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Psychology

Theses/Dissertations

The University of Southern Mississippi

College students

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Future Parents: Associations Between Social Media Use, Parenting Styles, And Parenthood Desires, Kennedy Evins Jun 2022

Future Parents: Associations Between Social Media Use, Parenting Styles, And Parenthood Desires, Kennedy Evins

Honors Theses

Research suggests that college students without children have opinions about parenting styles and practices, which may influence future parenting intentions and behaviors. In addition, research indicates that media exposure affects fertility desires in women. The present study explored how pre-parent college students view parenthood by examining the impact of social media use on perceptions of parenting, parenthood intentions, and anticipated parenting styles. One hundred nineteen (N = 119) college students completed measures that assessed social media use, perceptions of parenting, parenthood intentions, and anticipated parenting styles. Demographic variables such as parental status, race, age, and gender were also collected. …


Examining The Association Between Fictive Kin Care, Parental Attachment And Emotional Distress In College Students, Roxanne Watts May 2022

Examining The Association Between Fictive Kin Care, Parental Attachment And Emotional Distress In College Students, Roxanne Watts

Master's Theses

Having a supportive and secure relationship with parents can predict less emotional distress in college students. In addition to parental support, many families leverage fictive kin caregivers to provide support. This is especially true in communities of racial and ethnic minorities. The present study investigated the association between fictive kin care, parental relationships, and emotional distress in college students. One hundred fourteen (N = 114) college students completed measures that assessed parental and fictive-kin relationships, social support, and emotional distress. A COVID-19 pandemic-related distress measure was also administered. Three hypotheses were tested. First, it was hypothesized that fictive kin …


Depressive Symptoms And Marijuana Outcomes In College Students: The Mediating Role Of Protective Behavioral Strategies For Marijuana, Nicholas Militello Aug 2021

Depressive Symptoms And Marijuana Outcomes In College Students: The Mediating Role Of Protective Behavioral Strategies For Marijuana, Nicholas Militello

Master's Theses

The present study evaluated the sequentially mediating role of protective behavioral strategies for marijuana (PBSM) and marijuana use frequency on the relationships depressive symptoms had with hazardous marijuana use and marijuana-related negative consequences in college students Participants were 338 (50.3% male) undergraduate college students age 18 to 25 (M = 22.10; SD = 1.97) who reported marijuana use in the past 30 days. Participants reported their gender and completed measures of depressive symptoms, PBSM use, marijuana use frequency, marijuana-related negative consequences, and hazardous marijuana use through an online survey from a 2018 project. Depressive symptoms were positively associated with …


The Mediating Effects Of Drinking Refusal Self-Efficacy On The Associations Between Alcohol Protective Behavioral Strategies And Alcohol Use Outcomes, Kray Scully Aug 2020

The Mediating Effects Of Drinking Refusal Self-Efficacy On The Associations Between Alcohol Protective Behavioral Strategies And Alcohol Use Outcomes, Kray Scully

Dissertations

Alcohol use continues to pose a serious public health problem at universities across the U.S., largely due to the extent of consumption and frequency of negative consequences experienced among college students. Alcohol protective behavioral strategies (PBS-A) are an empirically supported repertoire of safe drinking behaviors college students can use to monitor and control their alcohol consumption as well as limit harm while drinking. However, there remains a need to better understand how cognitive mechanisms, such as drinking refusal self-efficacy (DRSE), help explain college student safe alcohol use behaviors to enhance evidenced-based intervention and prevention efforts. Recently, studies that examined the …


Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms And Alcohol Outcomes: The Mediating Role Of Drinking Motives And Protective Behavioral Strategies, Hallie R. Jordan Aug 2020

Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms And Alcohol Outcomes: The Mediating Role Of Drinking Motives And Protective Behavioral Strategies, Hallie R. Jordan

Dissertations

The present study evaluated the sequentially mediating role of drinking motives (i.e. social, enhancement, coping, conformity) and alcohol protective behavioral strategy (PBSA) subtypes (i.e. serious harm reduction [SHR], stopping/limiting drinking [SLD], manner of drinking [MOD]) on the relationships posttraumatic stress symptoms had with hazardous drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences in college students. Participants were 492 (50.8% men) traditional age (i.e. 18 to 25 years old) college students reporting past 30 day alcohol consumption and the experience of at least one potentially traumatic event over their lifetime. Participants reported their gender and completed measures of posttraumatic stress symptoms, drinking motives, PBS …


Anger, Relational Victimization, And Vengeance In The Context Of Relational Aggression, Alison Poor Aug 2020

