Digital Commons Network^™

Correlates Of Attitudes Toward Violence And Dating Violence Perpetration Among U.S. College Students, Jeongsuk Kim

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: Dating violence is a serious and prevalent problem among college students. Research on dating violence has pinpointed early exposure to violence as a strong predictor of violence perpetration in later life. However, little is known about the particular correlates or mechanisms that facilitate college students’ attitudes supporting violence and dating violence perpetration after early exposure to violence. The goals of this three-manuscript dissertation were (1) Chapter 2: to examine the relationship between three forms of violent socialization during childhood and attitudes supporting interpersonal violence; (2) Chapter 3: to examine the moderating effect of pro-violence messages in the relationship between …

Job Characteristics And Turker Motivation: A Crowdsource Study Of Amazon Mechanical Turk, Michael William Mcferran

Theses and Dissertations

There is substantial opportunity for I-O psychology to study and further understand the growing industry of gig work. The research gap in the limited domain of gig work prompted the exploration of studying what perceived job characteristics matter for crowdsource workers on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and whether job characteristics predict traditional workplace outcomes in the gig economy. Participants from MTurk allowed the research question to be efficiently assessed within a gig related crowdsourcing sample. This study demonstrated that traditional theories from I-O psychology can apply to crowdsource based work. Specifically, job characteristics were related to job satisfaction and organizational …

Association Between Behavioral And Psychological Symptoms In Persons With Alzheimer's Disease And Depression In Caregivers From Low Income Families, Weizhou Tang

Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease and is a leading cause of dementia. Behavioral and psychological symptoms (BPS) represent a heterogeneous group of non-cognitive symptoms and behaviors occurring in persons with Alzheimer’s disease (PwAD), and they are often associated with negative outcomes for AD caregivers. Evidence indicates differences in caregivers’ mental health across race/ethnic groups. However, there is a lack of research that compares racial differences in the association between BPS in PwAD and caregiver depression. The aims of this dissertation, which are grounded in the Stress Process Model, include: 1) To compare racial differences in BPS …

Preparing Part-Time Contingent Faculty To Teach Writing Online Examining Writing Program Administrator Approaches, Melvin E. Beavers

Theses and Dissertations

As part of the post-secondary educational landscape, online education in the form of online programs and courses help institutions reach and enroll more students. To meet the needs of increased enrollments in online education, part-time faculty are often hired to teach online courses. Part-time contingent faculty or adjuncts represent a growing majority across many fields of study in colleges and universities. As Rendahl & Breuch (2013) reported, first-year courses, specifically freshman composition, are increasingly taught online. This explanatory mixed-methods dissertation examines how, and in what ways, writing program administrators approach preparing and training part-time faculty to teach writing online. The …

Sociability In Children With Developmental Language Disorder, Miranda Elizabeth Miller

Theses and Dissertations

This study employed the Teacher Behavior Rating Scale (TBRS) to investigate two aspects of sociability, likeability and prosocial behavior, in 143 children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and 131 of their typically developing peers. Initially, measurement invariance analysis was performed to determine if teachers evaluated likeability and sociability in a similar manner for both children with DLD and their typically developing peers. Likeability items on the TBRS were invariant, and 4 of the 5 prosociability items were invariant. Subsequent analysis revealed that teachers rated children with DLD lower in both likeability and prosociability in comparison to their typically developing peers. …

Barriers To Hispanic Parent Involvement In A Rural School District, Josh T. Beattie

Theses and Dissertations

As the Hispanic student population continues to increase at a rapid rate, schools in the United States are tasked with closing the achievement gap between Hispanic students and their white counterparts. Federal education policy and researchers alike call for schools to increase the involvement of Hispanic parents in their children's education as one way to close the achievement gap. This study focused on the involvement activities and barriers to involvement among a group of Hispanic parents in a rural school district in the state of Idaho. This study uses a qualitative approach to gather and analyze information from parents of …

Managing Job-Related Stress Among Child Protection Social Workers In Egypt: The Role Of Religion And Social Support, Yasmine A Sabala

Theses and Dissertations

In order to better understand stress and coping among Egyptian child protection social workers, this study aimed to: 1) assess the levels of burnout, secondary trauma and compassion satisfaction they experience; 2) discover to what extent they relied on religion and social support to cope with stress; and 3) to see if religion and social support along with gender and years of experience explained levels of burnout, secondary trauma and compassion satisfaction. A total of 80 male and female child protection social workers who had varying years of experience were given scales that measured their overall job-related stress levels (measured …

Assessment Of Needs And Barriers To Sex And Gender Education Among Social Workers In Egypt, Germeen Riad

