Psychology Commons^™

Breaking The Silence: Discussions About Disability, Sex, & Gender Identity, Janet Sauer, Kirsten Bond, Cassidy Donahue, Molly Wolber, Hannah Hunter, Elizabeth Bellin, Katherine Deluga

Violence Against Women conference

Silence often accompanies topics about disability, sexuality, and gender identity. This panel of Lesley students, alumni, and faculty discuss the issue of silence involving social stigma and ignorance that can often lead to violence against people with disabilities. The panelists participated in an interdisciplinary course, Disability Studies, in which students chose to research these topics for their social action projects and papers. Panelists who see themselves as allies and/or self-identify as disabled share their research, personal experiences, and interviews with the audience to provide insights into some of the systematic exclusion of people with disabilities in these discussions, particularly in …

Associations Among Impulsivity, Adverse Childhood Experiences, And Desirability Of First Sexual Experience On Substance Use And Sexual Risk Taking In Justice-Involved Male Adolescents, Ryan S. Ross, Elizabeth A. Yeater, Gabriela Lopez, Kristen N. Vitek, Angela D. Bryan

Shared Knowledge Conference

Adolescent substance use is a serious public health problem (Johnston et al., 2016). Notably in adolescents, adverse childhood experiences including unwanted sexual experiences (Wills et al., 2001; Negriff, Schneiderman, & Trickett, 2015) and impulsive sensation seeking (impulsivity) (Donohew et al., 2000; Fernández-Artamendi et al., 2016) are linked to adolescent substance use and high-risk sexual behaviors. Research also suggests delinquent youths are particularly vulnerable to substance use disorders and sexually risky behaviors (Pinto et al., 2015). Given the health consequences of both prolonged substance abuse and risky sexual behaviors, identifying additional risk factors is critical to help inform interventions for high-risk …

Mirror Mirror: A Look Into Muscle Dysmorphia, Olivia Parker, Jamie Scott

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Muscle dysmorphia is a subcategory of body dysmorphia. There is an extreme desire to gain body mass, and this is characterized by many psychological and behavioral symptoms. Previous research has found that mirror checking is a symptom of muscle dysmorphia. The purpose of this study is to continue the investigation into mirror checking as a diagnostic symptom of muscle dysmorphia. Our hypothesis is that participants who score higher on a scale of muscle dysmorphia will spend more time looking in a mirror than those who score low on the scale of muscle dysmorphia. Participants were males enrolled in psychology courses …

Early Childhood Stressors And Negative Personality Behaviors, Kyler Joachim

Scholars Week

Early Childhood Stressors and Negative Personality Behaviors

Research is moving away from static to contextual models of understanding personality development, making it imperative to consider daily occurrences, not just biology or significant traumatic events, in personality formation. Temperament has long been considered the innate source of behaviors that later solidify into personality, but behaviors themselves and the conditions that produce and reinforce them are shaped by the daily environment. This behavior-environment interaction is especially important for children experiencing childhood stressors like poverty, food insecurity, and parental aggravation. Non-clinical personality related behaviors may arise from these stressors, which can lead to …

Parenting During Childhood On Adolescent Social Engagement, Cassie Gonzalez

Scholars Week

Healthy social skills development prepares children and adolescents for a future of healthy interactions, effective communication, and meaningful relationships. Parental involvement and aggravation in parenting contribute differently to the development of social skills. Literature suggests higher levels of parental involvement is related to higher levels of child social skills ratings, while decreased ratings of aggravation in parenting are associated with higher ratings of maternal involvement and child social skills. Whereas existing literature have explored the impact of non-resident father involvement, academic consequences, and dual-parent homes on the development of child social skills, few studies examine the effects of aggravation in …

A Review Of Collaborative Biopsychosocial Healthcare Worldwide, Sadie Teal, John Charleson, Jyssica Seebeck, John Thoburn

School of Psychology, Family, and Community Research Conference

This review calls attention to the importance of collaborative care in international settings and highlight advances in models of care that are emerging globally. As our understanding of physical and mental health increases, healthcare continues to move towards a systemic approach to the mind-body dichotomy. This shift has resulted in increased provider collaboration and formation of multidisciplinary healthcare organizations. We propose that collaborative care is an effective way for providers to meet the physical and mental healthcare needs of patients across cultures. We further propose categorizing collaborative care models on a continuum of the degree of physical and functional integration.

Learning To Have A Voice: The Spouse's Experience Of Clergy Sexual Misconduct, Samuel Rennebohm, Fiona Kurtz, Jessa Carlile, Heather Lucas, John Thoburn

School of Psychology, Family, and Community Research Conference

In the present study, researchers utilized a systemic approach to examine the qualitative experiences of the spouses of religious leaders who engaged in sexual misconduct. Data was collected and analyzed through a process of narrative inquiry using in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Multiple rounds of consensus-based coding led to an eco-systemic framework for organizing and analyzing data. Participant descriptions of their experience were organized according to chronology and bio-psycho-social systemic level: intrapersonal, interpersonal, and contextual. These findings highlight the systemic risk factors for sexual misconduct and the need for interventions that extend beyond individuals to address marital, familial, and communal distress.

