Other Mental and Social Health Commons^™

Evaluating The Predictive Value Of Basc-3 Anxiety Scale And Working Memory Index Scores For Clinically Significant Test Anxiety: A Comprehensive Analysis Of Non-Classifiable Cases, Des'tiana S. Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation will explore how test anxiety (TA) affects working memory (WM) and whether certain factors can help predict higher levels of test anxiety. Anxiety has been defined as a common experience that can show up in various forms—like general worry, social fears, panic attacks, and specific phobias (APA, 2022). It was described as often triggering our natural “fight-or-flight” response, which can impact our ability to focus, think clearly, and remember things. For students, test anxiety has been especially challenging, affecting how they perform in high-stakes academic settings. Using data from a university based psychological assessment center, this study will …

Evaluating The Predictive Value Of Basc-3 Anxiety Scale And Working Memory Index Scores For Clinically Significant Test Anxiety: A Comprehensive Analysis Of Non-Classifiable Cases, Des'tiana S. Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation will explore how test anxiety (TA) affects working memory (WM) and whether certain factors can help predict higher levels of test anxiety. Anxiety has been defined as a common experience that can show up in various forms—like general worry, social fears, panic attacks, and specific phobias (APA, 2022). It was described as often triggering our natural “fight-or-flight” response, which can impact our ability to focus, think clearly, and remember things. For students, test anxiety has been especially challenging, affecting how they perform in high-stakes academic settings. Using data from a university based psychological assessment center, this study will …

The Role Of Adolescent Depression Heterogeneity And Resilience Resources In Adulthood Cardiometabolic Health And Depressive Symptoms, Samantha R. Scott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Depression in adolescence is a major public health problem and is a risk factor for early-onset cardiometabolic disease. Although adolescent depression is a risk factor for poor cardiometabolic health, depression is heterogeneous and associations may differ by sex. Additionally, if risk factors such as depression can predict adulthood cardiometabolic health, resilience factors (e.g., social, school, neighborhood) that are protective for depression may also be protective for physical health, but this is an ongoing area of research. The goals of the current dissertation were to gain a better understanding of what depressive symptom presentations in adolescents are most concerning for adulthood …

Improving Outcomes Of Depression Through Implementation Of Depression Screenings At A College Health Center, Shelby Hanigan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Depression is a common phenomenon. Depression and suicidality are a problem on university campuses. This quality improvement Doctor of Nursing project aimed to establish the importance of routine depression screenings within a college health clinic. The purpose of this project was to determine if implementing routine depression screenings at a university health clinic will or will not increase the number of counseling referrals when compared to the absence of depression screenings in place within an identified timeframe. This protocol screened for depression in college-aged students and suggested care to those students who screened positive. It also led an interprofessional team …

A Phenomenological Examination Of The Perception Of Psychopathological Misdiagnosis In Gifted Men, Tina Glass

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While the exact prevalence of psychopathological misdiagnosis in gifted children is unknown, it is an occurrence within the gifted population (Amend & Beljan, 2009; Batstra et al., 2012; Bishop & Rinn, 2019; Bishop & Rinn, 2020; Coon, 2014; Webb et al., 2016). However, there is a gap in the literature related to psychopathological misdiagnosis specific to gifted males. (Desmet & Pereira, 2021; Ecklund et al., 2014; Eren et al., 2018; Neu & Weinfeld, 2007; OECD, 2015; Preckel et al., 2015; Watts, 2022). This transcendental phenomenological study leveraged Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model for Human Development (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006) as a theoretical …

The Effects Of Covid-19 On Asian American Perception Of Mental Health, Emily Tseung

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study describes a qualitative study using a grounded theory, constructivist approach, which sampled (N = 6) Asian American college students who lived in the United States during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Research shows that COVID significantly impacted the Asian American perception of mental health, including mental health help- seeking behaviors and discrimination experienced. The long-term effects of this are still largely unknown. In depth, semi-structured interviews were used to explore the lived experiences of these Asian Americans. Qualitative analysis revealed thematic differences for the following themes: (a) experience with mental illness, (b) mental health help- seeking …

Balancing Wellness And Leadership: Exploring Black Women Administrators’ Subjective Well-Being, Resilience, And Radical Self-Care In Higher Education, Lashae Grottis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Leaders in higher education experience high and unrealistic demands for their skills, time, and energy, causing stress, competing priorities, burnout, compromised health, and attrition. However, unlike other racial and gender groups, Black women higher education administrators experienced these challenges more intensely. As a result of chronic stress associated with being undervalued and overworked, discriminatory and unwelcoming workplaces, and intersectional biases, Black women leaders are leaving higher education workplaces. Despite the link between gendered racism and unwellness, little is known about the problem from a positive leadership perspective. This study addressed the lack of knowledge of the wellness strategies Black women …

