Digital Commons Network^™

Mental Health Outcomes Of First Generation College Students: Is Generational Status Associated With Increased Risk For Depression And Anxiety?, James L. Pease

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there were differences in mental health outcomes between first generation college students and non-first generation college students. The sample (n = 6,449) consisted of undergraduate students, aged 18-22, in bachelor's degree programs, and was drawn from 15 colleges and universities throughout the United States. Acculturative stress was used as a theoretical framework for why first generation college students (pioneers) may screen higher in prevalence and severity of mental health outcomes. The particular mental health outcomes examined in this study were the prevalence and severity of depression and anxiety. The results …

Systems Geometry: A Methodology For Analyzing Emergent System Of Systems Behaviors, Christina Bouwens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent advancements in technology have led to the increased use of integrated ‘systems of systems’ (SoS) which link together independently developed and usable capabilities into an integrated system that exhibits new, emergent capabilities. However, the resulting SoS is often not well understood, where secondary and tertiary effects of tying systems together are often unpredictable and present severe consequences. The complexities of the composed system stem not only from system integration, but from a broad range of areas such as the competing objectives of different constituent system stakeholders, mismatched requirements from multiple process models, and architectures and interface approaches that are …

Single Fathers And Social Support, Elizabeth Suzanne Howe-Huist

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Single fathers have, for the most part, been overlooked in research, even though the proportion of children being raised by custodial fathers has been steadily increasing since the 1970s. This exploratory study aims to understand the factors that single fathers take into consideration when deciding which types of social support to use in helping them raise their children. By analyzing the results with the concepts of social exchange theory, we can better understand why some types of support are used and why others are not. Social exchange theory states that individuals will seek interactions with low costs and high rewards. …

The Relationships Between Advocacy Competency, Adult Attachment Styles, Climate And Comfort In Training, And Social Empathy., Tyler Rogers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the relationship between adult attachment styles, climate and comfort in training, social empathy and advocacy competency in counselor trainees. Advocacy competency has become a critical aspect of counseling, yet few studies exist that determine the predictive influence of concepts such as adult attachment, climate and comfort of training, and social empathy. The following study surveyed graduate students in counseling to determine the influence of adult attachment, climate and comfort of training, and social empathy on advocacy competency beyond the stage in counselor program. A Pearson r and hierarchical regression model …

Guarantee Of Children's Well-Being Through Development Of An Effective Family Strengthening System In The Republic Of Kazakhstan, Gulnaz Batyrbaevna Kelekeyeva

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2012, 10,887 children resided in state-run residential care institutions in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Out of them, more than 80 percent were children whose parents were alive and known to the authorities, but who have been deprived of parental rights. Institutionalization negatively impacts children's health and development. These children are often subjected to violence, child trafficking, and most of them leave formal care without the skills needed to begin an independent life. The current report provides evidence and proof of the necessity for reforming the national child protection and family strengthening system so as it would be capable to …

The Relationship Between Practicing School Counselors' Perceived Organizational Support And Their Service Delivery, Vincent Geigel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Role ambiguity in school counseling is common; therefore, school counselors deal with issues of role conflict, lack of advocacy, and the assignment of inappropriate duties. The American School Counselor Association (2012) National Model was developed to provide school counselors with a framework for the delivery of appropriate school counseling services to students; however, the National Model is not implemented in all school districts. School counselors' perceived organizational support (POS) was hypothesizes as possible variable mitigating the adoption of the ASCA National Model. This study examined the relationship between school counselors' in Central Florida perceived organizational support (as measured by the …

Differential Impacts Of Doctoral Education On Ed.D. And Ph.D. Students: Examining Student Motivation And Subjective Well-Being During The First Two Years Of Doctoral Study, Morgan Mcafee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Doctoral attrition has been the subject of significant research over the past several years (Bair & Haworth, 2004; Cohen & Greenberg, 2011; Gardner, 2008; Lovitts, 2001). Prior research on doctoral students has focused on substantive differences in the Ed.D. and Ph.D. in education degree programs, rather than on potential differences among the students themselves. Purpose: To assess whether there are baseline differences in motivation and subjective well-being among the three groups of doctoral students in education: Ed.D. and Ph.D. students, part-time enrolled and full-time enrolled students, and first-year and secondyear students. Setting: University of Central Florida, College of Education …

Strategic Improvement: A Systems Approach Using The Balanced Scorecard Methodology To Increase Federally Financed Research At The University Of Central Florida, Joseph Walters

