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Investigating The Behavioral Effects Of Juvenile Stress In The Prairie Vole Model, Marigny C. Normann

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Early life stress during the juvenile period, such as emotional neglect, interpersonal difficulties, or other forms of non-violent maltreatment can have consequences into adulthood. Specifically, the negative effects include increased risk of psychiatric or physical illnesses, social deficits, and maladaptive behavioral responses to stress. Since these effects have far-reaching implications that can negatively alter later behavior and physiology, the present study assessed the effects of early life social stress on later social and affective behaviors in a social rodent species – the prairie vole. The prairie vole displays behavioral, cardiovascular, and neuroendocrine responses to social stress similar to those of …

An Examination Of Nature Relatedness, Nature Exposure, And Quality Of Work-Life Among Student Affairs Professionals, Breanne Hiivala

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study explored the relationship with nature within the realm of career development. More specifically, it examined the relationship between nature relatedness, nature exposure, and quality of work-life among student affairs professionals. The participants identified as members of the American College and Personnel Association (n=275). A Pearson Product Moment Correlation Matrix (r) and a simple linear regression were used in this study. There were significant small correlations found between nature relatedness and quality of work-life variables such as home-work interface, job and career satisfaction, working conditions, and stress at work. Additionally, significant relationships were found between nature exposure and nature …

Gender Differences And Neurocognitive Function In Cocaine And Methamphetamine Addiction, Gwendolyn F. Royal-Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Cocaine and methamphetamine-addicted women are more likely to suffer from personal life traumas that lead to persistent and committed drug abuse. In addition to social-psychological problems associated with drug abuse are neuropsychological processes involving specific regions of the brain responsible for working memory, decision-making, and impulse control. Classical and operant conditioning theories of learning provide a paradigm foundation for this quantitative, correlational study that utilized archival data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). I analyzed a randomly selected sample of 186 adults who voluntarily participated in an eight week treatment program for cocaine and methamphetamine (MA) addiction. …

Experiences Of Ptsd Sufferers Who Participate In Internet-Based Virtual World Activities In Desktop Virtual Reality Environments, Colleen Margaret Crary

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Treatments for posttraumatic stress have remained largely static for 3 decades, resulting in low recovery rates, high degrees of retrogression, and noncompliance by patients, calling for new approaches for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of people with PTSD who participate in Desktop Virtual Reality Environments (DVREs). The research questions asked about the lived experiences of adults with PTSD who use the DVRE, and what they perceive as changes in their narratives about PTSD through their use of the DVRE. Twenty-three participants responded to a 10-item, open-ended questionnaire. Findings show that although each …

The Sustainability Knowledge, Attitude, And Behavior Differences Between Green And Non-Green University Students, Rebekah Hart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has shown that green schools and sustainability education (SE) can improve learning, health, attitudes, and behaviors. They can also model the necessary community, societal, and global changes needed for sustainable living. However, most students do not attend green schools or receive adequate SE. Limited peer-reviewed studies have also examined the sustainability knowledge, attitude, and behavior differences between green and non-green university student populations. The theoretical foundation of the study was based on the theories of planned behavior and social identity theory. In order to fill the research gap, 606 undergraduates and graduates from 265 U.S. accredited green and non-green …

Meat-Eating Justification And Relationship Closeness With Vegetarian Family, Friends, And Romantic Partners, Amy Vandehei

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Omnivores often respond negatively when friends, family members, or romantic partners disclose adoption of a vegetarian/vegan diet. Examining the beliefs behind these negative responses could result in improved relationships between omnivores and vegetarians. This study examined whether the beliefs omnivores hold to justify meat-eating are related to relationship closeness. The theory of planned behavior provided a foundation with which to examine the attitudes omnivores have about meat consumption. A survey was used with 190 omnivores with existing friend, family member, or romantic partner relationships who had become vegetarian/vegan. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the extent to which meat-eating …

