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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Role of cognitive shift in resilient adaptation to difficult events

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…

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
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Acculturative Stress and Program Acceptability of a Parenting Program for Displaced Parents: A Mixed Methods Study

Description
ABSTRACT Trauma-informed parenting programs for families experiencing adversity including forced migration have the potential to reduce mental health difficulties within the family system and improve child outcomes, yet few resources are available for refugee and immigrant families and even fewer programs have been contextually adapted for refugees. For many displaced parents,…

ABSTRACT Trauma-informed parenting programs for families experiencing adversity including forced migration have the potential to reduce mental health difficulties within the family system and improve child outcomes, yet few resources are available for refugee and immigrant families and even fewer programs have been contextually adapted for refugees. For many displaced parents, parenthood is accompanied by various challenges at different stages of migration. Pre- and peri-migration trauma and adversity leave parents at risk of psychopathology such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and de-pression which can interfere with effective parenting. In a post-migration context, they face additional stressors as a result of intercultural contact - acculturative stress - including the loss of social networks, poverty, and discrimination (Osman, 2016). Parenting in the Moment (PIM) is the first online parenting program for forcedly dis-placed families seeking to assist parents adjust to parenting in a new culture via evidence-based parenting practices. This study aimed to understand is to understand factors related to acceptability of the program for immigrant and refugee populations. Results indicated that PIM is culturally and generally acceptable to both immigrant and refugee populations. No significant differences were identified in acceptability between immigrant and refugees. This is preliminary evidence that parenting programs may be contextually adapted and acceptable to multiple cultural groups. Keywords: refugees, immigrants, parenting, acceptability
ContributorsMuldrew, Lynn (Author) / Gewirtz, Abigail Dr. (Thesis advisor) / Wolchik, Sharlene Dr. (Committee member) / McNeish, Daniel Dr. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2026