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The Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Female Survivors’ Quality of Life: Exploring the Roles of Shame and Dissociation
Full text linkIntimate partner violence (IPV) is a form of violence that consists of physical, sexual, psychological, and financial abuse, as well as manipulation and control by a romantic partner (World Health Organization, 2013). IPV can have a profound impact on many aspects of life, including psychological health, with many survivors experiencing high levels of shame and dissociation. Both shame and dissociation are disengagement coping strategies that individuals may utilize in the face of abuse from a trusted individual like a romantic partner, as illustrated in Betrayal Trauma Theory (Freyd, 1996). Though the use of shame and dissociation as disengagement coping strategies may protect survivors during active abuse, over time these can become longstanding responses to distress and lead to detrimental effects on survivors’ health and functioning (Snyder & Pulvers, 2001). Additionally, shame and dissociation may influence how survivors interact with others and engage in the world around them. Shame and dissociation have been negatively associated with quality of life (QOL) in trauma samples (Jackley, 2001; Panisch et al., 2022; Persons et al., 2010). The current study extends available literature by examining the direct and indirect impacts of IPV on QOL. The sample was comprised of 595 help-seeking women who had experienced IPV; the sample ranged from 18 to 75 in age (Mage = 36.63, SD = 12.15). Participants identified their race as white (47.5%), Black (40.1%), Hispanic (3.4%), Asian (1.4%), Indian (0.2%), Native American (0.3%), and other (6.4%). The Conflict Tactics Scale-2 was used to assess frequency of IPV exposure. The Internal Shame Scale was used to examine intensity of shame while the Dissociative Experiences Scale was used to assess the frequency of dissociative symptoms. The Quality of Life Inventory was used to measure overall quality of life as well as subdomains including achievement, self-expression, environment, and interpersonal relationships. Parallel mediation models were performed via Mplus v8 to examine the direct and indirect relationships between IPV, shame, and dissociation on overall QOL and on each unique QOL subdomain. Results indicated that IPV was significantly, positively associated with shame and that greater levels of shame were associated with lower levels of QOL. Shame partially intermediated the relationship between IPV and QOL. These findings were replicated across all four QOL subdomains. No significant associations regarding dissociation were found. Results support that shame plays a significant, intermediating role between IPV and QOL. Further, the current findings indicate an expansive impact of IPV on survivors’ wellbeing and functioning. Results are considered in light of previous research as well as the theoretical postulates of Betrayal Trauma Theory. Clinical and research implications are discussed
Family perspective on the opioid crisis: a qualitative exploration of responsibility, prevention, and treatment access
Full text linkABSTRACT The opioid epidemic has inflicted a terrible toll on communities and families across the United States for decades. Family members with loved ones who misuse opioids have an especially intimate view of the initiation and progression of addiction, as well as the factors that lead to recovery. Perspectives from this population are underrepresented in the literature and may provide unique and valuable insight. The present research draws from in-depth interviews with twenty-seven individuals whose loved ones (i.e., children, spouses, siblings, etc.) either currently or historically had misused opioids. This study explored family members’ experiences and perspectives on key topics in the struggle to contain the crisis, including the causal factors and responsible parties for the opioid epidemic, avenues for opioid misuse prevention, and the barriers and facilitators to treatment. To capture the complexity of factors associated with these subjects, analysis was framed around the social-ecological method. In the first paper, which examines perspectives on responsibility for the opioid crisis, participants broadly acknowledge the culpability of the pharmaceutical industry while also maintaining that the medical community held some responsibility. A few participants maintained the perspective that people who use opioids are solely responsible for their own actions, regardless of other factors. Perspectives on effective strategies for prevention were focused more on community and interpersonal factors including strong relationships and good communication skills within families, and honest educational efforts in diverse community venues, so that the public develops an accurate and non-stigmatized understanding of addiction. Finally, exploration into treatment access revealed not just the hard facts of geographic and financial barriers, but important points about personal motivation, family enablement, and appropriate modalities of treatment, which vary for each individual. Each of the three studies contribute valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and recovery advocates. Overall, this research illustrates the importance of including the voices and views of family members impacted by the opioid epidemic in the ongoing effort to end the crisis
EXPLORING FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO STUDENTS\u27 PERSISTENCE IN UNDERGRADUATE BIOLOGY PROGRAMS
