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Self-Esteem In Spanish-Speaking Latinos In Northwest Ohio, Mckenna Freeman

Honors Projects

Self-esteem is a widely-studied construct across many disciplines of social science. However, previous research regarding self-esteem and language barriers has focused primarily on children and adolescent populations, while much less research has examined this relationship among adults. The current study measures linguistic acculturation and self-esteem in both Latino and control adult samples. Hypothesis 1 states that participants in the Latino sample would report significantly lower self-esteem than the control sample. Hypothesis 2 states that linguistic acculturation levels in Spanish speaking Latinos would be positively correlated with self-esteem. Finally, a research question was addressed measuring the differences in self-esteem between foreign …

Numerical Cognition In Action: Hand Trajectories Reveal Effects Of Early Musical Training On Numerical Processing In Spanish-English Bilingual Musicians, Daniel Arturo Pizaña

Theses and Dissertations

The mouse-tracking study examined whether early musical experience leads to changes of inhibitory control in numerical processing for bilingual speakers, as has not investigated in previous studies. Twenty-eight Spanish-English bilingual students completed two Stroop-like numerical and physical size judgment tasks via a mouse-tracking paradigm. Results showed that response times were slower during both incongruent and neutral trials for bilinguals who had received early musical training (before age 13) when compared to bilinguals who had received late musical training (after age 13) across tasks. Furthermore, hand trajectories revealed that a spatial attraction toward the incorrect response was more pronounced in bilinguals …

Investigating The Relationships Of Attitude Clarity And Correctness With Political Identification Strength And Evaluations Of An Ideological Group, Gustavo Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examines two underlying attitude certainty dimensions in the context of political groups: attitude clarity and attitude correctness. Attitude clarity is the subjective sense that one knows what one’s attitude is, and attitude correctness is the subjective sense that one’s attitude is correct or valid. Based on predictions derived from social identity theory and attitude attribution research, it is expected that attitude clarity and attitude correctness will have diverging effects with political groups. First, it is expected that attitude clarity will better predict political identification than attitude correctness due to stronger ties to the self-concept. Secondly, it is …

The Lived Experiences Of Counseling Graduate Students And The Impact Of Their Studies In Their Marital Satisfaction, Vania S. Palacios

Theses and Dissertations

Due to high levels of stress that students find throughout graduate programs, professional and personal lives are at times not prioritized. The heuristic study focused on analyzing common themes among counseling graduate students at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, the coping mechanisms students have used to improve their marital/relational satisfaction, and common stressors in their marriage as a reflection of the counseling graduate program. The researcher provided a personal narrative for the study and analyzed transcriptions of the interviews of four counseling graduate students at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

An Evaluation Of Traffic Control Devices And Driver Distraction On Driver Behavior At Railway-Highway Grade Crossings, Radhameris A. Gomez Gabriel

Doctoral Dissertations

At-grade crossings (grade crossings) are those crossings in which any part of a roadway intersects with railroad tracks. Safety at these railroad-highway grade crossings is a major concern, with traffic control warning devices serving as the main mechanisms for improving safety. There are three factors that influence a driver’s behavior at a given crossing. First, traffic control devices, including warning devices at the railroad-highway grade crossings, provide the driver with information whose impact will depend in part on the likelihood that the driver knows whether to glance in the direction of the device based on prior experience, and in part …

Impacting Student Slumber: An Analysis Of Self-Report And Physiological Data Following A Psychoeducational Intervention, Danielle N. Newman

Doctoral Dissertations

Research shows that college students have extensive rates of sleep struggles, with up to 89% of college students reporting that they have moderate to severe difficulties with sleep (Buboltz, Brown, & Soper, 2001). Insufficient sleep has been linked to problems with academics (Kelly, Kelly, & Clanton, 2001; Taylor, Vatthauer, Bramoweth, Ruggero, & Roane, 2013), mental health (Ghumman & Barnes, 2013; Home, 1993; Manber & Chambers, 2009), physical health (Dahl & Lewin, 2002; Gailliot et al., 2007; Lyytikainen, Rahkonen, Lahelma, & Lallukka, 2011; Van Cauter, Leproult, & Plat, 2000), and a variety of other problems. Results pertaining to the suggested and …

