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The Afro-Brazilian Martial Art Of Capoeira: Cultural Healing And Identity, Lauren Hsiao-Ling Mascari

Theses and Dissertations

By the year 2050, racial and ethnic minorities are projected to become the rising majority accounting for more than 50% of the population in the United States, however minorities are consistently at greater risk for poorer health outcomes and at higher risk for trauma-related symptoms than their White counterparts. Although some individuals seek and access traditional mental health services, more than half of the individuals who have diagnosable conditions never obtain formal treatment. Within the past two decades, the American Psychological Association delineated Multicultural Guidelines that describe the need for interventions to not only adapt to culture, but to be …

The Role Of Alcohol Use, Drinking Context, And Alcohol Expectancies In Sexual Assault Perpetration Among College Men, Joseph D. Censor

Theses and Dissertations

Sexual assault is a major public health and criminal justice problem in our society. The high prevalence rate of sexual assault victimization and perpetration among college students is even more disturbing. Additionally, the prevalence of alcohol use among college students is higher than in the general population, and alcohol use is associated with more than half of sexual assaults. The goal of the present study was to gain a deeper understanding of the role of various alcohol related factors in sexual assault perpetration among college men. Specifically, this study assessed the association of perpetration with general problematic alcohol use, general …

Characterizing Sex Differences In Functional Connectivity Changes Across The Alzheimer’S Disease Clinical Continuum, Jenna K. Blujus

Theses and Dissertations

Treatments that are currently available for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are largely ineffective, likely because they are delivered following diagnosis, when significant neurodegeneration has already occurred and cannot be reversed (Waite, 2015). Another key element that may contribute to therapeutic failure is the “one-treatment-fits-all” approach, which inherently considers AD as a homogenous state, ignoring the significant interindividual variability that is observed in risk profiles (Reitz, 2016). Characterizing the influence of factors that contribute to the observed heterogeneity in AD, such as biological sex, on pathological brain changes may reveal more individualized biomarkers to aid early detection efforts and more effective treatment …

Resting State Functional Connectivity In The Default Mode Network: Relationships Between Cannabis Use, Gender, And Cognition In Adolescents And Young Adults, Megan Ritchay

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit substance in the United States, and nearly 1 in 4 young adults are current cannabis users. The psychoactive component of cannabis, THC, is active at cannabinoid receptors, type 1, or CB1 receptors. CB1 receptors play a critical role in neural development, and chronic cannabis use causes desensitization and downregulation of these receptors. Chronic cannabis use is associated with changes in resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) in the default mode network (DMN) in adolescents and young adults, although results are somewhat inconsistent across studies, likely due to differing methodologies. Additionally, cannabis effects appear …

Examining Black Americans’ Attitude Towards Mental Health Treatment, Alannia Mosley

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

EXAMINING BLACK AMERICANS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT

By

Alannia Mosley-Jenneford

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2021 Under the Supervision of Marty Sapp, Ph.D.

The purpose of this study was to expand on the current literature on help-seeking attitudes among Black Americans. There is little research exploring the variables associated with Black American’s help-seeking attitudes. However, research has documented the underutilization of service among Black Americans. Literature suggests Black Americans do not seek services until symptoms become persistent and interfere with daily functioning. Evidence supports the relationship between help-seeking attitudes and racial mistrust, racial identity and help-seeking attitudes, and racial …

Mental Health Stigma And Its Impact On Experiences Of Decent Work For Veterans, Matthew James Kessler

Theses and Dissertations

Veterans comprise roughly 8.3% of the U.S. adult population and 6.4% of the civilian labor force. Veterans tend to experience rates of both unemployment and underemployment at rates similar to their civilian peers. The duration of enlistment for military members has increased over the last four decades. Although longer enlistments may indicate better retention efforts and the ability to sustain individual careers in the military, this also increases potential rates for combat exposure and psychological distress. Additionally, military members tend to assume strong military identities through their time in the service.

