Other Psychology Commons^™

Dance/Movement Therapy As Influence On Sense Of Self: A Community Engagement Project, Jasmine Yahid

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This community engagement project seeks to explore the influence of dance/movement therapy and authentic movement techniques on one’s sense of self. This project focused on these techniques as an approach toward self-actualization and finding one’s essence. This study considered the potential implications of these practices on populations whose bodily experience can be perceived as a barrier toward self-actualization, such as in eating disorders and trauma. Six expressive therapy students from Lesley University participated in two sessions of dance/movement therapy. This included: a movement-exploration warm up, authentic movement, and a visual artistic representation of their perceived essence based on the experiential. …

Integrating Digital App Technologies Within Traditional Expressive Arts Therapy For Children And Adolescents, Sarah Storjohann

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

In recent years, technology in the form of digital applications (apps) has emerged as a fundamental aspect of everyday life as well as a practical, convenient, and inexpensive tool for artistic self-expression, most notably amongst children and adolescents. Ninety-eight percent of U.S. households currently possess some form of mobile device (Rideout, 2017), with an estimated 95% of U.S. teenagers ages 13 to 17 owning a Smartphone (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). As digital natives, children and adolescents are more likely to identify with and connect to these arts-based methods. Clinician perspective concerning digital integration varies across a wide spectrum. Through a …

Solution Focused Brief Expressive Arts Therapy, David Sherman

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This graduate capstone thesis paper and project proposes a new therapeutic intervention called Solution-Focused Brief Expressive Arts Therapy (SFBExAT). This intervention and approach is based on the synthesized theories, techniques, and principles of Expressive Arts Therapy (ExAT) and Solution- Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). A review of relevant literature on the combined use of SFBT, ExAT and expressive therapies, as well as on the foundational literature of the individual theories establishes conceptual grounds for a SFBExAT model. A SFBExAT intervention is developed and explained. The intervention was ultimately applied in a hospital outpatient setting with a teenage client. The process, results …

The Relationship Between Religious Background Of Those Who Disaffiliate From Religion And Presence Of Anxiety, Timothy B. Sellers

Honors College Theses

Religion plays a significant role in the personality and worldview of a many individuals. It can provide one with personal benefits such as coping mechanisms, a framework for meaning-making, and a source of motivation, while also providing social support through connections with others having the same religious beliefs. The removal of said benefits through disaffiliation from a religious identity may lead to distress or anxiety. While much research has been done sociologically regarding the increasing number of people who do not affiliate with a religious group, much less has been done to analyze the individual experience of religious disaffiliation and …

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 …

Student Wellbeing Matters! Use Positive Psychology Interventions To Help Your Students Achieve And Succeed., Andrea A. Francis

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Positive Psychology Interventions (PPI), grounded in the psychological theory of Wellbeing (Seligman, 2002) are pathways to a life of purpose and meaning. Each intervention is proved to not only reduce anxiety and increase optimism, but to create protective factors needed to cope with stress, anxiety and trauma.

Exploring Locus Of Control In Offender Cognition And Recidivism Paradigms, Anistasha Lightning, Danielle Polage

All Master's Theses

Working with four Washington State county jails to administer surveys to currently incarcerated inmates, we investigated locus of control and beliefs in the likelihood of continued legal involvement as possible antecedents to criminal recidivism. The surveys examined whether there was any connection between legal involvement frequency and the externalization of locus of control. We investigated external locus of control with specific respect to involvement with the law, the prospect of future incarceration, and feelings concerning the overall cause of original and/or sustained legal involvement utilizing the Revised Causal Dimension Scale (McAuley, Duncan, & Russell, 1992). We identified statistically significant interactions …

The Relationship Between Combat Experience, Veteran Pathology And The Pathology Of Their Intimate Partners: What Factors Predict The Pathology Of Veterans And Their Intimate Partners, Edwin A. Brennan

