Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Organizational Leadership , Franklin University, 2025, International Institute for Innovative Instruction

Burnout among social workers continues to be a concern, worsened by job demands and emotional stressors. Grit is the passion and persistence toward long-term goals and has been identified as a possible protective factor against burnout. The study aimed to evaluate the relationship between burnout, grit, and well-being among licensed social workers in the United States. Using a quantitative correlational cross-sectional design, data was collected from 355 licensed social workers utilizing the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS), the Grit Scale, and the World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5). The study addressed three research questions: What is the relationship between grit and burnout among social workers? How do social workers' burnout symptoms and level of grit impact their overall well being? Are social workers with high levels of grit less likely to experience burnout? Statistical analyses included simple linear regression, Pearson correlation, one-way ANOVA, and Fisher's Least Significant Difference were conducted to evaluate the relationship between burnout, grit, and well-being. Findings revealed a significant inverse relationship between grit and burnout, suggesting that social workers with grit report lower levels within the burnout subscales of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Grit was found to increase well-being, suggesting organizations should promote resilience and job satisfaction. Results from the study indicated the need for organizations to develop interventions to increase resilience, decrease burnout, and improve overall job satisfaction in the social work field. These findings could assist in creating policies and training to promote balanced careers in social work.

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2025, Speech-Language Pathology

This study examines the experiences of three individuals who earned an undergraduate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) but ultimately pursued careers outside of speech-language pathology or audiology. Through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) of semi-structured interviews, we explore their motivations for choosing CSD, the factors prompting their career shift, the challenges they faced, and their current reflections on their career journey. Findings indicate that participants selected the CSD major due to familiarity, stability, and alignment with personal interests. Over time, they reconsidered their path citing reasons such as disinterest, limitations within CSD, or emerging career opportunities. The participants expressed challenges in transitioning to their new career horizons including emotional turmoil, anxiety, indecision, and additional schooling requirements. Despite these challenges, all participants found themselves in a fulfilling career and recognized benefits from their CSD education. Our findings bring awareness to the diverse career trajectories of individuals with a background in CSD, a reality to which CSD higher education professionals should be responsive. Our results also highlight the importance of fostering career adaptability for CSD students through an emphasis on reflection, self-awareness, and other twenty-first century skills. Action steps toward these ends are offered for students, educators, and policymakers.

Master of Science (M.S.), Xavier University, 0, Psychology

The current study examined the relationship between future time perspective (FTP) and two organizational outcomes: work engagement and burnout. Considering the emotional components of FTP, work engagement, and burnout, the current study also explored affect as a potential moderator of the FTP-work engagement and FTP-burnout relationships. A total of 155 participants were recruited through Amazon's Mechanical Turk to respond to a brief survey measuring FTP, work engagement, burnout, and affect. After data cleaning, 97 responses were retained. Simple linear regression analyses revealed FTP (a focus on opportunities) was positively related to work engagement and negatively related to burnout. Additionally, FTP (focus on limitations) was positively related to burnout. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that positive affect moderated the relationship between FTP (focus on opportunities) and work engagement, such that low levels of positive affect strengthened the relationship between a focus on opportunities and work engagement. Directions for future research and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Master of Arts in Psychology, Cleveland State University, 2024, College of Arts and Sciences

Research on calling has uncovered a “dark side” that can lead individuals to experience negative outcomes. However, it remains unknown when and who is most likely to experience this negative side. Recently, the Work as a Calling Theory (WCT – Duffy et al., 2018) suggested that individual characteristics (such as personality) and workplace conditions may trigger the negative consequences associated with calling. This study, using a sample of self-identified full-time U.S adult workers across various careers (n = 199), examined the relationship between living a calling and burnout, and explored positive and negative affect as potential moderators. Findings indicate a positive relationship between living a calling and burnout. While positive affect did not act as a moderator, negative affect did. For higher levels of negative affect, living a calling and burnout had a weaker negative relationship, while lower levels of negative affect exhibited a stronger negative relationship. This study contributes to the field by challenging the “dark side” of calling and investigating new personality characteristics that may predisposed individuals to experience the negative side of calling.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Educational Studies

