Psychology Commons^™

Body Satisfaction And Self-Efficacy As A Predictor For Obesity Among African American College Women, Sacha Nicole Morris-Dorsey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American women have the highest rates of obesity when compared to any ethnic group in the United States, and the rates of obesity among this population are expected to continue to increase. In this study, social cognitive theory was used to predict the connection between body satisfaction, self-efficacy, and obesity in 18–24-year-old African American women attending college. The data were analyzed using multiple regression, while controlling for demographic variables, to determine if body satisfaction (Body-Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults) and self-efficacy (The Eating Self-Efficacy Scale) predicted obesity among African American women in college. Thirty-three participants completed the survey. …

Beliefs, Skill Sets, And Behaviors Of Police Officers Regarding Mental Health Treatment, Kareem C. Puranda

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Current law enforcement training assumes that police officers can manage their mental health with minimal support. This cultural attitude creates a fear of being unfit if police officers seek assistance for their mental health. Law enforcement suicide rates have outnumbered duty-related deaths in recent years. Statistics show that police officers are twice as likely to die by suicide for reasons related to stress. Mental health treatment is the ideal solution, but research has shown that police officers often reject treatment due to stigma. This qualitative study aimed to examine factors that hindered law enforcement officers from obtaining mental health treatment. …

Mothers’ Lived Experiences Of Parenting Classes And Maintaining Sobriety During Recovery, Christina Wolfe Rumford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractA mother in recovery must have a solid grasp on coping skills, mental health, and the relationship with her children to maintain her sobriety. But it is not known how parenting classes for mothers in addiction treatment feature in these mothers’ recovery. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of mothers in parenting classes during addiction treatment to prevent relapse. The theory for this study was Bandura’s social cognitive theory of substance abuse. The study examined the lived experiences of mothers with young children who have attended parenting classes as part of their recovery …

The Perception And The Perceived Readiness Of Individuals While Working Remotely During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Argyro Tsampis-Tripodis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAt the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, some individuals were sent home to work remotely to honor social distancing measures. Individuals were challenged to create a workspace, obtain the technology needed, and create a balance between work and private life. Emotional distress may have been caused by overlapping work into personal life or psychological problems due to social distancing for some individuals. The current research aimed to understand the lived experiences of the individuals sent home to work remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic. A transcendental phenomenon methodology captured the insights, adaptations, and perspectives of individuals working remotely during the Covid-19 …

Wild Animal Welfare, Clare Palmer, Peter Sandøe

Animal Sentience

Rowan et al’s article provides an overview of developments in the science of animal sentience and its links to animal welfare policy, especially regarding farm animals. But changing ideas of animal sentience and welfare are also important for managing wild and other free-living animals. We ask how the welfare of these animals differs from that of farmed animals, especially how the ability to make autonomous choices may matter. We suggest that more research into wild animal welfare is needed to make informed policy decisions, for example, about using animals in rewilding projects and choosing between policies of culling and fertility …

Lived Experiences Regarding Family Relations Of Latina Undocumented Immigrants, Lissette Colon-Perez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Familismo is a complex multidimensional core cultural value in Latinx culture. But there is a lack of information related to Latinas who are undocumented immigrants and their experiences of familismo and family relations after the immigration experience. In the present study, a feminist hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used to examine these lived experiences. The purpose of study was to explore family relations as a core value in the lived experiences of Latina undocumented immigrants. The participants consisted of Latina immigrants over 18 years old who immigrated from Central America and who were living in a state from the Northeast without …

The Role Of Work In Animal Shelter Volunteers' Experiences Of Compassion Fatigue, Andria L. Corso

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Animal shelter volunteers are a critical part of the operation and maintenance of animal shelters across the United States, and risk developing compassion fatigue (CF) that can impact their ability to volunteer. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of work in animal shelter volunteers’ experiences of CF. The compassion stress and fatigue model and aspects from several occupational stress models were used as conceptual frameworks. A basic qualitative design was used to recruit 12 animal shelter volunteers experiencing compassion fatigue symptoms. These volunteers came from 10 different animal shelters across the U.S. Three research questions were …

Maternal Identity Of Modern-Day Mothers With High Identity Centrality, Kimberly Dianne Anderson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore conceptualization of maternal identity among mothers with high identity centrality in suburban Virginia. The role of motherhood is culturally recognized as central to female identity, which historically has been described, defined, and maintained through various forms of media. This study involved using the social identity and self-categorization theories as explanatory frameworks to address development and maintenance of maternal identity. A qualitative approach was used to explore identity centrality and conceptualization of maternal identity with a purposefully sampled group of 10 mothers. Data were collected via demographic surveys followed by one-on-one semi-structured …

