Community Psychology Commons^™

Cognitive And Emotional Processes Involved In The Experience Of Objects As Holy Or Transcendent, Lotte J. Pummerer

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, attitudes about religion/spirituality have become more pluralistic (Pew Research Center, 2015a). At the same time, the number of individuals who identify themselves as nonreligious, atheist or agnostic are growing (Pew Research Center, 2015b), yet we are lacking words and research to describe their attributions of transcendence in language not bound to religious concepts. This study aims at examining both concepts – holiness and transcendence – in their similarities and differences through assessing cognitive and emotional processes involved in experiences of objects.

The study consisted of two parts with a total of 206 Christian and 52 nonreligious/atheistic/agnostic participants. …

Coping With Acculturative Stress: Mdma Usage Among Asian American Young Adults In The Electronic Dance Music Scene, Michelle Stephanie Chan

Pomona Senior Theses

The intersection of Asian American identity and illicit substance use is greatly understudied in psychological literature, especially with matters of mental health and drug use being stigmatized by Asian cultural norms. However, with an increasingly alarming number of fatal drug overdoses by Asian Americans at electronic dance music (EDM) events, attention must be drawn to the needs of this unique population. The present study characterizes this community by drawing from data of 1,290 Asian American young adults who participate in the EDM scene. This study also hypothesizes the impact of acculturative stress and feelings of social belonging on MDMA usage …

The Leaky Bucket: Examining Church Dropouts, Petr A. Cincala, David J. B. Trim, Galina Stele

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Alleged Insanity: Frank Johnson Sr., Racial Injustice, And The Failure Of The Mental Health Care System In South Carolina, Jonathon P. Johnson

Senior Theses

This thesis is about Frank Johnson Sr. and the circumstances that led to his downfall as a farmer and father of six, to his tragic death in the isolation of a racially segregated mental institution 18 miles away from his home. Using his life and incarceration at the South Carolina State Park mental health facility, I argue that racial injustice contributed to his tragic death and the woefully inadequate treatment thousands of African Americans in South Carolina received during Jim Crow. Additionally, I argue that the tragic circumstances around my great grandfather’s institutionalization and death were part of an enduring …

Political Psychology (Annotated Bibliography), Ingrid J. Haas

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

The field of political psychology explains political behavior as a function of both individual- and group-level psychological processes. While the field is interdisciplinary, political psychologists tend to work in either psychology or political science departments. Although the overall aim is often similar, researchers from each discipline approach the same questions in different ways, and interested scholars are encouraged to examine literatures from both fields. The general approach to research is to focus on individual political attitudes, emotion, beliefs, and behavior, and attempt to explain these phenomena using psychological research and theory. Historical approaches to research in this field often relied …

The Experiences Of Siblings Of Individuals With Disabilities: A Holistic View, Ashley Mc Adams

Educational Studies Dissertations

The research on siblings of individuals with disabilities has rarely addressed the perceived benefits of having a sibling with a disability. The existing research on the experience of siblings of persons with disabilities is also limited to European American families (Sage & Jegatheesan, 2010). With families from different cultures, I sought to capture the experiences of brothers and sisters who have siblings with disabilities. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationships of siblings with disabilities and typical developing siblings, and present a holistic picture from the perspective of the typical developing siblings. These gaps in the literature …

Urban Congolese Refugees In Kenya: The Contingencies Of Coping And Resilience In A Context Marked By Structural Vulnerability, Julie A. Tippens

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The global increase in refugee migration to urban areas creates challenges pertaining to the promotion of refugee health, broadly conceived. Despite considerable attention to trauma and forced migration, there is relatively little focus on how refugees cope with stressful situations, and on the determinants that facilitate and undermine resilience. This article examines how urban Congolese refugees in Kenya promote psychosocial well-being in the context of structural vulnerability. This article is based on interviews (N = 55) and ethnographic participant observation with Congolese refugees over a period of 8 months in Nairobi in 2014. Primary stressors related to scarcity of material …

