Digital Commons Network^™

An Examination Of Cumulative Exposure To Potentially Traumatic Events And Identity Distress In Emerging Adults: The Influence Of Life Stressors, Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, And Event Centrality, Kane Richard Vest

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Plentiful research has been conducted to examine the negative outcomes of exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs). Together, findings have indicated that certain exposures increase the risk of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and adjustment problems in children, teens, and young adults. However, few studies have specifically focused on the influence of such experiences on the development of identity distress in emerging adults, and even fewer have examined such influence in the context of exposure to multiple potentially traumatic events. Exposure to natural hazards such as the COVID-19 pandemic and hurricanes is known to impact economic, social, and educational outcomes, but …

Interaction Effects Between Mentorship And Leadership Style On Employee Well-Being, Job Satisfaction, And Intent To Stay, Thomas M. Tostado

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Companies are realizing the powerful impacts of mentorship on employee well-being, intent to stay, and job satisfaction. Mentorship typically involves pairing a more experienced employee, commonly called the “mentor,” with a newly hired or junior employee, known as the “mentee.” Mentorship allows employees to professionally develop and grow within the organization while creating a network of trusted advisors. A key component of successful formal mentorship includes leadership style. The current gap in the literature does not fully explore the mentor’s leadership style on employee well-being, job satisfaction, and intent to stay, or the interaction effects between the mentor’s leadership style …

The Role Of Psychological Need Satisfaction In Prosocial Rule-Breaking: Examining Leadership Moderators In The Financial Services Industry, Lucas Augustine

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study examines the relationship between the satisfaction of basic psychological needs- autonomy, competence, and relatedness, and prosocial rule-breaking among employees in the financial-services industry, as well as the moderating effects of transformational and transactional leadership styles. Guided by self-determination theory and full range leadership theory, the study explores how intrinsic motivation and leadership context jointly influence ethical decision-making within highly regulated environments. Data were collected from 102 financial-services professionals through an online survey and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results indicate that autonomy was a strong positive predictor of PSRB, relatedness demonstrated a negative relationship, and competence’s …

Parental Incarceration: The Lived Experiences Of Those Left Behind, Shatoya L. Young

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Incarceration in the United States is being touted as an obscure public health crisis. Approximately 47% of male incarcerated individuals and 58% of female incarcerated individuals are parents to minors. The number of children who have experienced parental incarceration at any point in their lives is believed to be more than 5 million. Incarceration negatively impacts the lives of children, especially when children lack an understanding of their parents' incarceration. There are risk factors that increase the possibility of adverse outcomes for children of incarcerated parents, and protective factors that mitigate the risk of poor outcomes. Many of the stories …

Intergenerational Apologetics: A Strategy For Careful Confidence, Thomas C. Farley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There is a subtle confusion between the objectives of evangelism and apologetics, leaving Open Door Baptist Church (ODBC) seniors unknowingly ill-equipped and intimidated to defend their Christian values. The purpose of this Doctor of Ministry research was to address that intimidation by training seniors in a dedicated faith-values curriculum to become confident apologetic communicators. The intervention leveraged the process of intergenerational values-sharing while training stakeholders to develop their own faith narratives by seamlessly integrating biblical values with relevant apologetic particulars into personal stories to be shared with their grandchildren. In this environment, participants could develop a personal faith narrative that …

From Renaissance To 20th Century: The Influence Of Musical Training On Historical Music Preferences*, Susanna Ziesmer

Campus Research Month

Music taste is highly complex, influenced by factors of age, personality, familiarity, and musical training. While any studies have researched trends of preference for popular music genres and general classical music, few have broken the classical genre into its stylistically unique historical periods. This study examines the differences in preference for six historical music eras—Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionist, and 20th century—between classically trained and non-trained individuals. Musicians were expected to show a higher overall preference for classical music and a narrower preference range between eras than that of non-musicians. It was also hypothesized that Romantic music would receive the …

Which Is The Most Effective Study Break: Movement, Media, Or Rest?*, Emily R. Grant, Kalla Carballo, Aislin Robinson

