Psychology Commons^™

Comparison Of Advance Care Planning Interventions And Older Adults’ Advance Directive Completion Rates, Tammy Biehler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the benefits of advance care planning (ACP), only one third of older adults in the United States have completed it. To address this gap, health care organizations are implementing ACP programs to engage older adults in the process. These programs can be delivered in various ways, including 1:1 conversations, classes, and web-based tools. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate which ACP option was associated with highest participation and advance directive (AD) completion rates in older adults. Social cognitive theory provided the framework to understand the impact the ACP environment and personal characteristics’ have on the odds …

Emotional Intelligence, Self-Directed Learning, And Online Success In Adult Learners: A Mediation Model, Amanda C. Coté

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Online education has been established as a viable option for adult learners. More recently, it has been adopted by many institutions as a critical component in their long-term planning and success. Despite consistent growth rates in online enrollment, and the advantages to online learning, attrition rates for online courses remain higher than traditional (ground) courses. Bar-On’s theory of emotional intelligence (EI) and Knowles’ self-directed learning (SDL) theory have been positively linked with online academic performance and identified as predictors of learning online and life success. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional study was to explore EI and SDL as predictors …

Use Of Machine Learning To Predict Ethical Drift In Law Enforcement, Ryan Mann

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. law enforcement agencies are facing a legitimacy crisis. Incidents of police misconduct are the subject of widespread media coverage. Officer conduct continues to be a problem despite effectiveness of candidate screening. Underlying causes of ethical drift must be understood to reduce police misconduct. The purpose of this nonexperimental quantitative study was to examine the relationship between police ethical drift and agency size, officer age, officer gender, and officer education level. Ethical drift was the conceptual framework. Archival secondary data from local law enforcement agencies and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission were obtained …

Wrongful Conviction: Using Lived Experience To Explore Errors In Juror Cognition, Danielle Nicole Schulte Lewis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractWrongful conviction is a pressing legal and social justice issue that requires scholarly attention in the United States. The role of jurors in the criminal justice system has been empirically investigated and debated for many decades as researchers attempt to understand the juror decision-making process and how jurors contribute to wrongful conviction. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore how errors in juror cognition during decision-making led to juror reliance on narrative construction and commonsense reasoning rather than legal and judicial instruction in wrongful conviction cases. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 jurors who served on a criminal …

Therapeutic Wilderness Experiences And Empathetic Perception Of At-Risk Adolescent Youth, Sandra Short-Robbins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Current research involving wilderness therapy (WT) programs indicates that therapeutic wilderness or outdoor interventions have increased in popularity as alternative approaches for treating at-risk or adjudicated adolescents. However, the role that empathetic perception plays in advancing the efficacy of WT intervention absent from the majority of extant literature. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to address a gap in research involving how empathetic perception may be affected by WT program participation. The conceptual framework for the project involved ecopsychology, a branch of science that addresses the connection between human beings and the natural world. Nine young adults between …

Predicting Recidivism Following Participation In Treatment/Intervention Programs For Ex-Offenders, Shaunae Colita Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Failure to participate in rehabilitative programs during or after prison has led to increased recidivism, which, in turn, has contributed to overcrowded prisons and lack of rehabilitation services for offenders. The purpose of this descriptive, quantitative, regression study was to explore the relationship between inmates’ program participation (i.e., during prison education program, during prison drug treatment program, during prison alcohol treatment program, and during prison sex offense treatment program) by and subsequent recidivism. Banduras' social learning theory provided the theoretical framework for the study. The study data were drawn from recidivism data of 38,624 prisoners who were released in 1994 …

The Influence Of Ethnicity On The Impact Of Cyberbullying Among Adults, Sarah Young

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ethnicity is a factor that predicts how a person is impacted by cyberbullying, but to date little research has been conducted to investigate this phenomenon. Some researchers have reported that individuals belonging to ethnic minorities may have a greater overall resistance to bullying behavior and bias due to stress inoculation. The purpose of this study was to determine if ethnic minority status serves as a protective factor against the negative impact of cyberbullying in adults. This research study was guided by inoculation and socio-ecological systems theories. A convenience sample of 618 American adults who use social media at least 3 …

Rehabilitation Counseling Students' Perceived Lgb Competence: Implications For Curricula Development, Sean Meyer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research has consistently showcased disparities in the prevalence of physical and psychiatric disabilities amongst individuals in the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community when compared to the general population. As a profession focused on assisting persons with disabilities achieve full participation in society, there is a strong likelihood that rehabilitation counselors will encounter a client who identifies as both LGB and as a someone with a disability. Therefore, multicultural counseling competence is paramount in ensuring rehabilitation counselors are prepared to provide culturally appropriate services to their clients. Applying a social cognitive theory framework, 204 graduate-level students were recruited from accredited …

