Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Bidirectional Associations Between Parenting Behavior And Child Callous-Unemotional Traits: Do Delinquent Peer Affiliations And/Or Parental Psychopathology Moderate These Links?, Amber Rochelle Wimsatt

Doctoral Dissertations

The current study examined bidirectional associations between callous-unemotional (CU) traits and parenting dimensions and evaluated whether these associations changed as children aged. Furthermore, this study extended the literature by examining whether these relations were moderated by delinquent peer affiliation and/or parental depression. Proposed relations were examined using a longitudinal sample of 120 aggressive boys (59.6%) and girls (40.4%) who were in the 4^th grade (M = 10.56 years, SD = .56) at baseline and were followed over four years. A series of generalized estimating equation [GEE] models revealed reciprocal relations between CU traits and corporal punishment. Consistent with …

Stress And Resilience: The Negative And Positive Aspects Of Being An Asian American Lesbian Or Bisexual Woman, Mi Ra Sung

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite the richness of the literature about minority stress and negative psychological outcomes and growing attention on lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) people of color, few studies have examined the intersection of multiple identities of Asian American lesbian and bisexual women (AA LBW). Thus, the purpose of this study was to provide an understanding of the experiences of 50 AA LBW. More specifically, this study explored challenges, coping strategies, and positive aspects of being an AA LBW through the lens of intersectionality. Qualitative analyses revealed three overarching domains concerning day-to-day challenges faced by AA LBW: living as AA sexual minority women …

Relationships Among Depression, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Forgiveness, Meaning In Life, And Spirituality In Survivors Of Intimate Partner Violence, Shannon Marie Rogers

Doctoral Dissertations

One hundred twenty nine survivors of interpersonal violence completed a paper-and-pencil survey to evaluate depression, PTSD, forgiveness, meaning in life, and spirituality. Five self-report measures were completed including: the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale, the PTSD Checklist – Stressor Specific version, the Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory, and the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale. The majority of the participants were female and Caucasian. Significant correlations were found between PTSD and presence of meaning, as well as depression and both presence of and search for meaning. However, hierarchical multiple regressions results indicated that depression and the two meaning in life subscales contributed …

Assessing Motives For Consensual Sex: Development Of The Sexual Motives Questionnaire, Vanessa Tirone

Doctoral Dissertations

The present study describes the development and preliminary validation of the Sexual Motives Questionnaire (SMQ), a measure of motives for consensual sex. The measure is informed two dispositional theories, functional theory and self-construal theories, which suggest that individuals are motivated to engage in behavior due to approach/avoidance and independent/interdependent tendencies, respectively. Items were also selected to reflect sexual scripts and fear of sexual and physical violence. A total of 81 items was administered to 920 undergraduates. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted utilizing the 821 participants with complete data. The final sample was predominately heterosexual (96%) and Caucasian (83%) with a …

Planning For Communication Through Rehearsal Imagined Interactions, Martijn Jos Van Kelegom

Doctoral Dissertations

Imagined interactions are mental representations of conversations with significant others. One function they may serve is as a rehearsal for an anticipated encounter. The process by which this rehearsal occurs is investigated using Dillard’s (1990) Goals-Plans-Action model and Berger’s (1997) Planning Theory of Communication. A causal model is proposed for the relationships between domain knowledge, use of retroactive imagined interactions, specificity, and discrepancy of the proactive imagined interaction. This model is tested using survey data (N = 210), and additional data were collected assessing characteristics of the anticipated conversations. Results and additional analyses suggest that rehearsal occurs in many …

From Foraging To Food Production On The Southern Cumberland Plateau Of Alabama And Tennessee, U.S.A., Stephen Byrnes Carmody

Doctoral Dissertations

Research involving the origin of plant domestication remains as important today as ever. While early anthropologists viewed plant domestication as a necessary precondition for cultural development, more recent ethnographic studies have shown that agriculture was a much more labor intensive subsistence practice than hunting and gathering, leading many to question the reasons behind the prehistoric transition. Today, research and advances in technology have provided conclusive evidence to include the Eastern Woodlands of North America as one of the eight global centers of indigenous plant domestication. Although the timing of domestication and the plants involved in early horticultural systems are well …

