Psychology Commons^™

African American Women’S Perspectives On Mental Health, Kristine Smalls

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

African American women endure multiple stressors from such forms of social oppression as racism and sexism that impact their lives in many ways. Despite those stressors, several barriers impede African American women from seeking the professional mental health they need to cope. Instead, they rely on cultural and historical methods for managing stress, such as religious beliefs and the support of the church community, or they create their own. In this study, 25 women were interviewed to explore the barriers interfering with African American women seeking professional mental health treatment. This study specifically identified and examined three potential barriers: the …

Meeting The Psychosocial Needs Of Online Learners In Social Work Programs And Four-Year Universities: What Is Being Addressed And The Many Areas For Improvement, Kathryn Gould

DSW Capstone Projects

Almost half of social work students enter their program with a history of mental health diagnosis and exposure to multiple childhood traumas. Over half of students at four-year institutions are enrolled in one or more courses online, yet retention in online coursework is much lower than in in-person courses. As online programs continue to grow in the field of social work it becomes a vital requirement to address the psychosocial needs of online learners. The call of this capstone is to examine how universities and colleges of social work can meet the increasing need to improve course work and service …

Clinical Interventions For Developmental Trauma Disorder: How Evidence-Based Practice And Attachment Theory Can Inform Therapeutic Approach, Victoria Deveau

DSW Capstone Projects

Approximately two-thirds of U.S. children and adolescents report having experienced a traumatic event. A posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis requires that the youth has directly experienced a traumatic event, witnessed a traumatic event occur to others, or learned that a traumatic event has occurred to someone close. The clinician is in a diagnostic quandary, however, when the youth presents with the PTSD hallmarks of hyperarousal, avoidance, and emotional dysregulation, in absence of such life experiences. The answer to this quandary lies in an understanding of developmental trauma disorder (DTD). Clinical interventions for DTD are the focus of this capstone.

Product …

Transforming Social Work Practice And Research: Examining Lived Experiences Of Black Male Veteran Students And Mental Health, Tay Robinson

DSW Capstone Projects

Mental health disparities amongst the African American/Black community are well documented in literature. Throughout history the African American/ Black community have dealt with unethical operating procedures and research studies. This capstone project looks at historical facts, the lack of Black male veteran specific research as it relates to mental health, lived experiences of Black male veteran students with mental health/treatment, and developing culturally appropriate approaches to increasing research and effective practices to better serve this community.

The second chapter and first product of this capstone project is a systematic literature review. This literature review focused on finding literature on African …

Transforming Hurt Boys Into Restored Men: The Lack Of Mental Health Treatment For Black Male Trauma Survivors, Shericka Danielle Smith

DSW Capstone Projects

Trauma affects individuals differently, but the prevalence of trauma and its impact on Black males is detrimental. Black males are at higher risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, substance abuse, and violent crimes when trauma is left untreated by a mental health professional. As the number of traumatic events experienced by Black males continues to rise, the number of these males who seek mental health treatment remains stagnant and painfully low. Many factors play into these behaviors, yet very little data exists on what is being done to change them.

Product one is a systematic literature review in which …

An Overview Of Functional Communication Training For Registered Behavior Technicians, Christopher Dollinger

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Functional Communication Training (FCT) is an intervention involving the differential reinforcement of an alternative response (DRA), in which an appropriate communicative response (e.g., asking for a break) is reinforced while the behavior targeted for decrease (e.g., hitting to get out of work) has reinforcement withheld in its presence. Individuals who work as registered behavior technicians (RBT), under the supervision of a board-certified behavior analyst (BCBA), may implement FCT daily. With that being said, many individuals who choose to work as an RBT may not have as deep of an understanding of the concepts and principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA) …

Increasing Accuracy In Police Report Writing, Zachary Greene

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The current alternative thesis project consisted of creating an online learning course intended to increase the accuracy with which preservice and in-service police officers write police incident reports. The online course consists of 6 separate modules and utilizes principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA) to assist the learner in understanding and applying the content of the modules. Specifically, components of interactive computer training (ICT), consisting of video modeling, voice over narration, interactive activities, and self-pace module design were implemented in the design of the learning course. Opportunities throughout the course allow the learner to self-reflect, self-assess, and receive feedback.

