Community Psychology Commons^™

The Effects Of Grace On Self-Forgiveness With A Religious Community, Laura Geczy-Haskins

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Genuine self-forgiveness entails accepting responsibility for wrongdoing while experiencing a continued sense of self-worth (Enright & Human Development Study Group, 1996; Fisher & Exline, 2006; Hall & Fincham, 2005; Martin, 2008; Szablowinski, 2012; Vitz & Meade, 2011; Wenzel, Woodyatt, & Hedrick, 2012; Woodyatt & Wenzel, 2013a; Woodyatt & Wenzel, 2013b). Previous research has demonstrated that a benevolent concept of God and a personal sense of God’s forgiveness facilitate self-forgiveness (Exline, Yali, & Lobel,1999; Hall & Fincham, 2008; Martin, 2008; McConnell & Dixon, 2012), suggesting that those who accept responsibility for the offense and believe God can forgive that offense will …

A Capacity Building Framework For Community-University Partnerships, Katherine S. Hogan, Jacqueline M. Tynan, Virginia J. Covill, Ryan P. Kilmer, James R. Cook

Collaborations: A Journal of Community-Based Research and Practice

With a focus on organizational capacity building, community-university (CU) partnerships have the potential to yield valuable resources for community nonprofits, which increasingly have to accomplish more with fewer resources. Although a growing body of literature documents the success of such arrangements, both community agencies and universities often face challenges in managing such partnerships. With a focus on student involvement, this paper describes a framework for conceptualizing CU partnerships around capacity building, with efforts designed to address particular program needs as related to the organization’s capacity goals. These needs can be viewed as involving five levels of capacity building: 1) monitoring …

Research Methods In Occupational Health Psychology, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Chu-Hsiang Chang

Publications and Research

http://www.springerpub.com/occupational-health-psychology.html

Occupational Health Psychology (OHP) is a rapidly expanding interdisciplinary field that focuses on the science and practice of psychology in promoting and developing workplace health- and safety-related initiatives. This comprehensive text for undergraduate and graduate survey courses is the first to encompass a wide range of key issues in OHP. It draws from the domains of psychology, public health, preventive medicine,nursing, industrial engineering, law, and epidemiology to focus on the theory and practice of protecting and promoting the health, well-being, and safety of individuals in the workplace and improving the quality of work life.

The text addresses key psychosocial …

The Effects Of Community Type And Sexual Orientation On Adolescent Alcohol Abuse: A Retrospective Exploration, Karla Beth Moore

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Considerable research has demonstrated that adolescents, as a whole, are experimenting with alcohol at alarming rates (Biddle, Bank, & Marlin, 1980; Donath, et al., 2011;King, Chassin, & Molina, 2009). However, research is very mixed on findings identifying which groups of adolescents tend to be most at risk for using alcohol, as well as the reasons these groups identify for such experimentation (Carlo, Crockett, Wilkinson, & Beal, 2011; Coomber, Toumbourou, Miller, Staiger, Hemphill, & Catalano, 2011). The current study examined participants from various community types and sexual orientations, in a retrospective manner. Participants (ages 18 and over) answered questions on a …

Burnout-Depression Overlap: A Study Of New Zealand Schoolteachers, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Mayor, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

We examined the overlap of burnout with depression in a sample of 184 New Zealand schoolteachers. Burnout and depressive symptoms were strongly correlated with each other (r = .73; disattenuated correlation: .82) and moderately correlated with dysfunctional attitudes, ruminative responses, and pessimistic attributions. All the participants with high frequencies of burnout symptoms were identified as clinically depressed. Suicidal ideation was reported by 36% of those participants. Three groups of teachers emerged from a two-step cluster analysis: “low burnout-depression,” “medium burnout-depression,” and “high burnout-depression.” The correlation between the affective-cognitive and somatic symptoms of depression was similar in strength to the burnout-depression …

Consumers, Clergy, And Clinicians In Collaboration: Ongoing Implementation And Evaluation Of A Mental Wellness Program, Glen Milstein, Dennis Middel, Adriana Espinosa

Publications and Research

As a foundation of most cultures, with roots in persons’ early development, religion can be a source of hope as well as denigration. Some religious institutions have made attempts to help persons with mental health problems, and some mental health professionals have sought to engage religion resources. These programs have rarely been sustained. In 2008, the Mental Health Center of Denver (MHCD) developed a program to assess the utility of religion resources within mental health care. In response to positive feedback, MHCD appointed a director of Faith and Spiritual Wellness who facilitates community outreach to faith communities and spiritual integration …

