Counseling Psychology Commons^™

Racial Attitudes Among Asian And European American College Students: A Cross-Cultural Examination., Timothy B. Smith, Raquel Bowman, Sungti Hsu

Faculty Publications

College campuses are becoming increasingly racially diverse and may provide an optimal setting for the reduction of racial stereotypes and prejudices perpetuated in society. To better understand racism among college students, this study evaluated the attitudes of Asian and White European Americans toward several racial out-groups. Participants completed a survey containing the Social Distance Scale, and differences between participants' ratings of their own race were contrasted with their ratings of other races. Findings revealed strong preferences for social affiliations with members of their same racial background, with attitudes towards out-groups differing as a function of the race of the participant. …

The Long-Term Impact Of Maritime Piracy On Seafarers’ Behavioral Health And Work Decisions, D Conor Seyle, Karina Therese G. Fernandez, Alexander Dimitrevich, Chirag Bahri

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

More than 6000 seafarers have been held hostage by pirates in the last ten years. There is a small but developing body of research showing that these seafarers may face lasting challenges in recovery. However, current studies on this question have been limited by a lack of comparison groups, a lack of statistical power, and other methodological challenges. This study contributes to this body of research through a survey of 101 former hostages and 363 seafarers not known to be exposed to piracy from India, the Philippines, and Ukraine. Using clinically validated scales for tracking lasting impact, this research finds …

An Empirical Examination Of A Well-Being Engine Model, Korey Jacob Connor

Dissertations (1934 -)

Humanity has struggled to define the good life from, at very least, the beginning of recorded history. The last three decades have seen a major uptick in the amount of scholarly activities in this vein, with contemporary iterations falling under the auspices of well-being studies. These studies in the field of psychology, while abundant, have tended to align closely with one of a select few schools of thought while eschewing alternative approaches. Studies are produced at a dizzying rate, but are often limited in scope and in need of greater conceptual clarification. A promising integrative theoretical model, called the engine …

A Conceptualization Of The Body In Psychodynamic And Body-Based Psychotherapies: Areas Of Overlap And Possibilities For Integration, Aleksandra Rayska

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The distinction between verbal and nonverbal psychotherapies is clearly visible in theory and clinical practice. Moreover, this duality of approaches promotes a split between the body and the mind, defining them as separate from each other. This dissertation helps bridge the divide between the literature in body-based therapies and verbally-based psychotherapy by (i) exploring the conceptual frame used to understand the body in psychodynamic therapy (ii) identifying the areas of overlap between psychodynamic theory and theories that underlie body-based psychotherapies, and (iii) proposing ways in which psychodynamic and body-based theories can inform one another. A clinical case was used to …

Secondary Transition Of Multicultural Learners: Lessons From The Navajo Native American Experience, Lynn K. Wilder, Aaron P. Jackson, Timothy B. Smith

Faculty Publications

Special educators typically individualize services according to student disability; they should also individualize services according to student culture. Culture influences post-secondary outcomes for students with disabilities (Bakken & Aloia, 1999). This article identifies 4 barriers to successful transition for Navajo Native American students and suggests strategies for teachers to use to minimize the risks of unsuccessful transition for multicultural students. The article provides information that special educators can use to better individualize their transition services to all students with disabilities.

School Experiences Of Early Adolescent Latinos/As At Risk For Emotional And Behavioral Disorders, Ryan M. Balagna, Ellie L. Young, Timothy B. Smith

Faculty Publications

Previous research has shown that Latino/a middle school students exhibiting emotional or behavioral disturbance are at risk for undesirable academic outcomes. The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions and experiences of at-risk Latino/a students to identify ways to improve interventions designed to promote their academic retention and success. Participants included 11 Latino/a students between the ages of 11 and 13, 8 male and 3 female, who were screened for being at risk for behavior disorders using the Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders. These students shared their perceptions and experiences of schooling during in-depth qualitative interviews. Interpretative phenomenological …

Socioemotional Selectivity And Mental Health Among Trauma Survivors In Old Age, Derek M. Isaacowitz, Timothy B. Smith, Laura L. Carstensen

Faculty Publications

Empirical tests of socioemotional selectivity theory support the contention that the developmental trend in adulthood to focus increasingly on fewer, but emotionally significant, social partners is associated positively with psychological well-being. Tenets of the theory, however, also suggest conditions in which selectivity could instead lead to an increase in negative emotional experiences. In particular, if the socioemotional world of the individual includes emotional distress, selective focus on emotions and close relationships may detract from rather than enhance well-being. In the current study, we examined selectivity and associated well-being in Holocaust survivors, Japanese-American internment camp survivors, and comparably-aged people who lived …

