Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2006, Physical Activity and Educational Services

The present study utilized descriptive, correlational quantitative survey research to investigate the self-perceived multicultural counseling competence of 364 licensed counselors using the Multicultural Counseling Inventory (MCI; Sodowsky et al., 1994). The study aimed to explore (a) to what extent licensed counselors perceived themselves to be multiculturally competent; (b) how selected demographic factors, controlling for social desirability, contributed to self-perceived competence; (c) to what extent licensed counselors presented themselves in a multiculturally socially desirable manner with regard to multicultural competence; and (d) differences on multicultural competence and social desirability based on the race of the counselor. Respondents viewed themselves as multiculturally competent both in general (MCI Total score, M = 3.28, SD = .31) and specifically. Respondents viewed themselves as most competent in multicultural skills (M = 3.67, SD = .37) and least competent in multicultural awareness (M = 2.88, SD = .55). Univariate regression analyses were conducted to determine independent variables contributing significant variance in scores. Race, years of counseling experience, number of multicultural graduate courses taken, and number of multicultural trainings/workshops attended contributed significant variance to at least one of the MCI scales. Social desirability significantly contributed to the variance in scores on all five MCI scales. The majority of the sample presented themselves in a neutral fashion on the multicultural social desirability measure when compared to the samples' mean (M = 18.81, SD = 3.13). Non-White counselors endorsed a slightly higher mean social desirability score (M = 20.14, SD = 3.22) than counselors White counselors (M = 18.69, SD = 3.07). Non-White counselors had statistically significantly higher MCI Total (non-White, M = 3.41, SD = .46; White, M = 3.27, SD = .28), Awareness (non-White, M = 3.26, SD = .60; White, M = 2.84, S (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2017, Counselor Education (Education)

The number of Americans who belong to ethnic and racial minority groups in the United States has grown tremendously during the last decade. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, in the year 2000 there were approximately 36.4 million African Americans, 35.3 million Hispanic Americans, and 11.9 million Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, making up approximately 31% of the total U.S. population (U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 2000). These statistics are expected to continue to rapidly increase and experts project that by the year 2050, Americans of ethnic racial minority groups will comprise approximately 54% of the U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2008). Research shows that there is a lack of multi-culturally competent mental health professionals currently practicing across the U.S. despite the need (Atkinson, Morten & Sue 1989). The shortage of adequate culturally-competent counselors and other mental health professionals has resulted in serious problems that could affect the overall economic and social well-being of the entire U.S population (Leong & Less 2006; West-Olatunji, Goodman, Mehta & Templeton 2011; Fouad & Arredondo 2007; Zhon, Siu & Xin 2009). For this reason, the mental health profession has called for a major education reform for counselors-in-training, and graduate counseling programs are now feeling the pressure to prepare their students to work in a culturally diverse world (Brown & Minor 1990; Goodman & West-Olatunji, 2009). While most graduate programs offer at least one multicultural counseling course (often in order to meet professional accreditation and ethical standards), there remains no research-supported consensus as to how best train counselors for work in multicultural practice (Buckley & Foldy, 2010; Ponterotta, 1996). Furthermore, graduate programs have been considered “marginal at best” for delivering what might be considered an effective training program (Ponterotto, Alexander & Greiger, 1995). The (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, EDU Policy and Leadership

The history of multiculturalism and multicultural education is not understood, although many scholars have written about it, especially in recent decades. The reason is that the historical interpretations of these prominent subjects begin by assuming a priori and partisan definitions and then construct historical narratives based on these definitions. The historiography of multiculturalism and multicultural education therefore suffers from the historical fallacy of presentism. This dissertation addresses the problems in the historical literature by providing an evidenced account of the history of multiculturalism and multicultural education. This unexamined evidence is the historical usage and meaning of the terms multicultural, multiculturalism, and multicultural education since their introduction into the American vocabulary in about 1907. The meaning of multicultural in the 1930s can only be what people in the 1930s meant by multicultural, not what people in the 2010s mean by the term. The patterns and trends in the historical usage and meaning(s) of multicultural, multiculturalism and multicultural education will then be analyzed in light of the intellectual, social, political, economic, and educational developments of the time. Through this evidenced approach, the dissertation will provide sound historical understanding that will contribute to educational theory, research and practice by explaining the current panoply of meanings of multiculturalism and multicultural education that exists today.

