Mental and Social Health Commons^™

Trauma And Juvenile Justice In Carson City, Nevada, Ali M

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Nevada State Juvenile Justice and School systems do not currently screen or treat juveniles for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Left untreated, PTSD may contribute to behaviors that can lead to engagement with the juvenile justice system and contribute to high rates of recidivism and possible future engagement with the adult justice system. Using Erickson's theory of psychological development as the foundation, the purpose of this case study was to explore whether, from the perspectives of key stakeholders whether interventions and prevention services for juvenile justice clients in Carson City met the needs of youthful offenders also diagnosed with PTSD. …

Relationship Between Remission Of Symptoms And Screening For Depression, Juliann Molecavage

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States. Insufficient evidence is available about the types of follow-up care that may be most effective. The purpose of this quantitative, retrospective cohort study was to determine whether remission of depression symptoms was associated with recommended follow-up care when controlling for age, gender, and number of previous episodes of depression, and whether symptom reduction was more likely for those who completed a course of treatment from a mental health specialist in comparison to those who were treated by their primary care providers (PCPs) when controlling for the same variables. The …

Special Educators' Perceptions On Effective Preparation And Practice For Student Success, Anne Brackney Liese

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Alternative school settings are success prospects for students at risk of school failure. However, research on the daily experiences of the special educators in alternate school settings tasked with educating the at-risk population, is limited. The purpose of this phenomenological study was (a) to recognize the perceptions of special educators concerning their preparation to advance the success of SEN students who are at risk of school failure; (b) to determine how to improve special educator preparation programs in alternative school settings. Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory, focused on student success provided the study's framework. Twelve semistructured interviews were conducted to …

Reintegration Among Combat Veterans Suffering From Psychological Conditions, Virginia Falck

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Active duty personnel as well as combat veterans of the United States often engage in military operations during their service that require deployments to participate in missions, which may lead to extended periods away from home. When active duty men and women are appointed to combat zones, they may return with psychological burdens such as post traumatic stress disorder, which can complicate their reintegration into civilian life. This study explored the experiences of combat veterans who faced challenges when returning home from a war zone, along with the experiences of their family members. The study involved 26 combat veterans, spouses, …

The Effect Of A Single-Session Group Songwriting Intervention On Grief Processing In Hospice Clinicians, Melissa Deaton

Theses and Dissertations--Music

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a single-session group music therapy songwriting session on grief processing in hospice clinicians. The study design was quasi-experimental. Participants were cluster randomized into a control group and a treatment group. The researcher led a 50-minute songwriting session focused on sharing and processing experiences of grief-related stress and burnout in hospice work. Grief processing was measured using a self-report survey for n=25. Overall differences between control and treatment groups were not found to be statistically significant. Significant differences were also not found in treatment score differences for type of …

Facilitating Collaboration Among School And Community Providers In Children's Mental Health, Holly J. Curran

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Interprofessional collaboration among school-based and community-based mental health providers in children's mental has been studied in relation to specific providers and as part of program evaluation; however, limited information exists as to how to overcome barriers to collaborative relationships. This study describes the experiences of school and community mental health service providers and those who supervise them. Using phenomenological methodology, three focus-group interview transcripts were analyzed by identifying recurrent themes relevant to the experience of collaboration from school and community providers' perspectives. Although participants viewed aspects of collaboration positively, barriers frequently interfered with collaborative relationships. Support for collaboration from state, …

Efforts To Reduce Concomitant Opioid And Benzodiazepine Prescribing At The Lexington Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Kaitlyn A. Staton

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The United States is in the throes of an opioid epidemic. Any person who uses an opioid medication may experience an intentional or unintentional overdose. An overdose is more likely to occur when an individual ingests an opioid in combination with certain classes of medications, such as benzodiazepines or nonbenzodiazepines (Z-drugs). These medications are more likely to cause sedation and respiratory depression when taken together. Veterans, due to their unique mental and physical health challenges, are more likely to experience an overdose when they receive a combination of opioid therapy with benzodiazepine or Z-drug therapy as opposed to a single …

Cocaine Choice: A Novel Procedure For Investigating Neuronal Activation Mediating Cocaine Preference, Jonathan Jenn-Sheng Chow

