Digital Commons Network^™

Misgivings In Measuring Happiness, Sudhanva Char

International Review of Business and Economics

According to a resolution of the UN General Assembly (Resolution 66/281), March 20^th is observed annually as International Day of Happiness. A nation’s overall success is measured by people’s happiness, the litmus test. The World Happiness Report (WHR) states there is consensus about measuring happiness, whereas, happiness is idiosyncratic and its connotation differs from culture to culture, language to language, and even person to person. Personal ‘space’ in all spheres matters, and so do democracy or dictatorship, all factors leading to mismeasures of happiness scores. And so, there are paradoxes in happiness rankings in WHR. Economists have yet to …

Indicators Of Community Physical Activity Resources And Opportunities And Variation By Community Sociodemographic Characteristics: A Scoping Review, Ann E. Rogers, Michaela A. Schenkelberg, Peter Stoepker, Danielle Westmark, Deepa Srivastava, David A. Dzewaltowski

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Objective: This scoping review synthesizes studies examining community-level variability in physical activity resource (assets) and opportunity (organized group physical activity services) availability by community sociodemographic characteristics to describe methodologies for measuring resources/opportunities, indicators characterizing availability, and associations between community-level sociodemographic characteristics and availability.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus for literature through 2022. Eligible studies quantitatively examined measures of physical activity resource/opportunity availability by community-level racial, ethnic, and/or socioeconomic characteristics within geospatially defined communities. Extracted data included: community geospatial definitions, sociodemographic characteristics assessed, methodologies for measuring and indicators of community physical activity …

Spontaneous Self-Affirmation And Social Context As Moderators Between Stereotype Threat And Online Academic Performance, Katrina Hilton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite years of progress, there remains an academic achievement gap among minority and non-minority students in all levels of education. A possible reason for the persistent achievement gap is stereotype threat, which is a situational predicament that prompts individuals to perform in ways that mirror the stereotypes associated with their social groups. Self-affirmation interventions are often used to disrupt the effects of stereotype threat, as students are taught how to focus on their strengths and values to help improve their self-concepts. However, spontaneous self-affirmation techniques may be more impactful because students are able to automatically self-affirm in any psychologically threatening …

Understanding Complicated Grief, Resilience, And Coping Skills In African American Women: A Phenomenological Study, Gyna M. Grant

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Complicated grief can have an impact on the resiliency and coping skills of African American women in ways that can be damaging in their daily life routines. Research studies have focused on the female population affected by complicated grief, but none of these studies have looked specifically at the African American female population. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences and resiliency of African American women coping with complicated grief following significant loss utilizing an open-ended survey. The population for this study was African American women, living in the southern areas of Connecticut, who …

The Relationship Between Cognitive Impairment In Psychiatric Patients And Readmission Rate To An Inpatient Facility, Cherilyn Isis Schuff

Theses and Dissertations

The primary intention of this study was to further understand the impact of assessing cognitive impairment in psychiatric patients, as a mediating factor on readmission rates. Mild cognitive dysfunction impacts a patient’s functional outcomes (Bowie & Harvey, 2006; Davis et al., 2012; Marcantonio, et al., 2001). Little information exists to guide best practices in the treatment of adults with cognitive impairment who are hospitalized for acute conditions (Davis et al., 2012). A cognitive impairment may impact patient prognosis and ability to function outside of a setting focused on stabilization. Neuropsychological testing is a valuable tool in predicting a patient’s cognitive …

Safety And Academic Outcomes Of College Campus-Based Advocacy Services, Rachel J Voth Schrag, Elizabeth Baumler, Dixie Hairston, Cynthia Jones, Leila Wood

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Intimate partner violence (IPV), sexual assault, and stalking are consequential public health and safety issues with wide reaching impacts on emerging adults, including those on college campuses in the United States. In response to high rates of violence among college student populations, universities are developing campus-based advocacy (CBA) programs, which aim to support survivors of interpersonal violence through supportive connections, resource acquisition, and safety planning. However, little data exists related to their impact on key student-survivor outcomes. Thus, this study aims to understand (a) the approach CBA programs use to address safety and academic concerns of student-survivors, and (b) the …

Racial Discrimination And Interpersonal Violence In Asian American Adolescents During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Yu Lu, Elizabeth Baumler, Leila Wood, Vi D Le, Shannon P Guillot-Wright, Jeff R Temple

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Racial discrimination targeting Asians in the United States has increased sharply since the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a well-established link with mental/physical health outcomes, little is known about how racial discrimination relates to interpersonal violence, particularly in adolescents. To address this gap in knowledge, we examined cross-sectional and longitudinal (1-year follow-up) associations between racial discrimination and interpersonal violence perpetration and victimization in Asian American adolescents in a large US city.

