Digital Commons Network^™

Shelter Staff Perceptions Of Physicians Seeking Services For Intimate Partner Violence, Gabriela Bagnara

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Research indicates there are a significant number of instances of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the United States, with current prevalence rates impacted by a substantial amount of underreporting due to stigma, difficulty disclosing, and complex love and fear of abusive partners (Breiding et al., 2014; Ellsberg & Heise, 2005; Overstreet & Quinn, 2013). A large body of IPV research exists more generally, but there is little understanding about the help-seeking behaviors of high socioeconomic status (SES) individuals within IPV shelter systems. While several studies have demonstrated the equal impact of abuse across demographic contexts (Satyen, Rogic, and Supol, 2018; …

Combined Treatment Model Program For Survivors Of Intimate Partner Violence, Hillary Jeanne May

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This project seeks to fill a void in the mental health field by providing a combined treatment model program to address the needs of survivors of intimate partner violence. As such, the primary purpose of this project is the development of a treatment program with services that are easily accessible by survivors that is intended for future implementation in shelters or agencies that have contact with this population of women. This program offers a means to engage an underserved population in access to services and self-development to improve overall mental and physical health outcomes and attempt to prevent recurrent intimate …

Constructing Bicultural Identity And Shame Resilience In Chinese* Americans, Natalie Wei-Mun Hsieh

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Mental health and family therapy professionals must respond to the resurgence of race-based trauma experienced by Asian Americans during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (Cheah et al., 2020). Yet Asian Americans are the lowest helpseeking group for mental health needs (NAMI, n.d.), often due to shame (Masuda & Boone, 2011). Dominant theories of shame resilience (Brown, 2006; Van Vliet, 2008) assume Western norms of an autonomous self, missing important aspects of Asian American collectivist, bicultural, and minority understandings of self, and the salience of interpersonal shame (Wong & Tsai, 2007; Shih et al., 2019; Yeh & Hwang, 2000). Bicultural …

What’S Faith Got To Do With It? Christian Sexual Scripts And The Transition To Marriage, Sandra Abidemi Banjoko

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this research project was to examine how messages from the sociocultural context of conservative Protestant women influence the sexual scripts that inform the beliefs and expression of sexuality in marriage and how they process, navigate, express, and manage their sexuality during the transition from singlehood to marriage. In this grounded theory study interviews were held with 16 married heterosexual conservative Protestant women, all in first marriages of five years or less. The results of this study highlight the gaps in the process of preparation during the women’s premarital experience, exposing the conflict caused by the moral incongruence …

Adverse Childhood Experiences And Cigarette Smoking: Demographic Moderators, Taylor Cosanella

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Research suggests that there is a dose-response relationship between ACE score and cigarette smoking, such that as ACE score increases, so does smoking behavior, but little is known about what factors moderate this relationship. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine demographic characteristics as potential moderators of relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and cigarette smoking. A secondary data analysis was conducted using the 2013 California Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data. The sample included 2,604 U.S. adults (54.8% female; Age: M = 53.3, SD = 8.10; 83.6%; Caucasian, 6.4% Asian, 5.9% Black or African American, 3.1% American …

Program Evaluation On The Kids First Program, Katherine E. Yamauchi

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study is a program evaluation of the Kids First program, an eight-week psychoeducation program, on parents and children who have experienced a divorce and/or separation. This study was conducted to assess the usefulness of specific program interventions as it relates to parental insight, co-parenting, and child adjustment. A descriptive analysis was conducted to examine results of the evaluations. Results indicated over 85% of the sample rated program satisfaction as moderately or very valuable, suggesting parents gained some knowledge and saw value in the program. Results also endorsed 95% of parents moderately or highly valued the effectiveness of the program’s …

Youth-At Risk Behaviors Within The School System In Trinidad And Tobago, Se-Anne Chance

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the interplay of risk and protective factors within the home, school, and individual domains may influence problem behaviors in youth ages 12 to 19 years. Moreover, this research was one of the most recent studies in Trinidad and Tobago that focused primarily on school risk and protective factors. It aimed to examine how school, family, and individual characteristics may shape adolescents’ substance-using, violent, and antisocial behaviors. This relationship was analyzed using the measures of the Community that Cares or CTC instrument. Notably, within relevant literature, it was revealed that teenage behavior …