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The University of Central Florida has many successful measures to reflect on as it celebrates its 50th year in 2013. It is the university with the 2nd largest student population in the U. S. and its overall ranking in the U.S. News & World Report has improved 4 years in a row. However, with respect to research, the federally funded research and development for the University of Central Florida (UCF) has remained flat. In addition, when compared to other schools, its portion of those federal research dollars is small. This thesis lays the groundwork for developing a model for improving …

Response To Intervention: Understanding School Counselors' Awareness, Involvement, And Experiences, Amanda Winburn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to better clarify the role and experiences of school counselors within the Response to Intervention (RtI) model. This study explored school counselors' involvement with and understanding of the RtI model. An integrative approach of both quantitative and qualitative methods was used as part of this mixed method study. As part of the design, quantitative data collection was the priority method for the study, folloby qualitative data collection to continue to explore and expand upon the results from the quantitative section (Creswell, 2009). The quantitative data was obtained from the author originated Response …

Empowering Communities From The Ground Up: Perspectives On A Lay Mental Health Project In Post-Earthquake Haiti, Gilberte Bastien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Applying A Mixed Methods Approach To Understanding And Evaluating The Effects Of Family Treatment Among Sexually Abusive Youth, Jamie R. Yoder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Families are frequently identified as a risk for supporting and perpetuating sexually abusive behavior among youth. Traditionally, the field has focused on deficits of families rather than considering them as a resource to promote change. Although emerging literature strongly argues the need to target families in the healing process, treatment initiatives rarely follow suite, and research has failed to comprehensively document the effectiveness of family-inclusive treatment. Knowing there are several gaps in literature, the current study was conducted to investigate the process of engagement in treatment, understand the nuances of family treatment, and to uncover positive outcomes associated with family …

Childhood Predictors In The Severity Of Combat Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Veterans With Combat Related Exposure, Michael Bermes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emerging research suggests that childhood adversities may increase both the risk and symptomology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in our veteran population. Over 40% of our reintegrating military veterans return with significant mental health issues led by combatrelated PTSD. PTSD impacts veterans in numerous areas including unemployment, increased criminal justice involvement, increased treatment costs, divorce, co-morbid mental illness, greater levels of domestic violence, homelessness, high college dropout rates, suicide, and long term health problems. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of childhood adversities (abuse, neglect, and poverty) upon the severity of combat-related PTSD in veteran populations. …

Moving Beyond Title Ix: An Evaluation Of The Comprehensiveness And Accessibility Of Policies And Procedures For Preventing And Responding To Gender Based Violence, Alyssa Mullins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study examines the gender based violence policies and programs of large, public universities in Florida. Current literature argues that preventing and responding to gender based violence in institutions of higher education requires comprehensive and ecological techniques at the individual, interpersonal, community, and societal level. In recent years, various institutions and agencies have showed increasing administrative commitment to addressing these issues. Futures Without Violence, formerly named Family Violence Prevention Fund, is a private organization that has established a set of guidelines and recommendations to aid IHEs in their response and prevention of gender based violence, intended to exceed federal …

Human Trafficking For Sexual Exploitation In Southeast Asia, Nodwarang Niamvanichkul

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study centers on the political aspects of human trafficking and sexual exploitation in Southeast Asia. Specifically, the human trafficking is a security studies concern because it is not only a social issue, but also a security threat. Just as with drug trafficking, human trafficking has security consequences. The study analyzed human trafficking issues in the following three countries in Southeast Asia: Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia. These three countries were chosen due to the high levels of human trafficking. In each of the chosen cases, there is an examination of human trafficking issues in terms of political structures, political policies, …

An Exploratory Study Of Customer Vulnerability: A Cross-Segment Approach, Taryn Aiello

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore the concept of customer vulnerability across varying service industries. While the concept of customer vulnerability has been debated in business, marketing, sociology, and psychology scholarly literature, there has been little research conducted that specifically investigates consumers’ perceptions of vulnerability during the service exchange. Specific to this research, customer vulnerability is defined as experiences in which consumers participate in a service exchange with a firm during a time of individual or shared medical, physical, emotional, or spiritual necessity, whether the vulnerability is experienced during the course of the transaction or whether consumers arrive …

Creating Art That Truly Reflects The Community: An Exploration Into Facilitation Of Devised, Community-Engaged Performance, Courtney Grile

