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: Mental Health
Description
There is a lack of music therapy services for college students who have problems with depression and/or anxiety. Even among universities and colleges that offer music therapy degrees, there are no known programs offering music therapy to the institution's students. Female college students are particularly vulnerable to depression and anxiety symptoms compared to their male counterparts. Many students who experience mental health problems do not receive treatment, because of lack of knowledge, lack of services, or refusal of treatment. Music therapy is proposed as a reliable and valid complement or even an alternative to traditional counseling and pharmacotherapy because of the appeal of music to young women and the potential for a music therapy group to help isolated students form supportive networks. The present study recruited 14 female university students to participate in a randomized controlled trial of short-term group music therapy to address symptoms of depression and anxiety. The students were randomly divided into either the treatment group or the control group. Over 4 weeks, each group completed surveys related to depression and anxiety. Results indicate that the treatment group's depression and anxiety scores gradually decreased over the span of the treatment protocol. The control group showed either maintenance or slight worsening of depression and anxiety scores. Although none of the results were statistically significant, the general trend indicates that group music therapy was beneficial for the students. A qualitative analysis was also conducted for the treatment group. Common themes were financial concerns, relationship problems, loneliness, and time management/academic stress. All participants indicated that they benefited from the sessions. The group progressed in its cohesion and the participants bonded to the extent that they formed a supportive network which lasted beyond the end of the protocol. The results of this study are by no means conclusive, but do indicate that colleges with music therapy degree programs should consider adding music therapy services for their general student bodies.
ContributorsAshton, Barbara (Author) / Crowe, Barbara J. (Thesis advisor) / Rio, Robin (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
The rates of anxiety, depression, and attempted suicide for transgender individuals are extremely elevated relative to the general population. Yet, little research has been conducted about the transgender population regarding social transition (an individual presenting as their authentic/true gender, one different than the gender they were assigned at birth, in the context of everyday life) and parental acceptance. Both of which have been shown to impact the mental health of transgender individuals. The purposes of this study were: (1) To characterize a sample of transgender adults on their age of awareness of their authentic gender identity and their age of social transition. (2) Examine whether age of social transition, (3) parental acceptance, and (4) the gap in time between age of awareness and age of social transition (awareness-transition gap) were related to mental health. (5) Examine whether parental acceptance was related to age of social transition or to awareness-transition gap. (6) Examine whether age of social transition or awareness-transition gap interact with parental acceptance as correlates of mental health. The sample consisted of 115 transgender adults, ages 18 to 64. Measures were separated into 7 subheadings: demographics, transgender
on-cisgender identity, age of awareness, age of social transition, primary caregiver acceptance, secondary caregiver acceptance, and mental health. Hypotheses were partially supported for age of social transition with mental health, parental acceptance with mental health, and awareness-transition gap with parental acceptance. This study investigated under studied concepts of social transition and parental acceptance that appear to have an effect on the mental health of transgender adults.
on-cisgender identity, age of awareness, age of social transition, primary caregiver acceptance, secondary caregiver acceptance, and mental health. Hypotheses were partially supported for age of social transition with mental health, parental acceptance with mental health, and awareness-transition gap with parental acceptance. This study investigated under studied concepts of social transition and parental acceptance that appear to have an effect on the mental health of transgender adults.
ContributorsRosenberg, Beth Ann (Author) / Gonzales, Nancy (Thesis director) / Saenz, Delia (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / College of Public Service and Community Solutions (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
While previous research has investigated the influence parenting styles have on child behavior, there has not been consistent findings on how child behavior in return influences parenting. This study goes beyond the literature by examining bidirectional influences of combined dyad for emotional availability and early problem behaviors (composited across 12 and 30 months) predicting parental warmth, authoritarian parenting, internalizing, externalizing and ADHD symptoms at age eight. This study also examined whether genetic or environmental factors were driving these behaviors. Participants were from the ongoing Arizona Twin Project (N=340 twin children). 25% of the twins were monozygotic, 35% were same-sex dizygotic, and 35% were opposite-sex dizygotic twins. Preliminary correlations showed bidirectional effects between early emotional availability, problem behaviors and parental warmth, authoritarian parenting, internalizing, externalizing and ADHD symptoms at age eight; however, once twin dependence and covariates were controlled for, the bidirectional effects were no longer significant. One important finding emerged: early problem behaviors were predictive of later problem behaviors at eight years. The study also found that externalizing and ADHD symptoms were more heritable than emotional availability, early problem behaviors, and internalizing symptoms. Therefore, interventions should be developed addressing the environmental influences that contribute to early problem behaviors.
