Psychology Commons^™

Organizational Health Inventory: A Comprehensive Exam For Assessing Extension's Organizational Health, Tearney R Woodruff, Meggan Franks, Hannah G. Edwards, Lauren D. Hargrave, Brandi Berven, Cynthia Canfield

Journal of Extension

As Extension faces a retention crisis, it is crucial to focus on the health of our organizations. A collaborative working group, comprised of evaluation and staff development specialists across multiple states, identified the need for a free, accessible organizational health evaluation tool for Extension. Many higher education institutions cannot afford consultants to assess organizational well-being and effectiveness yet need the data the evaluation would provide. This article highlights a validated survey instrument, the Organizational Health Inventory–Extension (OHI-EXT), designed to help Extension organizations identify issues and implement targeted interventions that foster a stable and engaged workforce.

Foundation Models In Healthcare: Pre-Training, Alignment, And Clinical Applications, Arvind Pillai

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Foundation models offer an impactful paradigm for healthcare by learning generalizable representations from vast amounts of unlabeled data that can efficiently adapt to a wide range of clinical tasks. This thesis presents five studies organized around three pillars crucial to advance foundation models in healthcare. Pillar I: Pre-training: Chapter I introduces PaPaGei, an open foundation model designed for photoplethysmography (PPG) signals. PaPaGei is pre-trained on large-scale continuous optical data using a morphology-aware self-supervised objective, outperforming general time-series models across diverse clinical tasks while remaining parameter-efficient and robust across skin tones. Pillar II: Alignment: To bridge continuous sensor data and language …

Exploring Resilience Development Among Mid-Life African American Women Following Maternal Loss In Early Adulthood, Rachel R. Jackson-Poole

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Maternal loss during emerging adulthood may disrupt emotional development, relationships, and educational and professional trajectories, yet little is known about how African American Women (AAW) construct resilience over subsequent decades. The purpose of this qualitative constructivist grounded theory study was to explain how AAW ages 40 to 50 who experienced the natural-cause death of their biological mothers between ages 19 to 24 developed resilience over time. Resilience theory and grief and bereavement theory served as sensitizing frameworks. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with eight participants and analyzed using initial and focused coding, constant comparison, memo writing, reflexive observation, and …

Maternal Adhd Symptomatology And Its Influence On Medication Adherence For Their Adhd Children, Latonia Harrison

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects children and adults in the United States, but medication adherence remains a significant challenge despite the availability of effective treatments. The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental study was to examine the interaction effect between maternal race and maternal ADHD symptomatology on medication adherence and to determine whether medication adherence differed between children of White and Black mothers while controlling for maternal ADHD symptomatology. Bowen’s Family Systems Theory served as a theoretical foundation for the study. Participants included 100 mothers residing in the United States who self- identified as Black …

Pics 101: Understanding Post-Incarceration Syndrome, Nicole L. Wiesen

Forensic Scholars Today

The psychological consequences of incarceration have been documented for decades, yet there remains no widely accepted trauma-informed framework specifically designed to conceptualize the cumulative effects of incarceration on individuals returning to their communities. Post-Incarceration Syndrome (PICS) is an emerging conceptual framework that seeks to integrate biological, psychological, social, and environmental factors associated with incarceration-related trauma and community reintegration. Building upon foundational research in prisonization, institutionalization, trauma, and correctional psychology—particularly the work of Craig Haney and other scholars examining the lasting effects of incarceration—the PICS framework provides clinicians, researchers, educators, and correctional professionals with a biopsychosocial lens through which to understand …

Social Media Experiences On Well-Being, Alexandra A. Kolts, Maci Robinson

Scholars Week

Social Media Experiences on Well-Being

Social media plays an important role in the everyday lives of college students, allowing individuals to communicate, share experiences, and interact with different types of content. However, frequent social media use may also influence how individuals view themselves, like social comparisons. Self-esteem refers to an individual’s overall evaluation of their own worth or value, and it is especially important during young adulthood as individuals develop their sense of self. Previous research has found relationships between social media use, social comparison, body image, and self-esteem, like finding that upward social comparisons were associated with lower self-esteem …

