Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Working Mothers, Work-Life Balance, Locus Of Control, And Perceived Supportive Factors, Natashia Gridiron

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

From 1948 to 2015, there was a dramatic increase of mothers in the workforce. The literature demonstrates that mothers tend to work outside of the home while also maintaining most of the domestic roles. However, the literature does not address how these women are able to balance their roles. There is a gap in the literature concerning the relationship between locus of control, perceived supportive factors, income size, and work-life balance for working mothers. The purpose of this cross-sectional quantitative study was to fill that gap as measured by Rotter's Internal- External Control Scale, Satisfaction with Work and Family Balance …

A Phenomenological Study Of Cross Gender Mentoring Among U.S. Army Officers, Scott Randolph Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leader mentoring in the military has not been well researched, especially that involving cross-gender pairings. A phenomenological study was conducted to gain insight into the perceptions, thoughts, and feelings of military officers regarding their decision to engage in mentoring, to include with members of the opposite gender. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 male and 20 female U.S. Army senior commissioned officers to collect information regarding mentoring selection perspectives and decisions and to examine emerging themes, concepts, and patterns, using NVivo 11 Pro Plus. Negative themes that emerged among both male and female participants concerned adverse perceptions of members within …

Promoting Policy Advocacy In Nursing Via Education, Carolyn Sue Jurns

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nurses have a professional, ethical, and social responsibility to advocate for optimal healthcare and an optimal professional environment. However, nurses often default on that responsibility. Leadership at a national nursing organization's state affiliate (SNO) perceived a need to optimize its members' policy advocacy. To meet that need, the Policy Advocacy Toolkit for Nurses (PATN) was developed for this doctoral project. The evidence-based PATN relied on established theories and frameworks, notably Knowles' adult education theory and Kingdon's multiple streams approach; research specific to this project; evidence from other researchers, healthcare organizations, and government websites; and input from a statistician, nursing education …

Rural Colorado Drug Courts: A Program Evaluation Of Two Different Modalities, Arthur Kleinschmidt Kleinschmidt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the Colorado Judicial Branch, 78 problem-solving courts operate in the 20 judicial districts in Colorado. The Summit County and Eagle County drug court programs are located in Colorado's Fifth Judicial District and have not been previously studied. Evaluating treatment programs for effectiveness contributes to social change because it ensures individuals in need of treatment are receiving the proper services. The Eagle County drug court program had 117 participants and the Summit County drug court program had 33 participants. The Summit County Drug Court used 2 cognitive behavioral therapies: moral reconation therapy and strategies for self-improvement and change. The …

The Effect Of Hospital Nurse Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction On Turnover Intention And Compassion Fatigue, David Stephen Klein

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nursing is a stressful occupation, which can often lead to compassion fatigue (CF) and turnover intention (TI). When their basic psychological needs (BPN) of competence, relatedness, and autonomy are not met, registered nurses (RNs) may develop a higher propensity to experience CF and TI. Amid projected nursing shortages, the loss of these health care providers may threaten the quality of patient care. Although there is research on BPN and their relationship with well-being and functioning, research is lacking on the relationship between BPN satisfaction, CF and TI among RNs. Researchers have also not examined whether RNs' BPN satisfaction moderates the …

Paralleled Support Models For Young Adults With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Lucy Ellen Klym

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the State of Indiana, for students over the age of 14 who have been diagnosed with intellectual or developmental disabilities, the transition from special education to Medicaid waiver oversight should occur seamlessly, but gaps in integrated and aligned goal development strategies remain. As a consequence, students who need adult-based support may not be receiving the full scope of services to which they are entitled. Using common-pool resource theory as a foundation, the purpose of this explanatory case study of transitional services to Indiana Medicaid was to understand, from the perspective of disability support service staff, the barriers to effective …

The Critical Role Of The Psychiatric Emergency Response Team In The Adoption Of A Violence Risk Assessment Tool., Angela Mackay

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Workplace violence is a persistent problem in health care, and incidence rates have increased over the years. Traditional reporting systems, relying mostly on paper formats, are inadequate for developing effective predictive models for intervention and reducing acts of violence by patients to staff. The purpose of the development and deployment of the psychiatric emergency response team (PERT) was to provide effective intervention within the MIAHTAPS (Altered Mental status, Irritability, Agitation, History of Violence, Threatening, Attacking Objects, Pacing, and Staring) behavior prediction tool to reduce the severity and rates of violence in a hospital setting. Lewin's change theory was used to …

