Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Ethnicity On Executive Functioning In Youth, Silvia M. Henriquez Gerken

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Executive function can be defined as a group of processes that guide and direct cognitive functions (Isquith, Roth & Gioia, 2013). Relatively little is known about executive function in ethnic minority children. This dissertation examined whether ethnicity predicts performance and parent rating scores on three executive function processes. To date, no study has teased apart the effects of ethnic minority status and its confounding variables in executive function. A total of 134 Caucasian and African American youth between the ages of 11-17 were included in the study. Of those 134 youth, 116 had complete data (both performance-based scores and rating …

The Role Of Gender Identityand Stereotype Awareness On Sexual Negotiations Strategies For Women, Or'shaundra Tre'nay Benson

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The consequences of unsafe heterosexual sexual behaviors including unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections continue to create significant public health problems in the United States. Although research has demonstrated that young adults in general have higher rates of sexually transmitted infections compared to other age groups, young women are especially vulnerable to the ill-effects of unsafe sexual practices, as they must contend with the physicality of an unplanned pregnancy and larger incidences of asymptotic infection transmissions. However, missing from the research and discourse regarding what specific factors may be contributing to high rates of risky behaviors in heterosexual women is …

Morality Provides Meaning, Geoffrey Alexander Wetherell

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Previous separate models of meaning in life have suggested that meaning is composed of several components operating across levels of construal. For example, sometimes people might look to a component of meaning in a state of concrete construal to gain a sense of consistency or predictability, and at other times they may look to a component of meaning to create feelings of higher purpose in life. These models of meaning have the potential to shed light not only on the various facets of life that make people feel life is meaningful, but to discover the ways in which these components …

Reducing Economic Disparities For Female Offenders: The Oxford House Model, Sarah L. Callahan

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Background: In the past 30 years the rate of increase in incarceration for females who abuse substances has outpaced that of men. Women have increased health and economic disparities, and face barriers to economic mobility, increasing their risk of returning to the criminal justice system. Past research suggests that there is a positive relationship between living in Oxford House and employment wages, yet the impact of having a criminal history on this relationship was unknown. Method: This study used a nationwide sample of 136 women living in Oxford Houses in a regression analysis with length of stay in Oxford House …

The Influence Of Attentional Control On Hemispheric Processing Of Predictive Inferences, Michael Christopher Shutzenhofer

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the effects of attentional control on the hemispheric processing of predictive inferences during reading. Participants read texts that were either strongly or weakly constrained towards a predictive inference and performed a lexical decision task to inference-related target words presented to the right or left visual field— hemisphere. Facilitation for strongly constrained predictive inferences was greater than facilitation for weakly constrained predictive inferences in both hemispheres. Readers with high attentional control showed significant facilitation for strongly constrained inferences in the both hemispheres, but only showed significant facilitation for weakly constrained inferences in the left hemisphere. Readers with low …

The Effects Of Turkish Vowel Harmony In Word Recognition, Ece Kilic

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the effects of Turkish vowel harmony in visual word recognition. Turkish is among a few languages with vowel harmony, which is a process in which words contain vowels only from one specific vowel category. These categories are defined by the vowel’s phonological qualities (i.e., similar mouth and lip movement in pronunciation). In Turkish, categories depend on the vowel’s roundness/flatness, backness/frontness and whether the vowel’s pitch. Vowel harmony occurs naturally in language and is not taught formally. Instead, it is believed to occur due to decreased effort of words with vowel harmony in speech production (Khalilzadeh, 2010). Vowel …

Onset Patterns Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome And Myalgic Encephalomyelitis: A Mixed Method Approach, Meredyth Evans

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) refer to a debilitating illness without a universally accepted or well-understood etiology. Some experts have suggested that there are multiple pathways to the development of ME and CFS, which may also indicate multiple onset patterns. Due to unanswered questions regarding etiology, the onset of ME and CFS is considered a key area of inquiry.

Case criteria for ME and CFS and much of the academic literature suggest that patients typically experience one of two possible onset patterns: sudden or gradual. Many experts consider the mode of ME …

A Person-Centered Examination Of Latino Youth Depressive Symptom Trajectories: The Role Of Youth, Parent, And Dyadic Familism, Jessica Annabel Arizaga

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

A growing body of literature indicates Latino youth are at greater risk for depression relative to other racial/ethnic groups (CDC, 2014). Research examining predictors of Latino youth depression suggests higher familial values might buffer against youth depressive symptoms (Polo & Lopez, 2009; Zeiders et al., 2013b). However, longitudinal relationships between these variables remain largely unexamined. Furthermore, the literature on longitudinal youth depressive symptoms is mixed, with both increases and decreases being observed over time using group-centered analyses. The present study has three major aims: 1) map the trajectories of depressive symptomology among middle-school age Latino youth over the course of …

