Counseling Psychology Commons^™

Evaluating A Social And Emotional Learning Curriculum, Strong Kids, Implemented School-Wide, Thomas Jonathan Kramer

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to explore whether Strong Kids could result in improved social and emotional competence when implemented as a school-wide universal intervention. No prior studies have examined this question. This study also evaluated whether teachers could implement Strong Kids as it was designed and whether they viewed it as socially valid. It used a non-equivalent control group design. The treatment school in the study involved 348 students and 17 teachers from a Title I school. School demographics indicated that 61% of students were Hispanic, 37% White, and 2% of other ethnicities. Approximately 82% of the students …

Adaptation To The U.S. And Religion/Spirituality: Experiences Of Indian International Students, Kirti Potkar

Theses and Dissertations

Religion and spirituality are deemed an important aspect of human diversity, found to be important to people, and have significant impact on different aspects of functioning. Given the rising numbers of international students on U.S. campuses, it becomes important to examine how religion/spirituality impacts their sojourn in the U.S. This study explored the religious/spiritual experiences of Indian international students here in the U.S. using a qualitative approach. Thirteen Indian international students pursuing graduate degrees in the U.S. were interviewed. The interviews were then transcribed and analyzed using a synthesis of hermeneutic methods informed by Kvale (1996). The following themes emerged …

Experiences Of Male Saudi Arabian International Students In The United States, Molly Elizabeth Heyn

Dissertations

Despite the increasing presence of Saudi Arabian international college students in American higher education, the literature regarding the experience of Saudi students in the United States is limited. This qualitative study explored and described the lived experiences of 9 male Saudi Arabian international college students studying in the United States. All the participants had studied in the United States for at least 2 years and were regularly admitted international students at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Moustakas’s (1994) phenomenological data analysis approach guided the data collection and analysis. The participants shared their lived experiences and the meaning of those …

Educational Services For Tibetan Students With Disabilities In India: A Case Study, Britany Anne Barnes

Theses and Dissertations

This case study describes services for students with disabilities at Karuna Home in Bylakuppe, Karnataka, India. Karuna Home is a residential rehabilitation center for students with cognitive or physical disabilities whose parents are Tibetan refugees. The study triangulated data from interviews, observations, and school documents to describe educational policies and procedures, and cultural attitudes toward disability. Results show that the Karuna Home program is undergirded by Buddhist thought and theology regarding care and concern for those in difficult circumstances. The school serves students with a range of mild to severe disabilities and is fully staffed, but teachers and other service …

The Impact Of Camp Erin On Bereaved Youth, Alysondra Duke

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Approximately 5% of adolescents and children will experience the significant loss of a loved one before the age of 15 (Currier, Holland, & Neimeyer, 2007). Numerous intervention efforts have been utilized to normalize the grief process for youth and to assist in the expression and exploration of loss. Several organizations have created weekend-long camps to serve as an avenue for youth to connect with others who have experienced loss with the hope that this early intervention effort may prevent youth from the onset of depression, chronic anxiety, or other psychological conditions. As well, early intervention has been noted as important …

Risks Factors And Resiliency In Secondary School Students After The Bp Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Walt W. Hammerli Dr.

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill on students of two coastal Louisiana secondary schools. Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory was used as a framework to understand how exposure, gender, socioeconomic status, and resilience interact to influence the impact of the spill on students. Cross-sectional questionnaires were administered to 155 high school students in May 2012 and 225 middle school students in January 2013 out of 1247 possible for a return rate of about 30%.

Results showed that exposure groups differed significantly on students’ Impact of Event Scale (IES; …

A Workbook To Promote Forgiveness For Ingroup Congregational Offenses, Chelsea Greer

Theses and Dissertations

Since research on forgiveness has flourished over the past three decades, multiple interventions have been developed to aid individuals in this arduous process. Two interventions in particular have been most-widely studied with diverse groups: Enright’s process model (Enright & Fitzgibbons, 2000) and Worthington’s REACH Forgiveness model (2006). Thus far, these forgiveness interventions have been led by trained professionals in an in-person group. In-person interventions pose issues of cost and attendance. In the current study, I adapted Worthington’s Christian-adapted REACH Forgiveness intervention into a self-directed workbook for Christians who have experienced an offense within a religious community. Participants (N = 52) …

