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- Creators: Department of Psychology
Description
Obesity in Hispanic youth has reached alarmingly high levels, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. In Mexican American children ages 6-11 years, 41.7% are overweight and obese, 24.7% are obese and 19.6% have a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than the 97th percentile. While personal, behavioral, and environmental factors contribute to these high rates, emerging literature suggests acculturation, self-efficacy and social support are key influences. The one-group, pre- and post-test, quasi-experimental design used a community-based participatory research (CBPR) method to test the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the 8-week intervention. Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) was used to guide the design. Measurements included an analysis of recruitment, retention, participant satisfaction, observation of intervention sessions, paired t-tests, effect sizes, and bivariate correlations between study variables (acculturation, nutrition and physical activity [PA] knowledge, attitude and behaviors, perceived confidence and social support) and outcome variables (BMI z-score, waist circumference and BP percentile) Findings showed the SSLN program was feasible and acceptable. Participants (n = 16) reported that the curriculum was fun and they learned about nutrition and PA. The retention rate was 94%. The preliminary effects on adolescent nutrition and PA behaviors showed mixed results with small-to-medium effect sizes for nutrition knowledge and attitude, PA and sedentary behavior. Correlation analysis among acculturation and study variables was not significant. Positive associations were found between perceived confidence in eating and nutrition attitude (r = .61, p < .05) and nutrition behavior (r = .62, p < .05), perceived confidence in exercise and nutrition behavior (r = .66, p < .05), social support from family for exercise and PA behavior (r = .67, p < .01) and social support from friends for exercise and PA behavior (r = .56, p < .05). These findings suggest a culturally specific healthy eating and activity program for adolescents was feasible and acceptable and warrants further investigation, since it may fill a gap in existing obesity programs designed for Hispanic youth. The positive correlations suggest further testing of the theoretical model.
ContributorsStevens, Carol (Author) / Gance-Cleveland, Bonnie (Thesis advisor) / Komnenich, Pauline (Committee member) / Shaibi, Gabriel (Committee member) / Arcoleo, Kimberly (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
This project aimed to compile a comprehensive directory of faith congregations in the city of Tempe that would be willing to participate in the Interfaith Homeless Emergency Lodging Program (I-HELP). I-HELP is a non-profit sector of the Tempe Community Action Agency (TCAA) that successfully houses Tempe's homeless population by the generous participation of faith congregations. 5 participants out of the 75 contacted completed the survey. These congregations were found on Google Maps and were contacted through the means of telephone, email, and personal introductions.
ContributorsLam, Christina (Author) / Valiente, Carlos (Thesis director) / Brougham, Jennifer (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This study was conducted to look at the possible effects of art intervention on anxiety levels of homeless young adults in a local drop-in shelter. While there is a fair amount of literature on art intervention and its applicability with vulnerable populations, its specific effect on anxiety has not been extensively examined. Researchers conducted two art interventions where state-trait anxiety (STAI Inventory) was measured before and after the interventions. Researchers hypothesized that anxiety would decrease after the art sessions. Some significant results were found. Participants reported feeling less strained (p = .041), worrying less over possible misfortunes (p = .02), feeling less nervous (p = .007) and feeling more decisive (p = .001). Future research recommendations are discussed.
ContributorsWille, Emma Margaret (Author) / Roe-Sepowitz, Dominique (Thesis director) / Mendoza, Natasha (Committee member) / Agliano, Stefania (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Social Work (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
In this project dubbed "Arizona Homeless Solutions," the reporter attempted to take a solutions journalism approach to covering family homelessness in Arizona with an emphasis on one program, Save the Family. As a state, Arizona has been remarkably successful in reducing the number of homeless families in the state. According to the 2016 State of Homelessness in America Report, the state reduced its number of homeless family households by 22 percent, the sixth largest reduction nationally. This success is due in large part to the effective collaboration of a variety of organizations. But one program in particular, Save the Family, had received praise throughout the community for its successful and innovative intervention effort. The organization was also very data-conscious, making it a good program to look at for a solutions journalism approach. Solutions journalism is a form of journalism that attempts to go beyond simply reporting on a problem. Instead, it focuses on the responses to social issues, and takes a critical look at how successful or unsuccessful an effort is and what can be learned from it. It is a rigorous, evidence-based and critical approach to reporting, that really is not all that different from traditional in-depth reporting. The reporter spent about a year putting this approach into practice by dissecting two of the organizations major intervention programs, transitional housing and rapid rehousing. He interviewed seven full-time staff members on multiple occasions. He also interviewed experts from Maricopa County Continuum of Care, as well as individuals from the City of Mesa and another homeless service provider, UMOM New Day Centers. Lastly, the reporter spent time with one family that had come through Save the Family's transitional housing program and is now permanently stabilized in a house all their own. During the process of reporting, the reporter also maintained a blog on the AZ Homeless Solutions website in which he chronicled his reporting experience, publishing anecdotes from his notebook and short blurbs on catching parts of his interviews. He would also post about current homeless advocacy events. The blog ultimately had about a dozen posts. After months of reporting and maintaining the blog, the reporter produced a solutions journalism piece on Save the Family's effort that was about 2,500 words in length. The final product was published on the website.
