Psychology Commons^™

Bi-Negativity: An Assessment Of Negativity Surrounding Bisexuality From The Lgbtq+ And Heterosexual Communities, Whitney R. Ford

The Confluence

This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that negative attitudes towards bisexual people (bi-negativity) exists within the LGBTQ+ and heterosexual communities and to determine if levels of bi-negativity are higher within the LGBTQ+ group. I administered the Gender-Based Attitudes Towards Bisexuality (GBAB) Scale by Nielsen et al. (2022) to measure bi-negativity using an online survey. The results, obtained from 87 participants who identify as LGBTQ+ and 121 participants who identify as heterosexual between the ages of 18 and 80, support my hypothesis that bi-negativity exists within both groups. However, contrary to my second hypothesis, higher levels of bi-negativity were …

Woman Flytrap, Brianna Jo Hobson

Student Theses and Dissertations

Woman FlyTrap is a short story zine collection that explores the topic of sexual violence through the perpetrator and victim relationship with an explicit lens. Replete with cultural and entomological themes and motifs, Woman Flytrap seeks to remind survivors that we are not alone. In our bodies or in our lives. Neither in the world. There are over a million insects to every human, proving that there is strength in numbers. All five stories in the collection present different abstracts: revenge, transformation, justice, healing, body image, self-harm, mourning, etc. There is also a playlist and a section about the author. …

Du Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Works, Caitlyn Aldersea, Justin Bravo, Sam Allen, Anna Block, Connor Block, Emma Buechler, Maria De Los Angeles Bustillos, Arianna Carlson, William Christensen, Olivia Kachulis, Noah Craver, Kate Dillon, Muskan Fatima, Angel Fernandes, Emma Finch, Colleen Cassidy, Amy Fishman, Andrea Francis, Stacia Fritz, Simran Gill, Emma Gries, Rylie Hansen, Shannon Powers, Jacqueline Martinez, Zachary Harker, Ashley Hasty, Mykaela Tanino-Springsteen, Kathleen Hopps, Adelaide Kerenick, Colin Kleckner, Ci Koehring, Elijah Kruger, Braden Krumholz, Maddie Leake, Lyneé Alves, Seraphina Loukas, Yatzari Lozano Vazquez, Haley Maki, Emily Martinez, Sierra Mckinney, Mykaela Tanino-Springsteen, Audrey Mitchell, Kipling Newman, Audrey Ng, Megan Lucyshyn, Andrew Nguyen, Stevie Ostman, Casandra Pearson, Alexandra Penney, Julia Gielczynski, Tyler Ball, Anna Rini, Christina Rorres, Simon Ruland, Helayna Schafer, Emma Sellers, Sarah Schuller, Claire Shaver, Kevin Summers, Isabella Shaw, Madison Sinar, Claudia Pena, Apshara Siwakoti, Carter Sorensen, Madi Sousa, Anna Sparling, Alexandra Revier, Brandon Thierry, Dylan Tyree, Maggie Williams, Lauren Wols

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

DU Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Works

Redefining Anger For Sexual And Gender Minorities Using Art As A Visual Voice, Kirsten Ranheim

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Art therapy is an increasingly popular approach for addressing trauma and anger in clinical settings. This literature review explores the connections between art therapy, trauma, gender, and anger, drawing on a range of studies and theoretical perspectives. Background is provided on the history of anger within the context of societal institutions, interpersonal power dynamics, psychiatric nosology, and social justice movements. The review concludes that art therapy is ideally suited as a trauma-informed approach to addressing anger in the therapeutic setting. This is due to the unique opportunities that art making provides for helping individuals express and process their emotions nonverbally, …

Steps Toward Healing From The Possessive Other: The Vital Role Of Fantastical Literature In Trauma Theory, Rebekah Izard

