Digital Commons Network^™

Personality And Interpersonal Predictors Among Ministers: Preference For Pastoral Counseling Tasks, Jessica Young Brown

Theses and Dissertations

A review of vocational assessment in ministry populations revealed that since the 1950s, ministers have been assessed using psychological and vocational assessments in an effort to ascertain goodness of fit for ministry tasks. However, ministers consistently produce profile reports that are significantly different from the population as a whole. In addition, while there has been much research on the general ministerial vocation, there has been little research on particular ministerial roles and the predictors for ministers who will excel in those tasks. The literature on ministers is outdated and has not taken into consideration the peculiar characteristics of the ministry …

Differences In Life Satisfaction Among Young Adults In Different Living Situations, Jennifer Roake

Theses and Dissertations

Differences in life satisfaction among young adults in different living situations were evaluated. The aims of this study were to use the Satisfaction with Life Scale to examine the differences in life satisfaction. Levels of depression as well as purpose in life were also evaluated using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale and the Purpose in Life Scale. A total of 91 participants responses were included in the study, with 58 participants reporting living independently and 33 participants reporting living with parents. Independent t-tests found that individuals living at home report lower levels of life satisfaction compared to participants …

Coupling Academia And Civic Responsibility: Impact Of Incorporating Service-Learning Into Selected Courses, Cheri James

Theses and Dissertations

The demand on universities across America to produce civic-minded students is ever increasing. These demands are necessary to answer the constantly evolving needs of society due to advancing technology, the economy, war, politics, and social media. Volunteerism and community engagement can offer students the opportunity for connecting to their university and the surrounding community by presenting a reciprocal approach to meeting students' needs for involvement, fulfilling the university mission statement, and providing valuable service to the local community. This study investigated the service-learning practices at Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ. The findings suggest there is a strong level of agreement between …

Crisis Management For Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder, Emily Duch

Theses and Dissertations

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by mood instability, emotional dysregularity, !ability in interpersonal relationships, pervasive issues with self image, and behavioral issues (National Alliance on Mental Tllness, 2011 ). Many patients with BPD exhibit self-injurious behavior that may or may not be suicidal in nature. This aspect of BPD is often times what leads to inpatient hospitalization. There is no proven benefit in hospitalizing patients presenting with this behavior, and some say it even has adverse outcomes for the patient (Berrino, et al., 2011; Paris, 2004). Patients with this specific diagnosis make up a large portion of those utilizing …

Practices Of Professionals Providing Services To Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: Testing The Theory Of Planned Behavior In Predicting Use Of Evidence-Based Interventions And Family-Centered Care, Lillian Christon

Theses and Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are chronic and pervasive developmental disorders; children with ASDs require more multidisciplinary services than children with other developmental, behavioral, and emotional disorders (Kogan et al., 2008). Little research has been done on the practices and perspectives of the professionals providing services to children with ASDs. Evidence-based practice (combining use of evidence-based interventions [EBIs], family-centered care [FCC] respecting patient/family values, and clinical expertise) leads to the best outcomes for children with ASDs (APA Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice, 2006). The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which psychological constructs (attitudes, subjective norms, …

No-Suicide Contracts With Suicidal Youth: Utah Mental Health Professionals' Perceptions And Current Practice, Andrea L. Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among youth and young adults ages 10--24. In 2001 the U.S. Surgeon General laid out a national strategic plan to more effectively address suicide prevention (United States Public Health Service, 2001). In 2008, Gene Cash, then president of The National Association of School Psychologists, made a "call to action" to prevent suicide. Although suicide prevention has been repeatedly identified as a priority in mental health care, the vast majority of interventions with suicidal youth are not evidence based due to a lack of research utilizing controlled studies (Daniel & Goldston, 2009). Unfortunately …

What Are Parents' Opinions Towards Their Children's Transition From School To Adulthood?, Michelle Moore

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine if training affected parent attitudes towards the transition planning process. Twenty-one parent volunteers participated in this study. Parents answered survey questions about their attitudes before attending two training sessions. A second survey was then completed to determine if there was a significant difference in responses after training. A pre-post survey design was used where means were compared using ANOVA. The results showed a statistical significant difference in question 6 "I know that my child has a behavior plan" in favor of the training, and no significances between pre-post responses to other questions.