ContributorsKaur, Navneet (Author) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Thesis director) / Miadich, Samantha (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Procedural justice has become a widely researched topic in the criminological field with applicability to multiple arenas, including policing, corrections, and courts. Its main tenents suggest that through fair treatment, respectful dialogue and being given a proper voice, citizens will view their experiences with authority more justly. However, though the literature regarding procedural justice has grown immensely, it is still unclear whether certain characteristics of individuals, such as gender and mental health, play a role in their perceptions of procedural justice. Using secondary data originally collected for Rossman, Roman, Zweig, Rempel and Lindquist’s Multi-Adult Drug Court Evaluation (MADCE), an attempt is made to address the previously neglected association between procedural justice, gender, mental health and the added aspect of specialized drug court participation. Results suggest that both gender and mental health, namely depression, play a significant role in predicting procedural justice. Additionally, being a drug court participant was significantly related to higher levels of perceived procedural justice. Implications for theory, research, and policy are discussed.
ContributorsSomers, Logan J (Author) / Reisig, Kristy (Thesis advisor) / Telep, Cody (Committee member) / Wang, Xia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
The relationship between stress and policing has long been established in literature. What is less clear, however, is what departments are doing to help officers deal with the stress that comes with the job. Looking at a small Southwestern police agency and using a modified version of Speilberger’s (1981) Police Stress Survey, the present study sought to examine stressors inherent to policing, as well as to identify departmental services that may be in place to help officers alleviate those stressors and whether or not police officers would choose to take part in the services that may be offered. The findings suggest that a shift in stress in policing is occurring with operational stressors being reported at higher levels than organizational stressors, contrary to previous research.
ContributorsPadilla, Kathleen (Author) / White, Michael (Thesis advisor) / Telep, Cody (Committee member) / Sweeten, Gary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
From a criminological life-course and developmental perspective, military service acts as a positive life event for most individuals. For others, it can serve as a catalyst for maladaptive life-course outcomes, including criminal justice system involvement. However, despite the well-documented negative risks of military service on veteran life-course outcomes and the increased prevalence of veterans in the justice system, relatively little inquiry exists that investigates first-hand accounts of the life-course experiences of veterans enmeshed within the criminal justice system. This dissertation begins to fill this gap by exploring the life-course experiences of justice-involved veterans in three separate, yet interconnected ways: (1) trajectories of deviance across the life-course and the impact of military service on deviance (Chapter 2); (2) the relationships between military service, mental health, and negative life-course outcomes (Chapter 3); and (3) the daily experiences of justice-involved veterans, including who they spend time with, what they spend time doing, and how these factors impact emotion (Chapter 4). This work is one of the few to utilize qualitative inquiry to better understand the relationship between military service and trajectories of deviance for justice-involved veterans, and is the first to use ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methodology to examine the daily experiences of justice-involved veterans. Findings suggest that the role of military service as a turning point is nuanced, and for many the military directly impacted both deviance and mental health outcomes. Further, emotionality of these veterans is quite variant over time, while social togetherness and engagement in activity show to be impactful on emotional well-being. Overall, this dissertation expands the understanding of the role of military service in the life-course, and provides an in-depth look into the daily and life-course experiences of justice-involved veterans, ultimately giving voice to the veterans themselves to articulate their own experiences and needs.
ContributorsTerpstra, Brice (Author) / White, Michael D (Thesis advisor) / Sweeten, Gary (Thesis advisor) / Telep, Cody (Committee member) / Mulvey, Philip (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024