Slam Poetry: An Online Intervention For Treating Depression, Spencer J. Ruchti, Mercedes Becker, Cara Mckee, Austin Herron, Alex Swalling

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Given that depression is the “leading cause of disability worldwide,” and that less than 50% of people suffering from depression receive treatment, this study aims to provide support for a globally accessible depression treatment (WHO, 2012). The study conducted implemented an internet-based treatment for depression in which users were provided an opportunity to watch slam poetry videos related to mental health issues and write free responses regarding the content of the videos and their subjective experience of depression. Numerous studies provide support for the effectiveness of expressive writing, online mental health interventions, and slam poetry in particular for reducing symptoms …

Differences In Attitudes Towards Heterosexual And Lgbt Homeless Youth In College Students, Jonathan P. S. Clinkenbeard

All Master's Theses

Youth homelessness, particularly among those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT), continues to be an underreported problem in society today. This research was designed to investigate hypothesized differences in college students’ empathy towards heterosexual and LGBT youth, and what factors influence these differences. A sample of 81 female and 36 male participants read one of 12 vignettes describing a homeless youth’s situation and then, using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, rated their level of empathy on a scale of 1 (low) to 7 (high). Vignettes differed by the youth’s gender, sexual orientation, and reason for …

Catching Up And Staying Out Of Trouble: Serious Juvenile Offenders’ Facility School Experiences And Their Transition To The Community, Lena Jäggi

Theses and Dissertations

Despite recent drops in rates, juvenile incarceration remains a serious issue in the United States (Hockenberry, 2013; Mendel, 2011). One shared part of the incarceration experience across different systems and facility types is the obligation for juvenile offenders to receive correctional education. Ample research demonstrates that increased academic achievement, attending community school, and being employed are connected to better community outcomes and desistance, yet little is known about how school experiences in the facility influences these outcomes. Applying life-course theory of the development of crime (Sampson & Laub, 1997, 2005), the present study investigates whether correctional education serves as a …

Addressing The Mental Health Needs Of Women In Rural Communities: A Women’S Wellness Group, Andriana Hench

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

This paper explores the mental health needs of women in rural communities. Based on Myers and Sweeny’s Wellness Model (2008), as well as other relevant research, I have developed a group curriculum as a unique intervention to reach this specific population. This paper provides an overview of relevant literature and includes both a handbook for group facilitators and a participant workbook that compliments the facilitator handbook. This group curriculum is suggested for Clinical Mental Health Counselors and other mental health professionals to promote wellness among rural women.

Construct Validation Of The Psychosocial Costs Of Racism To Whites Scale For Ashkenazic Jews In The United States, Emile Tobias Berk

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study is a construct validation of the Psychosocial Costs of Racism to Whites Scale (Spanierman & Heppner, 2004) with Orthodox and non-Orthodox Ashkenazic (of European descent) American Jews. While Jewish-American biculturalism has been explored at length, there is a dearth of psychological research on Jewish-White biculturalism (Langman, 1999). Furthermore, the literature has yet to explore the impact of Jewish religious diversity on Ashkenazic-American self-perception as racially White beneficiaries of unearned privilege.

The Psychosocial Costs of Racism to Whites Scale (PCRW) measures three dimensions of White racial attitudes: White Empathic Reactions Towards Racism, White Guilt, and White Fear of Others. …

Predictors Of Money Spent On Drugs In Substance Users, Simona Ciobotaru

DePaul Discoveries

Financial need is a major stressor for individuals who are reentering the community after substance abuse and/or incarceration. Family members and friends make up a great majority the support networks from which reentering people can receive financial support. However, that financial support could possibly contribute to drug use when the individual is actively using. The goal of this study was to further understand the implications of material and financial support specifically being transmitted from family members. This study looks at psychosocial predictors in relation to money spent on drugs in the last 30 days of 270 individuals entering substance abuse …

