Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Understanding Resilience Among Individuals With Adverse Childhood Experiences (Aces), Meghan Larson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as abuse, neglect, and dysfunction in a child’s home are considered a public health crisis due to their correlation to health disparities and psychosocial problems in adulthood such as substance use, relationships, education, and maintaining employment. However, some individuals are resilient and demonstrate the ability to adapt and function well despite experiencing adverse events. To better understand resilience when ACEs are present, I conducted a basic qualitative research study to explore the lived experiences of individuals in Tennessee with elevated ACE and resilience scores. A purposeful sample of 12 participants who scored high on ratings …

Post-Conflict Mental Health Policy And Substance Use Among Liberian Adults, Ekua Amonoo-Lartson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe objective of post-conflict countries after an extended period of war and trauma is to maintain peace and stability. However, the physical and psychological effects of substance use to cope with the devastation of war remains long after the crisis has ended. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine substance use among Liberian working-age adults, including their substance use habits, experiences with substance use, and access to mental health rehabilitative treatment. The access to medical care theoretical framework was used to guide the study. Data were collected from face-to-face semistructured interviews with 15 individuals regarding their experiences …

Examining Clinicians' Perspectives Screening For Depression In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Vickie Lavette Bland

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The United States has a significant diabetes problem. This chronic disease affects the body physically and mentally. One of the emotional effects of diabetes is depression. Depression is often present in individuals with diabetes, chiefly in those with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). While depression is common in T2DM and can interfere with treatment adherence, clinician screening for depression in T2DM patients is low. The purpose of this study was to examine clinicians' attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions concerning screening patients with T2DM for depression. Through a qualitative case study approach centered on reasoned action theory, 3 physicians and 5 nurse …

The Experience Of Therapists Working With Mexican American Children Of Substance Abusing Parents, Tracy M. Basile

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe need for culturally competent mental health providers and the Mexican American immigrant population in the United States are growing. This study focused on themes from therapists’ narratives that may help to comprehend the intricacy of difficulties facing Mexican American children living with substance-abusing parents. The firsthand knowledge and experiences of the therapists who have worked with this population provided a basic understanding of what to expect and which therapeutic interventions may work best for both the child and their parents. The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to qualitatively identify therapists’ lived experiences and understand how they interacted with …

Mental Health Provider Experiences Among Juvenile Offenders With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Vanessa West

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has indicated various treatment options available such as medication management or family therapy for juvenile offenders struggling with a diagnosis of, or symptoms of, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Exploring mental health clinicians’ perceptions may provide insight into treatment needed for this population to contribute positively to society. Past researchers refrained from obtaining mental health clinicians’ perspectives on treatment when working with this population. Rational choice theory indicates that individuals examine the costs and benefits of their actions prior to making decisions. Gestalt/feature-intensive processing theory promotes the inclusion of necessary information to help with processing when making decisions. Youth …

Influence Of Parenting Style On Frequency Of Alcohol Consumption By Jewish Male And Female Emerging Adults, Thomas Gross

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

The health hazards associated with young adults’ frequency of alcohol consumption have been well documented. It has been shown that 40.1% of emerging adults have been involved in binge drinking (i.e., consumption of more than five drinks in a row). The current prevalence rates of alcohol use among young male and female adults are 19% and 26%, respectively. The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of perceived parenting style (i.e., permissive, authoritarian, or authoritative/flexible) on the self-reported frequency of alcohol consumption of 138 U.S. Jewish male and female college students ages 19 to 27 years. The …

Examining The Impact Of Mental Health Education On Bias And Stigma In Cit Trained Officers, Jennifer L. Krause

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this quantitative, correlational nonexperimental research was to examine the relationship between the mental health education received through Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training and the perceptions of public mental health stigma, self-stigma, and attitudes toward seeking mental health services among law enforcement officers. The study’s theoretical framework integrated gender-role conflict theory and Goffman’s stigma theory in explaining the influence of the police culture on officers’ adoption of more traditional masculine roles. This research used three instruments: the Attitudes to Mental Illness questionnaire to measure perceptions of public stigma, the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale to measure self-stigma, and …

