The Ecology Of Educational Attainment: Resilience Among Black High School Students, Jacqueline O. Davis

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Achievement gaps among students of color in the United States are pervasive and persistent. Identifying trajectories of resilience among Black teens is an important step toward promoting their educational attainment. This study identified risk and protective factors at the individual, family, and school levels hypothesized to influence Black high school students’ attainment. The effects of these risk (behavior problems, lack of college planning, and school problems) and protective factors (academic self-efficacy, parent involvement, and academic climate) on Black students’ educational attainment at 10-year follow-up were assessed. The sample included 2,423 Black 10th-grade students who participated in the Education Longitudinal Study …

Chronic Life Stress And Change In Stress Response Functioning In Urban Youth: The Role Of Social Support And Gender, Heather M. Marshall

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) has been established as a bio-marker of stress reactivity in acute stressor tasks. Much less research exists exploring whether sAA is bio-marker for chronic stress exposure, and therefore, allostatic load. Extant research is inconsistent with some evidence to support chronic stress exposure having an impact on sAA reactivity and diurnal levels of sAA, while other studies have failed to support this theory. Social support is regarded as a protective factor against stress, mental health, and physical health consequences. It has been suggested that gender may play a role in the utilization and benefits of social support networks. …

Overcoming Exposure To Complex Stressors: An Examination Of Protective Coping Mechanisms For Low-Income Urban African American Youth, Molly Cory

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Low-income urban African American youth experience multiple uncontrollable stressors (e.g. community violence) that may then impact the severity of controllable stressors (e.g. school stressors) and combine to produce negative life outcomes. In light of these negative outcomes, it is important to understand individual protective factors, and the coping response in particular. Past research has emphasized the advantages of primary control engagement coping, but recent evidence suggests that low-income urban African American youth facing complex and uncontrollable stressors may benefit more from disengagement strategies in response to uncontrollable stressors. Although it is expected this population would additionally benefit from applying engagement …

Children’S Selective Trust Based On Previous Lying Behaviors, Natalie A. Mordini

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

This study examined children’s nuanced understanding of prosocial liars and self-serving liars across the following three areas: children’s willingness to learn information from liars, their judgments of liars through their friend preferences, and their visual attention to liars. As children develop theory of mind skills, they learn they can manipulate other’s knowledge states by telling lies. They also evaluate lying based on whether the liar has self-serving or prosocial intentions, with the former judged more negatively and the latter judged more positively. Based on research findings indicating that children demonstrate selective trust in informants based on their previous accuracy or …

Latent Classes Of Exposure To Potentially Traumatic And Stressful Life Events In A Sample Of Young Predominantly Ethnic Minority Women, Alyssa Donovan

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Women are disproportionately affected by specific types of potentially traumatic and stressful life events that are strongly linked to PTSD and depressive symptoms (Tolin & Foa, 2006; U.S. Census Bureau, 2016). Yet, while many studies have investigated patterns of potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and their associations with clinical outcomes, few have assessed PTE typologies with exclusively female samples (e.g., Cavanaugh et al., 2013). This study examined profiles of childhood and adulthood potentially traumatic and stressful life events in a predominantly ethnic minority, community sample of 191 young women. Using latent class analysis, we found four distinct profiles of exposure to …

An Exploration Of The Psychometric Properties Of The Self-Sufficiency Matrix Among Individuals And Families Currently Or At Risk Of Experiencing Homelessness, Camilla Cummings

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The homeless service sector has moved toward the implementation of assessment tools to better understand the support service needs of individuals and families. While a variety of assessment tools are available, their psychometric evidence base is limited. The Self-Sufficiency Matrix (SSM) is one assessment that holds promise with regard to its reliability, validity, and potential use as an instrument for triaging services. However, research examining the factor structure of the SSM has been inconsistent across samples. Moreover, it has never been tested among a broad population of both those currently experiencing and at-risk of experiencing homelessness, or examined unaccompanied adults …

