Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Comparison Of Intimate Partner Violence And Sexual Assault Among Black And White College Women At Predominantly White Institutions (Pwis), Cynthia Nicole White

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The current study sought to compare Black and White college women’s experiences following sexual assault or physical intimate partner violence (IPV) while attending a predominately White institution (PWI). Prevalence rates, depression, academic effects, binge drinking, and help-seeking among victims was compared by race.

Method: Black (N= 435) and White (N= 4,313) college women from 3 large PWIs in the United States completed online surveys. The survey included questions about race, sexual assault, physical IPV, depression, academic outcomes of victimization, binge drinking, and help-seeking.

Results: Black women were more likely to experience physical IPV than White women, …

Smartphone Use And Mindfulness: Empirical Tests Of A Hypothesized Connection, Darren Todd Woodlief

Theses and Dissertations

The current study is the first test of a newly developed conceptual model of the effect of smartphone use on mindfulness. Previous research has shown the capacity for mindfulness is strongly associated with increased psychological well-being (e.g. higher self-esteem and lower perceived stress, anxiety, and psychological distress). We argue that smartphones can be used in an automatic and mindless or experientially avoidant way, and that this use can lead to a decreased capacity for mindfulness, with adolescents being most vulnerable to this potential impact. Components of mindfulness, such as the capacity for sustained attention and the areas of the brain …

Social Support, Parent Stress, And Child Aggression: A Longitudinal Model Of Family Ecology, Jill B. Lubansky

Theses and Dissertations

In the last few decades, treatment of problem behaviors in children and adolescents has targeted the entire family rather than more traditional methods that targeted the individual child. This approach is rooted in family systems and other ecological research and theory. The social sciences have maintained a long history of inquiry into the relations among social support, stress, and psychopathology. However, few of these inquiries include child outcomes, such as behavior problems, as the psychopathological outcome. Even fewer studies have utilized longitudinal models that have the capacity to accurately reflect the developmental process of stress and psychopathology. In the current …

Acculturative Stress And Depression Among Latinos/As: Investigating The Role Of Neighborhood Context, Rebeca Castellanos

Theses and Dissertations

Latinos/as are the fastest growing demographic in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015). As they encounter U.S. society, Latino/as may experience acculturative stress (Berry, 1997). Empirical evidence suggests that Latinos/as in the U.S. report high rates of depression symptoms (Wassertheil-Smoller et al 2014). Acculturative stress has been strongly associated with depression (Driscoll & Torres, 2013) and research suggests that Latino/as may experience acculturative stress differently depending on their generational status (i.e., how recently they or their parents immigrated to the U.S). There is evidence to suggest that contextual factors such as neighborhood context may influence both acculturative stress processes …

Promoting Positive Academic Beliefs And Performance: Exploring The Impact Of An Academic Enrichment Program, Melanie Avery

Theses and Dissertations

First generation and low income college students experience unique achievementrelated barriers not typically experienced by their counterparts whose parents attended college and/or are of higher socioeconomic status (Hahs-Vaugn, 2004; Kahlenberg, 2004; Mortensen, 2003; Prospero & Vohra-Gupta, 2007). Academic enrichment programs that target first generation and low income college youth are one strategy that has helped to address these concerns. To extend literature in this area, the current study sought to identify factors that may be promotive of and/or barriers to first generation and low income youths’ achievement-related outcomes. Furthermore, this investigation sought to explore whether an academic enrichment program, namely …

Preliminary Evaluation Of "Footprints": Motivational Interviewing To Promote Cognitive-Behavioral Skills, Academic Outcomes, And Academic Protective Factors In Middle School Students, John Terry

Theses and Dissertations

There are high levels of unmet need in youth mental health services. To address this gap there is an increasing emphasis on multi-tiered systems of support involving promotion/prevention (Tier 1), early intervention (Tier 2) and intervention (Tier 3) to promote positive emotional/behavioral functioning in students. While research on these multi-tiered frameworks is increasing, there remains a relative dearth of empirically supported and feasible early intervention Tier 2 programs. To help address this gap, we developed the Tier 2 program, Footprints, which utilizes two Motivational Interviewing sessions to promote engagement in six group-based modularized Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy sessions and aims to enhance …

Adaptive Skill Trajectories In Infants With Fragile X Syndrome, Kelly Elizabeth Caravella

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined longitudinal trajectories of adaptive behavior in infants with fragile X syndrome (FXS), compared to typical development (TD) and infant siblings of children diagnosed with autism (ASIBs). Additional analysis were conducted to examine the differences in trajectories for males and females with FXS, and to identify if a profile of strengths and weaknesses appeared across domains by 24 months in males with FXS. Participants included 76 male infants assessed up to 4 times between 6 and 24 months of age. A sample of 12 females with FXS was also included for the comparative sex analysis. Infants with FXS …

