The three-step theory of suicide (3ST) proposes that suicidal ideation (SI) and behavior develops in the context of unbearable pain and hopelessness (Step 1), low social connection (Step 2) and acquired capability (Step 3 - not assessed in this study; Klonsky et al., 2016). Distress disclosure is one way a person may utilize their social network to mitigate feelings of distress and can be a critical measure of social connectedness. Building on efforts to diversify measurement of social connectedness in the 3ST, a sample of 549 college students (mean age = 19.27, SD = 1.28; 56.6% reporting history of SI) completed measures of physical and psychological pain (Patient Health Questionnaire – Revised; Unbearable Psychache Scale-3), hopelessness (State Hopelessness Scale; Beck Hopelessness Scale-4), social connectedness (Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire; Social Connectedness Scale – Revised; Distress Disclosure Index), and suicidal ideation (Depression Severity Index; Suicide Cognitions Scale – Shortened). Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate steps one and two of the 3ST and the utility of incorporating distress disclosure into this framework. In line with the 3ST, the structural model including pain, hopelessness, and social connectedness was supported and the direct effects of these variables on SI was significant (p < .05). In contrast to the 3ST, the interaction between pain and hopelessness did not predict SI (p = .385), nor was the moderating role of social connectedness supported (p = .133). Although distress disclosure was a significant indicator of social connectedness (p = .001), this variable did not contribute additional variance over other measures of connectedness. The results provide partial support for core features of the 3ST, however further research is needed to verify the theoretical assumptions of Step 2. Additionally, although disclosure is associated with SI, it may not be a critical measure of social connectedness when considered alongside traditional measures.

Although a considerable body of research has looked at factors underlying mental health help-seeking behaviors, many facets of this pathway have received only marginal attention, particularly for internalizing concerns in children. Moreover, caregivers and culture can exert a pronounced influence on family dynamics, conferring values and beliefs that can facilitate or inhibit help-seeking. In a two-group study of international (n = 20) and domestic (n = 20) families, we sought to determine whether parental and cultural factors could differentially predict children's tendency to disclose, withhold, or mask internalizing (i.e., anxiety and depression) symptoms. Caregivers completed a battery of measures while children completed self-report questionnaires and an interactive activity to assess disclosure propensity. Results indicate that parenting and attitudinal factors are not necessarily implicated in predicting children's decisions for both anxiety and depression, and irrespective of cultural background. However, among international families, children's inclination toward disclosure of anxiety-related concerns reflected significant cultural influences (Wilks' λ = .386, Chi-square = 15.230, df = 6, Canonical correlation = .729, p = .019). Caregiver acculturation in particular was found to account for 84.2% of the variance, with children of less acculturated parents being more likely to mask as opposed to disclose or withhold. / Master of Science / Although a considerable body of research has looked at factors underlying mental health helpseeking behaviors, many facets of this pathway have received only marginal attention, particularly for internalizing (i.e., anxiety and depression) concerns in children. Moreover, caregivers and culture can exert a pronounced influence on family dynamics, conferring values and beliefs that can facilitate or inhibit help-seeking (Cauce et al., 2002). In a two-group study of international (<i>n</i> = 20) and domestic (<i>n</i> = 20) families, we sought to determine whether parental and cultural factors could differentially predict children’s tendency to disclose, withhold, or mask internalizing symptoms. Caregivers and children completed self-report questionnaires while children also went through an interactive story-based activity to assess disclosure propensity. Results indicate that parental styles and caregiver attitudes are not necessarily implicated in predicting children’s decisions for both anxiety and depression, and irrespective of cultural background. However, among international families, children’s inclination toward disclosure of anxiety-related concerns reflected significant cultural influences (Wilks’λ = .386, Chi-square = 15.230, <i>df</i> = 6, Canonical correlation = .729, <i>p</i> = .019). Caregiver acculturation in particular was found to account for 84.2% of the variance, with children of less acculturated (i.e., those families lacking social ties to the dominant cultural norms following immigration) parents being more likely to mask as opposed to disclose or withhold. Implications for guiding outreach to culturally diverse children and their families are discussed.

