Community Psychology Commons^™

Breaking The Cycle: A Longitudinal Study Of Factors That Disrupt Peer Selection And Influence Processes Among Urban Youth, Kelly E. Oconnor

Theses and Dissertations

Having friends who engage in problem behavior (i.e., aggression, substance use, delinquency) has consistently been linked to adolescents’ own engagement in problem behavior. There are, however, several key gaps in the literature on peer influence. Few studies have considered the influence of friends’ prosocial behavior and there has been limited research to identify promotive factors that influence urban youths’ affiliation with peers who engage in problem and prosocial behavior across early adolescence, a time of heightened susceptibility to peer influence. The purpose of this study was to identify modifiable promotive factors that reduce adolescents’ problem behavior by decreasing exposure to …

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 …

Alcohol Use Subgroups Among Rural Middle School Students: The Impact Of Community Violence Exposure, Courtney B. Dunn

Theses and Dissertations

A substantial portion of early adolescents initiate alcohol use. This represents a significant public health concern due to its association with a variety of adverse consequences. Although person-centered analytic approaches such as latent class analysis have been used to describe heterogeneity in adolescents’ alcohol use, most prior studies have focused on high school or older samples. This may obscure patterns of alcohol use that emerge during early adolescence. The current study identified and described subgroups of adolescents based on their alcohol use in a racially diverse sample of rural middle school students. Because research and theory indicate that exposure to …