Therapeutic Wilderness Experiences And Empathetic Perception Of At-Risk Adolescent Youth, Sandra Short-Robbins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Current research involving wilderness therapy (WT) programs indicates that therapeutic wilderness or outdoor interventions have increased in popularity as alternative approaches for treating at-risk or adjudicated adolescents. However, the role that empathetic perception plays in advancing the efficacy of WT intervention absent from the majority of extant literature. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to address a gap in research involving how empathetic perception may be affected by WT program participation. The conceptual framework for the project involved ecopsychology, a branch of science that addresses the connection between human beings and the natural world. Nine young adults between …

Therapeutic Wilderness Experiences And Empathetic Perception Of At-Risk Adolescent Youth, Sandra Short-Robbins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Current research involving wilderness therapy (WT) programs indicates that therapeutic wilderness or outdoor interventions have increased in popularity as alternative approaches for treating at-risk or adjudicated adolescents. However, the role that empathetic perception plays in advancing the efficacy of WT intervention absent from the majority of extant literature. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to address a gap in research involving how empathetic perception may be affected by WT program participation. The conceptual framework for the project involved ecopsychology, a branch of science that addresses the connection between human beings and the natural world. Nine young adults between …

Military Veteran Students Transition To Academic Life With Ptsd, Trauma, And Potential For Freezing Response., Alicia Marie Erchul

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study is the first known research to investigate the association of the freezing response with PTSD and traumatic stress in the military veteran student population. Current understanding of the freezing response are primarily based in comparative psychology, with some studies extending to human participants (Azevedo et al., 2005; Facchinetti et al., 2006; Hagenaars et al., 2012; Volchan et al., 2017). Models generally agree that the freezing response consists of reduced body sway with decreased heart rate (Porges, 2003, 2007; Hagenaars et al., 2014).

Thirty-eight military veteran students (n=38; 18 female; 20 male) with ages ranged from 19 to …

Exploring The Relationship Between Diversity Training And Counselor Competence In Working With Cisgender Men Wearing Makeup, Brandi Velasquez Nash

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The concepts of gender and sexuality within counselor diversity training continue to expand and change over time; therefore, it is essential that mental health professionals are knowledgeable of the challenges faced by gender nonconforming (GNC) individuals, specifically cisgender men who wear makeup. This includes being aware of the biases and stigmas that GNC individuals face and understanding how those barriers affect their mental health.

Elements that are applicable to this population include: (a) the historical significance and implications of cisgender men who wear makeup, (b) social media platforms where cisgender men showcase their makeup skills, (c) cultural experiences of GNC …

An Examination Of Social Connectedness On Ptsd And Freezing In A Student Military Population, Jessica Marie Ledwith

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the impact of social connectedness (SC) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a military college population, and their relation to physiological measures such as body sway, heart rate (HR), and heat rate variability (HRV). According to previous research, people with PTSD are more likely to exhibit a freezing response to affective images. In the present study, we explore the potential freezing response for military personnel at the levels of PTSD symptom groups and social connectedness. We also investigate the possible buffering effect social connectedness has on the outcome of PTSD and freezing. There was a total of …

Life In A Harsh Environment: The Effects Of Age, Sex, Reproductive Condition, And Season On Hair Cortisol Concentration In A Wild Non-Human Primate, P. A. Garber, A. Mckenney, Evelyn Elizabeth Bartling-John, J. C. Bicca-Marques, M. F. De La Fuente, F. Abreu, N. Schiel, A. Souto, Kimberley A. Phillips

Psychology Faculty Research

Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) provides a long-term retrospective measure of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity, and is increasingly used to assess the life history, health and ecology of wild mammals. Given that sex, age, season and pregnancy influence HCC, and that it may indicate ongoing stress, we examined HCC in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) naturally inhabiting a hot and dry semi-desert like habitat, Caatinga, in northeastern Brazil. We trapped, measured, weighed, marked and collected shaved hair from the back of the neck of 61 wild marmosets during the wet and dry seasons. Using enzyme immunoassay, we found that HCC was …

Food Insecurity And Eating Disorders: A Review Of Emerging Evidence, V. M. Hazzard, K. A. Loth, L. Hooper, Carolyn Black Becker

Psychology Faculty Research

Purpose of Review: This review summarizes emerging evidence for the relationship between food insecurity and eating disorder (ED) pathology, outlines priorities for future research in this area, and comments on considerations for clinical and public health practice.

