Digital Commons Network^™

Adult Maltreatment In The United States Military, Gordon E. Storey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT The scope of sustained military operations has placed incredible stressors on the men and women of our United States Armed Forces; consequently, this strain has encroached on and impeded their relationships at home and after their military service. Adult maltreatment in the United States military is a serious concern that negatively impacts military members, their partners, their families and subsequently can prove detrimental to the mission of the military. In order to effectively address this growing concern, it is imperative that mental health practitioners understand the military culture and utilize the best interventions in their treatment. This research conducted …

Assessment Of Adoptive Families' Adjustment Post Adoption, Madison Allen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the existing state of parent-child adjustment post-adoption of adults that have adopted children through New Horizons. A total of 46 parents who adopted a child from New Horizons between September 1, 2016, and August 31, 2017, were contacted and 14 parents participated. The participants were asked to answer demographic questions, a Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire, a Parental Stress Scale Questionnaire, and questions about services via a phone interview. The study found that there was a direct relationship between the age of the child at the time of adoption and internalizing problems. Approximately …

An Exploration Of Barriers To Health Care Access Among Uninsured Patients: Using The Moderating Effect Of Patients’ Enablement, Enedelia L. Jessup

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT On March 23, 2010, Congress passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) to increase value of care, improve clinical outcomes, decrease health care costs, and increase affordability in health care access. The purpose of the study attempts to examine the moderating effects of patient enablement impacting barriers, low socio economic status, and unmet basic needs, toward health care access in uninsured populations post ACA. Only certain aspects of patient enablement in self-management of an individual’s health care goals have been conducted with uninsured populations with barriers toward health care access. The research design was a quantitative, exploratory, …

The Whiteness Project Of Gentrification: The Battle Over Los Angeles' Eastside, Jaime Guzmán

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For many years, the city of Los Angeles has declared war on communities of color. In the past decade, former communities of color like Echo Park, Silver Lake, and Highland Park have all been converted into predominantly white, affluent neighborhoods. In essence, working-class people of colors' neighborhoods are being uplifted in order to welcome a much more affluent population to town. The newest target of Los Angeles' gentrification for the past couple of years has been the greater Eastside. In this project I present my critical intervention of gentrification as a whiteness project. This critical intervention argues that gentrification …

Social Conflict On The Seas: Links Between Overfishing-Induced Marine Fish Stock Declines And Forced Labor Slavery, Jessica L. Sparks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite media attention detailing labor abuses in fisheries, social-ecological systems research has largely failed to consider whether fish stock declines could be contributing to increases in forced labor slavery. Empirical fisheries data suggests, though not a ubiquitous response to declining stocks, many vessels will fish longer, farther from shore, and deeper in waters to maintain yields. This effort intensification increases production costs, and Brashares et al. (2014), consistent with slavery theory, posited cheap and/or unpaid labor as an approach to offset increasing costs and continue harvesting fish species at a rate otherwise cost-prohibitive.

Using fuzzy cognitive mapping - a participatory, …

Psychotropic Medications And Children: Perceptions Of Mental Health Professionals, Elinor Jane Brereton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project explores mental health professionals' perspectives on the prescription of psychotropic medications to children. It emphasizes the placement of biomedicine within its larger social, economic, and political context, and the influence these structures have on the way mental illness is conceptualized and treated in children. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted in Denver, Colorado with psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and a pharmaceutical board member to capture multiple perspectives from different positionalities within the field. Participants discussed factors that they believe influence prescribing practices including: professional role changes, issues of access, limited evidence, cost, and institutional pressures to practice within a …

Fact Vs. Fiction: Uncovering The Experiences Of Homeless/Street Youths' Involvement In Survival Sex, Amber R. Mcdonald

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Youth involvement in trading/selling sex has become of concern for policy makers, scholars, and the general public in recent years (Cecchet & Thorburn, 2014; Hossain, et al, 2010; Pub L No. 106-386; Reid & Piquero, 2013; Sapiro, Johnson, Postmus, & Simmel, 2016; Shared Hope International, 2015). The behavior of trading/selling sex is defined dichotomously within the literature. One body of literature, employs the term "survival sex" when empirical work focuses on trading/selling sex among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) identified individuals or youth that are homeless (Greene, Ennett & Ringwalt,1999; Halcon & Lifson, 2004; Walls & Bell, 2011). …

Now You See Me: A Black Feminist Autoethnographic Poetic Polemic Of Radical Reflexivity And Critical Arts-Based Inquiry, Myntha Anthym