Executive Functioning In Pediatric Youth: A Meta-Analysis, Draycen D. Decator

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Executive functioning (EF) represents a set of cognitive skills that are important for daily functioning. EF can be influenced by a number of biopsychosocial factors, many of which are present in the pediatric population (i.e., youth with at least one medical condition). It is important to understand EF in this population as it affects aspects of their physical health (e.g., treatment adherence). Previous meta-analyses have been conducted to examine EF in the pediatric population, and they have generally found deficits in EF compared to healthy peers. However, these previous meta-analyses have only focused on specific medical conditions (e.g., pediatric youth …

Housing, Relationships, And Substance Use Among Female Ex-Offenders, Arturo Soto-Nevarez

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Female ex-offenders with histories of substance abuse face many difficulties upon reentry into the general population, such as acquiring adequate housing. The purpose of this proposal is to explore the relations between housing settings, relationships, and substance use. Two hundred adult females participated in the initial baseline study. Two methods of data analyses were proposed to predict substance use: one clustering participants into groups based on the endorsement of those settings and relationships, and one using multi-level modeling examining housing settings and relationships both independently as well as unique settings comprised of housing setting and relationship. Participants fell into one …

Biological Stress Response And Cognitive Vulnerability To Depression In Adolescence, Bridget M. Brush

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Depression is the leading cause of worldwide disability. Rates of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) increase exponentially over the adolescent transition, suggesting adolescence represents a key period of risk for the onset of depression. Previous research has associated both biological stress response and cognitive vulnerability with symptoms of depression; however, there is little research examining the joint effects of these two risk factors and symptoms of depression, especially during adolescence. The present study examined the association between symptoms of depression and two established risk factors for depression: cognitive vulnerability, as measured by negative cognitive style, and biological stress response, as measured …

An Examination Of The Reciprocal Association Of Collective Efficacy And Community Violence Exposure In Low-Resourced, Urban African American Adolescents, Christopher R. Whipple

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

African American adolescents are exposed to community violence at alarming rates. Compared to Caucasian adolescents, African American adolescents are 112% more likely to be exposed to community violence and 6 to 9 times more likely to be victims of homicide. There are many risk factors and behavioral/emotional issues associated with community violence exposure. Collective Efficacy Theory posited that collective efficacy (i.e., social cohesion and informal social control) influence community violence, and that a reciprocal association exists between collective efficacy and community violence. While the influence of collective efficacy on community violence exposure is established, the influence of community violence exposure …

Dialectical Thinking And Smoking Outcomes In Asian Americans, Amber Pham

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Cigarette smoking is the leading health problem in the United States. Recent literature has discussed risk perception and acculturation as possible protective factors against this risky health behavior. However, there is little research regarding dialectical thinking as a potential barrier for smoking cessation. The current study examined smoking outcomes, which include expectancies, attitudes, and intentions in Asian American males. Specifically, we examined acculturation and dialectical thinking as major factors influencing smoking outcomes. We hypothesized that dialectical thinking mediates the relationship between acculturation and smoking outcomes. We also hypothesized that Asian Americans who were primed to think dialectically would hold more …

Pride’S Influence On Perception Of Control And Risky Decision-Making, Andrea Sanders

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Incidental emotion can powerfully impact risky decision-making processes, yet the specific mechanisms that drive this relationship require further exploration. The appraisal theory of emotion suggests that emotional valence alone cannot accurately predict an emotion’s effect on risk-taking. Rather, specific appraisal dimensions of an emotional experience—particularly the perception of control—have been found to critically influence risk-taking across settings. Previous literature indicates that guilt, a negative emotion characterized by high personal control, led to higher risk preferences. The current study sought to replicate these findings and test whether a similar relationship would be found for the positive emotion of pride. Data was …

Economic Pressure And Depressive Symptoms Among Latino Youth: The Role Of Control Beliefs And Family Obligation, Ashley Castro

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Latino youth in the United States experience high rates of both poverty and of depressive symptoms and disorders (CDC, 2012; DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, & Smith, 2014). According to the Adaptation to Poverty Related Stress model (APRS; Wadsworth, Raviv, Compas, & Connor-Smith, 2005), economic pressure is positively linked to adolescent depression via coping. Using a resilience perspective, the present study extends the APRS model by exploring the role that cultural values, namely family obligation, and control beliefs play in the relation between economic pressure and depressive symptoms for Latino youth. Participants in this study were 404 Latino children and adolescents (M …

