Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Role Of Social Support In The Mitigation Of Social Worker Burnout During The Aftermath Of Hurricane Maria, Miguel Angel Soto

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social workers are among the first responders to be activated during a natural disaster, and they remain aiding victims through the final stages of the recovery process. During the aftermath of natural disasters, social workers are required to work under extreme pressure and are at an increased risk of developing mental health issues that can affect their ability to provide adequate services. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the experiences of social workers who responded to Hurricane Maria regarding the role of social support and its relation to burnout. A purposive selection methodology was applied to …

Tax Incentives, Foreign Direct Investment, And Tourism Sector Employment Creation In Botswana, Ndinaye Sekwi Charumbira

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Unemployment is a major challenge for policymakers in Botswana. Past efforts by government officials to create employment have included diversification away from raw diamond mining and export by offering tax incentives to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in the manufacturing sector, among other strategies. It was unknown whether this strategy might be successful in the tourism sector, which is more labor-intensive than the manufacturing sector. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the impact, if any, of tax incentives offered in the tourism sector on FDI and employment. The theoretical foundation for the study was Keynesian economic theory, …

The Moderating Role Of Spiritual/Religious Struggle On The Relationship Between Negative Life Events And Spiritual/Religious Coping For Evangelical Christians, Lynae Nelson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Patterns of spiritual/religious coping (S/R coping) and spiritual/religious struggle (S/R struggle) have an impact on wellbeing after experiencing a negative life event (NLE). These impacts can have significant implications for the person after experiencing a NLE, particularly for evangelical Christians. However, little is known about how S/R struggle interacts with S/R coping after experiencing NLE. This study was guided by spiritual/religious coping theory and the general orienting system, theoretical orientation and conceptual framework, respectively. Research questions explored the moderating role of S/R struggle on the relationship of NLE both by number and mean stress level of NLE and S/R coping …

Counselor Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Competency: Christian And Non-Religious Addiction Counseling Programs, Kelly A. King, Corinne W. Bridges, Sidney L. Shaw

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

This study compared levels of professional competency working with self-identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) clients among graduates and field experience students of Christian and nonreligious-affiliated CACREP-accredited addiction counseling programs. Applicants completed an instrument to measure the dependent variables of awareness, knowledge, and skills to work with LGB clients. The sample consisted of 84 master’s students in field experience and unlicensed counselors within 2 years of graduation. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to test the hypotheses. Participants from nonreligious-affiliated addiction counseling programs scored higher on the awareness (M = 68.82, M = 63.03), knowledge (M = 50.22, …

Assessing Barriers To Upward Mobility In The Cape Fear Region, Sabrina T. Cherry, Christopher R. Prentice

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Researchers explore upward mobility to better understand how economic and employment factors drive or undermine social justice and equity in the United States. This scholarship can inform activists and researchers seeking to design solutions that help overcome systemic challenges to upward mobility. Therefore, as an interdisciplinary team of scholars in a public university, we collaborated with community partners to conduct a case study in which we assessed the barriers to—and the drivers of—upward mobility in a medium-sized city in Southeastern North Carolina. We conducted key informant interviews and focus groups with a cross-section of local residents to learn about their …

An Effective, Robust, And Strategic Succession Plan For A Primary Law Enforcement Agency In Guyana, South America, Nicola Denise Kendall

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The client organization, Guyana’s principal law enforcement agency, lacked a robust, effective, and strategic succession plan to fill vacancies for senior leadership and management. The current qualitative case study was to ascertain the appropriate strategies that could be employed for this organization, and by extension public organizations and law enforcement agencies, to have a robust, effective, and strategic succession plan. The conceptual framework was based on the succession planning model, which focused on key concepts such as strategy, knowledge management, talent management, organizational culture, leadership development, and management commitment. Data were collected from interviews, with 23 participants and a review …

Strategies Employed By School Social Workers In Virginia To Help Children Cope With Parental Death, Jamitta Covington

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has indicated that school social workers employ a variety of strategies or interventions that affect the child’s adjustment in school. The psychological, physical, and social issues impacting children after the death of a parent can have long term effects on their development. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding strategies that provide support for children’s adjustment to the grief process following a parent’s death. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to identify strategies to improve, enhance, and contribute to social work practice. The study was guided by Kubler-Ross’s grief theory, ecological systems theory, and assumptions of …

