Counseling Psychology Commons^™

Does Common-Sense Communication And The Interpersonal Relationship Predict Oral Health Self-Management?, Kieran J. Maestro

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study sought to understand how patients’ perceptions of the nature and manner of communication with dental health professionals may impact their health self-management quality and habits in the context of preventable illness. Specifically, this study investigated the distinct and overlapping impacts of (a) communication based in the Common Sense Self-Regulation Model (CSM; Leventhal et al., 1980), and (b) the interpersonal relationship between the patient and the dental health professional provider on patients’ oral hygiene quality and habits. It was hypothesized that the interpersonal relationship would positively moderate a positive relation between CSM-based communication and patients' oral health self-management and …

How Teachers And Counselors Collaborate Formally And Informally To Improve The Precollege Curriculum, Amanda Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teachers and counselors in a large suburban district in the Southeastern United States strive to collaborate to equip students with key skills needed to succeed in their first year of college. The problem is that little was known about the collaborative challenges teachers and counselors faced as they implemented the precollege curriculum in secondary schools. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine how teachers and counselors collaborate formally and informally to improve the precollege curriculum as recommended by the guidelines of the American School Counselor Association and adopted by the local district. Knowles’s theory of andragogy provided …

"No One Can Make That Choice For You": Exploring Power In The Sexual Narratives Of Black Collegians, Candice Hargons, Della V. Mosley, Carolyn Meiller, Jardin Dogan, Jennifer Stuck, Chesmore Montique, Natalie Malone, Joseph Oluokun, Carrie Bohmer, Queen-Ayanna Sullivan, Anyoliny Sanchez, Danelle Stevens-Watkins

Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications

Power is enacted to oppress others, pursue wellness, or resist oppression. For Black people, societal and relational oppression influences racialized and gendered expressions of power within sexual encounters. The current study analyzed power dynamics within Black university students' first and most recent sexual encounters. Using narrative inquiry within a critical paradigm, five narrative strategies were identified within participants' interviews: 1) Offering a Peek into Powerlessness, 2) Detailing Disempowerment, 3) Privileging Stereotypical Power, 4) Reclaiming Power, and 5) Emphasizing Empowered Sex. Racialized, gendered sexual socialization among Black students is discussed. Counseling considerations to increase sexual wellness for Black people are explored.

Work Hope And Work Volition: Exploring The Influence Of Community College Students’ Rurality And Socioeconomic Status, Jesse A. Wingate

Theses and Dissertations

Data from a sample of community college students (N = 478) in Virginia were used to examine relations among rurality, socioeconomic status, work hope, and work volition. Socioeconomic status, work hope, and work volition were positively associated. However, rurality, measured both as a continuous and categorical variable, was not correlated with work hope or work volition. Additional analyses showed convergence between measures of work hope and work volition confirming construct similarity. Results, limitations, implications, and recommendations for future study are included.

Addressing Students’ Mental Health Needs In Faculty-Led Study Abroad Courses, Elizabeth Niehaus, Angela Bryan, Matthew J. Nelson, Kaleb Briscoe

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

The increased enrollment of students with mental health needs in U.S. higher education, paired with increasing emphasis on study abroad participation has led campus mental health professionals to consider how their services might extend to serve students with mental health needs who are studying abroad. When it comes to faculty led courses, instructors can play a key role in providing on-the-ground support for students experiencing mental health challenges. The findings from this study provide key insights that college mental health professionals can use to better understand and support these instructors as they serve on the front lines of addressing students’ …

“A Victim/Survivor Needs Agency”: Sexual Assault Survivors’ Perceptions Of University Mandatory Reporting Policies, Kathryn J. Holland, Allison E. Cipriano, T. Zachary Huit

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

In institutions of higher education, mandatory reporting policies require certain employees to report students’ sexual assault disclosures to university officials, even if the student does not want to report. It is commonly assumed that these policies will benefit survivors, but there is a paucity of research to substantiate this assumption. The current study examined college sexual assault survivors’ perceptions of mandatory reporting policies, including three specific policy approaches (Universal, Selective, Student-Directed). Interviews were conducted with 40 college sexual assault survivors and thematic analysis was used to analyze these data. Results found that the mandatory reporting policy approaches that survivors prefer, …

The Influences Of School Counselors' Professional Development On Their Comfort Levels Addressing Mental Health And Substance Use, Megan Lynne Hines

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study was an investigation of the comfort levels of school counselors to address PK-12 students’ mental health and substance use concerns. While incidents of bullying and school shootings rise it is unclear how school counselors’ professional development has influenced their level of comfort identifying and addressing PK-12 students’ mental health and substance use concerns. Accordingly, this quantitative descriptive survey examined school counselors’ recognition of mental health and substance use symptoms, frequency of encounter, and whether their developmental stages influenced their comfort levels in addressing students’ mental health and substance use concerns. Rønnestad and Skovholt’s counselor development model was the …