Sold A Dream: An Experimental Test Of The Predictions Of The Elaboration Likelihood Model Of Persuasion In A Predatory Student Lending Scenario, Lauren M. Pytel

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Understanding why consumers fall prey to fraud and scams is a critically important area of research. Yet few comprehensive models of fraud victimization exist. The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion (ELM; Petty & Cacioppo, 1986) is a possible exception (e.g., Rusch, 1999; Langenderfer & Shimp, 2001; Lea et al., 2009), but the predictions of ELM remain to be empirically tested in a fraud-related decision context. Here, four experiments testing the predictions of ELM in a predatory student lending scenario are presented. Although results only partially supported the predictions of ELM, it is suggested that ELM can continue to serve as …

Contextual Perspectives On Heroin Addiction And Recovery: Classic And Contemporary Theories, Sarah L. Callahan

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Drug use and recovery have received considerable attention from social scientists over the past few decades. However, many studies involving heroin use continue to focus on person-centered risk factors surrounding use and, to a lesser extent, recovery processes. There is a need to further develop and use theories that focus on contextual approaches that include opportunity structures and behavioral economic factors. In this article, two classic criminological theories (Differential Opportunity and Subcultural) are reviewed as well as the more recent Social Resource theory (SRT). Differential Opportunity theory focuses on the fact that those involved in illegitimate means of opportunity require …

Who Are The Elis Of Today? Examining The Adults Present During The Religious Identity Development Of Catholic-Raised Youth, Danielle S. Vaclavik

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Given that a large percentage of former-Catholic adults report leaving the Church before reaching adulthood, and the percentages of Catholic-raised youth retaining their religious identity into adulthood are decreasing, a pressing question currently facing the modern Catholic Church is how to minister to, and retain, Catholic-raised adolescents into adulthood. Current religious and secular literature suggests that adults (both parental and non-parental) may play a crucial role in youths’ religious identity development. However, who these adults are and how their presence influences the experience of growing up Catholic is unexplored in the current literature.

In depth oral history narrative interviews were …

Impact Of Maternal Depression On Offspring, Fatima Sozzer

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Depression can go beyond influencing the livelihood of a woman, Mothers with depression often have difficulty paying attention to their children, and can fail to establish a bond with them (Delaney, 2017). The current study looked for a relation between children’s internalizing symptoms and their mothers’ depressive symptoms, and whether or not strength of the mother-child bond mediates that relation. Significant effects of maternal depression were found on child’s internalizing symptoms. Barron and Kenny’s four step method to establishing mediation was used (Barron & Kenny, 1983; Mackinnon et al., 2007). Based on Barron and Kenny’s criterion for establishing mediation, mediation …

Assessing The Experience Of Awe: Validating The Situational Awe Scale, William L. Krenzer

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Awe is an overwhelming feeling of admiration sometimes mixed with wonder or fear. Inspired by a cross-disciplinary review of perspectives on awe, we constructed a new measure that would reflect all of these perspectives. In this dissertation, I introduce the Situational Awe Scale (SAS) and report a set of studies designed to validate the measure. An exploratory factor analysis in Study 1 suggested a four-factor structure (i.e., liberation/connection, oppression/isolation, chills, and small-self/vast-world); the study also provided initial evidence of the measure’s convergent and criterion validity. Study 2 provided evidence for the structural validity of the SAS, by confirming the factor …

Justice, Trust, And Team Performance A Comparison Of Leader Selection Methods On The Development Of Team Trust, Jake Alexander Weiss

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the past few decades, organizations have shifted from a management mandated, top down approach to a more collaborative, team based, horizontal structure (Miles & Snow, 1992). As a result, work teams are on the rise, which has led to an increase in leadership roles within organizations. The relationships between procedural justice and trust in leadership, and trust in leadership and performance are well established in current literature. The former relationship, however, has been analyzed only at the individual level. Given the prevalence of teams in academic and applied settings, it is imperative to understand how this relationship exists, if …

Gender Role Congruity In Negotiation: The Impact Of Task Framing And Communication Mode, Kaitlyn R. Gallagher

