Digital Commons Network^™

Impact Of Students' Off-Task Technology Use During Instruction On Teachers, David Lancaster

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The increase of technology in educational classrooms has changed the way instruction is delivered and received, positively and negatively. When technology is used for off-task purposes, negative effects on student learning are well-documented. However, little research has been conducted on the effect of student off-task technology use on teachers. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of off-task technology use during instruction on K-12 teachers, while including more modern devices. Two hundred sixty-two Kentucky K-12 teachers completed online surveys in which their perceptions of multitasking, views of the impact of off-task technology use on students, and on …

Faculty Perception Of The Impact Of Covid-19: A Descriptive Case Study Analysis, Traci Pooler

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to get an understanding of college faculty experiences and perceptions of student learning outcomes during forced virtual instruction in the spring 2020 semester. The study was limited to faculty who taught at one of the 18 member institutions of the Association of Kentucky Colleges and Universities (AIKCU). Factors such as the discipline being taught were considered. Other factors considered were faculty experience with virtual instruction, the availability of technology for faculty and students, and the support provided to students and faculty amid the transition to virtual instruction. The survey reviewed responses from each AIKCU …

Agreement Of Psychiatric Diagnoses Within And Between Groups Of Mental Health Clinicians From Different Disciplines, Wade Mcguire

Dissertations

The development of therapy as a treatment option for mental health problems has led to the creation of different disciplines. Each discipline has developed its own conceptualization of classification and treatment of mental health problems. These conceptualizations have led to different areas of focus for each of the disciplines, specifically counseling, psychology, and social work. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether these areas of focus influence how each discipline diagnoses. For this study, data was collected by having clinicians provide diagnoses for three fictitious clients. The vignettes for the clients were taken from a psychopathology textbook to …

Inner Portraits, Bethany Salisbury

Graduate Theses

This paper investigates the many interconnected layers of women’s mental health through portraiture and how animal and plant symbolism can represent the way women's hormones and bodily health affect their mental health. I reveal how the artwork created presents these connections and inner mental health narratives to the viewer, creating a space of empathy, destigmatization, and self-reflection. This body of portraiture art connects five women through a series of both two-and three-dimensional portraits based on interviews using my own adaptation of Sara Lawrence-Lightfoots’ (1983) portrait methodology.

Women and non-binary individuals have always dealt with difficult interactions of bodily and mental …

Investigating The Psychology Of Morbid Curiosity: The Role Of Needing To Know, Hanna Rose Harbison Ruedisili

Psychology Honors Projects

The goal of this study was to investigate the psychological factors that motivate morbidly curious behavior, specifically the cognitive motivation to learn new information. Participants were shown various morbid and non-morbid control images, sometimes with a preview and sometimes without a preview. The preview condition created a situation in which the target image contained no new information, thereby removing the opportunity to learn more information. For each image, participants were asked to complete a visual search task unrelated to the content of the image as quickly as possible. If morbid content distracted participants from the visual search task, then response …

Addressing The Complexity Of Mental Health Care For Youth Experiencing Houselessness, Sarah Hamilton

Psychology Honors Projects

Children and youth experiencing houselessness have a unique set of mental health needs due to the traumatic experience of houselessness during childhood and the other adverse childhood experiences that often coincide with houselessness (van der Kolk, 2003; Wong et al., 2016). They face immense barriers in access to mental health care due to logistical factors as a result of their housing status and socio-structural factors (Krippel et al., 2020; Gallardo et al., 2020; Bradley et al., 2018). However, existing studies reveal a lack of evidence-based interventions for children and youth experiencing houselessness and a lack of insight from mental health …

Leaders' Virtual & In-Person Communication: The Impact Of Employee Preference On Job Satisfaction, Adalin Mcdaniel

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Communication between supervisors and subordinates has consistently been viewed as a primary element of leadership, and a factor that is important in the leader-subordinate relationship via Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory. Recently, with the massive shift to virtual working, leadership communication has gained greater prominence in research and practical settings. Therefore, examining the role that virtual leadership communication plays in employee job satisfaction is an important first step in beginning to understand the shift to predominant work settings from home. I examined the influence of employee perceptions and preferences of leadership communication on job satisfaction via a panel design in which …

Detecting Callous Unemotional Traits In A Community Sample Of Adolescents: An Extension Of The Thin Slice Assessment Approach, Sophia V. Cook

ETD Archive

Despite a large body of research focusing on aggression, it remains a leading problem for youth, and leaves experts struggling to find a fast and reliable approach to identify related traits. Callous-unemotional traits (CU) are viewed as lack of guilt, limited display of emotion, absence of empathy, and the use of others for one’s own gain (Frick et al., 2002; Frick & White, 2008). Researchers have shown a significant correlation between CU traits and aggressive behaviors associated with conduct problems (Essau et al., 2006). Thin slicing (TS) has been defined as quick judgements based on brief excerpts of expressive behavior …

A Discourse Analysis Of Parents' And Teachers' Social Constructions Of School Readiness And Transition To Kindergarten For Children With Disabilities, Ronica Senores Toyota