No full textSeveral factors influence persistence in STEM programs. However, without a deep understanding of students\u27 experiences, identifying the specific factors that contribute to their success or departure can be challenging. By investigating students enrolled in the undergraduate biology program at the University of Memphis, I have gained valuable insights into the several factors that impact academic success. This mixed method study first explores how students\u27 metacognition develops and how students\u27 engagement in metacognition can contribute to student s final grades and later explores how Black student\u27s experiences in biology can contribute to persistence, and the impact of a formative assessment assignment on students\u27 science identity. In the first study, I conducted case studies to explore how students\u27 metacognitive abilities evolve as they progress through their biology major. Findings showed that, as students\u27 progress through the major, their metacognition gradually increases due to being able to make connections based on their experiences and knowledge from other courses during the major. In the second study, I investigated how students\u27 metacognitive skills correlated with their final grades in General Biology I and Evolution—the first and last courses biology majors typically take. Findings from this study showed that students\u27 ability to regulate their metacognition contributed to the type of study strategies students chose which overall affected their final grades. The third study emerged from questions raised during the first two studies. I explored the factors that influence Black students’ decisions to either persist in or change their biology major. Findings from this study showed how students overcame challenges that led them to persist. Findings also elaborated on obstacles that have pushed Black students away from pursuing a biology major. In the fourth study, I examined the impact of a Scientist Spotlight assignment on students\u27 science identity in a biology course. Findings from this study showed that providing students with more exposure to role models in science can positively affect how they see themselves in science. Overall, this body of work emphasizes the importance of students\u27 engaging in metacognition, Black students\u27 experiences as they navigate a biology program, and how a formative assessment assignment can contribute to students\u27 science identity are critical factors influencing academic success
An Examination of the Unique Characteristics of Black Women in Childcare Who Teach In the Communities in Which They Live
Full text linkBlack women have been the pillar of early childhood education since 1619. Today, Black women continue to be a vital part of the early childhood education workforce in the United States. Unfortunately, while Black women are overrepresented in the early childhood education field, as teachers, they are often unrepresented in decision-making policies in the field. Black women childcare teachers are among the lowest paid workers in the early education sector and they are thusly unrepresented when it comes to equalizing compensation, creating pipelines for childcare teacher advancement, and access to classroom resources. While there is much research on the racist history behind Black women in childcare, there is a gap in educational research elevating the voices of Black women childcare teachers who teach and live in the same community. Using sociocultural theory, this qualitative case study examined the unique characteristics that four Black women childcare teachers bring to early childhood teaching in the communities where they live and work. Furthermore, the study explicated how these characteristics informed the women’s teaching practices as holders of the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. Through a series of sixty-minute interviews, the study captured the stories of these four Black women childcare teachers. The findings of this study indicated that Black women childcare teachers who teach and reside in the same community bring meaningful characteristics to the field of early childhood education and their communities. The data revealed the following characteristics to be unique and influential in the teaching styles of these Black women teachers: a connection between mothering and educator; commitment to community; rooted in community, not scholarly context; and from CDA to decolonization
Graduate School Blog - July 2025 volume 1
Full text linkThe July 2025 UofM Graduate School Blog – Volume 1 continues the Cost of Graduate School Guide with a deep dive into hidden and variable expenses such as residency-based tuition differences, program-specific fees, and differential tuition. The blog provides practical tips for prospective students on how to ask the right financial questions when comparing programs. It also features a student spotlight on Billy Brooks, a dual MHA/MBA candidate motivated to transform healthcare access and equity. Upcoming events include a Virtual Fall 2025 Open House with Financial Aid and USBS, a Dissertation Writers Retreat, and both in-person and virtual Graduate Student Orientations. Rounding out the edition are vibrant summer happenings in Memphis, including the 3rd Annual Asian Night Market and the Peabody Rooftop Parties highlighting the city’s unique cultural energy and community spirit
Amateur Athletes\u27 Psychological Experiences of Participation-Altering and Participation-Ending Injuries
