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Communication In Adult Children Of Alcoholics: The Problem, The Result, And The Solution, Audrey Barth

Communication & Media Studies | Senior Theses

In the United States alone, 25% of children live with an alcoholic parent (Haverfield et al., 2016). While there is extensive research on the psychological impacts of growing up with an alcoholic parent, research focused on communication is slim. This paper seeks to examine the communication characteristics in adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) in three ways: (1) to determine how communication dynamics in alcoholic families are detrimental, (2) to determine the implications of these dynamics in adulthood, and (3) to determine how communication can be implemented as a solution for ACOAs. Several interviews were conducted on ACOAs based on those …

The Role Of Music In The Trauma Narrative And “Storytelling”: Perspectives Of Clinicians, Taylorlyn N. Mehnert

Masters Theses

There is a lack of detailed literature describing how music is used for expressing and processing the trauma narrative. This study used a constructivist grounded theory approach through an anti-oppressive lens to explore the ways in which music therapists use music in exploring clients’ stories. The term “story” is used as opposed to “narrative” or “memory” to incorporate a broader definition of expression including non-verbal, musical, metaphorical, or any other method the client chooses. Eight board-certified music therapists (MT-BC) were interviewed regarding their use of music in the context of clients’ stories. Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis was used …

The Lived Experiences Of African American Counselors: An Exploration Of Their Reactions To Trauma Survivors, Zanovia P. Tucker

Dissertations

Nearly 83% of Americans are exposed to a traumatic event (Benjet et al., 2016). Given this, every counselor will more than likely work with trauma survivors (Trippany et al., 2004). Because of the high percentage of exposure to trauma, mental health professions who service individuals who experience trauma are at risk for secondary trauma (Ivicic & Motta, 2016), vicarious traumatization (Culver et al., 2011), and shared trauma (Hope & Edward, 2013). African American counselors have not been recognized in the counseling literature; thus their work with trauma survivors and their training experiences remain relatively unknown. Most of the research pertaining …

Unifying Is Medicine: Providing Holistic Treatments For Substance Use And Truama, Dulce Virginia Leguizamo, Erika Zemmol

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The focus of this qualitative, exploratory research project will be holistic treatments for clients with trauma and substance use. The researchers hypothesize that some of the most effective treatments incorporate the five virtues of compassion, cultural sensitivity, community, competency, and client-centeredness. Another important element which these researchers have identified is honoring the mind-body-spirit connection in helping clients heal from trauma and substance use. These researchers conceptualize an effective treatment for clients with trauma and substance use as what we call The Medicine of Unifying. Incorporating the five virtues, we hypothesize that The Medicine of Unifying can be achieved by uniting …

Adverse Childhood Experiences And Adult Substance Use, Mariah Garcia, Melissa Berry

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study sets out to contribute to the already existing data on ACEs as well as substance use in adulthood. In this quantitative descriptive study, the researchers addressed the relationship of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adult substance use. Psychological, physical, and cognitive health issues may occur in adulthood due to ACEs (Shin et al., 2017). Being exposed to one or more ACE during childhood can cause poor coping skills and result in adult substance use (Shin et al., 2017). Bringing greater attention to the prevalence of ACEs can help social workers create more sensitive assessments, screening tools, and treatment …

Secondary Trauma And/Or Potential Impacts Related To Military Family Members, Andressa Young

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Military members who have experienced combat deployments are at a greater risk for mental health issues. This can often affect the families who are placed in the role of being a buffer for these returning military members. Furthermore, the prevalence of mental health issues within the military community being at an all-time high has created a parallel prevalence for the family members who are impacted by these military members dealing with mental health issues. This research project examined data and information that was collected both from individual military family members and from persons who directly provide supportive services to military …

An Unbearable Illumination Of Truth, Shanna Glawson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An Unbearable Illumination of Truth is a series of sculptures created to explore the connection between trauma and healing. The sculptural exhibition addresses economic, occupational, childhood, sexual, and gender-based trauma. These sculptures incorporate familiar motifs and visual metaphors to express narratives of varying types of traumas. A broad range of sculptural materials (such as wood, fabric, and found objects) and methods are used to create these symbolic, objective forms. The juxtaposition of shelters with other forms and materials visually enacts the themes of vulnerability and intrigue that characterizes traumatic incidents. Shelters are referenced throughout this entire body of work as …

