Counseling Psychology Commons^™

The Effect Of Educational Modules On Attitudes Towards Disabilities, Hunter W. Greer

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

The researchers in this study were interested in the effect of educational modules on student’s ratings of appropriateness and fairness of 10 different accommodations offered at the college level. Researchers were also interested in investigating if these modules would affect individual’s scores on the Social Distance Scale to evaluate levels of stigma towards mental health. Researchers surveyed 150 college students at a large South Eastern University and found that individuals rated accommodations as higher than neutral in fairness and appropriateness overall, but did not find a difference in students who read the modules and students who did not. Researchers also …

Immersive Cultural Plunge: How Mental Health Trainees Can Exercise Cultural Competence With African American Descendants Of Chattel Slaves A Qualitative Study, Clandis V. Payne

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This qualitative study utilized ethnographic techniques to explore the potential for change in mental health trainees resulting from the participation in an in vivo Immersive Cultural Plunge (ICP) within the African American Descendant of Chattel Slave community. The ICP combined Multicultural Immersions Experiences (MIE) of Cultural Immersion (CI) and Cultural Plunge (CP) to contribute to the developing body of research utilizing MIEs that incorporate contextual, experiential, and historical knowledge to teach the skill of cultural sensitivity. During the 12- hour ICP the participants experienced an orientation, a lecture, a tour/community interaction, a multimedia presentation within an African American community. In …

Training The Whole Counselor: Qualitative Analyses Of Professional School Counselor Training In Central Virginia, Jason W. Fleshman

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

The profession of school counseling is a dynamic one that has endured the evolving American educational landscape for over 100 years. This changing landscape has contributed to a sense of role confusion for professional school counselors in the United States. With much variation among states, school divisions, and even schools within the same division regarding the appropriate role of the professional school counselor, the research attempted to determine professional school counselor perceptions of their division-level and building-level training for their ASCA-defined inappropriate responsibilities in four school divisions in central Virginia. Using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, the research studied the lived …

An Exploratory Factor Analysis Examining Experiences And Perceptions Of Campus Safety For International Students, Sonia H. Ramrakhiani

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Although international students make up a significant percentage of the college population and contribute to higher education institutions in multiple ways, a lack of attention is paid to their safety needs. This dissertation examined the experiences and perceptions of campus safety among international college/university students in the United States. The researcher sampled participants from different institutions around the country, who self-identified as international students. A researcher-developed 53-item Likert scale questionnaire, International Students’ Safety Questionnaire (ISSQ), was administered to the sample. Findings from the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) provided evidence for the four-factor solution for the 26-item ISSQ accounting for 48.65% …

Inferential Style, School Teachers, And Depressive Symptoms In College Students., Caroline M. Pittard, Patrick Pössel, Timothy Lau

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Depressive symptoms affect around half of students at some point during college. According to the hopelessness theory of depression, making negative inferences about stressful events is a vulnerability for developing depression. Negative and socio-emotional teaching behavior can be stressors that are associated with depression in school students. First-time college freshmen completed the Cognitive Style Questionnaire (CSQ), Teaching Behavior Questionnaire (TBQ), and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). While completing the TBQ, participants reported on a teacher from prior education to college. Multiple regression analysis found significant effects of the independent variables (four teaching behavior types, inferential style, and interactions …

Cross-Racial Trust Factors: Exploring The Experiences Of Blacks Who Have Had White Mentors In The Counseling Profession, Eric Montrece Brown

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

The primary researcher conducted a phenomenological study on cross-racial trust factors between Black doctoral students (n = 10) and their White mentors within the counseling profession. Three participants identified having a White professor as a mentor; two participants identified having White supervisors as mentors; five of the participants reported having both faculty members and supervisors as White mentors. Through semi-structured interviews, the primary researcher sought to ascertain what factors engendered cross-racial trust between Black doctoral students and White mentors within the counseling profession. The research team identified four superordinate themes related to cross-racial trust: contributors to trust, reasons for mistrust, …

A Wellness Approach To Investigating Student Veterans' Academic And Career Goals, Thomas Seguin

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The purpose of this study is to understand what wellness factors motivate veterans to separate from the military, and how these factors are addressed by the selection of the veteran’s academic major. This project is exploratory in nature, and mixed-methods methodology is being utilized to reach a deep understanding of the wellness and career transition experiences of student veterans. A brief questionnaire has been developed to gather demographic data, and has been distributed among the student veteran population at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (41 respondents at the time of this writing). Interview participants will be selected from the …

Sibling Relationship Quality And Mexican-Origin Adolescents' And Young Adults' Familism Values And Adjustment, Sarah E. Killoren, Sue A. Rodriguez De Jesus, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Lorey A. Wheeler

