Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Creating, Connecting, And Communicating: A Look At Social Support For Postpartum Women, Aubrey E. Jones Phd, Diana Frankenburger Msn, Bsw, Rnc-Ob, Cce, Cls

Transforming Communities

The prevalence of postpartum depression underscores the critical need for support systems for new mothers. Virtual support groups, such as the Fourth Trimester Support Group described in this paper, represent a promising avenue for addressing these challenges and providing much-needed support. This article describes the formation, activities, and evaluation of an online support group that leverages technology to foster a sense of community for new mothers. Further, the details within the case study provide a basic model for starting a similar support group.

A Phenomenological Study Of Adoptive Parents’ Distress, Erica Rhoads

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of distress in parents who have adopted internationally. The aim was also to discover what this lived experience is like through the perception of both objective and subjective reality, providing understanding and meaning from the perception and experience of adopting and then parenting children who have experienced significant trauma. An additional goal of this study was to evaluate the experience of sharing their adoption story within a narrative therapy support group as a way to alleviate some of their distress. A focus on the background of adoption …

Moms Support Group: Lack Of Support To Moms Postpartum, Brooke C. Labit

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

This service learning project is centered on organizing and running a mom support group regularly to provide moms with the chance to assist one another in a safe atmosphere for their recovery following childbirth. Additionally, I created a social media page on the platform found on Instagram for this support group so that moms may communicate frequently and follow and interact to join for upcoming events. The project will benefit the moms by helping them make more meaningful connections and feel more supported during this time. Navigating parenting while maintaining all aspects of your life can be difficult. Going through …

Program Evaluation Of Teen Parent Support Group, Brianne Yvonne Irene Brophy

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research study used qualitative methods to identify the specific components of a teen mother support group that participants found most helpful. The purpose of this research was to highlight the support group's unique traits that attribute to their success in aiding teen mothers in graduating from high school, obtaining higher education, obtaining stable employment, and achieving their parenting goals. The study is composed of one-on-one interviews with three teen mothers who have been connected to the support group for over eight years. The responses suggest that four components of the support group help teen mothers in achieving success in …

God Will Wipe Away Every Tear - A Phenomenological Study Of Two Faith-Based, Grief Support Groups, Cynthia Velerianee White

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological, qualitative study was to describe the impact of GriefShare, a faith-based, grief support initiative for the participants at Diamondhead, Mississippi and Gulfport, Mississippi. The theory guiding this study was Robert Neimeyer’s social constructionist theory as it explains the meaning found in GriefShare’s narrative processes. The study participants were nine females and one male who attended at least three GriefShare sessions. The researcher interviewed and audio-recorded all participants using Otter ai. live transcription. The researcher used the constant comparison method and member checking to analyze the data collected during the interviews. As participants described their lived …

Group Scriptwriting For Male Survivors Of Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Community Engagement Project, Anna Coleman

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The objective of this community engagement project was to explore the experiences of a group of male survivors of childhood sexual abuse via a writing process through a drama therapy-based lens, which included the use of scaffolding sessions with projective writing techniques, the use of aesthetic distance, verbally sharing written works to the witnessing audience, and embodied feedback and response by the witnessing audience to the performer. The participants were part of a grant-funded male sexual abuse survivor support group at an American outpatient, in-office mental health counseling group practice. All sessions were held in audio-video telehealth sessions. There were …

A Psychoeducational Support Group Intervention For People Who Have Attempted Suicide: An Open Trial With Promising Preliminary Findings, Myfanwy Maple, Sarah Wayland, Tania Pearce, Rebecca Sanford, Navjot Bhullar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Psychoeducational groups have been used to address many health needs. Yet, there are few such options available for people who have attempted suicide. This study presents preliminary findings from an open trial of Eclipse, an 8-week closed, psychoeducational group for people who have attempted suicide. It examined the effectiveness of the Eclipse program in reducing suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms, perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness, and increasing resilience and help-seeking. Results showed statistically significant improvements in depressive symptoms, perceived burdensomeness, resilience and help-seeking from baseline (T1) to immediate post-test (T2), and in perceived burdensomeness from T1 to 1-month follow-up (T3). A …

Integrating Natural Language Processing And Interpretive Thematic Analyses To Gain Human-Centered Design Insights On Hiv Mobile Health: Proof-Of-Concept Analysis, Simone J. Skeen, Stephen Scott Jones, Carolyn Marie Cruse, Keith J. Horvath

