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This project aims to help with the stigma and mystery surrounding mental health through the combination of art and psychology. The project was created by first interviewing individuals with different disorders and then researching the disorders further to acquire an accurate idea of the experiences of those afflicted. Then paintings

This project aims to help with the stigma and mystery surrounding mental health through the combination of art and psychology. The project was created by first interviewing individuals with different disorders and then researching the disorders further to acquire an accurate idea of the experiences of those afflicted. Then paintings were created to depict the emotions and struggles faced by individuals with psychological disorders. The project focusses on five different abnormal disorders: Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and Schizophrenia. These particular ailments were chosen because they include the main diagnoses that the average American thinks of when mental health is mentioned. My thesis contains interviews that I personally conducted, descriptions of the five disorders included, and artistic representations of those disorders in the form of oil paintings. It is my hope that this project will help unafflicted individuals to better understand others who live with abnormal psychological disorders, as well as help the afflicted see themselves represented in a way that they otherwise might not.
ContributorsSanchez Rodriguez, Wendy (Author) / Solis, Forrest (Thesis director) / Cavanaugh Toft, Carolyn (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2015-05
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Trauma is increasingly experienced by people in transit as border militarization increases migrants’ exposure to violence and forces them into more precarious situations. For queer migrants, this includes situations where they are more likely to experience persecution and sexual violence. This paper explores the availability of care for queer

Trauma is increasingly experienced by people in transit as border militarization increases migrants’ exposure to violence and forces them into more precarious situations. For queer migrants, this includes situations where they are more likely to experience persecution and sexual violence. This paper explores the availability of care for queer undocumented migrants in the United States after surviving a precarious and potentially deadly journey from their country of origin to the US, as well as forms of alternative care developed by the undocuqueer community. In particular, it focuses on access to care for LGBT migrants, who face stigmatization on multiple levels and as a result are more likely than their straight counterparts to experience extreme mental health consequences pre-, in-, and post-transit. Faced with a number of obstacles that prevent them from receiving appropriate mental health care, the undocuqueer community utilizes various strategies to ensure that the health and needs of the community are supported. I argue that in spite of facing traumatic experiences and being unable to fully access healthcare to alleviate these problems in the US, LGBT migrants demonstrate extreme resilience and resist the mechanisms that otherwise threaten their mental well-being.

ContributorsCordwell, Cailan Rose (Author) / Wheatley, Abby C. (Thesis director) / Ward, Mako Fitts (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
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This thesis discusses why there is so much employee turnover in the Sports Programs department, which is a working department of the Sun Devil Fitness Complex on Arizona State’s Tempe Campus. The analysis discusses the problems that have been noticed from personal experience, and the problems that have been

This thesis discusses why there is so much employee turnover in the Sports Programs department, which is a working department of the Sun Devil Fitness Complex on Arizona State’s Tempe Campus. The analysis discusses the problems that have been noticed from personal experience, and the problems that have been explained by employees that left about why they decided to leave. The analysis is done based on the concepts of the four frames, based on research documented by Bolman and Deal in their book. There is an overview of all of the departments and specifically the Sports Programs department, and a deep dive into what that department does. There is a discussion of what problems may be present, and some solutions such as debriefings, trainings, and more objective evaluations that can be implemented into the department to try to fix the problems that have been noticed.

ContributorsRoegge, Kylie Anne (Author) / deLusé, Stephanie (Thesis director) / Cobb, Ethan (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
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Description

As life expectancy increases worldwide, age related diseases are becoming greater health concerns. One of the most prevalent age-related diseases in the United States is dementia, with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) being the most common form, accounting for 60-80% of cases. Genetics plays a large role in a person’s risk of

As life expectancy increases worldwide, age related diseases are becoming greater health concerns. One of the most prevalent age-related diseases in the United States is dementia, with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) being the most common form, accounting for 60-80% of cases. Genetics plays a large role in a person’s risk of developing AD. Familial AD, which makes up less than 1% of all AD cases, is caused by autosomal dominant gene mutations and has almost 100% penetrance. Genetic risk factors are believed to make up about 49%-79% of the risk in sporadic cases. Many different genetic risk factors for both familial and sporadic AD have been identified, but there is still much work to be done in the field of AD, especially in non-Caucasian populations. This review summarizes the three major genes responsible for familial AD, namely APP, PSEN1 and PSEN2. Also discussed are seven identified genetic risk factors for sporadic AD, single nucleotide polymorphisms in the APOE, ABCA7, NEDD9, CASS4, PTK2B, CLU, and PICALM genes. An overview of the main function of the proteins associated with the genes is given, along with the supposed connection to AD pathology.

