Suicidality Among Black Women: Considering Resiliency Within the Historic and Societal Context of Risk

Suicide is a global health challenge that has been historically understudied among Black women. The interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidality (IPTS) is a primary theory examined in suicidality; however, the three factors within the theory (lack of belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and capability to die) focus on the individual. The purpose of the current study was to examine these factors in an expanded context of the historical and societal impact of oppression. A mixed methods Qualtrics study was administered to Black women who voluntarily completed the survey anonymously. Quantitatively, the study found significant differences between the impact of the IPTS factors on different ecological systems (self, immediate environment, community, larger culture) within participants’ lives. The study also revealed significant differences between the assessed factors that impacted participants in general, and more specifically contributed to their suicidality. Qualitatively, there were also differences across ecological systems. Themes emerged around financial stressors and trauma related to risk, and family, jobs, and comradery of experience amongst protective factors. Moving forward, prevention and intervention efforts should take the lived experiences of Black women into account

Pornography and Masculinity: How Mainstream Pornography Reinforces a Narrow and Destructive Conceptualization of Masculinity

In mainstream pornography, boys and men are indoctrinated with a profoundly problematic template for sexual intimacy. Both masculine gender role strain and problematic pornography use predict interpersonal and mental health difficulties. In this paper, the relationship between gender role strain and problematic pornography use was examined through the lens of social learning theory, which argues that individuals imitate and replicate others’ behavior in novel situations. Given that mainstream pornography depicts acts of sexual aggression, men who are exposed to pornography before their first partnered sexual experience may recall and imitate the aggressive acts when they later engage in sexual intimacy. Due to culturally supported, narrow definitions of masculinity, boys and men are drawn toward pornography in a misguided attempt to strengthen their sense of masculine identity. In pornography, men may learn that sexual aggression is not only acceptable, but is a normative or even desired component of sex

Reducing Epistemic Tension: How Relational Cultural Theory Can Inform the Field of Therapeutic Assessment

Therapeutic Assessment (TA), developed by Dr. Stephen Finn, is an approach to psychological assessment that prioritizes respect for clients, highlights the vital role of collaborative meaning-making, forwards a relational view of test administration and interpretation, and emphasizes the importance of helping clients come to terms with the root of their problems of daily living. Accordingly, the practice of Therapeutic Assessment places high value on the evaluator-client relationship and highlights the notion that no psychological test, and therefore no individual, can be interpreted or understood within a vacuum. With the recent resurgence in racist, anti-semitic, and xenophobic rhetoric thrust back into the American limelight, questions around issues of multiculturalism, diversity, equity, and inclusion have surfaced to the forefront of the field of clinical psychology, and more specifically, in the practice of psychological assessment. As practitioners of TA work towards implementing these considerations into the model, a valuable question arises: How might we strengthen the practice of TA so that it is effective and meaningful for all? This paper outlines the core tenants of TA, introduces the Relational Cultural Theory (RCT) lens in relation to psychological assessment, and outlines specific key aspects of RCT that can be utilized in making TA effective and meaningful for all

Empowering Providers to Empower Their Patients: One Model to Expand Knowledge, Competency, and Awareness for the Perinatal Substance Use Workforce

Perinatal substance use (PSU) is a serious and growing public health concern. It is associated with a variety of adverse health outcomes for both mother and child and has been shown to negatively impact the parent-child relationship. Despite the growing prevalence of PSU, there are notable deficits in provider knowledge regarding, and comfortability with, PSU. Moreover, providers report feelings of judgment, resentment, fear, and hesitancy related to their work with women with PSU. Subsequently, women with PSU struggle to find appropriate, compassionate, and effective treatment for their substance misuse. Widespread and accessible training is needed to bolster provider knowledge base, reduce stigma, shame, and increase quality of service provision and care for women with PSU. This paper aims to outline the development and structure of a PSU training to serve as a one model to expand knowledge, competency, and awareness for the PSU workforce. I begin with a review of the prevalence of PSU and its impact on maternal and infant wellbeing. Theoretical underpinnings of PSU are explored, including a specific discussion regarding the interplay between the neurobiology of addiction and the parent-child attachment system. Subsequently, the current state of the PSU workforce and the need for training is discussed. The paper ends with an in-depth review of a PSU training developed in collaboration with the University of Denver, Colorado Department of Public Health (CDPH), and the Colorado chapter of Postpartum Support International (PSI). Implications for the field and potential future directions are explored

Thermal, Magnetic, and Electrical Properties of Thin Films and Nanostructures: From Magnetic Insulators to Organic Thermoelectrics

Modern fabrication and growth techniques allow for the development of increasingly smaller and more complex solid state structures, the characterization of which require highly specialized measurement platforms. In this dissertation I present the development of techniques and instrumentation used in magnetic, thermal, and electrical property measurements of thin films and nanostructures. The understanding of trapped-flux induced artifacts in SQUID magnetometry of large paramagnetic substrates allows for the resolution of increasingly small moments. Using these methods, the antiferromagnetic coupling of the interface between a Y3Fe5O12 film and Gd3Ga5O12substrate is quantitatively characterized, along with a number of other thin films. The use of custom fabricated silicon-nitride membrane thermal isolation platforms for temperature-dependent measurements is then presented for in-plane thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, and thermopower of thin films. The size- and temperature-dependent properties of two types of semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotube thin films deposited and measured on these platforms reveal differing phonon contributions to thermal conductivity, and the interaction of dopant molecules and phonon transport in the disordered nanotube networks is explored. Experimental techniques for studying freestanding nanotube films is then presented, revealing a largely phonon-driven thermal conductivity that is greatly decreased by the introduction of phonon scattering sites. Next, time-dependent measurements on the suspended micromachined platforms was developed to allow for thermal detection of tiny depositions of energy from chemical reactions or physical processes in nanoscale systems. These experiments show our platforms have promise for open-chamber calorimetry of viral detection, and were expanded to include heat capacity into our suite of precision in-situ thermal measurements. Finally, copper thin films fabricated for heat capacity calibration are characterized and show a sharp reduction in thermal conductivity that ’violates’ the Wiedemann-Franz law