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an autoethnographic poetic illness narrative based on the author's year-long ordeal with unrelenting undertreated chronic pain. The project is grounded in the epistemological tradition of Black Feminist Thought and presented in alignment with the emergent methodological paradigm of critical arts-based inquiry. The purpose of the project is for the author to develop and articulate a radical reflexive praxis within the paradigm of critical arts-based inquiry while demonstrating the value of lived experience as a source of knowledge and poetry as a method of inquiry in revealing subjugated truths about the experiences of marginalized people. The dissertation lives …

A Study Of Confidence In Individuals Who Actively Work With Returning Military Personnel, Ladonna Slayter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to explore if training significantly increased community workers' perceived level of confidence and their ability to provide services to returning military personnel in two locations. To measure community workers' perceived level of confidence, participants N = 143 (n = 63 Norfolk, VA) and (n= 80 Fayetteville, NC) responded to an instrument containing 40 items. Inferential and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the study variables. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) were used to compare the reliability of means between the groups from 2011 to 2012 (i.e., pre-intervention to post-intervention). A Bonferroni Correction was applied to control the familywise …

I'M Gonna Stay Right Here Until They Tear This Barrelhouse Down: Black Power And The Origins Of Blues Tourism In Greenville, Mississippi, Tyler Dewayne Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation connects and comments on the historiography of the black freedom struggle as well as studies of the blues and blues tourism. To blues studies, it recognizes the artists discovered by Worth Long as well as his field research and festival production in the 1970s. It moves away from the social constructions of authenticity and segregation of sound, and it emphasizes black agency. My dissertation also contributes to the historiography of the black freedom struggle by providing a much-needed examination of rural economic and community development in 1970s Mississippi. For studies of blues tourism, it announces a revisionist account …

Relationship Of Physical Health Risk Screenings In Seriously Mentally Ill With Self-Efficacy For Health, Perception Of Health Risk, And Intention To Follow-Up With Medical Care., Dawn (Vanruler) Bos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Morbidity and mortality occur at higher rates in those with serious mental illness (SMI) than those without SMI. These higher rates are worsening in degree, despite known preventative strategies, such as physical health risk screening (HRS). This study evaluates the relationship of physical HRS with self-efficacy for health prevention behaviors, perception of level of risk of health consequences, and intention to follow up with medical care for identified health risks. The study considers Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) factors related to HRS in individuals with SMI. A HRS tool was administered to 54 adult ambulatory clients from the Midwestern United States …

Increasing Access To High-Impact Practices: A Case Study On Internships At The University Of Mississippi, Kristina Phillips, Jennifer Saxon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation-in-practice case study aimed to assess internships opportunities at the University of Mississippi (UM) to determine potential barriers for access among African American students and students with low socioeconomic backgrounds. Internships are a high impact practice, as identified by the American Association for Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) that provide students with tangible, real-world experience to prepare for careers after graduation. Experiential learning theories (Kolb, 1984; Dewey, 1938) and high-impact practices (Kuh, 2008) establish the importance of student engagement outside of traditional classroom settings. The patterns and frequency of internship participation are not clear for University of Mississippi students. Research …

Paper Chase: Perceptions Of The Pursuit Of Academic Scholarly Productivity Among Faculty Writing Group Participants, Deidra Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This autoethnography uses the researcher’s personal journey from professional writer to emergent academic scholar to examine the perceptions of the frequent pursuit of academic scholarly productivity among faculty writing group (FWG) participants. The case study, based at a Southeastern U.S. research-intensive university, adds to extensive analyses of FWGs as a means of faculty development that positively influences the frequency of scholarly work; it is significant because unlike most studies on FWGs, this study focuses on understanding more deeply the sway that “publish or perish” directives hold on FWG participants, delving into faculty reactions to academe’s explicit pressures that professors regularly …

Assessing The Impact Of Meaningful Employment On The Self-Esteem Of Male Veterans, Gary Grimes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examined the relationship between meaningful employment and self-esteem in male veterans. Meaningful employment is an important element of reintegration, the process all veterans go through to transition from active duty military service back into society. Reintegration involves three major areas: physical and mental health, employment, and family and friend relationships. A sample of 30 male veterans were interviewed. After the interviews, two instruments were used to further examine the variables (meaningful employment and self-esteem). The instruments were administered to measure the individual's perception regarding meaningful employment and level of self-esteem. The interviews were the primary focus, with the …

Countering The Narrative: Exploring The Relationships Among Wellness, Resilience, And Empowerment Within Black Men Who Have Sex With Men Living With Hiv (Bmsm+), Nevin Heard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The HIV epidemic continues to disproportionately impact marginalized populations, where one in two Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime. The lack of research regarding the wellness of Black men who have sex with men living with HIV (BMSM+) inhibits understanding, which could hinder professions missioned with bettering the wellness of BMSM+. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to investigate if resilience and empowerment predict BMSM+'s wellness. However, a lack of internal consistency among the empowerment measurement required the researcher to remove the scale and adjust the scope of the …

