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We explore a variety of psychological and psychiatric topics, including trauma-related stress and growth.

Mental health is the capacity of an individual's emotional and cognitive functioning. A person's mental health shows itself through their mood and emotions, behavior, and thinking and processing. Poor mental health can be attributed to many factors, including organic (abnormalities in the brain and hormones), genetic, social (such as gender, ethnicity, social class, and trauma), and situational (like stressful situations and substance abuse).

Trauma, in the context of mental health, is the psychological response caused by a distressing event (also known as a traumatic experience). Some survivors of trauma develop Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition that can severely impact a person's mental and physical health and limit their ability to function in society. Posttraumatic growth, by contrast, is when trauma survivors make personal improvement in their lives following the traumatic experience.

С»ÆƬÊÓƵ nurse researchers are exploring the mental health of patients across the lifespan, posttraumatic stress and growth, and the preparedness of psychiatric/mental health care providers.

Affiliated Faculty

• Stacy Miner, Ph.D., RN, CCRP
  Focus: Evaluating and improving the symptoms associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental disorders
• Amy Petrinec, Ph.D., RN
  Focus: Family member posttraumatic stress (PTSD) symptoms and coping strategies when making decisions for chronically, critically ill patients.
• James Tudhope, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC
  Focus: Better alignment for early entry APRNs in community mental health with patients who have established complex integrative needs.
• Andrea Warner Stidham, Ph.D., MSN, RN
  Focus: Psychiatric and/or mental health issues, as well as children, adolescents, and adults with posttraumatic growth; posttraumatic growth in people who have experienced traumatic life events, including sexual violence, spousal deployment, foster care, and HIV.

Recent Publications

Stephenson, P., & Warner-Stidham, A . (2024). Nurse reports of moral distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. SAGE Open Nursing. doi.10.1177/237796082312260

Tudhope, J. (2023). Firearm safety & mental health: A call to ARMS (Assess and Reduce Means to Suicide). OJIN: Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. doi:10.3912/OJIN.Vol28No03Man02

Hughes, J. W., Vander Horst, A., Gibson, G. C., Cleveland, K. A., Wawrosch, C., Granot, M., & Woolverton, C., J. (2023). Elevated psychological distress of college students during the Covid-19 pandemic. Journal of American College Health, 71(4), 981-983.

Mazanec, S., Beam, P., Kloos, J., McClung, E., Park, S., DeLozier, S., & Anthony, M. K. (2023). Prevalence of stress, anxiety, and growth in nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. OJIN: Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 28(1). doi.10.3912/OJIN.Vol28No01Man04

Recent Grants