PHD, Kent State University, 2023, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Sociology and Criminology

This dissertation extends Fundamental Cause Theory (FCT) to the study of holistic mental health. Using multiple quantitative methods and data from wave three of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, I explore if socio-economic status (SES) can be considered a "fundamental cause" of holistic mental health. To do so, I advance four hypotheses that address each step necessary to demonstrate a fundamental cause. Results show promising evidence that FCT can be extended to predict mental illness and positive mental health outcomes and that SES can be considered a fundamental cause of holistic mental health. High SES is associated with greater holistic mental health outcomes, and there are also significant mediation effects between SES and holistic mental health through exposure to risk and protective factors. Additionally, there is mixed evidence that mediation is an emergent mechanism between high SES and greater holistic mental health and that the deployment of health resources improves holistic mental health. This represents an advancement of sociological mental health theory, serves as an exemplary study of how sociologists can investigate positive mental health inequalities, and has critical policy implications for how to best improve community mental health.

Committee: Kristen Marcussen (Advisor); Mary Himmelstein (Other); Manacy Pai (Committee Member); Jennifer Taber (Committee Member); Richard Adams (Committee Member); Clare Stacey (Committee Member) Subjects: Health; Health Sciences; Psychology; Public Health; Sociology

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

This dissertation, co-conducted with the Youth Council for Suicide Prevention (YCSP), investigates youth leadership in youth advisory structures (YAS) in three papers. Each paper contributes to an understanding of how and why young people are involved as advisors on issues germane to them. The first paper is a review of scholarly research on YAS in the United States. The review found that while the use of YAS is increasing, YAS vary widely in format and research offers little information about their processes or engagement of youth. However, most YAS partner with marginalized youth to inform health research and programming. This review provides recommendations for best practices and informs the discussion of the following two papers. The second paper is an open source published study with the YCSP (Haddad et al., 2020), which serves as a case example of how participatory projects are carried out within YAS. The abstract is as follows: “Suicide is a prevalent health issue for youth and understanding youth experiences is critical for the development of effective prevention strategies. Although youth perceptions regarding suicide are relatively well studied, there is a paucity of youth voices in the planning, design, facilitation, and implementation of suicide prevention research. This study examines youth perceptions of suicide prevention through a community-academic partnership with the Youth Council for Suicide Prevention (YCSP). Working together as co-researchers, the YCSP conducted a modified Group Level Assessment with over 200 youth to understand youth perspectives on suicide prevention. The findings were used by the council to inform outreach and prevention activities that directly affect YCSP members and their peers” (Haddad et al., 2020, p. 1). The third paper is a participatory study with the YCSP that explores the personal and professional impact and meaning of their experiences as council members for suicide prevention. YCSP members were involved in (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lisa Vaughn Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Farrah Jacquez Ph.D. (Committee Member); Miriam Raider-Roth Ed.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2021, Agricultural and Extension Education

Youth in the United States are experiencing mental illness more frequently and severely than in the past. This is coupled with low rates of help-seeking and treatment resulting from factors such as stigma related to mental illness. The developmental period of adolescence and the changes and transitions that embody this time in a person's life mean that youth experience mental illness and topics related to mental health differently than other groups, with a range of personal, social and environmental factors serving as mediators. Youth who engage in programs which promote positive youth development represent an opportunity for research and improved practice. To study this population of youth, this transcendental phenomenology explored former Ohio FFA state officer and agricultural education program member experiences with mental health topics in the context of the FFA organization (formerly Future Farmers of America) and agricultural education programs in Ohio. In-depth, semi structured interviews were conducted with 10 participants. While individual experiences varied greatly, seven themes emerged which merit the consideration of agricultural educators, mental health professionals, researchers and any person involved in the development of youth. This relatively nuanced area of research has the potential to transform the lives of youth who experience mental health challenges through engagement in youth development organizations like FFA. The foundation for successful youth development has already been laid by these organizations. They present the opportunity to engage youth with mental health topics for the purposes of raising awareness, improving mental health literacy, reducing stigma and encouraging help-seeking behavior for all youth, especially those who suffer with mental illness.

Committee: Jera Niewoehner-Green Dr. (Advisor); Caryn Filson Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Agricultural Education; Mental Health

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Agricultural and Extension Education