Authenticity Assurance: Risk Aversiveness & Authenticity Signaling In Local Product Evaluation, Sidney B. Lasley

Scholars Week

Local products are commonly associated with attributes that contribute to perceptions of authenticity such as ethical values, simplicity, and community embeddedness. However, the characteristics often associated with local businesses, such as small scale, informality, and limited standardization, may be signals of uncertainty regarding quality, consistency, or reliability. As a result, perceptions of authenticity for local products may vary across consumers depending on their sensitivity to risk. Across two studies, we examine how risk aversiveness influences perceptions of authenticity and subsequent purchase intentions in a local product context. Study 1 uses survey data to show that authenticity mediates the relationship between …

Influence Of Violent Media On Adolescents, Alli Shattuck

Best Integrated Writing

This review article explores the relationship between violent media exposure and adolescent behavior. The research examines how repeated exposure to violent video games, movies, and social media may lead to aggressive behaviors. Symbolic Interactionism and Social Learning Theory are used to dissect the way adolescents engage with violent media. The neurological effects of this exposure are discussed alongside environmental influences such as parental supervision and social groups. Overall, the research establishes the complexities of media influence and suggests that violent media is one contributing factor to adolescent aggression rather than the sole cause.

Best Integrated Writing Fall 2026 - Complete Edition, Wright State University School Of Humanities And Cultural Studies, Kristie Mckiernan

Best Integrated Writing

Best Integrated Writing includes excellent student writing from Integrated Writing courses taught at Wright State University.

The Whole Patient: What Fascia Reveals About Pain, Adaptation, And The Case For Treating Together, Kelly Davis Pt, Dpt, Faaompt, Mt

New Orleans Dental Association News

The final piece in this series looks at fascia and the autonomic nervous system — the connective tissue and nerve pathways linking the jaw, neck, and airway into one continuous system — and why both matter to dentistry. Dr. Davis draws on current fascia and pain science research, including work from the 2025 International Fascia Research Congress in New Orleans, to explain how a misaligned bite can travel through this tissue and surface as headaches, how tongue posture and breathwork affect jaw stability, and why complex, chronic cases so often need more than one discipline to make headway. Told partly …

A Trauma-Informed And Collaborative Approach To Safe And Sustained Family Reunification, Alissa M. Cummins

Master of Arts in Human Services

Family reunification involves more than returning a child to the care of their biological family; it requires the sustained promotion of child safety, stability, and family well-being. This literature review examined how trauma-informed and collaborative approaches support safe, stable, and lasting reunification within the child welfare system. The review explored adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and developmental, psychological, family, and socioeconomic risk factors associated with child welfare involvement and permanency outcomes, as well as protective factors such as supportive relationships, caregiver well-being, resilience, and access to services and resources. Analysis of the literature identified three interconnected principles essential to successful reunification: …

Well-Being Of Brazilians Who Migrated To The United States Between 2014 And 2024, Cristiane Fernandes Martins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Brazilians have left Brazil for other countries in search of a better quality of life due to various factors. However, there is a significant gap in the literature regarding happiness and well-being among Brazilian immigrants living in the United States. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to analyze the lived experiences of Brazilian immigrants and examine whether these experiences aligned with their expectations of happiness. Data were collected through semistructured interviews consisting of 10-12 questions conducted via Zoom with 10 participants living in Florida. Four themes emerged from their answers: motivation for migration, challenges after migration, homesickness and …

A Qualitative Interview On After-Hours Communication And Reactions To After-Hours Communication, Caleb Browns

Honors Projects

A qualitative study on after-hours communication and its impact on Rumination. The study studied 5 participants from a variety of different fields and organizations who worked more than 20 hours. Questions were asked in a semi-structured interview style. Four Demographic questions, four questions relating to interpretations, and two questions about types of after-work communication. Results were qualitatively coded and reported here.