Study Of Employment Retention Veterans (Serve): Improving Reintegration Of Oregon National Guard And Reserves In The Workplace, Gilbert Patrick Brady, Jr., Leslie B. Hammer

Student Research Symposium

This presentation will provide an overview of the recently funded Department of Defense grant (Principal Investigator, Leslie Hammer, Ph.D.). Since 9/11 over 2.8 million United States military personnel have served in and around Iraq and Afghanistan. By 2018, the number of post-9/11 veterans is projected to top 3.1 million. Of these most recent veterans, 18% have difficulty holding a job and many experience family difficulty. Presently, a third or more of these post-9/11 veterans – some 874,728 service members and counting – have deployed to various global hotspots as active-duty reservists of the U.S. armed forces. Unemployment, underemployment and mental …

Examining The Relations Between The Mental Health And Physical Health Of Caregivers Of Ms In A Mexican Sample, Gillian Leibach

Theses and Dissertations

Evidence suggests that caregiver health affects patient health. Consistent with the Biopsychosocial Model, mental health (anxiety, depression, satisfaction with life, self-esteem), physical health (bodily pain, general health, performance in physical role, physical functioning), burden, and social support were examined in the present study to understand the relations between these variables and the overall health of 81 caregivers of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Mexico. The relation between mental health and physical health was significant. Canonical correlations revealed that depression and general health emerged as primary variables and these were entered into a series of analyses with burden and social …

Class Is Out: Mental Health Professionals' Social Class Identification And Classist Attitudes Toward Low-Income Clients, Kipp Ryan Pietrantonio

Theses and Dissertations

Social class as a variable of culturally competent psychology remains a misunderstood and understudied phenomenon. This study was designed to explore how mental health providers’ social class of origin and classist attitudes impact their beliefs and treatment of clients from different economic backgrounds. This was accomplished by exploring five domains across two vignettes that varied in SES indicators (Low-­‐Income vs. Middle Class Vignette). The domains of study included classist beliefs, GAF scores with or without treatment over time, positive and negative stereotype endorsement, perceptions of the therapeutic relationship, and potential treatment modalities. Clinicians did not rate the vignettes differently in …

Increasing Psychological Flexibility Regarding Interpersonal Conflict Between Religious Beliefs And Attitudes Towards Sexual Minorities: An Acceptance And Commitment Therapy (Act) Intervention, Cory John Myler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was designed to facilitate the development and assessment of a group therapeutic intervention for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning individuals. Previous research has established that this population is particularly vulnerable to psychological distress and that religiosity contributes to this vulnerability, but there have been no interventions established specifically for the population of sexual minorities who are experiencing religious conflict. The components of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy were used to inform the development of a group intervention, which was then carried out. An assessment battery of numerous quantitative measures was given to participants before and after the intervention to …

Healthy Sexuality: Evaluating A Psychoeducational Group Promoting Knowledge, Communication, And Positive Experiences, Brenna M. Wernersbach

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Although most people will have at least one sexual relationship throughout the course of their life, many of us have not developed the skills we need to create the sexual experiences that we really want. This is influenced by (among other things) our sexual knowledge, our attitudes and values about sex, our ability to communicate clearly and effectively with our partner(s), and our access to sexual and reproductive health services and products. Accurate knowledge, positive attitudes, and self-efficacy in communication and resource access are all contributing factors to what is known as healthy sexuality.

The present study examined these areas …

The Relationship Between Acculturation And Depression Among First Generation Christian Arab American Adults, Salma Khshaiboon

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Contrary to the common belief that most Arab Americans are Muslim, 77% of Arab Americans are Christian (Awad, 2010). There is no research that addresses the unique experience of Christian Arab Americans with the process of acculturating to the larger American society while maintaining the values of their ethnic group. The purpose of this study is to measure levels of acculturation with its two factors; ethnic society immersion and dominant society immersion, and depression with its two factors; cognitive-affective and somatic-vegetative and examine the relationships between them. In the current study, 101 Christian Arab American participants (ages 18 and above) …

Uncertainty And Primary Appraisal As Predictors Of Acute Stress Disorder In Parents Of Critically Ill Children: A Mediational Model, Monica Durrette

