Psychology Commons^™

Pressing Issues In College Counseling: A Survey Of American College Counseling Association Members, Timothy B. Smith, Brenda Dean, Suzanne Floyd, Christopher Silva, Momoko Yamashita, Jared Durtschi, Richard A. Heaps

Faculty Publications

The authors conducted a survey of members of the American College Counseling Association to ascertain the experiences and opinions of college counselors on several pressing issues within the profession. Survey results with 133 respondents indicated that counseling centers may benefit from increasing the number of group counseling interventions, by increasing the multicultural competence of services provided, by implementing crisis/disaster mental health initiatives, and by more effectively consulting with other professionals across campus.

An Examination Of The Relationships Between Social Anxiety Dimensions And Alcohol-Related Outcomes: The Mediating Role Of Drinking Context, Margo Cooley Villarosa

Dissertations

The problematic drinking patterns of the college student population has elicited a campus-wide initiative to promote effective prevention and intervention efforts to reduce the range of associated academic, physical, and psychosocial consequences. Identifying those college students at greater risk for developing an alcohol use disorder informs student life personnel of ways to tailor efforts to ensure effective, healthy changes. Students with social anxiety pose a particular risk for developing problematic drinking patterns because of their heightened focus on how they are viewed by others in social situations coupled with drinking being viewed as a normative behavior. Because these students’ anxiety …

Alcohol Use, Drinking Motivations, And Depression Among College Students: The Roles Of Sociotropy And Autonomy, Cameron P. Pugach

Student Theses

Sociotropy and autonomy are two cognitive personality dimensions, or personality styles, that have been implicated in the way individuals may uniquely develop, experience, and respond to treatment for depression. The goal of the current study was to investigate whether these cognitive personality dimensions are differentially related to drinking motivations and alcohol-related behaviors among college students. Participants included 311 college students (M_age = 23.1, 63% male) recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Results partially supported hypothesized relationships showing that generally, those higher in sociotropy were more likely to endorse external motivations for drinking (i.e. social and conformity motives), while those …

Social Anxiety Disorder In College Students And Its Differing Treatments, Taylor Hubbert

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

• Approximately one in six College Students report having anxiety or being treated for anxiety
• Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is defined as anxiety that is caused by social experiences, and an individuals fear/ phobia of social situations
• Research available to us on Social Anxiety Disorder is extensive. This review examined the symptomology and prevalence of SAD, and compared both individual therapy and group therapy as treatments for college students.

Ruminative Exploration In Late Adolescence And Its Relationship To Depression, Self-Esteem, And Parental Autonomy Support, Kelsey A. Redmayne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ruminative exploration is considered a maladaptive dimension of identity development that appears to be at its highest during emerging adulthood (Luyckx, Klimstra, Duriez, Petergem, & Beyers, 2013a). Previous studies have assessed the relationship between ruminative exploration and well-being in populations in Dutch speaking populations of university students in Belgium (Luyckx, Gossens, & Soenens, 2006a; Luyckx, Gossens, Soenens, & Beyers, 2006b; Luyckx et al., 2007a; Luyckx et al., 2008; Luyckx et al., 2013a). Following the Dutch research, it was predicted that ruminative exploration will be positively correlated with symptoms of depression and low self-esteem among US college students. Beyond replicating the …

Adhd Symptomology And Prescription Stimulant Misuse In College Students, Kelsey L. Manfredi, Lisa Weyandt Phd, Shannon May

Senior Honors Projects

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurological disorder characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention. These symptoms result in impairments for individuals across multiple settings and are developmentally inappropriate. While common during childhood, symptoms have been shown to persist into adulthood for 50% or more of those diagnosed before reaching age 18. Although prescription stimulants have been shown to benefit those with ADHD, increased popularity of prescription stimulant misuse among those without ADHD has been reported, despite the potentially harmful side effects that may accompany this use. Specifically, nonmedical use of prescription stimulants during adolescence led to increased …

Extrinsic/Intrinsic Religious Orientation: A Moderator Between Religiosity And Prejudice In Christian And Muslim College Students, Brian Vazquez, Kelly Mcclure

Undergraduate Research

This cross-sectional correlational study examines the extrinsic/intrinsic features of religiosity and their relevance to prejudiced attitudes about homosexuality in Christian and Muslim college students. The main research question is whether extrinsic/intrinsic religious orientation in Christian and Muslim college students moderates the relationship between religiosity and prejudice against homosexual individuals. We hypothesized a correlation between centrality of religiosity and attitudes towards homosexuals, and extrinsic/intrinsic religious orientation as a moderator in the relationship. We have a sample of 84 participants who completed the self-report questionnaire through Qualtrics. Our findings indicate that, as a whole, our sample is religious, holding favorable attitudes toward …

Symptoms Of Anxiety And Depression And Suicidal Behavior In College Students: Conditional Indirect Effects Of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury And Self-Compassion, Andrea R. Kaniuka

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Young adults of college age are at particular risk for psychopathology, non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and consequent suicidal behavior, perhaps in a continuum of increasing severity. However, not all persons who experience psychopathological symptoms, or who self-harm, go on to engage in suicidal behavior, perhaps due to protective factors such as self-compassion that buffer this progression. We examined the mediating effect of NSSI on the relation between anxiety/depressive symptoms and suicide risk, and the moderating role of self-compassion on these linkages. Our collegiate sample (N=338) completed: Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Self-Harm Inventory, Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire-Revised, and the Self-Compassion Scale. …

Associations Between Financial Avoidance, Emotional Distress, And Relationship Conflict Frequency In Emerging Adults In College, Josh R. Novak, Rhees R. Johnson

Journal of Financial Therapy

Some research shows that college students are not aware of their financial situation and even avoid engaging with their finances. Research has yet to investigate how this financial avoidance is associated with emotional and relational health for college students in romantic relationships. As such, the purpose of this study was to identify the associations between financial avoidance and conflict frequency. Emotional distress was included as a possible mediator of the association. Results revealed that for both men and women, higher financial avoidance was indirectly associated with increased conflict frequency with their partner through increased emotional distress. A direct association was …

The Effect Of Social Media On College Students' Descriptive Norms Of And Intentions To Engage In Risky Sexual Behaviors, Gabrielle Groth Hoover

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Risky sexual behavior (RSB; i.e., behavior that increases the risk of contracting an STI and/or unplanned pregnancy) is common on college campuses and poses serious health risks to students. Yet, little research has examined the factors impacting students’ engagement in RSB. The current study examined the role of gender and social media in college students’ peer norms of and intentions to engage in RSB. An experimental design was used in which participants were exposed to one of four conditions (i.e., neutral or RSB content, within and without a social media platform) and then asked to report on peer norms of …

Cyberbullying: Exploration Of Impact Of Loneliness And Prior Experience On Psychological Distress, Amy Marie Beel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the potential role of loneliness as a mediator in the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and perpetration and psychological distress in a sample of college-age students. It was also hypothesized that prior history of traditional bullying involvement in childhood would moderate the impact of loneliness as a mediator of the relationship between cyberbullying and loneliness. University of Mississippi students (n = 372), primarily females of European descent participated in an online survey. Participants completed measures assessing loneliness, cyberbullying involvement, psychological distress, and past traditional bullying involvement. Few participants reported a history of traditional bullying. As such, a mediation …

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 …