The Efficacy Of A 6-Week Evidence-Based Support Group For Caregivers Of Dementia In A Primary Care Setting, Mona Shah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

More than 16 million Americans provide unpaid care for those with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. Extant literature has well documented the increased risk for physical, emotional, social and financial burden associated with caregiving. While intensive support groups may be well-suited to caregiver needs, they are often difficult to implement given financial, personnel and resource constraints. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of a theoretically-based, 6-week caregiver support group in a community primary care setting. The group focuses on self-care, behavior management techniques and interdisciplinary caregiver resources. A total of 22 participants completed the active …

The Development And Validation Of The Multicultural Competency Assessment© (Mca©), Michelle Mitchell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A sound and tested multicultural therapeutic approach is an essential component in providing ethical services to all client populations (e.g., Medley, Lipari, Bose, Cribb, Kroutil, & McHenry, 2015). Therefore, concepts of multiculturalism have been integrated in ethical codes, guidelines on competence, and standards for training in preparation programs within counseling, psychology, and social work fields (e.g., American Counseling Association Code of Ethics, 2014; American Psychological Association Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists, 2002; Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs Standards, 2016; National Association of Social Workers Standards and Indicators for Cultural …

Risk Factors Associated With The Arrest For Adolescent To Parent Abuse, Coleen Cicale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored risk factors associated with the arrest for adolescent to parent abuse (ATPA) when compared to arrest for a similar violent misdemeanor against a non-parent. The phenomenon of ATPA is widely under-researched and there is little in terms of prevention policy or treatment. Using 18,548 risk assessment screens performed with adolescents (12-17) arrested in Florida for a violent misdemeanor, and guided by previous literature and social ecological and social bond theories, this analysis explored the relationship between risk factors (categorized as individual characteristics, beliefs, behavior, commitment and involvement and attachment) and arrest for ATPA versus arrest for a …

Acculturation And Belongingness: The Keys To International Student Satisfaction, Semehar Ghebrekidan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to explore if acculturation in conjunction with belongingness, affected international student satisfaction. With the changes in immigration, the political climate as a whole and college campus demographics, it was important to evaluate what stress factors international students faced while being undergraduate students at a Midwestern University. In addition to using secondary research, primary research was conducted in the form of 4 interviews and 59 electronic surveys. The independent variables that were measured were reorganized into 2 categories: the students’ religious beliefs and the country where the student is from. Themes that came across throughout …

An Exploration Of Dementia Friendly Communities From The Perspective Of Persons Living With Dementia, Catherine Hebert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The growing global prevalence of dementia coupled with a shift in public perception from a hopeless disease to the possibility of living well with dementia has led to the formation of dementia friendly communities (DFC). DFCs are a new phenomenon in the United States, with a gap in knowledge on input from people living with dementia (PLWD). This study investigated DFCs from the perspective of PLWD in Western North Carolina, with the following research questions:

1. How are interactions and relationships experienced by persons living with dementia in the community?
2. How is community engagement experienced by PLWD?
3. To what extent and …

Conceptualization And Measurement Of Spirituality: Towards The Development Of A Nontheistic Spirituality Measure For Use In Health-Related Fields, Valerie M. Hoots

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Relationships between spirituality and health outcomes are well supported in research; however, measurement of spirituality often reflects a Judeo-Christian framework and is predominantly theocentric, neglecting the increasing religious pluralism and non-traditional expressions of spirituality in the United States. A new measure of spirituality was based on a conceptualization of nontheistic spirituality that is understood to be a relatively stable motivational process entailing a search for sacred connection, with “sacred” being defined by individual perceptions and not necessitating divine association. Item development for the current instrument included an initial pool of 65 items and two phases of revision and content validation. …

Military Lifestyle’S Impact On Children’S Adjustment, Ashley N. Doss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Military families are an understudied population and the majority of research that does exist focuses on the effects of deployments on the family system. This study aims to answer the following questions: 1) “to what degree does the relationship with parents (mother and father) and military lifestyle (number of transfers and number of deployments) predict the variance in military children’s self-esteem?”, 2) “To what degree does the relationship with parents (mother and father) and military lifestyle (number of transfers and number of deployments) predict the variance in military children’s social belongingness?”, and 3) “To what degree does the relationship with …

Examining Variables Associated With Age Of First Concern And Diagnosis In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Amy Mathews Creel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a disorder that is present during a child’s early developmental ages; affects that child’s ability to communicate and socially interact with others; and involves the presentation of restrictive interests and/or repetitive behaviors. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) symptoms/behaviors are recognized by parents and can be reliably diagnosed at age two but often are not diagnosed until after age four. Delay in diagnosis results in loss of important intervention services that can improve the well-being of children with ASD. This study examined ethnicity, severity of symptoms, and type of symptoms and their effect on the age at …

