Digital Commons Network^™

"This College Is Run By Women": The Narratives Of Overburdened And Burnt-Out Community College Women Faculty, Lindsay Spence Carson

Dissertations of Practice

At community colleges, a noticeable gender divide exists among faculty who participate in college operations, such as committee and service work, department chair and other leadership positions, as well as unpaid labor. This narrative inquiry explored how tenured community college women faculty experience the gendered division of labor and privilege. I was particularly interested in the ways in which their experiences influence burnout and how community college structures, policies, practices, and social norms perpetuate gender differences in labor distribution. Ten participants who represent three midwestern community colleges, a variety of academic divisions and departments, and who are in different stages …

Personal Wisdom And Coping: Insights From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Noah Ringler

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Much of personal wisdom research has focused on the relationship between personal wisdom and difficult life events (DLEs). Research indicates that those high in personal wisdom cope more effectively with DLEs. However, these studies primarily focused on older adults and assessed coping through well-being measures. Seeking to address these limitations, Ringler (2021) found that mindfulness partially mediates the relationship between personal wisdom and coping with DLEs (measured through meaning-making) in a more age-diverse sample. Despite this progress, several gaps in knowledge remain. For example, there is still a lack of understanding about how wisdom relates to the use of specific …

Coping Strategies As Predictors Of Acculturative Stress Among International College Students, Naba Khan

2025 Fall Honors Capstones Projects - Archive

This study examined how coping strategies influence acculturative stress among international and multicultural college students. A quantitative correlational design was used with 36 participants recruited through convenience sampling at the University of Texas at Arlington. Participants completed four standardized Likert-type scales measuring acculturative stress, general coping, and academic coping. Correlational analyses showed that age was negatively related to acculturative stress and positively related to coping. A mediation analysis using PROCESS Model 4 indicated that coping partially mediated the relationship between age and acculturative stress, accounting for 39% of the variance, R²=.39, F(2, 33) = 10.60, p < .001. Age significantly predicted coping (β=.06, p=.015), while coping marginally predicted acculturative stress (β= -.26, p = .068). Findings suggest that coping strategies play a modest but protective role in reducing acculturative stress, with older participants reporting slightly greater coping and lower stress.

The Influence Of Social Support On The Stress Levels Of Pre-Nursing Students, Michelle Chinwendu Nicole Izuwah

2025 Fall Honors Capstones Projects - Archive

Introduction/Background: The nursing shortage in the United States continues to pose a significant challenge due to the widening gap between the supply of and demand for qualified nurses. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the importance and vitality of nurses to society. Thus, it is important to support students throughout their nursing journey, even from the earliest stages. Pre-nursing students are college students who have not yet begun taking upper-division classes and are enrolled in nursing programs, and face a unique set of struggles due to the pressure of prerequisite classes, as well as fears of not being accepted into the nursing …

The Association Between Stress-Related Disorders And Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome In Males: A Narrative Review, Abdinur Jama Farah, Mohammed Hegazy Abdulhalem, Wafaa Abdel-Hakim El-Bahaey, Ahmed Sobhy El Hefnawy

Mansoura Medical Journal

Background Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CP/CPPS) in males is a multifactorial clinical syndrome with significant impact on quality of life (QoL). Objective To explore the link between psychological stress and chronic pelvic pain in males through reviewing the relevant articles in CPPS literature. Review summary CPPS in males is a complex condition marked by persistent pelvic pain, urinary symptoms, and sexual dysfunction without identifiable infection or pathology. Its unclear etiology and significant impact on quality of life make it a challenging clinical problem. Growing evidence suggests that psychological stress plays a key role in symptom onset and persistence by …

Beyond The Surface: Lgbt+ Minority Stress & Social Safety, Violet Lewis

A with Honors Projects

Presentation about minority stress in the LGBT+ community surrounding the recent political climate and how we can use social safety to deter the impacts.

Influences Of Sex, Alcohol, And Stress On Conditioned Fear Responses, Heyam K. Mayberry

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Learned fear responses are acquired through the identification and association of threatening stimuli with aversive outcomes. Fear responding and the proper maintenance of defensive behaviors is integral to survival. However, without the homeostasis of such systems, fear responses can become maladaptive and lead to dysregulated behavioral responding. Psychological conditions such as alcohol use disorder (AUD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often lead to impairments in fear learning, deficits in fear memory, and heightened fear responses. While there are clear sex differences in the prevalence of both AUD and PTSD, development of either disorder increases the risk for comorbid AUD/PTSD, leading …

Joy In Teaching: Examining Teachers’ Perceived Experiences Of Choice, Self-Efficacy, And Sense Of Belonging, Shellie Hennings-Donow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

