Mental and Social Health Commons^™

Barriers To Hiv Couples Testing: The African American Woman's Perspective, Frederick Scott Smith

Theses Digitization Project

African American Women continue to contract HIV/AIDS at an alarming rate. Of all the women living with Aids in the United States, 64% were African American and two out of three African American women got HIV from having unprotected sex with a man. The purposes of the study are to identify perceived barriers to HIV testing of the intimate partners of African American Women and subsequently identify an effective couples of HIV testing strategy. The research study investigated the primary causes for low HIV testing rates of African American couples. This study uttilized a quantitatve method using self-administered questionaires. The …

The Medicalization Of Hyperactivity And Inattentiveness : A Social History And Theoretical Perspectives On Adhd, Justin Douglas Brock

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study investigates the rise of the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder diagnosis. It approaches the topic from a medicalization perspective and frames it under the therapeutic state as proposed by Nicholas Kittrie in 1971. It asks three questions: how has society, and particularly, the medical community changed to allow the medicalization of hyperactivity and social control of active children? How has the continuing diagnosis of hyperactivity in children expanded to include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in both children and adults? And what forces are behind the continuously inclusive diagnosis and why? In an attempt to answer these questions the history of the …

Indigenous Health – Australia, Canada, New Zealand And The United States - Laying Claim To A Future That Embraces Health For Us All., Lisa Jackson Pulver, Melissa R. Haswell, Ian Ring, John Waldon, Wayne Clark, Valorie Whetung, Dianne Kinnon, Catherine Graham, Michelle Chino, Jonathon Lavalley, Christina Compher, Ritu Sadana

School of Public Health Faculty Research

Improving the health of all peoples has been a call across the globe for many decades and unfortunately remains relevant today, particularly given the large disparities in health status of peoples found around the world. Rather than differences in health, or health inequalities, we use a different term, health inequities. This is so as mere differences in health (or "inequalities") can be common in societies and do not necessarily reflect unfair social policies or practices. For example, natural ageing implies older people are more prone to illness. Yet, when differences are systematic, socially produced and unfair, these are considered health …

More Than Just Openness: Developing And Validating A Measure Of Targeted Parent-Child Communication About Alcohol, Michelle Miller-Day, Jennifer A. Kam

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Research addressing parent-child communication on the topic of alcohol use relies heavily on assessing frequency of discussions and general assessments of openness in parent-child communication, ignoring the complexity of this communication phenomenon. This study adds to the literature by articulating a conceptualization and developing a measurement of parent-child communication—targeted parent-child communication about alcohol—and comparing the efficacy of targeted parent-child communication about alcohol in predicting positive expectancies of alcohol use and recent alcohol use. The predictive power of general openness in parent-child communication and frequency of communication about alcohol also were assessed. Students in 5th and 6th grade (N = 1407) …

Quality Of Life And Persons With Intellectual Disability: Can We Measure Qol In This Population?, Søren Ventegodt, Hatim A. Omar, Flemming Struve, Tove K. Nielsen, Isack Kandel, Joav Merrick

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Quality of life (QOL) has been discussed by professionals working with persons with intellectual disability (ID) for some time, but since QOL is concerned with subjective well-being, satisfaction and happiness, how is it possible to measure, when the person in question is unable to communicate? Consciousness is believed to be an internal and personal thing, but we have done the simple experiment to ask observers to rate QOL of another person, also in sub dimensions like self-assessed physical and mental health, relationship with self, self-assessed sexual ability, self-assessed social ability, and we have found that people are able to assess …

Training Institutions For Community Midwives In Pakistan: An Initial Assessment, Zakir Hussain Shah, Momina Salim, Mumraiz Khan

Reproductive Health

This study focuses on the training of community midwives (CMWs) in Pakistan, to specifically look at the institutions providing CMW training to see what resources (both physical and human resources) they had available and how these resources were being utilized. This study served as an early evaluation of the trainings and upgrades by the PAIMAN project, to assess how their interventions fared, and provides documentation for future decisions regarding the management, training, and practice of CMWs in Pakistan. As Pakistan transitions from a country with a high level of home births to a country where most births take place in …

