Digital Commons Network^™

Female Victimization In Intimate Partner Violence, Phileine Phan

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a widespread issue that disproportionately affects women, causing significant physical, psychological, and economic harm. Although research has explored IPV prevalence and risk factors, fewer studies address how race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and disability intersect to shape women’s experiences and access to support. Generalizing survivors’ experiences often leads to overlooked services and policies for marginalized women. This study addresses that gap through a qualitative systematic review of peer-reviewed research on IPV victimization among women in the United States. A thematic analysis will be used to identify patterns related to systematic inequalities, help-seeking barriers, and the …

When Health Meets The Classroom: Diabetes, Depression, And Absenteeism, Megan Lindsay Meyer, Victor Sanchez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This proposed study would examine how diabetes and depressive symptoms influence school attendance among students ages 10 to 17 in one school district. Students with diabetes who experience higher levels of depressive symptoms might be at increased risk for chronic absenteeism, which could negatively affect both academic performance and emotional well-being. Despite growing awareness of pediatric diabetes and school-based mental health needs, gaps would remain in understanding how diabetes self-management relates to depression and attendance outcomes. This proposed quantitative comparative study would include students with and without diabetes. Participants would complete standardized measures assessing diabetes self-management and depressive symptoms, and …

Trauma-Informed School Practices, Mental Health, And Academic Engagement Among High School Foster Youth, Ashley Avila, Vanessa Ramirez, Jaden Simmons

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Exposure to abuse, neglect, family separation, and violence can negatively affect foster youths’ well-being and their ability to succeed in school environments. Studies have shown that punitive disciplinary responses may contribute to retraumatization and school discouragement, while school settings are often one of the few stable environments in the lives of foster youth. Although trauma-informed school practices have been associated with improved school climate and student engagement, limited research has specifically examined how foster youths’ perceptions of these practices are associated with their mental well-being and academic engagement in high school settings. The purpose of this proposed study is to …

Farmworker Mental Health: Identifying Environmental And Occupational Factors, Lizette Alvarez, Lizette De Loera, Melissa Zambrano

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Farmworkers have an extensive history of contributing to the economic development of the United States. However, research has paid limited attention to this population. From the ecological systems theory approach the purpose of this study is to contribute to the limited amount of research literature available on the implications of farmworkers mental health due to the experiences they encounter in regards to their occupational, environmental, psychosocial and community factors they face. This study will use a mixed methods approach, because of the researcher’s interest in detailed information about farmworkers’ environmental and occupational factors that impact their mental health. One hundred …

What Kind Of Foster Care Parent Training Leads To A Reduction In Foster Care Maltreatment?, Itzel K. Alcaras

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research proposal would identify the gaps in foster parent training and how caregiver maltreatment increases the risk of re-traumatization of foster children. While foster care is designed to promote safety, protection, and stability for children, existing literature continues to show that inadequate trauma-informed and evidence-based training may hinder caregivers' ability to respond to their complex needs, leading foster children to continue experiencing emotional and psychological harm. To further assess this concern, an exploratory qualitative study would be implemented utilizing a semi-structured interview that will include demographic questions then transition to open-ended questions format that will examine caregiver perceptions of …

Gaps In Therapeutic Services For Foster Youth In Short Term Residential Therapeutic Programs, Kaniqua Tainiaja Stewart, Maria Del Rosario Sanchez, Rachelle Hernandez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study examines rehabilitation outcomes among foster youth who are currently or were previously placed in Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Programs (STRTPs), also known as group homes. With more than 400,000 children are in foster care in the United States, and approximately 39,000–57,000 residing in group homes, limited research has explored why rehabilitation efforts in these settings often fall short. Existing literature emphasizes policy reforms, compliance, and placement outcomes under California’s Continuum of Care Reform, but gives less attention to youths lived therapeutic experiences and the consistency and quality of mental health services delivered within STRTPs. This study addresses this gap …

Foster Youth Success In Higher Education, Brianna Mosqueda, Ana Gutierrez Perez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This proposed study explores the topic of foster youth and their personal experiences, identifying influential factors in career choice at higher levels of education. Emphasized factors include overall motivation levels, personal experiences, financial factors, support, and potential challenges. Results of this proposed study could identify resources to better understand current gaps in educational success using two theories, such as Social Cognitive Career Theory and Self-Determination Theory. Study data would be analyzed using a quantitative approach, implementing non-probability sampling, specifically quota sampling, to identify and recruit foster care youth participants. Survey responses collected via scaling questions would be transferred from the …

