Psychology Commons^™

Does Perceived University Support Moderate Health Living And Job Satisfaction?, Makinzy Hoxsey, Patricia Frisby, Ju’Lea Bravo-Geche, Riley Patterson, Katheryne Wood

Undergraduate Research Conference

The present study examines the relationships between and the moderating effects of perceived university support (PUS) on engagement in health promotion (HP) behaviors and job satisfaction (JS) in a sample of university professors in Texas (n=70, 71% female). Consenting participants provided their responses to three scales measuring these constructs and then completed several demographic questions. Regression analysis revealed that PUS was the only factor in predicting JS. Adding the interaction term did not explain any further predictions for the model. However, correlations suggest that greater JS was associated with higher reports of PUS. PUS was also associated with reports of …

The Importance Of Endrew: Analyzing The Influence Of A New Legal Precedent In Pennsylvania Due Process Hearing Officer Decisions Before And After Covid-19 Closures, David H. Rush

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

In 2017, a new standard for determining substantive violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was established with the ruling for Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. Recently, the United States Department of Education and State Education Agencies have cited the Endrew decision as being important in defining what constitutes a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) under the IDEA, in light of mandated school closures due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Despite its noted importance, there has been limited analysis into how this new legal precedent has influenced special education due process hearing officer decisions. …

Mental Health Practitioners’ Trauma Knowledge And Self-Efficacy Post-Emdr Training, Christy R. Collins, Shelby L. Dean, Jose Carbajal

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

This research study examines mental health practitioners’ level of trauma knowledge and trauma treatment self-efficacy pre- and post-EMDR therapy training in Texas. The purpose is to determine if practitioners' self-perception of efficacy in treating trauma and trauma knowledge will improve after completing EMDR training. The practitioner sample (N = 113) is from an EMDR trainer who conducted six EMDR trainings in Texas. Descriptive, correlational, and paired t-test statistical procedures were implemented to analyze the data for the study. The results show that practitioners’ self-perception of competence and knowledge could be attributed to their years of clinical experience treating clients with …

Understanding The Addiction Recovery Experience: The Use Of Experiential Learning In Undergraduate Human Services, Chaniece J. Winfield, Jason M. Sawyer

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Since 2020, the steady rise of overdose and substance use related deaths has created an ongoing need for a greater addiction workforce. Responding to this need, Human Service education programs are strongly encouraged to prepare competent professionals to work in recovery-oriented treatment settings. Research supports experiential learning to foster clinical competency, however its application toward SAMSHA transdisciplinary foundations in human service education is limited or unknown. The authors present an exploration of the use of experiential learning as a teaching tool to foster student competency toward the SAMSHA core transdisciplinary foundations of application to practice and professional readiness.

Describing The Experiences Of Fulfillment And Stress In Coptic Orthodox Priests, Dr. Martha Salama

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

This qualitative study was conducted to understand how Coptic Orthodox priests describe their experiences of fulfillment and/or stress with their work. While many Christian leaders such as pastors, reverends, and clergy helping to serve their church members are represented in the literature, there is limited research on the roles and experiences of the Coptic Orthodox priesthood serving their communities. The Coptic church has been around for centuries, and the church has a history of religious persecution. The research question was “how do Coptic Orthodox priests describe their experiences of fulfillment and/or stress with their work?” The research methodology used in …

The Effects Of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (Tdcs) On Facial Expression Approach/Avoidance In College Students And Faculty With Broad Autism Phenotype, Nicole R. Baker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) has been proposed as an alternative noninvasive therapy for individuals with autism. This study trained brain activity in college students and / or faculty with Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP) while eye tracking data was collected. The purpose of this study was to determine if tDCS training to the frontal lobes could increase approach toward social interactions in adults classified as BAP as demonstrated by eye-tracking measures in response to faces and gaze fixation. The study included 21 total participants recruited from the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) courses / professions at a Regional East …