Each year in the United States, an estimated 57.8 million adults and 7.7 million children experience mental health issues with far-reaching implications (National Alliance on Mental Illness [NAMI], 2023). Despite our increased awareness in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which both exposed and exacerbated the problem, access to services remains severely limited for 163 million Americans living in Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas (NAMI, 2023). There is an insufficient supply of mental health providers in America, and an additional 8,251 practitioners are needed immediately to adequately meet the needs of the people (Health Resource & Services Administration [HRSA], 2023b). However, this deficit will not be resolved soon, as nearly half of mental health practitioners currently report intentions to leave their employment (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2023). Furthermore, resolving the shortage will require more than hiring additional mental health professionals (HRSA, 2023b). Compared to the larger workforce, mental health providers have a higher risk of experiencing detrimental occupational outcomes (Cocker & Joss, 2016; Ledoux, 2015; Ondrejkova & Halamova, 2022; Sinclair et al., 2017; Sorenson et al., 2016). Burnout, one of the occupational harms associated with the unique demands of care work, is a driving force in the provider retention problem (CDC, 2023; Hoge et al., 2007; Morse et al., 2012). Although there is a direct link between burnout and a lack of organizational support (Schaufeli & Greenglass, 2001), there is a lack of research examining systemic causal factors. Most existing studies neglect to explore links between work characteristics and employee well-being and are restricted to investigating individual traits as contributors (CDC, 2023). The present study confronts the gap in the literature through a systemic exploratory analysis. This quantitative study examined the link between workplace environments and mental health (open full item for complete abstract)

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Arts and Sciences: Psychology

Research on workplace relationships with people with disabilities (PWD) has found mixed results on emotional responses, such as empathy, to PWD in the workplace (Carpenter & Paetzold, 2013; Hirschberger et al., 2005). Within the research, there is conflicting evidence regarding whether empathy is always beneficial for workplace relationships between non-disabled individuals and PWD (Cesare et al., 1990; Colella & Varma, 2001; Lyubykh, 2016). The current study investigates the role of empathy in behavior towards PWD in the context of relationships between coworkers by conducting interviews with employees with disabilities and their non-disabled coworkers. The research questions addressed by this study are: What is the lived experience of employees with disabilities working with non-disabled coworkers?, What role do empathy and sympathy play within these relationships?, and How does an individual's disability identity impact their relationships with non-disabled coworkers? The interviews with the disabled employees were analyzed according to interpretive phenomenological analysis (Moustakas, 1994; Smith, 2011). Dyadic analysis was also conducted on the non-disabled coworker interviews paired with the disabled employee interviews. The interviews provide valuable insight into the experiences unique to disabled employees working with non-disabled coworkers. The results reveal factors that are important to disabled individuals in their relationships with non-disabled coworkers. Empathic behaviors appear to play a beneficial role within relationships between disabled and non-disabled coworkers while behaviors based in sympathy can be harmful. Implications from the study on how organizations can integrate the beneficial behaviors highlighted in the interviews are also discussed.

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2024, Management

Business has the potential to be one of the most powerful platforms for solving our world's most pressing needs, and employees are increasingly seeking to be part of organizations that provide meaningful opportunities to contribute to the greater good. Yet, business leaders often do not know how to design positive impact initiatives to maximize their contributions for the greater good and for the members of their organizations. The business for world betterment literature has traditionally focused on macro or institutional level dynamics and calls for further study of the micro or individual level. In this dissertation, I develop and test models across three empirical studies offering insights into individual leader and employee dynamics as companies do good in the world. The overarching research question I address is “How do the perception of and participation in corporate social and environmental impact affect leaders and employees of companies?” The dissertation employs a sequential mixed methods approach to explore individual dynamics of business for world betterment. The initial qualitative study utilizes a grounded theory approach with 30 semi-structured interviews to identify factors that influence the lived experiences of leaders who seek to make a positive impact in the world. The study offers evidence that leaders (1) consider their company to be an agent for world benefit, (2) align their impact efforts beyond profit-seeking to promote their personal values, (3) demonstrate a willingness to confront and overcome personal limitations in order to help others, (4) personalize the ways in which they make an impact on people, and (5) experience personal benefits in helping others. Further, while some leaders were able to identify a virtuous cycle wherein doing good in the world returned good to the members of their organization in a reciprocal process of betterment, many leaders were simply unaware of the benefit for their own employees when serving the (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Psychology/Industrial-Organizational