METHODS: Data from Waves 3 (2020) and 4 (2021) of a randomized clinical trial of a school-based violence prevention program were examined. We limited our sample to participants who identified …

Risk Factors For Post-Discharge Adverse Outcomes Following Hospitalization Among Older Adults Diagnosed With Elder Mistreatment, Monique R Pappadis, Leila Wood, Allen Haas, Jordan Westra, Yong-Fang Kuo, Charles P Mouton

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Using 100% Medicare data files, this study explored whether primary elder mistreatment (EM) diagnosis, EM type, and facility type were associated with 3-year mortality and 1-year unplanned hospital readmission among older patients diagnosed with EM with hospital discharge from 10/01/2015 through 12/31/2018 (n = 11,023). We also examined outcome differences between older patients diagnosed with EM and matched non-EM patient controls. Neglect by others was the most common EM diagnosis. Three-year mortality was 56.7% and one-year readmission rate was 53.8%. Compared to matched non-EM patient controls, older EM patients were at an increased risk of mortality and readmission. Among …

Safety And Academic Outcomes Of College Campus-Based Advocacy Services, Rachel J Voth Schrag, Elizabeth Baumler, Dixie Hairston, Cynthia Jones, Leila Wood

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Intimate partner violence (IPV), sexual assault, and stalking are consequential public health and safety issues with wide reaching impacts on emerging adults, including those on college campuses in the United States. In response to high rates of violence among college student populations, universities are developing campus-based advocacy (CBA) programs, which aim to support survivors of interpersonal violence through supportive connections, resource acquisition, and safety planning. However, little data exists related to their impact on key student-survivor outcomes. Thus, this study aims to understand (a) the approach CBA programs use to address safety and academic concerns of student-survivors, and (b) the …

Profiles Of Activity Engagement And Depression Trajectories As Covid-19 Restrictions Were Relaxed, Jonathan L. Chia, Andree Hartanto, William Tov

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Given elevated depression rates since the onset of the pandemic and potential downstream implications, this research examined the association between activity engagement and depression among middle-aged and older adults postlockdown. This study aimed to (a) identify activity engagement profiles among middle-aged and older adults, (b) understand factors associated with profile memberships, and (c) compare depression trajectories across profiles as COVID-19 restrictions eased over 16 months in Singapore. This longitudinal study involved 6,568 middle-aged and older adults. Latent growth analysis was first conducted to obtain estimates of depression trajectories for each individual. Latent profile analysis was then conducted to identify different …

Complicating Confidence: A Critical Analysis Of Confidence In A Girls' Empowerment Organization, Kimberly M. Belmonte

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the popular imagination, confidence is thought of as a positive or healthy state. Yet there is also a pervasive belief that adolescent girls are at risk of losing their confidence or of not having enough confidence, particularly compared to boys. The larger field of youth development theorists and practitioners see confidence as a positive, normative, and measurable aspect of healthy adolescent development (e.g., Lerner et al., 2015). Conversely, critical feminist scholars assert that confidence has become hegemonic, mandated, and commodified (e.g., Banet-Weiser, 2015; Gill & Orgad, 2016)—taken up by a neoliberal, post-feminist climate as a technology of the self …

From The Outside Looking In: Transmasculine Narrative Identity, Experiences, And Larger Narratives On Social Media, Micah Roldan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Narrative identity development is an essential process in how individuals perceive themselves and the world around them. Often, narrative identity is studied in cisgender heterosexual individuals and applied to others without the acknowledgment of individuals that fall outside of these categories. Drawing upon existing literature and autoethnography, this thesis aims to meaningfully bridge this gap by studying the narrative identity development of transmasculine individuals through the lens of social media. This thesis proposes that the use of social media to share gender transition journeys has created a new digital trans and queer narrative for users and viewers. This narrative is …

Neurobiology And Treatment Of Relationships, Harvey Joanning

University Faculty and Staff Publications

This paper presents a neurobiological theory of how intimate human relationships develop over the life span. It begins with an exploration of affective neuroscience, the study of emotions, and applies these concepts to the stages of relationship development. It goes on to explore the role of neurobiology in parenting, family life, divorce, and death of a spouse. Therapeutic interventions appropriate to each stage of relationship development are also explored. Every attempt is made to make this theory scientifically sound by basing the concepts described on published scientific research. “Hard science” has been differentiated from “clinical lore.” The reader is invited …

