Digital Commons Network^™

Provider Perceptions On The Usage Of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy To Influence Behavior Change In Individuals With Substance Use Disorders, Leia T. Rausch

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Recent research studies and clinical trials have suggested that psychedelic therapy with psychological support can offer beneficial and synergistic effects in reducing or eliminating substance use disorder (SUD) patterns and symptoms. However, very little is known about SUD healthcare providers' perceptions of the usage of psychedelic-assisted therapy in SUD treatment. The present study assesses biomedical SUD healthcare providers' perceptions and concerns to better understand potential barriers to the effective implementation of psychedelic-based therapies and formulate further recommendations for research efforts surrounding them. This study collected data through a short survey and qualitative semi-structured interviews from nine participants involved in SUD …

The Role Of Mental Health Evaluations In The Prevention And Intervention Of School Shootings, Livine Saint-Louis

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In 2022, there were forty-two mass school shootings, a record that surpassed the previous years. As of April 2023, there have already been fourteen school shootings that have resulted in injury or death. Each year, the frequency of mass school shootings and the number of victims continue to rise. Regarding the shooters' characteristics, some have reported a history of mental illness, instability within the home, poor academic performance, and more. In the United States (U.S.), one out of five children and adolescents are diagnosed with mental health disorders (Brookman, 2017). This study will examine four significant perpetrators that committed mass …

Relational Disruptions And Mental Health Among Sexual Minority College Students During Covid-19, Nia Warren, The Spit For Science Working Group, Traci Wike Phd

IRBEH/Spit for Science Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Barriers, Challenges &Successes Among Human Service Professionals Stigma Reduction Treatment Among People With Mental Illness, Maureen Epps

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, over 9 million people in the United States suffer from a mental illness (MI). Although human service professionals seek the best practices to treat people with MI, people with MI sometimes struggle to seek treatment because of stigma. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore the barriers and challenges of human service professionals who experienced using a stigma reduction treatment on a person with MI. The mental illness stigma framework and Goffman’s stigma theory provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with eight …

Cardinal's Blues: Implementation Of A School-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Program For Jefferson County Public Schools In Louisville, Kentucky, Loui Chang

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

With the increasing rate of adolescent depression and anxiety1 2, developing mental health interventions is necessary. Many adolescents’ times spent in schools increased compared to 20 years ago5, which makes school-based intervention programs suitable for reaching adolescent population effectively. Though there are numerous treatment providers available in Jefferson County, Kentucky, the school-based prevention programs addressing adolescent’s negative mental health outcomes have never been implemented. The Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development developed a program called the Blues Program24. The Blues Program provides an adapted version of group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy sessions to train and educate adolescents coping skills and cognitive restructuring24. …

Helping The Helpers: The Role Of Organizational Support And Peer Influence On Police Officer Receptivity To Employee Assistance Programs, Kenneth Quick

Publications and Research

Purpose – This study aims to investigate critical differences between police officer willingness to use and recommend an employee assistance program (EAP) to a peer, including the relationship between officer perceptions of macro-level organizational support and micro-level EAP support.

Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 213 police officers from a large, urban police department in the Northeast United States of America is used to evaluate the relationship between officer perceptions of the EAP and the officers’ willingness to use and recommend the EAP to peers. Generalized linear regression models are used to evaluate the moderating effect of perceived organizational support (POS) …

The Impact Of Gender On Relationship Satisfaction In Law Enforcement, Carole Ann Presson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Relationships have been identified as a critical component of mental wellness. Law enforcement has been recognized as a profession with high divorce rates and relationship failure, contributing to reduced mental health in law enforcement. By addressing and identifying relationship concerns, issues of suicide, use of force, productivity, and reduced tenure can be addressed. This quantitative study aimed to identify areas of stress contributing to relationship dissatisfaction. The study’s initial focus was to identify if gender impacted satisfaction outcomes. Male and female officers participated equally in completing surveys to identify organizational and operational police stress, romantic partner conflict, and relationship assessment. …