Investigation Of Realism In Facial Characteristics And Anthropomorphic Language In The Design Of Multimedia Instruction, Ecem Olcum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Emotional design elements have recently been added to the research in cognitive load and multimedia learning (Um et al., 2012). One aspect of eliciting positive emotions is to use anthropomorphic design, which has been found to increase learning performance (Um et al., 2012; Plass et al., 2014; Park et al., 2015; Schneider et al., 2018). The current research aimed to investigate three design factors in three studies: anthropomorphism in verbal and visual design, single-frame or multi-frame illustrations, and realism of the anthropomorphic visual design. The first study confirmed that the anthropomorphic verbal and visual materials were perceived as anthropomorphic by …

Can Feeling Like An Imposter Be Favorable? A Qualitative Study On The Role Of Appraisal In Harnessing The Imposter Phenomenon For Growth, Emily Hill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The imposter phenomenon is a psychological experience characterized by feelings of self-doubt and personal incompetence that persist despite evidence of achievement and success. Employees with these imposter-like thoughts feel as if they ended up in notable roles and positions not because of merit, but from oversight or luck. Research and popular press articles have portrayed the imposter phenomenon as a negative experience, bringing costs to the individual's well-being and work life. Yet, recent research has revealed that perhaps a favorable trajectory to the imposter experience might exist. To address this question, participants were identified and interviewed using a two-phase, sequential …

An Examination Of Gender-Based Differences In Perceptions Of Supervisor Support, Ann Schlotzhauer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Perceived supervisor support and particularly emotional support possess conceptual overlap with stereotypes of femininity. The present study extends understanding of perceived supervisor support by applying the agency and communality framework of gender stereotypes and role congruity theory. This study employed a vignette research design to examine differential ratings of male and female supervisors who were depicted engaging in (a) no support, (b) instrumental support, (c) emotional support, or (d) instrumental and emotional support. Results suggest that supportive supervision is indeed viewed as feminine in nature. Further, findings suggest that female supervisors engaging in emotional support behaviors are preferred over equivalently …

Predictors Of Ptsd, Depression, And Suicide-Related Outcomes For Military Personnel And First Responders In A Three-Week Intensive Outpatient Program For Ptsd, Victoria Steigerwald

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Military personnel and first responders are distinct populations that share similarities on work, cultural, and peritraumatic factors that may impact evidence-based PTSD treatment (EBT) outcomes. Little research to date has compared their response to EBTs or identified predictors of EBT outcomes for both populations. The present study examined whether first responders' treatment outcomes were non-inferior to those of military personnel in a three-week Trauma Management Therapy (TMT)-based intensive outpatient program (IOP) and whether baseline hyperarousal symptoms were predictive of outcomes. Data were analyzed from 111 military personnel and first responders (85.6% male, mean age=43.0 years) who completed the IOP. Changes …

Assessment Of Sexual And Protective Behavioral Strategies: Development Of The Sexual And Negative Dating Inventory, Roselyn Peterson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Adverse sexual outcomes (ASOs) including sexual violence, risky sex, and sexual regret are highly prevalent among college students, with 20-25% of female undergraduates experiencing sexual assault, at least 60% of undergraduates engaging in risky sex, and lifetime rate of regretted sexual experiences as high as 72%. ASOs are associated with increased psychological problems, increased alcohol use, and decreased protective behavioral strategies (PBS). The most recent measure of dating and sexual PBS was published over a decade ago. The current study is the development and validation of an updated measure of dating and sexual PBS; the Sexual and Negative Dating Inventory …

Killing Two Birds With One Stone: An Examination Of The Role Of Three-Dimensional Energy In The Relationship Between Health Behaviors And Job Performance., Nina Steigerwald

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The positive effects of health behaviors on job performance have been reported. Specifically, there is evidence to suggest that getting adequate quantity and quality sleep, staying physically active, and following a nutritious diet, are linked to enhanced functioning and work-related outcomes. Although some studies have examined the role of energy in relation to health behaviors and performance, research looking at energy as an underlying mechanism in the health behaviors – performance link is both scarce and fragmented. The present study examines the role of energy as a potential mediator, devoting particular attention to its emotional, mental, and physical component. Using …

Children's Perceptions Of Parent-Child Relationships: A Narrative, Inductive Approach, Casey Burton M.Ed, Ariana Samuel, Hailie Suarez-Rivas, Sydney Sumrall, Robin S. Everhart, Ph.D, Marcia A. Winter, Ph.D

Graduate Research Posters

Background: Narrative methods can allow researchers to gather rich data from children regarding their perceptions of their relationship with parents that may not otherwise be captured using tasks, questionnaires, or structured interviews; however, existing coding systems have been established with samples that are largely White and middle class. The current study sought to establish child-inspired codes that would better reflect the sample.

