Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of University Engagement On Psychosocial Factors Among Division I Female Student-Athletes, Ashley A. Cook

Dissertations

Background: Female student-athletes navigate unique psychosocial challenges balancing academics and athletics, yet limited research has explored the impact of university engagement on their social and emotional well-being. This study examines the impact of university engagement on sense of social fit (SSF), nonspecific psychological distress (NPD), and loneliness among Division I female student-athletes.

Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among female student-athletes (n = 111) from eight sports at a mid-sized NCAA Division I university in the Southern U.S. Participants completed validated measures using the SSF scale, UCLA Loneliness scale, and Kessler-6 Psychological Distress scale. An exploratory factor analysis was performed …

Discovering The Process Of Reasonable Academic Accommodations For Pre-Licensure Nursing Students With Learning Disabilities, Amy Yarbrough

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the process by which nursing faculty make reasonable academic accommodations for students with learning disabilities in the classroom setting. Nursing students with identified learning disabilities require academic accommodations to facilitate their success. The process of reasonable academic accommodations for nursing students with learning disabilities has not been examined within nursing education literature. Clarification is necessary regarding this process to promote student success and inclusive learning environments within nursing education. Constructivist grounded theory methods as described by Charmaz (2014) guided data collection and analysis. The accommodation processes with categories were identified. The emergent …

From Doctoral Student To Professor: The Professional Socialization And Career Development Of International Counselor Educators, Ayla Martine Ludwig

Dissertations

Becoming a counselor educator is a complex and rigorous process wherein students grow both personally and professionally (Dollarhide et al., 2013). Throughout this process, students develop in accordance with doctoral competency standards (CACREP, 2021) which help socialize them into the role of professor. For international learners, their education has historically included unique challenges such as language barriers (Behl et al., 2017; Hegarty, 2014; Jang et al., 2014; McDowell et al., 2012; Ng, 2012; Pollock et al., 2017; Sato & Hodge, 2015; Sherry et al., 2010), cultural adjustment (Jang et al., 2014; Kuo et al., 2018; Woo et al., 2015), and …

Relationship Between Rehabilitation Counselors’ Experiences, Burnout, And Professional Collaboration During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Sharika Lawanda Sproling

Dissertations

Sharika L. Sproling, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Rehabilitation, presented on [March 31, 2023], at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.TITLE: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN REHABILITATION COUNSELORS’ EXPERIENCES, BURNOUT, AND PROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMICMAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Thomas UptonThe purpose of this quantitative study is to explore the relationships between rehabilitation counselors’ experiences, burnout, and professional collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic. These counselors represent an understudied population at risk of burnout, especially regarding its relationship to collaboration. Prior research has established how burnout can occur at the individual and organizational levels, and those who provide direct care have a greater risk …

Counseling Supervisors' Experiences Facilitating Supervisees' Cultural Competence, Christopher D. Bozell

Dissertations

A vital attribute of counselors to provide quality client care is cultural competence. Counseling supervisors are tasked to demonstrate cultural competence in supervisory interventions by aiding the supervisees in increasing their knowledge, awareness of attitudes and beliefs, and skills related to culturally sensitive practice. Although many professional organizations require counseling supervisors to provide culturally competent supervision, very few studies have examined how counseling supervisors demonstrate their skills. This qualitative Descriptive Phenomenological study explored the experiences of counseling supervisors when facilitating supervisees’ cultural competence.

Ten individual semi-structured interviews with counseling internship site supervisors were conducted to collect data about their experiences …

Power, Privilege, And Permission: A Qualitative Study On The Perspectives Of Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors Who Serve Racially Diverse Clients, Cherrelle Singleton

Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the experiences of vocational rehabilitation counselors (VRC) serving racially diverse clients and how VRCs are trained and educated to work with racially diverse clients. VRCs are typically employed by federally funded state or federal rehabilitation agencies. In their role, they aim to provide individualized tools and services that empower people with disabilities by alleviating barriers to being successful when preparing for and maintaining employment and being independent in their adult life (Donnell et al., 2013). Often tasked to work with clients who have marginalized identities including race and disability, VRCs must be able to understand and …