On-Campus Experiences Of International Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Vyonne N. Momanyi

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

COVID-19 has affected the mental health of college students, especially international students. Previous studies show the group’s challenges associated with language barriers, cultural differences, and social support. Greater understanding is needed as the pandemic has aggravated these challenges. Several studies have investigated the impact on international students; however, it is not clear what social-emotional competencies they are using to adjust during COVID-19. This study investigated international students’ social-emotional experiences, coping strategies, and university services used during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was guided by the social-emotional competency and resiliency models used in mental health. Data was collected using a survey …

Restorative Landscapes And Their Potential Application To The University Of Kentucky Campus, Felix Lowery

Gaines Fellow Senior Theses

Exposure to natural environments has been shown to have significant positive impacts on both mood and attention, as well as the potential to decrease stress and other negative emotions. Hospitals and other healthcare settings have been on the forefront of implementing spaces designed with the intent of improving mental health. However, this is not the only setting in which restorative landscapes are needed. Implementing restorative landscapes on college campuses would be an innovative way for colleges to address their students’ mental health needs. The objective of this thesis is to understand what aspects of a natural landscape promote cognitive restoration, …

The Effects Of Dating Applications On Mental Health Since The Covid-19 Pandemic, Rosalia Merce Drape, Josh Marion Fajardo, Loi Daniel Rabe, Dasarityan Amorgh Sasitharan, Rhev Matthew Veneracion, Mohammad Amsyar Shaqir Bin Faizal

Introduction to Research Methods RSCH 202

ABSTRACT

In response to the increase of online dating platforms since the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to investigate the effects on the well-being of users. This study intends to explore the impact of dating applications on the mental health of university students since COVID-19, since the usage rate of dating applications are high among young adults. Using quick response (QR) codes, a purposive sampling technique will be used to conduct an online survey of 383 participants from selected universities in Singapore. With our key independent variable of dating app usage and control variables consisting of demographics, COVID-19 stressors, social …

Analysis Of Peer Influence On Adolescents And Adults, Melody Xiong, Hillary C. Vang

Concordia Journal of Communication Research

Peers are a huge part of life and affect people in many different ways. In adolescence and adulthood, peers have different kinds of impacts. The researchers chose to research how peer influence can affect the decisions, performance and attitudes of adolescents and adults. Specifically, researchers analyzed how lifestyle decisions influenced by peers affect mental health and how the effects differ from gender and age. Participants of the study were selected to fit the three age groups needed for this study and responses were collected via electronic survey. Throughout this study, the relationship that peer influence has with mental health, positive …

Impact Of Climate Events, Pollution, And Green Spaces On Mental Health: An Umbrella Review Of Meta-Analyses, Pim Cuijpers, Clara Miguel, Marketa Ciharova, Manasi Kumar, Luke Brander, Pushpam Kumar, Eirini Karyotaki

Brain and Mind Institute

Climate change may affect mental health. We conducted an umbrella review of meta-analyses examining the association between mental health and climate events related to climate change, pollution and green spaces. We searched major bibliographic databases and included meta-analyses with at least five primary studies. Results were summarized narratively. We included 24 meta-analyses on mental health and climate events (n = 13), pollution (n = 11), and green spaces (n = 2) (two meta-analyses provided data on two categories). The quality was suboptimal. According to AMSTAR-2, the overall confidence in the results was high for none of the studies, for three …

An Examination Of Strategies For Reintegration Of K-12 Students Into Public School Post-Hospitalization, Jacinda Gittens

Education Theses

The reintegration process has been a challenging topic in schools, and most schools do not have policies to accommodate students' needs. Therefore, educators should develop policies to achieve a better outcome for reintegration. The aim of this paper is to investigate how the process of reintegration affects school-aged youths with chronic illness and mental health challenges who are experiencing academic difficulties. The implications are significant, including the amount of schoolwork required to pass the year after reintegration, the need for school nurses to be in contact with hospitals that students attended, and the importance of administrative involvement in the reintegration …

