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Full-Text Articles in Psychology

Social Welfare Systems And Their Effects On Adolescent Violence, Injecting Drug Use, And Negative Health Behaviors, Elvin A. Hernandez Jun 2005

Social Welfare Systems And Their Effects On Adolescent Violence, Injecting Drug Use, And Negative Health Behaviors, Elvin A. Hernandez

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Youth and young adults who are injection drug users (IDU’s) often live and survive in physical and emotional environments that are associated with negative behaviors and outcomes. Past environmental and social factors, such as participation in social welfare systems or institutionalization in foster care or juvenile hall, have been found to be associated with IDU-involved young adults’ health behaviors when they become older. Social networks, which include drug, sex, or hangout networks, may influence their health outcomes and behaviors. The goals of this dissertation include an investigation of how reported past social welfare participation and institutionalization is associated with IDU-involved …


Thought Suppression Change In Cancer Patients And Survivors After Writing, Erin O'Carroll Bantum Jun 2005

Thought Suppression Change In Cancer Patients And Survivors After Writing, Erin O'Carroll Bantum

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Breast cancer is a debilitating and many times fatal disease that will affect approximately 215,990 women in the United States alone this year. Treatment for breast cancer can involve many physically and psychologically straining features. The illness perception theory states that individuals form illness representations to make sense of health threats and illness. These representations contain a number of individual, specific attributes about the illness identity, and cause, time-line, consequences of, and cure/control of the illness. Many women who have experienced breast cancer have also been found to be keeping their thoughts inside. Thought suppression has been linked to many …


Motivated Breast Cancer Screening Behavior And Its Cultural Antecedents, Patricia M. Flynn Mar 2005

Motivated Breast Cancer Screening Behavior And Its Cultural Antecedents, Patricia M. Flynn

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Discrepancies in breast cancer screening behavior exist among various ethnic groups in the United States (Jacobs & Lauderdale, 2001), with Latino American women reporting particularly low screening rates in comparison to Anglo American women (ACS, 2002). Research indicates that behavior is in part influenced by aspects of culture and relevant psychological processes (Betancourt & Lopez, 1993; Betancourt & Fuentes, 2001). This study was designed to investigate the relations among cultural values, attributions regarding the causes for not screening, related emotions, expectancy that screening leads to early detection and value incentive of early detection as determinants of breast cancer screening intention …


Ethnic Identity And Body Ideal In Adolescent Girls, Erin E. Ramirez Mar 2005

Ethnic Identity And Body Ideal In Adolescent Girls, Erin E. Ramirez

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Adolescence is a period characterized by physical growth and maturation (Cobb, 1995). This normal biological process moves most American girls away from the thin ideal body shape that is dominant within the United States. Ethnic differences in ideal body size have in fact been found in several studies; but they have been shown based on ethnic group membership, not ethnic identification. The specific relationship of ethnic identity and body ideal for Mexican American, African American, and Anglo American adolescent females has not been clearly defined; Lopez, Blix, and Blix (1995) have hinted at the role of ethnic identification (through the …


The Effects Of Childhood Obesity On Self-Esteem, Heather L. Paxton Jan 2005

The Effects Of Childhood Obesity On Self-Esteem, Heather L. Paxton

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Obesity is a growing health problem affecting children in the United States. The prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically over the past 10 years across virtually all populations and age groups. Recent data suggest that 15 percent of U.S. children are severely overweight or obese (National Center for Health Statistics, 2002) . Obese children are at risk for significant health problems, but also face many psychological and social consequences, including low self-esteem. Children who are obese face an increased risk of emotional problems lasting well into adulthood. Factors such as peer rejection, weight-related teasing, and internalized social standards play a …