Thesis advisor: Jane Flanagan / Background: Preventable adverse events are an unfortunately frequent occurrence of pediatric health care. Disclosure of preventable adverse events to patients is a vital aspect of ethical and just practice. Pediatric nurses’ have a unique role as part of the clinical care team. Despite the prevalence of preventable adverse events and the impact of nurses, best practice for pediatric nurses during disclosure is not specified. In addition, it is unclear how pediatric patient and their family. This work provides a foundation for future nursing research and the development and identification of best practice for pediatric preventable adverse event disclosure. Methods: First, thorough review of existing literature identified gaps and key themes. Secondly, a cross-sectional survey shared via social media provided insight into the current policy, education, and pediatric nurses’ involvement in PAE. Lastly, pediatric nurses’ perspectives were unveiled via narrative interviews, adding the voice of nurses into the dialogue. Results: Pediatric nurses in the U.S. want the option to be present during disclosure to patients and their families. Currently, nurses are seldom present during disclosure and do not routinely receive disclosure training, nor do they have a policy to guide them through the process. While there has been a trend towards the use of interdisciplinary disclosure teams, it is unclear what role a nurse has. Conclusions: This exploratory work is foundational to understanding pediatric nurses and PAE disclosure and future research exploring best practice for policy, education, and practice are needed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2024. / Submitted to: Boston College. Connell School of Nursing. / Discipline: Nursing.

Yes / Intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) in corporate annual reports has received growing European attention. To date, few studies have undertaken systematic analysis of the factors influencing the decision to disclose Intellectual Capital (IC) related information in annual reports. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the level of hidden value (market-to-book ratio), share price volatility, listing age, board composition, ownership structure, audit committee size and directors’ shareholding, in addition to other firm specific factors influence ICD in 100 UK listed knowledge-rich firms. The dependent variable is measured by a 183 item index score, supported by word count and percentage of IC word count metrics to assess the extent, volume and focus of ICD respectively. Results of the analysis based on the three measures indicate significant association with hidden value, using market-to-book ratio as a proxy, and listing age. We further find firm size, share price volatility, director shareholding, audit committee size, and ownership concentration to be associated with ICD in a manner consistent with theoretical expectations. The implications of these findings, hitherto largely untested, are explored from a number of theoretical perspectives.

Yes / This study aims to contribute to the relevant accounting, corporate gover-nance, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature by examining thevalue relevance of mandatory CSR disclosures in China. Using a difference-in-differences (DID) research design and a sample based on propensity scorematching (PSM) over the period from 2003 to 2020, our findings suggest thatmandatory CSR disclosures are negatively associated with firm' values. We alsofind that firms with a high level of institutional ownership and leverage experi-ence a relatively lower drop in firms' values as a result of the mandatory CSRdisclosures. These findings remain robust to alternative sampling design, use of market to book value as an alternative measure of firms' market-based performance, and a parallel test to validate our DID analysis. Our findings have useful implications for managers, regulators, policy makers and other stakeholders.

Reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate tremendous advancement in the fight against HIV/AIDS infection through prevention, provision of high-quality treatment options, and psychosocial services to infected and affected individuals and communities. However, there is still a considerable number of new infections occurring among children, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Researchers highlight the benefits of HIV status disclosure to children. Yet, there is limited research concerning the ways counselors navigate the process of status disclosure to children with an HIV diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of counselors regarding status disclosure to children living with HIV in Uganda, and to determine their self-identified training needs. I utilized a phenomenological qualitative research method and conducted individual interviews using a semi-structured interview protocol with 10 counselors from three HIV care centers in the central region of Uganda. Findings indicated six overarching themes including: (1) counselors' roles and responsibilities, (2) impact of age in the disclosure process, (3) motivations for disclosure, (4) challenges and barriers, (5) counselor preparations and trainings for disclosure, (6) and post-disclosure interventions. Study results highlight the critical role played by counselors during the HIV status disclosure process and the need for additional training and support to enable counselors to effectively support children and their caregivers. There is a need to further examine the effectiveness of current HIV status disclosure procedures and post-disclosure support interventions utilized by counselors within HIV care centers in Uganda.

