Digital Commons Network^™

Memory For Emotional Expressions In Adults With Acquired Brain Injuries, Lauren Jeanne Radigan

Wayne State University Dissertations

Introduction: Memory for emotions expressed by others forms the continuity that characterizes unique and intimate relationships. Successful memory for facial expressions requires the ability to remember the identity of the face (who showed the emotion) as well as the emotion (which emotion they showed). People with acquired brain injuries (ABI) frequently have problems with social cognition, which involves understanding cues that communicate emotional and interpersonal information. ABI is commonly associated with trouble perceiving emotional expressions and recognizing the identity of faces; however, research on memory for emotions after ABI is sparse. This study examined cognitive and emotional characteristics that contribute …

Nonparent-Friendly Work Climate & Parental Role Value: An Updated Approach To Understanding Nonparent Work Experiences, Andrew Lutz

Wayne State University Dissertations

First, the present study entails a theoretically guided examination of relationships between nonparent-friendly organizational climate (NPFC) and important outcomes among nonparent workers. Second, the present study explores the role of social-identity theory in understanding nonparent work experiences by examining and comparing the function (i.e., moderation effect sizes) of parental role values and parental expectations (i.e., childfree status) on relationships between NPFC and outcomes including affective commitment. Third, the present study compares the relevance of NPFC and singles-friendly culture in the prediction of outcomes among nonparent workers. Lastly, the present study examines the potential role of intersectionality of nonparental role and …

Exposure To Family Violence And Early Sexual Engagement: Potential Disruptors To Intimacy Development In Girls' Early To Middle Adolescent Close Friendships, Jami C. Pittman

Wayne State University Dissertations

Informed by theories of interpersonal development, this study evaluates whether two known threats to psychosocial health – exposure to family violence (EFV) and early sexual engagement (ESE) – are associated with adolescent girls’ intimacy development with close same-sex friends. A sample of metropolitan-area, mostly Black and African American (77%) girls (N = 93; Mage = 12.5) provided three waves of longitudinal data over 18 months (T1 – T3), spanning early to middle adolescence. Multilevel models were used to examine changes in girls’ close friendships, including the number of closest same-sex friends and quality of best same-sex friendship. Cumulative EFV and …

Childhood Adversity And Alexithymia: Implications For Health Status In An Urban Police Sample, Christopher P. Urbanik

Wayne State University Dissertations

American law enforcement is regarded as one of the most stressful occupations in the United States, involving repeated exposure to threatening or challenging encounters and the risk of severe injury and death. A voluminous literature has documented various psychophysiological implications of police stress, including morbidity and premature mortality. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic stressors during one’s formative years, such as abuse, neglect, and household violence and dysfunction. ACEs have been linked to increased mental and physical health risks, yet ACEs have not been studied in police officers. Given the increase in the level of stress experienced by today’s …

The Efficacy Of A Novel Facebook-Based Psychosocial Intervention For Adults With Chronic Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Bethany Danielle Pester

Wayne State University Dissertations

Social networking-based groups such as Facebook groups have become increasingly popular among people with chronic conditions, and the affordances of such groups make them a promising platform for chronic disease intervention. Yet, there have been few controlled tests of the effects of social networking-based groups. Our team developed a Facebook-based intervention that focuses on enhancing social support by connecting adults with peers who also have chronic pain. Using a randomized controlled clinical trial, we aimed to understand the efficacy of this intervention and to explore whether a professional-led support group leads to greater effects than a support group alone. The …

Exploring And Expanding The Utility Of Cultural Distance: A Multi-National Analysis, Daniel Wiegert

Wayne State University Dissertations

In the current study, I utilized multiple cultural constructs to create and compare the utility of various forms of cultural distance as a predictor of national-culture-level outcomes, aggregated across multiple countries (i.e., a novel term: “Aggregated Cultural Distance”, hereafter ACD). ACD was first conceptualized in the current study by utilizing the nine Global Leader and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (hereafter Project GLOBE) Societal Values dimensions in the calculation of ACD. I incrementally added and compared Project GLOBE’s Societal Practices and Tightness-Looseness scores (i.e., norms) to the Values ACD construct in predicting self-isolationist leadership behaviors (i.e., Project GLOBE’s Autonomous and Self-Protective leadership …

