Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Quantitative Assessment Of Empathy After An Art Prime With Counseling Students, Annette Lisa Coletta

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Empathy skills are necessary to form therapeutic relationships. Previous research showed that participating in the arts engaged similar neuropathways as those needed to produce empathy. The theoretical framework for this study was art therapy relational neuroscience. The purpose of this pretest, posttest quantitative research study, using the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire, was to examine if a single art session could effectively prime for empathy. Using nonprobability, convenience sampling method, 74 graduate counseling students completed online surveys. Four findings are of note: (a) a t-test showed a significant difference between mean values of pre-post test scores, (b) an independent groups t-test indicated …

Racial Socialization And Fear Of Crime In Stand Your Ground Laws, Anna Nicole Douglas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2005, Florida enacted the Justifiable Use of Deadly Force legislation, known as Stand Your Ground (SYG) laws, in response to the Workman case. The aftermath of that case led to the expansion of the laws that removed the duty to retreat principle and allowed citizens to employ deadly force when imbued with fear. The SYG laws as written appeared to imply state-sanctioned violence, with an increase in homicides, coupled with racial disparities. This study employed a quantitative inquiry with a causal-comparative design to explore whether a relationship existed between racial socialization and fear of crime in SYG states compared …

Coping Challenges And Methods Among Parents Of Children With Corpus Callosum Disorders, Peggy Henninger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disorders of the corpus callosum (ADCC) present developmental challenges to children and adults. These disorders are characterized by symptoms of abnormal behaviors and/or thinking patterns. Because ADCC may exist in combination with other disabilities, individual IQs and the severity and problems vary from individual to individual. Using the double ABCx model of family adaptation to stress related to a family member with a disability, the purpose of this cross-sectional study was to provide the first evaluation of parental adaptation among parents of children with ADCC. The final sample, 265 mothers of children with ADCC, was recruited through online support groups …

The Lived Experiences Of Military Spouses Who Choose To Live Separately, Cortenia Lashea Just-Bourgeois

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative study was designed and conducted to hear the voices of military spouses who chose to live separately from the active duty spouse. The study also sought to identify potential risks due to the separation and protective factors that were used to positively cope with separation. Previous studies have examined risk factors for military spouses as a result of military induced separation such as deployment. However, no study has been conducted regarding separation by choice of the military spouse and active duty service member. The theory of resiliency provided an understanding of the presence of protective factors and resiliency. …

Implications Of Non-Tangible Assets And Macroeconomic Parameters On Long-Term Stock Performance, Leo Rajan Pereira

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A rational long-horizon stock investment decision is a complex process due to uncertainty in supply and demand, competitive advantage, macroeconomic parameters and various perspectives of investors. Today, the '€˜non-tangible assets'€™ (NTA) that include goodwill and intangible assets are a significant part of corporate assets, but their role in stock performance has not well studied. The purpose of this research is to empirically analyze the implications of NTA and of gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States on the stock price. According to the efficient market hypothesis, stock price reflects all relevant information. The research question focused on the extent …

Certainty Versus Suspicion: Incapacitated Sexual Assault On Campus, Amanda Ellen Quade

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

One in four women experience sexual assault during college. With rates of sexual assault on college campuses continuing to increase, the need for advanced analysis utilizing contemporary variables is justified. The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare two groups of female college-attending students. One group was certain and the other suspected that they were sexually assaulted while incapacitated (independent variables). Dependent variables compared between groups were offender type (interest on offenders with fraternal affiliations), law enforcement reporting decisions, and barriers to reporting sexual assault. Four research questions measured whether there was a statistically significant difference amongst the dependent …

Perceptions Of Coping Strategies Of Young Adults Who Were Bullied As Youth, Latonya Rainwater

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Victims of childhood bullying often use passive coping strategies and experience depression, substance abuse use, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine adults' lived experiences of coping methods they used as victims of bullies during adolescence. Lazarus and Folkman's transactional theory of stress and coping provided the framework for the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 young adults who were bullied as adolescents. Coding analysis indicated 7 emerging themes for coping: confrontation, self-controlling, seeking social support, accepting responsibility, escape-avoidance, problem-solving, and positive reappraisal. Participants reported that some coping methods were perceived as …

Central California's Juvenile/Dependency And Criminal Courts' Treatment Of Parent-Child Contact, Cheryl Oslinker Spano

