Digital Commons Network^™

Clinicians’ Perceptions Of Restorative Justice And Community-Based Intervention Programs For Juvenile Offenders, Jacque Timberlake

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The main goals of restorative justice and community-based intervention programs include reducing reoffending behavior, successful reintegration, and yielding greater satisfaction among participants. Although clinicians play a vital role in conducting rehabilitation methods for youth offenders, the problem was a lack of literature that explored clinicians’ perceptions of implementing more effective alternatives such as restorative justice and community-based intervention programs. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore clinicians’ perceptions of administering rehabilitative interventions for youth offenders, specifically in reducing recidivism, adequately addressing mental health concerns, and evaluating overall program effectiveness. The risk-need responsivity model and the good lives …

Parental Ses And Geographic Location As Predictors Of Graduations In Southeastern High Schools Before And After Covid-19, Marcy J. Watkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American students in the United States have long faced systemic barriers to high school completion, which were further intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational-predictive study was to examine the extent to which parental SES and school location predict graduation outcomes among African American students in southeastern public high schools from 2019 to 2024. Grounded in Bandura’s social learning theory, the study explored how environmental and socioeconomic contexts influence academic achievement. Three research questions guided the study: (1) To what extent do parental SES and location combined predict the number of African American graduates? (2) …

Development Of A Digital Career Literacy-Based Gamification Application To Improve Career Readiness Of Students With Special Needs, Agus Afriliyanto, Vesti Dwi Cahyaningrum, Ratna Wulandari, Mohamad Da'i

Buletin Konseling Inovatif

The development of digital technology has opened up new opportunities in education, including for students with special needs who often face obstacles in acquiring career skills, resulting in low career literacy and impacting their career readiness. This study aims to develop a digital career literacy-based gamification application as an innovative learning medium to improve the career readiness of students with special needs, with a scope covering design, development, and testing in accordance with their cognitive characteristics and learning needs. The study used a simplified Borg & Gall R&D model consisting of five stages, involving 30 students with special needs from …

International Conference On Psychology, University For Business And Technology (Ubt) In Kosovo

UBT International Conference

UBT Annual International Conference is the 14th international interdisciplinary peer reviewed conference which publishes works of the scientists as well as practitioners in the area where UBT is active in Education, Research and Development. The UBT aims to implement an integrated strategy to establish itself as an internationally competitive, research-intensive university, committed to the transfer of knowledge and the provision of a world-class education to the most talented students from all background. The main perspective of the conference is to connect the scientists and practitioners from different disciplines in the same place and make them be aware of the recent …

The Impact Of Social Media Use On Creativity, Mandy L. Wadsworth

Student Works

It can be noted that levels of creativity among society have declined in modern days, perhaps with no clear reason as to why. Therefore, a need exists to explore the effects of increased social media use in the modern world on creativity as a whole and its role in the rapid creativity decline. First, the factor of time displacement is examined, as passive social media use has become the replacement for creative pursuits. Free time once dedicated by individuals to generate new ideas and further improve their artistic abilities is now being used to scroll online. A second important factor …

Exploring Mental Health Stigma Among Law Enforcement Officers, Nicholas D. Chestnut

FDLA Journal

This applied dissertation investigates the prevalence and impact of mental health stigma among law enforcement officers (LEOs) in the United States. Despite growing awareness of the importance of mental health in the law enforcement community, stigma surrounding mental illness remains a significant barrier to help-seeking behaviors among officers. The study employed a research design that examined attitudes, perceptions, and experiences related to mental health stigma among LEOs.

Through online self-assessment surveys administered via a secure portal, participants provided insights into their attitudes toward mental illness, perceptions of stigma, and willingness to seek help for mental health concerns.