Preparing For Racial Discrimination : The Role Of Cognition And Emotion In The Proactive Coping Process Of African American College Students., Ryan Christopher Tyler Delapp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Traditionally, conceptual models of racial discrimination have characterized the reactive experiences of African Americans, particularly identifying how African Americans cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally respond to racial stress. The current study extends beyond the reactive coping experience and identifies nuances in the anticipatory and preparatory coping processes associated with racial discrimination. Methods: 62 African American college students participated in a stress induction experiment that prompted anticipatory judgments of discrimination. The full sample completed quantitative self-report questionnaires about their anticipatory thoughts (SAM; Peacock & Wong, 1990; Roesch & Rowley, 2005), state-based affect (PANAS-X; Watson & Clark, 1994), and proactive coping behaviors (PPCB; …

Evaluating A Stepped Care Protocol For Postpartum Depression In A Pediatric Primary Care Clinic, Sarah C. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a prevalent, complex illness impacting 10% to 20% of mothers and their families. Treatments for PPD, such as medication and psychotherapy, are effective at reducing the severity of symptoms and generally improving quality of life for new mothers and their families. Unfortunately, many mothers with PPD go unrecognized due to a lack of standardized screening methods. Further, mothers regularly encounter barriers to accessible, evidence-based follow-up care to treatment even when symptoms of PPD are detected. The use of a stepped care protocol, set in a pediatric primary care clinic, is one proposed strategy to address the …

The Relationship Of Locus Of Control And Social Learning On Academic Achievement In A Supplemental Instruction Program, Tina Fleet

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

A large number of high school students entering college are arriving academically unprepared. Abilene Christian University’s newly founded Bridge Scholars Program seeks to help and support academically at-risk students based upon low ACT/SAT scores and low high school GPA averages. This research utilizes the Supplemental Instruction program, (based upon Bandura’s social learning theory), as its academic intervention. The research questions are 1) How does Supplemental Instruction contribute to an at-risk student’s college readiness (knowledge, skills, attitudes, behaviors and strategies)? And, 2) Does a student’s internal or external locus of control predict academic performance? A pretest and posttest using Rotter’s …

A Systems Approach To Revenue Fluctuation In Nonprofit Human Service Organizations, Joshua James Hunter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nonprofit Human Services Organizations (NPO) are normally considered to do all they can to work toward providing clients with optimal services (Bowman, 2011). What has not been considered is the possibility that NPOs sometimes allocate more revenue toward accumulating profit than toward generating services. This study used IRS 990 Forms of 150 private nonprofits from 2009 to 2010 to investigate whether NPOs did this at the peak of the recent recession, a time when there was a strong need for NPOs to increase their level of services. Results showed revenue increased 56%, services increased 1.4%, profit increased 43%, operating margin …

Therapy Dogs And The Impact On Employees In The Pediatric Medical Setting, Laine Foith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

More than 40% of nurses reported experiencing significant burnout. Burnout is characterized by disengagement, cynicism, negative views of personal accomplishment and ability, and emotional exhaustion. The healthcare providers that experience burnout can possibly expect a decrease in ability to recognize/report errors, increase of negative feelings toward the patient, and decrease levels of patient satisfaction (Ernest, 2014). One of the ways Schub (2015) suggested to regulate burnout for employees was to provide psychosocial support to colleagues to reduce stress. This study is one of the first attempts to bridge the gap between the unknown correlation between qualitative and quantitative benefits of …

The Relationship Between Hospitalizations And Anxiety And Depression Symptoms In Patients With Cystic Fibrosis, Ronni T. Barker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2015, the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation collaborated with the European CF Society to develop new guidelines to screen for depression and anxiety in people with CF. The guidelines were based on a study that assessed over 6,000 patients and 4,000 caregivers among 45 centers in the United States and eight European countries. Research has proven that depression and anxiety have a negative impact on CF and overall health. 186 adolescents within the CF clinic at Children’s Health Center voluntarily completed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7). These screenings were completed between February 2016-March 2017 and …

Self-Efficacy In Offspring Of Mentally Ill Parents, Craig M. Motsenbocker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The subjective experiences of offspring of mentally ill parents have resulted in the development and absence of various components of well-being. However, there are very few studies examining levels of self-efficacy as a component of well-being within offspring of mentally ill parents. Given the evidence of lower levels of resiliency among offspring of mentally ill parents, this study proposed to evaluate the relationship between self-efficacy and offspring of mentally ill parents. Two-hundred and fifty-seven students in an introductory psychology course completed two measures assessing self-efficacy and resiliency. Among the 257 students, 27 identified with a mentally ill parent. It was …