ContributorsRichey, Alexandra Emmeline (Author) / Brafman, David (Thesis director) / Raman, Sreedevi (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
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Description
Social-emotional learning (SEL) methods are beginning to receive global attention in primary school education, yet the dominant emphasis on implementing these curricula is in high-income, urbanized areas. Consequently, the unique features of developing and integrating such methods in middle- or low-income rural areas are unclear. Past studies suggest that students

Social-emotional learning (SEL) methods are beginning to receive global attention in primary school education, yet the dominant emphasis on implementing these curricula is in high-income, urbanized areas. Consequently, the unique features of developing and integrating such methods in middle- or low-income rural areas are unclear. Past studies suggest that students exposed to SEL programs show an increase in academic performance, improved ability to cope with stress, and better attitudes about themselves, others, and school, but these curricula are designed with an urban focus. The purpose of this study was to conduct a needs-based analysis to investigate components specific to a SEL curriculum contextualized to rural primary schools. A promising organization committed to rural educational development is Barefoot College, located in Tilonia, Rajasthan, India. In partnership with Barefoot, we designed an ethnographic study to identify and describe what teachers and school leaders consider the highest needs related to their students' social and emotional education. To do so, we interviewed 14 teachers and school leaders individually or in a focus group to explore their present understanding of “social-emotional learning” and the perception of their students’ social and emotional intelligence. Analysis of this data uncovered common themes among classroom behaviors and prevalent opportunities to address social and emotional well-being among students. These themes translated into the three overarching topics and eight sub-topics explored throughout the curriculum, and these opportunities guided the creation of the 21 modules within it. Through a design-based research methodology, we developed a 40-hour curriculum by implementing its various modules within seven Barefoot classrooms alongside continuous reiteration based on teacher feedback and participant observation. Through this process, we found that student engagement increased during contextualized SEL lessons as opposed to traditional methods. In addition, we found that teachers and students preferred and performed better with an activities-based approach. These findings suggest that rural educators must employ particular teaching strategies when addressing SEL, including localized content and an experiential-learning approach. Teachers reported that as their approach to SEL shifted, they began to unlock the potential to build self-aware, globally-minded students. This study concludes that social and emotional education cannot be treated in a generalized manner, as curriculum development is central to the teaching-learning process.
ContributorsBucker, Delaney Sue (Author) / Carrese, Susan (Thesis director) / Barab, Sasha (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Civic & Economic Thought and Leadership (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
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Description
Small cell carcinoma of the ovary (SCCOHT) is a rare ovarian cancer affecting young women and characterized by mutation in SMARCA4 and silencing of SMARCA2, two tumor suppressors that function as ATPases in the SWItch/Sucrose Non-Fermentable (SWI/SNF) chromatin remodeling complex. SCCOHT patients face a 5-year survival rate of only 26%,