A Review Of Sample Size And Design Efficacy In Crossover Design In Peer-Reviewed Psychology Research, Kyle Moxley

Wayne State University Dissertations

A REVIEW OF SAMPLE SIZE AND DESIGN EFFICACY IN CROSSOVER DESIGN IN PEER-REVIEWED PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCHby KYLE C. MOXLEY November 2021 Advisor: Dr. Shlomo S. Sawilowsky Major: Education Evaluation and Research Degree: Doctor of Philosophy The present study seeks to investigate the efficacy of crossover research designs, and the application of crossover designs, in the field of behavioral sciences. Under ideal conditions, crossover designs are assumed to be more efficacious than parallel studies in that participants are given both treatments. However, the presence of carryover effects from treatments may influence outcomes (Jones & Kenward, 2014). To prevent carryover effects, researchers frequently …

How Do We Learn To Hope? The Development Of The Parent Report Of Child Hope, Lauren A. Sparks

Wayne State University Dissertations

Hope has been shown to be an important protective factor, with hypothesized origins in early childhood (Snyder, 2002). However, despite the established importance of hope, little research to date has examined its developmental origins. Specifically, a lack of appropriate instrumentation represents a significant barrier to detecting hope in children under the age of eight years old. The current study meets this need by examining the reliability and validity of a novel parent-report measure of hope in early childhood, titled the Parent Report of Child Hope (PRCH). The PRCH represents an initial step towards understanding individual differences in early childhood hope. …

Beyond The Rainbow: Predicting Intra And Intergroup Political Attitudes Of Latinx And Black Americans And The Potential For Cooperation And Conflict, Randall Wyatt

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation uses social psychological theory and methods to better understand the political attitudes of whites, Blacks, Latinx Americans and Asian Americans in the contemporary United States. Using quantitative methodology and survey research, I estimate the potential for cooperation and conflict between racial minorities and the political implications that these measures may have. I show that perceptions of competition with immigrants are strongly associated with anti-immigration preferences even among racial minorities such as Blacks and Latinx Americans, of who have a long history of migration to the United States. However, I also show that there is potential for interracial cooperation …

Psychosocial Outcomes Among College Students With Learning Disorders, Bobbi Isaac

Wayne State University Dissertations

Specific learning disorders, also known as learning disabilities, are defined as neurodevelopmental disorders in which long-term difficulties with learning and using academic skills occur within the context of one or multiple academic areas (i.e., reading, mathematics, writing). As our understanding of learning disorders (LD) has evolved beyond a focus on childhood diagnosis, a limited body of research has emerged examining adult outcomes for individuals with learning disorders in regards to higher education, employment, psychosocial, and health outcomes. Much of the results of this research seems to indicate that individuals with LDs may have poorer outcomes in adulthood across these domains. …

When Fake Is Good: The Benefits Of Deceptive Responsiveness In Relationships, Isabel Cantarella

Wayne State University Dissertations

Responsiveness is integral for successful relationship functioning (Reis & Shaver, 1988); however, it can be quite challenging to be a responsive partner (Reis & Patrick, 1996). Additionally, there may be an assumption that individuals need to be honest in their communication for their responses to be perceived as responsive. The goal of the present research is to determine if deceptive responses can be perceived as responsive and have beneficial consequences. The present research introduces the construct deceptive responsiveness, which we define as intentionally withholding information or providing false statements with the intent to make someone feel validated, supported, and cared …

The Days Take Care Of Themselves: Early Head Start Teacher Interactions With Children In Association With Factors Affecting Environmental Quality, Britta Karin Shine

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to propose a new framework for the assessment of environmental quality in infant-toddler classrooms in Early Head Start (EHS), in which sequential observational scores across the morning on the Quality of Caregiver-Child Interactions for Infants and Toddlers (Q-CCIIT; Atkins-Burnett et al., 2015) were re-framed as a micro-time-series. The purpose of these analyses was to assess within-person differences across a typical morning in EHS in teacher responsiveness and sensitivity to children’s social and emotional cues, their capacity for building relationships with children, and their support for children’s peer interaction and play. During hypothesis testing, interaction …

