Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Schizotypy, Lifestyle Behaviors, And Health Indicators In A Young Adult Sample, Thomas J. Dinzeo, Umashanger Thayasivam

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

Problematic lifestyle behaviors and high rates of physical illness are well documented in people with schizophrenia, contributing to premature mortality. Yet, there is a notable absence of research examining general lifestyle and health issues in participants at risk for psychosis. This form of research may help identify concerns that exist during prodromal periods related to future outcomes. Accordingly, the current study examined lifestyle and health in a nonclinical sample of 530 young adults with varying levels of schizotypy. Increasing symptom severity was associated with greater somatic symptoms and poorer sleep quality across positive, negative, and disorganized domains. Elevated negative and …

Impact Of Economic Factors And Policy Interventions On The Covid-19 Pandemic, Yupeng Li, Kul Kapri

College of Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty Scholarship

This paper studies how policy interventions and economic factors affect COVID-19 infections and deaths, using generalized linear regression (GLM) models. We seek to explain the containment differences by countries’ inherent economic factors, especially the labor market structure, utilizing data from multiple sources. The results show that countries heavily relying on the service sector and international trade suffer more from the spreading, possibly due to the fact that COVID-19 is a communicable disease and spreads quickly through physical contact. Further, we find that these countries could benefit more from stringent policies compared to others.

A Multi-Study Approach To Refining Ecological Momentary Assessment Measures For Use Among Midlife Women With Elevated Risk For Cardiovascular Disease., Danielle Arigo, Jacqueline A Mogle, Megan M Brown, Adarsh Gupta

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

Background: Ample evidence indicates that everyday perceptions of the social environment can affect health behaviors; these include social comparisons (i.e., self-evaluations compared to others) and positive versus negative social interactions. However, relations between social perceptions and healthy behaviors have received little attention among specific medical populations for whom an improved understanding of behavioral determinants could inform updates to tailored interventions. Research methods that capture and differentiate between stable, person-level differences and dynamic, within-person variability in these relations would be particularly useful, both for identifying their nature in daily life and informing improvements to tailored interventions.

Methods: We conducted a series …

Relations Between Social Comparisons And Physical Activity Among Women In Midlife With Elevated Risk For Cardiovascular Disease: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study., Danielle Arigo, Jacqueline A Mogle, Joshua M Smyth

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

Women in midlife (ages 40-60) show decreases in physical activity (PA) that exacerbate risk for cardiovascular disease. Social comparisons (i.e., self-evaluations relative to others) are known to influence PA in other groups, but their association in this population is unknown. The present study used ecological momentary assessment to examine this relation among women in midlife with hypertension or another CVD risk condition (N = 75, M

Factors Influencing Latina Healthcare System Distrust, Anthony D. Eldridge

Theses and Dissertations

The Latino community's healthcare engagement continues to be a growing national concern (Velasco-Mondragon et al., 2016). Due to sociocultural circumstances and racial marginalization, Latinas experience disproportionate health disparities and inequalities that may be exacerbated by healthcare system distrust (HSD) (Hacker et al., 2015). Ethnic identity, an established protective factor in Latino culture, may contribute to healthcare system distrust (Ai et al., 2012). Additionally, immigration status has been shown to negatively influence Latino's healthcare experiences leading to HSD (Luque et al., 2018). The present study evaluated the influence of sociodemographic factors and ethnic identity on HSD among Latinas. Ethnic identity and …

Does Decentering Mediate The Relationship Between Mindfulness And Stress And Anxiety?, Hana Hannah Lee

Theses and Dissertations

College students are stressed and unsuccessful efforts to cope can increase risk for poor mental health, including anxiety (American College Health, 2019). Research suggests mindfulness (Bamber & Schneider, 2016) and adaptive emotion regulation (Desrosiers et al. 2013b) can buffer against the deleterious effects of distress. Decentering, a mindful emotion regulation strategy (Chambers et al., 2009), is postulated to be a mechanism by which mindfulness can lead to better mental health (Shapiro et al. 2006). Specific facets of trait mindfulness, namely Nonjudging (NJ) and Nonreactivity (NR) (Mizera et al. 2016), are directly involved in regulating one's emotions, which can help reduce …