A Behavioral Healthcare Approach To At-Risk Youth Substance Prevention Program Development, Debra Mcintyre

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Providing quality services that meet the needs of clients is key to organizational sustainability for behavioral health organizations. Strategic development of substance prevention programs for at-risk youth will play an important role in capacity building. The focus of this study was to identify the need for developing a targeted and effective substance abuse prevention program to support at-risk youth who have trauma experiences before they begin misusing substances to cope with their challenges. The Baldrige excellence framework was used to guide this descriptive case study of a behavioral health organization in the Northeastern region of the United States. The data …

Adult Day Care Staff Education To Improve Communication And Behavioral Management Skills, Kathy Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractIneffective communication and behavioral management skills are quality and safety issues that were identified at a local adult day care facility in the Southwest United States. Administrators at the facility identified a knowledge gap in communication and behavior management techniques for patients with cognitive impairment. An educational program, with a PowerPoint presentation and verbal feedback as key components, was developed and used to address the identified gap in practice related to individuals with cognitive impairments at the facility. The adult learning theory and the plan-do-study-act model provided supportive frameworks for program development and staff education. The project question explored whether …

Exploring Culturally Competent Mental Health Outreach To Black Churches, Michele Marie Fry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Black individuals and communities have held distrust toward mental health services and experience barriers in seeking services. Although the church is a significant support system in the Black community, it can also pose a barrier to congregation members seeking mental health services, as the Black church community has often stigmatized those seeking mental health services as weak. Ways to reach the Black community with trauma-informed, culturally competent, and spiritually sensitive mental health services through establishing connections with Black churches and church leaders were explored in this study. Previous research indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic increased depression and anxiety in the …

Juvenile Justice And The Criminalization Of Mentally Ill Individuals, Michael Collins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Juvenile justice systems in the United States are using incarceration as a solution to the problem of youths with mental health disorders who commit violent crimes. Juvenile justice systems across the United States have a revolving door effect that arrests, adjudicates, and incarcerates youth offenders but fail to address the factors that contribute to recidivism. The purpose of the qualitative case study was to identify which treatment procedures were most appropriate for juvenile offenders who committed violent offenses in an effort to reduce recidivism for this offender population. For this study, an ecological psychology theory was used as a lens …

Importance Of Childhood Maltreatment On Borderline Personality In Adults: Meta-Analysis, Lisa Nicole Trentacosti

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Early childhood maltreatment (CM) is a risk factor for later psychopathology specifically Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). CM has been found to negatively affect social, emotional, and psychological development as well as the ability to foster and sustain interpersonal relationships throughout all stages of life. There are evidence-based interventions for different kinds of CM including Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT), Alternatives for Families - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (AF-CBT), relaxation training, and social skills training. The current study is a meta-analysis of published research into CM as it contributes to BPD in adults and is designed to examine the effect size of childhood …

Lived Experiences Of Pakistani American Women Who Sought Mental Health Treatment, Marriam Ashraf

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractDespite the research on how mental illness manifests in the United States, there is more to be known about mental health in the Pakistani American population. The goal of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of Pakistani American women who sought mental health treatment. Ecological theory provided the framework for the study. Data were collected from semi structured interviews with 10 participants via telephone and face-to-face conversations. Data were analyzed using managing, reading, memoing, describing, classifying, interpreting, representing, and visualizing techniques. Findings indicated that seeking help for mental health played a positive role in participants being …

Supervision Needs For Social Workers Providing Home-Based Treatment For Children And Families, Magda Demerritt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social workers providing home-based therapy services for children and families face challenges that make it difficult to provide efficient and effective treatment. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the supervision needs of social workers who provide treatment using the home-based service delivery model. The leader-member exchange theory was used to guide the study. Data were collected from a focus group meeting with 10 master’s-level social workers in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Findings from coding and thematic analysis revealed that participants’ needs involved being educated on the value of the home-based model, receiving support and guidance related to their …

