Occupational Therapy Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Document Type

Dissertation - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Occupational Therapy

Copyright Statement

All rights reserved. This publication is intended for use solely by faculty, students, and staff of Nova Southeastern University. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, now known or later developed, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author or the publisher.

First Advisor

Rick Davenport

Date of original Performance / Presentation

January 2026

Publication Date / Copyright Date

1-1-2026

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine the relationship between occupational engagement and anxiety for adolescents as measured by the Child Occupational Self-Assessment (Keller et al., 2005) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 scale (Spitzer et al., 2006). The 68 study participants were adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 years who completed a screening survey to determine if they met study inclusion criteria. Data sources for the dissertation study were a demographic form, the Child Occupational Self-Assessment, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 questionnaire. Using the Descriptive Framework of Occupational Engagement as a basis, this research study analyzed how anxiety relates to occupational engagement for adolescents. The investigator determined means and standard deviations for anxiety and occupational engagement data, then conducted correlational tests to determine the extent of the relationship between the variables. The average level of anxiety for participants using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 and the average level of occupational engagement for participants using the Child Occupational Self-Assessment are discussed. Statistically significant correlation scores were found for average perceived value and average perceived competence scores. No significant correlations were found between anxiety scores and any of the indicators of occupational engagement, which may indicate a need to use alternative measures for capturing information about how occupational engagement and anxiety are related. Occupational therapists working with children and adolescents should collaboratively consider how anxiety may impact occupational engagement. Keywords: occupational engagement, anxiety, occupation, adolescents, engagement, pediatric occupational therapy, mental health, Descriptive Framework of Occupational Engagement

Disciplines

Occupational Therapy

Keywords

adolescents; anxiety; children; mental health; occupational engagement

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