Digital Commons Network^™

Getting The Dunce Cap: Examining The Effects Of Authority And Rejection On Self-Esteem, Chloe Whitfield

Honors College Theses

Social rejection has been defined as any instance in which an individual is excluded socially or fails to maintain a social relationship (Jiang & Ngai, 2020). To describe the tendency to worry about, anticipate, and overreact to social rejection, the term rejection sensitive was coined (Feldman & Downey, 1994). The present study was specifically interested in rejection sensitivity and its various influences on behavior and self-esteem, especially in an instance of receiving rejection from a person of academic authority (i.e., a professor). The study was also interested in identifying recurring personality traits in rejection-sensitive individuals. After completing an online pre-test …

Correlates Of Anti-Asexual Bias In The Bible Belt, Lauren Robinson

Honors College Theses

Many studies focus on LGBTQIA+ individuals in the United States, but there are fewer studies about asexuality, especially in the Bible Belt: a collection of states in the Southeast with populations having increased rates of conservatism, religiosity, and expectations of traditional gender and sexuality norms (Baunach et al, 2009). The purpose of the study was to examine anti-asexual bias and its relation to different variables in college-age students who attended college and/or lived in the Bible Belt. It was hypothesized political positioning, ethnic and racial background, religiosity/spirituality, adherence to social norms, traditional vs egalitarian gender roles, and pathologizing of asexual …

The Academic Self-Esteem Of Higher Education’S Lgbtq+ Students, Tory Cline

Scholars Week

LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer) students' academic self-esteem is underresearched, particularly among college students. Academic self-esteem refers to students' self-esteem regarding their ability to perform well in school. Past research shows that academic performance and academic self-esteem are strongly correlated with one another (Smith et al., 1998). Among high school students, it was found that LGBTQ+ victimization was correlated with worse academic performance and that the presence of a GSA (gay-straight alliance) was predictive of lower levels of victimization (Kosciw et al., 2013). With the vast majority of research on this matter being conducted on high school students, …

Homonegativity Is Predicted By Sexism And Attitudes Towards Women, Torii Doran

Scholars Week

Homonegativity is predicted by sexism and attitudes towards women

This study observed the relation between homonegativity, sexism, and attitudes towards women. The LGBTQ+ community has faced long-standing struggles which is why continued research to grow understanding of the root causes of the disparities that impact the LGBTQ+ community are so important. The current study looked to expand on previously literature that had previously explored homonegativity’s association with overall sexism, by examining hostile sexism, benevolent sexism, and attitudes towards women, specifically (Bernuy & Noe, 2017; Etengoff & Lefevor, 2021; Polimeni et al., 2000). We hypothesized homonegativity would be positively correlated with …

Correlates Of Anti-Asexual Bias In The Bible Belt, Lauren Robinson

Scholars Week

Many studies focus on LGBTQIA+ individuals in the United States, but there are fewer studies about asexuality, especially in the Bible Belt: a collection of states in the Southeast with populations having increased rates of conservatism, religiosity, and expectations of traditional gender and sexuality norms (Baunach et al, 2009). The purpose of the study was to examine anti-asexual bias and its relation to different variables in college-age students who attended college and/or lived in the Bible Belt. It was hypothesized political positioning, ethnic and racial background, religiosity/spirituality, adherence to social norms, traditional vs egalitarian gender roles, and pathologizing of asexual …

Uncharted Territory: Researching The Effect Of Implicit Bias On The Political Attitudes Of Black Participants, Briona Young

Scholars Week

Extant research suggests that implicit bias can predict behavior such as voting, policy preferences, and assessment of government performance (Pérez 2010). Yet, research on implicit bias has largely excluded people of color, leaving a wide gap in our understanding of implicit bias and its effects on society (Orey, 2013). In this study, we research implicit bias within the black community and test its effects on political attitudes. We administer Harvard’s Implicit Association Test (IAT) and a survey to measure levels of implicit bias and subsequently policy preferences and trust in government. We expect to find that the black participants with …

The Effects Of The Mystery Motivator On Attendance In An Undergraduate Population, Hannah Eriksen

Honors College Theses

The present study sought to determine the effects of the Mystery Motivator behavioral intervention on attendance in an introductory psychology course. At a medium sized university in the Midwest, one class participated in the study. Ultimately, the Mystery Motivator was ineffective at increasing the percentage of enrolled students that attended class each day, however other notable findings were observed. For example, social validity measures indicated that of the students who voluntarily completed the survey, mostly liked the intervention and would want other classes to implement similar programs. There were several limitations identified in the current study and future research should …