Campus Research Month

College students frequently incorporate breaks of various types into their study sessions; however, limited research has examined how different types of breaks affect memory retention. The proposed study will examine how exercising, spending time on social media, or participating in quiet rest affect delayed recall among undergraduate college students. The study predicts that students who participate in an exercise break will show improved memory retention, while students who are exposed to social media will experience reduced memory retention. The study also hypothesizes that students who are assigned to the quiet rest condition will demonstrate no significant change in retention. Undergraduate …

Developmental Dynamics Of Frontal Alpha-Band Eeg Coherence And Fearful Temperament Across Infancy, Samantha Christiana Gott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

Infancy represents a period of rapid neural development during which early temperamental traits begin to emerge. Fearful reactivity, a core dimension of temperament, has been linked to later risk for anxiety and related internalizing outcomes. The present study examined developmental patterns of frontal alpha-band electroencephalographic (EEG) coherence across infancy and tested whether neural connectivity within frontal regions was associated with fearful temperament. Participants were 61 infants recruited through a multisite longitudinal study conducted at Florida Atlantic University, Washington State University, and Virginia Tech. Infants completed laboratory visits at approximately 6, 8, 10, and 12 months of age. During each visit, …

Drd2 Rs6276 Polymorphism And Trait Impulsivity In Individuals With Mixed Behavioral And Substance Addictions, Gabriela Zdunek, Remigiusz Recław, Aleksandra Suchanecka, Krzysztof Chmielowiec, Dariusz Larysz, Patryk Ilków, Kinga Łosińska, Jolanta Chmielowiec, Łukasz Jaworski, Anna Grzywacz

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

Background/Objectives: Impulsivity is a key transdiagnostic trait linked to dysregulated reward processing in both behavioral and substance-related addictions, as recognized in DSM-5. Dopaminergic genes, including DRD2, may modulate individual differences in impulsivity, particularly under conditions of increased addiction vulnerability. This study examined whether the DRD2 Exon 8 rs6276 polymorphism predicts impulsivity levels in men with mixed addictive behaviors compared with healthy controls. Methods: A total of 328 males (128 with mixed behavioral and substance addictions and 200 controls) were assessed. Diagnoses were confirmed using the MINI interview, and impulsivity was measured with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11). Genotyping of …

Evaluating The Effects Of Behavioral Skills Training On Defensive Back Skills In High School Football Players: A Focus On Man Coverage, Malachi James Jackson-Talmadge

Theses

Behavioral Skills Training (BST) is an intervention package that involves instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback. BST has been used to enhance athletic performance in several sports (e.g., soccer, field hockey, bowling). In football, two prior studies have shown improved football-specific skills following BST. Although effective, both studies implemented BST individually with each player, which can be time-consuming during football practices. Providing BST to groups of players may be an efficient alternative. Currently, no study has evaluated the effects of group BST in sports. The current research used a multiple baseline design to evaluate the effects of group BST on man …

Financial Literacy And Fraud Vulnerability In Digital Finance: Evidence From The 2024 Nfcs, Mercedes Palacios Diaz

Posters - 2026

Digital finance has expanded rapidly through fintech platforms and cryptocurrency markets, increasing access to financial services while also exposing individuals to higher levels of financial fraud. Most research treats fraud vulnerability as a single outcome, without distinguishing between financial loss and the ability to recognize scams. This study examines how financial literacy shapes fraud vulnerability through its effects on fraud victimization and scam awareness, highlighting its dual role in reducing financial losses and improving scam recognition. Fraud vulnerability is therefore analyzed across two distinct dimensions: realized financial loss and scam awareness.

Utilizing A Brief Experimental Analysis To Examine Therapeutic Interventions On Math Anxiety And Math Fact Fluency In School-Age Children, Erin Simon

Honors Theses

This study utilized a brief experimental analysis (BEA) to examine the effects of taped problems (TP) alone and in combination with brief therapeutic interventions on math fact fluency and math anxiety in elementary-aged students with language disorders. Math anxiety was assessed pre- and post-intervention using the Early Elementary School Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (EES-AMAS), a standardized measure for examining math anxiety levels in young students, and math fact fluency was measured using 2-minute Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) probes. Results indicated that TP-only was associated with improvements in digits correct per minute (DCPM) for most participants; further, the addition of therapeutic interventions …