Teacher joy is a critical yet often overlooked factor influencing teacher retention, instructional effectiveness, and student outcomes. This study explores how teachers describe their experiences of joy in the workplace, focusing on the roles of choice, self-efficacy, and belonging. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory and Attribution Theory, this research examines the extent to which teachers’ perceived autonomy, competence, and relational support contribute to teachers’ professional fulfillment. Through qualitative methods, including in-depth interviews and thematic analysis, this study captures the perceptions of educators across diverse school settings. Findings reveal that teachers experience the highest levels of joy when they have meaningful autonomy …

Exploring Undergraduate Students’ Use Of Mental Health Applications: A Phenomenological Study, Chelsea D. Fullilove

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

This phenomenological dissertation explored undergraduate students' lived experiences of using mental health mobile apps, AI, and other technology to manage mental health symptoms. The research focused on exploring three research questions: (a) perceptions of app effectiveness, usability, and features; (b) barriers and integration into mental health care routines; and (c) influences of privacy, peer influence, cultural backgrounds, and personal beliefs on app use.

Data were collected via purposive sampling through semi-structured interviews (N=12), each consisting of 15 open-ended questions, with students using a mental health app to improve their mental health. The interpretive data analysis was conducted by …

Wellness Among Bipoc Counselors-In-Training: Mediation Impact On Stress And Burnout, Javier E. Ponce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

The purpose of this research study was to gather data on stress, wellness, and burnout levels from counselors-in-training (CITs) who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) to compare them to norm groups and assess the mediating effect of wellness on the association between stress and burnout. The researcher conducted this study to aid counselor educators in incorporating wellness into interventions that can help BIPOC CITs not only reduce their stress and burnout levels but also augment their overall wellness. The final sample consisted of 118 BIPOC CITs who thoroughly completed a demographic questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale-10, Five …

Exploring Occupational Therapy Students’ Coping Strategies And Styles, Ashley E. Stroud, Amanda J. Mohler, Amanda M. Carpenter

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

This study aimed to determine occupational therapy students’ coping strategies and styles to manage stress. The final sample included 160 students, with 39 master of occupational therapy (MOT) students and 121 occupational therapy doctoral (OTD) students who were currently enrolled in an MOT or OTD program. This study used a cross-sectional, descriptive survey. The survey included both closed-ended and open-ended items to provide a greater insight into occupational therapy graduate students’ stressors, coping strategies, and coping styles. Results of the survey showed the most frequently reported coping strategies for both programs were emotional support, instrumental support, self-blame, and religion. The …

Talking About Suffering In The Intensive Care Unit, Brent M Kious, Judith B Vick, Peter A Ubel, Olivia Sutton, Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby, Christopher E Cox, Deepshikha Ashana

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Background: Some have hypothesized that talk about suffering can be used by clinicians to motivate difficult decisions, especially to argue for reducing treatment at the end of life. We examined how talk about suffering is related to decision-making for critically ill patients, by evaluating transcripts of conversations between clinicians and patients' families.

Methods: We conducted a secondary qualitative content analysis of audio-recorded family meetings from a multicenter trial conducted in the adult intensive care units of five hospitals from 2012-2017 to look at how the term "suffering" and its variants were used. A coding guide was developed by consensus-oriented discussion …

Mindfulness & Mental Health: Balanced Time Perspective As A Mediator, Eddie Trueblood

Masters Theses

Mindfulness is a practice of intentionally paying attention to the present moment in a nonjudgmental way. Being more mindful can decrease symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress, among other mental and physical health improvements. (Donald et al., 2016; Hofmann et al., 2010; Kabat-Zinn et al.,1992). This study examined if balanced time perspective (BTP) is one of the mechanisms of action of mindfulness in its relationship with depression, anxiety, and stress. BTP refers to a person’s ability to flexibly adapt their time perspective (attention to the past, present, or future, and positive or negative attitudes toward each) to suit the current …

Evaluating Impact Of Stress First Aid Programs In A Primary Care Setting, Ryan Marler

DNP Projects

Background: Prolonged stress in healthcare workers (HCWs) can lead to burnout and absenteeism. High stress also negatively impacts work productivity and healthcare quality. The Stress First Aid (SFA) program aims to improve recovery from stress among HCWs. Chronic stress is evident in primary care clinics, where absenteeism and burnout symptoms have increased.

Purpose: This project aimed to evaluate the SFA program's effectiveness in reducing burnout and absenteeism and improving healthcare workers (HCW) knowledge of stress and available resources at University of Kentucky Healthcare (UKHC).

