Psychology Commons^™

Assessing The Relationships Between Direct And Vicarious Exposure To Healthcare Discrimination And Erasure, Mistrust In Healthcare, And The Healthcare Utilization Behaviors Among Transgender And Gender Independent Individuals, Kyle L. Mason

Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare inaccessibility through direct exposure (i.e., personal) to myriad forms of gender identity-related discrimination and erasure among the Transgender and Gender Independent (TGI) population has been documented by prior studies. The myriad barriers that individuals who embody TGI identities encounter to accessing healthcare are associated with the underutilization of healthcare, which may further exacerbate the health disparities that exist between this population and cisgender individuals in the United States (U.S.). Although the impacts of the harm that direct exposure to healthcare discrimination and erasure may have on TGI individuals are known, their exposure to such harm vicariously (i.e., through observation …

Youth And Caregivers' Perceptions Of Racial Socialization: Examining The Interactive Role Of Risk And Cultural Resilience Factors As Predictors And Mental Health As Outcomes, Arlenis Santana

Theses and Dissertations

Black families' mental health, including that of the children and caretakers, is a persistent public health concern. Existing work documents that parental racial socialization messages are a protective process for the psychological well-being of Black children, youth, and emerging adults (Bannon et al., 2009). The majority of work to date has focused on youth, and we have limited information about the effects of racial socialization on caregivers’ mental health outcomes. It is also essential to examine the relation between racial socialization and outcomes among caregivers because, aside from their identity as parents, caregivers have other identities and experiences that deserve …

Hustle In H-Town: Hip Hop Entrepreneurialism In Houston, Brittany L. Long

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

Imagine a sprawling, overheated American megalopolis that epitomizes diversity and segregation in one of the world’s youngest countries. Despite Houston’s history of structural racism and segregation, Houston Hip Hop entrepreneurs built communities and created storied businesses that culminate in a sense of local pride and Hip Hop identity that has not been replicated in the same manner in any other city. An examination of thought-provoking existing scholarship about the Hip Hop South and Hip Hop in Houston, as well as an examination of existing and collected primary sources (interviews) allow me to demonstrate two things: Hip Hop entrepreneurialism is a …

A Technology-Based, Mixed Methods Approach To Examining The Psychosocial Determinants Of Maternal Health Disparities, Hannah M. Ming

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Exposure to racism and discrimination in the U.S. increases Black women’s risk for experiencing maternal health disparities. Additionally, racism and discrimination affect maternal psychosocial well-being, creating evidence for a biopsychosocial relationship between racism and maternal health outcomes. However, current research does not define the psychosocial Black maternal self well. Given the dynamic relationship between racism, psychosocial well-being, and Black maternal health outcomes, research must comprehensively examine the Black maternal self. The operationalization of a comprehensive construct for Black maternal psychosocial well-being can improve understanding of the relationship between racism, psychosocial well-being, and Black maternal health outcomes.

Purpose: …

The Relationships Between Adolescents’ Future Aspirations And Postsecondary Enrollment: Finite Mixture Models, Chu Yi Lu Qiu

Theses and Dissertations

This study took person-centered statistical approaches to explore the multidimensional construct of adolescents' future aspirations and its associations with three covariates (i.e., gender, race, and SES) and a binary, distal outcome measure, postsecondary enrollment. Fourteen survey items representing the multidimensionality of adolescents' future aspirations were extracted from two-waves of Educational Longitudinal Study:2002 student data. The multidimensionality or the latent construct of the adolescents' future aspirations were explored using two finite mixture models called latent class analysis (LCA) and latent transition analysis (LTA). Based on the students' response patterns on the fourteen indicators, three latent classes representing three levels of aspiration …

Psychological Sense Of Community Among Older Adults In Puerto Rico Two Years After Hurricane María, Thomas D. Buckley

Theses and Dissertations

Hurricane María devastated Puerto Rico in 2017 and resulted in adverse long-term outcomes. Psychological sense of community (PSOC) may serve as a protective factor against the effects of Hurricane María for older adults in Puerto Rico. Using a three-paper format, this dissertation draws on a resilience framework and theories of PSOC and the Ecological Theory of Aging to examine the role of PSOC among older adults in Puerto Rico two years after Hurricane María.

