Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1933.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1933.

D.Cur. (Psychiatric Nursing Science) / The researcher was involved in the clinical accompaniment of student nurses working with mentally challenged individuals during their psychiatric nursing practical training. In her role as advanced psychiatric nurse educator, she noticed that student nurses experienced working with mentally challenged individuals as a challenging working context. It created intense emotional discomfort for the student nurses, especially during their initial exposure to the relevant individuals. During the student nurses' last day of working with these individuals, they reflected with the advanced psychiatric nurse educator on their emotional growth and enrichment and how this experience had changed their views of life. Ineffective management of emotional discomfort may lead to emotional exhaustion or burnout and reflect negatively on a person's mental health. The main purpose of this research was to explore and describe the experiences of student nurses working with mentally challenged individuals. Subsequently, to develop, describe and write guidelines to operationalise and evaluate a model for the advanced psychiatric nurse educator to facilitate the mental health of student nurses working with mentally challenged individuals. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive, contextual and theory-generating research design was utilised to achieve the abovementioned purpose. The development of the model comprised four steps. Step one consisted of a concept analysis including identification and definition of central concepts in the model. A concept analysis was done by exploring and describing the experiences of student nurses working with mentally challenged individuals. Two focus groups, naive sketches, reflective journals, a reflective letter and field notes were used to explore their experiences. Focus groups were audiotaped as well as videotaped. Verbal consent was given by the student nurses to be videotaped and a letter of consent was signed to give permission for audiotaping of the focus groups. The audio tapes were transcribed verbatim. The video tapes were only used by the transcriber when she could not hear the sound on the audio tapes clearly. An independent coder utilised Tesch's method of open-coding to code and analyse the data. A consensus was reached between the researcher and the independent coder with regard to the themes and catogories represented by the data. During the concept analysis, engagement on a deeper emotional level was identified as the central concept. Step two consisted of the relationship statements of the model. During step three, a model for the facilitation of a process of engagement on a deeper emotional level for student nurses working with mentally challenged individuals was described. The structure of the model clarified the purpose, assumptions and context. The central concepts were defined and the relationship statements between the central and essential concepts were explained. The structure of the model focused on the relationship-, workingand termination phases within the process of engagement on a deeper emotional level. In step four guidelines were described to operationalise the model in practice. The model, as framework of reference for the advanced psychiatric nurse educator, focused on the facilitation of a process of engagement on a deeper emotional level for student nurses working with mentally challenged individuals. The process description of the model differentiated between three phases: the relationship phase, the working phase and the termination phase. Guidelines for the operasionalisation of the model focused on the objective of each phase as well as the strategy of actions for each different phase.

College for many adults represents a time for increasing independence, autonomy, and self-exploration. Yet the college experience may also be a time when students discover the presence of a psychological disorder, or navigate how to grapple with an existing disorder in the new and unfamiliar environment of college. An increasing number of students with such disorders are enrolling and participating in higher education yet current literature is often insufficient to adequately guide and inform postsecondary institution personnel regarding this complex student population (Beamish, 2005). Therefore, this phenomenological study aimed to discover the lived experience of a small sample of students with psychological disorders at one public university in the Western United States. Participants' reports of identity processes and classroom learning experiences were investigated through the combined lens of ldentity Theory and the Seven Vectors of Student Development. Study findings suggest (1) there is a pervasive yet varying effect of stigma on participants' identity and impression management behaviors, (2) crises resolution pertaining to seeking help and forming relationships associates with identity development, (3) student-role prominence may influence help-· seeking behavior offering possible implications for student college persistence, (4) reconceptualizing psychological disorders may contribute to more positive self-concepts, (5) "sympathetic others" play a part in fostering a positive classroom emotional climate and relationship trust and building, and finally, (6) stigma (and concomitant inclinations to prove oneself) prompt participant classroom participation yet outward signs of professor and classmate discrimination stifle participant classroom participation.

PhD (Health Sciences) / Department of Advanced Nursing Science

The use of simulation as a clinical learning activity is growing in nursing programs across the country. Using simulation, educators can provide students with a realistic patient situation using mannequins or actors as patients in a simulated environment. Students can practice multiple aspects of patient care without the risk of making mistakes with real patients, and faculty can reinforce course objectives and evaluate student learning. Because of the technology, the environment, and the methods by which simulation is implemented, it may cause anxiety in learners, which may interfere with the learning process. Anxious students may miss an opportunity for learning valuable aspects of nursing care that are reinforced in simulation. This paper will describe a study of the student perspective on simulation, particularly related to the anxiety experienced by many learners. Nursing students in a baccalaureate program who participate in simulation in their clinical courses were recruited for the study, which consisted of a survey and a focus group. Participants were asked to rate nineteen aspects of simulation in regards to the feelings they elicit, from confidence to anxiety. The survey, completed by 73 of the 178 eligible participants, also included open-ended questions in which students could elaborate on their responses. A focus group was held after the survey, during which nine volunteer participants were asked further questions about their feelings and reactions in simulation, specifically as related to their effect on learning. During a facilitated discussion, they also offered suggestions for interventions that they believed would decrease their anxiety and improve the learning environment in simulation. After an analysis of the data, a "comfort-stretch-panic" model (Palethorpe & Wilson, 2011) emerged as a useful framework for understanding the student perspective. Students in the "stretch" zone, in which they perceived a manageable amount of stress, were motivated to perform and experienced optimal learning from the simulation session. The student suggestions for interventions which would aid their learning may be useful for transitioning them into the "stretch" zone, and should be considered as potential tools in simulation practice.

