Digital Commons Network^™

Psychometric Properties Of The Hoarding Rating Scale-Interview, David F. Tolin, Christina M. Gilliam, Elizabeth Davis, Kristen Springer, Hannah C. Levy, Randy O. Frost, Gail Steketee, Michael C. Stevens

Psychology: Faculty Publications

The present study tested the psychometric properties of an expanded version of the Hoarding Rating Scale (HRS-I), a semistructured interview for hoarding disorder (HD). Eighty-seven adults with HD and 44 healthy control (HC) participants were assessed using the HRS-I and completed a battery of self-report measures of HD severity, negative affect, and functional impairment. All interviews were audio recorded. From the HD participants, 21 were randomly selected for inter-rater reliability (IRR) analysis and 11 for test-retest reliability (TRR) analysis. The HRS-I showed excellent internal consistency (α = 0.87). IRR and TRR in the HD sample were good (intra-class coefficients = …

Acculturation And Post-Migration Psychological Symptoms Among Iraqi Refugees: A Path Analysis, Joseph W. Lemaster, Carissa L. Broadbridge, Mark A. Lumley, Judith E. Arnetz, Cynthia Arfken, Michael D. Fetters, Hikmet Jamil, Nnamdi Pole, Bengt B. Arnetz

Psychology: Faculty Publications

Refugees frequently experience symptoms of posttraumatic stress and depression, which impede their acculturation in the new host country where they are resettling. There are few longitudinal studies investigating predictors of mental health and acculturation during the early postmigration period. We conducted a longitudinal study of 298 Iraqi refugees, assessing them upon arrival to the U.S. and 1 year after migration. Premigration trauma was associated with increased PTSD and depressive symptoms at baseline, and with decreased acculturation 1 year later. Resilience was associated with depressive symptoms at 1-year follow-up, but not with other resettlement outcomes (PTSD symptoms, English-language skills, or acculturation). …

The Ethics Of Dying : An Exploration Of The Right To Suicide And Clinician Response To Self-Determination And Suicidal Ideation Among Adults Who Struggle With Mental Illness, Shelley Bair

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This paper explores the question: What beliefs, values and assumptions do social workers hold when assessing whether or not a person who is a mental health client has the right to suicide? The current literature reveals that individuals struggling with physical disorders deemed extreme and untreatable are likely to be accepted as rational grounds for suicide. Underrepresented in extant research is the critical examination of the desire to die as a rational versus pathological and treatable response to mental health concerns. The study question is examined, in part, through the lens of the Code of Ethics presented by the National …

I'Ll Hang Around As Long As You Will Let Me : Hard Country Music, The White Working Class, And The Experience Of Loss In The American Neoliberal Context, Nicholas Johnston

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This paper utilises the object relations theories of Ronald Fairbairn to conceptualise the narratives of Hard Country music, and understand how they relate to the shifting experiences of the male, white working-class in America in the latter half of the twentieth century. This paper understands the privileges that masculinity and whiteness have afforded the male, white working-class in the post-war period, and attempts to locate the relative loss felt by this population in the subsequent eras of de-industrialisation, neoliberalisation, second-wave feminism and the civil rights movement. Undertaking a thematic analysis of Hard Country music, an art form that purports to …

Living Well In The Lives Of African American Women With Chronic Illness, Gabrilla Ballard

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Finding support for African American women with chronic illnesses is challenging. It often requires these women to identify, cultivate, and nurture practice structures that go beyond medical structures already in place to aid in the maintenance of their health conditions. Outside of these structures, the resources needed to support the women are limited. They do not include the scope of modalities necessary to address their unique health presentations and holistic need for medical, emotional and spiritual health. Additionally, intersecting systems of oppression pose challenges to African American women when trying to access resources that could support their overall well-being. This …

Caregiver Experiences Of A Therapeutic Nursery Program : An Exploratory Study, Jaimie Tyler

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative exploratory study was to increase our understanding of caregiver experiences whose children use the services of early-intervention programs. The primary value of this study is a better understanding of caregiver perceptions of program aims (how they understand the program), program impact (what they feel or believe it has done/ is doing for them), and program relationships (how they view their family’s relationships with staff). The goal was to add to the limited body of literature on the therapeutic nursery programs by seeking to better understand overall caregiver perceptions and experiences of one such program located …