Using Mindful Self-Compassion To Improve Self-Criticism, Self-Soothing, Cravings, And Relapse In Substance Abusers In An Intensive Outpatient Program, Sarah Elizabeth Gilbert

Doctoral Dissertations

Applying mindfulness techniques to the treatment of substance use disorders is relatively new; however, initial studies show promising results (e.g. Bowen et al., 2009; Witkiewitz & Bowen, 2010). Similarly, treatment-seeking substance users may find benefits in treatments that increase levels of self-compassion, a construct that uses mindfulness and allows awareness of personal faults (e.g. relapses) without becoming paralyzed by shame. Instead, individuals who are compassionate toward their failures are more likely to take healthy steps to address them (Leary, Tate, Adams, Allen, & Hancock, 2007). This study added a brief self-compassion group treatment to an existing Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) …

Effects Of Prenatal Stress And Poverty On Fetal Growth, Teresa Anne Lefmann

Doctoral Dissertations

Background. Prenatal stress has negative effects on the developing fetus through the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Programming of the stress response system during gestation has lifelong effects that put the infant at risk for multiple stress-related pathologies. Populations most vulnerable to prenatal stress are African-Americans and individuals of low socioeconomic status.

Methods. The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) research project, a collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and individual state health departments, was utilized for this study. Tennessee data from 2009 were compiled from individual birth certificates and PRAMS questionnaire responses to examine three …

Describing The Cognitive Complexity Of Counselors-In-Training Enrolled In A Group Dynamics And Methods Course, John Lester Davison

Doctoral Dissertations

Research supports the link between higher levels of cognitive complexity and counseling efficacy. Counselor educators, therefore, strive to promote higher levels of cognitive complexity in different areas of counselor preparation, such as individual counseling and multicultural training. Presently, the research literature lacks studies focused on cognitive complexity in group work training. To address this gap in the literature, this study used content analysis, a qualitative methodology to describe cognitive complexity of 10 counselors-in-training enrolled in a Group Dynamics and Methods course. Using Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy to analyze participants’ written reflection assignments, I found that participants demonstrated cognitive complexity primarily in …

Secular Change In Stature And Body Mass In Korea Over The Last Two Millennia, Yangseung Jeong

Doctoral Dissertations

Body size of a population is influenced by its environmental conditions and thus reflects the standards of living experienced by individuals within a population. In this research, for the purpose of investigating the standards of living in the Korean societies for the past two millennia, the pattern of secular changes in stature and body mass of the Korean populations were examined using both anthropometric and osteometric data. In addition, because of the necessity of reconstructing body sizes from the skeletal remains, new Korean-specific equations for stature and body mass estimation were developed using the hybrid method.

The newly developed equations …

Relationship Quality, Individual Wellbeing, And Gender – A Series Of Longitudinal Studies, Patricia Nola Eugene Roberson

Doctoral Dissertations

Using multiple theories, three studies examined the association between relationship quality, individual wellbeing (e.g., psychological distress), and gender across multiple time points. In Study 1 applied life course theory concepts (e.g., roles, role configurations, role trajectories) and second order latent class analyses were then conducted. Using four relationship role trajectories were identified from these analyses. Relationship role trajectories differed on wellbeing, wherein individuals in stable marriages with higher satisfaction consistently reported greater wellbeing (i.e., lower depression and higher life satisfaction).

Study 2 sought to determine the direction of the association between individual wellbeing and relationship quality. This study specifically examined …

Local Foods Purchasing In The Farmers' Market Channel: Value-Attitude-Behavior Theory, Christopher Thomas Sneed

Doctoral Dissertations

From farmers’ market booths to kitchen tables, demand for locally-produced foods has increased significantly over the last decade. Yet, despite increasing popularity of local foods, theoretically-based research of this topic has just begun.