Finding The “Heart” In The Green: Conducting A Bibliometric Analysis To Emphasize The Need For Connecting Emotions With Biophilic Urban Planning, Christopher Tirri, Hunter Swanson, Mahbubur Meenar

School of Earth & Environment Faculty Scholarship

Although there is a robust body of literature exploring the relationship between biophilic urban planning (BUP) and public health and well-being, there is a dearth of scholarship on the emotional components of BUP. It is crucial to understand these sentiment-related elements, so planners can assign “human value” to green spaces as a strategy for emphasizing the need to thoughtfully implement and properly maintain them in urban environments. Furthermore, humans’ emotional experiences with green spaces may also reveal hidden or unexpected functions of those spaces. To confirm this lack of emphasis on emotions in BUP, we used Scopus to conduct a …

A Systematic Review Of Black American Same-Sex Couples Research: Laying The Groundwork For Culturally-Specific Research And Interventions, Jonathan M. Lassiter, Jagadīśa-Devaśrī Dacus, Mallory O. Johnson

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

This article presents the findings of a systematic review of the empirical literature related to Black American same-sex couples (BASCs). We found 16 articles that met inclusion criteria. Most articles were published in journals that focused on interdisciplinary studies, HIV/AIDS, and couples and families’ studies. Approximately 63% of the articles reported external funding support. However, only one of these grants was awarded to a Black investigator. Articles predominately focused on BASCs composed of Black sexual minority men residing in major U.S. cities. Only 25% of the articles focused on couples where both partners were Black. Most studies were cross-sectional, used …

The Mediating Role Of Interpersonal Skills In The Relationship Between Depressive Symptomatology And Dating Violence In Young Mothers, Lauren Catherine Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

Young mothers are an understudied group at high-risk for dating violence (DV) victimization and perpetration. Psychological distress, such as depression, increases young mothers' risk for DV (Thomas et al., 2019). In turn, depressive symptomology is associated with difficulties in interpersonal competence (Jones et al., 2019), which may increase DV risk (Bonache et al., 2017). In addition, young mothers may have few chances to learn the interpersonal skills associated with healthy adult romantic relationships due to a mismatch in developmental level and parenting status (Herrman et al., 2019; Moore et al., 2007). Using interpersonal stress generation theory (Hammen, 1991, 2006), we …

Personal And/Or Vicarious Experience With Cancer As A Predictor Of Physical Activity: Moderating Effects Of Gender And Risk Perception, Pierre Alexander Leon M.A.

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Few studies have addressed the relationship between an individual's type of experience with cancer and its relationship with physical activity (PA). Furthermore, studies have not addressed gender and risk perception's ability to moderate the relationship between cancer experience and physical activity. To address this gap in understanding modifiable factors that might help or hinder PA levels, the overarching goal of this study is to: (a) estimate the degree to which an individual's experience of cancer effects PA levels, (b) determine how strongly gender moderates the relationship between the experience of cancer and PA levels, and (c) determine how strongly …

Using Google Street View To Examine Urban Context And Green Amenities In The Global South: The Chilean Experience, Monica Haddad, Zachary Christman, Hamil Pearsall, Melinda Sanchez

School of Earth & Environment Faculty Scholarship

This study evaluates the use of virtual, human-interpreted, field observations using Google Street View (GSV) to examine the presence of conditions that may be used to analyze green gentrification in the Global South. We propose that green gentrification is characterized by the introduction or improvement of green amenities (such as parks) as well as corresponding changes to the urban context (such as facade materials). While virtual field observations have been used to examine neighborhood context for other applications, this method has not yet been applied to the study of green gentrification, nor in the Global South. Using one urban park …

Severe Behavior And Restraint Use In A Hospital Setting For Patients With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Giovanna L. Salvatore

