Mental and Social Health Commons^™

Undergraduate College Students’ Attitudes About Internet-Based Mental Health Interventions, Kathleen Palmer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Millennial-aged young adults, often referred to as “digital natives,” comprise the typical college-age population, and there has been a growing number college students at risk for mental health problems (Mowbray, Mandiberg, Stein, Kopels, Curlin, Megivern, Strauss, Collins & Lett, 2006; Eisenberg, Gollust, Golberstein & Hefner, 2007). Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students (Suicide Statistics, 2014); however, their rate of utilizing mental heath counseling is decreasing. Providing the types of mental health services college students are likely to use can mitigate factors thought to impede their use (e.g., stigma, anonymity, confidentiality), as well as help improve …

Institutional Aggression: Psychometric Development Of A Predictive Risk Assessment Screening Tool, Lauren Spotts M.S.

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Aggression among those with mental illnesses has been extensively reviewed. Research has shown that aggression within an institutional or hospital setting, that is presently termed “Institutional Aggression,” threatens the ability to provide a safe and therapeutic environment for both patients and staff. Although earlier measures have been designed to address this construct, the present study examines Institutional Aggression based on the parameters of the Overt Aggression Scale (OAS; Yudofsky, Silver, Jackson, Endicott, & Williams, 1986). The purpose of the current study was to determine the predictive relationship between clinical and sociodemographic factors and the rate of Institutional Aggression with the …

Exploring Perceived Attitudes Of Counseling Between Lds Religious Leaders And Mental Health Therapists, Kawika Allen, Curtis Hill

Faculty Publications

Perceived attitudes between mental health therapists and local congregational LDS religious leaders regarding the value, function, and efficacy of mental health therapy were qualitatively examined. Qualitative data emerging from 4 LDS religious leaders (all male; 3 bishops and 1 stake president) and 7 mental health therapists (5 females, 2 males) were analyzed. Results showed differences in attitudes related to the collaboration process as well as the efficacy and process of counseling between local mental health therapists and LDS religious leaders in a specific Southwest region of the U.S. Additional results are reported. Implications are discussed related to these findings.

Galvanic Skin Response In Mood Disorders: A Critical Review, Roisin Vahey, Rodrigo Becerra

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

To critically review the literature on Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) within Mood Disorder populations. GSR profiles were examined for the various types of Mood Disorder and their association with comorbidity, suicidality and predispositions. This review examined studies with emotional and non-emotional stimuli whilst aiming to identify a Mood Disorder GSR profile by comparisons with healthy controls and other psychological or physical disorders. A systematic search for relevant literature was conducted using PsychINFO, CINAHL and MEDLINE databases. Studies using emotional stimuli to measure GSR in mood disorder patients were included. Some studies did not use emotional stimuli, however were included as …

Association Between Ideal Cardiovascular Health Metrics And Depression In Chinese Population : A Cross-Sectional Study, Zhikun Li, Xin Yang, Anxin Wan, Jing Qui, Wei Wang, Qiaofeng Song, Xizhu Wang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The study aimed to examine the association between ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics and depression. We conducted a population-based, cross-sectional study of 6,851 participants aged 20 years or older (3,525 men and 3,326 women) living in Tangshan City, China. Information on the seven CVH metrics (including smoking, body mass index, dietary intake, physical activity, blood pressure, total cholesterol and fasting blood glucose) was collected via questionnaires, physical examination and laboratory test. Depression status was assessed using the Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and a score of 16 or above was considered depression. The relationship between CVH metrics and depression was …

Social Contexts Of Infant Feeding And Infant Feeding Decisions, Ellen J. Schafer, Natalie A. Williams, Siri Digney, Marion E. Hare, Sato Ashida

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

Background: Infant feeding takes place within a network of social relationships. However, the social context in which infant feeding advice is received remains underresearched.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the social contexts of infant feeding by examining individual and relationship characteristics of mothers and network members associated with advice to exclusively breastfeed, exclusively formula feed, or use a combination of breast milk and formula.

