Adult learners, or undergraduate students aged 24 years or older, represent one third of the undergraduate student population in the United States. The purpose of this study was to explore the pathways to thriving for undergraduate adult learners, taking into consideration their entering characteristics and life circumstances. Thriving has been…

Social media, as a favored platform for autistic adults, provides numerous opportunities to socialize and develop close relationships. However, autistic adults may have social skill difficulties that carry over to this platform. Further, social media-related risks pose additional concerns. This study taught four autistic adults social…

This qualitative study explored how supervisors in student affairs describe their supervisory learning journey. Supervision is an important facet of the student affairs profession, yet there is an apparent lack of intentional supervisory training and development for these professionals. This study endeavored to understand how supervisors in…

This qualitative phenomenological investigation explores the impact of systemic racism on stress among African American doctoral students in clinical psychology aged 25 to 55 and identifies coping strategies employed by this demographic. The study analyzes participants' experiences, emotional responses, and coping mechanisms in the face of…

Within the broad, interdisciplinary field of adult education, affective aspects of experience and the roles they play in learning have, thus far, not been properly theorized or researched. This dissertation first explores how John Heron's whole person theory (WPT) conceptualizes feeling as an expansive affective capacity at the root of all human…

The current study aimed to examine the effect of adverse childhood experiences on mental and physical health, forgiveness and spirituality. A total of 579 adults between the ages of 18 and 32 years completed an online survey. Participants were asked to report demographics and completed various measures. A total of 579 adults between the ages of 18…

Adult learners represent a growing population of students seeking postsecondary education. This qualitative investigation sought to understand the lived experience of the adult learner during matriculation. Through the use of semi-structured questions, 15 newly enrolled adult learners participated in a private, one-on-one interview to describe…

As student enrollment in colleges across the United States continues to diversify, teaching and learning practices must keep pace with demographic shifts. The growing majority of today's college student body, dubbed post-traditional learners, is older, racially and ethnically diverse, more experienced in work and life, and stretched by competing…

The general problem addressed by this study was that students who have been retained in the elementary grades were more likely to drop out of high school than their low achieving but socially promoted peers. The specific problem addressed in this study was that it is unclear what factors during students' retained years contribute to their…

The purpose of this study was to investigate physical therapy students' attitudes toward working with older adults. A basic qualitative design geared toward discovering physical therapy students' attitudes, where themes emerge from the findings, was used. The setting was a CAPTE Accredited Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program in a 4-year,…

This dissertation is comprised of two studies that investigate the nuances of parent and peer ethnic racial socialization (ERS). I focus on the dynamic relationship between parent and peer ERS by examining its frequency and effects specifically for Black emerging adults in college as well as uncovering the prevalence of Black college students'…

While the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic left devastating effects on several people during the mandated days of lockdown or shelter in place, the ramifications of those orders produced increases in individuals experiencing loneliness across gender and age groups (Ernst et al., 2022). In this most restrictive mass quarantine, loneliness evolved…

It is predicted that soon, as baby boomers continue their shift into retirement, the population age will soon hit its peak in the United States and across the globe (Mather & Kilduff, 2020). As seen with COVID-19, the United States is grossly underprepared for emergencies involving older adults, with excessive physical and mental health…

The role of coach-athlete relationships on youth athlete performance and development outcomes has generated significant research interest seeking to understand the dynamics that underlie the nature and development of these relationships. Earlier investigations focused on understanding coaching styles and coaching leadership behaviors which made…

Currently, COVID-19 poses a threat to the US and the rest of the world, which has created the need for many people to establish physical distance from others. This need for physical distance is perhaps most important for those most vulnerable to COVID-19, which includes the older adult population. Through this time of physical isolation, most…