Suicidal Behavior In Inmates Through The Pathway Of Psychopathy And Depression, Zsofia Muller-Balazsfi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Prison inmates are more prone to commit suicide than are individuals in the general population. Current scientific research has identified risk factors of suicide in the general population, such as mood disorders, but only a few research studies have examined risk factors that are particularly relevant to the incarcerated population. This study used a quantitative archival research design to examine the effect of primary and secondary psychopathic personality traits on the development of suicidal behavior in the mentally ill male prison inmate population at a U.S. federal prison located in the Southeast. Data on psychopathic traits as measured by the …

The Perceptions Of Video Surveillance And Its Influence On Cargiver Stress In The Home Care Setting, Asuncion Neri-Candelaria

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Given the stress involved in caring for elders, the propensity for abuse among the older adult population continues to be a problem, as the number of caregivers providing care in the home is increasing to meet the demand of an increasing population of older adults. One solution is to implement video surveillance in the home. The purpose of this phenomenological, retrospective and prospective study was to describe the perceptions and experiences of caregivers that affect stress in the home care setting and to describe participants' perceptions about the impact of video surveillance in the home environment on caregiver stress and …

The Experiences Of Parenting Coordinators Working With Couples Engaged In Intimate Partner Violence, Ann M. Ordway

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In families where parents present with intimate partner violence dynamics, courts routinely impose restraints restricting communications between those parents. However, the same courts also routinely fashion arrangements whereby those same parents share custody of their children. Children in families with this dynamic are often used as communication facilitators and triangulated by parental conflict. This grounded theory study generated a theory about parenting coordination work with high conflict couples with intimate partner violence dynamics. This theory may have utility for parenting coordinators working more effectively with the described population. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 professional parenting coordinators who have worked …

Environmental Relocation Policy As Experienced By One Eastern Missouri Dioxin-Contaminated Community, Susan Annette Olsen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research on environmental relocation is scant and narrow, focusing on a few aspects of permanent relocation and social impacts of natural disasters. As a result, little is known about the long term social impacts of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) environmental relocation policy. A combined conceptual and theoretical framework of Walter's placeways; Ullberg's disaster memoryscapes; Richardson's remembrance and memorialization; Dynes' social capital; and, Norris, Stevens, Pfefferbaum, Wyche, and Pfefferbaum's work on community resilience guided this phenomenological study with the purpose of better understanding competing and complementary roles of each of these constructs in the context of environmental relocation of one …

Anxiety And Healthcare Utilization Among Mothers Of Children With Mental Health Disorders, Maria Lynn Perrotta

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Anxiety can influence an individual's decision-making process; however, researchers have yet to establish whether anxiety has an impact on the healthcare utilization practices of mothers of children with a mental health diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to assess whether trait anxiety, coping styles, and self-efficacy in mothers of children with a mental health diagnosis affected their healthcare utilization decisions. The transactional model of stress and coping was used to analyze the impact of children with mental health disorders on their caretakers. For this study, a quantitative, cross-sectional research design was employed. The 4 survey tools, administered through SurveyMonkey.com …

The Link Between Therapists' Social Class Attributions And Treating Clients Of Low Socioeconomic Status, Dan Sharir

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social class may impact the ways people are perceived and treated by others. The social class attributions of therapists may influence the manner in which they conceptualize their clients' problems and their relationship with their clients. There is a gap in the literature concerning the link between therapists' social class attributions and their responses toward low socioeconomic status (SES) clients in actual clinical settings, which could impact the therapists' interaction with their clients and the treatment process. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to examine the links between therapists' social class attributions and their experiences with low …

Influence Of Psychological Needs And Gaming Motivation On Well-Being Of Adult Gamers, Rene Sterling

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adult online gaming is a fast-growing global entertainment industry, and many gamers spend more time playing games and less time engaging in work or other activities, which negatively affects their lives and relationships. This quantitative study addressed how psychological needs and gaming motivation predicted gaming behavior, life satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction using a mediational model. The theoretical foundation was self-determination theory, which addresses how personal choices are influenced by internal factors, especially psychological needs and motivation. An online survey was used to collect self-reported data from a convenience sample of 935 adult gaming participants using the Basic Needs Satisfaction in …

Motivations Of Antitrafficking Volunteers, Jonathan Edward Sullivan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Human trafficking is a worldwide crisis, and agencies rely on volunteers to help serve its victims. Past researchers have suggested that motivation to volunteer is multifaceted and that volunteer turnover hinders accomplishing mission objectives. The research question was to examine if there were any differentiating motivations of antitrafficking volunteers from the current literature. This study was a qualitative case study of an antitrafficking religion-sponsored agency in the United States. Self-determination theory guided the research consisting of 7 agency volunteers. Candidates met the established criteria of minimum age and duration of service. The interpretive phenomenological analysis process helped to assess …

