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Aligning Perspectives: Exploring Parent-Youth Agreement On Well-Being And The Impact Of Positive Psychology On Communication & Relationship Habits, Daijah N. Hines

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As research calls for best practices in assessment of psychological constructs from multiple informants, more information is needed for secondary reports of subjective experiences such as perceptions of life satisfaction. Adolescence is a vital period for intervention and assessment supports to promote well-being, yet there is a gap in the research on how to interpret multi-informant data for mental health constructs such as subjective well-being especially within this population. Research has shown support for and validated the use of parents/caregivers as secondary informants (Dew & Huebner, 1994; Hines et al., 2023; Shoshani & Slone, 2017) yet there is still vague …

In Search Of Protective Factors Against Gun-Carrying For Black Male Youth: A Dissertation- Sectional And Longitudinal Analysis Of Secondary Data, Kevin Edward Antwi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between risk and protective factors and gun carrying among Black male youth using both individual-level and population-averaged effects. Grounded in the risk and protective factors framework and the ecological systems model, the study explores how protective factors at the individual, peer, school, and community levels influence gun carrying at a single point in time and over time. This research aligns with the Grand Challenges of Social Work by preventing gun violence and informing prevention efforts. Using the baseline and 11 waves of data from the Pathways to Desistance Study, the analysis identifies factors that reduce …

The Role Of Teacher-Student Identity-Matching In Multi-Informant Universal Screening For Social, Academic, And Emotional Behavior Risk Among Middle School Students, Melissa L. Brown

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Multi-informant universal screening tools leverage insights from multiple perspectives to paint a comprehensive picture of student risk across a variety of domains. However, many barriers exist to the appropriate and effective implementation of multi-informant universal screening within the school. When such screening tools are utilized without intentional consideration of students’ unique backgrounds and lived experiences, harmful outcomes may disproportionally impact marginalized and minoritized students. To address this, context-sensitive, identity-conscious approaches may improve the accuracy and equity of identifying students in need of support. This study investigated the role of identity concordance (i.e., alignment of teacher and student gender and race/ethnicity) …

An Autoethnographic And Relational Exploration Of Identity Negotiation Within Romantic Relationships Between Nonbinary Partners And Cisgender Women, Maddison L. Russell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores how trans and cisgender partners negotiate gender identity, care, and relational well-being through an autoethnographic examination of everyday communication. The study draws from eighteen personal narratives across family, academic, and romantic contexts to trace how gender-based microaggressions and cisnormative expectations become embedded in ordinary talk, gestures, and silences, shaping identity development and relational stability. At its core, this work argues that relationality emerges as a pervasive and constitutive condition that shapes how affirmation, misrecognition, and belonging are experienced within trans/cis relationships and across time. Through examining moments of misunderstanding, minimization, and avoidance, the study reveals how microaggressions …

Strategic Leadership In Security Media: Enhancing Community Safety Against Drug Abuse In Oman, Raed Awashreh, Saif Alshuhoomi,, Viola Gjylbegaj

Journal of Strategic Security

Rapid global development has led to increased security challenges, particularly regarding drug-related crimes. This study examines the role of strategic leadership in security media to enhance community security, focusing on drug abuse in Oman. Despite ongoing efforts to combat drug-related offenses, these crimes remain a significant threat to societal stability. The qualitative research involved in-depth interviews with 14 decision-makers, including 7 experts from Oman’s security media, police, and related institutions. It explores the effectiveness of security media campaigns in raising awareness and reducing drug use. Thematic analysis of the data revealed key challenges, including limited resources, outdated technologies, and insufficient …

He’S The Kid That No One Wanted: An Autoethnographic Examination Of Preschool Suspensions And Expulsions From A Mother’S Lens, Lisa M. Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This autoethnographic research examines the personal and professional journey of advocating against preschool suspensions and expulsions through the lens of a Black mother. Titled He’s The Kid That No One Wanted: An Autoethnographic Examination of Preschool Suspensions and Expulsions from a Mother’s Lens, " it dives into the complicated challenges faced while confronting exclusionary disciplinary practices in early childhood education. This research aims to illuminate the societal and institutional roadblocks encountered when navigating systems of power and to explore the impact of these challenges on both personal identity and professional advocacy. Using a blend of social media artifacts and memory …

