Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Longitudinal Study Of The Development Of Social Anxiety In Young Autistic Children, Gillian K. Marshall

Senior Theses

Social anxiety is a prevalent anxiety disorder marked by fear and discomfort in social situations where scrutiny or evaluation by others is anticipated. This thesis investigates the interplay between social anxiety and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by social and communication challenges. Individuals with ASD often face heightened levels of anxiety, intensifying their social difficulties and impeding their social development. Early identification of social anxiety symptoms, particularly in ASD children, is crucial for timely intervention and improved outcomes. However, diagnosing social anxiety in preschool-aged children, especially those with ASD, presents challenges due to the complexity of symptoms …

Neurodevelopmental Processes In The Prefrontal Cortex Derailed By Chronic Hiv-1 Viral Protein Exposure, Kristen A. Mclaurin, Hailong Li, Rosemarie M. Booze, Charles F. Mactutus

Faculty Publications

Due to the widespread access to, and implementation of, combination antiretroviral therapy, individuals perinatally infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) are living into adolescence and adulthood. Perinatally infected adolescents living with HIV-1 (pALHIV) are plagued by progressive, chronic neurocognitive impairments; the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these deficits, however, remain understudied. A longitudinal experimental design from postnatal day (PD) 30 to PD 180 was utilized to establish the development of pyramidal neurons, and associated dendritic spines, from layers II-III of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in HIV-1 transgenic (Tg) and control animals. Three putative neuroinflammatory markers (i.e., IL-1β, IL-6, and …

Investigating Developmental Changes In Scalp-To-Cortex Correspondence Using Diffuse Optical Tomography Sensitivity In Infancy, Xiaoxue Fu, John E. Richards

Faculty Publications

Significance: Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) uses near-infrared light spectroscopy (NIRS) to measure changes in cerebral hemoglobin concentration. Anatomical interpretations of NIRS data require accurate descriptions of the cranio-cerebral relations and DOT sensitivity to the underlying cortical structures. Such information is limited for pediatric populations because they undergo rapid head and brain development.

Aim: We aim to investigate age-related differences in scalp-to-cortex distance and mapping between scalp locations and cortical regions of interest (ROIs) among infants (2 weeks to 24 months with narrow age bins), children (4 and 12 years), and adults (20 to 24 years).

Approach: We …

Promoting Critical Consciousness: The Role Of Positive Youth Development Programming, Mackenzie Jaclyn Hart

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the role of positive youth development programming and individual-level characteristics in promoting critical reflection (CR) in youth and adolescent participants. CR refers to the analytical component of critical consciousness (CC), or the exercise of challenging institutional practices that systemically marginalize or oppress certain subgroups. Survey and interview data were analyzed from at-risk high school students (N=250) participating in an after-school program across six sites in urban areas in the United States. Multiple regression models were used to predict the development of CR, and interviews were examined to look for themes related to quantitative findings. Results support that …

Assessing Readiness For A Physical Activity Intervention In Positive Youth Development Afterschool Programs, Brittany Skiles Cook

Theses and Dissertations

Physical inactivity has been identified as a primary health threat to youth, and existing afterschool programs (ASP) are a promising context for implementing physical activity (PA) interventions. However, few PA interventions have been effective and generalizability of programs has been poor. Assessing organizational readiness during the testing of a PA intervention can help inform generalizability and sustainability. The R=MC2 heuristic separates readiness into motivation, innovation-specific capacity, and general capacity, each of which are further divided into subcomponents. The current multiple-case study pilot tests the feasibility and effectiveness/efficacy of a readiness assessment tool based on R=MC2 developed for the Connect through …

Perceived Emotional Invalidation In A Developmental Context: Does Gender Matter?, Brian B. Johnson

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

Emotional invalidation is the dismissal, minimization, or punishment of an individual’s emotional experience (Linehan, 1993). Although it has been sparsely studied, the research that has been conducted indicates that it is likely implicated in a multitude of psychopathology and adjustment issues. The current study had three main objectives. The first of these was to investigate the current perceptions of emotional invalidation in a peer interaction for emerging adults and how that is predicted by gender, perceptions of childhood emotional invalidation via caregivers, and gender of the caregivers. The second objective of this study was to investigate the propagation of emotionally …