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Cocaine use disorder is a significant health problem, negatively impacting individuals afflicted. While preclinical self-administration research has provided invaluable insight into the neurobehavioral mechanisms that underlie cocaine abuse, cocaine use outside of the laboratory occurs within an environment where other goods are also available ubiquitously. Although there is an ever-increasing literature investigating drug vs. non-drug choice in rodent models and how alternative goods can compete with the subjective value of cocaine, the neurobiological mechanisms that are associated with cocaine preference remains largely unknown. Additionally, current drug vs. non-drug choice studies use procedures that confound preference with intake, such that preference …

Comparing Daily Drivers Of Problem Drinking Among Older And Younger Adults: An Electronic Daily Diary Study Using Smartphones, Alexis Kuerbis, Hayley Treloar Padovano, Sijing Shao, Jessica Houser, Frederick Muench, Jon Morgenstern

Publications and Research

Background—By 2030, numbers and proportions of older adults with substance-use problems are expected to increase. While risk factors for problem drinking in late life have been identified, it remains unknown whether these factors drive daily drinking among older problem drinkers. This study examined the daily drivers of drinking among problem drinkers, moderated by age, utilizing ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Method—Participants (N=139), ages 20–73, received daily EMA online surveys completed via a smartphone prior to initiation of treatment. Multilevel modeling tested the moderating impact of age on within- and between-person relationships between drinking and focal predictors (mood, loneliness, boredom, stress, poor …

Aging Well: How Subjective Age, Playfulness, And Depression Influence Quality Of Life Among Older Adults, Yvette Saliba El Habre

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Given the growing population of aging adults, there is a need for research examining factors that enhance quality of life for older adults (QoL; Colby & Ortman, 2014). Changes in health, relationships, support systems, and social identity are inevitable throughout the lifespan. Therefore, research focused on lessening the negative effects of changes due to aging while also improving QoL is warranted. As such, the aim of the current research study was to examine the extent to which subjective age (SA; how old or young an individual feels), playfulness (PF; "the ability to frame or reframe everyday situations to experience them …

Diagnostic Performance Of Blood Inflammatory Markers For Tuberculosis Screening In People Living With Hiv, Katherine Farr, Resmi Ravindran, Luke Strnad, Emily Chang, Leah H. Chaisson, Christina Yoon, William Worodria, Alfred Andama, Irene Ayakaka, Priscilla Bbosa Nalwanga, Multiple Additional Authors

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background

Approaches to screening for active tuberculosis (TB) among people living with HIV are inadequate, leading to missed diagnoses and poor implementation of preventive therapy.

Methods

Consecutive HIV-infected adults hospitalized at Mulago Hospital (Kampala, Uganda) between June 2011 and July 2013 with a cough ≥ 2 weeks were enrolled. Patients underwent extensive evaluation for pulmonary TB. Concentrations of 43 cytokines/chemokines were measured at the same time point as C-reactive protein (CRP) in banked plasma samples using commercially-available multiplex kits. Advanced classification algorithms were used to rank cytokines/chemokines for their ability to identify TB, and to model the specificity of the …

Mitigating Early Loss Of Community Participation In Early Psychosis Services: State Of The Science, Tamara G. Sale, Dora M. Raymaker, Mariam Rija, Veronica Gould, Christina Wall, Ryan P. Melton

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

In the early stages of treatment for psychosis, community engagement and social networks are threatened through a combination of symptomology and negative messages and reactions from the environment which may result in internalized stigma, disempowerment, and prolonged isolation. While treatment programs attempt to mitigate these factors, ambivalence toward treatment and the basic concept of psychosis, along with difficulty engaging in conversation, make initial engagement more difficult. Self-determination theory and growing recovery literature point to the importance of maintaining a sense of community relatedness and connection, and developing a sense of agency and competence as important to active recovery and retention …

The Effect Of Breastfeeding And Rooming-In Care On Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, Rachel Boyer, Lindsay Gal, Mahaylie Cline

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Concurrent with a rise in opioid abuse during pregnancy is an increase in the number of babies born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). Despite this crisis, no single treatment has been identified for NAS. This paper sought to analyze and synthesize research evaluating the effectiveness of breastfeeding and rooming-in care on the need and length of pharmacologic treatment and length of hospital stay for neonates with NAS. Twenty-six peer reviewed research articles published between 2006 and 2017 were selected from PubMed and CINAHL for analysis. The studies focused on neonates with NAS born to mothers addicted to opioids or undergoing …

Calling Attention To The Growing Heroin Epidemic And How To Fight It, Kendal Rozaieski