Small cell carcinoma of the ovary (SCCOHT) is a rare ovarian cancer affecting young women and characterized by mutation in SMARCA4 and silencing of SMARCA2, two tumor suppressors that function as ATPases in the SWItch/Sucrose Non-Fermentable (SWI/SNF) chromatin remodeling complex. SCCOHT patients face a 5-year survival rate of only 26%, but recently we have identified sensitivity of SCCOHT models to a natural product, triptolide. This study aims to ascertain the mechanism of action of triptolide. Previous SCCOHT epigenetic drug research has shown that some drugs reverse SMARCA2 epigenetic silencing to inhibit tumor growth, therefore it is hypothesized that triptolide acts the same and restores SWI/SNF function. Cells treated with triptolide have no change in SMARCA2 expression, suggesting that re-expression of epigenetically silenced tumor suppressor gene does not underlie its mechanism of action. Growth rates following triptolide treatment were observed in the presence and absence of SMARCA4, but no difference in sensitivity was observed. Thus, it is not likely that triptolide acts by restoring SWI/SNF. Others have observed that triptolide acts on xeroderma pigmentosa type B protein (XPB), a component of super-enhancers, which are DNA regions with high levels of transcription that regulate genes responsible for cell identity and oncogenes driving tumorigenesis. Both SCCOHT-1 and BIN67 cell lines treated with triptolide displayed lower expression of the super-enhancer associated MYC oncogene compared to untreated cells, supporting the theory that triptolide could be inhibiting super-enhancers regulating oncogenes.. A western blot confirmed reduced protein levels of RNA polymerase II and bromodomain 4 (BRD4), two essential components found at high levels at super-enhancers, in BIN67 cells treated with triptolide. ChIP-sequencing of Histone H3 Lysine-27 Acetylation (H3K27ac) marks in BIN67 and SCCOHT-1 cell lines identified super-enhancers in SCCOHT using tools CREAM and ROSE, which were mapped to neighboring genes associated genes and compared with the COSMIC database to identify oncogenes, of which the top 11 were examined by qRT-PCR to ascertain whether triptolide reduces their expression. It has been found that 6 out of 11 of the oncogenes examined (SALL4, MYC, SGK1, HIST1H3B, HMGA2, and CALR) decreased in expression when treated with triptolide. Thus, there is reason to believe that triptolide’s mechanism of action is via inhibition of super-enhancers that regulate oncogene expression.
ContributorsViloria, Nicolle Angela (Author) / Lake, Douglas (Thesis director) / Hendricks, William (Committee member) / Lang, Jessica (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
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Description
In this creative thesis, I traveled to India and used my month long summer vacation back home to interview people about mental health in India. I talked to a therapist and four students about depression to find out what the situation is in India, contributing factors, experiences and stigma unique

In this creative thesis, I traveled to India and used my month long summer vacation back home to interview people about mental health in India. I talked to a therapist and four students about depression to find out what the situation is in India, contributing factors, experiences and stigma unique to depression among students in India, what the government is doing, and possible solutions or steps that can be taken to help students struggling with mental health problems. I also went to mainstream and special schools to meet special educators who work with differently abled children, occupational therapists, parents of differently abled children, and a student with Asperger’s in Chennai, Tamil Nadu to find out about the stigma surrounding differently abled children and their education path.
My efforts have culminated in the creation of the website mentalhealthinindia.com that can be used as a resource both by people in India as well as those abroad who are curious to learn about the stigma surrounding depression and differently abled children in India.
ContributorsVenkatakrishnan, Ranjani (Author) / Koester, Nicole (Thesis director) / Pruitt, Rhonda (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
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Description
More than 260 million people suffer from an anxiety disorder worldwide, with 40 million in the U.S. alone—18% of the American population. And that label includes everything from Social Anxiety and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder to phobias and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Thus, people with anxiety may not have a singular cause

More than 260 million people suffer from an anxiety disorder worldwide, with 40 million in the U.S. alone—18% of the American population. And that label includes everything from Social Anxiety and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder to phobias and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Thus, people with anxiety may not have a singular cause for their worry, but a myriad number of them that influence every aspect of their lives. And, that doesn’t include people who’ve never been formally diagnosed and don’t receive proper medication or therapy.

Unfortunately, medication has many possible side effects, and both medication and therapy are often expensive. However, there are alternatives for someone dealing with anxiety. This book proposal offers a range of solutions for anxiety management, from do it yourself techniques like guided imagery and yoga, to biofeedback devices like HeartMath, to research trials on Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, as well as Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. The idea was not to outline every potential solution for anxiety, but to educate people on available opportunities and empower them to take control.

Though anxiety can be managed and reduced, there is no cure. That’s because anxiety is a normal part of life, and in most cases a helpful evolutionary tool to keep people on track. But, when this anxiety becomes a burden on someone’s life, there is a plethora of alternative solutions available. Understanding anxiety and learning to manage it is not an impossible task. This thesis provides an introduction to the idea and then allows the reader to move forward on their own path as they choose.
ContributorsSchneider, Sage Ann (Author) / deLusé, Stephanie (Thesis director) / Boyd, Patricia (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Asian Americans are facing unprecedented and growing mental health issues brought by anti-Asian Racism and other forms of hyper-visible oppression (Yellow Horse et al., 2021). In response to racism, one potential solution for bolstering mental health outcomes among Asian Americans is critical reflection. Critical reflection is the process through which