Lived Experiences Of Young Adults Exposed To Negligent And Permissive Parenting Styles, Jessica Hernandez Sanchez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of young adults of permissive and negligent parenting styles and their experiences of resilience and self-sufficiency. The theoretical frameworks were Lazarus and Folkman’s diathesis stress model and Baumrind’s theory of parenting styles. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with 20 individuals ages 18–25 who met the inclusion criteria and parenting style experiences for this study. Data were transcribed, coded, and analyzed and three themes and seven subthemes emerged. The interpretation of the findings led to five themes: (a) the impact of attachment and parenting styles on the …

Hospital Staff Members’ Lived Experiences Of Facilitating Yalom Focus Groups With Inpatient Adults In Psychiatric Units, Yemisi T. Abiona

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An increase in inpatient psychiatric admissions across the United States with a decrease in funding necessitated a need to investigate clinical and cost-effective interventions to meet the demands. Research indicated that therapeutic group interventions are clinically sound and cost-effective. However, there are few evidence-based group interventions designed for acute and chronically ill psychiatric patients. The objective of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Yalom group facilitators to determine whether the group could be further researched and adopted as a specialized group intervention for this population. Existential theory served as the theoretical framework for this study. …

Institutional Logics Influencing Human Services Nonprofit Board Members Adoption Or Nonadoption Of Good Ethical Governance, Cynthia Felici Jewell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Board members of human service nonprofit organizations (HSNPOs) perform within the self-governing nonprofit sector influenced by complex logics (reasoning) from institutions. Unknown are the origin, identity, role, or purpose of institutional logics or their influence on HSNPO board members to adopt or not adopt existing good ethical governance. This generic qualitative inquiry study explored HSNPO governance and ethics as experienced, described, and narrated by HSNPO board members. This study utilized the theoretical frameworks of institution theory, complexity theory, institutional complexity theory, and institutional logics metatheory. The concepts within these selected theories are interconnected in contextualizing institutional logics (reasoning of institutions) …

Using Strategic Planning To Improve Volunteer Recruitment And Retention For Nonprofits In The Post-Pandemic Era, Antonio L. Mccormack

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

COVID-19 has changed U.S. culture and negatively affected society worldwide, especially nonprofit organizations that provide community service. Since the pandemic, nonprofit agencies encountered many hardships, especially with the loss of personnel, primarily volunteers. The present study focused on implementing ways to improve recruitment and retention of volunteers for nonprofit organizations in the post-pandemic era through strategic planning. A qualitative approach was deemed the most feasible to conduct this study. This study utilized a SWOT analysis approach, a method of strategic planning used to collect data. A total of 10 interviews were conducted to explore the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats …

Exploring The Role Of Intrinsic Motivation In Elementary Public-School Educators’ Willingness To Remain In Teaching, Lynnette K. Steinhoff

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The experiences and perceptions of novice educators’ willingness to remain in teaching have been without clear research. The problem addressed by this study was the need to understand why novice educators remain in the field in order to support districts and legislators in updating policies and funding measures. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how the intrinsic motivation of novice elementary educators within a K–12 public school influences their willingness to remain in teaching. Self-determination theory (SDT), with its psychological principles of autonomy, competency, and relatedness, was selected as the conceptual framework. Two research questions addressed intrinsic …

Family Medicine’S Role In Addressing The Intersections Of Redlining And Climate Change, Daryl O. Traylor, Eboni E. Anderson, Brianna Clark, Alex M. Smith, Cooper K. Allenbrand

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Redlining, the practice of discriminating against specific neighborhoods based on race and socioeconomic status, leads to persistent environmental hazards and socioeconomic inequalities that have lasting adverse health effects on their populations. Health disparities are further exacerbated through the concentration of environmental hazards, as well as the escalating impact of climate change, which poses an increased risk of respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease, mental health issues, heat-related illness, infectious diseases, food insecurity, and socioeconomic difficulties in redline neighborhoods.

