Multicultural Psychology Commons^™

An Exploration Of Adult Children’S Attachment To Their Parents Across Two Cultural Groups: Indians In India And Indians Who Immigrated To The United States, Vilasini Meenakshi Arun

Doctoral Dissertations

Typically, attachment theory has been studied and explored with western populations. Individuals seeking mental health treatment within the United States include western and nonwestern cultural groups and research, theories and interventions that apply to diverse populations are necessary. Attachment relationships are often a part of, or reasons for clients to seek therapy either overtly or covertly, thus allowing research on attachment to better inform treatment plans and practice. An attachment relationship between a parent and child can be influenced by several factors and may change over the course of development, but little is known about this process among Indians …

Creating Whole Inclusive Worlds: The Impact Of Social Media Usage On Black Gender Expansive Millennials’ Experiences Of Social Support And Identity Development Processes, Meredith J. Holmes

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the processes of finding community and developing one’s own intersectional racial and gender identity through the social media (SM) experiences of 8 Black gender expansive (GE) adults located around the United States. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) methodology and an intersectional theoretical framework, the research questions guiding the study were: “What is the relationship between Black gender expansive people, social media, and community?” and “What is the relationship between Black gender expansive people, social media, and identity development?” The researcher’s findings from in-depth interviews with participants included three major themes: A) Positive Resilience-Supporting Experiences on SM, …

Mental Health And Experiences Of Pregnancy Among Black Women And Birthing People With Type 1 Diabetes (T1d), Madeleine E. Marcus

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explored the potential effects of intersections of oppression (i.e., anti-Black racism, diabetes discrimination, and sexism) on mental health and pregnancy experiences among Black women and birthing people with Type 1 diabetes (T1D). Previous studies about pregnancy and T1D have included mainly white, cisgender women. Three participants qualified for inclusion in the present study and participated in semi-structured interviews, which the researcher analyzed using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) framework. Participants described feeling uncertain about whether aspects of their pregnancy experiences were related to obstetric and/or medical racism. Similarly, participants sometimes seemed uncertain about how racism may affect their …

The Grindr Complex: The Behavioral Health Impact Of Sexual Racism On Latinx Men Who Have Sex With Men, Luisalfredo Plascencia

Doctoral Dissertations

Given the social history surrounding the issue of HIV/AIDS in the LGBTQ+ community and the unique and intersectional experiences that Latinx Men who have Sex Men (MSM) have in their community, this dissertation’s research will contribute to the growing work on sexual racism and how it correlates with various elements of behavioral health. The study investigated the moderation impact of Latinx cultural values of caballerismo and familismo on the relationship between experiences sexual racism to mental health symptoms. The study also examined the moderation of caballerismo and familismo and psychological flexibility on the relationship between experiences of sexual racism to …

Central Americans At A Crossroads: Asylum Seekers’ Testimonios Of Mental Health After Detention And Family Separation, Corie E. Schwabenland Garcia

Master's Theses

Though Central American asylum seekers are presently hypervisible in the U.S. consciousness, this population continues to be inadequately understood or cared for. Discussion of this population often presents them as a helpless and damaged population, in need of saving, fixing, or shelter -- beyond their trauma, they cease to exist. This qualitative study utilizes first-person testimonio methodology to understand the psychological experiences of Central American migrants seeking asylum in the United States, the stressors they face, and the mental health support that can and should be provided to them. Their stories speak to a space of sociopolitical precarity in the …

African American Female Identified Therapists' Experiences Working Culturally Similar And Dissimilar Populations, Kimiko J. May

Doctoral Dissertations

African-American female-identified individuals continue to be one of the smallest subgroups of licensed therapists. However, this group continues to grow steadily and offer services to a broad array of clientele. While the aims of literature have grown to include populations that have been historically marginalized, the research surrounding African-American female-identified therapists is scarce. Deep understanding of their lived experiences while navigating the multifaceted nature of clinical work has been grossly overlooked. This study aimed to qualitatively analyze the lived experiences of African-American female-identified therapists who work with diverse populations using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Since the nature of clinical work is …

A Minority Within A Minority: Exploring Identity Development In Relation To Mental Health Outcomes Within The Black Deaf Community, Nekolas Milton

Doctoral Dissertations

Black Deaf people are a double minority group that faces discrimination on multiple fronts. There is little literature on the relationship of cultural identity development and mental health concerns of this marginalized group. This study employs a mixed method approach to examine this relationship and explore the extant culturally tailored interventions targeted towards Black Deaf adults in a clinical setting. There were two phases of this project. Phase 1 included qualitative interviews with service providers of black deaf people to ascertain the type of culturally tailored interventions that are in place for this population. 5 themes emerged: systemic issues, mental …

Impact Of Moral Injury For Ethnic/Racial Minority Male Veterans, Kristopher Kern

Doctoral Dissertations

Trends in demographics of post-9/11 veterans (deployments to the Middle East after 2001) describe this group as having higher survival rates, increased service-connected disabilities, and more racially diverse (NCVAS, 2018; Schnurr et al., 2009; Tanelian & Jaycox, 2008). Additionally, their deployment experiences include combat-related experiences that contradict personal moral beliefs, later named “moral injury” (MI) (Litz et al., 2009). Currier, Holland, and Mallot (2015) describe MI as intense emotions of shame, guilt, and anger alongside maladaptive behaviors emerging after “witnessing and/or participating in warzone events that challenge one’s basic sense of humanity” (p. 231).