Program Evaluation Of A Transitional Age Youth Program : A Project Based Upon An Investigation At Servicenet, Northampton, Massachusetts, Andrea Carnegie Chester

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study was designed to survey participants of ServiceNet’s Transitional Age Youth (TAY) program to solicit feedback regarding program effectiveness in meeting their needs. Surveys were designed with ServiceNet staff to solicit participant perspectives on the importance of program goals, and satisfaction with program services in meeting those goals. Surveys included quantitative and qualitative questions, and were distributed to all active TAY program participants. Respondents placed the greatest emphasis on TAY program goals regarding living independently and housing. Subjects were somewhat less satisfied with program services geared towards employment services. Overall, subjects were very positive about TAY staff, particularly regarding …

Socioeconomic Status And Autism Spectrum Disorder : Caregivers' Solutions To Overcoming Service Barriers, Rachel Rodriguez

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study attempted to remedy the existing research gaps by asking: How does SES of caregivers for children with ASD influence their ideas of service barrier solutions? The purpose of this study was to examine caregivers’ perspectives of service barrier solutions and how SES influences their ideas of solutions. It was hypothesized that high SES caregivers would report experiencing less service barriers than low SES caregivers; therefore, there would be a difference in their ideas of solutions. This study explored sources of information, service barriers, ideas of solutions to barriers, and how solutions may improve caregivers’ abilities to care for …

Exploring The Implementation Of Restorative Practices In Bay Area Schools, Vanessa Shea

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Factors associated with successful implementation of school-based restorative justice communities were examined. Restorative practices are alternatives to zero-tolerance, top down approaches that emphasize social engagement over social control (i.e. proactive and reactive responses promote school safety and health). A mixed-methods, survey-based, approach was selected for data collection. Front-line school-based practitioners and administrators from various schools/districts in the Bay Area of California were informed of the study via email and invited to complete an online survey. Analysis of the 37 completed responses suggest that implementation involves various stages that can be identified by practitioners and successful engagement of the wider community …

Veterans' Stories Of Substance Use, Recovery, And Moral Injury : An Exploratory Study, Chelsea Faria

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This explorative/descriptive study investigates veterans’ stories of substance use/misuse, recovery, and moral injury. 12 male veterans participated in semi-structured interviews and answered questions about how their motivations for substance use/misuse and recovery changed prior to, during, and after their military service. Participants were also asked if they experienced moral injury while in the military, and if this precipitated or motivated substance use/misuse. The purpose of this study was to determine how the military impacts a veteran’s substance use/misuse and recovery. Qualitative research on moral injury is minimal, and this study aimed to address that gap in the literature. The study …

Mental Health Interventions For Homeless Young Children Through An Attachment Theory Lens : A Review And Analysis Of The Literature, Kimberly Mckittrick

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This thesis is a review and analysis of the literature on mental health interventions that may be effective for treating homeless young children living in emergency shelters or transitional housing. It begins with a discussion of family homelessness in the United States, and continues with a review of the literature on relationships among maternal mental health, children’s mental health, and homelessness. While homelessness is associated with increased maternal mental illness, the association between homelessness and children’s wellbeing appears to be mediated by the mother-child attachment relationship. Therefore, a discussion of attachment theory, attachment in homeless and impoverished children, and the …

In The Wake Of Vicarious Traumatization : Making Meaning Through Jungian Theory And Engaged Buddhism, Angel Haydn Reed

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

No abstract provided.