Publications and Research

Background: HIV mobile health (mHealth) interventions often incorporate interactive peer-to-peer features. The user-generated content (UGC) created by these features can offer valuable design insights by revealing what topics and life events are most salient for participants, which can serve as targets for subsequent interventions. However, unstructured, textual UGC can be difficult to analyze. Interpretive thematic analyses can preserve rich narratives and latent themes but are labor-intensive and therefore scale poorly. Natural language processing (NLP) methods scale more readily but often produce only coarse descriptive results. Recent calls to advance the field have emphasized the untapped potential of combined NLP …

Survivors' Attainment Of Life-Skills, Morgan Victor

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Domestic Violence (DV), Human Trafficking (HT), and Sexual Assault (SA), otherwise known as power based personal violence, survivors’ lack life-skills to deal with the demands and challenges of everyday life. Community Solutions’ Solutions to Violence department, a non-profit agency serving survivors of SA, HT, and DV is actively assisting their clients with accessing community resources and advocating beside them through their journey to self-sufficiency. The contributing factors for the lack of life-skills are dependence on others, trauma, and lack of professional development opportunities. The consequences that arise from this issue for survivors are ongoing dependence on perpetrators, depression/anxiety, and poverty. …

Barriers To Utilizing Resources For The Dementia Caregiver, Rebecca L. M. Shanafelt

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The family caregiver of a person with dementia (PwD) provides valuable care and experiences negative health outcomes as a result. These negative health outcomes can be mitigated utilizing resources, however utilization rates remain low. While there is some research on barriers to accessing resources there is very little focused on caregivers of PwD. This study through semi-structured interviews with caregivers of PwD takes a deep look into the experience of first signs, diagnosis, and utilization of resources to better understand what those barriers might be. This study found that because of the healthcare structure caregivers do not learn about resources …

A Social Skills Support Program For Children With Down Syndrome And Their Typically Developing Siblings: Effect On Sibling Relationship, Jill Y. Miko

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Children with Down syndrome (DS) demonstrate deficits in social and communication skills resulting in atypical relationships with others, including siblings. Typically-developing (TD) siblings face their own social and emotional adjustment needs that impact the sibling relationship. The current study examined the effects of a 10-week social skills support program on the sibling relationship between children with DS and their TD siblings. Two sibling dyads completed the program consisting of skills instruction for children with DS, a support group for TD siblings, and cooperative recreation activities for all children together. The sibling relationship was measured through self-report questionnaires and direct observations …

The Role Of Online Support For Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer Patients And Survivors, Bevin J. Nixon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The rate of thyroid cancer diagnosis has risen, and researchers' findings point to improved diagnostic testing and overdiagnosis as well as increases in actual incidences as the reasons behind this rise. With improved treatments and testing methods, the number of thyroid cancer survivors has also increased. Thyroid cancer presents challenges to coping and can cause significant stress in an individual's life. More specifically, anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) creates complicated challenges for patients and survivors. The problem is patients need support during diagnosis and treatment when adjusting to their 'new normal' and may be reaching to Internet based social support groups …

Calling Attention To The Growing Heroin Epidemic And How To Fight It, Kendal Rozaieski

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of creating a grassroots heroin awareness organization on a university campus through qualitative research. Various meeting types were attended as the grassroots efforts began: a student organization dedicated to the cause, the campus Alcohol and Other Drug Board, a local community treatment center agency, multiple University of Akron faculty members, and other heroin awareness groups in the community. Through observation and journaling of these meetings, I am sharing my experience based off analyzed field notes. After analyzation of these notes, common themes related to the formation of this kind of …

Students On The Edge: Evaluating An Academic Support Group, Benjamin P. Heinisch, Nicole M. Smith

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

This qualitative case study evaluated the effectiveness of the Academic Skills Discussion Group, a new retention intervention targeting undergraduate students on academic probation. This intervention utilized a support group structure to provide social and academic supports to academically-poor students. These supports incorporated didactic educational presentations and interpersonal discussions relating to life change and college expectations. The case comprised one pilot administration of the intervention for three student group members. Data was collected from pre/post-intervention resiliency surveys, grade point average comparisons, journal-entry analysis and semi-structured exit interviews. The researcher conducted inductive data analysis by coding participant statements for meaning, calculating and …

The Experience Of Survivorship: Quality Of Life For African American Breast Cancer Survivors, Angela L. Grimmett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American breast cancer survivors are at a greater risk of experiencing disparities in mortality, treatment, and quality of life. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the impact that breast cancer had on the quality of life of African American breast cancer survivors from a psychosocial, physical, spiritual, and economic perspective. Face-to-face, in-depth interviews were conducted with 9 volunteers who met the eligibility criteria of being breast cancer survivors of African American decent. The sample of survivors ranged in ages 45 to 80 and was between 6 to 30 years postdiagnosis. Giorgi's phenomenological method was used to …