English (MA) Theses

Fantastical narratives such as fairy tales and magical realist literature utilizes fantastic and intangible spaces to unpack that which is often beyond the limitations imposed on our understanding by reality: the stunting experience of individual and generational traumas. This study aims to contribute to the current literary discourse’s understandings of fantastic literature and its subgenres as a tool for healing from trauma through the application of ontological notions of Selfhood and Otherness supplied by 20th century philosopher, Paul Ricoeur, and the notion of Orientalism by postcolonial scholar, Edward Said. The dialogue generated by these schools of thought provide a space …

When Tinder Swiping Gets Challenging: Women’S Narratives Of Gender-Based Violence As Shared Through Quora, Zivana Sabili, Elizabeth Kristi Poerwandari

Psychological Research on Urban Society

Amidst the popular use of Tinder in urban society, the decision whether or not to date someone tends to be made quickly based on a photo and a short profile description. Simple as it may seem, there are moments when swiping gets challenging, especially for women. Tinder has a notorious reputation when it comes to gender-based violence. Unfortunately, despite the significant increase in online dating apps usage during the COVID-19 pandemic, this phenomenon is still highly underresearched.

In this qualitative netnographic research, we explore Tinder sexual harassment narratives uploaded by women in Quora. Through judgment sampling, 15 answers from 7 …

Exploring Interfaith Sex Education, Bailey Lewis

Honors College

Sacred Sexuality explores the intersections of religion and sexuality. I worked with Dr. Birthisel, Director of the Wilson Center, and Kate Dawson, co-facilitator of the sex education class, to survey the sex education class participants on how the experience has been for them. I surveyed the sex education class participants after the class to analyze their opinions of the sex education class, interfaith dialogue, and how their spirituality or religious perspectives inform their beliefs around sexuality. Overall, the sex education class was highly recommended and gave an interesting look into how faith and sexuality interact. While the sex education class …

Emerald Fennell's Promising Young Woman (2020): A Psychoanalytic Review Of Masculinity And Rape Culture, Marjorie A. Briones

Access*: Interdisciplinary Journal of Student Research and Scholarship

TW: mentions of sexual violence and rape

When it comes to the subject of sexual violence, there are systemic and cultural effects that prevents assaulters from being properly prosecuted. In the U.S., perpetrators of sexual violence largely consists of heterosexual, white men (RAINN, 2022). So, we begin to question the ways in which sexual violence and masculinity are interconnected. By conducting a psychoanalytic analysis of Emerald Fennell’s 2020 film Promising Young Woman, the ideas of toxic masculinity and “rape culture” will be deconstructed in regard to Cassie’s–the protagonist–story. Theories by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung will be connected to real-life …

Sexual Harassment As A Narrative Contest, Christine Vossler

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines how stories shape both the perpetration of sexual harassment and the experiences of victims during and after sexual harassment. During and after the experience of sexual harassment, a narrative contest transpires between the harasser, victim, and others who contribute to the contest by engaging in the formal and informal conversations that follow known experiences of harassment in the workplace. I analyze 22 public statements, interviews, and investigative reports, including statements from men accused of sexual harassment, women who were sexually harassed, and bystanders. A narrative framework, including concepts of narrative believability and story credibility, is used to …

Long Live The Queer: Demystifying Noncitizenship In Uncle Frank And Pain And Glory, Andrew D. Manker

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the ways in which a nation infantilizes its citizens, and how family dynamics internalize this infantilization. Queer family members and citizens are treated as threats to the family and by extension the nation because to live into queerness is to refuse the nations infantilization. Additionally, this thesis shows how queer people can cultivate a hopeful future for themselves and the family-as-extension-of-nation by radically redefining what citizenship looks like in a family and nation.

#Metoo: The Literary And Social Impact Of Sexual Violence Narratives, Aura Comer

English Undergraduate Honors Theses

To fully understand the severity of sexual violence and its pervasiveness in America, I will present statistics of rape and sexual assault, as well as available legal court statistics of justice and punishment for offenders (or a lack thereof). However, there must be an acknowledgment of the disparity in information and representation pertaining to indigenous, LGBT+, immigrant, and minor communities. Note that these statistics do not speak to the complete pervasiveness of rape and sexual assault in the United States, given the negligent protection and lack of belief in victims, which results in victim silencing and a lack of reporting.

