¶ Edward E. Waldrep 2015 dissertation: coping self-efficacy and traumatic injury
Edward E. Waldrep's 2015 Kent State dissertation studies coping self-efficacy (CSE) as a possible mechanism of resilience following traumatic injury. Using adult trauma-injury survivors assessed between 2 days and 2 weeks, 6 weeks, and 3 months after injury, the dissertation finds that higher CSE is associated with lower posttraumatic stress symptoms and that CSE can increase over time, especially among people with lower initial CSE.
The source is a Kent State University doctoral dissertation by Edward E. Waldrep, dated December 2015, with Douglas L. Delahanty listed as advisor. OhioLINK metadata identifies it as a 2015 PhD in the College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences.
- CSE is defined as perceived ability to manage posttraumatic recovery demands.
- The dissertation links CSE to Bandura's social cognitive theory and to adult trauma-resilience literature.
- The empirical sample included 74 adult trauma-injury survivors recruited through a medical trauma clinic.
- Higher CSE was consistently associated with lower posttraumatic stress symptoms.
- CSE assessed later in the recovery period predicted subsequent PTSS better than baseline CSE did.
- The latent growth model suggested positive CSE growth over time, particularly for participants with lower initial CSE.
- The discussion frames CSE assessment as potentially useful for allocating early clinical attention, psychoeducation, or trauma-focused CBT referral.
- It does not study children, adolescents, schools, school SEL curricula, DEI, gender identity policy, sports policy, or school-board governance.
- It does not show that resilience is purely individual willpower or that environmental supports are irrelevant.
- It does not support a blanket claim that thinking about emotions is harmful.
- It does not validate using CSE rhetoric as a general school-policy substitute for program-specific evidence.
- The dissertation treats resilience as stable or minimally disrupted psychological functioning after traumatic exposure, not as a universal outcome or moral trait.
- CSE is part of a dynamic interaction among personal, behavioral, and environmental factors.
- Trauma survivors face practical, social, bodily, and psychological recovery demands; CSE concerns perceived ability to manage those demands.
- Mastery experiences are important in the self-efficacy framework, but they are not the only source; modeling, verbal persuasion, and interpretation of physiological arousal also matter.
- The clinical implication is triage-like and cautious: repeated CSE assessment may help identify who needs more intensive support.
- Edward E. Waldrep
- Kent State University
- Douglas L. Delahanty
- Summa Health System / Summa COMPAS Clinic
- coping self-efficacy
- resilience
- posttraumatic stress symptoms
- traumatic injury
- social cognitive theory
- mastery experiences
- latent growth modeling
- clinical triage
- trauma-focused CBT
- 2008: B.A., University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, listed on dissertation approval page.
- 2011: M.A., Kent State University, listed on dissertation approval page.
- 2015: Ph.D., Kent State University, listed on dissertation approval page and OhioLINK metadata.
| Source |
Target |
Mechanism |
Flow |
Evidence strength |
Source basis |
| Edward E. Waldrep |
Kent State University |
Doctoral dissertation submission |
Academic credential / research record |
direct evidence |
dissertation title and approval pages |
| CSE |
PTSS |
longitudinal association / regression / growth model |
measurement signal, not clinical certainty |
direct evidence |
methods, results, and discussion |
| CSE |
early intervention |
proposed assessment / triage pathway |
clinical attention / resource allocation |
direct evidence for proposal, not outcome proof |
discussion section |
The dissertation is directly relevant to public rhetoric that invokes self-efficacy, resilience, trauma, confidence, mastery experiences, or psychology credentials. Its main caution is that CSE is contextual, measured, and probabilistic; it is not a free-standing policy doctrine.
¶ Evidence limits and open questions
- The sample size is modest, especially for latent growth modeling.
- The study used different PTSS instruments at baseline and later time points.
- The sample includes a wide range of traumatic events, and event-specific CSE patterns may differ.
- The study does not establish school-policy prescriptions; public comparisons should remain conceptual and bounded.
outputs/reports/eddie-waldrep-academic-public-statements-comparison.mdoutputs/data/eddie-waldrep-academic-public-comparison/academic_concepts_matrix.csv
- Self-efficacy concept page not yet materialized.
- Resilience concept page not yet materialized.