Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Crossing Schools, Language, And Migration Borders: The Experiences Of Latinx And Caribbean Emergent Multilingual Mothers In K-12 Public Schools, Michelle Angelo-Rocha

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anti-immigrant sentiment and "English-only" ideologies have a significant impact on educational policies, practices, and processes. This includes parental engagement, the quality of education and life opportunities offered to immigrant children, and families’ well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine how Latinx and Caribbean mothers in Florida with various immigration statuses (i.e., undocumented, asylum seekers, refugees, international students, and mixed-status) and often with limited financial resources attempt to steward their children through the U.S. educational system. The research question was: How did emergent multilingual immigrant mothers experience the K-12 education system in Florida? The sub-question was: How did schools …

The Social Anxiety Stigma Scale (Sass): Development, Factor Structure, And Validation, Ruba Rum

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary reason people with social anxiety disorder (SAD) do not seek treatment is due to stigma concerns. Yet, our understanding of SAD stigma hinges heavily on measures that assess general mental illness stigma, which may not capture the distinct aspects of SAD. The goal of this research program was to develop and validate a measure of social anxiety stigma that assesses personal stigma towards people with SAD: the Social Anxiety Stigma Scale (SASS). The SASS was evaluated across three studies. In Study 1 (N = 221), an initial item analysis was conducted on 33 items to remove weak items …

Promoting Subjective Well-Being In Middle School: Role Of Internalizing And Externalizing Behaviors In A Targeted Positive Psychology Intervention, Letty Langton Dileo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In a dual-factor model, complete mental health entails average-to-high subjective well-being (SWB, happiness) and few internalizing and externalizing behaviors (IEB, mental illness). Although positive psychology interventions (PPIs) have been shown to increase middle school students’ SWB, more research is needed to understand how baseline IEB influences post-intervention outcomes. The current study examined the effect of baseline IEB on SWB outcomes for 122 middle school students who participated in the Well-Being Promotion Program (WBPP). The WBPP is a 10-week, small group, school-based PPI for students with low SWB, as identified from universal screening of life satisfaction. The dataset analyzed is part …

Exploring The Relationship Between Student Expected Engagement And Referrals To The Behavioral Intervention Team, Makenzie R. Schiemann

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Higher education administrators are tasked with supporting and retaining students with increasing needs. These needs often include emotional and mental health issues but can worsen to include suicidality and violence toward others. Traditional campus approaches for supporting students and intervening for violence, such as counseling and campus safety, have been reactionary rather than proactive. Behavioral Intervention Teams (BITs) have emerged as a mechanism for heading off violence before it occurs while also supporting students who may never engage in violence but need support. These teams were born out of the concept that violence is preventable and have grown into a …

Exercise Prescription Practices In University Counseling Centers: Testing The Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model, A'Naja M. Newsome

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The co-occurence of physical inactivity and poor mental health in the college student population can lead to chronic health issues that have negative short-term (e.g., academic success and weight gain) and long-term (e.g., obesity, serious mental illness, and premature mortality) impacts. Integrating exercise prescription into the mental health treatment plan of college students could enhance the holistic care model described by The American College Health Association (ACHA) and Healthy Campus task force. Understanding the knowledge, attitudes, and skills that mental health professionals (MHPs) hold regarding exercise prescription is important for policy formation and program development for college student health. The …

Mobile Response Teams And The Youth Emergency Behavioral Health System, Paige J. Alitz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: This dissertation includes three separate manuscripts that coalesce under the shared topic of mobile crisis response and the emergency behavioral health system. Method: The first manuscript includes a synthesis of the research on mobile crisis response from the 1960s to present day to assess whether mobile crisis services can improve mental health care access in the U.S. for youth and adults. The second manuscript includes bivariate and multivariate analyses of MRT participant data to characterize participants who receive an involuntary psychiatric evaluation versus those who do not, and to assess factors associated with involuntary psychiatric evaluation or referral to …

Impact Of Heat-Related Illness And Natural Environments On Behavioral Health Related Emergency And Hospital Utilization In Florida, Natasha Kurji

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Behavioral health disorders are the leading cause of disability in the United States and are known to have multidimensional effect on wellbeing. Several environmental factors are known to impact behavioral health such as weather (i.e. heat) and access to natural environments (i.e. parks and beaches). The study goals were to identify contextual factors that increase the co-occurrence of heat-related illness and behavioral health disorders, illustrate the re-utilization patterns of these co-occurring cases in Florida emergency and inpatient settings, and explore the association between behavioral health disorders such as anxiety and depression, and natural environments such as parks and beaches. The …

