Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Stigma On Quality Of Life And Psychological Outcomes In Participants With Varying Reports Of Subjective Cognitive Decline., Lauren Flaherty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Diagnostic labels such as cognitive impairment, dementia or MCI often carry associated stigmatization. Stigma can lead to social isolation and rejection; increasing the likelihood of loneliness, depression, and anxiety. Depression and anxiety can be predictive of cognitive function; depression and anxiety are linked to stigma. Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) can be indicative of actual cognitive impairment. Subjective impairment and stigma can significantly predict quality of life. The aim of the proposed dissertation study was to explore whether higher SCD scores associate with more internalized stigma, and if this stigma mediates the relationship between SCD and depression, SCD and …

Sro Roles And Teacher Behavioral Intervention Strategies: An Analysis On Behavioral Approaches And Student Suspensions., Ivan Benitez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recently there have been nationwide calls for schools to end their contracts with local police departments in efforts to remove school resource officers (SROs) due to their criminalizing effect on students. Aiming towards racial equity in safety and discipline, advocates have suggested re-envisioning discipline through a restorative lens to minimize student harm. One approach which has been promising in student outcomes are behavioral intervention strategies. The current study contributes to the literature by examining the direct effects of SRO roles and teacher behavioral intervention strategies on student suspensions. Using factor analysis, I found three SRO roles: law enforcement officer, mentor, …

Reaching Syrians In Need: An Analysis Of Humanitarian Aid In The 21st Century., James Clark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this dissertation is two-fold. One is to critically consider humanitarian aid delivery to and through Syria via a lens that combines the humanities and social sciences. The fields of anthropology, political science and postcolonialism are employed to accomplish this. The second is to investigate the process involved in this delivery amid the country’s ongoing conflict. Combining these two facets provides a view of humanitarian aid as it relates to the conflict in Syria while applying a liberal arts-humanities approach. The introduction establishes the basis to discuss the existence of aid providers and those in need of aid …

Effects Of Top-Down Attention And Individual Differences On Recognition Memory And Recollective Experience., Anna Kelley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Memory accuracy and detail hold practical importance, and psychology has studied means to improve memory. One such means is performing visually guided saccades immediately before a memory test. Previous work has found this intervention to improve memory performance, an effect dubbed Saccade-Induced Retrieval Enhancement or SIRE. The top-down attentional control account posits that SIRE occurs because saccades activate attentional control regions in the brain, which contributes to executing top-down attentional control when searching memory. The current experiment tested this account of SIRE by attempting to replicate previous results and investigating whether a different attentional task, the Revised Attention Network Test …

A New Direction For Public Understanding Of Science: Toward A Participant-Centered Model Of Science Engagement., Christopher Rickels

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Engaging the public with science is not an easy task. When presented, scientific findings, public health recommendations, and other scientific information filter through the personal values, beliefs, and biases of members of the public. Science communicators must contend with these differences in order to be effective in cultivating a public understanding of science. Given the importance of scientific understanding for living well in a complex world, increasing science understanding through science engagement is imperative. The field of public engagement with science is dichotomized by a public information deficit approach and a contextualist approach. The deficit approach prizes the factual content …

Age-Related Differences In The Relationship Between Activity Familiarity And Well-Being., S. Kelly Shryock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background and Objectives: This study explored age-related differences in the relationship between activity novelty/familiarity and well-being, conceptualized within theories including Selection, Optimization, and Compensation (SOC), Self-Determination Theory (SDT), and Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST). For all ages, participation in activities has been shown to enhance well-being. Known mediators of this relationship include psychological, physical, and psychosocial benefits. It is less clear what types of experiences are optimal across the lifespan. Research Design and Methods: A online cross-sectional, correlational study (N= 200) was conducted. Measures included demographic data, ratings of three self-identified recent activities, three activity choices of familiar or …

Self-Regulation In Young School-Aged Children With Williams Syndrome., Holley Arnold

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation included two manuscripts which broadly focused on the self-regulation abilities of young school-aged children with Williams syndrome (WS), a rare neurodevelopmental disorder. Children with WS often exhibit mild to moderate intellectual disability (Kozel et al., 2021), impairments in behavioral and emotional regulation (Greiner de Magalhães et al., 2022), low effortful control (Leyfer et al., 2012), and deficits in adaptive skills (Brawn & Porter, 2018). In the first manuscript, the performance of children with WS on a gift-wrap delay of gratification task was characterized. In the second manuscript, the concurrent effects of the ability to regulate emotions, the ability …

