Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Resilience On Student Academic Success In Baccalaureate Nursing, Cassandra Frost

Dissertations

The current rise in nursing student attrition has impeded the future supply of registered nurses. With the shortages projected to continue, this growing problem needs to be addressed. Factors influencing nursing student success are diverse and multidimensional. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between resilience and student academic success. A descriptive, correlational design was utilized. The study was conducted in a private nursing college with 300 baccalaureate level nursing students. Based on correlational analysis, a weak positive relationship was found between academic success and resilience. Academic success also demonstrated relationships with cumulative grade point average, …

Msw Portfolio, Sean Patrick Kavanaugh

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

My written explanation for how my life, work, and MSW experience has led me to be a well rounded social worker through the 13 NASW core competencies.

The Impact Of State-Level Laws On Syringe Service Program Access And Risk Environment Of People Who Inject Drugs (Pwid), Samuel Pettyjohn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Understanding concentrated areas with high rates of opioid use disorder (OUD) allows for improved placement of Narcan access points through syringe services programs (SSPs). People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) have lower risk of contracting infectious diseases the closer they are to SSPs. Tennessee law prohibits SSPs within 2000ft of a school or park, impacting the placement of SSPs in non-urban areas. Testing factors related to SSP siting placement within a system dynamic model can better determine the relationship between PWID risk environment and SSP access and utility.

Methods: We identified areas of greatest need for harm reduction interventions within …

Gender, Race, And Childhood Abuse As Predictors Of Borderline Personality Disorder, Olivia Moses

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a debilitating personality disorder that impacts anywhere between 1% to 5% of Americans. Studies claim that women are significantly more at risk than men to suffer from this disorder and may experience stronger symptoms. Previous research has found that victims of childhood abuse such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect are more at risk for developing Borderline Personality Disorder as adults, particularly when abuse is paired with genetic susceptibility. Some researchers claim that there are no detectable racial differences in Borderline Personality Disorder, but previous studies often have very small sample sizes taken from …

Understanding Female Veterans' Post-Military Community Reintegration As Influenced By Higher Ground Military Program, Anna Johnson

All Theses

After being granted full military participation in 2015, the population of female veterans is now increasing rapidly (Department of Veteran Affairs, 2017; Strong, Crowe, & Bolton, 2018). Despite this, however, women in the military are commonly overlooked or overshadowed in veteran research (Hawkins & Crowe, 2018a, 2018b; Lundberg et al., 2016). Existing research on this population has recommended an increase in female-specific services to better serve the unique needs of female veterans (Hawkins & Crowe, 2018a, 2018b). In order to provide these services there first needs to be an expansion of research on veterans to include the female voices as …

Genetic Counselors' Experiences With And Approaches To Discordant Genotypic And Phenotypic Sex Detected Via Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing, Emily Stiglich

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

As the use of non-invasive prenatal testing becomes more ubiquitous during pregnancy, genetic counselors (GCs) will see clients more frequently for discordant sex identification via non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT-DSI). Thus, it is imperative to investigate what GCs consider important when counseling about NIPT-DSI and assess how GCs perceive their role in such cases. Prenatal and pediatric GCs were surveyed regarding previous experiences of NIPT-DSI, comfort levels of topics relating to NIPT-DSI, and perceived importance of potential discussion topics in a counseling session (n = 108). The survey consisted of two vignettes, presenting cases of NIPT-DSI identified prenatally in one …

More Seats At The Table: An Examination Of The Role Of Natural Supports In Promoting Postsecondary Transition For Students With Disabilities In Rural Maine, Elizabeth Stone-Sterling

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Students with disabilities who receive special education services are entitled under federal law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, to have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that includes measurable postsecondary goals and identifies the transition services that are needed in order for the student to reach those goals. Transition planning for students with disabilities in rural areas can be uniquely challenging due to lack of access to transportation, service providers, and accessible programs. Failure to prepare for postsecondary education or employment is correlated with life-long challenges, including poverty, un/under-employment, and limited educational attainment. Natural supports, in the form of family …

What Are The Patterns Of Shared Viewpoints, Attitudes, Beliefs, And Opinions Of Full-Time Grandparent Caregivers About Their Experiences? A Q Methodological Study, Korrin Denee Kim

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Objective: Millions of grandparents in the United States provide full-time care to grandchildren. Although their actions are largely altruistic, they do not come without sacrifice. Often these sacrifices are associated with major consequences. Little is known about how grandparents prioritize their sacrifices. An improved understanding of how grandparents prioritize their sacrifices could facilitate better awareness, more specialized care, and improved policies for this population. Method: I used Q methodology to investigate grandparents’ perspectives on the sacrifices that they make to raise their grandchildren. Thirteen participants were recruited using snowball and purposive sampling. To create the Q-set, I used 26 statements …

