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Browsing by Author "Hooper, Lisa M."

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    Examining the Aftereffects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans: A Qualitative Study of Faculty and Staff Perceptions
    (Hindawi, 2012) Burnham, Joy J.; Hooper, Lisa M.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Researchers have reported how Hurricane Katrina has affected teachers who work with Kindergarten to Grade 12 (K-12), yet little is known about how the natural disaster has affected other important K-12 faculty and staff (e. g., coaches, librarians, school counselors, and cafeteria workers). Missing from the literature is the impact that this natural disaster has had on these formal (school counselors) and informal (coaches, librarians) helpers of K-12 students. Using a focus group methodology, the authors examined the aftereffects of Hurricane Katrina on 12 school employees in New Orleans, Louisiana, 18 months after the hurricane. Informed by qualitative content analysis, three emergent themes were identified: emotion-focused aftereffects, positive coping, and worry and fear. The implications for future research and promoting hope in mental health counseling are discussed.
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    Help-seeking decisions among college students: the impact of mental health service affordability
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Marsh, Carey N.; Wilcoxon, S. Allen; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Recent statistics indicate that approximately 40% of students enrolled on U.S. college and university campuses report experiencing at least 1 mental health problem in the previous 12 months. Despite the documented benefits of counseling and mental health services on academic performance and degree attainment, only about 10% of mentally and emotionally distressed students ever seek professional help. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to gain a better understanding of why, among college students experiencing similar types of mental and emotional distress, some seek help, whereas most do not. For this study, 2 samples of students were recruited from 1 large, research university campus. The first was a clinical sample and consisted of distressed students who were attending a first screening appointment at the university's counseling center. The second was a random sample of students from the general student population who demonstrated levels of distress similar to the first sample, but who had chosen not to seek professional help. Participants in both samples completed 4 study instruments used for collecting demographic data, as well as data pertaining to help-seeking attitudes, help-seeking behaviors, treatment barriers, types of distress, and levels of distress. Data from both groups were combined to examine what variables contribute to the prediction of who, among similarly distressed college students, chooses to seek professional help and who does not. Of particular interest was the role that treatment barriers related to the affordability, availability, accessibility, and acceptability of mental health services might play in distinguishing help-seekers from non-help-seekers. A binary logistic regression model revealed that treatment-related barriers associated with cost of services, not knowing what services are available, and stigma were found to be significant predictors of help-seeking behavior. Among person-related barriers, measures of depression, generalized anxiety, eating concerns, and substance use were found to be significant predictors of help-seeking behavior. Another person-related barrier, help-seeking attitude, was found to be a significant predictor, but showed a lower rate of accuracy in predicting help-seeking behavior than the other significant predictors. A discussion of these findings is presented, along with associated implications for college campus stakeholders and directions for further research.
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    Predictors of Primary Care Physicians' Self-reported Intention to Conduct Suicide Risk Assessments
    (Springer, 2012) Hooper, Lisa M.; Epstein, Steven A.; Weinfurt, Kevin P.; DeCoster, Jamie; Qu, Lixin; Hannah, Natalie J.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; Georgetown University; Duke University; University of Virginia
    Primary care physicians play a significant role in depression care, suicide assessment, and suicide prevention. However, little is known about what factors relate to and predict quality of depression care (assessment, diagnosis, and treatment), including suicide assessment. The authors explored the extent to which select patient and physician factors increase the probability of one element of quality of care: namely, intention to conduct suicide assessment. Data were collected from 404 randomly selected primary care physicians after their interaction with CD-ROM vignettes of actors portraying major depression with moderate levels of severity. The authors examined which patient factors and physician factors increase the likelihood of physicians' intention to conduct a suicide assessment. Data from the study revealed that physician-participants inquired about suicide 36% of the time. A random effects logistic model indicated that several factors were predictive of physicians' intention to conduct a suicide assessment: patient's comorbidity status (odds ratio (OR)=0.61; 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.3701.00), physicians' age (OR=0.67; 95% CI=0.4900.92), physicians' race (OR=1.84; 95% CI=1.0803.13), and how depressed the physician perceived the virtual patient to be (OR=0.58; 95% CI=0.3900.87). A substantial number of primary care physicians in this study indicated they would not assess for suicide, even though most physicians perceived the virtual patient to be depressed or very depressed. Further study is needed to establish factors that may be modified and targeted to increase the likelihood of physicians' providing one element of quality of care-suicide assessment-for depressed patients.
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    Selected predictors of satisfaction with their program for African American counselors education master's degree students
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2012) Latten, Jessie; Satcher, Jamie; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Previous research has investigated the impact of demographic variables upon African American students in higher education (Pascarella et al., 2004; Patitu, 2000: Tinto, 1993). Few investigations have focused on African American graduate students particularly in Counselor Education. The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of the level of satisfaction of African American Master's degree students with their counselor education program. A total of 154 participants completed a demographic sheet and The Counselor Education Program Satisfaction Scale (CEPSS). Stepwise regression analysis results indicated that participants who received financial aid were less satisfied with academic quality than those who did not receive financial aid. The results also indicated an inverse relationship between GPA and Scheduling. As GPA increased the level of satisfaction with Scheduling decreased. As GPA increased the level of satisfaction with Scheduling decreased. Finally, results suggested participants in campus-based or face-to-face courses were more satisfied with clinical skills development than participants in online or blended courses. Finding from this study may be helpful to student affairs professionals, faculty, policymakers, administrators, Counselor educators, and others who are charged with the responsibilities of recruiting and retaining African American students.
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    Theoretical counseling orientation: an initial aspect of professional orientation and identity
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2010) Jackson, James Lloyd; Wilcoxon, S. Allen; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    The literature on counselor development suggests that the development of a professional identity is a fundamental aspect of counselor training. The unique demands placed on counselors to integrate aspects of both personal and professional identity into the therapeutic process (Skovholt & Ronnestad, 1995) make development of a professional identity a critical component of the training of counseling practitioners. An examination of the counselor development literature suggests that the processes of developing an integrated professional identity converge with the processes by which counseling students align with a theoretical orientation. Furthermore, the significant impact of theoretical orientation on clinical work suggests that the articulation of a personal theoretical orientation is an essential component of professional identity development for counselors. The current study examined how a graduate course emphasizing a review of counseling theories impacted the identity statuses of graduate counseling students from the beginning to the end of a semester. Participants were enrolled in a counselor education program accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Identity status was explored using the identity status model of James Marcia (1964) which consists of four identity statuses, Diffusion, Foreclosure, Moratorium, and Achievement. These statuses are based on the dimensions of Exploration and Commitment in Erik Erikson's (1950) fifth stage of psychosocial development, Identity vs. Identity Diffusion. Specifically, this study investigated how the process of articulating a theoretical orientation impacted levels of Exploration, Commitment, and the identity statuses of graduate students enrolled in coursework in counseling theories. Empirical evidence of counseling student development as an outcome of this curricular activity was examined through a single group pretest-posttest design using the Ego Identity Process Questionnaire (EIPQ), which was administered at the beginning (T1) and end (T2) of the theories coursework within a given semester. An analysis of Exploration mean scores, Commitment mean scores, and identity status categories found no statistically significant differences between the T1 and T2 administrations of the EIPQ. A discussion of the findings is included, with implications for counselor educators as well as recommendations for further research.