Mental and Social Health Commons^™

Let's Hit The Gym: An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Student Exercise, Achievement, And Social Anxiety, Angela Lebel

Honors Projects in Applied Psychology

An emerging body of literature has documented the positive influence of exercise on student achievement. Human and non-human animal studies have proven that exercise can improve memory, academic stressors, social anxiety, and sleep along with more broad topics such as mental and physical health. With exercise improving memory and academic stressors, this leads to a potential conclusion that exercise could benefit student’s grade point average which will be tested in this study. Exercise is also exhibited to help reduce social anxiety which leads to a potential conclusion that exercise could improve one’s involvement in extracurricular activities because one would have …

Running Head: Ses, Food Literacy And Security, And Eating Disorders, Kendra Rigney

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Eating disorders have one of the highest mortality rates among all mental health conditions in terms of suicide rate and overall mortality rate, with college students reporting higher rates than the general population (Arcelus et al., 2011; Badrasawi & Zidan, 2019; Eisenberg et al., 2013; Perryman et al., 2018). The current literature has shown a relationship between binge-eating and bulimia symptoms and socioeconomic status, food literacy, and food security (Becker et al., 2017; Darling et al., 2017; Ferreira et al., 2021; Knesebeck et al., 2012; Rogers et al., 1997). The goal of the current study was to examine how perceived …

Assessing Psychological Impact Of Covid-19 Among Parents Of Children Returning To K-12 Schools: A U.S. Based Cross-Sectional Survey, Kavita Batra, Jennifer R. Pharr, Emylia Terry, Brian Labus

School of Medicine Faculty Research

Background and Purpose: While impacts of the pandemic on family well-being have been documented in the literature, little is known about the psychological challenges faced by children and their parents as schools reopen after mandated closures. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if sending children back to in-person school impacts the mental health of parents and the perceived mental health of their children. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study recruited a nationally representative, non-probability sample of parents or guardians (n = 2100) of children attending grades K-12 in the United States (U.S.) through a 58-item web-based survey. The …

A Constructivist Grounded Theory Of Spiritual Competencies Development In Counseling Supervision, Emmanuel Javert Nnadozie

Dissertations

Developing religious and spiritual competencies is paramount in the training of counselors to become effective in addressing clients’ religious and spiritual issues in counseling. Clinical supervision in practicum and internship courses is key to the development of these competencies, but questions as to how best they might be infused in counselor training remained. The purpose of the study was to create an explanatory theory of the process of the development of religious and spiritual competencies in clinical supervision. Utilizing grounded theory, experts in the field of supervision and spirituality were interviewed. The ways paradigm was used as a sensitizing concept …

Examining The Perspectives And Experiences Of Nutrition Educators Working With Clients In Substance Use Recovery Settings, Cora Teets, Paula Plonski, Omolola Adedokun, Heather Norman-Burgdolf

Dietetics and Human Nutrition Faculty Publications

Substance use disorder (SUD) is one of the most detrimental health, social, and economic problems in the United States. Limited studies suggest providing tailored nutrition education during SUD treatment correlates with positive recovery outcomes. The University of Kentucky Nutrition Education Program conducted two focus group sessions to explore and determine educators’ instructional and programmatic needs who deliver nutrition education to clients in substance use recovery throughout Kentucky. The study team identified four emerging themes and several subthemes related to Nutrition Education Program educators working with clientele in recovery. The four emerging themes included: (1) current experiences working with the audience, …

The Effects Of Covid-19 On Well-Being Of Healthcare Workers, Hannah Meissner

Honors Theses

The development of the new coronavirus disease, COVID-19, led to the spread of turmoil across the United States and further around the globe. With the virus creating uncertainty among the population, the evidence began to demonstrate that individuals could have devastating health effects, including death. Healthcare workers are among those who were on the frontlines in order to care for the infected, ultimately increasing their own chances of acquiring the virus and putting their health at risk. These workers have experienced a direct impact due to this exposure in the form of isolation, anxiety, depression, suicide, and sleep disturbances. With …

Retrospective Genomics Highlights Changes In Genetic Composition Of Tiger Sharks (Galeocerdo Cuvier) And Potential Loss Of A South-Eastern Australia Population, Alice Manuzzi, Belen Jiménez-Mena, Romina Henriques, Bonnie J Holmes, Julian Pepperell, Janette Edson, Mike B Bennett, Charlie Huveneers, Jennifer R Ovenden, Einar E Nielsen