Anger, Relational Victimization, And Vengeance In The Context Of Relational Aggression, Alison Poor

Master's Theses

Relational aggression involves the aggressor harming the victim’s social status, reputation, and/or relationships. This form of aggression is a relatively new topic in the literature that would benefit from additional research with emerging adults. The present study examined two models involving relational aggression in a college student sample (N= 247). First, we predicted, based on the general aggression model, that anger rumination would partially mediate the relationship between trait anger and relational aggression. Second, based on the rejection-aggression link, we predicted that vengeance would partially mediate the relationship between relational victimization and aggression. We tested each model separately …


Ptsd Symptoms And Alcohol-Related Outcomes In College Students: The Mediating Role Of Positive And Negative Coping Styles, Tatum Freeman May 2020

Ptsd Symptoms And Alcohol-Related Outcomes In College Students: The Mediating Role Of Positive And Negative Coping Styles, Tatum Freeman

Honors Theses

This study evaluated the mediating role of coping styles (problem-solving and avoidance coping) on the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and alcohol outcomes (i.e. hazardous drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences [ARNC]). A national sample of 672 traditional age (i.e. 18-25 years old; M = 22.35, SD = 1.97) college students who reported alcohol consumption in the past month were recruited via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk website. Participants were 55.1% male and 60.9% White, and they completed measures of PTSD symptoms, coping styles, hazardous drinking, and ARNC. Problem-solving coping (an adaptive form of coping) mediated the positive relationship between PTSD …


Anxiety Moderates The Relationship Between Peer Exclusivity And Peer Relational Aggression Among College Students, Hailee Buras May 2020

Anxiety Moderates The Relationship Between Peer Exclusivity And Peer Relational Aggression Among College Students, Hailee Buras

Honors Theses

Relational aggression (i.e., harming the victim’s relationships, reputation/status, or feelings of belongingness) is associated with a number of adverse correlates among college students (Dahlen, Czar, Prather, & Dyess, 2013; Ostrov & Houston, 2008). Peer exclusivity (i.e., the desire that one’s close friends do not have other close friends) has been shown to be positively related to relational aggression in peer relationships (Kawabata, Youngblood, & Hamaguchi, 2014); however, this relationship has not been widely explored. Anxiety is also relevant to relational aggression among college students (Cooley, Frazer, Fite, Brown, & DiPierro, 2016; Gros, Gros, & Simms, 2010) and may inform our …


Posttraumatic Stress And Hazardous Alcohol Use In College Students: The Moderating Role Of Alcohol Protective Behavioral Strategies, Hallie R. Jordan Dec 2018

Posttraumatic Stress And Hazardous Alcohol Use In College Students: The Moderating Role Of Alcohol Protective Behavioral Strategies, Hallie R. Jordan

Master's Theses

The present study evaluated the moderating role of alcohol protective behavioral strategy subtypes (Al-PBS; Serious Harm Reduction [SHR], Manner of Drinking [MOD], Stopping/Limiting Drinking [SLD]) and gender on the relationships between traumatic stress symptoms and both hazardous drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences. Participants were 915 traditional age (18 to 25 years old) college students from nine universities in the United States who reported drinking in the past. All participants reported their gender and completed measures of traumatic stress symptoms, Al-PBS use, hazardous drinking, and alcohol-related negative consequences through an online survey. Experiencing greater traumatic stress symptoms was associated with both …


The Influence Of Socioeconomic Status And Subjective Social Status On The Career Development Of College Students, Dylan Richard Dec 2018

The Influence Of Socioeconomic Status And Subjective Social Status On The Career Development Of College Students, Dylan Richard

Master's Theses

Social class is often examined across social science disciplines and contains two distinct parts: socioeconomic status (SES) and subjective social status (SSS). Researchers have established that college students from various SES backgrounds experience college differently, however little research has examined how universities and those that work with college students can help aid the career development of students given their SES. Career development is a broad area of research; therefore, the current study examines a number of career development variables that are key in understanding college students’ career development, such as career adaptability, career decision-making difficulty, work values, and vocational interests. …


The Moderating Role Of Pbs In The Relationship Between Positive Expectancies And Alcohol-Related Negative Consequences, Kray Scully May 2018

The Moderating Role Of Pbs In The Relationship Between Positive Expectancies And Alcohol-Related Negative Consequences, Kray Scully

