Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Parenting Experiences Among Single Southern African Immigrant Mothers In Low Socioeconomic Neighborhoods, Winnie Mhlambi Fuzane

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Empirical studies have shown that single-parent families have been overrepresented in disadvantaged neighborhoods, and the children of these families are more exposed to factors that lead to aggressive behavior. Despite these studies, there is limited literature on the parenting of immigrant mothers that may prevent aggressive behaviors in children. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of single Southern African immigrant mothers in low socioeconomic neighborhoods in California working and raising male children who do not exhibit aggressive behaviors in schools and in the community. Seligman's theory of positive psychology informed this study. Research …

Media Exposure And Social Response As Predictors Of Citizen's Attitudes Toward Police, Tara A. Garrison

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Police-involved deaths of African Americans have increased over the past two decades, with continued high-profile media exposure. The problem is that extant research provided only a partial understanding and disparate focus about how media exposure, social responses, social media use, and attitudes towards police were possibly related to citizens witnessing acts of police-initiated actions against African Americans in the United States. The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess the predictive nature of media exposure, social response, and social media use concerning citizens' attitudes towards police. The two theories supporting this study and shaped this hypothetical system are media …

Exploring The Influences Of Intergenerational Pregnancies On Teenage Girls, Ages 16 - 19, Tynika Greensberry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Generational cycles of teenage pregnancy trend among many families create economic, social, and health problems on teen parents and their families. Scholarly literature includes quantitative studies addressing the issue of teenage pregnancy but there is not many qualitative studies about the family cycle of teenage pregnancy among a highly-concentrated area of African American females in the Southern region of the United States. The life history theory and the socialization and social control theories of the intergenerational transmission of early childbearing served as the theoretical framework.. A qualitative case study is designed to identify factors that contributed to generational cycles of …

Student Persistence Of Urban Minority Two-Year College Students, Richard Ari Hahn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

College student persistence has been the focus of much research for over 40 years, but there has been little progress in increasing the rate of student persistence. Many scholars have focused on specific student populations in particular institutional types. While the fastest growing institutional type has been the 2-year for-profit college serving primarily underserved communities, the experience of persistence among students of this population has not been studied. Accordingly, this study was conducted to explore, through a social cognitive lens, the persistence experiences of students from minority urban communities attending 2-year for-profit colleges. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to analyze …

Public Policies Involving Pregnant And Parenting Secondary Students From Perspectives Of Educators, Tomecole Hilliard-Carlton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite a significant drop in the number of pregnant adolescents and reforms to fight

gender discrimination under Title IX, teen pregnancy and risk factors including poverty,

stigma, and substance abuse, which may lead to different negative outcomes, such as

depression, social isolation, and lowered self-esteem remain a persistent problem in the

United States. Due to these factors, pregnant and parenting teens have been noted to drop

out of high school prematurely. Using incrementalism as a theoretical framework, the

purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore and describe Title IX

compliance and local policies and practices of educators …

Perceived Child Regard, Parenting Stress, And Depressive Symptoms Of Nonresidential And Residential Stepmothers, Lenee Nicole Kehnt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The dynamics of the modern blended family is a topic of considerable interest in family research. The purpose of this quantitative study was to understand how parental stress, perceived parental regard, and depressive symptoms affect nonresidential and residential stepmothers. Family Systems Theory provided an appropriate lens for this research study. An analysis of covariance was used to determine whether differences existed between nonresidential and residential stepmothers in terms of parental stress, perceived parental regard, and depressive symptoms. The second goal was to determine whether the covariates of age, ethnicity, household income, time spent stepparenting, and the number of biological and …

Life Stress, Coping, Perceived Health, And Health Outcomes Among Eastern Orthodox, Athina-Eleni Goudanas Mavroudhis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Clergy exhibit higher stress and mortality rates in relation to their nonclergy counterparts. Despite current research on clergy stress and mortality rates, health perceptions and health outcomes of Western religious oriented clergy have been understudied. Even less is known about health perceptions and health outcomes of Eastern religious oriented clergy. The role of stress, coping, and health perceptions in predicting actual health outcomes is important to study in clerical populations because of the impact their health might have on serving their parishioners. The purpose of this nonexperimental correlational study was to determine the relative strength of life stress, coping styles, …

