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- Creators: Arizona State University
- Creators: Roberts, Nicole A.
- Creators: School of International Letters and Cultures
Description
ABSTRACT The major hypothesis tested in this research is that the psychological well-being and life satisfaction of elderly adult individuals can be predicted from religiosity (organizational and non-organizational religious beliefs and behaviors). The sample consisted of 142 adults between the ages of 65-90, with the majority in the 65-70 age group (48%) (SD = 1.176). The entire sample resides in the state of Arizona, in both urban and rural communities. Participants were administered a questionnaire which requested demographic information, and three instruments: the Duke University Religion Index (the DUREL), and the Affect Balance Scale and the Life Satisfaction Index - Z (LSIZ). Correlational and Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relation between these adults' psychological well-being, life satisfaction and their religiosity. Independent t-tests were also used to examine possible sex, ethnic and religiosity effects on psychological well-being and life satisfaction. Findings revealed that psychological well-being and life satisfaction are higher when religiosity is higher, regardless of sex or ethnicity. These findings are consistent with those of previous research in this field.
ContributorsMoreno-Weinert, Inez (Author) / Moore, Elsie (Thesis advisor) / Nakagawa, Kathryn (Committee member) / Ladd, Becky (Committee member) / Cohen, Adam (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Introduction: Several faith-based or faith-placed programs have focused on the physical dimension of wellness in efforts to improve health by increasing physical activity and improving diet behaviors. However, these programs were not designed to intervene on the mental dimension of wellness which is critical for stress reduction and health behavior change. Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of a spirituality-based stress reduction and health behavior change intervention using the Spiritual Framework of Coping (SFC) model. Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental one group pretest posttest design. The study was a total of eight weeks conducted at a non-denominational Christian church. Participants were recruited from the church through announcements and flyers. The Optimal Health program met once a week for 1.5 hours with weekly phone calls during an additional four week follow-up period. Feasibility was assessed by the acceptability, demand, implementation, practicality, integration, and limited efficacy of the program. Analysis: Frequencies for demographics were assessed. Statistical analyses of feasibility objectives were assessed by frequencies and distribution of responses to feasibility evaluations. Limited efficacy of pretest and posttest measures were conducted using paired t-test (p <.05). Results: The Optimal Health Program was positively accepted by participants. The demand for the program was shown with average attendance of 78.7%. The program was successfully implemented as shown by meeting session objectives and 88% homework completion. The program was both practical for the intended participants and was successfully integrated within the existing environment. Limited efficacy changes within the program were mostly non-significant. Conclusion: This study tested the feasibility of implementing the Optimal Health program that specifically targeted the structural components of the Spiritual Framework of Coping Model identified to create meaning making and enhance well-being. This program may ultimately be used to help individuals improve and balance the spiritual, mental, and physical dimensions of wellness. However, length of study and limited efficacy measures will need to be reevaluated for program success.
ContributorsWalker, Jenelle R (Author) / Swan, Pamela (Thesis advisor) / Ainsworth, Barbara (Committee member) / Chisum, Jack (Committee member) / Fleury, Julie (Committee member) / Hooker, Steven (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Life satisfaction in people with physical disabilities is on average lower than people without disabilities. This reduction in life satisfaction may be due to a reduction in domain control. This study examines how domain control predicts life satisfaction when added to a model of other salient life satisfaction predictors. Using email survey methodology, five separate scales where used on two separate populations; people with (n= 44) and without (n= 43) a physical disability to determine each groups life satisfaction. It was found that when domain control is added to the bottom-up theory of life satisfaction, the independent direct relationships of domain control, domain importance, positive affect, and negative affect are eliminated from a stepwise multiple regression equation with domain satisfaction being the only significant predictor (â = 4.38, p< .001 for people with a physical disabilities and â = 5.48, p< .001 for people without a physical disability) of life satisfaction. The study results demonstrate that life satisfaction is predicted the same way for people with and without disabilities.
