This is a pre-test, post-test with a comparison and treatment group study surrounding sexual diversity in residence halls at The University of Arizona. The study starts at the beginning of an academic year with an anonymous Diversity Questionnaire for all residents in two similar residence halls. Both halls are coeducational and similar in student population, age, size and location. Each hall's residents were asked to complete the questionnaire to be scored. One hall's (Graham/Greenlee) Resident Assistants were told of the results and asked to prioritize their programming to include sexual diversity issues. The other hall's (Apache/Santa Cruz) questionnaires were scored, but no results will be disclosed and, therefore, no special programming took place. At the end of the academic year, the questionnaire was repeated in both halls and compared to the beginning of the year questionnaire results to show changes in attitudes towards sexual diversity.

<p> Diagnosis of cancer found in a child impacts not only the child being diagnosed, but the siblings, parents, and family as a whole. The purpose of this thesis project was to write a grant in order to fund the development and implementation of a support group for parents who have children with cancer. In partnership with Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, the program would create a 6 week long support group that would provide parents with skills, resources, and interventions needed to parent a child diagnosed with cancer. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was selected as a funder because of the foundation's dedication to promote the health, happiness and well-being of children. This grant reviews the challenges parents have as well as the positive impact this program could have on the parents and their children. Submission and funding of this grant were not requirements of successful completion of this project. </p>

<p> Mass shootings that end in suicide at public venues such as schools have become shockingly frequent. In many cases the attackers have left communications indicating envy and bullying as the source of their rage. With healthcare becoming more universally available and the U.S. Surgeon General&rsquo;s focus on bullying as a national healthcare issue, the mental health community would be remiss in failing to adequately address bullying behavior and its effects at this time. Relational aggression is a particular type of bullying that relies on surreptitious gossip and the willingness of participants to accept roles of victim or bully. Using hermeneutic phenomenology, this thesis creates a depth psychological model for exploring the intrapersonal and interpersonal bully&ndash;victim dynamics in relational aggression through the use of the stories of Cinderella and Arachne. The findings demonstrated how archetypal defenses maintain the bully&ndash;victim dynamic and the difficulties in and importance of perspective taking in its resolution.</p>

<p> In this qualitative study, I explored the phenomenon of positive growth in maternal caregivers of children who have undergone a kidney transplant. Semistructured interviews were conducted with seven mothers who shared narrative accounts of their experience. Through a phenomenological analysis of the interview data, the fundamental structure of positive growth in caregivers of transplant children was illuminated. Both negative themes and trauma and positive themes and growth were found to contribute to maternal caregiver positive growth.</p><p> Participants revealed that being a caregiver for a transplant child is an endless quest that entails layers of loss, and with each loss there is the need to start anew. The experience of loss and renewal is recursive and at times seemingly endless. Thus, the overarching theme describing positive growth in transplant caregivers was a &ldquo;journey of endless beginnings.&rdquo; There were three metathemes: encountering loss, transitioning through loss, and reconciling loss. Six themes composed the first leg of the journey, which was laden with trauma; however, months before and after the child&rsquo;s transplant a transitional period unfolded. Three major themes made up this pivotal point: the secondchance search, transplantation as the gift of life, and facing posttransplant loss. It was at this juncture that profound connections with others were made, leading to the possibility for caregivers to transcend their trauma and have the opportunity to experience positive growth. The third leg of the journey, comprising six themes, entailed additional losses but also presented a time of renewal where caregivers reconciled ongoing losses, embraced new ways of being, and experienced lasting positive change.</p>

