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43rd Annual Wku Student Research Conference, Student Research Council, Western Kentucky University

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Motor Skills Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Potential Of An Interactive Metronome Approach, Jennifer Song

Psychology and Child Development

No abstract provided.

Don't Worry; Be Happy: Alice Domar Tells Women How To Escape "The Perfectionist Trap", Barbara A. Walsh

Colby Magazine

Psychologist Alice Domar ’80 has studied women’s health for 20 years. Her new book, Be Happy Without Being Perfect: How to Break Free of the Perfection Deception, tells women it isn’t healthy to always aspire to perfection. Domar gives advice on how to avoid that trap.

Rats Acquire Stronger Preference For Flavors Consumed Towards The End Of A High-Fat Meal, Kevin P. Myers

Faculty Journal Articles

Rats learn to prefer flavors associated with postingestive effects of nutrients. The physiological signals underlying this postingestive reward are unknown. We have previously shown that rats readily learn to prefer a flavor that was consumed early in a multi-flavored meal when glucose is infused intragastrically (IG), suggesting rapid postingestive reward onset. The present experiments investigate the timing of postingestive fat reward, by providing distinctive flavors in the first and second halves of meals accompanied by IG fat infusion. Learning stronger preference for the earlier or later flavor would indicate when the rewarding postingestive effects are sensed. Rats consumed sweetened, calorically-dilute …

The Effectiveness Of Ground Groups On Student Behavior In A Southeast Tennessee School District, Ryan Goodman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the effectiveness of ground groups on office discipline referrals in a southeast Tennessee school district. Ground groups are meetings that students attended once a week in an effort to find the "middle ground" through modeling and observing particular behaviors. The primary hypothesis examined four schools from two separate districts over the course of two academic school years. The first group included schools from southeast Tennessee that incorporated ground groups and was classified as the treatment group. The second group included comparable schools from southeast Tennessee that did not incorporate ground groups …

Sexual Orientation And Functional Pain In U.S. Young Adults: The Mediating Role Of Childhood Abuse, Andrea L. Roberts, Margaret Rosario, Heather L. Corliss, David Wypij, Jennifer R. Lightdale, S. Bryn Austin

Publications and Research

Objective: Pain without known pathology, termed ‘‘functional pain,’’ causes much school absenteeism, medication usage, and medical visits. Yet which adolescents are at risk is not well understood. Functional pain has been linked to childhood abuse, and sexual orientation minority youth (gay, lesbian, bisexual, ‘‘mostly heterosexual,’’ and heterosexual with same-sex sexual contact) are more likely to be victims of childhood abuse than heterosexuals, thus may be at greater risk of functional pain.

Methods: We examined sexual orientation differences in past-year prevalence of functional headache, pelvic, and abdominal pain and multiple sites of pain in 9,864 young adults (mean age = …

Family Socioeconomic Status And Children's Reading Ability: The Buffering Effect Of Parental Social Support, Casey Dexter

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to better understand the protective effect that social support has on the development of reading in children from a range of SES backgrounds. Because other studies have suggested the importance of teacher quality on children's reading ability, this was also tested. This study utilized a sample taken from the public-use version of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), a large-scale, nationally representative sample of children attending kindergarten in the United States in the fall of the 1998-1999 academic year and their families, teachers, and schools. As expected, family SES and the availability of …

Microstructural Abnormalities In Striatial And Medial-Temporal Tracts In Children With A History Of Early Severe Deprivation: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study, Amy Veenstra

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if early social deprivation led to different patterns of frontal and/or medial-temporal cortical connectivity in internationally adopted children and if these patterns of cortical connectivity were related to specific white matter tract or behavioral differences. Based on theories of brain development, it was expected that environmental factors would impact children's tract based differences and behavioral differences. A sample of 30 internationally adopted children and 12 comparison children participated in functional and structural imaging and a neuropsychological evaluation. For internationally adopted children frontal-cortical connectivity showed patterns of diffuse and low connectivity, whereas medial-temporal …

