Mental and Social Health Commons^™

T1 (Spring 2019) Ethnic-Racial Identity Affirmation Predicting T2 (Spring 2020) Romantic Partner/Friend Relationship Changes Predicting T3 (Fall 2021) Alcohol Use And Anxiety Symptoms Among Latinx Emerging Adults, Vanessa Olazabal, Mehak Ahmed, April Koontz, Arlenis Santana, Chelsea Williams Phd, The Spit For Science Working Group, Danielle Dick Phd

IRBEH/Spit for Science Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Mental Health And Online Learning - Systematic Review Dataset, Stephanie L. Moore Phd, George Veletsianos, Michael Barbour

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

While there has been a lot of debate over the impact of online and remote learning on mental health and well-being, there has been no systematic syntheses or reviews of the research on this particular issue. In this paper, we review the research on the relationship between mental health / well-being and online or remote learning. Our review shows that little scholarship existed prior to 2020 with most studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. We report four findings: (a) pandemic effects are not well-controlled for in most studies; (b) studies present a very mixed picture, with variability around how mental …

Anxiety, Depression, And Sexual Minority Identity Among First Responders, Kayla Soohy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research indicates that first responders tend to experience high levels of anxiety and depression due to unique stressors associated with first responder employment. This increased risk level for mental health issues among first responders can be exacerbated by the addition of psychosocial stressors. The influence of interpersonal or intrapersonal factors, such as sexual minority identity, on the mental health issues experienced by first responders has remained relatively unexplored. The purpose of this research study was to explore the relationship between type of first responder, sexual identity, anxiety, and depression via a framework rooted in minority stress theory. Data were gathered …

Evangelical Families’ Experiences Of Mental Health Challenges, Elom Togbi-Wonyo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Evangelical Christians with mental distress in the family face stigma, adverse psychological and physical health effects, and financial hardships. They often mistrust professional counselors, preventing them from accessing much-needed support. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to gain knowledge about Evangelical Christians’ everyday life with a family member experiencing mental distress and their perceptions of the faith community’s responses. After collecting accounts from eight participants through one-on-one interviews, Giorgi’s psychological phenomenological method was used for data analysis, resulting in the identification of seven themes and 19 subthemes. The results showed that living with a family member experiencing mental …

The Connection Between Positive Coping Skills And Cutting For Young Adults In Adolescence, Nicoletta Weide

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to recent studies, the instances of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adolescents have sharply risen in recent years. Cutting is the most prevalent form of NSSI in adolescence which leads to scarring, social stigma, and an increased risk of suicide. NSSI and cutting are considered maladaptive coping skills. The purpose of this general qualitative study is to explore how positive coping skills and self-regulation impacted their instances of cutting. Self-regulation theory was used to analyze if having positive alternative skills was enough to regulate the behavior and have an impact on their instances of cutting. This general qualitative research study …

Examining Health Care Utilization Among Adult Heart Disease Patients With Self-Reported Depressive Symptoms, Courtney R. Lockett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Health care costs are most commonly concentrated among small groups of high-cost patients, or high utilizers. Many of these patients receive unnecessary and ineffective care and often critical health care needs can go unmet, even when substantial care from multiple sources is received. Thus, there is a need to look into high utilizing patients for not only quality improvement but also effective resource allocation. The operational problem for health care administrators is managing resources and improving quality of care by targeting specific medical conditions that may be high utilizers of medical resources. The purpose of this study was to identify …

Alzheimer's Disease: Risk And Protective Factors To Improve Detection And Prevention, Darryl Clay Nevels

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a growing epidemic and is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. Individuals with AD often have comorbidities due to the aging process. There is a lack of research on comorbidities as associated risk factors for AD. The leading hypothesis indicates that cardiovascular health issues, environmental exposure, social isolation, and amyloid-beta plaques influence cognitive health and are associated with AD. This study, guided by Finch and Kulminski’s AD exposome, is a caveat to explore a patient’s physical history of cardiovascular health, modifiable behavior, social isolation, and an AD diagnosis. Participants provided health information collected …