Using A Holistic Lens Of Adolescent Sexuality To Understand The Onset Of Girls’ Sexting, Davia B. Steinberg

Wayne State University Dissertations

Sexting, defined in this study as consensually sending or receiving sexually explicit texts, photos, or videos, is now commonplace during adolescence. Yet, research on adolescent sexting predominantly treats this behavior as risky, focusing on potential deleterious legal and mental health ramifications. This perspective is especially salient for females. Although sexting can have unintended negative consequences, a risk-centered perspective neglects the developmental contexts in which sexting emerges to obscure our ability to identify for whom and when sexting may be normative versus risky. There is a pressing need for a more holistic view of female adolescent sexuality that considers its positive …

Perspective-Taking And Relationship Quality In Traumatic Brain Injury And Support Person Dyads, Monica Lynn De Iorio

Wayne State University Dissertations

Introduction: People with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) often have problems with social communication, reduced contact with friends, and less satisfying social relationships than adults without history of TBI. Impaired abilities in perspective-taking may underlie problems in social integration and relationships following injury. This study sought to examine the perspective-taking ability of adults with moderate-to-severe TBI and support people, and examined the relationship between perspective-taking accuracy and relationship quality.

Methods: 48 dyads of adults with moderate-to-severe TBI and support people were included in the study. Both members of each dyad completed scales of distress, personality, and psychological flexibility. Measures were …

Mental Health Service Utilization Among Urban Adolescents: The Roles Of Perceived Mental Health Problems, Attitudes Towards Professional Help, And Stigma, Yi Tak Tsang

Wayne State University Dissertations

Mental health among adolescents is widely acknowledged as a significant concern in the United States. Based on a national survey, Merikangas et al. (2010) found that among 13-17 year olds, 42% to 48% reported experiencing mental health concerns. It is estimated that only half of adolescents with mental health problems utilize mental health services (Costello et al., 2014). An initial study found that caregivers of disadvantaged youth appeared to function as the “gatekeepers” to mental health services (Tsang et al., 2020). Also, the results suggested that positive attitude towards professional psychological help, but not stigma, predicted service enrollment. The current …

Testosterone And Interpersonal Attraction: A Placebo-Controlled Design, Stefan M. Goetz

Wayne State University Dissertations

Testosterone has long been implicated as a neuroendocrinological mechanism in the expression of reproductive strategies. Humans the world over form and maintain pair-bonds suggesting that pair-bonds may serve to enhance reproductive fitness. However, infidelity is a perennial threat to these bonds. The data in humans suggests that testosterone is associated with mate-seeking but may be detrimental to relationship maintenance. However, past work has relied on correlational studies and additional findings from nonhuman animal models suggest that acute changes rather than baseline concentrations in testosterone may in fact protect extant pair-bonds. The present research sought to test the causal role of …

Hippocampal Volumetry And Episodic Memory In Preterm Born Children, Dana Marie Anderson Mccall

Wayne State University Dissertations

Objective The hippocampus (Hc) is essential for memory and vulnerable to the sequelae of premature birth. Relationships between subcomponents of the Hc and memory performance have been documented in adults. Yet little is known about the generalization of these findings to young children, whether term or preterm-born. This tripartite investigation focused on Hc subregion and subfield volumes, a potential latent construct for episodic memory, and the relationship between Hc volume and memory performance across birth weight (BW) and gestational age (GA).

Participants and Methods Forty-eight children (20 preterm), ages 5-7, completed an MRI scan and several episodic memory tasks. An …

Ante- And Perinatal Risk Factors And Neuropsychological Outcome: Exploration Of The Role Of Multiple Birth And Acid-Base Status In Preterm Born Preschoolers, Jamie Piercy

Wayne State University Dissertations

Increased attention to medical risk factors that precede or accompany preterm birth is necessary in order to better understand functional deficits in this vulnerable population. Children who are born preterm are subject to increased risk of neurodevelopmental deficits in the preschool years and beyond. As such, the current study aimed to gain a better understanding of the influence of two disparate biological risk factors, one antenatal and the other perinatal, on neuropsychological development. More specifically, the influence of twin gestation and low arterial pH (reflecting hypoxic risk) on neuropsychological outcomes was examined in a sample of preterm-born (before 34-weeks gestation) …

