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Scholarly Works (4 results)

  • Article
  • Peer Reviewed
UC Santa Barbara Previously Published Works (2021)
As the field of psychology continues to make efforts to diversify the field, training programs must adapt to include the needs of diverse students. Universities in the United States mirror middle-class norms and values, which implies that students are expected to separate from familial roles and focus on their personal growth. This conflicts with core values and intentions of students from collectivist cultures. Although psychology trainees are obligated to adhere to professional ethical standards, a growing number of psychology trainees from collectivistic cultures need support to manage role conflict within potentially ambiguous standards regarding how to care for family and community members. This need is further complicated when training programs consider the lack of equitable access to mental health care resources in communities where their psychology trainees come from. In this paper, we engage in ethical decision making to address two scenarios representing role conflict between training program expectations and collectivist community and familial obligations. Through this exercise we develop and propose a Decision-Making Model for Addressing Role Conflict for Psychology Trainees. This conceptual model details a novel framework to assist psychology trainees when addressing the mental health of family and community while also providing guidance to help graduate training programs proactively equip their students with the skills and ethical framework they need to balance role conflicts such as when family and community members desire and need mental health support.
    Cover page: Decision-Making Model for Addressing Role Conflict for Psychology Trainees When Supporting Family and Community
    • Thesis
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC Santa Barbara Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2024)

    Adolescence is a crucial point for mental health intervention given that three-quarters of all life-time mental health concerns emerge by the age of 24 (National Alliance of Mental Health, 2021). Limited engagement in treatment is often due to structural barriers (e.g., transportation, cost, access) and other intrapersonal barriers, such as low perceived need and limited knowledge about mental health (Radez et al., 2019). My dissertation presents an initial feasibility and acceptability study of a modular mental health promotion program that I created, Youth Engagement and Action in Mental Health (YPEAM), which aims to increase mental health literacy, decrease stigma, and influence the perceived effectiveness of mental health treatment among youth in a community organization.YPEAM was implemented at a youth community organization with eight participants between the ages of 12 – 17 years old across 13, 1-hour sessions. By using a convergent mixed methods design, I was able to answer three main questions: how feasible (i.e., easy or difficult) is the implementation of YPEAM within a community youth center, how acceptable (i.e., how much youth enjoyed and valued it) was it among the youth, and how did it affect self-reported levels of stigma about mental health and their knowledge of mental health? Pre- and post-YPEAM implementation survey data and semi-structured interviews offered insight into how YPEAM may contribute to alleviating some of the initial barriers to youth seeking mental health support that drove the development of this unique program. Results regarding feasibility indicated a recruitment rate of 75% of youth that were already involved in the center and met age criteria. Six of the eight youth attended all 13 sessions. Regarding acceptability, one youth reported that the flexibility of the curriculum was “a nice freedom to have.” This finding supports one of the initial goals of YPEAM, which was to use youth voices to increase engagement in mental health programs. Additional semi-structured qualitative data indicated favorable views of the program, while also providing suggestions for future iterations of the program. Survey results indicated that all participants “strongly agreed” or “agreed” when asked if they liked YPEAM. Results related to stigma and mental health knowledge were evaluated using qualitative and quantitative data. In their semi-structured interviews after the program, several youths reported feeling more confident in their ability to recognize mental health symptoms and knowing how to seek support. Nearly all youth reported reduced mental health stigma scores after YPEAM. This pilot study provided insight into implementation of a novel program within a community center and highlighted the potential benefits of the curriculum. This study provides an example of using the Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) framework as a guide for a novel mental health promotion program. YPEAM incorporated youth decisions into the delivery of a mental health program, which showed a positive influence on some barriers to youth engagement, such as stigma and mental health literacy. Additionally, given that the seven of the eight participants of the study sample were from a marginalized identity, this study aligns with literature that highlights that YPAR strategies may benefit marginalized youth. Taken together, my dissertation contributes to the literature base of how mental health promotion programs can be specifically tailored to youth’s needs and shift how researchers are developing and implementing prevention efforts. YPEAM provides a model of how to create and implement flexible curriculums so that they are more socially, culturally, and geographically attuned to youth mental health needs.

      Cover page: A Pilot Study: Youth Participatory Engagement and Action in Mental Health
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      UC Santa Barbara Previously Published Works (2023)

      Objective

      To describe the process of implementing a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) project at a continuation high school (CHS) and share the results of a youth-designed research project that explores barriers to high school completion.

      Data sources and study setting

      YPAR was implemented across three cohorts at a CHS in the central coast of California from 2019 to 2022. Student survey respondents were enrolled CHS students between March and April 2021.

      Study design

      A modified YPAR curriculum integrating research methodology and social justice topics was used to guide student-led research that resulted in a cross-sectional survey.

      Data collection

      Field notes maintained by the first author documented the process of implementing YPAR including the curriculum, conversations, and research decisions and procedures. A student-designed survey disseminated to all enrolled students resulted in 76 (66%) participant responses. The survey included 18 close-ended questions and three narrative responses.

      Principal findings

      This study details how YPAR methodologies can be translated to a high school credit recovery program. For example, student cohorts were needed to maintain continuity over time. A student-designed survey revealed that 72% of student respondents reported taking care of family members and illuminated high rates of depression symptoms.

      Conclusions

      This study offers a detailed description of how we implemented YPAR at a credit recovery program and provides student-driven perspectives on educational reform and evaluation. This project addresses the implementation and challenges of using YPAR to engage youth in transformational resistance to rapidly study and improve CHS' policy and practice.
        Cover page: Implementing youth participatory action research at a continuation high school.
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        UC Santa Barbara Previously Published Works (2023)
        Unprecedented financial and emotional stress, paired with measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 (e.g., school closures), place youth at risk for experiencing increased rates of abuse. We analyzed data from New York City's Administration for Children's Services to investigate the frequency of child maltreatment prevention service case openings during this time. Longitudinal counts of case openings were compiled for January through June of the years 2014-2020. An independent samples Kruskal-Wallis H-test suggested that pre-quarantine case openings were significantly larger than case openings during quarantine. To account for the possible influence of other historical events impacting data, a secondary Kruskal-Wallis H-test was conducted comparing only the 4 months of quarantine data available to the 4 months immediately preceding quarantine orders. The second independent samples Kruskal-Wallis H-test again suggested that pre-quarantine case openings were significantly larger than case openings during quarantine. A Poisson regression model further supported these findings, estimating that the odds of opening a new child maltreatment prevention case during quarantine declined by 49.17%. These findings highlight the severity of COVID-19 impacts on child maltreatment services and the gap between demand for services and service accessibility. We conclude with recommendations for local governments, community members, and practitioners.
          Cover page: Child Maltreatment Prevention Service Cases are Significantly Reduced During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Investigation Into Unintended Consequences of Quarantine
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