Theses and Dissertations

Despite governmental and legislative efforts (Hassanin, 2008), societal tolerance of sexual and gender-based violence is widespread in Egypt, even among health professionals (Rasheed, 2011). Moreover, there is a lack of understanding and misconceptions regarding human sexuality. Such misconceptions often lead to harmful practices such as female genital mutilation/cutting, childhood marriage, and child sexual abuse (WHO, 2010). Child protection social workers must be equipped to deal with children who have been victims of such practices and must be able to provide the sex education that is necessary for its prevention. A survey of 86 child protection social workers and eleven in-depth …

The Impact Of Step Parenting On The Health, Behavior And Development Of School-Aged Children, Emmanuel Botwe

Theses and Dissertations

The American family structure has changed rapidly over the years, from the traditional two-biological-parent household to a variety of other family configurations, leading to a substantial number of children growing up in step-families. This paper examines the impact of step-parenting on child health outcomes among school-aged children.

Veteran Wellness And Reintegration: Factors Contributing To Their Success In The Community, Melissa A. Escamilla

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the following study is to determine if there is a relationship between veteran wellness based on gender, discharge status, theatre of operations, substance use disorder, veteran self-efficacy, community reintegration post discharge, stigma and veteran physical and psychosocial factors. Military veteran wellness has been the focal point of service providers for ensuring post-discharge veterans' success. During the last decade there has been an increase in military veterans reintegrating into society with chronic ailments and undiagnosed conditions. The study examined 85 Texas veterans: (a) the relationship between veterans' substance abuse and their perception of stigma, (b) the relationship between …

The Lived Experiences Of Black Men Creating A Third Space At A Predominantly White Institution, Steven E. Radwanski

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Black men creating third spaces at a predominantly White institution (PWI). The use of the third space theory permitted the researcher to examine both the student's current cultural experiences and the campus climate to understand better how Black men create a third space (Bhabha, 1994). Many Black men have found themselves in between two cultures their previous cultural experiences, and the campus climate of the institution they are attending.

The research gathered and analyzed through this study indicates that the third space theory can be situated to the student's …

Religion, Acculturarive Stress And Immigration Generations Among Hispanics In The Texas-Mexico Border: Predictors Of Attitudes Toward Substance Use, Diana Karen Vaquera Santos

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding Hispanic cultural aspects and their influence on mental health will be crucial to better serve Hispanics (Kouyoumdjian, et al., 2003). Alcohol and drug use disorders have been identified as a major health problem in the U.S. Hispanic population (Vega, Sribney, & Achara-Abrahams, 2003). Regarding substance use, religiosity tends to be a protective factor among Hispanics. Acculturation and acculturative stress have been found as additional factors associated with substance use. Moreover, an individual’s intentions to engage in certain behavior can be defined by their attitudes toward this behavior and their perceived subjective norms regarding such behavior (Lorenzo-Blanco, et al., 2016). …

Providing Prevention Education About Child Sexual Abuse To Parents: Testing Media Effects On Knowledge, Behavioral Intentions And Outcomes, Jane Long Weatherred

Theses and Dissertations

For over thirty years, efforts have been made by child sexual abuse (CSA) advocates to attract and engage parents in child sexual abuse prevention education programs. This study provided parents with CSA prevention education about how to talk to their children about CSA and assessed their attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intentions to perform this behavior utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior. A follow-up survey was conducted to find out if the parents actually performed the behavior of talking to their children and what they talked to them about. The results were 1) that all of the …

Jumping Ahead Of The Wait List: Pyramidal Parent Training, Rebecca Marie Barton

Theses and Dissertations

Parents of children with an autism spectrum disorder experience many stressors in their lives, including managing problem behaviors of their child. Parent training can effectively teach parents strategies to manage noncompliant behaviors; however, many parents spend months on wait lists before accessing this service. This study investigated the preliminary effects of both an expert-led and parent-led training for wait-listed parents. Thirteen parents of children currently on a waitlist to receive behavioral analytic services participated; most were highly educated, all were white and married. The study used a pyramidal training approach: a professional instructed one group of participants while a participant …

Vietnamese Family Caregivers’ Adjustment Process To Their Caregiving Roles For Family Members With Dementia, Trang Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the psychological process that Vietnamese family members go through to adjust to the caregiving role for their relatives with dementia. Adopting constructivist grounded theory, 30 face-to-face, semi-structured interviews, including 10 follow-up interviews, were conducted with 20 Vietnamese primary family caregivers of relatives with dementia from the National Geriatric Hospital in Vietnam. The study results reveal that Vietnamese family caregivers held limited understanding of dementia. They used a mixed explanatory model, combining both folk (e.g., dementia as normal aging) and biomedical approaches (e.g., dementia as a brain-related disease) to explain causes of dementia. Family cohesion and responsibility are …

Responsibility And Obligation In The Face Of Modern Day Slavery: The Demands On Global Citizens To Fight For Justice For Slaves, Tiffany R. Beaver

Theses and Dissertations

There are likely more than 45 million slaves in the world today. Economist Kevin Bales defines slaves as people whose freedom and autonomy have been denied, who are paid nothing above subsistence, and who are maintained in these conditions through violence or the threat of violence. I am especially concerned with exploring the nature of the various relationships that everyday citizens share with these modern slaves, and establishing what, if any, obligations such citizens have to act on behalf of modern slaves.