Individual And Community-Level Trauma And Resiliency From Tornadoes, Taylor M. Guerin

Master of Arts in Human Services

This research paper’s goal was to examine the extent and impact of tornado-related PTSD on individual and community levels in relation to factors such as property damage, mass displacement, cumulative trauma, and seasonal retraumatization. The United States has the most tornado touchdowns globally, placing communities in supercell-prone areas, including Tornado Alley, at higher risk of repeated storm trauma that can affect emotional well-being, sense of safety, and overall financial security (Strader et al., 2024). This researcher utilized a comprehensive literature review approach to examine rates of PTSD, the long-term effects of tornado recovery, the risk of community-level trauma, and to …

Effectiveness Of Interventions On Chronic Absenteeism In Low-Income Elementary Schools, Jamie Marie Elkhoury

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Chronic absenteeism among elementary students, particularly those from low-income and diverse backgrounds, poses a barrier to academic success and long-term well-being. More research is needed to identify effective interventions. This study examined the differences in school attendance rates over 3 school trimesters between two elementary schools in a low-income Midwest district, one utilizing a form of attendance intervention and one that did not. The social determinants of health model and faucet theory were used to guide the choice of variables and analysis plan. A quantitative, ex post facto design, archival attendance data, and repeated-measures MANOVA were used to assess main …

Urban Teacher Perceptions Of Student Aggression Towards Teachers And Teacher Stress And Well Being, Natasha D. Bonner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teacher directed violence has a significant influence on K-12 urban teachers and students’ academic development. Teachers have the highest reported stress levels compared to other stress-inducing professions. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore K-12 urban teachers' perceptions of how teacher-directed violence impacts stress levels, students' academic performance, and classroom management. Lazarus and Folkman's transactional theory of stress and coping functioned as the conceptual framework for this study. For this study, the central research question explored K-12 urban teachers’ perception of how teacher-directed violence and student aggression impact their struggle with stress, student academic performance, and classroom …

Probation And Parole Officers’ Perceptions Of Childhood Adverse Experiences And Reintegration Outcomes Among Previously Incarcerated African American Males, Raisa Samone' Dixon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to recent studies, African American males are incarcerated at a rate that is five times higher than White American males. Despite considerable research on the relationship between childhood trauma and criminal behavior, there remains a gap in understanding how specific types of adverse experiences during childhood may contribute to criminal offenses that lead to incarceration and shaped reintegration outcomes. existing literature focused broadly on the general impact of childhood adversity, with limited attention information regarding how distinct traumatic experiences influence the likelihood of committing specific crimes or severity of offending behaviors. The purpose of this qualitative study was to …

Interpretative Repertoires Of Resilience Among Beginning Teachers In Chile, Paula Villalobos-Vergara, Diego Palacios, Joel Alvarez Ruf, Rodrigo Vergara Ortuzar

The Qualitative Report

In this study, we analyze how beginning teachers in Chile construct meanings around resilience during their first year of professional induction, within a context of intensified teachers’ work and limited institutional support. Drawing on a socioecological perspective and Critical Discursive Psychology, we developed a qualitative design focused on interpretative repertoires. Ten beginning teachers from various subject areas, educational levels, and regions participated, with each being interviewed at two time points, six months apart. Through an abductive analysis, we identified three affective–discursive repertoires. The first construct enters the profession as a generational tension, in which innovation is associated with youth, while, …

Calm, Connection, Or Just Compensation: A Qualitative Investigation Of Subjective Adolescent Experiences With Behavioral Health Interventions Within A Clinical Trial, Talia Thompson, Katherine Thompson, Sarah Perzow, Holly Spinner, Bentley Porterfield-Finn, Lauren D. Gulley, Rachel G. Lucas-Thompson, Isabel Thorstad, Laura Pyle, Molly Basch, Megan J. Moran, Marian Tanofsky-Kraff, Megan M. Kelsey, Eleanor R. Mackey, Lauren B. Shomaker