The Experience Of Trauma And Psychological And Behavioral Problems In Adult Children Of Alcoholics, Yulissa Acosta

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

One in five adult Americans grew up with an alcoholic in their household whether it may be their father, mother, relative, or guardian. There are substantial risk factors associated with living with an alcoholic and being a child of an alcoholic. The trauma experienced by adult children of alcoholics (ACOA) and their development of psychological and behavioral problems were investigated in this research study. Individuals who were 18 years and older and has at least one parent or guardian that was an alcoholic were interviewed regarding their childhood life of growing up in an alcoholic household and what barriers or …

Professional Quality Of Life Of Mental Health Practitioners Doing Trauma Work, Ashley Larios, Ana Campos Chagolla

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

A practitioner’s reaction to client trauma can have both positive and negative impacts on the individual’s professional quality of life as well as the quality of services provided to the client. Professional quality of life embodies a practitioner’s compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, burnout, and vicarious trauma. While past research has focused on factors that negatively impact professional quality of life, the proposed research aimed to explore what individual and agency factors help to positively increase professional quality of life. The study utilized a mixed methods approach, which included the participants scores on the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) as …

Symptoms Of Trauma Related To The Covid-19 Pandemic In Educators And Students, Leanne S. Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

In the United States, a nationwide shutdown began in mid-March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the shutdown began, many people faced financial insecurity, health insecurity, and food insecurity. When the shutdown began, most schools broke for spring break and did not reconvene for the remainder of the school year. This created huge gaps in necessary services and resources for students and families including academics, mental health services, social supports, food resources, and connection to the community. This study explores trauma and stress symptoms educators and students have experienced in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study …

The Experiences Of Staff Working With Immigrant Students Who Have Experienced Trauma, Paula Hernandez, Jessica Mccaffrey, Gabby Poulin

Thinking Matters Symposium

There is ample research about immigrant students’ experiences in the school system (Womach, 2020), as well as the impact of trauma on learning (Gerrish, 2020), however there is limited research that reports on the experiences of school staff and what their needs are in order to best support immigrant students. The present study utilizes qualitative research methods to explore the experiences of school staff who engage with immigrant students who have experienced trauma. Researchers recruited public school employees from Lewiston and Portland school districts in Maine for participation in the study. The roles of the employees included teachers, social workers, …

Integrating The Concept Of Trauma Into An Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum, Jacey Walker

DNP Projects

Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are early childhood traumas such as abuse, neglect or household dysfunction that can cause chronic physical and mental health problems across the lifespan. Approximately 61% of the adults in the United States have experienced ACEs. The prevalence of ACEs among nurses is at least comparable to population prevalence, and rates may be higher in subpopulations of individuals who work in helping professions. The stressful and highly interpersonal nature of nursing work may exacerbate and compound the health impacts of a nurse’s underlying ACEs, affecting not only the nurse’s health, but also his or her work …

Adverse Childhood Experiences And Creating A Culture Of Support In The Classroom, Keisha Trimble

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events that occur from infancy through teenage years. Research shows that students who have been exposed to one ACE have a greater chance of experiencing more traumatic events in their lifetime. Students with ACEs are at a greater percentage to struggle with behaviors, academics, health concerns, and poor school attendance. Schools are researching and training teachers to implement interventions to support children exposed to trauma. Teachers who are purposeful with their classroom environment to support students’ needs and create a safe classroom environment for students exposed to ACEs.

Bridging The Gap: A Closer Look At Educational Inequities And Strategies To Support African American Students, Terry Daily-Davis, Lachrisa Crenshaw, Gina M. Jenkins

Dissertations

This autoethnography shares our personal experiences, narratives, and counter-stories as we view the social justice issues of inequities in the education of African American students. Through our journey, we highlighted our personal views and real scenarios as seen through the eyes of a reading specialist, social worker, and college-level administrator. Critical Race Theory in Education (CRT) served as our primary guiding force allowing us to focus on the following tenets: counter-stories, permanence of racism, whiteness as property, interest convergence, and critique of liberalism (Dixson, Anderson & Donnor, 2017). Critical Race Theory (CRT) is the framework in Social Sciences that examines …