Changing Public Perception Of Dementia: The Effect And Credibility Of Three Informational Models., Diana Hedrick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Since the 1970s, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia have been portrayed in a medicalized, symptom-focused manner to help spread awareness, improve diagnosis, and push for treatment research. In recent decades, there has been movement towards a biopsychosocial, person-centered approach that considers social and psychological factors that interact with biological diseases processes. Common biopsychosocial approaches retain an emphasis on deficits and symptoms. New research has integrated positive psychology constructs and dementia. This integration of positive psychology principles and dementia care and research has the potential to more accurately capture the experience of having dementia. Objectives: This dissertation tested how the portrayal …

Species Data And Vector Modeling: Evaluating Datasets For Improved Models Of Ixodes Ricinus Tick Distribution In Europe Under A Changing Climate, Steven Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To increase capacity for monitoring and surveillance of tick-borne diseases, publicly available tick distribution and climate change datasets are required to create accurate predictive distribution models. It is difficult, however, to assess model accuracy and utility when using incomplete datasets.  The more recent development of comprehensive tick databases for Europe and availability of climate change scenarios from multiple IPCC Assessment Reports allows for improved modeling efforts. Multiple tick datasets were combined and three climate change projections were compared by predicting current and future distributions of Ixodes ricinus ticks in Europe using the MaxEnt species distribution model. Overall, much of Europe …

A Comparison Of The Mental Health Of Police Officers And Correctional Officers In Rural Appalachia, Sierra Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of mental health among police officers and correctional officers within rural Appalachia. The main goal of this research was to better understand how the occupational demands of working in the criminal justice field can impact one’s mental health over time. Several research questions were explored, including the prevalence of various mental health problems, associated stressors, the structure of support among officers, and the perceptions of mental health treatment services. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 21 police and correctional officers located in rural Appalachia. Results provided a better understanding of …

Domestic Violence Against Men: Their Report Decision Making Process, Ngozi Aleke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Little or nothing is really known about a man’s victimization in a domestic violence situation. Generally domestic violence is viewed from the lens of a women with the typical idea that women are the victim while men, the perpetrators of violence. Overtime, this societal perception is beginning to subside as researchers have proven that men are also victims of domestic violence (Straus, Gelles, & Steinmetz,1980). Despite this revelation, not much is known about male victimization as most men prefer not to report their victimization. This study seeks to examine the reasons for not reporting victimization and the effect of this …

K-5 Elementary Alternative Program: A Case Study, William E. Scheuer Iv

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to examine how the K-5 elementary alternative program All Students Can Thrive (ASCT) used student-centered learning practices to influence the whole child. There is a lack of research on K-5 elementary alternative programs, such as ASCT, and specifically those that integrate student-centered learning practices to influence the whole child. Literature does not contain universally accepted interventions that are effective in the elementary alternative setting to help students return to the mainstream classroom setting better prepared to display appropriate behaviors when a student is removed from a mainstream classroom setting due to disruptive behaviors. …

Parent Emotion Socialization And Emerging Adult Internalizing Symptoms: Differences And Moderation By Rurality, Cheston West

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emerging adulthood is a unique developmental period from late adolescence to late 20s during which individuals experience a multitude of developmental transitions and are at an increased risk for internalizing symptoms. Parent emotion socialization in childhood can also contribute to risk for internalizing symptoms and is shaped by parent gender and sociocultural context. Rurality is a sociocultural context that has implications for parenting, but less research has explored how parent emotion socialization varies by rurality. The present study examined maternal and paternal emotion socialization in relation to rurality and emerging adult internalizing symptoms. Participants were 270 emerging adults (18-29 years …

An Examination Of Differences In Race, Gender, And Age In Processing And Outcomes Within The U.S. Criminal Justice System, Teliyah Cobb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Demographic factors can influence criminal justice system outcomes. We examine legal system processing in 12 U.S. states from 1976-1991. Variables included: 1) race, age, and gender; 2) violent, sexual, and drug- and alcohol-related charges; 3) level of charge; 4) charges at arrest, trial, and final disposition; 5) time-lengths between each stage; 6) dismissal, plea bargaining, and conviction; and 7) final sentencing length. Significant differences in arrest, prosecution, plea bargaining, charge severity, and final sanctioning were observed dependent on race, gender, age, and the intersectionality of these characteristics. Implications for research policy to reduce the impact of disparities are discussed.