Full text linkInjury is a common occurrence among athletes, and research indicates that when athletes experience an injury, they frequently experience negative psychological consequences. Most of the literature related to the psychological impact of injury centers around higher-level (i.e., professional, college, and elite) athletes, with limited literature for amateur athletes who also experience injury. More specifically, there is also sparse scholarship examining the psychological impact of moderate and severe injuries for amateur athletes that experience them. Considering the gaps in the literature, the current study examined the psychological impact of participation-altering and participation-ending injuries in amateur athletes (N = 177), while also asking about amateur athletes’ desires for accessing mental health treatment following injury, their perceptions of that treatment, and reasons for not seeking treatment. Results indicated that amateur athletes who reported moderate or severe injuries experienced psychological distress, ranging from little to no distress to moderate distress following injury, with frustration, anxiety, depression, loss of control, and anger being the categories having the highest distress levels. Correlational analyses demonstrated a moderately strong relationship between level of athletic identity and level of distress following participation-altering or participation-ending injury. Results showed that most amateur athletes that experienced a moderate or severe injury did not seek counseling following their injuries. There were five relevant themes as to why participants did not seek counseling following injury. These themes were: counseling was not perceived as necessary, stigma, fear/shame, cost, and lack of time. The results of this study confirm that like their more elite colleagues, amateur athletes also endorse moderate levels of athletic identity that are associated with distress when they have to reduce their athletic participation. Amateur athletes that did seek psychological assistance following injury most frequently sought help from physical therapists, mental health counselors, and coaches. It is recommended that those individuals most likely to work with injured amateur athletes consider how they might also address some of the psychological distress their clients are experiencing. Future studies may also look to utilize a mixed-methods approach to further understand why amateur athletes’ that experience moderate or severe injuries are seldomly seeking help for the psychological impact of injury and how treatment can be improved
Random Number Generators for Computer Simulation and Cyber Security: Design, Search, Theory, and Application
No full textFinite Fields; Linear Congruential Generators; Multiple Recursive Generators; Non-linear Methods; Primitive Polynomial; Secure Random Number Generators; Spectral Tes
Do Mergers Drive SMBH-Galaxy Coevolution? Comparison of Feeding and Feedback in Single and Dual AGN
Full text linkWhile super massive black holes (SMBHs) are known to exist at the center of all massive galaxies, we have yet to understand the processes by which gas flows from kpc scales to within pcs of the SMBH, thereby accreting and triggering an active galactic nucleus (AGN). Additionally, while AGN-driven feedback in the form of kpc-scale winds and jets is induced to explain the observed excess quenching of star-formation, the mechanisms of AGN-driven feedback and its relevance compared to star-formation-driven feedback are not well understood. AGN feeding and feedback are instrumental to SMBH-galaxy coevolution, and determining the processes involved is imperative for understanding how SMBHs have grown throughout cosmic history, the regulation of star formation, the incidence of AGN in the local universe, and the population of supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) that can emit gravitational waves observable by gravitational wave experiments such as NANOGrav and LISA. Therefore, I present an analysis of the drivers of AGN fueling and the mechanisms involved in AGN feedback to better understand the SMBH-galaxy connection. Markarian 266 (a galaxy merger containing dual AGN) is studied via high-resolution integral field unit (IFU) spectroscopy assisted with adaptive optics (AO), enabling a characterization of mechanisms driving AGN fueling at sub-kpc scales and an AGN-driven outflow in the southwest nucleus. The same techniques are applied to AGN in the isolated galaxies NGC 4388 and NGC 4151, revealing a helical outflow in NGC 4388 possibly driven by a SMBHB and a molecular gas torus in NGC 4151. To provide further context, machine learning techniques are applied to the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database Local Volume Sample (NED LVS) to detect AGN, enabling a more complete estimation of the AGN fraction in the local universe. Additionally, NED LVS AGN are used to evaluate the completeness of traditional AGN detection methods at infrared and optical wavelengths (WISE colors and optical emission line diagnostics). These methods are then used to characterize both known AGN and the AGN candidates predicted by machine learning models. Results suggest that the local AGN fraction may be as high as 20% and that many AGN are undetected by WISE colors and emission line diagnostics due to obscuration
Residence of Harry P. Johnson
No full texthttps://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/picturing-memphis-images/1018/thumbnail.jp
First Baptist Church
No full texthttps://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/picturing-memphis-images/1027/thumbnail.jp