The Examination Of Inter-Rater Reliability And The Reliability Of Attachment Measures, Nicole Bayles

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of measuring attachment through subjective measures, as well as the inter-rater reliability of those using the subjective measures. Participants were volunteers who had worked with the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS). They included social workers, lawyers, psychologists, etc. Participants were asked to answer questionnaires regarding the DYFS children they had worked with, as well as demographics about themselves. The questionnaires also included an alternative informed consent. The surveys were mailed to participants and included return envelopes to ensure ease of mailing them back. It was hypothesized that measuring …

Technology-Mediated Caring In Online Teaching And Learning, Andrea Velasquez

Theses and Dissertations

As online K-12 education becomes more prevalent, there arises a need to examine caring as it is experienced in technology-mediated contexts. The first article in this dissertation examines the definition of the term "caring pedagogies" and synthesizes relevant research helpful to understanding its application in a variety of contexts, including the technology-mediated context. The literature review is organized in the following categories: understanding caring pedagogy (defining and measuring), developing caring characteristics in individuals, developing caring communities, and developing caring in unique contexts. This article concludes that more research related to care is necessary in contexts other than the early childhood …

The Relationship Between Select Demographic Characteristics And Body Mass Index Among Native Hawaiian And Other Pacific Islander Caregiving Adults, Katrina Duncan

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders (NHOPIs) have the highest prevalence of overweight and obesity in the world. This study identified the proportion of our NHOPI sample in each body mass index (BMI) category and explored relationships between demographic characteristics and BMI. Design: This descriptive correlational study included 364 NHOPI caregiver adults in Utah (n=155) and Hawaii (n=209). We gathered demographic information with a questionnaire. Height and weight were measured for BMI calculations. Results: According to the CDC's BMI categories, 84.3% of our sample was overweight (BMI=25.0-29.9) or obese (BMI ≥30). Participants in Utah had significantly higher BMIs than …

Measurement Approach To The Comparisons Of Career Anchor Models, Mengfei Cai

Theses and Dissertations

The career anchors concept is an approach to understanding career orientation and motivation. The original career anchor model was introduced by Schein in 1974. Several investigators have created revisions of the model to make it more useful. This dissertation is a continuation of the quest to evaluate the original model and the revised models with respect to empirical support. This study is the first of two studies in which measurement methods are devised to solve the psychometric problems of previous measures. In this study we create and test an "economic exchange" model to correct the problem of acquiescent bias. We …

Open (Adoption) For Business: Opposing Movements And Environmental Opportunity Structures In The Adoption Organizational Field, 1972-2000, Krista Marie Frederico

Theses and Dissertations

Recent directions in organizational studies have demonstrated progressive social movements' ability to generate rewarding enterprises or environmental opportunity structures (EOS) in receptive markets. However, more nuanced opposing movements (Meyer and Staggenborg 1996), such as the pro-choice and pro-life movements, receive far less attention, leaving scholars to postulate that there is much yet to know about the impact of movements other than those with strict progressive orientations (Zald, Morrill, and Rao 2005). To better understand how opposing movements contribute to environmental opportunity structures, this thesis examines dramatic growth in the number of adoption agencies advertising services in the Yellow Pages during …

A Translation And Cultural Adaptation Of The Japanese Version Of The Outcome Questionnaire 45 (Oq), Risa Takara

Theses and Dissertations

The need for psychotherapy outcome research is growing in Japan as the societal demands for psychotherapy have increased in recent years. Although researchers in Japan recognize the importance of integrating clinical practice and empirical research in evaluating psychotherapy outcome, most Japanese studies to date have relied heavily on qualitative case studies (Haebara, 1997; Kanazawa, 2004; Tanno, 2001). With the help of six translators and 116 native Japanese pilot respondents, this study adapted the Outcome Questionnaire (OQ; Lambert et al., 1996), one of the most common quantitative measures of clinical outcome, for use in Japan. The translation of the original OQ …

Postpartum Depression In Immigrant Hispanic Women: A Comparative Community Sample, Laura Mae Shellman

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: This study was initiated to verify whether a remarkably high rate of postpartum depression (PPD), previously found in immigrant Hispanic women receiving health care at a community clinic, would also be found in a community sample with a similar demographic.

Data Sources: Sixty immigrant Hispanic women who had recently given birth were recruited from local community settings. The Beck Postpartum Depression Screening Scale-Spanish version (PPDS-S) and the General Acculturation Index (GAI) were used to screen for PPD symptoms and to collect demographic data. These data were then compared with previously published data from the community clinic sample.

Conclusions: Sixty …

Trickle Down This Effect: Negotiations Of Culture, Care, And Freedom In Contemporary Cairo International Schools, Anne Caldwell

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis attempts to analyze the contradictions and practices of a neoliberal ethical project among a privileged class in contemporary Cairo. The growing presence and availability of international schools in Cairo has reconfigured particular aspects of culture, care, and freedom for elite subjects over the past forty years. The main research question is: how are globalized notions of well being, self-realization, and personal fulfillment transmitted through the work of neoliberal discourse and staff at international schools in Cairo. It has been identified in this thesis that certain forms of care and responsibility are tightly bound and shaped by a neoliberal …

Relationship Between Observed Parental Optimism And Adolescent Optimism With Parental Involvement As A Mediating Variable: Two Wave Panel Study, Allison Ellsworth

Theses and Dissertations

Using coded data from parent-child interaction tasks and questionnaires, this longitudinal study examined the relationship between observed mother and father optimism and self-reported and observed optimism of their adolescent child one year later with mother and father involvement as mediators. Results from structural equation modeling indicated that while there was not a direct association between maternal optimism and child optimism, that father involvement mediated that relationship, and that father involvement further mediated the relationship between father involvement and child optimism.