Fire Officer Leadership Strategies For Cost Management, Leo R. Sedlmeyer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Fire departments in the United States accounted for 31% of municipal budgets with increases of 85% spending between 2015 and 2016. The purpose of this single case study was to explore leadership strategies fire officers used to manage costs associated with hazardous operations. The conceptual framework grounding this study was transformational leadership theory. The participants in this study were 10 fire officers who manage hazardous operations in central Wisconsin. The data collection process included open-ended questions in a semistructured format resulting in transcripts, a review of fire department staffing documents, and personal journal notes. Methodological triangulation was used to compare …

The Experiences Of African American Women Participating In Church-Based Weight Loss Programs, Mangle L. Shanks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While obesity is a nationwide phenomenon, African Americans - especially women - continue to be more severely affected than any other ethnic group. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 20% of African American women are obese compared to 15.6% of Caucasian women. The church is an important community center for many African Americans, and is often a site for health promotion programs, though little is known of the effectiveness of these programs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to study the experiences and attitudes of African American women who have gone through a church-based weight-loss …

Realigning Community Policing In A Homeland Security Era, Alfred Stanford Titus, Jr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The priority shift from community policing to homeland security in local police departments in the United States has threatened the relationships and successes established by community policing, though little empirical research explored the relationship between funding and implementation of homeland security versus community policing objectives among local law enforcement agencies. Using Karl Popper's conceptualization of the liberal democracy as the framework, the purpose of this descriptive study was to examine how trends in funding and implementation of both community policing and homeland security objectives changed among American law enforcement agencies between 1993 and 2013. Data were acquired from the Law …

Effect Of Self-Determination, Motivation, And Dispositional Optimism With Physical Therapy In Geriatric Patients, Leslie Yaneth Urias-Bodnar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Older people are frequently faced with physical conditions that require treatment. A better understanding of the components of engagement relating to the outcomes of treatment was the focus of the study. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether there was an association between the independent variables of optimism, pessimism, motivation, and self-determination and their impact on the dependent variable of achieving physical activity goals in 86 geriatric patients, ages 65 to 80 receiving physical therapy services. The theoretical framework of self-determination, motivation, optimism, and pessimism was assessed by using two self-report questionnaires, The Self-Determination Scale and The …

Understanding The Radicalization Process Of U.S. Homegrown Terrorists, Jose Manuel Vargas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Radicalization is an aspect in the development of homegrown terrorists; however, researchers have been unable to establish a path to radicalization, uncover how individual and social factors influence radicalization, and identify how the Internet and social media mediate this process. The purpose of this case study was to explore individual and environmental factors that contribute to the radicalization of U.S. homegrown terrorists and identify interventions. Conversion theory was used to develop an understanding of the radicalization of U.S. homegrown terrorists. Data were derived from interviews of local and state law enforcement, military antiterrorism officers (AT), and security personnel from military …

Relationships Between White Privilege, Organizational Belongingness, Racial Stereotypes, And Motivation To Lead, Scott Alexander Vaughan-Bonterre

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite changes in the law and efforts by organizational diversity practitioners to expand leadership opportunities for people of color, there is still a sharp contrast in the ratio of white leaders to leaders of color. While much research exists regarding the diversity disparity in leadership, there is little research on factors that influence the motivation to lead. The purpose of this correlational study was to test critical race and leader categorization theories by comparing how the independent variables of white privilege, organizational belongingness, and racial stereotypes affected the dependent variable of motivation to lead of black American versus white American …

Agent-Based Overlapping Generations Modeling For Educational Policy Analysis, Connie Hou-Ning Wang

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Educational systems are complex adaptive systems (CAS). The macroeffects of an educational policy emerge from and depend on individual students' reactions to the policy. However, educational policymakers traditionally rely on equation-based models, which are deficient in reflecting the work of microbehaviors. Using inappropriate tools to make policies may be a reason why there were many unintended educational consequences in history. A proper methodology to design and analyze policies for complex educational systems is agent-based modeling (ABM). Grounded in the theories of CAS and computational irreducibility, ABM is capable of connecting microbehaviors with macropatterns. The purpose of this study was to …

