Multicultural Psychology Commons^™

Parental Self-Efficacy, Parenting Stress, And Mental Health Among Latina Mothers Of Young Children, Thania Galvan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Parenthood can increase the risk for mental health concerns, especially for Latina mothers. Poor maternal mental health can result in significant negative maternal and child outcomes, particularly if a mother’s mental health needs go unmet. In an attempt to better understand the factors that impact Latina mother’s mental health, this study explored the relations among parental self-efficacy, parenting stress, and mental health. It also explored mother’s self-reported resource availability and sociocultural factors as potential modifiable points of interventions in these relations.

Methods: The study was conducted using data from 132 Latina mothers that participated in a larger project examining stress …

The Experiences And Mental Health Impact Of Islamophobia On Muslim Americans Following The 2016 U.S. Presidential Election: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study, Hadeel Ali

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current hermeneutic phenomenological qualitative study was to understand the phenomenon of Muslim Americans’ lived experiences of Islamophobia prior to and two years into Donald Trump’s presidential administration. 14 participants from multiple regions in the United States completed a semi-structured interview via telephone. The data analysis revealed seven major themes: 1) Muslim Americans experience different dimensions of Islamophobia, 2) Muslim Americans experience various forms of Islamophobia, 3) Variables that impact the prevalence of Islamophobia, 4) Islamophobia impacts various areas of Muslim Americans’ lives, 5) Muslim Americans may react differently to experiences of Islamophobia, 6) Islamophobia impacts the …

Examining Cultural Orientation As A Moderator: Attachment Style, Forgiveness, And Depression, Linghsi Liu

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating role of cultural orientation on the relation between attachment style and forgiveness and between forgiveness and depression. It was hypothesized that a secure attachment style would be associated with greater dispositional forgiveness of both self and others. Specifically, for those high in collectivism, insecure attachment will be associated with greater other-forgiveness and for those high in individualism, insecure attachment will be associated with greater self-forgiveness. It was also predicted that self and other forgiveness would be associated with fewer depressive symptoms. Specifically, for those high in collectivism, other forgiveness will …

Social Support From Parents And Friends Among Black And Multiracial Adolescents: Responses To Stressful Situations In Multiple-Risk Neighborhoods, Amarachi Akwarandu

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Social support is a key protective factor that has not been widely examined among Black youth, and the existing literature on social support typically focuses on general support, with limited emphasis on the content or source of support. The goal of this study is to examine how Black and multiracial adolescents living in multiple risk, urban communities utilize emotional and informational support from parents and friends in response to three different types of stressful situations and to examine how their use of social support is associated with adjustment. The current study utilizes baseline data from participants in an evaluation of …

Understanding Racial Experiences And The Influence Of Family On Stress And Familism Attitudes, Jaqueline Miranda

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Sixty-five percent of undergraduates reported family as their most important in-group and 79% reported family as being in their top three in-groups (McConnell, 2019). Familial bonds are vital for racial ethnic minorities because of their unique experiences as minorities such as experienced racism, acculturative stress, and other forms of adversity. The current study examined the effects of a racially-based stress induction and imaginal exercise on state stress levels and familial attitudes, and the relationship between racial-ethnic socialization and racial battle fatigue including kinship social support as a moderator. The study used an experimental design, manipulating stress induction through a script …

Exploring Taiwanese Creative Arts Therapists' Professional Identity After Returning Home From Studying Abroad, Rhona Jung Jung Chang

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study aimed to document Taiwanese creative arts therapists' career experiences after studying abroad and returning home, and how they perceive their professional identity as creative arts therapists in Taiwan. This qualitative study explores the experience of eight female professional Taiwanese creative arts therapists, including two art therapists, two dance/movement therapists, two drama therapists, and two music therapists. Interviews were conducted, and the participants were asked about their personal experience of art-making, the practice of creative arts therapies in Taiwan, and the understanding and awareness of their professional identity.