This paper examines the interplay of redlining, climate change, and health disparities, with an emphasis on the enduring consequences for these marginalized communities. Through …

Strategies For Coping With Racial Microaggressions Among African American Medical Social Workers, Robert Ebot Tambe Ebot

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Racial microaggressions are prevalent in the field of social work. Social workers have reported experiencing racial microaggressions from coworkers, patients, and patients’ families. However, little is known about coping strategies that African American medical social workers use to mitigate the effects of racial microaggressions in the workplace. Therefore, the purpose of this generic qualitative study was to increase understanding of how African American medical social workers perceive and cope with racial microaggressions in the workplace. A generic qualitative approach was used to explore this topic, as well as how these social workers subsequently cope with perceived racial microaggressions. Twelve African …

The Experience Of Self-Regulation Among Obese Adults During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nicholas Cunningham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obesity is considered a disease, an epidemic, and is a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases, certain cancers, poor mental health, and low quality of life. It is also a leading cause of mortality. While it is difficult for obese adults to combat their condition, it was much more challenging during unprecedented times such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Annesi’s self-regulation conceptual framework was used as a basis to ground this study. Research explains the importance of practicing self-regulation to increase physical activity. However, there is little research on the practice of self-regulation to increase physical activity and weight …

Black Female School Administrators And Complexity Management In Low-Performing, Kimberly Boswell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to district and state achievement metrics, low-performing public schools must make adequate yearly progress. Deficiencies in the preparation, training, and support of Black female principals who routinely lead low-performing schools can contribute to complexities in these challenging environments. Little is known about what Black female principals believe they need to successfully lead improvement in low-performing schools. The purpose of this study was to give voice to the experiences of Black female principals leading low-performing schools so that educational and political leaders understand what is needed to prepare them to lead amid complexity. Research questions focused on the training and …

Influence Of Maternal Abandonment, High-Crime Neighborhoods, And Experienced Abuse On Aggressive Assaultive Behavior, Michael David Austin Flood

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Assault crimes committed by men in the United States need to be studied empirically if a significant reduction in their occurrence is to take place. The purpose of this nonexperimental quantitative study was to examine the relationship between the reported experience of abuse, growing up in a high-crime neighborhood (HCN), and maternal abandonment with regards to individuals incarcerated for crimes that were operationally classified in this study as aggressive assaultive behavior (AAB). The framework that grounded this study was Bronfenbrenner’s ecology of human development and Beck’s perspective on framing, which guided the focus on how an individual frames an experience …

Predictors Of Paraphrasing Website Use In Undergraduate College Students, Lisa Marie Chervenak

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While instances of cut and paste plagiarism among undergraduate college students has decreased over the past several years, a new form of plagiarism has emerged that often goes undetected by these software systems. Paraphrasing websites allow users to enter information from a source, which the website will then reword, giving the appearance of an original work. When used by undergraduate college students, these students are not only committing plagiarism, but they are also not learning the material or working to develop writing skills. While much research has been conducted on the quality of writing created by paraphrasing websites, little research …

Aging And Depression: Identifying Strategies To Prevent Suicide And Restore Integrity, Nekka A. Herbert

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have documented a projected increase in the older adult population and a foreseeable increase in older adult suicides associated with shortcomings in the mental health field related to providing adequate mental health treatment to individuals 65 and older. Researchers have concluded that these shortcomings are due to ageism, lack of awareness, lack of knowledge in gerontology, and inadequate training for professionals entering the field. Studies have highlighted the growing number of older adult suicides but have lacked effective treatment strategies to reduce depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts/behaviors, specifically in the older adult male population, which has the highest number …

Avoidant Attachment, Coping Styles, And Body Image In Adults With Trichophagia And Onychophagia Disorders, Maryam Mehrtash

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this quantitative research was to study the relationship between avoidant attachment, coping styles, and body image in adults with trichophagia and onychophagia disorders. The repeated failed attempts of patients to reduce or stop their compulsive behavior persist as a significant health concern for clinicians and researchers alike. Previous literature indicated that a lack of recognition of the underlying mental illness in these conditions exists and may be due to the absence of individualized treatment. Attachment theory, proposed in this study, integrates psychosocial and neurobiological factors to examine this study’s therapeutic constructs. Sixty-seven adults with trichophagia (N= 50) …

Sustaining And Increasing Participation Of Rural Seniors In A Senior Center, Michelle L. Fontaine

