Digital Commons Network^™

Volume X

The Graduate Review

No abstract provided.

Honoring The First-Year Seminar: Exploring High-Impact Learning Experiences For The First Year In Honors: About The Authors

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Honoring the First-year Seminar: Exploring High-impact Learning Experiences for the First Year in Honors: About the Authors

Psychotropic Prescription Use Among Foster Care Alumni Medicated With Psychotropic In Childhood, Zoe D. Daugherty

Social Work Theses - Archive

Psychotropic medication use among youth in foster care has been a longstanding concern in child welfare research, with studies consistently documenting disproportionately high prescribing rates, frequent polypharmacy, and the use of potent or off-label medications to manage behavioral or trauma-related symptoms. This study conducted an inductive thematic review of 17 peer-reviewed articles, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method studies, to explore the lived experiences of foster youth and foster care alumni related to psychotropic medication use and mental health treatment. Guided by principles of reflexive thematic analysis, findings across diverse methodologies were synthesized to better understand how systemic, clinical, and experiential …

Factors Associated With Residential Treatment Discontinuation For Black Adults With Co-Occurring Mental Health And Substance Use Diagnoses Living In States With Expanded Medicaid Vs. States Without Expansion, Gabrielle Scott

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation investigated factors associated with treatment discontinuation of residential substance use programs for Black adults with co-occurring mental health and substance use diagnoses living in states that had expanded Medicaid versus states without expansion. This study explored and identified gaps in the research pertaining to treatment retention for Black adults since 2014, the year when Medicaid expansion began. The study focused on Black adults aged 18 or older who self-identified as Black or African American with a current diagnosis of co-occurring mental health and substance use diagnoses at the time of their discharge from a residential substance use treatment …

A Review Of Child Protection And Safeguarding Inspections In Irish Primary Schools: A Safety Net For Our Children?, Margaret Nohilly

Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies

Following the full implementation of all sections of the Children First Act in 2015, a dedicated Child Protection and Safeguarding Inspection model was introduced in Irish schools. This inspection model was developed as part of the ‘oversight’ arrangements of the legislation and, as with other inspection models developed in schools, the inspection reports are publicly available on the Department of Education website. Since 2019, 105 final child protection and safeguarding reports in the primary sector are available. This paper reviews the findings of the evaluation reports. It outlines the challenges schools have faced, particularly in terms of the record keeping …

Collaborative Organizing, Immersive Technology, And Campus Dialogue On Palestine: Bringing The Phoenix Of Gaza Xr Project To Cal Poly Humboldt, Janet Winston, Tim Miller, Paul Michael L. Atienza, Select Members Of The Campus & Community Dialogue On Race Organizing Committee

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

"In April 2025, we brought the Phoenix of Gaza Extended Reality (XR) project to California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt (Cal Poly Humboldt). The Gaza XR project is a powerful example of place-based digital inquiry geared toward educating..."

The Efficacy And Usability Of Motivational Interviewing Just-In-Time Trainings For Youth Mentors, Mackenzie J. Hart, Samuel D. Mcquillin, Aidyn Iachini Ph.D., Msw, Lsw, Daniel K. Cooper, Mark D. Weist

Faculty Publications

Using youth mentors to deliver evidence-based psychosocial services has been proposed to increase the reach of treatments, in part given the affordability and ubiquity of mentors in youth settings. Further, tests of mentor-delivered motivational interviewing (MI) have shown increases in youth mentees' academic performance and wellbeing. Yet, traditional methods of training mentors to use MI can be costly and time-consuming. Previous work has suggested the value of asynchronous, brief, just-in-time training (JITT) to help offset these challenges; however, MI JITT for mentors has not yet been formally evaluated. As such, here, we report on a preliminary study of MI JITT …

Preliminary Evaluation Of A Brief Intervention To Enhance Trauma-Informed Attitudes Among Educators And School Mental Health Counselors, Cheri Shapiro, Kara Lee, Courtnie Collins, Tristan Collier, Carl Sorensen

Publications

Professional development training designed to advance knowledge of the impacts of trauma and trauma-responsive practices for educators and counselors in schools and mental health settings have become common. Given the popularity of these training approaches, it is important to understand the potential impact on trauma-informed attitudes and beliefs. This descriptive, exploratory study examined changes in traumainformed care attitudes as a function of participating in a novel intervention designed to support trauma-informed practices in a sample of elementary school educators, administrators, and school mental health counselors (n=194) from one state in the Southeastern US. Positive changes in trauma-informed attitudes from pre …

God Is On The Move In Asia: Church Multiplication Stories From Southeast Asia, Carson Daniel

Books

No abstract provided.