The present study examined the joint impact of providing interview questions in advance and allowing unlimited retakes on anticipatory interview anxiety in asynchronous video interviews (AVIs). Using a between-subjects factorial experimental design with data collected from 1219 participants, the study found that both interventions independently reduced anticipatory interview anxiety, but there was no significant interaction effect. Receiving questions in advance decreased uncertainty and increased perceived opportunity to perform, while unlimited retakes increased perceived opportunity to perform. However, anticipatory interview anxiety did not significantly predict either attraction to the hiring organization or intention to accept a future job offer with a hiring organization. This suggests that while these specific AVI design elements can additively mitigate interview anxiety and improve applicant perceptions, they may not directly affect organizational attractiveness or job acceptance decisions through the expected pathway of interview anxiety. Rather, utilizing these design elements to reduce uncertainty and bolster perceived opportunity to perform increases favorable applicant reactions. The findings underscore the importance of considering individual AVI design elements, especially the novel element of providing interview questions in advance, in reducing applicant anxiety. Future research possibilities include exploring the influence of different levels of the assessed design elements on interview anxiety and examining the effect of emerging technologies like large language models on the asynchronous interviewing process.

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2023, Medicine: Industrial Hygiene (Environmental Health)

Sustained stress exposure has long been known to be linked with multiple chronic diseases, detrimental mental health outcomes, and a poor quality of life. Occupational stress, especially its relationship with physiological responses, has not been as researched until recent years. The objective of the first study included in this dissertation was to gain an understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic affected occupational stress in a variety of career fields. The rationale for this effort was to determine 1) which aspects of these careers was related with a noticeable amount of stress and 2) which career fields to target in future occupational stress research. While stress had naturally picked up in every career field, due to the existence of the global pandemic permeating all aspects of life, certain sectors were affected to varying degrees. Healthcare, for instance, experienced a large increase in stress due to the pandemic. For this reason, this sector was the focus of the final study once methodology validation occurred in the second study. Methodology validation in the second study entailed evaluating the relationship between subjective occupational stress exposure as documented in stress diaries and fluctuations in salivary cortisol levels collected through multiple saliva samples provided over the course of multiple working days. Overall, this dissertation consists of three studies (Study A – C). In Study A, a cross sectional survey was employed which was used to determine some of the occupational stress trends seen in multiple working sectors during a global pandemic. For instance, although some occupational stress trends rang true for all work sectors investigated, other trends were more specific to certain career fields, such as healthcare seeing noticeable increases in workloads to the greatest degree. On the other hand, all investigated industries found time management difficult during the pandemic which was again seen, in some regards, during the (open full item for complete abstract)

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2023, Leadership and Change

The following autoethnographic dissertation examines my personal experiences of trauma, abuse, and violence. Drawing on journals, memories, and artifacts from my life, I use self-reflection to illustrate the impacts of trauma on my childhood and adulthood. My traumatic experiences of sexual abuse, childhood violence, and emotional abuse are situated within broader sociocultural contexts of masculinity, Hispanic culture, and social norms. This study illuminates possibilities for healing and transformation for myself and others with shared traumatic backgrounds. It calls for trauma-informed education, masculinity, and resiliency. Evocatively sharing my traumatic life events provides an accessible window into often silenced experiences, bearing witness to injustice while offering empathy, connection, and hope. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu/) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu/).

Master of Science (M.S.), Xavier University, 2023, Psychology

The present study tested hypothesized competing models of moderation and partial mediation involving the constructs of inclusive leadership and workplace bullying in predicting work engagement. Neither of the models was supported, but a model in which inclusive leadership fully mediated the effects of workplace bullying on work engagement was identified during exploratory analyses. The present study also identified a previously-unreported significant negative relationship between inclusive leadership and workplace bullying. The overall results of this study show promise for the use of inclusive leadership as a potential means to address the negative effects of workplace bullying. Limitations and suggested future research are discussed.

