Clinical Psychology Commons^™

A Mixed Methods Moderation Analysis Of Historical Trauma, Enculturation, And Drinking Among Southwest Indigenous Young Adults, Antonia M. Young

Psychology ETDs

Multicultural efforts to understand how enculturation could reduce alcohol-related harms among American Indian and Alaska Native and Mexican American young adults in the Southwest United States have been lacking. The present mixed methods study tested the cross-cultural applicability of Walters et al.’s (2002) Indigenist Stress-Coping Model, which suggests enculturation moderates the relationship between historical trauma and drinking, between these groups using moderated linear regression. Participants (N=120) completed an online survey with items from the Historical and Intergenerational Trauma Transmission Questionnaire (HITT-Q), the Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA) heritage subscale (i.e., enculturation), NIAAA’s 30-day drinking consumption questionnaire, and one …

Heroes Of Medicine In The Rio Grande Valley: Documentary Interview With Dr. Cynthia Cavazos Gonzalez, Cynthia Cavazos Gonzalez, Raquel Elena Orellana

Heroes of Medicine in the Rio Grande Valley

Cynthia Cavazos Gonzalez PhD is an Associate Professor of Clinical Practice at UTRGV in Edinburg, Texas and she is the clinic director of the UTRGV Psychology training clinic. She completed a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from California School of Professional Psychology in Fresno, California. Her doctoral degree is in Clinical Psychology with a major specialization in Neuropsychology and minor specialization in Health Psychology. She completed an APA-accredited pre-doctoral internship at UTMB in Galveston with a major emphasis in hospital consultation, outpatient psychotherapy, and psychological and neuropsychological evaluations with diverse populations. She completed an informal neuropsychology post-doctoral residency in Texas …

Race-Based Violence Against Educators And School Personnel: The Roles Of Race And Harm, Jared Hunt

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Educator-directed violence is a serious problem that has adverse effects on the careers and lives of those victimized. Educators and school personnel in the United States experience this violence within institutions that are shaped by long-checkered histories of racism and racial discrimination (Bickford and Clabough, 2021) that continue today (Carver-Thomas, 2018). Thus, there is a need to consider the roles of race and racism in the violence educators and school personnel experience. This study investigated educators’ and other school personnel’s experiences of physical and verbal/threatening violence, harm, and psychological distress. Through a racial stress and trauma framework, this study also …

Client And Self-Advocacy In Coordinated Entry: A Qualitative Case Study Of King County, Washington’S Coordinated Entry For All, Ugochinyere Onyeukwu

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Despite policy attempts to address homelessness, it remains a societal concern. One such policy effort was the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s mandated implementation of Coordinated Entry (CE) systems, a streamlined, equitable approach to match individuals to the appropriate housing intervention based on need and housing vulnerability. However, research indicates that CE may not produce the desired outcomes. There is limited research identifying factors that may interfere with effective need-based housing allocation. Thus, this qualitative study aimed to gain insight into advocacy in CE as a potential factor influencing implementation. This study used Qualitative Content Analysis to explore …

Ptsd Symptoms And Cannabis Use Among College Students: Examining The Role Of Trauma-Related Cannabis Use To Cope, Christopher T. Latourrette

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more than four times as likely to develop cannabis use disorder (CUD) as those without PTSD. This common co-occurrence is often interpreted through a self-medication framework in which cannabis is used to manage PTSD symptoms. Prior work has relied heavily on veteran samples, includes measures of cannabis coping that are not specific to PTSD, and has most commonly examined total PTSD symptom severity, limiting precision in understanding how discrete symptom clusters relate to cannabis outcomes. The present study sought to examine associations between individual PTSD symptom clusters and cannabis use severity and to …

Clinical Psychology: Related Careers Library Guide Evaluation Activity, Whitney Brown Ph.D.

School of Arts & Sciences

This assignment was developed by SUNY Geneseo Professor Whitney Brown during the spring 2026 semester.

Learning Objectives 

• Describe clinical psychology as a discipline & distinguish it from related helping professions. 
• Identify career paths of interest to investigate further. 

