Digital Commons Network^™

Talis: Stress Levels Among Australian Teachers, Sue Thomson

Teacher columnist - Sue Thomson

The OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey provides a voice for teachers and principals internationally. Australia is one of 48 countries that participated in TALIS 2018, and ACER has just released the second report on the data gathered – Teachers and school leaders as valued professionals (Thomson & Hillman, 2020). The foci of this second volume are career opportunities, collaboration, autonomy and prestige. The results reported in this article are those from lower secondary school teachers and principals.

Mental Health Problems In The Mountains: Needs, Assets, And Recommendations For Managing Mental Health Problems In Mountain-Focused Wilderness-Based Education And Related Fields, Samuel H. Johnson

Psychology

Background: Through controlled exposure to stress, wilderness-based education programs can buildcapacity for adaptive coping and produce long lasting improvements to participants' quality of life.However, stress can also overwhelm them, resulting in the emergence and exacerbation of mental health vulnerabilities in the field. However, empirically grounded best practices for training, pre-trip screening, and protocol/policy for mental health specific to the wilderness context are not well developed. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess needs and assets, and develop recommendations for training, pre-trip screening, and organizational protocol/policy to assist with successful management of mental health problems in mountain-focused, wilderness-based education …

Implementing Innovative Mental Health Supports And Services At A Post-Secondary Institution, Adam K. Lawrence

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

In 2020, the Government of Ontario published a report entitled In It Together: Foundations for Promoting Mental Wellness in Campus Communities. This document outlines that the priority of post-secondary institutions should be the health and well-being of students by ensuring that students receive the supports they need to be successful. Most importantly, the document outlines a community approach needed for students to access mental health supports and services on their campuses. Many post-secondary students are becoming increasingly aware of their own mental health needs prior to enrolling at university or college. This has resulted in a culture on post-secondary …

Indonesia’S Mental Health Services: Availability And Current Challenges, Alexander Gronowski

Master's Projects and Capstones

The deep deficits in Indonesia’s mental health care system seem to currently lack explanation. While Indonesia’s economic growth may outstrip even that of its neighbors, the country still appears to significantly lack parity in provided mental health resources. Due to the paucity in available information and studies on the topic, this paper seeks to inspect the issue directly through the use of direct interviews supplemented by available literature. Through the interviews of Indonesian self-identified patients, non-patients, and mental health care providers, it appears that the apparent weak state of Indonesia’s mental health care system stems from widely held cultural beliefs. …

Optimism And Risk Of Incident Hypertension: A Target For Primordial Prevention, Laura D. Kubzansky, Julia K. Boehm, Andrew R. Allen, Loryana L. Vie, Tiffany E. Ho, Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald, Hayami K. Koga, Lawrence M. Scheier, Martin E. P. Seligman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Aims

Optimism is associated with reduced cardiovascular disease risk; however, few prospective studies have considered optimism in relation to hypertension risk specifically. We investigated whether optimism was associated with a lower risk of developing hypertension in U.S. service members, who are more likely to develop high blood pressure early in life. We also evaluated race/ethnicity, sex and age as potential effect modifiers of these associations.

Methods

Participants were 103 486 hypertension-free U.S. Army active-duty soldiers (mean age 28.96 years, 61.76% White, 20.04% Black, 11.01% Hispanic, 4.09% Asian, and 3.10% others). We assessed optimism, sociodemographic characteristics, health conditions, health behaviours and …

First-Gen Mental Health: The Experiences Of First-Generation Graduate Students At The University Of San Diego, Edith Mendez

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

Higher education professionals can better support struggling students by having more of an awareness of their experiences and how their mental health is related to the identities they hold. As a first-generation Latina college student, I am reminded of my own experiences and struggles, which impacted my sense of belonging and academic success. My action research responds to the question: "What are the mental health concerns that first-generation students studying at the University of San Diego (USD) encounter?" After making changes to my research because of unforeseen circumstances, I designed a study focusing on graduate students with cycles consisting of …

Between Two Worlds: Acculturation Impact On The Mental Health Status Of Arab Americans, Sara Abubotain

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

ABSTRACT

Between Two Worlds: Acculturation Impact on the

Mental Health Status of Arab Americans

SARA ABUBOTAIN

Seton Hall University, 2020

Dissertation Chair: Dr. Deborah DeLuca, M.S., J.D.

