Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

History Of Childhood Sexual Abuse In Mexican Origin Undergraduate Students And Its Relationship To Impulsivity, Jessica Lee Graham

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

It is estimated that twenty-five percent of undergraduate female students have experienced some form of sexual abuse while under the age of 18. The definition of childhood sexual abuse, CSA, consists of abusive behaviors of varying intensity and duration and varies across states. Few studies have been done addressing the relationship between CSA and impulsivity. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was an association between a history of childhood sexual abuse and impulsivity in adults of Mexican origin. One hundred fifty-one undergraduates from UTPA participated. For the purposes of this study focus was placed on the …

Binge Drinking In Undergraduate Mexican-Origin Students And Its' Relation To Impulsivity, Rosalva M. Longoria

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Heavy drinking is more prevalent in college students ages 18 through 21 than non-students (NIAAA, 2010). Impulsivity and binge drinking have shown an association (Balodis, Potenza & Olmstead, 2009). An important aspect of this relationship is the influencing factors that may help in determining the effects of drinking on academic performance. In order to predict this behavior, we collected information on tendencies to be impulsive and those that have shown binge drinking behavior from 151 undergraduate students, 11 non-Hispanics, 3 Hispanics, and 137 Hispanics of Mexican-origin attending the University of Texas-Pan American. Of the Mexican-origin students, 37% reported binge drinking …

Positive Emotions And Suicide Intervention Response, Crystal Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study investigated the role of positive emotions in suicide intervention response, in an effort to inform future directions in suicide intervention strategies. Participants were 381 Hispanic college students who completed a measure of suicide intervention skill and wrote written responses to a vignette of a peer in crisis. Results indicated that communication of positive emotions and suicide intervention response skill were not related. Possible explanations and future directions are discussed.

Variation In Parenting Style In A Captive Group Of Western Lowlands Gorillas, Ana E. Fernandez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Parenting styles were examined in a group of western lowland gorillas to determine the relationship between parenting style and multiple births with a single individual. Another interest in this study was on varying ways that motherhood can be approached, with partial attention to the relationship between parenting style and social rank. Observational data was collected by means of focal animal sampling and used to analyze contact behaviors in mother-infant relationship. Results indicated that parenting style stayed consistent within the same mother, but different between mothers.

Spanish/English Language Definitions For Applied Behavior Analysis Terminology, Claudia Arteaga

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Experimental analysis of behavior has grown enormously within recent years. Mexico is one of the main centers of this growth and therefore, as a result, specific Spanish terminology has developed. This thesis offers a list of suggested Spanish translations for terms and definitions in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) as a resource in support of bilingual students in the area of experimental analysis of behavior. The first and second chapters explain the origins and history of ABA and its development in the world and specifically in Mexico. The third chapter provides details about the methodology. A book entitled …

In-Group Implicit Prejudice Against Mexican Americans In The Rio Grande Valley, Christelle Fabiola Garza

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The existence of in-group implicit prejudice against persons of Mexican origin was examined. Implicit refers to cognitive processes that the individual is unaware. Implicit attitudes are associations between social targets and positive or negative feelings that are passively learned from the environment. The measure we used to assess implicit prejudice was the Implicit Association Test. We also examined acculturation using the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans (Flores-Niemann et al., 1999). Family values, assessed using the Cultural Values Scale (Unger, et al., 2002), and skin tone defined by light or dark complexion using a Photovolt 577 reflectance meter, were also …

False Positive Rates In The Neuropsychological Assessment Of Neurologically Intact Bilingual Hispanic American Adults, Cassandra Dayanira Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Hispanic Americans perform more poorly than White Americans on neuropsychological tests, leading to a higher misclassification rate of brain injury (false positives) among Hispanics when using the 50th percentile of published norms as the estimate of preexisting neuropsychological skill. This study aimed to determine if using an individual comparison standard to estimate preexisting skill levels would reduce the number of false positives in a sample of 20 bilingual Hispanic American adults. Two individual comparison standards were used: (a) WMLS-R Picture Vocabulary scores, and (b) WMLS-R Picture Vocabulary scores and WAIS-III Matrix Reasoning scores combined. Both individual comparison standards were found …

Context Versus Rote Learning In The Martial Arts, Pearson F. Klein

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Research has shown that when learning martial arts katas, adults retained the information better “when the katas were taught with the context method than when the katas were taught with the no context method.” (Tovar, M.) It is imperative more experimentation be performed in this area because the findings do not relate to the population of children. Children between ages seven and twelve were instructed in two original katas utilizing two methods of instruction. First the katas with context were taught and then the other taught was purely based on rote completion of the sequential movements. Every subject was tested …

