Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

Spirituality And Depression In Parents With Children In Oncology Or Hematology Treatment, Kurt D. Soell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The psychological burden of cancer treatment affects not only child patients but also their parents. There is extensive literature on the positive influence of spirituality on the cancer patient. But there is a gap in the literature on the potential healing influence of spirituality on the parent of the cancer or hematology patient. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between spirituality and parents' levels of depression and anxiety during their child's hematological or oncology treatment. Using the transtheoretical model of change, a purposive sample of 48 parents of children undergoing cancer or hematology treatment completed a …

Middle School Teachers' Perceptions Of Barriers Of Managing Student Behavior, Winifred Nicole Whitlock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite training and support, many middle school teachers struggle to create, implement, and enforce research-based strategies to manage students' behaviors. The purpose of this case study was to examine teachers' perceptions about the barriers of managing student behavior. The research questions investigated 9 teachers' perceived barriers of managing student behavior at one middle school and the observed actions of these teachers' reactions to student behavior. Each participant was asked to participate in a 45-minute semistructured interview to examine their perceived barriers of managing student behavior and the strategies they use to manage student behavior relative to McGregor's theories X and …

The Relationship Between Depression And Cognitive Deterioration In Older Adults, Rakesh Chand

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The population structure of the United States is changing; the older age group is increasing in size relative to the younger generation. The trend is expected to continue, especially starting in 2020, when the baby boomer population---estimated at 80 million---will be reaching their 65 th birthday, a time associated with increasing health complications, including depression and dementia. The study employed a holistic paradigm as the conceptual framework to examine the association between depression and dementia in older adults, and generated a grounded theory to illuminate the relationship between depression and dementia. This theory was then used to assess the efficacy …

The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence And Literacy Achievement Of Secondary Students, David P. Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Proficiency in language arts and communication skills is essential to success in the global workforce. Most states assess students in language arts literacy (LAL) through standardized tests that assess a student's ability to read, interpret literature, and write expressively. Although educational reformers strive to improve the foundations that prepare students in literacy, reforms have not fully incorporated the theory of emotional intelligence (EI), which explains a student's ability to use, understand, perceive, and manage their emotions in order to think critically, make decisions, and solve problems. Although it is not known whether EI directly correlates to literacy, emotional skills are …

The Impact Of Company Grade Officer Self-Sacrificial Behavior On Subordinate Assessments Of Leader Charisma, Danjel Bout

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Newly commissioned officers in the U.S. Army are taught to lead their soldiers from the front and to voluntarily make personal sacrifices in the service of the nation. Although this facet of military culture is seen as critical to the integrity of the force, there are few research studies describing the impact of leader self-sacrifice in the U.S. Army. Research evolving from the transformational leadership literature indicates that civilian leaders who engage in self-sacrificial behavior are viewed as more charismatic than their counterparts and that this perception is particularly pronounced in crisis situations. The current study extended this research to …

Effect Of Stress, Emotional Lability And Depression On The Development Of Pregnancy Complications, Servitje, Estibalitz Laresgoiti Servitje

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Chronic stress and other emotional factors may have relevant impacts on pregnancy outcomes because they are related to neuroendocrine changes that lead to alterations in immunomodulation during pregnancy. In this quantitative prospective cross-sectional study, the relationship of emotional lability, depression, and stress during pregnancy and the development of preterm labor, preeclampsia, placental abruption, and low birth weight for gestational age babies was examined. Additionally, social support scores were compared to levels of stress/anxiety, depression, and emotional lability in pregnant women. Two hundred and forty two pregnant women who received prenatal services at the National Institute of Perinatology in Mexico City …

Exploration Of The Project Management Practitioner's Emotional Intelligence Competencies, Linda A. Hooper

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The success rate of information technology projects is on a downward trend, with reported losses in the billions of dollars. Recent studies indicate a 50--56% project success rate based on quality, budget, and on-time criteria. Building upon the conceptual framework of the emotional intelligence and knowledge management theories, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how project management practitioners apply self- and cultural-awareness competencies to affect project outcomes. Using a purposeful sampling method, 24 experienced U.S.-based project management practitioners participated in a web-based questionnaire. Following Giorgi's data reduction process resulted in numeric data coding. Thematic analysis revealed themes …

Effective Professional Development For Teachers Of Students With Autism, Erin Marie Torruella

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The number of students with autism is on the rise. The main treatment for children with autism is their education. It is essential that teachers are prepared to work with students with autism. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a teacher training workshop held by Area Education Agency 267. Fifty-one participants of the workshop training responded to a survey regarding their implementation of strategies learned, their understanding of the content and strategies learned, the change in their planning and delivery of instruction, and the impact on their students' achievement.

