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Thesis advisor: Margaret Lombe / For children that overcome Nigeria’s high child mortality rate, there is the additional and less-obvious hurdle of not reaching their full potential in life due to developmental delays. When children are on track developmentally, they stand a better chance of being ready for school, excelling academically, economically, and socially throughout the lifespan. Fewer studies in the Nigerian context have examined how known risk and protective factors interact to affect early childhood development (ECD). This three-paper dissertation used data from the nationally representative 2016/17 Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and was guided by the social determinants of health framework, the socioecological model of child development, and the family stress and investment models. The study highlighted the factors, including disparities across the multiethnic and diverse socioeconomic groups of Nigeria that are associated with child outcomes. i. Paper 1 assessed the performance and psychometric properties of the 10-item ECDI used in the MICS to track developmental outcomes among Nigerian children. ii. Paper 2 characterized the risk and protective factors for ECD across the 36 states and FCT of Nigeria using a multilevel modeling approach and, iii. Paper 3 used a structural regression to model the association between maternal subjective wellbeing (SWB), and developmental outcomes among the 3- to 4-year-old children. Findings highlighted discrepancies in the construct validity of the ECDI. Across the studies, resources, and family socioeconomic status particularly maternal level of education were significant predictors of outcomes for the child. Further, the study revealed that a child’s developmental context matters, where 29% of the variation in child outcomes was attributed to clustering by states. The studies extend prior research on ECD in Nigeria by its use of more accurate milestones to characterize ECD, its multilevel modeling approach, and its investigation of maternal SWB as a proxy for mental health. In all, findings from the dissertation call attention to the need to revise the ECDI, and for culturally adapted and validated ECD instruments. The study also highlighted the need to invest more resources in child development, mental health, and family strengthening especially through maternal education and wealth creation. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

Gratitude has been found to have many positive benefits, whether it is introspective or interpersonal in nature. This research explored the differential effects of an interpersonal and intrapersonal gratitude intervention on subjective well-being (SWB). Participants were assigned to one of three intervention conditions that were characterized by a weekly writing task—an interpersonal gratitude letter (n = 73), an intrapersonal gratitude journal (n = 65), or a learning journal (n = 67), which served as the control. A four-week, repeated gratitude intervention design was conducted, wherein participants' SWB was assessed across 12-time points, including a pre- and post-intervention SWB battery to assess the intervention’s overall impact. Participants in both gratitude conditions reported an overall increase in positive affect, supported by text analysis. However, participants who wrote gratitude letters had significantly less negative affect compared to the gratitude journal participants. Further analysis revealed a significant difference in SBW between the two gratitude conditions. Specifically, participants who experienced the intrapersonal gratitude journal-writing task reported a significant improvement in life satisfaction, while participants in the interpersonal gratitude letter-writing task evidenced a significant improvement in perceived social support. The control condition unexpectedly exhibited an increase in SWB that was likely due to the salience of the participants’ scholastic accomplishments. Finally, individual differences, including The Big Five, predicted gratitude and positive affect, consistent with prior research. / M.S. / Gratitude has been found in prior research to have many positive benefits, whether it is introspective or interpersonal in nature. However, not as much research has been conducted to understand if gratitude expressed introspectively or interpersonally is psychologically different in relation to one’s wellbeing. This research therefore explored the psychological benefits—and differences— between intrapersonal and interpersonal gratitude using a gratitude intervention over four consecutive weeks. Participants were either assigned a thank-you letter (interpersonal condition), an introspective gratitude journal (intrapersonal condition), or a learning journal (control condition). Results demonstrated that those who completed the gratitude letter felt more socially supported, while those who completed the gratitude journal saw an improvement in life satisfaction and how grateful they felt. The control group also found an improvement in their life satisfaction, which may have also been due to the introspective nature of their writing task. Feelings of positivity were greater in both gratitude groups compared to those in the control group. The study provided evidence for the psychological differences between introspective and interpersonal gratitude, and the positive role they both serve.

With this thesis project I plan to create an embodied and sonic interactive experience. The theoretical basis brings together Somaesthetic Design and Deep Listening practices in the form of a movement based, sound installation. The results of engagement aim to develop awareness and with deep engagement produce a nonduality state. Taking influence from works by David Rokeby, Eliane Radigue, Bernard Leitner and Rian Treanor, this project revolves around the physical navigation of a soundscape with a secondary outcome of increasing awareness along with aiding stress and anxiety. The project also focuses on the importance of sound and its under representation in Interaction Design. The research began with a number of experiments taking cues from the mentioned practices, and to determine the overall effects of certain sounds when coupled with bodily engagement. After analyzing the relevant data the project underscores that the combination of sonic and embodied interaction can lead to positive therapeutic effects.