PHD, Kent State University, 2015, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies

The purpose of this study was to investigate the availability and accessibility of multicultural children's and young adult literature as represented by winners of ethnic-specific youth literature awards in selected public libraries in Northeast Ohio. The researcher searched Online Public Access Catalogs for winners and honor books of the American Indian Youth Literature Award, Americas Award, Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, Carter G. Woodson Book Award, Coretta Scott King Book Awards, Pura Belpre Award, and Tomas Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award. The data were analyzed for the frequency of occurrence of each title in the holdings of 36 library systems and 172 central libraries, branches, and mobile units within those systems. The results show that only six of the 172 library outlets in the study had more than 50% of the 449 books in the study, while 148 outlets had fewer than 30% of the titles. The average number of books held by library outlets was 85.4 titles, or 19% of the books in the study. This information should be of interest to teachers, librarians, teacher and librarian educators and their students, and others who are interested in multicultural youth literature, as it calls attention to the current availability and accessibility of multicultural youth literature in public libraries, and advocates for all children in this increasingly diverse country to have access to books that reflect their own culture and ethnicity, and other cultures and ethnicities, as well.

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2020, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Counselor Education

Self-awareness has been discussed as the foundation for multicultural competency development, yet little is known about self-awareness process in relation to multicultural counseling competency development. This transcendental phenomenological study explored the self-awareness process in relation to multicultural competency development. Relational-Cultural theory served as the theoretical framework to conceptualize the process of self-awareness. The central question of this study is: How is the self-awareness process in relation to multicultural competency development? Since the new inception of the MSJCC standards, this study aimed at exploring whether privilege and marginalized status would be part of one's self-awareness development. Thus, two sub-questions are: a) What is self-awareness and its development process; b) Is privilege and marginalized statues a part of the self-awareness process and how are the perceptions of status related to self-awareness development? Ten participants who graduated from a CACREP-accredited institution after 2017 participated in semi-structured interview. A 4-step phenomenological data analysis was conducted to determine the essence within the experiences. Linguistic analysis was utilized to solidify the imaginative variation in the participants experiences. The results provide a description of the self-awareness process in multicultural competency development based on three emergent themes: connection to self, relational experience, and influence of the context. The findings exhibited that relational experience within a context is important to a deeper understanding of self. To gain a deeper understanding, one has impactful relational experiences to differentiate between self and others. The context in which the experience occurs is important to the process of understanding self during the experience. Implications include students completing reflective activities and enhancing cultural immersion experiences in multicultural tra (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Cross-Cultural, International Education

This thesis is a qualitative study that combines the methodologies of document analysis and case study to analyze the development of cultural competencies in teacher education students at an American Midwestern university. It take a unique approach in that it uses teacher education program documentation by means of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) professional standards documentation along with an analysis of the documents submitted by the university of the study in 2015 to analyze how the university planned for meeting the Diversity standard indicators. This document analysis used syllabi from key courses in the initial teacher education programs as set forth by the plans of the College of education and triangulated the data found in the NCATE professional standards, the accreditation report documentations and interviews with college personnel and instructors within the college. The interviewees provided key perspectives on the unit's plan and implementation thereof for meeting the standard proficiencies with their students, which helped to evaluate to what degree and in what ways each of the research questions of this study were accomplished during the NCATE reporting period. All documents were analyzed through the lens of the theoretical frameworks of Multicultural Education and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy to evaluate the impacts of the teacher education candidates required coursework and field experiences on developing and sharpening their skills in working with diverse populations. The results found subthemes related to initial licensure candidate development and they include: knowledge base development, cognitive skills development and community building and engagement. These themes were key for the unit's goals of diversity throughout the campus and their programs. It found the field experiences began long before students began their teaching practicums to reveal how assignments, discussions and classroom experienc (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2018, Arts Administration, Education and Policy