The study found that the training …

A Prospective Study Of Positive Psychological Well-Being And Coronary Heart Disease, Julia K. Boehm, Christopher Peterson, Mika Kivimaki, Laura D. Kubzansky

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Objective: Research suggests that positive psychological well-being is associated with cardiovascular health. However, much of this research uses elderly samples and has not determined the pathways by which psychological well-being influences cardiovascular disease or whether effects are similar for men and women. This study investigates the association between two aspects of well-being (emotional vitality and optimism) and coronary heart disease (CHD) in a sample of middle-aged men and women, and considers potential mediating factors.

Method: Between 1991 and 1994, well-being and coronary risk factors were assessed among 7,942 individuals without a prior cardiovascular event from the Whitehall II …

Development Of A Positive Psychology Intervention For Patients With Acute Cardiovascular Disease, Jeff C. Huffman, Carol A. Mastromauro, Julia K. Boehm, Rita Seabrook, Gregory L. Fricchione, John W. Denninger, Sonja Lyubomirsky

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

The management of depression and other negative psychological states in cardiac patients has been a focus of multiple treatment trials, though such trials have not led to substantial improvements in cardiac outcomes. In contrast, there has been minimal focus on interventions to increase positive psychological states in cardiac patients, despite the fact that optimism and other positive states have been associated with superior cardiovascular outcomes. Our objective was to develop an 8-week, phone-based positive psychology intervention for patients hospitalized with acute cardiac disease (acute coronary syndrome or decompensated heart failure). Such an intervention would consist of positive psychology exercises adapted …

David Grove's Metaphors For Healing, David Pincus, Anees A. Sheikh

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Within the ever-expanding list of approaches to psychotherapy, there is a tendency to overlook deep imagery approaches. The current article reports on one such metaphor-based therapy developed by David Grove (Grove & Panzer, 1989). The approach is analyzed within the context of mainstream contemporary psychotherapy in general, the state of empirical understanding of common processes to psychotherapy, and in relation to other deep imagery-based approaches to therapy. Next, a step-by-step description of the techniques used within metaphor therapy are presented, along with a case example demonstrating the use of these techniques on a case involving pain symptoms. Finally, it is …

The Role Of Taste And Calories In Access-Induced Excessive Sweets Consumption By The Rat, Adam Celejewski

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

For individuals diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder (BED) or Bulimia Nervosa (BN) eating is often manifested in intermittent bouts of gorging, a behaviour that is similar to excessive consumption of rewarding drugs in addiction (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; Corwin & Grigson, 2009; Epstein & Shaham, 2010). Our laboratory has found that sucrose solution intake by rats escalates markedly when provided on Discontinuous Access (DisA; 24h once every 3 or 4 days) schedules but is maintained at lower, stable levels with Continuous Access (ConA; ad lib) schedules (Hewitt & Eikelboom, 2008). Once DisA/ConA consumption differences are established, they persist even …

African American Adolescents At Risk: Their Stories Revealed Through Dance/Movement Therapy, Alicia Marie Williams

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

The purpose ofthis study was originally to support the voices of African American adolescents and the emergence of their stories through the use of mentors hip, dance/movement therapy, and the production of an artistic performance. But what I truly found was that through parallel processing this study turned into an artistic inquiry that helped me uncover more insight about my own story: a story ofloss, isolation, rejection, recovery, independence, support and acceptance, and confidence.