An Exploratory Factor Analysis Of The Survivor Of Suicide Support Group Facilitator Scale: Identifying Meaningful Factors For Group Facilitation And Outcomes, Rebecca L. Sanford

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Support groups for suicide loss survivors are a relatively common resource used by those who are left to cope in the aftermath of a suicide death. Though descriptive studies have been used to provide an overview of support groups in the past, there have been no efforts to understand nuances of these groups and the impact of these groups and differing facilitation styles on the bereavement experience for attendees. This study explores primary data collected between March 2015 and December 2015 with a sample of 138 survivor of suicide loss support group facilitators in the United States and several other …

Peers Helping Peers: A Model For Planning A Support Group For Women Struggling With Eating Disorders, Jennifer Sims

Honors Projects

Women are constantly bombarded with images that advertise unrealistic beauty standards. These negative portrayals of women often lead to negative self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, unhealthy dieting, extreme exercising and—in more extreme cases—the development of eating disorders (ED). When treating EDs, practitioners often turn to Cognitive-behavioral Therapy (CBT) as the first choice of intervention, but this treatment option lacks the key element of social support. This paper looks to create a model for planning a support group that balances CBT techniques with social support elements. Elements such as self-monitoring, progressive relaxation, homework, goal setting, and psychoeducation will be pulled from CBT models …

Postpartum Depression Support Group Of Motherwoman, Inc. : Cognitive-Behavioral Methods Embedded In Feminist Theory : A Project Based Upon An Investigation At Motherwoman, Inc., Amherst, Massachusetts, Leslie Ann Lauf

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The research reported in this paper was undertaken to examine and evaluate the usefulness of a particular support group for mothers suffering symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD). The new DSM-V, scheduled for release in 2013, will reflect some changes in our understanding of this affliction, including an extension of the onset time period of symptoms. Broadening the diagnostic criteria has implications for both screening and treatment. Literature on treatment tells us that this population of mothers is underserved, due to lack of access to treatment and/or poor diagnostic screening and detection of PPD. MotherWoman, Inc. is a non-profit organization in …

The Phenomenology Of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder From The Perspective Of The Adult Support Group Attendee, Richard R. Thomas Jr.

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This qualitative phenomenological dissertation utilizes the empirical descriptive phenomenological method, a modified Husserlian (1931) approach developed by A. P. Giorgi (1975, 1985, 1997) in order to lend voice to a vulnerable population of eight (four men and four women) adult Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) sufferers while also gleaning a greater understanding of their in vivo (or lived) experience. Though extensive quantitative research into the disorder exists, this study utilizes the words of the participants and searches for emergent themes amongst their collective experience. This study addresses the treatment gap of this crippling disorder, increases community awareness, and allows for emergence of …

Slides: A Fine Line Between Success And Failure In Partnerships, Greg Neudecker

Community-Owned Forests: Possibilities, Experiences, and Lessons Learned (June 16-19)

Presenter: Greg Neudecker, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Great Falls, MT

48 slides

A Manual On Forming A Support Group For Cancer Patients' Family Members, Amiee P. Sharrock

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

No abstract provided.

The Development Of A Support Group Curriculum For Parents Of Infants Hospitalized In A Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Pamela L. Dehkes

Theses and Graduate Projects

The birth of a premature infant can be an emotionally devastating experience for most families. The separation of caregiver and child during tnis time can also inhibit behaviors that facilitate healthy parent-child attachment. Research suggests that adequate parental support during the time of hospitalization can significantly reduce the negative effects of an NICU experience, which can reduce the likelihood of later parent-child attachment issues and foster better developmental outcomes for the child. The focus of this thesis is a support group curriculum, which has been developed using both the research regarding the NICU experience, and a parent survey taken in …

Comparing Two Support Groups' Impact On The Development Of Middle School Students' Self-Esteem And Internal Locus Of Control, Gary S. Johnson

Theses and Graduate Projects

This study compared the effectiveness of two support group models in a middle school setting. ls the introduction of Health Realization (HR) concepts in a support group more effective than a standard support group without HFI concepts in increasing self-esteem (SE) and internal locus of control (lLC) of participating middle school students? Eighteen 7th grade students were randomly assigned to a support group with HFI concepts or a support group without HR concepts. Pre- and post test scores from the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children (N-S) and the Piers-Harris Children's Self Concept Scale (P-H) were used to assess …