Psychology Commons^™

The Impact Of The Gut-Brain Axis On Alzheimer’S Disease, Elissa Wakim

Best Integrated Writing

Elissa’s review for the Graduate Biomedical Review focuses on the links between the gastrointestinal tract and the brain; the gut-brain axis and the development of Alzheimer’s disease. As a student in the Microbiology and Immunology Masters Program Elissa was particularly interested in the gut microbiota and their connection to neurodegenerative disease. She tidily reviewed the literature and wrote a fascinating and compelling piece of work.

Best Integrated Writing 2024 - Complete Edition, Wright State University School Of Humanities And Cultural Studies

Best Integrated Writing

Best Integrated Writing includes excellent student writing from Integrated Writing courses taught at Wright State University. This is the first issue after a 5 year hiatus.

Development Of An Integrated Well-Being Scale For Japan, Kyoko Shimada, Masayuki Kiriu

Japanese Society and Culture

Background: Although multiple scales related to well-being have been developed mainly in Western countries, it is important to consider Japanese cultural and historical elements when considering the concept of well-being in Japan. This study attempted to develop an integrated scale that considers Japanese cultural elements and characteristics.

Methods: As a preliminary survey, several Western made well-being scales were evaluated and 2 scales had factor structures that were generally as expected. Therefore, including these 2 scales, a total of 54 items (40 new items that represent characteristics that are important to Japanese) were added as integrated scales in the main analysis. …

Buffering Effects Of Negative Intergroup Contact Through Complex Social Identities, Liora Morhayim

Masters Theses

Although negative intergroup contact occurs less frequently than positive contact, negative contact can more strongly influence outgroup attitudes and behaviors due to the effect of category salience in the generalization process. The present study (N =306) tests whether being aware of an outgroup member’s complex social identity will serve as a buffer against the adverse impact of a negative intergroup contact experience on outgroup attitudes. In a 3X2 between-subjects design, social identity complexity (SIC) of an outgroup confederate (high versus low versus control) and the valence of contact (neutral versus negative) were manipulated. Participants interacted with an outgroup confederate …

Structural Racism, Black Out-Group Preference, And Mental Health, Alexander J. Kellogg

Masters Theses

Structural racism has increasingly been implicated as a root cause of racial disparities in health and well-being. Specifically, areas where White Americans hold more negative attitudes toward Black Americans have been associated with both anti-Black discrimination and poorer Black physical and mental health. However, previous research has relied on cross-sectional designs and has neglected the potential effects of Black community-level attitudes on mental health. We hypothesized that higher aggregate pro-White bias among White Americans would be associated with higher implicit out-group preference among Black residents living in the same communities, above and beyond the effects of traditional measures of structural …

A Legacy Of Feminism And Advocacy: An Interview With Dr. Lenore Walker, Brandi Diaz

Trauma Counseling and Resilience

Dr. Lenore Walker is a pioneer in feminism and trauma counseling. Her contribution to these fields is vast, including topics of gender violence, battered woman syndrome, child abuse and trauma, false confessions of battered women, sex and human trafficking, and psychology and the law. Her theories and conceptualizations have shaped how providers approach trauma-informed care and the assessment of trauma survivors. Moreover, her work has spanned a variety of functions such as a clinician, researcher, educator, advocate, leader, consultant, and mentor. For the purposes of this article, Dr. Walker engaged in an interview to discuss her career, contributions, legacy, and …

Differences In Drinking Patterns In Graduate Students Based On Degree Type, Faith Shank

Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Fellow Symposium

Graduate school is accompanied by high levels of stress, as students are faced with various responsibilities (El-Ghoroury et al., 2012; Offstein et al., 2004). However, many graduate students have barriers to mental health services, resulting in the use of maladaptive coping mechanisms, specifically alcohol use (Ayala et al., 2017). Related, professional doctoral students (e.g., MD, OD, JD) tend to engage in problematic drinking, with a range of 33-50% drinking heavily (Organ et al., 2016; Waring et al., 1984). There is limited research examining the drinking patterns of students enrolled in different types of programs. We aimed to examine differences in …

Black Boys Om: A Case Study Of The Impacts Of Community And Culture On Wellness Practices, Khanh Pham

Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Fellow Symposium

Black men continue to face health disparities due to systemic oppression. Research indicates that mind-body-spirit practices (MBSPs) can effectively improve mental and physical health, thereby reducing health disparities among Black men. However, MBSPs are often White-female-dominated practices, thus putting Black male practitioners at continued risks of under-representation and marginalization in MBSP spaces. The culturally specific nature of MBSP spaces may then be an important factor in MBSPs’ influence on Black men’s health. Therefore, we aimed to explore how culturally specific MBSP spaces impact Black male practitioners’ MBSPs. We collaborated with Black Boys OM (BBO), a global community of Black male …

Repetitive Negative Thinking As A Prospective Predictor Of Depression And Anxiety Symptoms In Autistic And Non-Autistic Incoming College Students, Erin Kckenney

Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Fellow Symposium

Background: Improving the understanding and treatment of mental health concerns, including depression and anxiety, are significant priorities for autistic adults (Benevides et al., 2020; Crane et al., 2019; Pellicano et al., 2014). While several theories have been proposed to explain the high prevalence of internalizing symptoms in autistic people, little longitudinal research has been done to investigate potential causal mechanisms. One potentially fruitful area of investigation is to explore how well-known contributors to depression/anxiety in the general population predict and/or moderate the development of internalizing symptoms in autistic individuals. Objectives: The current study investigates the relation of one established risk …

Associations Between Early Childhood Sleep, Memory Function, And Brain Development Across The Nap Transition, Sanna Lokhandwala