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of creating a grassroots heroin awareness organization on a university campus through qualitative research. Various meeting types were attended as the grassroots efforts began: a student organization dedicated to the cause, the campus Alcohol and Other Drug Board, a local community treatment center agency, multiple University of Akron faculty members, and other heroin awareness groups in the community. Through observation and journaling of these meetings, I am sharing my experience based off analyzed field notes. After analyzation of these notes, common themes related to the formation of this kind of …

Women Of Intimate Partner Abuse: Traumatic Bonding Phenomenon, Meghan Koch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers indicate women succumb to relational abuse as seen with maladaptive attachment, identity enmeshment, and implicit maltreatment. Implicit violence and nonviolence, bonding victims to victimizers remains unstudied, although the domestic abuse phenomenon continues. Intimate partner abuse was examined through qualitative inquiry. There is much to learn about female victim perspectives describing attachment bonds, identity conflicts, and implicit maltreatment experiences. Traumatic bonding theory served as the lens through which female participant responses were examined in this study. Research questions were developed to focus on female attachment bond perceptions, views concerning self-esteem, self-identity, or self-reference, and implicit aggression, coercive control, or manipulation …

Exploring The Multicultural Pedagogy Of Ces Faculty Through An Intersectional Lens, Jenae D. Thompson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Counselor education and supervision (CES) faculty members are responsible for adequately preparing counselors-in-training (CIT) for their work with diverse populations. Current literature explains traditional multicultural counseling education in this way; however, little research is available exploring faculty members' personal and professional experiences with intersectionality and how those experiences contribute to their pedagogy. In this dissertation, CES faculty members' experiences with intersectionality theory and how they could use this theory in their multicultural pedagogy were explored. Research questions exploring CES faculty use of intersectionality in their multicultural coursework, how their personal experiences contribute to their pedagogy, and their experiences with privilege …

Marital Status And Burdensomeness As Risk Factors Of Suicide Ideation In Poststroke Patients, Froso Andreou

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Suicide ideation, suicide attempts, and suicide (SISAS) are increased in poststroke patients, yet not everyone who has suffered a stroke is at risk for SISAS. Two risk factors for SISAS, marital status and burdensomeness, may be of particular relevance to poststroke patients. The majority of poststroke patients have a disability that may require help from a family member with basic functions such as dressing and bathing. It was not known if being married decreases risk of SISAS for stoke victims as shown in studies with nonpoststroke subjects or increases risk for SISAS due to its influence on feelings of burdensomeness. …

Anxious?: Re-Designing Women’S Jewelry To Help Manage Symptoms Of Anxiety Disorders, Nourbanu Feras Hijazi

Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety is a common and often stigmatized condition. Destigmatizing mental disorders can positively impact people’s interaction and communication with others and can prompt conversations in which people share their experiences with mental health, leading to improved societal understanding and perception.

My design solution tackles behavioral symptoms of anxiety, specifically two conditions that fall under obsessive-compulsive behavior: Dermatillomania and Trichotillomania. By redesigning women’s jewelry to specialized accessories, my intention is for these objects to help destigmatize these conditions and relieve symptoms of maladaptive behaviors and hurtful impulses. By redirecting these irresistible urges to an external artifact, the objects are designed to …

Penalized Mixed-Effects Ordinal Response Models For High-Dimensional Genomic Data In Twins And Families, Amanda E. Gentry

Theses and Dissertations

The Brisbane Longitudinal Twin Study (BLTS) was being conducted in Australia and was funded by the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Adolescent twins were sampled as a part of this study and surveyed about their substance use as part of the Pathways to Cannabis Use, Abuse and Dependence project. The methods developed in this dissertation were designed for the purpose of analyzing a subset of the Pathways data that includes demographics, cannabis use metrics, personality measures, and imputed genotypes (SNPs) for 493 complete twin pairs (986 subjects.) The primary goal was to determine what combination of SNPs and …

The Predictability Of Facebook Memorial Page Participation On Grief, Colleen Grote

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As the world's largest social networking site, Facebook, continues to grow in popularity, it is imperative for counselors and counselor educators to better understand how online environments impact all facets of life, including death. Grief behaviors on Facebook have been a focus of scholars since the launch of the social networking site in 2004. Researchers have demonstrated that Facebook memorial pages have a significant impact on the social and cultural practices related to death and memorialization for Facebook users. However, despite a rapid rise in research related to online mourning, researchers have yet been able to establish the potential risk …