Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Interventions That Help The Helpers: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Interventions Targeting Compassion Fatigue, Secondary Traumatic Stress And Vicarious Traumatization In Mental Health Workers, Melissa Lynn Bercier

Dissertations

Compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress and vicarious traumatization have received widespread attention in the literature due to an increased awareness of negative effects mental health workers experience when working with people who have been traumatized. Mental health workers become more vulnerable to significant stress when they work with trauma victims, which can lead to many negative consequences that can affect their own health as well as their treatment of their clients. While there is much that we are learning about the causes and outcomes of mental health workers' exposure to their clients' trauma, there has been less focus on effectiveness …

Social And Emotional Learning: An Argument For Religious Pluralism, Debra Mayconich Baron

Dissertations

The purpose of this project is to argue that in order for social and emotional learning (SEL) goals to achieve their intended outcomes for students and society, religious pluralism must be reflected in student instruction. SEL involves the use of evidence-based practices to provide opportunities to develop competencies related to self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making which are intended to enable students to demonstrate morally appropriate actions and ethical decisions, which I am calling "right behavior."

It is my argument that one's understanding of right behavior embodies both implicit and explicit moral beliefs based on one's …

The Student's Perspective: Exploring Ethnic Group Variances In Bullying Behavior Using Mixed Methods Research, Stephanie Grunewald

Dissertations

Although bullying is a widely recognized problem among school-aged youth, current research has failed to adequately consider whether ethnicity impacts students' involvement in, and perceptions of, bullying behaviors. This study employed a mixed methodology to examine how an ethnically diverse sample of students in seventh and eighth grade described and perceived bullying within their school. Initially, the Student Comprehensive Assessment of Bullying Behavior-Revised (SCABB-R) (Varjas, Henrich & Meyers, 2008a) was administered to students attending a suburban middle school in the Midwest (N = 750; 391 males, 359 females). Individual interviews were then conducted to further explore students' perspectives of bullying …

Toward The Development Of The Stereotypical Roles Of Black Young Men Scale, Amber Hewitt

Dissertations

There is a significant amount of literature on identity development in general, but there is a dearth of research focusing on identity development in relation to how other processes and constructs influence the identity development of African American young men. One such construct is the presence of stereotypical roles. The primary purpose of this study was to create a reliable and valid measure of the stereotypical roles of African American young men. This study explored the relationship between the endorsement of stereotypical roles, stigma consciousness, and masculinity of African American young men. African American young men (n = 164) between …

Visual Analysis Of E-Textbooks For Senior High School In Indonesia, Ouda Ena

Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the visual images used as illustrations in the English electronic textbooks for grades ten, eleven, and twelve in Indonesia. Qualitative visual content analysis was employed as the methodology of the research. The analysis focused on whether these e-textbooks accommodated the religious, gender, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity of the students. These four aspects of cultural diversity that influenced students learning in Indonesian contexts were crucial to examine because the students were so diverse as results of the geographical conditions and historical background of Indonesia. Eight English e-textbooks were examined. First, the result showed …

Liberian Refugee Women's Personal Narratives On The Effects Of War On Motherhood, Florence Wanjiru Kimondo

Dissertations

One major effect of displacement by war and subsequently living in a refugee

camp is the disruption of the social, cultural, economic and legal institutions of

communities; this affects parenting and a child's development. Few research studies

address the effects of war, political upheaval, and displacement on parenting, specifically

the experience of motherhood and the cultural socialization process of children. Yet, most

research points at the undeniable connection between social and cognitive competence

and the social and physical context, with changes in these contexts influencing the

competencies parents' inculcate in their children. Furthermore,

there is sparse literature focusing specifically on …

Latino Academic Achievement: Impact Of Individual, Family, School, Community And Immigration Factors, Jessica Catharine Martone

