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Alcohol And The Resulting Consequences Of Delirium Tremens, Nicasio L. Santos

2024 Symposium

Alcohol is a depressant drug, inhibiting the function of the central nervous system (CNS) and neurons in the mind (Greenberg, 1953). This results in physiological effects that are typical of an inhibited CNS; slowing of the heartbeat and breathing, and decreasing blood pressure (Scorzelli & Chaudhry, 2009). However, this inhibition of both the CNS and the neural chemistry develops a tolerance, and in turn withdrawal symptoms (Polli et al., 2023). These withdrawal symptoms are the inverse of the inhibition caused by the depressant effects of alcohol (i.e., an overactive CNS, increased activity of neurons; Smith-Alnimer & Watford, 2004). In extreme …

Bridging The Gaps: Leveraging Grassroots Data And Ai To Combat Human Trafficking In The Global South, Jarrett Davis

SMU Human Trafficking Data Conference

No abstract provided.

The Method Of Loci As An Intervention For Heart Medication Adherence, Nicholas Ainsworth

School of Psychology, Family, and Community Research Conference

Approximately 700,000 people die of heart disease yearly, many of whom underutilize lifesaving heart medication. This research proposal endeavors to address the problem. To increase medication adherence, we propose a new intervention which utilizes the Method of Loci visualization mnemonic. Research has demonstrated that reminders increase medication adherence, while habits require a consistent environment to form. The Method of Loci intervention capitalizes on these factors to ensure success. Upon completing a one-year randomized controlled trial, the data will be analyzed using a mixed methods Anova. Once successful, the intervention can be applied directly to those who struggle with medication adherence.

A Decade Of Risk: A Meta-Analysis Of Risk-Sensitive Foraging Over The Last 10 Years, Hallie Anselmi, Baine Craft

School of Psychology, Family, and Community Research Conference

Risk-sensitive foraging was developed to determine a forager’s choice when uncertainty or risk was involved. Past studies have focused on risky decision-making across species and contexts. Despite numerous studies over the past decade, a literature review or meta-analysis summarizing the current state of research in this area has yet to be conducted. Therefore, the purpose of the current experiment was to analyze findings from the risk-sensitive foraging literature over the past decade (i.e., 2013-2023). We found 27 studies examining risk-sensitive foraging and our aim is to present trends from the literature.

Pain Beneath The Surface: Emotional Self-Control & Trauma In Central Sensitization Among Asian Americans, Yasmin Banga, Lisette Thurlkill, Munyi Shea

School of Psychology, Family, and Community Research Conference

Research has established the links between trauma exposure, PTSD symptoms, and central sensitization. Yet, few studies have specifically examined this mechanism in Asian Americans with chronic pain. This study aims to examine how culture-specific factors, such as emotional self-control, as well as underlying PTSD symptoms play a role in this mechanism among Asian American adults. A sample of 160 Asian Americans with chronic pain was surveyed. Results suggest that PTSD symptoms significantly mediated the impact of trauma exposure on central sensitization, whereas emotional self-control was a non-significant mediator or moderator. Study limitations and implications will be further discussed.

Attitudes And Intentions: Exploring How Imaginary Interactions And Social Justice Education Impact Perceptions Of Individuals Experiencing Homelessness, Shianne Heeraman, Kylie Jones, Deanna Smit, Catherine Zheng, Brittany Tausen

School of Psychology, Family, and Community Research Conference

The current study (N = 139) explored how contact valence and social justice education impacted attitudes about and the treatment of individuals experiencing homelessness. Participants imagined either a positive or negative interaction with a homeless man and read a vignette describing the man’s situation as either a social justice issue (driven by systemic factors) or a personal issue (driven by individual factors). Dehumanizing perceptions about and intentions to help/harm individuals experiencing homelessness were then assessed. Results demonstrated that positive contact and social justice education had significant effects on dehumanization, but not on behavioral intentions to help or harm homeless individuals.

Examining Negative And Positive Consequences Of Acknowledging White Privilege, Davery Bettger, Jenna Saunders, Piljoo Kang

School of Psychology, Family, and Community Research Conference

Acknowledging racial privilege can be a psychologically distressing experience for White individuals, potentially eliciting feelings of guilt that threaten one’s positive self-image. By conducting qualitative empirical research through semi-structured interviews with 36 young White individuals in the southern United States, we found that some participants believe guilt about White privilege hinders their ability to view themselves positively. Others believed that the guilt they felt played a constructive role in addressing and changing their own biases or engaging in social justice. Therefore, the way that White people experience guilt may have an impact on their attitudes and behavior surrounding White privilege.