College Students' Alcohol Consumption Habits, Perceptions, Readiness To Change And Exposure To A Brief Information Based Intervention, Matthew Boudreau

Psychology Honors Papers

The current study sought to compare the effectiveness of two brief information based interventions. The first exposed to participants information regarding accurate social norms college student alcohol consumption and a second which focused on information regarding the effects of alcohol on the brain and body. The effectiveness of the interventions was investigated by comparing initial scores on the Readiness to Change scale (RTC; Rollnick et al. 1992) to scores on the same scale after a two week follow up. It was hypothesized that the groups who received the intervention would both show significant increases in scores on the contemplative and …

Childhood Rage: Diagnosis And Treatment Strategies For Severe Mood Dysregulation - Part 2: Diagnosis And Treatment, Gary A. Sibcy, John Kuhnley

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Childhood Rage: Diagnosis And Treatment Strategies For Severe Mood Dysregulation - Part 1: Understanding Rage, Gary A. Sibcy, John Kuhnley

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Understanding And Managing The Adhd Experience From Childhood Through Adulthood, John Kuhnley

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Activating Health Goals Reduces (Increases) Hedonic Evaluation Of Food Brands For People Who Harbor Highly Positive (Negative) Affect Toward Them, Lauren F. Mayor, Paul M. Connell

Faculty of Marketing & International Business Publications

Associations of pleasure and fun with junk foods have the potential to create considerable challenges for efforts to improve diets. The aim of this research was to determine whether activating health goals had the potential to exploit mixed motivations (i.e., health and pleasure) that people have related to food, and subsequently strip junk foods of the expected pleasure derived from them. In study 1, 98 participants evaluated a soft drink brand after being primed (not primed) for health. In study 2, 93 participants evaluated a presweetened breakfast cereal brand after being primed (not primed) for health. In both studies, participants …

Impact Of Older Adults’ Experience With Psychotherapy On Treatment Engagement, Erin L. Woodhead, I. I. Ivan, E. E. Emery

Faculty Publications

The goal of the study was to characterize older adults' experience with psychotherapy and examine its impact on engagement in psychotherapy. The study included 50 adults over age 60 who screened positive for depression and participated in the BRIGHTEN Program, an interdisciplinary geriatric mental health program. Qualitative analyses revealed five themes leading to treatment initiation: health concerns, family issues, the experience of depressive symptoms, beliefs about what participants could get from psychotherapy, and positive outcomes seen in others. Those without a history of mental health treatment were more likely to endorse health concerns as a treatment motivator and were more …

The Importance Of Female Choice: Evolutionary Perspectives On Constraints, Expressions, And Variations, David Frederick, Tania A. Reynolds, Maryanne L. Fisher

Psychology Faculty Books and Book Chapters

This chapter introduces the reader to some of the influential perspectives on female mate choice in human evolutionary biology, including parental investment theory. We then present two key theories in evolutionary psychology that have been applied to understand variations in women’s mating preferences and choices: sexual strategies theory and strategic pluralism theory. Although the importance of female choice has gained widespread acceptance in the biological sciences, the influence that female choice has on mating systems can be limited by many factors, such as control over mating decisions by parents and men’s control over women’s sexuality. Despite these constraints on female …

Longitudinal Course Of Female Eating Disorder Risk At Brigham Young University, Lane Fischer, Jacob Fischer, Lanae Valentine, Erin Winters, Joy Wiechmann, Karen Gochnour, Kristina Hansen, Maren Kanekoa

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

Three cohorts of entering freshman women were assessed over the course of four years at Brigham Young University (BYU). The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) and the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) were administered at the beginning of each fall and winter semester. Results showed (a) steadily decreasing average levels of eating disorder risk and body shape dissatisfaction over time, which was mirrored in each cohort; (b) significantly lower eating disorder risk than other college samples; (c) a typically high percentage of women with clinically significant body shape dissatisfaction; (d) significant correlation between the EAT-26 and the BSQ; and (e) notable subgroups …

A Parent Education Curriculum For Families With An Autism Spectrum Disorders Child, Amber Marie Vela

Theses Digitization Project

This project provides a comprehensive, parenting education program that focuses on educating parents of young newly-diagnosed ASD children about coordinated services, supporting the family to promote the ASD child's growth and development, and supporting the family system during critical early years.