Theses and Dissertations

Physicians in hospital settings are treating an increasing number of patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The occurrence of severe behavior is heightened for patients with ASD in hospital settings. Restraint is a commonly cited strategy to manage severe behavior across hospital departments; however, research on physician management of severe behavior in patients with ASD across the lifespan is lacking. Our sample included 25 participants across three medical trainee focus groups and three physician interviews. We investigated their experiences with severe behavior management and restraint implementation in patients with ASD at an urban teaching hospital. Transcripts were thematically analyzed using …

The Role Of Extracurricular Activities And Lectures In Mitigating Medical Student Burnout, Jennifer C Sepede, Joanna Petrides, Philip B Collins, Meredith C Jones, Nicole Cantor, Linda Boyd

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

CONTEXT: Strong evidence throughout the literature highlights burnout as a significant and increasing problem among medical students, impacting students' ability to effectively care for and empathize with patients.

OBJECTIVES: To examine how involvement in extracurricular activities and attendance at burnout lectures can impact burnout among medical students.

METHODS: An anonymous digital survey including the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was sent to all students (n=765) at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine. The survey included questions regarding the number of burnout/wellness lectures respondents had attended, the number of clubs in which the respondents participated, the number of hours spent in these …

Relations Between Ptsd Symptoms And Pain Interference Among Older Adults, Laura E. Travers

Theses and Dissertations

Both the older adult population and the frequency of natural disasters (e.g., hurricanes) increase in the U.S. each year. Consequently, understanding the health experiences that affect older adults specifically following a natural disaster is important for providing effective healthcare and promoting health expectancy. For example, the extent to which PTSD symptoms following a natural disaster contribute to pain severity (beyond the contributions of other psychosocial experiences such as depression) among older adults is not yet clear, and whether this contribution differs by gender or age has yet to be established. The aims of this study were (1) to determine whether …

Development, Feasibility, And Acceptability Of A Healthy Relationship Intervention Among College Student-Athletes: A Mixed Methods Study, Nicole Cantor

Theses and Dissertations

College student-athletes are one subgroup of college students at risk for unhealthy relationship behaviors. Despite this, research on student-athletes dating behaviors is limited, and what research does exist pertains exclusively to Division I athletes, focusing on male student-athletes as perpetrators. While attempts have been made to mitigate instances of dating violence and promote healthy relationships, these interventions are education-based and not tailored to the specific strengths and challenges of student-athletes. In addition, the efficacy of these preexisting interventions has not yet been evaluated. The current study represents stage 1 of the NIH Stage Model for Behavioral Intervention Development and evaluates …

Mhealth For The Treatment Of Depression In Primary Care: A Feasibility Study, Krista Herbert

Theses and Dissertations

The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of implementing three mobile applications (apps) designed to ameliorate depressive symptoms within primary care. The secondary aim was to examine whether participants utilizing a mobile app would experience reductions in depressive symptoms and improvements in quality of life when compared to a waitlist control condition. Participants (n=3) were recruited from two primary care practices and randomized to: (a) a cognitive-behavioral app, (b) a mindfulness app, (c) a social problem-solving app, or (d) the waitlist control condition. Participants completed measures of depressive symptoms and quality of life at …

Theory Of Mind, Social Relationship Perception And Stigma Experiences In Individuals At Clinical High-Risk For Psychosis, Francesca Maria Crump

Theses and Dissertations

The clinical high-risk (CHR) state for psychosis has been established in order to prevent the transition to full psychosis; however, demonstrates a high false positive rate (Fusar-Poli et al., 2012). Consequently, many CHR individuals may face increased labeling and symptom-related stigmatization through accessing early intervention services (Yang et al., 2015). As a result, CHR individuals may employ negative coping responses (Link et al., 1989) and exhibit increased social preoccupation in order to help conceal their mental health status (Link et al., 2015), which may hinder social cognitive ability and have lasting impacts on social functioning. This study aimed to delineate …

The Many Faces Of Schizophrenia Risk: Can Measures Of Risk Be Aggregated?, Thomas W. O'Kane