Staff and Researcher Publications

Over the last century, many shark populations have declined, primarily due to overexploitation in commercial, artisanal and recreational fisheries. In addition, in some locations the use of shark control programs also has had an impact on shark numbers. Still, there is a general perception that populations of large ocean predators cover wide areas and therefore their diversity is less susceptible to local anthropogenic disturbance. Here we report on temporal genomic analyses of tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) DNA samples that were collected from eastern Australia over the past century. Using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) loci, we documented a significant change in …

Social Media Engagement Among Individuals With Depression Or Anxiety Disorder, Elizabeth Ayangunna, Gulzar Shah

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

Background

With the increasing use of the Internet and its constant shaping of our perception of realities, knowing the consumer’s social media behavior can lead to the development of health interventions based on their preferred engagement pattern. This is particularly important for people with mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety disorder who may have challenges getting support from familiar people due to the stigma associated with these conditions.

Objective

The objective of this study is to examine the patterns of social media use and its correlates, including depression or anxiety disorder.

Methods

This study combined data from 4 …

A Path For Evidenced-Based Evaluation: The Case For Restorative Justice, Raúl D. Gierbolini-Rivera, Atc,Cscs

Thinking Matters Symposium

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Outcomes On Depression Literacy In School-Age Children Who Received Depression Education, Loretta Q. Smith Aprn, Pnp-Bc, Bobby Bellflower Dnsc, Nnp-Bc, Faanp

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Purpose/Background Recognizing mental illness is crucial in adolescence. It is the second leading cause of suicide and death in children 10-19 years of age. Early identification and recognition of signs and symptoms could prevent progressive mental health illness in early childhood and adulthood. We are seeking to answer the PICO question: In adolescents between 10 and 19 years of age who are enrolled in school (P), how does receiving education on depression awareness (I) compared to not receiving education on depression awareness (C) affect depression scores (O)?

Methods This review was conducted on articles about adolescent children. These articles were …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Childhood Punishment And Adult Ipv, Anna G. Griffith

Honors College Theses

The goal of this project is to examine the relationship between childhood punishment and experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) as an adult. Using an anonymous, self-report survey, students from Georgia Southern University were asked about their experiences with IPV, as well as their experiences of childhood punishment administered by both mother and father. The results show that children who receive corporal, verbal, and emotional punishment from their mother are more likely to experience all forms of IPV later in life. When analyzing the same relationships with fathers, corporal punishment is not associated with IPV while verbal and emotional punishment is.

Protocol For An Ehub As An Systemic Intervention For Homeless Shelter Staff And Resident Psychosocial And Behavioral Needs, Celeste Sangiorgio, Cory Crane, Cassandra Berbery, Caroline Easton

Frameless

Homeless shelter performance is presently operationalized as shelter success in linking homeless individuals to housing; however, there is a cluster of individuals with co-occurring serious mental health issues who engage in chronic and episodic re-entry into homeless shelters. Persistent and chronically mentally ill individuals who re-enter shelters increase demands on staff, who are inadequately trained to de- escalate, manage their internal distress, and connect these homeless residents to appropriate services. This protocol outlines an alternative intervention mechanism for shelters that targets a key, untreated pathway where staff and resident symptoms and skills are linked to shelter performance. We propose that …

Designing A Digital Interactive Emotion Measure (Diem) For Digital Media: Theoretical Foundations And Validation Protocols, Celeste Sangiorgio, Cassandra Berbary, Cory Crane, Caroline Easton

Frameless

Awareness of emotions is often a treatment target in psychotherapy, but it is difficult to assess emotions due to ambiguity in measurement or scale design. Lack of clarity in scale design may increase risk that participant interpretations of scale items may not align with emotion constructs those scales were designed to capture. Furthermore, emphasis on verbal or written cues leads to low scientific representation of patients who cannot read emotion scales (e.g., low literacy). Touch-screen applications provide a unique opportunity to create a visual emotion measure which has low barriers but can be used to assess a high level of …

Affirmative Counseling With Lgbqqia Individuals: A Training And Resource Manual For Mental Health Counselors, Tena Prestidge

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This article is a review of literature related to issues associated with working with LGBQQIA clients. Although not an exhaustive review, the literature provides evidence of the need for additional training to improve the confidence and competence of counselors working with this population. Further, information is provided on what makes a counselor competent to work with LGBQQIA clients and evidence-based practices that have been shown to be effective in working with them. Following this review, a training and education manual is presented to help fill the need of additional training related to working with this population.

