The present study examined the Wake County Super Opportunities with After-School Resources (SOAR) after-school program to determine its effectiveness concerning students? academic success. One thousand two hundred and four SOAR participants, including those students who were asked to attend, but did not, and 18,407 Wake County students who had not attended SOAR participated in the study using their End of Course (EOC) actual and expected scores. It was hypothesized that: (1) students involved with the SOAR after-school program would perform significantly better than students not involved with the program; (2) greater attendance in the SOAR after-school program would produce significant gains in academic achievement; (3) African American students involved in the SOAR program would perform significantly better than African American students in the same school district (Wake County) not involved in SOAR; and (4) African Americans students involved in the SOAR program would perform significantly better than European Americans students in the same school district (Wake County) not involved in SOAR. All hypotheses were supported. Participants in the SOAR program significantly outperformed students not involved in the program or attended once; students who attended ten or more times in the SOAR program significantly outperformed students who attended less than ten times. African Americans in the SOAR program who attended ten or more times, significantly outperformed European Americans in the SOAR program who attended ten or more times and African Americans and European Americans in Wake County not involved in SOAR. African Americans in SOAR did not outperform European Americans participating in SOAR when the entire sample was analyzed. This suggests that the group affect was greater for African Americans. The present study provides evidence that a well-designed after-school program, which focuses on increasing students? resiliency by building their academic skills, their sense of belonging, their sense of usefulness, and their personal potency can close the achievement gap between African Americans and European Americans and can yield positive results for all students involved in the after-school program.

As the number of minority children listed with adoptive services continues to increase, the instances of transracial adoptions become more frequent. Numerous researchers have found that cultural competence and parenting behaviors of transracial adoptive parents are important in helping with this process. Cultural competence can be viewed as a process that comes as a result of life experience and encounters that make an individual aware of the many cultural groups around them. For this study, a cross-sectional research design was chosen to measure the changes in cultural competence over the first five years of adoption. Sixty participants from various ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds were administered the Transracial Adoption Parenting Scale. Data were collected from participants across 27 states. Of the 60 participants, 30.5% had been adoptive parents for less than 1 year, 27.78% had been adoptive parents for 1-2 years, 27.78% had been adoptive parents for 3-5 years, and 13.89% had been adoptive parents for five years or more. The ânumber of years as an adoptive parentâ variable was identified for each participant through a demographic questionnaire prior to administration of the scale. The frequency of responses to the cultural competence variables was then recorded to help determine the presence of a relationship to the ânumber of years as an adoptive parentâ variable. Results of the study indicated that the progression of stages from â1 to 2 yearsâ to â5 or more yearsâ showed significant differences in cultural competence. The area of cultural competence that appeared to have the most significant difference was that of Multicultural Planning suggesting that as transracial adoptive parents progress through the stages, they continuously become more racially aware, and thus more sensitive in this area.

The purpose of this dissertation paper is to propose and implement a research study in Cybersupervision (Watson, 2003). This research experiment is a N=1 case study design, replicated 5 times, to investigate counselor self-efficacy and skill competence in an online/distance learning practicum course. Cybersupervision, or electronically mediated counseling supervision and practice, is of growing interest to the profession. The research in this area is minimal, but does provide positive findings which indicate effective counselor training and supervision practices. This study?s purpose is not only to add to the research in this area, but also to show that counselor self-efficacy (CSE) can increase as counselor skill acquisition increases through the use of online counselor supervision (Cybersupervision). This researcher found the participants in this study increased both CSE and skill acquisition in all five experiments, and in 4 of 5 experiments the results were significant and conclusive.

Current progress monitoring tools do not specifically address vocabulary knowledge which is essential for academic success. The purpose of the current study was to analyze third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students correct and incorrect responses to determine incremental progress in vocabulary knowledge and to more specifically examine how students used contextual cues to infer the meaning of unknown words. Thus, the current study examined (1) students abilities to infer the correct meanings of unknown words based on contextual information in reading passages across grade levels, (2) the change in error patterns produced by students across the grade levels, and (3) the impact of six weeks of instruction in word learning strategies on students correct and phonemic error responses. Additionally, teachers knowledge of effective vocabulary instruction strategies was examined (4). Initial results have indicated that students show a significant difference in the use of semantic and phonemic error response types across grade levels. A positive trend of correct responses across grades was also observed. An increase in correct responses and a reduction in phonemic error responses were seen as a result of instruction in word learning strategies; however, the results were not statistically significant. Progress is an essential outcome of intervention. Demonstrating progress by analyzing a students correct and incorrect responses on a progress monitoring tool would possibly show incremental progress and facilitate selection of appropriate interventions.