Contemporary philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre asserts that humans are storytelling beings caught up in real stories (i.e. narrative quests) …

An Investigation Of The Impact Of A Supervision Intervention On Secondary Traumatic Stress Responses Among Counselors Treating Child Survivors Of Sexual Abuse, Brooke Wymer

Theses and Dissertations

Novice counselors who have high trauma caseloads are at risk for secondary traumatic stress (STS) responses, which can impact their ability to function effectively in professional counseling roles. Supervision is one factor frequently conceptualized to have an impact on STS responses in counselors; however, there is a dearth of literature regarding specific supervision interventions that are evidence-based to reduce or prevent STS responses among counselors treating trauma, specifically child survivors of sexual abuse (CSSA). Due to the absence of supervision intervention studies among counselors working with this population, the current study implemented an experimental single case research design to measure …

Examining Caregiver Vigilance For Child Sexual Abuse, Kate K. Chappell

Theses and Dissertations

Child sexual abuse (CSA) affects approximately one in four US children through adolescence. As an adverse childhood experience (ACE) implicated in long-term health and wellbeing, CSA is a pervasive safety concern. The influence of caregivers and healthcare providers is under-realized in CSA prevention. Examining the thinking processes preceding CSA vigilance response has been limited in research. Understanding the complexities in healthcare related to addressing CSA will facilitate caregiver-focused intervention in primary care. Guided by social ecology and protection motivation theories (PMT), the goals of this two-phase study were to explore caregiver cognitive processes towards vigilance for CSA and the challenges …

Shifting Perspectives For Social Change: The Urban Art Of Jr, Jana E. Miller

Theses and Dissertations

French street artist JR (who prefers to keep his real name, birthdate, and other personal information private) raises awareness of world problems while crossing national borders, cultural boundaries, and language barriers. He promotes social change by altering the way people see each other through projects that connect, humanize, and enlighten with a combination of artistic storytelling and activism while taking advantage of technological advancement and globalization. JR gives hope that the world can change and that art can be the stimulus. He gives a voice to the marginalized, defends the oppressed, and continuously fights to unite the world’s population by …

Access Point: Yuan Dongping’S Mental Patients In China And The State Of Chinese Documentary Photography In The 1990s, Sheung Ng

Theses and Dissertations

An investigation of the biographical, political, art historical, and social factors that could affect the discrepancy between the intention and reception of Chinese photographer Yuan Dongping’s Mental Patients in China photobook published in 1996, providing insight into the state of Chinese documentary photography publishing in the 1990s.

9/11 Exposure And Parental Monitoring, Heather Zemeck

Theses and Dissertations

This paper investigates the effects of 9/11/01 exposure on parental monitoring, and how depression and anxiety are associated with these effects. This research utilizes data collected from Evacuees, First Responders, and non-exposed Controls. Results revealed moderate 9/11 exposure is associated with increased parental monitoring; while, depression is associated with decreased parental monitoring.

Exploring The Impact Of Diversity Training On The Development And Application Of Cultural Competence Skills In Higher Education Professionals, Kendra Cabler

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years the terms diversity and inclusion have become major buzzwords across industries and fields of study. Within the field of education broadly, and higher education in particular, a shifting student demographic can be seen across the country. Issues of equity and inclusion have become central complexities for present day educational strategists, and organizations committed to cultivating a culture of inclusion must do so with intentionality. In the context of higher education, this often requires the intentional development of professionals within a particular college or university. There has been a great deal of research concerning the development of cultural …

Principals' Perspectives Regarding Grades 9-12 Black, Asian, And Latino Males In North Dakota Public Schools, Maggie Harrison Lowery

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to review school policy documents and seek secondary principals’ perspectives regarding Black, Asian, and Latino males grades 9-12 in North Dakota public schools. Qualitative data was collected to investigate practices, policies, and routines that contributes to their graduation rates. Interviews were conducted to four secondary principals within two North Dakota school districts.