Therapeutic Wilderness Experiences And Empathetic Perception Of At-Risk Adolescent Youth, Sandra Short-Robbins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Current research involving wilderness therapy (WT) programs indicates that therapeutic wilderness or outdoor interventions have increased in popularity as alternative approaches for treating at-risk or adjudicated adolescents. However, the role that empathetic perception plays in advancing the efficacy of WT intervention absent from the majority of extant literature. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to address a gap in research involving how empathetic perception may be affected by WT program participation. The conceptual framework for the project involved ecopsychology, a branch of science that addresses the connection between human beings and the natural world. Nine young adults between …

Hospice Interdisciplinary Use Of The Social Work Assessment Tool For Military Families, Miranda Lishell Rankin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The development of the social work assessment tool (SWAT) was an initiative designed by members of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization to move hospice and palliative care social workers into the arena of viewing the family as an extension of the patient. Of those dying in the United States, 1 out of 4 is a military veteran (vet) in need of assessments, culturally relevant interventions, and/or supports at the end of life. For military families, caring for vets at the end of life can prompt stressors that may require culturally unique assessments and/or interventions. Tsai’s (2003) theory of …

Predictors For Depressive Symptoms Among Women Instagram Users, Rochelle Henry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As social networking sites have become a typical daily activity, there is a need to better understand the outcomes of online behaviors on other life functions. Prior researchers have found that social comparison and social networking behaviors can negatively affect adolescents’ and young adults’ self-esteem, however the potential threats for women who evaluate themselves based on comparisons to others has not been examined. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects on health and well-being for older adult women using the image-sharing site Instagram who share selfies. The theoretical framework for this study was the social comparison theory. …

Teachers’ Perspectives On Positive Behavior Intervention And Support In The Classroom, Corlett Pinnock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Positive behavior intervention and support (PBIS) is a data-driven approach to promoting productive student behaviors and learning. A key facet of sustainable success when using PBIS is evaluation. More insight is needed on the perspectives that teachers have about PBIS and as well as details about whether and why it is accepted. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the perceptions of teachers at 3 high schools in Western Jamaica as it relates to a PBIS pilot program. Twenty-six teachers from 3 schools in Region 4 in Jamaica were interviewed with the aim of understanding how teachers received …

Self-Care Practices, Work Experience, Educational Setting, And Burnout Among School Counselors, Paul Sylvester-Nwosu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractSchool counselors should be well-adjusted in their personal and professional lives and possess a keen, accurate perception of their self-care practices. However, people drawn to careers in school counseling are often at risk of developing burnout due to high professional demands and limited resources supporting their self-care and well-being. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to investigate the relationship between the independent variables of self-care practices, years of work experience, and educational settings and the dependent variable of levels of burnout among practicing school counselors in K-12 suburban educational settings in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. …

Effects Of Ethnicity And Type Of Crime On Juvenile Offenders’ Recidivism Risk, Larry E. Taylor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Juvenile crime in the United States has been a persistent social problem that has reached epidemic proportions. The purpose of this between-subjects, comparative quantitative study was to examine the relationship between recidivism risk and the type of crime, ethnicity, and race of the juvenile. Social learning theory was used to guide the study. Archival data of 59,653 cases were collected from Inter-University Consortium Political and Social Research. Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions was used to assess the dependent variable recidivism risk. The independent variables were ethnicity and type of crime of the offender reported in the Transcript of …

Impact Of Adverse Childhood Experiences On Direct Care Workers Working With Juveniles, Brittany Anne Shaughnessy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study investigated the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on the development of vicarious traumatization (VT) and burnout among direct care staff working in juvenile justice residential facilities. Measures used included the ACE module of the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System historical to assess for ACEs, the Trauma and Attachment Belief Scale (TABS) to measure VT, and Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) to measure burnout. Workplace organization was also included in data collection and analysis as a covariate as past research has indicated a relationship between workplace organization and burnout and VT. A covariate of workplace …

Workplace Dynamics: Exploring Views, Impressions, And Preferences Of Colleagues With Diverse Backgrounds And Attributes, Emily Harris Broadhurst

