Digital Commons Network^™

A Quantitative Analysis Of Ptsd Symptom Severity, Alcohol Use, And Resilience In American Military Veterans Using Standardised Assessment Instruments, Oladimeji Owolabi

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) continues to be a significant mental health concern among U.S. military veterans. This quantitative study examines the interrelationships among PTSD symptom severity, alcohol use, and psychological resilience using three standardised instruments: the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). A cross-sectional correlational design was implemented with a convenience sample of 150 American military veterans, recruited through online platforms and veteran-focused organisations from all branches. Participants completed an anonymous online survey that assessed trauma-related symptoms, alcohol consumption behaviours, and resilience levels. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, …

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 …

Sexual Scripts In Conflict: Does Religiosity Moderate The Relationship Between Pornography Use And Permissive Sexuality?, Alex D. Castaneda

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The sexual script acquisition, activation, and application model (3AM) posits that viewing pornography leads to the internalization of the scripts implicitly and explicitly depicted. Recent research indicates that pornography viewing is associated with more permissive sexuality. Religious individuals, especially conservative Christians, report greater distress from their pornography use, and research has investigated the role of religiosity in pornography-related outcomes. Religiosity has been shown to protect against pornography exposure and buffer against the internalization of the pornographic script. Sexual script theory posits that individuals with existing scripts that are more deeply held will be less susceptible to new, contradictory scripts. This …

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, …

Influence Of Moral Development, Religiosity, Achieved Belongingness, And Collective Narcissism On Conspiracy Theory Beliefs, Barbara Mahoney Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Belief in conspiracy theories has been linked to prejudice and societal instability, underscoring the importance of understanding the psychological factors that shape such beliefs. This quantitative correlational survey research examined the extent to which moral development, religiosity, achieved belongingness, collective narcissism, and political party affiliation predict conspiracy theory beliefs. Wood’s three-tier model of conspiracy theory beliefs provided the conceptual framework for the study. Using validated quantitative measures in an anonymous, demographically stratified sample (N = 279), a stepwise regression analysis assessed how individual and group-level factors contribute to conspiratorial thinking. Although political party affiliation was not an initial focus, preliminary …

Beyond The Certificate: Why Real Expertise In Investigative Interviewing Comes From Practice, Alan Saquella

Publications

In today’s professional environment, especially on platforms like LinkedIn, training and certifications are often treated as the gold standard of competence. Profiles are filled with credentials, badges and completed courses that signal expertise. But in fields like investigative interviewing, there is a critical distinction that too often gets overlooked: the difference between being trained, being certified, and being truly effective.

This is a message to colleagues across security, law enforcement, corporate investigations, and intelligence: training is only the beginning. Certificates validate exposure. Application, repeated, disciplined, and ethical application is what creates mastery.

Parental Use Of Digital Location Tracking Technology & The Impacts On Adolescent Development: A Scoping Review, Madison G. Cox

Senior Theses

In the 21st century, many parents rely on digital location tracking applications (e.g., Life360, Find My Friends) to track the whereabouts of their teens and young adults, exerting a new form of parental control in the digital age. Though a popular parenting strategy, it is unclear how utilizing these tools might be affecting adolescent and emerging adulthood development. To better understand these outcomes, the present thesis conducted a scoping review of articles via the PsycINFO database. After screening studies according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of five studies were included in the scoping review. The included studies …

A Research Proposal: Gender Differences In The Experience And Impact Of Fear Of Missing Out (Fomo), Valeria Garcia, Yesenia De Leon

Posters - 2026

Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) is the anxiety individuals feel when they believe others are having rewarding experiences without them, a feeling that has increased with the rise of social media. Constant exposure to others' curated lives can lead to social comparison, increased social media use, and negative outcomes such as decreased academic focus and poorer mental health. Research suggests that FoMO may be experienced differently across genders due to differences in social expectations and online behaviors. For example, women may be more likely to engage in social comparison and seek validation, while men may use social media for different …

Research Proposal: What Did We Lose When We Stayed Home? Digital Culture And The Erosion Of Social Interaction, Anzio Hall

Posters - 2026

Third spaces serve as casual social environments such as libraries and movie theaters acting as "anchors" for community and social connection. (Melissa et.,al 2024). Nonetheless with the rise of streaming services and personalized experiences, these spaces are increasingly disappearing from everyday life (Fowler, 2026; Van De Vijer, 2017). For Gen Z, a generation that had grown up with technology at their fingertips, raising questions about how they interacting with other and experience relationships (Fisu et al, 2024). This study aims to explore: How does Gen Z describe the experience of third spaces as they connect with others?