Animal Liberation Front: Threat To Kentucky, Zoe E. Hunt

Posters-at-the-Capitol

The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is a global terrorist organization that was founded in 1976. Since the creation of ALF, the group has spread rapidly as well as turned into a domestic terrorist organization in the United States. With this project, the group's potential threat to Kentucky was evaluated. ALF was evaluated using four structured analytic techniques and an intelligence collection plan. A better understanding of what ALF is was formed by the discussion of the group’s origins, ideology, and organization. In addition, the group's goals, objectives, and capabilities were discussed. Using the information gathered during the threat profile, the …

Sleep Duration As A Risk Factor For Suicide Ideation And Attempts In Minoritized Youth, Danielle Williams

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Sleep duration as a risk factor for suicide ideation and attempts in minoritized youth

Danielle L. Williams, Caitlin P. Gregory, B.S., Jenessa Canen, B.S., & Amy Brausch Ph.D.

Background and Objective: Suicide is the second leading cause of death in the United States for adolescents and poor sleep is a significant risk factor for suicide ideation and attempts. However, research shows that suicide risk factors identified in predominantly white samples of youth do not have the same association for racial minority youth; sleep may be one such factor. The current study evaluated how the association of total sleep duration with …

Homeownership And Mortgage Loans: How Important Is A Conventional Loan?, Zachary Owen, Cory Curl

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Communities across the United States face a housing crisis that stems in part from a scarcity of conventional home mortgage loans. In 2020, the Urban Institute reported that when applying for a mortgage, Black applicants were denied 27.1% of the time, yet White applicants were denied only 13.6% of the time. These denial rates are highly correlated with homeownership rates. Today, despite policy efforts, the difference in White and Black homeownership rates is higher than in the 1960s when the government enforced discriminatory housing policy.

Because lenders often cite credit score concerns and high debt-to-income ratios as rationales to deny …

Global Criminal Justice Practices And Public Safety, Rachel Hwang

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Popular political discourse in the U.S. assumes that more funding for law enforcement and prison facilities will make civilians safer, presumably by reducing crime and sense of disorder. However, studies have shown that the relationship between these factors may not be as straightforward. With the killing of George Floyd and increased media coverage of police brutality, existing literature focuses mainly on the relationship between police and crime in the U.S. The impact of incarceration (the result of procedural justice) on the community (for whom procedural justice exists) is less known, especially on a global scale. We argue that cycling people …

Motivations Driving Video Research Podcasts: Impact On Value And Creation Of Research Video Presentations, My Doan, Anh Tran, Na Le

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to better understand the role and impact of video research podcasts in bridging the gap between academia and the general public, especially concerning the challenges of accessibility and comprehension of scholarly research.

Methods: A 10-question survey was administered to evaluate the effectiveness, utility, and acceptance of video recordings in research presentations. The survey also aimed to gather insights into the motivations, challenges, and benefits of using video podcasts for research dissemination. Results were then analyzed using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model.

Results: There were 102 respondents …

Mountain (Grand) Mamas: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren During The Opioid Epidemic In Appalachian America And Their Portrayal In Media, Rosemary P. Kelley

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Deep within the hills of Appalachia grandparents are stepping into the familiar role of parenting as many have become the primary caregivers for their grandchildren. These grandparent-headed households (GHHs), a form of kinship care, have increased largely in response to the opioid epidemic that has ravaged the region; children are often left in the care of grandparents as parents experience substance use disorders and, in turn, incarceration. According to the US Census Bureau, over seven million grandparents live with their own grandchildren; over 32 percent of which serve as caregivers and are responsible for these children. The impact of kinship …

Portrayals Of Gender And Race In Instagram Advertising: An Exploratory Content Analysis, Taylor Moore

Honors College Theses

Race and gender stereotyping is a longstanding problem in the world of advertising. This research utilized content and statistical analysis to answer three questions regarding race and gender stereotyping in Instagram advertising: (1) what portrayals are being shown? (2) how are these portrayals being shown? And (3) are diverse advertisements reinforcing or challenging stereotypes? Tweny advertisements were chosen off Instagram to analyze. Through an analysis of literature on the topic, a code book defining race, person of color, sex, gender, and gender expression was created. Using these variables and classifying the ads as a stereotype/counterstereotype/neutral, allowed for the creation of …

College Women’S Traditional Attitudes Towards Femininity And Homonegativity, Kaid Marek, Amanda Watson Joyce

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

Approximately 41% of sexual and gender minoritized (SGM) youth report considering suicide in 2022 (The Trevor Project, 2023), and they are 11 times as likely become the victims of violent crimes compared to non-SGM individuals (Flores et al., 2022). Thus, it is important to explore the roots of negative views toward SGM via internalized and projected gendered expectations from men and women. In men, precarious masculinity and self-image could predict homonegativity (Vandello et al., 2008). However, little is known about how women’s attitudes towards femininity and self-image could also predict sexual prejudice (Basow & Johnson, 2000).

