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An Examination Of The Impact Of Police Chaplain Programs And Spirituality On Police Officers’ Mental Health, Samuel Protel Maxwell Jan 2023

An Examination Of The Impact Of Police Chaplain Programs And Spirituality On Police Officers’ Mental Health, Samuel Protel Maxwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Spirituality has been a fundamental aspect of treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in many officers. PTSD affects a high percentage of officers and many of whom live a highly stressful and traumatic life even outside of work. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the impact of police chaplain programs and spirituality on police officers' mental health. The research question asked how a police chaplain program and spirituality impacted police officers. This study's theoretical framework was Pargament's theory. Qualitative research with a narrative analysis design was chosen to collect data from semi-structured interviews. The 10 participants, including six …


Strategies To Increase Volunteer Retention In Protestant Churches, Anthony David Brown Jan 2023

Strategies To Increase Volunteer Retention In Protestant Churches, Anthony David Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Church leaders utilize volunteers as the primary human capital to accomplish organizational goals. However, volunteer retention is an ongoing global challenge for church leaders, and unless addressed, leaders will be hindered in achieving church goals. Grounded in the job embeddedness conceptual framework, the purpose of this qualitative, multiple-case study was to explore strategies some church leaders used to retain volunteers to accomplish organizational goals. Three leaders from different Protestant churches in the Southwest United States participated in the study. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, internal church documents, and publicly accessible information. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, and six …


Evaluating Church Hurt In The Black Church, Sheriyse Williams Jan 2023

Evaluating Church Hurt In The Black Church, Sheriyse Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Black Church has been a significant source of support for many African Americans and has served as a protective factor while meeting religious and spiritual needs. However, some studies have suggested that the Black Church can also be a source of trauma, betrayal, and abuse for some African Americans. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects between emotional manipulation, gender discrimination, spiritual bullying, and spiritual neglect on outcomes associated with church hurt and understand occurrences of church hurt using betrayal trauma theory. A nonexperimental, quantitative, correlational research design was used evaluate data from 155 African …


Education Program To Increase Nurses' Knowledge Of Faith Community Nursing, Lovell Thurmon Sweeten Cartwright Jan 2023

Education Program To Increase Nurses' Knowledge Of Faith Community Nursing, Lovell Thurmon Sweeten Cartwright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe practice problem was a group of nurses practicing as faith community nurses (FCNs) who had no training in FCN practice, a specialty recognized by the American Nurses Association. This problem was important to address within the context of nursing practice because the nurses could have acted outside of their scope of practice and caused harm. The practice-focused question addressed whether a staff education program for FCNs would increase their knowledge of their role in a church setting with the goal of developing independent FCNs. The model guiding the project was the health promotion model. Eleven registered nurses were recruited …


Education Program To Increase Nurses' Knowledge Of Faith Community Nursing, Lovell Thurmon Sweeten Cartwright Jan 2023

Education Program To Increase Nurses' Knowledge Of Faith Community Nursing, Lovell Thurmon Sweeten Cartwright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe practice problem was a group of nurses practicing as faith community nurses (FCNs) who had no training in FCN practice, a specialty recognized by the American Nurses Association. This problem was important to address within the context of nursing practice because the nurses could have acted outside of their scope of practice and caused harm. The practice-focused question addressed whether a staff education program for FCNs would increase their knowledge of their role in a church setting with the goal of developing independent FCNs. The model guiding the project was the health promotion model. Eleven registered nurses were recruited …


Preincarceration Collaborative Religious Coping Strategies Of Black Males With A History Of A Criminal Offense, Pearlette E. Springer Jan 2023

Preincarceration Collaborative Religious Coping Strategies Of Black Males With A History Of A Criminal Offense, Pearlette E. Springer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African Americans are 56% of the incarcerated population in the United States. Black males spend an average of 13.4% of their working lives incarcerated and 82.6% of their working lives addressing the stigma and restrictions associated with incarceration. The purpose of this study was to address a gap in research by exploring the preincarceration collaborative religious coping strategy experiences of Black males with a history of criminal offenses. Pargament’s theory of collaborative religious coping strategy guided the research, interview questions, and data analysis. The qualitative narrative approach with purposeful and snowball sampling was used to recruit and collect data from …


Religiosity, Daily Rosary, And Well-Being Of Catholics In College During The Pandemic, Michael Raul Rios Jan 2023