Master of Science (M.S.), Xavier University, 2023, Psychology

This study examined how factors such as belonging, burnout, and work-life balance may affect workers' mental health. Gender effects on the relationships were also explored. A total of 200 participants recruited from Prolific.co took part in this study, with one being excluded from the final sample. They were asked to complete a series of self-report questionnaires. The results supported the existence of bivariate relationships between the predictors of belonging, burnout, and work-life balance, and self-reported mental health, but did not support the expected moderating effect of gender on any of these relationships. Limitations of the study, and implications of the findings, were considered.

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2023, Organizational Behavior

Early life trauma, including abuse, neglect, and exposure to community violence, experienced in childhood and adolescence often impedes one's quality of life in adulthood, and can create greater mental health and job challenges. Outcomes are even more dire within Black communities, which experience higher prevalence rates of early life trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and employment instability. Once in the workplace, Black workers may receive disparate supervisor support compared to their White peers. I suggest that this disparate supervisor support exacerbates the compounded stressors experienced by Black workers, thus creating re-traumatization. Using a two-wave structural equation model, I investigated differences between Black and White workers on the impact of early life trauma (abuse – emotional, physical, and sexual; neglect ¬– emotional and physical; and exposure to community violence) on PTSD symptoms of intrusion and avoidance as well as on turnover intentions and sense of belonging. I also examined disparities in perceived supervisor support. Findings supported my hypothesis in that perceived supervisor support did not buffer the relationship between early life trauma and PTSD symptoms of avoidance and intrusion symptoms for Black workers across time. By contrast, Black workers with greater early life trauma experienced heightened intrusion and avoidance at the second time-point when greater perceived supervisor support was reported. However, without the moderation effect of early life trauma, a main effect occurred by which perceived supervisor support predicted a decrease in avoidance at both time-points. Study findings highlight the importance in cultivating trauma-informed organizations and addressing racial stressors to break the cycle of trauma within Black communities.

Doctor of Organization Development & Change (D.O.D.C.), Bowling Green State University, 2023, Organization Development

The influences on organizational health, productivity and effectiveness are vast and complicated. Gaining in popularity are interventions steeped in unique modalities such as percussive experiences like group drumming. Clinicians leverage drumming as therapy for its physiological, psychological, and social benefits (Yap et al., 2017), but many corporate organizations are now seeing a positive lift from group drumming's ability to address stress, burnout, and other desired organizational outcomes (Bittman et al., 2003). Organizations invest a significant amount on employee development, employee engagement, and overall wellness, but the empirical support for attaining the desired benefit(s) for the organization is either suspect, achieved over long and resource-intensive periods, or nonexistent altogether (Woodman & Sherwood, 1980). This study leverages a quasi-experimental approach to gain quantitative insights that led to significant results from a single group drumming event that improved emotional and affective states of a large number of co-workers within 60 minutes.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2023, Psychology

Recent research has begun exploring the potential support provider perspective of the social support dynamic—or the perspective of those put in positions to provide support to others. Though nascent, this research suggests that support elicitation experiences that are work-related (Instrumental Support Elicitation Experiences or SEE-I) can function as both a resource (contributing to outcomes such as work engagement) or a demand (contributing to outcomes such as withdrawal behavior). Given this double-edged nature, it could be that SEE-I shares curvilinear relations with outcomes. This research, drawing from the Job Demands-Resources Model, used both cross-sectional (N = 266) and daily diary (NLevel 1 = 630, NLevel 2 = 126) data to explore this idea. In Study 1, using the “Too Little – Too Much” scale formatting, I find that SEE-I from coworkers and supervisors relates to outcomes in a manner suggesting curvilinearity. Study 2 builds from these findings using longitudinal data. Here, curvilinear effects between SEE-I from coworkers and job satisfaction and SEE-I from supervisors and task-related errors are found. In an exploratory analysis, conscientiousness was revealed to moderate the curvilinear relation between SEE-I from coworkers and job satisfaction. Altogether, findings from this research suggest that being frequently sought for work-related support can be draining or beneficial, and that the benefits may depend on one's level of conscientiousness. This research helps fill a gap in the social support literature focused on potential support providers at work.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2023, Psychology/Industrial-Organizational