One hundred thirty-seven predominantly …

Per Capita Gdp’S Potential Effect On The Percentage Of Children In Foster Care, Jenna Mcclain

Honors College Theses

Few studies have been conducted on the presence of a direct connection between per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and the percentage of children in foster care in a given region. GDP is a known indicator of economic growth (Powers, 1995; Roshaniza & Selvaratnam, 2015), as is a child’s potential for foster care placement associated with a parent or family’s financial status (Bald et. al, 2022; Barth et. al, 2010). Poverty is the bridge in many of these scenarios – low GDP can be indicative of higher poverty rates, and financial hardship under poverty classification can lead to child maltreatment …

Origin Of Differences In Child Maltreatment Between Italy And America, Morgan Huff

Honors College Theses

There is a distinct difference between the rates of child abuse and neglect in the United States and Italy. Specifically, the United States has a higher rate of child maltreatment than Italy (Bernacchi et al., 2016; Finkelhor et al., 2009). There is also variation in the types of maltreatment that the children suffer within each country (Bernacchi et al., 2016; Mehta et al., 2023). This literature review analyzes potential explanations for these differences in rates of child maltreatment by examining the ways in which this maltreatment may be impacted by access to health insurance, religion, family structure, education, poverty, and …

A Grounded Theory Study Of The Styles, Strategies, And Perceptions Of Performing Arts Leaders, Liane Weintraub, Jessica Arriaza, Stephanie Viggiano

International Journal of Regional Issues in the Arts

The responsibility of leading an arts organization is distinct from other leadership roles due to the complexity and delicate nature of balancing tactical responsibilities while also nurturing an ecosystem that encourages artistic expression. Leaders’ duties are multifarious with often conflicting aims: managing complex organizations, navigating thorny governmental policies, and addressing critical social issues to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), all while cultivating a creative environment. This study aims to identify the specific traits, characteristics, and strategies demonstrated by current arts organization leaders who are navigating the shifting demands of arts leadership. In this grounded theory study, the research team …

Substance Use, Gender Differences, And Peer Influence Among College Students, Mary Hurst

Scholars Week

Abstract

College students all around the country have encounters with peers, in which they are pressured to consume alcohol or other substances. This research project investigates the extent to which gender and social anxiety influence an individual's likelihood to conform to peer pressure in the context of substance use. Conformity to peer pressure and its relationship to substance use is a critical area of study due to its implications for public health, prevention strategies, and gender-specific interventions. We will be assessing the potential of social anxiety and peer pressure influencing binge drinking on college campuses. We expect that (1) peer …

Nonprofit Organizations And Arts Education In A Rural Community, Elise Lael Kieffer

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

The connection between public administration and nonprofit administration has been in existence since ancient times, when individual volunteers (the predecessors of a formal nonprofit sector) met humanitarian needs to which the government was unwilling or unable to attend. Addams (1910) formalized this intersecting relationship during her time working in Chicago’s slums with refugees. Pandey & Johnsons (2019) drew connections between public administration, public policy, and nonprofit management. They concluded that discoveries in one of those domains should necessarily be applied to the others. They advised that continued research should draw explicit connections across those sectors and highlighted examples of the …

The Relationship Between Family Communication Patterns, Conflict Strategies, And The Development/Management Of Eating Disorders, Ana Moyers

Honors College Theses

Eating disorders persist as one of the most prominent psychological and physiological illnesses among young adults and adolescents. Nonetheless, most research in the field focuses on external factors that influence the development of these disorders such (i.e., social media and an idolized body image). There is less research to investigate the role of an individual’s environment, more specifically the family dyad and communication related to such eating disorders. The family unit remains, often, the primary means of socialization for individuals during developing years, thus, this study seeks to expand on how current family communication and family climate contribute to eating …

Government Policy And The Housing Bubble, Hannah Reynolds, Hannah Reynolds

Honors College Theses

The housing market bubble was created by market forces and exacerbated by government regulations. The government policies implemented incentivized certain behaviors by investors that exacerbated the housing bubble beyond what would have occurred “naturally.” The policy under analysis for this research is the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1995. The CRA made affordable-housing initiatives more enforceable and results-driven. These revisions produced unintended consequences in the economy in the form of incentives to give out risky loans. Statistical analysis through difference of means tests show that there is a low level of confidence in statistical significance between the CRA and increased …

Sleep Quality In Undergraduate Students: Examining The Role Of Class Rank And Related Individual Differences, Lauren Yocum, Lauren Yocum

