Digital Commons Network^™

Perceptions Of Community College Success Seminar Faculty Regarding First-Year Student Persistence, Ikpobari Dumletam Senewo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Persistence of first-year, full-time students toward graduation at U.S. community colleges poses concerns for administrators, faculty, and policymakers. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of faculty members teaching a college success seminar at an urban multicampus community college on what impedes or supports the persistence of these students through the first year. Tinto’s student departure and Astin’s student involvement theories served as the framework. Using a basic qualitative approach, interviews with 10 faculty members at a multicampus community college were analyzed using Creswell’s 6-step data analysis strategy. Findings suggested that sense of belonging, early connection to …

Changes In Patient Knowledge And Adherence To Glaucoma Treatment After Educational Intervention, Stella Stempel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Primary open-angle glaucoma is the most common form of glaucoma and the second-leading cause of preventable blindness worldwide. Although timely diagnosis and proper adherence to therapeutic regimen prevent blindness, patient nonadherence continues to be the greatest challenge to effective treatment. Preliminary research suggested that culturally interactive education delivery may increase patient adherence. However, this education intervention had not occurred with glaucoma treatment. The transtheoretical model of behavior change served as the framework for this study. The research questions addressed the effect that glaucoma education provided by a culturally competent patient navigator had on patient knowledge of glaucoma, adherence to medication …

Twitter And Millennial Participation In Voting During Nigeria's 2015 Presidential Elections, Deborah Zoaka

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractMillennial participation in voting has been low since democratic governance was restored in Nigeria in 1999, after 26 years of military rule, constituting a grave threat to democratic consolidation and electoral legitimacy. Little is known about how Nigerian millennials were mobilized to participate in the 2015 presidential elections using Twitter as a major tool. Research questions focused on how Twitter as a social media platform define participation of millennials in promoting voter turnout in Nigeria’s 2015 presidential election. The study was sited within the theoretical framework of democratic participant theory and the uses and gratifications theory. A qualitative phenomenological research …

Internet Use, Perceived Social Support, And Obesity Among African American Young Adults, Cynthia Adams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African Americans are disproportionately affected by obesity. Public health practitioners have an incomplete understanding of the social-environmental risk factors and how they affect obesity. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional study was to explore whether internet use and perceived social support predicted obesity among African American young adults. The social cognitive theory guided this study. Secondary data were analyzed from the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. The sample consisted of 6,765 African American young adults age 18 to 34 and represented the U.S. population using weighted estimates. A Bonferroni correction was performed to reduce Type I error due to …

Perceived Health And Preventative Care In The Transgender Population, Gregory Page Carpenter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Historically, the transgender community has been treated and studied myopically, using the lens of psychological illness. As treatment and research efforts have expanded in the past decade, the transgender population is becoming better understood. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between perceived health and preventative care in the transgender community. The health belief model was the theoretical framework for this cross-sectional study, which included data from the 2014–2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey. Chi-square tests and binomial logistic regressions were performed to investigate associations between perceived health and preventative care in the transgender community. The …

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Work Policy And Its Influence On College Students’ Academic Success, Annetta Ann Clark

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a public food supplement assistance program offered by the U.S. federal government. Undergraduate students who apply for the program must work at least 20 hours per week while concurrently enrolled in six academic units or more. However, students who work more find less time to commit to their college studies, resulting in a negative impact on their academic performance. This phenomenography study’s purpose is to understand from an academic advisor’s perspective how SNAP’s work policy affects academics among first-generation undergraduate students. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Goldratt’s theory of constraints were the conceptual …

Vicarious Trauma As Experienced By Male Therapists, Michael Felt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Vicarious trauma (VT) is a recently focused on phenomenon that describes the negative effects of treating trauma victims. VT causes pervasive and permanent changes to the self-image and worldview of the therapist. Research is sparse regarding the ways male therapists experience VT. The purpose of this study was to explore the male therapist’s experience with VT and is crucial for developing a greater understanding of VT in order to enhance awareness, resilience, and prevention. The study was based on the constructivist self-development theory because VT was developed through the lens of this theory and is primarily defined as the intrapsychic …

Faculty Experiences Of Social Media Implementation In Online Classrooms, Ashley Lynn George

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social media has become an integral part of the education process, with educators incorporating social media platforms both actively and passively within the learning environment. Yet, the implementation and usefulness of social media in the online learning environment as an educational assistance tool have not been adequately investigated. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how the incorporation of social media into the online learning environment is experienced by university faculty and if their experiences of use or required changes in pedagogy for implementation are affecting their ability or desire to implement the new technology. Individual virtual interviews …