Racial Socialization In A Black-White Interracial Family In Virginia, Rebecca Hubbard

Theses and Dissertations

The Black-White biracial population is the largest and fastest growing subgroup of multiracial individuals in the United States. Despite substantial research literature on the positive relationship between Black racial identity and psychological wellbeing, Black-White biracial individuals are underrepresented in studies that provide evidence for this relationship. Root (1998) put forward an Ecological Metamodel of Biracial Identity, comprised of several factors related to contextual (e.g. class, regional history of race-relations, parental identity, extended family) and intra-psychic processes (e.g. social skills, coping skills). The ecological metamodel served as the theoretical framework for the current study. This study is a comprehensive investigation of …

Evidence-Based Interdisciplinary Cultural Competence Training In Public Health, Joni Tweeten

Theses and Dissertations

The United States is quickly becoming more racially and ethnically diverse, and the associated health dispmities are growing at an alarming rate. Culturally competent care and services can help reduce these disparities by enhancing the quality of care for all clients, especially those at risk for dispaiities. A public health workforce that is well-equipped with knowledge of cultural competence and the tools to practice it will be able to better meet the needs of the changing populations with which they work. To effectively improve the cultural competence of interdisciplinary public health teams, evidence-based interdisciplinary training is needed to provide effective …

The Current Status Of Social Media Use Among Nonprofit Human Service Organizations: An Exploratory Study, James Young

Theses and Dissertations

Social media has proliferated throughout the nonprofit sector over the last five years and organizations use these new tools in a variety of ways. Little research is available on the use of social media within nonprofit human service organizations (HSO) specifically. This study is one of the first of its kind to explore how and why human service organizations are using social media. The aim of this study is to understand the current status of social media use among nonprofit human service organizations by exploring and describing the social media platforms in use, associated practices with social media, the frequency …

The Social Work Perspective On English Language Learners Entering Special Education, Kerry Fay Vandergrift

Theses and Dissertations

Grounded theory was used to examine the social work perspective on English language learners (ELLs) entering special education. Fourteen interviews were conducted with 11 current school social workers from seven counties and cities in Virginia. The resulting theory is that the core variable, supporting ELLs, is the best attempt to resolve the main concern, the disconnect between the needs of ELLs and the resources available to them. This grounded theory suggests social workers and other school personnel can support ELLs and avoid an inappropriate referral to special education through: (1) culturally and linguistically appropriate assessment outside of the special education …

A Logistic Regression And Discriminant Function Analysis Of Enrollment Characteristics Of Student Veterans With And Without Disabilities, Yovhane Metcalfe

Theses and Dissertations

The postsecondary enrollment of student veterans has increased with the troop draw down in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the generous amendments made to the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Acquired disabilities remain a reality for this population as they transition into the civilian world; consequently, previous literature cites the role of disabilities amongst student veterans. Also, prior research often aggregates these two groups without a thorough understanding of the ways in which they differ. This study compared student veterans with disabilities to student veterans without disabilities in order to understand the enrollment and demographic factors on which they differed, …

A Brief Problem-Solving Intervention For Caregivers Of Children With Cancer, Jennifer Lamanna

Theses and Dissertations

OBJECTIVE: Pediatric cancer treatment is stressful for caregivers. Research has indicated that problem-solving coping reduces stress related to caregiving. The current study examines the effects of a problem-solving intervention (Parent Empowerment Program), based on Problem-Solving Therapy, for caregivers of children on active cancer treatment. It was hypothesized that participants who received the intervention would show decreases in caregiving stress and posttraumatic stress symptoms, and increases in problem-solving ability between baseline and post-test assessments compared to those who received an attention control. METHOD: Thirty-nine caregivers (all parents; 48% participation rate) participated. The majority were mothers (90%), married or partnered (59%) and …

Unaccompanied Refugee Minors And Their Strategies To Navigate A New World: A Grounded Theory, Justin Scott Lee

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT UNACCOMPANIED REFUGEE MINORS AND THEIR STRATEGIES TO NAVIGATE A NEW WORLD: A GROUNDED THEORY By Justin Scott Lee A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2012 Chair: Pamela J. Kovacs, Ph.D. Associate Professor This study explored how unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) define success. The population of URMs consists of individuals who, through forced migration from their country of origin, were resettled in the United States through the URM program. Little is known about the ways in which refugee adolescents view the resettlement process …

