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Technological Impact on Relationship Formation, Maintenance, Communication, and Satisfaction: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Dyadic Lived Experiences of Couples Who Met Online
No full textThe increased prevalence of online relationship initiation reflects a shift from traditional face-to-face relationship formation and maintenance to courtship practices that rely primarily on digital communication. Limited information is available on relationships initiated online highlights the need to explore how these relationships develop. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of married couples who initiated their relationship online and understand the impact, if any, of computer mediated communication on relationship initiation, progression, communication, and satisfaction. Ten married couples who initiated their relationship online were recruited to share their lived experiences with the phenomenon. This study presented five research questions: a) What are the lived experiences of couples who initiated their relationship online? b) How do couples who initiated their relationship online perceive partner interaction and relationship progression over time? c) How do relationships that begin online progress from initiation to committed long-term relationships? d) How do their lived experiences conform to, diverge from, or possibly challenge current theoretical conceptions related to traditional relationship formation? and e) How does online dating/long-term experiences influence MFT practice in working with couples who initiated their relationship online? Employing interpretative phenomenological data analysis, four essential themes emerged: (a) Who “we” are; (b) What “we” are doing; (c) How “we” got here; (d) What we overcame and; (e) How “we” fit in. This study was informed by a combined framework of Couple and Family Technology (CFT) and Social Information Processing Theory (SIPT). Participants described relationship processes and the critical nature of communication and technology, and the interplay between them. The findings have research and clinical implications, emphasizing the need to revisit and redefine existing models of relationship initiation and progression for relationships initiated online
Shame, blame, and systemic chains: The binds of men’s mental health
No full textMen’s mental health persists as a underrecognized health issue, as global suicide rates often exceeding those of women. This disparity raises critical questions about the circumstances that affect help-seeking behaviours and accessing mental health services amongst men. Existing research and discourse frequently individualize responsibility while overlooking systemic anchors such as socialization, institutional bias, and broader cultural norms that perpetuates shame and blame. These dominant narratives, often rooted in patriarchal and neoliberal ideals, construct masculinity around traits such as self-reliance, stoicism, and emotional restriction. In turn, influences both men’s behaviours and society’s responses to their mental health. Stigma, restrictive gender norms, and structural inequalities are reinforced across familial, peer, educational, workplace, and help-providing contexts, where even supportive settings may act as barriers to help-seeking. Gender alone cannot account for these disparities as intersectionality and social determinants of health impact one’s capacity to access support. Recommendations are offered at individual, community and systemic levels, emphasizing reflective, gender-sensitive and transformative approaches. Counsellors, school programs, and community initiatives can provide gender-informed care while amplifying diverse masculinities and questioning ideals of masculinity. Addressing systemic issues requires systemic change through ongoing advocacy to challenge harmful narratives surrounding masculinity, self-efficiency, and mental wellbeing that stigmatizes men’s emotional expression and vulnerability
The Benefits of Movement and Physical Activity in School Counselling: Addressing Mental and Physical Health Problems
No full textThis capstone project aims to promote healthier, more active lifestyles among elementary-aged children by addressing the growing concerns around sedentary behaviour and screen time. The project focuses on increasing movement opportunities within and outside the school setting and explores how physical activity can be effectively integrated into elementary school counselling practices. In addition, the capstone seeks to educate students, families, school personnel, and counsellors about the physical, mental, and emotional implications of prolonged inactivity. This project aspires to lay the foundation for lifelong wellness and a sustained commitment to active living by encouraging children to discover and pursue physical activities they enjoy
Chapter 8: A guide for qualitative researchers using Large Language Models with representative examples using ChatGPT