In five multi-method studies this dissertation examined how context based morality may explain increased incidence of combat related psychological difficulties among US service personnel. We were particularly interested in the relationship between causing harm to others and moral self-perceptions and related emotional consequences. In studies 1 and 2 we found that our samples of Iraq and Afghan war veterans reported that a soldier would feel increased levels of guilt and shame and negative moral judgments of the self when they return home and reflect on incidents of harm that may have occurred during their deployments. These two studies were supported by three short experiments showing that different moral judgments of harm were made depending on whether the harm doing was interpersonal or intergroup. Interpersonal harm doing was judged more harshly than intergroup harm leading us to believe that while in combat harm doing had minimal consequences on the self-perceptions and emotions of a soldier and that when they returned home to civilian life where interpersonal moral standards are more prevalent their self-perceptions and emotional wellbeing was affected by their prior conduct.

Social media has found its way into almost everyone’s cellphone. Being a primary source for news, connection, and inspiration, it only continues to gain popularity. Social media, however, is not good 100% of the time. The dominant explanation for the effect of social media on wellbeing varies from digital stress, compromised sleep, and body image disturbances. This paper explores the correlation between daily time spent on social media, number of platforms used, and overall sense of wellbeing. Sleepiness is also assessed, and a correlation is explored using the previous variables. Previous research primarily focuses on the amount of time spent on social media as a whole but fails to explore the use of multiple platforms regularly. This is important in terms of digital stress and communication overload which can come from notifications from several platforms. This paper, however, focuses solely on social media in terms of daily time spent and the number of platforms utilized. Participants completed a self—paced online survey at the University of Central Florida.

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Life is meant to be lived with happiness and joy, but what happens when you don't feel as if you're living, and your life feels worthless and filled with sadness? When your daily routine is disrupted? When things go left instead of right? The mental state of many individuals has progressively worsened over the past few years. There are many reasons for this. One being the overwhelming use of mobile devices and living within a digital world which has isolated us from people and communities. This thesis addresses the lack of human interaction and community support through the design of a mental health museum. The project creates a place whose program provides spaces that support wellbeing while designing a museum that explores the issues and history of mental health. The museum provides these spaces that focus on the journey towards a state of well being. While not instantaneous, the journey within the museum is both physical and psychological. The journey within the museum is experienced through a series of ramps that flow through the building, acting as a transition from one exhibit space to the other. The ramps allow the visitors to slowly move between galleries, providing time to walk and, perhaps, reflect and understand the contents of the exhibits, as well as to benefit the visitors in other ways. One of the overarching goals for the museum was to create a safe space or spaces for those who visit. As well as a journey that becomes one of mindfulness and consists of learning, reflecting, engaging, and decompressing from the stress of living in today's world. The thesis and museum addresses four ideas: Learning through exhibits and talks hosted in the lecture hall or resources within the bookstore. Reflecting while traveling to the next gallery space, or on the rooftop garden. Engaging in wellness areas through interactive displays, galleries, or use of a wellness room. Decompressing within the planted areas and green spaces intertwined with the museum's journey and the adjacent woodland with its walking trail to the nearby community garden. This thesis opens up a conversation about mental health through the design of the museum to spark the topic as a positive, encouraging and natural subject of discussion. / Master of Architecture / The mental state of many individuals has progressively worsened over the past few years. This thesis addresses the lack of human interaction and community support through the design of a mental health museum. When it comes to mental illness, from the start of symptoms and receiving treatment there is an average 11 year gap. The stigma about mental illness and mental health can be seen as a cause for this delay. Everyone is affected by mental health in one way or another. Specifically communities of low-income. The resources for mental health in these neighborhoods are low. Which is why the museum is located in Washington, D.C. across the Anacostia River in Ward 8; one of two of the poorest wards in DC. The St. Elizabeths Hospital East Campus, located in ward 8, is in the process of being redeveloped. In redevelopment is my addition of a mental health museum that contains spaces for learning, reflecting, engaging, and decompressing. This thesis opens up a conversation about mental health through the design of the museum to spark the topic as a positive, encouraging and natural subject of discussion. The project is designed to create spaces for connecting with others who have found themselves wanting to learn about the history of mental health as well as view artwork created about mental health.

The effort-reward imbalance model allows us to see disparity in effort and reward and how this can be a predictor for a variety of constructs. The present study seeks to gather data utilizing the ERI modal in the nursing profession. Previous research has utilized the ERI model but methods for gathering data were not quick and efficient. This study seeks to utilize a database called Glassdoor to rapidly and effectively gather data. The researchers are interested in seeing the likelihood of nurses to recommend their company to a friend based on perceived effort and rewards. The sample included a random selection of 40 reviews from 40 randomly selected hospitals. To collect these random samplings, we used an excel random generator formula. We selected the 40 hospitals based on the corresponding number of the excel random generator and utilized the same method to select the 40 reviews. Sample words were developed through reviewing previous research. The frequency of each type of word was summed to create a numerical variable for effort and reward. Not only was the actual content of the review assessed, but the overall rating the user gave on Glassdoor for each particular variable was also used as reference to maintain accuracy. Bivariate correlations were conducted on the data to determine the strength of the effort-likelihood to recommend relationship and the reward-likelihood to recommend relationship. Results indicated that nurses who reported putting more effort into their company, were significantly more likely to recommend their company to a friend. Results also indicated that nurses who reported more rewards such as raises, compensation, and benefits were significantly more likely to recommend their company to a friend.