The research on MI continues to …

Reiki For Recovery: Incorporating Japanese Health Practices To Increase Contemporary Resiliency In American Health, Leif Peterson

Master's Projects and Capstones

The Japanese health practice of Reiki attempts to maximize the latent ability of the human system to heal itself. The Reiki system, established over a century ago, combines multiple Asian health traditions, experimenting with practices that maximize the natural processes of the body to perform its own repairs. Reiki encourages healthy behaviors that balance the mind and body, return the human system to a lowered stress level, and allow for an optimal recovery state for the patient. This paper illustrates how this Japanese health-affirming method can be integrated and utilized within existing health and medical practices. An area that is …

Understanding The Healthcare Experiences Of Lgbtq+ People: An Adaptation Of The Daily Heterosexist Experiences Questionnaire, Conor Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

LGBTQ+ people's experiences of heterosexism, which are common in the healthcare system, are linked to poor health outcomes. There are no measures of LGBTQ+ people’s experiences in healthcare settings which could be used by healthcare systems and providers to improve the quality of their care for this vulnerable population. The Daily Heterosexist Experiences Questionnaire (DHEQ), developed using the minority stress model, measures the general stressful life experiences of LGBTQ+ people. This project aimed to adapt the DHEQ for use in healthcare settings.

A mixed-methods study was conducted to create the Daily Heterosexist Experiences Questionnaire-Healthcare (DHEQ-H). Semi-structured interviews focused on the …

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 …

Experiences Of Latinx's Adult Transition To The U.S. And The Clinical Implications That Arise In Acclimating Into The Dominant Culture: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, Gabriela Olavarrieta

Doctoral Dissertations

There has been a significant gap in the literature regarding the lived experience of the Latinx adult transition to the United States and the clinical implications that arise in acclimating to the dominant culture, particularly under the Trump Administration. The approach for the current research examined Latinxs’ adulthood transitions to the United States, experiences of acculturative stress, including instances of discrimination as well as their experiences acclimating or assimilating into the dominant culture. This study also examined what seeking, or being unable to seek, mental health services looked like in the current sociopolitical climate. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was utilized to …

A Qualitative Evaluation Of The Phoenix Project: A Strengths-Based, Trauma-Informed Care Intervention For African American, Transitional Age, Young Adults Living In San Francisco’S Public Housing Community, Lena Miller

Doctoral Dissertations

A QUALITATIVE EVALUATION OF THE PHOENIX PROJECT: A STRENGTHS-BASED, TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE INTERVENTION FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN, TRANSITIONAL AGE, YOUNG ADULTS LIVING IN SAN FRANCISCO’S PUBLIC HOUSING COMMUNITY

Abstract

Persistent community violence has had a profound and destructive impact on many urban communities throughout the country. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) resulting from community violence is becoming an increasingly frequent diagnosis of African American youth and young adults residing in San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point (BVHP) community (San Francisco Department of Public Health, 2012). The Phoenix Project was designed to specifically address and heal symptoms of trauma and facilitate resilience among youth and young …

Hollywood Media And The Model Minority Myth: The Representation Of Asian American Masculinity And Its Effects, Khanhlinh Le

Master's Projects and Capstones

Asian Americans are becoming one of the largest growing minority groups in the United States, almost surpassing the Latinx community. Asian Americans, however, are rarely ever represented in Hollywood films and are limited to stereotypical roles. Asian American actors have a difficult time finding roles playing characters that are three-dimensional and complex. While both Asian American men and women face this challenge, it seems that in Hollywood films and television shows, Asian American males are even less represented than females and are typically portrayed as the quiet nerd, sexy doctor, martial arts expert, or the villain. These media stereotypes impact …

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 ( …

Efficacy Of Integrated Mental Health Care With Dual Diagnosis Patients And Their Utilization Of Psychiatric Emergency Services, Denton Scott

Doctoral Dissertations

Historically, patients with dual diagnosis have been subjected to ineffective treatment and negative attitudes from healthcare providers. Further, these patients are plagued with myriad afflictions that exist beyond substance abuse and mental illness. The treatments and collateral damage associated with the diagnosis impose excessive healthcare costs and can be of significant detriment to society. Largely, patients suffering from dual diagnosis do not receive adequate treatment. As such, psychiatric emergency services are frequently utilized as an alternate treatment, wherein the main focus of care is on the substance abuse alone. This study argues that solely treating the substance abuse is not …

Indigenization Of Genocide Healing: A Grounded Action Of Culturally And Contextually Relevant Educational And Psychosocial Strategies To Reduce Impacts Of Societal Toxic Stress In Rwanda Post-Genocide, Jean Pierre Ndagijimana

Master's Theses

Sixty percent of the current Rwandan population were born after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi and those born since or who were young at the time of the genocide have remained among those affected most. Although Western trauma theorists and interventionists have played the role of experts in the genocide healing, the exclusion of the indigenous population’s experiences, knowledge, and wisdom has limited them from meeting local needs. The post-genocide situation raises various issues, genocide ideology, and increasing family homicides; however, locals do not want to seek counseling services, or run the risk of being labeled as mentally ill. …

Life Being An International Student In The United States: Acculturation, Culture Shock, And Identity Transformation, Lai Yan Vivyan Lam

Master's Theses

The population of international students at community colleges in the United States has increased significantly over the past decade. International students play a big role in building the cultural diversity on campus by bringing over different cultures and sharing their global perspective to the local community. However, they often face challenges adapting into American culture due to cultural differences in education system, language, lifestyle, etc. By looking into the acculturation process of international students to analyze the culture shock and cultural identity changes they experienced, this paper intends to seek ways to help this group of students to ease their …