Evaluation Of Preschool Life Skills (Pls) Program To Teach Social Skills In A Preschool Class, Zhenying Jiang

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Tier 2 PLS program on increasing critical social skills (i.e., requesting for attention, framed requesting for materials and assistant, and delay and denial tolerance) and decreasing problem behaviors for the participants with risk of delay in social domain. A multiple probe across behaviors design replicated across participants was employed. The intervention terminated due to the end of school year before skill 3 could be introduced. Two of three participants met criteria for two taught skills, while one participant did not acquire all skills. Decrease of problem behavior accompanied …

Human Ergonomic Simulation To Support The Design Of An Exoskeleton For Lashing/De-Lashing Operations Of Containers Cargo, Francesco Longo, Antonio Padovano, Vittorio Solina, Virginia D' Augusta, Stefan Venzl, Roberto Calbi, Michele Bartuni, Ornella Anastasi, Rafael Diaz

VMASC Publications

Lashing and de-lashing operations of containers cargo on board containerships are considered as quite strenuous activities in which operators are required to work continuously over a 6 or 8 hours shift with very limited break. This is mostly because containerships need to leave the port as soon as possible and containers loading and unloading operations must be executed with very high productivity (stay moored in a port is a totally unproductive time for a ship and a loss-making business for a shipping company). Operators performing lashing and de-lashing operations are subjected to intense ergonomic stress and uncomfortable working postures. To …

Cognitive Distortions, Partisan Strength, And Authoritarianism: Exploring Potential Factors Contributing To The Current Partisan Divide, Brooke C. Singer

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Over the past two decades, the number of Americans on the extremes of the political spectrum has more than doubled, and politically motivated aggression has increased. In addition, an unprecedented division has emerged between the left and right on fundamental political values and animosity continues to rise. The purpose of this study was to explore factors that potentially contribute to political polarization and animosity in the United States, including authoritarianism, strength of partisan commitment, and distorted thinking. The participants for this study comprised 513 individuals from the general population of the United States recruited from online platforms. Participants completed an …

Characterizing The Relationship Between Executive Functioning And Social-Emotional Behaviors Following A Severe Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury, Lakia Kearson

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most common acquired neurological conditions in children and adolescents. A TBI sustained in childhood can lead to an increased likelihood of executive functioning (EF) problems with possible short-term and long-term effects. Research has suggested that problems in EF can also lead to longstanding impairments in social skills and behavioral regulation. This study examined the relationship between EF and social-emotional functioning in children with TBI based on parent report using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) domain and subdomain scores. Quantitative data was retrieved from the …

Sleep Quality, Weight Status, And Executive Functioning In Patients Presenting For Vocational Rehabilitation Evaluation, Justin D. Misterka

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Poor sleep quality and elevated weight status are associated with poorer executive functioning (EF). The current study investigated the relationship between sleep quality, weight status, and EF in patients presenting for vocational rehabilitation evaluation, as well as whether EF is related to endorsing well-defined vocational interests. This retrospective study evaluated neuropsychological test data collected as part of standard clinical care from October 2018 to February 2021 from an urban outpatient training clinic. Patients seen for neuropsychological evaluation (N = 96) completed the Booklet Category Test, Trails A & B, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Behavior Rating Index of Executive Function (BRIEF), …

Predicting Adhd Symptoms In Adults From Performance On Selected Neuropsychological Measures, Kara Taylor

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Neuropsychological assessment is useful for identifying and predicting symptoms of psychological disorders. Certain tests within a neuropsychological battery can be better predictors of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms than others. The current study aims to contribute to the growing body of literature supporting the use of neuropsychological assessment in identifying adult ADHD symptoms. Data includes 68 deidentified adults with ADHD collected retrospectively from a private neuropsychology practice. A linear regression model (ANOVA) evaluated the relationship between the dependent variable for Hypotheses 1-3 (Attention and Behavior Rating Form, total score) and independent variables of D-KEFS Tower Test first move time and …

The Covid-19 Pandemic: Examining The Effects Of Social Networking Sites On Anxiety And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, Tiffany Araujo

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly changing the way people live. Globally, researchers are just beginning to understand the physical and mental health implications. The purpose of this mixed-method study was to examine how the pandemic may influence social networking sites’ (SNS) use and symptoms of anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study consisted of 397 individuals recruited from researchmatch.org. Participants completed an online questionnaire that included the PTSD Symptom Scale Interview (PSS-I-5), Screen for Adult Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCAARED), Social Networking Scale, and the COVID-19 Scale. Results indicated that the majority of participants endorsed a change in SNS …

Conducting A Formative Evaluation On A Course-Level Learning Analytics Implementation Through The Lens Of Self-Regulated Learning And Higher-Order Thinking, Pauline S. Muljana, Tian Luo, Greg Placencia

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Self-regulated learning (SRL) and higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) are associated with academic achievement, but fostering these skills is not easy. Scholars have suggested an alternative way to scaffold these important skills through learning analytics (LA). This paper presents a formative evaluation of a course-level LA implementation through the lens of self-regulated learning (SRL) and higher-order thinking skills (HOTS). We explored the changes in students’ SRL, HOTS, and perceptions at the end of the course term. Results indicate an increase in some elements of SRL and HOTS, and positive student perceptions. Discussion on implications and opportunities for informing future teaching strategies …