Same-Gender Pathways To Parenthood, Sydney T. Inger

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

LGBTQ+ individuals and couples who want children negotiate systemic inequalities in the United States of America. This literature review surveys America’s confusing legal map and the gaps in its enduring scholarly theories. The paper then examines the challenges that LGBTQ+ individuals and couples confront in working through the common pathways—same-gender adoption and fostering, in vitro fertilization, and surrogacy—to become parents. Dispersing information on the pathways will be a positive step towards breaking down the inequities for those in the LGBTQ+ community who want to start a family.

Sexual Coercion, Unintended Pregnancy, And Poor Reproductive Health Among Adolescent Girls (Aged 13 - 19) In Mexico, Arun Kumar Acharya, Maria Luisa Martinez

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

In Mexico, nearly 23,000 adolescents between the ages of 12-17 years suffer sexual coercion every year. This group also has a high birth rate of 77/1,000 adolescents, which indicates that one in every five pregnant women is an adolescent. This study describes the sexual coercion of victims and their views regarding the experience based on data collected from 37 Mexican girls between the age of 13 to 19, selected purposively using the snowball method in Monterrey city, Mexico. Results indicate that sexual coercion among adolescents is a serious problem, where 70% of adolescents experienced vaginal sexual coercion, nearly 22% experienced …

Practical Femininity: The Student Development Of Legally Blonde’S Elle Woods, Elizabeth S. Rodericks

The Graduate Review

College experiences often involve challenges that can provide the impetus for personal and professional growth. Likewise, Elle Woods of the film Legally Blonde undergoes multiple significant changes in her sense of identity, morality, and ability to take charge of her own life after she is forced to radically change her perspective and priorities. This paper covers her development as a law student and individual according to the student development theories of Chickering’s Seven Vectors of Identity Development, Gilligan’s Theory of Women’s Moral Development, and Baxter Magolda’s Self-Authorship Theory. As a result of her growth, Elle Woods flourishes into a confident, …

Asexuality And Demisexuality: Clinical Implications Of Sexual Identity, Michael Scott Fiorini

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

This paper considers demisexuality as an identity and sexual orientation for use by psychologists using historical, sociological, and psychological perspectives. It discusses the clinical implications of demisexuality as an identity and orientation distinct from asexuality. The paper discusses applications and limitations of defining and identifying demisexuality in a clinical population and it's social, scientific, and contextual significance. The paper compares what can be observed with existing diagnostic guidelines present in the DSM-5 for the identification of Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder (FSIAD) and Male Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (MHSDD). The paper proposes guidelines for the diagnosis and the ethical clinical treatment …

Unmade And Unmanned Men: Reading Traumatized Masculinity In Late Nineteenth-Century British Adventure Fiction Through The Lens Of The Indian “Mutiny” Of 1857, Madison A. Bettle

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Unmade and Unmanned Men: Reading Traumatized Masculinity in Late Nineteenth-Century British Adventure Fiction through the Lens of the Indian “Mutiny” of 1857 examines the selected adventure fiction of George Alfred Henty, Rudyard Kipling, and Joseph Conrad through the historico-political context of India’s First War of Independence, known in Victorian Britain as the Indian “Mutiny” of 1857. Examining masculine trauma in adventure fiction reveals how British men, who were themselves colonized by the Empire’s expectations of them, sought not only to recover from the scars inflicted by imperialism, but also to expose the Empire for inflicting the psychologically damaging expectations that …

Teen Dating Violence Prevention For Queer And Questioning Youth, Whitney Reek

University Honors Theses

Teen dating violence (TDV) is a prevalent problem among queer and questioning youth, yet research on TDV has not addressed how best to serve this population and current prevention programs do not directly target this population. This literature review compiles information on current TDV prevention programs recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); risk factors for TDV among queer and questioning youth; and social factors that indicate what type of prevention methods may be the most helpful for queer and questioning youth. These risk factors and social factors are then compared to the current TDV prevention programs …

Victim Impact: The Manson Murders And The Rise Of The Victims’ Rights Movement, Merrill W. Steeg

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Learning About Healthy Relationships And Sexuality For Adults With Disabilities, Vanessa Karjack

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Many adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities receive little to no sex education; as a result, they often struggle to have fulfilling and healthy relationships, experience limitations in physical interactions, and are at risk of being taken advantage of by others. Sommaro et al. (2019) explained that individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) and developmental disabilities (DD) are often placed into one of two categories: they are treated as either eternal children or sexual deviants. These ideas are based on old knowledge and are known to be inaccurate. However, current systems of care struggle to move forward from these notions. A …

Welcome To The New Dignity, Donna M. Hughes

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Gender Role As A Mediating Factor In Gender Pay Equity Analysis, Jillian Ann Girard

Dissertations and Theses

The gender wage gap has been persistent despite the introduction of new laws designed to address the disparity. One of the challenges in addressing this inequity is the lack of complete understanding of the driving factors of the pay gap. One yet unexplored factor is the impact of the gender role, which is a social role based on sex/gender which provides a structure and expectations for social relationships. The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between gender role, biological sex, and base pay. A matched, cross-sectional sample drawn from large U.S. cities was utilized to test the …

Clinical Considerations For Treating Adult Survivors Of Child Sexual Abuse: A Proposal For Integrating Intersubjective Systems Theory And Feminist Perspectives, Kristen Schrijver

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

The goal of this paper is to offer clinical considerations for clinicians working with adult survivors of extrafamilial child sexual abuse (CSA) by 1) defining the stages of sexual abuse grooming of the child and their entire family system, 2) defining and integrating intersubjective and feminist approaches to treatment, and 3) providing methods for depathologizing CSA survivors’ experience of shame. These three objectives aim to increase awareness and knowledge of sexual abuse grooming, as well as offer an integrative theoretical framework for individual therapy with adult survivors of CSA.

Body Appreciation As A Means To Protect Social Media Users From Body Dissatisfaction, Jennifer Yurchisin, Alyssa Dana Adomaitis, Kim K. P. Johnson, Haesung Whang

Publications and Research

When young adult women and men are exposed to idealized images in traditional media outlets, they often experience body dissatisfaction. As the use of social media increases, so do the opportunities for appearance-based comparisons. Individuals who are heavy users of social networking sites also tend to exhibit body dissatisfaction. Body appreciation is a personal characteristic that seems to counteract the negative influence traditional media exposure, and it may have a similar effect for social media exposure. The purpose of our research was to investigate the impact of body appreciation on the relationship between social network sites usage and body dissatisfaction …

Toward A Fluid Cinematic Spectatorship And Desire: Revisiting Laura Mulvey’S Psychoanalytic Film Theories, Taylor Ashton Mcgoey

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis project re-evaluates Laura Mulvey’s film theories regarding psychoanalysis and the “male gaze,” first found in her essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” (1975). By re-evaluating the limitations of Mulvey’s use of the Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalytic model this project seeks to understand the desires and processes of identification of cinematic spectators who reject the ideological imperative of the “male gaze”. As many critics have noted, Mulvey’s initial examination of cinema does not account for LGBTQ+ spectators and/or black spectators who occupy looking relations that reject cis-normative and heteronormative white Hollywood cinematic conventions. From this standpoint, we begin the …

A Retrospective Analysis Of Sex Education Messages Received By Lgb Youth, Jacqueline Bible, Alejandra Kaplan, Lisa D. Lieberman, Eva Goldfarb

