Matching Items (5)
Filtering by

Clear all filters

191553-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
Introduction: Depression screening in the pediatric setting is a crucial part of the adolescent's examination. A standardized screening tool and protocol streamlines the process of assessing adolescents and minimizes the chances of serious mental health disorders going undetected and untreated. Evaluation of current evidence demonstrates the use of a standardized

Introduction: Depression screening in the pediatric setting is a crucial part of the adolescent's examination. A standardized screening tool and protocol streamlines the process of assessing adolescents and minimizes the chances of serious mental health disorders going undetected and untreated. Evaluation of current evidence demonstrates the use of a standardized tool improves detection, diagnosis, and management of depression and other mental health illnesses. Method: The Patient Health Questionnaire—modified for adolescents (PHQ9-A) was administered to all eligible adolescents, ages 12-18, during an annual well visit for a period of 6 weeks. Lewin's Change Theory guided a system change in the electronic health record, and the questionnaire results were documented and provided to the pediatric provider at the time of the appointment. A chart review was conducted to determine whether all eligible patients were administered the questionnaire and if a depression diagnosis or mental health referral had been made. Results: Out of 76 eligible well visits, 65 (86%) patients completed the PHQ9-A. The average score was 5.29 (SD = 6.49) with a maximum score of 25. Out of those that completed screening, 11 (17%) had a positive PHQ9-A score resulting in 8 referrals to mental health services and 2 mental health diagnoses in the clinic.
ContributorsCoomer, Meagan (Author) / Rauton, Monica (Thesis advisor) / College of Nursing and Health Innovation (Contributor)
Created2023-04-27
191567-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
An alarming number of youth have mental health concerns, but of those who are diagnosed, only half receive treatment. Using Bandera's social cognitive theory, one can achieve behavioral changes through self-efficacy and control their actions by self-regulation. Mindfulness activities, when implemented early, can decrease stress, and improve well-being in youth.

An alarming number of youth have mental health concerns, but of those who are diagnosed, only half receive treatment. Using Bandera's social cognitive theory, one can achieve behavioral changes through self-efficacy and control their actions by self-regulation. Mindfulness activities, when implemented early, can decrease stress, and improve well-being in youth. Methods: This project was implemented among students attending an alternative high school in Arizona. Nine students participated in four different mindfulness, hands-on activities during two classes- 1 hour each. Participants completed a pre and a post-test with the 10-item questionnaire Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and a 3-question survey to evaluate the program at the end of the second week. Results: Among the 9 participants (mean age = 16 SD=2.06), the stress levels were considered low to moderate in the pretest (mean=16.56) and the post-test (mean=15.89). Stress level scores were reduced after the education although the difference was not statistically significant. Furthermore, all participants agreed that the content and activities were appropriate, 88.9% agreed they had a "better understanding of how to reduce stress," and 77.8% stated their "knowledge of stress has improved." Discussion/Conclusion: This project aimed to help reduce vulnerable adolescents' stress level through mindfulness activities. Mental health education like this may help adolescents better manage stress and consequently promote their overall well-being. Future projects should recruit a larger sample and implement a longer time for larger and longer effects.
ContributorsQualman, Stephanie (Author) / Chen, Angela (Thesis advisor) / College of Nursing and Health Innovation (Contributor)
Created2023-05-10
191568-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
Mental health challenges are becoming a significant public health issue for adolescents/teenagers, and primary interventions have been focused on mental health education. Because adolescents spend most of their time in school, primary mental health interventions should be prioritized in this setting. A PICOT question was developed to determine if mental

