord injury (SCI) is still a developing research focus in medical and disability studies. Pediatric-onset SCI is relatively rare. Family Stress Theory’s Adaptation Phase accounts for how a stressor can impact all family members (McCubbin and Patterson, 1993). This study aimed to look at new factors, including cognitive approaches to challenges, physical health indicators (i.e., incontinence), caregiver mental health problems (i.e., anxiety and depression), and general family dysfunction that may impact psychosocial HRQOL for youth (ages 6-18) with SCI, in terms of the perspectives of both the youth and …

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 …

The Ripple Effect: Youth Leadership Development And Influence On Environmental Engagement In The Community, Laine Bourassa

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Youth leadership is a critical factor in creating momentum for a cultural shift in sustainability practices and can be fostered through youth leadership programs. While evidence exists showing youth environmental programs are able to promote program participant leadership, it is not yet known to what degree these participants are able to improve the environmental engagement of members of their social networks. This “ripple effect” is assessed in the current study through the context of the Make-A-Difference (MAD) Youth Sustainability Leadership Program in New Zealand. The program involves a 3-day social gathering (hui) and ongoing support for several following years. The …

Young Leader's Sustained Engagement In Environmental Action: A Narrative Inquiry, Sara Wicks

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Young people have been identified as key stakeholders in taking a leadership role in addressing environmental issues, but more research is required to find out how to sustain young people’s motivation for environmental action over time. The present study investigated this through narrative interviews with eleven environmental leaders who attended a conference called IMPACT! Youth Conference for Sustainability Leadership in 2009 or 2011. Drawing upon the literature on life paths to environmental action (Almers, 2013; Chan, 2009; Chawla, 1998, 1999; Harré, Tepavac, & Bullen, 2009) the interviews incorporated an exercise that asked participants to plot important events in their lives …

The Association Of Gender, Age, And Coping With Internalizing Symptoms In Youth With Sickle Cell Disease, Laura Reinman

Theses and Dissertations

Youth with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at an elevated risk for having internalizing symptoms. Prior studies have suggested unique age by gender patterns of internalizing symptoms may be present in this population, however this pattern has not been thoroughly examined and the mechanisms underlying this pattern are not known. We examined rates of depression and anxiety symptoms between males and females with SCD across childhood and into adolescence in a cross-sectional design. We also considered the potential role of coping styles and health related locus of control for SCD morbidity that could account for age or gender patterns for …

Reproductive (In)Justice: Exploring Young Women’S Experiences Of Reproductive Saliency In An Oppressive Environment, Angele D. Desroches

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Young North American women are currently coming of age in a sociopolitical context governed by neoliberal ideology, post-feminist assumptions, agentic femininities, and demographic trends that have lengthened pathways to adulthood. Consequently, the avoidance of early reproductive experiences has become a key requisite governing the success of the young female subject. This project explores the diverse reproductive experiences of eleven young (≤ 24 years of age) women residing in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Prince Edward Island’s conservative community culture, anti-choice policies, and limited youth focused sexual-reproductive health services produces a unique experiential setting for young women who encounter reproductive events. Through …

The First Year College Experience: Predictors Of Natural Mentoring Relationships & Students' Academic Outcomes, Luciano Berardi

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Literature on college mentoring suggests that mentoring relationships has a positive effect on college students’ outcomes (Crisp & Cruz, 2009; Jacobi, 1991). The purpose of this study was to examine the roles of parental attachment and help-seeking strategies in the number of mentoring relationships reported by college students and the role of mentoring in students’ adjustment to the first year transition to college. Moos’ (2002) theoretical framework is used to root the study on an ecological viewpoint of college transition, because it proposes that individual characteristics and the environment thought which a person transitions affect one another and influence individual …

Fostering Critical Thinking About Climate Change: Applying Community Psychology To An Environmental Education Project With Youth, Livia D. Dittmer, Manuel Riemer

Centre for Community Research Learning and Action

This article argues for the participation of community psychology in issues of global climate change. The knowledge accumulated and experience gained in the discipline of community psychology have great relevance to many topics related to the environment. Practitioners of community psychology could therefore make significant contributions to climate change mitigation. To illustrate this assertion, we describe an education project conducted with youth engaged in a community-based environmental organization. This initiative was motivated by the idea that engaged and critically aware youth often become change agents for social movements. Towards this purpose, rather than using mass marketing strategies to motivate small …

Brief Report: Need For Autonomy And Other Perceived Barriers Relating To Adolescents’ Intentions To Seek Professional Mental Health Care., Coralie J. Wilson, Frank P. Deane

Coralie J Wilson

The current study examined the relationship between belief-based barriers to seeking professional mental health care and help-seeking intentions in a sample of 1037 adolescents. From early adolescence to adulthood, for males and females, the need for autonomy was a strong barrier to seeking professional mental health care. Help-seeking fears were weaker in the older age groups. Having lower perceived need for autonomy and believing that prior mental health care was helpful was significantly associated with higher intentions to seek future professional mental health care. Implications for prevention and overcoming barriers to seeking mental health care are suggested.