The Misattuned Music Industry: An Intersubjective Perspective on the Music Industry\u27s Mental Health Crisis

Research shows that professional musicians tend to experience higher rates of mental health challenges compared to the general population. While there are a number of underlying factors and historical experiences that may help us to better understand these psychological struggles, I will be examining the relational system between musician and the music industry beginning at the time in which an amateur musician transitions to the professional realm. With this transition comes incredible demand and pressure from the industry. Professional musicians are at the mercy of grueling tour schedules where they spend months away from loved ones, must be on at every performance to win over audiences, and are harshly judged on their creative output. All of this occurs within a notoriously fickle and competitive industry. If you aren\u27t willing to do all the right things, the industry will find someone else that will. What\u27s more, even if you do all the right things, there is still no guarantee of success. This relational dynamic between musicians and the music industry is fertile ground for pathological accommodation and psychological struggle

Trade Wars, COVID-19, USMCA, and Protectionism: Exogenous Factor Influence on U.S- Mexico Supply Chains in the Automotive Industry

This research explores what the impacts of COVID-19, the U.S-China trade war, and the implementation of North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as the United States, Mexico Canada (USMCA) Trade Agreement, have had on U.S.-Mexico trade relations, focusing on the automotive industry. With rising trends of protectionism in international trade, this research focuses on the language that Tesla and General Motors company sites in Mexico used from 2021 to March 2023 in their released articles to the public and how frequently the variables of COVID19, the U.S China trade war, USMCA, and protectionism were discussed. Articles in both Spanish and English were included in this analysis. It is of particular importance to focus on the automotive industry as it is the largest industry in trade for Mexico with the U.S. In the 2021-2023 period, the Mexico General Motors and Tesla company websites collectively released 97 articles. The sample greatly consisted of articles from General Motors. However, because General Motors is much more established in Mexico than Tesla, this is expected. The presence of these variables of COVID19, USMCA, U.S. China Trade War, and rising protectionism caused major impacts to the global economy. Through content analysis of the released media articles from General Motors and Tesla, I found that these factors - which deeply impacted the global economy – also impact smaller sectors of the economy, namely automotive supply chains

Relationship of Block Design with Motor Function

The definition and measurement of visuospatial abilities (VSA) has been a complex journey since the inception of cognitive, intelligence, and neuropsychological testing. For years, neuropsychologists attempting to measure VSA have often turned to the Block Design (BD) test from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), which is a timed measure requiring the participant to use both hands to construct a design out of blocks that matches a picture. The BD test has been a standard inclusion in the assessment of VSA for decades and research suggests a correlation of BD with other visuospatial tests. However, literature also indicates BD is correlated with other cognitive abilities. Moreover, a small but growing body of research has suggested a relationship between BD with various motor functions and the neuroanatomical regions associated with psychomotor functions. Yet, no studies to date have directly assessed the relationship of BD with motor function. This study aimed to better understand this possible relationship between BD and motor function. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted and motor function was found to account for a small, but statistically significant amount of variance in BD performance

Andrés Segovia and Federico Moreno Torroba’s \u3ci\u3eDanza castellana\u3c/i\u3e

The guitar’s early twentieth-century repertoire is of unique importance, containing as it does the first guitar pieces by non-guitarist composers known for their symphonic, operatic and chamber music. Many of these composers wrote for the pioneering Andalusian guitarist Andrés Segovia, and among the most prolific of them was Federico Moreno Torroba. In various memoirs and interviews, Segovia identified Torroba’s miniature Danza castellana as not only the first piece written for him by a non-guitarist composer but even the first such piece by anyone, predating, in Segovia’s telling, Falla’s 1920 Homenaje. This article challenges Segovia’s claim by recounting the details and circumstances of Torroba’s composition. The discussion includes an examination of Segovia’s various autobiographical works, his first South American tour, and his project to elevate the guitar’s repertoire by collaborating with non-guitarist composers

Counselors’ Spirituality, Attitudes Toward Suicide, and Self-Efficacy in Conducting Suicide Risk Assessment

The present study aimed to explore the relationship between perceived spiritual support and counselor self-efficacy in conducting suicide risk assessment, and the moderating effects of attitudes about suicide on this relationship. Based on existing theory and empirical evidence, perceived spiritual support was hypothesized to have a positive predictive relationship with counselor self-efficacy in performing suicide risk assessment; further, four different constructs pertaining to attitudes toward suicide were also hypothesized to moderate the strength and direction of this relationship. A sample of Master’s level clinicians and advanced standing Master’s graduate students (N=132) completed on online survey containing instruments measuring perceived spiritual support (predictor), counselor self-efficacy in suicide risk assessment (dependent variable), and four constructs within attitudes toward suicide (moderators), including avoidance of communication, suicide as common, suicide as acceptable, and preventability of suicide. Multiple moderated regression analyses were performed using SPSS 26.0. Different than hypothesized, three of the four attitudes measured (common, acceptable, and preventable) did not significantly moderate the relationship between the predictor and outcome. However, as estimated, higher levels of perceived spiritual support predicted increased counselor self-efficacy scores. Further, avoidance of communication attitudes were found to weaken this predictive relationship. Limitations and implications for future research and practice are discussed