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This case study’s objective was to sustain and increase senior participation in senior center activities by examining the rural senior perception of environmental needs and support of a local senior center. Senior centers assist with aging in place well and aid seniors to be socially active within their communities. Much of the literature around senior centers has focused on urban environments and not on the specific needs of the rural senior. In this study, 24 individuals were interviewed. The questions examined the seniors’ perception about the functionality and accessibility of the senior center to meet their physical and social needs …

Early Childhood Practitioners' Beliefs Regarding Children's Development And Learning Based On The Curriculum, Karlene Gloria Degrasse-Deslandes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Early Childhood Commission (ECC) is an agency of the Ministry of Education and Youth in Jamaica responsible for early childhood development. It has been proposed that Early Childhood Practitioners (ECPs) should engage in more child friendly and age-appropriate teaching practices. This is especially critical as they use the Jamaica Early Childhood Curriculum (JECC). This basic qualitative research was conducted to explore ECPs’ beliefs regarding children’s development and learning and the influence on the implementation of the JECC. The research questions that guided the study address the beliefs of Jamaican ECPs regarding children’s development and learning and the influence of …

The Experience Of Well-Being In Educators Who Transitioned From In-Person To Online Teaching, La Toya S. Glenn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The COVID-19 pandemic created substantive stress and uncertainty for secondary educators, including responding to the shifts in delivering education from the traditional to the online classroom and back to the classroom. Improper training, increased work demands, increased responsibilities, and decreased autonomy took a toll on teachers’ work and home life. To better understand how teachers deal with transitions in online, hybrid, and in-person education, this study explored secondary educators' experiences of psychological well-being during the transitions from in-person to online teaching. An interpretative phenomenological approach guided the research design. Lazarus and Folkman's transactional theory of stress and coping was used …

Elders Helping Elders: The Impact Of Stress On The Informal Caregiver, Denise Diane Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Informal older caregivers who care for other older adult's experience stress that can harm them. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the relationship between perceived stress and the physical health, quality of life, and coping skills of the informal older caregiver. The stress process model was used as the conceptual framework for this study. Using the Self survey using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), World health Quality of Life BREF (WHQOL-BREF) Scale, and the Brief-COPE Inventory, a total of 80 informal older caregivers were selected as participants. Pearson chi-square and Pearson’s r were used to analyze the …

Capital Structure Decision And Its Impact On The Financial Performance Of Real Estate Companies Listed On The Egyptian Exchange, Walid Nabil Badr Ali

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Financial performance has been an ongoing challenge for real estate companies in Egypt due to the devaluation of the currency in 2016, an increase in interest rates, and inflation that led to an increase in the price of construction inputs, plus the effect of COVID-19 on the local and world economy. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between company capital structure and the financial performance of real estate companies in the Egyptian exchange during the years 2016 to 2020. The research questions focused on the effects of capital structure. Three financial performance measures, return …

The Relationship Between Ohio Start Peer Recovery Services And Parental Sobriety, Jennifer Mcclellan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Parental substance use is associated with an increased risk for child maltreatment. The rise of parental substance use in Ohio led the state to implement Ohio START (sobriety, treatment, and reducing trauma), an evidence-based model that incorporates lived experience through peer recovery services embedded within child protection agencies. Researchers have studied the benefits of peer recovery services in community settings but have not extensively explored potential impacts among child protection populations. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the timeliness and quantity of Ohio START peer recovery services and the length of parental sobriety at case …

Factors Affecting Volunteer Reluctance Through Scoutmasters’ Perspectives, Robert Michael Hoogerhyde

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

The Experiences Of Older Adult Learners In Higher Education Transitioning To Online Learning During The Pandemic, Naeemah Giovanni Hardison

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Climate Protest Scarcity In East Asia: Cross-Country Analysis Using Resource Mobilization Theory, Hikaru Komatsu, Yi-Huan Hsieh

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Climate protests have been recognized as a catalyst for social transformation. Previous studies focused on protests in Western countries where protests were abundant. Few studies paid attention to regions where protests were scarce. As a first step towards understanding the reasons for climate protest scarcity in East Asia, we used Resource Mobilization Theory and explored factors correlated with climate protest significance among different countries. In addition to confirming factors already identified in previous studies (e.g., the density of non-governmental organizations), we uncovered two novel factors: working hours and trust in strangers. By examining these correlations, we discuss potential mechanisms underlying …

Effectiveness Of Wellness Programs For Correctional Officers, Robert Salvatore Petralia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.