Letter To The President: Longitudinal Critical Discourse Analysis Of Academic And Hip Hop Genres In A Rap Narrative Program, Debangshu Roygardner

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The objective of this study was to examine an in-school rap narrative workshop through critical discourse theory (Bamberg, 2012; Daiute, 2014). Twelve youth from a public school serving youth in urban Houston, TX were recruited from an in-school and after-school Hip hop/Rap narrative program to participate in a two-year cohort research study. The primary research question guiding the study was “How do young people participating in a school-based Hip hop/Rap program use a wide range of narrative genres for literacy and psycho-social development over two years in the program?”

The data-intensive study involved assessments of literacy and psycho-social development via …

A Survey Of Addictive Software Design, Chauncey J. Neyman

Computer Science and Software Engineering

The average smartphone owner checks their phone more than 150 times per day. As of 2015, 62% of smartphone users had used their phone to look up information about a health condition, while 57% had used their phone to do online banking. Mobile platforms have become the dominant medium of human-computer interaction. So how have these devices established themselves as our go to connection to the Internet? The answer lies in addictive design. Software designers have become well versed in creating software that captivates us at a primal level. In this article, we survey addictive software design strategies, their bases …

“The Cracked Pots Of Humanity”: Post-World War Ii American Literary Perspectives On Psychiatric Treatment/Containment Of Mental Disorders, Jennifer Chichester

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the ways in which characters in Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and The Bird’s Nest, Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces grapple with the concept of “madness” on individual and societal levels. Each of these Post-World War II novels question whether “madness” is a social construct. Is the person mad, or is society? These three novels, written in an era when inpatient psychiatric care was losing its prominence as a method for treating those deemed insane, reflect the growing trend of deinstitutionalization in the 1950s …

A Multiple Regression Analysis Of Locus Of Control And Psychological Flexibility Regarding The Total Mental Well-Being Of Muslims, Hawazan Abdulaziz Binzaqr

Dissertations

This study was designed to investigate the relationships between mental health, psychological flexibility, and locus of control within the Muslim population, and how these variables are related to demographic characteristics such as gender, level of spirituality, and marital status. The sample of 235 participants was taken from the worldwide adult Muslim population. Mental health was measured by PROMIS-57 survey, psychological flexibility was measured by the AAQ-II survey, and locus of control was measured by the MHLC survey. All data were self-reported via online form. There was an inverse relationship between level of spirituality and poor mental health (high PROMIS-57 scores) …

Reconnection Group For Individuals Who Have Experienced Interpersonal Trauma: An Explanatory Case Study, Megan Little

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Interpersonal traumas are becoming more common to the general public and the need for services to assist the mental and emotional well-being of survivors is increasing. However, due to the complicated impacts of trauma on the mind, body, and spirit there can be a challenge in finding effective treatment options that are long lasting for trauma symptoms. The purpose of this study was to understand the elements of a trauma group treatment (Reconnection group) modality that utilizes psychodrama as the primary treatment option and incorporates mindfulness and yoga as adjunctive treatments with individuals who have experienced interpersonal trauma. Findings suggest …

Relations Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Current Maladaptive Beliefs In A College Sample, Ilana Starr Berman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cumulative childhood trauma has been associated with both symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. However, few studies have examined these relations with normative young adult populations nor have they explored the relation between childhood adversities and cognitive distortions as an outcome variable. The current study aimed to: 1) replicate and extend research on the relations between cumulative adversity, using a broad measure of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs; Felitti et al., 1998), which assesses both maltreatment (e.g., physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect) and exposure to elements of household dysfunction (e.g., caregiver substance use, witnessing maternal abuse), and mental health …