During the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work became commonplace for many knowledge workers who were previously office-based. In 2021 and beyond, many organizations have expected that their employees return to onsite work; much has been unknown, however, about employee attitudes toward loss of remote work during such a transition. Using the frameworks of social exchange theory, conservation of resources, and organizational support, this research seeks to understand how employee attitudes toward remote work may impact perceptions of psychological contract breach in required return to onsite work. Although initial hypotheses were not supported, exploratory analyses supported a serial mediation model in which psychological contract breach, perceived organizational support, and affective commitment serially mediate the positive relationship between remote work preference and turnover intent. Positive attitudes of working mothers toward remote work were also explored, with consideration of how remote work may help in the balance of conflicting home and work demands. Findings support the unique and valuable role that remote work choice may play for working mothers as well as illuminating their potential reactions to loss of remote work. Findings have implications for organizations seeking to meet employee needs and retain workers, particularly working mothers, when considering work location requirements.

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2023, Psychology/Industrial-Organizational

Personality assessments are a valuable tool for selecting employees, as they are reasonably strong predictors of job performance while also demonstrating relatively small subgroup differences. Implementing personality tests in selection systems, however, may risk negative consequences due to the relatively poor applicant reactions they often evoke. Multiple approaches to improving applicant reactions have been studied, such as providing information about the predictive validity of the test or rewording the test to reflect a work frame-of-reference, with mixed success. It may be beneficial to explain the relatively little adverse impact of personality tests to applicants, similar to predictive validity explanations, as well as combining such a non-discrimination explanation with other interventions to produce stronger effects. To test this, participants were randomly assigned to one of eight conditions that represented various combinations of predictive validity explanations, non-discrimination explanations, and test frame-of-reference, completing a personality test in a hypothetical selection scenario. Results suggest that applicant reactions are most favorable when a single explanation is provided for a work frame-of-reference personality test, though providing both explanations was nearly as favorable. Exploratory analyses suggest that these findings may be attributable to both forms of explanations, but not test frame-of-reference, influencing perceptions of information known, thereby introducing redundancy between predictive validity and non-discrimination explanations. Implications of the results, limitations of study, and directions for future research are discussed.

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2023, Leadership and Change

Numerous researchers have investigated thinking that drifts away from what the individual was doing, thinking that is known as mind wandering. Their inquiries were often conducted in university lab settings with student participants. To learn about mind wandering in the daily life of working adults, this experience sampling study investigated intentional and unintentional mind wandering episodes as reported by working adults, ages 25–50, living across the United States. In this age frame, work and family responsibilities have increased in complexity and overlap. Using a smartphone app, participants were randomly notified to answer experience sampling surveys six times a day for up to five days. Eight questions concerned frequency, intentionality, and the descriptive characteristics of thought type, thought content, temporality, context, context demand, and emotion. Based upon 7,947 notification responses and 4,294 reported mind wandering episodes, the research findings showed that mind wandering is a common thinking experience in working adult daily life and is differentiated by intentionality, parent status, and gender. Parents reported more frequent mind wandering and intentional mind wandering episodes than nonparents. Episode thought type was most often indicated as practical thought. Episodes were more often reported as having the content related to context although out of context mind wandering episodes were also highly reported. Context demand and emotion at the time of the notification were related to mind wandering episode frequency and were further differentiated by intentionality, parent status, and gender. Working parents reported mind wandering episodes during higher demand, particularly male parents, than nonparents. By generating new knowledge about the thinking life of working adults, this study's results and methodology contribute to the fields of leadership and change, thought research, intrapersonal and interpersonal psychology, work and family st (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1966, Psychology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1966, Psychology