abstract: The purpose of this constructivist grounded theory study was to explore the perceptions of adult female sexual assault victims/survivors about their wellbeing: their definitions and descriptions of wellbeing; the impact of the assault on wellbeing; and barriers and facilitators to achieving wellbeing following assault. Feminist theory provided the sensitizing concepts for this research. Data were collected via semistructured interviews with 22 adult women who had experienced at least one episode of sexual assault at or above the age of 18. Data analysis included first, second, and third level coding techniques, memo writing, and data displays. Participants experienced negative effects to their overall wellbeing as well as to the wellbeing domains of physical, mental, career/economic/financial, relational, and spiritual. The findings of this study support wellbeing as a core category encompassing the five domains listed above, also described in the literature. The participants also confirmed and expounded in depth on the dynamic, interactive, and overlapping nature of each of the domains of wellbeing and their ability to enhance, maintain, or worsen health status and overall wellbeing. In addition, a new construct emerged that cut across all domains, that of safety, and the overarching significance of culture was recognized. Additional research should continue to explore wellbeing in diverse populations of sexual assault victims/survivors. Additional research should also explore the significance and function of safety in sexual assault victims/survivors. Formal and informal supporters of sexual assault victims/survivors should be aware of the complex ways that sexual assault affects women. In addition, they should be aware of helpful resources for sexual assault victims/survivors. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Nursing and Healthcare Innovation 2015

abstract: Positive psychology focuses on the promotion of well-being (Seligman, & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Positive psychology interventions (PPIs) have been developed to help facilitate the development of skills needed to flourish and current research suggests that PPIs can help individuals improve their happiness, reduce stress, and become more resilient (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005). National surveys highlight that students in higher education are in dire need of interventions aimed at helping them cope with the negative impact of stress (Douce & Keeling, 2014; Marks & Wade, 2015). Research among the graduate student population is scant even though they report high levels of stress and work even more hours than undergraduate students (Wyatt & Oswalt, 2013). PPIs implemented in the graduate student population focus heavily on psychologically-based programs, like psychology and social work, whose students may already be receiving assistance in self-care (Botta, Cadet, & Maramaldi, 2015; Burkhart, 2014; Nelson, Dell'Oliver, Koch, & Buckler, 2001). Thus, this current study is a randomized controlled trial testing an online PPI, adapted from Achor's work in the business industry (2012, 2014), compared with an online informative stress group and a wait list control group among graduate students from various disciplines at a large, public university in the Southwest. Participants were administered pre-, post-, and three-month follow-up tests to determine the impact of the interventions on their levels of perceived stress, happiness, and resilience. A multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used with covariates of age, gender, race, program of study, and graduate level of study (masters versus doctoral). The main findings of the study included: the students in the PPI group reported significantly higher resilience at the end of the three weeks than did the students in the informative stress or wait list control groups, even though measures of happiness or perceived stress were not impacted; and students from psychologically based programs received the most benefit from treatment, especially from the PPI intervention. All findings, implications, and suggestions for future directions are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Counseling Psychology 2017

Wellbeing and subjective wellbeing (SWB) has become some the most important goals of our time, both individually and societally. Thus, there is a need for reliable ways to measure SWB, as concerns regarding many current measures have been raised. Due to the interwoven nature of physiology and psychology, heart rate variability (HRV) has the potential to assess psychological processes in a physiological manner. HRV is an attractive measure since it is inexpensive, easy and non-invasive. Hence, the aim is to, from a cognitive neuroscientific standpoint, investigate whether HRV could serve as an objective measure to assess SWB. Most studies demonstrate associations between HRV and SWB, in particular between high frequency (HF)-HRV and positive affect (PA). However, the one study fully matching the theoretical framework only showed an inverse correlation between HRV and negative affect (NA). Plausibly implying that HRV does not serve as a reliable measure of SWB, but may be able to indicate inverse associations with NA, and possibly index certain aspect of SWB such as deactivated PA. The study of the relationship between HRV and SWB is still in its infancy and results are inconsistent. The lack of common standards regarding measurements, implementation details, and variable values, make results difficult to compare and generalize. Further standardizations and research are much needed before accurate conclusions can be drawn.