Recent Findings: Among adults, food insecurity is cross-sectionally associated with higher levels of overall ED pathology, binge eating, compensatory behaviors, binge-eating disorder, and bulimia nervosa. Evidence for similar relationships among adolescents has been less robust; however, compared to studies of adults, there have been substantially fewer studies conducted in adolescents to date.

Summary: Emerging evidence consistently indicates that food insecurity …

The Framing Of Recycling Information Toward Behavioral Intention, Perla Celeste Perez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Most studies have measured the relationship between self-reported recycling behavior and attitudes. Very little research has focused on how the framing of recycling information moderates this relationship. Moreover, even less research has examined how communication messages directly impacts self-efficacy of recycling. Thus, the aim of this study is to further understand factors that influence self-reported recycling behavioral intention and information framing. We predicted that pro-environmental behavior would be positively associated with climate change beliefs and recycling efficacy. We also predicted that individuals that read a positive recycling article would be more likely to intend to recycle than individuals who read …

Examining The Role Of Perceptual Biases In Health Care Utilization Among Adults, Sandra L. Oviedo Ramirez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A large body of literature has identified significant racial and ethnic disparities in health care and health outcomes. In an effort to gain an understanding of how to achieve health equity, it is crucial that we broaden our search for factors beyond access factors that may explain these observed disparities. The present study examined how cultural differences related to attention (context vs. focal) and attribution (internal vs. external) influence individuals' propensity to identify symptoms as potential markers of poor health, and ultimately, report less utilization of professional health care services. Using a community sample of 252 (n = 134 Latinos …

Cultural Constructions Of Sexual Relationships Between Female Teachers And Male Students, Tessa M. Palmer

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

While examples of sexual relationships between male high school teachers and female students have been historically prominent, relationships wherein the respective genders are reversed have received increased attention. Research on perceptions of sexual relationships between female high school teachers and their male students has focused primarily on the perceived differences between these relationships and those between male high school teachers and their female students. To explain the effect that gender appears to have on the perceptions of sexual relationships between female high school teachers and their male students, much of the literature has pointed to cultural constructions of gender, which …

Ketamine Pre-Exposure Does Not Influence Later-Life Responses To Reward-Related Stimuli In Female C57bl/6 Mice, Israel Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Preclinical work indicates that exposure to traditional antidepressant medications, in adolescent and adult female subjects, alters reward-related behavior later in life. In recent years, the anesthetic ketamine (KET), now used as a fast-acting antidepressant, has shown promising therapeutic efficacy for the management of depression. However, the potential long-term behavioral consequences of KET exposure across development have not been thoroughly assessed. Thus, to address this issue, we examined if KET exposure, during adolescence or early adulthood, results in enduring alterations in responsivity to the rewarding properties of sucrose and cocaine later in life. Specifically, female C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to …

The Midsession Reversal Task With Pigeons: Effects Of A Brief Delay Between Choice And Reinforcement, Megan Ashley Halloran

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

During a midsession reversal task, the session begins with a simple simultaneous discrimination in which one stimulus (S1) is correct and the alternate stimulus (S2) is incorrect (S1+/S2-). At the halfway point, the discrimination reverses and S2 becomes the correct choice (S2+/S1-). When choosing optimally, a pigeon should choose S1 until the first trial in which it is not reinforced and then shift to S2 (win-stay/lose-shift). With this task pigeons have been shown to respond suboptimally by anticipating the reversal (anticipatory errors) and continuing to choose S1 after the reversal (perseverative errors). This suboptimal behavior may result from a pigeon’s …

Elementary School Children’S Understanding Of Disproportionate Discipline, Sharla D. Biefeld