Background and Purpose of the Study: Arabs come from over 20 countries in Africa and Asia. Many of those countries either have an ongoing war, battle with terrorism, or political turmoil that may have resulted in mental health issues for Arabs migrating to America. Arab Americans continue to migrate to the U.S. Arab Americans have been experiencing stress due to the discrimination they face post 9/11, their acculturation method, cultural difference, pre-migration mental …

The Association Of Sleep Quality And Loneliness With Perceived Physical And Mental Health Status In Autistic Adults, Nicholas Charles Clark Russell

Theses and Dissertations

Autistic individuals report a greater prevalence of physical and mental health difficulties, compared to the general population. This study examines factors which impact physical and mental health in the general population to evaluate whether they potentially underlie this increased prevalence in autistic individuals. We compared twenty-two autistic adults, twenty-three adults reporting symptoms of insomnia, and twenty-one neurotypical adults. The primary factors were sleep quality and insomnia; secondary factors were level of autistic traits, alexithymia, and prosocial behavior. Participants completed self-report measures looking at each of these factors as well as their perceived physical and mental health. Participants also wore an …

Minority Stress, Social Support, And Mental Health Among Lgbqp+ Religious Disaffiliates, Kate Jablonski

Doctoral Dissertations

The present study investigated the association between four minority stress processes (victimization, internalized heterosexism, rejection sensitivity, and disclosure of sexual orientation identity) and symptoms of depression and anxiety among lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, pansexual, or otherwise non-heterosexual (LGBQP+) disaffiliates from non-affirming religions, and whether social support mediated these relationships. A nonexperimental, cross-sectional, correlational design was used. Participants were recruited through Reddit, a popular social-networking site, and completed an online survey that assessed experiences of minority stress, perceptions of social support, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Participants were 161 non-religious, US-born, cisgender, LGBQP+ Reddit-users who identified as having disaffiliated from …

A General Education Course Designed To Cultivate College Student Well-Being, Jessica C. Davis

Dissertations, 2020-current

Mental health issues appear to be on the rise across our world, especially within the college student population. Considerable data suggests that today’s students have lower rates of well-being and healthy psychological functioning and higher rates of distress, fragility, and clinically significant mental health problems than seen in previous generations. These findings have led some scholars to define this trend as a college mental health crisis. The purpose of this study was to respond to this crisis via the development and administration of a well-being general education course conceptually grounded in Henriques’ Unified Framework of psychology and psychotherapy (see, Henriques, …

Program Evaluation: Bring Change To Mind High School Club, Rachel Goldberg

Master's Projects and Capstones

Introduction. Mental illness (MI) stigma is common and causes adverse consequences such as reduced self-esteem and discrimination in housing and employment. Bring Change to Mind (BC2M), a national non-profit organization, strives to reduce this stigma through their high school club program. The evaluation goals were to assess the program’s operations and measure club members’ and advisors’ attitudes and perceptions around mental health (MH) and MI.

Methods. Qualtrics surveys were used to gather information from general club members (GCMs) (N=645), club advisors (N=97), and graduating seniors (N=57). BC2M staff held 52 small group discussions with club leaders. Data analysis was conducted …

Wellness Tips For Remote Workers - Webpage, Carleton College. Human Resources

Covid-19 Archive: Documents

A page of resources for staff members doing remote work to promote wellness during the pandemic.

Ptsd And Depressive Symptoms As Potential Mediators Of The Association Between World Trade Center Exposure And Subjective Cognitive Concerns In Rescue/Recovery Workers, Ankura Singh, Rachel Zeig-Owens, Laura Rabin, Theresa Schwartz, Mayris P. Webber, David Appel, David J. Prezant, Charles B. Hall

Publications and Research

We observed that World Trade Center (WTC) exposure, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and depressive symptoms were associated with subjective cognitive concerns in Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) rescue/recovery workers. This follow-up study examined whether PTSD symptoms and/or depressive symptoms mediate the observed association between WTC exposure and subjective cognitive concerns. We included WTC-exposed FDNY workers who completed the Cognitive Function Instrument (CFI), measuring self-perceived cognitive decline (N = 9516). PTSD symptoms and depressive symptoms were assessed using the PCL-S and CES-D, respectively. Multivariable linear regression estimated the association between WTC exposure and CFI score, adjusting …

Caring For Our Caregivers In Body, Mind And Spirit During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Rick Evans, Philip J. Wilner, Kristen Spillane

Patient Experience Journal

New York City became the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. The surge of critically ill patients combined with widespread social distancing measures created extraordinary challenges for healthcare workers. Many frontline workers experienced significant physical, psychological, and emotional distress. They faced demanding patient care responsibilities while managing personal obligations and health concerns.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was imperative that NewYork-Presbyterian care for its workforce’s physical, psychological and emotional needs, not only because of our commitment to our colleagues as people, but also because of our obligation to continue to deliver high quality care and experience to the …

Trying To Save The Game(R): Understanding The Self-Disclosure Of Youtube Subscribers Surrounding Mental Health In Video-Game Vlog Comments, Maria Mickles, Andrea Mm Weare