Human Trafficking As A Threat To The Security Of Americans, Lora Ann Mcdonald

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Human trafficking is a transnational crime that allows traffickers to abuse victims physically and mentally, as well as stripping them of their human rights. The United Nations theory of human security and Mendelsohn's theory of victimology provided a conceptual framework to examine the harm that people endure from human trafficking. The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explain how human trafficking threatens the security of people and communities. Reviewing data from the Department of State concerning trafficking led to the investigation of youth exploitation, the use of technology in advancing the growth of human trafficking, the health concerns …

Mediation Of Same-Sex Couples For Copareting, Tamie O'Neil

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Scholarly literature supports that individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer face inequities as a result of living in a heteronormative society. However, scholarly literature lacks body of research available that provides insight as to the experiences that counselors have while providing mediation to same-sex couple regarding coparenting. Thus, a literature gap exists pertaining to the lived experiences of counselors who provide mediation for same-sex couple coparenting. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to develop an understanding of counselors who provide same-sex couple coparenting. The theoretical framework used in this study was the equity theory, …

Strategies Hospitality Leaders Use To Reduce Employee Turnover, Borislav Perev

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee turnover is a global problem with adverse effects on financial performance and sustainability of organizations. In the hospitality industry, employee turnover levels increased to 58.8%, and the associated cost of turnover may be more than 100% of an employee's yearly wage, with a total loss of over $25 billion a year. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies used by hospitality leaders in the southeastern United States to reduce employee turnover. The conceptual framework was the transformational leadership theory. Purposeful selection of participants included leaders with experience in developing and implementing strategies for reducing employee …

Measuring Self-Perceived Clinical Preparedness With Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Clients, Kimerly D. Patterson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Counselors and counselor educators must serve clients regardless of culture, race, disability, sexual orientation, and age. Counselor educators have attempted to stay abreast of new methods to enhance counselor competencies to adequately counsel lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clients. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the extent of the relationship between self-perceived clinical preparedness of working with LGBT clients and self-perceived attitudinal awareness towards LGBT clients as moderated by levels of religious commitment of licensed professional counselor (LPC) using a feminist and multicultural theory framework. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) quantitative analysis software program …

Parents' Emotional Experiences Of Their Transgender Children Coming Out, Meri Rule

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Parents of transgender children face challenges when their children come out, including fear of negative reaction toward the parents and their transgender child by community members, concerns about social status in the community or religious organizations, and concerns about the inability of the transgender child to build his or her own family. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate the emotional experiences of parents regarding their acceptance or rejection of their transgender child. Rohner's parental acceptance-rejection theory provided the framework for the study. Data were collected from parents (N = 13) who attended Parents and Friends of …

Student Perspectives On Application Of Theory To Practice In Field Practicums, Anne Marie Scaggs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The field practicum is designed to offer students the opportunity to integrate knowledge and practice prior to graduation; however, students continue to lack the ability to connect theory to practice within the field practicum. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the beliefs, attitudes, and perspectives of social work students regarding the application of theory to practice within the field practicum. The conceptual framework included concepts of empowerment, empowerment theory, and social constructivism. The research question addressed how social work students at a local university described the issues related to connecting theory to practice within the field …

Transportation Electrification And Hospital Emergency Planning, Nathaniel Winfield Skinner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Because transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area is increasingly dependent on electricity, factors such as limited electricity storage capacity and nontransferability of batteries between vehicles need to be considered by emergency response planners (ERPs). The purpose of this study was to investigate planning for providing the power to provide emergency transportation for hospital staff/administration and those injured after earthquakes. The research questions of transportation need of emergency staff and patients after an earthquake and differences between Bay Area cities and counties in considering transportation needs were addressed in this qualitative study utilizing a collective case study to assess electric …

Generalization Of Social Skills Based On Instructional Setting, Monica St.Amand - Santos

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Children with social skills deficits in verbal and nonverbal communication can face a variety of social challenges in many aspects of their lives. Given the increasing social needs of many students in today's classrooms, there is a need for increased social skills instruction and support in public schools. Inclusion opportunities in public schools can have a positive impact on the development of social skills and can increase peer understanding and empathy for students with special needs. Although there is research in the area of inclusion and its benefits, there is little known about the impact of the instructional setting on …

