Mental and Social Health Commons^™

Human Milk Cortisol Is Associated With Infant Temperament, Katherine R. Grey, Elyssia Poggi Davis, Curt A. Sandman, Laura M. Glynn

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

The implications of the biologically active elements in milk for the mammalian infant are largely unknown. Animal models demonstrate that transmission of glucocorticoids through milk influences behavior and modifies brain development in offspring. The aim of this study was to determine the relation between human milk cortisol levels and temperament of the breastfed infant. Fifty-two mother and infant pairs participated when the infants were three-months old. Milk cortisol levels were assessed and each mother completed the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ), a widely used parent-report measure of infant temperament. Analyses revealed a positive association between milk cortisol and the negative affectivity …

Ethical Imperatives Of Teaching Stress Control To Promote Well-Being., Clayton Coleman

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

The overarching purpose of this thesis is to explain why the creation of a program that facilitates and maintains good mental health is ethically imperative. This paper will focus on the ethical primacy of mental health within a population as opposed to physical health. A key factor that this paper will take into account is the way that stress affects physical health and how stress is disproportionately spread through the population. It recognizes that an individual’s mental health status can be influenced by their particular life circumstances and/or socioeconomic status, which can be seen as constitutive luck. Those disadvantaged segments …

The Health And Well-Being Of Indigenous Drug And Alcohol Workers: Results From A National Australian Survey, Ann M. Roche, Vinita Duraisingam, Allan Trifonoff, Amanda Tovell

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

The increasing demand for alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment services among the Australian Indigenous population, complex organisational challenges and limitations, and high unemployment rates are likely to negatively impact Indigenous AOD workers' health and well-being. Building the capacity of Indigenous AOD workers is vital, as they play a crucial role in the delivery of treatment services and offer essential support to their communities. A national online survey was conducted to examine organisational, workplace and individual factors that might contribute to levels of stress and well-being among workers who provide services to Indigenous clients. A total of 294 eligible surveys …

What Keeps Us Well? Professional Quality Of Life And Career Sustaining Behaviors Of Music Therapy Professionals, Shane C. Swezey

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Self-care can be seen as not only critical for individual professionals, but also for the growth of the helping professions and the quality of care which clients receive. The purpose of this study was to investigate use of career-sustaining behaviors and the levels of professional quality of life in music therapy professionals. This study investigated research questions regarding use of career sustaining behaviors and levels of professional quality of life, the relationship between these variables, the differences in the use of career sustaining behavior by demographics, and the use of music as a self-care strategy.

An online survey was sent …

The Health Of Rural Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, Kimberly Y. Robitaille

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Introduction: Grandparents are becoming increasingly responsible for raising their grandchildren. Previous studies have noted physical and mental health limitations for custodial grandparents. Grandparents face numerous challenges in raising grandchildren and consequently, experience high stress levels. However, coping and social support have been found to mediate grandparent stress. Rural custodial grandparents have been an understudied population. Using the Stress Process Model, this study extends the knowledge of rural grandparents raising grandchildren by describing the relationships among physical and mental health, stressors, coping, and social supports for custodial grandparents living in Western Kentucky.

Methods: A mixed methods approach was used to examine …

Racism And Illicit Drug Use Among African American Women: The Protective Effects Of Ethnic Identity, Affirmation, And Behavior, Danelle Stevens-Watkins, Brea Perry, Kathi L. Harp, Carrie B. Oser

Sociology Faculty Publications

Though recent evidence indicates that rates of illicit drug use among African American women are now higher than the national average, little is known about the etiology of substance use in this population. In addition, the effects of racism and other cultural factors are understudied and may be unique amongst African American women. This cross-sectional study explores risk and protective factors for drug use among 204 African American women. More specifically, associations between racism experiences and drug use are investigated in the context of potential moderating influences (i.e., psychosocial resources, social safety net variables, and cultural identity and practices). Findings …

The Use Of Humor For Emotion Management On The Job: An Exploration Of 911 Communication Centers, Jennifer Dell Mclaughlin

Dissertations

This study sought to understand how humor affects a person’s ability to cope and manage their emotions in a high stress organizational environment. 911 communication centers are work environments where stress is commonplace, and the work environment can instantly become erratic and chaotic.