Service Providers' Perceptions Of Stigma And Its Impact On Mental Health Services, Arthur Gabriel Montes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Stigma is one of the most significant barriers to access and utilization of mental health services in the United States. Delays in receiving mental health services significantly contribute to health disparities and poor health outcomes. Social workers play an integral part in implementing best practices within health care settings and reducing health inequities impacting vulnerable populations. The purpose of this qualitative action research study was to explore social work service providers perceptions' toward stigma and how it affects mental health services among patients in California's Medicaid program. Stigma theory was applied to gain an understanding of how stigma interacts and …

Understanding The Role That The Internet And Social Media Plays In Suicide Survivor Bereavement, Catherine Merle Perusse

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Every year more than 47,000 individuals die by suicide in the United States, leaving behind numerous family and friends who become suicide survivors. While there are prodigious amounts of research on suicidal behavior, little research has focused on what the surviving family members, friends, and community members need after the loss. Many suicide survivors use social media to address their grief and pain in a very public manner. A constructionist social theory of grief and existential phenomenology provided the framework for this qualitative study to examine the use of the Internet and social media as a forum for those grieving …

Previously Incarcerated Individuals' Perception Of Job Acquisition Post Transitional Program Participation, Arbutas Antinet Washington

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractTransitional programs prepare previously incarcerated individuals (PIIs) to re-enter society and acquire employment. However, many such programs have failed to offset the effects of prisonization, a process that affects the social skills needed for the job interview process and employment acquisition. The purpose of this generic qualitative research study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of PIIs after participation in a transitional program and a job interview. The theoretical foundation for the study included the theories of prisonization and self-efficacy. The research question concerned experiences and perceptions of 23 to 39-year-old PIIs regarding the job interview process after serving …

The Systemic Experiences Of Social Workers In An Inpatient, State Psychiatric Hospital, Kesia Gwaltney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The National Alliance on Mental Illness surmised that 1 in 25 (9.8 million) adults in the United States are diagnosed with a serious mental illness annually. Of the 9.8 million people diagnosed, approximately 63% of them are psychiatrically hospitalized with repeat hospitalizations within 1 year of discharge. Social workers play a vital role in the treatment modalities of the patients they serve in the psychiatric hospital; however, there is no research that examined the professional systemic experiences of social workers in state, inpatient psychiatric hospitals and how these experiences may affect treatment outcomes of patients as it relates to frequent …

Helping In The Home: Counselors’ Experiences Providing Clients With In-Home Services, Melissa Jane Franzen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Counseling is an essential service that helps individuals work through struggles and live their best lives. Such service now includes providing counseling in clients’ homes. Counselors may require specific training or education to prepare for counseling in a home environment. This need for training and education is due to a lack of knowledge of the lived experiences of counselors providing services in the home. Transcendental phenomenology was used to guide a qualitative exploration into the lived experiences of counselors providing services in clients’ homes. Participants were 7 professional counselors, 5 female and 2 male, having met minimum state licensure requirements …

African American Mothers’ Experience In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Lauren Magruder

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Black/African American (B/AA) mothers struggle disproportionately with problems related to childbirth. B/AA mothers have higher rates of premature births, infant death prior to age one, and death during childbirth. The purpose of this research was to add to present knowledge regarding B/AA mothers who have had a baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Womanist theory was selected as a framework for the study because it focuses on the intersection of gender and race in relation to B/AA women. The experience of B/AA women in U.S. society is unique, in that it involves several pervasive stereotypes and controlling images. …

Social Support Experiences Of Stably Housed Emancipated Foster Youth, Camron L. Whitacre