Exploring How College Professors' Mental Health Affects Their Perceived Attitudes Towards Adaptive Assessments., Jeen Joy Jj Joy Ms

Graduate Research Posters

This qualitative study aims to understand how a university professor's mental health influences their perceived attitudes toward adopting adaptive assessment practices. It studies the various intrinsic and extrinsic factors that may affect their mental health and, thereby, their perceived attitudes toward adaptive assessments. Intrinsic factors are individualist characteristics like physical health, perceived job satisfaction, and experience levels. Extrinsic factors are related to their work environments, like university resources, university support, political environment, or any external factors that can influence a professor's mental health. Existing literature suggests that intrinsic and extrinsic factors can affect a person's mental health, but the extent …

“Born Again:” Narrating The Mental Health Journeys Of Religious Exiters, Fio Haire

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Religious exit–also known as disaffiliation, deconversion, or apostasy–is a growing phenomenon in the United States with significant individual and social consequences. In this review, I consult existing literature to clarify the relationship between the process of religious exit and the mental health of exiters I organize this literature using Ebaugh’s (1988) role-exit model to frame exiting religion as a multi-stage process of role-identity disruption, exit, anomie, and reestablishment. I situate each stage as characterized by changes in mental health, in alignment with psychological theories of the impact of self-construction and self-concept on mental health symptoms. The literature suggests that, beginning …

Holding An Empathic Lantern To Help Depressed Friends Find Their Way Out Of The Darkness: An Examination Of Intention To Offer Social Support Guided By The Reasoned Action Approach, Laura Boutemen

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Guided by the reasoned action approach, this two-fold research first used an online open-ended elicitation survey to identify beliefs held by undergraduate students (N = 397) pertaining to offering social support to depressed friends or peers. Then, these findings were included in a closed-ended survey study to assess the influence of intention on the social support behavior among students (N = 509). Additionally, the influence of the antecedents of intention (i.e., attitude, perceived norms, perceived behavioral control) on behavioral intention was explored. Next, the study examined whether beliefs predicted the antecedents of intention. Last, the influence of background …

Feasibility And Reliability Of Health-Related Physical Fitness Tests In Children And Adolescents With Hearing Impairment, Jiafu Huang, Jianmei Yang, Justin A. Haegele, Lijuan Wang, Sitong Chen, Chunxiao Li

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Although research supports the feasibility and reliability of health-related physical fitness (HRPF) tests in typically developing children and adolescents, little is known regarding the feasibility and reliability of these tests for those with hearing impairments (HI). The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and reliability of a HRPF test battery for children and adolescents with HI. A test–retest design with a one-week interval was conducted with 26 participants with HI (mean age: 12.7 ± 2.8 years; 9 male). The feasibility and reliability of seven field-based HRPF tests (i.e., body mass index, grip strength, standing long jump, vital …

Effects Of Peer-Supported And Self-Guided Exercise On Self-Reported Anxiety And Depression Among Young Adults - A Pilot Study, Xihe Zhu, Michael D. Kostick, Justin A. Haegele

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression became heightened issues for college-aged young adults during the global pandemic. The main purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a peer-supported exercise intervention on young adults (vs. self-guided exercise) who reported elevated levels of anxiety and/or depression. A parallel group design was used where young adults (n = 27) were randomly assigned to either a peer-supported or self-guided exercise group which lasted for eight weeks. The generalized anxiety and depression subscales of the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms (CCAPS-34) were measured for a baseline and then at …

Stigma In The Statute: When The Language Of The Law Injures, Stacey A. Tovino

Faculty Articles

Jurists frequently consider the extent to which a writer’s or speaker’s harmful statements may be actionable under the law. But what should be done when the law itself contains harmful language? Consider the case of individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Hundreds of federal and state statutes refer to these individuals as “addicts,” “abusers,” “alcoholics,” “drunkards,” “inebriates,” and “intemperates.” These statutes exist notwithstanding research showing that these words provoke negative thinking by others, including thinking that individuals with AUD are more deserving of punishment and less deserving of treatment. These laws persist in the face of research showing that these …