An Exploration Of The Experiences Of Faculty With Disabilities In A Research University In The South, Gonzalo Camp

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While diversity and inclusion has become a benchmark for universities all around the country, faculty with disabilities remain in the margins of higher education discourse and are a neglected population across the spectrum of academia. This thesis aims at exploring the experiences of faculty with disabilities at a specific research 1 university in the South. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five faculty members who self-identify as having a disability. Four themes emerged from this study: able-bodied lens, fear, social isolation, and coping mechanisms. Building on the existing literature, these findings offer new information to expand the knowledge on the challenges …

Leadership, Competencies, And Clinical Supervision: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Clinical Supervision In Recreational Therapy, Heather Bright Gleghorn

All Dissertations

Clinical supervision (CS) is important to student interns and novice professionals, as it provides guidance for competency development. However, in recreational therapy (RT), there are few requirements for a CTRS to be qualified to supervise interns. There is also minimal research regarding the effectiveness of current clinical supervisory and leadership practices in RT, or their effect on competency development in interns. Therefore, the purpose of this mixed methods study was to identify the factors of CS that predict competency development among RT interns during their 560-hour internship. Additionally, this study sought to understand the prominent leadership behaviors and competencies among …

Unguarded : Freedom From Shame For Expat Women, Cynthia M. Brewer

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Dim Sum And The Chinese Diaspora, Ashley Lee

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Dim sum originated from the southern states of China, mainly Hong Kong and Guangdong. The Chinese cuisine has traveled to many places in the world today where Chinese immigrants have settled since the Chinese diaspora circa the 1960s. At the time, Chinese immigrants who came to America had to assimilate to the American culture by situating themselves in areas that had already existed, creating ethnic enclaves in Chinatown, Los Angeles. The heavy population of Chinese immigrants poured into the San Gabriel Valley, which created a bigger community for the Chinese and preserved the Chinese identity. It was easier for them …

Professional Perceptions Of Microaggressions And Verbal Or Emotional Abuse Toward Aging Women: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, Kim Kozina-Evanoski

Education Doctoral

This purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the phenomenon of microaggressions and verbal and/or emotional abuse occurrence(s) toward aging women through the perceptions of trusted professionals. Using seven participants from diverse regions of the United States, interviews capturing rich data from the lived experiences of Aging Life Care Association (ALCA) experts, an interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to describe the meaning of ALCA professionals’ experiences and perceptions regarding abuse occurrence(s) from their involvement or observations of those most marginalized or oppressed population, aging women. Five themes emerged from this study: (a) insidious transactions, (b) definition interpretation, …

Preferences In Information Processing, Marginalized Identity, And Non-Monogamy: Understanding Factors In Suicide-Related Behavior Among Members Of The Alternative Sexuality Community, Robert J. Cramer, Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Andrea R. Kaniuka, Corrine N. Wilsey, Annelise Mennicke, Susan Wright, Erika Montanaro, Jessamyn Bowling, Kristin E. Heron

Psychology Faculty Publications

Suicide-related behavior (SRB) is a mental health disparity experienced by the alternative sexuality community. We assessed mental health, relationship orientation, marginalized identities (i.e., sexual orientation minority, gender minority, racial minority, ethnic minority, and lower education), and preferences in information processing (PIP) as factors differentiating lifetime SRB groups. An online cross-sectional survey study was conducted in 2018. Members of the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF; n = 334) took part. Bivariate analyses identified the following SRB risk factors: female and transgender/gender non-binary identity, sexual orientation minority identity, lower education, suicide attempt/death exposure, Need for Affect (NFA) Avoidance, depression, and anxiety. …

Intersectionality And Exploitation The Commodification Of The Bodies Of Marginalized Women, Ocean Royalty

Honors College Theses

Using four historical case studies this paper attempts to examine the effects of marginalization and exploitation faced by women in a modern context. It opens with a broad analysis of modern trends of exploitation like sex trafficking and pedophilia and how they center around groups based on sex along with race, class, and age. It ends with detailed studies of the lives of women of color: Saartjie Baartman, Julia Pastrana, the patients of J. Marion Sims, and Henrietta Lacks.