Traditional Masculine Ideology And Transphobia: An Examination Of A Predictive Relationship, Nikola Jensen

Psychology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

This paper examines the role of traditional masculine ideology in the continued prevalence of transphobia.  Drawing on established research, it follows the development of traditional masculinity in critical social and emotional aspects of men’s lives and explores the predictive relationship between endorsement of traditional masculinity and transphobic attitudes.  It emphasizes solution-based psychological research in addressing and challenging this belief system, particularly gender-transformative programs for boys and young men, where supportive role models and healthy representations of masculinity are presented. Overall, it investigates both the consequences of traditional masculinity, including harmful expectations for men themselves and transphobia, as well as mitigation …

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 …

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 …

Colonial Ambivalence And The Self: The Psychological Legacy Of Colonization, Nazia Khan

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Colonization may disrupt a person’s sense of self by introducing conflicting identities, where one part of identity is tied to colonization while the other attempts to decolonize (David & Okazaki, 2006). This identity conflict may lead to psychological distress because these identities are often in opposition to one another. Although colonized individuals may have been forced to adopt the colonizer’s social norms, people may also incorporate colonization-influenced practices into their self and cultural identity with and without recognizing their colonial roots. Colonial ambivalence is introduced as the simultaneous holding of positive and negative feelings regarding one’s colonized background. Individuals from …

Silent Cries: Analyzing The Psychological Profiles Of High School Shooters, Kayla Martinez

Posters - 2026

• School shootings have become a recurring event for the past couple of decades in the United States
  • high school has the most exposure to these shootings
• Shootings can cause serious trauma and various mental health issues in the students and staff who survived (as well as communities)
• Protocols put in place seem to only be reactive rather than proactively identifying and preventing the occurrence
• Most people overlook the previous behaviors of the shooters

The Psychology Behind Ai-Generated Phishing And Social Engineering Attacks, A’Shya Reynolds

School of Cybersecurity Master's Level Projects and Papers

Cybercrime has evolved significantly with the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), transforming traditional phishing and social engineering attacks into highly sophisticated and personalized threats. While early phishing attempts relied on generic messaging and low success rates, modern AI-driven attacks leverage advanced data analytics, natural language processing, and behavioral prediction to manipulate victims more effectively.

This research examines how cybercriminals utilize AI to enhance psychological manipulation techniques in phishing and social engineering attacks, increasing victim susceptibility. Drawing from interdisciplinary literature in cybersecurity and psychology, this study explores key psychological mechanisms, including cognitive biases, emotional triggers, and decision-making processes that influence victim …

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 …

Technostress, Worker Wellbeing, And Ethics: An Integrative Review, Mackenzie Moreno

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Rapid advances in workplace technologies have led to increasing concerns about technostress and its implications for worker health and wellbeing. While the technostress literature has at times addressed psychological and physiological wellbeing outcomes, these outcomes have not been examined consistently, and explicit integration of ethics is largely absent. This integrative review addresses these gaps by synthesizing empirical findings on how technostress impacts worker health and wellbeing, and by examining the extent to which ethical considerations are integrated into the extant literature. Drawing on these findings, the review proposes a theoretical model of technostress mechanisms. Finally, it summarizes organizational recommendations for …

Silent Or Silenced? A Systematic Review Of Deaf And Hoh Workers In Io Psychology Research, Lora Bishop