Firefighters: The Emotional Processing Of Physiological Risks, Beth Larson, John Thoburn

School of Psychology, Family, and Community Research Conference

This presentation acknowledges the deficiency and necessity for research regarding emotional processing of firefighters at risk of developing cancer due to occupational risk. The developing research project will use qualitative methodology to gather and investigate subjective detailed descriptions of firefighters' psychological experiences regarding occupational risk. Because the goal of this project is to identify explanatory concepts of emotional processing, we will follow a grounded theory approach. Participants, a minimum of six firefighters, will undergo in-person interviews based on three open-ended questions. All interviews will be audio recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed for similar themes and patterns.

Determining The Temporal Direction Of Psychological Distress And Substance Use In Female Expatriate Spouses In Turkey, Lauren Hirsch, Thomas Pankau, Lynette Bikos

School of Psychology, Family, and Community Research Conference

Expatriation has been associated with a number of negative mental health issues within the expats themselves (e.g., depression, substance use). However, expatriate spouses can often face unique stressors, and by gaining a better understanding of the impact expatriation has on these spouses, organizations can more easily plan for the challenges. The purpose of our study is to further explore the direction of the relationship between alcohol use and psychological distress in a sample of female expatriate spouses during their first year assignment in Turkey. By using hierarchical linear modeling and conducting a cross-lead analysis, we will analyze the change over …

Psychometric Evaluation Of The Sexual Assault Coping Self-Efficacy Scale, Desta Gebregiorgis, Caitlin Coyer, Lauren Hirsch, Lynette Bikos

School of Psychology, Family, and Community Research Conference

The King County Sexual Assault Resource Center's (KCSARC) legal advocacy program assists sexual assault victims through their legal prosecution to hopefully influence their client's coping self-efficacy. We chose 19 items from the Modified Domestic Violence Coping Self-Efficacy Measure (Benight et al., 2004) and modified these items to reflect coping self-efficacy after a sexual assault (Gibbs et al., 2011). The purpose of this study was to analyze the structural validity of the Sexual Assault Coping Self-Efficacy Measure using confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis. The results provided strong psychometric support for this instrument to be used for continued evaluation of this program.

Mindful Marriage: Exploring The Interaction Between Mindfulness And Length Of Marriage, Honey Williams, Melissa Caris, John Thoburn

School of Psychology, Family, and Community Research Conference

The purpose of this study was to explore the interaction between length of marriage and trait mindfulness on marital satisfaction. Although previous research has demonstrated that both length of marriage and trait mindfulness positively predict marital satisfaction, research has yet to explore the interaction between the two. Thus, our study adds to the existing literature by exploring the relationship between length of marriage and marital satisfaction, moderated by mindfulness. Because mindfulness has been shown to both act as a buffer against stress and to have a positive relationship with marital satisfaction, we hypothesized that trait mindfulness would moderate the relationship …

Effects Of Participation In An Online Course On Undergraduate Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy, Caitlin Coyer, Megan Fox, Elena Cantorna, Lynette Bikos

School of Psychology, Family, and Community Research Conference

Career decision-making self-efficacy (CDSE) describes beliefs in ability to engage in activities necessary for career decisions (Betz, Klein, & Taylor, 1996). This study assessed the effects of a vocational career development (VCD) online interactive course on students' CDSE. Participants (n = 129) were sophomore undergraduate students at Seattle Pacific University. Participants completed a pretest, posttest, and online VCD modules with three randomly assigned conditions: (ADJ) Adjust to college, (TRAD) ADJ plus traditional career development, (CALL) ADJ plus TRAD plus spiritual discernment. Results indicated participants in all conditions increased in CDSE significantly; no differences between groups were found.

Assessing Attention, Nicole Hagan

Scholars Week

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common mental health disorder that can be recognized by its symptoms of hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity (Anderson, 2012). While having these symptoms is not desirable to most, presenting them in a psychological evaluation can be advantageous to some. College students diagnosed with ADHD can receive special benefits, such as prescription medication that can be misused for recreational purposes or to enhance academic and/or athletic performance (Sansone & Sansone, 2011). The current research project looked at feigned ADHD and how one responds to an ADHD measure when instructed to feign, either with or without …

Intimate Partner Violence Stigma: The Intersection Of Race And Socioeconomic Status, Antoinette Fleming

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

Approximately 36% of all women in the United States will experience intimate partner violence (IPV) at some point in their lifetime (Black et al., 2011). Stigma is one consequence associated with IPV. African American (Black) victims may be more heavily stigmatized than European American (White) victims (Willis-Esqueda & Harrison, 2005). Socioeconomic status (SES) may also affect a person’s perception of the victim. To date, little research has been conducted to explore the interaction of race and SES on the stigma of IPV. The current study hypothesized greater stigma would be displayed toward Black victims and low SES victims. Participants consisted …

Multisensory Integration And Autistic Traits Using Non-Sociolinguistic Information, Sébastien A. Lauzon, Samantha E. Schulz, Zack I. Cohen, Ryan A. Stevenson

Western Research Forum

Background: Sensory processing issues are one of the most common complaints in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). One area of sensory difficulties in ASD that has been the focus of intense research in recent years is multisensory integration (MSI), or the ability to bind auditory and visual information into a single, unified percept. While integration of social or linguistic information is consistently shown to be an area of difficulty in ASD, results are less clear with simple, non-sociolinguistic stimuli. This study aims to address this ambiguity by determining whether MSI of non-sociolinguistic sensory information is related to traits and symptomatology …