Pressing Issues In College Counseling: A Survey Of American College Counseling Association Members, Timothy B. Smith, Brenda Dean, Suzanne Floyd, Christopher Silva, Momoko Yamashita, Jared Durtschi, Richard A. Heaps

Faculty Publications

The authors conducted a survey of members of the American College Counseling Association to ascertain the experiences and opinions of college counselors on several pressing issues within the profession. Survey results with 133 respondents indicated that counseling centers may benefit from increasing the number of group counseling interventions, by increasing the multicultural competence of services provided, by implementing crisis/disaster mental health initiatives, and by more effectively consulting with other professionals across campus.

Religion And Esotericism Among Students: A Crosscultural Comparative Study, Franz Höllinger, Timothy B. Smith

Faculty Publications

Analyzing the results of a study on religious and esoteric beliefs and practice among university students from five European and five American countries, we found that the level of religiousness of students depends very much on their cultural environment: the level of religiosity and esoteric beliefs is significantly higher among North- and South-American students than among European students. On the other hand, Asian spiritual techniques and esoteric methods of healing are practiced more frequently by students in North-Western European countries. In the second part of the paper, we examine the relationship between academic discipline and religious worldviews. According to our …

Positive Parenting Of Children With Developmental Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis, Tina Taylor, Timothy B. Smith, Byran B. Korth, Susanne Olsen Roper, Barbara Mandleco

Faculty Publications

Although a large body of literature exists supporting the relationship between positive parenting and child outcomes for typically developing children, there are reasons to analyze separately the relevant literature specific to children with developmental disabilities. However, that literature has not been synthesized in any systematic review. This study examined the association between positive parenting attributes and outcomes of young children with developmental disabilities through meta-analytic aggregation of effect sizes across 14 studies including 576 participants. The random effects weighted average effect size was r = .22 (SE = .06, p < .001), indicative of a moderate association between positive parenting attributes and child outcomes. Publication bias did not appear to be a substantial threat to the results. There was a trend for studies with more mature parents to have effect sizes of higher magnitude than studies with young parents. The results provide support for efforts to evaluate and promote effective parenting skills when providing services for young children with disabilities.

Intake Screening With The Self-Rating Depression Scale In A University Counseling Center, Timothy B. Smith, Ilene Rosenstein, Michael M. Granaas

Faculty Publications

Screening clients at intake for symptoms of depression can be beneficial, provided the instrument used is reliable and valid. The psychometric properties of the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were examined using an ethnically diverse sample of 324 counseling center clients. Results provided moderate support for the SDS. Differences across demographic groups and considerations for intake screening are discussed.

Cultural Nuances For Immigrant Adolescents And Adolescents Of The Third Culture Experience: A Book Review Of Immigrant Youth In Cultural Transition: Acculturation, Identity, And Adaptation Across National Contexts, Jennifer L. Wilson

Journal of Cross-Cultural Family Studies

Cross-cultural children include Third Culture Kids (TCKs) and the children and adolescents whose families have immigrated to a new society. The book Immigrant Youth in Cultural Transition: Acculturation, Identity, and Adaptation Across National Contexts (Berry et al., 2012), was a multi-national and multicultural study that sought to explain how immigrant youth navigate among cultures, how they manage their multicultural experience as it relates to psychological and sociocultural adjustment, and how demographics, family variables, and cultural variables affect the immigration, acculturation, assimilation, and adaptation process for these adolescents. Many similar processes have been described in the TCK literature for TCK children, …

The Mother's Experience : A Phenomenological Study Of Maternal Self-Efficacy Among Mothers Attending Outpatient Treatment For Substance Abuse, Lisa Witkowski

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to better understand the perceptions of maternal self-efficacy among mothers in substance abuse recovery. A phenomenological research design using face-to-face, semi-structured interviews captured the lived experiences of mothers attending outpatient drug and alcohol treatment. For this study, the researcher distributed approved flyers to designated outpatient treatment centers to voluntarily recruit mothers for purposeful sampling. Eligibility requirements include women at least eighteen (18) years or older, at least one living child, attended prior rehabilitation services, and display good mental status after assessed by the researcher with the Mini Mental Status Exam. During the interview, the …

Counseling The Military Population: The Factor Of Prior Military Exposure For Counselors-In-Training, Kellie E. Forziat, Nicole Marie Arcuri, Chelsea Erb

Educational Sciences and Organizations

Counselors must learn to ethically work with all cultures. This article explores how both counselors-in-training with prior military culture exposure and those with none can be trained to effectively counsel individuals from this culture. Additionally, the article highlights strategies for counselor educators on how to meet both groups’ learning needs.

