Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Social Work Graduate Students Self-Reported Knowledge Of Treatment Options For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Kerry Morgan

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Students who study to obtain the Master of Social Work (MSW) degree will undoubtedly serve clients with histories of family violence, chronic or terminal illness, immigration, racism, mass violence/terrorism, or even natural disasters. With the theme of trauma being ever prevalent in their internships and work, it is important to consider the perceptions that MSW Students have about PTSD treatment modalities and exploring their interests in expanding their knowledge about PTSD. A selection of MSW students were asked questions about their knowledge and interest in treatment options for PTSD. The results showed a diverse variation of knowledge for the seven …

Serving And Protecting People With Mental Illness And/Or Developmental Disabilities: An Evaluation Of The Los Angeles Sheriff Department’S Field Operations Crisis Intervention Skills Program, Veronica Plascencia, Melissa Mcdonald

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT The Los Angeles Sheriff Department’s Field Operations Crisis Intervention Skills (FOCIS) program is a collaborative effort aimed at preparing law enforcement officers for crises that involve individuals with severe mental illness and/or developmental disabilities. That is, the ultimate goal of the program is to train officers to serve, protect, and build connections with the community’s most vulnerable citizens. Embracing a pre-experimental design, this study assessed the effectiveness and applicability of the FOCIS program among 53 law enforcement officers in Los Angeles County. Findings from non-parametric analyses revealed that the FOCIS training increased officers’ knowledge on mental illness and developmental …

Recovery Oriented Services And Engagement In Psychiatric Services, Graciela Arzola, Mayra Beas

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study focused on individuals who have been diagnosed with a mental health condition and are currently engaged in mental health services in the local community. The research question was to determine if a correlation exists between individuals who participate in recovery-oriented services and the rate of engagement to psychiatric services. The research was a descriptive study design. The data gathered was quantitative as it is based on survey data which was selected using snowball sampling. The researchers reviewed 72 surveys administered to mental health professionals at outpatient mental health clinics throughout Southern California. Using the Pearson coefficient test, the …

Disproportionality Of African American Children In The Child Welfare System: Social Workers' Perspectives, Estelita Abigael Hassler, Acacia Gretchen Lovett

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

African American children are detained at quadruple the rate in comparison to other ethnic groups within the child welfare system. This overrepresentation has been a controversial topic for decades. This study presents caseworkers’ perceptions as to the reasons for the disproportionality.

The literature review revealed that African American families have unequal access to resources and opportunities and outcomes. That is, their length of stay in foster care is prolonged and the reunification process is also longer.

This qualitative study involved face-to-face interviews with 12 caseworkers with past and current experience in two California county child welfare agencies. The interview …

Fresh From The Fight: The Transition Into Civilian Life, Robert Harris, Keena Carter

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

While research regarding stigma in mental health can be found and studied with ease in today’s research, the specification on how stigma impacts the population of athletes is not as heavily researched. Through this research project the question of how stigma impacts an athlete’s willingness to receive mental health services was answered. There are not many athlete specific programs, services, or even questions on assessments for athletes in the field today. This study shows the ways athletes are impacted from mental health issues, and provide some light on ways stigma impacts these struggles. This was found through the use of …

Bullying Hurts, Katrina Marie Gonzalez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research projects purpose was to research the prevalence of bullying/harassment in schools in a city within the Inland Empire. The city is left confidential to protect the confidentiality of study participants. The researcher utilized the post positivist approach to guide the research processes. The study was completed through interviews with parents which contained qualitative questions. The researcher will create a webpage that’s link was posted to Facebook city sites. This website lead to a more private location where research participants were able to gather more information about the study and sign up to participate.

The research participants needed to …

Washing The River In Relation To Interpellation, Theatricality And Spectatorship, Patricia Miller

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Patricia Miller's Master of Fine Arts Thesis Paper

The Impact Of Experiencing Ageism And Social Support On The Relationship Between Age And Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy, Sean Alexander

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In the present research I investigated the impact ageism has on older employees’ occupational self-efficacy, and whether social support could decrease or change the strength of the relationship. Another goal of the present study was to assess if age and occupational self-efficacy had a linear relationship. Considering that older workers are often targeted by instances of ageism, this study focused on the ageist experiences of employees who were 40 years or older. A sample size of 208 MTurk workers participated in the online survey. Respondents were asked to answer questions relating to their experiences of ageism in work the workplace, …

Reporting On Suicide: A Thematic Discourse Analysis On Discourses Regarding Suicide In 2010s Hip-Hop Songs, Andy Allen Acosta Jr.

