Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Narratives Of Chronic Pain After Treatment In Adult Patients, Matthew Sebastian Vittucci

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States 100 million people live with pain and must negotiate complicated clinical decisions that lead to a variety of treatments to control pain, some of which are effective and some that are not. Social identity theory and attribution theory guided the development of the interview protocol and analysis plan. A qualitative study was conducted to explore the complex nature of living with chronic pain through the narratives of seventeen adults in chronic pain for at least 3 months. Structural and thematic approaches were used to analyze the data. The structural results revealed three groups of participants: those …

Hurricane Survivors' Attitudes Regarding The Therapeutic Benefits Of Animals, Tina Callwood

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is research on the benefits of animal-assisted interventions. However, no study was found on hurricane survivors' lived experience and their attitudes toward animals after a traumatic experience. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore the lived experience of hurricane survivors' attitudes toward their companion animals or other animals they interacted with after a natural disaster. The transactional theory of stress and coping was used to explain how participants appraised their stress and reduced it. Constructivism was used to uncover hurricane survivors' experiences and their attitudes toward animals after the disaster. The research question examined the lived …

Reaction Time And Verbal Working Memory Differences In Ncaa Concussed Female Athletes, Kelly Delph

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Empirical evidence suggests that female collegiate athletes participating in soccer are likely to suffer from TBI and subsequent concussion syndrome. Studies further indicate that TBI adversely affects the quality of life of athletes both on an academic level and social life. This study examined data with the intent to fill existing gaps in the current literature and focused on the experiences of NCAA female collegiate soccer athletes who have suffered TBI and neurocognitive deficit symptoms in verbal memory and reactional time. This quantitative research method relied on the theory of mind (ToM) as the theoretical basis to investigate research questions …

Educational Attainment And Growth Among Individuals With Absent Fathers, Angelica Yolanda Barrera

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There are more than 20 million children who are growing up in a fatherless home. It is understood that this population is more likely to experience a variety of intrapersonal and interpersonal issues when compared to children who grow up in a home with both parents. These issues include being twice as likely to drop out of school. Although few of these individuals pursue a higher education, very little understanding of the underlying variables that contribute to such education-seeking behaviors is available for this population. Guided by the theory of positive disintegration and the posttraumatic growth conceptual model, the purpose …

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Intervention For Prevention Of Anxiety And Mood Disorders In Public Safety Personnel, Jacquelyne Yan Wong

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Due to repeated exposure to highly stressful work environments, public safety personnel (PSP) are at risk for developing symptoms of anxiety and mood disorders. The present study employed a quantitative, randomized-controlled trial (RCT) design to examine the impact of a novel cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) psychoeducational intervention on symptom levels of anxiety and depression. Participants were recruited from police, firefighters, paramedics, and emergency communications personnel. A total of 60 participants were randomly assigned to either the intervention arm or the waitlist comparison arm. General linear mixed models were used to examine the difference in symptom outcomes for those who participated in …

Parental Stress And Coping In U.S. And Caribbean Immigrant Parents Of Adolescents, Simone A. Wright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The immigrant population in the U.S. is growing, and the way immigrants cope with the stress of parenting may differ from parents in their host country. There is a gap in the literature regarding knowledge about how Caribbean parents cope with parenting stress compared to U.S. parents. The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to predict coping strategies used by Caribbean immigrant and U.S.-born parents of adolescents living in the U.S based on country of origin using transactional stress and coping theory as frameworks. Thirty-seven U.S.-born and 37 Caribbean-born caregivers living in the U.S. were recruited from social media …

Vicarious Traumatization And Vicarious Resilience In Mental Health Professionals: An Investigation Of Group Differences, Marie Demchak-Buotte

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate individual differences between mental health professionals with varied levels of clinical experience and their personal levels of vicarious trauma (VT) and vicarious resilience (VR) as measured by the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS) and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), respectively. A sample of 161 mental health professionals in New York State completed the scales and separate one-way between-subjects ANOVA tests examined the relationship between variables. A test for the moderating effect of the percentage of trauma clients on the clinician’s caseloads was also conducted between experience level of the clinician and their …

