Psychology Commons^™

Faculty Mentors' Influence On Latino/A/X Stem Undergraduates' Stem Identity Development, Sandy Cerda-Lezama

Dissertations and Theses

Despite Latino/a/x college student attendance rising substantially over the past decades, their graduation rates do not match the increased admission rates. In addition, Latino/a/x students are considerably under-represented in STEM. However, research suggests that when these students are encouraged by social partners to have meaningful participation and given resources such as mentoring, this eases the barriers they experience. The current study utilized interviews with 11 Latino/a/x STEM undergraduates (aged 18-29) to understand how faculty mentors influence their STEM identity development. Students shared answers about how faculty promoted and inhibited their STEM identity development through conversations about their sense of competence, …

It Takes A Village: An Examination Of Social Relationships And Mental Health, Em Francis Trubits

Dissertations and Theses

Social relationships are impactful to mental health and well-being, both positively and negatively. Different sources of support vary in their ability to meet our needs and ultimately influence our well-being. While research has examined aspects of supportive and harmful social relationships and mental health, much of this work is cross-sectional or limited to a single source of support. This dissertation aimed to better elucidate the relationship between social relationships and mental health by integrating multiple theoretical perspectives and multiple sources of support, in a series of three empirical studies to order to inform theory and interventions targeting mental health of …

Individual And Structural Contributors To Implicit And Explicit Anti-Muslim Bias In The United States, Aeleah M. Granger

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation consists of two manuscripts addressing the multifaceted nature of Islamophobia in the United States by examining explicit and implicit anti-Muslim bias on individual and structural levels. The first manuscript (Granger et al., 2023, see chapter II) tests an ideology-threat-attitude-behavior model by estimating the simultaneous mediating effects of threat perceptions on the relationships between individual differences in ideology, Islamophobia (fear of Muslims), and support for an anti-Muslim police surveillance policy. This study (N = 603) finds that individuals who are higher in Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), Right-wing Authoritarianism (RWA), and Nationalism are more likely to perceive Muslims as …

Emotion Knowledge, Its Applications, And Their Associations With African American Children's Social Relationships With Teachers And Peers In Kindergarten And First Grade, Brielle Emily Petit

Dissertations and Theses

Close and high-quality relationships with teachers and peers are a significant, positive predictor of young children's academic and social-emotional skills, whereas early conflictual relationships can pose various short- and long-term socio-emotional and academic risks. Evidence also suggests that emotion knowledge, or the ways children identify, recognize, and apply emotional labels, are a crucial factor in children's early development including overcoming social-emotional challenges and fostering high-quality interpersonal relationships. Studies examining social relationships and emotion knowledge in early childhood, however, often reveal worrisome differences in between-group comparison designs. Particularly, minoritized children, and most often Black and African American, are associated with poorer …

Stress-Reduction From Positive Support: Impacts Of Receiving Partner Capitalization Support On Veteran Stress/Work Stress, Maryann Dona Samson

Dissertations and Theses

Prolonged stress, a pervasive experience in the United States, has been linked to numerous adverse outcomes (Mayo Clinic, 2019). The workplace commonly operates as a source of chronic stressors (Colligan & Higgins, 2006), in fact 25% of Americans find their job is the most stressful part of life (NIOSH, 2021). This tendency is particularly true for military veterans, who reliably experience elevated stress and burnout (Smith et al., 2017) and low job satisfaction (Teclaw et al., 2016). Inspired by the pervasiveness and seriousness of the chronic stress issue, the current study addresses chronic stress in a veteran sample by examining …

Left On "Read" And All Alone: Instigated Cyber Incivility, Shame, And Experienced Ostracism At Work, Alison Lucia Hunt

Dissertations and Theses

The mistreatment literature focused on workplace incivility has grown significantly over the past two decades, as it has been recognized as an omnipresent issue in the workplace. Workplace incivility presents itself as low-intensity rudeness in which at least one individual takes counter normative negative actions against another individual, and may take place in both office and remote work settings as well as through a cyber modality. These actions often occur in a spiral where the target of incivility becomes likely to perpetuate incivility later down the line. However, much of the incivility literature lacks a comprehensive understanding of the perpetrator's …