The Perceptions Of Educators On Transition Planning & The Postsecondary Transition Readiness Outcomes Of Students With Disabilities, Marisa Duarte

Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative descriptive research was to gain the perspective of educators on transition planning for students with disabilities in two public school districts in the state of Kentucky. The Individual Disabilities Education Act and Workforce Innovation Opportunities Act are laws requiring students with disabilities to be transition ready upon their graduation from high school. A sample of 12 educators, representing two Kentucky districts, who participate in transitioning students with disabilities, completed The Secondary Educator Transition Questionnaire survey. Data from the districts’ state report cards indicated students with disabilities were not transition ready in comparison with students without …

How Domestic Violence Counselors With Personal Histories Of Trauma Experience Their Clients Who Were Victims Of Domestic Violence: A Heuristic Study, Janis Edralin

Dissertations

The heuristic inquiry-based phenomenological approach values focusing on a question or problem that has been a personal challenge in one’s quest to understand oneself and the phenomenon. Previous research has shown that counselors with a personal history of trauma who provide services to victims with a similar history report a range of negative consequences. The researcher utilized a heuristic research design to answer the following question: How do domestic violence counselors who have personal histories of trauma experience their clients who were victims of domestic violence? The methodology involved interviewing eight counselors, from whom four themes were identified: awareness of …

The Role Of Counseling Trainee Adversity, Attachment Style, And Trauma-Informed Principles In Clinical Supervision, Nicole Hurless

Dissertations

Current supervision literature suggests that supervisees with insecure attachment styles may perceive a poorer relationship with their supervisor and feel less satisfied with supervision. Studies across disciplines indicate a relationship between traumatic and/or adverse experiences and insecure attachment; however, this association has not been studied within the context of supervision. This dissertation explores a structural equation model assessing the associations between student’s adverse experiences, insecure attachment, and quality of the supervision relationship. It was hypothesized that greater prevalence of adverse experiences would negatively relate to supervision relationship quality, and this relationship would be mediated by insecure attachment. The results of …

Implementation Of Pediatric Adverse Childhood Experiences Screening In Primary Care, Alexzandra Hillyer

Dissertations

Implementation of Pediatric Adverse Childhood Experiences Screening in Primary Care

Problem: Over half of children worldwide have experienced abuse in the past year. In 2012, The American Academy of Pediatrics released a policy statement emphasizing the importance of primary care providers implementing Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) screening into all well-child examinations.

Methods: This quality improvement project was a descriptive, observational pilot study in which Center for Youth-Well ACE Questionnaire (CYW-ACE-Q) was implemented into a large, metropolitan pediatric primary care clinic. A convenience sample was utilized composed of pediatric patients between the ages of 5 and 18 being seen for a …

An Exploratory Analysis Of Conflict In African Immigrant And African American Marriages, Cornelius Ayodeji Osuntade

Dissertations

Problem

There has been a high level of marital conflict in immigrant families from patriarchal cultures. There are negative attitudes toward women that contribute to couple conflict. Coupled with this are issues relating to immigration challenges that confront marriage stability among immigrant couples in North America. In the same vein, African American couples experience conflicts that militate against the stability of their marriages. Most of these marital upheavals stem from historical antecedents relating to this ethnic group, as well as the societal dialectics confronting them. By and large, regarding couple conflict, a better understanding of the challenges facing African immigrant …

Relationships Between Professional Development And Attitudes, Knowledge, And Skills In Play Therapy Among Counselors, Cynthia Ann Anderson

Dissertations

Most counselors receive inadequate training in play therapy, through university counselor education programs, to counsel children using the method, which leaves novice counselors searching for workshops, institutes, conferences, or self-training to effectively meet the mental health needs of children with play therapy. In this first-of-its-kind study, the researcher investigated relationships between professional development and play therapy among working counselors and measured attitudes, knowledge and skills, and types of training in play therapy. A nonrandom sample of counselors were recruited from relevant online sources in this quantitative study. Attitudes, knowledge, and skills were measured by the self-reported Revised Play Therapy Attitude-Knowledge-Skills …