Process Evaluation Of Community Mobilization Activities, Zakir Hussain Shah

Reproductive Health

This report presents the findings of a process evaluation by the Population Council of community mobilization (CM) activities implemented under the PAIMAN project in Pakistan. PAIMAN developed a comprehensive communication, advocacy, and mobilization (CAM) strategy to increase knowledge and awareness of harmful practices among women and their family and to improve their health-seeking behaviors. The CAM roadmap acknowledges the importance of engaging communities in order to achieve behavior change and links clients with providers and services. The main objective of this evaluation was to assess the process of CM implementation and to identify its gaps in order to develop corrective …

Exploring The Impact Of Race On Mental Health Service Utilization Among African Americans And Whites With Severe Mental Illness, Michelle Hampton, Linda Chafetz, Mary White

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Disparities among African Americans and Whites with severe mental illness have been identified in numerous studies. Yet it remains unknown if disparities are associated with race or other vulnerabilities common to this population. OBJECTIVES: This study used the Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations to examine mental health service utilization among 155 African Americans and Whites with severe mental illness for 12 months after discharge from a residential crisis program. DESIGN: This cross-sectional study was a secondary analysis of data from a randomized trial. RESULTS: Race did not emerge as a significant predictor of mental health service utilization. Factors associated …

The Latina/O Mental Health Paradox Or Racial/Ethnic Disparities? Depression Among New Immigrants To The U.S, Sandra Iveth Ramirez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Latino/a Mental Health Paradox states that the foreign-born immigrants have better mental health outcomes when compared with native-born groups of various ethno-racial backgrounds, with the gap in mental stress minimizing overtime. The objective of this study is to examine whether Latina/os immigrants suffer an ethno-racial disparity in mental health or if they have favorable mental health outcomes as predicted by the Paradox. Expanding on the Latina/o Mental Health Paradox, rather than comparing Latina/o immigrants with native-born, this study will compare depression among recently legalized Latina/os with recent legalized European immigrants.

Contextual Effects And Adolescent Substance Use: Exploring The Role Of Neighborhoods, Karen A. Snedker, Jerald R. Herting, Emily Walton

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Objective. The purpose of this article is to explore the additive and moderating effects of neighborhood context on substance use among youth.

Methods. Using a regional sample of adolescents and matching the data to Census tracts, we use hierarchical linear modeling to examine the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and neighborhood instability on alcohol and marijuana use while controlling for individual, family, and peer characteristics.

Results. For both alcohol and marijuana use measures, we find neighborhood disadvantage has a consistent negative direct effect; adolescents living in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods have lower rates of use. In addition, neighborhood disadvantage …

Community-Based Suicide Prevention Research In Remote On-Reserve First Nations Communities, Corinne A. Isaak, Mike Campeau, Laurence Y. Katz, Murray W. Enns, Brenda Elias, Jitender Sareen

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Suicide is a complex problem linked to genetic, environmental, psychological and community factors. For the Aboriginal population more specifically, loss of culture, history of traumatic events, individual, family and community factors may also play a role in suicidal behaviour. Of particular concern is the high rate of suicide among Canadian Aboriginal youth. While the need to develop interventions to reduce suicidal behaviour for First Nations on-reserve populations is evident, there may be an element of distrust of researchers by Aboriginal communities. Furthermore, research in mental health and specifically suicide is much more sensitive than studying medical illnesses like diabetes. Clearly, …

Quality Of Life Estimation With Structural Equation Modeling In School Aged Children With Asthma, Sheniz Moonie, Xuan Huang, David A. Sterling