Help-Seeking And Intimate Partner Violence Re-Victimization Of Sexual Minority And Heterosexual College Students, Andrew T. Schramm

Theses and Dissertations

Recent estimates indicate that 18.5% of heterosexual college students and 30.3% of sexual minority college students are victims of physical intimate partner violence (IPV; Edwards, Sylaska, Barry, et al., 2015). Research among adult women in oppositesex relationships has shown that once an individual is victimized by IPV she is subsequently at high risk for future IPV victimization. Re-victimization is associated with more severe physical and mental health consequences of IPV. No prior study has assessed the rate of re-victimization among sexual minority adults. Help-seeking behavior, which refers to accessing a range of sources of support (e.g., family and friends, law …

Exploring Teacher Readiness: What Features Of Professional Development Enhance Motivation To Implement Technology Innovations?, Robert S. Markle

Theses and Dissertations

Several studies suggest that if evidence-based school innovations are to be successful, schools must possess adequate capacity to implement them with quality. This paper utilizes a framework of organizational readiness called R=MC2, positing that readiness to implement with quality consists of three components: general capacities, innovation-specific capacities, and motivation. Specifically, this paper investigates whether certain key characteristics of professional development (active learning, integration, time for practice, collaboration, tailoring, coaching, and provision of feedback) can impact teacher motivation to implement novel educational practices. The paper answers two major research questions: 1) Which characteristics of quality professional development (PD) are related to …

Depression Among African American Midlife Women: Delineating The Role Of Stress, Heather Page

Theses and Dissertations

Recent multi-ethnic epidemiologic studies indicate an increased risk for the onset of new as well as recurrent episodes of clinical depression among midlife women. However, little is known about the risk factors that influence the occurrence, severity, and course of depression in midlife among African American women (AAW). The purpose of the current study was to statistically model three prevailing conceptual views of stress and depression: 1) life course, 2) stress exposure, and 3) stress generation). The research investigated the abilities of these conceptual models to predict depressive symptoms severity, current depressed days, and major depression among midlife AAW. Data …

“More To Life Than Mental Health”: Investigating The Roles Of Community Mental Health Case Managers In Promoting Community Integration For Adults With Psychiatric Disabilities, Betsy A. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

The recovery movement in the field of community mental health has brought attention to more holistic outcomes of services for adults with psychiatric disabilities, including community integration. However, there is a lack of empirical investigations of the roles that service providers, and case managers (CMs) in particular, can play in promoting such outcomes for their clients. The present study took an exploratory, hypothesis-building approach to describing the ways in which CMs supported the community integration of their clients with serious mental illness. A cross-sectional design was used with qualitative and quantitative data collected from 6 CMs and a sampling of …

Getting To Outcomes® In Clinical Practice An Empirical Exploration Of A Framework That Supports Quality For Graduate Student Therapy Training, Jennifer Castellow

Theses and Dissertations

Getting To Outcomes® in Clinical Practice is an innovation being developed and disseminated in a clinical training center for psychology doctoral students. The innovation is a step-wise framework posited to enhance clinical practice by supporting the planning, implementation, and evaluation of specific evidence-based practices in psychology. The current study introduces and defines the innovation and uses a multiple case study, mixed method analysis to evaluate current innovation use behaviors as well as attitudes about the innovation. The guiding research themes for this study include: (1) innovation use behaviors, (2) attitudes about the innovation, and (3) influential contextual factors that impact …

Exploring The Relationship Between Church Level Predictors Of Status And Obesity Risk In African American Women Of Faith, Kinjal Pandya

Theses and Dissertations

Although obesity is a nationwide epidemic, there are large racial, gender, socioeconomic, and geographical disparities in the rates of this condition. Specifically, African American women are more likely to be classified as obese as compared to all other gender and racial groups. Scholars have targeted African American churches to implement dietary and physical activity interventions in an attempt to combat the racial disparity in obesity rates. One of the main correlates studied in regards to obesity has been individual level markers of status such as socioeconomic status and subjective social status. Even though we focus on churches as a place …

Building Capacity Through The Use Of A Strategic Prevention Framework System In Communities, Duncan Meyers

Theses and Dissertations

The Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) is a planning and implementation model that mobilizes communities to collaborate on developing and implementing an evidence-based prevention system. This model follows a structured five-step process with two cross-cutting elements (cultural competence and sustainability) that emphasizes building capacity of coalitions to strategically plan, implement, and sustain evidence-based prevention services to reduce adolescent substance use. This study utilized a repeated cross-sectional design. Participating youth were in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12 and lived in one of 27 counties in a Southeastern state that was funded through the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention’s SPF State Incentive …