No full textArmstrong, A. & Gale, A. J. (2025). Chapter 8. A guide for qualitative researchers using Large Language Models with representative examples using ChatGPT. In C.A. Prokopis (Ed.), Artificial Intelligence (AI) in social research. United Kingdom: CABI https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/9781800626607.0000On November 30, 2022, ChatGPT, an AI chatbot, was released to the public, transforming an enigmatic tool into accessible software as a service. This sparked immediate debates among academicians about AI’s impact on various facets of society, including academia, technology, economics, politics, and the environment. As discussions continue, AI is anticipated to significantly influence 21st-century life. Current literature on AI often emphasizes ethics, trust, bias, fairness, diversity, equity, inclusion, and privacy, yet lacks guidelines for qualitative researchers using AI in studies. This chapter, using ChatGPT as a representative of various Large Language Model (LLM) tools, outlines a framework for integrating AI into qualitative research, divided into six phases. These phases cover skills in questioning AI, understanding biases, transparency in AI use, problem-based research, shaping research purposes, and employing AI for data collection and analysis. Examples and transparency regarding ChatGPT's role in the chapter's creation are provided, offering both theoretical and practical guidance for qualitative researchers
Pegs and Paradoxes: A Cultural Review of Alcohol Use in the Punjabi-Sikh Community
Get PDFThis capstone aims to fill this gap by exploring the factors that lead to addiction, identifying barriers to treatment from the community’s perspective, and proposing culturally appropriate support strategies to foster community involvement in addressing alcohol addiction. This paper’s theoretical framework is centred on developing a culturally sensitive understanding of alcohol use from a Punjabi-Sikh perspective, integrating biopsychosocial factors to comprehend addiction, its complex influences, and culturally appropriate interventions. This literature review used a comprehensive and thematic approach to examine alcohol use within the Punjabi-Sikh community, emphasizing cultural, religious, and social factors that influence drinking behaviours and access to support. Over time, there has been an increase in Punjabi counsellors, but their numbers remain far fewer than those of white counsellors. To effectively serve the Punjabi community, current counsellors may need to enhance their understanding of Punjabi culture, its relationship with the Sikh religion, and how these aspects coexist within the broader Canadian cultural context
Neurobiological and Neuropsychological Deep Endophenotypes of Behavioral Response Inhibition: RDoC Empirical and Mathematical AI Feature Engineering
Get PDFImpulsivity and behavioral response inhibition represent core transdiagnostic constructs in behavioral neuroscience and translational psychiatry, central to ADHD, autism, borderline personality disorder, and schizophrenia. Despite decades of research, the literature fails to adequately characterize cognitive control dimensionality, limiting differential diagnosis and precision psychiatry. This quantitative Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) study discriminated and dimensionalized neurobiological and neuropsychological endophenotypes through deep phenotyping, guided by Barkley's inhibitory deficit theory, to enable computational neuroscience applications. 480 adults (of 6,603 participants) completed the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Go/No-Go Task (GNG), and Stop Signal Task (SST). Participants were dichotomized into high and low trait motor impulsivity (MI) groups. MANOVA examined group differences across nine cognitive control variables. Cook's influential outlier analysis enhanced statistical power, while cross-model convergent analysis identified optimal deep endophenotype combinations for artificial intelligence (AI) machine learning feature engineering. Results demonstrated significant multivariate WCST effects, p = .009, partial η² = .024, with marginal significance after influential outlier removal, p = .063, partial η² = .018; significant multivariate GNG effects, p = .008, partial η² = .028, with practically significant SST effects, p = .019, partial η² = .024. Cross-model convergent analysis identified three optimal decomposed endophenotype candidates (WCST non-perseverative errors [NPE], GNG commission errors [CE], SST stop signal reaction time [SSRT]) for discriminating MI groups, p < .001, partial η² = .040. A reaction time threshold discovery revealed high MI individuals achieve optimal GNG CE minimization significantly faster (558ms/high-MI vs. 625ms/low-MI), challenging conventional intervention approaches by suggesting strategies based on speed-accuracy optimization. WCST findings also discriminated motor and choice impulsivity subtypes through preserved perseverative responses (PR), suggesting intact caudate nucleus function while revealing MI-specific prefrontal dysfunction. This computational and behavioral neuroscience study successfully validated deep decomposed endophenotype candidates, resolving measurement problems in impulsivity research, providing empirical support for RDoC latent variable approaches. Findings enable neurocomputational modeling applications including machine learning, deep learning, and digital twins for behavioral phenotype assessment in computational psychiatry. Future research should validate these endophenotype (neurophenotype) candidates across independent samples, expand to genetic and neuroimaging studies, and develop neurocomputational AI models for personalized psychiatric interventions
Grieving the Living and the Lost: Sibling Experiences With Drug-Related Deaths
No full textDrug-related deaths (DRDs) continue to be at an all-time high. The increase in these deaths leaves many family members bereaved. Although research in the field of death studies may explore these losses, the bereavement experiences of siblings following a DRD remain under-researched in comparison to other areas of bereavement research. This capstone project aims to explore what shapes siblings' experiences following a DRD by exploring the intersection of ambiguous loss, anticipatory grief, stigma, and disenfranchised grief through a thematic literature review
