Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2020, Counselor Education (Education)

Historically, human beings and human behavior and health have been viewed through the lens of disease and dysfunction, rather than a lens of wellness and growth (Seligman, 2000). Mental health care and health care in general, still widely utilize the medical model, which focuses on illness (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). When examining mental health care and overall health, it is valuable to utilize a holistic approach that focuses on positive psychology and growth. This exploratory, cross-sectional study utilizes a positive psychology approach and examines adverse childhood experiences (Felitti et al., 1998), psychological capital (Luthans, Youssef, & Avolio, 2007), and students' subjective well-being and mental health (Keyes, 2002). Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are measured utilizing the adverse childhood experiences (ACE) questionnaire which is comprised of 10 yes or no questions and assesses traumatic events in childhood. The PsyCap consists of four measures which include Hope, Efficacy, Resilience, and Optimism (HERO), which are assessed through the PsyCap Questionnaire (PCQ) (Luthans, Luthans, & Jensen, 2012). Mental health and subjective well-being are measured utilizing Keyes Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) which includes a mental health score, well-being clusters, that include emotional, social, and psychological, and mental health categories that range from languishing to flourishing (Keyes, 2009). The objectives of the study included evaluating the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACE), psychological capital, mental health, and well-being. Further objectives included to evaluate the relationship between psychological capital and mental health, to determine variability in psychological capital utilizing the adverse childhood experiences score as a predictor, and to determine variability in mental health and well-being by utilizing the ACE score as a predictor. Descriptive statistics, correlation (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Christine Suniti Bhat Dr. (Advisor); Yegan Pillay Dr. (Committee Member); Peter Mather Dr. (Committee Member); Gordon Brooks Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Counseling Education

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2019, Higher Education (Education)

This dissertation focuses on the positive characteristics, both environmental and personal, of women in leadership positions in higher education. While women make up 31% of full professor positions at degree-granting institutions, Johnson (2016) notes that a disproportionately small number have reached the top leadership levels of these institutions. Research shows underrepresentation and bias toward women in leadership roles within higher education (Bain & Cummings, 2000, Johnson, 2016; Jones, 2014; Lennon, 2013; Pasquerella, & Clauss-Ehlers, 2017; The White House Project: Benchmarking Women's Leadership, 2009). According to the University of Colorado Denver Women's College 2013 “Benchmarking Women's Leadership in the United States” report, the average percentage of women in higher education holding leadership positions is 24.53%; this number has remained relatively stable for the past ten years (p.13). For the fortunate few who achieve these positions, success requires a combination of personal adaptiveness and external support. Literature focusing on the positive characteristics of women in leadership roles is limited. In this study, I explored how women who were senior administrators in higher education drew from environmental and personal mechanisms to achieve success. I explored examples of women who currently occupy senior positions in higher education and discussed the characteristics that helped them to be successful despite the barriers they faced. Through basic interpretative qualitative design, I interviewed ten participants for this research. The interviews took place in a professional setting, and made use of semi-structured interview questions. Journal entries were solicited. The purpose of this study is to identify both environmental and personal characteristics that help women currently in leadership positions in higher education. This study examined ways in which women achieved success in their careers. Using gendered organization and feminist s (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Peter C. Mather (Advisor) Subjects: Higher Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, EDU Physical Activity and Educational Services

Organizations today are struggling to attract and retain an engaged workforce. Those organizations who succeed experience an increase in job performance, productivity, customer satisfaction, and employee retention. There is a growing interest in identifying the key factors that contribute to a work environment that is conducive to employee engagement. This study was designed to examine the relative importance of the psychological conditions necessary for employee engagement: a sense of meaningfulness, psychological safety and psychological availability. This study examined engagement in the context of the job itself, the relationships in the work environment, and what the individual brings to the job. The specific predictors of employee engagement examined were: sense of meaningfulness, psychological capital, co-worker relationships and transformational leadership. A 56-item survey was distributed to staff members of a mid-sized four year institution located in the Midwest. While all four factors were positive and significantly correlated to the outcome of engagement, a sense of meaningfulness was the strongest predictor of employee engagement. Psychological capital was the second strongest predictor, followed by positive co-worker relationships and transformational leadership. The findings in this study contribute to what we know about the predictors of employee engagement and provide both scholars and practitioners with a greater understanding of key factors that contribute to the outcome of employee engagement. Implications and directions for future research and practical applications for practitioners is discussed.

Committee: David Stein (Committee Chair) Subjects: Adult Education; Behavioral Sciences; Business Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2018, Educational Studies

Work engagement and employee wellness are important issues in human resource development. Guided by Conservation of Resources theory and the Job Demands-Resources Model, this study examined the effect perceived wellness had on teachers' reported levels of work engagement. While previous studies have examined discrete domains of wellness and their relationship to work engagement, no study had examined perceived, holistic wellness and its relationship to work engagement. As workplace wellness programs offer services that reflect components of holistic wellness, it is desirable to understand the variability holistic wellness can explain in work engagement. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect data from a sample of K-12 teachers. In addition to collecting data on perceived wellness and work engagement, additional data were collected for the control variables of psychological capital, supervisory support, and work autonomy. Tests for linear regression, hierarchal regression, multiple regression, and mediation were conducted to evaluate the research questions. Findings from the study suggested those higher in wellness have higher levels of work engagement, that wellness predicts unique variance in work engagement in the presence of established personal and job resource predictor variables, and that there is a partially mediated effect from wellness to work engagement through psychological capital.