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

In the U.S. Black students, particularly Black boys, receive more out of school punishments, are punished more frequently, and are punished for more subjective behaviors than their White peers (Skiba, Michael, Nardo, & Peterson, 2002). This phenomenon is referred to as disproportionate discipline and is an early precursor to the disproportionate number of Black men and boys incarcerated in the U.S. Disproportionate discipline begins as early as preschool, and continues throughout elementary, middle, and high school (Gregory & Fergus, 2017). Perceptions of discrimination greatly impact children’s school involvement, school belonging, and educational outcomes (Brown, 2017, for review). However, little is …

Attentional Control In Infancy: The Role Of Sociodemographic Risk, Cortisol, And The Home Environment, Hannah B. White

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Infants’ ability to channel their cognitive resources by controlling their visual attention allows them to be active agents in their learning and development. Individual differences in attentional control have been linked to a wide variety of developmental outcomes including disparities between social classes in cognitive functioning. However, it is yet unknown when in development differences in attentional control related to sociodemographic factors emerge, or how factors of the home environment and the infant’s stress response relate to this effect. Accordingly, Experiment 1 examined whether certain sociodemographic factors, such as socioeconomic and minority status, predict 3.5-month-old infants’ (N = 102) …

Ethanol Sustains Phosphorylated Tau Protein Immunofluorescence In The Cultured Neonatal Rat Hippocampus: Implications For Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, Caleb Seth Bailey

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs) are comprised of developmental, behavioral, and cognitive abnormalities caused by prenatal alcohol exposure, affecting an estimated 2%-5% of childrenand costing up to $4 billion annually in the United States alone. Although some behavioral therapies can help, the biochemical mechanisms that underpin FASDs need further elucidation for development of more efficacious therapeutics. The tau protein modulates cytoskeletal structure in neurons, and thereby plays an integral role in proper development and function of the central nervous system, but its function is altered by its phosphorylation state, such that increased phosphorylation reduces tau protein function. The tau protein …

Dietary Intake And Executive Function In Youth And Emerging Adulthood: Environmental Correlates And Developmental Considerations, Amy Michelle Egbert

Dissertations

Obesity is a major public health concern impacting one in five young people in the U.S., and research suggests that consumption of high calorie, low nutrient foods may play a role in weight gain. Executive function (EF) has emerged as a factor that may play a role in dietary intake across youth development. Although biopsychosocial models of obesity emphasize the importance of identifying individual and environmental influences that may be associated with poor dietary intake, empirical research in this area is lacking. Therefore, the current set of studies seeks to 1) systematically review the literature on the association between EF …

Spaced Training In The 5csrtt Proves Beneficial In Early Levels, Rebecca Renee Warren

Senior Independent Study Theses

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattentiveness, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Due to these characterizations, children with ADHD typically exhibit lower academic performance which has been improved by spacing out academic training. Yet no study has performed spacing in an ADHD population. Spaced training involves studying over short periods for multiple days rather than multiple hours in one day, or massed training. Using a rat model of ADHD, known as the SHR strain, the present study assessed how spacing training from 90-trials a day to 45-trials a day in the 5CSRTT would improve performance abilities. Additionally, the impact of spaced …

Black Women And Body Image: Implications Of The Racialized Beauty Aesthetic, Rachel L. Boutte

Theses and Dissertations

Black women have the highest prevalence of overweight and obesity relative to any other demographic group in the United States, however current weight management interventions appear least effective for them. Although several hypotheses have been proposed to explain these outcomes, few studies have collected data to evaluate how well they fit the lived experiences of Black women. In particular, the potential roles of body image and body dissatisfaction in the development and maintenance of overweight and obesity in Black women are not well understood. Extant literature largely reports that Black women are inoculated from body dissatisfaction due to cultural factors, …

Differential Identification Of Hyperacusis And Misophonia: Implications Of Discrete Decreased Sound Tolerance (Dst) Condition Subtypes, Rachel E. Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

Hyperacusis and misophonia are two conditions of decreased sound tolerance (DST) studied in the psychological literature due to their association with psychological symptoms and mechanisms. DSTs are differentiated from normal sound sensitivity due to the reported impairment and distress individuals experience. Researchers suggest that DSTs are differentiated by types of sounds and emotional reactions elicited, such that hyperacusis is a fear and pain response to ordinary environmental sounds perceived as uncomfortably loud, and misophonia is an anger and disgust response to human-made sounds, but these distinctions, and associated characteristics, have not been empirically demonstrated. Undergraduate students (N = 1572) …

Mand Training And Prompt Fading: Teaching Yes-No Manding, Jessica M. Kelly

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Language is a collection of verbal skills which allows the speaker to have some control over how others interact with them. Saying the words “yes” and “no” are fundamental language abilities; The words impact the speaker’s environment by communicating acceptance or rejection of stimuli and experiences. Caregivers, teachers, and friends may have to make choices for an individual who cannot respond to yes-no questions. This skill deficit deprives the individual of autonomy and can lead to challenging behaviors occurring in place of clear communication. Applied Behavior Analysis offers techniques to teach language skills such as saying “yes” and “no” in …

Understanding The Comorbidity Of Asthma And Anxiety In Childhood: Characteristics, Vulnerabilities, And Treatment Implications, Nicole Fleischer

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study examined potential differences in youth (aged 7-17 years, 76% Caucasian, 52% female) with comorbid asthma and anxiety compared to youth with anxiety without asthma who received cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) alone, pharmacotherapy alone, the combination of pharmacotherapy or placebo pill in the Child/Adolescent Multimodal Study. Two groups were compared on negative self-talk; number of physical symptoms; parental anxiety; content of their worries; and presence of panic, generalized anxiety, and separation anxiety disorders across treatment conditions. Findings indicated that youth with asthma and anxiety were more likely to exhibit higher rates of negative self-talk than youth without asthma, possibly related …

Examining Optimism And Caregiver Strain In Parents With Youth And Young Adults Diagnosed With Anxiety And Unipolar Mood Disorders, Jennifer M. Gross

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

An anonymous online survey investigated optimism and caregiver strain in parents of youth and young adults diagnosed with anxiety and unipolar depression. Caregiver strain is a

well-researched phenomenon where the experience of parenting youth with serious psychological disorders has a potentially negative impact on parents and caregivers. Optimism is a trait that confers resiliency and improved coping to the individual. The relationship between caregiver strain and optimism is not well understood. This inquiry utilized the Caregiver Strain Questionnaire (CGSQ) to measure caregiver strain and the Life Orientation Test, Revised

(LOT-R) to measure optimism. Participants endorsed significantly higher scores on the …

Association Between Exposure To Air Pollution And Thalamus Volume In Adults: A Crosssectional Study, Bruce L. Brown, Dawson W. Hedges, Lance D. Erickson, Shawn D. Gale, Jacqueline E. Anderson

Faculty Publications

Background: Air pollution has been associated with cognitive function and brain volume. While most previous research has examined the association between air pollution and brain volume in cortical structures or total brain volume, less research has investigated associations between exposure to air pollution and subcortical structures, including the thalamus. Further, the few available previous studies investigating associations between air pollution and thalamic volume have shown mixed results.

Methods: In this study, we evaluated the association between PM2.5, PM2.5–10, PM10, nitrogen dioxide, and nitrogen oxides and volume of the thalamus in adults using the UK Biobank resource, a large community-based sample, …

Biology Of Binge Eating Related Disorders And Proposal For Integration Into Treatment, Karlyne Morawe

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

The concerningly low recovery and high cross over rates of eating disorders with binge eating behaviors suggests there might be a missing element in current treatment approaches commonly used to address eating disorders. Research supports the existence of significant biological correlation between disorders that are characterized by binge eating behaviors. This paper examines some of the biological processes in which these disorders show the most significant correlations. These include the organism’s response to caloric restriction, the brain’s response to feeding, the biological drive for reproduction, sensory association to feeding, and habituated responding to the feeding process. Additionally, we will explore …