Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Meera Atkinson. The Poetics Of Transgenerational Trauma. Bloomsbury, 2017., Katie Lally

Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature

Review of Meera Atkinson. The Poetics of Transgenerational Trauma. Bloomsbury, 2017.

The Effects Of Adverse Childhood Experiences (Aces), Melissa Wells

Fall Student Research Symposium 2018

Childhood trauma, also known as Adverse Childhood experiences (ACEs) can affect every aspect of a person’s life until the day they die.

Trauma Therapy And The Need For Cross Cultural Competence, Marijke Sommer

Honors Projects

This project addresses the relevance of cross cultural competence for work in trauma therapy. I begin with a review of the literature on approaches to trauma therapy, identifying similarities and differences in key approaches, and comparing outcomes where that information is available. I then review a variety of cross cultural variations in mental health conditions and symptoms, attempting to roughly position each within the ethnic group or groups in which the variation is mostly likely to be found. Finally, I review the very small existing literature examining the impact of culturally sensitive approaches to trauma therapy in several non-Western ethnic …

An Evaluation Of Implementing Trauma-Informed Care Training In Healthcare Settings, Amanda Kis

Capstone Experience

Background: Trauma-informed care (TIC) has recently become a popular topic in medical science. Many patients’ health conditions have been diagnosed and treated purely as medical issues, yet emerging research indicates that trauma is sometimes the source of many physical and mental conditions. Implementing TIC education in healthcare systems may lead to preventing the onset of symptomology related to undiagnosed, chronic trauma experience.

Objectives: The primary goal of this Capstone project was to implement TIC training developed by Trauma Matters Omaha Coalition and assess preliminary evidence for changes in participants’ confidence, clinical knowledge, professional knowledge, self-awareness, and assumptions and biases regarding …

Understanding The Relationship Between Anti-Transgender Bias, Non-Affirmation, And Post-Traumatic Stress: A Model Of Internalized Transphobia-Mediated Post-Traumatic Stress., Sebastian Mitchell Barr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Transgender people’s increased risk for negative mental health outcomes, when compared to cisgender peers or the general public, has been well documented in the psychological literature. Researchers have begun to establish empirical support for a relationship between anti-transgender bias, non-affirmation of gender identity, internalized transphobia, and other transgender-specific minority stressors. Although little work has explored the mechanisms of this relationship, some psychologists have proposed conceptualizing these factors as potentially traumatic experiences and understanding the poor mental health outcomes as manifestations of complex post-traumatic stress. In this dissertation, I examine whether there is empirical support for this framework by evaluating the …

The Spark Of Recovery: Artistic Methods That Generate Dialogue And Reduce Stigma In Families Affected By Mood Disorders, Adara Jensen

Masters Theses

Mood disorders, such as major depression and bipolar disorder negatively affect family dynamics, often resulting in trauma, antipathy, mistrust, and the breakdown in communication between the individual suffering from mood disorder and members of his or her family. The impact of mood disorder on family members impedes recovery for the person suffering from the disorder as well as the health and well-being of the family as a whole. Even emotionally healthy families suffer from the subsequent pain, trauma, isolation, and stigma. The project proposes a solution to broken or inhibited family communication: the engagement of all family members in healing …

Abuse Or Be Abused: Traumatic Memory, Sex Inequality, And Millennium As A Socio-Literary Device, Kate Rose

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This article applies the research of French psychiatrist Muriel Salmona to literary analysis of Stieg Larsson’s protagonist, Lisbeth Salander, in the Millennium trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, 2008; The Girl Who Played with Fire, 2009; The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, 2010). It suggests that Larsson’s novels may be useful in raising awareness of childhood sexual abuse, through reading neglected signs linked to the neurology of traumatic memory. In the tradition of Nordic noir novels, hyperboles in Salander’s sensationalized identity serve to magnify and bring to light a misunderstood social problem. The article …

Never Again! Surviving Liberalized Prostitution In Germany, Sandra Norak, Ingeborg Kraus

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This article, co-authored by a six-year survivor of the sex trade industry in Germany (Sandra Norak) and a psychologist and trauma therapist (Ingeborg Kraus), provides perspectives on the difficulty of withstanding the coercion of traffickers and the difficulties of exiting prostitution in a country in which prostitution has been legalized, normalized and made “a job like any other.” This normalization persuades survivors to believe their traffickers that it is a legitimate occupation and encourages them to endure the violence. Liberalization also has prevented the development of needed trauma services to those seeking to exit the sex trade industry.