Foster Youth Perspectives On The Effectiveness Of School-Based Academic Support, Stephanie Monroy

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research aims to explore how foster youth perceive the effectiveness of various evidence-based interventions that have previously been used to support their education. Due to the various barriers that foster youth face, they often experience significantly lower academic performance than their non-foster youth peers. Consequently, high school graduation rates among foster youth remain significantly lower than those of their non-foster youth peers. Much of the existing literature is outdated and does not adequately reflect current educational realities for foster youth. Additionally, existing literature primarily focuses on measurable outcomes and program evaluations, with less emphasis on ensuring the lived experiences …

Parental Rejection, Identity Development, And Mental Health Among Lgbtqia+ Youth, Litzy Rodriguez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Compared to their heterosexual and cisgender peers, LGBTQIA+ youth continue to experience increased rates of anxiety, depression, suicidality, and identity development distress. Parental rejection has been identified as the central impact of these outcomes. However, limited research has examined the influence of parental responses on identity development and the role of micro-level supports, such as counseling and support groups, and macro-level supports, such as inclusive policies and community protections. The purpose of this proposed study is to examine the relationship between early parental rejection or acceptance and LGBTQIA+ youth’s mental health outcomes, identity development, and perceived effectiveness of support systems. …

Mental Health Outcome Disparities In Children With A History Of Maltreatment: A Qualitative Study, Anna V. Echaury

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Child maltreatment is a widespread social issue that leads to lasting effects that include perpetuating cycles of violence and can lead to long term problems in adulthood. The presented study aims to focus on describing the mental health outcome disparities in children who have experienced child maltreatment. Although existing studies have addressed mental health outcomes, previous work has overlooked the disparities between children who have experienced maltreatment and children who have not. This qualitative study will collect data using interviews and utilize thematic analysis to analyze the collected data. This research will enhance understanding of the impact of child maltreatment …

Human Trafficking Of Children Efficacy Of Counter Trafficking Programs For Youth, Alma Rodriguez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Human trafficking is a global problem, and it is a significant problem within the United States. Children are a vulnerable group that become victims of human trafficking operations. Human trafficking prevention programs are available to address this issue, but there is much needed research to test the effectiveness of the countertrafficking programs for high-risk children. This study is a systematic review of studies on countertrafficking programs. This study will use a mixed methods approach to analyze quantitative and qualitative data from selected studies. This study hopes to find if current counter-trafficking programs are effective in preventing at-risk youth from becoming …

Training And Working In Police And Public Safety Psychology: A Survey Study, Sana K. Vora

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Police and public safety psychology (PPSP) entails assessment, intervention, operational support, and organizational consultation services rendered by psychologists to public safety agencies and personnel. In some ways, PPSP is a more recently recognized specialty area within health service psychology. While there have been occasional surveys of PPSP professionals in the past, relative to other specialty areas in health service psychology that share certain similarities with PPSP, such as forensic psychology and clinical neuropsychology, less is known about the experiences, broadly considered, of PPSP professionals and trainees. The current study sought to address this comparative gap in the literature by soliciting …

Clawing Our Way To Inclusion: Identifying Minority Students’ Barriers To Entering The Veterinary Medicine Profession, Danielle Reeves

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Veterinary services are being utilized more each year as pet owners are increasingly viewing and treating their pets like family members. Due to this changing perspective, the veterinary profession has grown significantly. Yet, despite this change, there is a lack of ethnic/racial diversity within the veterinary field. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors and/or barriers associated with minority students' desire or lack of desire to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. This study used an online survey tool to collect qualitative and quantitative data from 423 undergraduate students at the University of Arkansas during the spring …

Narrating Experience: How Undergraduate Social Work Students See Themselves In The Social Justice Curriculum, Emily C. Soener

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Social justice is widely recognized as a foundational value of the social work profession, yet research indicates inconsistencies in how social justice is defined, taught, and experienced within social work education. This study examines how undergraduate social work students make meaning of social justice learning in relation to their own lived experiences. Using a critical narrative inquiry approach grounded in constructivist qualitative methodology, this study explores how students narrate their experiences of social justice education and how those narratives reveal tensions between professional ideals and classroom realities. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eleven undergraduate social work students enrolled …

