Psychology Commons^™

Sentence Length And Perceptions Of Dangerousness As A Function Of Race, Attributional Complexity, And Ability To Meet Bail, Hannah Baldwin

Psychology Theses

Defendant race and ethnicity impact sentencing length decisions, leading to discrimination in the criminal justice system. Aspects of the pretrial process that strongly correlate with a defendant’s socioeconomic status, the use of cash bail, may also influence sentencing length, given the negative stereotypes about individuals of lower socioeconomic statuses. Relatively few studies have explored the impact of cash bail use on sentencing decisions or sought to understand why use of cash bail might influence these decisions. The current study investigates the impact of defendant ability to meet bail (yes v. no) on judgments of sentence length and dangerousness within the …

The Predictive Effect Of Parent Closeness On Substance Use For Coping In Adoptees: An Application Of Motivational Models Of Substance Use, Alison B. Klein

Psychology Theses

To explain a previously observed triad of substance abuse, adoption, and poor mental health adjustment in adoptees, the proposed study applies the Substance Use Motivation Model. This model would suggest that adoptees are motivated to use substances to negatively reinforce (remove or mitigate) depression and anxiety symptomology. Parent closeness is an established protective factor against negative mental health symptomology and substance use, suggesting closeness may influence the relationship between negative mental health symptomology and motivations to use substances for coping. To test this relationship, 100 adoptees were administered the Substance Use Motives Measure (SUMM), the Personal Health Questionaire-9 (Depression), the …

Public Attitudes Towards Non-Criminal Preventive Detention As A Function Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Matt Zaitchik, Kyle Gamache, Judith Platania

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Non-criminal preventive detention is justified by both the state’s parens patriae and police power roles. Individuals with mental illness and individuals with a highly communicable, potentially lethal disease can be involuntarily detained. Modern applications of quarantine have led to higher court decisions that address the balance between liberty and public health and safety. The inherent tensions that underlie quarantine law – individual liberty versus public safety – are apparent in our contemporary, COVID-19 America. Consequently, much of the current discussion appears to have political overtones. In order to empirically address this issue, in the current study we examine attitudes towards …

Peer-Supervision Of Nursing Professionals: A Shield Against Burnout, Kyle Gamache, Sarah Gamache, Joseph Robillard

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Introduction: Burnout is a major risk in healthcare professions and is a significant contributor to the current nursing shortage. Strategies to combat burnout of healthcare professionals are in desperate need. The purpose of this project is to introduce the clinical peer supervision model as a method to alleviate burnout in nursing professionals.

Approach: Eight nurses from in-patient settings participated in a peer-supervision support group, modeled after existing European nursing and mental health provider-support protocols. To assess the effect of this intervention, qualitative data analysis was conducted on the transcripts of session and the results described. All participants reported statistically high …

Parental Affect Profiles Predict Child Emotion Regulation And Classroom Adjustment In Families Experiencing Homelessness, Madelyn H. Labella, Rebecca Distefano, Jillian S. Merrick, Jyothi L. Ramakrishnan, Eric L. Thibodeau, Ann S. Masten

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Parenting shapes the development of emotion regulation skills in early childhood, laying a key foundation for social-emotional adjustment. Unfortunately, high adversity exposure may disrupt parental emotion socialization practices and children's regulatory development. The current study used variable- and person-centered approaches to evaluate links among parental emotion expressiveness, children's observed emotion regulation, and teacher-reported adjustment among 214 4- to 6-year-old children experiencing homelessness, an indicator of high cumulative risk and acute adversity. Structured parent-child interaction tasks were recorded on site in emergency shelters over the summer and micro-socially coded for parent and child expressions of anger, positive affect, and internalizing distress. …

The Evolution Of Stereotypes About Alcohol Dependency In Film: Gender, Family, And Treatment, Jordan Sweenie

Psychology Theses

When watching films, people seek reflections and depictions of themselves and their experiences, something that they can understand and relate to. Movies are often looked at to decide, either subconsciously or consciously, how we view society, widespread issues, and one another—Oscar Wilde wrote that “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life” (Wilde, 1891). This is particularly true in how we as a society view mental illness, and what kinds of stigma are reinforced or rejected through the film industry. Accurately portraying any form of mental illness in film can be difficult, as experiences are subjective and no two …

Examining The Effect Of Witnessing Sexual Harassment On School Engagement: The Moderating Role Of Gender, Emily Sgritta

Psychology Theses

The following study investigated the potential relationships between directly or indirectly witnessing sexual harassment, the witness’ gender, school engagement, and psychological distress. Participants from an undergraduate university (N = 168) responded to a survey in which they answered questions relating to witnessing sexual harassment and their psychological distress, burnout, school engagement, and perceived social support after the event. For purposes of analyses, potential relationships on psychological distress and school engagement were examined further. Participants who directly witnessed sexual harassment reported lower school engagement than participants who didn’t report directly witnessing sexual harassment. Direct witnesses reported lower levels of vigor, dedication, …