Dissertations

Problem Statement

Military members and their family members who are part of the Global War on Terrorism have experienced deployments and war for over sixteen years and with the resulting toll on both the veteran and their intimate partner. As a result, higher levels of pathology, such as PTSD, Anxiety, and Depression have been experienced by this population. While research has studied the effect of combat on military members, very little research has addressed the effects on family members. Further, no research that has been found by this researcher, has addressed the concept of resonating of pathology between the combat …

An Exploratory Study Of The Relationship Between Community Involvement And Lgb Identity, Jenna Collins

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Found families are common within the LGBT community, and many models of LGB identity development include contact with other same-sex attracted individuals, or involvement in the LGBT community as important to identity development. However there has been little research investigating the connection between community involvement and identity development or acceptance. This exploratory study will compare LGB identity, measured with the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Identity Survey, to respondents’ answers to open-ended questions about their LGB community involvement. Open-ended questions will be coded by the researcher using content analysis to find commonalities between responses. Comparisons will look for any relationships between stages …

Police Officer Perspectives On Public Views Of Police, Current Events Involving Police, And The Impact On Police-Community Relationships, Donjae Catanzariti

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The media has presented current tensions between police officers and the communities they serve, particularly the Black community. These tensions have led to calls for reforms in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. However, there has been little focus on the police perspective. Thus, this study sought to address the gaps in the literature by shedding light on the perspective of police officers through the following research question: a) How do police officers perceive the public’s view of them? b) How do police officers’ think the public’s view of them impacts the relationship between police officers and the communities …

Validation Of The Professional Quality Of Life Model Among Correctional Officers, Tiffany Arrows

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Stress has significant effects on correctional officers’ physical and mental health. Given the risks involved in a career in corrections, development and implementation of preventive programs to address work-related stress has become a recognized need, and subsequently a call for increased research using standardized, established, and theoretically-driven models and instruments. This study sought to establish the Professional Quality of Life model as a valid and reliable measure among correctional officers, linking the population to the greater literature base of first responders and health care workers along the constructs of compassion fatigue, burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction. Research questions …

The Prospective Influence Of Religiousness On Alcohol Use: What Role Do Perceived Norms Play?, Corey Todd Brawner

Dissertations

Alcohol misuse is recognized as one of the most pressing health hazards for college students. Previous research has supported a protective relationship between religiousness and problematic alcohol use, but it is less clear what aspects of religiousness are protective and through what mechanisms its effect is exerted. The current study utilized a prospective design to accomplish three primary goals: (1) Delineate the protective effects of religious motivation and public participation on alcohol use and alcohol-related problems in a sample of undergraduates at a large public university in the southeastern United States, (2) determine whether effects were maintained long-term, and (3) …

Drama Therapy And Transgender Adolescents, Ryan Lisman

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Transgender adolescents in the United States are currently a vulnerable population that often regularly face discrimination and are at a high risk for hate crimes (Center of Excellence for Transgender Health, 2016). Developing and implementing therapeutic interventions and models for working with transgender adolescents is essential at this time. In American society, there has recently been a cultural shift towards a greater sense of acceptance for the LGBTQ community (Benson, 2013), but within that, the transgender community has been consistently left behind in many aspects of progress that LGB (Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual) people have benefited from (Benson, 2013). There …

The Coach-Athlete Relationship As A Predictor Of Self-Regulation, Academic Self-Efficacy, And Aggression Among Student-Athletes With Exposure To Community Violence, Keoshia Worthy

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Although several studies have investigated the effects of the coach-athlete (C-A)relationship, minimal attention has been given to the effects of the relationship on the behavior of college athletes outside of sport. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the coach–athlete relationship and its connection to the student–athlete’s behavior outside of sport and academic self-efficacy for athletes with exposure to community violence. This information can contribute to the discussion on the attachment relationship between coach and athlete, as well as add an in-depth understanding of the value of the relationship beyond its effects in sport.