The practice of BDSM (Bondage/Discipline, Dominance/Submission, and Sadomasochism) is a roleplay activity that facilitates the examination of power dynamics through erotic play. Historically, the mental health community relegated BDSM as a deviant sexual practice. Modern therapeutic perspectives, however, affirm the normality of practitioners and report psychological benefits of BDSM. Nevertheless, the practice remains stigmatized and misunderstood. The goal of this research was to examine how BDSM works, and how power is exchanged within relationships. More specifically, the experiences of Black BDSM practitioners were investigated to add nuance to how racial dynamics further impact power relationships. Ethnographic procedures were applied to help deconstruct relational interactions in BDSM practice. Observations were carried out at three public BDSM dungeons, and 13 Black BDSM practitioners were interviewed to examine how power plays out with respect to role identity, communicative behaviors, negotiation and consent. Dramaturgical analysis was applied to outline observable and obscure behaviors within BDSM social interactions. The findings of this study present structural insights into BDSM practice that may be applied to mental health counselor's increased understanding of power relationships. Furthermore, findings suggest dynamics observed in BDSM can be applied to non-BDSM relational interactions with regards to negotiating power and exercising personal agency. Lastly, the narratives of Black BDSM practitioners provide insight into how marginal identity statuses can impact psychological safety within unequal power relationships.

The health of the caregiver-child relationship is imperative for positive long-term mental health outcomes in children and is dependent on caregivers' understanding of their child's behaviors. Misunderstanding a child's behaviors prevents caregivers from responding to their child in a nurturing manner, which creates disconnection in the caregiver-child relationship. Unfortunately, children with sensory processing sensitivity are particularly likely to experience such misunderstanding in their relationships with caregivers. Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is a temperament trait manifesting in stronger neurological and emotional responses to stimuli. To increase understanding of children's needs through proper discovery of SPS, the researcher developed the Highly Sensitive Preschool Scale (HSPS) to identify SPS in preschool-age children. Specifically, the researcher examined: (a) the factor structure of HSPS with a sample of caregivers with neurotypical preschool age children, (b) the internal consistency reliability of the HSPS, (c) the relationship between the HSPS scores and the PAS (measuring anxiety) and ATEC (measuring autism), (d) the relationship between the HSPS scores and reported demographic data, and (e) the test-retest reliability of the HSPS. Data analysis resulted in a four-factor exploratory HSPS model that accounted for 41.45% of the total variance. Factor 1 (Empathy, n = 5) accounted for 17.92% of the variance, Factor 2 (Response to Stimuli, n = 3) 11.85%, Factor 3 (Attention to Detail, n = 3) 6.6%, and Factor 4 (Emotional Response, n = 4) 5.1%. Finally, the researcher discussed implications of the study including (a) clinicians use of the HSPS to assist in differentiating diagnoses; (b) increased caregiver awareness of behaviors related to SPS, strengthening the caregiver-child relationship, and leading to long-term mental health benefits for their child; and (c) the future need for continuation of replication studies to strengthen the HSPS.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the directional relationship between counselor self-efficacy (as measured by Counselor Activity Self-Efficacy [CASES, Lee et al., 2007]) and multicultural counseling competency (as measured by the Korean Multicultural Counseling Competency Scale [KMCCS; Lim et al., 2018]) among Korean counselors. The researcher further investigated mediating effects of attitude toward minority (as measured by the Social Distance Scale [SDS; Bogardus, 1933]) in the relationships between the constructs of interest. The results from analyses of standard multiple regression identified that counselor's self-efficacy contributed to their multicultural counseling competency. Furthermore, the results from analyses of hierarchical regression demonstrated that attitudes toward minority groups mediates the relationship between counselor self-efficacy and multicultural counseling competency. Discussion of the results, limitations of the study, recommendations for future researchers, and implications of the findings for counseling professionals and counselor educators are provided.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between professional school counselors' perceived self-efficacy of mental health counseling skills (as measured by the School-Based Mental Health Survey; developed by A. D. Waliski & A. Barthel; adapted and published by Carlson & Kees, 2013) and level of situational motivation (as measured by the Situational Motivation Scale; Guay et al., 2000) to the extent of counseling services provided to students (as measured by the School Counselor Activity Rating Scale; Scarborough, 2005). Based on the principles of Social Cognitive Theory (SCT; Bandura, 1986) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Ryan & Deci, 2017), the researcher tested the hypothesis that practicing school counselors (N = 128) with higher levels of perceived self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation will report providing higher levels of counseling services to students. The results of the multiple linear regression analyses identified that school counselors' perceived level of self-efficacy was the only statistically significant predictor of the frequency at which school counselors provide counseling activities, β = .375, p < .001. Further, post hoc analyses revealed that the frequency at which school counselors preferred to do counseling activities was a more statistically significant predictor of the frequency of actual counseling activities, β = .562, p < .001. In addition, though not statistically significant, results found external regulation had an inverse relationship with all predictor models. Therefore, external factors may have a negative effect on school counselors' frequency of performed counseling activities, although additional study in this area is warranted. Implications for the findings include (a) greater insight into the internal and external drive of school counselors; (b) increased understanding of the training needs of school counselors; and (c) insight into the practices of school counselors as they tend to student mental health needs.