Watching Disability: A Discourse Analysis Of Representations Of Disabled Characters In Scripted Television Programs, Wilbur Martin

Dissertations

This dissertation is a discourse analysis of three television series, Speechless, Atypical, and Breaking Bad. A close reading of those series was performed to analyze the representations of disability in those television series and whether those representations enforced classic stereotypes or differed from those classic stereotypes for disabilities. The representations were also analyzed to see if those representations enforced the medical or social model of disability.

All three series had instances of stereotypical representations as well as representations that were not stereotypical. All three series representations identified with the medical and social model of disabilities. Series that …

The Effects Of A Course Oriented In Critical Race Theory On White Counselor Trainees’ Multicultural Counseling Competence, White Privilege Attitudes, And Cross Racial Contact, Dawnielle D. Simmons

Dissertations

The current study examined the effects of a single and required Critical Race Theory (CRT)-oriented multicultural course on White, master-level counselor trainees with and without clinical experience. More specifically, the study examined differences in White counselor trainees’ responses to instruments that assessed White privilege attitudes, multicultural counseling competence, and cross-racial contact comparing trainees that had taken the required multicultural course with those who had not. Previous research suggests that when a single multicultural counseling course is a requirement of counselor training, multicultural counseling competence and White privilege awareness tend to increase. In the current study, a CRT-oriented course was used …

Counselor Education Doctoral Students’ Experiences As Developing Gatekeepers, Diana Charnley

Dissertations

This phenomenological study sought to understand and describe the gatekeeping experiences of counselor education doctoral students and enumerate key influences in their learning and development. A national sample of 75 doctoral students responded to the descriptive pre-screening survey, and a sub-sample of 15 completed semi-structured interviews. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, two overarching or meta-themes and five main themes were identified pertaining to how doctoral students view their role as gatekeeper and how they learn and experience gatekeeping. Meta-themes included doctoral students feeling “in the middle”, especially between faculty and master’s students, and how they are working to address these uncertainties, …

Exploring Counselor Educators’ Experiences With Neuroscience-Informed Counseling Pedagogy, Savannah Rose Cormier

Dissertations

Human beings have been curious about the mysteries of the brain for centuries (Bear, Connors, & Paradiso, 2007). Modern advances in neuroscience technology and brain imaging techniques have allowed scientists to see the inner workings of the brains of living people, resulting in increased knowledge and understanding of how the brain functions and how learning occurs (Hardiman, 2012; Sousa, 2017). Findings from neuroscience research are rapidly being used to inform practices in fields such as education (Thomas, Ansari, & Knowland, 2018) and professional counseling (Beeson & Field, 2017; Field, Jones, & Russell-Chapin, 2017; Luke, Miller, & McAuliffe, 2019; Navalta, McGee, …

Choice Of God/Higher Power, Perceptions Of God/Higher Power, Religious Beliefs And Behaviors, And Social Support As Predictors Of Length Of Sobriety, Satisfaction With Life, And Quality Of Life Among People Recovering From Alcohol Addictions In Three Midwestern States, Carlton Martin

Dissertations

Problem

An estimated 12.7% of the US population meet the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) criteria for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). The annual cost to the society, including emergency room visits, lost days at work, and accidents on the road is in the billions. The impact of this disorder on the family, the community, and the individual is immeasurable. A growing body of literature supports an association between religious and spiritual beliefs and behaviors and recovery from alcohol addiction. This project is an investigation of this association. The goal is to offer some …

Synthetic Cannabinoids: Characterizing Their Use And Cessation, Richard Vernon Turner