Stress, Resiliency, And Burnout Among Leaders In The Counseling Profession, Adriana Bovee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leaders in the counseling profession face many demands. The purpose of this quantitative regression analysis study was to determine if there was a predictive relationship between the independent variables of stress and resiliency and dependent variables of burnout, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment among leaders in the counseling profession. Transformational leadership theory and resilience theory were applied as the theoretical framework of this study. A cross-sectional data collection method was used, and data were collected through anonymous online surveys from a purposive sample of 75 counseling leaders. Data analyses methods included descriptive statistics and multiple linear regressions. Results indicated …

The Relationship Between Types Of Workplace Trauma Exposure, Burnout, And Ptsd In Mental Health Workers, Armando Dominguez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Work-related traumatic exposure has been studied but has not been concisely defined in the widest range of research studying trauma exposure. Specifically, it is not known from previous research whether direct, indirect, and vicarious trauma exposure predict burnout and PTSD in acute care mental health care workers. The emotional processing theory was used as theoretical foundation informing this study as the habituation of response to stress and trauma has been shown to occur incidentally and cumulatively; the theory supports the concept of dichotomous and continuous type of trauma exposure over time. The purpose of this study was to use a …

Generational-Cohorts And Mental Health Help-Seeking Behavior Intentions In Law Enforcement Officers, Victoria Mccann

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Law enforcement is a high-stress, high-risk occupation that can lead to mental health issues. These issues can affect law enforcement officers and the level of service they provide to the public. Traditionally, officers have been found to be resistant to seeking help for their mental health. It was hypothesized that generational turnover may be impacting this positive change found in recent research. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the effect of generational cohorts on officers' mental health help-seeking behaviors. The core concepts of the Theory of Planned Behavior (attitudes, subjective norms, internal perceived behavioral control, external perceived …

Evaluation Of A Public School District Nutrition Education Program In Southern California’S San Diego County, Donielle Cohen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents has markedly increased in several developed countries in recent years. Researchers have examined different factors that contribute to overweight and obesity in children and adolescents but have not fully explored the psychological impact of obesity on this population. The effectiveness of nutrition education programs in addressing the effects of obesity is also understudied. The primary purpose of this evaluative case study was to examine the impact of the Harvest of the Month nutritional educational program, which was adopted by San Diego County public schools in 2005, on the nutritional habits and psychosocial …

Clinical Practice Guideline For Treating Depression In Lgbtq+ Patients In Primary Care, Shantrice Bernice Nichols-Bates

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) population is at increased risk for depression, poor mental health outcomes, and higher instances of suicidality and reluctance to seek care for mental health issues in comparison to their non-LGBTQ+ peers. The identified gap in practice was the need for an evidence-based clinical practice guideline (CPG) for managing mild to moderate depressive disorder in the LGBTQ+ patient at a primary care clinic located in the southeastern United States. The purpose of this project was to develop a CPG to aid primary care providers in screening for, identifying, and managing mild to moderate …

The Longevity Of A Law Enforcement Career Post Critical Incident, Alyce E. Clark

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Law enforcement officers experience traumatic events that can have an impact on their health and their career. Regardless of the continued research on police and mental health, challenges persist. The stigma is that law enforcement officers are tough and keep their emotions to themselves; however, they are human, like the community they serve. Due to possible consequences related to officers discussing having mental health problems after critical incidents, police officers may be reluctant to seek help due to backlash. Interviews were completed in a two-tier format that led to follow-up questions with surveys specifically related to alcohol and burnout found …

Early Detection Of Mental Health Through Universal Screening At Schools, Jihye Kim, Dong-Gook Kim, Randy Kamphaus

Georgia Educational Researcher

Depression, anxiety, and stress are common mental health problems among adolescents. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have found that students who suffer from mental health problems (e.g., ADHD, anxiety, or depression) tend to manifest school and social problems. It is urgent to identify and intervene early to help children with mental health problems to improve their life outcomes. Unfortunately, research has shown that a significant proportion of children who suffer from behavioral or emotional problems remain unidentified because their symptoms are too mild to be noticed through casual observation by caregivers and teachers. As a result, their symptoms continue to develop …