A Historical Case Study Of The Arikara, Hidatsa, And Mandan Indians Attending Hampton Normal And Agricultural Institute, Virginia, 1878-1911., Nancy Jones-Oltjenbruns

Theses and Dissertations

A HISTORICAL CASE STUDY OF THE ARIKARA, HIDATSA, AND MANDAN INDIANS AT HAMPTON NORMAL AND AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE, VIRGINIA, 1878-1911 By Nancy E. Jones-Oltjenbruns, Ph.D. A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2012 Director: Maike I. Philipsen, PhD Professor, School of Education Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute played a role in the education of American Indians. This facet of American Indians education was examined through the lives of Arikara, Hidatsa, and Mandan students from the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. The Three Affiliated Tribes’ …

Responding To The Child Welfare Workforce Crisis Here And Now: A Constructivist Approach To Understanding Supervision, Abigail K. Wyche

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, the author argues that there is strong evidence that the child welfare workforce continues to be in crisis. While a great deal of research has indicated that supervision is closely linked to the crisis, extremely high rates of turnover have not been notably reduced through the efforts of administrators or academics to change supervisory practices. Therefore, the author makes the case that it is time to employ an alternative methodology—constructivist inquiry. Constructivist inquiry is based on paradigmatic assumptions that make it distinct from the functionalist approach that researchers most commonly use to understand the child welfare workforce …

The Talented Tenth Revisited: Socialization And Retention For Black Junior Faculty At Hbcus, Stanley Kayron Ellis

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the socialization and retention of Black junior faculty at Historically Black College and University institutions. Tierney and Rhoads (1993) two-stage theory of faculty socialization was used as the theoretical framework for the study. To understand the socialization experiences of Black junior faculty who were in their first faculty appointments since achieving their Ph.D.s, a phenomenological approach was employed during the investigation. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted with nine Black junior faculty at both private and public HBCUs to gain insight into their socialization as they experienced it at these institutions. The findings of this study revealed three …

Spiritual Economies: Redemptive Violence, The Body And Social Care, Perry W. Benson

Theses and Dissertations

“Spiritual Economies” asserts that the emancipatory drive in international social care to integrate spirituality and religion in culturally sensitive practice, is much needed given the demographic and social changes engendered by globalization. Ethical codes guiding the practice of international social care, furthermore, have mandated that spiritual and religious beliefs are an important part of cultural diversity. An extensive examination and analysis of the discourse on the integration of religion and spirituality in the predominantly secular social services, however, yielded a number of concerns among international social care scholars and practitioners regarding the inclusion of religion due to the potential for …

Supervisory Alliance And Countertransference Disclosure In Peer Supervision, Sara Mack

Theses and Dissertations

Peer supervision is an evolving mode of training used in counselor/psychologist/therapist education and professional development. Little is known, however, about the format of peer supervision in clinical and counseling psychology doctoral programs, its effectiveness, or differences in the processes or outcomes of traditional supervision (supervisor of record and supervisee) and peer supervision (consultation between clinical trainees and/or graduate student classmates). This study aimed to examine one aspect of peer supervision and to provide a comparison between supervision of record and peer supervision. The study examined the role of alliance on countertransference disclosure. Fifty-two clinical and counseling psychology doctoral students from …

A Model To Increase Employability Of Traumatic Brain Injury Patients At The West Los Angeles Veteran Affairs Administration, Colleen M. Babineau

Theses and Dissertations

This study assessed the impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) upon specific behavioral and psychosocial factors related to employability. This descriptive study was a retrospective chart review of the records of TBI patients, returning military service members, between 2003 and 2010. Some long term residual effects for TBI patients with blast or non-blast head injuries include cognitive deficits, memory problems, chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, all of which impact recovery and function. The 4 research questions relate to (a) global assessment of functioning, (b) employment challenges, (c) the impact of blast versus non blast TBI upon global assessment of functioning …

African/Black Psychology: A Qualitative Investigation Of Distinguished Black Psychologists, Nichole J. Mckenzie

Theses and Dissertations

Over the past 40 years, researchers have made numerous attempts to document and expand upon the literature surrounding the development of African/Black psychology. Yet little is known about the contextual factors that might have influenced individual decisions to become involved in the movement. This study examined the early life experience of 13 Black psychologists whose autobiographies were published in Robert Williams (2008) book, History of the Association of Black Psychologists: Profiles of Outstanding Black Psychologists. Data for this study were analyzed utilizing a qualitative research approach. Themes that arose from the analysis included: (a) direct exposure/awareness of oppressive social, political, …