Data analysis revealed …

Compassion Fatigue And Daily Spiritual Experience Among Mental Health Male Technicians In Locked Facilities, Felicia Mar'shae Davis Ramsey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mental health provider’s ongoing exposure to clients’ traumatic experiences can cause increased compassion fatigue. Due to negative implications on mental health professionals’ work and personal life experiences, researchers have increasingly studied burnout, compassion fatigue, and stress. The study included a qualitative design with a phenomenological approach using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to interview mental health providers across specialties and regulations to acquire understanding of professionals lived experiences of compassion within their personal lives, work lives, and spirituality. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of compassion fatigue in male mental health technician and how they use …

Strategies For Addressing Junior College Attrition Among Female African American Nontraditional Students, Antweshia Hawes-Wood

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Female African American nontraditional students (25+ years with family and work demands) have high attrition rates, they leave degree programs before graduating, worsening socioeconomic disparities. This phenomenological study described their experiences with support services, which shaped student self-efficacy related to completing programs, and identified what changes were needed to improve support for higher graduation rates among female African American nontraditional students participating in 2-year degree programs offered by junior colleges. Guided by Bean’s industrial model of student attrition and Fishbein and Aizen’s importance of intention model, the study posed two research questions: What are the lived experiences of female nontraditional …

Who Intervenes When Jews Or Muslims Are Persecuted? Replicating A Profile Pattern From Holocaust Rescuers, Magnus Lindén, Fredrik Björklund, George R. Wilkes

Heroism Science

This study examined whether the characteristics that motivated non-Jews to rescue Jews during the Holocaust also predict morally courageous intentions among contemporary high school students. A sample of Swedish students (N = 231) completed a survey measuring parental role modelling, empathic concern, risk-taking, and identification with outgroups, and then indicated whether they would intervene to help persecuted Jews and Muslims in various hypothetical scenarios. All factors were significant predictors of intention to intervene; however, parental role modelling lost significance in a hierarchical regression analysis. Risk-taking accounted for the largest proportion of explained variance, followed by empathic concern, with a significant …

Associations Between Occupation Of World Trade Center Responders And Ptsd Prevalence And Symptom Expression, Jonah K. Luby

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

The World Trade Center attacks on September 11th, 2001, had a drastic impact on American culture across many different mediums. Among those impacted, first responders experienced intense responsibilities beyond the bounds of typical expectation and training, putting them particularly at risk for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD in first responders is often examined on a wide scale, where all types of responder roles are compared to the general population or within their individual groups. This study examined the association between occupation of responders at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and PTSD prevalence and symptom expression. Patterns of symptoms …

The Dark Side Of Synchrony: Investigating Affective Valence As A Moderator Of The Relationship Between Physiological Synchrony And Team Performance, Caroline N. Deal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Team processes are severely understudied, likely given their dynamic nature. Physiological synchrony (PS) may provide a solution, as PS provides a proximal, objective measure of team processes. PS is believed to develop through affect contagion, such that team members who catch each other’s emotions are more likely to physiologically synchronize. Extant research has found relationships between PS and performance; however, many questions remain regarding the nature, scope, and directionality of this relationship. I proposed that PS in the context of a positively valenced emotion would be beneficial to team performance, while PS characterized by a negatively valenced emotion would be …

Cross-Cultural Perspectives On Psychological Research Practices And Opportunities: Do We All Have The (Same) Chance?, Irena Boskovic, Nisali Perera, Henry Otgaar

Psychological Research on Urban Society

The dominance of "WEIRD" (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) authors might indicate significant differences in research practices between them and non-WEIRD researchers or highlight issues such as inequality and publishing bias. In this survey, using a convenience sample of researchers worldwide (N = 72), we examined current research practices and researchers' views on the feasibility of advancements in employed methodologies among and between researchers in both WEIRD and Non-WEIRD countries. Our results showed that research practices are fairly uniform across cultures, by researchers commonly relying on (student) convenience samples, using statistical packages such as SPSS and R, utilizing …

Enhancing Happiness Through The Feelings Of Awe: Perceived Workload Affects The Relationship Between Time Availability And Subjective Well-Being, Syannia Tasha, Bagus Takwin, Dyah Triarini Indirasari

