Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Grindr Complex: The Behavioral Health Impact Of Sexual Racism On Latinx Men Who Have Sex With Men, Luisalfredo Plascencia

Doctoral Dissertations

Given the social history surrounding the issue of HIV/AIDS in the LGBTQ+ community and the unique and intersectional experiences that Latinx Men who have Sex Men (MSM) have in their community, this dissertation’s research will contribute to the growing work on sexual racism and how it correlates with various elements of behavioral health. The study investigated the moderation impact of Latinx cultural values of caballerismo and familismo on the relationship between experiences sexual racism to mental health symptoms. The study also examined the moderation of caballerismo and familismo and psychological flexibility on the relationship between experiences of sexual racism to …

The Mental Health Of First-Generation College Students Of Color, Devin Hallquist

Doctoral Dissertations

College students who identify as a person of color and are also the first person in their family to attend college must navigate challenges related to white supremacy, institutional racism, and structural inequality. Though the amount of research on first-generation college students of color is steadily increasing, there remains a lack of research on the mental health of these students. Through an intersectional approach, the current study explored the mental health of first-generation college students of color during their sophomore year of college. Participants in the current study completed questionnaires related to psychological symptoms, experiences of racial/ethnic stress, and ethnic …

Reconfiguring Digital Citizenship: Civic Hacking, Data Activism, And Democracy Platforms In South Korea, Danbi Yoo

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on ‘civic tech’, the global phenomenon of tech-based voluntary action of citizens emerging with the rise of the culture of openness and sharing and initiatives of open government data. What does the ‘civic’ of civic tech mean? And what makes civic tech democratic and democratizing? These questions have been rarely asked or conveniently understood with Western-based theories and cases of tech-oriented civic actions. Combining critical studies of technology and civic engagement with the emerging scholarship of digital citizenship, I use the concept of digital citizenship as a heuristic tool to examine how digital and data technologies intervene …

"The Land That Feminism Forgot": Birthzillas, Madwives, And The Politics Of Chilbirth, Amber Vayo

Doctoral Dissertations

“The Land that Feminism Forgot” is an in-depth exploration of the politics of childbirth that draws together qualitative and quantitative evidence to theorize the connections between treatment in childbirth and maternal mortality. Situating the qualitative research in the larger national context, the second chapter offers a State Reproductive Autonomy Index that provides an overview of the reproductive policy landscape at the national level. The dissertation then explores the role of institutionalized childbirth, medical mistrust, and obstetric violence in the U.S.’s longstanding maternal mortality crisis and offers policy suggestions in key public health areas. Through 120 qualitative interviews with people who …

Ploy : An Immigrant Daughter's Archival Survival Strategy, Porntip Israsena Twishime

Doctoral Dissertations

Transnational human migration is commonly conceptualized as the moment a person crosses national borders. In “PLOY : An Immigrant Daughter’s Archival Survival Strategy,” I advance a framework of migration in which migration is an ongoing embodied and relational process, one that continues after a person crosses national borders. This framework maintains that migration exists as a meaningful concept because of the social, political, cultural, and historical contexts that gives this type of mobility meaning. I use a performative novel methodology to construct and represent this argument; a performative novel methodology uses fiction and the novel as a performative text …

The Evaluation Of "The Wrong Answer Project" As Validity Evidence For The Social Consequences Of Testing, Darius D. Taylor

Doctoral Dissertations

The use of educational tests for making high stakes decisions has had societal consequences for decades. Parents, teachers, and administrators have been willing to pay off, lie, cheat, and steal so that their children, students, and they themselves would not fall prey to the negative consequences of subpar performance on educational assessments. Respected psychometric scholars have supported Samuel Messick’s claim over the years, but their advocacy has caught minimal traction. I founded an initiative in 2019 – The Wrong Answer Project – that shows promise as a vehicle for collecting validity evidence based on the social consequences of testing and …

Examining Shifts In Racial Attitudes In The Aftermath Of George Floyd’S Death And The 2020 Blm Protests, Se Min Suh

