Digital Commons Network^™

Do Professor Characteristics Influence College Students' Mental Health Disclosure?, Giselle Solorio, Kenneth Barideaux Jr.

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

Previous studies have provided some evidence that college students may hesitate to disclose their mental health status because of social stigma; however, more research is needed to identify and understand the factors that influence students’ willingness to disclose. For example, it is unclear how professor characteristics impact the likelihood of disclosure. In the current study we examined whether the gender of the professor (male vs. female) and the professor’s teaching discipline (STEM vs. humanities) affected students' likelihood to disclose a mental health problem. Participants read a fictitious syllabus where the professor was either male or female and taught a chemistry …

Future Serial Killers And Adolescent Maltreated Males Identified Using The Ace-Q, Michelle Sutherland, Reid Toth

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

Abstract

Maltreated adults were surveyed over a period of years to help researchers understand the role that childhood maltreatment plays in negative short- and long-term physical, emotional, financial, psychological, and social effects, as well as in adult-onset criminal behaviors and activities. Through multiple research studies conducted over years by the CDC-Keiser Permanente Group using the ACE-Q Survey, along with other independent researchers such as Dr. Morono and his research team that used the Behavior Sequence Analysis Method, a link was discovered between childhood maltreatment and negative and/or criminal behaviors and events that impacted every area of the victim’s life and …

Front Matter - 2021, Josh Ruppel

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

Full paper includes:

• Table of Contents
• The Editorial Board
• Grant Writing: Recent Big Winners!
• Student Spotlights

The Minor Fall, The Major Lift? College Students Do Not Report Listening To Mood-Congruent Music, Hannah N. Leonhardt, James Bunde, Andrew Beer

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

Music has become an integral part of daily life in Western culture. Individuals use music for various purposes including emotion regulation, and each individual has different tendencies and preferences for how they use music. Previous research indicates that people are likely to listen to mood-congruent music and that personality characteristics--specifically those of the Big 5 personality inventory-- may predict music preference and how people choose to use music for emotion regulation.

To further address these questions, we assessed personality and music usage in a sample of undergraduate students. We predicted that affect-related traits like Neuroticism and Extraversion would predict both …

The Ukrainian Immigrant Experience In South Carolina, Nataliya S. Vykhovanets, Alexander Lorenz

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

The following paper focuses on the Ukrainian immigrant community living in the Upstate region of South Carolina and the vast differences in immigrant experiences of former and more recent Ukrainian Immigrants. Ukrainians have been migrating to the US since the late 1800s, but unfortunately, there are few studies available on this ethnic group.

To give readers a background on the topic, this paper first documents the history of Ukrainian immigration to the US by describing and comparing the four waves of Ukrainian migration to the United States. The following section introduces a questionnaire, created to collect data on the Ukrainian …

Are Times A-Changin’? Exploring Current Perceptions Of Individuals Based On Sexual And Relationship Orientations, Leah Howard, Kenneth Barideaux

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

The purpose of this study was to explore if there were any significant differences in perceptions of couples based on their sexual orientation (heterosexual or homosexual) and their relationship orientation (monogamous or consensually nonmonogamous).

As perceptions held by individuals influence collective perceptions when they are largely held in common, there is value in capturing culturally current perceptions of individuals to assess if social shifts may be on the horizon. To measure the perceptions of individuals with regards to sexual and relationship orientation, a sample of 37 college students were instructed to read narrative paragraphs about four couples.

Participants were then …

Femininity As Disability In Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar., Shae Kirkus, Monika Shehi Herr

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

Disability studies is often associated with the treatment of people with physical disabilities, which are defined as features of non-normative human bodies. However, analyzed through the lens of the classical idea of the ideal body, which was first and foremost male, femininity itself is also atypical and therefore confines women to the realm of being disabled.

Sylvia Plath’s autobiographical novel The Bell Jar shows how the feminine is a disability in and of itself. As Plath’s main character and narrator, Esther Greenwood, spirals into her own madness, her condition is only worsened by societal reactions to her declining mental health. …

Disablist Propaganda: Evil On One Hand, And A Hook For The Other, Lauren Reitz, Richard Murphy

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

Despite its publication by J.M. Barrie in 1904, Peter and Wendy has attracted very little critical attention. Perhaps the story is so beloved for its adventure-packed plot, and sweet message about a boy who never grows old, that even scholars have trouble criticizing it—despite its obvious calls for analysis as film and literary adaptations continue to appear.