Honors College Theses

College students are likely to experience stress due to increased responsibilities, more demanding coursework, and maintaining a balance between academics and social life. Indeed, college students are at risk for experiencing clinically-significant depressive and anxiety symptoms, as well as sleep disturbances, likely as a result of these challenges. Although the relationship between these affective variables and college stressors are well-documented, less attention has been given to the factors that may help promote better sleep, with the majority of research documenting the intrinsic bidirectional nature of mood and sleep (e.g., lack of sleep leads to worse mood which further exacerbates sleep …

Faculty In Education: Perception Of Control And Alternative Disciplinary Methods, Samantha Freville

Honors College Theses

Schools have the unique and important opportunity to teach students useful life and coping skills as well as positive behavior in their community. One way in which they may impact their students is through their choice of disciplinary methods. Research suggests that alternative disciplinary methods may be more beneficial to students than are traditional exclusionary policies. For part one of this study, undergraduate students reported their experiences with traditional and alternative discipline in elementary, middle, and high school as well as their engagement in school (school involvement and attitudes of school faculty). Results showed that having alternative methods at a …

A Bayesian Examination Of The Effect Of A Mental Health Psychosocial Education Vignette On Stigma Toward Persons With Schizophrenia And Depression, Lainie Krumenacker

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

Psychosocial education has been used to combat stigma in several settings, but familiarity with and exposure to mental illness may also be key factors in reducing stigmatizing comments and behaviors. In this study, we implemented a between-subjects design where participants were allocated into two groups: one who received psychoeducational information about mental health (i.e., the “education group”) and one who received no psychoeducational information (i.e., the “control group”). Regardless of their group, all participants then read vignettes which discussed information about the diagnosis of schizophrenia or the diagnosis of depression. Following the vignettes, all participants completed a series of questionnaires …

Motives And Mental Health In Adults, Jessica Pendley

Scholars Week

The relation between depressive symptomology and SU has been previously established; however, there is a lack of a consistent pattern of comorbidity (Swendsen & Merikangas, 2000). Further understanding of factors that contribute to or strengthen this relation is essential as these may be targets for intervention. Models of both SU and depression include two motivational processes, approach and avoidance (Ertel et al., 2018; Trew, 2011).

SU motives, or the reasons why individuals use substances, can be subdivided based on the functions underlying SU; 1) to avoid unpleasant states, either externally (i.e., using substances to avoid rejection from others; conformity) or …

Does Self-Esteem And Gender Attitudes Affect Sexual Prejudice Among Young Adults?, Kaid Marek

Scholars Week

The overarching aim of the current research is to better understand what predicts prejudice associated with lesbian and gay individuals and eventually inform prevention and intervention efforts. Given that sexual and gender minoritized (SGM) individuals are 2.7 times more likely to be victims of violent crimes compared to heterosexual and cisgender counterparts, and 45% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered suicide within 2022, this body of research is necessary and vital. The current study expands previous research by proposing two different models predicting sexual prejudice; both which combine individual factors (e.g., self-esteem), perception of group norms based on gender (e.g., dominance …

Student Characteristics And The Workplace, Macy Barron, Torrie E. Cline

Scholars Week

As the cost of higher education rises (Gardner, 2022) many are beginning to question just how much completing a college degree helps to prepare them for the workforce (Forbes, 2017, Gerth, 2017). The purpose of this investigation is to examine the perceptions of college students on their employability including the ways in which their own characteristics may relate to these perceptions. Data collection is currently underway. Students will report their perceived employability (EmployABILITY scale, Bennet & Ananthram, 2021; and Employability Scale, Rothwell et al., 2008), demographic characteristics (age, gender, major, year in college, etc.) temperament (Adult Temperament Questionnaire, Evans & …

Student Learning Characteristics And Preferences, Erin Mcdaniel

Scholars Week

Making the transition from high school to college can be a stressful event for any future college student; however, research shows that those difficulties were exacerbated during the Covid-19 pandemic (Husky et al., 2020; Li et al., 2021) In a previous study, data indicated that during the pandemic, students had a difficult time staying on task and expressing self-discipline when it came to school-work. Despite these difficulties, however, students still showed promising trends in being self-aware that they would have to increase their study habits thus resulting in a higher GPA. The purpose of this present study is to determine …

Striking Out Or Hitting A Homer: Relationship Between Sport Fandom And Dating, Emily Kinsey

Scholars Week

Striking Out or Hitting a Homer: Relationship between Sport Fandom and Dating

Emily H. Kinsey

Murray State University

Sport fandom runs deeper than simply cheering for a favorite team. Rather, it assists in meeting powerful, innate human needs, such as sharing a connection that facilitates the need to belong (Wann & James, 2019). Previous research has suggested that men with a high interest in sport tend to view females who share this high level of interest more positively than females showing little interest in sport (Wann, Schinner, & Keenan, 2001). Given this, I was interested in extending this line of …