Martha Giles

Virtual Instruction: A Qualitative Research Laboratory Course.

Online graduate programs in psychology are becoming common; however, a concern has been whether instructors in the programs provide adequate research mentoring. One issue surrounding research mentoring is the absence of research laboratories in the virtual university. Students attending online universities often do research without peer or lab support and without previous experience in supervised research projects. This article describes a virtual qualitative research lab course at an online university that both mentored students and collected data through a virtual qualitative lab on a national scale. The authors also address logistics, problems and issues that arose, and suggestions for future courses.

Independent Living Oldest Old and Their Primary Health Provider: A Mixed Method Examination of the Influence of Patient Personality Characteristics.

This convergent mixed methods study examined 35 healthy, independent living individuals’ (above 85 years) perceptions of their relationship with their primary health provider (PHP) and health practices. The relationship between PHP relationship perceptions and locus of control (LOC), resilience, and self-efficacy was explored through surveys and interviews. The majority indicated they visited their PHP just for preventative care; the number of PHP visits per year was significantly lower than reported for individuals above 85 by the CDC, possible reasons for this finding are provided. A positive relationship between LOC, resiliency, and self-efficacy for the oldest old was found. Few participants indicated their PHP had discussed normal changes with aging. This study has deepened understanding of the complexity inherent to the healthy oldest olds’ relationship with their PHP. The findings suggest this relationship relates to the PHP’s personal characteristics, the older adult patients’ personality, and the influence of the accompanying patient escort.

Children of Tanzania: Culturally Specific Resilience and Vulnerability

In the empirical literature, the concept of psychological well-being is an unexplored concept within sub-Saharan African populations of children. The current study used interviews, focus groups, and member checking within a qualitative approach to examine the culturally specific factors of psychological well-being for children, especially for girls, in northern Tanzania. The factors that make up resilience and vulnerability were identified through a comprehensive review of existing research to develop a semantic differential scale. The scale was then used as the basis for the data analysis gathered from children, teachers, parents, and caregivers to identify the culturally specific factors in Tanzania. The primary investigator, having been born and raised in the USA, partnered with translators and colleagues from the Arusha Mental Health Trust to ensure that transcription and understanding was not biased by the cultural background and experiences of the researcher. This chapter identifies those risk and protective factors which are the strongest indicators of resilience and vulnerability for this Tanzanian sample, which are similar to the risk and protective factors identified in other cultures. Reducing the vulnerability for girls requires better implementation of existing protection laws and supporting the traditional tribal structures of protection recently weakened by urbanization and the breakdown of closely knit and culturally homogenous communities. Increasing resilience includes equal opportunities for inheritance, education, access to family planning, and maternal health care as well as changing attitudes about gender equality.