Data from this study was gathered by the interviews' transcripts and …

The Immigrant In Our Head: Skin Tone, Social Categorization, And Support For Policy, Patrizia Chirco

All Master's Theses

Researchers in diverse fields such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, and geography have extensively researched push and pull factors that lead to migrations (Castles et al., 2014) as well as the political and economic consequences that migrations have on both sending and receiving countries (Golash-Boza, 2015). However, relatively little research is published on whether markers of racial categorization affect the social classification of immigrants, their legal status, and the relationship between support for immigration policies and specific patterns of categorization. In the current research, I investigated whether social categorizations of individuals as undocumented immigrants depend on phenotypes (i.e., skin tone), and …

Therapist Multicultural Orientation: Client Perceptions Of Cultural Humility, Sexual Identity, And The Working Alliance, Todd L. Jennings

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Research examining the benefits of cultural humility for diverse clients has increased dramatically over the last 10 years. However, little empirical research has applied therapist cultural humility to lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) clients. In a sample of 333 LGB persons, the current study examined whether therapist cultural humility predicted a stronger client-therapist working alliance. LGB identity centrality (IC) and identity affirmation (IA) were considered as possible moderators of this relationship. Therapist cultural humility predicted stronger working alliances in the present sample; however, this association was not moderated by IC or IA. These results suggest that therapist cultural humility is …

Reflections On The Bgj Anti-Racism Seminar, Michelle Billies

Publications and Research

In this Letter to the Editor, Billies (2021) responds to critical and supportive opinion pieces in the British Gestalt Journal (BGJ) following their plenary presentation at BGJ’s 2018 annual seminar (see Asherson Bartram, 2019; O’Malley, 2019). As author of the companion article "How/ Can Gestalt Therapy Promote Liberation from Anti-Black Racism?” (Billies, 2021), Billies, who identifies as white, discusses the intent at the seminar to support white people to increase accountability and reduce harm in dialogue with people of color, while supporting the work and needs of people of color on their terms from a Gestalt perspective. Describing a fishbowl …

Perceptions Of Equality And Justice In African Americans: Implications For Well-Being And Success, Elaney C. Ortiz

Scripps Senior Theses

Focusing on the intersections of the perceptions of legal equality and justice and lived experiences of equality and justice in the Black Community, this study seeks to find an interaction between these different perceptions of equality and justice, and well-being and success for Black Americans. Grounded in theory, but taking an original approach to this field, it is hypothesized that increased perceptions of equality and justice in either realm will increase well-being and success. Distinctly, lower perceptions of equality and justice will contribute to lower levels of well-being and success. This research is critical, as it looks at the importance …

A Proposal To Develop And Pilot-Test The Effects Of A Culturally Adapted Stigma Intervention For Latinos, Sandy Ahumada

CMC Senior Theses

The bulk of research examining barriers to mental health services (MHS) for Latinos focuses on financial obstacles such as socioeconomic status and insurance coverage. Unfortunately, less work has been done on cultural barriers such as stigma. The purpose of this proposed study is to develop and pilot-test a culturally adapted contact intervention for Latinos that reduces stigma and increases help-seeking intentions. This study will test the differential efficacy of utilizing psychoeducation with the newly developed interpersonal contact intervention (PIC) as opposed to psychoeducation (P) only. Participants (n=324) will fill out pre- (T1), post- (T2), and 1-week follow-up (T3) …

A Culturally And Structurally Sensitive Approach To Working With Suicidal Latinx Individuals: Recommendations For Clinicians, Jessa Navidé

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Latinx individuals are the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the U.S. and confront numerous challenges living in the U.S. that can impact their mental health. While their overall suicide rates are relatively low compared to non-Hispanic Whites, it is concerning to note suicide rates of Latinx individuals living in the U.S. are significantly higher compared to most countries in Latin America. The predominant approaches to treating suicidal individuals often fail to consider the sociopolitical climate and systemic challenges that exacerbate mental health concerns for Latinx individuals. This paper examines cultural considerations, racial and ethnic identity models, and unique protective and …

Antecedents To Self-Perceived White Privilege And Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, Anthony Micale

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

White privilege in organizational settings often gives White employees an undeserved edge over employees of color. The current study functioned to determine the precursors to self-awareness of one’s White privilege, specifically focusing on participants’ multicultural experiences as well as personal and parental education levels. Increased self-awareness of White privilege was also suspected to increase the frequency of engagement in organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Finally, White privilege attitudes were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between multicultural experience and OCBs. White participants (N = 98) were asked to complete an online questionnaire designed to assess multicultural experience, self-perceptions of White privilege, and …