Not On The Menu: Customer Sexual Harassment In The Restaurant Industry, Fernanda Wolburg Martinez

Dissertations and Theses

Despite the high prevalence of customer sexual harassment (CSH) paired with a high turnover in the restaurant industry, there have been few suggestions on resources that may attenuate the effect that bystander and direct CSH might have on strain--anxiety and depressive symptoms--and turnover intentions among restaurant workers. Based on the stipulations of the job-demands resources theory and the empowerment framework, the current study frames direct and bystander CSH as job demands that may be linked to employee strain and turnover intentions. Moreover, CSH preventive supervisor behaviors and organizational intolerance towards CSH are introduced as job resources that may weaken the …

A Daily Investigation Of The Recovery Paradox: Examining The Dynamic Interplay Of Workload, Recovery Experiences, And Microbreaks, Morgan Rose Taylor

Dissertations and Theses

Research has highlighted the importance of recovery from work stress during non-work time for employee health and wellbeing. Building on the recovery from work stress literature, this study examines the recovery paradox which suggests that employees may recover from work demands the least when they need it the most. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to shed light on the mechanisms underlying the recovery paradox. Specifically, this study examined whether a common work stressor, workload in the morning, is indirectly related to poorer recovery experiences in the evening through negative states at the end of workday. Furthermore, this study …

Who Puts The "Support" In Supportive Housing? The Impact Of Housing Staff On Resident's Well-Being, And The Potential Moderating Role Of Self-Determination, Kenna Estell Dickard

Dissertations and Theses

The provision of residential and community-based services for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) has become increasingly important following the deinstitutionalization movement. Much of the existing research on supportive housing focuses on housing outcomes rather than exploring how the program helps its residents thrive in the broader community. This study draws upon data collected from 176 people with SMI residing in 16 supportive housing locations in Portland, Oregon. Analyses employed an ecological approach, exploring how housing staff support relates to residents' well-being at three levels of analysis: loneliness (interpersonal level), residential satisfaction (housing and neighborhood level), and sense of community …

Main, Mediated, And Moderated Effects Of Participating In An After-School Social And Emotional Learning Program On Young Children's Development Of Social-Emotional Skills, Amy L. Cordier

Dissertations and Theses

Young children's social and emotional skills (SE skills) are highly predictive of the ease with which they transition to kindergarten as well as their success in the K-12 school system and in life after graduation. Children from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds often enter kindergarten with less well-developed SE skills and lag their peers throughout their school careers. Studies of social-emotional learning (SEL) programs indicate that these programs are successful in teaching SE skills, both in school and in after-school programs. However, less is known about the mechanisms of changes through which SEL programs improve children's SE skills and for …

Why So Serious? Using The Belongingness Need Tenet From The Self-Determination Theory To Examine Workplace Humor And Its Outcomes, Katharine Lucille Mcmahon

Dissertations and Theses

The small body of literature for workplace humor remains fragmented due to the lack of coherence in conceptualization and theory. Furthermore, the distinction between positive and negative humor adds complexity to predicting the outcomes of humor. Focusing on the foundation aspect of humor as a form of social play provides guidance on choosing a theory-informed integrative framework that could explain the implications of humor in the workplace. The belongingness need tenet of the self-determination theory offers a promising framework to synthesize existing research and to direct future studies. Paper 1 reviews the literature and concludes with an integrative framework suggesting …

Exploring Associations Between Military Identity And Well-Being Outcomes Among Post-9/11 Veterans After Separation, James David Lee

Dissertations and Theses

Approximately 200,000 service members exit the military each year (VA, 2018); as of 2016, there were 19 million veterans in the U.S. (VA, 2016). As service members transition out of the military and acclimate to civilian life, they face a multitude of stressors. For example, estimates vary from 44 to 72% of veterans reportedly experience increased stress during their transition which often entails securing civilian employment, navigating interpersonal difficulties, and adapting to the challenges of civilian life (Morin, 2011). These stressors have harmful consequences and have been linked to physical and mental health, and suicide risk (Interian et al., 2014; …