Examining Resilience In The Lives Of Black Women, Laurellé C. Warner

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Challenges and adversity are ubiquitous, but there is differential distribution by sex and social location. Women have an increased likelihood of experiencing social and biological challenges with an even greater probability among Black women because of the enduring historical context of oppression, devaluation, and inequality. As a result, Black women experience stressful and chronic strains over their changing life course, requiring early and greater adaptation and evolving regulatory processes that can lead to stress proliferation and allostatic load. Despite hardships, however, many have demonstrated historical and contemporary patterns of adapting and flourishing. This is suggestive of resilience. Yet, the extant …

A Cross-Sectional Study On Korean American Mental Health Challenges And Help-Seeking Behavior, Kelly Eunjung Baek

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Mental distress in the Korean American community remains chronically high yet professional service utilization is amongst the lowest of any ethnic group in the United States. With high rates of co-morbidity in this community, it is critical to utilize a multilevel approach to understand the scope of distress of distress by simultaneously analyzing the occurrences of anxiety, depression, and hwa-byung (a Korean cultural illness), in addition to studying factors that impact help-seeking behavior. To contextualize the unique circumstances and factors that impact mental health challenges and resource utilization in the community, Critical Race Theory and Anderson’s Healthcare Utilization Model was …

From Homelessness Toward Self-Sufficiency: A Longitudinal Study Of Families, Elsie S. Lobo

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Family homelessness is a serious concern in the United States. Recognizing this, increased efforts have been put into housing families through various rapid rehousing initiatives. Little is known, however, about effectively supporting families to transition from these temporary housing programs to sustainable self-sufficiency (Cunningham, Gillespie, & Anderson, 2015). This dissertation is a community-engaged study that examines the needs and experiences of families over time in the No Child Left Unsheltered (NCLU) program, operated by the Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino (HACSB). It uses a mixed-methods, longitudinal design to capture the experiences and needs of families over a …

African Americans Navigating Through Relationships Towards Marriage: A Grounded Theory Study, Moosgar Yrveens Borieux

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this study was to explore if and how early parent-participant relationships affect subsequent intimate relationships among African American couples. Given the clear gap between African Americans’ attitudes about marriage and the data that show them to be the least likely to be married among other racial or ethnic groups in the United States of America, a unique conceptualization [Life Course Developmental framework, Object Relations theory, Symbolic Interactionism perspective] was used to explore the role that early key figure-child social interactions potentially have in influencing young African Americans interactions with their significant others. To carry out the research …

The Role Of Glucocorticoid Signaling In Prostate Cancer Health Disparities, Leanne W. Burnham

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

African-American men are more likely to develop aggressive prostate cancer (PCa) and die from the disease than other ethnic groups. Glucocorticoid signaling is a contributing biological factor to worse PCa prognosis, and is emerging as a key driver of PCa progression in the absence of androgens. The mechanism involves glucocorticoids binding to glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and bypassing the androgen receptor (AR) signaling pathway to activate AR-target genes that promote tumor aggressiveness and therapy-resistance. This is problematic as African-American men have hypersensitive GR signaling and chronically-elevated levels of glucocorticoids linked to cumulative stressful life events. To explore the role of glucocorticoid …

An Examination Of Foster Youth Socialization To Dating And Sexual Behaviors, Rhoda L. Smith

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Foster youth reportedly face unusual and negative life circumstances and outcomes due to being placed in out-of-home care. Foster care provides a resource for substitute caregiving which can range from archaically institutional to warm and familial. Foster care is a transient system which alters what is normative for youth relative to what mainstream youth experience, especially in adolescence. Being out of control of their lives and futures serves to create vulnerability for foster youth in the area of sexual and reproductive health. Lack of clarity within the child welfare agency regarding responsibility for imparting necessary, relevant information to foster youth …

Targeting Ledgf/P75 To Sensitize Chemoresistant Prostate Cancer Cells To Taxanes, Leslimar Rios-Colón

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most diagnosed cancer in males. This disease disproportionately affects African American men, with a higher incidence and mortality compared to other ethnic/racial groups. An aging male population and the complexity of addressing the health disparities associated with this disease puts PCa into the spotlight due to its serious public health implications and the imminent fiscal challenge over the next decades. Chronic prostate inflammation resulting in activation of stress and prosurvival pathways contribute to disease progression and the development of chemoresistance. Lens epithelium-derived growth factor p75 (LEDGF/p75) is a stressresponse protein that promotes cellular survival …

Relationships, Health, And Spirituality Among College Students: Factors Of College Success, Solomon S. Wang

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This explorative longitudinal study investigated the relationship between healthrelated quality of life (HRQL) and various social and faith factors associated with the home to college transition. Data from 347 collegians attending a Christian University were utilized for this study and results uncovered that over the course of a year, gender, time, significant emotional relationships, a psychosocial abuse history, and faith importance predicted HRQL. In addition to each having a main effect, there were unique interactions among the variables that predicted outcomes. The findings provide valuable theoretical and practical insight on what colleges and universities can do to address deteriorating collegian …