ContributorsCasto, Joseph (Author) / Rodriuez, Ariel (Thesis advisor) / Grossman, Gary (Committee member) / Ramella, Kelly (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010
Description
This project was generated out of a desire to understand and explore a novel twist on a well-traversed route to happiness. I set out looking for a new perspective on fulfillment and found sustainable, everyday joy through gratitude. In doing so, I created a space where a group of people could practice and share gratitude as a community. Gratitude is familiar to most as a feeling, but putting intention behind gratitude turns it into an action, and even a virtue. In fact, Roman philosopher Cicero says, "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others." I created a Facebook community called Marvel at The Ordinary (MATO) applying principles rooted in the Theory of Change to express this greatest virtue. I found both success and earnest support from others in this novel approach to current gratitude practices. Defined by Dr. Robert Emmons, an expert in the science of gratitude, practicing gratitude is a two-step process: "(1.) affirming goodness in one's life, and (2.) recognizing that the sources of this goodness lie at least partially outside of the self." There is substantial research touting the worth of gratitude journaling, in fact, few things have been more repeatedly and empirically vetted than the connection between gratitude and overall happiness and well-being. Yet there is one facet ubiquitously overlooked in current gratitude research: what happens when gratitude journaling is shared with others? With anecdotal evidence, short-form interview analysis, thematic analysis of journaling lexicon, and a case study on the growth and engagement of Marvel at The Ordinary as a social movement, there is reason to believe that a social media-based community centered around gratitude may support and even enhance the practice of gratitude, which is typically practiced in isolation. It was also found that communities of this sort are highly sought after, based on the engagement within and growth of the Facebook group from 50 to 600+ members in a period of 2 months. MATO set out with the aspirations of creating a community which encourages others to gratitude journal, raising awareness about gratitude journaling, and building a community which fosters empathy, optimism, and awareness in an everyday sense. In each of these goals, overwhelming success was found.
ContributorsMccawley, Kevin William (Author) / Mokwa, Michael (Thesis director) / Huerta, Mark (Committee member) / Micevic, Vid (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Current farming demographics in the United States indicate an aging and overwhelmingly white group of farmers, stimulating the need for engaging a younger and more diverse population. There is an opportunity to engage these populations through farm-based internship and apprenticeship programs, which are immersive programs on small-scale, sustainable farms. These programs are unique in providing hands-on training, housing, meals, and a stipend in return for labor, presenting a pathway to social empowerment. The potential outcomes of increasing diversity and inclusion in farm programs are absent from the research on the benefits of diversity and inclusion in other work environments, such as the corporate setting. This paper presents the results of a study aimed at determining levels of diversity and inclusion in United States farm-based internship programs, and the viability of these programs as an effective opportunity to engage marginalized young people in farming. The study of 13 farm owners and managers across the U.S. found that the participants are focused on fostering education and training, environmental benefits, and a sense of community in their respective programs. All participants either want to establish, or believe they currently have, an inclusive workplace on their farm, but also indicated a barrier to inclusivity in the lack of a diverse applicant pool. Future recommendations for removing that barrier and involving more young, diverse interns include increased outreach and access to these programs, the use of inclusive language, and further research.
ContributorsLascola, Dania (Co-author) / Biel, Braden (Co-author) / Cloutier, Scott (Thesis director) / MacFadyen, Joshua (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Producing, transforming, distributing, and consuming food requires a multitude of actors, from the microbes in the soil to the truck drivers, from the salesperson to the bacterial life that supports digestion. Yet, the global food system – far from being neutral – unequally provides and extracts resources around the globe to serve and protect the needs of some, while excluding and/or oppressing others and producing trauma in the process. Drawing on feminist scholarship and permaculture research – two fields that discuss the importance of care but only rarely work together – and using social science methods, I explore how to integrate care into food systems, and what are the outcomes of such an integration. I first bring together the voices of 35 everyday experts from Cuba, France, and the United States (Arizona) and perspectives from ethics of care, creation care, indigenous scholars, and permaculture specialists, and I use grounded theory to develop a definition of care in food systems context, and a conceptual map of care that identifies motives for caring, caring practices and their results. I then discuss how caring practices enhance food systems’ adaptive capacity and resilience. Next, I study the relationship between a subset of the identified caring practices – what is recognized as “Earth care” – and their effect on well-being in general, and Food Well-Being more specifically, using three case studies from Arizona based on: (1) interviews of school teachers, (2) interviews of sustainable farmers, (3) a survey with 96 gardeners. There, I also discuss how policies and cultural transformations can better support the integration of Earth care practices in food systems. Then, I examine how urban food autonomy movements are grassroots examples of integration of care in food systems, and how through their care practices – Earth care, “People care” and “Fair share” – they can serve as a catalyst for social change and contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Lastly, I conclude with recommendations to strengthen a culture of care in food systems, as well as limitations to my research, and future research directions.