African Immigrants' U.S. Experience Of Mental Health, Mental Illness, And Help-Seeking, Bartholomew Edem-Enang

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine and explore African immigrants’ U.S. experience of mental health, mental illness, and help-seeking. Mental health, mental illness, and help-seeking are misunderstood public health issues. Indigenous cultural stigma concerning mental illness and help-seeking and mistrust of Western medicine inhibit African immigrants from reporting mental illness and seeking treatment. The segmented assimilation theory (SAT) and cultural risk theory (CRT) and interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) were used to guide data collection and analysis. Data were collected from a sample of 9 African immigrants who migrated from countries within the Five Main Regions of Africa …

Integration Of Morphine And Virtual Reality: Pain Management For Adult Hospice Cancer Patients, Arlisa Hurd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is currently a problem in that cancer patients engaging in hospice may experience an excessive amount of perceived pain and a decreased quality of life. The purpose of this study was to explore an intervention that could lessen the perceived pain experienced by, and increase the quality of life of, cancer patients engaging in hospice. Immersion music virtual reality (IMVR) allows a user to interact with a realistic, computer-generated environment. 3D music (IMVR) is likely suited for pain management with patients in hospice and was used for this study. The theory for the study is the gate control theory. …

Experience Of Parents Receiving In-Home Behavioral Treatment For Their Child With Autism, Gerald Lavarias

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In-home applied behavior analysis (ABA) treatment has well-documented results and is widely recommended for children with autism. Since 1987, parents have sought and implemented ABA treatment in their homes for their children with autism. However, research on parents’ lived experiences with in-home ABA treatment is limited. As such, there is a need to study the impact and influence of ABA treatment on parents’ quality of life (e.g., challenges, scheduling, parenting). This qualitative study explored parents’ lived experiences while their children with autism received in-home ABA treatment. A phenomenological approach was used to explore the experiences of 5 parent participants who …

Psychological Distress As A Predictor Of Methamphetamine Use Among Racial Minority Women, Sundra Barnett Allen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe scope and magnitude of methamphetamine (MA) use among racial minority women (RMW) created pivotal health concerns due to its highly addictive nature. Despite much available research, the problem of psychological distress (PD) as an attribute of MA use among RMW remained as a gap in the literature. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relevancy between PD and MA use among RMW to determine if distress predicts MA use among this population. The attributes of PD, as defined in the K6, are nervousness, restlessness, hopelessness, feelings of sadness or depression, feelings that suppress effort, and a …

Lived Experiences Of Pakistani American Women Who Sought Mental Health Treatment, Marriam Ashraf

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractDespite the research on how mental illness manifests in the United States, there is more to be known about mental health in the Pakistani American population. The goal of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of Pakistani American women who sought mental health treatment. Ecological theory provided the framework for the study. Data were collected from semi structured interviews with 10 participants via telephone and face-to-face conversations. Data were analyzed using managing, reading, memoing, describing, classifying, interpreting, representing, and visualizing techniques. Findings indicated that seeking help for mental health played a positive role in participants being …

Workplace Stress And Coping In Us Virgin Island Police Officers, Isheba James

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research indicates that policing is one of the most challenging and stressful professions worldwide regardless of the size of the police department, specialty area of service, or even geographic location. This study explored workplace stress and related coping strategies as described by police officers in the U.S. Virgin Islands through phenomenological inquiry. In addition to factors of stress and coping, components of culture and current local challenges received focus in the exploration. The research population consisted of 9 Virgin Islands police officers. Underpinning the study was the demand resources individual differences model and Lazarus and Folkman’s stress theory. The research …

Relationship Between Social Media Screen Time, Sedentariness, And Bmi Among Young Adults, Helen Golod