Relational Victimization And Student Dropout Intentions: Examining The Impact Of Trauma And The Buffering Role Of Friend Support, Makaila Belk

Honors Theses

Universities prioritize strategies that improve student success, with graduation rates serving as a key indicator of institutional effectiveness (Kinzie & Kuh, 2017; York et al., 2015). Considering this, we examined peer relational victimization, an interpersonal stressor involving exclusion and reputational harm (Casper et al., 2020; You & Bellmore, 2012), as a predictor of dropout intention. Using archival data collected from undergraduate volunteers recruited from the University of Southern Mississippi (N = 291), we tested a moderated mediation model. We predicted that trauma-like symptoms would partially mediate the relationship between peer relational victimization and dropout intention and that perceived social …

Investigating The Effects Of Depth And Distance On Jumping Decisions, Ean Fisher

Honors Theses

For an actor to accurately perceive if a gap affords crossing, they must consider environmental constraints, particularly spatial dimensions like gap depth and gap width, and their own physical capabilities, as determined by body/action-scaled information, namely body height and jumping ability. Prior research has examined the gap-crossing affordance across various contexts (real-world, augmented reality, and virtual reality). However, no research has investigated the gap-crossing affordance through performing a standing jump estimation within VR. The present study investigated how depth and width influence the perception of gap-crossing, operationalized as the act of performing a standing jump across a gap within a …

Tough Love Or Just Tough?: The Effect Of Juvenile Military Bootcamps On Adolescent Externalizing Behaviors, Paris Labadie

Honors Theses

Externalizing behaviors, which are mental health problems manifested as outward behavior, have negative impacts on the environment and relationships (Liu, 2004). They include traits such as impulsivity, aggression, and substance use. Externalizing behaviors are more common in justice-involved youth compared to those who were not involved. Interventions for justice-involved youth, such as military boot camps, offer an alternative to incarceration and provide rehabilitation opportunities and routine. Theoretical research suggests military boot camps are problematic, citing the ineffectiveness of “scared straight” tactics. To date, there are few studies examining changes because of completing boot camps. There are also no studies examining …

Curating Attendee-Centered Corporate Event Experiences Through The Strategic Implementation Of Psychological Principles, Alexis G. Mullendore

Senior Theses

This thesis explores how psychological principles can inform event professionals’

decisions in the planning and execution of attendee-centered corporate events. In the modern

experience economy, corporations increasingly prioritize engaging, high-production events for

employees and stakeholders, while attendee expectations for immersive, spectacle experiences

continue to rise. Therefore, the importance of designing corporate events that balance clients’

fiscal and objective needs with attendees’ experience-driven expectations has become

increasingly recognized. This shift toward a human-focused approach prompted the researcher to

examine how psychological principles can inform the design and execution of events. The

project was conducted through a three-phase research process consisting of …

Developing A Coding System To Record Orofacial Movements For Misophonia With Verification From Physiology Data, Rachel P. Sellers

Senior Theses

My thesis aims to develop and evaluate a facial coding system that can quantify facial movements in the context of misophonia. The system uses binary coding to individually quantify and identify each orofacial movement that occurs independent of other movements or artifacts that could interfere with coding data. The system can be used across multiple coders with statistically significant reliability into how orofacial movements are interpreted. The psychophysiological verification study used electromyography to examine the muscle potentiation of the corrugator supercilii and zygomaticus major muscles to map observable facial movement to underlying muscle potentiation. This facial coding system can be …

Race-Based Violence Against Educators And School Personnel: The Roles Of Race And Harm, Jared Hunt

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Educator-directed violence is a serious problem that has adverse effects on the careers and lives of those victimized. Educators and school personnel in the United States experience this violence within institutions that are shaped by long-checkered histories of racism and racial discrimination (Bickford and Clabough, 2021) that continue today (Carver-Thomas, 2018). Thus, there is a need to consider the roles of race and racism in the violence educators and school personnel experience. This study investigated educators’ and other school personnel’s experiences of physical and verbal/threatening violence, harm, and psychological distress. Through a racial stress and trauma framework, this study also …