This study explores the lived experiences of survivors of mass shootings and their family members' experiences of relational loss and growth. There is limited research on mass shooting survivors, with most of it focusing on post-traumatic stress disorder and other diagnosable mental health concerns. Until this study, the voices of survivors and their family members were absent from literature. The field of grief and traumatic loss typically refers to experiences related to the death of a loved one. However, this study seeks to expand the understanding on how exposure to a traumatic experience accompanies intangible, relational, and disenfranchised grief for the survivor and their loved ones. Moreover, the study considers relational growth to explore what it looks like relationally and the intrapersonal experience for survivors and their family members. A transcendental phenomenological research design was followed with 60-90-minute semi-structured interviews. The study included 11 participants (six survivors and five family members). Using Colazzi's (1979) research analysis, seven themes emerged: (1) Survivor self and relational growth, (2) internal adjustments and loss experiences, (3) survivorship identity and experience, (4) mental health care experiences, (5) difficult family and relational adjustments, (6) family adaptability and growth, and (7) relatives' struggle post-incident

The HIV epidemic continues to disproportionately impact marginalized populations, where one in two Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime. The lack of research regarding the wellness of Black men who have sex with men living with HIV (BMSM+) inhibits understanding, which could hinder professions missioned with bettering the wellness of BMSM+. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to investigate if resilience and empowerment predict BMSM+'s wellness. However, a lack of internal consistency among the empowerment measurement required the researcher to remove the scale and adjust the scope of the study. A simple linear regression determined that resilience predicted wellness with statistical significance F(1, 247) = 726.012, R2 = .745, p = .000, f2 = 2.92. Descriptive statistics revealed that there were no significant differences in overall wellness when comparing BMSM+ ((N = 249) to norming samples representative of the U.S. population, t(248) = 1.575, p = .12 and African-Americans, t(248) = -1.444, p = .150; though BMSM+ had higher overall wellness when compared to men, t(248) = 9.926, p = .000. Most of the BMSM+ in this study had a resilience score that was somewhat low to very low (M = 123. 39), which was significantly lower than norming samples of the U.S. population, t(248) = -8.345, p = .000 and men, p = .000; males: t(248) = -7.938, p = .000. Additionally, the researcher ran two post hoc analyses that used multi-factor ANOVAs that revealed significant differences in resilience and wellness between groups when examining participants' HIV viral load detectability, CD4 count, mode of HIV contraction, level of religiosity/spirituality, education, and relationship status. Overall, the findings of the current study challenge the assumption that BMSM+ are unwell and has implications for counseling practitioners, counselor educators, researchers, and community-based organizations.