Psychology Commons^™

Building Neuro-Inclusive Community, Strengthening Mental Health: The Autism After 21 Utah Project, Sumiko T. Martinez, Anna Smyth, Ann C. Carrick

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Over two decades of research shows strong positive relationships are a consistently powerful indicator of wellbeing and resilience. However, the U.S. Surgeon General notes that loneliness and isolation is an epidemic in the U.S., and that it is exacerbated for individuals with physical and mental disabilities as well as those with isolating economic or environmental situations. A recent review shows that many autistic adults in particular face challenges in finding the connections they want and need. They also often have compounding mental health conditions, such as depression and mental illness, lower incomes, isolating home environments due to a lack of …

Parents’ Perceptions Of The Philly Goat Project’S All Abilities Ramble: A Qualitative Study Of Animal-Assisted Intervention For Intellectual And Developmental Disorders, Patricia Flaherty-Fischette, Jenée Lee, Yvonne D'Uva-Howard, Elizabeth P. Cramer, Karen Krivit, Sarah Meehan

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are a growing population. Considering the wide diversity in IDD and the financial burden of traditional treatment modalities, Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI) has emerged as an innovative and non-traditional treatment for individuals with a range of disabilities, including individuals with IDD. To the authors’ knowledge, the present study was one of the first to explore a goat-assisted therapy experience for children with IDD. This study explored the experiences of 23 children with the All Abilities RAMble – a goat-assisted therapeutic activity offered by the Philly Goat Project (PGP). Key themes in our study included …

Perceptions Of Disabilities Among Native Americans Within The State Of Utah, Erica Ficklin, Melissa Tehee, Sherry Marx, Eduardo Ortiz, Megan E. Golson, Tyus Roanhorse

Psychology Student Research

Currently, little research exists on disabilities among Native American communities and no research exists on how Native Americans perceive disabilities, services currently available, and unmet needs. Understanding these key areas is essential to providing efficacious and culturally relevant care. To address this gap in the literature, we used Indigenous research methodology through sharing circles throughout the state of Utah to listen and amplify the voices of the Native communities. Participants shared how they conceptualize "disability," what they thought of current services, and how they thought the needs of Native persons with disabilities should be addressed. Four major themes emerged in …

The Impact Of Family Support And Rejection On Suicide Ideation And Attempt Among Transgender Adults In The U.S., Guadalupe Marquez-Velarde, Gabe H. Miller, Jesse Ezra Shircliff, Mario Itzel Suárez

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

We evaluate the association of familial factors and suicidality among transgender adults in the U.S. by estimating the odds of lifetime suicide ideation and attempt using the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. Predictors include family support, family rejection, and specific experiences related to both. About 79% of sample respondents have experienced suicidal ideation and nearly 43% have made a suicide attempt. The predicted probability of suicide attempt is 0.35 for those with no family rejection experiences, 0.75 for those who have had all five experiences in our models. Rejection predicts both outcomes and experiences of rejection have a cumulative impact.

Shame-Proneness And Sexual Satisfaction Among Conservatively Religious Sexual Minorities, Sydney A. Sorrell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined how various aspects of religiousness and sexuality were related to sexual satisfaction among conservatively religious sexual minorities and explored whether dispositional proneness to feeling shame changed these relationships. Analysis of survey data from 315 current and former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints revealed numerous factors that were related to sexual satisfaction. Sexual minorities who attended more religious services and who were more religiously committed were less sexually satisfied. This may be a result of the conflict a religious sexual minority individual experiences when engaging in same-sex sexual behavior due to stigmatizing religious …

Assessing Need And Acceptability Of A Youth Mentoring Intervention For Adolescents With Autism By Adults With Autism, Kai Y. Gunty, Lindsey Weiler, Angela Keyzers, Rebekah Hudock

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Background: Adult mentors can positively influence development, yet youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have too little access to adult mentors who can provide role modeling, guidance, and support. Furthermore, neurotypical adult mentors (i.e., adult mentors without ASD) may not understand the day-to-day realities that youth with ASD face and the social world they navigate. Therefore, it is possible that adults with ASD may be particularly well-suited as mentors for youth with ASD.