Beyond Grades: The Impact Of Race And Academic Disidentification On Social Functioning And Academic Outcomes Among At-Risk High School Students, Brian K. Colar

Theses and Dissertations

An extant literature has supported the notion that black students perform poorly in comparison to white students on frequently used indicators of academic functioning, known as the academic gap between races. Although previous studies have identified this academic inequity between White and Black high school students, there is a dearth of literature examining the context and processes which may contribute to this gap. The current study further examines this educational disparity by evaluating the role of students’ social functioning, the impact of race, and academic outcomes among at-risk high school students. Although analytical evidence reports a positive correlation between social …

Working Memory In Children With Neurocognitive Effects From Sickle Cell Disease: Contributions Of The Central Executive And Processing Efficiency, Kelsey Erin Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at risk for neurocognitive impairment due to disease effects including stroke, sleep disordered breathing, anemia-induced hypoxia, and small vessel occlusion. In particular, problems in working memory are an area of concern due to the importance of this construct in determining intelligence and academic functioning. According to Baddely’s model, working memory is composed of verbal and spatial working memory, but it is unclear whether one aspect of working memory is more impacted than another in children with SCD. In addition, little is known about the role of two key components in SCD-related working memory …

Mindfulness And Cognitive Aging, Elise J. Herndon

Theses and Dissertations

Mindfulness meditation involves the cultivation of a focused, pre-conceptual consciousness that enables increased present-centered awareness of internal states, cognitive processes, and external stimuli (Mikulas, 2011; Kornfield, 2010). Studies suggest that mindfulness practice affects the brain structures and cognitive processes related to fluid intelligence, and may affect fluid intelligence itself among highly experienced practitioners (e.g., Gard, Taquet, et al., 2014; Lazar et al., 2005; Ritskes et al., 2003). Fluid intelligence includes higher-order reasoning and problem-solving abilities that are independent of cultural and environmental influences. These abilities peak in young adulthood, then begin to decay (Cattell, 1987; Goldberg, 2005).

The current study …

Testing An Ecological Model Of Parent Involvement In Head Start: A Replication Study, Rebecca C. Horwitz

Theses and Dissertations

Parent involvement has been understood to elicit positive outcomes for school-age children, especially minority children and children from low socioeconomic families. Understanding the process by which parents engage in their child’s education may provide school staff with tools to develop interventions to increase parent involvement.

This investigation replicates a study that tested an ecological model of parent involvement in two Head Start programs (Waanders, 2002). Participants in the current study were 213 parents and/or caregivers of children who attended three Head Start programs in South Carolina. Two of the programs were located in a medium-sized city, while the third was …

The Association Of Gender, Age, And Coping With Internalizing Symptoms In Youth With Sickle Cell Disease, Laura Reinman

Theses and Dissertations

Youth with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at an elevated risk for having internalizing symptoms. Prior studies have suggested unique age by gender patterns of internalizing symptoms may be present in this population, however this pattern has not been thoroughly examined and the mechanisms underlying this pattern are not known. We examined rates of depression and anxiety symptoms between males and females with SCD across childhood and into adolescence in a cross-sectional design. We also considered the potential role of coping styles and health related locus of control for SCD morbidity that could account for age or gender patterns for …

The Role Of Self-Efficacy In Mediating The Effect Of Physical Activity On Adolescent Depression, Nevelyn N. Trumpeter

Theses and Dissertations

Depression is a common psychiatric problem experienced in adolescence with nearly a quarter of all adolescents experiencing a major depressive episode before adulthood. Previous evidence indicates that physical activity (PA) is a known protective factor for depressive symptoms and major depressive disorder in adolescents and that PA self-efficacy (i.e., self-confidence) improves self-esteem, which in turn reduces depressive symptoms. Furthermore, PA self-efficacy may be more protective against depression for individuals who value or consider PA to be highly important. The proposed study aimed to determine the cross-sectional and longitudinal PA-depressive symptoms relation in adolescents. The study was designed specifically to test …

The Relationship Between Religiousness And Intimate Partner Violence Risk And Protective Factors, Peter Warren

Theses and Dissertations

This paper proposes an integrated model illustrating the mechanisms by which religiousness may serve to influence individual beliefs regarding intimate partner violence (IPV) and the potential for subsequent abusive behavior. Intimate partner violence is a serious public health issue in the US, affecting over 25% of women at some point in their lives (CDC, 2010; Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). Religion is a near ubiquitous aspect of American culture, with over 80% of Americans reporting some kind of belief in a higher power (Gallup, 2008. Overall, the literature shows that religiousness typically serves as a protective factor against IPV, but digging …