Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Relationships Among Stress, Blood Pressure, And Heart Rate Variability In Meditators, Sangthong Terathongkum

Theses and Dissertations

PROBLEM STATEMENT: Growing evidence indicates that psychological stress contributes to cardiovascular diseases through complex neuroendocrine mechanisms. Psychological stress leads to several physiological responses including increased heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) as well as decreased heart rate variability (HRV) through alterations in the autonomic nervous system (ANS), specifically increased sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity and decreased parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity. Meditation is thought to induce an innate relaxation response leading to reduced psychological stress. Findings from past studies have provided inconclusive evidence regarding the direction and strength of relationships among stress, BP, HRV, and meditation practice. PROCEDURES: A …

The Effects Of Footshock On The Reinforcing Efficacy Of Cocaine In Male Long-Evans Rats, Elizabeth S. Hendrick

Theses and Dissertations

Many links exist between cocaine abuse and stress. The literature and laboratory studies in rats suggest that this could be because stress increases the reinforcing efficacy of cocaine. Using male Long-Evans rats, experiments in this thesis tested effects of footshock on the reinforcing efficacy of cocaine using a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement. They also examined effects of footshock on the reinforcing efficacy of a half-maximal dose of cocaine. Finally, they tested the effects of footshock on cocaine self-administration in rats initially resistant to acquisition of cocaine self-administration. Footshock did not increase reinforcing efficacy of cocaine on a PR schedule …

Age At Sexual Assault And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder In Females Residents Of Virginia, Ahmed Gasmelseed Babiker

Theses and Dissertations

Background Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric debilitating condition that can occur in individuals who experience extremely stressful or traumatic life events. Sexual assault is considered as one of the most traumatic stressor in life. Although few studies investigated the association between history of sexual assault and PTSD, no studies have examined the impact of age at sexual assault on PTSD.Method A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted among adult female residents of Virginia from November 2002 to February 2003. A total of 1,769 women aged 18 and older were interviewed using a random digit dialing method. Detailed screening …

Promoting Total Wellness In The Health Education Curriculum: A Holistic Approach, Alicia Marie Mciver

All Graduate Projects

The benefits of exploring, understanding, and balancing the social, mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual dimensions in one's life were researched. The research suggests that providing students in health education classrooms with meaningful avenues to learn about these dimensions within themselves would lead to higher levels of wellness and an overall higher quality of life. A handbook for educators was created to supplement parts of the existing curriculum, as well as show readers that this type of supplemental health handbook can be created by anyone to be used with any type of health curriculum. This handbook contains three health units. Each …

A Longitudinal Study Examining The Stability Of Occupational Stressors Identified By Nursing Home Administrators, Gay Lynne Andrucci-Armstrong

Health Services Research Dissertations

As a result of the ever changing and expanding role of the nursing home administrator in conjunction with the stricter legislation governing nursing facilities over the past decade and the graying of America, a study specific to this population was warranted. The purpose of this study is to determine the relative change in the self-reported occupational stressors of nursing home administrators over a five year period (December 1994 to June 1999) secondary to the increased regulatory climate of the nursing home industry.

This study was carried out in three phases and included all practicing nursing home administrators in Virginia. Phase …

Anxiety, Depression, And Coping In The Elderly, Sara Fairchild-Ollivierre

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Stress Experienced By Respite Care Workers And Family Caregivers When Caring For Alzheimer's Patients, Monica D. Minewiser

Theses & Dissertations

Changing demographics and cost containment in health care in caring for the Alzheimer's Disease (AD) patient has given birth to a growing need for respite care workers. The purpose of the study was to determine whether the stress level of a respite care worker who works with an AD patient in a noninstitutionalized setting on a daily basis will be significantly less than that of a family caregiver when caring for an AD patient. The Revised Memory and Behavior Problem Checklist (RMBPC) was the instrument used to measure stress. This is a questionnaire consisting of 24 questions and allows 5 …

A Comparison Among Older And Younger Caregivers Of Physically Disabled Adults And Their Ability To Handle Stress, Traynette Jenkins-Reese

Theses

This study was designed to determine if there was a significant relationship in the level of caregiver burden and age. Participants consisted of thirty-three individuals who considered themselves to be the primary caregiver for a physically disabled or elderly family member. These thirty-three volunteer caregivers were drawn from those who had a disabled or frail family member receiving services from a local agency. The subjects were asked to complete Zarit's Caregiver Interview Questionnaire. The findings in the study did not produce significant levels to justify rejecting the null hypothesis or to show that there is a relationship between the caregiver's …

The Identification And Magnitude Estimation Of Stressors In A Selected Military Population At One Training Command, Susan W. Miller

Community & Environmental Health Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify the most stressful aspects of being a student at a military training command. ·Forty students listed the significant stressors that they encounter at the training command. This list was reviewed and consolidated into a stressor rating questionnaire with 16 stressors. A convenience sample of 86 students rated the stressors. In the second part of the study, the students rated the stressors on a scale of "0 to 1000". The study revealed that the most significant stressors for students were absence of family and friends, uncertainty about their future, dealing with instructor's attitudes, …

Occupational Stress Among Nurse Administrators In General Hospitals In Tennessee, Ruby T. Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of occupational stress among nurse administrators and to identify the types of strategies used by nurse administrators to deal with or manage occupational stress. The study examined the relationship between selected demographic variables, occupational stress, and strategies. The research design included five research questions along with seven null hypotheses testing the relationship between occupational stress and demographic variables--age, gender, marital status, years of professional nursing experience, years as a nurse administrator, educational attainment, and hospital bed capacity. There were seven additional hypotheses testing the relationship between the same demographic variables …