Project Manager Strategies For Strengthening Communications Within Project Teams, Christine Taylor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Communication inefficiencies are among the reasons for poor or substandard performances in project teams. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies used by project managers in the health care industry to strengthen communication within project teams. The conceptual framework for the study was McQuail's mass communication theory and Craig's communication theory. Participants of the study were 4 project managers from 2 leading medical supply companies located in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and a review of company documents. The summarized interview responses were validated by participants through …

Public Participation During Reactive, Crisis-Driven Drought Planning Versus Proactive, Preparedness Planning, C. Anna Ulaszewski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Droughts are occurring globally and should be recognized as a global issue and drought planning should use a proactive approach on the part of the world community. However, much drought planning, even in developed and highly developed countries, is reactive and programs are often poorly coordinated sometimes with unforeseen negative consequences for marginalized and disenfranchised populations. Literature pertaining to planning strategy for existing, drought crises is nominal and often contributes to patterns of reactiveness and resulting inequity. To gain a better understanding of crisis-driven planning and the participatory process, this gap was viewed through the lenses of institutional analysis and …

Memory In Adult Female Victims Of Intimate Partner Violence, Jill Waite

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a national and global health problem. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization suggest that 1 in 3 women will become a victim of violence by an intimate partner in her lifetime. Memory and learning have been shown to be affected in in-vivo animal studies under acute and chronic stress conditions. Using Bertalanffy's general systems theory, this study examined the impact of IPV on short-term memory in adult female survivors by comparing their performance to a control group (adult females with no IPV in the past 5 years) on measures …

Inclusion Of Social Workers In End-Of-Life Discussions In Intensive Care Units, Olivett D. Underwood-Mobley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Clinical social workers have roles in providing end-of-life care in the United States. Although clinical social workers are present in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting and have expertise to address end-of-life care dynamics, social workers are not consistently included in end-of-life discussions in the ICU setting. The purpose of this action research study was to explore the barriers that prevent clinical social workers from being included in end-of-life discussions in the ICU and how clinical social workers perceive their roles in end-of-life discussions in the adult ICU setting. Open-ended questions were used to gather data by facilitating 4 focus …

The Relationship Between Religious Practices And Delusional Content Of Christians With Schizophrenia, Latasha Michelle Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Religious beliefs and practices are an important source of symptom relief for individuals with schizophrenia; however, it can also be a debilitating source of symptom exacerbation. This quantitative study examined the cognitions and religious life orientations of Christian individuals both with and without a diagnosis of schizophrenia, as measured by the Rust Inventory of Schizotypal Cognitions (RISC) and the Religious Life Inventory (RLI) to examine a baseline for healthy religious cognitions. The aberrant-salience and attribution theories were used to explore the relationship between psychotic stimuli and religious attributions. One hundred and thirty Christian individuals from an outpatient mental health facility, …

Juvenile Correctional Officers' Experience Using De-Escalation Strategies, Tania Yvette Appling

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Juvenile direct-care officers working in juvenile correctional facilities historically responded to critical and potentially aggressive incidents using nontherapeutic strategies. The purpose of this study was to examine and to understand the lived experiences of direct-care officers' use of de-escalation skills for managing violent and disruptive behaviors in juvenile correctional facilities. The findings from this study may add to the existing literature by describing juvenile correctional officers' experiences as well as to better understand their perceptions and attitude using de-escalation strategies in correctional environments. The social learning and self-efficacy theories provided the conceptual framework to examine and understand their experiences. The …

Causes Of Recidivism Among Mentally Ill Prerelease Offenders From The Perspective Of Former Correctional Mental Health Professionals, Rina Desiree Deneice Bradley Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The move toward reducing the prison population was driven by an increase in the number of reentry programs that focused on the needs of the offender, such as the provision of stable housing, employment, education, and sustaining strong familial bonds. While the literature supported these areas as being effective in reducing recidivism, there was no consensus that they were effective for offenders with mental illness (OMI). The purpose of this qualitative study was to analyze the impact of prerelease services for the OMI population from the perspective of former correctional mental health professionals who provided these services. The research questions …

Relationship Between Employee Wages, Number Of Employee Referrals, And Employee Turnover Intention, Robert Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee turnover is a significant contributor to the overall loss of hundreds of billions of dollars in profitability for many business organizations in the United States and abroad combined. Grounded in Maslow's theory of human motivation, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between employee wages, number of employee referrals, and employee turnover intentions. The population was composed of employees working in the Southeastern region of the United States. A convenience sample of 92 participants answered questions regarding their wages, number of employee referrals, and completed the Turnover Intention Scale. Results of the multiple regression analysis …