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

We examined profiles of sibling relationship qualities in 246 Mexican-origin families living in the United States using latent profile analyses. Three profiles were identified: Positive, Negative and Affect-Intense. Links between profiles and youths’ familism values and adjustment were assessed using longitudinal data. Siblings in the Positive profile reported the highest familism values, followed by siblings in the Affect-Intense profile and, finally, siblings in the Negative profile. Older siblings in the Positive and Affect-Intense profiles reported fewer depressive symptoms than siblings in the Negative profile. Further, in the Positive and Negative profiles, older siblings reported less involvement in risky behaviors …

Elementary Preservice Teachers’ Attitudes And Pedagogical Strategies Toward Hypothetical Shy, Exuberant, And Average Children, Qizhen Deng, Guy Trainin, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Irina Kalutskaya, Stephanie Wessels, Julia C. Torquati, Robert J. Coplan

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

Children’s learning and development are directly and indirectly influenced by teachers’ beliefs and pedagogical strategies toward child behaviors. This cross-sectional study explored elementary preservice teachers’ attitudes and pedagogical strategies for working with hypothetical children demonstrating temperament-based shy, exuberant, and average behaviors in the classroom. A secondary goal was to compare attitudes and pedagogical strategies at the beginning and end of teacher training program. A total of 354 participants responded to three vignettes describing children frequently displaying these behaviors. Results indicated preservice teachers were more likely to use social-learning strategies with shy children and high-powered strategies with exuberant children. Participants were …

An Examination Of Relational Bullying In Award Winning Newbery Books, 1996-2016, Kaysey N. Wann

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Relational bullying, although covert in nature and difficult for adults to notice and identify, is becoming increasingly prevalent among young children and teens. The success of bibliotherapy as preventative and intervention practices for bullying shows that portrayals of relational bullying in quality children’s literature would be effective in reducing and preventing it. However, relational bullying is rarely portrayed in children’s literature. My goal was to find quality children’s realistic fiction literature that portrays relational bullying in Newbery award-winning books, and to bring them to the attention of teachers.

After creating a table to determine what types of bullying, if any, …

Mexican-Origin Youth's Risk Behavior From Adolescence To Young Adulthood: The Role Of Familism Values, Lorey A. Wheeler, Katharine H. Zeiders, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Sue A. Rodriguez De Jesus, Norma J. Perez-Brena

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

Engagement in risk behavior has implications for individuals' academic achievement, health, and well-being, yet there is a paucity of developmental research on the role of culturally-relevant strengths in individual and family differences in risk behavior involvement among ethnic minority youth. In this study, we used a longitudinal cohort-sequential design to chart intraindividual trajectories of risk behavior and test variation by gender and familism values in 492 youth from 12 to 22 years of age. Participants were older and younger siblings from 246 Mexican-origin families who reported on their risk behaviors in interviews spaced over eight years. Multilevel cohort-sequential growth models …

School Psychologists’ Knowledge And Self-Efficacy In Working With Students With Tbi, Ann E. Glang, Melissa Mccart, Christabelle Moore, Susan C. Davies

Counselor Education and Human Services Faculty Publications

Approximately 145,000 U.S. children experience lasting effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) that manifest in social, behavioural, physical, and cognitive challenges in the school setting. School psychologists have an essential role in identifying students who need support and in determining eligibility under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and perception of abilities related to TBI in a sample of school psychologists currently working in public schools. We surveyed school psychologists and found persistently low levels of knowledge and of perceived preparedness to work with these students. School psychologists with more …

The Lived Experiences Of High-Achieving Adults During Their Middle School And High School Years : A Phenomenological Approach, Maribeth Hope Ballert Potter

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract

Relationship Quality Associations Family Values For Online Graduate Students With Intimate Partners, Tracy J. Jones-Garcia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research found that relationship quality (RQ) for intimate couples may be adversely effected in times of stress, potentially decreasing marital satisfaction up to 36% during a four-year period for high stress couples. Previous research indicated family values (FV) may mediate RQ in stressful times; however, no research has examined this relationship for online/blended program graduate students. Students in these programs experience unique stress, change, and at times, physical distance from an intimate partner. Coombs's theory on values consensus postulated that the more alike family values are in a relationship, the better the RQ will be. The purpose of this …

Reducing Adolescent Anger And Aggression With Biofeedback: A Mixed-Methods Multiple Case Study, Jedidiah S. Savard

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Adolescent anger, aggression, and violent outbursts are social problems significantly affecting each of us. Individual therapeutic management of pathological anger is treated in various ways depending on practitioners’ theoretical orientations and competency levels. Popular psychological individual and group therapies addressing anger and aggression in adolescents focus primarily on cognitive-behavioral techniques that manage anger’s symptoms. Evidence-based cognitive-behavioral therapies often require clients to self-identify emerging antecedents of anger without assistance; such therapies employ predetermined strategies to assist the client to emotionally de-escalate prior to an angry or aggressive episode. However, cognitive responses to an emotional upheaval stemming from an emergence of anger …