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Significant increases in childhood asthma prevalence and mortality has prompted federal and regulatory agencies to work towards a national framework to address childhood asthma. Quality of life is an important component of chronic disease, and the evaluation of healthcare outcomes. There is little discussion in the literature regarding the implications of QoL as a theoretical construct. This study determined the effect of asthma on the QoL of our study population and caregiver’s missed workdays on the child’s QoL scores. A negative relationship was found between the child’s QoL and the caregiver’s missed workdays due to their child’s asthma. The use …

Anas, Mias And Wannas: Authenticity And Embodiment In Pro-Anorexia Discussion Groups, Natalie Boero, C. Pascoe

Faculty Publications, Sociology

This paper details the making of community and bodies in online environments, specifically the online pro-anorexia community. Building community among members of these groups is particularly fraught because tensions over claims to authenticity permeate these groups. Because these are embodied practices and online spaces are presumably disembodied, participants constantly grapple with authenticity, largely through the threat of the "wannarexic." This paper documents the way in which tensions around authenticity and embodied practices are managed through treatment of the wannarexic, participating in group rituals, and deployment of individual tools. Participants grapple with these tensions through engaging in offline bodily rituals that …

Depressive Symptoms And Marital Satisfaction In The Context Of Chronic Disease: A Longitudinal Dyadic Analysis, Rachel Pruchno, Maureen Wilson-Genderson, Francine P Cartwright

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

These analyses examined the longitudinal relationships between depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction over a 2-year period as experienced by 315 patients with end-stage renal disease and their spouses. Using multilevel modeling, the authors examined both individual and cross-partner effects of depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction on patients and spouses, testing bidirectional causality. Results indicate that mean and time-varying depressive symptoms of both patients and spouses were associated with their own marital satisfaction. Although mean marital satisfaction was associated with own depressive symptoms for both patients and spouses, time-varying marital satisfaction did not affect depressive symptoms for either patients or spouses. …

Dmitri Shalin Interview With Jordan Scher About Erving Goffman Entitled "Erving Disavowed Psychiatric Functioning At St. Elizabeth’S, And I Explored Role-Playing And The Presentation Of Self In Schizophrenia", Jordan Scher

Bios Sociologicus: The Erving Goffman Archives

This interview with Jordan Scher, M.D., Ph.D., Honorary Member of Vienna Psychiatric Society, was recorded over the phone on March 17, 2009. Dmitri Shalin transcribed the interview, after which Dr. Scher edited the transcript, added a historical note on N.I.M.H., and approved posting the present text in the Erving Goffman Archives. Breaks in the conversation flow are indicated by ellipses. Supplementary information and additional materials inserted during the editing process appear in square brackets. Undecipherable words and unclear passages are identified in the text as “[?]”.

State Experiences With Affordable Housing Plus Services: Report To Seniors And Persons With Disabilities, On The Move, Paula C. Carder, Erika Zoller

Institute on Aging Publications

Housing developers, providers, policy makers, and advocates, increasingly recognize that for some groups of individuals, access to affordable housing alone is "not enough." That is, some individuals require more than shelter. Examples include individuals who have chronic health conditions (e.g., HIV/AIDS), those with physical or cognitive limitations (e.g., persons with developmental disabilities, adults with physical disabilities), and those who have a combination of health conditions or who cannot thrive in traditional housing (e.g., persons who have been homeless, individuals with chronic mental illness). Increasingly, housing providers, social service agencies, advocates, states, and federal agencies have recognized the need to combine …

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder In Combat Veterans And The Effect On Their Life And Marital Satisfaction, Amy Rodriguez Alford

Graduate Theses

Various studies have been conducted within our United States military service members and their problems with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There are several factors as to why a combat veteran can develop PTSD (Committee on Gulf War and Health, 2008) , PTSD could effect their life and marital satisfaction. The present study consisted of 15 married couples, in which the husband has served combat duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. The total level of PTSD symptomology was compared to each individual's life and marital satisfaction. There was no significance correlations found between the husbands' PTSD symptoms and their quality of life, …

Using Art Therapy To Increase Self-Efficacy Beliefs Of Homeless Mothers Living In A Shelter, Mandi Elizabeth Wines

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

Literature reveals that homelessness is inherently a situation where desired outcomes are less likely than unfavorable outcomes, and, as such, the concepts of learned hopelessness, disempowerment, and low self-efficacy are especially relevant. Self-efficacy has been found to affect one’s motivation, performance, coping, self-esteem, emotional arousal, and behavior. Homeless women who possess a stronger sense of self-efficacy are more likely to actively engage in employment and housing searches and spend less time in temporary shelters than those with low self-efficacy.