Veterans often struggle with reintegrating into civilian life after …

Neural Substrates Of Fear Generalization And Its Associations With Anxiety And Intolerance Of Uncertainty, Ashley Ann Huggins

Theses and Dissertations

Fear generalization - the tendency to interpret ambiguous stimuli as threatening due to perceptual similarity to a learned threat – is an adaptive process. Overgeneralization, however, is maladaptive and has been implicated in a number of anxiety disorders. Neuroimaging research has indicated several regions sensitive to effects of generalization, including regions involved in fear excitation (e.g., amygdala, insula) and inhibition (e.g., ventromedial prefrontal cortex). Research has suggested several other small brain regions may play an important role in this process (e.g., hippocampal subfields, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis [BNST], habenula), but, to date, these regions have not been examined …

Behavioral And Neural Correlates Of Episodic Memory Regulation, Mrinmayi Kulkarni

Theses and Dissertations

Episodic memory retrieval, while critical for daily living, needs to be regulated to maintain goal-directed behavior. Past work has shown that episodic memory regulation engages brain regions involved in cognitive control, such as the dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. These regions interact with the medial temporal lobe structures to control retrieval processes. In the current study, I paired eye-tracking, a sensitive index of memory, with fMRI in a novel paradigm to address several open questions in the field of episodic memory regulation. Participants initially encoded three celebrity faces and three tools with multiple indoor and outdoor scenes. In a subsequent …

The Influence Of Relationship History On Sexual Consent: A Comparison Of Idealized And Actual Sexual Experiences, Cari Beth Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The study assessed how sexual consent varied from imaginary ideal scenarios and actual sexual experience while taking into consideration gender and relationship status. Methods: College students completed an online survey in which they were randomized to one of two imaginary scenarios in which they were about to have sex in an ideal setting with either their most recent sexual partner or a new sexual partner. Participants were asked what external consent behavior they would use to indicate their consent and to rank which consent behaviors they considered the most important for indicating their consent. They were also asked to …

The Role Of Emotionally-Supportive Teacher Beliefs And Behavior In Student Aggression, Bridget Garrity Brinckman

Theses and Dissertations

Overt aggression is a pervasive problem in schools. In 2017 alone, the US Department of Education reported over 360,000 aggressive incidents. According to the General Aggression Model, emotion regulation plays a key role in aggression. Teachers play a role in student regulation through their supportive (e.g., expressive-encouragement) and unsupportive (e.g., punitive) responses to students. This study examined the role of the classroom teacher in student aggression. Teacher emotion-focused beliefs about both the reasons for aggression and the effectiveness of emotionally-supportive responses to aggression, were explored. Teacher likelihood of mental health referral for anger and fighting (i.e., an emotion and behavior …

Attachment And Intimate Partner Violence In Predominantly Hispanic Young Adult Couples, Deanna Pollard

Theses and Dissertations

Some research suggests that conflicting insecure attachment needs between romantic partners exacerbate the association between insecure attachment dimensions and physical intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration in men and women. However, the current literature examining this association are not without their limitations (i.e., small sample sizes, collapsing both partners' reports together to create their IPV variables, predominantly White samples, and utilizing attachment instruments that do not assess attachment dimensions directly). The present study aimed to address some of the limitations in previous research by examining the association between partners' opposing insecure attachment dimensions and male and female-perpetrated physical IPV in a …

Effects Of A Novel, Non-Toxic Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor On Hippocampal Memory Formation, Histone Acetylation, And Bdnf Gene Expression In Male Mice, Sarah Brianna Beamish

Theses and Dissertations

Memory dysfunction is a common symptom of aging, neuropsychiatric disorders, and neurodegenerative disorders, yet truly effective treatments for memory loss do not exist. De novo gene transcription is a molecular requirement for long-term memory formation. The transcription of genes related to synaptic plasticity and learning are regulated in part by histone acetylation, an epigenetic mechanism that regulates chromatin accessibility. Pharmacological compounds that maintain histone acetylation, called histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi), enhance memory by preventing deacetylation of core histone proteins, which initiates binding of transcriptional machinery to open chromatin. Therefore, HDACi are potentially promising therapeutics that could be used to prevent …

