Digital Commons Network^™

Embodied Care: Exploring Mental Health Zines As Feminist Health Resources, Liz Chenevey

Libraries

In the traditional health information landscape, patriarchal knowledge practices of expertise, neutrality, objectivity, and ownership are held as the standard. This paper will explore zines as feminist mental health resources that embody radical care and subvert these knowledge practices. There are many personal zines on the topic of mental health, ranging from outlining self care strategies for overall mental wellness to deeper discussions of serious mental illness (trauma, mood disorders, personality disorders, etc). Even when not an explicitly feminist theme, I argue that these health zines are in themselves a feminist act. By utilizing attributes of feminist knowledge production, such …

The Effect Of School Return During The Covid-19 Pandemic On Children’S Physical And Mental Health, Kaitlynn Craig

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Flashback to midnight on January 1st, 2020. It was New Year’s Day, the beginning of a new decade. Many were filled with excitement and hope to make this year the best one yet. Little did they know that their entire world would be turned upside down a short two months later with a worldwide pandemic, the coronavirus. COVID-19 has affected people in many ways. Some lost their jobs, others struggled to maintain their education virtually, and unfortunately, too many lost their lives. As a nursing student, fear grew while imagining the role of becoming one of the frontline workers battling …

The Rise Of Anxiety And Depression Among Young Adults In The United States, Emma Kauana Osorio, Emily Hyde

Ballard Brief

Anxiety and depression are both severe mental health disorders that have had a serious impact not only on the mental health but on the educational. professional. and other life outcomes of many individuals in the United States. The prevalence of both of these disorders within the US has Increased significantly since the mid-twentieth century. One of the most at-risk age populations is young adults. who are typically defined as individuals between 18-30 years of age. While this increase in both anxiety and depression among young adults is a complicated issue with many causes, major contributing factors include greater levels of …

College Transition Experience: First Year Undergraduate Students And Self-Identified Mental Health Challenges, Kathlene R. Seymour

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Retention rates of college students has continued to be a large concern for those associated with higher education (Habley et al., 2004). A successful high school to college transition experience has been identified as a key factor in a student’s decision to remain in college and persist to graduation (Broglia, et al, 2016). Furthermore, more students with mental health challenges are entering higher education settings (Bewick, et al., 2008).

The intent of this study was to describe the college transition experience through the lens of the theoretical framework from Schlossberg’s (1984) transition theory. This theory provided a framework through which …

Resentenced And Released: Re-Entry Needs Following Release From Juvenile Life Without Parole, Daphne M. Brydon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over 2,100 individuals serving juvenile life without paroles (JLWOP) sentences in the U.S. became eligible for resentencing following the 2016 Montgomery v. Louisiana Supreme Court ruling. Michigan housed an estimated 370 juvenile lifers at that time, the second largest JLWOP community in the country and has since resentenced and released approximately 120 juvenile lifers. Folx released from prison encounter many barriers to successful re-entry. Barriers are often amplified for those incarcerated as adolescents. Further, services are de-prioritized for folx serving JLWOP sentences, which can be especially damaging for this community whose life experiences are marked by high rates of trauma, …

Correlates Of Lifetime And Past Month Vape Use In A Sample Of Canadian University Students, Jamie A. Seabrook, Jasna Twynstra, Jason A. Gilliland

Paediatrics Publications

Introduction: This study examines correlates of lifetime (ie, ever vaped) and past month vape use among students aged 17 to 19 years, 20 to 25 years, and 26+ years from Western University in London, Ontario. The secondary objective is to assess lifetime and past month vape use among students not of legal age to purchase vaping products in Ontario (ie, those 17 to 18 years only). Methods: Using Qualtrics, a cross-sectional survey was sent via email to all students at Western University (N = 38 442), assessing their current and past risk-taking behaviors, mental health, sociodemographic characteristics, as well as …