<p> Millions of people are adversely affected by crises and disasters each year. Response to disasters relies heavily on volunteer organizations to assist in the aftermath of these traumatic events. HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response (AACR) is one organization that provides needed support to those impacted by way of specially trained crisis dogs. Unfortunately, there is a lack of these certified teams able to effectively respond. The research question for this study was how can HOPE AACR expand (recruit and train qualified new teams) into currently unoccupied areas. This question was answered through collaborative action research (AR) with this organization's members, those who possess the specialized knowledge and training for AACR work. Due to the fact that the nature of this AR did not contain sensitive information that posed risk to participants and that written permission was obtained to use the site name, an exemption was granted to name the site in this study. In particular, this study worked with regional directors in charge of various areas of the U.S., elected board of directors responsible for oversight and approval of organizational changes, and a group of current certified volunteer team members. Participants engaged in various interviews and focus groups in order to share perspectives and experiences to solve the identified problem. Through this AR process, this research team determined a plan of action (target area for expansion and strategies to recruit and train new members). The goal of this study was to document a process which can be refined and re-used for future expansion efforts. Implementation of this action plan will also result in expanded territory, increased ability to meet requests for services, and ultimately enhanced recovery for those exposed to crises and disasters. </p><p> <i>Keyword:</i> Animal-Assisted Crisis Response</p>

Depression in childhood is a significant mental health concern, impacting cognitive, affective, social, behavioral, and physical domains. Children who experience depressive symptoms are at an increased risk for physical and mental health, social, and behavioral problems throughout adulthood. Children who are marginalized due to their socioeconomic status, racial and ethnic identities are at an increased risk to experience depression and limited access to mental health care. Further, previous research has demonstrated limited efficacy of depression treatments for young children. In this study, I examined the efficacy of child-centered play therapy [CCPT], a culturally and developmentally responsive treatment, on depression among young children. Participants were 71 children from five Title 1 elementary schools in the southwestern U.S. referred by school personnel for depressive symptoms (49 males, 22 females; ages 5-9, mean age M = 6.21). The sample consisted of 14 (19.7%) African American, 3 (4.2%) Asian American, 15 (21.1%) biracial, 19 (26.8%) Caucasian, and 20 (28.2%) Latino children. Participants were randomly assigned to eight weeks of twice-weekly CCPT treatment group (n = 34) or a waitlist control group (n = 37). Results of doubly multivariate repeated-measures MANOVA revealed statistically significant improvement in depressive symptoms for children who participated in CCPT on the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire Parent and DOF Sluggish Cognitive Tempo Scale. Repeated measures ANOVA on DOF Total Problems indicated that children in CCPT statistically significantly decreased their demonstration of overall problem behaviors as rated by blind observers. Results of this study support the effectiveness of CCPT with young children of diverse ethnocultural and socioeconomic background.

Using the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, this study examines its application to the treatment of traumatized victims and their families. The study's hypotheses focused on the role of stress and social support on the victim's quality of life as well as the families, as a consequence of the treatment. In addition, a control group was established to determine if traditional family therapy was more effective than the Twelve Step approach in ameliorating trauma symptoms. The study's participants consisted of 51 families identified as having one member suffering from traumatic stress. / The multiple regression analysis revealed that the victim's quality of life was improved as a result, through the intervening variables of stress and social support. It was also found to be effective in reducing family stress and indirectly then enhancing the family's quality of life. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-08, Section: A, page: 2590. / Major Professor: Mary W. Hicks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