Acceptability And Feasibility Of A Multicomponent Group Intervention To Initiate Health Behavior Change: The Kickstart Health Program, Shannon Marie Clark

Wayne State University Dissertations

There is a growing need to address the difficulties that people face trying to engage in a healthier lifestyle and the integration of behavioral health into primary care settings may offer an opportunity to address this need. Health behavior change groups may be an effective style of intervention in medical settings; however, the experiences patients have attending these groups as well as how health behavior change groups best fit into integrated care settings is largely unknown. The purpose of the current study was to offer a preliminary test of feasibility and acceptability for a group intervention, conducted in a primary …

The Eyes Never Lie: Detecting Simulated Traumatic Brain Injury With Eye-Tracking, Robert John Kanser

Wayne State University Dissertations

Performance validity test (PVT) inaccuracies can be explained by both test and extra-test (e.g., research design components) factors. Eye-tracking is a promising technology to enhance assessment of performance validity. Prior research has established that ocular behaviors are reliable biomarkers of (un)conscious cognitive processes. Experimental research on deception has shown that ocular behaviors reliably distinguish feigned concealment of information from honest responding. The primary objective of this study was to examine the incremental utility of incorporating eye-tracking into a clinical PVT to distinguish adults with verified TBI from adults coached to feign cognitive impairment. A secondary objective was to determine the …

Uncertainty In Online Dating, Elena Corriero

Wayne State University Dissertations

Relationship initiation is a moment typically characterized by high uncertainty, and online dating platforms have the potential to heighten uncertainty and thus deeply affect relationship formation dynamics. While previous research has focused on other-uncertainty and on its reduction through information-seeking, this qualitative study adopts Babrow’s (2001) problematic integration (PI) theory to expand our understanding of uncertainty in online dating beyond other-focused uncertainty, by exploring the meanings and sources of uncertainty in online dating, how uncertainty is appraised, and what strategies daters adopt to cope with it.

Data obtained from 13 semi-structured interviews with active online daters was analyzed using thematic …

Detroit People And Transitions In Housing-3 (Dpath-3): Changes In The Composition And Service Needs Of The Homeless Adult Population, Kiel Opperman

Wayne State University Dissertations

The current research study explores the composition and service need of the homeless community in Detroit, Michigan and its surrounding county, Wayne. The project aims to 1) examine differences in composition and social service characteristics across three decades and 2) access service utilization and unmet needs of the homeless population. The study’s central hypothesis is that demographic shifts in the homeless population indicate the need to make specific and substantive shifts in the distribution of the limited resources allocated to homelessness. Results demonstrated significant changes across the three time points, where the current sample of homeless people were older, spent …

Interpersonal Processes And Consequences Of "Technoference" In Romantic Couples, Julia Leah Briskin

Wayne State University Dissertations

Smartphone use during in-person interactions with romantic partners (“technoference”) has become commonplace, and research has begun to investigate the negative effects of technoference on romantic relationships. However, little research has explored the mechanisms by which technoference influences romantic relationships, and the specific interpersonal processes that are disrupted by technoference must be identified and tested. The present dissertation aims to integrate the interpersonal process model (Reis & Shaver, 1988) with Williams’ model of ostracism (Williams, 1997) to provide a theoretical framework for understanding how technoference uniquely influences romantic relationships. Using a combination of correlational, experimental, and daily diary methodology, four studies …

Proximity, Touching, And Testosterone: An Observational Study Of Mate Retention Tactics In Humans, Kraig Shattuck

Wayne State University Dissertations

Mate guarding behaviors are strongly selected for in species that suffer from infidelity and cuckoldry. Two forms of mate guarding behaviors that have been found in self-report studies on humans are proximity and touching. Proximity actively prevents infidelity though the physical act of being present. Touching indirectly prevents infidelity by signaling to any potential rivals that their partner is taken, as well as signaling to the partner that they are being watched. Testosterone is a hormone implicated in competition and aggression. When in the presence of a potential rival, testosterone levels tend to increase. This increase should be related to …