Communication Training And Nonemergency Transportation Driver Perception Of Challenging Behavior, Priscilla Wright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonemergency transportation drivers play a critical role in helping individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) gain access to community integration opportunities. Challenging behaviors can limit access to enrichment opportunities and possibly increase the likelihood that individuals with ID will be isolated from community enrichment activities. The purpose of this study was to determine if positive behavior support training improved nonemergency transportation drivers' perceptions of challenging behaviors displayed by individuals with ID. For purposes of this study, perception was defined as staff (driver) beliefs about the causes of challenging behavior. A convenience sample of 52 nonemergency transportation drivers was chosen from a …

Lived Experiences Of Mothers Returning To Work After A Child-Rearing Hiatus, Brenda Marceline Yahraes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mothers who leave the workforce to raise children may face personal and professional difficulties when returning. There was a lack of qualitative research on what these women experience in their return to work. The purpose of this study was to discover and describe how a mother in a professional or managerial position experiences a return to the workforce after a hiatus of 2 or more years to raise children. The philosophy of Husserl and the methodology of Moustakas guided this transcendental phenomenological study. Through purposive snowball sampling, 12 women participated in semistructured interviews. Data analysis followed the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method leading …

Vicarious Trauma Coping And Self-Care Practices Among Trauma Therapists., Annette Zaccari

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Therapists who specialize in trauma therapy are indirectly exposed traumatic events presented by clients within the therapeutic relationship. The potential consequences for trauma therapists may be the risk of vicarious trauma. Effective coping and self-care are essential in the practice of trauma work. The research question for this study is: Do coping skills and self-care practices in trauma therapists moderate the disruptive effect of vicarious trauma on the fulfillment of their psychological needs (trust/dependence and control)? The purpose of this research study was to examine quantitatively, the role of trauma therapists' beliefs in the effectiveness of coping skills and time …

Coping And Work-Related Correlates Of Burnout For Counselors Of Sex Offenders, Sonya A. Adams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Burnout affects mental health workers both personally and professionally. Identifying variables that lead to burnout, such as poor coping skills, may assist organization in preventing burnout among mental health workers. Most researchers studying burnout in the mental health field have focused on human service workers in general. There is a gap in the literature concerning job burnout among counselors of sex offenders. The theory of cognitive appraisal and coping was the theoretical foundation for this study. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping, genders, years of experience, and caseload size predict job …

Senior Students' Experiences, Perspectives, And Attitudes Of Technological Competencies In Nursing Education, Patricia C. Bennett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Technological standards appear to be needed in undergraduate nursing education, as existing research has yet to establish technological standards for undergraduate nursing students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the lived experiences of senior nursing students with respect to their perceptions regarding exposure to and abilities gained in the areas of information management, information literacy, and computer literacy. The framework of the study was based on Bandura's theory of self-efficacy and the Dreyfus model of skills acquisition. Using a phenomenological approach, in-depth face-to-face interviews were used with a purposive sample to collect data about the technological competencies …

Integration Into A Historically Black University: Transfer And Native Students' Experiences, Zaigham Bokhari

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) receive the highest proportion of transfer students (TS) who encounter unique challenges to academic/social integration such as difficult socioeconomic backgrounds, insufficient support of their families, and limited access to student counseling and career guidance services on campus. The purpose of this study was to improve the understanding of the effects of these challenges on TS. Using the Survey of Native and Transfer Students Integration, the study collected quantitative data on measures of TS academic/social integration and qualitative data on TS personal experiences (n = 150). The results of correlation analyses suggest that (1) academic/social …

Familial Factors Predicting Attitudes Toward Domestic Violence In African American Adolescents, Cassandra Clarke-Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teen dating violence is more prevalent among African Americans than any other racial group in the United States leading to serious health consequences for victims. However, limited data exists on how African American adolescents' attitudes and perceptions regarding dating violence are formed, and whether they are influenced by family members. The purpose of this nonexperimental correlational study was to determine whether nonverbal or verbal communication from family members predicted adolescents' attitudes and perceptions toward dating violence. Survey data from 84 African American men and women ages 18 to 24 were collected using the Normative Beliefs About Aggression Scale, the Acceptance …

Leadership Strategies For Developing And Implementing Organizational Change, Hardy L. Delay Iv

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leaders in some narcotics treatment programs struggle with change development and implementation. The objective of this single-case study was to explore strategies used by leaders in a narcotics treatment program to develop and implement organizational change initiatives successfully. Participants included 4 leaders who had developed and implemented successful change initiatives repeatedly for more than 10 years in a narcotics treatment program in the southeastern United States. Bertalanffy's general systems theory was the basis for the conceptual framework. Data collection included semistructured interviews of leaders of a narcotics treatment program and collection of archival data, such as reports relating to strategic …