Cohesive Model Of Supervision: An Empirically Based Approach, Gülşah Kemer

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Supervision models are fundamental to our supervision practices and criticized for lacking empirical support. As a data-driven approach based on research with expert supervisors, Cohesive Model of Supervision unifies existing models’ central premises in a meaningful manner and emphasizes the understated areas of supervision practice.

Behavioral Health Training For Integrated Behavioral Health: A Delphi Study, Nicholas Schmoyer, Lisa Corbin, Jessica Huffman, Gülşah Kemer

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Using a classical Delphi design, the authors used an interdisciplinary panel of behavioral health experts in integrated behavioral health (IBH) to identify foundational skills and knowledge counselor educators need to teach clinical mental health counselors for IBH practice. Eighty-eight statements were identified. Implications are provided for counseling and other behavioral health educators.

Confidentiality In Addiction Treatment: Navigating 42 Cfr Part 2 Within Human Services, Chaniece Winfield, Jessica Huffman

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Recent federal legislation, including the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAE) and the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), has placed greater emphasis on quality integrated health care, with a focus on access, treatment options, and evidence-based practices. Changes to Federal 42 CFR privacy protections also impact individuals seeking substance use disorder treatment, either as a primary diagnosis or comorbidity. Human service professionals, as generalists in the behavioral health field, provide vital treatment, recovery, and prevention services for individuals with substance use and addictive disorders. This paper explores the implications of these legislative changes, particularly regarding privacy protections …

Navigating Recovery: Insights From Distance Learning Human Services Students' Abstinence Experience, Chaniece Winfield, Jill Kivikoski, Catalina Kraft

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

With the rise in overdose and problematic drug use in the United States, it is crucial to develop competent human service practitioners in addiction treatment and recovery settings. This qualitative study explores the virtual abstinence experience of distance learning human services students, using Mezirow’s transformative learning theory to examine how a 21-day experiential abstinence prompts critical reflection and perspective transformation. The study investigates the socio-emotional and physiological factors influencing participants' progress toward sobriety, including cravings, withdrawal, isolation, and relapse triggers. Findings highlight how participants' critical reflection leads to a deeper understanding of addiction and recovery, as well as an enhanced …

The Identity Factor, Jessica Feinberg

Faculty Publications

Identity development is one of the most important processes that occur during childhood. For certain populations of children, such as those who are LGBTQ+ or multiracial, the path to healthy identity development is substantially more complicated. These children must navigate the development of their identities while existing in a world in which they will frequently encounter a lack of societal understanding and acceptance. Children within these populations face elevated risks of short- and long-term harms, including suicidal ideation, depression, substance abuse, and low self-esteem. As a result, it is critically important that LGBTQ+ and multiracial youth receive support in developing …

Effects Of Group Theraplay On Emotional Regulation And Social Interaction Skills In Children With Emotional And Behavior Disorders, Andrea Hutchison

Graduate Research Papers

Childhood mental health has gained significant attention in recent years. Poor childhood mental health is quickly becoming a major problem in the United States. The impacts of this problem are wide-reaching, affecting families, communities, and schools. Play therapy is one well-known intervention that is often used to alleviate symptoms of mental disorders in children. This study focuses primarily on one play therapy modality: Theraplay®, which is an attachment-based intervention that can be delivered in group and dyadic settings. The purpose of this study is to examine the literature that exists regarding the effectiveness of Theraplay®, specifically Group Theraplay®. Specific questions …

The Hidden Pain Of Family Policing, Shanta Trivedi

All Faculty Scholarship

The child welfare system ostensibly exists to protect children. However, its methods—investigating allegations of abuse and neglect, filing cases against parents in court, removing children from their parents, and, in thousands of cases each year, permanently severing the legal relationship between children and their parents—have been shown to inflict great harm on children, despite the system’s stated goal. This Article looks at the system’s impact from a different angle: the harm to parents. It is both common sense and a proven fact that a child’s well-being depends in large part on the health and well-being of their parents. Yet the …