ContributorsGiraud, Esteve Gaelle (Author) / Aggarwal, Rimjhim (Thesis advisor) / Cloutier, Scott (Thesis advisor) / Samuelson, Hava (Committee member) / Chhetri, Netra (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
This dissertation focuses on the endogenous conceptualization of development and sustainability emerging from settled non-native indigenous communities in the transborder region of Baja California, México. The study is comprised of interview data collected from a sample of 19 (n=19) self-identifying non-native indigenous community members and three key informants residing in various municipalities of the state. The purpose of this research is twofold, on the one hand, it aims to highlight the ways global north conceptualizations and praxis of development and sustainability in México have failed to include indigenous communities and fall short of creating feasible or appropriate practices of development and sustainability for marginalized communities. On the other, it focuses on the future perspectives of non-native indigenous communities to understand what development and sustainability look like for marginalized indigenous communities in México. The research finds that non-native indigenous communities’ settled in Baja California align more closely with the notion of Buen Vivir than development, in efforts to implement holistic approaches to progress and the conservation of their ethnic identity, culture and funds of knowledge. Additionally, the data reveals the bordering processes within ethnic and cultural scapes in Baja California’s society incentivizes merging funds of knowledge to achieve community recognition and progress. In essence, the experience and mobilization of settled non-native indigenous communities in Baja California break the perceived dichotomy between rural and urban, traditional and modern. The research also has some auxiliary findings: (1) indicating that in the state of Baja California the proliferation of development and sustainability discourses are polarized and relatively neglected in public discourses, despite its close transborder relationship with the US and growing concerns of development and sustainability in the northern nation. Second, indigenous women have been and continue to be important catalysts in community formation and representation.
ContributorsMora-Castillo, Brenda (Author) / Cruz-Torres, Maria l (Thesis advisor) / Wutich, Amber (Committee member) / Manuel-Navarrete, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Background: Cancer impacts the lives of millions of patients, families and caregivers annually
leading to chronic stress, a sense of powerlessness, and decreased autonomy. Social support may improve health empowerment and lead to increased perception of well-being.
Purpose: The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of social support provided by a cancer support agency on health empowerment and perceived well-being in adults impacted by cancer.
Conceptual Framework: The Health Empowerment Theory maintains that perceived wellbeing is the desired outcome; mediated by health empowerment through social support, personal growth, and purposeful participation in active goal attainment.
Methods: Twelve adults impacted by cancer agreed to complete online questionnaires at
baseline and at 12 weeks after beginning participation in social support programs provided by a cancer support agency.
Instruments included: Patient Empowerment Scale, The Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS), and The Office of National Statistics (ONS) Subjective Well-Being Questions.
Results: Four participants completed pre and post surveys. An increase was seen in
empowerment scores (pre M = 1.78, SD = 0.35 and post M = 3.05, SD = 0.42). There was no
increase in perceived well-being: SWEMWBS pre (M= 3.71, SD= 0.76), post (M= 3.57, SD=
0.65); ONS pre (M= 7.69, SD= 1.36), post (M= 6.59, SD= 1.52).
Implications: The data showed an increase in health empowerment scores after utilizing social support programs, lending support to the agency’s support strategies. It is recommended that the measures be included in surveys routinely conducted by the agency to continue to assess the impact of programming on health empowerment, and perceived well-being.
leading to chronic stress, a sense of powerlessness, and decreased autonomy. Social support may improve health empowerment and lead to increased perception of well-being.
Purpose: The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of social support provided by a cancer support agency on health empowerment and perceived well-being in adults impacted by cancer.
Conceptual Framework: The Health Empowerment Theory maintains that perceived wellbeing is the desired outcome; mediated by health empowerment through social support, personal growth, and purposeful participation in active goal attainment.
Methods: Twelve adults impacted by cancer agreed to complete online questionnaires at
baseline and at 12 weeks after beginning participation in social support programs provided by a cancer support agency.
Instruments included: Patient Empowerment Scale, The Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS), and The Office of National Statistics (ONS) Subjective Well-Being Questions.