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined illness-related uncertainty and primary appraisals of threat, centrality, and challenge as predictors of acute stress disorder (ASD) symptoms in parents of children hospitalized in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Ultimately, a mediational pathway was tested to determine if primary appraisal was a mechanism that accounted for the impact of uncertainty on ASD symptoms. Ancillary study aims were to assess the degree to which parents perceived uncertainty in the PICU environment, and to determine the prevalence of ASD among parents in this setting. Self-report data was collected from 77 parents (57 mothers, 19 fathers) of children hospitalized …

Four Virtues: Interventions For Goodness' Sake, Caroline Lavelock

Theses and Dissertations

Empirical interest in promoting virtues has dramatically increased over the last decade. The present study will focus primarily on the warmth-based virtues of forgiveness and humility, and the conscientiousness-based virtues of patience and self-control. I introduced participants (N = 135) to a workbook intended to promote one of these four virtues, or to promote general positivity for participants in a workbook control condition. I hypothesized that virtue workbooks would produce higher levels of the target virtue, more so than in both a non-action control condition (n = 33) and in a control condition that completes a workbook that promotes general …

Notions Of Spirits As Agents Of Mental Illness Among The Akan Of Ghana: A Cultural-Psychological Exploration, Annabella Opare-Henaku

Theses and Dissertations

The study explores lay conceptualizations of mental illness among the Akans of Ghana as influenced by their cultural worldview. Akan, the largest ethnic group in Ghana, is noted for the use of supernatural attributions for various health-related issues. The supernatural attributions are based on Akan ontological belief that the universe is unitary such that there is no clear distinction between physical and spiritual occurrences. This worldview guides Akans in how they deal with a wide range of issues including their mental health. Clinicians and other mental health professionals who rely solely on biomedical approaches to mental health fail to meet …

An Exploration Of Men's Attitudes Regarding Depression And Help-Seeking, Brian Paul Cole

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Despite significantly higher risk of suicide and co-morbid substance abuse, college age men are far less likely than college age women to seek help when depressed (ACHA, 2010). This “gender gap” has led researchers to suggest that college men are experiencing a mental health crisis (Davies, Shen-Miller, & Isacco, 2010). Several theories have been suggested for this gender gap including: (a) barriers caused by male gender socialization, (b) inaccurate diagnostic criteria, and (c) men experience different symptoms when depressed (Cochran, 2005; Levin & Sanacora, 2007). Additionally, the current researcher hypotheses that fear of femininity is a core aspect of the …

Survivors Of Childhood Sexual Abuse:What Heals And What Hurts In A Couple Relationship, Laura Smedley, Kathy Disney-Fairchild, Stephen Fife, Colleen Peterson

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a significant trauma that affects a person’s self-concept and ability to form healthy intimate relationships later in adulthood. Approximately 20% of adults who experienced childhood sexual abuse go on to evidence serious psychopathology in adulthood (Harway & Faulk, 2005). Knowledge of how relationship partners affect the healing of the survivor may be very beneficial to couples’ therapists, to survivors themselves, and to their intimate partners. The purpose of this qualitative study is to increase understanding of the survivor’s experience of what is helpful and what is counterproductive in their healing process within the construct of …

Still In The Shadows: A Content Analysis Of Sexual Addiction In Couple Therapy, Austin Ellis, Quintin Hunt, Tod Young, Rebecca Nemecek, Jordan Staples, Stephen Fife, Colleen Peterson

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

There is no universally accepted definition of “sex addiction” in the literature, though it is generally understood as persistent patterns of sexual behaviors acted out despite negative consequences to self or others (Kafka, 2010; Levine, 2010). Though sexual addictions are often addressed individually, most take place within a social context that includes family members and/or intimate relationships. The purpose of this presentation is to present the results of a content analysis of M/CFT peer-reviewed journals and summarize the extent to which this literature addresses sexual addictions and couples therapy. The content analysis adds to the existing literature by examining the …

Applying The Social Norms Approach To Help Seeking Behavior In The Military, Janette Hamilton

Theses and Dissertations

OBJECTIVE: The study assessed the applicability of the social norms approach to help-seeking behavior in the military by exploring whether Service Members are affected by perceptions of peers’ beliefs about stigma related barriers to mental health care. METHOD: Data were collected from members of the Virginia National Guard (N= 84) during Yellow Ribbon events. Using surveys, Service Members’ own perceptions and their perceptions of their peers’ beliefs about barriers to seeking psychological care were gathered. RESULTS: Participants’ own beliefs about barriers to care were positively correlated with perceptions of peers’ beliefs. Variance in help-seeking status was better accounted for by …