Severe Behavior And Restraint Use In A Hospital Setting For Patients With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Giovanna L. Salvatore

Theses and Dissertations

Physicians in hospital settings are treating an increasing number of patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The occurrence of severe behavior is heightened for patients with ASD in hospital settings. Restraint is a commonly cited strategy to manage severe behavior across hospital departments; however, research on physician management of severe behavior in patients with ASD across the lifespan is lacking. Our sample included 25 participants across three medical trainee focus groups and three physician interviews. We investigated their experiences with severe behavior management and restraint implementation in patients with ASD at an urban teaching hospital. Transcripts were thematically analyzed using …

A Brief Mindfulness-Based Intervention (Bmbi) To Reduce Teacher Stress And Burnout, Stephen George Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

Teachers are exposed to a variety of chronic stressors in their work environments that lead to stress, burnout, and the deterioration of physiological systems that promote adaptive responses to stress. The downstream effects of chronic stress and burnout incur substantial costs associated with attrition and stress-related health concerns. Research demonstrates that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have potential to improve teachers’ capacity to manage stress and mitigate its detrimental effects. However, many MBI studies to date have failed to incorporate key elements of methodological rigor and included large dosages despite research suggesting that such dosages are iatrogenic. Furthermore, these studies have not …

Predictive Validity Of The Classroom Performance Survey, Asia Simone Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

The current study evaluated the concurrent associations between an adapted version of the Classroom Performance Survey (CPS) and academic and behavioral student outcomes. Participants were one cohort of kindergarten through 5th grade children enrolled in a public elementary school. Preliminary results suggested that the CPS was a significant predictor of academic student outcomes similar to previous research. Hierarchal regression analyses indicated that the Academic and Interpersonal Subdomains improved the prediction on students’ GPA, above and beyond MAP scores alone. Finally, descriptive statistics indicate similar student performance across ‘in person’, ’virtual’, and ‘hybrid’ learning settings. Educators using a Multi-Tiered System of …

Biobehavioral Measurement Of Heterogeneity In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Carla Anne Wall

Theses and Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by the presence of social-communication deficits and restricted and repetitive interests and behaviors (American Psychiatric Association, 2013b; Baio et al., 2018). It is characterized by high genotypic and phenotypic heterogeneity, which complicates both diagnosis and treatment efforts (Jeste & Geschwind, 2014; Kim, Macari, Koller, & Chawarska, 2016). Well-studied sources of heterogeneity in ASD include age, sex, intellectual ability, temperament, physiological arousal, social attention, and the presence of genetic syndromes that are highly penetrant with ASD (Campbell, Shic, Macari, & Chawarska, 2014; Harris et al., 2008; Klusek, Roberts, & Losh, …

Gender Role Change, Relationship Satisfaction, And Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration Among Latino Men, Melek Yildiz Spinel

Theses and Dissertations

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is defined as physical, sexual, or psychological violence or aggression by a current or previous partner or spouse. Articles on IPV among Latinxs often speculate that Latinx gender role attitudes, such as marianismo, caballerismo , or machismo, cause IPV among Latinxs. Traditional machismo is the belief that men should be controlling and dominant. Caballerismo is the idea that men should protect their families. Marianismo is the belief that women should be submissive, virtuous and chaste, and self-sacrificing for their families. However, most research on IPV has failed to actually measure Latinx gender role attitudes …

The Effects Of Reinforcer Absence And Availability Of Alternative Activity On Delay Of Gratification In Children With Autism, Hailey Rose Prechtel

Theses and Dissertations

An increase in delay tolerance can help individuals obtain more preferred items, activities, and interactions. There are also many situations in a young child's daily life in which they cannot have immediate access to items, activities, or attention that they might be seeking. This can often lead to problem behavior and a longer time to wait for the desired item. Strategies that increase self-controlled responding may help individuals make choices and respond appropriately to receive a better outcome. This study examined the effects of self-control techniques such as removing an item, and interaction with an alternative activity on a child’s …