"I Don't Have White Privilege Because I Worked Hard For What I Have", Jenna Sanders, Piljoo Kang, Adrianna Mceachern

School of Psychology, Family, and Community Research Conference

Despite being an important research topic, there is a dearth of empirical studies on how White individuals understand White privilege and their identity. We have conducted qualitative research by interviewing 36 White young adults attending a Southern United States liberal arts college. The interviewees' responses were qualitatively analyzed using keywords and thematic categories and ranged from denial to acceptance of White privilege. White privilege means their successes would no longer be the reward of hard work but the result of an uncontrollable factor: race. In this case, they clarify that their parents or themselves started with nothing and had to …

Employment Role Change And Resilient Coping On Affective Well-Being During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Hatun Almuhanna, Penelope Seminario, Lynette Bikos

School of Psychology, Family, and Community Research Conference

The purpose of our study was to evaluate the effect of employment related role change directly upon affective well-being and indirectly through resilient coping in the first year-and-a-half of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants (N = 197; age M=48.85, SD = 15.28) completed up to 24 waves. Results suggested that the direct effect of role change on affective well-being was statistically significant (B = 0.037, p < 0.024). Although there was a significant effect of resilient coping on affective well-being (B = 0.227, p < 0.001), the indirect effect passing from employment role change through resilience coping to affective well-being was not (B = 0.002, 95CI -0.006, 0.010, p 0.574). The results speak to the centrality of the employment role.

Factors Influencing Shelter Dog Retention And Return, Hallie Anselmi

School of Psychology, Family, and Community Research Conference

Adopting a dog from a shelter is an impactful decision for both dog and owner. To better understand adoption outcomes, I explore the influences of a dog’s age, time spent in the shelter (SLOS), and time in foster care. Data from a Washington shelter (n = 224) were analyzed using a logistic regression and correlations. The regression indicated no significant results between the variables, however, there was a significant correlation between age and SLOS. The data was limited by a small return sample. Overall, this study helps add to the narrative for how shelters can increase adoptions and decrease returns.

Predictors Of Spiritual Struggle: Exploring The Role Of Trauma Exposure, Resilience, And Religious Behaviors Among Religiously Affiliated University Students, Harvey J. Burnett Jr, Duane Mcbride

Adventist Human-Subject Researchers Association

This study examined how exposure to traumatic experiences, protective factors such as Psychological Body Armor (TM) (PBA), physical wellness behaviors, and religious practices predict spiritual struggle among students attending a religiously affiliated university. Preliminary findings revealed that PBA, non-class assigned Bible and Christian literature readings were predictive of reduced spiritual struggle.

Transition Skills Lab: A Telehealth Intervention For Improving Healthcare Transition In Youth With Special Health Care Needs, Angela Combs, Alaina Linafelter, Jordan Sevart, Michele H. Maddux

Research Days

The goal of this abstract is to evaluate youth skill-building and confidence across health care tasks through the virtual Transition Skills Lab.

Exploring The Role Of Pain On Physical Activity Among Youth With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Using The Biopsychosocial Model, Anna E. Van Asselt, Renee Gilbert, Meghan Tokala, Jacee Weber, Meredith L. Dreyer Gillette, Robert C. Gibler, Carolyn R. Bates, Keith August

Research Days

The Role of Pain on Physical Activity in Pediatric ALL

Keywords: Biopsychosocial model, pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, pain, physical activity

Introduction: Engaging in physical activity (PA) during cancer treatment benefits a child’s physical and mental well-being (McLaughlin et al., 2021). However, engaging in PA may be challenging due to treatment and disease-related pain (Uhl et al., 2020). Pediatric cancer research has primarily focused on management of procedural and chronic pain, with fewer studies examining how pain may interfere with PA during treatment (Clews et al., 2022). The current study qualitatively investigated the impact of pain on PA using a …

Long-Term Physical And Emotional Functioning In Children Following Intensive Interdisciplinary Pain Treatment For Amplified Pain Syndrome, Sabrina Ung, Jacqueline Pabis Phd, Jenny Scheurich Phd, Dustin Wallace Phd

Research Days

The current study aimed to examine the efficacy of pediatric interdisciplinary pain treatment (IIPT) several years after treatment completion by exploring mean-level changes of physical and mental health functioning pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at follow-up 2 to 6 years after IIPT completion.