The Behavior Assessment System For Children Third Edition (Basc-3)’S Classification Accuracy For Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (Adhd) In Young Adults, Angela Lafaye Lucas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was established as a condition initially considered to be outgrown; however, research later demonstrated that about one-half to two-thirds of children with ADHD had persistent symptoms into adolescence and adulthood (Resnick, 2005). It was estimated that the percentage of college-aged students with ADHD ranged somewhere between 2 and 8% (DuPaul et al., 2009). Assessing for an ADHD diagnosis determination in college student-aged individuals was a challenge that required strategies not typically used when assessing for other disorders or within different age ranges (Lovett & Davis, 2017). There was a lack of consistent strategies amongst clinicians on how …

Maladjustment Among Victims Of Bullying, Jack Bryant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bullying has garnered attention from educators, social scientists, and the public at large for nearly 50 years, but the dilemma persists. We have seen that bullying is a high-risk factor for psychological adjustment across the lifespan. The current study has surveyed college students to ascertain their perceptions of adjustment in adult life. The study has added to the existing literature in addressing the role of reduced perceived control in the maladjustment of bully victims. A novel contribution was made by comparing the strength of this potential mediator to another documented correlate of poor adjustment among bullying victims, thwarted belonging.

A Deeper Understanding Of Noise Effects On Cetaceans, Jason N. Bruck

Faculty Publications

Recent research with cetaceans under human care is illuminating just how dolphins are affected by human-made noise both in terms of their ability to cooperate as well as their ability to habituate to such noise. This research is providing granular detail to regulators assessing the problems associated with anthropogenic effects and is highlighting a role for behavior/cognition research in conservation.

The Impact Of Couple Minority Stress And Perceived Relationship Equity On Relationship Satisfaction Of Women In Same-Gender Relationships, Rebekah Malott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to test two hypotheses (H1: relationship satisfaction will mediate the relationship between perceived relationship equity and potential relationship dissolution in women in same-gender relationships. H2: Relationship satisfaction will mediate the relationship between perceived minority stressors and potential relationship dissolution in women in same-gender relationships). Participants who met the demographic profile and consented to the study were asked to complete five questionnaires: relationship equity (Kurdek, 1998), couple minority stress (Neilands et al., 2019), relationship satisfaction (Funk & Rogge, 2007), potential relationship dissolution, and demographics. The results showed that relationships satisfaction was a partial mediator between …

Peer Perceptions Of Parent-Students Seeking Higher Education, Alexandria Wall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With a growing number of parents pursuing academia, it is imperative that researchers understand the social environment in which parent-students function. Stereotypes of parent-students may be held by peers, faculty, and other educational supervisors. Across two previous independent studies, evidence and rationale were provided to suggest that both positive and negative perceptions of parent-students exist, with noted differences between gender. The purpose of the current 2x2x2 between-subjects study was to analyze the social perceptions of students enrolled in higher education as varied by parenthood status, age, and gender. The social perceptions included measures accounting for perceptions of intelligence and academic …

Differences In Resilience And Mental Health Symptoms Among Us First Responders With Secure And Insecure Attachment, Donna Schuman, James Whitworth, Jeanine Galusha, Jose Carbajal, Warren Ponder, Kathryn Shahan, Katelyn Jetelina

Faculty Publications

Objective: This observational study aimed to determine whether attachment style predicted first responders' mental health and resilience. Method: Data were from a treatment-seeking sample of first responders (N = 237). Each participant completed six assessments measuring attachment, resilience, generalized anxiety, depression, suicidality, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Results: On the attachment assessment, 25.3%were categorized as secure, 19.0%as dismissive, 25.3% as preoccupied, and 30.4% as fearfully attached. As predicted, securely attached participants had the lowest scores for generalized anxiety, depression, suicidality, and posttraumatic stress disorder and the highest scores on the resiliency measure, followed by dismissive, preoccupied, and fearfully …

Peer Perceptions Of Parent-Students Seeking Higher Education, Alexandria M. Wall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With a growing number of parents pursuing academia, it is imperative that researchers understand the social environment in which parent-students function. Stereotypes of parent-students may be held by peers, faculty, and other educational supervisors. Across two previous independent studies, evidence and rationale were provided to suggest that both positive and negative perceptions of parent-students exist, with noted differences between gender. The purpose of the current 2x2x2 between-subjects study was to analyze the social perceptions of students enrolled in higher education as varied by parenthood status, age, and gender. The social perceptions included measures accounting for perceptions of intelligence and academic …

University School Training Model Consultation Practica: Dismantling Anti-Black Racism With Predominately White Educators To Improve School, Family, Community Collaborations With Black Families And Community Stakeholders, Katherine L. Nelson, Joseph R. Morris

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

This article outlines a consultation case study facilitated in an urban elementary school through the University School Training Model (USTM) (Colles et al., 2019; Morris et al., 2016). The USTM is a collaboration between an APA accredited Counseling Psychology doctoral program and an urban school district to provide racially responsive counseling and consulting services and graduate level training. The case study details a consultation practica to improve school, family, and community collaborations in an urban elementary school with predominantly Black stakeholders and a predominantly White female school staff. The introduction, background, and self-evaluation of the consultation process are reviewed. Project …

In-Class Multitasking Among College Students, Huey-Wen Chou, Shuo-Heng Liang

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

The use of mobile devices in class has become a common scene on the college campus. The negative effects of in-class multitasking behaviors have been identified in many educational settings, including colleges. This study investigates the factors that drive college students to multitask and seeks to understand the relationship between learning engagement and multitasking behaviors in the classroom. This study also explores whether polychronic traits relate to multitasking behavior.

A total of 282 survey samples were collected from college students in Taiwan. The results confirmed our hypotheses: (1) Students’ multitasking motivation, including social and emotional needs, positively relates to their …

Rural Social Work Practice: Trauma-Focused Interventions Social Workers Use, Jose Carbajal

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

This research study examines rural social workers’ level of trauma knowledge and trauma treatment self-efficacy and the use of evidence-based interventions (CBT, TF-CBT, CPT, EMDR and PE). A retrospective design was used to examine Texas rural social workers’ use of evidence-based interventions. The Texas rural social worker sample (N=19) was extrapolated from a larger study (N=1007) conducted in 2014 examining Texas social workers’ trauma treatment and their use of evidence-based interventions. Descriptive and correlation statistical procedures were implemented to analyze the data for the current study. The results show social workers’ knowledge of trauma and treatment self-efficacy scores are above …

Are You Ready For Retirement? Retirement And Quality Of Life As Resources, Hyunsook Kang, Gina Causin, Mary Olle

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Abstract

Retirement in later life has been considered as an important aspect of life course, because it contributes in many ways to one’s life change, social relations updates, and health declines. Although aging brings with changes and declining all aspects of life, many older adults still remain in active after their retirement. This study will address about relationships between older adults’ retirement and its’ quality-of-life resource. Retirement, itself, may be associated with a loss of professional colleagues and work-related friends (Gloria et al, 2015). By contrast, growing numbers of older adults may maintain their active participation in social networks through …

A Quieter Ocean: Experimentally Derived Differences In Attentive Responses Of Tursiops Truncatus To Anthropogenic Noise Playbacks Before And During The Covid-19-Related Anthropause, Paige E. Stevens, Veda Allen, Jason N. Bruck

Faculty Publications

The effects of anthropogenic noise continue to threaten marine fauna, yet the impacts of human-produced sound on the broad aspects of cognition in marine mammals remain relatively understudied. The shutdown of non-essential activities due to the COVID-19-related anthropause created an opportunity to determine if reducing levels of oceanic anthropogenic noise on cetaceans affected processes of sensitization and habituation for common human-made sounds in an experimental setting. Dolphins at Dolphin Quest Bermuda were presented with three noises related to human activities (cruise ship, personal watercraft, and Navy low-frequency active sonar) both in 2018 and again during the anthropause in 2021 via …

The Effects Of Variations Of Victim Impact Statements On Juror Bias, Emily Sutton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Victim impact statements (VIS) are federally protected statements describing the physical, emotional, and financial impact of a crime on a victim. States can decide the content and timing of the VIS, resulting in much variation. Previous research has found an effect of these variations on mock juror bias in capital trials. The current study examined if variations such as changing the strength of emotion, crime type, and including sentencing recommendation within a VIS affects the judgements of mock jurors. The results showed the sexual assault VIS produced higher guilt ratings and longer sentences. Furthermore, the inclusion of a high sentencing …

Predictors Of Suicide And Differences In Attachment Styles And Resilience Among Treatment-Seeking First Responder Subtypes, Warren Ponder, Jose Carbajal, James Whitworth, Donna Schuman, Jeanine Galusha, R Andrew Yockey

Faculty Publications

Objective: To identify the predictors of suicide for firefighters (FFs), emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and law enforcement officers (LEOs). Methods: We used baseline data from FFs/EMTs (n = 69) and LEOs (n = 81) to investigate the unique predictors for both first-responder subtypes. We conducted confirmatory factor analysis on validated assessments of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.Measures of attachment, resilience, PTSD, depression, generalized anxiety, trauma history, and substance use were the independent variables in two backward stepwise regressions predicting suicide. Results: Substance use and somatic depression were significant predictors for LEOs, whereas affective depression, anhedonia, externalizing …

Affective Depression Mediates Ptsd To Suicide In A Sample Of Treatment-Seeking First Responders, James Whitworth, Jeanine Galusha, Jose Carbajal, Warren Ponder, Donna Schuman

Faculty Publications

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the associations of comorbid

posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), affective or somatic depression, and

suicide among first responders (FRs). Method: We used baseline data from

FRs (N = 232) who sought services at a nonprofit mental health agency specializing

in treating trauma exposed FRs. We conducted two PROCESS simple

mediation models with PTSD as the predictor, affective depression and somatic

depression as the mediators, and suicidality as the dependent variable.

Results: Affective depression significantly mediated the relationship between

PTSD and suicidality, whereas somatic depression did not. The direct effect …

Validation Of The Pcl-5, Phq-9, And Gad-7 In A Sample Of Veterans, Aazi Ahmadi, Warren Ponder, Jose Carbajal, Donna Schuman, James Whitworth, R Andrew Yockey, Jeanine Galusha

Faculty Publications

Objective: Veterans can present at nongovernment (Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs) mental health agencies with complex symptom constellations that frequently include posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and generalized anxiety. To date, no veteran study has validated these measures on a treatment-seeking sample of veterans outside the DoD and VA. Methods: We used a treatment-seeking sample of veterans (N = 493) to validate measures that assess these constructs (PTSD Checklist 5, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7). Results: The seven-factor posttraumatic stress disorder hybrid configuration was the best fit. The best fitting model of the depression …

Behavioral Skill Training: A Single-Case Meta-Analysis, Jaime Flowers, Jessica Cuitareo, Jillian Dawes Phd.

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Behavioral skills training (BST), is a commonly used training procedure in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) that is designed to improve teaching new and desirable behaviors or skills. Research has demonstrated that BST is effective for training a variety of skills. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the effectiveness of BST across age groups and training topics. Many of the published studies using BST are single-case designs. To evaluate these studies, a single-case meta-analysis was conducted which used percentage of non-overlapping data (PND), percentage of all overlapping data (PAND), and nonoverlap of all pairs (NAP). BST was found to …

The Effects Of Esports On Sport-Confidence And Imagery In Athletes, Kelton Mahon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the growing popularity of esports, athletes may be able to experience potential cognitive and performance-related benefits as a result of watching others play esports. In the current study, student athletes were randomly assigned to watch a sport esport video or a control esport video and then completed measures of sport-confidence and imagery. It was predicted that participants in the sport esport video group would score higher than the control esport video group in the cognitive efficiency and resilience aspects of sport-confidence, as well as the cognitive general, motivational general-mastery, and motivational general-arousal domains of imagery. The overall results did …

Predictors Of Student Knowledge Of Counselor Identity: Human Services & Related Mental Health Courses, Cortny Stark, Kylie Rogalla, Heather Cook, Joseph D. Wehrman

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Professional organizations and the field at large have made great strides towards solidifying the professional identities of mental health professionals. Despite these efforts, public knowledge of different types of helping professionals remains limited. Public understanding of helping professionals’ identities is critical to mental health literacy, and has a significant impact on health outcomes. Post-secondary education provides many students with exposure to information regarding types of helping professionals, and their scope of practice. This expansion study engages students completing college-level courses to clarify those variables that predict student knowledge and perceived scope of practice of a variety of counselors.