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The general purpose of this study is to better understand stigmatized views of mental health conditions in the current social climate. In order to assess changes in current stigma levels, valid measurement tools are needed to make more accurate assessments. Many existing tools used to assess stigma levels present validity issues due to reporting bias, specifically social desirability bias. Researchers suggest that purposefully omitting diagnostic labeling helps to eliminate biased answers. In order to measure stigmatizing beliefs while minimizing the threat of social desirability, this study utilized an experimental design that compared mental health conditions with medical conditions. The Adjusted …

Relationships Between Religious Involvement, Stress, Depression, And Academic Performance Of Graduate Students In Education, Jai Thao

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Religion plays an important role in many cultures. Prior studies have demonstrated that religious involvement is associated with greater psychological well-being for college students. Prior research suggests that religiously involved college students have lower levels of depression, stress, and anxiety, as well as higher academic performance. The primary purpose of this study was to examine potential direct and indirect effects of religious involvement on depression and academic performance of graduate students in education, by testing models involving stress and depression as potential mediators. Multiple regression statistical analyses examined relationships between the level of religious involvement and the psychological status of …

The Importance Of Mindfulness And Self-Compassion In Clinical Training: Outcomes Related To Self-Assessed Competency And Self-Efficacy In Psychologists-In-Training, Chelsea Latorre

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The release of the APA (2011) Revised Competency Benchmarks used for evaluation of doctoral-level psychology trainees calls for literature to examine competencies in this population with use of appropriate instrumentation. The recent publication and validation of the Professional Competencies Scale-Revised (Taylor, 2015) allows for researchers to explore factors associated with trainee competencies as it relates to the benchmark system. Previous literature suggests a strong relationship between counselor self-efficacy and professional competency (e.g., Constantine, 2002), suggesting that interventions that can foster these constructs may lead to enhanced counseling performance. This study examined the predictive value of mindfulness and self-compassion for self-assessed …

An Exploration Of Task Independence For High School Students In A Self-Contained Classroom Using Structured Work Systems, Lorinda Rene Otto

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of a method to support higher levels of independent performance and generalization of skills using a structured work system with a visual schedule when teaching online task completion skills to high school students with ASD and intellectual disabilities. Students with ASD and intellectual disabilities are typically deficient in independent skills. They often struggle to initiate and complete tasks on their own. By learning to complete tasks independently, high school students with ASD and intellectual disabilities gain essential life skills needed for employment. Structured work systems, along with visual schedules, have shown to be useful in …

Why Patients Miss Appointments At An Integrated Primary Care Clinic, Katherine Lambos Wilsey

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Missed appointments in primary care clinics is of import given the significant impact not only on patients’ continuity of care, but also on the larger healthcare system. Missed appointments indicate that there are barriers to patients’ access of health care and these contribute to poor health outcomes. Further, missed appointments lead to financial and capacity issues for primary care clinics while also contributing towards higher patient utilization of emergency department services, for medical problems traditionally treated by primary care. Integrated primary care clinics offer both medical and mental health services to patients by way of employing behavioral health consultants to …

Emotional Response To Climate Change Learning: An Existential Inquiry, Jennifer Hutchinson

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This qualitative study aims to explore and explain the existential underpinnings of learning about climate change and potential emotional responses to climate change learning. Undergraduate students in environmental sciences and studies classes at the University of Washingrounded theory on in Seattle, WA participated in semi-structured interviews. Participants were asked about their experiences learning about climate change and how they responded emotionally to the learning. This dissertation examines the responses from those interviews and builds a theory out of the data analyzed. Constructivist Grounded theory as outlined by Kathy Charmaz (2014) was used to analyze the interviews. Codes were created and …

Examining Optimism And Caregiver Strain In Parents With Youth And Young Adults Diagnosed With Anxiety And Unipolar Mood Disorders, Jennifer M. Gross

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

An anonymous online survey investigated optimism and caregiver strain in parents of youth and young adults diagnosed with anxiety and unipolar depression. Caregiver strain is a

well-researched phenomenon where the experience of parenting youth with serious psychological disorders has a potentially negative impact on parents and caregivers. Optimism is a trait that confers resiliency and improved coping to the individual. The relationship between caregiver strain and optimism is not well understood. This inquiry utilized the Caregiver Strain Questionnaire (CGSQ) to measure caregiver strain and the Life Orientation Test, Revised

(LOT-R) to measure optimism. Participants endorsed significantly higher scores on the …

Client Perceptions Of The Therapy Room: Effects Of Homely Therapeutic Landscapes, Amanda Knapp

