Browsing by Subject "hope"
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Item Belief systems and patient care: An examination of the relationship between nurse religiosity and end-of-life care(2007-07-23) Dana Bjarnason; Alice T. Hill; Suzanne S. Prevost; Regina P. Lederman; Michele A. Carter; Carolyn A. PhillipsMuch has been written about nurses’ responsibility to support patients’ spiritual needs. A plethora of literature explores patient religiosity and its effect on their approach and/or response to health care issues. Interestingly, there is little literature that explores the influence that healthcare providers’ religiosity has on the care they deliver to patients. This dissertation examines the relationship between nurses’ religiosity, their perceived self-efficacy, and the importance they place on aspects of care provided to patients at the end of life. This research was intended to provide a foundation for the future exploration of the importance of understanding the relationship of healthcare providers’ religiosity on other aspects of patient-centered care. This study further supports the body of literature that suggests that end-of-life care is complex and multidimensional. It presents findings that show significant relationships between religiosity, self-efficacy, and the importance that nurses’ report regarding end-of-life care and raises questions about the relationships between religiosity and perceived self-efficacy, and importance that nurses' report regarding end-of-life care. The study has shown that there are differences in nurses’ self-efficacy and the importance they place on aspects of end-of-life care that are based on years of nursing experience and belief systems. Finally, it shows the need for ongoing research that investigates aspects of nursing and end-of-life care.Item Exploring direct and indirect antecedents of self-reported ecological behaviors(2012-05-12) Weber, Alisa; Weber, Alisa Jeannette; Stenmark, Cheryl; Schell, Kraig; Cordell-McNulty, Kristi; Purkiss, Christine; Angelo State University. Department of Psychology, Sociology and Social Work.The current study examined the direct and indirect antecedents of participation in ecological behavior. Specifically, it was hypothesized that promotion and prevention orientation would both significantly predict ecological behavior, and that hope and optimism would partially mediate these relationships. The results revealed that a promotion orientation significantly predicted pro-social behavior, but the hypothesized mediation was not significant. However, post-hoc analyses revealed that hope predicted pro-social behavior and that the relationship was mediated by a promotion orientation. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are also discussed.Item Hope as a Strategy for Improving Student Achievement and Dissuading Repeat Pregnancy in Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents(2011-08-08) McNeill, Elisa HutsonThis dissertation examines the construct of hope and its ability to be taught to pregnant and parenting adolescents as a strategy to improve academic achievement and dissuade repeat adolescent pregnancy. A systemic review of the literature examined fourteen (n=14) empirical studies to ascertain if a relationship existed between achievement and the construct of hope. With 92% of the studies reporting a positive correlation between hope and achievement, one can answer yes to the question of an existing relationship between hope and achievement. A manuscript is presented to summarize the development and implementation of a curriculum, designed to develop requisite skills among adolescent mothers to elevate their levels of hope. The Helping Optimize Planning Efforts (HOPE) curriculum presents specific methods for adolescent mothers to enhance skills related to goal setting, goal attainment and the use of positive self-talk as a mechanism for developing hope or increasing existing levels of hope. The study attempted to assess the ability of the HOPE curriculum to enhance the adolescent mother?s level of hope with the underlying assumption that increasing levels of hope might decrease the probability of a repeat adolescent pregnancy. Findings suggested there was a significant difference in the scores for the Dispositional Trait Hope Scale (DTHS) pre-test (M = 68.5, SD = 7.0) and the DTHS post-test scores (M = 73.2, SD = 5.61) (t(11) = 3.18, p = .009) indicating an increase in global hope. A significant difference was also found in between the State Hope Scale (SHS) pre-test scores (M = 39.0, SD = 4.84) and SHS post-test scores (M = 41.5, SD = 5.21) (t(11) = 4.19, p = .002) indicating an increase in the students point in time level of hope. The evaluation of the curriculum indicated that adolescent mothers can be taught to increase their levels of hope using the HOPE curriculum. Data collected during the evaluation of the HOPE curriculum was further analyzed to identify the constructs that contribute to the building of hope in adolescent mothers. The data suggests that two distinct components, agency and pathway, contribute to increase the level of hope. Examination of the subscales within the DTHS, showed there was a significant difference between the pre-test agency (M = 25.42, SD = 5.81) and the post-test agency scores (M = 27.85, SD = 3.65) (t(11) = 2.83, p = .017). Also, among the DTHS pathway subscale, a significant difference was found between the scores on the pre-test (M = 25.08, SD = 3.58) and the post-test score (M = 26.67, SD = 2.35) (t(11) = 2.22, p = .048). These findings suggest that the increased level of hope on the DTHS for was a reflection of the improvements in components, agency and pathway. These findings suggests that adolescent mothers can be taught to be more hopeful when the components of agency and pathway are developed.Item Life Experiences and Resilience in College Students: A Relationship Influenced by Hope and Mindfulness(2010-01-16) Collins, Amy B.This study examines the effects of hope and mindfulness on the relationship between life experiences and resilience, as well as the direct relationships among these constructs. Participants were 537 undergraduates who were taking online courses at Texas A&M University. Most participants were traditionally-aged and female. Quantitative self-report measures for each construct were administered online via SurveyMonkey. The small, positive relationship between life events and resilience approached, but did not reach, statistical significance, and hope but not mindfulness was found to moderate this relationship. Correlations were significant, positive, and linear between resilience and hope (r = .57, p < .01), resilience and mindfulness (r = .50, p less than .01), and hope and mindfulness (r = .44, p less than .01). Suggestions for clinical interventions aimed at increasing resilience by increasing hope and mindfulness are providedItem Longitudinal analysis of the relationship of existential meaning with depression and hope(Texas A&M University, 2006-10-30) Mascaro, NathanAlthough researchers are now able to assess reliably the variable of existential meaning, quality longitudinal investigations of meaning's relationship with specific clinical variables are scarce. The author conceptualizes existential meaning as a composite of personal, spiritual, and implicit meaning. These latter three variables are, respectively, the experience of one's particular life as having purpose and coherence, experiencing a transcendent or spiritual presence from which one derives a sense of unique purpose, and manifesting attitudes and behavior that are normatively valued. Utilizing a sample of 395 male and female undergraduates and employing the framework subscale of the Life Regard Index-Revised (LRI-R-framework), the Spiritual Meaning Scale (SMS), and the Personal Meaning Profile (PMP) to measure personal, spiritual, and implicit meaning, respectively, the author explored existential meaning's relationship over time with depressive symptoms (as measured with the Beck Depression Inventory-II, depression scale of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, and depression scale of the Personality Assessment Inventory) and hope (as measured with the Herth Hope Scale, the Adult State Hope Scale, and the Beck Hopelessness Scale). A latent cross-lagged panel analysis of the relationship between meaning and depression over 2 one-month time periods indicated that meaning exerted unidirectional influence on depression, with decreases in meaning leading to increases in depressive symptoms. Additionally, hierarchical regression analysis showed that individuals with low levels of existential meaning were more likely than those with higher meaning levels to experience increased symptoms of depression in response to increased stress levels. Because the newly developed SMS (appended to this paper) was the only meaning measure exhibiting sufficient discriminant validity with regard to hope, only the SMS was entered in cross-lagged panel analysis measuring its relationship to hope over the 2 one-month periods of time, with results indicating that spiritual meaning and hope reciprocally influence one another. Existential meaning seems appropriately conceptualized as a construct consisting of personal, spiritual, and implicit components. Because this construct can be assessed reliably and may play a role in the etiology and alleviation of depressive symptoms, the author calls for increased research within clinical settings on methods for optimizing individuals' levels of existential meaning.Item Ripples of Hope: Women of African Descent Emerging into Adulthood and the Performance of Hope(2013-05-06) Kelly, Brandy NicolleRipples of Hope is a transdisciplinary project combining the social and political history of leisure, Black feminist/womanist thought, and performance and youth development theories. This project investigates the perception, portrayal, and performance of hope from a cultural lens using narrative and performance analysis. Interview and photovoice data were collected from 12 young women in their early 20?s, emerging into adulthood. Each of the participants was born in the United States, identify as Black or African American and participated in an exploratory qualitative study in 2007-2008 entitled The HerDentity Project. Entering into the second decade of the prolific use of Hope Theory, this study illuminates the complexity and intersectionality of race, gender, age, and nationality in understanding five defining dimensions, performative spaces, and portrayals of hope. This project adds to the current body of literature on hope by exploring hope from a cultural context. In addition this project utilizes ethnodrama to highlight the important use of cultural products of performance in youth development and leisure practice.Item The experience of . . . suspense: understanding the construct, its antecedents, and its consequences in consumption and acquisition contexts(Texas A&M University, 2005-02-17) Guidry, Julie Anna?Will my flight be cancelled?? ?Will I win the eBay auction?? These consumption and product acquisition situations would trigger the experience of . . . suspense. Suspense is defined as the overall anticipatory arousal associated with the hope and/or fear felt by a consumer assessing the likelihood of occurrence of an important and imminent consumption or acquisition event. If one views a potential outcome as causing pleasure (an approach appraisal), hope will be felt, while if one views a potential outcome as causing pain (an avoidance appraisal), fear will be felt. Other variables expected to indirectly impact suspense are frequency of probability change, degree of probability change and anticipation time. The conceptual model in this dissertation also proposes that people have an attitude toward the anticipation period and identifies four resolution emotions, satisfaction, disappointment, relief, and anguish, which may occur once the outcome is known. Further, attitude toward anticipation period and the resolution emotions are expected to affect attitude toward overall experience. Three studies were conducted. The objective of Studies 1 and 2 was to develop scales yielding reliable scores of hope, fear, and suspense. Fifty words related to hope, fear, and suspense were generated. In Study 1, 553 participants rated the words on the evaluative and activity dimensions using 18 semantic differential scale items. O-technique factor analysis was used to analyze the data in Study 1. In Study 2, 354 participants read one of three suspenseful stories, then indicated their hope, fear, and suspense. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used in Study 2. Study 3 consisted of an experiment in which 241 participants read a suspenseful house-buying scenario, then indicated their hope, fear, and suspense. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data in Study 3. Results supported the conceptualization of suspense: both hope and fear had a positive effect on suspense. Additionally, approach appraisal had a positive effect on hope, and avoidance appraisal had a positive effect on fear. The moderating effect of frequency of probability change was not supported. However, frequency of probability change did have a positive effect on both hope and fear.