Familial Factors Predicting Attitudes Toward Domestic Violence In African American Adolescents, Cassandra Clarke-Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teen dating violence is more prevalent among African Americans than any other racial group in the United States leading to serious health consequences for victims. However, limited data exists on how African American adolescents' attitudes and perceptions regarding dating violence are formed, and whether they are influenced by family members. The purpose of this nonexperimental correlational study was to determine whether nonverbal or verbal communication from family members predicted adolescents' attitudes and perceptions toward dating violence. Survey data from 84 African American men and women ages 18 to 24 were collected using the Normative Beliefs About Aggression Scale, the Acceptance …

Just World Beliefs, Identity Development, And Social Justice Advocacy Of Counselor Trainees, Sara Rundlett

All Master's Theses

This was the first study exploring the relationship between the belief in a just world, identity development, and social justice advocacy (SJA). A mixed methods design was conducted using a nationwide sample of ninety-seven counselor-in-training participants. Hypotheses included positive correlation between identity development and SJA, negative correlation between belief in a just world and SJA, and negative correlation between belief in a just world and identity development. Results were not significant but provided implications for future research and counselor training programs.

Women’S Choice In College Stem Majors: Impact Of Ability Tilt On Women Students’ Educational Choice, Audie Jane Willis

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This quantitative study explored the impact of ability and ability tilt on the choice of an academic program in STEM majors for female college students who have not been identified as profoundly or highly gifted. A math tilt would be an ability tilt slanting toward math. The career development theory that provided a framework for this study was the Theory of Work Adjustment. Three bodies of literature were reviewed, (a) Self-efficacy as a variable in college major or career choice, (b) life-style preference, and (c) ability tilt and ability. A Chi Square Test of Independence determined that significantly more women …

The Effect Of Emotionally Validating And Invalidating Responses On Emotional Self-Efficacy, Gregory Witkowski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The power of abuse, either in childhood or in adulthood, is clear in many cases. Yet certain types of abuse are harder to detect and understand. Emotional invalidation is one type of abuse that is characterized by an incongruence or minimization of another person's emotions. This experimental study explored effects of emotional invalidation and emotional validation on people's level of emotional self-efficacy. Participants (n = 230) were recruited through Quest Mindshare using a survey created through SurveyMonkey, and randomly placed into 3 groups. All participants were given a survey that asked them to choose how certain pictures made them feel. …

Attachment Styles And Trust Propensity In Females With Borderline Personality Disorder, Jacob Matthew White

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is one of the most frequently encountered and complex disorders in mental health care. Interpersonal impairment is a central issue for individuals with BPD. This complex disorder has received negative stigma along with historically more females than males receiving this diagnosis (Linehan, 1993). Therefore, this study examined a clinical sample of 30 females diagnosed with BPD. Through the collection of data this study used the following measures: a basic demographic questionnaire gathering specific age, ethnicity, current relationship status, parental relationship status, the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR; Brennan, Clark & Shaver, 1998), and the Propensity …

Preparedness To Counsel Transgender College Students: Perceptions Of College Mental Health Clinicians, Valerie G. Couture

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess the perceived preparedness levels of college mental health clinicians to counsel transgender college students. Multicultural counseling competency is required of professional counselors and transgender individuals are considered to be part of the multicultural population. A survey was completed by college mental health counselors (N = 84) from across the United States. The results showed a moderate amount of preparedness overall with no significant differences based on years of counseling experience nor graduation from a CACREP accredited program. Results did show the participants believed they do have a professional duty to be knowledgeable …

A Mother's Spiritual Journey With Her Disabled Son: An Autoethnography, Margaret C. Higgins Edd

Dissertations

Abstract

This autoethnographic research delves into a mother’s experiences with her disabled son over thirty-five years. Beginning with a thick description of the crib accident that resulted in physical and cognitive disabilities that profoundly change the course of both mother and son’s life, this research chronicles the search for meaning, community, and healing as they negotiate the realms of medicine, education, career, family, and spirituality. Models of disability that seek to explain various ways in which society often views disability are examined, but none resonate with the researcher’s intimate experiences nor satisfies her deepest needs for insight and healing. Making …

Psychiatric Clinicians’ Perspectives On Continuing Education (Ce) Programming In Rural Maine, Charles Michael Wakeling

All Theses And Dissertations

There are a variety of barriers that psychiatric clinicians face when attempting to attend continuing education programming. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological research study was to explore continuing education practices within the health care industry, specifically mental health care, with a focus on psychiatric clinicians’ perspectives on continuing education programming in rural Maine. For the purposes of this research study, mental health care was inclusive of behavioral health care and substance abuse treatment. This study defined the term “psychiatric clinician” to be inclusive of social workers, counselors, and therapists. The participant pool was comprised of 37 psychiatric clinicians employed …

Home Visiting Programs For Families Of Children Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing: A Systematic Review, Nannette Nicholson, Patti Martin, Abby Smith, Sheila Thomas, Ahmad A. Alanazi M.Aud.