The Association Between Psychological Maltreatment And Video Game Engagement: The Role Of Distress Tolerance, Mason Lee Hatwan

Dissertations and Theses

Problematic video gaming is a growing concern worldwide, with negative consequences on mental health and social functioning. This study examines the mediating role of distress tolerance in the relationship between childhood psychological maltreatment and problematic video game engagement. Childhood psychological maltreatment is a form of abuse that can lead to long-term consequences such as emotion regulation difficulties, which have been linked to problematic gaming. Distress tolerance, the perceived ability to endure negative emotional states, may influence how individuals cope with stress and engage in regulatory behaviors like problematic gaming. Using a sample of 474 college-aged individuals (56% male, aged 18-25) …

Interaction Of Adhd Severity And Neighborhood-Level Ses On Preschoolers’ Risk For Obesity At School-Age, Ramya V. Jayanthi

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) oftentimes emerges during the preschool years. School-age children with ADHD are at an increased risk for obesity as compared to their non-ADHD peers, but it is unknown if this risk is observed in younger children. Socioeconomic status (SES) is negatively related to both ADHD and obesity, but how SES interacts with ADHD to affect later obesity is unknown. This study aimed to examine if preschool ADHD diagnosis and severity interacted with neighborhood-level SES to increase risk for overweight/obesity and greater growth in BMI at school-age. We hypothesized that ADHD severity/diagnosis would be associated with greater growth …

The Effectiveness Of The Teaching Interaction Procedure For Young Children With Developmental Delay, Bailey Nicole Swain

Dissertations and Theses

Developmental Delay (DD) is an IDEA classification for young children who fail to meet developmental milestones at typical times. Young children with delays in social or emotional development may show deficits in social skills. Noting the importance of early intervention, identifying effective social skills interventions for children aged 3-5 is essential. Kopp et al. (1992) note the differences in social skills between preschoolers with DD and typically developing peers. This study investigated the effects of the Teaching Interaction Procedure on skill acquisition and generalization to a free play activity in the general education classroom.

Evaluating The Effects Of A Social Skills Training Program For Children With Asd Generalized To A P.E. Setting, Anissa Johns

Dissertations and Theses

ASD is a developmental disability, or group of conditions which begin during the developmental period and impact day-to-day functioning, which can cause significant social, communication, and behavioral challenges (CDC, 2019). According to the CDC (2014) Autism Spectrum Disorder occur in every 1 in 36 children. ASD is characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts (American Psychiatric Association, 2020). The diagnosis also requires the presence of restricted repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. Among the number of social skills training modalities used to promote positive social skill development for children with ASD, the Superheroes …

Culturally Responsive Mental Health: Providing For Midwestern Hispanic/Latinx Communities, Sara Leila Zare

Dissertations and Theses

Hispanic/Latinx communities face a troubling number of barriers in accessing mental health services. Many difficulties associated with access have been studied within urban communities across the southern and western regions of the United States. However, over the past two decades, the Midwest has become a geographical location where this ethnic group has and will continue to see exponential growth. Unfortunately, adequate mental health services for the growing population within this geographic region are scarce. Additionally, more rural areas of the Midwest are heavily impacted by a lack of adequate mental health care services. The barriers that exist to access mental …

Growing Up Ghanaian: The Well-Being Of Ghanaian Children In The United States And Ghana, Akua Bemma Opoku

Dissertations and Theses

Children’s subjective well-being is a child’s judgment of their well-being. Subjective well- being can have positive and negative indicators. Positive indicators include but are not limited to safety, feeling happy, and feeling excited. Negative indicators include but are not limited to lack of safety, lack of confidence, and sadness. Children’s ethnic background and their relation to their ethnic background may influence their subjective well-being. Research focusing on ethnic identity and child well-being has found positive associations. Research has also found a relationship between the context of family, school, peers, religion, community, and ethnic identity. This comparative phenomenological study aimed to …