ContributorsClark, Charles Taylor (Author) / Gilger, Kristin (Thesis director) / West, Maureen (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Resilience is defined as an individual's ability to cope or "bounce back" after experiencing stressful life events (Rew et al., 2001). Survivors of trauma who express high levels of resilience are more likely to experience positive future life outcomes than equally troubled peers with lower resilience scores. It is possible to increase resilience by targeting several core factors: (1) personal competence, (2) sense of belonging, (3) sense of optimism (Lee et al., 2009). I developed an eight-week creative writing curriculum to boost these three core factors in the hopes of both increasing resilience in homeless youth while also introducing creating writing as an effective coping strategy. Each one-hour session included free-form writing exercises, mindfulness practices, writing workshops, and group presentations. Prompts and activities were carefully developed to encourage resilience-building in a group of homeless children and adolescents of ages seven to fourteen at Homeward Bound in Phoenix. With sample writing works and facilitator feedback, this curriculum was designed to be exceptionally easy and cost effective for future implementation. I hope that other organizations in the future will consider implementing this program to help build resilience in youth who have experienced childhood trauma.
ContributorsPopeski, Cara (Author) / Popova, Laura (Thesis director) / Cavanaugh Toft, Carolyn (Committee member) / Pickhart, Kalani (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Homelessness has a history of existing as a misunderstood condition involving stereotypes, stigmas and assumptions. In fact, the combination of acute-care medical professionals with patients of chronic illness and chronic homelessness can lead to incongruity of attitudes. These mindsets have the potential to affect the care homeless individuals receive in the emergency department (ED) and impact their intentions to seek medical help in the future (Ugarriza & Fallon, 1994, pp. 26). Furthermore, homeless individuals account for 54.5% of all ED visits in the United States (Kushel et al., 2002). The author conducted a qualitative descriptive study of 10 in-person interviews with homeless individuals in the downtown Phoenix, AZ area. The objective was to determine homeless individuals' perceptions of welcomeness and unwelcomeness by emergency department staff. Findings support significantly unwelcome experiences in the ED and negative perceptions of ED staff through repeating concepts of dehumanization, dismissal, stereotypes and discrimination. Further research is needed to create interventions for improving perceptions of ED staff, promoting health and preventing illness in the homeless population, and reducing ED visits by homeless individuals.
ContributorsLeander, Lauren (Author) / Stevens, Carol (Committee member) / Kleinlein, Shirley (Committee member) / McNulty, Julie (Committee member) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The purpose of this creative project was to establish the foundation of an educational program that teaches financial literacy to the local homeless population. The name of this program is stillHUMAN. The project consisted of two parts, a needs analysis and a prototyping phase. The needs analysis was conducted at the Phoenix Rescue Mission Center, a faith-based homeless shelter that caters to male "clients", through written surveys and one-on-one interviews. Before interviewing the clients, the team acquired IRB approval as well as consent from the Center to carry out this study. These needs were then organized into a House of Quality. We concluded from Part 1 that we would need to create 3 - 7-minute-long video modules that would be available on an online platform and covered topics including professional development, budgeting, credit, and Internet literacy. In order to commence Part 2, each team member recorded a video module. These three videos collectively conveyed instruction regarding how to write a resume, use the Internet and fill out an application online, and how to budget money. These videos were uploaded to YouTube and shown to clients at Phoenix Rescue Mission, who were each asked to fill out a feedback survey afterwards. The team plans to use these responses to improve the quality of future video modules and ultimately create a holistic lesson plan that covers all financial literacy topics the clients desire. A website was also made to store future videos. The team plans to continue with this project post-graduation. Future tasks include creating and testing the a complete lesson plan, establishing a student organization at Arizona State University and recruiting volunteers from different disciplines, and creating an on-site tutoring program so clients may receive individualized attention. Once the lesson plan is demonstrated to be effective at Phoenix Rescue Mission, we plan to administer this lesson plan at other local homeless shelters and assess its efficacy in a non-faithbased and non-male environment. After a successful financial literacy program has been created, we aim to create lesson plans for other topics, including health literacy, human rights, and basic education. Ultimately stillHUMAN will become a sustainable program that unites the efforts of students and professionals to improve the quality of life of the homeless population.
ContributorsKim, Michael (Co-author) / Gulati, Guneet (Co-author) / Vanood, Aimen (Co-author) / Ganesh, Tirupalavanam (Thesis director) / Shrake, Scott (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Physics (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Summer temperatures in Arizona are some of the highest in the nation. Arizona also ranks within the top ten states for percentage of homelessness per capita (Wisevoter, 2023). Extreme heat poses a threat to the rising homeless population in Phoenix, Arizona, as it causes severe dehydration, which can lead to potentially fatal heat-related illnesses like heat stroke. Sufficient hydration and lowering body temperature are the first paths of treatment for such illnesses. Thus, there is a critical need for water and heat-relief for homeless individuals in the Phoenix community. This paper responds to this crisis by proposing The Hydro-Drive Project, an incentivized, donation-based charity that provides cold water storage solutions to the homeless community in Phoenix. Using a three-pronged approach, The Hydro-Drive Project will collect, sanitize, and distribute insulated water bottles to homeless individuals in Phoenix. Providing insulated water bottles to persons experiencing homelessness can provide both hydration and coolness, which in turn, can help prevent heat-related illnesses. This paper also outlines a comprehensive plan for securing grant funding and establishing partnerships with like-minded organizations, as well as other elements necessary to ensure the success and sustainability of the program such as participant recruitment strategies, success and impact measures, project limitations, budget, and sustainability. Overall, The Hydro-Drive Project is an innovative response to a critical issue in the Phoenix community that requires grant funding and input from partnerships.
ContributorsStewart, Kaelin (Author) / Joseph, Rodney (Thesis director) / Maxfield, Molly (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2023-12