Asian Americans Perceptions Of Mental Health Help-Seeking, Austin Dye

Masters Theses

Mental health has critical importance in the development and functioning of an individual emotionally, psychologically, and socially throughout life. Thus, it is important for an individual to identify mental health issues when experiencing it and seek treatment. However, this understanding appears to differ across cultures and ethnic groups. For instance, Asians in the US have low mental health service utilization. Although researchers have sought to identify the reason, many of these studies are dated, and have not fully explored all the different factors that influence this behavior, nor explored if there are generational differences. In the current study, 102 Asians …

Does Homework Work Or Hurt? A Study On The Effects Of Homework On Mental Health And Academic Performance, Ryan Scheb

Journal of Catholic Education

St. Patrick's Catholic School is a coeducational Catholic preparatory school located in a large northeastern city. The school serves an exclusively non-white, working-class student population who demonstrates the motivation and potential to attend and graduate from college. The school’s mission calls for its staff to be guided by cura personalis, meaning they will care for the whole person; yet, data show that the school’s students were extremely stressed out and that much of their stress was attributable to homework. This study sought to determine if reducing the amount of homework could improve students’ mental health while not negatively impacting …

The Effects Of Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Suicidal Ideation Or Behaviors On Depression, Anxiety, And Hopelessness In Individuals With Suicidal Ideation: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Individual Participant Data, Lasse B. Sander, Marie Beisemann, Philipp Doebler, Hannah Moon Micklitz, Ad Kerkhof, Pim Cuijpers, Philip Batterham, Alison Calear, Helen Christensen, Eva De Jaegere, Matthias Domhardt, Annette Erlangsen, Ozlem Eylem-Van Bergeijk, Ryan Hill, Charlotte Mühlmann, Marie Österle, Jeremy Pettit, Gwendolyn Portzky, Lena Steubl, Bregje Van Spijker, Joseph Tighe, Aliza Werner-Seidler, Rebekka Büscher

Faculty Publications

Background: Suicide is a global public health problem. Digital interventions are considered a low-threshold treatment option for people with suicidal ideation or behaviors. Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) targeting suicidal ideation has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing suicidal ideation. However, suicidal ideation often is related to additional mental health problems, which should be addressed for optimal care. Yet, the effects of iCBT on related symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, and hopelessness, remain unclear. Objective: We aimed to analyze whether digital interventions targeting suicidal ideation had an effect on related mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, and hopelessness). Methods: We systematically searched CENTRAL, …

On Women Professors Who Teach Legal Writing: Addressing Stigma And Women's Health, Amanda L. Stephens, Sean A. Vina

Faculty Articles

Since the late 1980s, legal writing (LW) professors have been disproportionately white women because the LW field has been stigmatized as "women's work. "As a result, these teaching positions typically have been low status and afforded with less pay and job security in comparison to tenure-track doctrinal law professor positions. Compounding--or intersecting--with the stigma of teaching LW are LW professors' social statuses as women and/or other marginalized statuses. These statuses intersect and influence how and what they teach and the legal academy's attitudes toward them.

Although previous scholarship has briefly addressed legal skill classes' stigmatization, no scholarship to date has …

Delivering Health Services During Early Days Of Covid-19 Pandemic: Perspectives Of Frontline Healthcare Workers In Kenya’S Urban Informal Settlements, Vibian Angweny, Sabina Odero, Stephen Mulupi, Derrick Ssewanyana, Constance Shumba, Eunice Ndirangu, Amina Abubakar

Institute for Human Development, East Africa

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread disruptions to health, economic and social lives globally. This qualitative study explores frontline healthcare workers’ (HCWs) experiences delivering routine care in Kenya’s informal settlements during the early phases of the pandemic, amidst stringent COVID-19 mitigation measures. Thirteen telephone interviews were conducted with facility and community-based HCWs serving three informal settlements in Nairobi and Mombasa. Data were analyzed using the framework approach. Results indicate there were widespread fears and anxieties surrounding COVID-19 and its management. Secondly, access to facility-based care at the onset of the pandemic was reported to decline, with service availability hampered by …