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Parties to a legal action of child abuse can be prosecuted criminally as well as charged with allegations within the jurisdiction of juvenile/dependency court. This can lead to seemingly conflicting goals regarding contact and visitation between the two parties (victim and defendant; child and parent). In essence, restraining orders or visitation orders from one court can contradict the case goals of another court. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to (a) determine if there is a pattern of inconsistent goals in cases of concurrent jurisdictional child-abuse cases, (b) evaluate the effect of conflicting court orders on each jurisdiction's …

Stakeholder Effects On Shaping Public Policy In Stormwater Management, Galates Sera

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In Washington, DC, historical data are used to adequately size for rainfall events, and efforts to increase stormwater management requirements are fought against by internal stakeholders. In urban planning, extreme rainfall events, that may occur more frequently than expected, are often not a consideration when designing for green infrastructure facilities. The purpose of this case study was to explore how internal and external stakeholders influence stormwater management policies related to extreme rainfall events in Washington, DC. The power and politics organization theory, which focuses on how individuals obtain influence, and the resource dependency theory, which explores how organizations benefit from …

Transgender And Gender Nonconforming Persons' Experiences With Counseling Assessments, Macie Stead

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Counselors sometimes use counseling assessments with transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) persons without understanding the experiences individuals have with those assessments. The American Counseling Association and the World Professional Association of Transgender Health identified that attention is needed with the practice of counseling assessments to ensure that helpful, ethical, and culturally sensitive services are available. The purpose of this study was to explore TGNC adults' experiences with counseling assessments. Gadamer's hermeneutics provided a framework to examine qualitative data as truth and validate the individuals' experiences with counseling assessments. Participants included 12 TGNC persons 18 years or older who had a …

Individual And Organizational Coping Resources Of Counselors Who Survived Vicarious Trauma: A Multiple Case Study, Dale Ray Heppe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Vicarious trauma poses a risk factor for clinicians. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study is to examine the individual and organizational resources used by counselors who have self-reported vicarious trauma and have continue practicing their profession effectively. Two theories that comprised the framework of this study were: the social cognitive theory and the constructivist self-development theory. The sample consisted of 10 counselors who self-reported vicarious trauma. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, observations, and then were analyzed using thematic analysis. NVivo software was utilized to come up with distinct similarities in each of the participants. These similarities were …

The Relation Of Court Appointed Special Advocate Education To Foster Care Outcomes, Leah Danelle York

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program is an organization that utilizes lay volunteers as advocates for children in foster care to improve outcomes for those children. The effectiveness of CASAs in achieving permanency outcomes for children in foster care has been established; however, the literature has significant methodological flaws and is outdated. The purpose of this study, guided by the theory of change and social cognitive theory, was to explore whether CASA self-efficacy, through a proxy measure of education level, is related to permanency outcomes such as reunification with parents and rate of reentry to the foster care system …

Exploring The Advancement And Authority Experiences Of Lesbian And Gay Corporate Leaders, Michael Eric Baker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has shown lesbian and gay (LG) corporate leaders are likely to experience issues in advancement and authority in the workplace. However, little is known about how LG leaders experience these issues, and how their experiences influence their careers and organizations. This qualitative multiple-case study explored the advancement and authority experiences of 12 gay male corporate leaders using a constructivist paradigm. The theoretical foundation used Tajfel and Turner's social identity theory and Fassinger, Shullman, and Stevenson's affirmative lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender leadership model. The conceptual framework included stereotypes, discrimination, sexual identity disclosure, corporate culture, and sociopolitical culture. Research questions …

What Postpartum Depression Looks Like For Men: A Phenomenological Study, Clara Lee Barnes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Postpartum depression (PPD) has been identified as a mental health condition that impacts women, men, and families. PPD has been shown to be prevalent in both women and men following the birth of a child; it has been associated with marital conflict, insecure attachment, and poor infant-child outcomes. While PPD has been studied extensively in women, paternal PPD often goes understudied, undetected, and untreated. The purpose of the present research was to explore the lived experiences of men who have experienced PPD through the lens of self-perception theory using a qualitative phenomenological study. Six men who have experienced PPD …

The Shortage Of Licensed Social Workers In Central Florida, Helen M. Burrows

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

For several decades, a national shortage of licensed clinical social workers has been growing in the United States. Licensed social workers provide counsel and advocacy for those affected by mental illness, addiction, abuse, and discrimination, among other economic difficulties, and are the largest group of providers of mental and behavioral health services. The research questions for this project addressed what challenges unlicensed social workers in central Florida identify as barriers to pursuing clinical licensure. This study also explored strategies that unlicensed social workers in central Florida reported to address these barriers and encourage the pursuit of clinical licensure. The purpose …