Dissertations

The dissertation increases our understanding of the influence of multiple social systems on the academic achievement of Latino students. More specifically, this study examines the influence and dynamic interaction of individual, family, school, community, and immigration factors on the academic achievement of Latino students through a secondary data analysis of the ELS: 2002 dataset utilizing hierarchical linear modeling. Academic achievement is measured with a dichotomous variable: high achieving and low achieving. "High achieving" students are those that have an on-time transition to higher education and "low achieving" students are those that have a delayed or no transition to higher education. …

Who's Attending The Party? Elections, Parties, And Democratization In Postcommunist States, Jonathan Windle Riggs

Dissertations

The record of democratization in the postcommunist states indicates that there is a relationship between the type of electoral system they adopted and the success of their democratic development--countries which instituted proportional representation (PR) elections have achieved greater success than have those countries which instituted single member district (SMD) elections. The record also shows a second relationship existing between type of election method used and the development of political parties as important political actors--PR methods promote party politics whereas SMD methods do not. A third phenomenon--significant numbers of ambitious office seekers who have no party affiliation competing in SMD elections--strongly …

Processes Underlying Syntactic Control: Evaluating Linguistically Diverse Children, Vanessa R. Raschke

Dissertations

The current study focused on the mechanisms involved in syntactic awareness development in monolingual and bilingual (English/Spanish-speaking) nine-year-olds. Inclusion of child language brokers (those who translate and interpret for non-English speaking family members) diversified the definition of "bilingual." Previous research has shown bilingual advantages in areas of metalinguistic awareness and executive function (e.g., Bialystok, 2010; Davidson, Raschke, & Pervez, 2010), however, child language brokers have not been distinguished in these studies. These children, due to early language-switching and translation duties, may have differential development of areas of inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and working memory, areas suspected to aid in metalinguistic awareness …

Reducing Narcissistic Defensiveness Through The Activation Of Belonging, Jennifer Lee Smith

Dissertations

People with high levels of narcissism possess extremely positive self-evaluations that may mask underlying feelings of inferiority and a need for love and acceptance. People with high levels of narcissism defend their inflated self-evaluations through chronic self-enhancement processes, which can have negative consequences for their relationship functioning. The current research examined the effects of acceptance affirmation on self-enhancement of people with high and low levels of narcissism. Study 1 found that affirming acceptance reduced self-enhancement on trait ratings for people with high (vs. low) narcissism when they had a low need to belong, but the acceptance manipulation increased defensive self-enhancement …

Acculturative Stress And Coping Strategies Used By Asian Indians Living In The United States: A Quantitative And Qualitative Inquiry, Ritu V. Thaker

Dissertations

The present research addressed acculturative stress experiences and coping strategies used by Asian Indians residing in the United States. The organizing research question was "What are the acculturative stress experiences and coping strategies used by first generation Asian Indians living in the United States?" The research question was explored through fourteen hypotheses.

A mixed method approach was employed. For the first phase, 54 first-generation Asian Indians were recruited from four sites using a purposive convenience sampling method, the SAFE-R standardized questionnaire was used to measure acculturative stress, the COPE scale to measure coping strategies, and a culturally grounded Socio-Demographic Information …

Just Like Everyone Else? Locating South Asians In 21st Century American Popular Media, Bhoomi K. Thakore

Dissertations

In the 21st century, representations of South Asians in American popular media have grown exponentially. This is a particularly interesting phenomenon when considering the status that South Asians occupy in the American racial hierarchy. In Just Like Everyone Else? Locating South Asians in 21st Century American Popular Media, I examine audience perceptions of South Asian/Indian characters and actors in American popular media. My research is guided by the following question: to what extent do audience perceptions of South Asians in U.S. popular media reflect pre-existing ideologies of race, gender, ethnicity, and immigration? Using data from 155 open-ended online questionnaires and …

Identity Negotiation Of Young Arab Muslim Women Attending College In The United States And France, Danielle Dunand Zimmerman

Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how young Arab Muslim women attending college, in the United States and France, negotiate their identity vis-à-vis multiple contexts of citizenship in secular state, gender, religion, culture, and race. Sixteen interviews were conducted, eight in Paris and eight in Chicago. Using the theoretical frameworks of social identity, cultural studies, and critical race feminism, this study approached identity negotiation in terms of integration and differentiation from others; influence of dominant culture and attempt to redefine identity; gender and specificity of the experience of women of color as well as interrelation of multiple …

Biases In Children's Cognitive Styles: Investigating Local, Global, And Rule-Based Processing In Autism Spectrum Disorders And Typical Development, Sandra Beatriz Vanegas

Dissertations

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is classified as a pervasive developmental disorder that presents a triad of impairments across communication, social behavior, and restricted interests (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). To date, many attempts have been made to explain the cognitive profiles of children and adults with ASD. Three prominent theories, Weak Central Coherence (Frith, 1989), Systemizing (Baron-Cohen, 2002), and Executive Dysfunction Theory (Pennington & Ozonoff, 1996), may together provide a plausible explanation for the cognitive biases of individuals with ASD.

Weak Central Coherence (WCC) Theory proposes that individuals with ASD have difficulty learning new information due to a fixation towards local …

The Presence Of Empathy In Male Completers Of A Partner Intervention Program, Katherine Dahlberg

Dissertations

There is an abundance of research which has explored the complex nature related to men who commit partner abuse including: causative factors, co-occurring variables, treatment efficacy, and attrition and recidivism rates. Although, all of these issues are relevant to understanding and eliminating the problem of partner violence, unexplored conditions still remain. For instance, the mystery surrounding an abusive man's level of remorse for his behavior; particularly, his capacity for empathy toward his victim and related insights to how his behavior has had an impact on his victim have been under-researched. Exploring the ways in which abusive men think and learn …

Remembering The Cultural Trauma Legacies Of Slavery: African American Young Adult Perceptions On Racism, Ethnic Identity, And Racial Socialization, Kimya Pearl Barden

Dissertations

The purpose of this research investigation is to explore cultural trauma theory on African American young adult development. Cultural trauma theory asserts the adverse cross-cultural encounter, North American slavery, reproduces intergenerational psychosocial legacies for contemporary African Americans. Accordingly, cultural trauma theory is used to explore with African American young adults three "slave" legacies: ethnic identity formation, perceptions of racism, and racial socialization experiences. A qualitative case study approach is used for (N=26) participants enrolled in either college or a GED program. Each young adult participates in either an individual or focus group interview. To aid in data triangulation, older African …

The Effects Of Organized Activity Involvement On Latino Adolescent Well-Being, Maria D. Guzman

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between organized activity (OA) involvement, as measured by 10th/12th grade intensity and consistency of involvement, and 12th grade Latino adolescent well-being, as measured by self-perceptions (i.e. locus of control & self-worth) and academic perceptions (i.e. educational expectations & school belonging). Further, the moderating effects of primary home language, sex, and family SES, on the relation between OA involvement and 12th grade well-being were assessed. Finally, we examined a model of predictors of participation in which 10th/12th grade individual factors (i.e. academic and self- perceptions) predicted OA involvement in 12th grade, …

Second-Class Families: The Challenges And Strategies Of Mixed-Status Immigrant Families, Diana Maritza Guelespe

Dissertations

The most recent peak in migration has involved large numbers of undocumented people and much of the sociological scholarship on immigration explores their lives as individuals and how they stay connected to their family across borders, but there is little research about the new phenomenon of mixed-status immigrant families-- families with at least one unauthorized immigrant and one U.S. citizen--or how their families face the looming risk of separation. The purpose of this dissertation is to describe the experiences and challenges these families confront. Why has there been a rise in mixed-status immigrant families? How does the relative permanence of …

Perceived Social Class, College Interest, And Post-Secondary Goals: An Application Of The Scat Interest And Choice Model, Jason Daniel Hacker