Predicting College Student Classroom Performance With A Simple Metacomprehension Scale, Amber Lee Klein

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The present study investigated the relationship between college student metacomprehension and the error of predicted classroom performance. College student metacomprehension was evaluated using the Metacomprehension Scale (MCS) designed by Moore, Zabrucky, and Commander (1997a). Prior to an examination administered by a course instructor, covering course content, students predicted the percentage score he/she expected to achieve. The predicted score was subtracted from the obtained score generating an error score. It was hypothesized that error of predicted classroom performance is a function of student metacomprehension, as measured by the MCS. Results indicate the MCS was not a reliable indicator of student predicted …

Attitudinal Measures Of College Students' Punitiveness Toward Sex Offenders, Antonio Zamorano

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The following experiment investigates punitiveness toward sex offenders using a sample of one hundred sixty students from the University of Texas-Pan American student population recruited from undergraduate introductory psychology courses and compensated with extra course credit. Punitiveness toward sex offenders was measured with six-point bipolar Likert scales using two attitudinal research methodologies: a randomly assigned between group experiment using a manipulated hypothetical crime scenario, and a survey using a shortened version of the Community Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders Scale (CATSOS). A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple comparison tests of attitudinal responses to the hypothetical crime scenario determined that …

The Effects Of Ssris On Sexual Function In College Students, Adriana Ivette Sanchez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The present study will investigate the effects of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) on sexual function in college students. Depression is the most prevalent disorder individuals’ encounter. Depression could occur at any age but is most prevalent at 25-years to 44-years of age. The most common treatment is antidepressant specifically SSRIs, but it’s most common side effect is sexual dysfunction. The study includes 328 participants. The average age of the participants is 23.9 years old and had a standard deviation of 6.8. The participants answered a questionnaire asking about their sexual function. This study resulted with a very low sample …

Digit Ratio And Sexually Dimorphic Psychopathology, Miriam Sarahi Izaguirre

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The 2D:4D ratio is a sexually dimorphic trait which is lower in males than in females. A low value of 2D:4D indicates a uterine environment high in testosterone and low in estrogen which is a characteristic of males. Smaller 2D:4D ratios have been associated with disorders that occur more frequently in males, such as autism and ADHD. In contrast, eating disorders and depression (disorders that occur more frequently in females) suggests larger 2D:4D ratios. The purpose of the study is to replicate and extend the findings of previous research concerning the relationship of masculinized and feminized digit ratio to the …

An Analytic Hierarchy Process Approach To Assess Health Service Quality, Yan Li

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

While improving quality in health care is currently at the forefront of professional, political, and managerial attention, the key dimensions constituting health-care quality have not been fully understood. Also, few valid approaches have been proposed to the measurement of health-care quality. In this research, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach is applied to study the structure of health-care quality and deducted relative importance weights for each of the quality elements. A statistical quality model is derived to assess medical equipment quality which is an important part constituting the general health-care quality. Finally, the application of the AHP model to assess …

Constitution Of The Market Through Social Media: Dialogical Co-Production Of Medicine In A Virtual Health Community Organization, Handan Vicdan

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This research explores new systems of marketing, and new roles and relationships of organizations and consumers developing in healthcare as a result of transformations occurring in technology, consumer/marketer value systems, forms of discourse and institutional roles. Inspired by observations from a Medicine 2.0 community organization, which turn social networking into a business phenomenon – PatientsLikeMe (PLM) – I explore how such systems develop and function and the institutionalizations that reconstitute roles and maintain relationships among actors in these systems through netnographic research. That is, (1) why and how patients in PLM participate in the social co-production of medical knowledge and …

Sequelae Of Childhood Sexual Abuse And Chronic Headache Pain In Women, Kathy L. Theiss

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

For many years the association of headache with CSA has been postulated and results have been similar across studies indicating a robust connection. Chronic headache is one of the most common causes of visits to physicians and contributes to decreased quality of life for those who suffer with them. Although CSA is detrimental to both men and women, evidence supports that women are more likely to suffer from chronic somatic headache pain than men. Therefore, it is hypothesized that chronic headache is significantly more common among women with a history of childhood sexual abuse when compared to women who have …

Predictors Of Pap Smear Utilization Among Female Mexican American College Students, Sylvia M. Morales

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The Pap smear is a diagnostic screening test that detects abnormal cell growth, which may lead to cervical cancer. Pap smears are performed at a consistently lower frequency among Hispanic than non-Hispanic American White women, potentially contributing to a 70% higher rate of cervical cancer in Hispanic Americans. This study examined possible predictors of Pap smear utilization among 165 Mexican American female college students aged 18 to 30 attending the University of Texas-Pan American situated near Texas’s United States – Mexico border. Significant predictors were: recommendation by a health care professional; sexual activity; mother’s educational level; and external locus of …