This dissertation discusses how engaging in arts-based identity exploration activities can help traditional-age undergraduates (ages 18-24) develop increased self-awareness and cultural sensitivity. The dissertation first explores the participatory inquiry paradigm and the roles of artistic/creative expression in holistic knowledge creation and transformative learning. It then provides an overview of the field of arts-based inquiry and its wide variety of approaches. The following chapters discuss traditional-age undergraduate identity development and how arts-based identity exploration activities can be used in undergraduate multicultural social justice courses to foster self-awareness and cultural sensitivity. Chapter 8 discusses the author's Spring 2016 in-class research at The Ohio State University, in which 50 students from a wide variety of majors engaged in various arts-based identity exploration activities. It was conducted within two sections of the general education course "Visual Culture: Investigating Diversity and Social Justice." The study was grounded in the participatory inquiry paradigm. It addressed these research questions: (1) Can engaging in arts-based identity exploration activities help the traditional-age undergraduates in this study increase their awareness and understanding of their own and others' individual and cultural identities and thereby increase both self-awareness and cultural sensitivity? (2) If so, which specific activities, utilizing which artistic modalities, do they find effective and in what ways? (3) Do study participants in non-arts/humanities majors react differently to various activities than do arts and humanities majors? If so, which activities and how? This mixed-methods study employed arts-based inquiry, qualitative, and quantitative methods. First, a qualitative questionnaire solicited students' views on whether and how arts activities could help traditional-age undergraduates further understand and devel (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, Music

The purpose of this study was to examine Taiwanese fourth-year and fifth-year pre-service music teachers' preferences for, familiarity with, and willingness to teach six ethnic music styles (i.e., Chinese, Hokkien, Hakka, Taiwanese Aboriginal, Vietnamese, and Indonesian) to the largest student cultural groups in Taiwan. Participants (N = 126) listened to 18 excerpts and rated their preferences for, familiarity with, and willingness to teach the ethnic music examples on seven-point Likert-type scales. As a validity check, the pre-service music teachers were required to identify the ethnic language in which each music example was performed. However, their abilities to identify the languages were not strongly correlated with their preferences for, familiarity with, and willingness to teach the music examples. Findings indicated that the pre-service music teachers' preference and familiarity ratings were positively correlated to their willingness to teach the six ethnic music styles. Additionally, the participants' enrollment year, and the interaction between the year of enrollment and certificate level significantly affected the participants' familiarity with the ethnic music styles. Furthermore, music training was a significant variable that affected the participants' willingness to teach the Hokkien ethnic music style. Three open-ended questions regarding what the participants liked and disliked about the selected music and what would influence their willingness to teach the music examples were addressed to the pre-service music teachers. Participants' most common responses for these open-ended questions focused on music style, timbre, and language, respectively.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2014, Arts Administration, Education and Policy

There is considerable research on the challenges of public education for African American youth. Such research often paints a dismal picture of African American academic achievement. As a result, it is necessary to take a close look at the innovative education strategies within African American communities that offer a contrasting perspective. Specifically, this research uses Invitational Education Theory (IET), critical participatory action research, Black Feminist Epistemology, and critical multiculturalism to investigate the narratives of African American mothers who homeschool their children and analyze the purpose and outcomes of an African American homeschool cooperative. Families in this study offer insight into how African Americans are instituting change in their homes and communities and bring to light the over-arching challenges many African American families face in traditional education. Their work can inform creative ways to incorporate parents, community, and funds of knowledge into traditional education.

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD), Wright State University, 2012, School of Professional Psychology

To date, no instrument has been developed that specifically assesses multicultural issues within the context of group work. Rather, such issues are based to a large extent on clinician's judgment (Corey & Corey 1992; Jennings & Anderson, 1997; Riva, Lippert, & Tackett, 2000). The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument (i.e., the Multicultural Group Screening Form, MGSF) designed to address this void in the literature. Such a tool provides a basis for future studies on the multicultural factors that could impact the group process and outcome. Among the group literature reviewed, DeLucia-Waack's and Donigian's (2004) discussion on diversity variables citing various key researches that might impact successful engagement in group therapy, and the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) by Phinney (1992) are key among the various sources used in the development of this instrument. Therefore, 71 items and six primary scales were designed based on expert's opinion and extant review of existing theory. A total of 153 undergraduate students at Wright State University (WSU), completed the measures, and then initial reliability estimates were examined. Internal consistency analyses were conducted on the 71 items that comprised a proposed six primary scales. Based on these analyses, results showed that 35 items were retained representing five primary scales. The five primary scales are Ethnic Identity (α =.78), Racial Attitude (α -=.71), Group Leader Preferences (α = .70), Stigma (α = .73), and Verbal Participation/Self-Disclosure (α =.71). The scale that was deleted due to low reliability scores was Value Orientation scale (α = .55). Furthermore, the construction of this measure suggests categories and areas for item refinement that can be built upon in further iterations of this instrument.