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One purpose of community-engaged work is to build and reflect the community; to allow their voice to be heard. This research explores the relationship between the professional artist facilitator and participants in a community-engaged setting while applying devised theatre practices. The facilitating artist brings to the group their expertise in playmaking and storytelling. The research centers on how a facilitating artist might approach devising a community-engaged performance project with awareness of his/her ability to influence the group. How can the facilitator channel their influence to provide productive guidance for the collective creativity in order to honor the community’s intent and …

Leadership Traits Of School Health Coordinators In Tennessee, Katherine Andrea Strickland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the leadership traits of the school health coordinators (SHCs) for the state of Tennessee and to determine if self-perceptions of the SHC leadership traits coincide with supervisor and colleague perceptions of SHC leadership traits. The health challenges facing young Americans today are different from those of past decades and child health is a major federal and state policy platform. SHCs work at the nexus of 2 highly regulated and political entities: healthcare and education. Thus, it is critical for SHCs to possess strong leadership traits to navigate through the issues and …

Restorative Justice And Recidivism: A Meta-Analysis, Kristin Bain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Restorative Justice is an approach to resolving conflict that has become increasingly relevant as both financial and social costs associated with crime have continued to rise. As alternative methods of managing crime are being considered and implemented there is a call from policy makers for evidence that those programs are indeed the best practice. Although there is a significant amount of research on restorative justice, synthesis of that information is lacking which impedes full understanding of the potential of the impact and role of this approach. A central argument is that restorative based programs produce benefits because they reduce recidivism …

"That's What Families Do": Rewards And Challenges Of Informal Kinship Care, Betsy Hay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Informal kinship caregivers take on the responsibility of raising a relative's children in situations where those children cannot remain with their parents and are not in the custody of child welfare. The phenomenon is increasing; however it is difficult to obtain information from these families because of the difficulty locating them. As a result, there is limited research on this specific group of kinship care families. The purpose of this study was exploratory, using qualitative methods to gather information from informal kinship caregivers about their experiences caring for a relative's children, with a focus on the rewards and challenges within …

A Holistic Examination Of The Impact Of Child Maltreatment On Child Behavioral Outcomes : A Longitudinal Multilevel Analysis., April L. Murphy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Child maltreatment touches almost 700,000 children annually. The effects of child maltreatment range from micro-level consequences, such as behavior problems and mental health issues, to mezzo-level consequences, such as increased child welfare worker caseloads and overcrowding residential facilities, to macro-level consequences, such as increased costs and policy implications. Data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) were analyzed to examine the factors that impact child behavior in children who have been reported to child protective services (CPS) as a result of child maltreatment. The model investigated the influence of child, caregiver, and environmental factors on child behavior …

The Relationship Between Risk And Resilience, Racial Microaggression, Ethnic Identity, And Well-Being In Young Adulthood, Shandra S. Forrest-Bank

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Young adulthood is the developmental period characterized by the transition from adolescence to the roles and responsibilities of adulthood. While most young adults experience positive growth and accomplishments, many others struggle, especially those with disadvantaged childhoods who lack financial, social, and emotional resources. Substance abuse, crime, educational failure, unemployment, and mental health problems are common among young adults. Unfortunately, many of these problems occur at disproportionately high rates for young people of color. Considerable knowledge of the child and adolescent risk and protective factors that contribute to the onset of problem behavior or to well-being during adolescence has been developed. …

A Portraiture Of Evelyn Thompson Lawrence, Donna Reneé Clifton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the obstacles and motivators Evelyn Thompson Lawrence addressed in her thirst for lifelong learning and desire to share that learning through her life stories. The researcher also sought to understand how everyday events played a role in the outcome of Lawrence's life. More than just observing major events, the researcher considered ways the smallest moments made an impact on Lawrence's continued desire for learning. This study evolved through Lawrence's accounts. By allowing this African American woman, who was a lifelong Appalachian, to explore her past and present, a wide array of experiences …

Utility Of A Goodness-Of-Fit Index For The Graded Response Model With Small Sample Sizes : A Monte Carlo Investigation., Christina Ruth Studts 1971-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Item response theory (IRT) is expanding to diverse research settings, without accompanying access to easily implemented model fit methods. One simple model fit approach involves x2/df ratios. However, its utility is not known across several conditions salient to recent applied IRT research. A Monte Carlo simulation was implemented to investigate the effects of several factors (sample size, adjustment condition, type of misfit, and proportion of misfitting items) on x2/df ratios in the context of the Graded Response Model. Results suggested that: (a) adjusted x2/df ratios were appropriate for the largest sample size condition (N=10000), but were extremely inflated for small …