Accommodating Grief On Twitter: An Analysis Of Expressions Of Grief Among Gang Involved Youth On Twitter Using Qualitative Analysis And Natural Language Processing, Desmond Upton Patton, Jamie C. Macbeth, Sarita Schoenebeck, Katherine Shear, Kathleen Mckeown

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

There is a dearth of research investigating youths’ experience of grief and mourning after the death of close friends or family. Even less research has explored the question of how youth use social media sites to engage in the grieving process. This study employs qualitative analysis and natural language processing to examine tweets that follow 2 deaths. First, we conducted a close textual read on a sample of tweets by Gakirah Barnes, a gang-involved teenaged girl in Chicago, and members of her Twitter network, over a 19-day period in 2014 during which 2 significant deaths occurred: that of Raason “Lil …

Enhancing Paternal Engagement In A Coparenting Paradigm, Marsha Kline Pruett, Kyle D. Pruett, Carolyn P. Cowan, Philip A. Cowan

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

Despite the benefits for children and families of fathers who are involved positively with their children, most parenting programs in the United States and globally focus on and collect evaluation data from mothers almost exclusively. Engaging fathers is still viewed as a complex endeavor that is only somewhat successful. In this article, we summarize what is known about engaging fathers in parenting programs, then argue that programs are most effective when coparenting is the focus early in family formation. We rely on two decades of the Supporting Father Involvement program as an example of an initiative that has been effective …

Changes In Saving Cognitions Mediate Hoarding Symptom Change In Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy For Hoarding Disorder, Hannah C. Levy, Blaise L. Worden, Christina M. Gilliam, Christine D'Urso, Gail Steketee, Randy O. Frost, David F. Tolin

Psychology: Faculty Publications

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an empirically-supported treatment for hoarding disorder (HD). However, meta-analytic studies suggest that CBT is only modestly effective, and a significant number of individuals with HD remain symptomatic following treatment. To inform the development of more effective and targeted treatments, it will be important to clarify the mechanisms of treatment response in CBT for HD. To this end, the current study examined whether change in maladaptive saving beliefs mediated symptom change in CBT for HD. Sixty-two patients with primary HD completed measures of maladaptive saving cognitions and hoarding severity at pre-, mid-, and post-CBT. Results showed that …

Enhancing Father Involvement In Low-Income Families: A Couples Group Approach To Preventive Intervention, Marsha Kline Pruett, Kyle Pruett, Carolyn Pape Cowan, Philip A. Cowan

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

To address the problem of fathers’ absence from children’s lives and the difficulty of paternal engagement, especially among lower income families, government agencies have given increasing attention to funding father involvement interventions. Few of these interventions have yielded promising results. Father involvement research that focuses on the couple/coparenting relationship offers a pathway to support fathers’ involvement while strengthening family relationships. Relevant research is reviewed and an exemplar is provided in the Supporting Father Involvement intervention and its positive effects on parental and parent-child relationships and children’s outcomes. The article concludes with policy implications of this choice of target populations and …

Cripping East Los Angeles: Enabling Environmental Justice In Helena María Viramontes’S Their Dogs Came With Them, Jina B. Kim

English Language and Literature: Faculty Books

Chapter 18 of section three: Food Justice in Disability Studies and the Environmental Humanities: Toward an Eco-Crip Theory edited by Stacy Alaimo

Although scholars in the environmental humanities have been exploring the dichotomy between "wild" and "built" environments for several years, few have focused on the field of disability studies, a discipline that enlists the contingency between environments and bodies as a foundation of its scholarship. On the other hand, scholars in disability studies have demonstrated the ways in which the built environment privileges some bodies and minds over others, yet they have rarely examined the ways in which toxic …

How Our Service Systems Impact Resiliency And Recovery Of Domestic Violence Survivors : Clinical Perspectives, Emily Riddle Jacobs

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This qualitative research study explores clinicians’ perceptions of how current social service systems impact domestic violence survivor resiliency and recovery from abuse. The study utilizes a narrative analytic approach examining semi-structured interviews gathered from nine clinicians working in the trauma field. Through using the theoretical frames of intersectionality, trauma theory, and post-traumatic growth theory, the study focuses on the potential for growth and resilience among trauma survivors. This study found that survivors experienced more nuanced post-traumatic growth with ambivalence around new self-development, resiliency, and feelings of empowerment. The research suggests that the current social service systems re-traumatize survivors and replicate …

Experiences Of Canadian Oncologists With Difficult Patient Deaths And Coping Strategies Used, Leeat Granek, L. Barbera, O. Nakash, M. Cohen, M. K. Krzyzanowska