The Coach-Athlete Relationship As A Predictor Of Self-Regulation, Academic Self-Efficacy, And Aggression Among Student-Athletes With Exposure To Community Violence, Keoshia Worthy

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Although several studies have investigated the effects of the coach-athlete (C-A)relationship, minimal attention has been given to the effects of the relationship on the behavior of college athletes outside of sport. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the coach–athlete relationship and its connection to the student–athlete’s behavior outside of sport and academic self-efficacy for athletes with exposure to community violence. This information can contribute to the discussion on the attachment relationship between coach and athlete, as well as add an in-depth understanding of the value of the relationship beyond its effects in sport.

A simultaneous multiple regression …

Parental Influence On Second Generation Chinese-American Youth’S Career Choice And Development, Yingli Huang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A large body of literature supports the claim that the role of parents in shaping Asian-American youth's career development is significant (Leong & Serafica, 1995; Leong & Hardin, 2002; Yuan, 2012; Sandhu, 2017; Qin, 2011). When considering the family impact on Asian-Americans’ vocational choices, researchers should examine the phenomena through culturally specific lens so that variables that are more cultural relevant are captured. This is a pilot study with the goal to provide a preliminary understanding of the ways in which first-generation Chinese immigrant parents influence the choice and development of a career to their second-generation young adult children. In …

Effects Of Mothers' Locus Of Control For Child Improvement In A Developmentally Delayed Sample., Timothy B. Smith, Matthew N.I. Oliver, Glenna C. Boyce, Mark S. Innocenti

Faculty Publications

A potentially important variable that has received little attention in the literature is the locus of control a caregiver holds for child improvement, including its influence on the caregiver's treatment compliance and on actual child improvement. To evaluate the utility of the construct in a practice setting, 131 caregiver-child dyads were evaluated across one year. Children were approximately four years old at the first assessment, and all of them had been diagnosed with a developmental disability. Caregiver compliance to treatment (attendance at sessions and teacher ratings of their support and knowledge) was tracked, and measures of child development status and …

Recommendations For Developing Video Games To Address Depression Among College Students, John Bodycombe

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Depression is a significant problem on college campuses, and the data shows that prevalence is on the rise (The National Survey on Drug Use and Health [NSDUH], 2014; Stewart, Ricci, Chee, Hahn, & Morgenstein, 2003). Depression impacts the well-being of students and puts them at risk for a variety of issues (Leach, 2009; Adams, Wharton, Quilter, & Hirsch, 2008; Serras, Saules, Cranford, & Eisenberg, 2010; Cranford, Eisenberg, & Serras, 2009; Weitzman, 2004). Many students with depression do not receive care (Blanco, Okuda, Wright, Hasin, Grant, Liu, & Olfson, 20008; Eisenburg and Chung, 2012), or receive care that is not minimally …

Aggression, Impulsivity, And Symptom Severity: An Examination Of Risk Factors For Violent Behaviors, Melissa Charfadi

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to explore the relationship between psychopathology, aggression, and impulsivity. Two hypotheses were derived from the existing scientific literature: First, as a validity check, we anticipated that levels of psychopathology would be related to both aggression and impulsivity (as previously reported data suggests). Second, we anticipated that impulsivity would moderate the relationship between overall symptom severity and aggression. Finally, we constructed exploratory regression models to examine the contribution of specific types of impulsivity in the prediction of specific acts of aggression across BSI symptom groupings. Data was collected using Rowan University undergraduate students that completed an in-person battery …

Depressive Symptoms In Mexican-Origin Adolescents: Interrelations Between School And Family Contexts, Prerna G. Arora, Lorey Wheeler

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

This study, as guided by cultural-ecological frameworks, examined multiple contextual stressors, including subjective economic hardship, acculturation, discrimination, and negative perceptions of school safety, as simultaneously linked to adolescents’ depressive symptoms, as well as the role of gender, familism values, family cohesion, and school connectedness on these associations. Data come from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (Portes and Rumbaut 2012) that included second-generation 8th- and 9th-grade children of foreign-born parents from the Mexican-origin subsample (n = 755; 52% male; time 1 M age = 14.20 years). Adolescents were either born in (60%) or immigrated prior to age 5 to …