Communication Faculty Publications

This study analyzed the self-disclosure of YouTube subscribers surrounding mental health and their relationship with YouTube gamer co-hosts Dan Avidan and Arin Hanson of the channel Game Grumps. Via 10 subscriber interviews, this study sheds light on viewers’ motivations to subscribe to Game Grumps and to self-disclose mental-health struggles and what the implications for disclosing on YouTube are. Results revealed two overarching motivations and implications that embody mental-health disclosure on social media: (a) subscribers disclose a variety of mental-health experiences and provide the language to “own” them in a public space online and (b) disclosures make visible some subscribers’ coping …

Gaining Momentum: A Systematic Review Of Interventions To Promote Mental Health & Wellness For Mothers Postpartum, Amanda Marcinko, Ots, Lauren Opdyke, Ots, Jessica Sinotte, Ots, Emily Van’T Slot, Ots, E. Adel Herge, Otd, Otr/L, Faota

Collaborative Research and Evidence shared Among Therapists and Educators (CREATE Day)

Outcomes:

• Define participation challenges of mothers in the postpartum period.
• Discuss qualities of effective interventions within maternal mental healthcare.
• Apply effective interventions in occupational therapy practice to promote mental health and wellness of postpartum mothers.

PICO Question:

What interventions within the scope of occupational therapy practice promote mental health and wellness for women in the postpartum period?

Piloting Relaxation Techniques As Part Of Occupational Therapy Programme In An In-Patient Psychiatric Setting, Humera Saeed, M. Shameel Khan, Natasha Farid

Department of Psychiatry

No abstract provided.

A New Perspective On Social Media Use, Loneliness, And Cyberbullying, Danielle M. Brecht

Psychology Theses - Archive

The rates of social media use, cyberbullying, and loneliness are interrelated and simultaneously on the rise. Applying Jensen-Campbell’s Stress Model of Peer Victimization (Knack, Jensen-Campbell, & Baum, 2011) and the Evolutionary Theory of Loneliness (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018) it is proposed that the negative health effects of social media may be attributed in part to chronic loneliness and cyberbullying. When lonely people recognize a lack of beneficial relationships (i.e., salutary relationship postulate) it may cause their behaviors to become more self-focused (i.e., self-preservation postulate) and they may use social media to fulfill the social disconnect by engaging in cyberbullying perpetration …

Examining The Effects Of Aspects Of Resiliency And Vulnerability On The Relationship Between Experiencing Microaggressions And Mental Health Among Persons Of Color, Amanda K. Blume

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ethnic minorities experience discrimination frequently, especially a subtle form of discrimination called microaggressions-which are linked with poorer mental health. This study examined protective factors against microaggressions. In this study, responding to microaggressions actively (as opposed to ignoring the situation) was linked with better mental health. When use of active coping strategies was low, microaggressions were associated with lower self-esteem and higher depression and anxiety. Alternatively, when use of active coping styles was high, microaggressions were associated with higher self-esteem and less depression, anxiety, and drug use. Responding to microaggressions is a disengaged way (such as attempting to ignore or avoid …

Cultural And Contextual Influences On Mental Health, Stigma, And Substance Use Among Mena U.S. College Students, Molly Mechammil

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The aim of this dissertation was to investigate whether certain cultural and contextual factors influence Middle Eastern/North African (MENA) college students' mental health, alcohol/marijuana use, and experiences with mental health stigma and help seeking. Research with MENA college students is very limited, which leaves mental health providers with limited information on how to best support MENAs. MENAs report high rates of discrimination, and other research shows that many they may use religion as a way to cope with stressors such as discrimination. I examined whether religious coping might buffer the effects of discrimination on mental health outcomes. I also considered …

An Exploration Of Social Networking Use And Mental Health In Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, Gender Non-Binary, And Gender Fluid Persons, Jennifer Trimpey

Doctoral Dissertations

Social networking sites (SNS) allow for rapid information sharing in online spaces. Research in the general public suggests that extended SNS use corresponds with poor mental health outcomes such as depression and anxiety. Research regarding SNS use in LGBT populations seems to promote interpersonal connectedness. While such studies tend to include gender non-conforming persons (GNC), this group often represents a minimal proportion of participants. This study sought to explore SNS and mental health in persons identifying as GNC. A grounded theory approach was used to analyze the data to develop a substantive theory regarding SNS and mental health in this …

Mental Workload Investigation Among Employees In A Selected Oil And Gas Company, C. Moosom Christyne Surindai

Student Works (2020-2029)

In recent years, there has been a substantial amount of studies being conducted in mental workload and mental health but there is little research conducted in the Malaysian context especially in the oil and gas field. This gives rise to the need for researching the level of mental workload and mental health problems that will help the stakeholders to protect the wellbeing of their employees. This study aims to investigate the mental workload and level of depression, anxiety and stress scale of employees in a selected oil and gas company by using CarMen-Q and DASS-21 mental health assessment tools, finds …