Religiosity, Daily Rosary, And Well-Being Of Catholics In College During The Pandemic, Michael Raul Rios

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Before and since the Coronavirus pandemic, college students suffered from increasing rates of mental health conditions affecting their well-being. Researchers have requested more studies on prayer as a strategy to address well-being issues. The purpose of this anonymous online survey study (N = 59) was to discover if there were any associations between religiosity and well-being, daily Rosary frequency and well-being, and if daily Rosary frequency mediated an association between religiosity and well-being of Catholic students in college in the United States during the pandemic in 2021. Participants were recruited via social media, listservs, email, one nationwide organization, the Walden …


Leadership Strategies For Sustaining Membership In Southern Baptist Churches, George L. Blount Jr. Jan 2023

Leadership Strategies For Sustaining Membership In Southern Baptist Churches, George L. Blount Jr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Church membership is declining, and the number of Americans identifying as having no religious affiliation is increasing. Church members can provide for a community’s spiritual and financial needs and promote the growth of evangelical believers and biblical stewardship. However, some pastors, ministerial staff, and ministry leaders lack effective leadership strategies to sustain membership. Grounded in transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore leadership strategies Southern Baptist church leaders from three churches in Pennsylvania use to sustain membership. Participants were three church leaders who sustained church membership for 3 years or longer. Data were …


An Examination Of The Impact Of Police Chaplain Programs And Spirituality On Police Officers’ Mental Health, Samuel Protel Maxwell Jan 2023

An Examination Of The Impact Of Police Chaplain Programs And Spirituality On Police Officers’ Mental Health, Samuel Protel Maxwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Spirituality has been a fundamental aspect of treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in many officers. PTSD affects a high percentage of officers and many of whom live a highly stressful and traumatic life even outside of work. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the impact of police chaplain programs and spirituality on police officers' mental health. The research question asked how a police chaplain program and spirituality impacted police officers. This study's theoretical framework was Pargament's theory. Qualitative research with a narrative analysis design was chosen to collect data from semi-structured interviews. The 10 participants, including six …


Mental Health Counselors’ Use Of Complementary And Alternative Approaches For Treating Individuals With Anxiety Disorders, Jane Rose Simmons Jan 2022

Mental Health Counselors’ Use Of Complementary And Alternative Approaches For Treating Individuals With Anxiety Disorders, Jane Rose Simmons

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Anxiety disorders are one of the most prevalent mental health disorders worldwide. Traditional counseling approaches do not address the evolving needs of individuals with anxiety disorders, and information is scarce regarding counselors’ use of complementary and alternative approaches in treating anxiety disorders. The purpose of this quantitative survey study was to investigate whether counselors’ knowledge, perceptions, intentional practices, and openness predicted their use of complementary and alternative approaches in counseling individuals with anxiety disorders. The integrative mental health model for the conceptual framework guided this study. The research questions examined how five variables—spirituality, specialization, types of anxiety disorders treated, training, …


Black Women, Mental Health Treatment, And Spiritual Healing: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Grace M. Abraham Lewis Jan 2022

Black Women, Mental Health Treatment, And Spiritual Healing: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Grace M. Abraham Lewis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Counselor educators are ill-equipped to train counselors to prepare to meet the needs of Black Christian Pentecostal Women (BCPW) because there is a lack of information on this population. To increase cultural competency, counselors need to be more aware of the experiences of this population. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of BCPW who sought community mental health counseling concurrent with deliverance practices through the church. Using Edmund Husserl’s transcendental phenomenological approach as the conceptual framework, semi-structured interviews via zoom were conducted with 4 BCPW who were active members of the Christ Throne International Ministries …


Nonreligious Explanations Of Boko Haram’S Resilience In Nigeria, Jimmy Imo Jan 2022

Nonreligious Explanations Of Boko Haram’S Resilience In Nigeria, Jimmy Imo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over the past decade, Boko Haram has become one of the world’s deadliest terror organizations. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore nonreligious explanations for the problem of resilience of Boko Haram in Nigeria. Rational choice theory provided the primary framework for the study. Data were collected through in-person and telephone interviews with 14 religious and government subject matter experts. Other sources of data included media publications, documents, audio-visual materials, and the internet. Data were inductively coded and subjected to thematic analysis. Findings showed that instead of religious ideology, Boko Haram’s resilience was due to poor policy …