This study explored the role humor has in assisting organizational members with emotion management in a high stress job and the types of humor used by members to handle their job and cope with the stress.

The results suggest that humor is pervasive in 911 communication centers, and dispatchers use humor for personal coping, co-worker bonding, and …

Stress, Coping And Suicide Ideation In Chinese College Students, Xiaoyun Zhang, Haiping Wang, Yan Ruth Xia, Xiaohong Liu, Eunju Jung

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The study was to examine 1) whether stress and coping styles could significantly predict the probability of suicide ideation; 2) and whether coping styles were mediators or moderators on the association between life stress and suicide ideation. The survey was conducted in a sample of 671 Chinese college students. Approximately twenty percent students reported having suicide ideation. Life stress, active coping styles, and passive coping styles all had independent effect on the probability of suicide ideation. Passive coping styles, especially fantasizing, mediated the relation between life stress and suicide ideation. Moderation hypotheses were not supported. Implications of the findings and …

A Discussion Of The Mental Health Of Public School Teachers, Gary W. Ballou

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Education and Professional Studies

It has been suggested that public school teachers are exposed to highly stressful situations which are related to psychological and psychiatric problems. Unfortunately, there is no quantitative data suggesting which factors contribute to improving the mental health of American teachers, nor have there been any prior studies that have directly compared the factors associated with mental health disturbances between teachers and workers in other occupations in the United States. In light of this, I felt it crucial to find the factors associated with psychological/psychiatric problems in public school teachers in the United States using an appropriate reference professional group.

The Constant Threat Of Terrorism: Stress Levels And Coping Strategies Amongst University Students Of Karachi, Ayesha Ejaz Ahmed, Komal Masood, Sohni Vicky Dean, Tanzila Shakir, Ahmed Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Usman Barlass, Syed Haider Imam, Mohammad Ghawar Khan Mohmand, Hussain Ibrahim, Imad Saeed Khan, Usman Akram, Farid Hasnain

Department of Psychiatry

OBJECTIVES: To assess the levels of stress in the face of terrorism and the adopted coping strategies, amongst the student population of universities in Karachi

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METHODS: A descriptive, cross sectional study was conducted on undergraduate students from four universities of Karachi. Self-administered questionnaires were filled out by 291 students. Pearson Chi-Square test was used to assess associations between stress levels and different variables at a level of significance of 0.05%

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RESULTS: A total of 65.8% of the students had mild stress levels, 91.5% of university students were exposed to terrorism through television, while only 26.5% students reported personal …

Parental And Carer Responses To Angelman Syndrome And Prader-Willi Syndrome, Allyson K. Thomson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The research project undertaken as part of this thesis was designed to assess family stress levels and the use of coping strategies among the carers of people with an intellectual disability caused by Angelman syndrome (AS) or Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). Both syndromes are genomic imprinting disorders that arise from disruptions in genes located within human chromosome 15q11-q13. Although the disease phenotypes are quite distinct, the genetic mechanisms involved are common to both syndromes but involve paternally-derived mutations in PWS as opposed to maternal mutations in AS. Previous investigations in Western Australia (WA) indicated that people with AS and PWS experience …

Prenatal Maternal Stress Programs Infant Stress Regulation, Elyssia Poggi Davis, Laura M. Glynn, Feizal Waffarn, Curt A. Sandman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Objective: Prenatal exposure to inappropriate levels of glucocorticoids (GCs) and maternal stress are putative mechanisms for the fetal programming of later health outcomes. The current investigation examined the influence of prenatal maternal cortisol and maternal psychosocial stress on infant physiological and behavioral responses to stress.

Methods: The study sample comprised 116 women and their full term infants. Maternal plasma cortisol and report of stress, anxiety and depression were assessed at 15, 19, 25, 31 and 36 + weeks' gestational age. Infant cortisol and behavioral responses to the painful stress of a heel-stick blood draw were evaluated at 24 hours after …

A Qualitative Study Of Stressors, Stress Symptoms, And Coping Mechanisms Among College Students Using Nominal Group Process, Helen W. Bland, Bridget F. Melton, Stephen Patrick Gonzalez

Community Health: Faculty Publications

Background: Stress is part of the college experience; however, how students deal with stress can greatly impact their behaviors and health status. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to qualitatively assess sources of stress, types of stressors, and coping mechanisms employed among undergraduate students.