Occupational Therapists’ Clinical Reasoning In Aat With Dogs In Pediatric Therapy, Catherine C. Goodman

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to understand the clinical reasoning used by occupational therapists to select animal assisted therapy with a dog to be included in a treatment plan for their pediatric occupational therapy clients

Theoretical Framework. The Ecology of Human Performance model supports the study purpose and emphasizes the effect of a person’s context and environment on their ability to function and perform tasks.

Methods. The descriptive qualitative study used interviews of seven occupational therapy practitioners who have included dogs in therapy sessions with children. Interactive coding and theme development was employed with member checking applied to …

Failure: A Heuristic Inquiry Of The Experience Of Failure Through A Nature Based Art Therapy Process, Lisa Manthe

Art Therapy | Doctoral Dissertations

The aim of this arts based study was to investigate the experience of failure during the dissertation process. Through a heuristic lens, its objective was to gain an understanding of the tacit experience of failure and the influence of a nature art based process on the understanding of failure. Failure is integral to the scientific method (Wang et al. 2019), enhancing understanding and teaching us valuable skills. Intentional engagement with our response to failure allows us to address and incorporate possibilities that are often unseen (Nelson et al., 2017). The art process illuminates tacit knowledge, unearthing creative solutions and untapped …

Improving Cognitive Decline For Persons Living With Dementia: Art Therapy Assessment And Interventions Based On The Expressive Therapies Continuum (Etc) Framework, Jinnie Jeon

Art Therapy | Doctoral Dissertations

This randomized controlled trial explored the impact of Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC)- based art therapy interventions for older adults with dementia living in a complex care home. The trial examined the efficacy of 10 art therapy intervention sessions over 4 months, comparing results with an active control group that participated in 10 art sessions. Pre- and post-assessments, including the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clock Drawing Test (CDT), and the Older People’s Quality of Life (OPQOL-Brief) questionnaires, were conducted. Results demonstrated that participants displayed similar visual expression elements, shared preferences for specific media types, and equivalent ETC-based intervention entry levels. In …

The Criminal Legal System Doesn’T Care About Your Mental Illness, Fredrick E. Vars

Cardozo Law Review de•novo

Why would a beloved small-town doctor with no history of violence suddenly strangle his father to death? The Other Dr. Gilmer is a gripping account of the search for an answer to this question. It turns out the doctor has a rare neurological disorder that likely caused the killing. If only the diagnosis had come before trial, the author believes, the doctor would not have been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. That belief is appealing, but naïve. Jails and prisons are full of people with mental illness. Misdiagnosis is not the reason. A close examination …

Policy Change To Reduce Active Duty Suicide Rates, Michelle Rae Loper

DSW Capstone Projects

There continues to be a dramatic increase in the rates of suicide within the Active-Duty military population. There have been a number of efforts to curb the rates without any prolonged success. Several actions and studies have been conducted on risk factors, prevention efforts, and treatment interventions in an attempt to reduce the rates. This capstone comprises a sequence of academic papers: a systematic literature review, a conceptualization paper, and a practical application paper. This project aims to identify the essential policy components necessary moving forward within the Department of Defense to address this critical issue. The research question leading …

A Comparison Of Treatment Outcomes Among Pediatric Hispanic Clients Using And Not Using Language Interpretation Services, Mohamed Khalif

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many families immigrating to the United States come fleeing adverse conditions in their home countries. Conditions such as war, political oppression, and economic hardship frequently result in a need for mental health services. This includes not only the adults in the family but also the children. However, because of their limited English proficiency, their access to mental health services frequently requires the use of interpretive services (IS). The body of knowledge on the use of IS in counseling is limited. The use of IS must be seen from a cultural perspective, hence Ridley et al.’s process model of multicultural counseling …