Dissertations

Since their introduction to the United States in 2008, synthetic cannabinoids became the most widely used recreational drug behind marijuana, then regressed to an estimated prevalence of less than 1%. Contrary to expectations for a drug declining in use, emergency department presentations and acute poisonings related to the use of synthetic cannabinoids are increasing. Alongside this phenomenon, a growing body of literature is beginning to uncover a relationship between psychosis and synthetic cannabinoid use. A current gap in the literature exists surrounding harm prevention methods and targeted intervention strategies for users of synthetic cannabinoids. To date, no known studies have …

College Students With Physical Disabilities: An Exploratory Investigation Within Counselor Education, Adam Tolbert Wall

Dissertations

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2017a), there are over 19 million students who are currently enrolled in institutions of higher education. For the past 40 years, the number of students with disabilities attending colleges and universities has grown exponentially (NCES, 2017b). There is an abundance of research regarding many aspects of the experience of college students with a physical disability across social science, medical, and education literature; however, research targeted specifically at general counseling practitioners, counselor educators, and college counselors is relatively limited.

The purpose of this investigation was to study the inner lives of a …

A Case Study Of A Jail Participating In An Animal-Assisted Crisis Response Program, Erica Schlau

Dissertations

A crisis state is often the result of being admitted to jail, due to the catastrophic impact incarceration can have on personal and professional lives. Unlike other studies, the present study focuses on inmates in jail rather than in prison. To address jail inmates in a crisis state, the current best practice is suicide prevention, which does not effectively consider the needs of jail inmates. Recently emerging in the literature is the use of animal-assisted crisis response (AACR) to serve individuals experiencing a crisis. There is a lack of research on the use of animal-assisted interventions (AAI) with the population …

The Evaluation Of Attitudes Towards Individuals With Mental Illness Among Counselors In Training, Randall Boen

Dissertations

Negative attitudes and stigma associated with mental illness have a profound impact on individuals who experience them. Researchers have defined stigma as the attribution of a deviant characteristic to members of a particular group. Persons with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) face many difficulties that impact their full participation in social life. Although attitudinal reactions to individuals with SPMI have improved considerably over the last few decades, there are still areas for improvement. Limited research has been conducted to evaluate attitudes and stigma associated with individuals with SPMI among human service professionals-in-training (HSPs). For this study HSPs were defined …

Perspective Taking, Multicultural Course Completion, And Political Ideology Affiliation Effects On Zero-Sum Belief Endorsement By White Counseling Trainees, Lindsay A. Okonowsky

Dissertations

Research suggests many Whites tend to see racism as a zero-sum game, which means they believe gains for one group necessitate losses for another group (Wilkins, Wellman, Babbitt, Toosi, & Schad, 2015). Given the theoretical underpinnings of multicultural competence, and the notion that beliefs drive actions, adherence to zero-sum game-oriented beliefs may interfere with individuals in helping professions’ abilities to provide multiculturally competent services to their clients. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects of perspective taking and multicultural course completion as interventions with White, master’s level, counseling trainees’ endorsements of zero-sum beliefs (ZSBs). A secondary …

The Predictors Of Juvenile Recidivism: Testimonies Of Adult Students 18 Years And Older Exiting From Alternative Education, La Toshia Palmer

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative study was to identify and describe the importance of the predictors of juvenile recidivism and the effectiveness of efforts to prevent/avoid juvenile recidivism as perceived by previously detained, arrested, convicted, and/or incarcerated adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education in Northern California. A second purpose was to explore the types of support provided by alternative schools and the perceived importance of the support to avoid recidivism according to adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education.

Methodology: This qualitative, descriptive research design identified …

From War To Home: The Systematic Issues Operation Enduring And Iraqi Freedom Veterans Face Transitioning With Ptsd, Tiffany D. Ware

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the perceptions of Operation Enduring and Iraqi Freedom veterans with PTSD, who are transitioning from active duty to civilian life, regarding their participation in the Disabled Transition Assistance Program.