Community Justice Advocates: Increasing Access To Legal Resources In Utah, Natalie Maria Rust

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

A large access to justice gap exists among defendants in debt collection cases. The gap arises from steep legal fees, a lack of accessible resources, and the complexity of the legal system. The Community Justice Advocates of Utah was founded in 2024 through the Utah Regulatory Sandbox and authorized under the Supreme Court of Utah to bridge this gap. Community Justice Advocates (CJA) are trained human service professionals authorized to provide limited-scope legal advice in various areas. The Transforming Communities Institute (TCI) at Utah State University joined this network in 2025, launching a pilot program training human service professionals in …

Exploring The Experiences Of Adult Children Of Parents With Addiction: A Qualitative Support Group Approach, Brooke Stanton

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Adult children of parents with addiction often grow up having to navigate emotional instability, inconsistent caregiving, and long-term relational impacts that continue into adulthood. Many individuals report limited access to supportive care and spaces where they can share their stories. This capstone project addresses the gap by designing and facilitating a support group specifically for adult children of parents to build connection and healing. Through this qualitative study, participant feedback, and analysis, this project examines how structured peer support can create meaningful change for this population. The following paper outlines the development of the group, the theoretical foundations that guided …

Parental Socialization Practices As Protective Factors Of Lgbtq+ Youth Well-Being And Sexual Health, Melissa M. Ferguson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

LGBTQ+ teens face challenges like discrimination and exclusion from school-based sex education. Support from parents is crucial for helping LGBTQ+ teens feel safe and confident. Most research has only looked at how parents react when their child comes out, and less about how parents support their child in everyday life. This two-study dissertation explored how parents help support and protect their LGBTQ+ teens’ well-being over time.

The first study looked for patterns of protective parenting across interviews with LGBTQ+ teens and their parents from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Teens and parents shared their experiences of open communication, building community, …

Implementing Mtss In Hispanic Serving Middle Schools From The Concept Of Rurality: A Qualitative Case Study On School Mental Health And The Role Of Social Work, Rosario Elena Olivera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and the integration of mental health services within two middle schools in a suburban-rural mix, predominantly Hispanic school district in Southwest Texas, referred to as Desert View Independent School District. The study explored how educators and school-based mental health professionals perceive, interpret, and operationalize MTSS within their school contexts. Methods: The study employed a qualitative case study design grounded in implementation science and ecological systems theory. Data were collected through purposive sampling and included semi-structured interviews with teachers, counselors, and a district-level school …

Pictured And Framed: A Media Analysis Of Local News Coverage Of The Unhoused In Fayetteville, Sabine Skoch

School of Social Work Undergraduate Honors Theses

Amid a growing housing crisis in Fayetteville, local media serves as an influential force in shaping public understanding of homelessness. This study examines how homelessness is framed in local news coverage through a reflexive thematic analysis of ten randomly selected articles published between May 2022 and November 2025. Guided by media framing and attribution theory, this analysis explores how causes, consequences, and solutions to homelessness are constructed within a rapidly growing Southern city.

Three central themes emerged. First, local reporting centers empathy through lived experiences and community testimonies, emphasizing dignity, vulnerability, and structural precarity rather than individual failure. Second, coverage …

Self-Directed Violence In Athletes, Adela Vavrinova

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Self-directed violence (SDV) in athletes comprises a spectrum of behaviors, including non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), suicidality, and self-harming behaviors that can be embed- ded within sport contexts. Competitive sport environments may intensify psychological vulnerability through factors such as performance demands, body-image pressures, injury and rehabilitation stress, and norms that discourage help-seeking. This thesis synthesizes existing literature on SDV among athletes with the aim of clarifying how SDV is concep- tualized and measured, summarizing what is known about prevalence patterns, functions, and contextual risk factors, and identifying prevention and intervention strategies relevant to athlete systems. The reviewed evidence suggests the SDV literature …

Kroc Ipj Border Fellows Report 2024 — English, Rebeca Cázares Adame

Kroc IPJ Research and Resources

The Kroc Border Fellows Program brings together change agents from academia, civil society, the public sector, and the private sector to build a more inclusive and peaceful Mexico-U.S. border region through action-oriented research and meaningful community partnerships.

The non-residential fellowship spans 10 months and provides financial and technical support for Fellow-designed and -implemented projects. This model reflects a core belief that those closest to border communities' challenges are best positioned to develop effective solutions — and that lasting change must be built on existing community assets and strengths.