Working Memory Performance: Is Subjective Measurement A Better Predictor Than Cognitive Load?, Megan Mccray

Dissertations and Theses

We rely on our capacity for rapid attention switching to conduct multiple tasks simultaneously. Leading working memory models assume that memory maintenance and attention-demanding secondary task processing cannot coincide. Any reduction in memory maintenance activities occurring due to secondary task processing leads to impaired recall. This temporal relationship is typically characterized through the proportion of time spent attending to the concurrent processing task, also called cognitive load. Although the primary determinant of forgetting in leading models, recent findings show limitations to cognitive load effects in multitasking. We investigated whether the effects of cognitive load are a byproduct of subjective task …

Working Memory Performance: Is Subjective Measurement A Better Predictor Than Cognitive Load?, Megan Mccray

Dissertations and Theses

We rely on our capacity for rapid attention switching to conduct multiple tasks simultaneously. Leading working memory models assume that memory maintenance and attention-demanding secondary task processing cannot coincide. Any reduction in memory maintenance activities occurring due to secondary task processing leads to impaired recall. This temporal relationship is typically characterized through the proportion of time spent attending to the concurrent processing task, also called cognitive load. Although the primary determinant of forgetting in leading models, recent findings show limitations to cognitive load effects in multitasking. We investigated whether the effects of cognitive load are a byproduct of subjective task …

Researching Medical Treatment Assessments From United States Military Veterans Diagnosed With Substance Use Disorder, And Determining Interest In The Matrix Model Of Treatment For Potential Application In Their Treatment Programs, Christopher R. Strunk

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this research study is to learn the beliefs and thoughts on the current state of medical treatment provided to United States (US) military Veterans diagnosed with substance use disorder (SUD), and gauge Veterans’ levels of interest and support in the potential application of the Matrix Model of Treatment (MMT) in their healthcare programs. This proposal focused on verifying the Veterans’ interest in the MMT model since the US Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) does not currently implement this full-spectrum, 16-week treatment system. It is believed interest will be strong enough to merit supporting its consideration with approving …

Integrated Stem Learning Activity: Effect On Student Engagement And Learning, Leslie Deitrich Sauder

Dissertations and Theses

Student engagement in math and science courses decreases starting in middle school and continues throughout high school (Museus et al., 2011). This lack of engagement results in students taking only the required math and science coursework and not advanced coursework that would help prepare them for future careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. Integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) learning activities may be used to promote student engagement and learning. This experimental design study was conducted with students in grades 3-5 in one rural mid-sized school district in the upper mid-west. Student engagement was analyzed using a …

Utilizing The Alternative Model Of Personality Disorders (Ampd) To Identify Sexual Aggression In Men, Ryan Van Fossen

Dissertations and Theses

The current study examined the validity of the Alternative Model of Personality Disorders (AMPD) in predicting sexually aggressive cognitions in men. Specifically, this study examined the role of maladaptive personality traits and personality functioning’s relationship with sexually aggressive beliefs in comparison to the Five-Factor Model (FFM). This study recruited 300 male participants, aged 18 and older, who identified as male for both sex and gender, and identified as heterosexual. Participants completed measures of personality functioning, several personality traits, views about sexual entitlement, gender roles, rape myths, and token resistance to sex. Multiple regression and semipartial correlation analyses were used to …

Attachment Network Structures And Adult Mental Health, Junnan Tian

Dissertations and Theses

Close relationships are essential to the mental health and adaptation of adults. The study of close relationships and mental health has concentrated on dyadic interactions in different types of relationships, such as parents, best friends, and romantic partners. Much less attention has focused on how a network of close relationships informs mental health. This study concentrated on a network of five close relationships in relation to adult mental health outcomes. Four network metrics, which are composition (who), strength (number of attachment figures), morphology (hierarchical or nonhierarchical), and physical proximity were examined as predictors of adult mental health outcomes (i.e., depression, …

The Makings Of Creativity And Empathy: Maps Of Maternal Representations, Anielle M. Fredman

Dissertations and Theses

ABSTRACT

The Makings of Creativity and Empathy: Maps of Maternal Representations

by

Anielle M. Fredman

Advisor: Sasha Rudenstine, Ph.D.