Psychological Research on Urban Society

Happiness is a state that is constantly strived for amidst the complexity of life. Previous research suggests that the student population is prone to psychological problems due to high workloads and a scarce resource of time that could affect happiness. Referring to previous studies, this study seeks to examine the relationship between feelings of awe and subjective well-being which is influenced by perceptions of time availability and perceived workload. Data were collected offline (N = 56) using VR devices to present awe-inducing videos, with responses measured via self-report. The results showed the absence of video effects on the condition …

Social Support And Its Associations With Mental Health And Parenting Among Mothers With Young Children In Western Kenya, Clariana Victoria Ramos De Oliveira, Silvana Freire, Juliet K. Mccann, Michael Ochieng, Joshua Jeong

Nursing Faculty Research

This study examined associations between perceived social support, maternal mental health, and parenting practices among mothers with young children under aged 2 years in rural Western Kenya. Data were collected as part of the baseline evaluation of a cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating a parenting intervention. Maternal perceived social support was reported using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and community connectedness with two study-developed items. Maternal depressive symptoms were measured using the CES-D, parenting distress with Parenting Stress Index–Short Form, and caregiver stimulation practices with Family Care Indicators. Multilevel linear regression models examined associations between social support and …

Perceptions Of Educators Toward Implementing Professional Development Training In Inclusive Classrooms, Saleha Ahmed Syed

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative phenomenological study explored educators’ perceptions of implementing professional development training (PDT) in inclusive classrooms. Inclusive training could benefit both teachers and students with disabilities. Few researchers had previously examined educators’ attitudes and beliefs about implementing inclusive PDT and teaching students with disabilities. The research question focused on how educators applied inclusive instructional training in their classrooms. This phenomenological study investigated the attitudes and perceptions of eight public school teachers regarding the implementation of professional development in their inclusive classrooms and their biases toward these students, using Fishbein and Ajzen’s theory of reasoned action as a framework. Interview data …

What Influences Changes In Gait Spatiotemporal Parameters In Boys With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy? Focusing On Contractures, Muscle Strength, And Gait Deviations, Anita Bagley, Susan Sienko, Cathleen E. Buckon, Kent Heberer, Loretta Staudt, Eileen Fowler, Jason Newsom, Craig Mcdonald, Michael D. Sussman

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Aim: The absence of dystrophin in patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) causes muscle fiber necrosis and fibrosis and eventually muscle weakness and contractures. This study aimed to investigate the timing and extent of lower limb contracture development and to examine how contractures, muscle strength, and kinematic (e.g., limb position or joint movement) deviations relate to longitudinal changes in gait spatiotemporal parameters.

Methods: Seventy-five ambulatory boys with DMD participated in this prospective longitudinal study of contractures, isometric muscle strength, and gait analysis. Nonlinear mixed modeling (NLMIXED) exponential growth curve models were developed to investigate the effects of contractures, muscle strength, …

Cognitive-Behavioral Psychoeducational Community Music Therapy For Enhancing Students’ Learning Motivation, Dominikus David Biondi Situmorang

Buletin Konseling Inovatif

Motivation is an important determinant for students’ academic achievement; however, many pupils report that their learning motivation decreases in particular prior to exams. Preventive steps, guidance and counseling teachers or school counselors reported lack of concentration, high anxiety, and low enthusiasm among high school students. This study investigated the utility of a Cognitive-Behavioral Psychoeducational Community Music Therapy Seminar/Workshop in improving students' motivation to learn before exams. A pre-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design was used with 213 senior high school students in Jakarta, Indonesia, aged between 15 to 18 years old. The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) was employed to assess …

Coaching Fast–Coaching Slow: Applying Positive Psychology, Behavioral Economics And Neuroscience To Leadership Coaching, Ray Forbes

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

What can the rapidly expanding esoteric field of Neuroscience or Brain Science possibly offer the very pragmatic “hands on” Leadership Coaching profession? How can research findings from the fields of Positive Psychology and Behavioral Economics be productively used by the practicing Leadership Coach? Does a choice of coaching style and speed of interaction actually matter in producing successful coaching outcomes? This paper will explore answers to these questions, discuss some of the relevant research and offer practical applications and insights that can be used by the practicing leadership coach to become more effective. The intent of this work is to …

Cv: Kami Tsai (Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Human Resource Management), Kami Tsai

Psychology Department Faculty Curricula Vitae

No abstract provided.