Child mental health has been an emerging topic in societal as well as scholar spheres. Mental health is intimately connected with wellbeing and as such their promotion by the World Health Organization(WHO) has allowed for governmental and societal structures to be aware of what is necessary to implement and change in order to achieve better child mental health and wellbeing. Through this thesis, the representations of children and how mental health and well-being are constructed are analysed using Bacchi’s “What’s the problem presented to be” (WPR) method. The aim of this studyis to critically examine how the concepts and representations described above are discursively generated in the annual reports of 2015 and 2016 from the WHO. When analyzing the representations of the child, mental health and wellbeing, two major themes are identified: The vulnerable/agentic child and the best place for a child. The first theme discursively represents children in three forms: Helplessness or victim, passive recipients and agentic.The second theme represents not only children but also their families, the institutions and the institutional staff. Here another three discourses emerge: Connection to the nuclear family discourse,the powerful and harming institutions discourse and the blaming the staff discourse. Regarding the concepts of wellbeing and mental health, the results comprising this thesis suggest that, in the reports,mental health is presented to be a question of who the caregiver is and how resources such as education are distributed. Wellbeing is connected to the presence of the parents with the child avoiding thus institutionalization as well as the children becoming victims of the malpractices of the negligent institutional staff and the possibility of children becoming agents in their own lives. Finally,the seemingly unproblematic aspects of such representations indicate that the arguments about the vulnerable/agentic child and the best place for a child, are not put in context and are about a generalized child that does not fit the specificity of children’s worlds.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study explored the consequences of passion killing (PK) on the academic wellbeing of undergraduates in Botswana and Namibia. The study is motivated by the alarming rate of intimate partner femicide popularly referred to as passion killings in both countries; where dozens of young women are being killed by their jilted and angry boyfriends (who most times commit suicide after the murder). The victims and perpetrators are the future generation youths; and noticeably, this monstrous crime had permeated awfully into the universities in some African countries. However, to date, there is paucity of information on the influence of such occurrence on the academic wellbeing of undergraduates. The study employed qualitative research approach, with intrinsic case study design. It was grounded in interpretative paradigm. The participants were purposefully selected given the nature of the study as well as the site; the study used snowball purposive sampling. The samples were of six participants and the data was obtained through semi-structured face-to-face interviews. The data were coded and thematic analysis was used to analyse the content. Member checking procedures were also employed to assess the credibility and trustworthiness of the study as well as the suitability of the subjects in order to ensure that the results of the study were dependable and could be confirmed. The study adhered to the professional research ethical considerations like voluntary participation, informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity and avoidance of harm. The study found that incidence of PK is still burgeoning in the locations of study and very rampant among the young people; the victims are largely women. It is established from the data collected during in depth interviews with the students that passion killing has negative influence on the academic wellbeing of students in tertiary institutions in Botswana and Namibia. It causes social shock which leaves students in disconnected and disenchanted relationships; causes psychological trauma leading to feelings of insecurity and instability which affects their learning and concentration.

The transition to secondary school can represent a significant life event for many adolescents and can adversely affect their psychological adjustment and wellbeing. Little is known about how adjustment to this transition can be facilitated for young people. The review paper critically evaluated the evidence-base for school transition programmes that target pupil's mental wellbeing. A keyword search of abstract databases was conducted and 20 studies were evaluated. The majority of studies could not conclude that their intervention improved mental wellbeing to a statistically significant level, and numerous methodological limitations weaken the existing evidence-base. However, the most promising areas of research pertain to intervening with the parents and teachers of adolescents experiencing school transition. Further research should investigate this further. The empirical paper employed a qualitative methodology to examine how adolescents make sense of and create meaning from their experience of going to boarding school, and to explore what can be done to facilitate this adjustment. Ten female and male adolescents were interviewed in their second year of attending boarding school. The interviews, analysed using lnterpretative Phenomenological Analysis, yielded three superordinate themes: 1) 'Home is where the heart is', which captures adolescents experiences of homesickness, the stronger relationships formed with their family, and the development of new attachment figures with their house matron and peers, 2) 'Living in a bubble', which reflects a feeling of being constrained at boarding school and an awareness of it being a hierarchical environment, and 3) 'Gaining familiarity with the place and just being me' as adolescents appeared to positively adjust over time. Results are discussed in terms of attachment, coping and adjustment theories and models of psychosocial development. Clinical and organisational implications for professionals working in boarding schools, as well as suggestions for future research arc discussed.