Challenging The Political Assumption That “Guns Don’T Kill People, Crazy People Kill People!”, Heath J. Hodges, Mario Scalora

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Every time an infamous mass shooting takes place, a storm of rhetoric sweeps across this country with the fury of a wild fire. “Why are we letting these people carry guns?” “Why were they not hospitalized?” “The government needs to crack down on this issue!” What is the government’s response to these cries of concern? Politicians and the media attempt to ease public fears by drawing tenuous connections among a handful of poorly understood tragedies. The salient commonality is that these high-profile shooters had some history of mental illness. A cursory review of the Internet will paint a troubling picture …

Hiroshima And Mass Trauma Today: Treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder In Individuals And Communities, Ashley Martinez

International ResearchScape Journal

At 8:15 am on August 6^th, 1945, the world and the way in which we fight wars changed forever. Immediately following the drop of the Little Boy atomic bomb, the city of Hiroshima was decimated, leaving the surviving citizens to deal with poverty, starvation, loss of loved ones, and utter destruction of their lives. After the bombing, survivors were left with burns, radiation poisoning, and physical scars. Unknown to the survivors of the atomic bombings, or Hibakusha, were the ensuing psychological and emotional damages. In 2014, we know more about traumatic experiences than in 1945. Studies from …

The Effects Of Hiv/Aids On The Mother-Child Relationship, Margaret Gross

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

39 semi-structured interviews were conducted with HIV+/- mothers living in central Uganda. Interviews were assisted by a translator and recorded manually on paper then coded and analyzed. The majority of HIV+ mothers were found to be single, supported 5+ children, worked longer days to get by, and emphasized the importance of having a counselor. These findings suggest a strong relationship exists between HIV and motherhood. There is a need for further attention to help single mothers and foster programs that encourage economic growth within their families, nutritional improvement, and overall attention to a group that is currently receiving little assistance.

Correlates Of Help-Seeking Following Stalking Victimization: A Study Of College Women, Saige E. Jutras, Katie Edwards, Kateryna Sylaska

Honors Theses and Capstones

The current study explored factors related to college women’s coping processes associated with stalking using an online survey methodology. Results (N= 305 college women reporting stalking victimization within the last three years) showed that 85% of women disclosed their stalking experiences most commonly to female friends. Additionally, women used a variety of coping mechanisms in response to their stalking victimization; although avoiding thinking about or acting on the stalking experience were the most common strategies, victims rated direct forms of coping as more effective in deterring the stalking behavior. Women’s coping responses to stalking were related to a …

An Art Therapy Domestic Violence Prevention Group In Mexico, Naomi Tucker, Ana Laura Treviño

Journal of Clinical Art Therapy

This paper explores the implementation, course of treatment, achievements and limitations of an art therapy domestic violence prevention group in Mexico. The group was part of a Mexican pilot program utilizing a solution-focused model developed by Stith, McCollum, and Rosen (2007) in the U.S. The art therapy group served Otomí clients, who are members of a unique indigenous sub-culture within Mexican society.  A brief literature review discusses domestic violence, solution-focused treatment, couples groups, and the particular complexities of working inter-culturally.  The course of treatment is presented and the achievements and limitations of the program are briefly evaluated within the context …

Campus Safety: Assessing And Managing Threats, Mario Scalora, Andre Simons, Shawn Vanslyke

Mario Scalora Publications

Since the shootings at Virginia Tech, academic institutions and police departments have dedicated substantial resources to alleviating concerns regarding campus safety. The incident in Blacksburg and the similar tragedy at Northern Illinois University have brought renewed attention to the prevention of violence at colleges and universities.

Campus professionals must assess the risk posed by known individuals, as well as by anonymous writers of threatening communications. The authors offer threat assessment and management strategies to address the increased demands faced by campus law enforcement, mental health, and administration officials who assess and manage threats, perhaps several simultaneously.