Intimate Partner Violence Against Women In Pakistan: A Review Of Qualitative Research, Tazeen S. Ali, Rida Farhan, Michelle Ayub

Community Health Sciences

Objective: To consolidate research data and provide an insight into areas that need further research regarding intimate partner violence.
Methods: The review targeted qualitative research-based studies done in the English language and conducted in Pakistan from 2008 to 2018 regarding intimate partner violence against women. A thorough search of Google Scholar and PubMed databases was done. Data from each selected article was extracted using a data-extraction template.
Results: Of the 2,479 results, 21(0.8%) articles were selected along with 4(0.16%) texts from grey literature. An in-depth analysis led to six broad categories: experiences/perspectives of married women facing intimate partner violence; perspectives …

Navigating The Experience Of Burnout Of Immigrant Music Therapists In The United States, Naeun Lee

Theses & Dissertations

This study explored the experiences of burnout of immigrant music therapists who currently live and work in the United States. The purpose of this study was to examine how immigrant music therapists’ cultural adjustment may influence their experience with burnout and to guide participants articulate their burnout experiences through the use of musical improvisation as a method. Qualitative phenomenological inquiry and Arts-Based Research as a method were used in this study. Musical improvisation and open-ended interviews were conducted with three female participants possessing various years of clinical experience. Music as well as interviews were transcribed and analyzed for themes. Three …

The Role Of Personal Therapy For Chinese-Speaking Music Therapy Students: A Survey, Xinrui Liu

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to understand the perceptions of Chinese-speaking music therapy students on cultural transition and personal therapy and to determine what impact these have on their learning process. An online questionnaire surveyed 13 Chinese-speaking music therapy students. Nine completed responses were analyzed by using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The questions focused on their demographic information, their attitudes toward personal therapy, and their attitudes toward the cultural transition process. The study found that 78% of participants sought any type of therapy and 55% of participants believe that personal therapy is extremely important for music therapy students. …

The Stigmatization Of Hunger: The Impact Of Social Stigma On Arkansas Youths’ Food Security, Emily Thompson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In Arkansas, 26.3% of children are food insecure, meaning they do not have enough or lack the ability to obtain enough food for adequate nutrition (Miller 2019). In recent years, a new phenomenon has been taking place called lunch shaming where children are sometimes forced to wear signs or handstamps that say the child’s lunch account is overdue. This research analyzes how the media frames food insecurity and how perceived social stigmas affect a student’s willingness to seek out help when struggling with food security.

Severity Of Coercive Sexual Harassment In Professor–Student Interaction And Peer Bystander Responses, Donna M. L. Heretick, Inna Learn

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

The risk for female students in academia of sexual harassment by male faculty and staff remains a national crisis. This study examined effects of severity of coercive sexual harassment (CSH) by a male professor of a female student on peer bystander intervention responses. A total of 180 undergraduate and graduate college students who volunteered for an online survey were randomly assigned to one of three vignette conditions that varied severity of CSH. Following Bowes-Sperry’s ethical model of bystander behaviors, it was predicted that severity of CSH would affect cognitive appraisals and emotional reactions, which would further predict intentions for intervention …

Life Course Pathways From Childhood Socioeconomic Status To Later-Life Cognition: Evidence From The Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, Emily A. Greenfield, Sara Moorman, Annika Marie Rieger

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

ObjectivesA growing body of research indicates that older adults are at greater risk for poorer cognition if they experienced low socioeconomic status (SES) as children. Guided by life course epidemiology, this study aimed to advance understanding of processes through which childhood SES influences cognition decades later, with attention to the role of scholastic performance in adolescence and SES in midlife.MethodWe used data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), which has followed a cohort of high school graduates since they were 18 years old in 1957. Childhood SES was measured prospectively in adolescence, and measures of memory and language/executive functioning were …

Illinois State University, One Hundred And Sixty-First Annual Commencement, May 2020, Illinois State University

Commencement Programs

Illinois State University
One Hundred and Sixty-First Annual Commencement
May 2020

Military-Connected High-School Graduates’ Lived Experiences With K-12 Civilian Schools: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Christy L. Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Considering that most military children attend civilian schools, the purpose of this transcendental, phenomenological study is to describe the K-12 lived experiences of military-connected (M-C) graduates of public schools in a large school district located in the southeastern region of the United States. The theory guiding this study is Hamilton McCubbin’s family stress theory as it explores how family members handle situational stressors regarding the ability to thrive and prove resilient or disintegrate to a degree that threatens the family’s stability. Interviews, letters of advice, and focus groups were used to collect data. Data was analyzed to generate codes and …