This study fills this gap in literature and broadens the current research base by utilizing Value-Attitude-Behavior Theory to explore local foods purchasing in the farmers’ market channel. The impact of four values (food novelty, food safety, civic engagement, and environmental concern) on consumers’ attitudes regarding farmers’ market design perceptions, farmers’ market social perceptions, and local foods quality perceptions are examined. In turn, the impact of these attitudes …

Measuring The Norm Of Reciprocity On Data Sharing Practices: A Carrot Or Stick Approach?, Crystal Pleake Sherline

Doctoral Dissertations

Based on the theory of the Norm of Reciprocity (NOR), this study is focused on an individual’s data sharing behavior with respect to academic research by investigating their attitude towards data sharing and external funding. A measure was developed for data sharing, and the Adjusted Eisenberger Scale was attuned for measuring the Norm of Reciprocity. The measures were distributed by a random numbers generator to academic researchers at research intensive universities. The results show that NOR does not correlate with data sharing. There was also a negative correlation between scientists’ willingness to share data and external funding. The results are …

Interest Groups, Political Party Control, Lobbying, And Science Funding: A Population Ecology Approach, Allyn Katherine Milojevich

Doctoral Dissertations

Science plays an increasingly important role in public policy in a range of issues from national security to public health. Thus, scientists will play an increasingly important role in society. This dissertation first examines how federal science funding changes with partisan control of key political institutions. Next, science-related interests groups, including their formation, specialization, and lobbying activities, are examined. Interest groups are a growing aspect of the American political system. However, they are an understudied aspect of political institutions. While much of their activity occurs within the legislative branch, they also work in the executive and judicial branches to advocate …

Dissociation And Sexual Trauma: The Moderating Role Of Somatization, Amineh Abbas

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined various types of trauma, with an emphasis on sexual trauma across the lifespan, in a clinical sample of male and female adult outpatients assessed for trauma, somatization, and dissociation. Two hundred forty-five adult outpatients at the University of Tennessee Psychological Clinic were administered the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), the Traumatic Experiences Checklist (TEC), and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), as part of the routine intake procedure. Of those individuals, 200 patients completed the questionnaires correctly and were included in the final study sample. The experience of sexual trauma indeed accounted for additional variance in somatization scores over and above …

How Technology Interacts With Emerging Adulthood Psychosocial Developmental Tasks: An Examination Of Online Self-Presentation And Cell Phone Usage, Samantha Lynn Gray

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation outlines three distinct, yet interrelated, projects aimed at understanding the role of technology in relation to emerging adulthood developmental tasks: individuation & identity development. The first paper provides a context for understanding the developmental tasks of emerging adulthood, and the role that technology may serve in relation to those developmental tasks. This brief review of the literature on emerging adulthood developmental tasks provides a solid theoretical background and history for the theoretical premises proposed for the respective studies included in this dissertation. The second project is an empirical investigation that seeks to understand how the task of identity …

Exploring Coping Mediators Between Heterosexist Oppression And Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms Among Gay, Lesbian, And Bisexual Persons, Kyle M. Bandermann

Doctoral Dissertations

Recently, scholars have begun to advocate that categories of traumatic events be expanded to include experiences that do not meet the traditional diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such as oppression. Our study builds on this work by examining experiences with two kinds of heterosexist oppression, one that meets the traditional diagnostic criteria for PTSD (i.e., sexual orientation-based hate crime victimization) and one that does not (i.e., heterosexist discrimination), as predictors of PTSD symptoms in a sample of 427 gay, lesbian and bisexual persons who responded to an online survey. In addition, we examined the mediating roles of coping …

They Made Us Unrecognizable To Each Other: Human Rights, Truth, And Reconciliation In Canada, Jaymelee Jane Kim

Doctoral Dissertations

Presented herein are the findings from an ethnographic analysis of the perceived efficacy of Canada’s transitional justice framework; an approach being used to address human rights violations that occurred via the Indian residential school system. With these findings and archival research, I argue that transitional justice is not perceived as an effective solution for nation-states with long histories of colonialism and institutional violence. From the 1840s until 1996, Canadian Aboriginals suffered forced assimilation, sexual abuse, and physical abuse in government-sponsored and church-administrated boarding schools. The Canadian government began to actively address these crimes in 2006 with the negotiation of the …