Happiness Index Methodology, Laura Musikanski, Scott Cloutier, Erica Bejarano, Davi Briggs, Julia Colbert, Gracie Strasser, Steven Russell

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

The Happiness Index is a comprehensive survey instrument that assesses happiness, well-being, and aspects of sustainability and resilience. The Happiness Alliance developed the Happiness Index to provide a survey instrument to community organizers, researchers, and others seeking to use a subjective well-being index and data. It is the only instrument of its kind freely available worldwide and translated into over ten languages. This instrument can be used to measure satisfaction with life and the conditions of life. It can also be used to define income inequality, trust in government, sense of community and other aspects of well-being within specific demographics …

Happiness In Communities: How Neighborhoods, Cities And States Use Subjective Well-Being Metrics, Laura Musikanski, Carl Polley, Scott Cloutier, Erica Berejnoi, Julia Colbert

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

This essay, the fourth and last of a series published by the Journal of Social Change, is intended as a tool for community organizers, local policy makers, researchers, students and others to incorporate subjective well-being indicators into their measurements and management of happiness and well-being in their communities, for policy purposes, for research and for other purposes. It provides case studies of community-based efforts in five different regions (São Paulo, Brazil; Bristol, United Kingdom; Melbourne, Australia; Creston, British Columbia, Canada; and Vermont, United States) that either developed their own subjective well-being index or used the Happiness Alliance’s survey instrument …

Predictors Of Academic Achievement Of Non-Traditional College Students: Opportunities To Catch-Up And Succeed, Angela Bardwell-Owens

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Non-traditional students make up approximately 20% of the undergraduate student population nationwide and are one of few segments of the student population that are not provided with targeted programs and services. To help this cohort achieve their goals whilst universities can increase their retention rates, this research begins a review of the non-traditional student literature to gain an understanding of what this population faces as far as barriers to their education. The literature also provides recommendations and further information in retention efforts to support the student during their academic years. Next, an analysis of non-traditional student support services at 4-year …

Understanding The Mental Health And Psychosocial Needs, And Service Utilization Of Syrian Refugees And Jordanian Nationals: A Qualitative & Quantitative Analysis In The Kingdom Of Jordan, International Medical Corps

CUP Faculty Research

International Medical Corps sought to enhance existing knowledge to develop a profile of coping mechanisms and help-seeking behaviors utilized among the Syrian refugee population in Jordan, along with identifying barriers to service utilization. Through this assessment, International Medical Corps also seeks to provide information that may contribute to a wider discussion as relevant national and international actors consider how to further promote Mental Health and Psychosocial Services in Jordan.

Cognitive And Emotional Processes Involved In The Experience Of Objects As Holy Or Transcendent, Lotte J. Pummerer

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, attitudes about religion/spirituality have become more pluralistic (Pew Research Center, 2015a). At the same time, the number of individuals who identify themselves as nonreligious, atheist or agnostic are growing (Pew Research Center, 2015b), yet we are lacking words and research to describe their attributions of transcendence in language not bound to religious concepts. This study aims at examining both concepts – holiness and transcendence – in their similarities and differences through assessing cognitive and emotional processes involved in experiences of objects.

The study consisted of two parts with a total of 206 Christian and 52 nonreligious/atheistic/agnostic participants. …

Acculturation And Filial Piety As Mediators Of The Relationship Between Caregiver Burden And Gender-Role Expectations In Hispanic-American Rehabilitation Services Students, Roy K. Chen, Bryan S. Austin, Chien-Chun Lin

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Hispanic-Americans are the largest ethnic minority group in the United States. The need to care for older Hispanics has become an important issue as they now enjoy longer life expectancies due to better access to healthcare and less labor participation in hazardous occupations. The present study examined whether the association between caregiver burden and gender-role expectations is mediated by acculturation and filial piety. Method: The sample consisted of 93 Mexican-American rehabilitation services students enrolled at a large public university in Texas. The four instruments used in the study were the Zarit Burden Interview, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, the Acculturation …

Examining The Role Of Ethnic Identity In The Relationship Between Characteristics Of Autism Spectrum Disorders And Eating Disorders, Ashley Bojorquez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present work provides a synthetic literature review investigating the potential role of ethnic identity in the relationship between Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and eating disorders (EDs). To date, there is no literature that directly examines the role that ethnic identity may play in the relationship between these two disorders. However, there is reason to believe it may; previous literature has shown that race/ethnicity plays a role in both of these disorders, and the role of ethnic identity has been more fully explored in the ED population. Notably, there is little research that examines the role of ethnic identity on …