Doctoral Dissertations

The killing of George Floyd in the summer of 2020 instigated one of the largest social movements in the United States history. Despite the wealth of research that has evaluated the efficacy of social movements using different social outcomes (Andrews, 1997; Biggs & Andrews, 2015; Branton et al., 2015; Enos et al., 2019; Gillion, 2012; Schwartz, 2016), less attention has been given to how social movements that concern racial issues impact racial attitudes (Riley & Peterson, 2020). Thus, the current research aimed to examine how Americans’ racial attitudes shifted in the period immediately following the onset of BLM protests. We …

For The Love Of Teaching: Pre-Service Teachers’ Experience Of Moral Education, Anne Marie Foley Ruiz

Doctoral Dissertations

Moral aspects of teaching arise each and every day, yet we lack information about how prepared teachers feel about this critical aspect of teaching. This multi-case study explores perceptions of five pre-service teachers in an elementary teacher education program in Western Massachusetts. A series of interviews explore their histories prior to the program and their experiences in the program as related to the pre-service teachers’ orientations to the moral work of teaching. Research questions address the awareness and self-efficacy of student teachers in implementing the moral aspects of teaching. Using Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clark, 2006), this study explores beliefs …

Enabling Novel Network Economics Using Multi-Hop, Asynchronous Resource Exchanges, Puming Fang

Doctoral Dissertations

Economic transactions typically involve only the parties directly involved, known as single-hop economic exchange. However, this model has limitations since only the final contributors participate in the resource exchange and acquire ownership of resources from previous contributors. In contrast, distributed systems aggregate resources from multiple entities across multiple hops. In Web 3.0, everyone can be a content creator and take ownership of their creations. To address this issue, we propose a value tree model that includes all contributors and enables multi-hop and asynchronous resource exchange. We propose two different approaches to implement the value tree model: value tree single contract, …

Increasing Teacher-Student Relationships And Classroom Engagement: The Effects Of Modifying Existing Tier Two Intervention On Adolescent Students And Their Teachers, Julia Doherty

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of a Tier II behavior intervention, Check-in/Check-out (CiCo), on student engagement, and if a modification to the intervention that includes teacher use of microaffirmations improves the teacher-student relationship (T-SR) and thus, increases student engagement in class. It utilized multiple baseline design, and the study sample consisted of three fifth grade students from an urban school district in Southeastern Virginia. All three students were paired with one of their teachers to serve as the mentor for the intervention. Student engagement was measured directly using the Behavioral Observation System for Students (BOSS; …

The Role Of Trait Mindfulness, Perceived Stress, And Impulsivity In Understanding The Relationship Between Stress Mindset And Psychological Intimate Partner Aggression, Sarah Joyanna Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations

Perpetration of psychological intimate partner aggression is a pervasive health issue and has been estimated to occur in 60 to 90 percent of relationships. Effects of intimate partner violence on its victims has been demonstrated to have lasting physical and mental health issues. Psychological intimate partner aggression has been demonstrated to have particularly harmful effects, above and beyond those identified in physical intimate partner aggression. Psychological intimate partner aggression has been demonstrated to be impacted by impulsivity, stress-mindset, perceived stress, and mindfulness. The present study proposed to examine a path analysis model of the relation between stress-mindset and psychological intimate …

Sexual Violence And Psychological Distress: The Roles Of Coping Self-Efficacy, Self-Blame, Shame, Activism, And Feminism, Charlotte Strauss Swanson

Doctoral Dissertations

In the current study, we investigated potential direct, indirect, and moderated relations in the links between exposure to sexual violence and PTSD symptom severity and depression among a sample of 440 United States women who had experienced sexual assault in adulthood. We found that sexual violence exposure was both directly and indirectly related to PTSD symptom severity via less trauma coping self-efficacy, greater behavioral and characterological self-blame, and more shame. Sexual violence exposure was also indirectly related to depression via the same explanatory variables, except for behavioral self-blame. Contrary to our hypotheses, results indicated that involvement in anti-sexual activism and …