A Multi-University Examination Of College Student-Athlete & Coach Fit, Amanda Celeste Alexander

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between student-athletes’ personality traits and satisfaction with their collegiate coaching experience, as guided by vocational research and theory on job satisfaction and turnover. Specifically, this study was designed to examine both broad and narrow personality traits in relation to student-athletes’ satisfaction across four dimensions of the student-athlete/coach relationship and to explore intent to transfer as a dependent of these variables. This study is an expansion of a previous study investigation of personality and satisfaction with coaching (Levy, Alexander, & Lounsbury, under review). A national sample of NCAA Division I, II, and III collegiate student-athletes was …

Predictors Of Heterosexual Siblings’ Acceptance Of Their Lesbian Or Gay Sibling Of Origin, Angela Nichole Hilton

Doctoral Dissertations

Research has shown that lesbian and gay (LG) individuals are not only coming out to their parents, but also to their siblings. Eighty percent of individuals in the United States are raised with one or more siblings; however, researchers have frequently underestimated the importance of the sibling bond. The current study examined potential correlates of heterosexual siblings’ acceptance of their LG sister or brother using an online survey format (N=189). In addition, psychometric properties for the Acceptance of Sibling Sexual Orientation Scale are provided. Results revealed that greater sibling relationship quality in adulthood, more contact with LG individuals, …

The Effects Of Prompts And Comprehension Assessment On Oral Reading: Moderating Effect Of Reading Skills, Bethany Evelyn Forbes

Doctoral Dissertations

Words correct per minute (WCPM) scores, derived from oral reading fluency (ORF) assessments, are used, in part, to make decisions regarding special education eligibility. WCPM scores are sensitive to environmental factors such as the presence of a stopwatch, administrator characteristics, and instructions. Using sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade middle school students, we replicate and extend previous research on the effects of environmental prompts on ORF scores by instructing students to read fast and investigating the reading skill-by-instructions interaction. We also evaluated how students who had been were instructed to read fast (phase two) responded to subsequent (phase three) standard instructions and …

The Temporal Association Between Alcohol, Negative Affect, And Dating Violence, Ryan Christopher Shorey

Doctoral Dissertations

Dating violence is a serious problem, with psychological aggression being the most common topography of aggression. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of research on temporal risk factors for psychological aggression perpetration and victimization. Thus, the proposed study examined whether alcohol and negative affect increased the odds of psychological aggression perpetration and victimization, and whether these two risk factors interacted to temporally predict aggression. That is, consistent with the Attention-Allocation Model (AAM), it was hypothesized that at high levels of negative affect, acute alcohol consumption would increase the odds of aggression. However, at low levels of negative affect, acute alcohol consumption …

The Effects Of Social Support On At-Risk Youth, Christi Lanet Culpepper

Doctoral Dissertations

Social support is conceptualized as a protective factor that buffers against distress and dysfunction. Social support can be beneficial to all individuals and is usually available through a support system consisting of family and friends. Unfortunately, there are populations that lack effective support systems and consequently do not receive social support. One such population is at-risk youth. In this project, I examined the effects of social support, within the context of participation in youth programs, on the academic, emotional, and behavioral functioning of at-risk youth. Twenty-three adolescents participating in three youth programs were assessed at three time points: the beginning …

Exploring Employee-Organization Relationships In Post-Socialist Transition: Local Employees' Experiences In Foreign-Owned Companies In Croatia, Danijela Radić

Doctoral Dissertations

Organization-public relationships have been recognized as the essence of public relations. Even though employees have been identified as a strategic public contributing to organizational success, no attention has been given to employee-organization relationship development in postsocialist transitioning countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

This study explores how local employees in foreign-owned hotels in Croatia make sense of relationships with organizations for which they work. Interviews with Croatian employees reveal a number of barriers to successful employee-organization relationship development in foreign-owned companies. Findings indicate that local employees struggle with unfulfilled expectations in the workplace and face obstacles that prevent improvement. Employees …