Meeting The Mental Health Needs Of College-Aged Young Adults: Evaluating The Value And Impact Of Digital Mental Health Interventions., Sara Atherton Choate

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

BACKGROUND: The growing prevalence of common mental health problems poses a serious hindrance to young adults, and the majority of those in need of mental health support do not seek professional psychological services. Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) that allow for self-management of mental health symptoms could provide a useful adjunctiveto traditional one-on-one counseling or therapy and offer a useful prevention tool for students at risk for experiencing mental health crises. This dissertation explored the efficacy of self-guided DMHIs targeting college students, the factors associated with help-seeking in young adults, and the impact of implementing an evidence-based DMHI at a …

Exploring The Contextual Factors And Decision-Making Process Of Risky Sexual Behavior Among Homeless Adults In Louisville, Kentucky., Sarah C. Van Heiden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Homelessness is a complex public health issue; individuals who experience homelessness are said to engage in risky sexual behaviors at an increased rate and experience a higher prevalence of sexually transmitted infection (STI). While the sexual behaviors of homeless adolescents are commonly studied, little is known about the sexual behaviors of the growing population of older adults, or how they make decisions to engage in sex. Three aims guided this research: 1) to describe the sexual behaviors and sexual decision-making process of homeless older adults, 2) to examine how homeless older adults evaluate the outcomes associated with engaging in risky …

Concurrent Reporting Of Adverse Childhood Experiences Among Perspectives Of Adolescents And Caregivers., Katie J. Berghuis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The consequences of Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) events in youth have predominantly been studied through retrospective studies that assess adults’ first 18 years of life or caregiver report of ACEs in youth. Reliance on only caregiver report to discern ACEs is a limitation amongst prior studies as research has found that caregivers tend to underestimate ACEs among their children, and there is even a greater discrepancy of reporting between caregivers and youth 12 years and older. Therefore, this study investigated concurrent reporting of self-report ACE scores in adolescents – defined in this study as 12 to 20 years old – …

Experiences Of African American Veterans With Regards To Ethnicity, Mental Health, And Homelessness, Jeffrey Redmond

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Having a secure and permanent home is an important foundational, psychological need because it influences the fulfillment of other aspects of a person’s life. Given the importance of shelter in the well-being of any individual, the problem of homelessness among veterans underscores the significance of ensuring that veterans have access to this basic human need. This phenomenological, qualitative study explored the lived experiences of African American homeless veterans regarding to ethnicity, housing, mental health, and being unhoused with the intent of understanding or identifying meaning in regards to these experiences. The overrepresentation of African American homeless veterans leads to the …

The Interaction Of Adversity, Hope, Social Support, And Academic Resilience In Emerging Appalachian Adults, Daniel Joseph Gottron Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The negative impact of adverse childhood experiences on both short-term and long-term wellbeing has been repeatedly validated across multiple populations. While adverse childhood experiences have been thoroughly researched in many contexts, this is not the case for Appalachia, which has often been relegated to the fringe of scholarly research, resulting in an overall lack of research on Appalachia. Further lacking is research into how protective factors might be utilized to help overcome adversity. While some recent research on the relationship between adverse childhood experiences, hope, and resilience has been conducted, it too has been limited to select populations. It is …

Managing Stress In A Constantly-Changing Workforce, Lorri Burch-Hubbard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When staffing reductions occur in the workplace, staff left behind may face increased stress, may not be given the support they need to manage the feelings caused by the reduction. This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of stress caused by staffing reductions has on medical technologists (MT), medical technicians (MLT) and respiratory therapists (RT), and to identify any common methods of stress management used by those staff who remain in the organization.

Literature research showed the negative impact stress can have on individuals when it is not addressed, such as decreased work performance, health issues, and even the …

Innovation And Equity In Public Health Research : Testing Arts-Based Methods For Trauma-Informed, Culturally-Responsive Inquiry., Tasha Golden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the field of Public Health has shifted from a biomedical paradigm to a social ecological approach, focusing on health equity and social determinants of health, it has increasingly acknowledged the roles of culture and trauma in health outcomes. The field has responded by modifying some research practices, but continues to prioritize conventional methodologies—with few options designed to foreground trauma- and cultural-responsiveness. Unfortunately, to the extent that conventional approaches require health to be defined, communicated, or valued according to dominant norms, they risk perpetuating inequities. Health equity therefore requires the development of research methodologies that increase inclusivity and access, elicit …

Adverse Childhood Experiences, Homeless Chronicity, And Age At Onset Of Homelessness, Joseph T. Tucciarone Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Childhood adversity is associated with numerous negative outcomes across multiple domains, including mental and physical health, interrelationships, and social functioning. Notably, research suggests that childhood adversity has a dose-response relationship with these outcomes; that is, greater numbers of adverse experiences in childhood are associated with worse outcomes. These outcomes overlap with many risk factors of homelessness. This study sought to address two questions: 1) Does a dose-response relationship exist between childhood adversity and chronic homelessness? 2) Does childhood adversity negatively predict the age at which homelessness first occurs? Adults experiencing homeless who are accessing homeless services in the Tri-Cities area …