Vulnerability Pathways To Mental Health Outcomes In Children And Parents During Covid-19, Jala Rizeq, Daphne J. Korczak, Katherine Tombeau Cost, Evdokia Anagnostou, Alice Charach, Suneeta Monga, Catherine S. Birken, Elizabeth Kelley

Paediatrics Publications

We examined pathways from pre-existing psychosocial and economic vulnerability to mental health difficulties and stress in families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from two time points from a multi-cohort study initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic were used. Parents of children 6–18 years completed questionnaires on pre-COVID-19 socioeconomic and demographic factors in addition to material deprivation and stress due to COVID-19 restrictions, mental health, and family functioning. Youth 10 years and older also completed their own measures of mental health and stress. Using structural equation modelling, pathways from pre-existing vulnerability to material deprivation and stress due to COVID-19 restrictions, mental health, …

Negative Emotions About Climate Change Are Related To Insomnia Symptoms And Mental Health: Cross-Sectional Evidence From 25 Countries, Charles Adedayo Ogunbode, Ståle Pallesen, Gisela Böhm, Rouven Doran, Navjot Bhullar, Sibele Aquino, Tiago Marot, Julie Aitken Schermer, Anna Wlodarczyk, Su Lu, Feng Jiang, Katariina Salmela-Aro, Daniel Hanss, Daniela Acquadro Maran, Rahkman Ardi, Razieh Chegeni, Hajra Tahir, Elahe Ghanbarian, Joonha Park, Takashi Tsubakita, Chee Seng Tan, Karlijn L. Van Den Broek, John Bosco Chika Chukwuorji, Kehinde Ojewumi, Marc Eric S. Reyes, Samuel Lins, Violeta Enea, Tatiana Volkodav, Tomas Sollar

Management and Organizational Studies Publications

Climate change threatens mental health via increasing exposure to the social and economic disruptions created by extreme weather and large-scale climatic events, as well as through the anxiety associated with recognising the existential threat posed by the climate crisis. Considering the growing levels of climate change awareness across the world, negative emotions like anxiety and worry about climate-related risks are a potentially pervasive conduit for the adverse impacts of climate change on mental health. In this study, we examined how negative climate-related emotions relate to sleep and mental health among a diverse non-representative sample of individuals recruited from 25 countries, …

"Everyone's Always Going Through Something, Aren't They?": J.D. Salinger, Sally Rooney, And The Desire To Connect In The Face Of Distress, Emily O'Malley

Honors Program Theses

Literature is often centered around the human desire for connection and the struggle to understand one another. This tension is heightened in novels centering adolescents and young adults, who are often insecure in their own identities. J.D. Salinger's fiction is a hallmark of this thematic exploration, yet he fails to interrogate dimensions of gender and class in a meaningful way. Sally Rooney's contemporary work subverts Salinger's within plot structure, distanced communication as a device, and self-synecdoche of distress, as well as her open engagement with class and gender. She demonstrates the power of reckoning with one's own identity, revealing how …

School Psychology Shortages In West Virginia, Elizabeth Anne Sutfin

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The United States continues to experience a shortage of school psychologists nationwide which has been found to impact both students and school psychologists in negative ways. There is a broad scope of practice that school psychologists are competently able to provide but are physically unable to deliver because of their need to focus on required assessments and testing. Overwhelming workloads can create stress and lead to burnout. However, little research has been done to understand the shortage of school psychologists in the country, including the state of West Virginia. To better understand West Virginia’s shortage problem, this researcher conducted a …

The Role Of Acculturative Stress In Immigrant Mental Health, Daaman S. Lall

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Acculturative stress, the stress that originates from adapting to a new culture, is investigated for its role in immigrant mental health. Prior research shows that acculturative stress is commonly associated with adverse mental health outcomes, but this relationship is not inevitable and depends upon many in-group and individual characteristics. This survey study intended to determine whether the relationship found in the literature exists among UCF undergraduate immigrants and whether new variables can play a role in this relationship. Valid and reliable scales were used to measure acculturative stress, mental health, social support, subjective wellbeing, bicultural integration, and cultural orientation. Inconsistent …

