The purpose of this study will be to compare unwed mothers with married pregnant mothers on the Depression, Psychopathic Deviate and Hypomania scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. The major hypothesis is that the scores of the unwed mother will reflect more psychopathology which will be taken to indicate that the unwed mother's problems antedate their pregnancy. (The term, "psychopathology," as used herein is defined as any maladaptive behavior which is a result of inadequate personality development.)

<p> When a child has a terminal diagnosis, the intervention of legacy building is offered as a standard of care in all of the 77 teaching children&rsquo;s hospitals in the United States. Legacy building is a group of activities designed to create tangible items, such as hand and foot prints, locks of hair, or scrapbooks, to promote meaning making for dying individuals, while also providing support to family and friends. Nevertheless, research has yet to identify the benefits of such interventions for the surviving immediate family. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of legacy building interventions on bereaved parents and siblings. Specifically, how do legacy building interventions facilitated by healthcare professionals impact bereavement for the immediate family? A qualitative thematic analysis approach was taken to address the research question. </p><p> A total of 16 participants representing 8 families, consisting of 11 parents and 5 siblings participated in semistructured interviews. Thematic analysis was utilized and developed into 4 major parent themes emerged: (a) Introduction of legacy building, (b) Experience of legacy building items, (c) Psycho-social care, and (d) Maintaining connection. Additionally, 4 major sibling themes emerged which are (a) Experiences with legacy building items, (b) Sibling grief, (c) Psycho-social care, and (d) Maintaining connection. Implications for clinical practice will be discussed as well as future research.</p>

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M.Ed. / The world today is filled with instability and uncertainty. This is especially true to South Africa. Many experience difficult circumstances, and sometimes struggle to work through these negative and destructive motions. The meaning in life is something that most people start to explore at a young age (Kinnier, Kernes, Tribbensee & Puymbroeck 2006:7). People have searched for the answers in many places and in doing so, have sometimes experienced more harm than good. Ultimately, not finding meaning in life can be detrimental to a person's mental health. Much earlier, researchers such as Bollnow (1950), Garbers (1957), and others have researched this phenomenon in Europe, especially after the Second World War. However, not much research has been done in the field of late adolescents in the South African context. The purpose of this research study was to provide psycho-educational guidelines for late adolescents, to clarify what their meaning in life is. This can sometimes be a difficult concept to explore, as not all people have certainty of what gives them meaning. This is why a purposive selection of participants was chosen. These participants were between the ages of 18 and 24 years. All of them should have undergone an existential crisis at least 6 months prior to the study. This, in theory, ensures that the participants were in a place in their lives where they had questioned the meaning in life, and had time to process their findings, if any. One open ended question was asked: "What gives you meaning in your life?" The findings can be summed up as follows: Meaning in life equals relationship.

<p> The posttest only experimental design study was conducted to examine if exposure to neutral or negative portrayals of mental illness in media influences viewers&rsquo; attitudes on mental illness. Participants were 22 self-selected students from a private, co-educational university in an urban area of the east south-central region of the United States. Two groups watched one of two movies that were pre-determined to be reflective of American culture and mental illness (i.e., <i>Lars and the Real Girl and Drive</i>). Data was collected by administering Community Attitudes Toward Mental Illness (CAMI) and a demographic questionnaire. An independent t-test was used to determine if CAMI subscales varied because of the movie presented. Participants who watched the movie portraying mental illness in a negative context were predicted to have higher social restrictiveness and authoritarianism subscale scores, and those who watched the movie portraying mental illness in a neutral context were predicted to have higher benevolence and CMHI subscale scores. However, there was not a significant difference on any subscales scores at <i> p</i> = .05 between the movies presented to each group. Implications are discussed.</p>