Method: Six semi-structured focus groups of four to seven people each explored the need for a mentoring program to bridge the gap between the supports youth with …

Coming Together During Covid-19: A Mixed Methods Exploratory Study On Collective Efficacy In A State Developmental Disabilities Network, Arden D. Day, Michele Sky Lee, Ronda Jenson, Erica Mcfadden, Maureen Russell, Kelly Roberts, John Mcdermott, Nicholas Blum

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Background: Collective efficacy (CE) is a group’s shared belief that through their united efforts they can overcome challenges to achieve common goals (Bandura, 1993; 1997). CE has been shown to be related to professional growth, stress reduction, and overall collaborative impact in studies of groups responding to ongoing challenges as well as unforeseen circumstances (i.e. teachers, first-responders, and community responses to natural disasters) (Benight, 2004; Donohoo, 2016; Prati et al., 2011). COVID-19 has forced organizations serving individuals with disabilities to come together to adapt and change the ways in which they serve the disability community.

Objective: This study examines …

Assessment Of The Impact Of The Premarital Interpersonal Choices And Knowledge (Pick) Program On Adolescents, Raquel R. Boehme

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was conducted to determine if the information from the Premarital Interpersonal Choices and Knowledge (PICK) program How to Avoid Falling for a Jerk/ette helped positively change adolescents’ attitudes about relationships. The program was taught to 9,130 high school students (ages 14 -18) from 35 different high schools in a Western state.

Surveys were given at the beginning of the first class (pretest) and at the end of the final class (posttest). In addition to demographic information, students rated (1) their attitudes about what it takes to get to know a potential partner, (2) their belief that love alone …

Teaching: Natural Or Cultural?, David F. Lancy

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

In this chapter I argue that teaching, as we now understand the term, is historically and cross-culturally very rare. It appears to be unnecessary to transmit culture or to socialize children. Children are, on the other hand, primed by evolution to be avid observers, imitators, players and helpers—roles that reveal the profoundly autonomous and self-directed nature of culture acquisition (Lancy in press a). And yet, teaching is ubiquitous throughout the modern world—at least among the middle to upper class segment of the population. This ubiquity has led numerous scholars to argue for the universality and uniqueness of teaching as a …

Characteristics Of 4-H Participants And Their Psychosocial Development, Lauralee Lyons

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Volunteerism is an important component in the 4-H program. It was initially used as a method to help agents reach the many youth interested in participating in 4-H. Community service has since become a required component for every club project. Research shows that volunteering can impact youth in many different ways. Other research shows that 4-H youth are more likely to contribute or do some type of community service.

The present study uses the Modified Extended Version of the Object Measure of Ego Identity Status (EOMEIS), the Cognitive Autonomy and Self-Evaluation (CASE) inventory, and an instrument specifically designed to study …

Why Anthropology Of Childhood? A Short History Of An Emerging Discipline, David F. Lancy

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

The paper has four goals: to refute the claim that anthropologists have not studied childhood; to provide a cursory history of the field; to provide an organizational schema for reviewing the literature in the field and; to suggest a strategy for future scholarship in the anthropology of childhood.

Unmasking Children's Agency, David F. Lancy

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

The goal of this paper is to identify (unmask) and critique the movement to promote children’s agency as a cornerstone of research, care, education and intervention with children. The article makes a case that this movement is harmful to a scientific approach to the study of childhood, distorts or ignores key understandings of the evolution of childhood and culture. The article demonstrates that the agency movement is ethnocentric, classist and hegemonic representing the dominance of contemporary bourgeoisie child-rearing. It imposes a single, privileged ethnotheory of childhood upon the diverse societies of the world with alternative ethnotheories and practices. Lastly, the …

“Getting Noticed”: Middle Childhood Incross-Cultural Perspective, David F. Lancy, M. Annette Grove