Effects of Digital Screen Exposure on Increased Rates of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms in Children Between the Ages of 3 and 12
No full textAs technological integration continues to increase into our daily lives, there are many factors that are impacted. Technology assisted learning tools such as mobile devices, smartboards, laptops, tablets and virtual laboratories have modified education in schools and institutions (Haleem et al., 2022). Concurrently, digital screen exposure occurs at younger ages, with nearly all Canadian children using a digital screen device by the age of two (Ponti, 2022). Alongside this trend, global rates of ADHD symptoms and diagnoses in children have steadily increased (Abdelnour et al., 2022). The objective of this capstone is to examine the influence that digital screen time exposure has on the increase rates of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in children between the ages of 3 and 12. Through a systematic literature review, peer-reviewed studies published between 2015 and 2025 with a focus on the neurophysiology of ADHD and digital media exposure in children of this age range were analyzed. It is expected that findings will indicate that excessive digital media exposure may intensify ADHD symptoms in children between 3 and 12. If this expectation is accurate, implementing structured screen time management strategies both at home and at school that adopt more balanced approaches would support cognitive, emotional, and behavioral health of children. Additionally, this paper aims to achieve purposeful findings that can help provide insightful knowledge pertaining to the prevalence of ADHD symptoms related to digital screen exposure for parents, educators, and other specialists working alongside children with ADHD
How Safety Impacts the Development and Maintenance of Sexual Problems and Their Treatment: A Polyvagal Perspective
No full textFor most people, sexuality is an important part of their overall health and wellbeing. A person's expression of their sexuality can be influenced by a confluence of factors including, but not limited to, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, age, interpersonal relationships, family of origin, religion, geographical location, and experiences of trauma. Sexual problems are highly prevalent among late adolescents and adults of all ages, with the most common problems being a lack of interest in sex, low desire, and difficulties with arousal. Sexual problems are often seen alongside other physical and psychological issues such as anxiety, depression, symptoms of trauma, relationship distress and dissatisfaction, and adverse health outcomes. For counsellors, sexuality is an area where they report a lack of competence and confidence, and a desire for specific evidence-based interventions. This capstone paper is a literature review which employs a traditional—narrative approach to examine how safety, from the perspective of polyvagal theory and the autonomic nervous system, might impact the development and maintenance of sexual problems and provide evidence for the use of body-based approaches in treatment. This paper explores cultural, interpersonal, and individual factors related to safety and sexual problems. A review of the literature indicates that experiences of safety, or a lack thereof, are associated with sexual problems. Research indicates that experiences of maltreatment are linked to changes in the autonomic nervous system which bias it towards defensivenss and contributes to the development of sexual problems. This indicates that interventions which target the autonomic nervous system might be effective in treating some sexual problems
The Use of Conversational Agents in the Delivery of Mental Health Interventions for the Treatment of Symptoms of Depression in Young Adults
No full textDespite being at elevated risk for mental illness, most young adults do not access traditional, in-person therapy due to barriers to access (Hoffman et al., 2024; Koulouri et al., 2022; Lattie et al., 2019; Murray & Knudson, 2023; Skjuve et al., 2021). As young adults are among the highest users of Artificial Intelligence (AI), recent advances in technology have prompted the use of conversational agents (CA) to bridge the gap between need and support for this population (Fitzpatrick et al., 2017; He et al., 2022; Hoffman et al., 2024; Maples et al., 2024; Wang & Toscano, 2024). This capstone explores the evolving nature of CAs for the delivery of primarily cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)-based mental health interventions for the treatment of symptoms of depression in young adults and critically analyzes relevant literature. While the literature demonstrates that CAs can help reduce symptoms of depression, they are not without risks. The benefits and risks of their use are explored, including the potential impacts on the psychosocial development of young adult identity and intimacy. Additionally, the mental health interventions offered by CAs are assessed against the standards set by the field of counselling psychology, including ethical considerations. The recommendations include an AI literacy curriculum for counselling psychology students to support critical analysis of this emerging phenomenon and future research projects. Together, these recommendations are designed to address current gaps in research, knowledge, and practice. This information aims to ensure future practitioners are informed in the use of CAs within mental health and have the critical skills necessary to evaluate the ethical, developmental, and psychological impacts of AI on client needs, professional practice, and ethics