Euclidean Coordinates Are The Wrong Prior For Models Of Primate Vision, Garrison W. Cottrell

MODVIS Workshop

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) are currently the best models we have of the ventral temporal lobe – the part of cortex engaged in recognizing objects. They have been effective at predicting the firing rates of neurons in monkey cortex, as well as fMRI and MEG responses in human subjects. They are based on several observations concerning the visual world: 1) pixels are most correlated with nearby pixels, leading to local receptive fields; 2) stationary statistics – the statistics of image pixels are relatively invariant across the visual field, leading to replicated features 3) objects do not change identity depending on …

Extreme Image Transformations Improve Latent Representations In Machines, Girik Malik, Ennio Mingolla

MODVIS Workshop

Shuffling pixels in an image helps machines to learn a more robust object representation. To probe the strategies used by humans and machines for object recognition, we introduce Extreme Image Transformations (EITs). Machines rely heavily on exploiting low-level features like color and texture, so their performance degrades on out-of-distribution and adversarial inputs. Humans depend on high-level features like shapes and contours, making them relatively robust to image distortions. EITs systematically shuffle the pixels in an image, parameterized by the size of grids, probability of shuffle and binary block movement, distorting the structure of objects at both local and global levels. …

Anisotropy In Non-Rigidity Perception: The Role Of Anisotropies In Neural Populations, Akihito Maruya, Qasim Zaidi

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Parents’ Perception Of An Intensive Interdisciplinary Pain Treatment For Amplified Pain Syndrome, Jacqueline Pabis Phd, Sabrina Ung Ma, Jenny Scheurich Phd, Dustin Wallace Phd

Research Days

This study examines overall parent satisfaction with Intensive interdisciplinary pain treatment for youth with amplified pain syndrome. Additionally, it evaluates the relationship between parent-provider communication and satisfaction, as well as with perceived child outcomes.

Do Mechanisms Of Sinusoidal Contrast Sensitivity Account For Edge Sensitivity?, Lynn Schmittwilken, Felix A. Wichmann, Marianne Maertens

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Local Geometry Of Elementary Visual Computations, Peter Neri

MODVIS Workshop

Visual operators (e.g. edge detectors) are classically modelled using small circuits involving canonical computations, such as template-matching and gain control. Circuit models explain many aspects of the empirical descriptors that are used to characterize local visual operators, from sensitivity to classification images. Notwithstanding their utility, these models fail to provide a unified framework encompassing the variety of effects observed experimentally, such as the impact of contrast, SNR, and attention on the above descriptors. My goal is to start with a simple, plausible geometrical representation of the perceptual operation carried out by the observer, and to show that this representation is …

Predictors Of Family Retention In Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (Pcit), Patricia Dixon, David Bennett

St. Chris Research Day

No abstract provided.

404 Error – Gender Not Found: Lived Experiences Of Genderqueer Autistics Assigned Female At Birth, Christina-Marie J. Wright

Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)

While autism research has historically focused on males, increasing attention is being paid to the expression of autism spectrum disorder in cisgender girls and women. However, a significant percentage of the autistic population assigned female at birth experiences gender outside the male-female binary, and the expression of autistic traits in this population remains largely unexplored. Understanding the expression of autism in diverse populations is important for diagnostic access and support. The purpose of this study was to identify which behaviors and interests commonly ascribed to autistic individuals were demonstrated by autistic genderqueer individuals assigned female at birth. The study also …

The Power Of Words: Unpacking Language's Role In Educational Inequities, Zara Yokohama, Liz Beccari, Malcolm Jasmin

Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)

The language used to describe racial disparities in education may inadvertently influence how we address them. Framing such disparities as “achievement gap” rather than as “inequality in educational outcomes” assumes a deficit thinking mindset, shifting focus from the structural injustices contributing to education disparities to individuals, resulting in decreased prioritization of racial equity (Quinn & Desruisseaux, 2022). We aim to replicate this prioritization effect, specify the language driving the effect, and examine the impact of frames on perceptions of how to achieve racial equity. Participants were randomly assigned to conditions framing racial equity concerns as: a racial achievement gap, racial …

Comparing Executive Control: Bilingualism's Cognitive Advantage, Malcolm Jasmin, Tonya Buchanan Ph.D.

Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)

The Stroop Task is a widely used method for studying executive control. It helps to understand cognitive processes like inhibition and attentional regulation to examine how reading text and naming colors can interfere with each other. The study intends to use the Stroop Task to explore the executive control abilities of both bilingual and monolingual individuals. Previous research has shown that bilingual individuals perform better in the Stroop test compared to those who only speak one language (Bialystok et al., 2010). The impact of this advantage is believed to be due to the need to switch between languages and prevent …

Loneliness And Parental Relationships Among College Students, Alanna James, Charlie Barna

Symposium of Student Scholars

The transition to adulthood is a unique developmental period that involves rapid changes in youths’ individual development and social contexts, which can involve leaving behind familiar support networks (Eeske et al,. 2015). Common experiences during the transition to adulthood, like leaving home, pursuing college, and entering the workforce can leave individuals feeling marginalized and cutoff (Mathews et al,. 2022). Loneliness is a subjective feeling experienced by individuals in all age demographics (Matthews et al,. 2022). Despite a wide array of research on social connectedness interventions for older adults and people with physical disabilities (Zagic et al,. 2021), there is little …

Bridging Services To Evidenced-Based Care: Implementing A Psychology Consult Check-Up Clinic, Jacqueline Pabis Phd, Sabrina Ung Ma, Angela Combs Ma, Mallory Netz Phd, Carisa Parrish Phd, Casey Lawless Phd

Research Days

This quality improvement project examines the feasibility, satisfaction, and preliminary outcomes of a hospital follow-up program for the CMH Inpatient Psychology Consultation & Liaison team.

Female Medical Students’ Lived Experiences Of Financial Stress And Coping, Untara Shaikh, Dr. Kimberlee Bonura

Georgia Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Conference

Financial stress is a pervasive concern among medical students, with documented associations with adverse physical health, psychological morbidity, and ineffective coping. This study focuses on understanding the financial stressors female medical students face and the coping strategies they employ. While financial stress and coping mechanisms have been explored in the literature, a notable gap exists in understanding these dynamics among female students.

The study employed a phenomenological research approach to obtain data from the respondents, where data collection involved face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The Adaptation Model of Nursing, complemented by Lazarus and Folkman's Coping Theory, was a comprehensive framework for analyzing …

Effects Of Language Status, Community Advice, And Parent Beliefs On Heritage Language Maintenance In The U.S.: A Scoping Review, Isabelle Trujillo, Jasmine Loeung, Carolyn Quam

Student Research Symposium

This scoping review of qualitative research examines effects of language status, community advice to parents, and parents' beliefs on heritage language maintenance within a U.S. context. The review was guided by three research questions: 1. What is the nature of the relationship between a heritage language’s (HL) status in society and language maintenance across generations? 2. How does information parents receive from community members (e.g., health professionals, teachers, friends/family) influence their beliefs about the HL? 3. How do parents’ beliefs about the impact of a HL on academic/career success influence HL transmission? Thirty-four articles met inclusion criteria. Three themes were …

Work And Psychological Recovery Experiences Of Asian American And Pacific Island Workers In Higher Education, Christine M. Beceril

Student Research Symposium

Individuals from Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) backgrounds constitute the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the U.S. job market - comprising 6.7% of the U.S. population and expected to reach 15% by 2065 (United States Census Bureau, 2022). Despite their rapid growth, there has been a scarcity of literature in industrial-organizational psychology, with limited research on how AAPI workers engage in psychological recovery after work. This is a critical, yet unexplored area as previous research on psychological recovery from work has been investigated with homogenous White samples. Additionally, AAPI workers play integral roles in the U.S. higher …

Activism And Stress, Ashanti Laine T. Peredo, Taylor Gayton, Lalaine Sevillano

Student Research Symposium

Black women often shoulder a heavier burden of financial, social, and physical responsibilities within their families compared to non-Black individuals who do not identify as women. This increased load contributes significantly to mental health disorders and psychological distress and well as physical disparities. When compounded with experiences of racism and sexism, these responsibilities can lead to a sense of social invisibility and foster a tendency towards stoicism. This study is a mixed method study as it aims to quantitatively examine the relationship between activism, physical wellbeing measured by the Conserved Transcriptional Response to Adversity (CTRA), and psychological wellbeing among Black …