The Impact Of Guaranteed Income On Political Participation, Daniel Horn

Doctoral Dissertations

This three-paper dissertation examines the impact of guaranteed income (GI) and cash transfer (CT) programs on political participation, aiming to contribute to understanding how social policies can shape civic engagement. The first paper provides a comprehensive literature review on GI and CT programs, focusing on their potential effects on political participation. By analyzing existing studies, this paper identifies key findings and gaps in the literature, setting the stage for further empirical investigation. The second paper develops and tests a new instrument called the Brief Political Participation Scale (BPPS), designed to measure political participation concisely and reliably. The third paper presents …

A Path Model Of Scct Applied To The Rural Appalachian Community, Sean M. Murphy

Doctoral Dissertations

The current study investigates the relationship between variables in the Social Cognitive Career Theory model as applies to rural Appalachia. A path model was conducted in order to see which variables are significantly related, as well as which paths differ from the hypothesized model, in this population. Results suggest that there is a direct effect of college going self-efficacy (CGSES) on college planning behaviors (CPB), as well as direct paths from barriers and postsecondary supports (PSS) to pursuing a education after high school. Indirect effects were also found from PSS and Barriers to CPB through CGSES. Surprisingly, no direct path …

Implementing The Color Wheel System To Improve Individual Student Behavior And Reduce Repeated Teacher Directions, Jade Bennett

Doctoral Dissertations

Researchers have demonstrated the Color Wheel System (CWS) to be a resource-efficient and effective classroom management system within various contexts; however, there is limited research examining the impact of the CWS on teacher behavior (i.e., reducing repeated teacher directions) and individual student in-seat behavior. Using a withdrawal (ABAB) design, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the CWS in decreasing repeated teacher directions and increasing student in-seat behavior. Momentary time sampling was used to record individual student in-seat behavior. Frequency recording over a 20-min time interval was used to record repeated teacher directions and frequencies were …

Domestic Violence Exposure And Legal System Involvement Experiences Of Young Adults: A Retrospective, Intersectional, Qualitative Study, Amie Kahovec

Doctoral Dissertations

Youth perspectives are missing from our understanding of the intersections between childhood interparental domestic violence exposure (CEDV) legal system interactions (e.g., law enforcement). To address this empirical and practical gap, this study applies intersectionality, theoretically and methodologically, to inform recruitment, data collection, and analysis of semi-structured interviews with 10 young adults with CEDV and subsequent legal system interactions. Intersectional multilevel analysis will guide the examination of how interlocking oppressive systems at multiple levels inform CEDV and legal system interaction experiences to inform empirically grounded recommendations for legal system providers, centering the needs and experiences of youth from historically and contemporarily …

An Electronic Validation Of The Test Of Memory Malingering (Tomm), Bonnie M. Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

Within the context of a counterbalanced design, 46 students from a large state university in the southeast were administered the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) and the electronic version of the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM-E). The TOMM was developed by Dr. Tom Tombaugh in 1996 and was originally designed to be administered in a paper and pencil format. The objective of this study was to establish equivalence between the computer-administered TOMM-E and the traditional paper-based TOMM. Each assessment consists of two trials and simple random assignment was used to determine which assessment format was administered to participants first. Time …

The Impact Of Rebel Group Structure On Foreign Fighter Civilian Victimization, Jack Anthony Schwartz

Doctoral Dissertations

The modern foreign fighter (FF) came into prominence following the onset of the wars in Iraq and Syria in the early 2010s. The fact that there was a movement of over 20,000 foreign fighters to Ukraine in 2022 shows that this is a phenomenon that is not going away or slowing down. What makes this phenomenon more serious is the negative impact that FFs have on civilians. FFs have been shown to conduct disproportionate violence against the civilian population in the locations that they inhabit. For that reason, it is vital to not only understand the impact of these individuals …

Juvenile Probation Officers’ Lived Experiences Of Collaboration With Clinical Mental Health Counselors: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis., Henrietta Gantt