Perceived Neighborhood Cohesion And Well-Being During The Covid-19 Pandemic In The U.S., Jennifer W. Robinette, Brooke Jenkins, Nicole-Marie Duran, David A. Frederick

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

The U.S. entered a “second pandemic” characterized by depression and loneliness after the initial outbreak of COVID-19. These psychological consequences have driven researchers to identify protective factors during this crisis. The present study tested whether perceived neighborhood cohesion, or that neighbors trust and count on one another, related to fewer depressive symptoms and less loneliness as the pandemic unfolded. Two waves of data were collected online from the same adults in April and October, 2020 (N = 1,928). People who reported greater neighborhood cohesion had fewer depressive symptoms (b = −1.01, p <  0.001) and were less lonely (b = −0.20, p <  0.001), even when considering other pandemic-related risk factors. The association between cohesion and loneliness was even stronger 6 months into the pandemic (b = …

Exploring The Black Woman Experience Related To Sexual Practice, Sexual Identity, And Sexual Expression: A Qualitative Study, Ashley V. Rodriguez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study revealed the complex interplay between personal identities and social constructs, focusing on Black-identifying women and their lived experiences with sex, sexuality, and sexual expression. Over centuries, societal influences depicted Black women as hypersexual, simultaneously exposing them to criticism, shame, and judgment for their sexual expression and meaning-making related to sex and sexuality. Consequently, Black women remain a high-risk demographic for unsafe sexual practices and sexually transmitted infections. Using intersectionality theory and Black feminist theory, this study explored how Black-identifying women give meaning to sex, sexuality, and sexual expression as they shape the Black feminine experience. I sought to …

Unskilled But Aware Of It: Understanding Self-Assessment By Estimating Guessing From Cognitive-Metacognitive Paired Measures, Edward Nuhfer, Steven Fleisher

Numeracy

We utilize concepts of numeracy including number sense, reading and interpreting graphs, basic probability and statistics, and reasoning to estimate guessing and verify our earlier findings on human self-assessment as replicable. Our field study employed a low-stakes paired measures assessment (11,229 scores from the validated Science Literacy Concept Inventory and postdicted global self-assessment ratings generated upon completion of the Inventory) in conjunction with a five-category taxonomy of self-assessment proficiency. We also simulated 11,229 random guessing responses, to model responses that disengaged, purely random-guessing participants should produce. At least 90% of participants sincerely engaged with the instruments of measure, self-assessed imperfectly …

Clinicians’ Perceptions Of Adverse Childhood Experiences, Resiliency, And Treatment Engagement With Criminal Offenders, Aaron Pena

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study investigated the pervasive impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on clinicians, particularly those who provide services to criminal offenders. ACEs contribute to a range of mental and physical health issues that can extend into adulthood, affecting not only individuals who experienced these adversities, but also clinicians who treat them. Despite the growing body of research on the consequences of ACEs, there remained a significant gap in terms of understanding how clinicians’ own histories influence their professional resilience and treatment efficacy. Garmezy’s resiliency theory, the framework for the study, emphasizes the role of positive contextual, social, and individual factors …

Towards A Standard Assessment And Treatment Protocol For Firefighters: A Delphi Study, Amy K Gearhard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Firefighters are 5 times more likely than civilians to experience depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Firefighters have suicidal ideation and attempt rates that are 2 to 3 times higher than the general population, yet most do not seek treatment. The purpose of this qualitative Delphi study was to develop an expert consensus on psychological assessment and treatment practices with firefighters through the lens of an expert panel of 19 psychologists who work with this population. Siebert’s normative theory was used with the assumption that the panelists would provide feedback based on their clients’ best interests. The expert panel was recruited …