Give Hate A Chance: An Exploration Of The Affective State Of Interpersonal Hate, Carmen Merrick

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Interpersonal hate, the affective state of one individual experiencing hate toward another, is widely experienced. However, to date there is no experimental evidence of interpersonal hate. This phenomenon was explored, as was its place in the triad of hostile emotions. It was theorized that interpersonal hate would be differentiated from the hostile emotions (contempt, anger, and disgust) by appraisal of violation type and by behavioral response, and that the hostile emotions could be recognized by these characteristics, as well. Specifically, it was hypothesized that interpersonal hate would be incited by autonomy violations and avoidance responses; anger would be incited by …

“Good Guys Do Rape”: An Examination Of College Student Perceptions Of Sexual Assault Perpetrators, Taylor Blythe Martinez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When people think of a typical sexual assault, they rely heavily on preconceived notions of sexual violence, which often represents stereotypical rape scenarios. Many stereotypical depictions of perpetrators tend to be centered around individuals who are strangers, mentally ill, lonely, with poor or impoverished upbringing. How perpetrators and victims are depicted impact the likelihood of others believing victims and attributing guilt to perpetrators. This may contribute to societal endorsement of acquaintance rape as not real compared to stereotypical rape scenarios. The current study examines how college students, and in particular fraternity men and sorority women, view perpetrators of sexual assault. …

Monolingual And Bilingual Children's Language-Based Social Preferences In A Predominantly Monolingual Environment, Rachel Marie Stevens

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Monolingual children consistently display Social preferences for individuals who speak their native language with a native accent compared to individuals who speak a foreign language or speak their native language with a foreign accent. Two explanations have been proposed for these language-based preferences. The first explanation is that language cues a child to in-group membership and children prefer to affiliate with individuals who are members of the same in-group. The second explanation is that children display preferences for their native language and accent because that is what they are most familiar with, and children prefer familiarity over the unknown. The …

The Effects Of Familiarity On Visual Search Performance Of Typically Developing Toddlers And Toddlers With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Laura Keegan

Honors College Theses

Visual Search is an attention task that measures how efficiently a person is able to find a target among distractors. It has been found before that children diagnosed with ASD can perform better at visual search when compared to age-matched typically developing children (Kaldy et al., 2011, 2013). Our team conducted a follow-up study with slightly different stimulus parameters (Smith et al., 2015) and two different potential target objects (in this task, an apple vs. a carrot). The results showed that the identity of the target object influenced toddlers’ search performance: they were slightly faster at finding the target when …

Mental Health Counselors Working With Individuals With Developmental Disabilities: A Phenomenological Investigation, Syard G. Evans

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities are often not included in traditional mental health treatment services due to beliefs that these individuals cannot benefit from mental health counseling and that mental health clinicians are not capable of treating this population. Some research exists that discusses techniques and interventions recommended to serve individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in mental health; however, there is little information on the specific counselors who are willing and able to support this population. A qualitative methodology was utilized to examine the phenomenon of mental health practitioners with experience serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. …

An Exploration Of The Experience Of Open Awareness Co-Meditation At The Beginning Of Therapy Sessions, Aneeqa Ishtiaq

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mindfulness and meditation have been seen as beneficial for mental health and mindfulness-based therapies have proliferated alongside an increase in popular interest in mindfulness (Germer, Siegel, & Fulton, 2013). However, many therapists are unaware of how to add mindfulness-based interventions. It may seem especially ambiguous for therapists and clients unfamiliar with the concept. In this dissertation, the history and current research on mindfulness-based psychotherapy, and its benefits and contraindications, are reviewed, and the researcher’s relationship to the topic is explained. It is identified that one way to add mindfulness to psychotherapy is for the therapist and the client to co-meditate …

A Comprehensive Computer Aided Tool For Evaluating Mid-Level Managers, Ryan Hankins