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

There is very limited research exploring the effects of a homely therapeutic landscape design on the psychological wellbeing of clients attending outpatient psychotherapy. In particular, very little is known about the impact of office design on client perceptions of their therapist and the quality of care they anticipate receiving. Ample data support the idea of healing environments; this has important implications for the field of clinical psychology. The theoretical framework underlying this study is the Tripartite Model, which states that people view spaces as most meaningful when they promote positive feelings of comfort, belonging, and security. Focusing on college students …

Perceptions Of Barriers In Prosecuting Human Trafficking Cases, Jennifer Nelms

Theses and Dissertations

Human trafficking is a world-wide problem with many barriers. Human trafficking cases are criminal but are also a violation of human rights. Human trafficking victims are lured from their homes based on the allusion from the trafficker of a better life. The victims are then beaten, forces to use drugs, and essentially broken. Once the victim is broken they are forced to perform sexual acts. Due to the initial promises and threats the victims endure, they also suffered from fear of trusting others especially law enforcement as well as other psychological issues similar to that of a domestic violence victim. …

Making Implementation Last: Understanding The Sustainability Of An Evidence-Based Treatment, Carrie Beth Jackson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Although advances have been made in facilitating the implementation of evidence-based treatments, little is known about the most effective way to sustain their use over long periods of time. Prior systematic reviews and research have suggested that organizational characteristics and training methods may be strategies that support sustainability, yet this has remained relatively unstudied in the field of behavioral health. The current study examined the sustainability of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy following a statewide implementation trial testing three training methods. Participants included 100 clinicians and 50 administrators from 50 organizations across Pennsylvania. Multi-level path analysis was utilized to examine the role …

Searching For I-O Psychology: How Practitioners, Academics, And Laypeople Engage With The I-O Brand Online, Bo Armstrong, Gordon B. Schmidt, Sayeedul Islam, William P. Jimenez, Eric Knudsen

Psychology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Daily Diary Study Of Drinking And Nondrinking Days In Nonstudent Alcohol Users, Cathy Lau-Barraco, Ashley N. Linden-Carmichael

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Emerging adults with lower educational attainment are at higher long-term risk for problematic drinking and alcohol use disorders. Efforts to gain a more in-depth understanding of the drinking habits of nonstudent emerging adults are critical to reduce disparities and to shed light on targets of intervention for this vulnerable group.

Objectives: The current investigation aimed to: (1) provide a description of the daily drinking habits of nonstudent emerging adult drinkers using a 14-day diary method, and (2) examine nondrinking days by assessing their reasons for not drinking as well as strategies used to avoid drinking.

Methods: Participants were 27 …

Visual Estimates Of Blood Loss By Medical Laypeople: Effects Of Blood Loss Volume, Victim Gender, And Perspective, Rachel Phillips, Marc Friberg, Mattias Lantz Cronqvist, Carl-Oscar Jonson, Erik Prytz

Psychology Faculty Publications

A severe hemorrhage can result in death within minutes, before professional first responders have time to arrive. Thus, intervention by bystanders, who may lack medical training, may be necessary to save a victim's life in situations with bleeding injuries. Proper intervention requires that bystanders accurately assess the severity of the injury and respond appropriately. As many bystanders lack tools and training, they are limited in terms of the information they can use in their evaluative process. In hemorrhage situations, visible blood loss may serve as a dominant cue to action. Therefore, understanding how medically untrained bystanders (i.e., laypeople) perceive hemorrhage …

Ethical Decision Making Behind The Wheel – A Driving Simulator Study, Siby Samuel, Sarah Yahoodik, Yusuke Yamani, Krishna Valluru, Donald L. Fisher

Psychology Faculty Publications

Over the past several years, there has been considerable debate surrounding ethical decision making in situations resulting in inevitable casualties. Given enough time and all other things being equal, studies show that drivers will typically decide to strike the fewest number of pedestrians in scenarios where there is a choice between striking several versus one or no pedestrians. However, it is unclear whether drivers behave similarly under situations of time pressure. In our experiment in a driving simulator, 32 drivers were given up to 2 s to decide which group of pedestrians to avoid among groups of larger (5) or …

Successfully Aging At Work Or Successfully Working While Aging? The Importance Of Older Workers' Psychological Well-Being, William P. Jimenez

Psychology Faculty Publications

Frank, 62, has been working at the same company for the past 32 years. His strong work ethic, subject-matter expertise, and continued excellent performance have saved him from several waves of layoffs and restructuring. Over the years Frank has become cynical. Gradually, many of Frank’s close colleagues were let go, and he has had difficulty connecting with newer employees. Although he is not particularly happy at his job, Frank is determined to continue working for his employer until at least 66, which is when he can start collecting Social Security benefits without penalty.