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Within Risk-Needs-Responsivity In Treatment Of Sex Offending Psychopaths, Delita Gourdine Welch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Debate exists that supports the integration of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) within risk-needs-responsivity (RNR) in treatment when managing the behaviors in diagnosed sex-offending psychopaths. Although sex offending psychopaths are challenging, they are not immune to managing their behavior and maintaining a positive lifestyle and they can benefit if they can be retained in treatment. Guided by the cognitive behavioral theory, the purpose of this study was to examine how therapists manage the behaviors of diagnosed sex-offending psychopaths when integrating CBT within RNR. Therapists in practice who integrate CBT within RNR with sex offending psychopaths, answered questions about several aspects of CBT …

Sentencing Length Disparity Across Gender And Race For Drug Offenses, Alexis Griggs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research on sentencing outcomes have concentrated on disparities between gender and race with a range of influences in legal decision making. This study was an examination of whether the same form of sentencing inconsistency is found with offenders who were convicted of drug offenses. A quantitative method (ANCOVA) was used to analyze the difference in sentencing outcomes. Data from the United States Sentencing Commission from 2016 fiscal year were used to investigate the role of gender and race in sentencing disparity and examine whether an offender’s prior sentencing history and drug amount influences sentencing outcomes. The results of this study …

The Effects Of Exposure To Appropriated Slurs On Stereotype Threat, Charles Mason Guthrie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Appropriated slurs are refurbished forms of derogatory terms that originate from an outgroup but are adapted by the target group as ingroup terms with specific contextual and application norms. However, the use of appropriated slurs is often debated within the appropriating social group. Within the Black American community, one side of the argument views appropriated slurs as empowering while the other side holds that the underlying slur in its appropriated form causes harm to the integrity of the Black American culture and psyche. Recent survey research supports the perspective that appropriated slurs may have some social benefits; however, social science …

Correlation Between Moral Foundations And Students’ Attitudes Toward Concealed Carry Guns On College Campuses, Hengameh Hashemi Toosi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Correlation between Moral Foundations and Students’ Attitudes Toward Concealed Carry Guns on College CampusesAbstract Attitudes towards concealed carry of guns (CCG) on campus are diverse across society and within college and university communities. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate possible predictors of college students’ attitudes toward CCG on college campuses. Using the moral foundations theory, it was hypothesized that students’ types of moral foundations, political affiliations, and demographics would predict four dimensions of attitudes toward CCG at their college campuses. The prediction model included gender, race, political affiliation (PA), as well as scores for harm (H), fairness …

The Social Work Perspective Regarding The Underutilization Of Mental Health Services Among African American Families, Carissma Tempest Hughes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The underutilization of mental health services amongst African American families has been a long-standing concern in the African American community within large metropolitan cities in Texas. The metropolitan cities are Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and McAllen. There remain experiences that impede families’ ability to engage in mental health services. These experiences involve the conflict between prayer and therapy, stigma, lack of awareness of local mental health services, and cultural competency. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore experiences of African American families and how those experiences affect mental health engagement, as well as how practicing …

Reducing Recidivism Of Psychiatric Inpatient Clients In Behavioral Health Facilities, Cottrell Jacobs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractResearch shows readmitting clients to inpatient psychiatric facilities within 30 days to one year of discharge can be costly for an organization and may represent less than optimal quality care for clients. The purpose of this study was to obtain an in-depth understanding of practices and barriers to reducing inpatient readmissions by completing a qualitative case study of readmission reduction strategies used by a large inpatient psychiatric facility in the southern United States. The Baldrige excellence framework was used to guide the assessment of the organization. Data collection consisted of five semi-structured interviews with organizational leaders, evaluation of internal archival …

The Effect Of Victim’S Responses To Coercive Sexual Harassment On Bystander Intentions And Moral Perceptions, Inna M. Learn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Female graduate students are targets of coercive sexual harassment (SH) three times more than female undergraduates; 67.8% of their harassers were university faculty. While SH victims expected peer support, peers often socially rejected female victims of coercive SH. Gray and Wegner’s theory of dyadic morality and Bowes-Sperry and O’Leary-Kelly’s bystander response model guided this quantitative study to examine the effect of victim response on helping intentions by peers. After reading the same vignette that described coercive SH, 207 student participants read one of four randomly assigned victim’s responses: victim did nothing, directly confronted the professor during the incident, sought peer …