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has demonstrated that gender influences negotiation behavior and outcomes. Using role congruity theory, this study examined if the context of the negotiation, specifically the type of negotiation (integrative vs. distributive), minimized gender effects in choice of negotiation medium. The relationship between fear of backlash, anxiety, and self-efficacy on preference for negotiation medium (virtual vs. face-to-face) was also examined. This study used a 2 Gender: (Male, Female) x 2 Negotiation Type: (Distributive, Integrative) between-participants design with 206 undergraduate students from a voluntary research pool. Multiple logistic regression revealed a main effect of gender on negotiation medium, but no significant …

Defensive Pessimism And Goal Setting, Elizabeth Anna Guth

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Studies have found that the defensive pessimism cognitive strategy which involves going into situations with unrealistically low expectations despite previous high performance, leads to lower levels of performance when individuals taking on this strategy have expectations placed upon them in the form of encouragement (Norem & Cantor, 1986a, 1986b). Thus far, no one has applied goal setting theory to this phenomenon to try to investigate the possible interactive effects of goal setting and encouragement on performance (Locke & Latham, 2002). This study hypothesized that specific difficult goals would have negative effects on individuals more likely to take on a defensive …

Teacher-Directed Violence: The Role Of Disempowerment In Turnover, Eric A. Peist

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Teacher turnover is a significant issue in education, creating great economic cost and affecting students in the form of academic performance and instructional continuity. While many factors impact turnover, the effects of teacher-directed violence have rarely been explored. Violence directed against teachers has been linked to negative outcomes, such as emotional distress and professional disengagement. The construct of empowerment, or disempowerment, can help researchers to better understand the relationship between teacher-directed violence and teacher turnover, allowing for an ecological approach that explores the context around teachers’ experiences of violence. The current study uses mixed methods to analyze this relationship, based …

Toward Pay Equity: A Motivational Intervention To Reduce Gender Differences In Salary Negotiations, Mary Margaret Keegin

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

A persistent wage gap exists between women and men in the United States (Catalyst, 2015; Hegewisch, Ellis, & Hartmann, 2015). Although the reasons behind the wage gap are extremely complex, one of the methods through which pay equity may be reached could involve altering the way people approach their goals at the bargaining table, especially since women tend to underperform relative to men in salary negotiations (Mazei, Hüffmeier, Freund, Stuhlmacher, Bilke, & Hertel, 2015). Salary negotiations represent a critical piece of the pay equity puzzle, particularly when individuals are starting their careers. If equally qualified men and women begin their …

The Effects Of Psychological Home And Place Attachment On Life Satisfaction In Women Of Color, Kendall Patricia Crum

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The cognitive judgments individuals make to evaluate their quality of life (i.e. life satisfaction), are vital to understanding how individuals perceive their overall well-being. Predictors, such as, gender, ethnicity, and external environmental factors may influence life satisfaction. Few studies examined the relations between psychological home, place attachment, and life satisfaction. The present study was the first to examine these concepts in women of color. For the present study, data were taken from a larger nationwide study of 1,394 adults (M = 53.94 years old) examining the relationship between home, clutter, and well-being. The current study explored the influence of …

The Longitudinal Relation Between Housing Insecurity And Negative Parenting Practices, Saidah Chambers

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

National and state level data show that families experiencing housing insecurity, especially homelessness, exhibit higher rates of child welfare involvement as compared to low-income housed families; and suggest that certain factors may increase risk of child welfare involvement for housing insecure families. The interplay between housing insecurity, social support, and depression can affect family systems in several ways including through financial and emotional transactions; however, the relation between these factors and the range of housing problems remains unclear. This dissertation assessed how negative parenting practices were impacted by the complexity of circumstances that converge under the umbrella of housing insecurity. …

Variation In Emotion Eliciting Events And Display Rules As A Function Of Individualism And Collectivism: A Cross Cultural Comparison Of Pakistanis And Americans, Serah Saleem Fatani

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Culture not only influences the conditions under which we will experience an emotion, but also may have bearing on its manner of outward expression. This study investigated cultural differences in the construction of emotion-eliciting events and the associated display rules for exhibiting those emotional responses to others within the context of the cultural classification system known as Individualism/Collectivism (I/C) (Triandis, 1994, 1995; Triandis et al., 1988). In this comparative study, individualists were represented by a sample of participants from the United States whereas collectivists were represented by a Pakistani participant sample.

I/C tendencies of the Pakistani and American respondents were …