Theses and Dissertations

There are currently many different conceptualizations of schizophrenia risk, which we argue is detrimental to any efforts to build a cumulative science in this area. This paper sought to evaluate various conceptualizations of schizophrenia risk and the extent to which they overlap. This paper attempts to identify overlap by utilizing meta-analytic methods in conjunction with data collected from a sample of undergraduate college students (n = 80). To do so, we first collected estimates of various schizophrenia risk measures and risk correlates from the literature. These estimates were subsequently combined with collected data. This paper attempted to analyze review data …

Patients' Beliefs Towards Contingency Management: Target Behaviours, Incentives And The Remote Application Of These Interventions, Carol-Ann Getty, Tim Weaver, Michael Lynskey, Kimberly C. Kirby, Jesse Dallery, Nicola Metrebian

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

Introduction Contingency management interventions are among the most efficacious psychosocial interventions in promoting abstinence from smoking, alcohol and substance use. The aim of this study was to assess the beliefs and objections towards contingency management among patients in UK-based drug and alcohol services to help understand barriers to uptake and support the development and implementation of these interventions. Methods The Service User Survey of Incentives was developed and implemented among patients (N = 181) at three UK-based drug and alcohol treatment services. Descriptive analyses were conducted to ascertain positive and negative beliefs about contingency management, acceptability of different target behaviours, …

Affiliative Social Interactions Activate Vasopressin-Responsive Neurons In The Mouse Dorsal Raphe, Tirth Patel, Hanna O. Caiola, Olivia Mallari, Benjamin D. Rood

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Social behavior is inextricably linked to human health, shaping both our susceptibility and resilience to disease and stress. Positive interactions as simple as maternal contact or friendships among children and adults can protect against emotional distress and improve treatment outcomes, whereas negative interactions such as abuse, social isolation, or bullying can increase aggression and precipitate mood disorders. Discovering the structure and function of neural circuits underlying social behavior is critical to understanding the link between social interaction and health. The neuropeptide vasopressin has been implicated in the regulation of multiple social interactions including social memory, aggression, mating, pair-bonding, and parental …

Association Between Childhood Obesity And Lack Of Healthy Food Access In Urban Food Deserts, Nicholas Averell, Rushali Desai, Archana Menon, Ayushi Naik, Arpun Shah

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background

Childhood Obesity: growing epidemic affecting almost 20% of children and adolescents in the United States

● Characterized by BMI greater than 95^th percentile of their age and gender

● Often leads to chronic medical conditions: high blood pressure, Type II Diabetes and heart diseases

● Low socioeconomic status(SES), lack of healthy food access and urban neighborhood

Library’S Editing Service Popular With Rowansom Students, Lisa M. Price

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

WHY:

- Identified need for proofreading and editing assistance

- Librarian with writing and desktop publication experience and interest in clear, grammatically correct writing

RESPONSE:

- Popular , especially with students applying for residency

- Anticipate continuing this service

How Do Novel Seat Positions Impact Usability Of Child Restraints?, Patrice Dolhonde Tremoulet, Aditya Belwadi, Brendan Corr, Shreyas Sarfare, Tom Seacrist, Sophia Tushak

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

Autonomous driving technology and changes in regulations may create an environment that allows novel vehicle interiors. It is important to consider impact on all types of passengers when contemplating interior design, particularly for vehicles that may be used by families with children. We developed a fixture that enables us to change the orientation of each of 4 car seats and used it to simulate three different vehicle interiors. Ten families with children aged 3 months to 7 years interacted with each of the simulated interiors as part of a usability study. Times to install and remove child restraint systems were …

Seeking Sustainable Solutions To Period Poverty Amongst Homeless Women In Camden County, Nj, Bilal Khan, Alana Smith, Melisa Ibarra-Zavala

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) – National Ambassadors is an effort for underserved high school, undergraduate, and medical students to collaborate on a research-based community service project to equip future health professionals with tools to heal their communities.