Although aspects of this problem have been studied no specific intervention models have proven effective in increasing homeless women’s self-efficacy. Literature …

The Chakra Energy System And Art Therapy: A Heuristic Study, Linda Scalise

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

The chakra system, an Eastern philosophy relating to an individual’s health, energy, and consciousness, has been integrated into the healing practices of psychology, meditation, yoga, and alternative medicine. Dale (2005), Judith (1996), and Myss (1996) described the chakra energy system as focal points embedded within the human energy system that regulate all components of the self. Researchers in complementary therapies and energy medicine have long been interested in how the integration of this system affects the progression of disease, human behavior, and emotional disturbances. However, although rich in symbolism and metaphor, no literature has been found demonstrating the use of …

The Cost Of Treating Addiction From The Client's Perspective: Results From A Multi-Modality Application Of The Client Datcap, Kathryn E. Mccollister, Michael T. French, Jeffrey M. Pyne, Brenda Booth, Richard Rapp, Carey Carr

Sociology Faculty Articles and Papers

There is a considerable disparity between the number of individuals who need substance abuse treatment and the number who actually receive it. This is partly due to the fact that many individuals with substance use disorders do not perceive a need for formal treatment. Another contributing factor, however, is a discrepancy between the real and perceived cost of services. Although many cost evaluations of substance abuse treatment have been conducted from the treatment provider perspective, less is known about the client-specific costs of attending treatment (e.g., lost work and leisure time, transportation, out-of-pocket and in-kind payments). Concerns about financial and …

Eligibility, Recruitment, And Retention Of African Americans With Severe Mental Illness In Community Research, Michelle Hampton, Mary White, Linda Chafetz

Faculty Publications

Data that addresses severely mentally ill (SMI) African Americans (AAs) likelihood to participate in clinical research is limited. This study’s purpose was to determine if differences exist between races regarding eligibility, recruitment, and retention in a community-based clinical trial. The sample included 293 participants. Data sources included clinical records and interviews. Logistic regression was used for analysis. AAs were as likely to participate and to complete followup interviews as Whites. In contrast to studies about non-mentally ill AAs, AAs with SMI appeared to be as willing to consent to and to remain in clinical research studies as Whites.

Elder Abuse: A Policy Analysis, Cortni Davis

Undergraduate Research Conference

Elder abuse is a growing social problem in the United States. It takes on many forms, and is prevalent throughout various cultures. Elder Abuse Reporting Laws have been enacted throughout various states to prevent and intervene in elder abuse cases. California’s Financial Abuse Reporting Act of 2005 is one among many laws in the United States which was formed to help ensure social justice for the elderly citizens of America.

Hispanics' Experience With Hospice Care, Maria Rosario Diaz

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project was to learn about Hispanic's experience with hospice care and gain insight into their unique needs. The findings will offer Hospice programs with information on how to provide the most appropriate care to the Hispanic population. This study found that the quality of patient care transcended cultural and spiritual boundaries.

Substance Abuse Among The Aging Population: A Needs Assessment, Stephen Michael Clark

Theses Digitization Project

This needs assessment was composed of 33 clinicians' in Riverside and San Bernardino counties that work in the substance abuse field. This study was developed to test if there is a need to increase clinicians' knowledge level base when working with older adults age 65 plus with a substance abuse problem. This needs assessment looked at demographics and tested the differences between self reported knowledge and what instruments their agencies are currently using.