Sensory-Based Programming In Mental Health: Sense Of Self, Nikki Yeckel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The doctoral experiential component (DEC) for this Capstone was completed at the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System (VA) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The program, called Sense of Self, was implemented with the Veteran mental health (MH) population in an inpatient psychiatric rehabilitation unit at the VA. Sense of Self was a three-day educational program that educated Veterans on the sensory systems and sensory processing, provided calming or alerting strategies with use of sensory materials, and assisted the Veterans in creating sensory home programs based on personal goals. The goals of this Capstone were to inform the staff of the Veteran demographic population …

An Exploration Of Barriers To Health Care Access Among Uninsured Patients: Using The Moderating Effect Of Patients’ Enablement, Enedelia L. Jessup

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT On March 23, 2010, Congress passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) to increase value of care, improve clinical outcomes, decrease health care costs, and increase affordability in health care access. The purpose of the study attempts to examine the moderating effects of patient enablement impacting barriers, low socio economic status, and unmet basic needs, toward health care access in uninsured populations post ACA. Only certain aspects of patient enablement in self-management of an individual’s health care goals have been conducted with uninsured populations with barriers toward health care access. The research design was a quantitative, exploratory, …

Fear Of Missing Out, Social Media Abuse, And Parenting Styles, Kylie Richter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the increasing rise in technology use, particularly engagement in social media, it is important for researchers to gain a better understanding of the usage patterns along with the antecedents and consequences of heavy social media usage. In addition to the rise in social media usage, a new anxiety driven phenomenon is storming the research world, FoMO (Fear of Missing Out). To date, there has been little empirical research on the relationship between social media usage and psychological adjustment. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between FoMO, social media abuse, and parenting styles. It is theorized that because FoMO …

Therapy Dogs And The Impact On Employees In The Pediatric Medical Setting, Laine Foith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

More than 40% of nurses reported experiencing significant burnout. Burnout is characterized by disengagement, cynicism, negative views of personal accomplishment and ability, and emotional exhaustion. The healthcare providers that experience burnout can possibly expect a decrease in ability to recognize/report errors, increase of negative feelings toward the patient, and decrease levels of patient satisfaction (Ernest, 2014). One of the ways Schub (2015) suggested to regulate burnout for employees was to provide psychosocial support to colleagues to reduce stress. This study is one of the first attempts to bridge the gap between the unknown correlation between qualitative and quantitative benefits of …

Life Balance In Adult Healthy Siblings Of Individuals With Childhood Cancer., Yolanda Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Siblings of children who were diagnosed with cancer in childhood experience significant stress and psychological difficulties as a result of the cancer. Furthermore, the needs of siblings have often been overlooked in the cancer literature, prompting the need for more studies. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the life balance and social support outcomes of adults who grew up in the household with a sibling that was diagnosed with cancer. The study sample consisted of 120 adult healthy siblings who grew up in a household with a sibling that was diagnosed with cancer prior to age 19. Participants …

Optimism Bias In Fitness, Katrielle Marx

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The people of the United States of America have been concerned with the population’s overweight and obesity rate for a while. The purpose of this study was to find out if optimism bias had an influence on fitness. Optimism bias is overestimating the likelihood of positive events and underestimate the likelihood of negative events happening in one’s life. This study created a fitness optimism scale and used a set of fitness assessments and exercise questions to correlate with the fitness optimism bias. There were 105 students who participated in this study, 82 females and 23 males with a mean age …

Assessing Cultural Competence In A Mental Health Outpatient Facility., Alexis N. Keen Crook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cultural competence is a concept that has been thoroughly investigated in healthcare, but there is a dearth of literature and research on this topic as it pertains to mental health services. In healthcare, research has shown that a lack of cultural competence is directly linked to high levels of misdiagnoses, mistrust of healthcare and professionals, and overall poor health in minority populations. Using the Campinha-Bacote model for cultural competence in health care, I explore how cultural competence is defined and operationalized in an outpatient mental health facility. I hypothesize that, similar to research addressing cultural competency in healthcare systems, cultural …

The Effects Of Alpha Stimulation On Induced Anxiety, Nolan Thomas Hill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety is defined as an emotional and physical reaction that prepares us to confront a feared stimulus. Among the many measureable changes induced by anxiety are changes in facial electromyography (EMG), heart rate (HR), and sweat gland activity (EDG). At a pathological level anxiety interferes with cognitive processes. Currently, when anxiety crosses into the pathological level, it is treated with a variety of therapies that share in their use of periods of exposure to anxiety-inducing stimuli. Several devices have been developed to alter brain activity by transcranial electrical stimulation (TCES). One such device, Alpha-Stim^®, has been shown to …