Perceived Choices: Perceptions Of Mothers’ Devotion To “Family Or Work” Or "Family And Work", Stefanie Mockler

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The role of motherhood is culturally associated with reduced performance expectations and lower performance evaluations. This is referred to as the motherhood penalty. Social role theory (Eagly, 1984), the stereotype content model (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu, 2002) and the lack of fit model (Heilman, 1984, 2001) suggest that stereotypes regarding how women are and how they should be drive these perceptions. When mothers express strong devotion to work over family (i.e., devotion orientation) the motherhood penalty appears to be minimized. However, having to claim that work is central to their lives (i.e., work-­‐devotion) to avoid being penalized can impede …

Web-Based Recruitment: Strategies For Attracting Lgbt Employees, Daniel R. Abben

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Organizations are interested in workforce diversity for a variety of reasons. One way to foster employee diversity is through the use of targeted recruitment practices. While this topic has received attention in the literature, most of the work has examined the effectiveness of recruiting people whose minority status is apparent. Thus, the goal of this research is to explore the effectiveness of recruitment strategies targeted toward individuals whose minority status is not immediately obvious, namely lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adults. Two specific recruitment strategies were used: providing information about domestic partner benefits and providing information about community partnerships. The …

Child Appraisals Of Interparental Conflict: The Effects Of Intimate Partner Violence And The Quality Of Parent-Child Relationships, Caleb J. Figge

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Children’s appraisals of parental conflict, particularly perceived levels of threat, self-blame, and coping efficacy, have consistently been shown to mediate the association between conflict exposure and maladaptive outcomes. However, few studies have examined factors that may contribute to children’s use of these maladaptive appraisals, particularly among children exposed to more severe forms of interparental conflict. The current study will examine the influence of intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure and parent-child relationship quality on children’s appraisals of conflict, evaluating if these factors have independent effects, if they interact (i.e., parent-child relationship quality buffers the effect of IPV) or if parent-child relationship …

The Role Of Guilt, Shame, And Self-Compassion In Promoting Racial Justice Engagement For White Students, Elizabeth A. Mcconnell

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Diversity courses and activities are a part of the multicultural mission of many institutions of higher education. However, universities, colleges, and diversity educators continue to grapple with how to increase participation and student engagement in these courses. The lens of privilege studies provides an important perspective for thinking about how to achieve this goal for White students learning about systems of racial inequity. In the current study, we conducted four studies to better understand how to decrease resistance to reflecting on White privilege (e.g., defensive affect or withdrawal) and to promote racial justice engagement (e.g., willingness to take diversity courses …

Does Our Fear Of Death Stem From Threatened Belongingness?, Stan Treger

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I examine the relative contribution to worldview defense (i.e., upholding one’s cultural worldviews) provided by the thoughts of one’s death and perceptions of curbed close relationships.

The need to belong, to form meaningful and strong ties with others, is what many social psychologists believe to be one of the most fundamental and strongest motivations that humans possess (Baumeister, 2012; Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Kenrick, Griskevicius, Neuberg, & Schaller, 2010; Tomasello, 2014). The human brain is “hard-wired” to be around others (Beckes & Coan, 2011). In fact, large social group sizes of humans’ evolutionary past may have contributed …

Providers' Socioecological Perspectives On The Supports For And Challenges To Engagement In Care For Latino Youth Living With Hiv: A Qualitative Study, Diana Lemos

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: Among youth, marginalized groups, such as Latino YLWH (LYLWH), may face multiple social stigmas, including such concerns as limited English-language proficiency, sexual-minority status, and immigration status that impact engagement across the continuum of HIV care (van Servellen, Chang, & Lombardi, 2002). One necessary step toward increasing understanding of the facilitators and barriers to this group’s engagement in HIV care is to examine engagement in care through a socioecological framework to better understand each of the multiple factors impacting Latino youth’s engagement in HIV care (Bronfenbrenner, 1986; Hosek, Harper, Lemos et al., 2005; Mugavero, Norton & Saag, 2011). Through the …

The Importance Of Family Meals And Sedentary Behavior In Understanding Childhood Depression And Obesity, Draycen D. Decator

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The ongoing obesity epidemic within the United States is a problem that has received a lot of attention, but is still inadequately understood. Understanding the epidemic requires examining BMI from a larger perspective, with an ecological mindset (Rosenkranz & Dzewaltowski, 2008). A bidirectional relationship between depression and obesity, which has been found in the past, might be due to family meals. Sedentary behaviors has been linked to both outcomes, and is predicted by family meal frequency, suggesting that it may play a mediational role. In order to help clarify the relationship between depressive symptoms and obesity, a sample of 120 …

Disparity Of Assets In Addiction Recovery: Moderators Of Perceived Control In Treatment And Recovery Settings In Kenya, Elias Kinoti Kithuri