The Science Of Solitary: Expanding The Harmfulness Narrative, Craig Haney

Northwestern University Law Review

The harmful effects of solitary confinement have been established in a variety of direct observations and empirical studies that date back to the nineteenth century, conducted in many different countries by researchers with diverse disciplinary backgrounds. This Essay argues that these effects should be situated and understood in the context of a much larger scientific literature that documents the adverse and sometimes life- threatening psychological and physical consequences of social isolation, social exclusion, loneliness, and the deprivation of caring human touch as they occur in free society. These dangerous conditions are the hallmarks of solitary confinement. Yet they are imposed …

Coping Self-Efficacy As A Potential Moderator Of The Relationship Between Sexual Orientation And Negative Mental Health Outcomes, James M. Macchia

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Sexual minority individuals (i.e., those who identify as a sexual orientation other than heterosexual) have consistently been linked to an increased risk of negative mental health outcomes. The process of coping can impact the content and severity of said outcomes, and one’s ability to cope is often predicted by the concept known as coping self-efficacy (i.e., one’s belief in his or her ability to cope). This study aimed to assess the effects of sexual orientation, coping self-efficacy, and their interactions on mental health by looking at different aspects of coping self-efficacy as potential moderating variables. Self-perceptions of coping skills were …

Student-Athlete Success: An Examination Of Parenting, Grit, Academic Success, And Mental Health Outcomes, Jackson Howard

Dissertations

Factors such as poor adjustment, substance misuse, and mental health concerns have been found to be detrimental to college student success. Considering this, researchers have focused on investigating protective factors, which may enhance performance in higher education. Specifically, non-cognitive traits, such as grit, or an ability to maintain determination and passion for long-term goals in the face of adversity, and positive parenting strategies, such as psychological autonomy granting, have been tied to positive outcomes for college students in higher education. Conversely, overparenting behaviors and negative outcomes, such as burnout, have been found to be damaging to student success. Student-athletes are …

Stress Management And Coping Strategies In Undergraduate Students At A Midwestern State University, Megan Scribner, Pietro Sasso, Laurel Puchner

New York Journal of Student Affairs

This qualitative interview study explored the experiences in a purposive sample of nontraditional and traditional undergraduate students, examining their current stressors and how coping strategies to manage stress developed. The study used Schlossberg’s (1995) transition theory in conceptualizing experiences with stress and Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) transactional theory of stress and coping in defining coping strategies. Four themes emerged indicating that participants used a variety of coping strategies towards maintaining or improving their mental health. Implications for practice are provided to facilitate increased understanding by student affairs professionals of undergraduate students’ coping strategies and stress management.

Longitudinal Links Between Parents’ Mental Health, Parenting, And Adolescents’ Mental Health: Moderation By Adolescent Sex, Laura M. Padilla-Walker, Hannah B. Apsley

Faculty Publications

This study explored mothering and fathering as possible mediators of the relationship between parent and adolescent mental health concerns and considered the adolescents’ biological sex as a potential moderator. Using structural equation modeling, the longitudinal links between parents’ mental health, parental psychological control, parent-adolescent connectedness, and adolescent mental health in 500 families— including 338 fathers and 500 mothers—were explored over the course of 5 years. The mean age of the adolescents (51.8% female, 69.6% European American) at Time 1 was 13.3 years. Mothers’ symptoms of anxiety directly predicted girls’ depression 5 years later. This relation was not mediated by parenting …

A Psychometric Evaluation Of The Interrai Child And Youth Mental Health Instruments (Chymh) Anxiety Scale In Children With And Without Developmental Disabilities, S. L. Stewart, S. E. Babcock, Y. Li, H. P. Dave

Paediatrics Publications

Background: With 10 to 20% of Canadian children suffering with mental illness, the importance of early identification and accurate assessment systems is clear. Unfortunately, many do not receive the mental health treatment necessary and wait-times for assessment can span up to a year. In response, the interRAI suite of assessments were designed to comprehensively assess early signs of mental health impairments in children from birth to 18 years. Methods: This study assesses the psychometric properties of the Anxiety Scale and addresses the identification of anxiety within children diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD); a commonly underrepresented sample in mental …

Breaking Down Barriers: Utilizing Virtual Resources To Promote Occupational Balance Among Vulnerable Populations In The Midst Of A Global Pandemic, Roya Rezadoost

OTD Capstone Projects

The focus of this project was to utilize virtual media, resources, and technological advancements to create resource guidelines that facilitate the preservation of occupational balance and overall quality of life among under-served and marginalized populations during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Course Design, Learning And Teaching Center

Covid-19 Archive: Documents

A page with resources to help faculty think about course design for resilient courses.