Paper one is a scoping review of the concept of PSOC in research with community dwelling older adults. I begin by presenting findings on study characteristics …

The Harm In Seeking Care: Assessing The Relationship Between Healthcare Discrimination And Healthcare Avoidance Behaviors In The Past Year And Since The Start Of The Coronavirus Pandemic In A Transgender And Gender Independent Sample, Kyle L. Mason

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Gender minorities encounter a myriad of barriers to accessing general and gender affirming healthcare. Financial disparities impacting affordability of healthcare costs and insurance-based denials for gender-affirming care are among prominent barriers discussed. Considerations of the prevalence of stigma, discrimination, and erasure of gender minority identities must not be neglected when seeking to understand healthcare accessibility and utilization in this population. Previous researchers have examined gender minority patients’ experiences of discrimination in healthcare settings and delaying care due to fear of discrimination. There is a dearth of knowledge about the relationship between lifetime exposure to varied forms of healthcare discrimination …

Victim Silencing, Sexual Violence Culture, Social Healing: Inherited Collective Trauma Of World War Ii South Korean Military “Comfort Women”, Mijin Cho

VCU Phi Kappa Phi Award Winners

The unresolved reconciliation process for WWII South Korean military “comfort women” presents a case of nationally inherited collective trauma, in which South Koreans far removed in time and space from the historical tragedy feel its implications and obligations for reparations and social healing. In examining the South Korean comfort women redress movement and systemic concealment of WWII military sexual slavery, this study investigates a pattern of victim silencing, characterized by institutional patriarchy and ineffective government involvement, from 1945 to 2019. Following the South Korean government’s formal rejection of the 2015 agreement with Japan regarding a final and irreversible conclusion to …

Impact Of Socialization In Elderly Public-Housing Residents, Taylor M. Wilkerson, Schanea Ward, Amy Popovich, Pamela Parsons, Faika Zanjani

Graduate Research Posters

Older adults who experience social isolation have higher rates of mortality relative to their counterparts. Social interactions are an important way to combat this isolation. This research aims to better understand how social isolation in older adults living in low-income households in Richmond, Virginia (RVA) is related to their economic, physical, and psychological health status. As part of the iCubed Health and Wellness Aging Core and in collaboration with the Richmond Memorial: East End Housing Coalition for Older Adults, older adults from a selected public housing unit (n=28) self-reported their financial status, experiences with physical and psycho-social health, and feelings …

Developing A Cyberterrorism Policy: Incorporating Individual Values, Osama Bassam J. Rabie

Theses and Dissertations

Preventing cyberterrorism is becoming a necessity for individuals, organizations, and governments. However, current policies focus on technical and managerial aspects without asking for experts and non-experts values and preferences for preventing cyberterrorism. This study employs value focused thinking and public value forum to bare strategic measures and alternatives for complex policy decisions for preventing cyberterrorism. The strategic measures and alternatives are per socio-technical process.

How Personal Names Shape The Way Society Sees People As Individuals In The United States., Rand Gabriel M. Buenaventura

Undergraduate Research Posters

In a world where people are disadvantaged by first impressions and implicit bias, names factor a lot into a person’s successes in life. Whether it be first names, last names, the number of middle initials, the gender and racial implications of a person’s name, and societal standards surrounding names and naming systems, there are multiple ways names shape a person’s identity. Thus, it is important to ask how personal names shape the way people are seen as individuals in the United States and contribute to their identity. Names are a trait that people are born with, usually determined before anything …

The Bamboo Ceiling: A Study Of Barriers To Asian American Advancement, Emily Cheng

Undergraduate Research Posters

The idea of cultural diversity in the workplace is a popular one, generating much discussion about the inclusion of and affirmative action toward minorities. However, these conversations rarely involve Asian Americans, who despite above-average levels of educational achievement, household income, and employment, find themselves underrepresented in and shut-out of upper-level management positions. In this project, I investigated the stereotype of East-Asian Americans as a model minority (created by non-Asians) to find out why East-Asian Americans are underrepresented in upper-level management in corporate workplaces, a phenomenon known as the “bamboo ceiling.” I explored a variety of scholarly sources that analyzed the …

Recovery From Design, Cassandra J. Ellison

Theses and Dissertations

Through research, inquiry, and an evaluation of Recovery By Design, a ‘design therapy’ program that serves people with mental illness, substance use disorders, and developmental disabilities, it is my assertion that the practice of design has therapeutic potential and can aid in the process of recovery. To the novice, the practices of conception, shaping form, and praxis have empowering benefit especially when guided by Conditional and Transformation Design methods together with an emphasis on materiality and vernacular form.