To Be (A Doctor) Or Not To Be – An Exploration Of The Abd Experience Of Female Minority Doctoral Students In Cacrep-Accredited Counselor Education Programs, Tracey Kim Snow

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This is a dissertation that focuses on the lived experiences of culturally diverse female counselor education candidates on their dissertation experience. Chapter 1 addressed the background of the issue and the need for such a study. It also addresses the research questions that drove the study. Chapter 2 provides a comprehensive literature review of the main topics. Literature and research on six areas form this study’s conceptual framework: (a) “All but Dissertation” (ABD) status, (b) persistence, (c) the historical context of social justice within counselor education and supervision, (d) women’s development, (e) female doctoral students, and (f) culturally diverse doctoral …

How Christian College Student Leaders Discover Purpose, Emmanuel Ayiku

Masters Theses

Among college students, research has revealed that 76% of them reported that they search for meaning in life (Dunn & Hammer, 2015). Spirituality is one specific way in which students begin their search for meaning. A qualitative approach was used to examine the perspectives of how six Christian college student leaders from three different campus ministries found their purpose. By examining and understanding purpose from one subset of religious students who serve in a leadership position, we may gain insight into the interplay of meaning-making, purpose, and leadership. This study concluded that faith or spirituality played an important role in …

Construct Validity Of The Behavior Assessment System For Children-Third Edition Teacher Rating Scales (Basc-3 Trs): Comparisons With The Adjustment Scales For Children And Adolescents (Asca), Shannon Burback

Masters Theses

The Behavior Assessment Scale for Children-Third Edition Teacher Rating Scale Child Form (BASC-3 TRS-C) and the Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents (ASCA) are both teacher rating scales which may be used by school psychologist to assess youth behavior problems. The BASC, BASC-2, and BASC-3 have limited replicated research of the studies reported in their respective manuals. Therefore, it was important to empirically compare the BASC-3 TRS-C with the ASCA to examine construct validity (convergent, discriminant, and divergent) as there were, at present, no published studies replicating BASC-3 Manual research. The present study analyzed BASC-3 TRS-C and ACSA ratings which …

Becoming Gatekeepers: A Constructivist Model Of Gatekeeper Development In Counselor Education, Natasha Joy Salier Schnell

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The need for diligent gatekeeping practices in counselor education is well documented in professional literature, ethical guidelines, and standards of practice; although much has been written about gatekeeping, an extensive examination of the literature did not reveal any studies on how and where counselor educators are learning to be gatekeepers. Therefore, this study sought to ascertain what counselor educators identify as meaningful learning experiences and critical incidents that facilitated their sense of efficacy and preparedness as gatekeepers and to examine how counselor educators acquire and develop the competence to become proficient gatekeepers in the counseling profession. Phenomenological interviewing and analysis …

An Examination Of Nature Relatedness, Nature Exposure, And Quality Of Work-Life Among Student Affairs Professionals, Breanne Hiivala

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study explored the relationship with nature within the realm of career development. More specifically, it examined the relationship between nature relatedness, nature exposure, and quality of work-life among student affairs professionals. The participants identified as members of the American College and Personnel Association (n=275). A Pearson Product Moment Correlation Matrix (r) and a simple linear regression were used in this study. There were significant small correlations found between nature relatedness and quality of work-life variables such as home-work interface, job and career satisfaction, working conditions, and stress at work. Additionally, significant relationships were found between nature exposure and nature …

Examining Burnout In Community Mental Health Clinicians From A Job Demands-Resource Perspective, Michelle Hill

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mental health clinicians employed in a public mental health setting are at an increased risk of experiencing burnout, which contributes to undesirable consequences. Examining burnout using the job demands-resources (JDR) theory allows for the examination of job demands and job resources as both separate independent variables or interactively, which provides for a model with the ability to better predict organizational outcomes. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional, predictive survey study was to use the JDR perspective to examine the extent of the relationship, if any, between job demands, job resources, job satisfaction, and burnout of mental health clinicians working in …

Mental Health Needs In Schools As Predictors Of Burnout In School Counselors, Sondra Junek

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have found an increasing number of students with mental health issues, and

school counselors are often the first resource available to students. School counselors are

faced with many job duties including supporting students’ academic, career, and

emotional needs. Maintaining these duties of school counseling can increase stress and

lead to burnout. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine mental health

needs, mental health knowledge, and mental health skills as predictors of each of the

three subscales of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal

accomplishment) among early, middle, and late career school counselors. Lazarus and

Folkman’s transactional theory …

Exploring Teacher Confidence Using Behavioral Interventions In The Classroom, Etoile Denise Swift