Methods: Children aged 5-12 years (M=8.82, 48.9% female) and their caregivers were recruited from high-poverty urban US areas. All participants identified as Black or African American. Children were audiotaped while speaking, uninterrupted, for three minutes about …

A Marginal Identity Model For Those In The "In-Between", Francine S. Singson, Sonia Meyer, Christine A. Reid

Graduate Research Posters

Background: In existing models exploring the formation cultural identity, there is emphasis on development from the perspective of race or country of origin. While these models have made significant contributions to the study of identity development in the fields of counseling and psychology, research on the identity development of people who exist within the spectrum between traditionally acknowledged identities (Deaf/Hearing, LGBTQIA+, first/second generation) is lacking.

Methods: To explore the merit of establishing a distinct theory exploring development of individuals whose identities exist between the existing binaries of identity, a systematic review and analysis of current literature was performed. …

Using Music Training To Increase Social Responsiveness And Happiness In Children With Autism, Meghan Talarico

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Social skills are imperative for individuals’ success in their daily lives because they are applied in areas such as shared interests and cooperative work and play. This study was a replication with extension of the study on a musical treatment of social skills by Finnigan and Starr (2010). The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of musical and non-musical interventions on the sharing and turn-taking behavior of five children with autism. The participants were four boys and one girl between the ages of 4- and 8-years-old who had a diagnosis of autism and were receiving ABA …

Stay-At-Home Fathers: What Is Their Life Really Like? An Intimate Portrayal, Christi Ann Hosking

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Reinforced by years of gender stereotypes is modern societies’ definition of masculinity, which has long been characterized by breadwinning and providing. Current literature has observed the growing trend which finds an increasing number of men engaged in the role of caregiver and the dynamic change in the home-work balance. Only a few studies looked at what life is like for a stay-at-home father and even fewer have allowed these fathers a unique voice for sharing their story. The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of what day to day life was really like as a stay-at-home …

Overcoming The Odds: The Effects Of The Relationship Between Childhood Adversity, Lifetime Trauma, And Resiliency On Empathy And Conscientiousness, Victoria West Staples

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This research sought to understand the connection between trauma and the development of resiliency while examining the effects of that relationship on empathy and conscientiousness. Specifically, this study was created to answer four main questions: (1) Does early childhood adversity predict later life trauma? (2) Does childhood adversity and cumulative lifetime traumatic experiences impact the development of resiliency and its subconstructs (i.e., interpersonal resiliency and intrapersonal resiliency)? (3) Is empathy impacted by the presence of resiliency, specifically examining its effect on cognitive and affective empathy (using questionnaires and galvanic skin response)? (4) And is conscientiousness related to resiliency subconstructs? There …

Measuring Gender-Related Biases And Exploring Methods To Diminish Bias By Targeting Relations For Defusion, Chynna B. Frizell

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Biases related to gender are an important area of empirical attention in the United States due to social challenges related to prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination based on gender. The purpose of this study is to evaluate potential bias related to binary and nonbinary gender using a measure of relational responding rooted in Relational Density Theory (RDT) (Belisle & Dixon, 2020). Mass and volume of networks in terms of gendered stereotypical relations are assessed to further examine binary gendered stereotypes and to examine relations regarding nonbinary genders in the context of traditionally masculine and feminine labels. Implicit biases regarding male and …

The Development And Validation Of Implicit Measures For Power Motivation, Timothy Luke T. Amadore

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Power motivation has been operationalized and explicitly measured both as a global and a multi-dimensional construct. However, implicit measures have focused on evaluating power motivation as a unidimensional construct. Thus, it is worth evaluating whether an implicit measure of power motivation can also measure power motivation as three distinct constructs – Dominance, Prestige, and Leadership (Social) motivation. This study used Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures to develop implicit measures for power motivation both as a global and multi-dimensional construct. A multitrait-multimethod design was used to examine the construct validity evidence for the new measures. Confirmatory Factor Analyses provided moderate evidence …

Validation Of An Internet Search Strategies Assessment, Joseph A. Wansing

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The internet has become the go-to place for those seeking information. The strategies that people employ when seeking information differ (Tsai, 2005), and critical thinking is related to these differences (Zhang et al., 2015). Although people use different strategies to find information on the internet, there are virtually no formal, easy to use tools for assessing these differences. Wansing and Wood (2020) developed the Internet Search Strategies Assessment (ISSA) for this purpose. A preliminary study revealed that the scale had four factors as hypothesized, but the measure did not correlate as well as expected with other theoretically related scales. This …

Maintenance Of Language And Learning Skills Using Peak Relational Training During Extended School Closure, Kayla Marie Welch