Multicultural Face Recognition Memory And Own-Race-Bias Among Adults With Acquired Brain Injury, Nia M. Billings

Wayne State University Dissertations

Own-race bias (ORB) is a well-documented phenomenon that may influence face memory, such that face memory is improved when the observed target matches the observer’s racial background. However, the clinical measures widely used in neuropsychological evaluations lack racial diversity that may disenfranchise and disadvantage minority patients. Further, these existing measures have been criticized for having inconsistent visual contrast and facial content, as well as too much variability of non-facial information which may confound its acceptability as a measure of face memory specifically. To address these limitations, standardized, multicultural images with validated facial expressions (Beaupré et al., 2000) were used to …

Characterizing The Development Of Episodic Memory And Assessing The Reliability Of Fmri Measures, Lingfei Tang

Wayne State University Dissertations

The ability to remember past events is critical for everyday life and showed robust improvement over development from childhood to adulthood. With advances in noninvasive neuroimaging methods such as functional MRI in recent years, research efforts have been focused on identifying neural correlates underpinning developmental gains in memory performance. In my dissertation work, using a widely-validated subsequent memory paradigm, I aim to characterize functional MRI correlates of memory development. Specifically, I focused my investigation on identifying age differences in the functional patterns of two brain regions critical for memory, the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus. Focusing on the prefrontal cortex …

Gay And Lesbian Discrimination In The Workplace: The Role Of Agentic And Communal Trait Expectations, Daniel Krenn

Wayne State University Dissertations

Workplace discrimination is a recurring problem in organizations, particularly in organizational processes such as employee selection. Such discrimination is caused by a variety of factors including stereotyping of people by demographic identities and prejudice against various demographic groups. While federal and local legislation protects many stigmatized groups such as race and gender minorities, sexual minorities are largely unprotected. Previous research on sexual orientation reveals a diverse set of negative experiences. However, evidence for formal discrimination against sexual minorities in personnel selection has been inconclusive. Drawing on Role Congruity Theory, perceived characteristic misfit, cognitive stereotyping, and emotionally influenced prejudicial feelings are …

The Protective Role Of Parenting Behaviors In The Development Of African American Adolescents, Kelsey Johanna Sala-Hamrick

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation aimed to understand how African American parents protect their teens from developing psychopathology in the face of extreme adversity. To do this, I examined three dimensions of parenting behavior, stress exposure, and behavior problems in order to understand the direct and moderating relations between parenting behaviors, cumulative stress and youth internalizing, externalizing, and total psychological problems. 150 African American primary caregivers reported on their adolescent children’s internalizing, externalizing and total behavior problems, exposure to stressful events, and their own parenting behavior. 150 inner-city African American adolescents reported on their exposure to traumatic stressors and a subsample of 43 …

Arab American Women's Health Study: Correlational And Experimental Examination Of A Sexual Health Interview, Hannah Holmes

Wayne State University Dissertations

Arab Americans are a diverse group of Americans of Arab heritage or identity. Given the underrepresentation of Arab Americans in research and a taboo surrounding sexuality in Arab culture, it is not surprising that Arab American sexual health is understudied, even though sexuality is an important aspect of health. Arab American women face the challenging task of negotiating both their heritage and American culture, which may have implications for sexual health due to the two cultures’ disparate views on sexuality. Given the conflict and taboo likely to surround the topic of sexuality among Arab American women, confidential discussion of these …

The Influence Of Household Chaos And The Home Language Environment On Preschool-Age Children’S School Readiness, Laura Mary Northerner

Wayne State University Dissertations

School readiness, including both cognitive and social-emotional development, is an important indicator of a child’s preparedness for school entry, and a meaningful predictor of future academic success (Duncan et al., 2007). The home environment plays a critical role in the development of children’s school readiness, especially for children facing social inequalities. Within the home environment, household chaos and home language have been found to impact school readiness. The current study expanded on previous research on household chaos by collecting multiple measures of household chaos, including a naturalistic observation across several days. The current study also naturalistically investigated the home language …