Compassion, Discrimination, And Prosocial Behaviors: Young Diasporic Chinese During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Youli Chen, Zicong Wang, Qi Zhang, Weizhen Dong, Jia Huei, Chen Xu, Sizhe Ji Wu, Xiangyang Zhang, Chun Chen

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has fueled anti-Asian, especially anti-Chinese sentiments worldwide, which may negatively impact diasporic Chinese youths' adjustment and prosocial development. This study examined the association between compassion, discrimination and prosocial behaviors in diasporic Chinese youths during the COVID-19 pandemic. 360 participants participated and completed the multi-country, cross-sectional, web-based survey between April 22 and May 9, 2020, the escalating stage of the pandemic. This study found compassion as prosocial behaviors' proximal predictor, while discrimination independently predicted participation in volunteering, and could potentially enhance the association between compassion and charitable giving. These findings suggest that prosociality among young …

Parent Reports Of Executive Functions In Students With Learning Disability, Jane Roitsch, Annemarie L. Horn, Lisa Morin

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

This study examines the results of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF-2) (Gioia et al., 2015) reported by parents of children with Specific Learning Disability (LD) and/or other comorbid disabilities. LD is most notably associated with comorbid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Alloway & Stein, 2014; Westby &Watson, 2004; Willcutt et al., 2013). A total of 43 parents completed the BRIEF-2 rating scale. Findings suggest children with LD and ADHD display greater challenges with inhibition, working memory, planning, along with greater challenges in organization and metacognition. Parents of children with LD reported their children have greater levels of …

Profiles And Correlates Of Language And Social Communication Differences Among Young Autistic Children, Rachel Reetzke, Vini Singh, Ji Su Hong, Calliope B. Holingue, Luther G. Kalb, Natasha N. Ludwig, Deepa Menon, Danika L. Pfeiffer, Rebecca J. Landa

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

Delays in early language development are characteristic of young autistic children, and one of the most recognizable first concerns that motivate parents to seek a diagnostic evaluation for their child. Although early language abilities are one of the strongest predictors of long-term outcomes, there is still much to be understood about the role of language impairment in the heterogeneous phenotypic presentation of autism. Using a personcentered, Latent Profile Analysis, we first aimed to identify distinct patterns of language and social communication ability in a clinic-based sample of 498 autistic children, ranging in age from 18 to 60 months (M = …

Attracting Applicants With Corporate Social Responsibility: A Social Dilemma Perspective, Shin Han

CGU Theses & Dissertations

There has been a surging interest in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in society, and business leaders perceive that CSR is essential in business operations. However, CSR can lead to unsatisfactory outcomes when not appropriately understood or practiced. Therefore, I conducted two studies to provide an alternative CSR perspective (Study 1) and empirically test how firms can benefit the most from CSR in applicant attraction (Study 2). In Study 1, I analyzed CSR as an organizational social dilemma (Rockmann & Northcraft, 2018), where the conflicts among stakeholders and between short- and long-term outcomes are inevitable. To minimize these conflicts, firms need …

Complicated Grief: Counseling Considerations And Techniques, Loretta Bradley, Nicole Noble, Kumudu Witanapatirana

Adultspan Journal

This article presents a case study about a fictional client’s experience of complicated grief. This article differentiates between complicated grief and normal (adaptive) grief. It also distinguishes between bereavement, grief, and mourning. The counseling process is described using developmental theory and narrative reconstruction to illustrate how to implement creative techniques.

Haitian American Caregivers’ Experiences Caring For Family Members Battling Substance Abuse, Bianca Chery

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Immigration issues, acculturation, and identity processes are risk factors identified for the development of substance abuse among Haitian Americans. While the problem of substance abuse within the Haitian American population has been identified, little research has been conducted on Haitian American caregivers who have cared for a loved one battling substance abuse. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was to explore how Haitian American caregivers experienced the phenomenon of caring for a family member battling substance abuse and to understand how caregivers coped with this demanding task. Carver et al.’s concepts of coping and Pargament’s theory of religious …

Career Motivation In Millennials And Generation Z As Predictors Of Turnover Intention And Organizational Commitment, Valamere Sharran Mikler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

By 2025, more than 50% of the U.S. labor workforce will be comprised of millennials and Generation Z as previous generational cohorts leave the workforce. The inclusion of millennials and Generation Z in the workforce has led to organizational leaders encountering a challenge in retaining and motivating millennials and Generation Z, who change jobs every 2-5 years. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine if the career motivation of millennials and Generation Z moderated the predictive relationship between organizational commitment and turnover intention. The survey data used in this study had a sample size of 235 U.S. …

A Qualitative Study Exploring How Male U.S. Veterans Experience Empathy, Elda Marina Stepp