Family Response To A Diagnosis Of Serious Mental Illness In Teens And Young Adults: A Multi-Voiced Narrative Analysis, Douglas J. Engelman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Narratives are stories, stories persuade, persuasion is necessary to develop social problem consciousness, and social problem consciousness is a necessary element of mobilization toward social change. Thus, narratives are intrinsic to social change, both in the form of policy and legislation, and as evidenced by transformations in culture and consciousness. In this dissertation I analyze narratives about mental illness in families because they reflect what we think of as common, everyday understandings about these experiences. Through these analyses, I hope to learn how individuals and families understand the diagnosis of mental illness through stories they tell about how they cope …

The Role Of Migration-Related Stress In Depression Among Haitian Immigrants In Florida: A Mixed Method Sequential Explanatory Approach, Dany Amanda C. Fanfan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recognizing, appropriately treating depression, and meeting the mental health needs of the growing number of Haitian immigrants in the United States (US), continue to pose a challenge because of differences in culture, beliefs, idiom of distress, expression of depression as well as specific stressors associated with the migration process. Previous studies, while limited, document high levels of depression among Haitian migrants, and postulated that migration-related stress (MRS) may play a significant role. Aspects of the migration process, more specifically stressors endured during settlement in the US may negatively precipitate the development of depression.

This study used a mixed method sequential …

Perspectives Of Older Blacks And Whites Living With Serious Mental Illness About Outpatient Mental Health Services, Rosalyn Roker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, over three million adults, age 50 and older, reported a diagnosis of serious mental illness (SMI) in the past year. Most of them live in community-settings and are less likely than younger adults to utilize mental health treatment. Lack of and insufficient treatment for SMI places them at increased risk of morbidity, earlier mortality, cognitive decline, and diminished quality of life. The current study aimed to: (1) examine the factors that influence Black and White older adults, who live with SMI, to seek and engage in outpatient mental health treatment; (2) identify the perspectives of Black …

Religiosity, Spirituality, And Depressive Symptoms In Older Adults In An Active Living Community, Monica D'Adrianne Solomon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The population of older adults in the United States is steadily rising. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a call to reduce mental distress in older adults. Research shows that mental distress is associated with depressive symptoms, which are significantly related to many chronic medical conditions, functional impairment, suicide, and all-cause mortality. Depression is a major public health concern. There is an interest in gerontology research on the buffering role of engagement against depressive symptoms such as volunteering, social activities, and religion. Certain religious beliefs and behaviors contribute to maintaining or improving mental health and research …

A Study Of The Psychological Effects Of Hurricane Andrew On An Elementary School Population, Jon A. Shaw

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

Natural Hazards And The Elderly, Graham A. Tobin, Jane C. Ollenburger

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

Reliability Of Delayed Self-Reports In Disaster Research, Fran H. Norris, Krzysztof Kaniasty

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

Social Disruption And Psychological Stress In An Alaskan Fishing Community: The Impact Of The Exxon Valdex Oil Spill, J. Steven Picou, Southern Sociological Society (U.S.)

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

Post-Disaster Adaptive Responses: Parent-Child Reactions To The Los Angeles Area/Whittier Narrows Earthquake, Norma S. Gordon, Carl A. Maida

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

Training Primary Care Workers In Disaster Mental Health: The Experience In Ecuador, April 6-11, 1987, Bruno R. Lima

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

Mental Health Service Utilization By Child Victims Of Natural Disasters, Bill J. Locke

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

Aftermath Of A Disaster: Psychological Response To The Indianapolis Ramada Jet Crash, Elizabeth Mary Smith, Carol S. North

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

Psychosocial Impact Of Disaster: The Baldwin Hills Fire, Norma S. Gordon

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

The Emotional Impact Of Post-Disaster Relocation, Michael E. Durkin

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

Kalamata Earthquake, 1986: Psychological Reactions And Roles For Health Care Workers, Jerri Laube

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

After The Factory Explosion: Family Reactions To Death In A Disaster, Joan N. Mcneil

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

Social Support Following A Disaster, Leonard Bickman, Jerome D. Cook

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

Psychological Responses To The Mexico City Earthquake, Abigail J. Stewart

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

The 1986 California Floods, Robert C. Bolin

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.

Defensiveness, Level Of Psychological Distress, And Help-Seeking Behavior Among Victims Of A Major Natural Disaster, Anthony V. Rao, Kenneth E. Davis, Leonard Bickman

FMHI Publications

No abstract provided.