Which Adolescents Benefit Most From Positive Psychology Interventions: Examining The Common Factors Of Therapeutic Change, Nicolette Bauermeister

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The literature has found positive psychology interventions to be effective at improving the subjective well-being of youth (Tejada-Gallardo et al., 2020). Further research is needed to identify variables such as common factors of change that could be contributing to whether youth report improved outcomes after participating in a positive psychology intervention. This study examined common factors of therapeutic change as predictors for outcomes such as positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction, which are components of subjective well-being. This dissertation aimed to fill the gap in the literature regarding common factors of change as predictors of outcomes in school-based positive …

Identity, Familia, And Belonging: Librarians Of Latino American Heritage And Professional Associations, Alicia Long, Denice Adkins

School of Information Faculty Publications

The lack of diversity in the library and information science (LIS) field is a historical problem in a profession that strives to provide access to information for all. Many librarians of Latin American heritage are and have been members and/or leaders of the American Library Association (ALA). Some of them are also members of and participate actively in the National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking (REFORMA). The purpose of this case study is to understand how librarians of Latin American heritage (LLAH) experience a sense of belonging within librarianship based on their …

Feminist Narrative Inquiry: Stories Of Five Young Adults Who Aged Out Of Florida Foster Care, Amy E. Nourie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are approximately 400,000 children in foster care in the United States and, each year, more than 20,000 reach the age of majority without achieving permanency, also known as aging out (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2022a). Research has consistently called attention to the negative effects of foster care on youth including issues relating to substance use, housing instability, educational obstacles, and mental health concerns (Forkey & Szilagyi, 2014; Sarri et al., 2016). These negative outcomes are often even more pronounced for young adults aging out of foster care and transitioning into adulthood (Haggman-Laitila et al., 2019). Despite the decades of …

A Critical Analysis Of Latine School Psychology Graduate Students’ Socialization Experiences, Chelsea Salvatore

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to uplift and critically analyze the experiences and perspectives of Latine school psychology graduate students regarding their programs' socialization process. I sought to call out oppressive structures and to identify anti-racist practices described by participants. I intended for this to inform school psychology programs on oppressive structures they must dismantle and anti-racist practices that disrupt the status quo to support the well-being and success of Latine graduate students. Seven Latine school psychology graduate students participated in one or two semi-structured interviews. I employed thematic analysis to discover themes from participant interviews. Once themes were identified, I utilized …

Learning And Using Positive Psychology As An Intervention For Clients: Examining Changes In Mental Health Clinician’S Complete Mental Health, Frances Coolman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Traditionally, mental health was viewed as the absence of illness or disorders, but over time it has increasingly become viewed as also holding the presence of positive factors (Keyes, 2003; Ryff & Singer, 1998; Suldo & Shaffer, 2008). The switch from only focusing on negative factors to incorporating positive factors as well brought more traction to the growing field of positive psychology, defined as “the scientific study of positive experiences and positive individual traits, and the institutions that facilitate their development” (Duckworth, Steen, & Seligman, 2005, p. 630). Inclusion of both positive indicators of wellness combined with negative indicators of …

De La Escuela Al Hogar: Centering Latine And Hispanic Student Perspectives On Caregiver Involvement In The Well-Being Promotion Program, Nicole G. Pacateque Rodriguez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Latine students often face systemic barriers to accessing appropriate mental health support, highlighting the importance of culturally responsive school-based interventions to address mental health disparities (Gonzalez et al., 2022; Jackson, 2021). Although many interventions incorporate caregiver involvement, limited research has explored how Latine youth experience and make meaning of caregiver engagement in school-based mental health programs (Hansen et al., 2021; Wildmon et al., 2024). This mixed-methods study centers Latine student voices by examining how Latine students experienced and interpreted caregiver engagement in the Well-Being Promotion Program (WBPP), a school-based positive psychology intervention implemented during the 2023–2024 school year across six …