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThis qualitative study explored the lived experiences of male U.S. combat veterans with empathy and how this features in their transition back into society. Davis’s cognitive and emotional empathy served as the conceptual framework to expand further on this topic. Seven male U.S. combat veterans who had deployed at least once in their military career and lived as civilians for the past 10 to 15 years were interviewed through Zoom. Recruiting methods included social media, veteran meeting places, and snowballing approaches. Results from interpretative phenomenological analysis of the interview data included six main themes: feelings of compassion before deployment, feelings …

Precursors Of Email Response To Cybersecurity Scenarios: Factor Exploration And Scale Development, Miguel A. Toro-Jarrin, Pilar Pazos-Lago, Miguel Padilla

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

In the last decade, information security research has further expanded to include human factors as key elements of the organization's cybersecurity infrastructure. Numerous factors from several theories have been explored to explain and predict the multitude of information security-related behaviors in organizations. Lately, there has been a call for the study of specific cybersecurity behaviors in contextualized scenarios that reflect specific and realistic situations of a potential cyber-attack. This paper focuses on precursors of email response in situations that can be the origin of cybersecurity incidents in organizations (i.e., phishing attacks, ransomware, etc.). This study explores participants' intentions to follow …

The Relation Between Childhood Maltreatment And Marriage Quality In Adulthood, Melanie Wagner

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Childhood maltreatment poses the potential for lasting effects on survivors as they enter adulthood. Research lacks investigations into these potential effects, such as the impact on interpersonal relations. This study investigates the correlation between different types of childhood maltreatment and overall quality of marriage, as well as aims to identify which type of childhood maltreatment may be the strongest relative predictor of marital quality. Analyses on a newlywed dataset from Lancaster County, NE yielded results of a strong negative association between measures of childhood maltreatment and marital quality through the application of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and the Quality of …

Infant Imitation: Detecting Risk In The First Year With Pediatrac™, Samantha Levick

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Imitation has pervasive associations with social and communicative development. However, few methods have been developed to measure this construct in typically developing infants, and even fewer are available for atypical populations, such as infants born preterm. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a particular risk of premature birth, is associated with atypical imitation and social communication. Although imitation emerges in infancy, most current screening and diagnostic tools for ASD cannot be utilized prior to 12 months. The present study aimed to develop and validate a caregiver-report measure of infant imitation; characterize imitation profiles at 4, 6, and 9 months in term and …

Caregivers’ Self-Compassion And Bereaved Children’S Adjustment: Testing Caregivers’ Mental Health And Parenting As Mediators, Na Zhang, Irwin Sandler, Jenn‑Yun Tein, Sharlene Wolchik, Erin Donohue

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objectives: Self-compassion, which involves mindfulness, self-kindness, and common humanity, has been found to be related to individuals’ mental health. Few studies have examined caregivers’ self-compassion in relation to parenting behaviors and child adjustment in addition to its relation to their own mental health. In the current study we examined caregivers’ self-compassion as a protective factor related to parentally bereaved children’s internalizing and externalizing problems and further tested whether these relations were mediated by caregivers’ mental health (complicated grief and psychological distress) and parenting.

Methods: The sample consisted of 74 caregivers (female = 78.4%) who participated in a larger study designed …

The Disappearance Of The Anti-Aesthetic; The Death Of Fashion, Scrap Evans

Capstone Showcase

In this essay, Scrap explores the connection between famous nihilist and postmodernist theorists, Dadaism, the concept of the anti-aesthetic, and today's high fashion. They provide a history of nihilism and follow its influence through time upon other social, political, and artistic movements. They then make direct connections between famous theorists' prose and famous fashion designers' collections. Finally, they analyze the current state of the fashion world and discuss their plan of action.

The Program To Reduce Implicit Bias In Carroll Hospital Center Using The Implicit Association Test, Katherine E. Traynor

Capstone Showcase

Natural brain processes make all individuals susceptible to unconscious bias; however, stressful, fearful, or anger-evoking situations as well as the negative influence of media and social surroundings increase the risk of holding obstructive bias, and there is a greater risk of being negatively impacted by this phenomenon when belonging to a minority population (Rose & Flores, 2020). As a result, high rates of infant mortality (10.2 deaths per 1,000 live births for the Non-Hispanic Black population compared to 4.1 in the White population) and cardiovascular related diseases (190.0 cases per 1,000 in the Non-Hispanic Black population compared to 161.3 in …

Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing: Standard Versus Pain-Focused Treatment Protocols, Joni Walsh

Scripps Senior Theses

Typically used as a trauma therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) may be a promising intervention for chronic pain, given the relationship (and rates of comorbidity) between chronic pain and post-traumatic stress (PTS). The purpose of the proposed study is to investigate how EMDR therapy might best be implemented as an integrated treatment for chronic pain among individuals with post-traumatic stress symptoms. This study will be the first of its kind to directly compare the standard trauma-focused (TF) EMDR treatment to a popular emerging pain-focused (PF) EMDR treatment modification (Grant, 2000). This study will utilize a matched-participants design and …