Connection, Involvement, And Modeling: Co-Constructing A Story Of Resilience Despite Early Parental Loss, Erin E. Silcox

The Qualitative Report

The use of oral history and narrative inquiry to investigate factors of resilience in the face of parental death is absent from the literature. Also, researchers have not linked factors that support resilience against trauma and that lead to positive change in residential treatment with the role of educators. In this study, my father-in-law, Norman, and I answered the research question: What factors in Norman’s adolescent life supported his resilience in the face of an early parental loss? I analyzed Norman’s oral history using narrative analysis methods. Findings include factors that led to Norman’s resilience including his connection to a …

Communication And Self-Care In Times Of Stress, Elizabeth Marston, Sam Marion

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

The global pandemic of Covid-19 placed protecting physical health at the forefront of all of our minds. However, the mental and emotional impact of stress, quarantine, social distance, political and social turmoil, and virtual learning is enormous. This presentation will outline strategies for effectively managing stress while also understanding how to effectively communicate with students and parents who are struggling.

Understanding The Traumatized Brain, Sam Marion, Elizabeth Marston

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Students who have experienced trauma are often in need of behavioral intervention due to challenging behaviors and reactivity. Understanding the body’s threat response system gives insight into these behaviors and allows for empathy within the interventions. This presentation will outline basic neuroscience theories, propose interventions focused on self-regulation, and demonstrate how adding basic elements to existing interventions can increase efficacy.

The Importance Of Bearing Witness To Our Shared Trauma, Zara Cachepas

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Trauma And Intersectionality In Trauma Informed Ministry, Caitlin Simpson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Seminary students have reported feeling underprepared to work with traumatized individuals in pastoral care (Logan, 2017; Resane, 2014). Statistics reported that 82% of pastoral care recipients had a trauma history (Foreman, 2018). Understanding trauma (Herman, 1992) and intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989) were used to consider the varying impacts each can have on an individual. Scholar Fredericks Streets (2015) used the social services understanding of theology and trauma (Beh, 2012; Weems, 1988) trauma informed ministry (Wolf, et al., 2013) to develop trauma informed ministry. This qualitative study using constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz, 2013) explored the experiences of nine participants in learning about …

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

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 …

Correlates Of Depression Among Black Girls Exposed To Violence, Dexter R. Voisin

Faculty Scholarship

Depression rates for youth remanded to juvenile detention is double that of the general population and Black girls are especially vulnerable. A dearth of literature analyzes the factors that are correlated with depression among system-involved Black girls, ages 12–17 years old. We utilized personal agency to examine the relationship between risk factors (i.e., abuse history, and fear of condom negotiation) and protective factors (i.e., condom self-efficacy, and perceived social support) that might correlate with depression among Black girls exposed to violence. Findings indicate that fear of condom negotiation, abuse history and low condom self-efficacy are correlated with depressive symptomology while …

Balance And Bloom: Encouraging Self-Regulation And Resilience Through Yoga And Mindfulness, Kayla Previti

OT Student Capstones

The experiences an individual has throughout their childhood sets the foundation for their overall life trajectory. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) leave a lifelong impact on a person's mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health. It is estimated that the impact of ACES on an individual leads to an economic burden of $830,928 in terms of such services as law enforcement, child welfare, medical treatment, hospitalization, and loss of productivity and wages (Fang, Brown, Florence, & Mercy, 2012; Peterson, Florence, & Klevens, 2018). Occupational therapists and other health professionals have the ability to develop programs that fill the gaps in preventing and …

The Resulting Mental Health Pandemic From Covid-19: Research And Resources For Social Workers, Ami Lynch

Social Work Student Works

The COVID-19 pandemic will have long-lasting mental health impacts on hundreds of millions more worldwide than the contagion itself. Social workers are seeing increases in depression, anxiety, suicidality, and post-traumatic stress disorder and other negative mental health impacts. Because of this, social workers in all environments and modalities of practice need to be well-trained, agile, and energized while facing the pandemic themselves. This report compiles the impacts and concerns for a variety of social workers and their clients into a single, digestible source, supplemented by the “COVID-19 Resource Compendium for Social Workers and Their Clients”. Social workers must practice self-care, …