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Youth emancipating from foster care are at increased risk of housing instability and homelessness and have reduced access to needed social supports to aid in the difficult transition to independent living. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the lived formal social support experiences of stably housed emancipated foster youth. Purposive sampling techniques and inclusion criteria guided the recruitment of nine study participants from a state-administered postemancipation services program to take part in semistructured interviews. A conceptual framework, including social convoy and attachment theories, informed inquiry, and interpretation of findings. Participant lived experiences illuminated the importance of …

Workplace Psychosocial Factors, Perception Of Organizational Support, And Congregate Workers’ Quality Of Life, Claudine Alicia Cousins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Congregate care organizations employ workers across various environments from shelters, group homes, long-term care homes, and correctional facilities. Congregate care workers in the developmental services sector face numerous risks that affect their quality of life due to workplace stress from daily interactions with individuals with intellectual disabilities and organizational demands. Workers’ perception of the support received from their organization may further impact their quality of life. The purpose of this quantitative study, guided by organizational support theory, was to examine the relationship among the independent variables of workplace psychosocial factors (defined as vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, mental stress, or burnout), …

Missionary Kids And Trauma, Lindsay Elizabeth Stone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractMissionary Kids and Trauma by Lindsay E. Stone

MA, Walden University, 2019MA, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2010 BS, Charleston Southern University, 2006

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Human and Social Services

Walden University February 2021 Abstract Missionary kids (MKs) around the world are more exposed to trauma than non-MKs. MKs often struggle with grief, loss, and stressors of cross-cultural living. Childhood trauma leads to short-and long-term effects of trauma, often into adulthood. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore adult, Christian MKs’ perceptions of external trauma on …

Exploring Barriers To Care: Provider Efforts To Improve Retention In Urban-Rural Clusters, Kenyata M. Fletcher

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractOver the years, the infection rates for HIV in the United States has changed partly due to lack of engagement and medication adherence which can lead to substantial declines in individual health. Factors that contribute to the individual’s adherence can include transportation cost, childcare, and lack of finances to name a few. These barriers can often be decreased with the help of supportive service providers and improvement in the patient-provider relationship. Currently, there is limited research that explores how to reduce patient barriers to care, specifically in rural areas. This qualitative study examines how Illinois health care providers help HIV-positive …

Teacher Perception On Integrating School Psychology In The Developing Nation Of Grenada, Carla Erica Maria St. Louis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractInternationally, formalized school psychology and related services strive to address the academic and mental health of students in schools. In developing nations, teachers are the primary professionals to address students’ needs in schools. Little research has focused on teachers’ perceptions of students’ needs, available services’ quality, and how formalized structures with qualified certified professionals can further address students’ needs. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems and Nastasi’s participatory culture-specific intervention model are the theoretical underpinnings of this qualitative study and focus group interviews were used to investigate special education needs (SEN) teachers’ perceptions. Data were collected using open ended questions and probes with …

Working With Sexually Violent Persons: Grit, The Supervisory Working Alliance, And Burnout, Stalina Harris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Clinicians who work with sexually violent persons (SVPs) are faced with various problems related to the nature of their job duties, job settings, and the specificity of the population they serve. Although researchers have investigated the phenomenon of burnout extensively over the last decade, research focusing on burnout among counselors who work with SVPs is insufficient. The purpose of this quantitative comparative survey study was to investigate differences in burnout among clinicians working with SVPs by examining their grit, the supervisory working alliance, and job settings. The Grit Short Scale (Grit-S), the Supervisory Working Alliance Inventory—Trainee version (SWAI-T), and the …

Mental Health Disparities In Social Work Practice Of Minority Youth Offenders, Beverly Ann Rivera

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractA large number of minority youths placed in the juvenile justice system across the United States have mental health disorders. Most of these youths do not receive mental health services or support within the system, which increases risk factors such as undiagnosed and untreated mental illness and adverse outcomes such as recidivism. This action research sought to uncover whether mental health disparities in social work practice in the juvenile justice system were due to race and ethnicity and asked social workers to recommend strategies to improve mental health availability, access, and provision. Participants in the study were social workers who …