Methods: Information about 287 network members was reported by 80 low-income mothers during a one-time survey. Characteristics of relationships associated with mothers receiving advice (exclusively breastfeed/formula feed, combination feed) from each network …

The Felt Sense Of Interconnectedness: A Qualitative Analysis Of Perceptions On Finding Resilience In The Aftermath Of Trauma Using The Mind-Body Connections Of Yoga, Ashley Collette

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Members and veterans of the military are at an increased risk of exposure to traumatic experiences due to the very nature of their occupation. The most recent statistics on Canada’s deployment to Afghanistan show that 13.2% of the (Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members deployed have been diagnosed with a mental injury within a five year follow up period of redeployment from the theatre of operations. The present preliminary study was designed to examine Yoga as a therapeutic intervention for trauma in a population of CAF members and veterans. The author interviewed 4 service providers and 2 service users of Yoga-based …

A Qualitative Exploration Of Firefighter Participation In Wellness Programs Within A Career Fire Department In Northern Ohio, Conner O'Halloran

Online Theses and Dissertations

Firefighters respond to dangerous emergencies every day. The physical and mental wellness of firefighters is very important to their overall job performance. To support this, fire departments must have established, comprehensive wellness programs (International Association of Firefighters, 2008). Even with national standard recommendation of wellness programs, one does not exist in a fire department located in Northern Ohio.

The focus of this research is to explore reasons why these highly recommended wellness programs are not established. Successful establishment of a wellness program requires understanding why this fire department is hesitant or unsuccessful in implementing and maintaining a wellness program.

This …

Examining Legalism, Scrupulosity, Family Perfectionism, And Psychological Adjustment Among Lds Individuals, Kawika Allen, Kenneth T. Wang, Hannah Stokes

Faculty Publications

This study examined the relationships and interactions between legalism, scrupulosity, family perfectionism, guilt, and shame among 421 Latter-Day Saints (LDS or Mormons). The results showed that scrupulosity fully mediated the links between legalism and guilt, as well as legalism and shame. A moderated-mediation effect was found, in which family discrepancy (maladaptive perfectionism) intensified the scrupulosity–shame association in the mediation model of legalism and shame by scrupulosity. Family discrepancy was not a significant moderator for the mediation model of legalism and guilt by scrupulosity. Additional results are provided and implications of these findings are outlined.

Spiritual Pathways To Healing And Recovery: An Intensive Single-N Study Of An Eating Disorder Patient, Kawika Allen, Troy Lea, P. Scott Richards, Peter W. Sanders, Jason A. Mcbride

Faculty Publications

This article presents an in-depth single case study of 8 sessions of spiritually integrated psychotherapy with a 20-year-old woman recovering from an Eating Disorder. The inclusion and utility of session-to-session outcome data as well as systematic follow up data in conjunction with in-depth qualitative interviews are shown. Dr. H and client’s perspectives are highlighted over the course of treatment. Clinical areas of focus were extracted from the the qualitative interviews and the therapeutic process is described. Single-case study statistical analyses were conducted to highlight clinical gains and maintenance.

Bringing Spiritually Oriented Psychotherapies Into The Health Care Mainstream: A Call For Worldwide Collaboration, Kawika Allen, P. Scott Richards, Peter W. Sanders, Troy Lea, Jason A. Mcbride

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this article is to describe an overall strategy and specific plans for bringing spiritually oriented treatment approaches into the health care mainstream. We describe Bridges, a practice-research network created in 2012 that is devoted to helping practitioners, researchers, educators, and pastoral professionals collaboratively pursue this goal. We describe the achievements of Bridges thus far, which include a website for networking, an online psychotherapy research system, several completed studies, and grant funding for future collaborative research studies. We conclude with an invitation to health care professionals around the world to join with us in efforts to mainstream spirituality …

Hiv Infrastructure Study Birmingham, Alabama, Susan S. Reif, Kristen Sullivan, Carolyn Mcallaster, Miriam Berger

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

One Size Does Not Fit All: What Does High Impact Prevention Funding Mean For Community-Based Organizations In The Deep South?, Carolyn Mcallaster, Jerry Fang

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Perceived Harms And Benefits Of Parental Cannabis Use, And Parents’ Reports Regarding Harm-Reduction Strategies, Kathleen J. Donoghue