A Mind-Body Approach To Promote Health And Enhance Healing, Lisa Dionne Meyering

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project was to create for the public a research-based user-friendly booklet that provides guidance with regard to psychological considerations that may be employed to enhance, or accelerate, the process of healing from illness.

The Applicability Of The Self-Fulfillment Account Of Welfare To Nonhuman Animals, Babies, And Mentally Disabled Humans, Tatjana Visak, Jonathan Balcombe

Sentience Collection

In this paper we will argue that generality is a virtue of Haybron’s account of welfare. Indeed, reflecting on the applicability of his theory to nonhuman animals will give us a better understanding of its applicability to humans. We will first focus on self-fulfillment and suggest an interpretation of Haybron’s account according to which the self-fulfillment of an individual consists in the fulfillment of the aspects of the self that are applicable to that particular individual. This makes Haybron’s account of welfare applicable to all sentient beings. Then we will focus on sub-personal nature-fulfillment and argue that the same interpretation …

Great Ape Mindreading: What’S At Stake?, Kristin Andrews

Ethology Collection

Humans and other great apes are similar in so many ways. We share an extended immaturity and intense infant-caregiver relationships, group living situations, cultural transmission of technology, and many emotions and cognitive capacities. Yet the communities of nonhuman apes are also very different from human communities. Humans build lasting tools, and store them to use later. We build permanent sleeping and living structures. We cook our food. We have courts of law and prisons and ethics books. There are vast technological differences between humans and nonhuman great apes. What is it that accounts for such a difference? On one account, …

Independent Living Oldest-Old And Their Primary Health Provider: A Mixed Method Examination Of The Influence Of Patient Personality Characteristics, Lee Stadtlander, Martha Giles, Amy Sickel, Emma Brooks, Cherri L. Brown, Melissa Cormell, Lara Ewing, Delores Hart, Dawn Koons, Christie Olson, Pamela Parker, Veronica Semenova, Shawna Stoneking

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

This convergent mixed methods study examined 35 healthy, independent living individuals' (over 85 years) perceptions of their relationship with their primary health provider (PHP) and health practices. The relationship between PHP relationship perceptions and locus of control (LOC), resilience, and self-efficacy was explored through surveys and interviews. The majority indicated they visited their PHP just for preventative care; the number of PHP visits per year was significantly lower than reported for individuals over 85 by the CDC, possible reasons for this finding are provided. A positive relationship between LOC, resiliency, and self-efficacy for the oldest-old was found. Few participants indicated …

Assessment Of Verbal And Nonverbal Memory And Learning In Abstinent Alcoholics, Alyson L. Phelan

ETD Archive

Neuropsychological performance was measured in chronic alcoholics who maintained abstinence for at least six months and with matched controls. Specifically, measures of verbal memory were assessed utilizing the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and measures of nonverbal memory with the Rey Osterreith Complex Figure Test (ROCF) and a new measure, the Poreh Nonverbal Memory Test (PNMT). In addition, both the RAVLT and the PNMT provide a measure of operationalized learning, as they are multi-trial tasks utilizing five trials to assess recall in each trial. Verbal memory includes the ability to encode, store and retrieve information for words, language and …

Student Characteristics And Targeted Based Cognitive Tier Ii Interventions, Patrick M. Billups

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Tier II student characteristics and outcomes on a standardized reading assessment. Ninety students who scored in the lowest third on a Virginia standardized reading test were placed into one of three instructional groups: 1) a control group consistent with instruction from previous years, 2) a “teacher selected” treatment group in which teachers determined students’ cognitive processing deficits and administered a chosen intervention, and 3) a “tested” treatment group in which students were administered the Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ-III) and assigned interventions based on the results. …