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of perceived social class (PSC) in the educational development of 176 racially and economically diverse high school students. PSC was defined based on the tenants of differential status identity theory (Fouad & Brown, 2000) and then incorporated as a person variable in the interest and choice model of social cognitive career theory (Lent & Brown, 1996; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). The study first examined the relation of PSC to students' choice intention to pursue a college degree via cognitive self-evaluations (college self-efficacy, college outcome expectations, college interest). Alternatively, PSC …

Personal And Contextual Resilience Factors And Their Relations To Psychological Adjustment Outcomes Across The Lifespan: A Meta - Analysis, Kristen Lamp

Dissertations

Research concerning resilience following trauma and adversity indicates that resilient adaptation occurs more often than originally hypothesized. Correlational studies have identified resilience factors including social support, self-efficacy, self-esteem, spirituality, and optimism. However, these studies have evidenced mixed findings regarding the relationships between resilience factors and adjustment outcomes including adjustment to trauma, psychological adjustment, and posttraumatic growth. In the present study, definitions and concepts in resilience research were clarified, and findings from the past five decades of lifespan resilience research were reviewed. A meta-analysis designed to summarize the existing research and uncover the true nature of the relationships among resilience factors …

The World Is Not Yet Completed: Moral Imaginaries And Everyday Politics In Progressive Religious Communities, Todd Nicholas Fuist

Dissertations

How religion shapes political and civic engagement has been a consistently fruitful question for American social theorists. Religion has often been understood as providing the moral underpinnings of civil society, traditionally in ways that promote cohesion or preserve the status quo. Despite this, there has been a long tradition of progressive religious engagement in American civic and political life, including the abolitionist movement, civil rights movement, and anti-nuclear movement. Through an ethnographic examination of six politically progressive religious communities, including two communes and four congregations, I examine how religion is put towards progressive ends. Through this, I develop the concept …

Preserving The Bond: Child Welfare Professionals' Perspectives On The Opportunities And Challenges Of Parent-Child Visitation, Lina M. Munoz

Dissertations

The foster care system was designed to be a temporary placement for children when their parents are unable or unwilling to provide proper care and supervision. A permanency plan must be established for all children in care, stating clear goals for a permanent living arrangement to facilitate the child's reunification with his/her family. The current Illinois Child Welfare Practice Model promotes a family-centered, trauma-informed, and strength-based practice approach when providing child welfare services to families in foster care with the caseworker serving as the primary vehicle for facilitating change.

This study explored how this child welfare practice model is reflected …

¿Déjalo Descansar? The Parental Bereavement Experience Of Mexican Migrant Mothers, Illeana Gomez

Dissertations

"Déjalo descansar, no le llores" - "Let them rest, don't cry for them" is an expression Mexican mothers often hear after the death of a child. While accepted as a culturally polite means of expressing condolence, the phrase nonetheless can have a detrimental effect on the parental bereavement experience of these mothers. Through the use of focus groups, 22 Mexican migrant mothers were interviewed to better understand the role that imperatives such as "Déjalo descansar" and other prescribed beliefs, rituals, and customs play in their bereavement experience. From the five focus groups conducted in this qualitative study, participants reported that …

A Qualitative Study Of Stakeholder Perceptions In Early Childhood Intervention Partnership, Ruth Schumacher

Dissertations

The first three years of life are a period where significant growth occurs in all areas of development to prepare infants and toddlers for further learning. Early experiences and relationships impact that early cognitive development. As the literature suggests, the greatest opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and decrease the achievement gap is to intervene early with at risk young children and families. In order to promote resiliency, it is imperative that children have at least one adult who is a consistent and reliable figure in their lives. Early childhood intervention programs serve to empower parents to meet that …

The Effects Of Acculturation, Health, Socioeconomic Status, And Perceived Respect On Older Adult Depression: Analysis Of Korean American Older Adults In Chicago, Kyungsoo Sim

Dissertations

This study explored the extent to which acculturation level, health condition and SES influence depressive symptoms mediated or moderated by perceived respect and current geographical background of 121 Korean-American older adults in the Chicago metropolitan and its suburban area.