Gender Inequality: An Examination Of The Islamic Religious Affiliation And Female Infant Mortality Rates Among Muslim Wives In Nigeria, Jodie Denise Sanders Jan 2022

Gender Inequality: An Examination Of The Islamic Religious Affiliation And Female Infant Mortality Rates Among Muslim Wives In Nigeria, Jodie Denise Sanders

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Muslim-majority countries of low socioeconomic status have higher rates of poor health and infant mortality. Among the six regions of Nigeria, Islamic religious affiliation is more common in the country’s Northern region. Gender inequality is one of the most critical issues in the Muslim community. Female children are more likely to die because of gender inequality. Previous research has been conducted on gender inequalities and religion; however, researchers have not determined if a relationship exists between Islamic religious affiliation and female infant mortality rates among Muslim wives across the six regions of Nigeria. This study used a quantitative correlational research …


Influence Of Spirituality On University Students’ Emotional Intelligence, Perceived Stress, And Life Quality, Janette Cooke Jan 2022

Influence Of Spirituality On University Students’ Emotional Intelligence, Perceived Stress, And Life Quality, Janette Cooke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractFirst-year university students are at risk for mental and physical health ailments due to maladaptive stress coping mechanisms. A gap in research remains as to whether there are health benefits for minority religious groups or students who have a spiritual (nonreligious) belief system. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between student spirituality and the level of emotional intelligence (EI), perceived stress (PS), and life quality (LQ), as moderated by different campus types (secular or religious). The theory of spirituality and the theory of individual psychology were used as frameworks to explain the psychological, emotional, and physical …


Risk Or Contra-Political Correctness With Distrust Towards Muslims In The U.S. Military, Benedict Uzoma Iheanacho Jan 2022

Risk Or Contra-Political Correctness With Distrust Towards Muslims In The U.S. Military, Benedict Uzoma Iheanacho

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Muslims are viewed by many in the United States with great anxiety and distrust. This mistrust encompasses Muslims in the U.S. military, especially since 9/11. The trust deficit has implications to U.S. security and military readiness in a global threat environment. Whereas the notion of Islamophobia has generated significant literature in modern public policy, there is a dearth of research on public perception towards Muslims serving in the U.S. military. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and perspectives of non-Muslim U.S. military personnel on the mistrust towards Muslim military personnel in the post-9/11 era. Theories of …


Ambivalence Over Emotion Expression And The Effects Of Religious Coping In African American Christians, Anya Loraine Dobbs Jan 2021

Ambivalence Over Emotion Expression And The Effects Of Religious Coping In African American Christians, Anya Loraine Dobbs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African Americans are 10% more likely than non-Hispanic Whites to report having serious mental health issues from psychological stressors. Mental health concerns, such as depression and anxiety, that arise from psychological stressors, are more than likely to go untreated in African Americans. African Americans are more likely to turn to religion- their church, their pastors, and fellow parishioners to address these concerns. Religion and religious coping has influenced African Americans’ attitudes regarding help-seeking and mental health treatment, with the “Black Church” historically being a source of many things, including mental health care. Pargament’s theory of religious coping served as a …


The Black Church: Using Social Capital To Reach The Unchurched And Community, Teresa Johnson Jan 2021

The Black Church: Using Social Capital To Reach The Unchurched And Community, Teresa Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractPrevious studies on the Black Church have focused on its history as an institutional hub, its ability to generate social capital, the decline in its membership, as well as the connection between attendance and associational life. However, it is unknown how the Black Church is using its social capital to re-engage inactive members and remain connected to the community. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how Black Churches in West Palm Beach, Florida are using their social capital to re-engage unchurched members, as well as engage their community. Robert Putnam’s social capital theory was used to …


The Doctrinal Basis Of Islamic Utterances Associated With Domestic Assaults, William Andrew Arthur Gawthrop Jan 2021

The Doctrinal Basis Of Islamic Utterances Associated With Domestic Assaults, William Andrew Arthur Gawthrop

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractBetween March 1977, and February 2020, there have been 78 instances of ideologically motivated murders and attempted murders in the United States. These instances were characterized as individual-based attacks against other individuals and treated as local crime. However, in each instance, there were indications of Islamic religious overtones characterized by Islamic religious utterances made by the attackers. The overall problem addressed in this study was the lack of research on the utterances associated with religiously based autonomous self-actualization resulting in homicides and assaults: jihad applied as street crime. The key research questions are: What are the utterances associated with Islamic-based …