Teaching Rule-Governed Behavior To Children With Autism, Alicia Mingione

Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to teach rule-governed behavior to children with autism. Few studies have examined rule-governed behavior in children with autism. Of the few studies that exist, results have shown that using behavior-consequence rules produce quicker acquisition of learning than using antecedent-behavior rules. In the current study, participants were given two behavior-consequence rules, one resulting in the presentation of a preferred or nonpreferred consequence and the other resulting in avoidance of that consequence. The percentage of rules followed independently and correctly was measured. A constant prompt delay was implemented due to the lack of progress. However, some participants began exhibiting …

When Being Strong Hurts: Trauma And The Strong Black Woman Stereotype, Cynthia Nicole White

Theses and Dissertations

There are several research studies which suggest that, when confronted with stress or trauma, Black women in the United States seek help less than other populations, particularly White women. Part of the reason for this reluctance towards help-seeking may be explained by the American cultural stereotype of the Strong Black Woman (SBW). The Strong Black Woman is one who overcomes all obstacles, remains strong despite problems, and sacrifices herself for others. Research on the Strong Black Woman stereotype is scarce, but the limited research that exists found that the stereotype consists of 3 factors: Mask of Strength, Self-Reliance/Strength, and Caretaking. …

Preliminary Outcomes And Feasibility Of A Brief Online Teacher Training In Culturally Responsive Practices (Crp) To Reduce Disproportionate Discipline In Prek-3rd Grade Classrooms, Samantha Noelle Hartley

Theses and Dissertations

School discipline policies that rely on exclusionary discipline practices, such as office discipline referrals, suspensions, and expulsions, negatively and disproportionately impact racial minority students, beginning in preschool. Disproportionate discipline persists even when schools implement schoolwide interventions that reduce overall rates of exclusionary discipline, suggesting that schools must do more to address other likely causes of the discipline gap, including implicit racial bias, insufficient teacher training in classroom management, and a cultural mismatch between schools and minority students. There has been an increased call for teacher professional development in culturally responsive behavior management practices, but such interventions are often poorly evaluated …

The Bmslss: Measurement Invariance And Latent Mean Differences Across Black And White Early Adolescents, Kimberly Gibson Sitter

Theses and Dissertations

The Brief Measure of Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS; Seligson, Huebner, & Valois, 2003) is a widely used brief self-report measure of child and adolescent Life Satisfaction (LS). Although acceptable reliability and validity have been demonstrated for the BMSLSS across various youth samples, few cross-cultural comparisons have been performed. Specifically, no studies to date have examined measurement invariance of the BMSLSS across diverse samples of racial groups in the US. The current study explored measurement invariance across Black and White middle school students (N = 1484) from four schools in a southeastern U.S. state through use of multi-group confirmatory factor …

Examining The Relationship Between Readiness And Outcomes In Clinical Practices Implementing Integrated Care, Tara Kenworthy

Theses and Dissertations

The integration of behavioral health and primary care (i.e., “integrated care”) is a method to improve health equity and improve health outcomes. However, more research is needed to understand the relationship between practice readiness, implementation, and outcomes of integrated care over time. Therefore, this study involves a mixed methods retrospective process evaluation to explore the relationship between readiness factors and outcomes in clinical practices two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half years following a capacity-building program. During that program, practices completed assessments of their readiness to implement integrated care using the Readiness for Integrated Care Questionnaire (RICQ). At follow-up, we conducted surveys, qualitative interviews …

Characterizing Anxiety And Physiological Correlates In Preschool Children With Neurodevelopmental Disabilities, Jordan Ezell

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is comprised of two original research manuscripts broadly examining anxiety and potential correlates in young children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. The first manuscript assessed cardiac regulation during an auditory startle paradigm in young children (3-6 years old) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), fragile x syndrome (FXS), and neurotypical peers. The second manuscript utilized a new measure developed to capture anxiety in individuals with ASD in order to assess the rate of typical and atypical anxiety and potential risk factors (ASD severity, sex, cognitive ability) for anxiety in preschool children with ASD contrasted to neurotypical preschool children. Collectively, these two …