A multi-method approach was imported to analyze self-collected quantitative survey data from two groups of 80 participants in Chicago and 41 in the suburbs, qualitative interview data from 4 focus groups, 2 in-depth interviews and GIS (Geographic Information Systems). In the survey, Suinn-Lew Asian Stress-Identity Acculturation Scale, Geriatric Depression Scale-30, Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue, Health Perception Questionnaire-36, 13-item questions …

Neuropsychological, Psychological, And Injury Variables Associated With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder In Individuals Who Suffered An Electrical Injury, Jana Wingo

Dissertations

Electrical injury (EI) represents a major form of trauma that can greatly impact the individual cognitively, physically, and emotionally. EI can lead to a variety of cognitive impairments affecting attention, processing speed, motor skills, and memory. Furthermore, EI can lead to a variety of physical impairments from burns to cardiac injury. In addition to other psychiatric disorders, individuals who suffer an EI can eventually develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

This study examined a clinical sample of 143 individuals (86.0% male, 85.3% Caucasian, 44.1% diagnosed with PTSD) who have experienced an EI to determine the factors associated with the development of …

The Politics And Practicalities Of Reentry: A Case Study Of The Reentry Environment In A Suburban Community, Carlene Sipma-Dysico

Dissertations

Although inquiry into reentry has grown significantly in the past decade, studies concerning formerly incarcerated persons entrance back into society tend to look at the outcomes and consequences of reentry, not the process. This "what works and what doesn't work" research approach (Seiter and Kadela 2003) leaves some very important aspects of reentry unexamined. While determining the efficacy of programs designed to reduce recidivism is important for public safety, social policy creation, and budgetary considerations, the role of the community in reentry remains largely unexplored.

This dissertation examines how reentry is done at the community level; by practitioners of reentry, …

Cheerleaders And Performers: Mental Health Courts In A Midwestern State, Monte Staton

Dissertations

"Cheerleaders and Performers: Mental Health Courts in a Midwestern State" by Monte D. Staton

This dissertation presents a statewide study focusing on a recently developed technique for dealing with persons with mental illness in the criminal justice system: mental health court (MHC). This study of nine MHC programs utilized surveys, interviews, and ethnographic observations to examine the work activities and understandings of the criminal justice and mental health professionals who administer and operate the programs in a Midwestern state. Data were analyzed by combining Goffman's dramaturgical analysis with Dorothy E. Smith's institutional ethnography. Findings reveal that MHC professionals engage in …

Organizational Constraints And Supports For Psychosocial Care Of Ethiopian Children At Risk: The Case Of Services In Addis Ababa, Daniel Hailu

Dissertations

The dissertation describes from an institutional perspective psychosocial support services being provided to orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. Despite the presence of sufficient but fragmented legal, policy and strategic framework, Ethiopia's social protection landscape has suffered from a historic dearth of interventions that address psychosocial risks and vulnerabilities. Over the past decade and half, however, psychosocial support services to OVC have been slowly defused into the Ethiopian society as elements of programming for care and support to the population. Consequently, there currently exists diversity in the types of psychosocial risks and vulnerabilities that interventions prioritize …

Relations Among Endogenous Attention, Executive Functioning, And Global Assessment Measures In Toddlers And Preschoolers Born Full-Term And Preterm, Nancy Wyss

Dissertations

Infants born prematurely now represent about 12% of all live births in the United States and are at risk for numerous developmental issues. For example, children born preterm are at an increased risk (2-3 times greater) for later attentional problems. With the high rate of attentional issues in later childhood, it is crucial to assess young children born preterm with a valid measure. Currently, global assessments are commonly utilized in neonatal follow-up programs as a broad-based assessment of children born preterm. However, they are often poor predictors of later functioning. There are many different components of attention, and experimental tasks …