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

Objectives We aimed to explore and identify what makes patient death more emotionally difficult for oncologists and how oncologists cope with patient death. Methods A convenience sample of 98 Canadian oncologists (50 men, 48 women) completed an online survey that included a demographics section and a section about patient death. Results More than 80% of oncologists reported that patient age, long-term management of a patient, and unexpected disease outcomes contributed to difficult patient loss. Other factors included the doctor–patient relationship, identification with the patient, caregiver-related factors, oncologist-related factors, and “bad deaths.” Oncologists reported varying strategies to cope with patient death. …

You Don't Know How Strong You Are Until Being Strong Is Your Only Option : Examining Resiliency In Survivors Of A Parent Or Caregiver's Suicide, Haley A. Rice

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Suicide is a prevalent public health issue in the United States as it intimately effects many Americans annually. This study explored the bereavement and coping processes as well as strength and resiliency of adult children who lost their parent to death by suicide. Twelve adult children were recruited for this study through social media and suicide support groups. Participants were interviewed by phone and interviews were transcribed and analyzed using an inductive approach. The following themes were identified: intensity of the loss, secondary trauma of suicide, feelings of stigma, solace in talking about their parent, researching mental illness, attending grief …

Gestalt Therapists' Perspectives On Gender In The Therapeutic Relationship : Implications For Anti-Oppressive Practice, Benjamin Philip Borkan

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study seeks to explore How does Gestalt therapy training influence therapists in navigating clinical encounters involving gender identity? Gestalt therapists’ responses noted the importance of authenticity, contact, ability to question biases, self-examination, personal responsibility, and the therapist’s sense of their own gender identity privilege and oppression. Gestalt therapy is contrasted with anti-oppressive practice principles, in which there are congruent philosophies between Gestalt therapy and anti-oppressive practice principles. Participants’ and this author’s recommendations for future research include further research on the efficacy of Gestalt therapy training in working with varying identities, as well as gathering perspectives from people of marginalized …

A Mixed-Method Study Examining The Intersection Of Race And Sexual Violence Among Lgbtq Prisoners, Sarah J. Aftab

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The current mixed-method study examined the intersection of race and sexual violence among LGBTQ prisoners while incarcerated. The study used secondary data from a survey of LGBTQ prisoners collected by an organization in 2014 (N=1093). Historically, the criminal justice system has criminalized and discriminated against LGBTQ persons, and reports show a prevalence of abuse occurs during incarceration. Quantitatively, the study aimed to determine a relationship between race and sexual violence; qualitatively, it aimed to understand how prisoners in this study experienced sexual violence. Findings suggested: Black, Latinx/Hispanic, and Mixed race prisoners had significantly lower likelihood of unwanted touching …

An Exploration Of The Relationship Between Religion And Spirituality And Acculturation Stress Among International Students In The Western Massachusetts, Mun Ying Kennis Cheng

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This quantitative study examined the relationship between religion and spirituality and acculturative stress among international students (n=38) in two colleges in Western Massachusetts. This study utilized three well-validated tools to measure acculturative stress for international students, religion and spirituality, and intrinsic religious motivation to test the hypothesis that religion and spirituality can help international students lessen their acculturative stress. The findings suggested no significant correlation between the variables, possibly due to a small sample size. The results showed that over 55% of students had some type of religious affiliation, and over 63% indicated they either attended churches or practiced meditation …

Do Characteristics Of Children And Families Influence Reported Caregiver Burden? : A Secondary Data Analysis Of The 2009-2010 National Survey Of Children With Special Health Care Needs, Chelsea Davies

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Children with special health care needs (CSHCN) make up 15% of U.S. children 18 and under. They require increased specialized care, which may pose unique challenges to families. Prior research suggests families from historically disenfranchised groups may experience greater burden due to systems of structural oppression. This quantitative secondary data analysis of the 2009-2010 National Survey of CSHCN (N=40,242) uses a cross-sectional design, testing whether family characteristics (race/ethnicity, caregiver’s gender or education level, and number of CSHCN in the home) or a child’s functional difficulty (chronic pain, behavior, anxiety/depression) are significantly associated with caregiver burden. Results suggest significantly greater time, …