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Society's conventions of suicide make death by suicide become symbolic annihilation (Gerbner & Signorielli, 1979; Gerbner & Gross, 1976; Tuchman, 1979) by placing a taboo and stigmatization on the practice of suicide. That limits the discourses regarding suicide (DRS), which creates these differences that are normative, subordinate, and excluded discourses of suicide. Public health institutions seek to control DRS and restrict the experiences of suicide. For instance, the World Health Organization’s Reporting for Suicide guidelines contains recommendations on how to report suicide within media that restrict public discourses of suicide (Reporting on Suicide, n.d.-a). In the 2010s, suicide-themed songs also …

Self-Stigma And Help-Seeking In First Generation Students: The Moderating Role Of Empowerment, D'Andra P. Johnson

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Self-stigma of help-seeking (SSOHS) is a significant barrier for individuals that perceive a need to rely on mental health services for personal and emotional difficulties. SSOHS refers to the internalization of negative messages regarding help-seeking. Although help-seeking is primarily viewed as an adaptive coping mechanism, many individuals from underrepresented groups view it as a failure and threat to their identity, decreasing the likelihood that members of these groups would rely on help-seeking. Furthermore, many individuals from underrepresented groups are pressured to value independence, which can decrease their reliance on support seeking and increase the likelihood of health and educational disparities …

Developmental Implications Of Parentification: An Examination Of Ethnic Variation And Loneliness, Bertha Preciado

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Parentification is a parent-child role reversal wherein the parent abdicates their parental responsibilities towards the child and the child responds by performing caretaking behaviors towards their parent. Parentification has previously been examined using a Western theoretical framework and with European/White Americans samples. Within the parentification literature, feelings of loneliness have been mentioned as an outcome of parentified individuals; however, the topic had yet to be examined empirically and with an ethnically diverse sample. The current study investigated parentification and feelings of loneliness across African/Black, Latinx, and European/White American individuals. It was found that ethnic minorities experienced higher levels of parentification …

How Globalization, Sustainability, And Human Impacts Are Affecting Two Major Mexican Cities: Mexico City And Guadalajara, Cristina Sedano

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Mexico is one of the richest countries in the world, not in terms of economic stability but in terms of natural resources, culture, and atmosphere. When people think of Mexico, they usually think of the high-tension relationship with the United States, their neighboring country to the North. Although there are many diverse historical and present-day characteristics of Mexico, most associate the county with the high levels of crime due to narco and cartels, the high levels of poverty in regional areas, and to some just a party destination. Unbeknownst to many is the thousands year old culture that is passed …

Refinement Of The Spitefulness Construct, Arturo Covarrubias-Paniagua

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In this research we reviewed the current definition of Spite in the psychology field and the current and historical definitions of Spite in other related fields. Given the narrow contemporary definition of spite used by psychological researchers, the first aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive and refined conceptualization of spite that differentiates it from similar aggressive behaviors, along with delineating conditions in which spite may arise. The second aim of this study was to create a measure of trait spitefulness and a measure of engagement in spiteful behaviors. A total of 156 respondents participated in this study, …

The Effects Of Eating Disorders And Body Dissatisfaction On School Achievement, Briana Ribota

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Eating disorders are no longer an invisible phenomenon. Eating disorders are caused by a multitude of factors which include a combination of biological, environmental abnormalities, and/or psychological, such as: nutritional deficiencies, sexual abuse, poor self-esteem, trauma, and/or social pressure (Strother et al., 2012). These food related issues can cause embarrassment and pain, along with severely jeopardizing one’s health if not recognized and treated (Strother et al., 2012). As a result of the complexities of eating disorders, young adults are annihilated with managing life impediments rather than focusing on academic achievement. A qualitative post positivist study will be conducted by interviewing …

Working Women’S Cognitive Attributions And Self-Perceptions After Experiences Of Subtle Sexism And Internalized Sexism, Amanda Bain

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Subtle sexism is a pervasive problem for working women due to the normative, unequal and ambiguous treatment they experience. The ambiguous nature further exacerbates the experience because women are unsure where to place causal attribution and often times are left blaming themselves. Similarly, internalized sexism is rooted in the same limiting beliefs of traditional female stereotypes as subtle sexism. Both experiences and internalized sexism hinder working women’s cognitive internal attributions and their self-perceptions of value and competence. Subtle sexism and internalized sexism can be particularly damaging because they are hard to recognize as negative and thus, when never remedied, can …