Throughout the fellowship, cohort members meet regularly to foster collaboration, mutual learning, …

2026 May, Morehead State University. Office Of Communications & Marketing.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for May of 2026.

Staying Safe, Smart, And Well Online: Empowering Older Adults In The Digital Age Conference Summary, Minzhi Ye, Rebecca Cole

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

Summary of the two-day, bilingual community conference that brought older adults, caregivers, service providers, researchers, and local organizations together to build digital confidence and prevent fraud.

From Service To Support: Empowering Aging Veterans, Priscilla A. Mireles

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone project was designed to assist aging veterans in Monterey County who face challenges staying safely in their homes long-term. It describes the Monterey County Military and Veterans Affairs Office, an agency dedicated to helping former service members and their families navigate the complexities of the federal benefits system to access essential support. The project focused on a small-scale community resource fair aimed at bridging the gap between aging veterans and local services including caregiving, healthcare, and transportation. By centralizing diverse organizations, the intervention aimed to increase awareness of available resources among this population. Most intended outcomes were met; …

Chit-Chat With Hats: Addressing Mental Health Decline Through Art Therapy And Community Engagement, Zoe G. Mendez-Sosa

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone addresses the prominent social issue of mental health decline in Central Pacific California driven by lack of support systems for individuals. In partnership with Health Advocacy Team Support (HATS), “Chit-Chat with HATS was developed as a peer to peer group with art therapy techniques to promote emotional resilience and community connection. The primary objective of the program was to provide individuals struggling with mental health with tools to help them manage their feelings and thoughts.

The program was structured with check-ins, mindfulness techniques, and opportunities of creative expression through art therapy techniques to help participants with processing complex …

Improving Fafsa Completion For High School Graduates, Haylee B. Padilla

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Too many students at Learning For Life Charter School graduate without a clear understanding of social mobility and are unprepared for the academic and practical demands of college. This project addressed the need for increased FAFSA completion and college and career readiness among 11th and 12th grade high school students graduating in the 2026 school year. The purpose of this project was to provide support to help students get federal student aid by walking them through filling out the FAFSA form and giving clear steps so they could apply without stress. Key activities included workshops, one-on-one support guiding students through …

Reducing Vulnerability To Burnout Among Family Caregivers, Stephen J. Alvarado

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Family caregivers experience high levels of burnout and stress, which can negatively affect their well-being and the quality of care they provide. This capstone project was implemented at Health Projects Center in Salinas within the Del Mar Caregiver Resource Center program. Del Mar Caregiver Resource Center serves a diverse community of family caregivers, predominantly Caucasian, Hispanic, and Latino individuals caring for loved ones with a neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimer’s or memory impairment. The purpose of this project was to improve caregivers’ knowledge, confidence, awareness, and intention regarding self-care strategies to reduce their vulnerability to burnout related to caregiving. The project …

Community Engagement Newsletter, May 2026, University Of Northern Iowa. Office Of Community Engagement.

Community Engagement Newsletter

Contents:

--- UNI's Day of Service - Thank You
--- A Snapshot of Our Collective Impact
--- Online Engaged Department Institute

From Innovation To Interaction: Processes Shaping Animal Assisted Therapy Implementation In Outpatient Settings In The United States, Rachel Rachlinski

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Animal assisted therapy (AAT) is an emerging mental health specialty marked by rapid growth, inconsistent training pathways, and the absence of regulatory oversight. Although professional organizations have published competencies and guidelines, no regulatory body ensures that educational programs or licensed practitioners adhere to these standards, leading to wide variability in practice and potential risks to clients and animals. This constructivist grounded theory study examined the processes shaping how licensed mental health providers understand and implement AAT in outpatient settings across the United States, with attention to the influence of training, supervision, and prior clinical experience.

Guided by the Consolidated Framework …

Burnout Among Oncology Social Workers, Evelyn Camacho

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Burnout among oncology social workers has become an important issue within healthcare because of the emotional intensity and demands that come with working closely with cancer patients and their families. Oncology social workers often provide emotional support, counseling, and guidance to patients throughout difficult stages of treatment, recurrence, and end-of-life care, which can place a heavy strain on their own mental and emotional well-being. Over time, constant exposure to grief, trauma, and high workloads can contribute to emotional exhaustion, compassion fatigue, and difficulties maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Although oncology social workers play a major role in patient care, their …