Perspectives Of Online Cda Recipients Regarding Development Of Expertise Without Apprenticeship, Victoria Lynn Long-Coleman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Little was known about how online Child Development Associate (CDA) credential recipients developed practical expertise in early childhood education (ECE) without the benefit of an apprenticeship. Learning the practice of teaching from a qualified more knowledgeable other (MKO) through an apprenticeship is a feature of teacher preparation in public school contexts but is missing in preparation for child care teachers. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore how online CDA recipients developed practical expertise in ECE without a supervised apprenticeship. Vygotsky’s social construction of knowledge was the conceptual framework of the study. The research question addressed how …

Reducing Fall Rates At A Long-Term-Care Facility, Francis Ortego

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, older adults often experience fall events that may result in physical, mental, and financial hardship. Since the project site was experiencing a significant number of patient falls, a fall-prevention quality improvement (QI) program was implemented. Guided by the diffusion of innovation theory and the plan-do-study-act (PDSA) model, the purpose of this doctoral project was to evaluate the effectiveness of that program to determine if the monthly fall rate in the facility would decrease during the next 6 months. The project site provided deidentified data in the form of monthly fall-rate totals as collected from the long-term-care …

Identifying Training Competencies To Enhance Community-Based Program After-School Volunteer Performance, Charlene Sanders

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractIdentifying Training Competencies to Enhance Community-Based Program After-School Volunteer Performance by Charlene Sanders

MS, Walden University 2017 BA, Hampton, 2016

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillmentof the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Human & Social Services––General

Walden University May 2021   Abstract Between 2013 and 2014, 25.2% of 10th grade algebra students who worked with 870,000 adult volunteers in after-school programs in the United States met their goals of improved math proficiency scores. A gap exists involving volunteer training strategies for after-school programs that are effective in improving math proficiency of 10th grade math students. The purpose of this …

Social Exclusion And Community Severance In Impoverished Neighborhoods, Melissa Kerry Stickel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Transportation infrastructure, such as highways and interstates, creates a barrier that can physically limit access to those living in adjacent neighborhoods, a phenomenon known as community severance. In addition to creating a physical disconnect, these infrastructures can leave residents feeling socially isolated and excluded from the rest of the community. This qualitative single-case study focused on social exclusion and community severance and problems arising from the U.S. transportation network, addressing the development of the interstate system and its possible impacts on communities. The exclusionary effects of transportation-related severance were well supported in the literature. However, most of research had been …

Relationship Between Faculty Age, Stress, And Intent To Leave Academic Medical Institutions, Susan Christian Atterton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Faculty intent to leave academic medicine affects clinical productivity, patient and teaching service quality, and institutions' profitability. Understanding factors associated with faculty intent to leave is critical for healthcare and human resources leadership within academic medical institutions in efforts to reduce faculty intent to leave. Grounded in Graves’ spiral dynamics theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between faculty age, faculty stress, and faculty intent to leave academic medical institutions. The data were collected and analyzed for 125 faculty physicians with an M.D., Ph.D., D.O., or M.B.B.S. degree in an academic medical institution in the …

Conflict In Human Relationships And Seeking Out Pets As A Safe Haven, Jennifer Rachael Bakal

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has revealed the positive physical and the psychological aspects of pet ownership, suggesting that an individual’s attachment style can impact the kind of relationship they have with their pet. Two theories guided this qualitative study; the first was Bowlby’s attachment theory, which suggests that if a child feels that the attachment figure is attentive and accessible, the child will feel loved and secure. Another theory was Ainsworth’s attachment theory in which attachment figures are described as possessing four features: proximity maintenance, separation distress, secure base, and safe haven. This study consisted of 212 participants at least 18 years old …

Potential For Burnout, Coping Styles, And Help Seeking Attitudes Of Human Service Providers In A State Psychiatric Hospital, Alison Aulsbrook

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAlthough there is an abundance of literature on the relationship between burnout and coping styles among providers, this study explored the gap in research about the relationship of these factors to help seeking attitudes. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between burnout, coping styles and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help among a sample of 76 human service providers, guided by cognitive appraisal theory. Burnout in participants who work at a state psychiatric hospital in Texas was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Coping styles were measured using the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations which measures …