High Anxiety: Racism, The Law, And Legal Education, Elayne E. Greenberg

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

Conspicuously absent from the United States’ ongoing discourse about its racist history is a more honest discussion about the individual and personal stressors that are evoked in people when they talk about racism. What if they got it wrong? The fear of being cancelled -- the public shaming for remarks that are deemed racist -- has had a chilling effect on having meaningful conversations about racism. What lost opportunities!

This paper moves this discussion into the law school context. How might law schools rethink their law school curricula to more accurately represent the role systemic racism has played in shaping …

Mental Health Experiences Of Black Males Beyond Juvenile Delinquency, Jasmine D. Spratling

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Incarceration rates around the United States continue to increase for Black male adolescents. These numbers are even more significant in Atlanta, where youth spend time in juvenile detention centers and return soon once released. Summary findings from existing research showed the lack of mental health services provided once a youth has been released from incarceration, but a lack of specifics around the services needed remains. The purpose of the current study was to explore the experiences of Black male adolescents who received little to no trauma informed care post-incarceration. A qualitative, phenomenological approach was used to conduct semistructured interviews with …

Sylvia Plath As A Confessionalist Writer : The Queen Bee, Alexandra Tangarife

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Sylvia Plath is a renowned Confessionalist poet from the early-mid 20th century in America. She frequently compares to her predecessor, Robert Lowell, and her friend and colleague, Ann Sexton. Confessionalism was an emotionally authentic form of poetry that split off from prior poetry, such as Modernism. Modernist founder T.S Eliot wrote in his “Tradition and The Individual Talent,” “Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality” (1). Despite this mentality, Confessionalists addressed the elephant in the room: the fragmented and emotionally disturbed nation. …

Taking A Heavier Toll? Racial Differences In The Effects Of Workplace Mistreatment On Depression, Ji Woon Ryu, Erik Gonzalez-Mulé, Ernest H. O'Boyle

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Previous studies have found that workplace mistreatment positively relates to depression, a critical mental health disorder. However, it is unknown whether mistreatment affects all individuals’ depressive symptoms equally. Drawing from the hopelessness theory of depression and the stigma literature, we suggest that Blacks suffer from greater depression than Whites when they experience similar levels of workplace mistreatment because Blacks, as members of a racial minority group, are more likely to attribute workplace mistreatment to their race. This, in turn, causes them to make a pessimistic attribution (i.e., attributions that are internal, stable, and global) about themselves that, ultimately, leads to …

Psychedelic Drugs & The Prior Art Problem, Anneli E. Kawaoka

Indiana Law Journal

For the first time since the War on Drugs began in the 1970s, researchers have returned to the promise of psychedelic drugs for treating the growing mental health crisis in the United States. As research into psychedelic drugs as a conventional treatment method for mental health conditions grows, so does the number of filings at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office for psychedelic-related patents. But the decades-long lapse in the development of psychedelic drugs creates the risk that low-quality psychedelic patents will issue, giving limited monopolies to companies that have not truly innovated in the psychedelic space. In this Note, …

Editorial: Response To Societal And Environmental Trauma: Supporting Stakeholders Through Health Education, Kimberly B. Garza, Lindsey E. Moseley, Channing R. Ford, Kristen L. Helms

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Within the current political, environmental, and societal landscape, a great number of events in recent years have put a strain on mental health and led to trauma among health professionals, health educators, students, and the patients and communities they serve. This Research Topic, “Response to societal and environmental trauma: Supporting stakeholders through health education,” focuses on strategies and best practices for preparing current and future healthcare providers, public health educators and advocates, and members of the community to face the challenges associated with societal and environmental trauma. It presents five diverse articles that span a wide spectrum, from effects of …