EdD, University of Cincinnati, 2001, Education : Counselor Education

The purpose of this exploratory study was to expand the body of knowledge regarding the relationship of demographics, educational variables, and program accreditation on mid-west, Tri-state (Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky) counseling students' self-reported levels of multicultural counseling competency as measured by the Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills Survey (MAKSS) assessment scores. The demographic variables under consideration included gender, race/ethnicity, income, and type of employment. Educational variables were the highest level of education completed and type / amount of multicultural counseling instruction received to date. One hundred seventeen students enrolled in 26 different counselor education programs in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky participated in this study. Each student completed a demographic questionnaire developed for this study and the Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills Survey (MAKSS). The demographic questions provided information on the respondents' educational level and other demographic variables (e.g., race, prior multicultural counseling courses, etc.). The MAKSS generated a measure of multicultural competency in three areas: multicultural counseling awareness, multicultural counseling skills, and multicultural counseling knowledge. Results indicated that (a) overall, there is no significant difference between students' self-reported levels of multicultural awareness, skills, and knowledge, (b) there is a positive relationship between the amount of multicultural counseling instruction received and multicultural counseling competency assessment scores, (c) counseling students of color report a higher level of multicultural counseling competency than white students, (d) there is a relationship between self-reported multicultural competence and demographic variables such as prior multicultural counseling education, highest degree earned, age, etc., and (e) there was a significant difference between the multicultural (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2011, Art Education

The primary question that framed this study was “How does a multicultural and social reconstructionist approach to art education facilitate the three broad goals of social justice (a) increase personal awareness, (b) expand knowledge and (c) encourage action among youth?” This inquiry was formulated based on a previous research project that indicated the need for a multicultural and reconstructionist approach in art education. Some art education curriculum has been identified as hegemonic in that it assists in maintaining the status quo. Curriculum can be oppressive if it consistently uses voices only from the dominant population and continues to neglect the needs of its receivers. Therefore, an art education curriculum that promotes inclusivity, transformation, social change and social reconstruction was the goal for this research. In addition, this study worked to examine the results of the implementation of this approach. To attend to this objective, this study utilized participatory action research (PAR), a methodology theoretically driven by social justice and advocacy for change on a local level. Using this methodology initiated stakeholder engagement and helped to reveal the significance of student voice in curriculum. Youth who attended Kaleidoscope Youth Center (KYC), in Columbus, Ohio, were participants in this study. Weekly artmaking workshops were held at KYC. Each workshop began with a discussion about a social justice issue that was chose by the youth. The workshops ended with an artmaking activity that allowed the youth to explore and communicate personal feelings about that specific issue. The youths' artworks served as data to be analyzed. A curriculum map that emerged from the student-researcher discussion and collaboration served as data as well. Additional qualitative methods such as journaling, observations, reflections, and interviews helped to obtain data as well. The youth at KYC organized an exhibition to share the artwork that was made dur (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Teaching and Learning

There exists a school system that is closing the performance gap on standardized tests between Caucasian and minority students. This research studied 10 American schools serving Children of Military Parents (COMP) in North America, Asia and Europe which serve as a model for closing the minority performance gap. The environmental tone of schools is considered to have a profound effect on student learning. This research investigated the environmental tone that is contributing to success for all students. This study investigated organizational climate factors and multicultural perceptions that are contributing to the success of all students at COMP schools. The environment of schools closing the performance gap was studied by means of a climate analysis and multicultural perception survey. The research design is a web-based survey, composed of the Perceptions of Multicultural Education (PME) survey, an original survey, and the Organizational Health Inventory (OHI) survey previously established by Hoy et al. (1991). This study introduced an original survey for measuring perceptions of multicultural education, the PME survey. The PME survey was found both highly reliable and valid. The PME survey was used to measure attitudes towards multicultural education. PME results were then analyzed in relation to student performance on standardized tests. Findings from this study are based upon an overall response rate of 82%. A major finding of this research, revealed a unique relationship between environments highly valuing multicultural education and student performance. Specifically, biracial students were shown to excel in environments highly valuing multicultural education. Other significant findings confirm previous research, which found healthy school environments to be beneficial for all students. Additionally, healthy environments were found to be specifically beneficial for Black, Asian, American Indian, and White students. Previous climate research has shown “Academic (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Teaching and Learning