Doctoral Dissertations

Preschool-age children often distribute their sleep across a midday nap and overnight sleep. Skipping the nap is suggested to increase the duration and depth of deep sleep (i.e., slow wave activity; SWA). Moreover, missing the midday nap has been shown to impair learning processes. This may be because children’s brains at this point in development are immature, necessitating the intervening nap period to strengthen memories before they are forgotten. Nonetheless, at some point during the preschool years, many children begin transitioning naturally out of napping. It is unclear whether the memory benefits of overnight SWA after a skipped nap depend …

Rehabilitation Counselor Interventions On Parental-Disability Acceptance, James Samuel Rothrock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Death Anxiety And Its Relationship To Social Support Among A Sample Of Elderly People "A Field Study On A Sample Of The Elderly In The Lebanese Beqaa Governorate". قلق الموت وعلاقته بالمساندة الاجتماعية لدى عينة من المسنين د ا رسة ميدانية على عينة من المسنين في محافظة البقاع اللبنانية, Nidal Muhammad Murtada

Association of Arab Universities Journal for Education and Psychology

The research aimed to identify the relationship between death anxiety and its relationship to social support among a sample of elderly people. To detect the differences in death anxiety and social support according to the variable of gender, the researcher relied on the descriptive analytical approach. The research sample consisted of (94) elderly men and women in Beqaa- Lebanon.To achieve the objectives of the research, the death anxiety scale was used. According to Templar, and the social support scale prepared by Spender, 1982.The following results were reached: The level of death anxiety among the members of the research sample was …

The Lived Experience Of Family Stress In Partners Of Firefighters During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kimberley A. Giannini

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Oral Microbiota In Periodontitis And Alzheimer's Disease, Noah Al-Hassan, Taha Al Hassan, Juan C. Lopez-Alvarenga, Maria Quinones, Seratna Guadarrama

Research Symposium

Background: Periodontal disease (PD), affecting 20-50% of the global population is marked by biofilm-induced inflammation in oral tissues. Chronic PD results in systemic complications such as heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer's. The red complex microbes, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Treponema denticola, play a pivotal role, penetrating the blood-brain barrier and contributing to neurodegeneration. Alzheimer's disease (AD), an irreversible neurodegenerative disorder, is linked to abnormal protein cleavage and potentially involves microbiologic components, including gram-positive cocci. Research suggests the presence of bacteria such as Porphyromonas, Actinomyces, and Treponema in autopsied AD brains. Investigating the microbiologic connection between PD and AD is crucial, considering …

The Role Of Age And Biological Sex On Short-Term Memory In The Syrian Hamster (Mesocricetus Auratus), Laura E. Garcia, Mario Gil

Research Symposium

Background: Aging plays an important role in cognitive function, memory, and mental health. As we age, some cognitive functions become weaker. Aging is also a critical risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. With recent advances seen in public health, humans are living longer years. This makes it a challenge to make those added years healthy. For this reason, it is important to continue studying its effects by using, the Syrian hamster, as a model. The purpose of the study is to identify other factors that might also have a role in short-term memory, besides aging.

Methods: All behavioral …

[Discussions] Vol. 19 Iss. 1

Discussions

This issue of Discussions was published for the Spring 2023 cycle.

Review Of The Safety And Efficacy Of Trauma-Focused Treatment Among Patients With Psychosis, Mary Eggers

Discussions

Among people who experience psychosis, many have comorbid post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that is frequently undiagnosed and untreated. Symptoms have long-term implications, such as hallucinations, posttraumatic intrusions, and an increased risk of physical health conditions, like heart disease and respiratory issues. Many clinicians believe that diagnosing and treating PTSD in this population will be dangerous, so these patients are often excluded from trauma-focused treatment based on their psychosis symptoms. This paper will review current data regarding the rates of undiagnosed PTSD among this population as well as the safety and efficacy of treatment options. PubMed was used to identify …

Shades Of Identity: Exploring The Impact Of Skin Tone, Gender, And Racial Identity On Self-Esteem In African American Emerging Adults, Aniya Terry, Nataria T. Joseph

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Background: Society has made it difficult for people of all backgrounds to be confident in themselves and their racial identity. For African American there are several underlying issues that impact self esteem. Research has found that lighter skin colored African Americans tend to exhibit stronger racial identity, and that darker skin individuals more satisfied with their skin color actually had lower self-esteem (Coard et al, 2006). Given the past research, a study considering skin tone color, gender, and momentary racial identity in regards to self esteem in African American emerging adults was proposed to address the lack of research on …

The Effect Of Study Music Tempo On Short Term Memory Retention In Reading And Verbal Comprehension, Payton Ballinger

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

This study experimentally investigated the effect of background music on retention as it relates to short term memory. Eighty undergraduate participants from various fields of study at Pepperdine University were randomly assigned to either listen to or read a preselected passage while listening to preselected excerpts of fast or slow tempo music. All participants were then asked to complete a 10 question test covering the material presented. There was a main effect specifically for music tempo in that participants who were exposed to background music at a slower speed while either reading or listening to a passage scored higher on …

Mindset, Virtue Signaling And Volunteering, Corinne Novell, Steven Bauer, Alice Labban, Yingfan Zhu

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Virtue signaling, or publicly showing off one’s good character or actions to others, has been studied in many contexts. This research expands on previous work and focuses on investigating the impact of fixed vs. growth mindsets on virtue signaling in a volunteering context. Mindsets, in the context of this research, are the beliefs people hold about the consistency of human’s personality as well as their moral characteristics. We hypothesize that given the different goal orientations of people with growth vs. fixed mindsets, the impact of obligatory virtue signaling on volunteer behavior will be stronger among people with a growth (vs. …