Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Affective Depression Mediates Ptsd To Suicide In A Sample Of Treatment-Seeking First Responders, James Whitworth, Jeanine Galusha, Jose Carbajal, Warren Ponder, Donna Schuman

Faculty Publications

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the associations of comorbid

posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), affective or somatic depression, and

suicide among first responders (FRs). Method: We used baseline data from

FRs (N = 232) who sought services at a nonprofit mental health agency specializing

in treating trauma exposed FRs. We conducted two PROCESS simple

mediation models with PTSD as the predictor, affective depression and somatic

depression as the mediators, and suicidality as the dependent variable.

Results: Affective depression significantly mediated the relationship between

PTSD and suicidality, whereas somatic depression did not. The direct effect …

Perceptions And Understanding Of Research Situations As A Function Of Consent Form Characteristics And Experimenter Instructions, Jeremy D. Heider, Jessica L. Hartnett, Emmanuel J. Perez, John E. Edlund

Faculty Publications

Two studies examined how research methodology affected participant behaviors. Study 1 tested (a) consent form perspective (1st, 2nd, or 3rd person) and (b) information on participants’ right to sue upon perceptions of coercion, ability to recall consent information, and performance on experimental tasks. Unexpectedly, participants who received instructions without the right to sue information had significantly better recall of their research rights. Study 2 manipulated (a) consent form complexity (presence or absence of jargon) and (b) the detail of verbal instructions (simple, elaborate); participants who received a consent form with simpler language spent more time on a difficult task, and …

Simulating Medical Isolation: Communicatively Managing Patient And Medical Team Safety, Elizabeth Spradley, R. Tyler Spradley

Faculty Publications

Reducing hospital acquired or associated infections (HAIs) is a national public health priority. HAIs pose risks to patients, visitors, and medical personnel. To better understand how to communicatively manage safety in medical isolation, data was collected with nursing students simulating medical isolation in a high-fidelity simulation with a medical mannequin with C. difficile. Observations of nursing students and faculty revealed four distinct communication practices: social support, patient education, humor, and storytelling. Conclusions include recommendations to intentionally design these communication practices into high-fidelity medial isolation simulations and scale up these communication practices in routines of safety.

Do Gender Differences In Perceived Prototypical Computer Scientists And Engineers Contribute To Gender Gaps In Computer Science And Engineering?, Joyce Ehrlinger, E. Ashby Plant, Marissa K. Hartwig, Jordan J. Vossen, Corey J. Columb, Lauren E. Brewer

Faculty Publications

Women are vastly underrepresented in the fields of computer science and engineering (CS&E). We examined whether women might view the intellectual characteristics of prototypical individuals in CS&E in more stereotype-consistent ways than men might and, consequently, show less interest in CS&E. We asked 269 U.S. college students (187, 69.5% women) to describe the prototypical computer scientist (Study 1) or engineer (Study 2) through open-ended descriptions as well as through a set of trait ratings. Participants also rated themselves on the same set of traits and rated their similarity to the prototype. Finally, participants in both studies were asked to describe …

Evaluating The Validity Of Texas 2 Steps, Tracy Hallak, Luis E. Aguerrevere

Faculty Publications

The Texas 2 STEPS Evaluation Tool was assessed for face validity. Thirty Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialists (COMS) piloted the tool while evaluating children under the age of five years. Each participant was asked to evaluate their comfort level working with this population and report the number of years’ experience they have working as a COMS. The majority of participants found the tool useful for assessing orientation and mobility (O&M) skills in children. The Texas 2 STEPS was also found to be user friendly regardless of the COMS years of experience. Together these findings indicate that the Texas 2 STEPS …

The Impact Of Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms On Maternal Parenting Behaviors, Le'ann L. Solmonson, Tiffany Stewart

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this qualitative research project is to examine the impact of maternal ADHD symptoms on managing the responsibilities related to parent-ing. The primary researcher conducted three interviews with mothers who exhibit ADHD symptoms in order to gain insight into their perceived difficulties related to the disorder. Analysis of the data indicates these mothers have difficulty completing tasks, are disorganized, and are easily overwhelmed with the responsibilities of parenting resulting in difficulty managing their own behavior and being consistent in disciplining their children. Due to these areas of deficiency, it is suggested the presence of maternal ADHD symptoms results …

How Can A Video Game Cause Panic Attacks? 1. Effects Of An Auditory Stressor On The Human Brainstem, Judith Lauter, Elizabeth Mathukutty, Brandon Scott

Faculty Publications

The auditory brainstem response (ABR) was recorded during simultaneous binaural presentation of two types of sounds: 1) condensation clicks presented through in-the-ear earphones at 43.1/sec, 60dB nHL; and 2) recordings of breathing sounds, presented through supra-aural headphones, at levels adjusted by participants to be equivalent to the clicks. In alternate blocks, the breathing sounds were either: 1) a recording of quiet breathing (blocks 1, 3, 5); or 2) a recording of erratic (stressed) breathing (blocks 2, 4). The erratic breathing was modeled on a video game soundtrack in which the character was represented as running, wounded, and frightened. Four 2048-sweep …

Predicting The Readability Of Transparent Text, Lauren F. V. Scharff, Albert J. Ahumada Jr.

Faculty Publications

Will a simple global masking model based on image detection be successful at predicting the readability of transparent text? Text readability was measured for two types of transparent text: additive (as occurs in head-up displays) and multiplicative (which occurs in see-through liquid crystal display virtual reality displays). Text contrast and background texture were manipulated. Data from two previous experiments were also included (one using very low contrasts on plain backgrounds, and the other using higher-contrast opaque text on both plain and textured backgrounds). All variables influenced readability in at least an interactive manner. When there were background textures, the global …