Gatekeeping As An Online Adjunct Clinical Instructor In Counselor Education, Bernadet Dejonge, Deborah J. Rubel, Yun Shi

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This interpretative phenomenological analysis study examined how adjunct instructors teaching online clinical counseling courses experienced gatekeeping in the context of the university system. The research question was: How do online, adjunct instructors teaching master’s level clinical counseling courses experience their university interactions as a part of gatekeeping? The participants described five experiential themes. These were: a) Balancing marginalization in the system with advocacy for the profession; b) Maneuvering through dependency on the system in gatekeeping; c) Finding consultation while navigating gatekeeping interactions; d) Managing the intensity of clinical courses; and e) Navigating the steep learning curve of learning how to …

Whether To Offer Interventions At The End Of Life: What Physicians Consider And How Clinical Ethicists Can Help, Joelle Robertson-Preidler, Mikaela Kim, Sophia Fantus, Janet Malek

Faculty and Staff Publications

Background: Advances in life-prolonging technologies increasingly create dilemmas for physicians who must decide whether to offer various interventions to patients nearing the end of life. Clinical ethicists are often consulted to support physicians in making these complex decisions and can do so most effectively if they understand physicians' reasons for making recommendations in this context.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with surgeons, nephrologists, intensivists, emergency physicians, and oncologists regarding the considerations they have used to make decisions about offering interventions for patients nearing the end of life. Interview transcripts were thematically analyzed.

Results: We identified six types of considerations physicians …

Protecting Older Adults Who Are Incarcerated: Does The 8th Amendment Work?, Jalayne J. Arias

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

Older adults in prison and within other carceral systems (i.e. jails, parole) are uniquely at risk for elder mistreatment. Emerging research has begun to consider the experiences of older adults within carceral settings, including aging in prison, chronic conditions and medical care, compassionate release, and end-of-life care. This research exposes evidence that prisons and other carceral settings lack resources and services for older adults. Given increased vulnerability and a lack of protective resources, older adults experiencing incarceration may experience disproportional rates and consequences of elder mistreatment. A public health approach to develop tools and resources that would prevent, detect, and …

Entrevista A John Lipski, Rafael Orozco

International Journal of the Linguistic Association of the Southwest

No abstract provided.

Undergraduate Curriculum Council Annual Report [2024-2025], East Tennessee State University

University Level Committee Year End Reports

No abstract provided.

Repowering Through Indigenous Research Methodologies: A Case Study Of Culturally Appropriate Mental Health Interventions For Native/ Indigenous Men, Stephen Silva-Brave

Social Work Theses - Archive

Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing have the power to strengthen social work and healing practices for all communities. This study explores how relationships and connections create spaces that feel more like ceremony than research, where trust, storytelling, and shared knowledge guide the way. Bringing Native/Indigenous (N/I) men together in Talking Circles, this work reflects how culturally rooted approaches can shape meaningful mental health support that honors lived experience and community care. Instead of following rigid models created outside of Indigenous ways of life, this approach prioritizes relational accountability, centering voices often excluded from traditional research. Through conversations with …

The Invisible Struggle: Unveiling The Realities Of Living With Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Maura A. Stewart

Social Work Theses - Archive

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) is a group of rare connective tissue disorders that impact multiple systems of the body and are frequently misunderstood or misdiagnosed. This thesis explores the lived experiences of adults with EDS, focusing on the physical, emotional, and systemic challenges they face in daily life and healthcare. Using a mixed-methods survey, data were collected from 83 participants across the United States and beyond. The results revealed common themes of delayed diagnosis, medical dismissal, mental health struggles, and lack of access to knowledgeable providers. While chronic pain and fatigue were the most frequently reported symptoms, participants also described emotional …

The Unintended Consequences Of Normalization: Unmonitored Mental Health Discourse Among Youth And Suicide Risk, Farley Morris

Social Work Theses - Archive

Suicide has become an increasingly common cause of death among U.S. children ages 10–14. In 2001, suicide accounted for 8% of deaths in this age group; by 2010 the proportion rose to 12%, and by 2020 it reached 22% (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2020). Although factors such as adverse childhood experiences (Felitti et al., 1998; Jones et al., 2024), psychache (Shneidman, 1998), burdensomeness (Joiner, 2005; O’Connor, 2011), and hopelessness (Bat Tonkus et al., 2022; Qiu et al., 2017) are associated with suicide, these elements alone do not explain the significant rise in suicide deaths over the past …

