Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students.
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- All Subjects: trauma
Description
Sometimes difficult life events challenge our existing resources in such a way that routinized responses are inadequate to handle the challenge. Some individuals will persist in habitual, automatic behavior, regardless of environmental cues that indicate a mismatch between coping strategy and the demands of the stressor. Other individuals will marshal adaptive resources to construct new courses of action and reconceptualize the problem, associated goals and/or values. A mixed methods approach was used to describe and operationalize cognitive shift, a relatively unexplored construct in existing literature. The study was conducted using secondary data from a parent multi-year cross-sectional study of resilience with eight hundred mid-aged adults from the Phoenix metro area. Semi-structured telephone interviews were analyzed using a purposive sample (n=136) chosen by type of life event. Participants' beliefs, assumptions, and experiences were examined to understand how they shaped adaptation to adversity. An adaptive mechanism, "cognitive shift," was theorized as the transition from automatic coping to effortful cognitive processes aimed at novel resolution of issues. Aims included understanding when and how cognitive shift emerges and manifests. Cognitive shift was scored as a binary variable and triangulated through correlational and logistic regression analyses. Interaction effects revealed that positive personality attributes influence cognitive shift most when people suffered early adversity. This finding indicates that a certain complexity, self-awareness and flexibility of mind may lead to a greater capacity to find meaning in adversity. This work bridges an acknowledged gap in literature and provides new insights into resilience.
ContributorsRivers, Crystal T (Author) / Zautra, Alex (Thesis advisor) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Kurpius, Sharon (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Traumatic events have deleterious effects biologically, emotionally, socially, and cognitively. Events may include violence, neglect, and abuse and are best understood through a lifecourse perspective. Preventable and treatable, traumatic exposure promotes the development of trauma symptoms including avoidance, hyperarousal, increased fear, intrusive experiences, and aggression/violence. Trauma symptomology is thought to be an underlying cause of child maltreatment and intergenerational cycles of abuse
eglect. Traumatic symptoms may interfere with the ability to work, function, and care for young children and may accompany a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) diagnosis.
Although these experiences are known to be harmful, little research has focused on experiences of mothers involved in the child welfare system with young children (< 5 years). Subsequently, this study explored maternal experiences of trauma whilst calculating one of the first PTSD estimates. Types of trauma exposure, age of exposure, and event details were explored alongside history of substance use, domestic violence, and mental illness. Trauma symptom type, severity, and frequency were assessed. Utilizing adult attachment as a partial mediator, relationships between trauma exposure, trauma symptoms, and parenting were examined.
Supported by a university-community collaboration within the Safe Babies Court Teams Program in Maricopa County, Arizona, this study is exploratory and cross-sectional. A convenience sample of child welfare involved mothers (N = 141) with young children were recruited who were new clinical intakes with open court dependencies. Data on child/adult traumatic events, trauma symptoms, adult attachment, and parenting were collected. Results indicated high rates of complex/chronic trauma, specifically domestic violence and physical/sexual abuse. Mothers experienced higher than average childhood adversity/emotional abuse with significant overlap between trauma exposure and reduced mental health. PTSD rates ranged from 35-39%. Adult attachment did not to mediate trauma on parenting behaviors however strong and significant direct effects were found. Insecure-disorganized and insecure-resistant were the most dominant attachment styles.
Overall, these findings indicate the complex lifecourse nature of trauma exposure and the need to pay special attention to mental health and domestic violence histories in child welfare involved mothers of young children. Implications for social work practice, policy, and research are presented and provide impetus for continued future work.
eglect. Traumatic symptoms may interfere with the ability to work, function, and care for young children and may accompany a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) diagnosis.
Although these experiences are known to be harmful, little research has focused on experiences of mothers involved in the child welfare system with young children (< 5 years). Subsequently, this study explored maternal experiences of trauma whilst calculating one of the first PTSD estimates. Types of trauma exposure, age of exposure, and event details were explored alongside history of substance use, domestic violence, and mental illness. Trauma symptom type, severity, and frequency were assessed. Utilizing adult attachment as a partial mediator, relationships between trauma exposure, trauma symptoms, and parenting were examined.
Supported by a university-community collaboration within the Safe Babies Court Teams Program in Maricopa County, Arizona, this study is exploratory and cross-sectional. A convenience sample of child welfare involved mothers (N = 141) with young children were recruited who were new clinical intakes with open court dependencies. Data on child/adult traumatic events, trauma symptoms, adult attachment, and parenting were collected. Results indicated high rates of complex/chronic trauma, specifically domestic violence and physical/sexual abuse. Mothers experienced higher than average childhood adversity/emotional abuse with significant overlap between trauma exposure and reduced mental health. PTSD rates ranged from 35-39%. Adult attachment did not to mediate trauma on parenting behaviors however strong and significant direct effects were found. Insecure-disorganized and insecure-resistant were the most dominant attachment styles.
Overall, these findings indicate the complex lifecourse nature of trauma exposure and the need to pay special attention to mental health and domestic violence histories in child welfare involved mothers of young children. Implications for social work practice, policy, and research are presented and provide impetus for continued future work.
ContributorsKawam, Elisa (Author) / Krysik, Judy (Thesis advisor) / Shafer, Michael (Committee member) / Roe-Sepowitz, Dominique (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015