"The Best Interest Of The Child" : An Exploration Of The Sociocultural Agendas Associated With The Care Of Orphaned And Vulnerable Children In China., Dennis W. Feaster

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore the set of sociocultural agendas that emerge around the care of orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) in China. While there is general agreement among stakeholders about the need to work for "the best interests" of OVC, there is significant variance in how these best interests are constructed and defined. An ethnographic scan of attitudes and awareness of OVC and OVC care in Henan Province, China, provide the initial context for exploration. This context is the basis for the subsequent nested case study of a multi-party, intergovernmental cooperative project designed to develop and …

Women In Intercollegiate Athletics : An Exploration Of The Career Development Of Female Senior Administrators., Meg C. Hancock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The roles of assistant and associate athletic director have been identified as positions in the "pipeline" to achieving the position of Athletic Director (Grappendorf, Lough, & Griffin, 2004; Lapchick, 2010). Given the underrepresentation of female Athletic Directors in intercollegiate athletics and the concern that women may experience difficulty accessing such positions, there is a growing need to understand the career experiences and expectations of women in senior-level management positions in intercollegiate athletics. The purpose of this study was to explore the career development of female assistant and associate athletic directors at NCAA Division I institutions. This study investigated participants' (a) …

Love During Divorce : Development Of The Sorokin Psycho-Social Love Inventory (Spsli) And Testing Of A Predictor Model., Joseph G. D'Ambrosio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to describe the development and validation of the Sorokin Psycho-Social Love Inventory (SPSLI) and the testing of a Predictor Model of love actions for people who experienced divorce. The SPSLI is based on five dimensions of love outlined in a theory of love developed by sociologist, Pitirim Sorokin. The scale was developed with a sample of 518 individuals who were going through a divorce or had been through a divorce. It measures high love, low love and hate actions toward a former spouse. The validation of the SPSLI utilized Classical Measurement Theory which allowed …

Emotional Distress In Older Adults With Cancer : A Multilevel Longitudinal Study., Tara J. Schapmire

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) were used to examine factors that influence emotional distress in older adults with cancer, arid to learn whether these distress trajectories are different from older adults without cancer. The model investigated the influence of life course factors, internal, external and health-related resources on distress over eight years among a nationally representative sample of older adults ages 50-91. Methods: This longitudinal panel study tested a multilevel random intercept multinomial ordered categorical model with a two-nested-Ievel structure using empirical Bayes Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) estimation. The model examined individual differences in distress over …

Complexities Of Culture : Understanding The Identity Of Female Veterans Transitioning From Military To College., Natesha L. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Through an exploration of identity and enculturation experiences, this narrative inquiry dissertation investigated how female veteran students make meaning of their experiences and renegotiate their understandings of identity after transitioning from the military into the higher education environment. Eighteen female veteran students participated in data collection efforts, which included two interviews, discussion of military artifacts, and journaling. Five of the eighteen individual narratives are presented at length in the study to illustrate the diversity found amongst the study population. Findings for the five were synthesized into individual narratives and poetic representations of identity. Emerging across the stories of the eighteen …

'Rainbow Nation' Or 'Rambo Nation'? : A Comparative Literary Analysis Of Thematic Changes In Pre- And Post- 1994 Black Township Novels., D. A. Gantt 1986-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Through content analysis of Ezekiel Mphahlele's Down Second Avenue, Modikwe Dikobe's The Marabi Dance, Zakes Mda's The Madonna of Excelsior, and Niq Mhlongo's After Tears, this study compares the themes of pre- and post- 1994 South African township novels using a post-colonial theoretical framework to determine how the tradition of Black protest literature has changed since the formal ending of Apartheid in 1994. The study finds that the pre-1994 Black writing tradition of critiquing poverty, corruption, and sexism is continued by Black writers in the post-1994 era. Thus, the findings in this study reveal that South Africa's title of "Rainbow …

The Relationship Between Teacher Cultural Competency And Student Engagement, Erin Nicole Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory study investigated teachers' cultural competency and their students' engagement within international high schools located in Hong Kong. Cultural competency is defined as a combination of knowledge about cultural groups as well as attitudes towards and skills for dealing with cultural diversity (Betancourt, 2003). The literature indicates that cultural competency will continue to play an increasingly important role in the professional work place as culturally diverse people become more interdependent. When examining the classroom experience, cultural competency equates to a teacher's ability to successfully instruct and engage culturally different students.

The students in this study reported over 30 different …