Living On Borrowed Time: A Longitudinal Examination Of A Time-Limited Housing Voucher Program, Lauren D. Foster

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

There are a number of families currently living in poverty across the United States (Census, 2010). These families are often stressed and spread thin in their daily lives. Different governmental supports are used to bolster individuals and families during their experiences of poverty. One such entity is the United States Department of Housing and Urban Affairs (HUD). This agency provides housing to countless residents each year (HUD, 2016). Much is known about the different program that HUD offers but information is limited what strengths families can bring in that can aid in their experiences while living in poverty. Using Hierarchical …

Bonding And Psychosocial Adjustment Of Youth In Foster Care, Alicia Marie Nicoleau

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Foster families face complex issues that include a history of maltreatment, family disruption, placement instability, behavioral problems, and other adjustment related concerns. Adjusting to these issues presents unique challenges to foster youths and their families. Using family systems theory as the theoretical lens, this study explored the ways in which youth psychosocial adjustment is related to the interactions between foster parents and foster youth in long-term placement as perceived and reported by foster parents. This study utilized a qualitative methodology with a grounded theory approach. Using in-depth interviews, foster parents described their perceptions of how their foster youth cope and …

Testing The Effectiveness Of The Irelate Program On Marines: An Enhanced Program Evaluation, Griselda M. Lloyd

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Junior enlisted Marines are getting married at a faster rate than their civilian counterparts and nearly twice that of senior personnel (Gomulka, 2010; Cohen, Passel, Wang, & Livingston, 2011). With the high rate of marriage, these same junior Marines have a disproportionately high divorce rate. While the high rate of divorce is a significant issue, divorce in the Marine Corps population is complex as it affects the individual’s and family’s well-being, and the Marine’s unit level of readiness (Karney & Crown, 2007; United Stated Marine Corps, 2014). As a result of this high rate of divorce, a group of Navy …

Insights In Depression Screening At A Latino-Serving, Integrated Fqhc Clinic, Jacquelyn Stephenson

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Depression manifests differently in Latinos when compared to other racial-ethnic groups, but little is known regarding linguistic differences among Latinos. This mixed methods study explored the depression screening processes among patients and medical providers at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) through an ethnic-linguistic lens. Binary logistic regressions were performed to determine the effects of ethnicity and language on PHQ-2 screening rates for 10,285 adult patients seen during a primary care medical visit from 2014 to 2015; of these 4,745 (46%) patients were screened for depression. Spanish-speakers were screened for depression more often than non-Latinos and Latinos who were English-speakers. …

To A Better Understanding Of Professional Practice: Provider Decision-Making When Delivering Hiv Services, Carizma Amila Chapman

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Over the last several decades an abundance of research has been conducted on HIV/AIDS. These studies have focused on the infection, impact of the disease on the health and quality of life of people living with the infection, and on treatment effectiveness. However, limited studies are available that explore the experiences of providers delivering HIV/AIDS services. Research demonstrates that providers have an important impact on treatment, shaping not only patient retention, but also treatment adherence. The critical role HIV/AIDS providers have in shaping treatment makes understanding provider experiences a pertinent area of inquiry to understand HIV/AIDS care. In this study, …

The Lived Experience Of Aging: Listening To The Oldest-Old, Julia A. Pusztai

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Although embraced as desirable by most, living into very old age is largely unexplored as a distinct season of life, with increased, varied, and cumulative changes during a unique time of vulnerability and frailty. The purpose of this study was to listen to the oldest-old, and to explore their lived experience of growing old. This hermeneutic phenomenology study examines the experience of finding meaning and living with losses and gains in advanced old age. This study design included three separate interviews one month apart with participants over 85 years of age. Purposive sampling resulted in 13 participants, 5 being male …

Breast Cancer Patients' Perspectives On The Helpfulness Of Supportive Offerings, Renee Lauren Jarvis

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Research suggests that breast cancer patients seek and benefit from social support that they view as helpful. Previous qualitative studies have explored overtly negative behaviors by family and friends in some depth. Several quantitative studies have explored how support that is viewed as unhelpful constrains, hinders coping, and causes distress to breast cancer patients. The current study differs from previous studies in that it provides an exploration of the perceived helpfulness of support provision that is well-intended. This study employed a phenomenological approach based on the interpretivist lifeworld perspective. It was conceptualized within the postmodern paradigm which draws from the …