Kinship Diversion : Exploring Experiences Of Relative Probate Guardianship In Los Angeles, Ca., Alison Davies

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This qualitative study explored the characteristics and experiences of relative caregivers in Los Angeles County who were involved in a child welfare practice called “kinship diversion.” It specifically examined cases in which caregivers were diverted to probate court to obtain legal guardianship of their relatives' children as an alternative to opening a case with the child welfare system due to allegations of abuse or neglect against the biological parents. Five kinship caregivers were interviewed with a focus on answering the questions of who is diverted to legal guardianship, and why?

The findings of this study showed that diversion occurred …

Perinatal Depression Screening : Using Antenatal Depression Screens And Patient Demographics To Predict Risk For Postpartum Depression :, Jackson Doyle

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study examined the relationship between antenatal depression and postpartum depression in pregnant women at a family health clinic. The aim was to determine whether antenatal depression screens predicted postpartum depression. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Screen (EPDS) was used to screen for depression in 411 pregnant women during the first trimester, third trimester and postpartum phases of pregnancy. Risk factors including patient body mass index, socioeconomic status and marital status were considered predictors of perinataldepression. EPDS scores were analyzed over the three time periods and were compared to body mass index, socioeconomic status and marital status. Results indicated that third …

Found In Translation : How Social Work Education Can Support Student Practice With Language-Discordant Client Systems, Martha Ann Early

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study’s research question was "How can schools of social work support their students to work with language-discordant client systems (LDCS)?" In addition to the need for general support, social work students are preparing to enter a field where the patient population is growing increasingly diverse in terms of ethnicity, culture and language ability. Participants in the study described herein were current and recent social works students who were recruited for sample membership via broad social media outreach, supplemented with outreach to the researcher's professional network

The findings of this study indicate that the role of schools of social work …

Working With Trauma : A Qualitative And Retrospective Exploration Of The Experiences Of Clinicians Who Work With Trauma, Allyson Rebecca Lent

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The current study explored the gap in understanding the experiences of clinicians who work with trauma given the interesting intersection of high prevalence of trauma and demonstrated lack of training in working with trauma survivors. To this end, this qualitative and exploratory study sought to gain a retrospective understanding of clinicians’ training and career experiences in an effort to glean what has worked well in preparing skilled clinicians to work with trauma. Findings confirmed that clinicians do not feel prepared to do trauma work upon graduating from their degree programs and that they must seek out training opportunities in order …

Classism In The Therapeutic Alliance : Implications For Clinical Social Work Practice, Taylor Millard

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This qualitative study was an exploration of the impact of classism in the therapeutic alliance, specifically from a power, privilege, and oppression framework, and with attention to participants’ salient intersecting identities. Twelve clinicians, who identified with working class backgrounds and who had engaged in therapy as both clinicians and clients, engaged in semistructured qualitative interviews. The findings indicated that classism was salient to participants’ intersectional subjectivities and to their experiences in the field. Significantly, participants all named experiences in which a systemic lack of attention to classism and/or social class identities led them to feel alienated and silenced as students, …

A Correlative Analysis Of Mystical Experiences And Lasting Symptom Improvement From Mdma-Assisted Psychotherapy For Treatment-Resistant Ptsd : A Project Based Upon An Investigation Sponsored By Multidisciplinary Association For Psychedelic Studies (Maps), Michiko A. Mitsunaga-Whitten

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Before the Controlled Substance Act of 1985 categorized psychedelic substances as criminalized schedule I drugs, psychiatrists used ±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) as a catalyst to psychotherapy. Over two decades later, this project seeks to contribute to the renaissance of psychedelic research. Specifically, this study focuses on participants’ experience of treatment in the recent FDA approved Phase 2 clinical study, “A Randomized, Triple-Blind Phase 2 Pilot Study Comparing 3 Different Doses of MDMA in conjunction with manualized psychotherapy in 24 Veterans, Firefighters, and Police Officers with Chronic, Treatment-resistant PTSD.” The current study presents results from correlation analyses of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire …