Digital Commons Network^™

Perceived Addictiveness Of Marijuana, Tobacco And Alcohol Use In Vermont Youth And Young Adults: Associations Between Addiction Perceptions, Sociodemographics, And Substance Use, Julia C. West

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Dual and poly-tobacco and substance use are increasingly prevalent in youth and young adults. Current substance use prevention media efforts target addiction perceptions in young people; however, little is known about the perceived addictiveness of multiple substances among young people. The goal of the current study is to examine youth and young adults perceive addictiveness across several substances and the associations between addiction perceptions and substance use. Data were collected in Spring and Summer 2019 (Waves 1 and 2) as part of PACE Vermont, an online cohort study of Vermonters aged 12–25. Latent class analyses grouped participants by responses to …

We Are Our Memories: Evaluating The Efficacy Of A New Caregiver-Mediated Intervention To Support Episodic Memory In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Ashley Rae Brien

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Episodic memory (EM) is memory for past personal experiences; it is foundational to the development of imagination, introspection, future thinking, and social problem-solving and it shapes one’s self-concept, identity, and life story. EM and theory of mind (ToM) are developmentally intertwined and functionally dependent, and impairments in each are well-documented in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite tremendous empirical and theoretical import for the construal of EM as a core deficit in the social challenges in ASD, no formal interventions have been developed to support EM in this population. Meanwhile, an impressive body of literature has documented that one particular caregiver …

The Developmental Course Of Adhd In The Preschool Classroom: Toward A Prevention Treatment Framework, Caroline Martin

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The objective of this study was to examine the developmental trajectories of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity symptom levels during preschool among a majority Head Start sample of 261 three- to five-year-old children (87% Head Start; 59% Caucasian; 53% boys; Mage = 3.97 years). Teacher ratings of ADHD symptom levels across four time points within the academic year demonstrated, on average, a course of increasing inattention that decelerated over time and a course of steadily increasing hyperactivity/impulsivity. When accounting for the clustering of children within classrooms, both inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity showed an average increasing trajectory over the year with no deceleration. Group-based …

Language Problems And Adhd Behaviors: Associations With School Readiness In An At-Risk Preschool Sample, Marissa Dennis

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This study examines the unique and interactive effects of preschoolers’ receptive language ability and ADHD behavior levels on social-emotional, physical, language, cognitive, literacy, and mathematics school readiness, over and above the effects of socioeconomic status (SES). At the start of the preschool year, 49 predominantly low-SES preschool children completed a receptive language task and teachers rated their ADHD behavior levels. School readiness data were collected approximately three months after the start of the school year. First, hierarchical regression analyses indicated that, after controlling for covariates and the non-focal predictor (i.e., ADHD behaviors or receptive language ability), higher levels of receptive …

The Food-Energy-Water Nexus, Embodied Injustices, And Transboundary Sustainability, Sonya Ahamed

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Intersections of food, energy, and water systems (the FEW nexus) pose many sustainability and governance challenges, including risks to ecosystems, inequitable distribution of benefits and harms across populations, and reliance on distant sources for food, energy, and water. Nexus-based approaches can offer more holistic pathways for societal transitions to FEW systems that are just and sustainable, but tend to focus narrowly on inputs (e.g. water ‘for’ energy) in ways that do little to address the historical roots and structural underpinnings of current system inadequacies, thus risking their perpetuation.

This dissertation widens the FEW nexus in two contexts in which the …

Exploring Weight Control Expectancies As A Mediator Of The Relationship Between Fear Of Fat And Nicotine Dependence In Smokers And Vapers, Emily Pomichter

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Specific drug-use expectancies are shaped by reports from others about the effects of the drug, by an individual’s own experience with the drug, or by both. The present study hypothesized that, among smokers and e-cigarette users (vapers), an individual’s fear of weight gain would be associated with higher endorsement of appetite and weight control expectancies from nicotine use, which in turn would be associated with self-reported levels of nicotine dependence. The participants were smokers (n = 514) and vapers (n = 412) who responded to a Qualtrics survey advertised via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform. As predicted, nicotine’s appetite and weight …

Body Mass Index And Atypical Balance Score As Predictors Of Treatment Outcomes For Seasonal Affective Disorder, Praise Iyiewuare

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Efficacious treatments for winter seasonal affective disorder (SAD) include light therapy (LT) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT-SAD); however, it is unknown whether patient baseline characteristics differentially predict treatment outcomes. The present study investigated body mass index (BMI) and atypical balance as prognostic and prescriptive predictors of SAD treatment outcomes using data from a parent study in which 177 adults diagnosed with Major Depression, Recurrent with Seasonal Pattern were randomized to either CBT-SAD (n = 88) or LT (n = 89). At pre-treatment, BMI was assessed and atypical balance was derived using the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Rating Scale for …

Autonomic Reactivity In Emerging Adulthood : Relationships Between Cyberbullying , The Autonomic Nervous System, And Clinical Outcomes., Aya Cheaito

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, online environments have become critical ways of connecting among college students. With the increase in online interactions, cybervictimization has been identified as a public health issue. This study aims to examine whether cybervictimization among college students is associated with clinical adjustment outcomes such as depression and alcohol consumption. This study also aims to examine whether reactivity in the two branches of the autonomic nervous system (sympathetic and parasympathetic) jointly moderate the relationship between cyberbullying and depression/alcohol consumption, indicating sensitivity to the environment. Participants (n =164, 69% female, M age = 19.92, SD = …

Personality Pathology In Winter Depression: Prevalence And Treatment Trajectories In Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy And Light Therapy, Julia Marie Terman

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Personality disorders are highly comorbid with major depression; however, findings are mixed regarding their impact on depression treatment outcomes and trajectories. Limited research has studied personality pathology in winter depression, specifically. This study (1) explored the prevalence of personality pathology in winter depression and (2) examined its effects on winter depression treatment trajectories. Participants were 174 adults with Major Depression, Recurrent with Seasonal Pattern from a randomized clinical trial comparing group cognitive-behavioral therapy for seasonal affective disorder (CBT-SAD) and light therapy. Participants completed the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III; Millon et al., 1994) at baseline. The prevalence of MCMI-III-defined pathological …

The Development And Validation Of The Supportive Other Experiences Questionnaire: Integrating The Perspectives Of The Social Support Provider After Traumatic Injury, Katherine Ann Van Stolk-Cooke

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Social support is considered to be a protective factor against the development of PTSD after trauma. However, examinations of the social support-PTSD relationship have relied primarily on the self-reports of trauma-exposed individuals to the exclusion of their support providers. A new measure, the Supportive Other Experiences Questionnaire (SOEQ) was developed based on social support theory, prior research and psychometrics in order to capture important components of social support from the perspective of the support provider. Concerned Significant Others (CSOs) recruited via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) platform who served as support providers to a traumatically injured romantic partner were recruited to …

Screening For Food Insecurity In New Milford, Ct, Liana K. Mathias

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Food insecurity is defined as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Litchfield county, home to New Milford, CT, suffered severe economic changes over the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of food insecure households, represented by those requesting food from local food pantries, skyrocketed. This study demonstrates the importance of screening for food insecurity in primary care. A 3-part screen is implemented in a primary care setting to better assess those at risk and connect them to resources and local food services.

Climate Impacts Associated With Reduced Diet Diversity In Children Across Nineteen Countries, Meredith T. Niles, Benjamin F. Emery, Serge Wiltshire, Molly E. Brown, Brendan Fisher, Taylor H. Ricketts

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

It is widely anticipated that climate change will negatively affect both food security and diet diversity. Diet diversity is especially critical for children as it correlates with macro and micronutrient intake important for child development. Despite these anticipated links, little empirical evidence has demonstrated a relationship between diet diversity and climate change, especially across large datasets spanning multiple global regions and with more recent climate data. Here we use survey data from 19 countries and more than 107 000 children, coupled with 30 years of precipitation and temperature data, to explore the relationship of climate to child diet diversity while …

Exploring Hidden Networks Yields Important Insights In Disparate Fields Of Study, Laurence Clarfeld

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Network science captures a broad range of problems related to things (nodes) and relationships between them (edges). This dissertation explores real-world network problems in disparate domain applications where exploring less obvious "hidden networks" reveals important dynamics of the original network.