Effective Decision-Making Strategies That Support Long-Term Sustainability In Nondenominational Churches, Andre Paul Davis Jr. Jan 2021

Effective Decision-Making Strategies That Support Long-Term Sustainability In Nondenominational Churches, Andre Paul Davis Jr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective financial decision-making has frequently led to nondenominational church failures and contributes to 4,000 to 8,000 churches closing each year in North America. Grounded in stewardship theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore effective financial decision-making strategies in nondenominational churches that support long term sustainability. Participants were 10 church leaders who successfully used financial decision-making strategies to support long-term sustainability in Central North Carolina was used for this study. Data were collected from semi structured interviews and internal church documents relating to church leadership's financial decision-making and analyzed using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: budgeting …


Qualitative Exploration Of Catholic Church Leaders’ Perspectives Regarding Counseling Parishioners With Anxiety, Amy Lynn Polster Jan 2021

Qualitative Exploration Of Catholic Church Leaders’ Perspectives Regarding Counseling Parishioners With Anxiety, Amy Lynn Polster

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is little research addressing the mental health literacy of Roman Catholic clergy in their job as spiritual counselors for parishioners with anxiety. Devout individuals struggling with fear- or worry-driven anxiety often call on divine assistance for help as a frontline defense. Anxiety is a leading mental health problem, disturbing about 40 million U.S. adults aged 18 to 54 years. This study explored the mental health literacy perceptions of six Catholic clergy leaders and their awareness of fear- or worry-based anxiety, drawing upon the concept of the triune brain and using evolutionary threat assessment systems theory as a theoretical foundation. …


The Experience Of Recovery From Childhood Sexual Abuse Among Black Men, Zeneth Myrie Jan 2021

The Experience Of Recovery From Childhood Sexual Abuse Among Black Men, Zeneth Myrie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) can result in consequences that are devastating and long lasting. Differences in the nature of CSA for males and females potentially influence recovery and the role of moderating factors, such as spirituality. Studies of recovery from CSA, especially men's experiences of recovery, are relatively few indicating that this is an under researched area. This lack of studies is particularly evident for ethnic minority groups. While addressing the gap in the literature, the purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of recovery from CSA among African, Caribbean, Black identified male survivors of CSA living …


Ambivalence Over Emotion Expression And The Effects Of Religious Coping In African American Christians, Anya Loraine Dobbs Jan 2021

Ambivalence Over Emotion Expression And The Effects Of Religious Coping In African American Christians, Anya Loraine Dobbs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African Americans are 10% more likely than non-Hispanic Whites to report having serious mental health issues from psychological stressors. Mental health concerns, such as depression and anxiety, that arise from psychological stressors, are more than likely to go untreated in African Americans. African Americans are more likely to turn to religion- their church, their pastors, and fellow parishioners to address these concerns. Religion and religious coping has influenced African Americans’ attitudes regarding help-seeking and mental health treatment, with the “Black Church” historically being a source of many things, including mental health care. Pargament’s theory of religious coping served as a …


Workplace Spirituality Among University Administrative Employees In Southeastern Georgia, Leo W. Riley Jr Jan 2021

Workplace Spirituality Among University Administrative Employees In Southeastern Georgia, Leo W. Riley Jr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractWork engagement in the United States is reportedly below 30%, and a 4.6% decline in employee tenure with worker devaluation concerns university management in higher education. The specific management problem was university management’s lack of university worker’s knowledge concerning workplace spirituality’s influence on the lived experiences of university administrative employees who were unsatisfied, depersonalized, and devalued at a university located in Southeastern Georgia. The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to identify and report the lived experiences of university administrative employees regarding workplace spirituality. The reciprocity theory was the conceptional framework in this study. The study research question …


Faith Leaders’ Perceived Role In Mental Health Promotion In Impoverished Communities, Kelly L. Cornish Jan 2021

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 …


Attitudes Toward The Electability Of Atheist And Nontraditional Religious Candidates, Brittany Escobedo Jan 2021