The present study investigates the relationship between maternal fantasy of the child and their relationship, and children’s unconscious processes. In addition, the study aims to ascertain the link between maternal representations and aspects of the child’s intrapsychic world, including ego functioning, object relations, and processes of separation-individuation.

Maternal fantasy was measured in an original way with a tripartite typology of Positive, Mixed-Complex, and Contradictory Representations, applied to the Parent Development Interview-Revised Short (Slade et al., 2004), adapted from the Working Model …

Compassion-Based Resilience Training (Cbrt) For Frontline Healthcare Workers In Contact With Covid-19 Patients, Michael Perez Sosa

Dissertations and Theses

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has had deleterious consequences for the mental health of frontline healthcare workers worldwide. One systemic review of the literature found high prevalence rates of anxiety (67.55%), depression (58.89%), and stress (62.99%) reported by this population (Vizheh et al., 2020). Additionally, high rates of burnout and symptoms associated with trauma have also been ubiquitous during the pandemic for frontline healthcare workers. The purpose of this study is to investigate Compassion-Based Resilience Training (CBRT) as a remotely delivered intervention for frontline healthcare workers in contact with COVID-19 patients to reduce symptoms associated with stress, depression, anxiety, burnout, and …

The Impact Of Immersive Vr Verses Desktop Vr Technologies On Learning Attainment And Sense Of Presence, Haley Renee Hoffman

Dissertations and Theses

The study examined the influence of immersive technologies and sense of presence on learning outcomes while comparing different media formats (Immersive Virtual Reality and Desktop Virtual Reality). The experiment was conducted on N=68 students that experienced a biology lesson about the human cellular system and its related processes. The current literature suggests that Immersive technologies can a powerful impact to learning, but it is crucial to identify when and how these impacts emerge. The current assumption is that presence and educational outcomes stem from the amount of engagement with the material, which is suggested to depend on the level of …

Childhood Maltreatment And Suicidal Ideation: The Role Of Insecure Attachment, Alexithymia, And Negative Urgency., Surabhi Swaminath

Dissertations and Theses

Suicide is a significant cause of preventable death, especially among young adults. Survivors of childhood maltreatment are at heightened risk of experiencing suicidal ideation and following through on suicide-related thoughts. Insecure attachment, alexithymia, and impulsivity (negative urgency) are known risk factors for suicidal ideation. However, the combined role of these variables in association with suicidal ideation is not fully understood. The current study tested the role of insecure attachment, alexithymia, and negative urgency in the relationship between child maltreatment and ideation via a path model in young adults between 18 and 29 (N = 441). We hypothesized that maltreatment would …

The Impact Of Perceived Social Support On Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Elizabeth Eng

Dissertations and Theses

Individuals who have experienced repeated and interpersonal trauma often develop symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), along with additional features relating to disturbances in self-organization (DSO), which is now known as Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD). CPTSD has been seen to be associated with adverse outcomes such as somatic symptoms, attachment insecurity, and overall lower life satisfaction (Karatzias et al., 2018; Kuhar & Zager Kocjan 2022; Maercker et al, 2022). Due to these additional features relating to DSO, CPTSD has been identified as distinct from PTSD, and so it has been important to investigate these unique symptoms. One such symptom …

How Adults Use Reddit To Cope With Being Children Of Divorce, Tamera A. Joseph

Dissertations and Theses

How do adults on social media describe their experiences as a child of divorce? The purpose of this study was to explore how posts on the social media platform Reddit are used by people to reflect on their parents’ divorce when they were younger. Reddit is a social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website. The platform allows users to post content such as links, posts, images, and discussion boards. Posts on the website are organized by subjects called “subreddits”. In these subreddits, users discuss topics from news, philosophy, entertainment, and life experiences. Existing public data of archived and …