How Childcare Type And Disaster Recovery Funding Type Impact Childcare Recovery, Heather L. Beal

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Childcare is critical community infrastructure, yet it is typically not eligible for recovery assistance postdisaster. The effect of disaster on children has been extensively studied and research indicates that the return to normalcy (e.g., through restoration of childcare programs) helps aid recovery. Despite this, little research has been conducted on how childcare programs recover. The purpose of this research was to investigate how the recovery times for childcare programs affected by Superstorm Sandy varied based on childcare typology and the recovery funding resources used. A quasi-experimental research design was selected and data from 76 surveys was evaluated using one-way and …

Perceptions, Lived-Experiences, And Environmental Factors Impacting The Crime-Reporting Practices Of Private College Students, Kelly Lynn Arney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was assessing the perceptions of student's on how the campus climate impacts their likelihood of reporting crime. Victimization studies have been conducted at large universities and community colleges; however, there remains a lack of research regarding private colleges. This study was designed to examine the reasoning behind students' crime-reporting behaviors and the influencers that impact their decisions. Cohen and Felson's routine activity theory along with the collective-efficacy theory were used as frameworks to analyze the crimes that occur to college students as well as to explore the reasons for not reporting some crimes to law …

National Strategy Against Narcotics, Drug Control Policy, And Law Enforcement Experiences In Kosovo, Ferid Azemi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This research is focused on evaluation of National Strategy Against Narcotics (NSAN) enacted in 2012 in Kosovo. The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of NSAN through visualizing data and gaining deeper insight from experiences of antidrug experts. Convergent parallel mixed methods were used to answer the main research questions. The central research questions examined the impact of strategy implementation in juvenile drug arrest reduction, and its effectiveness on Kosovo criminal justice system. Markwood's comprehensive theory of substance abuse prevention (CTSAP) was used to assess and explore the NSAN. Deidentified juvenile arrest rates taken from Kosovo official …

Lived Experiences Of Women Receiving Substance Abuse Treatment From Male Counselors, Robert C. Bennett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The cost of the misuse of drugs is significant. The impact is felt across multiple systems across America and is covered mostly by federal, state, and local governments. Women comprise a significant portion of the persons using illicit drugs. Treatment is an effective way of reducing substance misuse. However, research into the efficacy of treatment for women lag that of men. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that women receiving substance abuse treatment from a man had shorter stays in treatment and poorer outcomes than those who had a female counselor while in treatment. Phenomenological and relational-cultural …

Exploring Leader Development Experiences To Inform Department Of Defense Leader Development Policy, Glenn J. Butler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although there are several robust leader development programs in the U.S. Army, no standardized access to leader development is provided to all service members at the start of their career. Forty-four percent of the Department of Defense (DoD) active duty personnel are 25 years of age or less. Despite this known experience gap, there is a shortfall in policy that ensures standardized access to leader development during this foundational period. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of service members who participated in the United States Army Pacific's Regional Leader Development Program-Pacific (RLDP-P) to inform DoD …

Relationship Between Race, Gender, And Elder Abuse Awareness, James Earl Burrell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lack of elder abuse awareness and underreporting is an increasing problem in the United States in that only 1 in 14 cases of elder abuse is reported. The failure to report incidents of elder abuse and suspected elder abuse allows further abuse of elders and for elder abusers to go unpunished. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study was to understand the relationship between race, gender, and elder abuse awareness and fill the gap in elder abuse literature. Research questions tested mean differences between race and gender, respectively, and elder abuse awareness. The theoretical frameworks for this study were the …

The Impact Of Congressional Attention And Policy Mood On Public Health Funding, Evelyn Denise Dunn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Congressional appropriations for federal public health agencies are subjected to external factors throughout the congressional appropriations process, resulting in fluctuations in funding. Recent literature has focused on externals factors, such as political attention and public attitudes, that could influence government funding levels; however, the impact of these factors on federal public health funding was not addressed. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between these external factors and federal public health appropriations. A quantitative study was used to examine congressional attention, policy mood, and the influence on the change in the level of federal public …

Residential Counselor Turnover: The Effects Of Burnout, Vicarious Trauma, Environment, And Self-Care, Kristine Edmonds