Supporting The Transition Out Of The Family Caregiver Role: An Occupation-Centered Approach, Whitney Wilbanks, Susan Macdermott

Spring 2022 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Engagement in meaningful and valued occupations can be used as a means to help former family caregivers cope, heal, and grow following the loss of their loved one (Pickens, 2011). Occupational engagement can be used as a means to help former family caregivers reshape their personal identity, experience a sense of wholeness, and reestablish purpose and balance in their lives (Hocking, 2016). The purpose of this doctoral capstone project was to educate hospice care staff on ways to support individuals with transitioning out of the family caregiver role following the death of the care recipient. An educational resource was developed …

The Effects Of Electronic Vs Traditional Cigarette Use On Heart And Lung Function, Kayla Stephenson, Daniel Stephenson, Sofia Robles, Luke Stewart

Symposium of Student Scholars

Abstract

Background: Due to the exponential growth in teenage use of electronic cigarettes, it appears that school aged children are starting to smoke at younger ages. It is frightening how many people are using electronic cigarettes and how sparse data exist. In this systematic review, we will illuminate the differences between electronic cigarettes and traditional cigarettes. With the rise in popularity of electronic cigarettes, we will describe the specific effects of electronic cigarettes on the cardiac and pulmonary systems. We sought to understand the long-term effect of using electronic and traditional cigarettes on cardiac and pulmonary systems.

Methods: After searching …

Substance Use Disorders, Cognitive Dysfunction, And Neurodivergence In Emerging Adulthood, David Posada, Jordyn Hebert

Symposium of Student Scholars

Substance Use Disorders, Cognitive Dysfunction, and Neurodivergence in Emerging Adulthood

Posada, D., Herbert, J., Weingast, L., Holliday, E.

Cognitive functioning in college students with substance use disorders (SUD) has been widely researched, however, discussions have largely concentrated on executive functions (EF) such as working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control. Literature on the relationship between cognitive dysfunction and SUD has largely underreported the influence of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders (ADD/ADHD) and other neurodivergent characteristics. The current review explores the state of the literature on the relationship between neurodivergence, cognitive dysfunction, and SUD in emerging adulthood. More specifically, it speculates whether college students …

Classification Of Human Chronic Inflammatory Skin Disease Based On Single-Cell Immune Profiling, Yale Liu, Hao Wang, Mark Taylor, Christopher Cook, Alejandra Martínez-Berdeja, Jeffrey P North, Paymann Harirchian, Ashley A Hailer, Zijun Zhao, Ruby Ghadially, Roberto R Ricardo-Gonzalez, Roy C Grekin, Theodora M Mauro, Esther Kim, Jaehyuk Choi, Elizabeth Purdom, Raymond J Cho, Jeffrey B Cheng

Staff and Researcher Publications

Inflammatory conditions represent the largest class of chronic skin disease, but the molecular dysregulation underlying many individual cases remains unclear. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has increased precision in dissecting the complex mixture of immune and stromal cell perturbations in inflammatory skin disease states. We single-cell-profiled CD45+ immune cell transcriptomes from skin samples of 31 patients (7 atopic dermatitis, 8 psoriasis vulgaris, 2 lichen planus (LP), 1 bullous pemphigoid (BP), 6 clinical/histopathologically indeterminate rashes, and 7 healthy controls). Our data revealed active proliferative expansion of the Treg and Trm components and universal T cell exhaustion in human rashes, with a relative …

The Physical & Mental Effects Of Solitary Confinement, Dillon Leonard, Katelyn Martin, Sean Teague

Epsilon Sigma at-Large Research Conference

Introduction and Background: Solitary confinement has been a controversial topic in recent years among jail and prison systems. Solitary Confinement is the act of isolating a person in a prison or jail for up to 23 hours a day. These long periods of isolation can cause serious mental and physical damages to a human.

Purpose Statement: The purpose of this research is to understand the effects, both mental and physical, that solitary confinement has on a person. How does solitary confinement effect a person’s body and mind, and what interventions can be used to help prevent these changes?

Literature Review: …

Lgbt Community And Mental Health, Danielle Schleeter

Epsilon Sigma at-Large Research Conference

Introduction and Background: Today, in 2022, there is a community that receives discrimination, lack of acceptance, and lack of equality. This is the LGBTQ community. They suffer from the indifferences of the way they express themselves resulting in a rise of mental health issues and overall health disparities.

Purpose Statement: The purpose of this review is to explore the disparities in mental health for the LGBT community including young adolescents and older adults. The question that drives this review is how does being a member of the LGBT community effect mental health.

Literature Review: This literature review utilized search engines …