The average woman spends up to 3500 days of their life menstruating. Menstrual health is therefore not just a fundamental human right, but a robust indicator of community well-being. Despite the biological inevitably of menstruation, barriers to practicing adequate menstrual hygiene, or “Period Poverty,” are far common and often ignored in public forums. Period products face a luxury goods sales tax in …

Establishing A Resident-Lead High School Outreach Program To Improve Physician Community Engagement, Dylan Mcdivitt

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

New Jersey’s Cumberland County is home to a vastly diverse population of people, comprised of numerous racial, ethnic, economic, health, and educational backgrounds among its nearly 150,000 residents. Per U.S. Census data, about 15% of the population is below the poverty line, including about 20% of those below the age of 18. With economic hardship often come health problems and disparities, and Cumberland County’s rates of obesity, tobacco use, lung cancer, and drug-induced deaths are all above the national averages.

Notable student survey findings:

• 67 students reported a friend had shared thoughts of depression with them in the last …

Ethnic Differences In Maternal Cytokines And Adipokines And Their Association With Spontaneous Preterm Delivery, Yelizavet D. Lomakova, Xinhua Chen

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Spontaneous preterm delivery (SPTD, birth at <37 weeks’ gestation) is a leading cause of infant mortality in the United States [1]. Infants born prematurely are more likely to suffer from both short and long-term complications including neurodevelopmental delay, visual and hearing impairment, and chronic diseases such as heart disease, hypertension and diabetes in later life [2-4]. African American women have a 2-fold increased risk of preterm delivery compared to Caucasian women [5].The reasons for this disparity are poorly understood. This limits the ability to predict and prevent preterm delivery in the most high-risk populations.

Unpacking Lateral Reading Through Practice And Reflection: Metacognitive Strategies Of Critical Source Evaluation, Andrea Baer, Daniel G. Kipnis

Libraries Scholarship

Increasingly librarians are moving away from checklist approaches like CRAAP and advocating for “lateral reading” as a way to quickly evaluate the credibility of online sources. Essentially “lateral reading” is spending little time on a website and more time reading what other sources say about the website in order to quickly evaluate its credibility. While seemingly simple, lateral reading strategies are not always as straightforward as they first appear. Participants will practice lateral reading and consider ways to encourage students to bring metacognitive and critical thinking skills to using lateral reading for source evaluation.

Learning objectives:

1. To become familiar with …

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Occupational Design, Visual Communication Design, And Academic Commons Collaborate For Graphic Health Literacy In Philadelphia, Daniel Verbit, Monique Chabot, Beth Shirrell

TCLC Program Proceedings

Occupational therapy (OT) maximizes health,well-being, and quality of life for all people. Visual Communication Design (VCD) enables people to process and communicate information through the design of objects, environments, and interactions. Gutman Library’s mission is to work collaboratively with the university community to ensure that students successfully achieve institutional learning outcomes. VCD students collaborated with second-year OT students to address the prompt, ‘How might we improve health literacy in Philadelphia?’

Policy Map And Medlineplus For Creating Visual Materials For Underserved Populations In Philadelphia, Daniel Verbit, Monique Chabot, Elizabeth Shirrell

TCLC Program Proceedings

Low health literacy has a direct impact on the health outcomes of non and low-English speaking Populations. This poster showcases the result of a collaboration between the Library, Visual Design Communication and Occupational Therapy to address specific health literacy and access issues in Philadelphia. These projects included traditional health literacy materials such as flyers and brochures, but also innovative materials such as phone applications, kit boxes for social support programs, graphic novels, advertising campaigns, and community interactive murals. These were created to address the needs of a variety of populations ranging from children with asthma, children living with trauma, teenagers …

Keynote: Using Cultural Humility To Create And Sustain An Equitable, Welcoming Workplace, Twanna K. Hodge

TCLC Program Proceedings

Cultural humility urges us to engage in critical, consistent self-reflection and critique, being other-oriented, redressing power imbalances as vital to moving towards a more equitable and inclusive profession. Retention is not solely the responsibility of the individual, nor is mentoring going to singlehandedly aid in retention. Retention involves, strategic, intentional, and communal actions. It is active, not passive.

In this presentation, Twanna Hodge will provide an overview of cultural humility, explain its importance in librarianship, provide elements of a cultural humility framework, share retention strategies, and offer how cultural humility can be used as a retention strategy.