Asian Americans are facing unprecedented and growing mental health issues brought by anti-Asian Racism and other forms of hyper-visible oppression (Yellow Horse et al., 2021). In response to racism, one potential solution for bolstering mental health outcomes among Asian Americans is critical reflection. Critical reflection is the process through which oppressed and marginalized people critically analyze oppressive social conditions (e.g., racism, sexism, and more) and consider actions they can take to change them (Watts et al., 2011). Recent research suggests that, overall, there is a strong link between critical reflection and the well-being of youth of color (Maker Castro et al., 2022). However, this relationship may vary based on additional factors, such as strategies used to cope with racism-related stress. For instance, Asian Americans with lower critical reflection about racism (e.g., as evidenced by endorsement of colorblind racial ideology, or the belief that racial differences are irrelevant and racism no longer exists) had a higher tendency to use avoidant coping mechanisms to deal with discrimination (Yi et al., 2022; Lewis et al., 2019). Additionally, there is other evidence to support that Asian Americans who held more colorblind racial attitudes experienced less anxiety when challenged with ambiguous discrimination compared to Asian Americans who held less colorblind racial attitudes (Lee, 2016). Overall, the literature suggests the importance of the relationship between critical reflection and mental health. However, studies have yet to quantitatively explore the impacts of critical reflection and strategies to cope with discrimination on mental health outcomes among Asian Americans (Spanierman et al., 2021) and young adults (Maker Castro et al., 2022). The current study seeks to address this gap in the literature by examining the role of strategies to cope with discrimination in the relationship between Asian Americans’ critical reflection and mental health outcomes. It is crucial to explore these factors as Asian American students continue to shoulder prejudice, stereotypes, and systemic racism in professional and educational institutions. We hypothesize that the relationship between critical reflection and mental health will be mediated by the strategies used to cope with discrimination. More specifically, we expect that low levels of critical reflection (as indicated by high levels of color-blind racial attitudes) are related to greater use of internalization, substance use, and detachment strategies to cope with discrimination, which is related to greater endorsement of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. Data for this study were drawn from a larger study on college students’ experiences in ethnic studies courses. Participants were 288 Asian Americans recruited from ethnic studies courses at universities in various regions of the United States. During the first two weeks of their ethnic studies course, participants completed an online survey about their racial attitudes, critical consciousness, and psychological well-being. Mediation analyses will be conducted using the PROCESS macro (Hayes, 2022) on SPSS version 27. Critical reflection, as measured by participants’ total mean score on the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (Neville et al., 2000; Keum et al., 2018) will be included as the independent variable; subscale scores on the Coping with Discrimination Scale (Wei & Alvarez, 2010) will be mediators; and each subscale of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21; Henry & Crawford, 2005) will be the dependent variable in separate analyses. Relationships between the study variables and Asian subgroup (i.e., East, Southeast, and South Asian) will also be examined. While analyses are currently ongoing, preliminary findings suggest that strategies to cope with discrimination and mental health outcomes vary between East Asians, Southeast Asians, and South Asians. Additionally, preliminary findings suggest that the use of substance use and detachment to cope with discrimination explains the relationship between low critical reflection and mental health outcomes. Findings have implications for encouraging mental health specialists and educators to have open conversations about racism while helping those who experience discrimination cope in healthy ways. Thus, this research can contribute to improved psychological well-being of Asian American young adults.
ContributorsInocentes, Angeline (Author) / Ahn, Lydia (Thesis director) / Tran, Alisia (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor)
Created2023-12
Description

The United States houses only five percent of the world’s population but over 20% of its prison population. There has been a dramatic increase in carceral numbers over the last several decades with much of this population being people with mental illness designations. Many scholars attribute this phenomenon to the

The United States houses only five percent of the world’s population but over 20% of its prison population. There has been a dramatic increase in carceral numbers over the last several decades with much of this population being people with mental illness designations. Many scholars attribute this phenomenon to the process of deinstitutionalization, in which mental health institutions in the U.S. were shut down in the 1950s and ‘60s. However, disability scholar Liat Ben-Moshe argues that this is a dangerous oversimplification that fails to credit the deinstitutionalization movement as an abolitionist movement and to take into account shifting demographics between institutions and prisons/jails. This study considers how mass incarceration in the U.S. stems from a trend of isolating and punishing BIPOC and people with disabilities at disproportionate rates as it explores lived experiences at the intersection of mental health and incarceration. Findings inform an abolitionist agenda by highlighting the near impossibility of rehabilitation and treatment in an inherently traumatizing space.

ContributorsKirsch-Stancliff, Willa (Author) / Gerkin, Alyssa (Co-author) / Bebout, Lee (Thesis director) / Cisneros, Milagros (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies, Sch (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2023-12