Youth Adjustment To The Impact Of The Sierra Leone Civil War, Daniel S. Sandy

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Coping in post war settings following exposure to traumatic events often posed numerous challenges for youth health and well-being. This study explored familial and contextual factors associated with adjustment to the impact of the Sierra Leone civil war in a cross-sectional sample of 359 civilians and former recruited youth. Data were collected through a convenience sampling strategy with the use of survey questions administered face-to -face by trained research assistants in Sierra Leone from April through May of 2014. MANOVA test revealed similar adjustment status for civilians and former recruited youth twelve years after the end of the civil war. …

Working With Native American Youth To Promote Healthy Dating Relationships, Araceli Iniguez-Reyes

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Adolescent dating violence is a significant problem in the US in general. Research regarding programs that promote healthy dating relationships for Native American adolescents is however limited. This study explored cultural factors to consider in delivering a healthy relationship program with Native American youth, used this data to adapt an evidence-based program, and then pilot tested the culturally adapted program to see if it was effective in promoting healthy dating relationships attitudes and skills in this population. We used a mixed methods design in two phases. In the qualitative phase we conducted nine key informant interviews and two focus groups …

Perceived Attitudes And Staff Roles Of Community Based Outpatient Clinics In Disaster Management, Pauline Antoinette Hodge-Hilton

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Objective: Natural and manmade disasters have claimed the lives of thousands of individuals in the US and caused billions of dollars in property damage. First responders carry the responsibility of disaster management, leaving other health care professionals such as medical clinic staff underutilized to support the clinic staff. We explored how medical and support staff in Community-based Outpatient VHA Clinics (CBOC) perceive their roles in disaster response, their attitudes about clinic readiness and continuity of care during disasters, and their ability to function in a post disaster environment.

Methods: A mixed method study was conducted to answer questions related to …

Family Resilience Model Of Behavioral Health For Low-Income Ethnic Minority Families, Sherria Donae Taylor

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Over the past decade, the concepts of relational and family resilience have emerged as topics of interest in family science. Individual, family, and community level determinants of family resilience have received increased amount of attention in family resilience research particularly among low-income minority families. Correlates of poverty among minority families that have been noted in the literature are that of substance abuse and lower levels of mental health. The primary aim of this study was to operationalize the concept of family resilience and develop an empirically-based model of family resilience. The secondary aim, as it relates to the epidemics of …

Academic And Career Trajectories Of African American Males In San Bernardino, Lolita Laree Lyles

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

A qualitative grounded theory approach is utilized to study the academic and career trajectories of twenty African American male collegiate students living in San Bernardino, California. There is limited research that explores the positive educational experiences of young adult African American males. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to fill a much needed gap in the literature by providing research on a population of students who are rarely examined from a strengths based approach. Prosocial Development and Achievement Theory explains the major social processes of members of the present study as it relates to their academic and career …

Female Genital Mutilation And Marital Satisfaction Among Kenyan Females, Caroline Bosibori Nyairo

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The pernicious practice identified as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) comprises of various procedures that damage female genitalia for non-therapeutic intentions and is widely considered a human rights violation. Globally, tangled cultural and religious traditions are responsible for perpetuating Female Genital Mutilation. Women continue to be victims of this practice irrespective of their socio-economic status, and irrespective of an ardent worldwide campaign against it. The current empirical investigation into the consequences of FGM is multi-faceted and reveals negative impacts on women physically, psychologically, and psychosexually. This study presents an investigation addressing one significant aim in the current research. The aim of …

Dual Physician Couples: An Exploration Of Family Stressors And Coping, A. Benjamin Zinke

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Physician families have experienced significant changes in the last half century as the rise of female physicians has resulted in an increase in the number of dual physician couples. The present research is a qualitative study of dual physician couples (N = 32). A social exchange framework is used to conceptualize the costs and rewards that dual physician couples experience with regards to work and family domains. A constructivist grounded theory was used as a theory of methodology so that findings were grounded in the data. Results of this study showed that couples tended to struggle for what was important …

Second Generation Korean-American Parents: Social Context Influence On Parenting, Lana H. Kim

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Korean-American families are an underrepresented group within the family therapy literature. In particular, the realities and lived experiences of American born second generation Korean-American parenting couples is limited. Therefore, this qualitative grounded theory dissertation used a social constructionist lens to understand how American born second generation Korean-Americans, raised amidst contrasting Korean and western cultural ideologies, conceptualize parenting and position themselves in relation to their children within parent-child relationships. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 parenting couples of children between 0-10 years of age to illuminate ways in which multiple cultural discourses, bicultural socialization, and racialized experiences influence the parenting process. …