This dissertation examines five preservice teachers from a small, private Catholic university in the Midwest and their perceptions of a sociopolitical children's text. This study was conducted through a critical/constructivist and feminist epistemology in which preservice teachers' biographies, their views on education are examined, in addition to conducting an interview to discuss a sociopolitical event through a children's text. The text, Smoky night by Eve Bunting depicts the Los Angeles Uprisings from a child's point of view. The study examined two research questions, 1) How do preservice teachers' biographies enable them to form perceptions about a sociopolitical event (the Los Angeles Uprisings)? and 2) How can a sociopolitical children's text mediate and/or interrupt these perceptions based on the preservice teachers' biographies? The questions were explored through biographical records and views on education written by five preservice teachers, and one-on-one interviews. The data for each participant's biography was represented in the form of poetry. Three research findings emerged from the data, 1) The participants' biographies take precedence over the text and another person's lived experiences, 2) biographical constructions shape and inform notions of humanity, and right and wrong behavior and finally 3) mediations between the biographies and the text were presented in responses of denigration, empathy and future use of the text in the preservice teachers' classroom. Discussion and implications of the research findings in the fields of qualitative literacy research, teacher education and multicultural children's literature are discussed.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2002, Educational Theory and Practice

Schools are becoming more diverse every year; educators need to reach students who do not belong to the mainstream culture. By using African American children's literature in the classroom, teachers can show that they respect and value their African American students' culture and provide the opportunity to explore issues of diversity. The research questions of this study were: How do two male primary teachers use African American multicultural literature to address and explore issues of diversity when their class has a majority of African American students in schools whose missions are to support multiculturalism? How are the teachers' cultural and racial beliefs represented in their practice? How do the approaches of these teachers reflect their distinct school contexts? This study, explored how two male teachers, who belong to different cultural groups, use African American childrens literature to facilitate discussions about diversity with their predominantly African American students. This case study was based on a theoretical framework that supports social construction of knowledge by participants. A sociocultural lens was used to examine the data pool: observation of conversations and behaviors before, during, and after lessons and read-alouds in the classroom; use of audio and video recordings; interviews with the teachers, and students; and artifacts from participants. Each teacher was given copies of the same five books to read aloud with his students. They created an activity for students to participate in after the read aloud. During the read alouds and activities, the teachers engaged the students in discussions. One of the major findings of the research was that these two teachers understand the importance of incorporating their students culture and race into literacy learning. Furthermore, these teachers created learning opportunities for students to co-construct knowledge as well as demonstrated best practices (Zeleman et al., 1998) in teaching. Impli (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2007, Higher Education (Education)

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of institutional members of the National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates of differences in retention initiatives and support by graduation rate. Specifically, this study examined the perceived effectiveness of retention initiatives, the impact of attrition issues and the effectiveness of retention resources to support the retention of multicultural engineering students. Completed in the winter 2007, this study was distributed electronically to institutional NAMEPA members and resulted in a 28% response rate. The survey instrument was developed by the researcher and consisted of five-point Likert scale items that examined the effectiveness of retention initiatives and attrition issues. Open response questions examined retention rates, unit goals, successful retention practices, practices not occurring at respondent institutions and factors impacting graduation rates. Information was also collected on time spent on retention initiatives, financial resources to support multicultural engineering student retention and personnel resources to support multicultural engineering student retention. Data was analyzed using Independent Samples T Test to test for statistical significance of retention initiatives and attrition issues by graduation rate group. Chi Square analysis was used to test for relational significance of time spent on retention initiatives, financial resources and personnel support by graduation rate group. This examination of institutional perspectives on retention initiatives did not find significant differences of these variables by the graduation rate groups established for this study. Data collected on successful practices, practices not occurring at the institutions, unit goals for retaining multicultural engineering students and graduation rate factors did support the retention initiatives and attrition issues evaluated in this study. Further studies can be done to coll (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2011, Marriage and Family Counseling/Therapy

Within the field of counseling the majority of supervisors and supervisees are White (Constantine et al., 2005; Inman et al, 2004). Research has indicated that ethnic clients' perception of satisfaction with counseling services is significantly influenced by the clinicians' level of multicultural competency (Constantine, 2002; Frank, 2004). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between multicultural training and supervisors' perceived multicultural competency within White supervisor-White supervisee supervision dyads as well as supervisees' ratings of supervisors' perceived cross cultural competency. This study utilized the ACA Multicultural Counseling Competency (Sue et al., 2006) as a framework for this research and the instrument used in this study. This research utilized simple linear regression to analyze 40 supervisor and supervisee dyads. Findings included significance in that supervisees' ratings of supervisors predicted awareness and knowledge for cross cultural competency independent of social desirability. Finally, conclusions, implications of the findings, and suggestions for future research were discussed.

