Psychology Commons^™

Perceptions And Risk: The Role Of Education, Body Image, Partner Availability, And Condom Negotiation On Black Women’S Sexual Risk-Taking Behaviors, Brittany Nicole Boyd

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are at an all-time high (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2021; Kreisel et al., 2021; Merman, 2021), and disproportionately impact women of color. Understanding the factors that coalesce to create elevated risk for Black women is critical for more effective prevention/intervention to reduce risks and negative health outcomes. This study extended previous research by examining the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the mediating influences of psychosocial factors (i.e., body image, perceived partner availability, and self-efficacy for condom negotiation) on sexual-risk decision making (i.e., condom use) in Black women during emerging adulthood. …

Associations Of Sociocultural Stressors With Psychological Distress And Self-Rated Health Among Hispanic Emerging Adults, Abir Rahman

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emerging adulthood (18-25 years) is a distinct period of life, characterized by a high level of instability in the matters of romantic life, work, and challenging developmental undertakings. Various events related to these developmental tasks may leave lifelong impacts on emerging adult’s identities and health across adulthood. Further, due to the unstable nature of this period, individuals in this age group are vulnerable to various mental health problems. Hispanic emerging adults may be particularly at risk of experiencing adverse health outcomes, as on top of normative developmental stressors (e.g., increased autonomy, finding employment), they are often exposed to various chronic …

Considering Culture And Context: A Mixed-Methods Approach To Examining Adolescent Engagement And Parent Satisfaction In Urban Out-Of-School-Time Programs, Jacqueline Oluwakemi Moses

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents of color living in poverty are at elevated risk for mental health problems with limited access to quality care, and 21% of youth in poverty are diagnosed with mental health disorders that, left untreated, lead to significant long-term consequences. Positive future orientation – optimistic expectations for graduation, gainful employment, and healthy relationships – among vulnerable adolescents has been identified as a unique protective factor associated with positive mental health trajectories. Out-of-school-time (OST) programs in neighborhood settings can promote positive future orientation and maximize benefits for adolescents, but we know little about cultural and contextual influences on youth enrollment and …

Promoting School Readiness In At-Risk Children: An Evaluation Of A Behavioral Parent Training Program In An Early Childhood Community Setting, Randi J. Cheatham-Johnson

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Behavioral parent training (BPT) is the gold standard for the treatment of externalizing behavior problems in young children. However, many programs have failed to consistently replicate positive outcomes in economically and socially disadvantaged populations. Given the lasting negative impact of early behavioral problems on youth, families, and society as well as the heightened risk such families face, it is important to examine BPT within particularly vulnerable populations. A pilot open trial of a novel BPT, the School Readiness Parenting Program (SRPP), was conducted to examine the acceptability, feasibility, and promise of the manualized treatment as a standalone intervention for economically …

Community-Engaged Development Of A Parent-Child Book Reading Wise Intervention, Po-Hun Chou

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Children living in communities with high rates of poverty experience significant detriment to their academic skills and social, emotional, and behavioral health. Though a range of evidence-based interventions exist that aim to reduce these disparities, they face substantial barriers (e.g., related to financial and human resources, opportunity cost to target families, variable fit across the diverse populations in low-income households). In contrast, wise interventions use psychologically precise pathways to produce small, recursive changes that result in significant benefits. As such, they represent a resource efficient strategy with the potential for considerable impact with contextual adaptation. The current study utilized social …

Poly-Strengths Skill Building For Urban Teens At High-Risk For Violence Exposure: Leveraging Community After-School Programs To Promote Youth, Kelly D. Cromer M.S.

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Violence exposure increases teens’ risk for emotion dysregulation, anxiety, depression, and aggression towards peers. Urban teens are disproportionately more likely to be exposed to violence and less likely to receive mental health services. Community after-school programs can help to reduce these disparities by offering opportunities for skills development and mental health promotion to mitigate risk associated with violence exposure.

The current study examined the implementation and promise of brief meditation and sleep health journaling activities infused within a pre-existing parks-based after-school program for black and Latinx teens. Data include pre-/post-measures of violent and non-violent adversity, emotion regulation, anxiety, depression, and …

Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale: A Charismatic Authority And His Ideology, John P. Cibotti

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sikh leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s militant and masculinist discourses were embraced by Punjabi Sikhs because of his presence as a charismatic authority, a concept first developed by sociologist Max Weber to understand the conditions surrounding and personal qualities of a figure which attracts followers. The rebellion he led in Punjab resulted from his radical exploitation of issues concerning the Sikh community. Religion was wielded as a tool, legitimizing Sikh violence as commanded by the Gurus. Radical interpretations of Sikh scripture and folklore were initially preached to rural, less educated crowds. While his sermons brought out their frustrations with the government, …

Predictors Of Marital Satisfaction Within An Orthodox Jewish Sample, Hod Tamir

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Romantic experiences in adolescence have been found to predict relationship stability and marital status in adulthood. Religious practice and belief also have been linked to many benefits, including increased marital satisfaction and overall wellbeing. However, certain religions limit cross-gender interaction in areas of education, social interaction, and romantic relationships. Although gender segregation has been studied in educational and occupational contexts, no previous research has addressed religious gender segregation and its impact on relationship development, marital satisfaction, and overall wellbeing. The present study addressed the generalizability of data on cross-gender experience derived from normative populations to a religious subculture, outlining predictors …

Relations Between Acculturation And Alcohol Use Among International Students, Ananth Kanaparthi

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the current study, 226 international students attending Florida International University responded to an Web-based questionnaire that assessed self-reported scores for: acculturation, acculturative stress, alcohol use patterns, perceived peer alcohol use, and perceived injunctive social norms for alcohol use. The purpose of the study was to evaluate structural relations among this set of variables using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) via AMOS 17.0. The results of SEM analyses documented acceptable fit of a model which hypothesized that relations between acculturation and alcohol use variables are mediated partially by acculturative stress, perceived peer alcohol use, and perceived injunctive social norms. While significant …