The Development And Validation Of An Automated Screener Of Attention, Rachel Bridges

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has demonstrated a strong relationship between symptoms of ADHD and academic underachievement. Interventions specific to academic deficits in children with ADHD are available, which are most effective if implemented before secondary concerns arise. Performance based screening is one method for determining the need for early intervention, yet extant measures of attention have limitations for the purposes of large-scale screening. The current study evaluated the psychometric properties and guiding conceptual model of a novel instrument of executive functioning—the GNG Screen— which measures response inhibition via a go/no-go paradigm. Results from Rasch modeling and exploratory factor analysis provide preliminary psychometric …

The Connection Between The Disconnects: Exploring Process Redesign To Reduce Human Error, Missy Carol Vergason

Theses and Dissertations

It has been said that organizations are only as effective as their processes. However, often times organizational behavior management (OBM) utilizes performance management to resolve issues as opposed to Behavioral Systems Analysis (BSA), which encompasses process redesign to ensure processes operate efficiently. Ultimately, to assist in long-term beneficial changes, process redesign could be helpful for allowing performers to have the resources to benefit from the enhanced process. However, little research has been done that assesses performance change with disconnects removed or with the addition of automation in a controlled laboratory setting. Thus, the current study examined the effects of a …

Effects Of Instructive Feedback On Gustatory Relations, Natàlia Arasa Bonavila

Theses and Dissertations

Differentiating tastes is important for safety reasons; being able to discriminate flavors could prevent an individual from eating unsafe items. The association of taste, color, and texture of different foods is important for safety reasons as it provides a base knowledge of safe foods. As some people with autism have problems communicating what they see, hear, touch, feel, or taste, the association of color, texture, and taste will promote healthy choices. Most of the research on tact acquisition has focused on visual stimuli. However, this study attempted to teach children to tact gustatory stimuli and evaluated the effects of instructive …

Embedding Reinforcement In Choice Making During Free Play In Children With Asd, Julianne Isabella Fernandez

Theses and Dissertations

The present study evaluated the effects of embedded reinforcement and satiation procedures on activity preferences in a small group setting of four children diagnosed with ASD. This study is a systematic replication of Hanley et al (2009) in which researchers used the same procedures to evaluate time allocation and activity preferences of neurotypical children in the classroom during free play. The goal of this study was to see if the results of the original study would generalize to children diagnosed with autism. Satiation procedures resulted in the slight increase of engagement in the highest preferred activity zone with some overlap …

The Effects Of Training On Parent-Implemented Multiple Stimulus Preference Assessments Without Replacement, Marlene Hernandez Correa

Theses and Dissertations

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit restricted interests and communication deficits; hence, identifying potential reinforcers can be challenging. Using multiple stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessments is a practical way for practitioners working with this population to identify potential reinforcers. Previous research has found that inexperienced staff can learn to implement preference assessments using enhanced instructions only (i.e., detailed written information, diagrams, and pictures) without needing feedback (Graff and Karsten, 2012b). However, researchers have yet to examine whether enhanced instructions alone impact other populations' repertoires, such as parents, similarly, or if this training is effective across cultures. Incorporating …

Evaluating Matrix Training To Teach Children With Autism To Tact Private Events, Abbi Dell Lee

Theses and Dissertations

The research on teaching tacts has primarily focus on visual stimuli, with relatively little attention to teaching tacts of nonvisual stimuli. The present study extended the literature to different types of tactile stimulation by teaching 2-component tacts of body-part sensation combinations in the presence of tactile stimulation. Multiple objects were used to produce the sensations to encourage generalization. Two additional exemplars for each sensation were probed for generalization to novel objects. The experimenters used matrix training, in which target responses were arranged in such a way as to facilitate recombinative generalization to untrained combinations. We arranged 6 body part targets …