Anticipated Stigma And Chronic Illness: The Impact Of Psychosocial Safety Climate, Michelle Deorsey

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to utilize the Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC) Work Model of Stress to measure how perceptions of the work climate influence employees with chronic illnesses fears of future stigma and their subsequent psychological health and work attitudes. As workers with chronic illnesses have reported being stigmatized in the workplace and have a high turnover rate, it was important to consider the psychosocial aspects of the work environment in relation to their perceptions of stigma and consequent outcomes. Psychosocial safety climate refers to the policies, practices, and procedures for employee psychosocial well-being. Prior research has confirmed …

The Role Of Emotional Acceptance And Awareness In The Relationship Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms And Posttraumatic Growth Among Survivors Of Sexual Assault, Cecilia Maria Melendez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (Morgan & Oudekerk, 2019), sexual assault is defined as an act or attempted act of unwanted sexual violence. The psychological consequences following an assault can lead to a number of negative mental health outcomes, such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey reported that 22.2% of survivors experience symptoms of PTSD following exposure to sexual victimization (Black et al., 2011). However, recent research suggests positive outcomes can also result following trauma, such as enhanced meaning making or clarification of values. Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) refers to a transformation …

Depressed & Dis-Eased: Storytelling, Melancholia And The Rhetorical Affordances Of Affect, Carlee Franklin

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Because racial oppression is often internalized, this thesis examines literature written by POC about protagonists of color struggling with depression. The pieces are Gwendolyn Brooks’ Maud Martha, Haruki Murakami’s “Tony Takitani,” and Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Using literary concepts informed by Black feminist theory, decolonial theory, and affect studies, as well as rhetorical frameworks of silence and listening, this thesis attempts to better understand how the relationship between depression and racial oppression work to color the life expectancy and perspectives of depressed people of color

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Services To Combat Homelessness At A Southern California Rescue Mission, Cody Cheyenne Kennedy

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research study was to examine the effectiveness of the services provided at a Southern California rescue mission aimed at combating homelessness in the region. The Constructivist paradigm was used to examine the relevant services provided at this facility. The integrated approach is optimal to provide comprehensive service. Because of this, Functional Theory was the preferred theoretical orientation for this study. Participants were selected though critical case and maximum variation sampling. Data was gathered through questions asked by the researcher, and data analysis occurred using open coding. Findings supported the effectiveness of a comprehensive approach to combat homelessness which incorporates …

The Influence Of Social Media On Murder, Brandy Jones

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research contains information on how much or if at all social media influences murder. Social media has such a big impact on the lives of many around the world, it is almost impossible to avoid. There is research on how social media effects brain processes and may even cause addiction. And there is research on why people commit murder, but there is little to no research on the role social media can play in some murders. Social media is almost like an alternate universe where people can pretend to be the people they want to be in real life, …

What Affects Adult African American Males’ Use Of Mental Health Services?, Nicole Reyes

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research project examined barriers that affect adult African American males’ use of mental health services because existing research suggests that they frequently experience barriers to obtaining mental health services. Data were gathered through interviews with ten adult African American males on their perspective about their barriers to mental health service use such as socioeconomic disparities, misunderstanding of mental health services due to stigma, a religious or spiritual aspect, inability to access the proper professional services, and overall cultural competence in comparison to other non-African American counterparts who have obtained mental health services.

This research study used a qualitative research …

Scope Of Attention Variation As A Function Of Anxiety And Depression, Kathleen Anne O'Donnell

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

As a social species, correct emotional perception is so vital, that the human brain has evolved a mechanism to control attentional choices by exerting a narrowed field of perception during danger, called the scope of attention (SoA). The SoA determines what information will be focused on or ignored by blocking the perception of non-relevant items and increasing selective focus on danger; even if danger is merely a sad-face. The emotional items blocked from perception cannot be remembered because they were never perceived. But, attention-control to emotional stimuli also varies with mood, as seen in mood-disorders. A mood-disorder’s effect upon the …

Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms As A Moderator Of Affective Reactions To Perceived Interpersonal Behaviors, Narayan B. Singh

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms often struggle with heightened sensitivity and arousal in response to perceived threats. Moreover, interpersonal dysfunction in GAD has become increasingly a focus of empirical investigation and treatment, given the possibility that responses to social interactions may contribute to GAD symptom maintenance. Laboratory studies and cross-sectional trait assessments of interpersonal problems comprise most of our understanding of interpersonal dysfunction in GAD. However, how GAD symptoms interact with perceived interpersonal threats to predict affective responses (increased arousal, lower valence) within daily life remains poorly understood. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine …

Borderplex Business Barometer, Volume 4, Number 6, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Steven L. Fullerton, Ana Gutierrez Zubiate, Ignacio Santana

Border Region Modeling Project

No abstract provided.