A simultaneous multiple regression …

The Relationship Between Sexual Abuse And Body Image Of Members Of The United States Military, Chelsea Anne Taylor

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of sexual abuse on body image of United States military service members and veterans. Participants completed an online questionnaire (n = 63) that measured their demographics, military status, sexual abuse experiences, combat experiences, relationships during deployment, and body image. Average scores on body image measures from participants who experienced sexual abuse (n = 10) were compared with average scores on body image measures from participants who did not experience sexual abuse (n = 49). Results indicate that there was not a significant difference in body image between service members who …

The Experience Of Victimization As The Result Of Cyberbullying Among College Students: A Study Of Demographics, Self-Esteem, And Locus Of Control, Sonya P. Poole

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cyberbullying is commonly defined as a deliberate and aggressive act that is committed using an electronic form of contact. It has been linked to negative emotional and mental well-being along with incidents of suicide. The current study looks at the prevalence rates of cyberbullying among college aged adults. It uses a survey method design to examine the correlation of cyberbullying with gender, age, race, socioeconomic status, self-esteem, and locus of control. The results indicated a relatively high report of cyberbullying incidents when compared to previous studies. A significant difference was obtained when cyberbullying incidents were evaluated based on the participant’s …

Revisiting The Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, Compassion Satisfaction, And Resilience Connection Among Cism Responders, Harvey J. Burnett Jr.

Faculty Publications

Previous research by Burnett and Wahl found that resilience moderately mediated the association between compassion fatigue (CF) and burnout (BO) among trauma responders. No studies have attempted to replicate and verify the research results of Burnett and Wahl. This study examined whether similar patterns of resilience, CF, BO, and compassion satisfaction (CS) would be found among a convenience sample of disaster behavioral health (DBH) responders (N = 70) attending an annual Critical Incident Stress Management training conference in Michigan. Measures included the 30-item Professional Quality of Life Scale, the 14-Item Resilience Scale, the Response to Stressful Events Scale, and a …

Nurturing Self: Psychotherapeutic Implications Of Women's Reflections On The Meaning Of Their Cherished Possessions, Stephanie L. Martin

The Qualitative Report

Experiencing the importance of one’s personal treasures is ubiquitous to the human experience, but what is the depth and meaning of this lived phenomenon? An interpretive phenomenological method was used to explore the meaning and significance of women’s experience of their cherished personal possessions. Nine women participated in three individual semi-structured phenomenological interviews each. Interpretive analysis revealed that women’s experience of their cherished personal possessions is one of nurturing self. Through their cherished personal possessions, women nurture their sense of self by connecting with others, affirming personal experience, supporting self through change, and cultivating a sense of self. Implications for …

Is The Relationship Between Trait Mindfulness And Psychological Distress Indirect?, Sailesh Maharjan

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Mindfulness, purposeful attention without judgment or acceptance, and related practices are increasingly popular with a large number of people and have been incorporated into many western psychotherapies (e.g., Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy). There is considerable debate over whether mindfulness is best studied as a state, trait or procedure. Although many studies have found that trait mindfulness is related to physical and mental health outcomes, less is known about the mechanism(s) through which mindfulness enhances clinical outcomes. The current study explored the role of potential mediators of the relationship between …

Who Am I To You? Using Function Words As A Measure Of Transference, Jon William P. Lentz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There is a gap in our understanding of transference resolution as an aspect of therapeutic process and its relation to observable changes in language. My hypotheses can contribute to this area by identifying whether there are detectible changes in pronoun use in a psychoanalysis that are related to the resolution of transference. Data: The de-identified transcripts of a young agoraphobic housewife in a four time a week then two time a week psychoanalysis from the 1970s. Method: The Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software will be used to measure structural changes in language that may reflect intrapsychic changes in the …

Increasing Valued Behaviors Precedes Reduction In Suffering: Findings From A Randomized Controlled Trial Using Act, Andrew T. Gloster, Jens Klotsche, Joseph Ciarrochi, Georg Eifert, Rainer Sonntag, Hans-Ulrich Wittchen, Jürgen Hoyer

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background: Psychological flexibility theory (PFT) suggests three key processes of change: increases in value-directed behaviors, reduction in struggle with symptoms, and reduction in suffering. We hypothesized that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) would change these processes and that increases in valued action and decreases in struggle would precede change in suffering.