During the second week of March 2020, work shifted from the county extension office to home during the Coronavirus pandemic. During COVID-19, workers were shifted into new all-digital work environments without establishing boundaries that melded the work and home environment into one (Katsabian, 2020). While this shift to remote work was possible due to technology, work-life boundaries became even blurrier. Professionals who do not have good boundaries find themselves always connected to both spheres of work and home because of their digital devices (Richardson & Rothstein, 2008). OSU Extension professionals not only made the switch to remote work from home, but they had to adjust to an all-digital 4-H program delivery at the same time. By rapidly shifting to digital work, 4-H professionals had to adapt to this change. The Change Style Indicator (Musselwhite & Ingraham, 1998) assessment classifies a person as a Conserver, Pragmatist, or Originator. Conservers prefer gradual change. Pragmatists desire change that serves a function. Originators are the most adept to change and favor quicker, more expansive change. These preferences to change would have impacted their approach to dealing with the pandemic and remote work. This study explored the adaptation of county-based OSU Extension 4-H Youth Development professionals to an all-digital environment during the virtual work period of COVID-19. Specific objectives included: (a) to describe the population by their Change Style Preferences, (b) to describe the adaptations to the all-digital work environment, (c) to describe the types of digital tools used, (d) to describe the types of digital skills learned, (e) to describe the types of digital youth development programming implemented, to describe the types of digital youth development strategies generated, and (f) to explore these selected variables (a-e) and their relationship to the Change Style Preferences. Data were gathered in two parts. The Change Style Ind (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jeff King (Committee Chair); Caryn Filson (Committee Member); Jerold Thomas (Committee Member) Subjects: Agricultural Education; Communication; Educational Technology; Information Technology; Multimedia Communications; Organization Theory; Technical Communication; Technology

Specialist in Education, Miami University, 2017, Educational Psychology

Schools are in an advantageous position for supporting the the needs of newly arrived refugee children. These children may have been exposed to persecution, conflict, generalized violence, or human rights violations and may experience related trauma or other mental health problems. The researchers of this study conducted semi-structured interviews with school mental health practitioners at an urban school district in the Midwestern US. Using theory- and data-driven codes, the researchers engaged in thematic analysis of the qualitative dataset. Findings indicated that refugees experience a wide range of mental health needs, including difficulties with trauma, acculturation, family stressors, limited schooling, and other resettlement stressors. Participants also shared about the resilience and protective factors of refugee students and their families. To intervene for refugee students, participants reported engaging in family support strategies, culturally responsive practices, school support strategies, and collaborating with partners. When supporting refugee students, school staff should involve refugee families in the problem-solving process, seek assistance from the community to provide additional supports, and engage in culturally responsive practices.

Committee: Erin Harper Ph.D. (Advisor); Anthony James Ph.D. (Committee Member); Joseph Schroer Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Psychology; Mental Health; Multicultural Education

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

This exploratory study examined the relationships among strengths use, spirituality, religion, and positive mental health of 109 traditional undergraduate, college-attending emerging adults in a public university in the southern region of the United States, often referred to as the Bible-Belt. Constructs of the study were guided by a student program for strengths development and engagement, the idea that spirituality is fundamental to students' lives while commitment to a specific religion decreases (Astin, Astin, & Lindholm, 2011), and prior research indicating strengths use contributed to well-being (Govindji & Linley, 2007; Proctor, Maltby, & Linley, 2009). Participants completed the Strengths Use Scale (SUS; Govindji & Linley, 2007), the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES; Underwood, 2006), the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SCSORF; Plante & Boccaccini, 1997a) and the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF; Keyes, 2002, 2009). Seven research questions were generated from study variables and data were analyzed using Pearson's product-moment correlations and multiple regressions. Positive correlations were found among strengths use, spirituality, and positive mental health. Multiple regression analyses showed that strengths use contributed to 18.1% of the variance of positive mental health. Positive mental health could be predicted solely from strengths use; and strengths use, in turn, could be predicted solely from spirituality. Therefore, findings suggest that strengths use is possibly an intermediary variable between spirituality and positive mental health. Implications for the fields of counseling, counselor education, and higher education are discussed along with limitations and suggestions for future research.

Committee: Christine Suniti Bhat Dr. (Committee Chair); Peter Mather Dr. (Committee Member); Connie Patterson Dr. (Committee Member); Dianne Gut Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Counseling Education; Higher Education; Mental Health; Religion; Spirituality

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2011, Psychology, Clinical

This study investigated the relationship between gratitude and burnout in mental health professionals. Participants consisted of 65 mental health treatment providers from community mental health agencies and a university counseling center. Consistent with hypotheses, both workplace specific gratitude and dispositional gratitude were positively related to job satisfaction and personal accomplishment. Workplace specific gratitude was also negatively related to emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Gratitude predicted job satisfaction and burnout after controlling for demographic, job contextual variables, and hope. Workplace specific gratitude predicted emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and job satisfaction after controlling for dispositional gratitude but not vice versa. Dispositional gratitude predicted personal accomplishment after controlling for workplace specific gratitude but not vice versa.

Committee: Mark Rye Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Keri Brown Kirschman Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jack Bauer Ph.D. (Committee Member); Carolyn Roecker-Phelps Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Behaviorial Sciences; Clinical Psychology; Counseling Psychology; Labor Relations; Management; Mental Health; Occupational Psychology; Personality Psychology; Psychological Tests; Psychology; Social Psychology; Social Work