Problematic Social Media Use’S Association With Social Anxiety And Neural Responsiveness To Reward From Social Media Feedback, Kaylee Mercer

All NMU Master's Theses

Social media has become increasingly relevant, especially among young adults. Those with social anxiety are more at risk for problematic social media use. Social media increases activity in the brain's reward centers. A common measure of the neural correlates of reward is the event-related potential, reward positivity (RewP) in EEG. Heightened RewP is associated with greater social anxiety. Problematic social media use is also associated with greater social anxiety. The neural correlates of reward elicited from social media use have yet to be adequately explored. The current research used continuous high-density electroencephalography to measure reward sensitivity when viewing positive or …

Coach Us If You Can: Development And Validation Of A Team Coachability Measure, Mounica Reddy

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Coaching research has largely focused on the coach or manager, with less attention given to the coachability of those receiving feedback (Shannahan et al., 2013b). However, individuals who receive coaching (i.e., coachees) are active participants in the coaching process and can improve or undermine the effectiveness of these practices (Gregory & Levy, 2010; London & Smither, 2002). Although coachability has been examined at the individual level, it has not been directly examined in team settings despite the centrality of teams to modern work (Bisbey & Salas, 2019; Mathieu et al., 2017). This dissertation developed and validated a new measure of …

Workplace Identity Disclosure: A Systematic Review And Psychometric Meta-Analysis Of Measurement And Correlates, Daniel Ryan Charles

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Workplace identity disclosure (WID) is a central process through which employees manage concealable stigmatized identities at work, yet the empirical literature is fragmented by inconsistent construct labels, varied measures, and uneven coverage across identity domains. This dissertation conducted a systematic review and psychometric meta-analysis of quantitative studies examining WID and related constructs. WID was defined as an umbrella construct encompassing disclosure-related behaviors through which employees make a concealable stigmatized identity known, more visible, or less hidden at work. The final review included 37 reports and 38 independent samples. Corrected bivariate associations were estimated for construct pairs represented by at least …

Enhancing Undergraduate Learning In Physics: The Effects Of Ai-Assisted And Ai-Guided Instruction On Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, And Satisfaction, Stephen Woods

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as large language models are increasingly used for self-directed learning, yet there is limited experimental evidence on whether they improve learning outcomes and whether theory-informed guidance adds value beyond AI use alone. Prior literature suggests that effective learning depends not only on access to information, but also on how instruction supports attention, working memory, long-term memory, and cognitive load, while also fostering motivational processes such as self-efficacy. Individual differences such as Need for Cognition may also shape how learners engage with cognitively demanding instructional tools such as AI.

The present study examined how different …

The Age Of Activewear: Understanding Women’S Casualized Athletic Apparel Habits Through Associations With Psychosocial And Body Image Factors, Ross C. Hollett, R. Sharman, Domenic D’Adamo

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Activewear has become a common component of women’s everyday clothing, yet emerging evidence suggests that exposure to activewear imagery may adversely affect body image. This study aimed to describe women’s activewear engagement across contexts and to investigate how different markers of engagement correspond with positive outcomes such as fitness behavior, body appreciation, and self-esteem, as well as negative outcomes including media pressure, idealized appearance aspirations, and self-objectification. We collected survey data from student (N = 455) and community (N = 374) samples to assess activewear-related behaviors, including online browsing, social media following, purchasing, and wearing, as well as measures of …

Behavioral Strategies And Mental Health Reactions To Social Preference Insecurity: The Effect On Social Preference And The Moderating Role Of Machiavellianism, Alexandra Zingarelli

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Adolescents experience insecurity about social preference; however, its role in adolescent behavioral and mental health and subsequent social preference has not been studied. Additionally, individual differences in personality further contribute to adolescent’s behavioral and mental health development and subsequent peer liking. Using a longitudinal and muti-informant design, the present study examined whether social preference insecurity (SPI) predicted social preference through the mediation of aggression and depression and examined whether Machiavellian traits moderated these pathways among 817 adolescents (Age: M=12.19 SD=0.813, Male: n=409, 50%; Female: n=409, 50%) from middle schools in the U.S. Midwestern states. The results showed that Time 1 …