Efficaciousness Of Mindfulness Interventions For Trauma Using Psychophysiological Measures: A Review, Sherief Y. Eldeeb

Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark (SURJ)

In recent decades the efficaciousness of mindfulness has been proven in a wide variety of contexts, but some crucial populations remain understudied. This review critically examines the literature on mindfulness in individuals with trauma using psychophysiological measures. Psychophysiological measures offer critical insight into this intersection of mindfulness and trauma due to the known somatic components in each, as well as serving as an objective response. Mindfulness-based treatments seem to show great promise in treating trauma, however there are significant limitations in the literature. Future studies should standardize the minimum length of treatment, utilize gender-balanced and ethnically diverse samples, and introduce …

The Relationship Between Parenting And Child Trauma: An Intergenerational Investigation, Miriam A. Dreyer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examined the intergenerational transmission of trauma by investigating the relationship between parental trauma and child trauma exposure by considering parenting variables including emotion regulation, aggression, monitoring, and punitiveness as potential mechanisms of transmission. Though ample research exists which suggests that experiences of trauma are passed down from one generation to the next, this intergenerational transmission is not inevitable, and the mechanisms of transmission need to be better understood. Parenting is a crucial construct to examine given that it shapes interactions between two generations and represents a forum for intervention.

The study was a secondary analysis of a selection …

What’S Your Story? Assessing Childhood Maltreatment Using The Thematic Apperception Test In An Adult Inpatient Population., Thachell C. Tanis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There is a robust evidence that childhood maltreatment contributes to the development of adult psychopathology (Brown & Anderson, 1991; Johnson, Cohen, Brown, Smailes, & Bernstein 1999; Johnson, Smailes, Cohen, Brown, & Bernstein, 2000; Ruggiero et al., 1999). However, the identification of childhood maltreatment remains a methodological problem that results in inconsistencies in the reported incidence and psychological sequelae of maltreatment. A primary method for identifying histories of childhood maltreatment among adults is retrospective self-report measures which are susceptible to multiple biases (Briere, 1992; Cicchetti & Rizley, 1981; Shaffer, Huston, & Egeland, 2008). This present study suggests that childhood maltreatment can …

Unveiling Chaim Shatan: An Analyst Unveiling War Wounds, Andrea Recarte

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Historically, the psychological wounds of war have been subject to a ritual of emergence and burial. This cycle is multilayered and paralleled in various levels of experience; society, governmental administrations, institutions, families, and individuals. Furthermore, the collective failure to witness the wounds of survivors adds to the cumulative trauma of the soldier. The field of psychoanalysis, originally preoccupied with that which is hidden, also takes part in the massive disavowal of combat stress. Analysts who have revealed war casualties tend to be forgotten, left to suffer the same fate of the grieving soldier. This project focuses on rescuing, contextualizing, critically …

How Can Developmental Transformations Address Culture Shock To Those Moving From Collectivist Societies Into Individualistic Ones, Such As, Chinese Immigrants Into The United States?, Fabiola Valdivia

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Immigration has always existed, and lately with the heyday of social networks and media, we have witnessed high rates of immigration due to different social and political contexts that have forced people to leave their homes looking for a better situation. Many of these individuals have emigrated and continue to emigrate to the United States of America, in search of, what in some cases they believe will be, the American dream.

This document explores the implementation of developmental transformations (DvT), originally a drama therapy approach, with an immigrant population coming from a collective society such as the Asian into an …

The Use Of Drama Therapy To Create Safety In Psychoeducational Groups For Complex Trauma: The Development Of A Method Using Ritual, Embodied Metaphor And Play, Sarah M. Lowry

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

In this research, I developed a method to bring drama therapy into psychoeducational groups that serve clients who have survived complex trauma. Through the use of play, metaphor, group ritual, embodiment and laughter, I explored the use of drama therapy to increase the experience of a group member’s feeling of safety which I perceived in their capacity to take individual risks and to connect with other group members. I facilitated two separate psychoeducational groups that occurred over the course of 12 weeks, incorporating these elements of drama therapy, and reflected upon my experience of these interventions. Throughout the process, I …

Ethical And Legal Issues: Working With Minors With Trauma, Robin Switzer

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Review of the particular ethical and legal issues that can arise for counselors when working with minors with trauma. Includes scenarios experienced and strategies to avoid pitfalls of reporting, legal cases, techniques, documentation and expectations of treatment.