Trauma As A Predictor Of Engagement Among Former Foster Youth Parents Involved With Child Welfare, Sarah Gordon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The specific research problem addressed in this study is that the relationship between parent engagement with child safety personnel and the trauma histories of parents with transgenerational child welfare involvement is not well understood. Parent engagement is a critical component of child safety family outcomes. Although past research recognizes lower engagement for former foster youth (FFY) parents with child safety systems and the negative effects of trauma throughout a person’s life, there is no prior research that examines how trauma affects FFY parent engagement with child safety systems. Grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, the purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional …

Lived Experiences Of Postdoctoral And Licensed Psychologists Diagnosing Bipolar Disorder In Adolescents, Kim Colleen Anaya

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was conducted to explore the lived experiences of licensed psychologists in diagnosing adolescents with bipolar disorder, aiming to answer two key questions: How do psychologists make sense of diagnosing bipolar disorder in adolescents? And do they rely on their education and lived experience in the diagnostic process? Drawing from developmental psychology, clinical decision-making theories, and ethical considerations, the study highlights the complexities and challenges of diagnosing bipolar disorder in youth. Semi-structured interviews with four psychologists were transcribed and analyzed to identify recurring themes, which emphasized the importance of collateral information, developmental context, and professional judgment. …

Psychologist-Federal Agent Approaches To Supporting Veterans And Police With Mental Health Challenges, Ismith Bocaille

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study explored how federal agents and psychologists collaborate to assist veterans and police officers receive offer mental health care. The study paid attention to the potential interplay of artificial intelligence and faith-informed models. Following IPA-based qualitative interviews with federal agents and psychologists and an extensive literature review, the study pointed out some barriers to seeking mental health services, including stigma, rigidity inside organizations, and less peer support. Intervention models that involve patients intensely have emerged as more effective ideas, which are used sparingly. The results indicate that peer support should be incorporated into departmental policies, and closer contact and …

Additive Mindfulness: A Systematic Review And Thematic Analysis, Whitney M. Crawford

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Mindfulness is a state of present moment-focused non-judgmental awareness, the purposeful practice of which has been shown to promote psychological well-being by alleviating past-oriented rumination, future-focused worry, and experiential avoidance. Because the most widely adopted mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) were developed based on Buddhist meditation practices, there have also been developed various religiously modified iterations of mindfulness–especially those tailored to Christian clients who are wary of engaging with Buddhist-derived practices. While secular and Buddhist MBIs promote non-judgmental awareness for the sake of mere nonattachment to external and internal experiences, Christian mindfulness promotes detachment from these things in order that one may …

Stress And Psychological Capital: Exploring The Link Between Psychological Capital And Occupational Stress, Andrew Regalado

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The objective for this quantitative correlational study was to investigate how positive psychological factors, such as grit, resilience, and mental toughness, are related to employee perceptions of occupational stress. In this study, 115 full-time employees across various levels of occupational stress and risk, completed online surveys utilizing the Short Grit Scale (Grit-S), the Conner-Davidson Resilience Scale 10 (CD-RISC-10), the Mental Toughness Questionnaire 10 (MTQ10), and the Perceived Occupational Stress Scale (POS). The results indicated that grit, resilience, and mental toughness do not relate to perceptions of occupational stress. Additionally, grit, resilience, or mental toughness were not related to perceptions of …

The Relationship Between Leadership Styles And Organizational Effectiveness In U.S Military Major Combat Units, Jason A. Chizek

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The study examined the predictive relationship between leadership and organizational effectiveness (EO) and the predictive relationship within Major Combat Units (MCUs) of the United States Military. Using archival data from the Defense Equal Opportunity Climate Survey (DEOCS) 4.1, a large cross-sectional sample of active-duty personnel was analyzed to evaluate how five leadership styles, Democratic/Participative, Transactional, Authoritative/Autocratic, Transformational, and Delegative/Laissez-Faire—predicted nine OE outcomes, including Job Satisfaction, Trust in Leadership, Group Cohesion, Connectedness, Engagement, Organizational Process, Organizational Performance, Perceptions of Senior Leadership, and organizational Commitment. General Linear Models, a non-parametric analysis, demonstrated that Transactional Leadership was the strongest predictor of Job Satisfaction, …