Predictors Of Recidivism For Offenders With Substance Use Disorders, Yvonne Cheeks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractRecidivism is a substantial problem in the United States due to the number of paroles/probationers reoffending. The U.S. prison system has become the new asylum and a revolving door for individuals, which is even more true for those with substance use disorders (SUDs). Once these individuals leave prison, they are likely to end up reoffending at some point in the future due to substance use/abuse (i.e., committing crimes to support substance use, selling substances, etc.). Scholarly literature lacked studies examining the predictors of recidivism for offenders with SUD in North Carolina. . The purpose of this quantitative, correlational, cross-sectional study …

The Moderating Impact Of Yoga On The Relationship Between Employee Job Satisfaction And Trust In Management, Khalid George Darargeh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employees with low job satisfaction are less likely than employees with average or high job satisfaction to achieve organizational productivity objectives. Owners of U. S. companies lose an estimated $605 billion each year in productivity due to low employee job satisfaction. Grounded in the leader-member exchange theory, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the moderating impact of yoga on the relationship between employee trust in leadership and employee job satisfaction. Using LinkedIn and Facebook, participants were 80 full-time professionals living in the Baltimore County or Baltimore City vicinities who varied in their participation in yoga as …

Emotional Intelligence, Resilience, And Stress Among Women In Treatment For Substance Disorders, Zummuna Zonzanna Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability of an individual to perceive, use, comprehend, and regulate emotions. While relationships between EI and risk of drug abuse have been explored, possible mechanisms through which higher EI may serve as a protective factor remain undefined; there was a need to understand how EI was related to stress among women with substance use disorders. The purpose of this study was to examine resilience as a mediator between EI and stress, a risk factor, among women in treatment for chemical dependency. The theoretical framework for this study was based on Salovey and Mayer’s EI model. …

Counselor Education And Supervision Students’ Stage Of Program And Intimate Relationship Investment, Rachel Dell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The doctoral counselor education and supervision (CES) program has three stages (entry, integration, or candidacy), each involving specific challenges resulting in varying time requirements, workloads, and stress levels. Personal struggles may have consequences that influence the completion of students’ doctoral program and the outcomes of students’ research. Interdependence theory is the theoretical framework for this study. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine CES doctoral students’ intimate romantic relationship investment as measured by the Investment Model Scale (IMS) and to investigate the relationship between CES doctoral students’ stage in the program and students’ intimate romantic relationship investment. The …

Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Catholic Priests, Richard Ehusani

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research suggests that the clergy could be at the risk of developing secondary traumatic stress (STS) because of their secondary exposure to trauma within pastoral work; however, there has been no explicit discussion of STS related to Catholic priests who may be more at the risk of developing STS than their counterparts in other churches. The requirement of priestly celibacy often leaves Catholic priests with little to no immediate social and emotional support network of family. Because of their sacred vow to keep the confessional seal unbroken in whatever circumstance, Catholic priests also may not share confessional information, even when …

Traumatic Experiences, Gang Involvement, And Psychopathic Traits Among Juvenile Offenders, Tamika Moore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Psychopathy is associated with serious criminal behavior, behavioral control issues, and recidivism among juvenile offenders. The identification of risk factors associated with psychopathic behavior is critical for treatment and intervention planning. Childhood trauma and delinquent peer associations are important psychosocial risk factors to consider for juvenile offenders. Research on the relationships between affective psychopathic traits and risk factors is extensive. There is a significant lack of literature concerning antisocial psychopathic traits. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between psychosocial risk factors and Psychopathy Checklist -Youth Version antisocial traits. The integrated psychosocial model of criminal social identity …

Social Media Use To Build Capacity In Nonprofit Maternal Mental Health Organizations, Brandy Lynn Abbott

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Capacity building is key to organizational sustainability in the competitive environment of nonprofit behavioral health organizations. Strategic use of social media plays a prominent role in fundraising and stakeholder engagement to support capacity building. The aim of this study was to examine the use of social media by maternal mental health nonprofit organizations to increase income for the purpose of capacity development. The Baldrige Excellence Framework was used to ground this descriptive, multiple case study of four organizations in the United States. The primary data sources were public social media posts and statistics, organizational websites and documents, and data from …

Nursing Majors’ Attitudes Toward Suicide And Mental Health Training, Beverly Arleen Burton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe mental health training of nursing majors may play a role in their levels of confidence in attending to suicide patients as working professionals. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore what impact, if any, attitudes toward suicide had on nursing majors’ levels of confidence in their mental health training. Pender’s health promotion theory was the theoretical framework. A descriptive correlational survey was used to explore individuals majoring in nursing confidence and perceived skills in mental health training. The 4 research questions asked the relationship between the level of confidence in helping someone with a mental health problem …