Reevaluating Pediatric Concussion Recovery: The Need For Comprehensive Psychological Assessments, Jolie L. Slobodin

Senior Theses

Pediatric concussions represent a significant public health concern due to their complex and often long-lasting effects on the developing brain. Although concussion is classified as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), growing evidence indicates that children and adolescents experience psychological, cognitive, and academic difficulties that extend beyond physical symptom resolution. While somatic and cognitive symptoms often predominate in the acute phase of recovery, emotional and behavioral concerns frequently emerge or persist later, yet remain inconsistently evaluated in standard concussion care. This thesis examines the psychological, cognitive, and academic outcomes of pediatric concussion and evaluates whether current assessment practices capture the …

Are We Talking About Culture?: Exploring Discussions In Clinical Supervision, Rosalba Bonilla

Theses and Dissertations

Cultural competence is understood as a necessary piece in providing mental health services (American Psychological Association, 2017), however little research has evaluated how conversations pertaining to culture occur during clinical supervision. This study is designed to examine the frequency, content, and predictors of cultural discussions in 631 clinical supervision sessions between 93 supervisor-therapist dyads. Using transcripts from school-based mental health services in California and South Carolina, descriptive analyses were applied to identify commonly used words informed by multicultural dictionaries and the ADDRESSING model. The most commonly used words in the dataset pertained to gender (36.5%) and national origin (17.4%) cultural …

Politics And Intergenerational Conflict: Investigating The Impact Of Affective Polarization On Well-Being In The Vietnamese American Community, Van Phan

Theses and Dissertations

Vietnamese Americans are more likely than other Asian subgroups to identify as Republican. Despite this, Asian American youth, including Vietnamese Americans, still overwhelmingly identify with the Democratic Party. While political orientation could be a source of intergenerational conflict between Asian American generational groups, few studies assess these issues. The present study is an exploratory, hypothesis-generating study investigating the effect of affective polarization in politics on the relationship between intergenerational conflict and well-being for first-and-second-generation Vietnamese Americans. Results showed that affective polarization did act as a moderator for intergenerational conflict on perceived stress for both first-and-second-generation Vietnamese Americans. Specifically, Vietnamese Americans …

The Role Of Parenting Factors On Moderating The Effects Of Parent Perceived Stress On Waist Circumference And Family Mealtime Outcomes In Black Adolescents With Overweight And Obesity, Taylor Ryan White

Theses and Dissertations

Family mealtime is a protective factor for adolescent health outcomes (e.g. well-being, diet quality); however, parent stress may diminish the frequency and quality of family meals and increase obesity risk through physiological (e.g., allostatic load) and behavioral (e.g., decreased physical activity (PA), obesogenic diet) pathways. Parenting factors, like responsive parenting (e.g., providing support for adolescent healthy eating) and feeding practices (e.g., parental monitoring - tracking adolescent diet), may mitigate the effects of parent stress by promoting adolescent behaviors (e.g., nutritious eating, increased PA) that are linked with healthier weight outcomes; however, few studies have examined this in Black families. Therefore, …

Understanding Spanish Language Patterns In Therapy: Insights Into Therapists, Clients, And Session Characteristics, Vanessa Perez

Theses and Dissertations

Spanish-speaking individuals face significant barriers to accessing linguistically appropriate mental health services. Language match between therapists and clients has been associated with positive impacts on the therapeutic process; however, little is known about how Spanish is used in youth therapy sessions or how therapeutic and demographic characteristics influence its use. Using 54 recorded Spanish-speaking therapy sessions from a randomized controlled trial of school-based mental health services in Los Angeles, California, this study sought to understand who participated in these sessions, how Spanish was used, and what predicted its use. To address these aims, data were drawn from electronic health records, …

The Perceptions Of Early Adolescents: Academic Stressors Within Under-Resourced Schools, Problem Solving, And Important Adults, Aliyah White

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Early adolescence is marked by increasing academic demands and the growing need for effective coping strategies. The present study examined early adolescents’ perceptions of academic stressors, use of primary control coping mechanisms, and identification of important related and unrelated adults within their lives. Participants included 96 youth ages 10-14 recruited from Chicago Public Schools in under-resourced South Side communities. Results indicated that youth reported substantial exposure to academic stressors, including teachers yelling, difficulties understanding coursework, and pressure to perform well academically. Findings revealed a significant decrease in the use of primary control coping strategies over time, despite increasing academic stress. …

The Youth Multidimensional Group Fidelity Scale (Y-Mgfs): Psychometric Properties And Implementation Determinants And Outcomes, Paulina Paredes Cienega