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental and neurological disorder that affects how people communicate, interact with others, behave, and learn. Applied Behavior Analysis is a scientific approach to predicting and influencing behavior that has been applied successfully in supporting children with ASD. Due to communication and intellectual differences experienced by those diagnosed with ASD, it is important to identify therapies and interventions that focus on language development as well as maintenance of intervention gains during unexpected lapses in instruction. The PEAK Relational Training System (Dixon et al., 2017)is a treatment framework that exists within ABA to address language and …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Self-Compassion Training With Disability Support Staff, Jessica M. Venegoni

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The current study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of self-compassion training with disability support staff concurrently completing their college education for career advancement. The intervention was guided by a combined Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Self-Compassion training framework. The ACT Matrix was utilized within the study prior to intervention to determine values within self-compassion and to identify three behaviors to target within the weekly self-compassion training, and daily behavior report (Polk and Schoendorf, 2014). During the intervention phase, daily reported self-compassion behaviors and weekly reported self-compassion scores were collected (Neff, 2003a; Belisle et al., 2022), as well as their …

The Influence Of Psychological Safety On Leadership Attitudes And Beliefs In College Students, Ján Koperniech

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The goal of the present study is to examine whether there is a link between experiences of psychological safety and certain beliefs and attitudes college students have about organizational leadership. While the locus of most of the research on psychological safety is the workplace, this study examines the effects of psychological safety in three environments: home, school, and work. One-hundred and ninety-nine psychology students reported their experiences and attitudes by completing an online survey. The results showed no significant relationship between psychological safety and systemic and hierarchical beliefs about leadership. The findings, as well as recommendations for future research, are …

A Job-Demand Resource Theory And Psychological Flexibility Integrated Model Of Police Officer Burnout, Lucas David Baker

Dissertations and Theses

Police officers encounter stressors as a result of job responsibilities that contribute to high rates of occupational burnout. Defined by three primary components (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and professional inefficacy), burnout is associated with health- and work-related problems among officers. In addition, police agencies incur significant costs associated with burnout due to performance decline and turnover. Officer burnout is also a matter of public interest given that burnout is associated with low prosocial behavior and high use of force. As such, research that aims to explore the formation and maintenance of officer burnout may be consequential for the profession and society …

Psychological Functioning And Community Support In Adolescents Exposed To A School Shooting, Jessica Taylor Kelly

Dissertations and Theses

This study evaluated the impact of community support, specifically the impact of a trauma-related community-led campaign, on high school youth following a school shooting. Adolescents are at risk for the adverse impacts of trauma exposure (Katsiyannis et al., 2018; Rajan et al., 2019; Heleniak et al., 2016; McDermott & Cobham, 2012; McLean et al., 2013; Schonfeld & Demaria, 2020). However, social support from one’s community has been found to protect against the psychological and functional consequences of exposure to trauma (Bal et al., 2003; Cheng et al., 2014; Derivois et al., 2014. The purpose of this study was to assess …

Breaking The Cycle Of Violence: Parenting As A Protective Factor, Melanie Berry

Selected Full-Text Master Theses 2021-

There is an abundance of research that explore risk factors that demonstrate the cycle of violence. This study sought to highlight protective factors and why some do not perpetuate the cycle of violence. Participants consisted of 578 undergraduate males and females. Through the use archival data from several questionnaires, the study sought to learn if parental care and overprotection can break the cycle of violence. Moreover, it was hypothesized that (1) There will be a significant negative relationship between parental care and adult violence (2) There will be a significant positive relationship between insecure attachment and adult violence (3) There …

The Psychological Aspects Of Domestic Violence, Marshell Milton Wallace

Selected Full-Text Master Theses 2021-

Domestic violence is a behavioral problem that has increased within the United States over the past decade. This master’s thesis analyzed the literature that reports on the psychological and physiological (often termed psychophysiological) portion of domestic violence. Analysis of three studies on the effects of domestic violence shows agreement that domestic violence manifests in victims as four primary physiological effects and four psychological effects. However, treatment of domestic abuse appears to concentrate on the psychological components of domestic abuse and tends to exclude the physiological aspects. This thesis argues that effective treatment for victims of domestic violence should include training …

A Narrative Study Describing The Transition From Residential Treatment As A Child: An Adult Perspective, Alison Marie Vogelsang

Dissertations and Theses

To date, the literature sorely lacks empirical research exploring treatment outcomes among children in residential treatment centers (RTCs). Consequentially, there is an increasing demand for more studies examining such outcomes, particularly as they pertain to an individual’s experience leaving an RTC. There is even less research exploring the perspectives of individuals who resided in an RTC as a child due to the vulnerable nature of this population and difficulty in accessibility. The transitional period is believed to be a salient component impacting treatment outcomes, yet little is known about how this component of residential treatment is experienced and whether it …