A Pearl Ravaged: The Paradox Of Haiti And Its Socioeconomic Origins, Isabel Ishibe Exel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Saint-Domingue was once the most profitable colony of the Caribbean, the so-called pearl of the Antilles. Nowadays, Haiti is known for being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, a dramatic shift that raises the question of the factors contributing to Haiti's current state, marked by persistent violence, natural disasters, and political instability. Various discourses have framed Haiti as a country doomed for failure. However, relying on binary concepts such as success and failure is counterproductive to a refined analysis. How, then, should we structure this conversation? My ultimate goal for this work is to provide a nuanced analysis of …

An Exploratory Approach To College Student Counterproductivity, Reagan L. Marsh, Justin Travis

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

Although counterproductivity (e.g., shirking responsibilities or lying to supervisors) is a focal topic for many industrial/organizational psychologists, the broader social psychology literature has historically focused on more serious and uncommon forms of individual-level deviance, often in terms of its relation to criminal activity or psychopathology. Additionally, sociologists study intentional harmful behaviors that individuals engage in but use the term deviance in lieu of counterproductivity. Regarding students, there has been some work that addresses the more common phenomenon of counterproductivity at school, such as lying to teachers and cheating on tests. Nevertheless, each of these domains, in criminal justice, social psychology, …

Does Having Air Conditioning Affect Friendship Formation In The First Two Months Of College?, Zachariah Hunt

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Sense Of Belonging Of Underrepresented Students: Role Of Faculty Inclusiveness And Online Versus Campus Learning, Elisavet Chaoua Intoumpor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Relationship Of Child Maltreatment, Self-Esteem, Trait Emotional Intelligence, And Trust In Romantic Relationships, Philip Thorsen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Craftivism As Inquiry: Holding Life’S Threads, Chloe Watfern, Gaynor Macdonald, Michele Elliot, Lynne Stone, Imelda Gilmore, Manuel Tecson, Najla Turk, Penny Bingham, Jane Mears, Ann Dadich, Barbara Doran, Katherine Boydell, Sarah Wallace

The Qualitative Report

In this article, we share insights regarding an arts-based research project where carers of people with dementia conveyed their experiences in cloth. Carers face high rates of mental ill health and burnout, while forming a largely undervalued and unrecognised workforce. Through this project, carers’ knowledge was valued and amplified using an innovative methodology – craftivism. During a series of five workshops in 2021, a small group of carers, researchers and artists gathered online to develop an exhibition of craftivist textile works. They evoked the complexity of their makers’ journeys supporting loved ones at the end of life, finding joy and …

Phenomenology Of Incels With Aggrieved Entitlement Who Participate In Online Communities, Catherine Patterson-Sterling

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Mental Health Professionals’ Experience Bridging The Gap Between The Mental Health Community And Law Enforcement, Amber Nichole Anderson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Competency-Based Personnel Selection Oklahoma - Implementation Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development (Qic-Wd)

Other QIC-WD Products

The Implementation Team

The QIC-WD worked with Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) Division of Child Welfare Services to establish a team to lead the development and implementation of their competency-based personnel selection intervention. The implementation team was called the Oklahoma QIC-WD Steering Committee. It included a Programs Analyst from each of the five geographic regions of the state and one from the Foster Care and Adoptions program, the Site Implementation Manager (SIM), the Data Coordinator, project sponsor (Deputy Director), representatives from Human Resources, training partners within OKDHS and from University of Oklahoma Center for Public Management, and three members of …

Examining The Role Of Mononormative Beliefs, Stigma, And Internalized Consensual Non-Monogamy Negativity For Dehumanization, David L. Rodrigues, Thomas R. Brooks, Rhonda N. Balzarini, Amy C. Moors, Diniz Lopes

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Interest in consensually non-monogamous (CNM) relationships has been increasing in the general population in recent years. However, given the cultural dominance of monogamy and the normative expectations often imposed through socialization (i.e., mononormativity), people in CNM relationships may experience negativity, which can become internalized and harm their individual and relationship health. The present study investigated if mononormativity beliefs and CNM relationship stigma were associated with more dehumanization and if internalized CNM negativity was an underlying mechanism for these associations. Results showed that participants who endorsed more mononormative beliefs and CNM relationship stigma also reported more internalized CNM negativity. In turn, …

Examining The Effects Of Manualized Suicide Intervention Training On Clinical Psychology Doctoral Trainees: A Quasi-Experimental Trial, Alexander Dorfman M.S.