Gender And Sexuality Alliance Advisors' Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy And Social Emotional Competency: An Exploratory Study, Kelly Marie Davis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Background: Literature consistently demonstrates mental health disparities among sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth due to their unique experiences of discrimination, victimization, and rejection on the basis of their sexual and/or gender identity. Findings from the resilience literature highlight the importance of emotion regulation skills, supportive communities, and a relationship with at least one supportive, stable adult in mitigating risk and thriving despite adversity. Relationships with adults confer tremendous benefit for youth and provide opportunities for youth to learn important social and emotional skills. However, due to the rates of family and school rejection that SGM youth often experience, they …

“Child Witches”: Sexual Exploitation And Abuse Of Homeless Girls In South-Southern Nigeria, Chima Agazue

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Sexual exploitation and abuse of girls is one of the endemic social problems in Nigeria. Although this problem has attracted much research attention in recent times, some newly emerged factors contributing to the problem have been mostly ignored. This study explored how the abandonment of children following their stigmatization as witches contributes to sexual exploitation and abuse of the girls in the Akwa Ibom and Cross River states of Nigeria. The study was based on the qualitative research paradigm. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews of three senior staff members of the Child’s Rights and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN)—a children’s charity …

How/Can Gestalt Therapy Promote Liberation From Anti-Black Racism?, Michelle Billies

Publications and Research

Anti-Black racism is an interruption of contact that often takes place out of awareness, and is continuously enacted through innumerable fixed gestalts at every level of human experience. Gestalt therapy as a movement does not leverage its great potential for undoing fixed gestalts of anti-Black racism, or supporting fluid gestalts of racial liberation; this article explores GT theories and practices that do so. I first discuss how concepts of the field, ground, awareness, consciousness, and contact can be informed by ideas such as intersectionality and double consciousness from Black liberation history as well as theorists such as Crenshaw, DuBois, Fanon, …

When Worlds Collide: An Intersectional Approach To Understanding The Relationship Experiences Of Bisexual-Identifying Asian Men With Same And Different Gender Partners, Cheryl Kwok

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

The relationship experiences of bisexual-identifying men of color have been neglected in psychological studies of race, gender, and sexuality. Few studies, if any, have examined the relationship experiences of Asian bisexual men, even though this population’s multiple marginalized and stigmatized social identities increase their health risks (Bryant-Davis, 2007; Carter, 2007; Ching et al., 2018). Bisexuality is commonly defined by an individual’s intimate partner attraction and/or behavior (e.g., Swan & Habibi, 2018), making relationship experiences fundamental to bisexual identity. More generally, intimate relationships can contribute to and/or pose challenges to psychological well-being (Feinstein, et al., 2016; Whitton et al., 2018), yet …

Fostering Music Performers In The 21st Century: A Contemporary Professional Perspective Toward A New Curricular Agenda For Graduate Study In Music, Andre Januario

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

What if the core curriculum for graduate students in music performance were designed to prepare students to succeed in the world of the Fourth Industrial Revolution?

This dissertation offers a hypothetical answer: a structured and systematic academic curricular framework for music graduate students of performance of concert music (especially those in terminal degrees, such as doctoral students), along with music instructors, professional music performers, school administrators, and college professors, seeking to prepare such students for achieving and maintaining a music career more in keeping with the current work environment, especially those skills demanded by the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the …

Self-Reported Multicultural Teaching Knowledge And Skills Of School Professionals, Julia Kedzior

Masters Theses

Diverse learners face a variety of challenges, such as achievement gaps, behavior problems, and absenteeism. Therefore, it is important for their educators to have both multicultural teaching knowledge and skills to address these challenges and work towards a successful school experience for all students. Although research has sought to measure the cultural competence of teachers, not many studies have examined cultural competence in other school professionals (administrators, school psychologists, social workers, interventionists, instructional assistants, and other individuals who directly work with students in the school environment). In the current study, 185 teachers and other school professionals completed an adapted version …

Who Is The Stranger Really? A Reluctant Autoethnography Of The Strange Situation Procedure, Tara Yazdani

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This paper aims to review the cross-cultural application of attachment theory as a western model of thought and practice. That is, this research aimed to recognize and question how embedded attachment theory has become in programming and education within North American academic and practical arenas. In applying the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) to a limited sample of Eritrean dyads, important considerations and questions arose regarding the cross-cultural application of this protocol. The aims of this research shifted toward further exploring these considerations and questions, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the new research aim emphasized how to inform future …