Relationships Among Trauma Type, Posttraumatic Stress, And Posttraumatic Growth, Elizabeth Ann Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this study was to provide insight into two research questions: 1) Does trauma type (interpersonal versus non-interpersonal) relate to how posttraumatic stress (PTS) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) develop in relation to one another? and 2) Do differences in individuals’ reports of PTS symptoms or PTG domains exist based on trauma type? Adults seeking behavioral health or medical treatment (N = 158) were recruited from a community integrated health care agency and a men’s residential support program located in the Southeastern United States. The results of the study did not show a significant curvilinear relationship between PTS …

A Multimodal Assessment Of Disgust In Response To Traumatic Event Reminders Among Adolescents, Teah-Marie R. Bynion

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The majority of youth will report traumatic event exposure by the time they reach adulthood. Research suggests exposure to such events is linked to myriad negative outcomes. Not all traumatic events are alike, however; evidence suggests that, compared to non-interpersonal events, interpersonal events in which another person intentionally perpetrates harm are linked to elevations in the likelihood of negative outcomes, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One reason for this discrepancy is that interpersonal traumatic events may elicit greater levels of disgust. However, this is a very under-developed research base, no study has examined this question among youth. The current study …

First Semester Academic Functioning Of College Students : The Role Of Stressful And Traumatic Life Events., Ashlee J. Warnecke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A large number of the nearly 20 million students who were attending American colleges in 2015 will not graduate. One factor that may affect the success of students is the influence of past experiences, including past adversity, or exposure to traumatic or non-traumatic stressors. The present study sought to better describe and understand the role of stress/trauma history in college students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. The potential relationship this history has with academic outcomes was explored. Additionally, as not all students with a history of stressful and traumatic life events struggle academically, self-reported resilience, as well as resiliency factors, were …

• Presentation: Legal And Ethical Issues: Minors & Trauma, Robin Switzer

Robin Switzer

Brooklyn Bedroom: An Ethnodrama On Female Sexuality, Third World Feminism And Performance Ethnography, Ayshia Stephenson

Doctoral Dissertations

Brooklyn Bedroom is a performance that interrogates societal perceptions of race and sexuality. I have utilized the writing of the performance as my method; the performance is an act of Third World feminist resistance and liberation. Storytelling is the type of research preferred by many black female playwrights. A type of qualitative inquiry, ethnodramatic work forms a bridge between individual stories and social issues affecting society with the goal of socio-political change. The source of reality for this ethnodrama is the Rose family, their history was a catalyst for the writing of Brooklyn Bedroom. I have explored their stories to …

The Role Of Disgust In Posttraumatic Stress: A Critical Review Of The Empirical Literature, Christal L. Badour, Matthew T. Feldner

Psychology Faculty Publications

The current review provides a detailed analysis of the burgeoning literature examining the role of disgust in understanding posttraumatic stress symptomatology. Research in this area generally converges to suggest (1) posttraumatic stress is associated with the experience of elevated disgust, (2) individual differences in disgust vulnerabilities may relate to increased posttraumatic stress symptom levels, (3) retrospective report of peritraumatic disgust is related to posttraumatic stress symptom levels, and (4) posttraumatic stress symptom levels appear to be associated with increased disgust, including in response to traumatic event cues. Importantly, much of this research suggests observed relations between disgust and posttraumatic stress …

Over The Hills And Far Away: Inviting And Holding Traumatic Stories In School, Lesley Koplow, Noelle Dean, Margaret Blachly

Occasional Paper Series

Thousands of young immigrant children enter school each year, bringing their immigration stories with them. They enrich the communities that receive them, bringing hope and new perspectives, new languages, and experiences of other worlds to share with peers. Sometimes their stories include experiences of loss and trauma in their lives prior to entering school. Studies estimate that more than 51% of immigrant families have experienced at least one traumatic event or loss, and at least 15% of immigrant parents and children present with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Aragona, Pucci, Mazzetti, Maisano, & Geraci, 2013). These traumatic histories can include difficult …

Land Reform In South Africa: The Conversation That Never Took Place, Godswill Makombe Prof

The Qualitative Report

After independence, South Africa embarked on a land reform programme that is meant to redress the highly inequitable land ownership which resulted from Apartheid. The programme comprises land redistribution, land restitution and land tenure. On restitution projects, the maintenance of production has been highly problematic. Loss of production means there is very little or no livelihoods impacts from restitution. The beneficiaries of restitution projects usually have neither farming experience nor capital to continue or restart the farm operations. As a result, most restitution projects are either non-functional or are functioning at a meager fraction of previous levels. Most studies on …