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

Although most clinical psychology doctoral trainees encounter at least one suicidal client over the course of their training (Dexter-Mazza & Freeman, 2003), there is notable variability in the degree of formal suicide risk assessment and intervention training offered across clinical psychology doctoral programs (Monahan & Karver, 2021). Most suicide-related training involves passive (e.g., lectures) rather than active (e.g., role-plays, experiential exercises) training techniques, despite evidence for the effectiveness of the latter in improving clinicians’ skills (Gryglewicz et al., 2020). The Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is a manualized, evidence-based training incorporating didactics and role-plays (LivingWorks, 2013; Rodgers, 2010). The …

Momentary Suicidal Ideation In The Context Of Romantic Conflict, Hyungji Kim

Selected Full-Text Dissertations 2020-

This micro-longitudinal study examined the psychological mechanisms involved in the momentary unfolding of suicidal ideation (SI) subsequent to conflicts with a romantic partner (PRC), with a specific aim to examine the mediating and moderating roles of state anger (SA), rejection expectancy (RE), lack of emotional awareness (LEA), and perceived social support from friends (PSS). Adult participants (N = 114) who confirmed residing in the U.S., being in a romantic relationship for at least three months, and having experienced at least one episode of suicidal ideation within the past month were asked to complete self-report measures on baseline rejection expectancy (A-RSQ), …

The Impact Of Acculturative Stress On Psychological Wellbeing Among South Asian Adolescents And The Moderating Effect Of Gender, Rafia Zahid Chaudhry

Theses and Dissertations

The South Asian community is one of the fastest-growing immigrant populations in the United States (SAALT, 2019), and yet, there is a paucity of research that examines their experiences with acculturation, particularly in relation to stress. Likewise, acculturative stress or the strain associated with cross-cultural exposure is especially salient during adolescence when ethnic identity formation tends to materialize (Goforth et al., 2014) Researchers have indicated that acculturative stress is associated with negative mental health trajectories (Miller De Rutté & Rubenstein, 2021); nevertheless, virtually few studies have examined the variables associated with acculturative stress, especially among South Asian youth. The aim …

The Intersection Of Family Environment, Personality Development, And Life Satisfaction, Ché Malik Ashé

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the interplay between family environment, parental bonding, personality traits, personality dysfunction, and life satisfaction among college undergraduates. Participants were comprised of college undergraduates (N = 736; 79% female) and we obtained measures of big five personality dimensions, parental bonding, family environment, personality dysfunction, and life satisfaction. Findings indicate that emotional stability is the strongest predictor of life satisfaction, while negative affect is strongly correlated with personality dysfunction. Paternal bonding and family environment were particularly influential in shaping personality traits, which in turn impacted life satisfaction. Additionally, personality dysfunction traits show a stronger correlation to parental care than …

A Person-Centered Approach To The Mediating Effect Of Attention On Personality Similarity And Preference Using Eye-Tracking Technology, Gabriel Jose Sanchez

Theses and Dissertations

Similarity between personality traits has been observed to be predictive of preference and desirability in social relationships in various situations. Much of the research has approached detecting personality similarity on a trait-specific level using the Five Factor Model of personality or more recently by grouping individual personalities into clustered profiles using latent profile analysis. This study of 93 participants took a person-centered approach by detecting individual differences between participants’ personality profiles and target person profiles using Euclidean distance as a dissimilarity index. We then proposed attention as a mediating factor behind the observed association between personality similarity and preference. Using …

In The Religious Closet: A Phenomenological Study Exploring The Experiences Of Jewish Ultra Orthodox Nonbelievers, Yael Fessel

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

The visibility of individuals losing faith in Jewish ultra-Orthodox communities is increasing, with previous research explaining the unique challenges faced by nonbelievers in these communities. Existing literature identifies a group of individuals called “double lifers,” or those “in the closet,” who have internally disavowed Jewish Orthodox beliefs yet remain within their communities to avoid the consequences of disclosing nonbelief. Due to limited research on double lifers, this study seeks to explore the lived experiences of Jewish ultra-Orthodox double lifers through a phenomenological research approach. Twelve self-identified double lifers from ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities between the ages of 28-49 were recruited via …

From The Deceptive Delinquent To The Illusive Illicit Alien: A Qualitative Study Of 21st Century United States Border Security Law Enforcement’S Capabilities, Competencies, And Capacities Designed To Counter Transient Criminality Recruitment, Christopher C. Palme

Theses and Dissertations

The transient criminal enterprise progressively evolved through expansion of illicit trafficking pathways throughout the 21st century. Scholars and practitioners share roles and responsibilities in missed opportunities to combat transient criminality. The Intelligence Community’s intelligence process is deficient in timely production and dissemination of their products. Starting with the transient criminality recruitment process, a correlated lack of psychosocial training programs dedicated to countering the transient crime threat exists. This study is rooted in sociological theory. It addresses Homeland Security dilemmas through the theoretical lens of sociology of security (Bajc, 2013) and is enhanced by concepts from Social Identity (Tajfel, 1979), Social …