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Browsing by Author "Orsi, Rebecca, committee member"

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    Dispelling domestic violence myths among graduate social work students
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Wootan Merkling, Ariel, author; Quijano, Louise, advisor; Orsi, Rebecca, committee member; Kuk, Linda, committee member
    Numerous studies have found that graduate social work students are not adequately prepared to provide appropriate services and interventions for victims of domestic violence. Social Work graduate programs find themselves under intense pressure to provide quality education covering many topics in a relatively short amount of time. As a result, schools do not always offer semester length classes on domestic violence. This study seeks to fill a gap in the literature by studying the experiential learning activity In Her Shoes that is often used for community education in the context of graduate social work classes. Results suggest that providing time limited interventions on the topic of domestic violence has potential to reduce student acceptance of domestic violence myths. However, time limited interventions do not appear to be effective at increasing student sense of professional efficacy. Recommendations for additional research as well as increased curriculum content on the subject of domestic violence are also included.
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    Emotional intelligence: a qualitative study of the development of emotional intelligence of community college students enrolled in a leadership development program
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Blakely, Stevie Dawn, author; Strathe, Marlene, advisor; Anderson, Sharon, committee member; Peila-Shuster, Jackie, committee member; Orsi, Rebecca, committee member
    This is a qualitative study to explore the relationship between leadership development programs and emotional intelligence development in students. Research exists regarding the connection between emotional intelligence and academic achievement, but there is a lack of research concerning how to develop students’ emotional intelligence. This study provided research in this area. The researcher utilized the ESAP-A/B to calculate Emotional Intelligence growth, along with qualitative focus groups and one-on-one interviews. The data showed that students experience EI growth through leadership training programs. Students showed increased growth in the area of self-esteem, which students felt was due to being pushed outside of their comfort zone in the areas of public speaking and group communication. Qualitative data demonstrated that students felt the mandatory workshops, teamwork activities, and the experience of being a part of a cohort, were the three most impactful components of training. This research creates a foundation for further research into training best practices and encouraging EI growth in college students through leadership training programs.
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    Exploring foster and adoptive parent stressors and resources: a mixed method study
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Polly-Almanza, Abby Audrey, author; Barrett, Karen, advisor; Daunhauer, Lisa, committee member; Orsi, Rebecca, committee member
    At any given time over half a million children are in foster care and over 50,000 of these children are adopted each year in the United States. The majority of these children have been exposed to trauma. Parents may not have the resources needed to effectively parent their foster/adoptive children and the experience of parenting a child with a significant trauma history may be stressful. In the current study, we conducted 8 focus groups with 25 foster and adoptive families to learn more about the relationship between child behavior and parenting stress and whether resources moderate this relationship. Secondly, we explored parent resources through qualitative analysis. Results indicated emotion symptoms and conduct problems respectively, resources, and their interaction significantly predicted total parenting stress. Moreover, both emotion symptoms and conduct problems variables significantly predicted total parenting stress but these effects were not moderated by support. Parents reported trainings and social support were generally helpful but that other supports such as respite, positive relationships with schools, and helpful professionals were important. Parents expressed frustration over a lack of resources after initial foster parent training or adoption, negative interactions with professionals, and judgement from friends and family. The current study suggests a need for larger studies on the types of support that would be most helpful to this population, as well as how support fits into the space between child behavior and parent stress in, order to create effective interventions for this population.
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    Parent-child interactive processes in early childhood: implications for vulnerable families
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Kemp, Christine, author; Lunkenheimer, Erika, advisor; MacPhee, David, committee member; Zimmerman, Toni, committee member; Orsi, Rebecca, committee member
    The current studies examined the relation between family risk and parent-child interactive processes during early childhood. Study 1 used a cumulative risk model to examine how child maltreatment (CM) risk related to mother-child rupture and repair processes at age three (N=138 dyads). Rupture and repair were assessed using dynamic systems-based modelling of second-by-second behavioral patterns during a mother-child problem-solving task. Group-based analyses indicated that high- and low-risk families did not differ in the frequency of their repairs or the average time taken to repair a dyadic rupture. In both groups children were more likely to rupture than mothers and mothers were quicker to repair than children. Survival analyses indicated that higher risk predicted less time-to-event for mother ruptures (e.g., higher risk predicted quicker mother ruptures) but was not related to time-to-event for child rupture, child repair, or mother repair. Study 2 examined effects of mother and father psychopathology on parent-child repair and flexibility during a problem-solving task at age three (N=25 families). Actor Partner Interdependence Models (APIM; Kenny et al., 2006) were used. Results indicated that father-child dyads were significantly quicker to repair their ruptures than mother-child dyads. Contrary to hypotheses, results indicated no significant actor effects for parental psychopathology on repair proportion, repair speed, or flexibility. These studies highlighted the utility of analyzing moment-to-moment interaction patterns between parents and young children as well as the importance of taking a systemic and comprehensive assessment of family risk.