Dissertation (Ph.D.)--University of Toledo, 2009. / Typescript. "Submitted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for The Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Psychology." Bibliography: leaves 79-87.

This research describes the design and evaluation of an internet-based universal program for use in schools with adolescent students to prevent common mental disorders and promote mental health. The research began in response to investigations that showed that rates of mental illness in Australian children, teenagers and adults were high, that these illnesses caused significant burden to individuals and society, and that there were insufficient services to treat. When current interventions are unable to alleviate disease burden it is important to focus on prevention. Mental health prevention should target youth before disorders cause disability and restriction of life choices. A review of the mental health prevention literature supported a universal cognitive behavioural approach in schools. Internet delivery was used to maintain content integrity, enable access to people living in regional and remote areas, and to appeal to young people. Internet delivery makes universal prevention cost effective and feasible. The Intervention Mapping approach was used to direct the design of the program. A feasibility study was conducted to gain opinions from students and teaching staff. Changes were made in light of results from this study and 463 students were then exposed to the program in an effectiveness trial. The effectiveness trial was a before-after design with no control group. Results from this trial provided evidence that the program was acceptable and effective for use by teachers in the intervention schools. Also student behaviour and mood changed in beneficial ways after program administration. Specifically, student reported significantly increased knowledge about stress and coping, use of help-seeking behaviours, and life satisfaction, and significantly decreased use of avoidance behaviours, total difficulties and psychological distress. The study design allows causal inferences to be surmised concerning exposure to the intervention and changes in behaviour and mood, but further evidence is needed before firm conclusions about effectiveness can be posited and generalizations made concerning different populations, settings and times. In conclusion, this thesis provides evidence that a computerised, cognitive behavioural mental health prevention program delivered to adolescent school students by teachers can potentially change student coping behaviours and mood in beneficial ways.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities University of Zululand in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy: Community Psychology in the Department of Psychology, 2006. / This investigation was contextualised within the community psychological model of mental health promotion and Zimmerman's empowerment theory (1995) and psychological intervention being conceptualized as a positive component with a view to enhancing psychological well-being. This study investigated psychological intervention as a strategy for the promotion of well-being among caregivers in a children's home. The primary focus was the caregivers in children's homes in the greater Durban area and the secondary consideration was the positive cascade effect it had on the children under then-care. The research design comprised an experimental and control group. A psychological intervention was implemented and the Maslach burnout inventory (1986) was used to measure the well-being outcomes. This was complemented with qualitative techniques that included a needs assessment questionnaire, intervention, consultation, focus group, appreciative enquiry, children's behaviour profile and the principal's pre and post intervention evaluation. The improvement in caregivers' well-being was also evaluated in the positive behaviour changes of selected children assessed by the Conners rating scale (1979). The SPSS findings indicated negligible change in the pre and post test MBI scores for caregivers. There was no significant differences in the pre and post test scores on the Conners rating scale. However, the descriptive qualitative measures indicated significant levels of improved psychological well-being by caregivers which generated a positive cascading effect on selected children under their charge. These descriptive improvement trends are attributed to the comprehensive treatment or intervention. / National Research Foundation (NRF)

No description available.

Thesis (Psy. D.)--Wheaton College, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 31-35).

Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophiae in psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zululand, 2006. / It is widely documented that institutionalised children represent a vulnerable sector of the population as they carry a high risk for the development of psychological problems. Recently, there has been a surge of interest in the use of exercise as a medium for mental health promotion. Various studies have provided evidence that exercise improves general health, quality of life, mood, subjective well-being, self esteem, self perception and other attributes which influence mental health positively. However, there is little research done in the South African context with specific emphasis on children. It was against this backdrop that an investigation into the use of exercise as a medium of mental health promotion among institutionalised children was conducted. This study was contextualised within the community psychological model of mental health promotion with mental health being conceptualised as a subset of physical activities aimed at improving health and well-being. A quasi-experimental control group research design, with pre and post testing on self report measures of physical self-perception, depression and paediatric symptoms, was used to investigate the effectiveness of physical exercise as a medium for mental health promotion among institutionalised children in local children's homes. Focus groups were held with children and caregivers to obtain qualitative data. The exercise intervention was associated with significant improvements in the physical self-perception of the children and caretakers' ratings of children's behaviour. These findings provide a compelling argument for the value of exercise in the promotion of mental health in children's homes. / National Research Foundation

No description available.

Among several difficulties associated with immigration, acculturation process has been recognized as one of the main stressors and one of the major risk factors associated in the incidence of mental disorders. The strategies adopted by individuals to deal with the acculturation process appear to be predictive of different mental health outcomes. This exploratory study investigated the relationship between acculturation strategies and the occurrence of symptoms of depression in the context of the Brazilian immigrant community living in the Greater Toronto Area. The results demonstrated that Separation and Assimilation were the predominant strategies for this sample and that acculturation strategies failed to serve as significant predictors of depression scores. However, participants with Separation as their predominant acculturation strategy exhibited higher depressive symptom endorsement. The significance of these findings in the context of previous research as well as its implications for future research and critical multicultural practice in mental health are discussed.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is an accepted way of promoting an individual’s resilience, which is the ability to overcome challenging life circumstances to lead a fulfilling life. SEL is traditionally taught in schools as a universal, classroom-wide intervention. However, there is currently a gap in using SEL curricula as secondary, Tier II interventions. Strong Start, a SEL program, was evaluated as a Tier II intervention with 35 2nd grade students using a randomized-control trial design. Data were collected from students on their content knowledge of social-emotional constructs as well as from teachers on ratings of student problem behaviors and prosocial behaviors. Findings suggest improvements in student knowledge, teacher ratings of problem behaviors, and teacher ratings of prosocial behaviors for all students over time, with no significant group by time interaction. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Mental health issues are widespread on college campuses. However, the majority of these individuals do not seek help. Prior research suggests many factors which may be related to mental health help-seeking including age, gender, and prior treatment experience. There has however been little work considering the context of the college campus on mental health help-seeking, specifically the influence of campus culture. Accounting for the context of mental health help-seeking may help to determine which social groups have the greatest influence on mental health treatment processes. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between perceived peer, student body, and faculty/administrator perspectives on different aspects influencing mental health help-seeking including attitudes towards treatment, stigma, and treatment barriers. Two hundred and twelve participants were recruited for the study. Data supported mediation for personal attitudes and barriers for the relationship between campus culture variables and mental health help-seeking. Implications for campus mental health policy efforts and directions for future studies are discussed.