Rate Of Latine Caregiver Involvement In The Well-Being Promotion Program Using Culturally And Linguistically Responsive Communication Practices, Nicole G. Pacateque Rodriguez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Latine and Hispanic youth tend to have higher rates of mental health disturbances in school compared to non-Latine youth, yet they are less likely to receive support (Alegría et al., 2008). Additionally, Latine families are more likely to terminate treatment for youth early due to negative stigma, lack of culturally appropriate mental health care, racial and ethnic discrimination, and linguistic and cultural barriers involving care (Kapke & Gerdes, 2016). Best practices in school-based mental health services often involve including caregivers in care (Hoover et al., 2019) as it can benefit outcomes of treatment for the child (Richards et al., 2007). …

Effectiveness Of Contact-Based Strategies On Improving Mental Illness Stigma And Help-Seeking Behaviors Within Families, B. Michelle Wilks

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adolescence is a developmental period that often involves extreme physical, psychological, and emotional changes and sometimes the experience of significant personal and social challenges. In addition to these challenges, youth are trying to find their place in the world and developing their identities, which depend heavily on their relationships with others. Adolescents who struggle with their mental health and also fail to develop meaningful connections with others, tend to have poor self-esteem, self-isolate, are ostracized by others, and have a poor social self-concept, all of which are associated with poor mental health and increased risk for suicidal ideation. The impact …

Parents As Reporters Of Middle School Students’ Subjective Well-Being, Daijah N. Hines

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Historically, self-report has been the predominant method for assessing the subjective well-being of adolescents (SWB). Regarding the use of secondary reporters, especially parental/caregiver reports, in assessing adolescent SWB, there is a gap in the literature. Gaining a better understanding of how to best evaluate adolescent SWB can assist in the identification of adolescents who may be at risk for mental health concerns or who could benefit from increased well-being. It may also assist in the development of future interventions in positive psychology for adolescents. This validity study explored (1) What is the reliability of a newly developed parent report measure …

An Analysis Of Therapeutic Alliance And Group Cohesion In A Group Positive Psychology Intervention Serving Middle School Students Reporting Low Life Satisfaction, Alexis Taylor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While previous research has focused on how positive psychology treatments relate to outcomes, it is also essential to evaluate the therapeutic process of these treatments. The therapeutic process consists of elements like the therapeutic alliance and the efforts the clinicians and the client put into the process (Bordin, 1979). Positive psychology intervention therapeutic processes differ from traditional treatments, as they have a skills-building perspective rather than a problem-focused perspective (Cunha et al., 2019; Datu & Bernardo, 2020; Kwok et al., 2016). Thus, the therapeutic relationship may take on a different form. Furthermore, as therapy approaches differ, so do the modalities …

The Weekly Challenger, July 6, 2023, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The July 6, 2023, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

An Analysis Of State Sex Education Policies To Explore The Inclusiveness Of School Based Sex Education, Amarah Scott

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze state policies related to sex education proposed between 2018 and 2022 to determine the extent to which sex education needs of LGBTQ youth were being addressed. Previous research has shown that, on average, both abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education curricula do not include information that is relevant to LGBTQ youth. Much of the information included in sex education curricula such as pregnancy prevention and the benefits and disadvantages of condoms are most relevant to youth who identify as heterosexual. Not receiving relevant and accurate sex education puts LGBTQ youth at risk for …

The Weekly Challenger, March 23, 2023, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The March 23, 2023, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

The Weekly Challenger, November 10, 2022, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The November 10, 2022, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

Standardization Of Care For Transition-Age Youth At Emancipation: An Analysis Of Service Provision, Sarah K. Sheffield

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Florida Department of Children and Families notes community-based care (CBC) agencies are competent entities who present with their own method of service delivery and design. Recent evaluations show concerns in service selection to include a tendency to choose programming based on face validity, a lack of capacity and availability of services by geographical location, and a failure to systematically encompass stakeholder voice. The purpose of this study was to gain insight on how agencies make decisions regarding the selection of services for transition-age youth at emancipation.