Honors Projects

This project is a case study for a tool which would test and evaluate users on managerial skills and industrial-organizational psychology concepts. The tool developed during this project is a proto-type for a virtual assessment center which would offer a lower cost alternative to in-person assessment centers. The virtual assessment center evaluates users on process skills and soft skills that have been shown to be associated with successful mid-level managers. The proto-type has a business game to measure process skills and two situational judgment tests to measure two dimensions related to soft skills. To implement the business game, the proto-type …

The Development And Validation Of An Automatic-Item Generation Measure Of Cognitive Ability, Scott Hines

Doctoral Dissertations

Cognitive ability is perhaps the most studied individual difference available to researchers, being measured quickly and effectively while demonstrating a predictable influence on many life outcomes. Historically, the evolution of the psychometric study of cognitive abilities has pivoted on the development of new and better methodologies allowing for a more complete and efficient capture of intellect. For instance, recent advances in computer and Internet technology have largely replaced traditional pencil-and-paper methods, allowing for innovative item development and presentation. However, concerns regarding the potential adverse impact and test security of online measures of cognitive ability, particularly in unproctored situations, are well …

A Statistical Examination Of Impaired Performances Across Concussion Screening Instruments, Kathryn Ann Ritchie

Master's Theses (2009 -)

It is well documented that healthy individuals routinely obtain impaired scores on neuropsychological tests, which confounds the differential diagnosis process. Relatively little is known regarding the rates at which healthy individuals obtain impaired scores on measures that are used to detect cognitive symptoms associated with sports related concussion (SRC). The current study generated expected rates of impaired performance on the Standardized Assessment of Concussion (SAC), the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics Sports Battery (ANAM), Immediate Post-Concussion and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT), and Axon Sports (Axon) neurocognitive measures by conducting Monte Carlo analyses using data obtained from a large normative sample of amateur …

Diabetes-Specific Distress And Glycemic Control In Children And Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes: A Longitudinal Analysis Of The Moderating Effect Of Social Support, Carolyn E. Turek

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the roles diabetes-specific distress and social support play in impacting glycemic control trajectories in youth with type 1 diabetes. Due to the increase in responsibilities and stressors occurring during pre-adolescence and adolescence, it is particularly important to consider the impact of diabetes-specific distress on glycemic control trajectories during this time, in order to determine best practices for screening and treating this population. It is also important to consider how social support may serve as a buffer against negative diabetes outcomes. In order to determine how diabetes-specific distress and social support impact glycemic control trajectories in this population, …

Exploring Mediators And Moderators In The Relationship Of Acculturative Stress And Internalizing Symptoms In Hispanic Youth, Victoria A. Schlaudt

Theses and Dissertations

The population of Hispanic children is quickly growing in the United States. Unfortunately, this group has a significant risk of developing internalizing symptoms. The present study examined the complex relationships of cultural and cognitive factors with symptoms of anxiety and depression. Literature suggests that acculturative stress, or the difficulty experienced when adjusting to a new culture, is related to depression and anxiety in Hispanic youth. However, the mechanisms by which acculturative stress relates to anxiety and depression in this population are unknown. Thus, this study attempted to fill these gaps in the current literature by examining potential mediators and/or moderators. …

Effect Of Negotiator Active Listening Skills On Crisis (Hostage) Negotiations, Karen Guszkowski

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of active listening skills on perpetrator response style in crisis negotiations. The extant literature boasts the utility of negotiations in crisis situations for law enforcement that came about in response to cataclysmic events such as the Attica Prison Riots (1971), Munich Massacre (1972), and the Williamsburg incident (1973). Various crisis negotiation models assert the importance of active listening skills in crisis negotiations; given the recent and voluminous media attention on police, this research aimed to provide further support for a cultural shift in police departments around the country to provide …

The Effect Of Contact Type On Perceptions Of Sex Offender Recidivism Risk, Donald Walker Jr.