The University of Ottawa (UO) has been dealing with a mental health crisis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate UO students’ knowledge, awareness, and use of mental health services (MHS) and to address limited research on knowledge of on-campus MHS. A cross-sectional online, bilingual, survey was administered to 235 UO students over 18 years old and registered at the university since Fall 2019. Data analysis included descriptive data, categorical analysis, and inductive thematic analysis. Awareness and use of services varied depending on the services in question. 48.9% of students only heard about the services but could not explain them. 57.4% would use a service if in distress and those who would not mainly point to Use of other methods and Lack of information as their reasons. This study contributes to the ongoing efforts of improving UO community’s mental wellbeing.

Educators long ago recognized that a variety of factors contribute to academic success. High school grades, college entrance scores, personal motivation, and self esteem are among the traditional indicators or factors commonly identified with academic success. As community colleges open the doors of higher education to ever expanding segments of the population, the need for knowledge of the myriad factors contributing to academic success increases. The purpose of this study was to address a portion of that need via the examination of stress appraisal and coping strategies among community college students. The framework for the research in this study follows a process-centered theory of stress and coping developed by Folkman and Lazarus (1985). Specifically, this study was an exploration of how stress and coping strategies change over time and what relationship that change may have to academic achievement. Data for the study was collected from Virginia community college students currently enrolled in math classes. Students in these classes completed three stress and coping instruments centered around the focal point of their first major math test. Course grades served as a measure of academic achievement for comparison to stress and coping scores. Comparisons were also made among the student variables of age, gender, and level of academic preparedness. / Ed. D.

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) emerging-adult college students experience unprecedented rates of psychopathology. They are also more likely to experience barriers to accessing traditional mental health resources and spiritual support groups and are more apt to seek support in alternative ways, such as through campus LGTBQIA+ support groups and online communities. Spiritual-mind-body (SMB) group wellness programming may fill an important role as a more accessible service for SGM students and as an adjunct to individual mental health services. The primary aim of the present study is to investigate the utility of Awakened Awareness for Adolescents and Emerging Adults (AA-A), a group SMB wellness intervention designed to support spiritual individuation and mental health, to support SGM college student spirituality, mental health, psychological, and psychosocial wellness. A secondary aim was to examine differences in SGM students’ response to AA-A when delivered online versus in-person using exploratory analyses. Participants were 116 non-clinically referred, self-selected undergraduates aged 18-25. Self-report measures captured spiritual well-being, psychological well-being, psychosocial well-being, and symptoms of psychopathology. SGM students’ rate of enrollment in AA-A was compared to broader university and national college demographics using chi-square analyses. SGM and non-SGM student engagement in AA-A was measured by the average number of sessions attended and compared using an independent sample t-test. SGM and non-SGM student pre-intervention wellness was compared using independent sample t-tests. Changes in wellness at post-intervention were assessed using paired sample t-tests, and differences in post-intervention changes in wellness were analyzed as a function of ethnicity and SGM status using independent sample t-tests and ANOVAs of change scores. Exploratory two-way ANOVAs were conducted and interactions between SGM status and AA-A delivery method on well-being change scores were analyzed to determine whether SGM students responded uniquely from their peers to the online delivery format. SGM students had greater spiritual and wellness support needs at pre-intervention as compared with their non-SGM peers and were twice as likely to enroll in AA-A, and more likely to stay and engage in the program. SGM students had statistically parallel rates of improvement across most measures of well-being, and statistically even greater rates of improvement on some psychological and psychosocial measures of well-being capturing negative self-talk and self-concept. Among students who participated in AA-A delivered online and during the COVID-19 pandemic, SGM students benefitted more than their non-SGM peers. Findings support the feasibility and acceptability of the AA-A intervention to support SGM college student spiritual well-being and mental health across both in-person and online delivery methods, and exploratory analyses indicate that the online delivery method may be a particularly helpful format for SGM students to engage.

The nightmare prevalence literature to date has largely focused on nightmare episode severity (i.e. frequency), with 8%-87% of individuals reporting these events in the past week to year. While this has helped to determine the prevalence of these events, focus on the episode severity alone is problematic because it means little is known about the actual prevalence of nightmare disorder. Moreover, focus on episode severity likely overestimates the actual prevalence of clinically significant nightmares while also obscuring clinically significant consequences of the disorder. Understanding the prevalence of nightmare disorder can help guide treatment planning and interventions. The present study recruited UNT undergraduates (N = 372; 351 analyzed) and managed all participant data using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap). The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of nightmare disorder, as stated in the DSM-5, to facilitate accurate characterization of the disorder. Additionally, as part of the secondary aim the influence of gender on nightmare disorder status and psychological wellbeing as measured by psychological and sleep outcome variables was examined. Finally, comparisons of individuals with DSM-5-defined nightmare disorder to those without the disorder were conducted on previously examined correlates (e.g., trauma symptoms, depression).