The Urban Morphology Of Hyderabad, India: A Historical Geographic Analysis, Kevin B. Haynes

Masters Theses

Hyderabad, India has undergone tremendous change over the last three centuries. The study seeks to understand how and why Hyderabad transitioned from a north-south urban morphological directional pattern to east-west during from 1687 to 2019. Satellite-based remote sensing will be used to measure the extent and land classifications of the city throughout the twentieth and twenty-first century using a geographic information science and historical-geographic approach. This approach provides the basis for a structured archival historical-geographic analysis. Focusing on Hyderabad, India from 1687 to 2019, the objectives of this research are to: (1) delineate and quantify the geographic extent of built-up …

The Portrayal Of The Woman’S Suffrage Movement In High School History Textbooks, Michelle A. Devries

Masters Theses

The narrative of the woman’s suffrage movement in high school history textbooks varies from textbook to textbook and over time. Textbooks include different information, people, events, and interpretations of events. They employ different word choices and pictures. By using comparative analyzation of numerous popular high school textbooks, the pressure exerted by external economic, social, and political forces on the historical narrative can be seen. Studying the historical narrative in this way trains students to be discerning learners of history and equips them not only to recognize the bias in any historical narrative, but also to be able to analyze how …

Using Historical Maps For Contaminated Site Identification And Prediction, And Environmental Justice Implications: A Case Study In Grand Rapids, Michigan, Dana Heusinkveld

Masters Theses

As the production of synthetic chemicals has grown in the past centuries to increase production, lower costs, and generally make our lives more convenient, detecting and understanding the environmental impacts of these compounds has lagged significantly behind their mass production and wide-spread use. To combat this trend, sources of these contaminants, especially those that have been removed from the landscape, need to be quickly identified to make mitigation and remediation efforts more effective. In this study, historical Sanborn maps are used to extract and digitize historical site/land use in Grand Rapids during the early 1900s through the practical application of …

Lifetime Interpersonal Victimization Profiles And Mental Health Problems In A Nationally Representative Panel Of Trauma-Exposed Adults From The United Kingdom, Ruby Charak, Maria Louison Vang, Mark Shevlin, Menachem Ben-Ezra, Thanos Karatzias, Philip Hyland

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Traumatic event exposure has been associated with negative psychological outcomes. There is, however, a dearth of research on revictimization. The current study examined patterns of lifetime interpersonal victimization based on six types of childhood maltreatment, physical and sexual assault, and assault with a weapon during adulthood via latent class analysis (LCA), with gender as covariate. Using a three‐step approach, we assessed differences across the latent classes in symptoms and diagnosis of depression, anxiety, and DSM‐5 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A trauma‐exposed adult sample representative of the United Kingdom population (N = 1,051) was recruited online through a research panel. …

Gender Of Authors In The Mexican Journal Of Behavior Analysis: Changes Over Time [Género De Los Autores De La Revista Mexicana De Análisis De La Conducta: Cambios A Través Del Tiempo], Hugo Curiel, Emily S. L. Curiel, Alicia Roca, Alan Poling

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

The Mexican Journal of Behavior Analysis was examined from 1975 to 2018 to determine the proportion of authorship by women and men. Data were compiled and assessed for the percentage of authorship, percentage of first-authored publications, percentage of publications with at least one woman, and percentage of publications with at least one man. From the journal’s inception to 2018, women and men accounted for 33% and 67% of authorship, respectively. The data suggest that women’s participation, based on percentages of total authorship, has increased across time.

-

Con el propósito de determinar la proporción de autores mujeres y hombres, se …

Working With The Homeless Population: An Exploratory Study Of Graduate Social Work Student’S Confidence And Willingness, Ana Rosa Ortiz, Mariam Kiara Lowe

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Homelessness is a multilayered problem that affects hundreds of thousands of people across the United States. The social work profession cannot rest on its laurels when large numbers of individuals and families suffer due to a lack of shelter, a necessity. Historically, social work was at the vanguard of interventions against homelessness. However, over the past 30 years or so, the profession arguably has shifted its focus toward micro practice. As a result, macro issues such as poverty and homelessness have received comparatively less interest in the field. Using an exploratory design, this study examined factors associated with level of …