Attitudes Toward The Electability Of Atheist And Nontraditional Religious Candidates, Brittany Escobedo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Atheists are underrepresented in political office compared to their numbers in the general population. In the United States, anti-atheist prejudice is prevalent, likely contributing to the disparity in atheist representation. Informed by social identity theory and the sociofunctional approach to prejudice, the purpose of this study was to examine the comparative electability of atheists compared to other minority religious identities, as well as one nonminority option for a baseline reference of attitudes. Using the voter likelihood scale and three 7-point semantic differential scales, 579 participants rated their intention to vote for and their feelings of trust, disgust, and fear toward …


Relationship Between Religious Beliefs And Systems, Educational Levels, And Victim Blaming, Frances Runyon Jan 2021

Relationship Between Religious Beliefs And Systems, Educational Levels, And Victim Blaming, Frances Runyon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sexual assault and victim blaming are a severe problem. Being sexually assaulted increases the risk of physical and mental health issues for the victims. When the victims are blamed for being sexually assaulted, their physical and mental health issues increase substantially. Many victims do not seek help or support services because of the fear of being blamed. People believe in a just world, and blame the victims because it is more difficult to accept that bad things happen to good people. When people admit that bad things can happen to good people, they acknowledge that these things can happen to …


Spirituality In Treatment For Domestic Violence Victims, Sylvia A. Holley Jan 2021

Spirituality In Treatment For Domestic Violence Victims, Sylvia A. Holley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract Domestic violence continues to be a health problem that affects women’s rights, physical health, and well-being. The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the barriers and challenges that counselors are faced with in addressing spirituality as an aspect in treatment for domestic violence victims. Current literature addresses how or whether the integration of aspects of spirituality into a support group has been a source of strength and resilience for positive healing. The problem is that the lack of training or the appropriateness to integrating aspects of spirituality has hindered the counseling profession from addressing spirituality with their …


Workplace Spirituality: A Study Of Human Resource Practices Promoting Employee Engagement, Terri Denise James Jan 2021

Workplace Spirituality: A Study Of Human Resource Practices Promoting Employee Engagement, Terri Denise James

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Workplace spirituality is a growing phenomenon, yet a research problem exists because many organizational leaders do not fully understand how workplace spirituality can be used to improve employee engagement, and no clear workplace guidelines exist for U.S. human resource (HR) professionals to follow. The study’s purpose was to examine how HR practices can support workplace spirituality and improve employee engagement. The research question focused on how HR professionals practice servant leadership to support employees’ internal and external workplace spirituality needs and promote employee engagement. A snowball sampling approach was used to select participants who are HR professionals with 5 years …


Nonprofit Church Leaders’ Perceptions And Lived Experiences Involving Innovation Competency And Change Management: A Phenomenological Study, Charity R. Addai-Duah, Stephanie N. Hoon, Salvatore J. Sinatra Jun 2020

Nonprofit Church Leaders’ Perceptions And Lived Experiences Involving Innovation Competency And Change Management: A Phenomenological Study, Charity R. Addai-Duah, Stephanie N. Hoon, Salvatore J. Sinatra

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Innovation competency among religious leaders has been an area of study as nonprofit researchers continue to discover that conventional ways of managing change are no longer effective when tackling present issues. Discussions regarding using innovation competency to manage change among religious leaders are vague, despite benefits to the nonprofit sector. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of nonprofit church leaders to better understand how innovation competency has shaped organizational change results. Boyatzis’ effective job performance model was the conceptual framework that guided this study. Interview data were gathered from 14 participants who met …


Supervisor Experiences Mentoring Therapists-In-Training On Issues Related To Religion/Spirituality Among Lgbt Clients, Stephanie Kolhei Jan 2020

Supervisor Experiences Mentoring Therapists-In-Training On Issues Related To Religion/Spirituality Among Lgbt Clients, Stephanie Kolhei

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There are known issues related to religion and spirituality (R/S) among the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) population, such as identity struggles, religious abuse, and internalized homonegativity. Many therapists are uncomfortable incorporating R/S into therapy, with poor training and supervision identified as a possible rationale. The purpose of this study was to explore supervisors’ experiences mentoring therapists-in-training on issues related to R/S among LGBT clients as well as supervisors’ level of preparation to mentor this area. The integrated affirmative supervision model (IAS) and multiple dimensions of cultural competence (MDCC) conceptual frameworks drove the development of this study. A generic …