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2007, Counseling Psychology

Much of the previous literature on the assessment of multicultural counseling competence has examined counselors' abilities when working with individual clients; this study expanded prior research by investigating trainees' multicultural case conceptualization ability (MCCA; Ladany, Inman, Constantine, & Hofheinz, 1997) with couples. Additional methodological limitations present in the assessment of multicultural case conceptualization ability were addressed by looking at variables that might detract from competence (i.e., color-blind racial attitudes), examining the stimulus value of the race of the client in the vignette, and exploring the effects of a multidimensional measure of social desirability. The current study also investigated two different assessment methods, self-report and observer-report, of multicultural counseling competence and ascertained how each method is related to multicultural training and clinical experience. The present study represents an exploration of trainees' self-reported multicultural counseling competence, color-blind racial attitudes, social desirability, and multicultural case conceptualization ability when working with couples. Participants completed online a demographic questionnaire, a multicultural case conceptualization ability task (cf. Constantine & Ladany, 2000), the Multicultural Counseling Knowledge and Awareness Scale (MCKAS; Ponterotto et al., 2002), the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS; Neville et al., 2000), and the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR; Paulhus, 1991). Major findings of the study were: 1) socially desirable responding had no significant relation with the MCCA task, the MCKAS, and two of the three subscale of the CoBRAS; 2) self-reported multicultural knowledge was not related to an observable measure of multicultural counseling competence; 3) multicultural didactic training (other than coursework) accounted for a significant amount of variance in multicultural case conceptualiza (open full item for complete abstract)

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2024, Antioch New England: Clinical Psychology

Trans members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and other marginalized sexual and gender identities (LGBT+) community may be at risk of erasure from both dominant sociocultural scripts and clinical psychological research. Identity development experts have asserted that identity is fixed by late adolescence, with some room for evolution depending on context (Marcia, 2002; Sokol, 2009). Research about grief suggests that anything that has been lost has the potential to be experienced through the lens of grief (Chapple et al., 2016; Collings, 2007). This grief of non-death loss has been linked to loss of relationships, expected life trajectory, and self-concept. The loss of relationship to the previous gender label has not been discussed in the extant literature. This lack of research might both be endemic to and perpetuate self-concealment in LGBT+ communities. Trans individuals might also be vulnerable to grief, becoming disenfranchised and exacerbated by lack of representation. The current dissertation offers a mixed-method Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis to address gaps in the extant literature. Surprisingly, the current research supports that, while internal processes may play a role in shifting gender labels, participants are more impacted overall by the loss of social factors such as understanding self in relation to social environment. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2024, Psychology-Counseling

High levels of discrimination and violence as well as requirements for gender affirming medical interventions lead trans patients to seek out mental health services at high rates. However, mental health providers are underprepared to serve the unique needs of trans patients. Trans patients report a variety of barriers to accessing competent therapeutic services, including trans-specific microaggressions and a dearth of adequately trained providers. All existing instruments that measure trans counseling competence rely solely on provider self-report, despite numerous foundational issues with self-report of cultural competence. This dissertation study represents the initial steps in the development of a measure of trans counseling competence, as reported by patients themselves. An initial list of 98 items was generated through literature review and qualitative focus groups and interviews with trans community members. These items were sent to four content area experts for feedback on item content as well as measure instructions and response options. Substantial edits were made in accordance with expert feedback, and a list of 103 potential items, along with a measure of social desirability and a demographics questionnaire, was presented to participants. Inclusion criteria for the study included age ≥ 18 years, self-identification as trans or gender diverse, at least one prior experience in formal mental health treatment, and the ability to read English. Participants were recruited through social media, University of Akron SONA research systems, and 30 LGBTQ+ centers that agreed to share the survey with their constituents. 402 initial survey responses were recorded; after screening and cleaning the data, 185 participants were retained for primary analyses. Items were removed one at a time based on their performance on a variety of measures, including component loadings and cross loadings, correlations with social desirability, and amount of “not applicable” responses, (open full item for complete abstract)