The Qualitative Report

Adolescent mental health and cardiometabolic concerns are at an all-time high, necessitating the development of acceptable, feasible, and effective interventions. Investigations of behavioral health interventions with teenagers must incorporate a means of understanding how adolescents perceive and engage with an intervention, and the relevance and meaning they ascribe to its therapeutic goals, as these potentially modifiable factors may ultimately influence future uptake, sustainability, and effectiveness of the interventions. Qualitative research methods provide well-established, rigorous frameworks for addressing these questions, but are underutilized in pediatric research. This qualitative study is part of a multisite, pilot, and feasibility randomized controlled trial of …

From Burnout To Belonging: A Faculty Well-Being Director's Perspective On Leadership, Workplace Culture, Organizational Efficiency, And The Broader Role Of Physician Well-Being, Ajit K. Bisen

Advances in Cancer Education and Quality Improvement

Burnout remains a major challenge in health care, despite increasing investments in physician well-being initiatives. As the faculty well-being director for my department, my perspective on physician well-being has shifted from focusing primarily on individual resilience, mindfulness, and wellness initiatives to recognizing the important roles of leadership, workplace culture, and organizational efficiency. Physician well-being is an essential foundation for high-quality patient care, stronger teams, patient safety, quality improvement, and healthier organizations. Here, I discuss the 3 key shifts in thinking that have influenced my approach as faculty well-being director.

Feasibility And Pilot Study Of Implementing Mindfulness-Based Attention Training In A Pediatric Health Care Setting, Thomas B. Ayres, Seth Sonnevile, Angela Myers

Advances in Cancer Education and Quality Improvement

We present herein our preliminary evidence from a pilot study of the feasibility of implementing Mindfulness-Based Attention Training (MBAT) in a pediatric health care institution. MBAT has been implemented primarily in military settings, representing another high-stress work environment. Furthermore, MBAT has had favorable evaluations from being implemented with medical students. Mindfulness-based interventions have received increasing attention in health care environments. This interest from health care institutions and the focus on developing attention-based resources through MBAT created a use case for implementing MBAT. We had 5 health care workers with a variety of job roles in our institution complete a train-the-trainer …

Creating A Culture Of Well-Being By Removing Barriers To Participation In A Multi-Campus Cancer Center, Adam Siegman, Miranda M. Phillips, Jennifer Bickel

Advances in Cancer Education and Quality Improvement

Background: Healthcare professionals in geographically distributed cancer care settings may face barriers to accessing workforce well-being resources due to geographic distance, staffing constraints, and operational demands. Disconnect & Refresh was developed to improve access to restorative wellness opportunities across community-based cancer care sites.

Methods: Disconnect & Refresh was implemented at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center across 4 Houston area locations. The initiative included BeWell Paws, virtual reality meditation, chair yoga, and creative wellness activities delivered during the workday. Participation was voluntary and tracked through employee badge scans. Participants were invited to complete an anonymous post-event survey, and …

Actualizing Leaders To Inspire A Group Network (Align): Feasibility And Pilot Of Implementing A Commensality Group Program For Leaders In A Pediatric Healthcare Setting, Thomas B. Ayres, Kristin Ray, Angela Myers

Advances in Cancer Education and Quality Improvement

Background: Leadership behaviors in pediatric health care settings are strongly linked to leader burnout, professional fulfillment, and self-care in addition to influencing their teams. Despite their pivotal role, leaders often face substantial emotional burdens associated with their roles. Commensality groups, defined as small, recurring gatherings centered around shared meals and structured discussions, have emerged as a promising approach to enhancing connection, community, and resilience among health care professionals. A gap in the literature regarding commensality groups is understanding the mechanism of this well-being intervention. Our hypothesis is that commensality groups act as resource caravans and provide psychosocial resources to health …

Foveal Fixations Of Forensic Psychiatric Patients With Female Victims, Capruso Warsi Daniel, Michal Kunz, Catherine Alam Mortiere, Ajayan Akm Pillai

Publications and Research

Foveal fixation patterns of forensic psychiatric patients (n = 28) were recorded during stimulus exposure to three complex scenes. The aim was to determine if the patients remained focused on scene elements related to the characteristics of their victims. Patient diagnoses were of schizophrenia, schizoaffective, or bipolar disorder, or of antisocial or borderline personality disorder. A Forensic Control group (n = 16) was compared against an Attack on Female group (n = 12) consisting of patients who had threatened or attacked an adult female unrelated to them. During each 10 s stimulus exposure an eye tracker measured the duration and …