Faith Leaders’ Perceived Role In Mental Health Promotion In Impoverished Communities, Kelly L. Cornish

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The use of faith-based organizations (FBO) for health promotion in vulnerable communities has the potential to improve mental health outcomes by providing resources to community members. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore how faith leaders perceived their role in mental health promotion as a resource to improve access to mental health care in impoverished communities. The health belief model and theory of planned behavior were used as the conceptual framework. Purposeful and snowball sampling was used to recruit eight faith leaders who led a FBO and resided in Cumberland County, NJ. Data were collected using semistructured …

Civil Rights Law—Inclusion Of Emotional Support Animals As Service Animals Under The Ada: Creating The Right To Use Dogs To Assist People Living With Mental Health Issues, Amanda M. Foster

Western New England Law Review

The use of emotional support animals to alleviate or mitigate symptoms associated with mental health issues has been a topic of debate since its inception. On one hand, there is the community of people who have expressed a need to use support animals to help them to participate in society, including while traveling by airplane. On the other hand, the Department of Transportation has had to assess whether allowing support animals on airplanes would pose a direct threat to the safety or health of others.

In most contexts, support animals are not treated as service animals, so therein lies substantial …

Night Of Awakening: Strength And Empowerment In The Young Adult Fiction Genre, Shelby Ann Davis

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Young Adult Fantasy genre is often written off as a useless, or immature form of writing. However, there are studies that prove that this specific genre is not only engaging, but it is also empowering for young readers. By writing toward adolescent readers, authors are able to promote various ways in which their characters adjust or interact with their surroundings, which also influences their readers’ self and social awareness. By representing feminist perspectives and depicting the effects of trauma, YA literature fosters progressive social change and conveys the importance of mental health. In writing my own novel, The Night …

Education On My Healthevet To Increase Access To Psychiatric Healthcare For Veterans, Roxann Hackbarth

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Practice Innovation Projects

Introduction: Access to mental health care can be challenging for many veterans. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) developed the patient portal My Healthevet (MHV) to increase access to healthcare services. Despite this program, many veterans still do not take advantage of the portal. The goal of this literature review was to gain knowledge on benefits and barriers of using patient portals, identification of patients who use and do not use patient portals, and interventions to increase the use of patient portals.
Evidence Summary: The use of patient portals, including the VHA portal MHV, helps to increase interactions between clinicians and …

Patient-Level Perspectives On The Use Of Novel Psychotherapeutics For The Treatment Of Substance Use Disorders By, Jory Donald Crull

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Substance use disorders (SUDs) present a rapidly evolving public health crisis and many individuals with SUDs fail to maintain abstinence despite adherence to current standard of care treatment options. Prior research has demonstrated compounds with unique psychoactive properties may improve ability to maintain abstinence across a variety of SUDs; examples of such compounds include psilocybin, ketamine, and 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). However, target population support for mental health treatment using these medications is unknown. In this study, a cross-sectional survey (n=919) was administered to analyze patient-level perspectives on the use of these novel psychotherapeutics for the treatment of SUDs. We hypothesized that …

Outcomes And Factors Influencing Relapse And Recidivism In A Rural Substance Abuse Treatment Program Collaborative, Nikki King

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Intensive Outpatient programs for mental health and substance abuse have been shown to be an effective option for individuals with substance use disorders. Despite this, there are few options for individuals seeking this form of treatment in rural communities. It is often believed that high quality programs that address the core systemic social issues that underlie substance use disorders are too expensive for small rural healthcare organizations to utilize. This model shows one treatment program that is able to address multiple social safety net issues and produce positive outcomes in a rural setting by leveraging community partnerships, as well as …

Impact Of Adverse Childhood Events On The Psychosocial Functioning Of Children Affected By Parental Hiv In Rural China, Jordan Ezell, Sayward Harrison, Yanping Jiang, Xiaoming Li

Faculty Publications

Introduction: Children affected by parental HIV are more likely than unaffected peers to experience trauma and are at-risk for negative psychological and social outcomes. This study aimed to examine the relationship between adverse childhood events and psychosocial functioning among children affected by parental HIV.