Ethnic Racial Identity, Social Transactions In The Classroom, And Academic Outcomes, Krystal R. Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

Using a transactional framework, this study explored social relationships in the classroom as mediators of the association between ethnic-racial identity and academic outcomes. Participants were 101 5^th graders of diverse backgrounds who completed computer-based questionnaires about their friendships, ethnic-racial identity, and academic engagement. Teachers reported on closeness and conflict in the student-teacher relationship. Relationships in the expected direction were evident between the public regard and centrality dimensions of ethnic-racial identity and social relationships as well as with academic outcomes. Further, path analyses revealed that the relationship between the public regard and cognitive engagement was mediated by student-teacher closeness. Gender …

The Role Of Afrocentric Features In Mental Healthcare Utilization And Counselor Preferences In Black College Students, Randl B. Dent

Theses and Dissertations

Though mental health issues are prevalent in Black young adults, they underutilize mental healthcare services. This research examined the role of feature-based discrimination in mental healthcare (under)utilization. Study 1, a secondary analysis of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, provided no evidence supporting a link between skin tone and mental healthcare utilization, when controlling for depression diagnosis. However, when controlling for depression symptoms, there was a trend such that Black young adults with darker, as opposed to lighter, skin tone utilized healthcare less. Study 2, an experimental study with 33 Black college students, showed 73% of the …

Considerations In The Provision Of Mental Health Services Toward Arabs, Dalia Khoury

Theses and Dissertations

Existing evidence suggests that disparities exist in the use of mental health services by Arabs in the U.S. While there are likely many factors that contribute, lack of cultural competence of mental health providers is one potentially important barrier for mental health service use among racial/ethnic minorities, including Arabs. The primary purpose of this study was to identify and examine factors related to the development and existence of cultural competence toward Arabs. Variables measuring demographics, professional characteristics, familiarity with Arabs, prior experience and knowledge of Arabs, and readiness for change were tested with a randomly selected sample of mental health …

The Effects Of Eastern Versus Western Cultures On Women's Perceptions And Disclosure Of Mental Illness, Whitney Roxanne Sherrick

Undergraduate Research Posters

Mental illnesses and the stigma that surrounds them have caused societal unrest since the development of the modern human. However, there remain differences in the way individuals perceive mental illness, allowing various levels of stigma to arise. The focus of this research is to determine the contrast between the views of Western and Eastern cultures concerning mental health status - exploring how cultural expectations for women affect their perception, and disclosure, of mental illnesses. This research involves studies that examined societal expectations for Western and Eastern cultures, and experiments measuring the perceptions of mental illness from individuals with various heritages. …

A National Scan Of Psychiatric Involuntary Hold Policies, Evan D. Peters

Undergraduate Research Posters

Psychiatric involuntary holds are initiated when an individual suffering from mental illness is deemed a danger to themselves or others. Each state and the District of Columbia has its own legislation outlining the process for involuntary holds and the assessments that take place during a hold. A variety of individuals, professional and non-professional, can be involved in the process. Each state also sets a time limit during which a person can be held, and specific language that details the behavior of individuals that are eligible for psychiatric involuntary holds. This information was gathered by examining each states' codes involving psychiatric …

Physician Role In Enhancing Patient Communication, Tamanna Sahni

Undergraduate Research Posters

Communication in the in-patient environment is crucial, and the relationship between a patient and physician enhances patient health and wellness. Patients should feel confident with their abilities to feel comfortable conversing with physicians, which would thus treat symptoms more effectively. This communication has decreased over time, hence patients are often are unable to obtain medical information from their healthcare providers. What is the relationship between psychological factors, such as self-esteem, and quality of patient-physician communication? And can physicians ensure increased patient comfort in the medical environment?

Various factors can affect the patients’ comfort with their physicians, and when addressed, these …

Can You Please Put Your Phone Away? Examining How The Fomo Phenomenon And Mobile Phone Addiction Affect Human Relationships, Laila A. Chaudhry

Undergraduate Research Posters

This study attempts to identify how attachment to social media as well as attachment to other forms of communication technology can lead to addiction to mobile devices and affect non-virtual interpersonal communication. I examined the phenomenon known as the fear of missing out, or FOMO, which can be defined as apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent. Experiencing FOMO can lead to overuse of and even addiction to social media, another category I examined, because addicted individuals want to stay more up-to-date with social networks and social media is the most efficient way to …

The Ticking Of The “Biological Clock”: Worry About Future Fertility In Nulliparous Women, Karen E. Kersting

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Title: The Ticking of the “Biological Clock”: Worry about Future Fertility in Nulliparous Women

By: Karen Kersting, M.A., M.S.

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2013.

Major Director: Kathleen M. Ingram, J.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Psychology

Department of Psychology

Modern women are waiting until later in their lives to have children than women of previous generations, a trend influenced by a number of factors including financial stability, dating norms, and career goals and responsibilities. As women age, their fertility may decline …