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Youth mental health intervention outcomes in school settings can be improved via feasible and psychometrically sound program fidelity measures. Client self-report measures offer a practical, cost-effective approach, and multidimensional measures of program fidelity are needed to better delineate components of effective program delivery. The present study evaluated the structure and validity of the Youth Multidimensional Group Fidelity Scale (Y-MGFS) and examined implementation determinants and outcomes associated with program fidelity. Participants included 1,352 predominantly ethnic minority youth (Mage = 11.9; SD = 1.2; 62.1% female) across 282 therapy groups from 116 Chicago Public Schools, whose providers delivered a manualized video-guided coping …

Youth Perspectives On A Community Program For Children With Special Healthcare Needs: A Qualitative Study Assessing Program Acceptability, Brittany Ricart

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Objective. A significant number of families have youth with special healthcare needs (CYSHCN). CYSHCN experience dysfunction across multiple life domains, however CYSHCN have also demonstrated significant resilience. Protective factors include social support which can be strengthened through mentoring-based interventions. Team IMPACT is a non-profit organization that matches CYSHCN with college sports teams and includes crucial components, such as social support and mentorship, in a team-sport and community setting. The current study aimed to better understand the acceptability and influence of the Team IMPACT program on youth participants and their health-related behaviors. Methods. Twenty-five participants (mean age = 11.32) completed virtual …

Factors Associated With Objective Neuropsychological Performance In Individuals With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Kailyn Marie Bare

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Adults are expected to recover from cognitive symptoms following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) within three months; however, a subset report persistent symptoms. Previous meta-analyses have found that these symptoms are due to factors aside from the mTBI itself, and additional research is needed to determine what factors may contribute to objective cognitive functioning in the chronic stage of mTBI. This review examined biopsychosocial and injury-related correlates of objective cognitive functioning in adults with a history of mTBI. A systematic search was conducted in APA PsycINFO, CINAHL, PubMed, SCOPUS, MEDLINE, and SPORTDiscus to identify studies published since 2015 examining associations …

Mentoring Relationship Quality: An Evaluation Of Environmental Risk And Protective Factor Predictors For Urban Black Youth, Brittanie Nicole Gage

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Mentoring programs are an important intervention promoting positive developmental outcomes among youth exposed to chronic environmental stressors, particularly Black youth living in underinvested communities. Research has demonstrated moderate positive effects of mentoring on youth outcomes however, less is known about factors influencing mentoring effectiveness. Mentoring relationship quality (MRQ) has emerged as a key component of mentoring effectiveness, suggesting that perceived closeness and support within the relationship can enhance youth outcomes. Less is known regarding the environmental risks and protective factors shaping youths’ ability to engage meaningfully in mentoring relationships. Parent–child relationship quality, exposure to violent stressors, and adaptive and maladaptive …

Objectification And Discrimination Among Bi+ Women: Body Image Outcomes And The Moderating Role Of Relationship Type And Partner Gender, Kaitlyn E. Ryan

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Objectification theory posits that being sexually objectified by others leads to a greater likelihood of engaging in body surveillance behaviors, which in turn is associated with higher body shame (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Prior research has identified both objectification and anti-bisexual discrimination as significant predictors of body surveillance and body shame among bi+ women (i.e., bisexual, pansexual, queer) (Brewster et al., 2014; Salim et al., 2024). No studies, however, have considered the unique experiences of romantically partnered bi+ women, including the potential moderating effects of partner gender and relationship type. The present study examined whether romantic relationships are protective for …

Adultification Of Black Girls, Melanie Thompson

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Closing Remarks: Eyes Wide Shut, Sex Trafficking Of Women And Girls In The Black Community, Stephany Powell

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Exercise Effects On Decreased Levels Of Depression In Female Breast Cancer Patients, Dorothy Y. Spencer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Breast cancer patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) are at a high risk of experiencing pain and fatigue, anxiety and substance use, poor quality of life, marital spouses with elevated depression, impaired sexual functioning, sleep disorders, poor immune system functioning, rapid progression of cancer, and higher mortality rates. Grounded in Fritz Heider’s attribution theory, the purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study was to examine the relationship between physical exercise and a decrease in MDD. The participants comprised of 15 female breast cancer patients, 18 years of age and older, who may have experienced depression. The participants completed the Beck Depression …