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The original purpose of this study was to conduct a quantitative quasi-experimental study to compare a treatment group of teachers with training in the cognitive behavioral ABC model to a control group and examine differences in the average count of referrals to school counselors for students who exhibited disruptive behaviors. However, due to lack of participation, this study examined teacher perceptions of their confidence to use behavioral interventions with students who are disruptive in the classroom and the relationship to the number of referrals teachers made to the school counselor. This study included 99 teachers from pre-K through 12th grade …

An Integrated Exploration Of The Contextual, Relational, And Individual Factors That Impact High School Completion Among African Americans, Lesley B. Winchester

Theses and Dissertations

African American students are consistently reported as having among the lowest high school graduation rates when compared to other races (U.S. Department of Education, 2018). While many studies have sought to explore the potential risks of high school dropout, the intention of this study is to examine the factors that support the exemplary resilience of those students who do complete high school. The present study adopts the framework of García Coll et al.’s, (1996) integrative model of developmental competencies in minority children, as it seeks to identity whether and how contextual (spiritual, educational, cultural); relational (caregiver psychological and physical …

Longitudinal And Geographic Trends In Family Engagement During The Pre-Kindergarten To Kindergarten Transition, Susan M. Sheridan, Natalie A. Koziol, Amanda Witte, Iheoma Iruka, Lisa Knoche

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

The transition to kindergarten is foundational for children’s future school performance and families’ relationships with the educational system. Despite its well-documented benefits, few studies have explored family engagement across the pre- Kindergarten (pre-K) to kindergarten transition nor considered the role of geographic context during this period. This study examined trajectories of family engagement across the pre-K to kindergarten transition, and identified whether engagement differs for families in rural versus urban settings. Participants were 248 parents of children who participated in publicly funded pre-K programs and transitioned 1 year later into kindergarten. Home-based involvement increased from pre-K through kindergarten. School-based involvement …

Interdisciplinary Collaboration In Exemplary Counseling-Enriched High School Programs: Integrating College & Career Readiness And Mental Health Wellness For Students With Emotional Disturbance, Amira S. Mostafa

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed methods multiple-case study was to describe how interdisciplinary collaborative teams support the college and career readiness and the mental health wellness of adolescents with emotional disturbance. A secondary purpose was to explore how team members describe and rate the importance of their interdisciplinary collaboration using the four essential elements (reflection, flexibility, newly created roles, and interdependence) based on the model established by Mellin (Mellin et al., 2010). Lastly, this study sought recommendations from team members on improved practices supporting adolescents with emotional disturbance.

Methodology: An explanatory sequential mixed methods multiple-case study design explored the …

The Protective Influence Of Self-Compassion Against Internalized Racism Among African Americans, Alexandra Emery

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Racist experiences and internalized racism may lead to poorer mental health outcomes for African Americans born and socialized in the United States (Graham, West, Martinez & Roemer, 2016; Mouzon & McLean, 2017). Self-compassion has been shown to protect against poor mental health outcomes, but limited research exists with respect to African Americans specifically (Lockard, Hayes, Neff and Locke, 2014). The present study explored whether self-compassion could serve as a protective factor between the relations of internalized racism and racist experiences, and the negative mental health outcomes of anxiety, depression, and stress among (N = 230) African American adults. To …

Conceptualizing Discursive Analysis As A Culturally Contextualized Activity, Stephen Baffour Adjei

The Qualitative Report

Discursive psychology recognizes the primacy of the social and relational nature of human life. Research participants whose discourses (empirical data) we analyze do not exist independent of material and social world. In this paper, I attempt to develop an understanding of discursive analysis of social and psychological phenomena as a culturally contextualized activity in which discursive researchers analyze and interpret participants’ discourses in the light of the cultural context in which the discourses are embedded. First, I provide a brief background to discursive psychology. Second, I discuss the cultural embeddedness of discursive analysis. I then conceptualize discursive data analysis as …

Problem-Based Learning In Human Growth & Development Counselor Education, Javier F. Casado Pérez Ph.D. Ncc, Elliot Witherspoon Lpc

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

As a core curricular standard that applies to all Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP, 2015) accredited programs, human growth and development can present unique challenges for the teaching professional. In this article, we present an in-class activity grounded in problem-based learning that uniquely lends itself to the task of supporting medium-to-large classrooms in learning about human growth and development.