Echinococcus granulosus is a cestode species responsible for human cystic echinococcosis (CE). The domestic dog is the primary definitive host for the transmission of E. granulosus infection to domestic livestock intermediate hosts and to humans. In order to determine the prevalence and risk factors for canine echinococcosis, epidemiological studies were conducted in known endemic localities in three different countries i.e. Libya, Kenya and Wales. Stray dogs were subject to direct examination of the small intestine at necropsy. Owned dogs (total n=1659) were screened for E. granulosus infection using a genus specific coproantigen ELISA test that was restandardised against 75 dog necropsy results, and exhibited 100% sensitivity and 98% specificity. Analysis of risk factors for canine echinococcosis associated with Echinococcus coproantigen positive results was evaluated based on dog-owner questionnaires. In Libya, the overall infection of E. granulosus in autopsied dogs was 25.8%, and an overall coproantigen prevalence of 21.6% was obtained for owned dogs (n= 334). Risk factors (p<0.05) for a coproantigen positive owned dog in Libya were, dog age (≤5 years), non-restraint of dogs, dogs fed on offal, sheepdog class, owners that did not de-worm their dogs, and dogs owned by farmers who admitted to frequent slaughter of livestock. Dog sex was not a significant risk factor for a positive coproantigen ELISA in dogs from all study areas. Worm burdens in necropsied dogs in Libya ranged from 29 to 2900 (mean 1064) and were positively correlated to coproantigen ELISA OD values (r= 0.76), but negatively associated with dog age (r= -0.64). Canine echinococcosis in Libya measured by locality varied, with Alkhums (Leptis-Magna) district having the highest coproantigen prevalence at 38.7% (p=0.001), followed by Azahwia district with 19.2%. Tripoli district had the lowest coproprevalence where 17.5% of dogs were copro-positive. In Tripoli an abattoir survey for livestock CE was also undertaken and is reported. In northern Kenya, post-mortem examination of the small intestines of 17 dogs from Turkana, revealed 29.4% harboured E. granulosus infection, with a mean worm burden of 1570 adults. Overall 26% (42/161) of Turkana dogs were copro-positive, with the highest copro-prevalence identified in dogs from Lokichoggio division. Younger dogs (≤5 years), free-roaming dogs, dogs fed on offal, and dogs of owners that practiced home slaughter of livestock and that had no knowledge about echinococcosis, appeared to have a significantly higher risk of being coproantigen positive (p<0.05). In mid-Wales a list of 321 sheep farms were selected at random, from which 1164 farm-dogs were screened using rectal faecal samples tested for Echinococcus coproantigens, and owners questioned using a modified dog-owner questionnaire. Furthermore, the potential impact of the 2001 footand- mouth disease (FMD) epidemic, on the prevalence of E. granulosus in farm dogs was assessed. An overall coproantigen positive rate of 8.0% was recorded on 22% of farms surveyed, which compared to a rate of 3.4% obtained in the same region in 1993. There was no significant difference in copro-positive prevalence between FMD affected properties and those that were unaffected. Significant risk factors for a positive farm dog in Wales were associated with allowing dogs to roam free, and infrequent deworming (>4month intervals) of dogs. The data are discussed in relation to a previous pilot hydatid control program in that area of Wales (1983-89) and the potential for increase in transmission to humans. Identification of risk factors associated with canine echinococcosis appear to be similar in all three communities studied and help to demonstrate practices that may be amenable to change as part of hydatid control programmes.

This thesis presents a methodology for soundscape research, utilising consumer mobile and internet technologies. This has been used to gather objective environmental data, as well as subjective data from participants in-situ. A total of 323 untrained members of the public have submitted soundscape recordings from around the world. For the first time, participant choice has been factored into soundscape research, where members of the public decide which sound environments are investigated. Human relationships with their sound environments have been investigated, with a number of findings corresponding with those of other studies utilising entirely different methodologies. In addition, a number of new findings have been made to contribute to the field. The two extracted subjective principal components of ’Appreciation’ and ’Dynamics’ has shown a solid validation of the project’s methodology, due to their similarities with a number of other studies utilising different techniques of data retrieval. The distinctive groupings of the different soundscape types within this factor space defined by the extracted components reveals the perceptual differences between the soundscape categories: urban, rural, urban public space and urban park. The activity a person is involved in while making their submission has shown to be influential in soundscape appraisal, with relaxation and recreation situations resulting in increased soundscape appreciation. The reasons behind a soundscape submission have revealed significant differences in subjective response. The positive interpretation of the term soundscape has resulted in a majority of positive reasons for participation. Soundscapes that arise from a participant’s daily routine are generally less appreciated than soundscapes containing a particular sound source focus. The highest levels of appreciation were observed in soundscapes whose focus is on a specific activity that the participant is involved in. The interest that a participant has on their soundscape is seen to result in raised levels of appreciation.

In line with dominant Western discourses regarding mental health, research concerning the wellbeing of forced migrants has tended to take an individualistic, symptom-focused approach. Although not without value and utility, it is argued that this narrow focus has the potential to obscure other important experiences, processes and perspectives relating to forced migration, such as considering how refugees make sense of and respond to their experiences at individual and familial levels. For example, there is no known qualitative research within the UK - and little internationally - which explores how the experience of forced migration impacts upon individual and family wellbeing, from the perspective of parents. Hence the aim of this study was to widen the narrow focus regarding refugee wellbeing. A qualitative approach was adopted, with semi-structured interviews exploring the experience of fleeing home and its impact upon family life in the UK for six refugee mothers. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was selected as a suitable approach to data analysis. Three master themes emerged across participant data, namely: Loss as a constant companion to parenting; A shifting view of the self as a mother, and Taking the good with the bad in family life. A rich account of these master themes and corresponding subthemes is provided. Findings are discussed in relation to existing literature, alongside implications for clinical psychological research and practice, methodological considerations and suggestions for future research.

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