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obesity has quickly become an epidemic that affects adults and youth not only in the United States, but also increasingly elsewhere in the global community. Research suggests that most children and adolescents spend a significant amount of time indulging in screen-based leisure, especially on social media. Such behavior may also be linked to sedentary lifestyle, which can impact an individual’s body mass index (BMI). There is a lack of understanding concerning how sedentary behavior moderates the relationship between screen time spent on different types of social media and BMI among young adults in the United States. To address this research …

Motivational Interviewing In Vocational Rehabilitation: Why It Matters For People With Disabilities, Alicia Wein-Senghas

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is increasingly being trained within and integrated into public vocational rehabilitation (VR) programs based on its efficacy in related fields and yet research specific to the efficacy of MI in public VR programs is almost nonexistent. This study used a quantitative sequential design to explore relationships between MI training, MI proficiency, and VR customer outcomes within the State of Vermont’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VT DVR) program. The study occurred in two phases. In the first phase, 30 VR counselors were recruited, and their level of MI proficiency was established using the Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity Measure …

A Test Of The “Teachable Moment” Heuristic’S Relevance For Understanding Cancer Survivors’ Health Behavior Motivation And Performance: A Cross-Sectional Study, Gabriella Puleo

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Cancer diagnosis has potential to motivate health behavior changes to promote better health outcomes. The Teachable Moment Heuristic is a parsimonious, transtheoretical framework for understanding the conditions under which behavior change might occur, with constructs that include affective, cognitive, and social factors. This exploratory study aimed to measure the three primary constructs of the Teachable Moment, evaluate the extent to which they are associated with cancer survivors’ motivation to adopt favorable health behaviors, and explore their potential as a model for health behavior performance. Participants (n = 93) in this cross-sectional study were adult breast, prostate, colorectal, lung, and …

Trauma-Related Shame And Guilt As Prospective Predictors Of Daily Mental Contamination And Ptsd Symptoms In Survivors Of Sexual Trauma, Jesse P. Mccann

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Mental contamination–the experience of dirtiness or pollution in the absence of a physical contaminant–has established links with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Emotions such as shame and guilt have well-documented relationships with PTSD symptoms and are suggested to play a role in the development and maintenance of mental contamination. The goal of the present study was to examine whether trauma-related shame and guilt prospectively predicted daily experiences of mental contamination and PTSD symptoms among women with sexual trauma history. Forty-one women with a history of sexual trauma completed baseline and twice-daily assessments of mental contamination and PTSD symptoms over a two-week …

Impact Of Ptsd On Hcv/Hiv Risk-Reduction Interventions Among Incarcerated Drug-Using Women In Rural Appalachia, Caitlyn Hood

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Justice-involved women in rural Appalachian Kentucky are a particularly vulnerable group in need of targeted risk-reduction interventions for hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Compared to women in the general U.S. population, justice-involved women in rural Appalachia report dramatically higher rates of HCV/HIV risk behaviors (e.g., injection drug use and risky sex), interpersonal violence (IV; e.g., physical, sexual, or emotional abuse), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). IV and PTSD may exacerbate rural Appalachian women’s risk for contracting and transmitting HIV/HCV, indicating a need to approach HCV/HIV risk-reduction interventions from a trauma-informed perspective.

Brief motivational interviewing and psychoeducation …

Impact Of Violence Exposure On Children's Mental Health And Family Functioning: An Ecological-Transactional Approach, Rice Mary Dusing

Dissertations

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Adherence To A Mindfulness App For College Students With Depression: Patterns, Predictors, And Outcomes, Brynn Marie Huguenel

Dissertations

National trends indicate that mental health concerns, particularly rates of depression, continue to rise on college campuses; however, treatment utilization remains low. Technology-based mental health interventions, such as mental health apps (MHapps), are a promising means of overcoming treatment barriers. MHapps are effective in improving psychological outcomes, but low rates of adherence are a noted limitation. The current study explored patterns of adherence to a MHapp, investigated the bidirectional relation between adherence and depression, and identified motivational predictors of adherence rates. Undergraduate students (N= 66) reporting clinically-elevated depressive symptoms completed a three-month trial using Headspace, a mindfulness MHapp. Patterns of …