For the purpose of this study, participants included secondary principals from selected North Dakota public school districts where Black, Asian, and Latino students have the highest enrollment. School district data include public documents posted on districts’ websites for the term 2017-2018, and …

Priming Learning To Improve Applicability Of Motivational Interviewing For Child Welfare Workers, Todd E. Sage

Theses and Dissertations

This research explored the use of a cognition primer to increase the perception of applicability of Motivational Interviewing for child welfare workers. Andragogy informed the need for cognition priming as a way to increase participants’ receptiveness to training by making it more applicable to their direct practice. The theory of implementation science was used to inform how organizational supports impede or enhance the likelihood of child welfare workers using Motivational Interviewing in their practice.

A cross-sectional quasi-experimental mixed modal nonequivalent group design was used with a convenience sample of 41 front line child welfare workers from one Midwest urban county …

Integrating Best Practice Into Fieldwork: A Narrative Inquiry Into The Level Ii Experiences Of Occupational Therapy Students, Cherie Graves

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore occupational therapy student’s experiences with integrating best practice professional ideals during Level II fieldwork. Occupational therapy students in the United States complete 24 weeks of Level II fieldwork prior to graduation. Students transition from the classroom setting where they are prepared with knowledge about the professions best practice ideals, to the fieldwork setting where many factors impact the learning experience. Using qualitative research, a narrative inquiry was undertaken to explore the experiences of four occupational therapy students during their Level II fieldwork experiences. I interviewed each student on five occasions throughout the …

Coping And Protective Factors For Adult Children Of Military Families, Maura K. Castellanos

Theses and Dissertations

This paper assesses the adult children of traumatized military parents and their symptoms in the service of obtaining more information on the relationship with the other caregiver as a protective factor that possibly mitigated some of the intergenerational trauma transmission. Utilizing a qualitative retrospective design with an interpretive phenomenological inquiry strategy, participants engaged in reflection of their lived experiences in the context of being raised by a parent with a trauma diagnosis related to their military experience, major themes of protective factors include: Personal/psychological protective factors, Healthy Coping Strategies, Unhealthy Coping Strategies, Neutral Coping Strategies, and Positive Outcomes of Protective …

Coping Styles As Mediators Between American Indian Cultural Identification And Life Satisfaction, Micah Louis Prairie Chicken

Theses and Dissertations

The current study is a cross-sectional examination of the relationships between American Indian cultural identification, individualistic coping, collectivistic coping, and life satisfaction. Specifically, the purpose of this study was to examine whether collectivistic and individualistic coping styles mediated the relationship between American Indian cultural identification (high cultural identification vs. low cultural identification) and life satisfaction. In other words, this study sought to understand if traditional American Indian culture provides any unique buffering effects against stress via coping styles. Several regressions were run on the mediation model which suggested no significant relationship between American Indian cultural identification and life satisfaction. These …

The Impact Of Historical Trauma On Alcohol Use And Academic Outcomes In American Indian College Students, Elizabeth Luger

Theses and Dissertations

Issues regarding substance use, particularly alcohol use, and academic outcomes are two factors that are vital to examine when researching the quality of life and academic success of American Indian (AI) college students. Because AI college students comprise a relatively small percentage of the general college population, the majority of research conducted using college student samples tends to focus on Caucasian (CA) subjects or all ethnicities combined – neither of which directly pertain to furthering understanding surrounding issues specific to AI college students. One factor that has been shown to predict alcohol use among AIs is historical trauma, which is …

Unmasking The Noise Within: An Exploration Of The Integration Of Music And Mental Processing And Its Effect On Enhanced Learning, De Vida Gill

Theses and Dissertations

Many research studies have focused on aspects of music, mental processing, and education, but few have integrated music with mental health practices and theory in order to understand the potential effects of enhanced learning. This research applied a biopsychosocial (biological, psychological, and social) approach to provide a holistic view of the relationship between music and mental processing. In particular, this phenomenological study of non-musicians and professional musicians demonstrated the significance of music as a universal language. Additionally, the intrinsic and extrinsic effects of music are shown to enhance learning for the artist and listeners. The findings suggest that music can …

Examining How Primary Care Team Structures Are Used And Their Effect On Cross-Disciplinary Relationships: A Qualitative Study, Matthew J. Depuccio

Theses and Dissertations

Team-based primary care is an innovative care delivery model that has the potential to improve access to comprehensive, coordinated, and high-quality patient care. It is understood that in order for primary care teams to work effectively, health care providers must work across disciplinary boundaries and develop strong relationships that enable them to coordinate their roles and expertise. This research investigated how health care providers make use of different team structures (i.e., tools) to manage their interdependent work, enabling them to deliver team-based primary care. This research also examined how team structures influence the intra-team relationships important for coordinating care. By …