As a result of the artistic inquiry I was able to see the value of my knowledge from integrating my experiences. I developed confidence in my …

The Effects Of A Single Session Of Dance/Movement Therapy With Adults In Crisis Stabilization: A Mixed Methods Study, Ashley Duquette

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to identify the effects of a single session of dance/movement therapy (DMT) for crisis stabilization with adults in a short-term residential facility. Over the course of 14 weeks (14 sessions) surveys were administered before and after each session to participants who were new to the group. These surveys, along with the researcher’s observations and written notes about the group were collected in order to gain information about the participants’ experience of symptoms and wellbeing before and after the group. The change in symptoms and wellbeing was analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively through the use of …

Using Led Lights As Prompts To Teach Receptive Identification To Preschool Children With Autism, Allison Pavlicek

Honors Theses

The purpose of the study "Using LED Lights as Prompts to Teach Receptive Identification to Preschool Children with Autism" is to implement a different prompting procedure than traditional least-to-most prompting procedures in teaching. One prompting procedure commonly used in discrete trial training classrooms involves least-to-most prompting in the form of gestural and physical prompts to guide children to make correct responses during teaching procedures. To specifically teach receptive identification skills, an apparatus with LED lights was used as a prompting device to vary light intensities on stimuli that the child will choose from. This alternate method of prompting may enable …

Proposing Research: An Undergraduate Learning Experience (Using Led Lights As Prompts To Teach Receptive Identification Of Preschool Children With Autism), Allison L. Pavlicek

Honors Theses

The purpose of the study “Using LED Lights as Prompts to Teach Receptive Identification to Preschool Children with Autism” is to implement a different prompting procedure than traditional least-to-most prompting procedures in teaching. One prompting procedure commonly used in discrete trial training classrooms involves least-to-most prompting in the form of gestural and physical prompts to guide children to make correct responses during teaching procedures. To specifically teach receptive identification skills, an apparatus with LED lights will be used as a prompting device to vary light intensities on stimuli that the child will choose from. This alternate method of prompting may …

Using The Body To Investigate The Impact Of Verbal And Physical Aggression While Working On An Acute Psychiatric Unit: An Artistic Inquiry Through Movement, Kimberly Brooke Kaufman

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

The purpose of my research is to investigate how adverse experiences can be a source of emotional positive transformation and growth. Using artistic inquiry, I hope to address the questions, “How can I maintain a sense of safety in an unsafe and ever-changing environment such as the inpatient psychiatric unit” and “How does my passion for dance/movement help me to survive and nurture self under these circumstances?” Using movement as my primary expressive medium, I will explore common themes and patterns that may arise through videoing and journaling my processes in response to these questions. Through an understanding of my …

The Emotional Road To Recovery: Tracking The Mind And Body Experience Of Shame In Women Recovering From Drugs And Alcohol, Nicole Dibacco

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

The purpose of this thesis project was to identify the emotional experiences of women who are in recovery for addiction on a verbal and non-verbal level and determine if shame is a predominant emotion. Through the combination of phenomenological and clinical case study methodologies, this thesis examines the verbal disclosures and movement responses of women within dance/movement therapy groups, through video recording and journal entries. Content analysis resulted in the identification of primary themes, which included circumstances related to relationship and responsibility, shame related to responsibility, goals for their relationships and for self. The resulting implications for dance/movement therapy methods …

A Heuristic Investigation Of Intuition In Dance/Movement Therapy Practice, Jessica Melville Goodin

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

This thesis is a heuristic examination of my experience of intuition as a new dance/movement therapist. The purpose of this investigation was to provide an inceptive inroad into the little explored but recently popular subject of intuition, specifically as it relates to dance/movement therapy and the use of the dance therapist’s intuition as a therapeutic resource. Creating a journal that captured my contemplation of intuition and my experiences of intuition, both in clinical dance/movement therapy work and in creative and personal experiences, was the primary method of data collection. My journaling was augmented by interviews with two practicing dance therapists. …

Multidimensional Analysis: A Video Based Case Study Research Methodology For Examining Individual Dance/Movement Therapy Sessions, Amanda Mitchell

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

Multidimensional Analysis, a video based case study research methodology, was created by this author to examine multivariable qualitative data and develop an understanding of the therapeutic value and relational characteristics of auditory, visual and contextual components in individual dance/movement therapy sessions. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the benefits and limitations of Multidimensional Analysis based on its development and use in a preliminary study. Multidimensional Analysis involved an examination of individual dance/movement therapy sessions as a whole, as differentiated moments, and again as a whole. Videotaping each session was the primary form of data collection from which all …