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Most youth receiving care in residential treatment centers (RTCs) have experienced significant childhood trauma and require intensive mental health treatment to recover from their traumatic childhood experiences. Staff turnover is one factor that can negatively affect outcomes for these children and adolescents. Understanding factors that predict the turnover of professional counselors providing counseling to youth in RTCs can help counselors, supervisors, and counselor educators address barriers to staff retention. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to explore the relationship between the turnover of professional counselors providing counseling to youth in RTCs and their perception of the work environment, …

Relationships Between Vocational Identity, Substance Use And Criminal Thinking Among Emerging Adults, Eileen Marie Delzell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Successful formation of a self-chosen, purposeful identity in personal, social, educational and vocational areas is a primary task for emerging adults, with failure to do so often resulting in cycles of substance use, unemployment, and delinquent/criminal behavior. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine relationships between vocational identity, substance use, and criminal thinking within the population of emerging adults. The expectancy value theory of motivation, which states that identity may be a motivational construct between self-efficacy and subjective self-values, provided the foundation for the study. The online inventory platform PsychData was used to garner data from a sample …

Association Of Social Support And Patient-Provider Communication And Medication Adherence, Laquasha Arenese Gaddis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The prevalence of hypertension in African Americans is the highest of any population in the United States, and this population also demonstrates lower rates of adherence to mediation. Social support and patient-provider communication have been considered as reinforcing factors to help hypertensive patients achieve optimal blood pressure control. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of social support and patient-provider communication and medication adherence for hypertensive African American men and women. The study was guided by the theory of reasoned action. This study was conducted to determine whether social support and patient-provider communication was associated with medication …

Cyberbullying Victimization: The Lived Experiences Of Parents, Brittny Shanice Herring

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cyberbullying continues to be a rising problem facing many households. As teenagers are the primary victims of cyberbullying, it is ultimately up to victims' parents to mediate and address cyberbullying incidents. The purpose of this qualitative inquiry was to explore the lived experiences of parents who had addressed and/or mediated an incident following their adolescent's cyberbullying victimization. Bandura's self-efficacy theory was the theoretical framework that guided this study. Participants were recruited using purposeful sampling. Individual semistructured telephone interviews were held with 9 participants who were parents of adolescent cyberbullying victims. Themes were generated and data were analyzed using Colaizzi's method …

Patient Satisfaction With Nursing Care Related To Hospital Magnet Designation, Sharon Haylett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many U.S. hospitals have historically failed to recognize nursing as essential to quality of care. Given the relationship between the patients' experiences, measured by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS), and government reimbursement, stakeholders now value the role of nurses in the care experience. Some hospitals have pursued Magnet designation, which is a rigorous and costly process, in order to promote patient satisfaction through nurse autonomy and retention. The purpose of this study was to understand whether non-Magnet hospitals received similar HCAHPS scores. Expectancy disconfirmation theory provides a framework to understand the components of patient satisfaction …

The Nurse And Certified Nursing Assistant Perception Of Person-Centered Care, Latonya Dickerson Hughes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over the last decade, long-term care facilities have transitioned from institutional care models that focus on person-centered care, in which the resident is the center of the care. The purpose of this study is to explore the nurse and certified nursing assistant perception of the person-centered care services they deliver. Jean Watson's theory of human caring is the theoretical framework that guided this study. The theory focusing on the human caring experiences and person-centered care is being characterized as a caring feeling. The carative factors of Watson's theory, the fundamental concept of caring, has been associated with improved outcomes for …

The Lived Experiences Of Adult Male Trauma Survivors With Dance Movement Therapy, Jeanne Langston

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, approximately 7.7 million individuals are affected by posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at any given time. Though women are likelier to develop PTSD symptoms, men are exposed to more traumatic events in their lifetimes. Empirically- supported PTSD options exist, however clinical application of these treatments may not consistently culminate in beneficial outcomes. Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) has demonstrated positive treatment outcomes for a variety of mental and physical disorders. Nonetheless, there is a lack of robust research related to the treatment experiences of men who have participated in DMT for trauma-related symptoms. The purpose of this phenomenological …

Valuation Of Ex-Offender Motivation For Participation In A Restorative Justice Praxis, Kenneth Lang

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Restorative justice (RJ) is an emerging concept of justice in the American penal system that seeks equality for all stakeholders involved. While RJ is vastly under researched--especially concerning RJ and violent offenses--current studies have only focused on determining victims' motivations for participating in RJ. Determining and evaluating offender motivations for participating in RJ remains unexplored. The purpose of this study was to explore the possible motivations of criminal offenders and their willingness to participate in RJ. The social construction framework and the narrative policy framework were employed to understand the social context. A mixed-method approach was used that began with …