Academic Preparedness And Institutional Support For Low-Income Students: A Scoping Review Of College Success And Retention, Davina Wilson

Social Work Theses - Archive

Students from lower-funded high schools often enter college with lower levels of academic preparedness and limited access to advanced coursework, individualized advising, and extracurricular opportunities, all of which contribute to disparities in retention and academic success. These inequities, rooted in longstanding school funding gaps and systemic barriers, disproportionately affect first-generation and racially minoritized students, who may also experience cultural mismatch or isolation within college environments. This scoping review synthesizes existing research conducted by other scholars to examine how academic preparedness and institutional support services such as tutoring, mentoring, bridge programs, and college transition initiatives influence college readiness for students from …

Social Drivers Of Suicide In Rural And Urban Texas Counties, Maria Y. Vaughan

Social Work Theses - Archive

Abstract

Suicide remains a critical public health issue in Texas, with rural counties consistently experiencing higher mortality rates than urban areas. This study examined county-level suicide rates across Texas and analyzed how demographic characteristics and Social Drivers of Suicide (SDoS)—including economic stability, education access and quality, health care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context—relate to suicide outcomes. Using a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational design, secondary data from the 2024 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps and the American Community Survey were analyzed for 170 Texas counties with reliable suicide data. Results showed that rural …

Resilience And Reality: Exploring The Lived Experiences Of People Living With Hiv In Texas During The Covid-19 Pandemic – A Qualitative Study., Ahmed F. Alanazi

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

This study investigated the lived experiences of individuals living with HIV (PLWH) in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area of Texas during the COVID-19 pandemic, using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) framework. The research examined the intersection of health, social dynamics, and psychological resilience among PLWH, who faced compounded vulnerabilities due to systemic inequities and the dual public health crises of HIV and COVID-19. Through semi-structured interviews with ten participants from diverse backgrounds, the study captured the profound impacts of disrupted healthcare systems, heightened stigma, and social isolation on this marginalized population. The findings reveal that the pandemic exacerbated existing inequities …

Unmet Family Planning Care And Health-Literacy Needs Among Low-Income Immigrant Women In The United States, Priyanjali Chakraborty

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

Unintended pregnancies have been linked to adverse outcomes such as pre-term births and low infant birthweight (Harron et al., 2020), psychological distress(Abbasi et al., 2013; Barton et al., 2017; Gauthreaux et al., 2017; Mercier et al., 2013), relationship strain (Barton et al., 2017; Moseson et al., 2019), intimate partner violence (IPV) and reproductive coercion (K. T. Grace & Anderson, 2018), and economic strain from unanticipated medical costs despite insurance coverage (Trussell, 2007). Unintended pregnancy outcomes offer crucial insights into the complexities of women's reproductive desires and intentions (CDC, 2023; Rossen et al., 2023). These outcomes inform public health interventions to …

Essays On Demand-Driven Political Methodology, Amanda Weiss

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

This dissertation demonstrates a demand-driven approach to political methodology research. The demand-driven approach entails studying and addressing technical problems while remaining in dialogue with political science as actually practiced. This dissertation, in particular, focuses on conducting credible research in politics and policy amid problems related to causal inference, statistical power, and data limitations. Chapter 2, "How Much Should We Trust Modern Difference-in-Differences Estimates?," takes up the challenge of estimating policy effects in observational settings. In particular, this chapter asks how well a range of difference-in-differences (DID)-style methods work for the empirical settings and sample sizes commonly used in political science, …

Enhancing Culturally Responsive Pedagogy In Teaching And Learning For White Faculty: Can Professional Development Help?, Isabelle Jenkins

Scholarship and Professional Writing from the J.D. Power Center and Donelan Office

Pedagogies traditionally used by faculty in U.S. higher education tend to center white students and their success, simultaneously disregarding the learning strengths of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) students. Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP) may align better with BIPOC students; however, white faculty use of Keywords: culturally responsive pedagogy, professional development, teaching and learning, white racial consciousness CRP is limited and/or superficial. Therefore, professional development for CRP is needed to enhance and deepen the teaching and learning practices of white faculty. Using a multiple case study method, this study examines how white faculty from a diverse range of disciplines …