The Role Of Problem Orientation Cognitive Distortions In Depression And Anxiety Intervention For Young Adults., Coralie Wilson

Coralie J Wilson

Interventions that aim to improve social problem-solving skills can significantly reduce the severity of anxiety and depression symptoms in young people. Anxious and depressed individuals often have a negative orientation to problem solution which acts as a barrier to implementing problem-solving skills. Research with older adults suggests that symptoms impair problem-solving abilities through cognitive processes associated with the development of anxiety and depression. In this study we extend previous investigations by assessing the extent to which specific cognitive distortions and symptoms of anxiety and depression are associated with negative problem orientation in a sample of 285 young adults aged 18 …

Early Access And Help Seeking: Practice Implications And New Initiatives., Coralie J. Wilson

Coralie J Wilson

Seeking appropriate help for early signs and symptoms of psychological distress can reduce the long-term impact of many mental disorders. This article describes practice implications and new initiatives for promoting early access and help-seeking among young people. Relevant help-seeking research is reviewed, and prominent help-seeking barriers are discussed. Prominent barriers for young people include: incomplete mental health and emotional literacy, beliefs about having little need for help versus having a need for autonomy, and the process of help-negation for different symptoms of psychological distress. To improve early access to appropriate help and mental health services, barriers that can be reduced, …

The Effects Of Need For Autonomy And Preference For Seeking Help From Informal Sources On Emerging Adults’ Intentions To Access Mental Health Services For Common Mental Disorders And Suicidal Thoughts., Coralie J. Wilson

Coralie J Wilson

Emerging or early adulthood is the life stage spanning 18-25 years of age. In Australia, anxiety and affective disorders (often classified as ‘common mental disorders’) are prevalent in this age group and suicide is also a concern. Professional mental health care can reduce the long-term impact of these mental health problems and protect against the development of severe forms of these disorders. However, up to three-quarters of young people with mental health needs do not seek professional help for their condition. This study aimed to examine the extent to which belief in the need for autonomy and intentions to seek …

General Psychological Distress Symptoms And Help-Seeking Intentions In Young Australians, Coralie Wilson

Coralie J Wilson

Epidemiological studies suggest that young people might have a tendency to avoid help when they experience symptoms of psychological distress. There is growing evidence that many young people prefer no help from anyone for their mental health problems. The current study examined the association between symptoms of general psychological distress and intentions to seek help from friends, family and professional mental health sources in a sample of 109 trade (TAFE) students from regional and rural Australia. Participants were 67% male and aged from 15-25 years. Higher levels of general psychological distress symptoms were associated with stronger intentions to not seek …

Adolescents' Suicidal Thinking And Reluctance To Consult General Medical Practitioners, Coralie Wilson

Coralie J Wilson

Appropriate help-seeking is widely recognized as a protective factor, and vital for early treatment and prevention of mental health problems during adolescence. General medical practitioners (GPs), that is, family doctors, provide a vital role in the identification of adolescents with mental health problems and the provision of treatment as well as access to other specialists in mental health care services. The current study is part of a larger multi-cite study developed and led by the first author. It examines the association between suicidal ideation and intentions to seek help from a GP for suicidal thoughts, emotional problems and physical health …

Help-Negation And Suicidal Ideation: The Role Of Depression, Anxiety And Hopelessness., Coralie J. Wilson

Frank Deane

Help-negation is expressed behaviorally by the refusal or avoidance of available help and cognitively by the inverse relationship between self-reported symptoms of psychological distress and help-seeking intentions. The current study is part of a larger multi-cite research program developed and led by the first author. It examines the association between suicidal ideation and intentions to seek help from friends, family and professional mental health sources in a sample of 302 Australian university students. Participants were 77.5% female and aged from 18-25 years old, with 85.4% aged 21 years or younger. Higher levels of suicidal ideation were related to lower help-seeking …