Stephanie Hoover - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Stephanie Hoover

Psychosocial benefits of activism include increased empowerment, social connectedness, and resili... more Psychosocial benefits of activism include increased empowerment, social connectedness, and resilience. Yet sexual minority women (SMW) and transgender individuals with multiple oppressed statuses and identities are especially prone to oppression-based experiences, even within minority activist communities. This study sought to develop an empirical model to explain the diverse meanings of social justice activism situated in SMW and transgender individuals’ social identities, values, and experiences of oppression and privilege. Using a grounded theory design, 20 SMW and transgender individuals participated in initial, follow-up, and feedback interviews. The most frequent demographic identities were queer or bisexual, White, middle-class women with advanced degrees. The results indicated that social justice activism was intensely relational, replete with multiple benefits, yet rife with experiences of oppression from within and outside of activist communities. The empirically derived model shows the complexity of SMW and transgender individuals’ experiences, meanings, and benefits of social justice activism.

Heroin and other opiate dependencies affect individual users, interpersonal relationships, and co... more Heroin and other opiate dependencies affect individual users, interpersonal relationships, and communities.The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand risk factors of heroin dependence by examining the life course paths of individuals who have been through addiction, treatment, and are currently in recovery. In-depth interviews were conducted with five participants in recovery. Participant narratives suggest that early childhood experiences, specifically parental abuse and social rejection, combined with substance abuse as a model for coping, influenced the development of addiction. Social support and self-awareness during and after treatment were effective components of sustaining recovery.

Given the importance of qualitative methods to social justice psychological research, qualitative... more Given the importance of qualitative methods to social justice psychological research, qualitative methods training needs to begin at the undergraduate level. Faculty-led research projects are a prime opportunity for ongoing faculty supervision and extensive student growth. Based on our review of the literature and our teaching of 3 undergraduate students, we describe procedures for how to provide instruction for qualitative interview skills in 3 domains: procedural, interpersonal, and reflexive. Procedural learning is specific to practical issues, such as scheduling and recording. Interpersonal skills are about the human-to-human connection in the interview and maintaining rapport. Reflexive skills include the interviewer's continued reflection on all aspects of the research. Based on real-life examples (captured via field notes, journals, and peer debriefing), the authors propose training procedures based on an emerging developmental framework across the 3 skill domains: procedural, interpersonal, and reflexivity. The developmental framework is derived from the observational data and includes 3 recursive phases that describe students' learning trajectory: Phase 1: Directed Interviewer ; Phase 2: Guided Interviewer; and Phase 3: Collegial Interviewer. At each developmental phase, we recommend student learning objectives and corresponding teaching strategies. The recommended teaching strategies serve to bolster qualitative research's future impact in psychology.

Background: African Americans living in the rural south have the highest prevalence of cardiovasc... more Background: African Americans living in the rural south have the highest prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in the United States. Given this geographic and racial disparity, intervention implementation needs to be evaluated for effectiveness and feasibility with African Americans in the rural south.
Methods: The trial developed out of a community-based participatory research partnership, Project GRACE, and community partners who are collaborators throughout the study. Heart Matters is a randomized stepped wedge trial that will assess the effectiveness of a 12-month behavioral change intervention adapted from PREMIER, an evidence-based treatment targeting multiple CVD risk factors. 140 participants will be recruited through 8 community- or faith-based organizations to participate in the intervention. Through matched pair randomization, organizations will be randomized to begin immediately after baseline data collection (Arm 1) or delayed 6 months (Arm 2). Data collection will occur at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months. The primary outcome is change in body weight. In addition to assessing effectiveness, the study will also evaluate process and feasibility outcomes through quantitative and qualitative data collection.
Discussion: This study will contribute to CVD prevention research and likely have a positive impact on the rural, African American community where the trial occurs. Our study is unique in its use of community partnerships to
develop, implement, and evaluate the intervention. We expect that this approach will enhance the feasibility of the trial, as well as future dissemination and sustainability of the intervention.
Trial registration: Clinical Trials, NCT02707432. Registered 13 March 2016.
Keywords: Cardiovascular disease risk, Study protocol, African Americans, Community-based participatory research, Randomized stepped wedge design

Increasingly, researchers seek to engage communities, patients, and stakeholders as partners in t... more Increasingly, researchers seek to engage communities, patients, and stakeholders as partners in the process and products of health research. However, there is no existing stake-holder-driven ethical framework for such engaged scholarship. We employed an iterative, stakeholder-engaged method to develop a data-driven framework for the ethical review and conduct of engaged scholarship. We used consensus development conference methods and a modified Delphi survey to engage 240 community members, ethicists, and academic researchers. This multi-staged process produced a framework with 4 domains: vision of equitable and just research, relationship dynamics, community-informed risk/benefits assessment, and accountability. Within the framework, 4 cross-cutting considerations and 15 statements explicate the stakeholders' priorities for the ethical review and conduct of engaged scholarship. Though the findings are promising, the study is limited in that it focuses on stakeholder perspectives, but does not actually evaluate or apply the findings in the field. The stakeholder-engaged framework provides a platform for further articulation of ethical practices and policy for engaged scholarship.