Master's Theses

Hazardous drinking college students have become an increasingly focused upon group within alcohol research, especially considering the extent of negative consequences they experience. Recently, increased positive expectancies has been identified as an influential contributor to increased hazardous drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences. However, more comprehensive evaluation of the domains of positive expectancies (e.g., sociability, tension reduction, sexual enhancement, liquid courage) is warranted to ascertain which types are more salient in predicting hazardous drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences. Further, research has yet to explore how protective behavioral strategies (PBS) affect the strength of the associations between specific positive expectancies and alcohol-related …


Jealousy And Romantic Relational Aggression Among Dating College Students, Ashlee A. Bryant May 2017

Jealousy And Romantic Relational Aggression Among Dating College Students, Ashlee A. Bryant

Honors Theses

Most of the research on relational aggression has been conducted with samples of older children and early adolescents and has focused primarily on same-sex peer relationships (Goldstein & Tisak, 2004). The aim of this study was to contribute to the relatively meager research on relational aggression in the context of college students’ romantic relationships by exploring the role of interpersonal jealousy. Participants included 377 undergraduate student volunteers (64 men and 313 women) ranging in age from 18 to 58 who were recruited through the Department of Psychology’s subject pool (i.e., Sona). The data were collected in the form of an …


Congruence With College Major In Light Of Cognitive Influence And Work Roles, Erica L. Mathis May 2016

Congruence With College Major In Light Of Cognitive Influence And Work Roles, Erica L. Mathis

Master's Theses

Using Holland’s theory, the author examined moderators that may influence students’ academic success and satisfaction while accounting for cognitive influence. Data from 233 undergraduate students was analyzed using a series of hierarchical multiple regressions. The study sought to determine if student employment and the level of interest profile elevation were significant moderators of the relationship between congruence with college major and academic major satisfaction, as well as academic major success. Uniquely, academic major success was determined through GPA and a 10-subscale self-report measure. Cognitive influences were operationalized as positive and negative thinking and accounted for in all analyses. Correlation results …


The Effects Of Mindfulness Meditation And Mind-Wandering On Coping-Related Hopefulness In Undergraduate College Students, Shelby N. Green Dec 2015

The Effects Of Mindfulness Meditation And Mind-Wandering On Coping-Related Hopefulness In Undergraduate College Students, Shelby N. Green

Honors Theses

High levels of stress in college students are extremely prevalent. This is evident in time-consuming academic responsibilities overlapping with family life, work duties, and personal life. Stress can have negative impacts on academic performance and physical health in college students , and it has been correlated with various negative outcomes including anxiety and depression (Segrin,1999), increases in headaches (Labbe, Murphy & O’Brien, 1997), increased rates of athletic injury (Brewer & Petrie, 1996), suicidal ideation and hopelessness (Dixon, Rumford, Heppner, & Lipps, 1992), sleep disturbances (Verlander, Benedict, & Hanson, 1999), poor health behaviors (Sadava & Pak, 1993; Naquin & Gilbert, 1996), …


Confirmatory Factor Analysis Of The Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale (Pbss) Across Racial Groups, Sasha Joy Lambert May 2010

Confirmatory Factor Analysis Of The Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale (Pbss) Across Racial Groups, Sasha Joy Lambert

Dissertations

Alcohol consumption among college students, and the negative alcohol-related consequences that accompany that consumption, have been consistent concerns for colleges and the general public for several decades. Protective behavioral strategies are emerging in the literature as a potentially effective means of reducing harm to students; however, psychometrically sound measures for protective behavioral strategies are only in a development stage at this point. One such measure, the Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale (PBSS), showed particular promise in this area, but previous research suffered from sample limitations, particularly very low sampling of students of color. In the current study, additional items were added …


A Psychometric Evaluation Of The Revised Optimism-Pessimism Scale Of The Mmpi-2, Ginger Burge Debrule Aug 2009

A Psychometric Evaluation Of The Revised Optimism-Pessimism Scale Of The Mmpi-2, Ginger Burge Debrule

Dissertations

The present study tested the psychometric properties of the Revised Optimism-Pessimism Scale (PSM-R) of the MMPI-2. This scale purportedly measures the respondent's explanatory style on a dimension of optimism and pessimism. Participants included 92 college undergraduates and 2,729 participants from archived outpatient data. The PSM-R is a reliable measure, based on test-retest reliability and internal consistency. However, the construct validity of the measure is questionable. Evaluation of the PSM-R items suggests that the items are not all related to the optimism-pessimism construct. In addition, convergent validity of the PSM-R was assessed using measures of attributional style, dispositional optimism, hope, depression, …