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Prelingual hearing loss greatly restricts a child’s language development, hindering his or her behavioral, cognitive and social functioning. Although technology such as hearing aids and cochlear implants are an option for providing access to sound, they fail to teach the child how to listen or attend, how to process language (whether visual or spoken), or how to produce language and communicate. Home visiting is widely recognized as a cost-effective intervention service delivery model. Home visiting programs for promoting language development in children who are diagnosed as deaf or hard of hearing have been in existence for over 50 years, yet …

Repairing The Broken Mirror: Understanding Men's Muscularity-Focused Body Image Concerns Through The Lens Of Gender Role Conflict And Self-Compassion., Michael S. Butchko

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

Psychological research pertaining to the study of men and masculinity has discerned that men are increasingly becoming dissatisfied with their bodies. However, men’s body image research has been neglected as researchers originally concluded that only women were impacted. However, the last 20 years has begun to elucidate factors and consequences of muscularity-focused body image dissatisfaction among men. Particularly, some men engage in dangerous behaviors (e.g., excessive exercise, dieting, steroid use) in order to obtain a body with large biceps, chiseled chest, and defined abdominal muscles. Also, more men are experiencing characteristics of muscle dysmorphia (MD), a subtype of body dysmorphic …

A Collaborative Approach To Address Student Behavior And Academic Achievement Across Systems, Beverly Ngozi Okereke

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Academic achievement and in-classroom behaviors are two significant child outcomes that affect student success in school. According to Systems Theory, in order to truly understand the factors that affect these outcomes for children, one must look to the major systems that encapsulate the child (including their school and home environments). This project is a meta-analytic review that examined the effectiveness of measures representing each system in predicting child achievement and behavior: School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports (SWPBS) for the school as a system, level of parent involvement (high versus low) for the home system, and student motivation (intrinsic versus extrinsic) for …

Profiles Of Academic Commitment, Anna Jill Womack

Dissertations

Tinto (1993) found that only 15-25% of students who dropped out of college did so due to academic failure, while the reasons for leaving among the remaining group of students who dropped out were unknown. This suggests that the majority of students who drop out of college are likely doing so for reasons other than academic struggles. Researchers have suggested that individuals who are committed to their major are more likely to obtain a bachelor’s degree (Bowling, Beehr, & Lepisto, 2006; Den Hartog & Belschak, 2007; Duffy, Dik, & Steger, 2011; Goulet & Singh, 2002; Landrum & Mulcock, 2007), indicating …

A Counselor’S First Encounter With Non-Death Loss: A Phenomenological Case Study On New Counselor Preparation And Experience In Working With Non-Death Loss, Charles P. Carrington

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

New counselors graduating from a CACREP master’s program are presumed to have competency to work with the common issues seen in clients. This study examined the lived experience and impact on new counselors when working with clients struggling with overt or covert non-death losses. Through qualitative case study of multiple (n=8) new counselors, the study presents the phenomenon of real-life experiences of counselors when first encountering clients with an issue of loss. Of primary interest was how new counselors identified loss in client’s issues, how they applied theory of interventions, the counselors level of confidence in training and preparedness to …

What Can Parents Do? Examining The Role Of Parental Support On The Negative Relationship Between Racial Discrimination, Depression, And Drug Use Among African American Youth, Tamika C. B. Zapolski, Sycarah Fisher, Wei-Wen Hsu, Jessica Barnes

Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications

African American youth who experience racial discrimination are at heightened risk to use drugs as a coping response to distress. Based on the buffer-stress hypothesis, we proposed that parental support would attenuate this effect. Participants were 1,521 African American youth between 4th and 12th grade. As hypothesized, a mediation pathway was observed among racial discrimination, depression symptoms, and drug use. This effect was observed for both genders, although the pathway was partially mediated for males. In addition, as hypothesized, parental support buffered the negative effect of depression symptomatology on drug use as a consequence of discrimination. Our findings highlight the …

Associations Between Perceived Teaching Behaviors And Affect In Upper Elementary School Students., Allison D. Barnard, Jill L. Adelson, Patrick Pössel

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We explored the associations between student-perceived teaching behaviors and negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA) in upper elementary age students, both before and after controlling for perceived parenting behaviors. The Teaching Behavior Questionnaire (TBQ), the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ), and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children (PANAS-C) were completed by 777 third to fifth graders in nine elementary schools. Using two-level hierarchical linear model analyses, we found that (a) perceived instructional teaching behavior was negatively associated with NA and positively associated with PA; (b) perceived organizational behavior was not associated with either; (c) perceived socio-emotional teaching behavior …