Methods: A quasi-experimental quality improvement project included pre- and post-education surveys, an SFA education session, and …

Evaluating The Mental Health Of Newly Graduated Nurses In Transition From Undergraduate Training To Professional Practice, Victor Louis C. Alinas

Nursing | Senior Theses

Background: There is an increasing demand for nurses worldwide as healthcare systems slowly recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Simultaneously, there is a high turnover of registered nurses and an even higher turnover in the demographic of newly graduated nurses. Newly graduated nurses (NGNs) are constantly faced with high levels of stress upon starting out in the professional environment and as a result of mental burnout and inadequate preparation, there is a notably high turnover of newly graduated nurses within their first year of employment. Purpose: This research aims to use existing information on the transition from undergraduate training to professional …

Enhancing Well- Being In Individuals With Special Needs: The Power Of Music Therapy, Nicole Love Lazaro

Nursing | Senior Theses

Background Anxiety and stress are silent burdens that weigh heavily on the well-being of many individuals with special needs. If left unnoticed it can lead to negative outcomes of their mental health and daily activities. Research shows that music therapy is effective for treating anxiety and depression in various healthcare settings, there is limited research on its use in individuals with special needs. This issue can leave many without access to a simple yet effective intervention that could enhance their quality of life and daily activities. Objective The purpose of this research proposal is to explore the effectiveness of music …

Nourishing Flourishing: Elevating Elementary Educator Jouissance, Julie T. Siemianowski

Dissertations of Practice

This study was conducted, predicated on the following theories: Nel Noddings’s ethics of care, Albert Bandura’s self-efficacy theory (social cognitive theory), and positive psychology’s Martin Seligman’s PERMA (well-being). For the purposes of this study, Seligman’s PERMA (positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment) theory encompasses both Kerry Howells’ gratitude and David Chan’s gratitude and subjective well-being. Qualitative methodology, specifically, the combination of narrative inquiry and case study guided and informed my data collection. Through semi-structured interviews and story-telling, teachers and literacy leaders shared their stories of external distressers and internal factors contributing to their professional jouissance or lack thereof.

Key words: …

Psychophysiological Responses To An Objectified Environment In College-Aged Females, Urska Dobersek, Richard A. Bennett, Sarah E. Siebers, Laurel A. Standiford Reyes

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Objectification and its associated negative psychological consequences of self-objectification are well-established. Specifically, internalization of an observer’s perspective can lead to habitual body monitoring, negative psychological consequences, and mental health risks. Nevertheless, comparatively few studies examined physiological responses to an objectified environment. To remedy this gap, we explored the effects of an objectified environment on stress levels assessed via salivary cortisol in a single-blind experimental study of 34 undergraduate female students (M_age = 18.62, SD = 0.74). State self-objectification was manipulated by participants wearing tight, revealing exercise clothing (experimental condition; n =16) or baggy exercise attire (control condition; …

Organizational Factors That May Contribute To Physician Burnout, Joseph Neric

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Burnout is pervasive in the healthcare industry and is disproportionately affecting physicians. Burnout is defined as a psychological response to chronic workplace stress that is manifested as physical and emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced self-efficacy. Even though there is comprehensive research on physician burnout—particularly physician driven—this research aims to highlight the importance of how healthcare organizations negatively contribute to physician’s workplace stress.

The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) was used to measure the presence of burnout. The Areas of Worklife Survey (AWS) was used to measure the incongruence between the job and the person. Results (n=198) from the OLBI indicated 37.4% …

Psychology: Personality, Coping, And Stress In Undergraduates, Gwendolyn Butler, Andrew Clapper, Abby Hill, Sophia Castillo

SPARK Symposium Presentations

It is no secret that college students frequently find themselves the victims of a variety of everyday and long-term stressors that can interfere with their psychological wellbeing (Saleh, et al., 2017). There are a variety of coping styles that students can use to help mitigate their stress, including problem-focused and emotion-focused coping styles (Gárriz et al., 2015).Identifying whether or not certain personality traits respond differently to different coping styles could be a critical step in informing different individuals on specific coping strategies. Currently, however, research gives mixed results regardinghow individuals with certain traits tend to cope, specifically with regards to …

Addressing Chronic Stress: Activating The Healing Responses, Lily Walther

CMC Senior Theses

This paper seeks to explore the negative effects of chronic stress on the body, emphasize the tissue, cellular, and genetic healing responses that exist to combat these effects, and illustrate the behavioral and physiological interventions that can activate these responses. The concepts of stress and chronic stress have been explained through a progression of models that have been updated over the decades. This includes early theories such as The General Adaptation Syndrome and the Homeostatic Model, as well as more recent depictions such as the Reactive Scope Model. The healing responses are explored on a variety of levels to illustrate …

Teacher Stress, Well-Being, And Adaptation To Innovation, Amanda Leanore Pelloth

Theses and Dissertations

Teachers face many sources of stress; however, a consistent source is prompted by the need to cope with change as districts adapt to shifting paradigms. This study intended to fill Rogers’ (2003) KAP gap and the failure of innovations by infusing the study of well-being and emotion into the narrative by incorporating the transactional relationship between technostress and implementation efforts into the technochange process. The study investigated teachers’ cognitive appraisals of technochange (primary appraisal) and their adaptational coping processes (secondary appraisal) to understand how implementation impacts teachers’ well-being and their adaptive processes. A parallel convergent mixed methods approach with an …

Psychological Implications Of Preterm Birth, Livio Provenzi, Minesh Khashu, Mia Mclean, Evalotte Morelius

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

No abstract provided.