A set of direct care providers from CBC and non-profit agencies participated in …

Justice Through Practice: Inquiry On The Development Of Preservice Teachers’ Teaching For Social Justice, Bethany Silva, Elyse L. Hambacher, Ruth Wharton-Mcdonald

Journal of Practitioner Research

This article reports on a collaboration among three teacher educators to facilitate pre-service teacher (PST)s’ equity literacy through a social-justice themed afterschool program for elementary-aged children that was embedded in PSTs’ coursework. The teacher educators engaged in practitioner inquiry (e.g., Anderson, Herr, & Nihlen, 2007; Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009), posing the question, “What happens when preservice teachers use justice-oriented children’s literature to facilitate discussions about inequity with young children?” We used inductive analysis (Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2014) to observe themes across 17 PSTs’ written and videotaped reflections, collected over two semesters. Reflections pointed to a fear of the unknown …

Examining Evidence Of Reliability And Validity In Florida’S Human Trafficking Screening Tool, Monica Landers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) involving children is understood to be a pervasive public health problem that negatively impacts individuals, families, and communities (Greenbaum, 2020). Combined efforts of the United States government, federal agencies, organizations such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, researchers, and practitioners work toward understanding risk factors associated with CSE in an effort to prevent victimization (Fong & Cardoso, 2010). Given the amount of public and political attention to trafficking over the past two decades, it is concerning that prevalence estimates widely vary and may be unreliable. Further, there is not currently a validated screening …

Mobile Response Teams And The Youth Emergency Behavioral Health System, Paige J. Alitz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: This dissertation includes three separate manuscripts that coalesce under the shared topic of mobile crisis response and the emergency behavioral health system. Method: The first manuscript includes a synthesis of the research on mobile crisis response from the 1960s to present day to assess whether mobile crisis services can improve mental health care access in the U.S. for youth and adults. The second manuscript includes bivariate and multivariate analyses of MRT participant data to characterize participants who receive an involuntary psychiatric evaluation versus those who do not, and to assess factors associated with involuntary psychiatric evaluation or referral to …

Usf School Of Architecture And Community Design, Wimauma Community Plan, October 2021, Taryn Sabia, Maggie Winter

School of Architecture and Community Design

The Hillsborough County and the Planning Commission launched the Wimauma long-range community design process to update the 2008 Community Plan. The initiative emphasizes participatory design and consensus building while aiming to guide future growth, coordinate investments, and provide a policy framework for revitalizing Wimauma Village Residential-2 with a clear, shared community vision.

The Weekly Challenger, September 16, 2021, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The September 16, 2021, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

The Weekly Challenger, July 22, 2021, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The July 22, 2021, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

The Weekly Challenger, June 11, 2021, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The June 11, 2021, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

Aspiring To “Make It Work”: Defining Resilience And Agency Amongst Hispanic Youth Living In Low-Income Neighborhoods, Sara Arias-Steele

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explored how Hispanic youth (ages 13-21 years) living in low-income neighborhoods of Florida defined resiliency and expressed agency navigating personal challenges and neighborhood adversity in pursuit of success. From the standpoint of the participants, this study focused on how youths: 1) judge the quality of life in their neighborhoods and the opportunities available for them, 2) identify personal aspirations for themselves and 3) identify what resilient factors allowed them to face the challenges and barriers of their daily lives to pursue this aspiration. This study takes into account the structural barriers that create inequities to examine how personal …

The Weekly Challenger, October 15, 2020, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The October 15, 2020, issue of The Weekly Challenger.