Theses and Dissertations from UMD
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
Browse
5 results
Search Results
Item LGBTQ Community Belonging and Involvement as Predictors of Sexual Minorities' Well-Being(2021) Burrows, Michael; Mohr, Jonathan J; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Sexual minorities (SM; i.e., lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and asexual+) experience high rates of discrimination and stigma, which account for mental health disparities based on sexual orientation (Cochran, 2001; Meyer, 2003). A growing body of research suggests that LGBTQ community may be a source of resilience. This thesis examines two ways that SM can interact with and experience LGBTQ community: LGBTQ community belonging (a subjective sense of belonging or being a part of LGBTQ community; Frost & Meyer, 2012; Puckett et al., 2015) and community involvement (engagement in LGBTQ nightlife, social clubs, politics, and community sports; Foster-Gimbel et al., 2020).Across two time points over an approximately 6.5 week period, 171 SM completed surveys assessing LGBTQ community belonging and community involvement, psychological well-being (depression, anxiety, loneliness, positive affect, and satisfaction with life), perceived social support, and internalized stigma. Analyses focused on (a) relations between community variables (belonging and involvement) and well-being over time, and (b) the potential mediating roles of social support and internalized stigma in these relations. Most hypothesized relations between community variables and future well-being did not emerge. However, results supported associations between community involvement and future satisfaction with life, even after controlling for LGBTQ community belonging. Results also suggested that specific types of community involvement related in unique ways to facets of well-being in the future. Results did not support any of the hypothesized mediated relationships.Item THE ROLE OF DEMOGRAPHIC, PRE-COLLEGE, AND INVOLVEMENT FACTORS ON POSTSECONDARY ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS: FINDINGS FROM A NATIONAL STUDY.(2009) Thomas, Isaiah Jerome; Komives, Susan R; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study explored whether factors, such as demographic characteristics, pre-college academic achievement (measured by self-reported high school grade point average), and college involvement have an influence on the postsecondary academic achievement of first-generation college students as measured by self-reported college grade point average. This study addressed first-generation college students who attend a four-year institution. This exploration used Astin's (1970; 1993) inputs-environments-outcomes model as a theoretical framework and utilized multiple regression for statistical analysis. The findings showed that the four blocks in the study explained approximately 12.4% of the variance of postsecondary academic achievement. Specifically, demographic characteristics and pre-college academic achievement explained the majority of the variance of postsecondary academic achievement. This study's findings cautiously offer practical implications for higher education administrators and researchers.Item Leadership Self Efficacy for College Students with a Learning Disability(2008-05-05) Fincher, Justin; Komives, Susan R; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis explored the pre-college and college factors that contribute to the outcome of leadership efficacy for college students with a learning disability, an area with little prior research. Data from 717 undergraduate students who identified a learning disability on the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership were used for this study. Five hypotheses were tested using the Input-Environment-Outcome model as an organizing framework and multiple regression as the statistical method. The study's model explained 47.2% of the observed variance in leadership efficacy with both campus climate and the pre-test for leadership efficacy serving as positive predictors. Negative predictors of the model included students who were Asian/Asian American as well as students who were employed off campus. Several other independent variables had moderate predictive ability, and seven out of eleven blocks in the model explained a significant proportion of the variance. This study's findings offer suggestions for practitioners and researchers.Item The Relationship of Lesbian and Gay Identity Development and Involvement in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Student Organizations(2005-06-03) Lynch, John Wiley; Lucas, Margaretha; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study investigated the relationship between gay and lesbian identity development and involvement in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organizations. Eighty nine undergraduate and graduate students who self identified as gay, lesbian, or questioning were surveyed at a large, mid-Atlantic, state university. The Gay and Lesbian Identity Questionnaire (Revised) (Fassinger, 2001a; Fassinger, 2001b) was used to measure identity development. An instrument was created to measure involvement. No significant relationship was found between identity development and level of involvement. However, it was found that participants with more integrated identities showed a preference for support and social type organizations over education and cultural organizations. There were also significant relationships between age, coming out, and gay and lesbian identity development. Implications for theory and practice and directions for future research were examined.Item The Relationship of Fall 2001 Traumatic Events and the Retention and Involvement of First-Year Students(2005-05-18) Hiscock, Joshua Ian; Komives, Susan R; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis sought to determine the relationship of a series of traumatic events occurring in Fall 2001, specifically the events on September 11th and a local tornado, as measured by the Impact of Events Scale - Revised (Weiss & Marmar, 1997), with the retention and involvement of first-year students from the University of Maryland class entering in Fall 2001 who resided in the Denton residence hall community. This study measured differences in the two key variables - retention and involvement - between the class entering in Fall 2000 as compared to the class entering in Fall 2001. Data for this study was collected from the University's Beginning Student Survey, and from a survey administered to a random sample of students who resided in the Denton community in Fall 2001.