The Relationship Between Quality Of Maternal Care And The Development Of Infant Sociability In A Captive Group Of Western Lowland Gorillas, Liza Veliz

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Maternal factors, e.g., quality and behavior were examined in order to determine if a relationship with enhanced infant social development exists. Gorilla mothers were each nursery reared and are full siblings, providing an unusual opportunity to examine the individual differences that may play a role in infant socialization. Observational data collected during three-time blocks by means of focal animal sampling were used to analyze social behaviors and identify initiators and receivers of contact behaviors, thereby determining a relationship between maternal care and infant sociability. Results indicated that mothers who provided successful maternal care produced more sociable offspring. Findings from this …

Curanderismo And Healing Rituals: An Ethnographic And Historical Study Of The Casma Valley In Northern Peru, Maria Esmeralda Perez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

While curanderismo and shamanism form an important cultural aspect throughout Peru, the healing rituals in the Casma Valley are mostly unknown. This paper attempts to define the historical background of curanderismo in the Casma Valley by describing the traditional healing rituals throughout the Atlantic World. Recounting, not only the history of curanderismo, religion, witchcraft, and sorcery in Latin America, but also the history of these beliefs in Europe and Africa as well. One of the main goals of this paper is to provide sufficient proof of the ties and connections that curanderismo in the Casma Valley in Northern Peru share, …

Folk Healing In The Tradition Of The Fidencista Movement, Katherine Brittain

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The Fidencista Movement is a religion in process . Like in many other medico-religions whose primary ministry is healing, women hold the highest positions of authority. The shamanic channeling of the spirit of the folk saint, Niño Fidencio , plies Fidencistas' belief in the spirit world and ameliorates physical and emotional healing. Fidencistas are concentrated in the Texas/Mexico borderland region where they are facing a passing of traditionalism, the social matrix in which folk healing thrives. However, the signature of the Movement, the penitential trek up the Vía de Dolores in Espinazo, is a cohering bi-annual ritual that fortifies devotion …

Self-Efficacy, Metastasis, Treatment, And Demographics As Predictors Of Functional Performance Status Of Adult Colorectal Cancer Patients, Dollie A. Husfeld

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this study was to assess self-efficacy as a predictor of functional performance status in order to discover correlations that could be used to improve care of the colorectal cancer patient. Thirty participants were accessed through three outpatient cancer clinics during a two-week period. Data was collected through a demographics questionnaire, the Cancer Behavior Inventory Long Form, and the Karnofsky Performance Scale Index. Stepwise multiple regression was used to identify and relationships between the dependent variable, functional performance status, and the independent variables, self-efficacy, age, gender, residence, treatment, and metastasis ( p = .05). Pearson's correlation showed a …

Antes: A Web-Based Acanthosis Nigricans And Other Obesity Related Information System, Chunyue Wang

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Acanthosis nigricans is a cutaneous marker associated with systemic disorders and may serve as an indicator for risk of Type 2 diabetes. Acanthosis nigricans screening can help identify children who have high insulin levels and who may be at-risk for developing Type 2 diabetes. The ANTES system is a computerization attempt for acanthosis nigricans control of the student population from elementary schools and secondary schools in Texas. A general description of the system and the medical and history background of the ANTES program is given. The technology applied to the system is demonstrated. An overview of the system operation status …

Data Analysis In The Antes System, Yavuz Tor

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Acanthosis nigricans is a skin condition that can be used as an indicator for the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future. Border Health Office, in University of Texas - Pan American, organizes screenings in schools for acanthosis nigricans. Screening results are, then, collected and evaluated in the Border Health Office. The ANTES System is a computer system that stores and manages the data collected in those screenings.

This study is on the analysis of those collected data to track the progress of data entry, to evaluate the progress on obesity and related problems, and to discover the …

Breast Cancer - Preventive Care And Screening Patterns Among Hispanic Women In The Rio Grande Valley, Sreelatha Gobburu

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Although breast cancer rates are lower among Hispanic women than among white women, Hispanics are more likely to die from this disease. This may be related to the fact that Hispanic women are less likely to practice preventive care methods such as Breast Self Exam (BSE) and Mammography. Cultural beliefs and attitudes about diseases play a significant role in Hispanic health behavior. Access to and availability of medical services, affective reactions towards cancer screening and treatment methods, and socioeconomic and demographic factors are stronger determinants of health care practices of Hispanic women. This study examines screening patterns of Hispanic women …