Methods: A total of 790 children ages 6–17 from Henan, China were enrolled in a longitudinal, randomized controlled trial of a resilience-based psychosocial intervention. At baseline, children reported on numerous psychosocial factors, including trauma exposure, symptoms of anxiety and depression, and peer social functioning. We used linear regression analysis to test the direct effect of trauma …

Helper, Healer, Mitigator: The Essential Role Of The Human Services Provider In Current And Post-Pandemic Climates, Brittany G. Suggs, Lauren B. Robins, Megan Cannedy, Alexandra C. Gantt, Dana L. Brookover, Kaprea F. Johnson

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The L.E.G.A.C.Y.® Appreciative Life Review Model: A Framework And Process To Develop Psychosocial Resources In Emerging And Young Adulthood, Nicole Onori Hansen

Occupational Therapy Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This project introduces the L.E.G.A.C.Y. appreciative life review model (L.E.G.A.C.Y.) and provides preliminary evidence for its feasibility with emerging adults in a higher education context. L.E.G.A.C.Y. is the first model to integrate appreciative inquiry as well as a retrospective-prospective framework and experiential elements into the life review process. Increased rates of mental health disorders, underdeveloped psychosocial resources, and limited independent living skills have resulted in significant role impairments and poor adjustment to college. Conceptual development of the L.E.G.A.C.Y. model and the results of a quasi-experimental pilot study that investigated its effectiveness with agroup of college students (N = 17) are …

Pediatric Rates Of Psychiatric Emergency Department Visits And Potential Savings Via Tele-Mental Health, Ebone' Smith-Morant

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests that visits to the Emergency Department (ED) for psychiatric purposes among youth are rising and has been identified as a public health crisis. One in five school aged children struggle with mental illness with 70% of those diagnosed going untreated which promotes academic failure, behavior challenges, dropout, and unproductivity that leads into adulthood (Bains, Cusson, White-Frese & Walsh, 2017; Grady, Lever, Cunnigham, & Stephen, 2011). Schools have been identified as an ideal place for children to receive mental health services. School based tele-mental health is noted as a beneficial treatment that if delivered on site at schools could …

When Did I Stop Being Invincible?, Amy M. Fleming

Student Projects

No abstract provided.

Younger Hmong People’S Willingness To Communicate About Depression, Wa Yang

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This research examines the underlying issues about mental illness, particularly depression within the Hmong community. Previous scholars have focused on the Hmong culture’s origins, mental health status of Hmong refugees arriving in the United States, martial roles and mental health on Hmong females, and comparisons of Hmong traditional healing and Westernized medicine. These studies intersect in fields including psychology, medicine and public health, Hmong history, and social work. However, one missing component to this body of scholarship has been communication. Thus, my study focused on younger Hmong people’s willingness to communicate about depression within their families. Specifically, I conducted semi-structured …

Mental Health Issues Development In Law Enforcement Officers And Its Impact On Law Enforcement Agencies: The Need For Policies Focused On Law Enforcement Officers Mental Stability, Joseph A Sorgini

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This study examines the existing literature on PTSD and PTSD symptomology that law enforcement officers experience, and the post-exposure intervention protocols that aid in mental stability of impacted law enforcement officers. The study uses a survey of 155 active-duty law enforcement officers from Montgomery County Pennsylvania. The central question that grounded this research is: are mental health stressors impacting the ability of law enforcement officers to complete their duties despite the existence of post-exposure intervention protocols? There are six tested hypotheses that are tested via logistic regression to determine whether a statistically significant relationship exists between demographic characteristics of law …