Comparison Of Forensic Interview Techniques, Avery Stackle, Naomi Wright, Anne Deprince

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Experts question whether the techniques used to interview crime victims and witnesses during investigations are optimized to gather the most accurate information while minimizing the potential for negative experiences for the interviewee. In response, this study used a randomized-control design to compare a novel trauma-informed interview created for this study against an established interview, the Enhanced Cognitive Interview (ECI). Participants (N = 45) were recruited from a university human subjects pool. Participants watched a video depicting a robbery, responded to surveys during a 30-minute delay, and were randomized to answer questions about the video in the trauma-informed (n = 21) …

Preventing Secondary Traumatic Stress In Social Workers: How To Protect Helping Professionals, Carmen M. Ortega

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Social workers are often asked to put the needs of others above their own. This, coupled with a propensity for social workers to engage with clients’ trauma, can lead to secondary traumatic stress (STS) disorder. This thesis explores how to better support social workers at individual, environmental, and organizational levels to predict and prevent STS. Based on a review of the literature, recommendations are made to improve social work policy, practice, and research. This analysis suggests that combatting STS must begin with social work students and continue through an individual’s career. Further research is required to inform the implementation of …

Compassionate Care: Working With Students With Aces, Leah Massey Huttlinger, Andrea Gardner Nordberg

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

This Professional Learning Module (PLM) was created for educators to learn more about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the negative impact trauma has on student learning. Participants in the PLM will learn about ACEs, the brain science related to trauma, behaviors associated with ACEs in the classroom, strategies to help mitigate the impact of ACEs in the classroom. Participants will have the opportunity to apply these strategies to real-life situations within the PLM. The PLM was meant to be completed independently, in small groups, or as whole-group faculty training. The option to submit a certificate for CEUs is provided upon …

Trauma Informed Leadership: Leading Through The Chaos, Christina Ruegamer, Joan T. Dorsey, Laine Smith, Megan G. Robertson

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

The purpose of this professional learning module is to create and promote trauma-informed leadership. Throughout the module, leaders will also learn about the six trauma-informed principles on establishing a trauma-informed site. The design of this professional learning module is to prepare leaders in addressing situations involving trauma at their site. This module can be used individually for leadership training and/or professional development. It should take one to two hours to complete. Once the training is completed, an assessment will be given. Upon successful completion of the assessment with a score of 80% or higher, a certificate will be provided via …

The Effects Of And Interventions For Trauma On Child And Adolescent Development, Jenna Clark

Senior Honors Theses

Trauma is generally defined as an event that causes a lasting impact on an individual, ranging from a natural disaster or medical trauma to abuse. Traumatic events greatly impact development, especially when experienced during childhood and adolescence. These first eighteen years of a child’s life can be divided into three main stages using Erikson’s psychosocial theory and Piaget’s cognitive development theory as these theories provide comprehensive insight into the development of a child. Because of the differences in traumatic experiences and the age of the child, the effects and manifestations of a trauma’s influence will vary between these three different …

The Lived Posttraumatic Growth Experience Of Intimate Partner Violence Counselors, Susan Purnell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The goal of this research was to explore lived experiences of posttraumatic growth (PTG) in intimate partner violence (IPV) counselors. An improved understanding of secondary trauma risk mitigation may protect the well-being of counselors, which in turn may protect clients, benefitting the profession of counseling as well as counselor education. The purpose of this qualitative interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was to explore the lived PTG experience of counselors who work with survivors of IPV. The theoretical and conceptual frameworks for this study were the PTG model and phenomenology. Semi structured interviews were conducted with eight licensed professional counselors having at …

Co-Constructing Stigma: Treating Trauma In Adolescence, Isabelle Sanderson

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Public stigma and self-stigma are major factors that impede the seeking of mental health treatment as well as the development of an effective therapeutic alliance. This paper explores the co-creation of stigma dynamics from an intersubjective systems theory lens suggesting these dynamics may play a role for adolescent clients who have experienced significant trauma. Specifically, the potential overlooking and/or misdiagnosis of trauma-related experiences and symptoms often occurring with adolescents diagnosed with ADHD may be contributing to a co-constructed dynamic between the therapist and client to avoid an exploration of trauma that would be experienced as more stigmatizing, more threatening, and …