Factors Contributing To Executive Function In Young Adults, Lindy Janae Stevenson

McNair Scholars Research

Executive functions (EF) are skills used to complete desired behaviors and inhibit undesired ones. These skills are necessary for everyday life, and even more so in higher education and the workplace. This study examined the combined impact of sleep and exercise on five facets of EF in young adults enrolled in undergraduate or graduate courses. It also examined how perceived effort and performance in college classes interact with EF. The first five hypotheses studying sleep and exercise were analyzed using a 2x2 between-groups ANOVA. The data divided participants into those averaging fewer than 7 hours of sleep a night and …

Effectiveness Of Community-Based Treatment Programs Postprison, Crystal Artist

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The experiences of individuals who have engaged in a therapeutic community (TC) program while incarcerated and their subsequent transition after release were examined in this qualitative study. The goal was to explore the aspects and perceived effectiveness of community-based reentry programming from the perspectives of individuals who led and worked for various reentry programs. Social learning theory was used to analyze how individuals assimilate pro-social behaviors and coping skills obtained from TC programs and the impact of these on their reintegration into society. The research question was “what are the lived experiences of those involved in therapeutic community postincarceration?” Data …

Examining The Association Between Pcos Symptoms And Depression Severity, Jessica Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder associated with elevated depression rates among women of reproductive age. Although research has linked PCOS to psychological distress, limited research has examined how physical symptoms relate to depression severity. This quantitative, cross-sectional correlational study examined the relationships among acne severity, menstrual irregularity, body mass index (BMI), and depression severity in women with self-reported PCOS. The study was guided by the biopsychosocial model, stress-vulnerability model, feminist theory, and client-centered care model. An anonymous online survey measured depression severity using the Beck Depression Inventory-II, assessed acne severity and menstrual irregularity through self-report items, …

College Students’ And Teachers’ Biases Regarding School Children Based On Appearance, Sex, And Clothing, Lauren K. Decoste, Terry F. Pettijohn Ii

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

This research explored how appearance, sex, and clothing differences influence adults’ perceptions of primary school students across two studies. Male students were predicted to be rated higher in academic ability, behavior, and likeability compared to female students, while formally dressed students were expected to receive more favorable ratings than informally dressed students. Study 1 included college students (N = 160), and Study 2 included employed teachers (N = 112). Participants rated formally and informally dressed male and female students on perceived behavioral, academic, and social skills, likeability, and engagement. Results showed that model sex influenced several perceptions, with male students …

From Linguistic Domination To Counter-Power: The Weaponisation And Reappropriation Of Language In Shakespeare's Drama, Md. Abu Bakkar

Journal of Language, Literature, and Arts

Studies of language and power in Shakespeare usually treat colonial, psychological, political, and familial domination as separate problems belonging to separate plays. This article asks what happens when the target of linguistic domination takes up, repeats, or withholds the discourse through which domination is exercised. It proposes linguistic counter-power as a comparative analytical concept: a change in who can define, command, or be believed within the dramatic world that outlasts and exceeds the speaker’s own act of resistance. The concept is distinguished from discursive resistance, linguistic agency, counter-discourse, and resignification, and is operationalised through three tests: uptake, durability, and structural …

Examining The Relationships Between Racial Microaggressions, Sense Of Belonging, And Academic Achievement For Black Graduate Counseling Students, Carnesha E. Ben

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Black graduate counseling students may experience racial microaggressions and diminished belonging that can affect their academic experiences; however, limited research has examined how these factors relate to academic achievement. The purpose of this nonexperimental, cross-sectional quantitative study was to examine the extent to which racial microaggressions, sense of belonging, and degree level predicted academic achievement among Black graduate counseling and counselor education students. Guided by critical race theory and microaggressions theory, the study addressed whether these variables predicted students’ grade point averages. Survey data were collected from 102 Black master's and doctoral students who had completed at least one year …