Methodology: The methodology for this research study will be qualitative from a phenomenological perspective. When thinking of research as it pertains to qualitative methods, it is appropriate to use when a researcher is trying to study the lived experiences of individuals (Flipp, 2014; Patton, 2015). This method will describe perceptions of Operation Enduring and Iraqi Freedom veterans with PTSD, who are …

The Relationship Among Academic Advisement, Satisfaction And Productivity Of International Doctoral Students In Rehabilitation Counseling Education In The United States, Yancy Luz Cruz-Virella

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among the perceptions of international doctoral students enrolled in rehabilitation counseling regarding the quality of academic advising and its relationship with satisfaction and productivity. The sample for the study consisted of seven volunteer international doctoral students from four universities who are currently enrolled in rehabilitation counseling doctoral programs in the United States. Overall results from this qualitative study showed five themes: academic expectation, academic program satisfaction, cultural background, academic advising and factors than enhance the advisor relationship. The academic expectation reflects the importance of program ranking, completion of doctoral degree …

The Influence Of Feedback On Implicit Bias In A Sample Of Primarily Caucasian Women Counselors-In-Training, Branson L. Boykins

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine whether bogus cultural feedback influenced the presence of implicit racial bias in the clinical judgment of counselors-in-training. Participants were 193 master’s-level counselors-in-training, in which the majority were Caucasian women (57%). Three hypotheses guided the study. The first hypothesis focused on the influence of priming positive and negative feedback about cultural attitudes on a clinical case, regardless of the race or clarity of the case. The second and third hypotheses both focused on racial bias by examining the interaction between type of feedback, race, and ambiguity of diagnosis on participants’ clinical impressions of …

Readiness Of Counselor Education And Supervision To Provide Master's-Level Suicide Training, Jenny L. Cureton

Dissertations

The Counselor Education and Supervision field serves to prepare counselors-in-training to practice counseling. The Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs includes suicide training in its standards for accredited counseling programs (2009, 2015). Counselor educators and supervisors have an obligation to use the latest knowledge in the counseling profession and their professional competence to provide counselor training on ethical practice (American Counseling Association, 2014) including suicide-related counseling situations. The Counselor Education and Supervision field needs to change master’s-level suicide training. The field’s previous master’s-level suicide training appears lacking. Recent developments impact the field and master’s-level suicide training, …

Leader-Member Exchange, Dyadic Demographic Factors And Subordinates’ Turnover Intent In Rehabilitation Agencies, Bryan Oweilayefa Gere

Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between subordinates perception of the quality of leader-member exchange (LMX) relationship, dyadic demographic factors and turnover intent in rehabilitation agencies. The sample consisted of 152 direct care employees that work with individuals with disabilities at rehabilitation organizations in the state of Illinois. In particular, the focus was on determining the best fit model that predicts turnover intent among quality of LMX, dyadic age, gender, educational level, ethnicity and duration and their two-way interactions with LMX. Participants were asked to complete the team Leader-Member Exchange scale (LMX-SLX), Turnover Intent Scale (TIS) and a demographic questionnaire. Results …

Predictors Of College Attendance And Persistence Among Blind And Visually Impaired Students, Lydia Schuck

Dissertations

Completion of a college degree is a positive outcome for any young adult. The purpose of this three-paper dissertation was to explore the latent constructs and other variables that may be associated with postsecondary education outcomes of youth who are blind or visually impaired. The samples were drawn from a 10-year longitudinal study of youth with disabilities, the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2. The sample of the first study comprised 420 youth (all Ns rounded to nearest 10 to meet data restrictions) who had taken the direct assessment recorded in the dataset. Exploratory factor analysis of 17 variables reported by …

Knowledge Of Special Education Law Among Administrators In A Southern California Special Education Local Plan Area, Suruchi Singh

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was (a) to identify the knowledge of special education law among administrators within a SELPA in California and (b) to identify the training needs of administrators; 65 administrators participated in this quantitative study, yielding a response rate of 84%. A survey created on the six principles of IDEA was used with administrators (principals and assistant principals) who serve approximately 42,000 students at 50 public schools. Analysis of data revealed that Hypothesis 1, which projected that 51% or more administrators would perceive their knowledge of special education law as average or better, was supported. Hypothesis 2, …