Mental health challenges are becoming a significant public health issue for adolescents/teenagers, and primary interventions have been focused on mental health education. Because adolescents spend most of their time in school, primary mental health interventions should be prioritized in this setting. A PICOT question was developed to determine if mental health literacy (MHL) in adolescents would improve while decreasing stigma and improving help-seeking behaviors after a program of enhanced mental health education. Partnering with a large Arizona suburban school district social work department, a teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) pilot program was implemented for a class of nine (n = 9) adolescent students (aged 17-18 years) old during the school day. tMHFA was delivered in three 90-minute class days. Using the Mental Health Literacy questionnaire (MHLq), a pre and post-test design revealed a significant (p value=less than 0.05) increase in the students' MHL, help-seeking behaviors, and decreased stigma after delivery. This quality improvement project was IRB approved, and all human subjects' rights were protected. In conclusion, there is strong evidence that enhanced mental health programming, such as tMHFA, effectively educates adolescents about mental health challenges and, perhaps, could promote behavioral changes in future generations.
ContributorsJones, M. Christina (Author) / Schiller, Zita (Thesis advisor) / College of Nursing and Health Innovation (Contributor)
Created2023-05-15
152951-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
Although research has documented robust prospective relationships between externalizing symptomatology and subsequent binge drinking among adolescents, the extent to which internalizing symptoms increase risk for drinking remains controversial. In particular, the role of anxiety as a predictor of binge drinking remains unclear. Recent evidence suggests that one possible reason for

Although research has documented robust prospective relationships between externalizing symptomatology and subsequent binge drinking among adolescents, the extent to which internalizing symptoms increase risk for drinking remains controversial. In particular, the role of anxiety as a predictor of binge drinking remains unclear. Recent evidence suggests that one possible reason for these mixed findings is that separate dimensions of anxiety may differentially confer risk for alcohol use. The present study tested two dimensions of anxiety - worry and physiological anxiety -- as predictors of binge drinking in a longitudinal study of juvenile delinquents. Overall, results indicate that worry and physiological anxiety showed differential relations with drinking behavior. In general, worry was protective against alcohol use, whereas physiological anxiety conferred risk for binge drinking, but both effects were conditional on levels of offending. Implications for future research examining the role of anxiety in predicting drinking behavior among youth are discussed.
ContributorsNichter, Brandon (Author) / Chassin, Laurie (Thesis advisor) / Barrera, Manuel (Committee member) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
154292-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
This study examined an adverse effect of an adolescent group intervention. Group interventions represent one of the most economical, convenient, and common solution to adolescent behavior problems, although prior findings from program evaluation studies have suggested that these groups can unexpectedly increase the externalizing behaviors that they were designed to

This study examined an adverse effect of an adolescent group intervention. Group interventions represent one of the most economical, convenient, and common solution to adolescent behavior problems, although prior findings from program evaluation studies have suggested that these groups can unexpectedly increase the externalizing behaviors that they were designed to reduce or prevent. The current study used data from a longitudinal, randomized controlled trial of the Bridges to High School / Puentes a La Secundaria Program, a multicomponent prevention program designed to reduce risk during the middle school transition, which has demonstrated positive effects across an array of outcomes. Data were collected at the beginning of 7th grade, with follow-up data collected at the end of the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 12th grade from a sample of Mexican American adolescents and their mothers. Analyses evaluated long-term effects on externalizing outcomes, trajectories of externalizing behaviors across adolescence, and potential mediators of observed effects. Results showed that the adverse effect that was originally observed based on adolescent self-report of externalizing symptoms at 1-year posttest among youth with high pretest externalizing symptoms was not maintained over time and was not reflected in changes in adolescents' trajectories of externalizing behaviors. Moreover, neither of the peer mediators that theory suggests would explain adverse effects were found to mediate the relationship between intervention status and externalizing symptoms at 1-year posttest. Finally, only beneficial effects were found on externalizing symptoms based on mother report. Together, these findings suggest that the Bridges intervention did not adversely affect adolescent problem behaviors and that future studies should use caution when interpreting unexpected adverse effects.
ContributorsWong, Jessie Jong-Chee (Author) / Gonzales, Nancy A. (Thesis advisor) / West, Stephen G. (Thesis advisor) / Chassin, Laurie (Committee member) / Dishion, Thomas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015