Book Summary: This inspiring resource presents theories, findings, and interventions from Positive Suicidology, an emerging strengths-based approach to suicide prevention. Its synthesis of positive psychology and suicidology theories offers a science-based framework for promoting wellbeing to complement or, if appropriate, replace traditional deficit-driven theories and therapies used in reducing suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Coverage reviews interpersonal, intrapersonal, and societal risk factors for suicide, and identifies protective factors, such as hope and resilience, that can be enhanced in therapy. From there, chapters detail a palette of approaches and applications of Positive Suicidology, from the powerful motivating forces described in Self-Determination Theory to meaning-building physical and social activities. Among the topics covered: Future-oriented constructs and their role in suicidal ideation and enactment. Gratitude as a protective factor for suicidal ideation and behavior: theory and evidence. Considering race and ethnicity in the use of positive psychological approaches to suicide. The Six R’s framework as mindfulness for suicide prevention. Community-based participatory research and empowerment for suicide prevention. Applied resiliency and suicide prevention: a strengths-based, risk-reduction framework. Psychotherapists, counselors, social workers, psychiatrists, and health psychologists, as well as educators, clergy and healthcare professionals, will find A Positive Psychological Approach to Suicide an invaluable source of contemporary evidence-based strategies for their prevention and intervention efforts with suicidal clients.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

Schizophrenia is a complex and devastating illness with heterogeneous symptoms, late diagnosis, and excess early mortality. It is also associated with comorbidities including substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and sleep problems, that have adverse effects on the individual over the entire course of the disease. While effects of these comorbidities have been identified in the literature, few studies have involved longitudinal assessments and reproducible data collection in large populations. Recent smartphone research tools have been developed that provide better access to patients and can enable a real-world snapshot of a person’s mental state. In addition, these tools use the phone’s sensors to construct a digital phenotype of an individual, with the potential to detect changes in symptoms and cognition on a moment-by-moment basis. Previous studies report associations between anxiety and smartphone use, but most involve cross-sectional data and cohorts of healthy controls completing paper and pencil scales. A recent smartphone study collected day-to-day symptomatology, cognition, and phone usage data and discovered that the association between anxiety and smartphone use is more complex than originally thought.

The purpose of this study is to qualitatively explore the art therapist's perspective of working with victims of disaster and implications of art therapy after a disaster experience. Empirical research in disaster relief is limited, likely due to the unpredictable nature of disasters and the unique circumstances of each disaster event. Victims of disaster are at risk for developing symptoms related to acute stress disorder and post traumatic stress disorder related to their disaster experience. Art therapists have worked alongside other mental health providers to assist and treat victims of disaster within the immediate and delayed response to a disaster. Literature on art therapy with victims of disaster is heavily weighted on art therapy with children after a disaster, with few studies including adolescents or adults. This study used a qualitative clinical-ethnographic grounded theory approach to understand what art therapists do and how they work with victims of disaster that aids in healing from these traumatic events. The findings of this study suggest the participating art therapists valued openness and flexibility in their work, varying their approach based upon the timing of their response (immediate or delayed), consideration for the environment in which they worked, they took on a variety of roles in the disaster response community, and emphasized the practices of self-care as beneficial for their own well-being and for increased quality of care for their clients. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2015. / October 29, 2015. / art therapy, clinical-ethnography, disaster relief, qualitative, trauma, victims of disaster / Includes bibliographical references. / David E. Gussak, Professor Directing Dissertation; Steven I. Pfeiffer, University Representative; Marcia L. Rosal, Committee Member; Jeffrey L. Broome, Committee Member.

One in five youth suffer from mental illness, and even more experience subclinical symptoms, yet this pathologic focus ignores factors of mental health that contribute to flourishing. The vast majority of research on emotional intelligence and subjective well-being has been conducted on adults and little is known about their relationship to social-emotional adjustment in youth, particularly across socioeconomic status and age. The present study examined the social-emotional adjustment (using the BASC-SRP and CBCL-YSR), subjective well-being (PANAS-C and BMSLSS), and teacher-rated emotional intelligence (Pfeiffer Emotional Intelligence Scale, Revised – Teacher Report) in 136 youth (61% female) across age (mean = 12.6 years old) and socioeconomic status (32% low income). Regression and moderation analyses did not reveal any significant relationships or moderating influences between the constructs and variables. Suggestions for future research to consider separately examining the factors of emotional intelligence in relation to components of subjective well-being and facets of social-emotional adjustment are discussed. Future research is strongly encouraged to further investigate factors of mental health alongside maladjustment and sub-clinical mental illness in an effort to clarify the complex relationship between these variables and inform the development of efficacious prevention and intervention programs for youth. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2016. / April 19, 2016. / Adjustment, Emotional Intelligence, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Well-being, Youth / Includes bibliographical references. / Steven I. Pfeiffer, Professor Directing Dissertation; Christopher Schatschneider, University Representative; Frances Prevatt, Committee Member; Jeannine Turner, Committee Member.