The Long And The Short Of It: Testing The Conversion And Cuckold Strategies Of Ancestral Human Outgroup Mating, Joseph Frederick Salvatore

Doctoral Dissertations

The human social group likely aided in ancestral human’s survival. However, the small-knit extended kin group in which human ancestors evolved posed a plausible reproductive threat in the form of inbreeding. The outgroup mating hypothesis (Salvatore, Meltzer, & Gaertner, under review) proposed that, as a solution to the inbreeding dilemma, ancestral females may have mated outside their social group. The current work examines two competing hypotheses by which ancestral females mated with outgroup males and balanced parental investment concerns. The conversion hypothesis posits that ancestral females mated with an outgroup male under the provision that he and his group would …

Citizen Confidence In The Public Service: An Examination Of Established And Emerging Democracies In North America And Eurasia, Nurgul Ryskulovna Aitalieva

Doctoral Dissertations

How do levels of confidence in the public service differ across countries? Are these attitudes about the public service determined by similar individual-level attributes across countries? Do country-level correlates explain variation between countries in citizen attitudes toward the public service? Data from the 2005-2009 World Values Survey for 21 North American and Eurasian countries, in addition to aggregate-level measures of national context, are analyzed using multilevel binary logistic regression.

The study shows that there is a significant amount of variation in the confidence attitudes not only within each country but also across countries. Citizens of Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, and Finland …

Citizen Science: Framing The Public, Information Exchange, And Communication In Crowdsourced Science, Todd Ernest Suomela

Doctoral Dissertations

Citizen science, the participation of non-scientists in scientific research, has grown over the last 20 years. The current study explores the communication frames used to describe citizen science and how they are created. It also investigates the effects of citizen science on the relationship between the public and science. It also situates citizen science in a larger historical context that critques normal science and intersects with a number of other scholarly discussions including science and technology studies, citizenship, expertise, professionalism, and participation.

The dissertation draws on theory from the social worlds analysis of Anselm Strauss, framing in science communication, the …

"Game Time Is My Time. I Get To Define That:" Gender, Identity, And The National Football League's Female Fans, Traci Yates

Doctoral Dissertations

Based on existing literature relatively little is known about the female football fan in America. Previous research has acknowledged that these women exist, often in startling proportions. It has also identified some of the reasons why they attend the game and some of the perceived benefits of their participation as fans (Clark, Apostolopoulou, & Gladden, 2009; Dietz-Uhler, Harrick, End, & Jacquemotte, 2000). Yet we do not know the value they place on their fan identities, nor how they manage to negotiate being both women and fans in a sport environment that both subtly and not-so-subtly continues to reinforce the model …

Predicting High-Stakes Tests Of Math Achievement Using A Group-Administered Rti Instrument: Validating Skills Measured By The Monitoring Instructional Responsiveness: Math, Jeremy Thomas Coles

Doctoral Dissertations

Three universal screeners and nine progress monitoring probes from the Monitoring Instructional Responsiveness: Math (MIR:M), a silent, group-administered math assessment designed for implementation with an RTI Model, were administered to 223 fifth-grade students. The growth parameters of the overall MIR:M composite and two global composites (math calculation and math reasoning) identified significant variation in student growth, within significant linear and quadratic trajectories. However, there were significant differences in the nature of the growth trajectories that have applied educational implications. In addition, growth parameters across the three composites provided significant predictive potential when using the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement …

Examining The Process Of Identification In The Mathematics Classroom And The Role Of Students’ Academic Communities, Richard J. Robinson

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this research was to provide insight into the identities students develop as they interact in a high school mathematics classroom. A normative divide developed which eventually split the classroom into two distinct academic factions: those who resisted the emerging local definition of what it meant to do mathematics and those who did not resist (i.e. complied or identified). A secondary purpose of this research was to understand the role of students’ academic communities in mathematics identity development. Student narratives helped uncover mathematical spaces outside the classroom that each developed their own unique definition of what it …