Identification Of Effective Outreach Methods For Mental Health Services To The Hispanic Population, Nidia Yamileth Canello

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to find effective outreach methods to the Hispanic population to empower them to seek mental health services when they need them. Hispanics seek mental health services at a lower rate than mainstream America. This community is the most rapidly growing in San Bernardino County, and lack of early intervention when necessary may have costly consequences to Hispanics and society as a whole.

The Effects Of Negative Childhood Experiences On The Severity Of Mental And Substance Abuse Disorders And Recidivism, Christie Lynn Gabriel

Theses Digitization Project

Overcrowded prisons are a growing problem in the United States. Currently, California prisons are over capacity 85%. Substance abuse increases the likelihood of criminality, for half of state prisoners admitted to being under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of their offense(s). A large portion of these individuals, once incarcerated, is also diagnosed with a mental illness. By researching dually diagnosed inmates who were participating in a 90-day in-custody treatment program, this study focuses on how negative family and school experiences become major contributors to adult mental and substance abuse disorders and criminality.

Predicting Juvenile Delinquency: The Nexus Of Childhood Maltreatment, Depression And Bipolar Disorder, Christopher A. Mallett, Patricia A. Stoddard Dare, Mamadou M. Seck

Social Work Faculty Publications

Background It is important to identify and provide preventative interventions for youth who are most at risk for offending behaviour, but the connection between early childhood or adolescent experiences and later delinquency adjudication is complicated. Aim To test for associations between specified mental disorders or maltreatment and later delinquency adjudication. Method Participants were a random sample of youth before the juvenile courts in two Northeast Ohio counties in the USA (n = 555) over a 4-year time frame (2003 to 2006). Results Logistic regression analysis identified a lifetime diagnosis of depression and/or bipolar disorder to be predictive of later youth …

2009- 2010 Unlv Mcnair Journal, Kathleen Bell, Danetta Bradley, Vacheral M. Carter, Nydia Diaz, Kathryn E. English, Sarah Harrison, Michelle Israel, Christina Macke, Erica Orozco, Pilar Palos, Sandra Ramos, Soraya A. Silverman, Susan Taylor, Sajar Camara, William Mccurdy, Yvonne C. Morris, Maxym V. Myroshnychenko, Ricardo Rios, Monique Sulls, Bremen Vance, Barbara Wallen

McNair Journal

Journal articles based on research conducted by undergraduate students in the McNair Scholars Program

Table of Contents

Biography of Dr. Ronald E. McNair

Statements:

Dr. Neal J. Smatresk, UNLV President

Dr. Juanita P. Fain, Vice President of Student Affairs

Dr. William W. Sullivan, Associate Vice President for Retention and Outreach

Mr. Keith Rogers, Deputy Executive Director of the Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach

McNair Scholars Institute Staff

Developing Enterprise Budgets For Sustainable School Gardens: Service Learning In A Global Context, Ashley D. Jones, Jennie S. Popp

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Service learning programs are becoming a part of curricula in universities throughout the United States. The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, (UAF) established a service learning program that targeted the educational, health, social, and agricultural needs of a community. The focus of this research aimed to provide students, faculty, community members, school officials, and students with a template for crop budgets. These crop budgets are used to evaluate the costs and returns of producing multiple crops at a school. Crops produced in a sustainable garden must meet three criteria: 1) have minimal negative environmental impact, 2) provide just-in-time production of quality …

A Quest Through Chaos: My Narrative Of Illness And Recovery, Katie Ellis

Research outputs pre 2011

Narrative is vital, as the ill person works out their changing identity, and position in the world of health, continuing when they are no longer ill, but remain marked by their experience. 2 Following the tradition of illness auto ethnographers (Frank, The Wounded Storyteller; Ettore; Rier), this article critically examines the role of narrative throughout recovery from serious illness or trauma by connecting the (my) autobiographical to the social, political and cultural. The focus then shifts to the recent emergence of illness narrative blogging to consider their cultural significance before exploring stigma and resistance to the telling of illness narratives …