The Moderating Effect Of Gender And Humor On Leader Evaluation, Russell John Marshall

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

There has been much discourse in the popular press, political, and professional spheres about the humor used by leaders and aspiring leaders. Although humor is seen as mostly positive in the workplace, there have been significant findings that humor’s impact is influenced by gender/sex. Male humor use is often seen as functional, while female humor use is seen as disruptive (Evans et al., 2019). This study examines how humor and gender/sex affects likeability and professional respect for leaders. It was predicted that humor use would increase male leaders likeability and professional respect while decreasing these rating for female leaders. Participants …

Factors Associated With Objective Neuropsychological Performance In Individuals With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Kailyn Marie Bare

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Adults are expected to recover from cognitive symptoms following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) within three months; however, a subset report persistent symptoms. Previous meta-analyses have found that these symptoms are due to factors aside from the mTBI itself, and additional research is needed to determine what factors may contribute to objective cognitive functioning in the chronic stage of mTBI. This review examined biopsychosocial and injury-related correlates of objective cognitive functioning in adults with a history of mTBI. A systematic search was conducted in APA PsycINFO, CINAHL, PubMed, SCOPUS, MEDLINE, and SPORTDiscus to identify studies published since 2015 examining associations …

Mentoring Relationship Quality: An Evaluation Of Environmental Risk And Protective Factor Predictors For Urban Black Youth, Brittanie Nicole Gage

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Mentoring programs are an important intervention promoting positive developmental outcomes among youth exposed to chronic environmental stressors, particularly Black youth living in underinvested communities. Research has demonstrated moderate positive effects of mentoring on youth outcomes however, less is known about factors influencing mentoring effectiveness. Mentoring relationship quality (MRQ) has emerged as a key component of mentoring effectiveness, suggesting that perceived closeness and support within the relationship can enhance youth outcomes. Less is known regarding the environmental risks and protective factors shaping youths’ ability to engage meaningfully in mentoring relationships. Parent–child relationship quality, exposure to violent stressors, and adaptive and maladaptive …

Bug-In-Ear ECoaching To Enhance Parents' Use Of Embedded Learning Opportunities With Preschool-Age Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Aeshah Alturki

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

The increasing prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has heightened the need for effective communication interventions. Parents are key partners in intervention and, with appropriate support, can serve as effective intervention agents. However, parents often require ongoing support to implement evidence-based practices. The purpose of this study was to experimentally evaluate the effects of online Bug-in-Ear (BIE) eCoaching on parents’ fidelity of embedded choice-making during family routines with their preschool-aged children with ASD. This study also examined the generalization and maintenance, children’s communicative responses, and parents’ perceptions of the intervention. A single-subject nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across two parent–child dyads …

Exploring The Effect Of Counterstereotype And Perspective Taking In Reducing Bias And Promoting Empathy In Police, Sydney C. Timmer-Murillo, Keara Kangas, Nakia Gordon

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Racism in policing continues to be a serious issue in the United States (U.S.). While most efforts to reduce racism, focus on changing implicit (i.e., nonconscious) racial biases, other factors may also influence behavior. Intergroup emotion theory posits that emotions, especially empathy, may play a powerful role in changing behavior. In this study, using community-based participatory research design we created and tested a virtual reality (VR) experience designed to reduce implicit racial bias through perspective taking and counter-stereotypical information. Fifty-six police officers from a large city took part in the study. They completed questionnaires and an implicit association task (IAT) …

Early Parenting Stress And Later Abuse Risk: Dyadic Mediation By Maternal And Paternal Negative Attributions, Jewelian N. Fairchild

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Parenting stress and negative parental attributions are key contributors to child abuse risk. Early parenting stress may increase a parent’s risk of negatively appraising their child’s behaviors, which, in turn, may influence their likelihood of harsh or abusive parenting. Grounded in Social Information Processing (SIP) Theory, the present study explored how these processes evolve over time and differ between mothers and fathers. Specifically, this study investigated whether parental negative attributions mediated the relationship between early parenting stress and later abuse risk. A sample of 203 first-time mothers and 151 of their male partners were recruited prenatally as part of a …