Examining The Perceived Benefits Of A Career Course For English-Speaking First-Generation Hispanic And Latino Students, David Benjamin Mason

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem that provoked this research is the incessant, declining retention, completion, and transfer rates among English-speaking, first-generation Hispanic and Latino students. Educational institutions continue to increase services, improve academic programs, enhance curriculum design, integrate technology, and consider alternative career paths to success with marginal to no improvement. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived benefits of English-speaking, first-generation Hispanic and Latino students who participated in a career course instructed by a career professional compared to a course instructed by an academic adjunct faculty member. Developing one’s career remains a vital aspect of the college experience, and …

Deliberately Developmental Leadership In Organizational Settings, Glenn Allen Nixon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate leadership development strategies in organizations in North Texas needed to create prepared, competent leaders who can become and help create deliberately developmental leaders. Open-ended and semistructured interviews were used to collect data, with questions centered on effective leadership development strategies for creating competent leaders and effective leadership strategies for creating deliberately developmental leaders. The idea was to understand if organization’s leadership focused on the need for leadership development, if organizational members were being identified for leadership, and if systems exist to address future organizational leadership needs. Three types of organizations were …

The Correlation Between Transformational Leadership And Mental Health Clinician Burnout, Rebekah E. Shutter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mental health clinicians working in a hospital setting are at a high risk of experiencing burnout due to the stressful demands of their caseloads, compassion fatigue, limited resources, and unsupportive leadership. While there is ample research regarding the cause and effect of burnout on clinicians there is a gap in the literature when it comes to the impact leadership has on mental heath clinician burnout. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study is to determine if and to what extent there is a correlation between Transformational Leadership and mental health clinician burnout. Participants for this study consisted of 200 mental …

How An Abusive Supervision Climate Impacts Business-To-Business (B2b) Sales Performance, And The Roles Of Leader–Members Interdependence And Team Psychological Safety, Matthew J. Daniel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sales supervisors can tremendously influence the sales teams they manage, and their behaviors can influence a team’s engagement and sales performance. Because of the supervisor’s influential role, their behavior, positive or negative, can ripple throughout the organization. As a result, a supervisor who role models abusive behavior within their organization also promotes a climate of abuse and incivility that can contribute to a toxic workplace. Abusive supervision (AS) is a significant problem in many business-to-business (B2B) sales organizations that negatively impacts the financial welfare and subjective well-being of organizations and their employees. This quantitative correlational study aimed to examine how …

Managers' Resistance To Supervising Teleworking Employees, Jan R. Oldham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Telework allows employees to perform work tasks in any location using information communication technology. Though organizations and employees can benefit from teleworking arrangements in many ways, most managers implemented teleworking relatively slowly prior to the COVID-19 quarantine. Research suggests managers avoided supervising remotely based on a lack of trust for remote employee productivity, a lack of technology self-efficacy, and their perceptions of organizational support and politics. Pandemic COVID-19 quarantine conditions in March 2020 required most organizations to mandate teleworking for all employees whose work could be performed remotely and simultaneously mandated teleworking supervision for managers. This narrative inquiry aimed to …

Lived Experiences Of Latino(A) College Students Enrolled In A Historically Black College & University (Hbcu), Gabriel Crosby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For many first-generation Latino(a) college students, the college-setting is a new and scary place. Without the support of family and friends, the chances for them dropping out or not finishing their college education grow. Recognizing that Latinos(as) make up a growing segment of the college-going population, higher education institutions and their leaders must not only recruit individuals from this demographic population, but must also work to help these students remain enrolled and guide them to graduation. Institutions must be able to provide a welcoming campus culture and environment as a means of fostering student success. Historically Black College and Universities …

Burn On, Don't Burn Out: Factors That Promote Longevity In Ministry, Gary William Simpson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Scientific literature in the social sciences is rife with studies on burnout and how this phenomenon affects those in various occupations, especially the helping professions. Clergy members are not immune to the influence and effects of burnout. The rate at which clergy members are affected by burnout is evidenced in the documented shortage of clergy currently serving churches and the paucity of ministers going into ministry. The purpose of this study was not to reiterate the effects of burnout on clergy members, but to discover and to explore those factors which promote longevity in ministry. This study used an …

The Confidence Gap: How The Self-Esteem Of Middle School Females Affects Their Leadership Self-Efficacy, Amanda F. Bitner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Though studies suggest social-emotional learning (SEL) programs have a positive impact on youth development, the focus, implementation, and consensus on SEL programs vary. These programs largely overlook adolescent self-esteem, which is at its lowest during the formative middle school years and twice as likely to be lower among females than males. This study attempted to understand whether SEL education impacts middle school females' self-esteem and leadership and whether their self-esteem and leadership self-efficacy correlate. Key research questions explored middle school females’ self-perception of their self-esteem and leadership self-efficacy levels. This quantitative descriptive study aimed to examine whether there was a …

The Colbert-Walker Site (22le1048): History And Archaeology Of A Chickasaw Home, Council House, And Travelers’ Stand, Raymond Taylor Doherty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In late 1813, at a time of increasing violence on the Southern frontier, Chickasaw leader George Colbert (Tootemastubee) left his home and ferry on the Natchez Trace to move back to relative safety in the heart of the Chickasaw Nation. He returned to the place that had once been his father’s plantation and made what he described as a “shelter from the weather.” He later hired skilled craftsmen to build a large and finely carpentered new home on the site. The Colbert-Walker site (22Le1048), near present-day Tupelo, Mississippi, has long been said to be the location of this structure, which …