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Using focus groups, this qualitative study asked thirty-five gay, lesbian, and bisexual (LGB) young adults to reflect on messages they received about sex and sexuality around the time they first had sex. Focus groups were conducted, recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. Through thematic analysis, the authors identified two messaging sources identified by participants: (1) formal education sources (i.e., school and parents), and (2) informal education sources (e.g., internet, peers). Formal sources often included messages perpetuating heteronormative assumptions, emphasizing abstinence, pregnancy and HIV/STI prevention, or silence as a form of messaging. Informal sources consisted of LGB-specific information. These findings suggest informal sources …

Womanism & Wellbeing: A Manuscript Dissertation Exploring The Effects Of Shame, Loss And Gender Issues, Christy Angelle-Vidrine Bauman

Education Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the research on gender issues and psychological well-being across the adult lifespan utilizing qualitative research examining factors (e.g., societal influences, sexual objectification, shame, loss, meaning-making, and internal identity) in developing resilience and mitigating mental health issues. This paper discusses the importance of addressing well-being through expression of loss, meaning-making, and social impact. This manuscript style dissertation will review publications in such areas as sexuality, spirituality, grief, shame, intimacy, social, and interpersonal relationships. The exploration of biopsychosocial impacts as it relates to meaning-making, resilience, and communal involvement. The three publications will be …

Critically And Creatively Engaging With Trauma-Informed Mental Health Research And Treatment Of Lgbtqia+ Communities As Expressive Arts Therapists: A Literature Review, Kelli Lavallee

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Expressive Arts Therapists are uniquely situated as both artists and mental health counselors working in psychological pedagogy rooted in systems of oppression. Given the arts-based approaches to the therapeutic relationship, it can be unethical to offer these approaches without acknowledgement of the ways in which the arts intersect with social justice, and justice is only viable if practitioners critically review the clinical mental health education they are consuming from the institutions they learn in, specifically trauma-informed mental health research assimilation and treatment approaches for Expressive Arts Therapists in training, practice, and education. A review of the literature in this paper …

A Screenplay For Bystander Intervention For Sexual Harassment Scenarios For College Students, Shanti Herzog

Journalism

This project was developed to describe the drafting of a screenplay for an interactive, virtual reality sexual harassment training module for students of the California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. The research began with the examination of the prevalent and persisting issue of sexual harassment within college campus communities, and how to present college students with the tools to intervene as bystanders, thus encouraging them to intervene when encountering sexual harassment scenarios. The resulting screenplay was written to provide college students at Cal Poly with strategies to identify and take action when encountering sexual harassment, especially in small group gatherings …

Twinks, Jocks, And Bears, Oh My! Differing Body Ideals Among Gay Male Subcommunities, Samuel Fogarty

Honors Theses

Recent studies have focused on disordered eating psychopathology among gay men, particularly when oriented towards thinness or muscularity. Gay men are at increased risk of eating disorder symptoms when compared to heterosexual men and exhibit similar rates to women (Feldmen & Meyer, 2007; Frederick & Essayli, 2016; Siconolfi, Halkitis, Allomong, & Burton, 2009). However, the results remain muddled surrounding the topic of thinness- or muscularity-oriented eating psychopathology; the current study provides a potential response in subcultural gay appearance ideals. The present study examined the relationship between three gay subcultural appearance identities (twinks, jocks, and bears) and disordered eating attitudes and …

Associations Of Sex, Gender, And Gender Role Beliefs With Mental Health Attitudes, Ariel Erazo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mental health stigma is a strong deterrent for individual with mental illness utilizing mental healthcare. Individuals living with a mental illness experience shame and marginalization due to stigma. Stigma is perpetuated through stereotypes created and used by people in the majority. Studies have been done to assess individual’s attitudes toward mental healthcare seeking in regards to gender, age, race, and profession. This study aimed to look at traditional gender role beliefs, sex, and gender expression as predictors of individual’s mental health attitudes and individual’s views of mental health norms. Using a cross-sectional survey, 392 participants completed scales that included the …