Experiences Of Female Sex Trafficking Survivors: A Phenomenological Analysis, Tetiana Sukach, Natali Gonzalez, Jaclyn Cravens Pickens

The Qualitative Report

Human sex trafficking is a worldwide issue that affects millions of people. Victims of this industry undergo numerous traumatic events, which greatly impact their lives. Given the prevalence and traumatic nature of the sex trafficking industry, there is a need to raise greater awareness of victims’ experiences. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of 15 female survivors of sex trafficking, who shared their stories on equalitynow.org. Using phenomenology, the researchers answered the following questions: “What are the experiences of female survivors of sexual human trafficking within the industry?” and “How do survivors make sense of those …

Examining The Relationship Between Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms And Posttraumatic Growth: Pathways To Thriving In The Face Of Adversity, David Strasshofer

Dissertations

Research has largely focused on the negative physical and psychological consequences of trauma exposure. In contrast, posttraumatic growth is a relatively recent addition to our understanding of people’s response to life’s struggles. Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is conceptualized as positive changes in a person’s life following a cognitive struggle in the aftermath of trauma. However, PTG research is a relatively nascent line of empirical inquiry and there are several major unanswered questions about the construct and its utility. Part of this is due to conflicting findings related to the relationship between PTG and psychological distress and adaptive significance. The current study …

The Jackie Robinson Of Library Science: Twenty Years Later, Teresa Y. Neely

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

This chapter is the 20 year follow-up to Neely’s 1996 chapter of the same name (Neely, 1996). She is still the only Black librarian in her current position and has been the only one at each of the three institutions where she’s worked. She writes about geographical isolation, personal loss, and the physical, spiritual, and emotional toll working and living in white spaces has taken.

Evaluating Shame; A Comparative Look At Sexual And Physical Abuse, Kathryn Mckenzie, Theresa Botts

Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Shame is a potential adverse effect which can occur following a traumatic experience, such as being a survivor of sexual and physical abuse. Demonstrating the prevalence and levels of shame resulting from sexual and physical abuse can be of interest to those professionals working with survivors of trauma. The purpose of this study was to separately evaluate the prevalence of shame within sexual and physical abuse. This study tested the following hypotheses: hypothesis 1, shame will be more prevalent and demonstrate higher levels in sexual abuse survivors than in physical abuse survivors and hypothesis 2, survivors of both sexual and …

The Effects Of Conceptually Driven Versus Data-Driven Encoding On Traumatic Memory Amplification, Kelsey N. Barnett

Student Theses

Our research examines whether the way in which a person encodes a traumatic experience affects their post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and ability to remember the trauma over time. In our first study, we were interested in establishing whether people have any existing beliefs about how encoding processes influence the development of PTSD. In line with Ehlers and Clark’s (2000) theory, we hypothesized that people would be more likely to indicate that exclusively paying attention to sensory details during a traumatic event contributes to the formation of traumatic memories and PTSD. To test this hypothesis, we designed a simple …

An Examination Of The Impact Traumatic Events Has On Psychosocial Impairment In Eating Disorder Patients, Jennifer Parker Hackett

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Research suggests that trauma has an impact on eating disorders. While prior research has demonstrated that the trauma from abuse has a significant impact on eating disorders, research has failed to explore other types of trauma. In addition, previous studies have stopped short of examining the impact trauma has on functioning among individuals with an eating disorder. This study aimed to address that gap in the literature. The purpose of this study is to examine whether traumatic life events impact psychosocial functioning among individuals living with an eating disorder. Furthermore, this study aimed to identify which traumas are shown to …

Spatial Epidemiology Of Summer Trauma In Scott County, Ia: Use Of Gis To Identify Trauma Incidence In Urban And Rural Areas, Matthew Koch

Celebration of Learning

Traumatic injury is a blanket term referring to acute physical injuries which pose an immediate threat to life and limb, requiring urgent medical care. Unintentional injuries are the fifth-leading cause of death, and fatal injuries cost the American economy over $84 billion annually in lost work and medical costs. Scott County, IA, is a unique environment for trauma research because it served by a single trauma center and features within its 458 square miles distinct urban and rural populations. Patient data from the trauma registry, including age, race, and mechanism of injury (MOI) was combined with the corresponding spatial data …