Methods: Nominal group process was utilized to obtain information related to study variables and help prioritize the accounts provided by study participants (n = 173).

Results: Participants gave insight into the unique stress faced by this generation (grades, GPA, multitasking, parental expectations), stress symptoms (more psychological in nature), and coping strategies (prayer, talking to mom, …

The Physiological Correlates Of Race-Related Stress And Health Among African Americans And Latinos, Daniel Cruz

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Multiscale Genomic Analysis Of The Corticolimbic System: Uncovering The Molecular And Anatomic Substrates Of Anxiety-Related Behavior, Khyobeni Mozhui

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Genetic diversity generates variation at multiple phenotypic levels, ranging from the most basic molecular to higher-order cognitive and behavioral traits. The far-reaching impact that genes have on higher traits is apparent in several neuropsychiatric conditions such as stress and anxiety disorders. Like most, if not all, neural phenotypes, stress, anxiety, and other emotion-related traits are extremely complex and are defined by the interplay of multiple genetic, environmental, experiential, and epigenetic factors.

The work presented in this dissertation is a multi-scalar, integrative analysis of the molecular and neuroanatomic substrates that underlie emotion-related behavior. The amygdala is a principle component of the …

Significant Stress And Real Rewards: The Ecological And Ambiguous Experiences Of Foster Parents, Jason B. Whiting Phd, Paul T. Huber Ma

Faculty Publications

To obtain an insider's perspective of the unique dynamics and needs of foster parents, surveys and interviews were conducted using human ecology and ambiguous loss as a guiding framework. The resulting qualitative and quantitative data show significant and distinctive stressors for foster parents. These include challenges with agency staff and procedures and ambiguous situations. However, these parents generally found meaning and satisfaction in service and coped with the help of informal and formal supports.

A Framework For The Representation Of Cohesion In Small Combat Units, William Eugene Warner

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Current combat simulations deal well with large unit formations, weapon systems, and physical effects such as attrition. Human factors such as morale, cohesion, and effects of stress are modeled much less adequately. Of the human factors affecting the psychology of a combat unit, military psychologists have identified cohesion as one of the most important. The concept of cohesion, referring to both the interpersonal relationships between soldiers in a military unit and to the morale solidarity of a military force, has been central to military analysis for many years.

A model framework has been developed that can operationalize the concept of …

A Study Of The Relationships Among Secondary Traumatic Stress, Coping, And Years Of Service In Firefighter/Emergency Medical Service Personnel, Lynne S. Sanders

Faculty Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine relationships among stress, coping, and years of service in rescue personnel. One hundred sixteen voluntary subjects employed in Fire/EMS service in a small southern city participated in the study. Subjects completed a demographic questionnaire, The Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS), and The Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS).

The incidence of symptomatic stress for the sample was 19.8 percent, higher than the general population but comparable to rates found in other studies of rescue workers. Calls involving children were rated as most disturbing by the subjects. There was no relationship found between years …

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 …

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

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Stress Management: The Newest Opiate Of The Masses, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article posits a politically exploitive agenda underlying the theory, research, and practice of stress management.

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, …

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

Ellmer School of 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 Controlled Evaluation Of Devotional Meditation And Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Charles R. Carlson, Panayiota E. Bacaseta, Dexter A. Simanton

CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles

The present study was conducted to determine the effects of devotional meditation (DM), defined as a period of prayer and quiet reading and pondering of biblical material, on physiological and psychological variables related to stress. It was hypothesized that religious persons engaging in DM experience physiological and psychological changes similar to those reported for persons using progressive relaxation (PR) exercises. Thirty-six participants, equally divided by sex into 3 groups: DM, PR, and a Wait List Control, underwent extensive psychophysiological assessment prior to and following a systematic introductio to either DM or PR. The hypothesis that DM could generate positive physiological …

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.