However, most concerning is an apparent gap in the analysis of the story’s disabled villain, Captain Hook, through a modern Disability Studies lens. The following textual analysis of Captain Hook will serve to call attention to the way his disability plays into his …

A Noble Duty: Ladies’ Aid Associations In Upstate South Carolina During The Civil War, Elizabeth Aranda, Carmen Harris

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

The contributions of women during the American Civil War have been typically examined within the broader picture of a nation or state-wide mobilization of citizens during a time of war. In this paper, I seek to show the mobilization of women during the Civil War from a regionalized perspective limited to the Upcountry of South Carolina and the effect their development of aid societies had on the war as well as on their place as white women in the Confederacy. Female-run aid societies began for the purpose of gathering supplies for soldiers. Within two years they had founded hospitals and …

Barbara Powers: Witch Or Myth? The Last Case Of Witchcraft In South Carolina, Brandon Smith, Bobbie Jo Wimberly, Courtney Mcdonald

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

Was an elderly woman from the upstate of South Carolina the last to be accused of and put on trial for witchcraft in the United States? In this paper, we investigate claims from an old letter sent to the president of South Carolina College to determine whether or not Barbara Powers was truly accused of witchcraft during a criminal trial. After thoroughly investigating census data, court records, marriage records, and other historical data in the named counties and those surrounding them, we were unable to determine conclusively if the trial was real or fabricated. Despite not knowing if the case …

Assumed Similarity And Valued Personality Characteristics, Rebecca Babineau, Andrew Beer

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

The tendency to evaluate others as being similar to oneself in terms of personality characteristics is frequently referred to as assumed similarity. Although there has been substantial empirical inquiry into assumed similarity effects, much remains unknown, particularly with respect to the causes of the phenomenon. Researchers have examined various potential moderators of assumed similarity, primarily featuring but not limited to trait domain and familiarity with the other person. In terms of trait domain, Honesty-Humility, Openness to Experience, and Agreeableness have shown stronger assumed similarity, leading some researchers to suggest that the connection between a trait domain and one’s personal values …

Kawaii Revolution: Understanding The Japanese Aesthetics Of “Cuteness” Through Lolita And Madoka Magica, Skye Jones, Lex Lancaster

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

Kawaii (可愛い) is a Japanese term that loosely translates to “cute,” but more significantly refers to a culture of cuteness in postwar Japan. Kawaii calls to mind big-eyed baby animals and pastel colors, but these visual qualities also embody a radical worldview cultivated by Japanese girls. In this paper, I investigate the visual culture of kawaii through two of its manifestations in fashion and animation, using the scholarship on kawaii in Japan and critical theory to argue that kawaii is a revolutionary aesthetics of vulnerability. The excessive femininity, emotional expression, and idealism of kawaii culture defy the Japanese culture of …

The Role Of Vocal Hostility On Mood: Initial Development Of An Alternative Stress Paradigm, Jaquoy Sowell, Jennifer Gray, Christa C. Christ

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

Maltreatment, such as physical or emotional abuse, can alter one’s later emotional regularity and responses to stimuli. To be able to study the effect of maltreatment on later stimuli response, appropriate laboratory paradigms need to be available, which is not currently true. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of vocal hostility stimuli on mood change as preliminary steps toward the creation of a laboratory paradigm. Participants were recruited from a regional university in southeast United States and asked to react to recorded audio with a hostile tone. Study 1 found that participants’ mood did not differ …

Femicides In Latin America, Sedrick Ruiz Martinez, Shannon Polchow

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

Femicide is the killing of a woman by a man solely on the account of her gender. It is the ultimate form of gender violence that includes sexual, mental, or physical suffering. It derives from a distorted sense of ownership, hatred, and entitlement from men. Femicides can stem from violent relationships; however, they can be targeted despite having no connection at all to their perpetrator. It has become an indisputable problem throughout Latin America without an end in sight. The purpose of this work is to introduce and identify the underlying factors that contribute to the occurrence of femicides within …

Breast Cancer Knowledge Among University Students ★, Shimia Hunter, Calvin Odhiambo

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide and the second-leading cause of death among women in the United States. While lack of knowledge about breast cancer is a key factor in breast cancer mortality, little is known about breast cancer knowledge among women under the age of 30. The goal of the current study was to investigate the knowledge and awareness of breast cancer among undergraduate students in the United States. This was a cross-sectional survey of 265 male and female undergraduate students at the University of South Carolina Upstate. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to predict …