The power grid is an explicit network of buses (e.g., generators) connected by branches (e.g., transmission lines). In rare cases, if k branches (a k-set) fail simultaneously, a cascading blackout may ensue; we refer to such k-sets as "defective". We calculate system risk of cascading failure due to defective 2-sets and 3-sets in synthetic test cases of the Polish and …

The Relationship Between Dominant And Submissive Sexual Fantasies And Behaviors And Sexual Satisfaction, Lilian Rae Dalton

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Sexual fantasies of dominance and submission are commonly reported as preferred fantasies in healthy women, yet little is understood regarding whether these fantasies affect other aspects of sexuality (Leitenberg et al., 1995). Even less research exists regarding associations between dominant and submissive fantasies, dominant and submissive sexual behavior, and resulting sexual satisfaction. It is not well understood how sexual fantasy may translate into sexual behavior in non-clinical populations, and what factors might facilitate or inhibit individuals’ engagement in sexual behavior that matches their sexual fantasies.

The current study measured the relationship between dominant and submissive sexual fantasies, dominant and submissive …

Food From Somewhere: Envisioning And Practicing Aspirational Food Systems, Caitlin Morgan

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This transdisciplinary dissertation explores the connections between material conditions, human engagements, and the social, economic, and ecological contexts in which they exist. It investigates imaginations of a better food system, projects people have already undertaken, and what happens when their visions meet reality.

Chapter 1 weaves together diverse literature: a justification for action-oriented research and a blending of ecofeminist scholarship, agroecology and sustainable agriculture, ecological economics, systems theory and food systems scholarship, and sensory studies. These disciplines tie together through notions of embeddedness, embodiment, and the context for action, which all translate to the dissertation’s methodological approach of mixed qualitative …

Predictors Of Suicidal Ideation Among Formerly Incarcerated People During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Rachel Matthes Gehman

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Background and purpose: Formerly incarcerated people die by suicide at a rate 6.75 times higher than the general population, but previous research has not identified factors that contribute to this heightened risk. The conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic may exacerbate both suicide risk factors and the stressors of reentry. In the framework of stress proliferation theory, this study uses path analysis to identify paths from incarceration history to environmental factors (i.e., financial stress), interpersonal factors (i.e., social support and conflict), psychological factors (i.e., depression and existential isolation, the feeling of being alone in one’s subjective experience), and their subsequent relationship …

Capturing The Experiences Of Gender Non-Conforming Children Through The Minority Stress Model, Hannah Loso

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Gender non-conforming (GNC) adolescents experience staggering rates of peer and family victimization and discrimination. Recent research suggests children who present as GNC are more likely to experience distress regardless of their gender identity (e.g. Wilson et al., 2017). Increased mental health issues experienced by GNC youth can be conceptualized using Ilan Meyer’s Minority Stress model (Meyer, 1995; Meyer, 2003). This model posits three major processes related to minority stress: (1) distal - external and objective stressful conditions, (2) proximal - the expectation of victimization or discrimination and (3) internalization of negative societal attitudes related to one’s minority status. Although minority …

An International Pilot Study Of Volunteer Stream Monitoring Groups: The Role Of Place Attachment In Volunteer Motivations, Rachel Pierson

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Engaging the public in scientific research through volunteer monitoring (a form of community science) has potential to expand knowledge of conditions and to improve collaborative decision-making. Many studies have sought to understand motivations for participation and potential resulting actions or behaviors that benefit the environment. Place-based connections have been demonstrated to lead people to adopt environmentally responsible behaviors. However, few studies have considered possible differences in motivations across countries or the role place attachment may play as a driver of initial or sustained participation.

The aim of this research was to determine the extent to which place attachment influences people’s …

Enhancing Ecosystem Services And Climate Resilience In Agriculture: A Transdisciplinary Approach, Alissa White

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

A complex of social, economic and environmental factors influences agricultural management in the northeastern US. Farmers often balance goals of farm viability, environmental stewardship, and resilience to climate change, while also under public pressure to enhance the provisioning of ecosystem services from their landscapes. Changes in farm management have been identified as cost-effective ways to address both local water quality issues, and global anthropogenic influences on greenhouse gas concentrations. Individual decision-making on the part of farmers that determines the fate of ecosystem service provisioning from agroecosystems, placing increasing importance on understanding how policy, outreach and research can support farmers’ capacity …

“The Soul Is Symphonic”: Lessons On Practicing Music As Ecological Philosophy From Hildegard Of Bingen, Daniel Cottle

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

In this thesis I seek to understand how music may be practiced as an embodied form of ecological philosophy; that is, how it might help us attain ecological wisdom and lead sustainable lives. In the first chapter, I explore the concept of askesis: the spiritual exercises by which ancient Greek and Roman thinkers practiced philosophy as a way of life. I introduce a simple model for the practice of askesis which is taken from accounts of ancient Stoic spiritual exercise. I also consider evidence for art as a form of askesis. In the second chapter, I describe the influence of …

Children's Conflict Appraisals, Temperamental Negative Affectivity, Affect And Arousal In The Context Of Interparental Conflict., Phuong Nguyen

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Children’s affect and physiological arousal when exposed to interparental conflict have been identified as prominent mechanisms connecting their experience of parental discord and adjustment outcomes (Buehler et al., 2007; Davies et al., 2007). However, how children feel emotionally and physiologically can vary greatly depending on their intrapersonal attributes, such as a temperamental tendency toward negative affect or perceptions of the conflict (Hentges et al., 2015; Weldon et al., 2019). Furthermore, conflict perceptions and temperament can work in conjunction to influence children’s affect and physiology when observing marital conflict (Grych & Fincham, 1990). More specifically, high levels of negative conflict perceptions …

Healthcare Provider Communication In Teens With Type 1 Diabetes: Parental Overprotection And Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills, Tori Humiston

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a complex chronic illness requiring both complex daily treatments and ongoing healthcare provider interactions to support optimal glycemic levels necessary for long-term health and quality of life. Adolescents do not manage their T1D by themselves but rather in collaboration with parents who often help in health tasks and navigating healthcare provider interactions. Although parental support is critical for the adolescent’s development of disease-management skills, it requires parents maintain a delicate balance of allowing adolescent autonomy and providing parent support. When parental support shifts to parental overprotection, i.e., restricting and limiting an adolescent’s activity engagement, it …

Associative Structures Underlying Discriminated Three-Response Behavior Chains, Noelle Loren Michaud

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Instrumental behavior often consists of sequences of responses, or chains, that lead to a primary reinforcing outcome. These responses often differ in terms of both topography and the discriminative stimuli that set the occasion for them. Previous studies have focused on two response chains. They have shown that extinction of R1 weakens the associated R2, and conversely that extinction of R2 also weakens R1. To expand what little we know about discriminated instrumental chains, as well as the associative structure that underlies them, in the present experiments we test the effects of separately extinguishing individual responses on other target responses …

Shaped And Structured Fields For Underground Remote Sensing And Communication, Daniel Jerome Orfeo

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

There is an urgent and longstanding need for non-contact subsurface imaging for the detection and identification of buried objects. This dissertation investigates the use of specialized electromagnetic (EM) remote sensing techniques for the detection of subsurface objects with little or no metal content, such as utility pipes, landmines, and improvised explosive devices. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a well-established remote sensing technology with widespread use [58]; despite this, significant performance limitations remain. First, a high degree of sensitivity is necessary to detect and locate nonmetallic targets. Second, target geometries and congested target configurations are difficult to identify and resolve. Third, …