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Assets/resources are core for positive community health outcomes and wellbeing. Assets availability, accessibility and perception by members that these resources are actually available and accessible determines community members' behavior around health choices. People with substance abuse require many types of resources that expected to cumulatively help recovery from the treatment start, through recovery into sober lifestyle. This study investigated the presence of assets at individual, social network and community level that Substance abuse problems can and able to easily access for their treatment and recovery, depending on present setting; professional Usual Care and Self-help settings. The findings indicate that there …

Executive Functioning In The Context Of Urban Poverty: An Examination Of Poverty Related Stress And Its Relationships To Academic Achievement, Jacquelyn L. Doxie

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Living in urban poverty has been linked to numerous negative conditions that disproportionately expose low-income urban youth and their families to severe and chronic stressors (Collins et al., 2010; DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, and Smith, 2012; Sznitman, Reisel, and Romer, 2011). Research has consistently shown a strong relationship between these stressors and numerous negative outcomes that can impact an adolescent emotionally, behaviorally, and academically (Conger et al., 2002). This dissertation is focused on the area of academic achievement, an outcome consistently found to be negatively impacted by poverty (Rouse and Fantuzzo, 2009). Based on Bronfenbrenner’s model of bio-ecological human development (Bronfenbrenner and …

Social Support And The Role Of Housing For Homeless Families Involved In The Child Welfare System, Saidah Chambers

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigates the impact of a housing intervention for homeless families involved in the child welfare system on social support and their networks. Qualitative methods were employed in a randomized control trial of a housing intervention to examine the meaning of social support ±rom the perspective of caregivers while exploring the relation between instrumental support (e.g. advice, emotional support, and perceived support), family roles, decision making processes, and housing. Findings suggest little difference in families' perceptions of social support regardless of receiving a housing voucher; however, differences between doubled up housing arrangements and independently housed families may be …

The Cross Cultural Examination Of A Brief Autism Diagnostic Interview (Adi-R) In Korea And The United States, Elizabeth Lally Daley

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability in the United States; as many as 1 in 88 individuals have been identified with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2010). Although scientists are working on understanding how many people in the population have autism, there is a limited amount of focus on the identification of any cultural factors that may influence people’s understanding about autism, attitudes about autism, and reporting of symptoms. The accepted methods for diagnosing autism are the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R). This study seeks to …

Manifestations Of Traumatic Stress Among Adolescent Girls In Post-Conflict Northern Uganda, Tiamo Katsonga-Phiri

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

This study examines manifestations of mental health concerns in response to Gender Based Violence (GBV) specifically rape in a Non-western post-conflict setting. The population is a sample of girls aged 13-18 years residing in an Internally Displaced Person’s camp in Northern Uganda. Through semi-structured interviews, the girls shared their experiences of Gender Based Violence. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, 30 transcripts were analyzed to explore what these girls’ experiences have been with regard to rape, mental health and cultural and contextual stressors. Findings show that the girls described experiencing symptoms similar to those outlined in the DSM. Additionally, the girls described …

Effects Of Temporal Perceptions On Employees’ Work-Life Conflict, Eileen M. Linnabery

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Work-life conflict (WLC) occurs when an employee is unable to simultaneously fulfill the responsibilities of their home and work roles. This study attempted to understand the perceptual antecedents of employees’ WLC. Specifically, this study investigated how employees and their leaders think about time and perform their work in regard to time. The temporal perceptions of interest include time urgency, pacing, and future time perspective. Two hundred employees and their supervisors were recruited to participate in this study. Employees completed an online or in-person survey addressing how they structure their time at work, work together with their supervisor, and how their …

The Impact Of Culture And Neighborhood Context On The Mental Health Of Latino Youth, William Martinez

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Latino youth are members of an ethnic group that shares similar values, customs, beliefs, and, often, the Spanish language, that serve as protective factors for some youth. The extent to which these factors are protective across neighborhood contexts has yet to be explored. The present study adds to the literature on contextual correlates of mental health symptomatology in Latino adolescents by examining individual cultural dimensions as protective factors, and environmental risk and protective factors through the lens of the person-environment fit theory (Caplan, 1987). Specifically, the person-environment fit theory is evaluated by proposing that the fit between a Latino youth’s …

Preventive Mental Health As An Approach To Improving School Outcomes Among Youth: A Meta-Analytic Review, Katrina Elaine Roundfield

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Researchers, policy makers, and educators continuously seek new avenues to enhance the academic achievement of children and adolescents. This goal is particularly pressing among youth from low-income, urban backgrounds, who are at increased risk for school failure (Aud, Wilkinson-Flicker, Kristapovich, Rathbun, Wang, et al., 2011). Taking a more holistic approach to understanding academic achievement, burgeoning research has begun to focus on the mental health of the child. Preventive mental health (PMH) is a theoretically sound and effective means of reducing the incidence of mental illness among youth from varying levels of risk (Durlak & Wells, 1997; 1998; Greenberg, Domitrovich, Bumbarger, …