Weight Loss Surgery Maintenance And Psychosocial Development: A Narrative Perspective, Carrie J. L. Hickman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Bariatric surgery is not the panacea it was once thought to be for weight loss. Due to patient noncompliance issues, many weight loss surgery patients are relapsing and regaining the significant amounts of weight that bariatric surgery had initially helped them to lose. This failure is costly monetarily, psychologically, and medically to both the patient and to society. Using the narratives of 32 post-weight loss surgery patients, this narrative study explored: (a) whether Erikson's psychosocial stages of development occur after weight loss surgery, (b) whether successful patients (defined as those who are able to maintain their weight loss long term) …

The African American Family's Influence On Academic Achievement Of Urban Secondary Students, Frank A. Edwards

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

One of the most unyielding challenges of the American Educational System to
date has been determining the unique factors that African American families have on the academic achievement of urban high school students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine: (1) what effect does the African American Family’s influence have on urban secondary students achievement; (2) what impact does academic achievement have on the life of an urban African-American student; and (3) what contributing factors stimulate academic achievement in urban secondary students. The African-American family and its influence on student achievement included the following themes: family and familial …

Examining A Ripple Effect: Do Spouses’ Behavior Changes Predict Each Other’S Weight Loss?, Anna E. Schierberl Scherr, Kimberly Mcclure Brenchley, Amy A. Gorin

Psychology Faculty/Staff Publications

Background. Including spouses in obesity treatment has been found to promote weight loss. We assessed whether spouses’ diet and activity changes impacted each other’s weight loss when both members attended an active weight loss program (TOGETHER) or only the primary participant attended treatment (ALONE).

Methods. Heterosexual couples () enrolled in an 18-month randomized controlled weight loss trial were weighed and completed measures of dietary intake and physical activity at baseline and 6 months. We conducted dyadic data analyses using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model.

Results. Participants’ weight loss was not predicted by their partners’ behavior changes. However, partners’ weight loss was …

An Examination Of The Relationship Of Problematic Food Types To The Development Of Substance Use Disorder In Post-Bariatric Surgery Patients, Lauren Fowler

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

The present study focuses on the recent discovery of an overrepresentation of postbariatric surgery patients in substance abuse h'eatment centers (Saules et aI., 2010) and accumulating evidence of new-onset substance use disorders among post-bariatric surgery patients (Ivezaj, 2011; Saules, Reslan, & Schuh, 2012; Wiedemann, Saules, & Ivezaj, 2012), suggesting a role for both food addiction and addiction transfer (Avena & Gold, 2011; McFadden, 2010). Burgeoning research with both animal models and humans demonstrates the applicability of putative "food addiction" in the context of obesity, and justification for further examination of specific macronuh'ients as they relate to obesity and addiction transfer …

Memory, Cognition, And The Effect Of A Music Intervention On Healthy Older Adults, Shannon L. Bowles

Theses and Dissertations--Gerontology

Music is a powerful modality that can bring about changes in individuals of all ages. This research employed both an experimental and quasi-experimental design to identify the effects of music as it influenced psychological well-being, memory, and cognition among older adults. Specifically, it addressed three aims: (a) To determine to what extent learning to play a music instrument later in life influenced psychological well-being and cognitive function of non-institutionalized healthy seniors, (b) To determine the effects of the amount of music involvement on psychological well-being and cognitive function (c) To determine the benefit of music for those with limited/no music …

Role Of Health Behaviors In Sexual Quality Of Life Among Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Survivors, Keagan Lee Mcpherson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients are a population increasingly characterized by survivorship. A psychosocial outcome integral to overall quality of life and optimal survivorship outcomes is sexual quality of life (SQOL). In this arena, HSCT patients' prognostics are markedly grim. Though examinations of variables that affect overall survivorship in HSCT patients are relatively novel, SQOL outcomes have still received a disproportionately minimal amount of focus both in research and practice. Because health behaviors and their correlates are implicated in SQOL outcomes in the general population as well as survivorship and overall QOL outcomes in HSCT patients, inquiring about the …

Front Matter

Modern Psychological Studies

No abstract provided.