An Investigation Of Pre-Nursing And Second-Year Baccalaureate Nursing Students' Perception Of Spirituality, Jacquelyn Kay R. Williams

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This pilot study investigated whether spiritual care education is a part of the baccalaureate nursing curriculum at a south Texas university. This study used two standardized scales to compare the pre-nursing students' and senior baccalaureate nursing students' attitude about spirituality at different levels in the nursing program. Two quantitative questionnaires were used to investigate the nursing students' personal spiritual involvement and beliefs and their opinions about the spiritual role of the nurse in meeting patient spiritual needs. No statistically significant differences in the two group's personal spiritual involvement and beliefs were found. Statistically significant differences were found in the opinions …

Human Reliability Analysis In The Performance Of Advanced Cardiac Life Support Tasks, Lucia Veronica Rosas

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Error reduction in the performance of medical emergency situations is an area of great concern in today's society. This is specially the case when the situation involves a cardiac arrhythmia. These situations are generally categorized as Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) events. The American Heart Association provides the proper procedures that practitioners of ACLS should follow to provide care to patients presenting heart arrhythmia problems. These situations occur inside and outside the hospital, outside the hospital being the most critical ones considering the limitation of equipment and availability of qualified care. Errors made by the practitioners of ACLS in this …

Healthcare Trends And Attitudes Of Migratory Winter Visitors In The Rio Grande Valley, Caprica Ann Neal

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This original research explores the general trends and attitudes of migratory winter visitors to the Rio Grande Valley regarding the local healthcare environment/options, general health status, and attitudes toward alternative medicine. The sample consisted of 115 winter visitors to the Valley, and exploratory data was gathered through a self-administered questionnaire. The average respondent was female, over 70 years old, had a high school level education, and reported earning a minimum average of $20,000/year for the past five years. Most respondents had Medicare coverage; over half had private insurance coverage. Commonly reported health conditions were visual problems, joint/bone problems, and high …

The Relationship Between Perceived Self-Efficacy, Regimen Adherence, And Glycemic Control In Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: A Pilot Study, Antonieta Pelias Alteza

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This pilot study examined the relationship between perceived self-efficacy and regimen adherence on glycemic control among adolescents, aged 11 to 18 years, with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. Thirty-six adolescent-parent dyads participated in this study. Bivariate analysis using Pearson product moment-correlations identified no significant relationships among the variables. Regarding treatment regimen, adolescents on insulin pumps had a mean glycosylated hemoglobin level of 8.09% whereas adolescents on daily insulin injections had a mean glycosylated hemoglobin level of 9.26%. Bandura's theory of self-efficacy provided the theoretical framework for this study. The Self-Efficacy for Diabetes scale and Questionnaire of Self-Care Behaviors scale were used …

A Case Study Of A School-Age Stutterer's Response To Delayed Auditory Feedback, Marcia Lynn Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Stuttering is a multidimensional disorder that is influenced by hereditary factors, as well as environmental. Numerous methods of treatment exist that address stuttering. However, the Smooth Talking Program (Radford 2001) is unique in its inclusion of mediated learning and delayed auditory feedback. The purpose of this study was to conduct a retrospective analysis of treatment data for a child with moderate to severe dysfluency that was gathered over three summer, five-week sessions with the inclusion of speech motor repatterning exercises during the last summer. The purpose of the analysis is to determine the effects of mediated learning combined with DAF …

Wordless Picture Books Versus Standard Stories For Language Assessment Of Spanish-Speaking Children, Yvonne De Anda

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Narrative samples from Spanish-speaking children will be analyzed using a wordless picture book and standard storybook. Ages of participants will be between 6.0 and 7.11 years and demonstrate: normal hearing and vision, no familiarity with books used in study, and receptive and expressive language skills 1.5 to 2 standard deviations below the mean as predetermined by a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist. The first story will be orally presented. Afterwards, children will respond to questions and retell the story. A silent presentation of the second story will follow, along with retelling of story and questions. Utterance length, sentence complexity, and vocabulary will …

Four Case Studies Of Hispanic Children's Responses To A Videotaped Language Sampling Procedure, Adelaida E. Saenz

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This investigation was an examination of four Hispanic children's responses to a videotaped language sampling procedure, and was designed to determine bilingual (English/Spanish) and monolingual (English) children's expressive language development. Participants consisted of four normally developing Hispanic monolingual and bilingual males from the Rio Grande Valley between the ages of 8–6 and 9–2 years. Language samples were evoked using a videotape appropriate for children entitled Frankenweenie © . Following viewing of the videotape, children participated in a controlled conversation to explain what they had seen and to complete a twenty-one-item survey to measure their attitude toward the videotape. Total word …