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Although rarely named, the majority of societies in the ethnographic record demarcate a period between early childhood and adolescence. Prominent signs of demarcation are: for the first time, pronounced gender separation in fact and in role definition; increased freedom of movement for boys while girls may be bound more tightly to their mothers; and heightened expectations for socially responsible behavior. But, above all, middle childhood is about coming out of the shadows of community life and assuming a distinct, lifetime character. Naming and other rites of passage sometimes acknowledge this transition, but it is, reliably, marked by the assumption or …

Taiwanese Adolescent Psychosocial Development In Urban And Rural Areas, Chien-Ti Lee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate Taiwanese adolescent psychosocial development (i.e., autonomy and identity development) based on psychosocial theoretical models developed in western societies. Data were collected from both public senior high and vocational high schools in both urban and rural areas in Taiwan. Adolescent participants, with an average age of 17 years old, included 447 (about 54% were females) from urban areas, and 702 (62% were females) from rural areas. The results of this study revealed that Taiwanese adolescents from both urban and rural areas were similar to adolescent developmental ranges suggested in western theories. There were …

Attitudes, Behavioral Intentions, And Migration: Resident Response To Amenity Growth-Related Change In The Rural Rocky Mountain West, Susan Reid Wilmot

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper explores the demographic, economic, political, and environmental characteristics that have helped define the “New West,” reviews studies on individual attitudes and participation in response to these changes, and presents findings and conclusions from an analysis of two study areas: Bear Lake and Star Valley. Results suggest that residency status is generally not a significant predictor of resident attitudes towards aspects of community change. Non-residency status factors, such as high levels of place attachment, knowledge about community affairs, values for property ownership, and community satisfaction, were generally more influential upon residents’ attitudes. Significant predictors of resident involvement in community …

Technologically Assisted Intervention (Tai): Are Clients Satisfied With Online Therapy?, Jennifer A. Morrow

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined the level of satisfaction reported by participants of a technologically assisted intervention study (TAI). TAI is a type of teletherapy done through online, live video conferencing. Satisfaction was examined at three different time points, post therapy, 3-months post therapy, and 6-months post therapy. Analyses examined if there were any changes in reported satisfaction over the three time periods. Participants received cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) targeted at reducing symptoms of mild to moderately severe depression. A satisfaction measure was developed for this study, and included quantitative and qualitative items which were analyzed to determine participants' level of satisfaction. …

Reported Mental Health Issues And Marital Quality: A Statewide Survey, Joseph Ruben Smart

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study included a representative random sample of 886 married individuals in Utah. This sample was surveyed to discover the relationship between demographic variables, reported mental health issues, and marital quality. In addition, this study sought to discover models, using demographic variables and reported mental health issues, to predict for separate dimensions of marital quality. This survey was a replication of a study completed primarily in Oklahoma, with the addition of questions about the participants' mental health.

Spearman's rho, Pearson's R, and multiple regression were used to analyze the data. The results of the study show that: religious beliefs …

Utah Families- The Issues They Face, Ted W. Warstadt, Larry Forthun

All Archived Publications

With the wide variety of difficulties that our society faces and the limited funding available to address these concerns, it is important to identify and prioritize critical family issues. Because the family is a major contributor to individual and societal development, it is important to focus attention on issues which have a direct impact on family functioning. In identifying issues it is also helpful to understand demographic and geographic influences which may contribute to an individual's perceived urgency of a given issue. This can assist policy makers in their efforts to appropriately allocate limited funds to the best suited and …

The Use Of "Fashion Therapy" As Adjunctive Therapy In The Rehabilitation Of Psychiatric Patients, Virginia Geddes Eyestone

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mental illness is one of the greatest public health problems and foremost challenges of our time. However, because of improved medical practices and modern research methods, more mental patients are now being released and returned to society than at any other recorded period.

The mentally ill person loses touch with reality. Things that once were of primary concern are no longer important. Many mental patients become accustomed to carelessness in dress and personal habits. This state of deterioration often remains as a mark of mental illness, and the resulting inappropriate dress frequently limits the activity of the individual. The patient …