This exploratory study examined the impact of family history on the recovery of alcoholic women, investigating differences between those who had been sober for at least two years and those who had at least one relapse and less than a year of abstinence. The impact of personal characteristics of the women, social support, and therapy for abuse upon recovery were also examined. / The study used a convenience sample of 157 subjects, with voluntary and anonymous participation, drawn from women alcoholics in the southeastern United States. The women completed a questionnaire using retrospective analysis and self-report data. / Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to examine the impact of individual, family, and socioeconomic factors upon recovery. Race, traumatic reactions, social support, and therapy for abuse were significant factors in differences between sober and relapsing women. Age, education, past physical abuse, and participation in Twelve Step groups, as covariates, did not significantly contribute to an understanding of the differences between the groups. / Sober and relapsing women were similar on measures of severity of addiction to alcohol, family of origin ritual, and parental chemical dependency. Although women in both groups reported a high incidence of family violence, relapsing women reported more traumatic reactions, operationalized as negative affect/cognitive schemata about self and the world; intrusiveness of thoughts, dreams, or feelings about traumatic events; and avoidance of stimuli associated with the traumatic event. / A combination of variables was found to accurately predict group membership, providing a means of identifying alcoholic women who are most vulnerable to relapse. Direct discriminant function analysis determined that the variables identified in the study accurately predict recovery, correctly classifying 94% of the cases. Differences between the groups on the tested variables accounted for 67% of the variance. Avoidance of stimuli associated with traumatic events, education, age, negative affect/cognitive schemata about self and the world, and counseling for abuse issues, in that order, made the greatest contributions to the analysis. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-11, Section: A, page: 3655. / Major Professor: Thomas A. Cornille. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

There is much confusion in the family therapy literature about how a constructivist/constructionist epistemology translates into the actual practice of therapy. This study addresses the problem through a qualitative analysis of constructivist/constructionist literature nominated by constructivist/constructionist authors as being the best examples of therapy from this framework. The design utilized two methodologies for addressing this problem. A content analysis provided the method for extracting "the doing of therapy" from the literature, and grounded theory techniques provided a systematic method for grouping these units of analysis into coherent categories. / Five major categories emerged from the analysis: (1) The attitude of the therapist, (2) What should/should not happen in therapy, (3) What the therapist should/should not do, (4) Definition and utility of therapeutic concepts, and (5) The logistics of therapy. The first three categories provide a description of the core of the practice of constructivist/constructionist therapy with the latter two clarifying terms and practice strategies. The practice of constructivist/constructionist therapy as revealed in this study is then compared to theoretical assumptions and propositions for constructivist/constructionist therapy, revealing its strengths and weaknesses. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-11, Section: B, page: 5929. / Major Professor: Thomas E. Smith. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is characterized by upper airway occlusion during sleep, resulting in sleep disturbance, hypoxemia, and daytime sleepiness. This study investigated the neuropsychological (NPSY) functioning, daytime sleepiness and vigilance of 17 male subjects (mean age = 45.2) with moderate to severe OSAS (mean Respiratory Disturbance Index = 65.1). Subjects were assessed before, three days, and two months after treatment with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Subjects were randomly assigned to two groups. Groups received three assessments consisting of a NPSY test battery, measurement of physiological/subjective sleepiness, and vigilance. After baseline assessment, ten subjects were treated with CPAP for three nights, while seven control subjects remained untreated. Control subjects' data for the second assessment was used to estimate practice and placebo effects. After the second assessment, all subjects were treated. / Results revealed that subjects did not show significant NPSY impairment before treatment despite showing near pathological levels of sleepiness and impaired vigilance. / After three nights of treatment, subjects evidenced significant improvement on only 1 of 18 NPSY measures (visual memory). Correlational analyses revealed an association between decreases in sleep fragmentation after acute treatment and improvement on tasks assessing visual memory, attention and concentration and verbal intellectual functioning. A relationship between improvement in nocturnal oxygen saturation and neuropsychological tests assessing attention and concentration and verbal intellectual functioning was also found. Vigilance and sleepiness were not improved. / At follow-up, only modest improvements in visual and verbal memory were found. Vigilance had returned to normal levels and sleepiness was significantly reduced but had not returned to normal levels. / The present study did not find evidence of significant NPSY dysfunction in OSAS patients before treatment. After correcting for practice effects, little improvement was seen in NPSY function after two months of CPAP treatment. These results highlight the importance of a control group in studies utilizing a repeated neuropsychological testing protocol. Further, it suggests that previous studies may have overestimated the improvement in cognitive functions of OSAS patients after treatment with CPAP. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-12, Section: B, page: 6452. / Major Professor: Jack G. May, Jr. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.