Method: Data were derived from a randomized clinical trial testing ACT (vs. waitlist) for treatment-resistant patients with primary panic disorder with/without agoraphobia (n= 41). Valued behavior, struggle, and suffering were assessed at each of eight sessions.

Results: Valued actions, struggle, and suffering all changed over the …

Journey To Success: Lessons From Successful Same-Sex Couples, Jeni L. Wahlig

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Therapists are often called upon to support same-sex couples along their journey to success. Yet, only limited information is available for understanding what success means for same-sex couples, what the journey to success might look like, and how we might support them in navigating that journey. In this dissertation, I seek to begin to fill this gap in knowledge by conducting an extensive literature review of factors that affect same-sex couple relationship success and a qualitative research study. In the study, I use narrative inquiry to explore the challenges and life-events important to couples’ journeys toward success; the resources and …

The Relationship Between College Students’ Purpose In Life And Risk-Taking Behavior, Anna Church

All Master's Theses

The relationship between college students’ sense of purpose in life and their self-reported risky substance use and sexual behavior was investigated. Participants from a northwestern university (N = 174) answered questions online from questionnaires measuring meaning in life, alcohol use, substance use, sexual risk behavior, and social desirability. A MANCOVA analysis was conducted. The results demonstrated no statistically significant effects. Strengths and limitations of the study as well as directions for future research and therapeutic interventions are discussed.

Graduate Students And Geropsychology: Growing Need And Lacking Interest, Samantha Marie Hague

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

As the population of older adults continues to grow with time, the need for geropsychology clinicians also grows. Many barriers exist that contribute to why elderly individuals are not receiving adequate psychological treatment. This study explores why graduate psychology students are often disinterested in working with older adults and whether it is possible that student interest could increase with more geropsychology graduate coursework and practicum training opportunities. This study also explores the possible connection between quality of elderly relationships and interest in working with the elderly. The results of this study support that Clinical and Counseling Psychology graduate programs lack …

Adolescent Perceptions Of Dating Violence: A Qualitative Study, Sarah Taylor, Carrie A. Calkins, Yan Ruth Xia, Rochelle L. Dalla

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

Scholars have identified dating violence as a public health issue among adolescents. Yet, minimal research has detailed adolescents’ perceptions of dating violence, specifically gender differences in perceptions. Research suggests that in order for dating violence prevention and intervention to be effective, services need to be delivered in a manner that is understood by adolescents. Therefore, this study used a qualitative phenomenology study to investigate adolescents’ perceptions of dating violence, including gender differences in adolescents’ perceptions. Thirty adolescents between the ages of 14 and 19 from a Midwest public high school participated in focus groups. Focus group participants were asked semistructured …

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 …

Cultural Effects On Rape Trauma Syndrome: Evaluating The Claims, Kelsey West

Psychology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

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 …

Visual Sexualities: Exploring An Integration Of Art And Sex Therapies, Jillien Kahn

Journal of Clinical Art Therapy

This research explores the potential of integrating art and sex therapies. Three interviews were performed: two with certified art therapists one with a certified sex therapist, in order to understand how each of these professionals approaches issues of sexuality and creative expression within his or her practice. The resulting data was compared within and between each interviewee, resulting three overarching themes through which the challenges regarding this integration can be understood. It was found that there is great potential for an integration of the two therapies, provided clinicians have access to appropriate training, as well as a deeper understanding of …

Boundaries And Belonging: Asian America, Psychology, And Psychoanalysis, Natalie C. Hung

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation addresses a vexing problem. In psychology and psychoanalysis, Asian Americans are more often understood as a collective Other than as individual Selves, more frequently an object of study than a subject. Through two overarching aims, my dissertation sheds light on neglected aspects of Asian American selves, the meanings of the invisibility surrounding them, and implications for clinical practice.

First, the project challenges extant psychological perspectives on Asian Americans, which often implicitly assume a wide gulf of difference between Asian American cultural values and the Western epistemologies of psychology and psychoanalysis. Through the examination of academic research, clinical literature, …