Implications Of Attitudes On Environmental Challenges: Understanding The Human Dimensions Of Invasive Insects In New England Landowners, Ariana Margarita Cano Gomez

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Many scientists argue that the threat of invasive insects is one of the most pressingenvironmental issues of our time. Decades of research quantify the threat and risk invasive species pose to the New England Forest, yet there is little research combining both the ecological impacts of invasive insects and human attitudes of the potential threats they pose. This dissertation aims to understand the current attitude of landowners in the New England region that are experiencing the threat of hemlock woolly adelgid, emerald ash borer, or Asian longhorned beetle. This dissertation includes three different studies focusing on social psychology frameworks and …

Examining Antepartum Quit Attempts Using A Latent Factor Model Of A Hypothetical Cigarette Purchase Task, Carolyn Grace Evemy

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Previous research has validated the use of hypothetical purchase tasks to measure smoking demand among pregnant women. This study extends that research by (1) examining the factor loading pattern of a hypothetical cigarette purchase task (CPT) in a sample of pregnant women who smoke, and (2) comparing the ability of the latent factor solution to predict antepartum quit attempts relative to more conventional predictors. Participants were 665 pregnant women seeking enrollment in a smartphone-based smoking-cessation trial. Data were taken from an intake assessment that included the CPT, the Kirby delayed discounting task, sociodemographic and smoking-history questionnaires, and assessment of antepartum …

Estimating Aviation And Passenger Vehicle Emissions For Surveyed Long-Distance, Intercity Trips, Elizabeth Duffy

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Transportation in the United States is the largest sector contributor to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) (EPA, 2020). The proportion of passenger miles for long-distance, intercity travel is estimated to be 30% of the total for air, on-road passenger vehicle, and other modes. Methods for estimating and mitigating these emissions have received limited focus and there is a need to evaluate if a reduction in long-distance travel emissions is feasible through behavior change including modal shift, vehicle occupancy, or destination choice. The focus of this research is the design and implementation of a carbon calculator that estimates the CO2 emissions of …

The Incel Lexicon: Deciphering The Emergent Cryptolect Of A Global Misogynistic Community, Kelly Caroline Gothard

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Evolving out of a gender-neutral framing ofan involuntary celibate identity, the concept of `incels' has come to refer to an online community of men who bear antipathy towards themselves, women, and society-at-large for their perceived inability to find and maintain sexual relationships. By exploring incel language use on Reddit, a global online message board, we contextualize the incel community's online expressions of misogyny and real-world acts of violence perpetrated against women. After assembling around three million comments from incel-themed Reddit channels, we analyze the temporal dynamics of a data driven rank ordering of the glossary of phrases belonging to an …

Black Resilience And Empowerment Through Self-Affirming Self-Care At Predominately White Institutions Of Higher Education, Vicki L. Garrison

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The institution of higher education, especially predominately white institutions of higher education (PWIHE), perpetuates the subjugation of Black people through the existence of traditional societal ideologies, values, and practices that function with and reinforce racism as the norm. Limited research exists about self-care strategies that assist Black students with navigating PWIHE. The purpose of this study is to explore strategies of self-care that can assist Black students to more healthily and successfully navigate a PWIHE. This qualitative narrative study illuminates Black experiences, empowers Black voices, and validates Black truth while extracting and capitalizing on Black agency to generate knowledge for …

Vermont Special Educators’ Perceptions On The Inclusion Of Students With Disabilities In Universal Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports (Pbis), Cassandra L. Townshend

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

AbstractOver the last 25 years, there has been an increased body of research on best practices to address the social, emotional, and behavioral well-being of all students in schools. Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) has consistently demonstrated effectiveness in attending to all students’ social, emotional, and behavioral wellbeing – including students with disabilities (Simonsen et al., Feb., 2020). Despite PBIS being implemented in over 27,000 schools in the United States (Horner & Sugai, 2015) and in over 50% of schools Vermont, minimal research has been conducted on the experiences of special educators and their perceptions of PBIS practices on …