Results: Four participants completed pre and post surveys. An increase was seen in
empowerment scores (pre M = 1.78, SD = 0.35 and post M = 3.05, SD = 0.42). There was no
increase in perceived well-being: SWEMWBS pre (M= 3.71, SD= 0.76), post (M= 3.57, SD=
0.65); ONS pre (M= 7.69, SD= 1.36), post (M= 6.59, SD= 1.52).
Implications: The data showed an increase in health empowerment scores after utilizing social support programs, lending support to the agency’s support strategies. It is recommended that the measures be included in surveys routinely conducted by the agency to continue to assess the impact of programming on health empowerment, and perceived well-being.
ContributorsO'Rourke, Suzanne (Author) / Velasquez, Donna (Thesis advisor)
Created2017-05-03
Description
New teachers quit the profession at high levels, particularly in rural and urban schools. These high rates of turnover create staffing issues, particularly in high-needs areas like math and special education. High levels of stress and dissatisfaction with the profession have been cited as common reasons teachers exit the profession within the first few years. However, positive interventions from the field of positive psychology as well as mindfulness have been used in the workplace and have been found to support increasing wellbeing as well as reducing stress. This study defines workplace wellbeing as a construct of positive emotions, engagement, positive relationships, meaning/purpose, achievement and health within the workplace. In this mixed methods quasi-experimental study, 26 new teachers within a large suburban schools were sorted into experimental (n=13) and a control (n=13) groups. The experimental group was provided with a mindfulness training (in-person or virtually) as well as was asked to journal twice a week about three things that went well during the week, why those things went well, and what impact that had on students. The experimental group was invited to share their journals with their Teacher Induction and Support Program (TISP) coach in-person during their weekly confidential meetings. The control group was asked to write down any three things that occurred over the week (positive, negative, or neutral) and was also invited to share this with their TISP coach. Participants completed journals for the months of November, December, and January. All participants took a workplace wellbeing survey (developed by Peggy Kern and used with permission of Dr. Kern) at October, December, March and June. Additionally, five participants from the control group and five participants from the control group were interviewed about their experiences as new teachers and their experiences using the interventions. Participants in the control group experienced decreases in their workplace wellbeing throughout the year whereas participants in the control group experiences steady or increases to their workplace wellbeing, particularly in the areas of positive emotions, relationships, meaning, and self-efficacy. Participants in the experimental group also reported mindfulness practices increased their confidence and promoted positive emotional regulation that supported a positive classroom, despite challenging student behaviors. While this study uses a small sample size, these findings were confirmed in qualitative data, quantitative data, and are consistent with findings in related literature. While the findings are consistent with findings in related studies utilizing positive interventions and mindfulness within the workplace, these findings run counter to studies on the emotional experiences of teachers which assert that teacher’s (particularly new teachers) experience high levels of negative emotions and stress, particularly during the middle of the year. The findings from this dissertation suggest positive interventions and mindfulness may bolster new teacher’s workplace wellbeing and self-efficacy during the first year.
ContributorsHallquist, Rachel Anne (Author) / Henriksen, Danah (Thesis advisor) / Frias, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Zollinger, Rona (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Previous studies about well-being have examined either gratitude’s or social connectedness’ relationship to subjective well-being. The aim of this randomized control trial was to examine the efficacy of a gratitude-based writing micro-intervention in enhancing felt social connectedness and well-being between young adults and their parents. The trial tested the impact of engaging in gratitude-based writing about family members or enhanced caretakers on measures of social connectedness and well-being between grown children and their parents. Data from a pool of social work students in the Southwest (N=148) were used. Results revealed within-subject effects and between subject effects for psychological well-being from pretest to one month follow-up, with the intervention group reporting significantly higher psychological well-being than the control group. Results also revealed slight mean differences from pretest to posttest for perceptions of family relationships, with the intervention group reporting approaching significant better perceptions of family relationships than the control group at posttest. Findings from the study indicate that engaging in gratitude-based writing about family can improve perceptions of psychological well-being and may improve social connectedness to family.
ContributorsKaplan, Tamar (Author) / LeCroy, Craig W. (Thesis advisor) / Williams, Lela R (Committee member) / Brown, Mary Ellen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018