The Lived Experiences Of Chinese International Students Preparing For The University-To-Work Transition: A Phenomenological Qualitative Study, Ian M. Lertora, Jeffrey Sullivan

The Qualitative Report

Chinese international students have been the largest growing number of international students on U.S. college and university campuses for the last ten years. However, there is minimal research literature that pertains to Chinese international students’ experiences on U.S. campuses and currently no research literature that reflects the entirety of their experience studying in the U.S. The purpose of thisphenomenological qualitative study was to give a voice to Chinese international students who are preparing for the university-to-work transition to better understand their experiences as international students in the United States, specifically the types of transitional stressors they experienced and how they …

A Comparison Of College Student-Athletes With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Adhd) And Nonathletes With Adhd: Academic Adjustment, Severity Of Mental Health Concerns, And Complexity Of Life Concerns, Sonja Lund

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

College student-athletes traditionally experience more stressors than their nonathletic peers due to their dual roles. ADHD causes impairments in executive functioning which can cause additional stress for the college student. The combination of ADHD and student-athlete status may impact academic adjustment, mental health severity, and complexity of college life concerns. Presently, no study has explored how student-athletes with ADHD may compare with nonathletes with ADHD in terms of these elements. The purpose of this study is to address this gap in literature and by analyzing archival data collected from university students across the United States. This study utilized an ex-post …

Trauma And Violence Informed Care Workshop For Teachers, Christina Amico, Michelle Philippe

Western Research Forum

Teachers play an integral role in the healthy growth and development of their students. Students that have experienced traumatic events, chronic adversity, and structural violence are vulnerable to a myriad of biological, social, emotional, and behavioural impairments (Blaustein, 2013). Problematic classroom behaviour, therefore, could be a reflection of exposure to trauma and violence. As teachers play an important front-line role in the lives of their students (Brunzell, Waters, & Stokes, 2015), it is important that teachers receive relevant and high-quality professional development, particularly in the area of trauma and violence-informed teaching practices. There is a gap in research on effective …

How Internalized And Externalized Behaviors In Adolescents Impact Academic Achievement In Faith-Based Institutions, Subira Brown, Chioma Tait, Jade Callahan, Deyana Cox

Adventist Human-Subject Researchers Association

The purpose of this literature review is to address how internalized and externalized behaviors in adolescents impact academic achievement in faith-based institutions. This research intends to bring awareness to the prevalence of mental health concerns faced by adolescents, as well as the need for mental health services in the education system. This research will also identify the relationship between internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and academic achievement. Based on the findings, the next steps will be to evaluate the deficits within the Adventist school system and begin developing programs and resources necessary to support the mental health needs of children and …

Substance Use Helpers: An Exploration Into The Relationship Between Professional Quality Of Life And Posttraumatic Growth, Denise Haggerty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There has been limited research on the potential for substance use helpers to have positive experiences as a result of their therapeutic work, previous research on the field of substance use treatment and the impact of working with individuals whom struggle with substance use disorders has been explored. The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between substance use helpers’ professional quality of life (compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout) with posttraumatic growth. In addition, this study also sought to determine if a relationship exists between personal and professional characteristics of substance use helpers and …

The Job Interview Self-Presentation Tendencies And Experiences Of Latina Undergraduate Students, Nichole Shada

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In the United States, self-promotion during a job interview is not just common, it is expected (Paulhus, Westlake, Calvez, & Harms, 2013). Job applicants are encouraged to inform potential employers about the qualifications, strengths, and professional accomplishments that make them the best fit for the job, which requires applicants to engage in self-promotion during the job interview. Literature has begun to suggest that sociocultural factors such as gender or culture may influence an individual’s propensity to engage in modesty as opposed to self-promotion in career-related contexts like the job interview. However, few studies have explored how these sociocultural factors interact …

The Effect Of A Training Clinic On The Self-Efficacy Of Counselors In Training, Jihene Ayadi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary focus of this study was to examine the differences between trainees’ perceived self-efficacy when they graduate from a counseling program that has a community based mental health training clinic versus a program without a training clinic. A web-based survey was developed with the questions from the Counseling Self-Efficacy Inventory (COSE) (Larson et al., 1992) and 45 (N = 45) participants took the survey online. Participants were students enrolled and taking a practicum or internship class in a counseling program with a training clinic (WTC) or in a counseling program without a clinic (WTTC). Mann-Whitney Wilcoxon test, a non-parametric …

Painting Intimacy: Art-Based Research Of Intimacy, Michal Lev

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This art-based research explores whether — and, if so, how — the process of painting, together with witnessing and reflection on the process and imagery, further an understanding of intimacy. The research also examines the conditions that favor intimacy, the obstacles to intimacy, and the particular features of artistic media, processes and reflection, through the editing of video footage, that can further the intimate experience. The participants in the study were five adults (including the researcher) between the ages of thirty and eighty who were familiar with the creation of visual art. Among them were three women and two men …

How To Make School-Based Mental Health Work, Jenny Wilhoite

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This session is designed to give an overview of how to create a School-Based Mental Health program that benefits students on all tiers, providing universal prevention, early intervention, and intensive services for at-risk students. Meeting the unmet needs of students with mental health challenges impacts student attendance, behavioral and academic outcomes, and discipline in a positive way.