ETD Archive

Prior research has found that the general public perceives sex offenders negatively as a whole (Edwards & Hensley, 2001). These perceptions have enabled sex offender management policies that create ironic conditions for sex offender rehabilitation and reintegration (Hanson, & Harris, 2000). More recent research has found that when sex offenders are presented as subcategories the public has more varied, though still negative attitudes toward sex offenders (King & Roberts, 2015). Furthermore, a burgeoning area of research has developed around the differentiation of child sex offenders based on the contact that they have had with their victims: non-contact, contact-only, and mixed-contact. …

Speed Accuracy In Motor Performance And Risk-Taking Characteristics, Morgan Lee Gabbert

ETD Archive

Past research has led to the conclusion, through studies of the speed-accuracy trade-off, that there is a natural covariance between speed and accuracy within individuals on movement tasks (Adam, 1992). In this study, we investigated the relationship between the speed-accuracy continuum and risk-taking personality characteristics. In order to investigate the hypotheses, the study used a Fitts’ cyclical aiming task in which participants moved a mouse between two targets that were at various widths and amplitudes. The various widths and amplitudes included 15 unique combinations of movement measurements, which were compared to two measures of risk-taking. These were the Investment Risk …

Familial Attitudes And Behaviors As Predictors Of Transgenderism, Angela Dawn Cockrell

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Anonymous, retrospective data from 32 transgender and 3,337 cis-gender control participants were analyzed via logistic regression to examine the potential roles of parental attitudes and behaviors as well as familial status in the etiological chain leading to transgenderism. It was hypothesized that transgenderism may be predicted by negative parental attitudes toward sex and a lack of reciprocal parent-child nudity. Results indicated that transgenderism may be predicted by negative paternal attitudes toward sex, decreased maternal-child nudity, and absent fathers.

Bitter Taste Preference And Psychopathy: A Partial Replication Of Sagioglou And Greitemeyer, 2016, Lauren A. Waymire

Honors Program Theses

In this study, we did a partial replication of Sagioglou and Greitemeyer’s 2016 study concerning bitter taste preferences and malevolent personality traits. Undergraduate students (n=40, mean age=19.40, 75% females) completed a laboratory component consisting of 24 samples of 8 different solutions (sucrose, sodium chloride, quinine, and citric acid with a higher and lower concentration of each) for 3 iterations, as well as PTC testing and tongue staining in order to count fungiform papillae. This was followed by a survey component that utilized HEXACO (which assesses six major domains of personality) and the IPIP-NEO scale for psychopathy (measured with the factors …

Biased Attentional Processing For Negative Emotion And Youth Internalizing Psychopathology: The Role Of Attentional Control Deficits, Lauren Darlene Gulley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biased attention for salient negative emotional stimuli is a proposed cognitive mechanism of internalizing disorders, namely depression and anxiety. Previous studies have demonstrated biases in bottom-up, stimulus-driven attentional systems, as well as top-down, goal-oriented attentional systems, in the context of negative emotion. However, the underlying cognitive mechanisms that drive these biases, such as attentional control deficits, are not well understood. Furthermore, given the high degree of conceptual and empirical overlap between depression and anxiety, it is unclear how biased attention might relate to constructs common across both disorders, such as general distress, versus what is specific to each disorder. The …

Family Processes Among Early Head Start Families: Testing The Role Of Parental Self-Efficacy In The Family Stress Model, Eliana Hurwich-Reiss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Family Stress Model (FSM) provides a framework for how economic pressure can impact family processes and outcomes, including parent's mental health, parenting, and child problem behaviors. Although the FSM has been widely replicated, samples disproportionately impacted by poverty including early childhood samples and in particular Latino families with young children, have been largely excluded from the FSM research. Therefore, among a sample of ethnically diverse Early Head Start children (N=148) and among a subsample of Latino children (n=100), the current study evaluated a modified FSM to understand the direct and indirect pathways among economic pressure, parental depression, parenting self-efficacy, …