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) workers report routinely missing workplace information that hearing colleagues receive through informal and ambient channels, as well as constrained participation in environments where communication norms treat hearing as the default. Despite over a century of research, this literature remains largely outside flagship industrial-organizational (IO) psychology journals. This dissertation conducts an integrative systematic review of 48 empirical studies published between 1919 and 2025, examining workplace outcomes and methodological patterns, the theoretical frameworks deployed, sampling and reporting practices, and the framing and identity-language conventions through which the literature engages DHH workers. The review appears predominantly in WORK and …

Exploring The Roles Of Grit And Health Anxiety In The Relationship Between Discrimination And Pain-Coping Among Adolescents And Young Adults, Giselle Mcpherson Isbell

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Chronic pain is a complex and highly prevalent concern that can significantly disrupt functioning during adolescence and emerging adulthood. Pain during this developmental period may interfere with academic engagement, social relationships, emotional functioning, and the transition toward independence. Psychosocial stressors such as discrimination and heightened health anxiety may negatively influence pain experiences and coping, whereas protective psychological characteristics such as grit may buffer these effects. The present study examined the relationships between discrimination, health anxiety, grit, pain outcomes, and coping strategies in emerging adults with chronic pain. Participants completed self-report measures assessing discrimination, health anxiety, grit, pain intensity and frequency, …

Family Communication Patterns And Romantic Partner Selection: A Proposed Study Of Divorce Risk And Relationship Stability, Lilliana De Leon, Maria Reeves, Joel Burgess, Monique Rodriguez

Posters - 2026

Family Communication Patterns Theory (FCPT) is described as repeated communication beliefs and behaviors that orient a family system and contribute to a shared reality. There are two different orientation styles describing family communication style. Conformity orientation creates a shared reality respective of parental authority and family rules. While conversation orientation creates a shared reality by encouraging open conversation, discussion, and argumentation. There are four family types including; pluralistic family, protective family, laissez-faire family and consensual family. Each experiencing different levels of conformity and conversation.

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 …

What We Hear Shapes What We Fear: Public Discourse As A Determinant Of Health, Amanda L. Almond

Open Educational Resources

This resource presents a structured assignment designed for undergraduate health psychology and interdisciplinary courses. Students systematically collect and analyze public discourse as a determinant of health using a shared dataset, followed by instructor-led synthesis and application of scientific reasoning.

The assignment emphasizes mechanism-based explanation, including how communication environments shape stress, perception, and health behavior. A second phase explicitly integrates the scientific method, guiding students to evaluate claims, distinguish correlation from causation, and consider what evidence would be required to test observed patterns.

This assignment was developed and implemented in a Hispanic-Serving Institution during Spring 2026, in response to real-time conditions …

Adultification Of Black Girls, Melanie Thompson

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

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 …

Hemispheric Processing Of Conspiracy Theories: The Role Of Inference Constraint And Individual Differences, Abigail Van Nuland

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

This study explored how textual constraint and individual differences influence the hemispheric processing of inferences as individuals read about conspiracy theories. In Study 1, participants judged the likelihood of a conspiracy after reading either a clear cause (i.e., strongly constrained text), a vague cause (i.e., weakly constrained text), or neutral text about a historical event. In addition, several individual difference measures were administered to participants. It was found that participants were more likely to report that official explanations were not accurate (i.e., indicating a possible conspiracy) after reading a vague text compared to a clear text. However, participants who scored …

Youth Perspectives On A Community Program For Children With Special Healthcare Needs: A Qualitative Study Assessing Program Acceptability, Brittany Ricart

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Objective. A significant number of families have youth with special healthcare needs (CYSHCN). CYSHCN experience dysfunction across multiple life domains, however CYSHCN have also demonstrated significant resilience. Protective factors include social support which can be strengthened through mentoring-based interventions. Team IMPACT is a non-profit organization that matches CYSHCN with college sports teams and includes crucial components, such as social support and mentorship, in a team-sport and community setting. The current study aimed to better understand the acceptability and influence of the Team IMPACT program on youth participants and their health-related behaviors. Methods. Twenty-five participants (mean age = 11.32) completed virtual …