Attachment: The Antidote To Trauma, Joshua Straub

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Trauma and loss in life are inevitable. And all too often the traumatic experience itself can be enough to paralyze the mental, emotional, and spiritual state of any given person. Unable to interpret the traumatic experience, many instead are left defined by it. Helping clients discern the objective experience and their subjective reactions to it will help free them from the emotions and beliefs that subsequently control their lives. Based on the most relevant attachment theory research and clinical techniques, this workshop teaches the attentional strategies necessary to helping clients overcome trauma.

Evolutionary Mating Traits: When Costly Signals Emerge, David Taube

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This study investigated whether different romantic contexts would influence one’s willingness to engage in blatant benevolence or conspicuous consumption. Participants – 341 college-age students – were recruited to read written stimulus materials about interpersonal encounters with a person of the opposite sex. Each participant was then asked to respond to questionnaires, which led to atypical results in how men and women interpret ambiguous cues. Contrary to previous findings, evidence suggested women more readily wish to use costly signals in response to ambiguous romantic cues in evolving relationships as compared to men, who showed no distinction between non-romantic and ambiguously romantic …

Ciis Today, Fall 2008 Issue, Ciis

CIIS Today

This volume is the Fall 2008 issue of CIIS Today, the Magazine of the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Ciis Today, Fall 2007 Issue, Ciis

CIIS Today

This volume is the Fall 2007 issue of CIIS Today, the Magazine of the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Perceived Desirability Of Given Names: Identifying A Relationship Between Given Names And Associated Personality Traits, Ellen D. Parks

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

This study was designed to determine whether participants would have better recall for names with phonetic properties that matched a paired personality trait. In other words, phonetically attractive names paired with positive traits and phonetically unattractive names paired with negative traits should have higher rates of recall than names whose phonetic properties did not match a paired personality trait, such as phonetically attractive names paired with negative traits or phonetically unattractive names paired with positive traits. Given names were deemed to be phonetically attractive or unattractive based on the number of sonorants (soft consonant sounds such as l, m, n, …

The Effects Of The Availability Heuristic On Student's Judgments Of Others Alcohol Consumption, Jennifer Mcenroy

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The primary purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that enhancing the availability of images that either portrayed liberal heavy drinking at college or the conservative academic side of college would serve to influence students’ perceptions of peer norms. It was hypothesized that students would rely on the availability heuristic to make judgments of peer norms, so that exposure to a movie clip that emphasized drinking would increase estimates of peer drinking norms when compared with exposure to a movie clip that emphasized academic work. It was further hypothesized that the film clips would assist participants in making …

Perceived Similarity, Expectation-Reality Discrepancies, And Mentors' Expressed Intention To Remain In Big Brothers/Big Sisters Programs, Benjamin Paul Madia, Catherine J. Lutz

Psychology Faculty Publications

Studies have begun to document the academic and psychosocial benefits of Big Brothers/ Big Sisters programs for at-risk youth (Rhodes, Grossman, & Resch, 2000). However, investigators have noted a problem with mentor attrition (Meissen & Lounsbury, 1981). The purpose of the current study was twofold. First, we explored the relative importance of specific dimensions of perceived similarity (including similarity in attitudes, interests, race, and personality) as well as mentors' expectation-reality discrepancies in predicting mentors' expressed intention to remain in Big Brothers/Big Sisters programs. Second, we examined a model whereby interpersonal attraction and relationship quality served as mediators of these associations. …

The Effect Of Residence Type On Adjustment To College, Matthew J. Facemire

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study examined the difference in adjustment to college between Commuters (students who lived at home with their parents) and Boarders (students who lived on campus in residence halls). The study was conducted at a rural teachers college in West Virginia. The Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) was administered to 86 students from four English 102 classes. The results include 48 students who met the requirements of the study. The results of the SACQ were input into a SPSS computer program to produce a 2x2 design ANOVA. The Test of Between-Subject Effects showed three areas of significant difference between …