Coping Styles Of Nurse Practitioners And The Effectiveness Of These Styles In Managing Stress, Carol J. Kolarik Smith

MSN Research Projects

The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to identify the coping styles used by nurse practitioners and determine the effectiveness of these styles in managing stress. The Roy Adaptation Model for Nursing was the theoretical framework used for this study. The research question which guided the data collection was what are the coping styles of nurse practitioners and how effective are these styles in managing the stress relative to functioning in the expanded role of nurse practitioner? The sample of convenience consisted of 72 nurse practitioners from Mississippi (30) and Tennessee (42) who completed and returned the survey questionnaire. …

An Explanatory Study Of Maternal Stress And Coping With A Cystic Fibrosis Child, Leslie G. Potter

Nursing Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the concept of coping with a cystic fibrosis (CF) child and to define coping strategies from the perspective of the mother. The research design was based upon a phenomenological approach with analysis of transcribed, semi-structured interviews with mothers of CF children. A purposive sample of eight mothers with CF children were interviewed to explore the maternal CF experience. Each interview was tape recorded and followed up with a phone call to allow the mothers to add additional information, if so desired. Data analysis consisted of reviewing each typed, verbatim transcript to categorize …

Occupational And Life Stress In Nursing: Is There A Relationship?, Christopher Billam

Theses : Honours

A population of two hundred and twenty nurses involved in direct patient care in a regional hospital were surveyed to assess if a relationship exists between occupational and life stress. A cross sectional survey design was used. The questionnaire contained four distinct categories: demographic information, Nurses' Stress Scale, a Life Events Inventory and a social support scale. A return rate of 49.5% was obtained, and several completed questionnaires were rejected, leaving the data from 1.04 questionnaires to be analysed. The nurses in this population reported low scores tor both occupational and life stress. However, the instrument used to calculate the …

The Effects Of Stress Education On Stress Levels In Grade School Children, Lou Ann Hubbard

MSN Research Projects

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to evaluate the effects of stress management on stress levels in grade school children. The hypothesis to be tested was : There will be no significant difference in stress levels of grade school children following a stress education program. The setting included two third-grade classes in a small rural elementary school in North Alabama. There were 37 students in the study, 21 in the control group and 16 in the treatment group. Data were collected using the Teacher Questionnaire, to assess each student's stress level as perceived by the teacher, and the Everyday …

Development And Testing Of The Stress Adaptation Scale For Parents With Chronically Ill Children (Sasp), Carolyn M. Rutledge

Nursing Theses & Dissertations

This research study consisted of four phases used to develop and test the Stress Adaptation Scale for Parents with Chronically Ill Children (ASP). The first phase dealt with developing the items on the SASP from a review of the literature and the researcher's professional experience. The SASP was then divided into the six categories of health care, social, personal, familial, financial, and spiritual. In phase II, content validity was evaluated by a panel of experts. In phase III, stability over time and face validity was demonstrated using 26 parents of chronically ill children. The SASP achieved a Pearson's r=.85 with …

A Comparison Of Stress Levels And Body Weight In School-Age Children, Melissa Kent

MSN Research Projects

This descriptive study was designed to compare stress levels in school-age children according to weight category. The researcher hypothesized that when third-grade students’ scores on the Kent Stress Measurement Tool for children were compared according to weight category (underweight, appropriate weight, overweight), there would be no signifi­ cant difference. Sixty-four third-grade public school students participated in the study. Height and weight measurements were done, plotted on a growth percentile graph, and a weight category assigned. A researcher-designed question­ naire, the Kent Stress Management Tool for Children, was administered to the students. The one-way ANOVA was used to analyze the scores. …

The Development And Field Testing Of A Teaching Module On Stress Management For Use In The Secondary Home Economics Classroom, Joann Branson

MSN Research Projects

A developmental study was designed to address the problem of adolescent stress and the need to provide home economics teachers with an instructional approach for teaching stress management. The specific purpose of the study was to develop, field test, and evaluate a teaching module on stress management. Module evaluation by field test teachers and student pretest and posttest scores on a test of stress management knowledge were designated as criteria for effectiveness. The stress management module was designed as a written plan, organized around concepts, for use by a teacher in directing the learning process. The module included terminal performance …

The Effects Of Needle Play On Pre-School Children's Anxiety Concerning Injections, Michelle Anne Belyea

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of needle play in reducing pre-school children's anxiety concerning injections. The Pre-school Observational Scale of Anxiety was used to measure the degree of anxiety experienced by the children. The hypothesis stated that there would be a significant decrease in anxiety of pre-school children who participated in needle play as compared with the anxiety scores of pre-school children who did not participate in needle play.The sample consisted of 20 pre-school children who were receiving routine health care and injections for immunizations or PPDs (purified protein derivative) at a county health department …

Stress And Job Burnout Among Hospital Administrators In The Greater Saint Louis Area, Aminrussa Rehana Fareed

Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate stress and job burnout among hospital administrators in the greater St. Louis area. The General Hypothesis were formulated. Five ( 5) sub-hypothesis were tested. ( 1) One or more work component can be identified that lead to stress and burnout of Administrators ; ( 2) One or more health problems among Administrators are work related; (3) Individual Administrator's mood is dependent on an outcome of the work environment; (4) Stress and burnout affects the Administrators family and social life ; ( 5) Stress and burnout can be identified among Administrators regardless of …

Anxiety And Fear In Personality Structure, Robert Robert Mickelson

Graduate Student Research Papers

The problem to be studied is the effect of anxiety and fear on the personality. Concern with this problem stems from the fact that on many occasions anxiety and fear blocks a person's free approach to experience and often anxiety and fear prevent one from building sound interpersonal and intergroup relations.