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research focussed on families in which at least one parent was a long-term cannabis user; I explored family members’ perceptions of the benefits and harms of cannabis use and the strategies parents used to minimise cannabis-related harm to themselves and their children. In depth, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 43 individuals from 13 families, producing a series of family case studies that enabled examination of multiple perspectives within each family. In Study 1, I used an interpretive framework guided by Miles and Huberman’s (1994) thematic content analysis technique to analyse interview data, while study 2 yielded detailed descriptive vignettes …

An Appraisal Of Experiences Of Climate Change And Adaptive Response To Heat Stress By Farmers In Rural Ghana, Kwasi Frimpong

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

With the increase in average global temperatures, heat-related illnesses and deaths have unfolded as occupational and health issues. Periods of high to extreme temperatures are becoming more common and are a leading cause of weather-related deaths in many countries. In agricultural settings of African countries, heat stress is a major concern as many smallholder farmers work outdoors with limited access to cooling systems even in their resting and living environments. This study, conducted in the Bawku East part of Northern-East Ghana in 2013, examines, in the context of climate change, the trends and impacts of heat stress on smallholder farmers, …

Alexithymia In A Psychiatric Population: Stability And Relationship With Therapeutic Outcome, Lauren Mcgillivray

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Alexithymia has been defined as a personality construct that involves difficulties identifying and describing feelings, as well as an externally oriented thinking style and impoverished fantasy life, which places individuals at risk for various psychopathologies. For psychiatric populations, it represents an obstacle to therapeutic success. Despite extensive research, there is no consensus on the prevalence rate of alexithymia in the general psychiatric population and no data on alexithymia prevalence in the Australian general psychiatric population. In addition, there is inconsistency in the literature regarding the role of alexithymia in therapeutic intervention and a lack of robust studies involving control or …

Duet For Life: Is Alexithymia A Key Note In Couples’ Empathy, Emotional Connection, Relationship Dissatisfaction, And Therapy Outcomes?, Pamela D. Mcneill

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Alexithymia is an emotion-related construct involving difficulties identifying, describing, and processing emotion, which hinder the capacity to provide empathy, and the development of emotionally connected intimate relationships. To date, there has been minimal investigation of the impact of alexithymia on community couples’ relationships, no associated examination of clinical couples, and no consideration of therapists’ knowledge of alexithymia as a source of influence in couple therapy outcomes.

Studies 1 and 2 investigated alexithymia in 170 community couples and 17 therapy couples, respectively, in association with their empathy provided, empathy received, emotional connection components (i.e., turn toward, turn away, turn against, positive …

Ketamine, A Brighter Future For Those In Darkness, Matthew D. Gayhart

UROP Posters

Millions of people around the world suffer from Major Depressive Disorder, and many of these people are given drugs to help treat this potentially devastating disease. For many, the first treatment is successful, and if not, certainly the second treatment gives them the relief they so desperately need. Others, however, are not so lucky, people with treatment resistant depression undergo numerous treatments, some of which are more aggressive than others, but still nothing helps alleviate their depression. Recently an older anesthetic, the drug Ketamine, has been making some news as a new depression treatment. This paper will compare Ketamine to …

Health Communication As A Public Health Training And Workforce Development Issue, Nancy L. Winterbauer, Ann P. Rafferty, Katherine A. Jones, Mary Tucker-Mclaughlin, Colleen Bridger

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

Effective communication is one of the core competencies for public health professionals and is required for local health department (LHD) accreditation. Public health communication specialists play a critical role as conduits of health information, particularly with regard to managing relationships with media and the message that is ultimately represented by news outlets. However, capacity for engagement with traditional media in community health improvement at the local level has not been well-described. As part of a larger study examining the use and impact of the County Health Rankings in North Carolina, LHD media staffing and interaction with traditional media were examined …

Global Medical Education Partnerships To Expand Specialty Expertise: A Case Report On Building Neurology Clinical And Research Capacity, Marco A. Costa, Anthony Furlan, Chris T. Longenecker, Shirley Moore, Svetlana Pundik, Daniel I. Smith, Kathleen A. Smyth, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Neurological disorders are a common cause of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan African, but resources for their management are scarce. Collaborations between training institutions in developed and resource-limited countries can be a successful model for supporting specialty medical education and increasing clinical and research capacity. Case report: This report describes a US National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) to enhance expertise in neurology, developed between Makerere University College of Health Sciences in Kampala, Uganda, and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, OH, USA. This collaborative model is based on a successful …