Faux-Flipping A Supportive Housing Training: Lessons From Pandemic Adaptations, Shelley K. Buchbinder, Emilie R. Banz

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Following March 2020 coronavirus closures, the Community Support Services training initiative for supportive housing providers transitioned to fully remote learning. Training remotely, the trainers developed a faux-flipped model of midtraining interactive video lectures alongside videoconferencing with time for active learning through interactions and activities. There were benefits to training remotely using a faux-flipped model, including increased participation, training retention, and self-evaluated knowledge. After improved training results, the faux-flipped recorded video lectures will remain in future training. The coauthors suggest additional research to elaborate the faux-flipped model and assess its impact on learning and engagement.

Autism Assessment In The Schools: A Review Of Rating Scales And Observation Systems., Jaime Flowers, Dallin Marr, Nina Ellis-Hervey, Trudy Georgio, Jessica Cuitareo

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

School psychologists are tasked with assessing students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). While not used alone, ASD measures can help practitioners make informed decisions regarding special education eligibility. The purpose of this paper is to review the psychometric strengths and weaknesses of the following measures: Autism Diagnostic Interview, Revised (ADI-R); Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2); Autism Spectrum Rating Scale (ASRS); Childhood Autism Rating Scale, Second Edition (CARS-2); and Gilliam Autism Rating Scale, Third Edition (GARS-3).

“Living In Trauma 24/7”: A Qualitative Exploration Of Factors Contributing To Secondary Traumatic Stress And Burnout Among Student Services Professionals Working With Marginalized Student Populations, Delia Sanchez, Portia A. Jackson Preston, Christine Vu, Lucia Alcala

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Higher education professionals are at risk of secondary traumatic stress (STS) as a result of supporting students experiencing trauma, while overwhelming workload, inadequate resources, and unclear role responsibilities may lead to burnout. This study explored contributing factors to STS and burnout and coping efforts among faculty, students, and staff working in a capacity in which they provide non-instructional support to programs or centers focusing on marginalized student populations. Participants (N=56) represented twenty-two U.S. regional universities, and were a subset of respondents to a larger mixed-methods study (n=559). Qualitative responses to three open-ended questions on challenges and coping efforts were analyzed …

Understanding Across The Senses: Cross-Modal Studies Of Cognition In Cetaceans, Jason N. Bruck, Adam A. Pack

Faculty Publications

Cross-modal approaches to the study of sensory perception, social recognition, cognition, and mental representation have proved fruitful in humans as well as in a variety of other species including toothed whales in revealing equivalencies that suggest that different sensory stimuli associated with objects or individuals may effectively evoke mental representations that are, respectively, object based or individual based. Building on established findings of structural equivalence in the form of spontaneous recognition of complex shapes across the modalities of echolocation and vision and behavior favoring identity echoic–visual cross-modal relationships over associative echoic–visual cross-modal relationships, examinations of transitive inference equivalencies from initially …

Cyberchondria And Covid-19 Health Threats Related To Attentional Bias And Safety Behaviors, Jacqueline J. Charles

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cyberchondria is described as excessively searching online for health information that ultimately increases worry and anxiety about one’s health (Starcevic et al., 2019). Research has demonstrated an increased attentional bias in anxious individuals for threat-related stimuli. Attentional bias for health information exacerbated by the frequent exposure to health threats during the COVID-19 pandemic may contribute to additional health-seeking behavior. The current study aimed to explore the potential relationship between COVID-19 health threats and cyberchondria level on attentional bias toward illness-related stimuli (symptom words) and the intent to perform safety behaviors while controlling for Trait Anxiety and Health Anxiety. Participants ( …