Committee: Zirkle Christopher (Advisor); Granello Paul (Committee Member); Gallant Dorinda (Committee Member) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2017, Organizational Behavior

In order to better understand the impact of disclosing weaknesses, this dissertation introduces the idea of humble mentorship, based on Relational Cultural Theory and Humble Leadership. Humble mentorship is a mentoring relationship in which both protege and mentor accept the humble leadership traits of teachability, admitting mistakes and limitations, and acknowledging others strengths, in which case the central relationship paradox is avoided and both protege and mentor are in a connected relationship. After exploratory interviews to better understand the construct, a quantitative survey design was implemented in a United States based IT consultancy company. The results from 201 IT professionals indicated that humility of both the protege and mentor led to stronger relational mentoring and increased mentoring functions (specifically career support, psychosocial support, and role-modeling). Relational mentoring and mentoring functions had a positive impact on psychological capital and job satisfaction. In this sample gender was not found to be a significant moderator between humility and relational mentoring, this is possibly due to The IT Company itself, the male and millennial dominated field, or relational mentoring,. The main contributions of the dissertation are in applying the concept of expressed humility to the mentoring literature, further understanding of the contingencies of humility, and validation of the Relational Mentoring Index in a 21st century context.

Committee: Diana Bilimoria (Committee Member); Coen Corinne (Committee Member); Fry Ron (Committee Member); Burant Chris (Committee Member); Weinberg Frankie (Committee Member) Subjects: Organizational Behavior

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2016, Higher Education (Education)

The research on first-generation undergraduate student access and success is voluminous;owever, the research on first-generation doctoral students' experiences is limited. In an effort to contribute to the overall first-generation college student body of knowledge, this study focused on first-generation doctoral students from the United States and their experiences and educational pathways to their doctoral programs. This study addresses two research questions. What are personal and educational pathways first-generation doctoral students from the United States travel as they move toward graduate school? How do first-generation doctoral students from the United States experience graduate school? The theoretical framework informing this research is capital theory. The researcher defined four forms of capital: cultural, economic, social and psychological. A discussion about the connection of these four forms of capital can be found in the final chapter. The researcher used a basic interpretive qualitative design for the study, interviewed 11 first-generation doctoral students from the United States, and analyzed the collected data using content analysis. Against the statistical odds, the 11 first-generation doctoral students from the United States who participated in this study found success. They developed their identities, nurtured supportive networks, exercised independence, and found empowerment. Through their developing identities, the participants accumulated psychological capital. As their supportive networks grew, the participants saw an increase in social capital and the bearing it could have on their success. As their independence expanded so did their economic capital. Because of their changing worldviews, a sense of belonging, and their internal motivation, these students experienced empowerment. This empowerment brought increased cultural capital. Because of accumulating capital in all forms, these 11 first-generation doctoral students from the Uni (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Peter Mather (Committee Chair); Cynthia Anderson (Committee Member); Christine Bhat (Committee Member); David Horton (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2015, Counselor Education (Education)

In studying human behavior, there has been a tradition of focusing on deficits and problems, rather than strengths and resources. To emphasize a holistic perspective and a wellness approach, the field of positive psychology redirects attention to individual strengths and assets to ensure optimal functioning. Using a positive psychology lens, this cross-sectional, exploratory study measured college students' mental health and Psychological Capital [PsyCap] (Luthans, Youssef, & Avolio, 2007). PsyCap is comprised of four positive psychological strengths:- Hope, Efficacy, Resilience, and Optimism (HERO), measured using the Academic PsyCap Questionnaire [A-PCQ] (Luthans, Luthans, & Jensen, 2012), within Overall-life and School-work categories. Mental health was assessed using Keyes Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF; Keyes, 2002, 2009), which provides: (i) a mental health score; (ii) well-being clusters (emotional, social, and psychological); and (iii) mental health categories (languishing, moderately mentally healthy, and flourishing). In addition to descriptive analyses of the sample characteristics, the objectives of the study were: (i) to evaluate the relationship between PsyCap and mental health; (ii) to determine differences in PsyCap within individuals who fell into languishing, moderately mentally healthy, and flourishing mental health categories; and (iii) to determine the extent of variability in mental health using PsyCap HERO dimensions as predictors. Multiple regression and one-way ANOVAs were used to address the research objectives. Results indicated a positive linear relationship between PsyCap and mental health. Furthermore, PsyCap significantly varied within each of the mental health categorical groupings and also predicted about 43% of the variance in mental health. Findings suggest that developing positive psychological strengths such as hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism within college students could increase their positive mental health (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Christine Bhat PhD (Advisor); Yegan Pillay PhD (Committee Member); Peter Mather PhD (Committee Member); Krisanna Machtmes PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Counseling Education; Counseling Psychology; Educational Psychology; Higher Education; Management