Examining Stress, Stress, Potentially Traumatic Events, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, And Emotional Support Among Individuals With Skin Disease Symptoms, Taylor A. Strange

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the complex interplay between psychological stress, trauma-related experiences, and skin disease symptoms, alongside the potential moderating role of emotional social support. While the worsening effect of stress on skin conditions is well-documented, the specific association between trauma and dermatological symptoms, and its contribution to inflammatory responses, warrants further exploration. The stress-buffering hypothesis posits that perceived emotional support can mitigate the negative impact of stress on quality of life in chronic health conditions. This hypothesis has found support across various chronic physical and psychological ailments, yet its applicability to dermatological conditions remains less established. Our study pursued two …

The Impact Of Parental Mental Health On Infants In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Andee L. Plaskett

Nursing | Student Research Posters

The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) provides critical and life saving care for infants born with medical complications that may need specialized care. The NICU environment can be an overwhelming and stressful place for both parents and infants. Parental mental health challenges, such as stress, anxiety, and depression, can significantly impact infants in the NICU by hindering parent infant interaction and connection. Parental mental distress is often linked to an increase in anxiety for the infant, as well as higher rates of medical complications and a higher likelihood of longer hospital stays for the infant. Parental stress can have a …

Using Brief Acceptance And Commitment Training To Increase Psychological Flexibility And Reduce Stress In School-Based Professionals, Rayna Yaeger

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The significant behavioral and mental health concerns of students and staff in public schools within the United States has led to an increased risk of stress and burnout in teachers, which may lead to subsequent physical and mental health related concerns for staff and negative educational outcomes for students. Due to these school-based concerns, action should be taken to meet the needs of staff and students. This study aimed to better understand the effect of brief, group-based ACTraining on teachers’ psychological flexibility, general stress, job-related burnout, and social validity by replicating and extending the findings of Gillard et al. (2021) …

Using The Background Of Occupational Therapy To Argue Our Role In Stress Management: Proposed Lines Of Inquiry, Klaire M. Gowins

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Posters

The purpose of this ALE presentation is to present research in support of the development of the Student Stress Management Center (SSMC) at EKU. The researchers’ long-term proposition, beyond the scope of this poster, is to effectively communicate to various audiences the importance and occupation-based characteristics of a Student Stress Management Center for students within the higher education setting. In preparation for that goal, this poster reviews scholarly literature relevant to the field of occupational therapy and its philosophical roots to lay groundwork for clarifying whether and how a revised articulation of the philosophical base is needed, relative to the …

Reducing Stress Related To Injection Therapy: A Zen Bundle Approach, Valoree Bowen

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects - Archive

Background: Needle fear and stress are common barriers preventing adults from seeking necessary medical treatments, including intramuscular (IM) injection therapy. Research highlights the need for evidence-based interventions to mitigate this fear and improve patient experience.

Objective: This evidence-based pilot project included a Zen Bundle—an intervention incorporating shared decision-making, aromatherapy, and distraction—to evaluate the impact on stress reduction and patient satisfaction in a retail vitamin shop in North Texas.

Methods: The project utilized a pre-and post-intervention design over eight weeks. Participants completed pre-surveys assessing stress levels using a Visual Analog Scale before choosing an intervention (aromatherapy, distraction, or both) during IM …

A Comprehensive Exploration Of Stress And Depressive Symptoms In Farm Populations, Julie C. Derringer

Theses and Dissertations--Nursing

High rates of depression and suicide continue to be a concern, despite four decades of growing research into the mental health of farmers. Most farmers have an awareness of a need for improved mental health, but a lack of knowledge persists. As agricultural production demands increase and the number of family farms decreases, the stress placed upon farmers to support the food chain is higher than ever. Understanding the association between farm demands and resources among farmers is key for the development and implementation of programs to decrease occupational stress and depressive symptoms to improve mental health outcomes across farming …

Resilience And Its Effects On Psychological Well Being During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Taylor Reinsel

Honors Theses

Stressors and trauma in life are unavoidable. However, the way we respond and adapt to them can be within our control. This response differs from person to person, but there are factors that can influence the likelihood of an individual rebounding from a crisis, as well as factors that can put them at a higher risk of developing mental illness. One of the main factors that influences Psychological Well Being is the presence of Resilience.

The main goal of this study was to examine how factors of Resilience relate to Psychological Well Being and COVID-19 Well Being during the COVID-19 …