Examining The Pathway From Maternal Criminal Involvement To Adolescent Delinquency, Dina Chavira

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

As incarceration rates across the United States have continued to rise, there has been growing concern with the unintended consequences that have resulted. This has prompted researchers across multiple disciplines to study the effects of incarceration at the individual, family, community, and societal levels. An important but overlooked factor pertains to extensive multiple social service agency involvement and missed opportunities for intervention. Families involved with the criminal justice system (CJS) are often at risk of involvement with other human service agencies, one agency being the child welfare system (CWS). Little is known about families who fall within these two systems, …

Parenting Dimensions And Internalizing Symptoms Among Low-Income Latino Adolescents: Cultural Values As Moderators, Crystalia Sulaiman

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Among ethnic minority youth, Latino adolescents disproportionately report higher levels of depression and anxiety than their peers of other ethnic backgrounds. The purpose of the present study is to better understand the familial and sociocultural factors that impact mental health among Latino adolescents. Specifically, the present study examines how youth cultural values (i.e., family obligation and affiliative obedience) moderate the relation between parenting dimensions (i.e., parental acceptance and parental psychological control) and youth internalizing symptoms (i.e., depression and anxiety) cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Latino adolescents (n = 115) from a Chicago public school categorized as "lowincome" participated in a survey and …

The Psychological Well-Being Of Divorced Fathers: A Theoretical Model And Projection, Todd Lawrence Bottom

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. divorce rate increased substantially from WWII until the 1980's. Although the number of divorces decreased marginally in the past decade, the number of marriages also decreased, causing the divorce rate to remain nearly unchanged from 2000 to 2010. The most frequently cited negative effect of divorce and separation is perhaps the loss of father-child contact, although little research was dedicated to understanding the post-divorce outcomes of fathers - especially with regard to their long-term outcomes. The present study assessed how several factors (e.g. parenting decisions, custody status, parenting efficacy, and parenting encouragement) influenced divorced fathers' psychological well-being. Results …

Sexy But Not Sexual: An Examination Of The Sexual Narratives Of African American Adolescent Females, April Timmons

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Much of the research on sexuality during adolescence has focused on the potential negative sequelae of adolescent sexual behavior such as STI acquisition or teenage pregnancy. Researchers have begun to advocate for examining adolescent sexuality as a normative aspect of adolescent development. One aspect of this examination would be to form a more complete understanding of how adolescents develop their sexual identity – their conceptualization of themselves as a sexual being. Erickson’s (1968) identity development theory asserts that identity is developed internally and shaped by the social environment.

Development of a healthy sexual identity may be particularly difficult for African …

The Mediating Effects Of Transformational Leadership On Leader Goal Orientation And Team Performance, Tyree D. Mitchell

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Transformational leaders are capable of elevating individual and unit performance by articulating a compelling vision, explaining how the vision can be attained, and expressing confidence in team members and followers. Despite the abundance of research on the effects of transformational leadership behavior on organizational outcomes, research regarding the antecedents of such behavior is limited. Drawing on goal orientation theory, this research examined the leader’s goal orientation, specifically state learning-approach and state performance-avoid goal orientation, as precursors of transformational leadership behaviors, leader effectiveness, and team performance. The relationship between leader state goal orientation and outcomes (i.e., team performance and leader effectiveness) …

Social Identity And Wellness Of People Who Have Acquired Physical Disability: What Is The Role Of Social Support?, Katherine S. Ong

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The degree to which individual members of social minority groups identify with their stigmatized ingroup vary—some closely identify whereas others distance themselves from it as a byproduct of stigmatization. Research findings are mixed in regard to whether group identity influences well-being. One reason is that the relationship may be obscured by other factors. This study sought to clarify the mechanism by which group minority identity relates to health through social support. To assess the linkages among the three variables, individuals with acquired physical disabilities were surveyed. The study of disability identity is of import because, first, it may predict health …

The Effect Of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy On Strengthening The Attachment Relationship With Foster Parents And Children In Foster Care, Christina Marie Danko

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Children in foster care are more likely to face difficulties in forming a secure attachment relationship and to have problem behaviors than children not in foster care (Dozier & Rutter, 2008). Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an evidence-based treatment that focuses on strengthening the attachment relationship between the child and the caregiver, as well as reducing the number and intensity of behavior problems. Although PCIT is based on attachment theory, very few studies have examined the effect of PCIT on child-parent attachment or examined the effect of PCIT on attachment in foster care families. This study extends prior work and …