Experience Is The Best Teacher: Exploring Clinical Supervisors’ Experiences Who Receive Exclusively Administrative Supervision From Non-Licensed/Non-Clinically Trained Superiors, Monica Pattillo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goals of clinical supervision are to ensure that the supervisee is using skills appropriately and properly handling a client caseload, all while being mentored by an experienced professional, known as a clinical supervisor. However, little is known about the support clinical supervisors receive in their roles. If the support is inadequate, there is a potential to impact the welfare of the clients. Additionally, there are very few researchers that have looked at clinical supervisors’ experiences when receiving their own supervision. In order to add to the body of literature on clinical supervision, this study explored clinical supervisors’ experiences when …

The Purple Heart And Suicidal Behaviors In Post-9/11 U.S. Army Combat Veterans With A Traumatic Brain Injury: A Mixed Methods Study, Jayna Moceri-Brooks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Military suicide rates remain high, despite years of targeted efforts to prevent suicide. Specifically, Army Combat Veterans who sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) while deployed in support of the Global War on Terrorism are at the highest risk for suicide. This dissertation highlights possible causes for suicidal behaviors within this unique group and provides specific military suicide prevention recommendations. The dissertation is organized into three publishable manuscripts: The first manuscript (Chapter 1) is a mixed-methods dissertation research proposal written according to the National Institute of Health proposal guidelines. The second manuscript (Chapter 2) is an integrative review of the …

Emergency Care For Youth Who Experience Suicidality And Identify As Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer/Questioning (Lgbtq+): An Interpretive Phenomenology, Theresa Schultz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: Suicide is a leading cause of death in children; youth who identify as LGBTQ+ are at an exponentially higher risk of suicide. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of young adults who identify as LGBTQ+ and sought emergency care for suicidality when they were adolescents.

Methods: Heideggerian hermeneutics phenomenology is the research method used in this study. Youth, ages 18-25 years, who identify as LGBTQ+ and sought emergency treatment for suicidality when they were adolescents (13-17 years) were recruited to participate;fifteen youth enrolled. Individuals ranged in age from 20 to 25 years. Participants described …

Weathering The Storm: Navigating Urban Ecologies Of Communication In Times Of Crisis, Austin Hestdalen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project explores cities as urban ecologies of communication in which crises emerge and are given significance within the dialogic relations cultivated among public actors attempting to make a living, together, within the shared historical-cultural contexts of everyday life. To describe cities as urban ecologies of communication is to describe them in terms of urban communication and its interdisciplinary foundations in the study of rhetoric, philosophy, planning, policy, architecture, sociology, geography, and media. The first chapter introduces the challenges of urban risk and crisis management within the complex ecologies of communication constituted by cities and reviews how ‘risk’ and ‘crisis’ …

'Bleeding-In-The-World': A Qualitative Study Of Self-Cutting And Blood, Sadie Mohler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an existential, phenomenological study of the role and meaning of blood in self-cutting. Using in-depth, open-ended interviews with participants who self-cut, the author gathered data on the multisensorial experience of blood and bleeding in self-cutting. Data analysis was organized around the lifeworld existentials of corporeality, temporality, spatiality, communication, and relationality. The impact of blood and bleeding across each lifeworld dimension emphasized highly relevant, and previously unstudied, aspects of the lived experience of self-cutting. The six themes identified and explored are (a) blood as an animate abject; (b) bleeding and control; (c) bleeding is a process and the …

Promoting Trauma-Informed Competencies In Public School Teachers And Staff, Stephanie Stern

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Childhood trauma is prevalent among today’s students. When educators implement trauma-informed practices in schools, student behaviors and learning typically improve. It is thus important that educators are trained in and have positive attitudes, knowledge, and beliefs toward trauma-informed care. However, high proportions of educators report that they do not receive trauma-informed training, and research regarding the effectiveness of professional development in trauma-informed care is limited. The present study examined whether educators’ knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding trauma-informed care differed by grade level of students worked with and previous professional development experiences in trauma-informed care, as well as tested the effectiveness …

“I Hear You”: Exploring The Lived Experience Of Counselors’ Empathic Response To Clients When Conducting Telephonic Counseling During Covid-19, Michael Sickels

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dissertation supervised by Dr. Debra Hyatt-Burkhart

This study sought to unearth the lived experience of counselors empathically responding to clients via telephonic counseling during COVID-19. The term empathic response refers to as attending to the emotional and mental state of another person in a way that is attuned with the feelings and meanings of the individual’s experience. There are few studies that have assessed the merits of telephonic counseling, and even fewer that have examined counselors’ empathic response to clients through this medium.

To uncover the lived experience of the target population, the participants of the study were purposefully selected …