Background and problem – As a result of financial crises and the realization of a broader stakeholder network, recent decades have seen an increase in stakeholder demand for non- financial information in corporate reporting. This has led to a situation of information overload where separate financial and sustainability reports have developed in length and complexity interdependent of each other. Integrated reporting has been presented as a solution to this problematic situation. The question is whether the corporate world believe this to be the solution and if the development of corporate reporting is heading in this direction. Purpose - This thesis aims to examine and assess to what extent companies listed on the OMX Stockholm 30 (OMXS30), as per 2016-02-28, comply with the Strategic content element of the &lt;IR&gt; Framework and how this disclosure has developed since the framework’s pilot project and official release by using a self-constructed disclosure index based on its specific items. Methodology – The purpose was fulfilled through an analysis of 104 annual reports comprising 26 companies during the period of 2011-2014. The annual reports were assessed using a self-constructed disclosure index based on the &lt;IR&gt; Framework content element Strategy and Resource Allocation, where one point was given for each disclosed item. Analysis and conclusions – The study found that the OMXS30-listed companies to a large extent complies with the strategic content element of the &lt;IR&gt; Framework and that this compliance has seen a steady growth throughout the researched time span. There is still room for improvement however with a total average framework compliance of 84% for 2014. Although many items are being reported on, there are indications that companies generally miss out on the core values of Integrated reporting.

The aim of this research is to examine the determinants of the level of corporate risk disclosure (CRD) in the interim reports of Swedish non-financial companies. A quantitative research approach is used, the sample data of which consist of 166 firms with 4,849 interim reports over a 10-year period. By utilizing the notion of risk and its definition, I have distinguished three categories of risk, namely risk as uncertainty, risk as threat and risk as opportunity. A systematic content analysis is conducted with the use of a software program, which is specifically designed for this purpose. The number of sentences that contain keywords related to the three risk categories is counted as the total CRD score, which is transformed to the disclosure index. I have examined the impact of firms’ characteristics and corporate governance mechanisms on the level of CRD based on agency theory. The ordinary least squares regression method with  control for fixed year effects is used to analyse the data, which show that firm size and audit committee have a positive relationship with the level of corporate risk disclosure. The result demonstrates also that there is a negative relationship between family ownership and the level of CRD, and an insignificant relationship between leverage and the level of CRD.

Disclosure of accounting information is crucial in facilitating efficient contracts in the publicly listed firm and in reducing information asymmetries in capital markets. A well-known perception in disclosure literature is that, as the separation between managers and owners increases, so does the demand for publicly available disclosure. Many publicly listed firms around the world are controlled by a few large owners that obtain information through their insider positions in the firm. Thus, variations in ownership structures have a considerable effect on how firms’ disclosure practices are resolved. Despite the increased attention paid to the identity of controlling owners and their influence on financial reporting practices, little is known about how owner types and governance mechanisms influence corporate disclosures and capital-market effects. This thesis contributes to the disclosure literature by studying a context in which controlling owners have a large influence on the governance and disclosure practices of firms. This contrasts with the much-studied setting in which management influences the governance and reporting decisions of firms. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to examine the determinants and capital-market effects of Swedish listed firms’ annual report disclosure. This thesis uses a self-constructed disclosure index from manually gathered data from the annual reports of Swedish publicly listed firms during the years 2001 to 2013. This includes information on the notes to the financial statements, corporate governance and strategy. The findings of the four empirical studies show that the ownership structure of firms and the various contractual relationships that firms are engaged in, drive the disclosure practices. Additionally, the results indicate that higher levels of disclosure decrease information asymmetries between capital-market participants and increase trading activity. However, the findings also show that firms with controlling owners are less forthcoming with disclosure, even after a new disclosure reform. Considering the large influence of controlling owners in the studied context, these are important findings in the research field and in regulators’ processes of deriving disclosure regulation. The thesis concludes that the variety in firms’ disclosure incentives and local governance structures are important disclosure determinants to understand in framing international accounting standards.

Eighty four female undergraduate students participated in a psychotherapy analog study to determine the effects of imagery ability, guided imagery therapy treatments, and personal versus supplied constructs upon self-disclosure variables in a 2 x 3 x 2 Anova design, with repeated measures on the final factor. Dependent variables were measured by reaction time, total talk time, speech duration, silence quotient, and Doster's (1971) Self-Disclosure Rating Scale. Subjects were divided into two imagery ability levels on the basis of local mean scores on Sheehan's (1967) modification of Betts' (1909) Questionnaire upon Mental Imagery. Three treatment procedures were employed: a guided focal imagery treatment, which encouraged imagery involving the interpersonal topics to be discussed, a guided relaxation imagery treatment which used standard sensory relaxation scenes, and a treatment which imparted ambiguous instructions. The final factor was repeated measures of the eight negative topics the subjects were asked to discuss. Four were chosen from the subjects' Role Construct Repertory Test grid (Kelly, 1955; Landfield, 1971), and four were selected from the Semantic Differential (Snider & Osgood, 1969).