Doctoral Dissertations

Juvenile offenders (JO) are at high-risk due to significant mental health challenges. We review the importance of collaboration between the mental health providers and juvenile justice system (JSS) and identify that more research regarding collaboration experiences between clinical mental health counselors (CMHC) and juvenile probation officers (JPO) would be beneficial. Using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) we explored JPO’s lived experiences of collaborating with mental health professionals (MHP). The aim of the study was to unveil more nuance and description of collaboration efforts to better support JO. Our findings offer a systemic understanding of collaboration as well as the catalysts and …

Investigating The Transfer Of Learning, Psychological, And Neural Effects In Immersive Virtual Reality, Logan Taylor Markwell

Doctoral Dissertations

Achieving mastery or expertise requires a substantial amount of quality practice. Recent technological developments have introduced a novel approach to practice, virtual reality. Specifically, virtual reality offers a low-cost, customizable opportunity to practice while minimizing the risk of the individual. Given that some types of practice may not lead to the acquisition of a motor skill, or worse, lead to detriments of that skill, understanding the developing science of motor behavior in relation to virtual reality is imperative. The following literature review will begin with a brief historical account of the evolution of virtual reality. Next, some terms of virtual …

"You're Not Thriving, You're Just Trying To Survive The Environment That You're In:" Mental Performance Consultants' Narratives Of Emotional Abuse In Sport, Victoria Lynn Bradshaw

Doctoral Dissertations

Emotional abuse is defined as “a pattern of deliberate non-contact behaviors by a person with a critical relationship that has the potential to be harmful” (Stirling & Kerr, 2008, p. 178). Specifically, in the context of sport, emotional abuse is one of the more frequently occurring forms of abuse (Kavanagh, Brown & Jones, 2017; Kirby, Greaves & Hankvisky, 2000; Wilson & Kerr, 2021). Years after the termination of those emotionally abusive experiences, athletes are left to try and cope with and manage the short and long-term impacts that tend to develop as a result of repeated exposure to harmful behaviors …

Exploring Wellness Behaviors Following A Non-Death Loss Experience: A Structural Equation Model, Covington Hanley

Doctoral Dissertations

Loss and grief are inevitable aspects of the lifespan. Although non-death loss (NDL) is not a new phenomenon; it has recently entered the public knowledge. The first manuscript is a basic primer on NDL for counselors. I review the types of non-death loss experiences, grief responses, theories, and skills and processes utilized for clinical work with NDL. The second manuscript is the empirical study. In this study, I utilized structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the relationship between reactions to non-death loss (loss of control, avoidant, positive) and wellness behaviors (physical, essential, social, creative, coping), as moderated by resilience. The …

Sexual Evangelism: Youth Activism And The Fight For Comprehensive Sex Education In East Tennessee, Elena Schuch

Doctoral Dissertations

In the face of structural oppression perpetuated in part by a conservative U.S. state that limits their access to comprehensive and accurate information about sexual/reproductive health (SIECUS, 2019), each year high school students (aged 14-18) in East Tennessee are recruited by Family Futures to form a peer education/activism group promoting comprehensive sex education awareness. While youth’s participation in activism is often situated in terms of individual empowerment separate from structural forces (Watts & Flanagan, 2007; Bay-Cheng, 2017), our understanding of how youth negotiate their experiences with sex education activism as situated within larger systems is limited, particularly as youth’s voices …

Segmenting The Thin Blue Line: An Ethnographic Content Analysis Of Myth And Ritual In Contemporary U.S. Police Film, Alexandra Szmutko

Doctoral Dissertations

The continued ills of mass incarceration, combined with the more recent rash of police-caused killings of people of color, make it clear that the U.S. criminal justice system is experiencing a period of profound crisis related to policing. This dissertation aims to interrogate the cultural ideologies supporting the existing policing enterprise in the U.S. To do this, the study first examines the foundational myths that shape prevailing cultural perceptions of the police and their social role. Ethnographic content analysis methodology is then utilized to identify both the presence and the subversion of these myths and their attendant rituals in a …