Appreciative Inquiry Of A Non-Profit Organization Transitioning To Teletherapy, Claudia Herrera

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

Mental health professionals have been required to make a transition to delivering services using technology during the COVID-19 pandemic. The non-profit agency participating in this study had already listed on its strategic plan the delivery of teletherapy. In 2020, due to the pandemic, the agency decided to expedite the delivery of teletherapy services. This study explored the experiences of the agency’s team, to determine what worked well while making this transition, as well as future dreams regarding the delivery of teletherapy. Appreciative inquiry was used as the method of data collection. Findings indicated the agency’s clinicians found keeping a positive …

Ziba, Ziba, Sherianne Schow, Brandi Kilmer, Heather Oman

TSOS Interview Gallery

Ziba, a promising medical student, fled Afghanistan in 2018 due to instability and for her safety. Life was difficult upon arrival in the United States. In Afghanistan Ziba was involved in national and international poetry, math and science competitions. Ziba went from having everything to starting completely over in a new country. Her anxiety and depression became extremely difficult to deal with She reminded herself who she was, what her passions were and in January 2019 started medical school while working part time as a cashier. Her hope for future arriving refugees is to have a mental health network established …

The Effects Of Retirement On Division Iii Collegiate Athletes' Mental Health, Laura Dickinson

CMC Senior Theses

Following their participation in athletics after their collegiate retirement, this research examines whether there is a relationship between college athletes' mental health and their athletic identity. Specifically, it examines whether athletic retirement leads to anxiety and depression. Participants will be asked to answer a survey that relates to their athletic identity, and the occurrence of symptoms related to depression and anxiety at different periods of their collegiate career and after their athletic retirement. Results are predicted to demonstrate a significant relationship between retired athletes’ level of athletic identity and the prevalence of depression and anxiety following cessation of athletics. However, …

Toward A Race-Conscious Critique Of Mental Health-Related Exclusionary Immigration Laws, Monika Batra Kashyap

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This Article employs the emergent analytical framework of Dis/ability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) to offer a race-conscious critique of a set of immigration laws that have been left out of the story of race-based immigrant exclusion in the United States—namely, the laws that exclude immigrants based on mental health-related grounds. By centering the influence of the white supremacist, racist,and ableist ideologies of the eugenics movement in shaping mental health-related exclusionary immigration laws, this Article locates the roots of these restrictive laws in the desire to protect the purity and homogeneity of the white Anglo- Saxon race against the threat of …

Beyond Weight Loss: Current Perspectives On The Impact Of Calorie Restriction On Healthspan And Lifespan, Maryam Kebbe, Joshua R. Sparks, Emily W. Flanagan, Leanne M. Redman

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Introduction: Changes to mental, physical, and physiological functions drive the complex processes underlying the variable progression of human aging. Nutritional interventions are one of the most promising non-pharmacological therapeutics to attenuate aging in humans. This narrative review aims to describe the implications of moderate and prolonged calorie restriction (CR) in healthy adults without obesity that occur beyond weight loss. Areas covered: Findings from CR studies, such as the CALERIE (Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy) trials, the most rigorous trials to date examining a prolonged 25% CR, are described. The main areas covered include; changes to …

Predominantly White Institution Or Historically Black College/University: Racial Composition Of School Environment And Perceived Racism On African American Students’ College Experiences, Taylor Garland

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The current study explored perceived racism, mental health, and coping to see how those concepts might influence how African American students evaluate their college experiences. Additionally, this study explored how school environment (i.e., predominantly White institution [PWI] vs. historically Black college/university [HBCU]) impacted the hypotheses. All participants completed an online questionnaire. Findings for the key hypotheses of this study were mixed. For example, regardless if African American students attended a PWI or HBCU, they were both likely to report similar experiences of perceived racism and negative affect. Despite these and a few other relevant hypotheses not being supported, two significant …