Guided by intersectionality, this study defines social justice identity as the self-constructed p... more Guided by intersectionality, this study defines social justice identity as the self-constructed process of embodying social justice within one's sociocultural context. The study examined the meaning of social justice identity for professional psychologists and trainees who engage in social justice work. Participants were recruited who had previously been trainees at 1 social justice-oriented, feminist multicultural practicum site. The most frequent race, sexual identity, and gender were White, heterosexual, and woman, which was representative of the practicum site. Thirteen participants from a site population of 37 engaged in interviews, focus groups, and follow-up interviews (35% response rate). Critical feminist phenomenological analysis yielded the following themes: (a) Being Authentic, (b) Resisting Oppression, (c) Taking Responsibility, (d) Leveraging Privilege, (e) Accepting Self and One's Efforts, and (f) Covert Action. Future research should examine how professionals experience social justice identity, including the struggles and tensions of professionals with both privileged and marginalized statuses.

The purpose of this study was to provide a preliminary assessment of the current state of ecopsyc... more The purpose of this study was to provide a preliminary assessment of the current state of ecopsychology in counseling psychology doctoral training. Eighteen training directors participated in a survey of programs' inclusion of ecopsychology training, perceived interest in ecopsychology and social justice, attitudes about the importance of ecopsychology, and familiarity with ecopsychology. Results suggested a lack of formalized inclusion of ecopsychology training despite some familiarity with ecopsychology. In addition, participants reported less faculty and student interest in ecopsychology as compared to social justice interest. Based on the findings, the inclusion of ecopsychology is recommended to extend counseling psychology's social justice agenda. Additional research to support the inclusion of ecopsychology training in professional psychology training programs is recommended.

Journal of Counseling & Development, 2016

Pure Insights, 2015

In light of the new California legal mandate for affirmative sexual consent in higher education i... more In light of the new California legal mandate for affirmative sexual consent in higher education institutions, the current sexual consent literature merits review. This review examines perceived peer norms, traditional sexual scripts, and rape myths specific to consent. In particular, we describe findings about indirect, nonverbal communication and token resistance among young adults; we also connect sexual consent to rape myths about accidental or unintentional sexual behavior, perceived miscommunication, and preexisting sexual relationships. Based on these findings, we assert that additional research and interventions are needed to address barriers that hinder young adults from establishing affirmative sexual consent. We refer to the body of literature on sexual assault prevention. This literature sheds light on potential avenues for developing affirmative sexual consent interventions and evaluating their effectiveness.

Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 2015

Because abnormal psychology courses presuppose a focus on pathological human functioning, nonpath... more Because abnormal psychology courses presuppose a focus on pathological human functioning, nonpathologizing interventions within these classes are particularly powerful and can reach survivors, bystanders, and perpetrators. Interventions are needed to improve the social response to trauma on college campuses. By applying psychodynamic and feminist multicultural theory, instructors can deliver nonpathologizing interventions about trauma and trauma response within these classes. We recommend class-based interventions with the following aims: (a) intentionally using nonpathologizing language, (b) normalizing trauma responses, (c) subjectively defining trauma, (d) challenging secondary victimization, and (e) questioning the delineation of abnormal and normal. The recommendations promote implications for instructor self-reflection, therapy interventions, and future research.

Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, 2014

Objective: To describe parents’ experience of organ donation decision making in the case of donat... more Objective:
To describe parents’ experience of organ donation decision making in the case of donation after circulatory determination of death.

Design:
Qualitative exploratory analysis.

Setting:
Participants were recruited from the ICU of a single children’s hospital located in the western United States.

Participants:
Thirteen parents, 11 families who consented to donate their child’s organs.

Interventions:
Interviews (average 82 min).

Measurements and Main Results:
Transcribed interviews were analyzed using the constant comparative method to identify themes that reflected similarities in parents’ experiences. The themes we found included 1) factors contributing to parental decision making, 2) under the circumstances of the child dying, and 3) donation decision and its impact on parental grief. Factors that influenced the decision making all related to the child dying, including protecting the child’s body and helping the child to die peacefully. Finally, parents made recommendations about the organ donation process, including empathy, attend to end-of-life concerns, and the provision of relevant information for donation decisions.

Conclusions:
Parents’ decision making was related directly to end-of-life experience and grief process. Providers need to orient to parents’ end-of-life concerns to support parents’ decision-making process and improve donation after circulatory determination of death procedures.