A Feminist Ethnography Of Care In The Infant/Toddler Classroom, Chesley Anne Sorrells

Doctoral Dissertations

In the neoliberal context of the Global North, early care and education (ECE) is a conceptually dichotomized and stratified field, with ‘care’ widely considered to be separate from - and lesser than - ‘education.’ Feminist perspectives challenge this dichotomization by reconceptualizing care as foundational to education, centering the historically feminized ideals of emotion, relationality, and interdependence. This three-part qualitative dissertation presents the findings of an 8-month feminist ethnography of care practices in one infant/toddler classroom. Participant observation and semi-structured teacher interviews were used to explore the following research questions: 1) What are teachers’ lived experiences of care in this early …

Understanding Filipino Wellness: Investigating The Effects Of Colonial Mentality And Enculturation, Juliene Grace P. Fresnedi

Doctoral Dissertations

Filipino Americans are the third largest Asian American group within the United States and report significantly worse mental health when compared to other population groups. As a result of colonization by both Spain and the United States, Filipino culture has been perceived as a unique blend of cultural influences. Despite there being over 4.1 million Filipinos residing in the US there is a significant lack of research that directly investigates the well-being of this population and to what extent factors such as colonial mentality, enculturation, and generational status have an impact. The present study seeks to address this gap in …

Greenwashing “Brown Gold”: A Critical Analysis Of Anaerobic Digesters And California’S Neoliberal Environmental Programs In Wisconsin’S Dairyland, Sarah Emily D'Onofrio

Doctoral Dissertations

Large dairy farms, also known as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), have turned to anaerobic digesters as the industry is increasingly pressured to find ways to lower their greenhouse gas emissions. Digesters are machines that turn animal waste from CAFOs into electricity and fuel which are then sold as “credits” in California’s market based climate change mitigation programs such as cap and trade and the low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) program. However, this dissertation not only challenges the assertion that digesters are “green,” but also that these programs are doing what they claim to do in a deregulated and re-regulated …

Ruinous Natures: The Approach Of Social Timespace, Thomas Frederick Bechtold

Doctoral Dissertations

This Dissertation advances across three areas: first, a theory of social timespace that borrows from critical social theories, post-ontological systems theory, and literary critique; second, it proposes a revisioning of sociological ‘methods’ by an historical reproachment: how sociology is a method among others for the study of society and culture, what are called variously the social sciences, and how sociology also has a method of its own developed in the work of the first sociological institutions in the United States, Germany, and France, that is parallel to linguistic structuralism in the same historical period and has mostly been advanced outside …

African American Women Make Meaning Of Historical Trauma, Deidre A. Miller

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Historical trauma may be a fairly new concept for some providers; therefore, this research offers another clinical lens through which providers can view the presenting problem(s) of their African American female patients. This qualitative study used descriptive methodology to examine the range of African American women’s lived experiences connected to historical trauma with two interlocking systems of oppression: race and gender. Two themes and six subthemes were developed from the data collected: Theme A: Prevalence of Racist Experiences Throughout Their Lifespans; and Theme B: Responses to Racism (e.g., Emotions & Coping Mechanisms).

This study gives clinicians insight into the …

The Association Between Psychotic Symptoms And Romantic Relationship Quality Among Young Adult Ethnic Minorites, Tashagaye T. Mckenzie

Doctoral Dissertations

This study aimed to examine the association between psychotic symptoms and the quality of romantic relationships amongst ethnic minority young adults. Approximately 10.4 million people, which represents 4.2% of the adult population in the U.S, are currently diagnosed with severe mental illnesses, including psychotic disorders. Prior research found that ethnic minorities, in general, have an increased risk of developing psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. People with SMI generally have issues being and maintaining romantic relationships. However, being in positive romantic relationships is associated with better physical and mental well-being. The final sample size for the study consisted of 411 young …