The Voice Inside My Head: College And Career Choices Of Females Entering College, Dena Robison Kinsey

Theses and Dissertations

The workforce in society today has rapidly growing fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Females are largely underrepresented in these fields in colleges and also careers. Previous research cites multiple reasons that could cause this disparity between the genders, and this study adds to that. Females in their developmental years are equal to or outperform males in STEM fields in school, and the number of females who are beginning to choose these areas in college is on the rise. This study sought to determine if females choose colleges and careers based on their family’s emotional or financial influence. …

Commercial Sexual Exploitation Of Children: Parents’ Knowledge, Beliefs, And Protective Actions, Grace Elisabeth Layton Langford

Theses and Dissertations

While commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is widespread, little research has been conducted regarding parents’ knowledge of, beliefs about, and protective actions against CSEC. Using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model as a lens and a quantitative survey, this study explored four questions: how knowledgeable of CSEC are parents in Mississippi and the surrounding states; what beliefs do parents have toward CSEC; how are parents taking protective actions against CSEC; and how are parents’ knowledge, beliefs, and protective actions correlated? Results from 13 participants were examined for frequencies and correlations. Findings indicated that parents have a basic knowledge of CSEC, beliefs …

What Kind Of Resources Are There For Caregivers Of Patients With Mental Illness?, Candice Robertson

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The capstone was implemented at Telecare, an agency that serves individuals who are on a psychiatric hold. The capstone’s macro-level problem is that caregivers are not receiving the support they need to adequately help their patients. The micro-level was that my agency works with the family so the social workers should be giving out appropriate resources for the caregivers. The capstone consisted of conducting research to assess the different resources that were available for caregivers online. I implemented this by conducting systematic GOOGLE searches and organizing top results by common themes that were in the articles found in the top …

Migrant Students Achieving California State Standards Through Migrant Educational Programs, Jasmine Jovel

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Within the United States of America education systems, one of the most disadvantaged populations is migrant students because of their linguistic and cultural barriers, poverty, immigration status, and frequent mobility. These barriers disrupt the education opportunities for migrant students and their ability to master the California State Standards. To decrease these barriers, Migrant Education Programs (MEP) began implementing diverse programs nation-wide to support and advocate for migrant students, their parents, and the community. MEP has shown to increase graduation rates in Latino children. Additionally, migrant educators provide multiple supports and resources to children and parents. California is a sanctuary for …

Wellness Group For Stress Management And Mental Health Awareness, Brittany A. Hancock

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Learning for Life Charter School is a public charter school that works with students who are considered at risk for dropping out of school before completing their high school diploma. Students at Learning for Life Charter School lack coping skills in an academic setting and thus get into physical and verbal fights as well as not completing their assignments. These behaviors can be caused by a lack of support from teachers and staff, personal trauma and family dysfunction. An educational intervention on campus was created and implemented which was called a wellness group. This intervention worked to increase knowledge of …

Development Of An Affirming And Customizable Electronic Survey Of Sexual And Reproductive Health Experiences For Transgender And Gender Nonbinary People, Heidi Moseson, Mitchell R. Lunn, Anna Katz, Laura Fix, Mary Durden, Ari Stoeffler, Jen Hastings, Lyndon Cudlitz, Eli Goldberg, Bori Lesser-Lee, Laz Letcher, Aneidys Reyes, Annesa Flentje, Matthew R. Capriotti, Micah E. Lubensky, Juno Obedin-Maliver

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

To address pervasive measurement biases in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) research, our interdisciplinary team created an affirming, customizable electronic survey to measure experiences with contraceptive use, pregnancy, and abortion for transgender and gender nonbinary people assigned female or intersex at birth and cisgender sexual minority women. Between May 2018 and April 2019, we developed a questionnaire with 328 items across 10 domains including gender identity; language used for sexual and reproductive anatomy and events; gender affirmation process history; sexual orientation and sexual activity; contraceptive use and preferences; pregnancy history and desires; abortion history and preferences; priorities for sexual and …

Restorative Justice Practices: Addressing The Eleven Percent, Marshal Galvan Jr.

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This paper analyzes, assesses, and introduces the importance of a “Needs Assessment” that can potentially record the effectiveness of the Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP) practices with its youth offenders. VORP is a program within the purview of the Restorative Justice Partners, INC. organization. The functions of this program works closely with the probation department of Monterey County, along with various community partners; its practices are funneled through a restorative justice lens. Current data will show that 89% of youth offenders who have successfully completed the VORP program and are closed compliant do not reoffend, meanwhile the other 11% recidivates …