Leadership Satisfaction And Turnover Intention Among Public Sector Employees, Marcia Bennett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The changing demographics of the federal workforce require managers to understand generational differences in experiences, values, and leadership preferences that can negatively impact an agency's ability to fulfill its mission. There is a gap in the literature regarding generational cohort perceptions of employee satisfaction with leadership and turnover intention in the Small Business Administration (SBA). The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional study was to examine the generational perceptions of SBA employees regarding leadership satisfaction and intent to leave the organization within the next year. Strauss and Howe's generational theory served as the theoretical framework. This non-experimental quantitative study used the …

Advocating Ideal Type Policy For Police Officer Wellness Based On Body Mass Index As A Predictor Of Self-Reported Occupational Stress, Louis Chiappetta

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Scholars have validated both the damaging presence of police officer stress and separately, their increasing obese condition in the United States. Previous studies of police officers focus on stress or body weight, but not these variables conjointly. The purpose of this study was to inform policy creation by examining the problem of officer stress in relation to the calculated body mass index (BMI) values and to gain insight into stress outcomes. Lazarus and Folkman's stress-coping theory served as the research lens to examine if BMI would significantly contribute to the percent change of R2 variance accounted for in the predictive …

Vocational Instructors Experience And Practice Teaching In The Hybrid Environment, Christine Cusano

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At a technical post-secondary school in the Northeast United States, campus leaders lacked formative data of faculty skills and knowledge needed for instruction in a hybrid format involving both face-to-face instruction and on-line instruction. Therefore, the delivery of appropriate professional development (PD) programs for faculty whose duties include hybrid format instruction has not been provided. The purpose of this study was to identify the faculty experiences of teaching in a hybrid-learning environment, and their perceived PD needs to provide effective instruction in a hybrid-learning environment. This study explored vocational teachers' experiences and perceived PD needs related to teaching in a …

Adolescent Engagement In Home-Based Treatment: An Action Research Study, Krystal Finch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adolescent engagement in home-based treatment is a challenge within the social work field. Studies have suggested that the foundation of clinical practice relies on the clinician's ability to understand the process of engaging adolescents in treatment, which may also include a period of adaptability, relatability, and connectedness within the treatment setting. The purpose of this study is to explore the clinical practice approaches, roles, and experiences utilized in home-based treatment to adolescents residing in a large city in northeastern United States. This study was grounded in the ecological systems theory which provides social workers with an opportunity to assess the …

Pre-Expose Prophylaxis And Non-Monogamous, Hiv Negative Gay Men In Serodiscordant Relationships, Robert Dale Gallagher

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

HIV transmission continues to increase for Gay men, especially for those Gay men in nonmonogamous serodiscordant relationships. As the use of PreExposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) increases, much less is known about how PrEP is creating social meaning and transforming the sexual behaviors of HIV negative, non-monogamous Gay men. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to investigate the meaning making experiences of Gay men in nonmonogamous serodiscordant relationships. Using the Minority Stress Model, Resiliency Theory, and Queer Theory as theoretical frameworks, the research question for the study focused on how HIV negative Gay men who are on PrEP and involved in …

Evidence-Based Child Welfare Screening And Assessment Practices, Melissa Hardin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this action research project was to examine the screening and assessment behaviors of child welfare workers in the southwestern region of the United States. The study addressed whether social workers' knowledge of evidence-based practice influenced their implementation of evidence-based practice in child welfare screening and assessment, and whether the agency environment affects evidence-based practice implementation and use. The family systems theory was used to evaluate child welfare practitioner work and systems theory was used to evaluate the child welfare system in the region of the study. A focus group comprised of seven social workers practicing in the …

Professionals' Perceptions Of Vicarious Trauma From Working With Victims Of Sexual Trauma, Tambria Hunt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Professionals who work with victims of sexual trauma frequently experience emotional and psychological stressors that affect their everyday life. Vicarious traumatization is an occupational risk among helping professionals, but it is not known how this phenomenon can be identified and minimized among professionals who work with victims of sexual trauma. The purpose of this qualitative narrative study was to explore the personal experiences of licensed and nonlicensed professionals who work with female victims of sexual trauma. Constructivist self-development theory and the traumagenic dynamics model provided the framework for the study. The research questions focused on the evidence of vicarious trauma …