Examining The Relationship Between Attachment, Peer Influence, And Parent Modeling With Student Fitness, Mae D. Adams Shirley

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

While college should be an ideal place for physical fitness behaviors to be supported through academic programming, access to exercise facilities and nutritional education, students are not engaging in the recommend daily physical fitness requirements (Gyurcsik, Johnson & Perrett, 2006). Studies examining the poor health behaviors of college students suggest there is a growing need for students to adopt lifelong fitness behaviors that are both sustainable and meet the recommended guidelines for health. Strong relationships have been found to positively influence exercise attitudes and behaviors (Feeny, 2000). The present study sought to examine a relationship between attachment style, parental modeling …

A Program Evaluation Of The Hope House, Andrea N. R. Hartman

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Research increasingly shows the widespread problem of homelessness in the United States. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Hope House, a transitional housing program, in satisfying the needs of the homeless women residents they are serving and to identify areas that may need to be improved. Participants included 67 women the Hope House served and 6 staff who work at the Hope House. A mixed-methods design was employed to explore experiences and common themes related to how the Hope House women residents view the services the Hope House provides. Quantitatively, participants endorsed an overwhelmingly …

The Experience Of Foster Parents: What Keeps Foster Parents Motivated To Foster Long Term?, Rodrigo Diaz

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The number of children entering foster care has increased significantly in recent years, leading some to categorize the foster system as being in a state of crisis. More foster parents are needed, as are better retention methods. It is pertinent to understand the experiences that foster parents have that affect their decision to continue or cease fostering. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to understand the needs of foster parents based on their experiences and perceptions. The overarching research question sought to determine the lived experiences of foster parents who were navigating through, or taking part in, the …

Testing A Theory Of Sense Of Community And Community Responsibility In Organizations: An Empirical Assessment Of Predictive Capacity On Employee Well-Being And Organizational Citizenship., Neil Boyd, Branda Nowell

Faculty Journal Articles

This paper attempts to advance our understanding of the experience of community in organizational settings by empirically testing a theory of sense of community responsibility (SOC-R) in relation to traditional measures of sense of community [SOC] on outcomes of employee well-being and organizational citizenship. Findings support the notion that SOC is a better predictor of employee well-being while SOC-R more strongly predicts organizational citizenship behavior. The findings add new knowledge to the literature on the experience of community in organizations, and represent an important contribution to our understanding of the factors that drive employee action and well-being at work.

The Development And Validation Of The Secondary Trauma In Resident Assistants Scale, R. Jason Lynch

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

SECONDARY TRAUMATIC STRESS has been described as "the stress resulting from helping or wanting to help a traumatized or suffering person" (Figley, 1999, p. 10). College resident assistants often serve as first-responders to students who have experienced traumatic life events such as severe mental illness, substance abuse, sexual violence, and hate crimes. To date, the literature has not thoroughly addressed the impact of providing this level of support on collegiate resident assistants. This study aimed to explore one possible outcome identified in individuals in other helping professions: secondary traumatic stress. The researcher set out to develop and validate an instrument …

Social Support, Parent Stress, And Child Aggression: A Longitudinal Model Of Family Ecology, Jill B. Lubansky

Theses and Dissertations

In the last few decades, treatment of problem behaviors in children and adolescents has targeted the entire family rather than more traditional methods that targeted the individual child. This approach is rooted in family systems and other ecological research and theory. The social sciences have maintained a long history of inquiry into the relations among social support, stress, and psychopathology. However, few of these inquiries include child outcomes, such as behavior problems, as the psychopathological outcome. Even fewer studies have utilized longitudinal models that have the capacity to accurately reflect the developmental process of stress and psychopathology. In the current …

“I Wonder What You Think Of Me”: A Qualitative Approach To Examining Stereotype Awareness In Appalachian Students, Chelsea G. Adams

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Historically, Appalachia has been stereotyped as being a culture bred in poverty and ignorance. Much research has shown that stereotyping reveals a pattern of behavioral change and an impact on psychological well-being for the stereotyped (e.g., Pinel, 1999; Woodcock, Jernandez, Estrada, & Schultz, 2012), and has largely been centered on race and gender (e.g., Byrnes, 2008; Tuckman & Monetti, 2011). Less is known about the development of culture-specific stereotypes such as those related to Appalachians – a highly stigmatized group (Daniels, 2014; Otto, 2002). The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how adolescents in rural Appalachia …