Education (PhD) Dissertations

This study examined parents’ and teachers’ social constructions of disability, school readiness, and the transition to kindergarten process for children with disabilities who participated in a self-contained preschool special education (SPED) class, called a special day class (SDC). The 12 participants included parents of children with disabilities (i.e., three with autism and one with Down syndrome), four preschool SDC teachers, two kindergarten SDC teachers, and two general education kindergarten teachers. They were recruited from a large urban school district in Southern California. Semistructured interviews were conducted to invite participants to share their experiences working with students with disabilities and their …

Examining The Relationship Between Anxiety And Depression Symptoms, Protective Behavioral Strategies And Opioid Use Outcomes, Melissa Rose Hatch

Psychology ETDs

Protective behavioral strategies (PBS), behaviors individuals use to reduce negative consequences of substance use, have been shown to mediate and moderate the relationship between mental health and substance use outcomes. The present study aimed to examine the relationships between anxiety and depression symptoms and opioid PBS on risky opioid use and opioid-related consequences. Participants in this secondary data analysis were non-treatment seeking individuals who reported past-month opioid use (n=257). Structural equation modeling was used to examine 1) PBS as a mediator of the relationship between anxiety/depression symptoms and opioid use outcomes, and 2) anxiety/depression symptoms as a moderator …

The Emotions Behind The Screen, Eli Gray Nations '23

Honor Scholar Theses

This thesis revolves around the narrative form of Dungeons and Dragons, that the players have true free will, which allows for the highest level of storytelling. By reaching this level, the players are able to freely tackle issues in their life and surrounding them, like testing out negative parts of their personality and finding community during events like the COVID pandemic. This, combined with the recent scandal from DnD’s publisher Wizards of the Coast poses this question: what exactly is DnD, therapy, art, community, or just a game? This thesis hopes to lead the reader to answer this question in …

Adolescents With Family History Of Alcohol-Use Disorders Have Reduced Structural Coherence Of Anterior Insula To Nucleus Accumbens Tract, Grace Wood

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Genetics play a significant role in predisposition towards alcohol use disorders. Analyzing the neural phenotypes related to alcohol use disorder development could allow researchers to predict one’s predisposition. The anterior insula (AIns) contributes to binge drinking tendencies while exhibiting downstream signaling towards the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). Recent research has examined this relationship simultaneously with alcohol consumption, but the genetic effect of the AIns and NAcc functional relationship prior to alcohol consumption has yet to be examined. In this study, we used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study to analyze the structural coherence of the AIns to NAcc …

The Connections Among Worry, Sleep Hygiene, And Sleep Quality, Anna Quesada

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sleep disturbances commonly plague undergraduate students (Buboltz et al., 2001). In fact, being an undergraduate student is a risk factor for developing a sleep disturbance (Medic et. al., 2017). Understanding the impact of worry on the relationship between sleep hygiene and sleep disturbances could inform strategies for improving sleep quality in undergraduate populations. Given the fact that sleep issues affect health and academic performance negatively (Buboltz, et al., 2001), improving sleep patterns may boost academic performance, physical health, and mental health. This study investigated relationships between sleep hygiene and worry in an undergraduate sample by using a longitudinal design. Participants …

Examining Fear Of Negative Evaluation In Oral Contraceptive Users And Naturally Cycling Women, Emily Furlow

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Oral contraceptive use has gained popularity over recent decades and is currently the most used form of contraception. However, women who take oral contraceptives may experience significant side effects that impact their bodies, moods, and emotions. The current study examined fear of negative evaluation in women taking oral contraceptives and women who were naturally cycling following a social stress test. I hypothesized oral contraceptive users would have a higher fear of negative evaluation in comparison to naturally cycling women following the Trier Social Stress Test. Results did not support this hypothesis. There was marginal support for the opposite effect. Following …

Effects Of Parental Alcoholism On Adolescent Development, Diana Michel-Gonzales

Whittier Scholars Program

Studies assessed the magnitude and specificity of parental alcoholism as a risk factor for internalizing symptomatology, externalizing symptomatology, and alcohol and drug use in adolescence. The results show that alcoholism is a moderate risk factor. The outcome measure has a different risk specificity. The risk of alcoholism is caused by parental psychopathology and environmental stress. The father's alcoholism was a risk for alcohol use that was beyond the effects of stress and family turmoil. The children of problem drinkers are affected by externalities. When designing and financing addiction treatment programs, long-term consequences of alcohol misuse should be taken into account. …

Children's Beliefs About Hierarchical Structures And Relationships., Megan Norris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Children are surrounded by social structures such as families, schools, and workplaces which are often arranged hierarchically with some people holding more power than others. This dissertation explores how children think about hierarchical relationships and more complex hierarchical structures. In Chapter 2, children were asked to evaluate the traits of people who hold hierarchically dominant and subordinate social roles. With age, 4- to 6-year-olds increasingly inferred that dominant individuals have social power and they deferred to their instructions (Chapter 2, Study 1). Furthermore, 5- and 6-year-olds attributed knowledgeability to individuals with dominant social roles but overall children did not prefer …

Adolescent Acceptability Of Mental Health Interventions: A Systematic Review, Norah Bufford

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Many children and adolescents experience a mental health problem, and of those that do, a significant percentage will only receive interventions in the schools. One important part of intervention research is measuring stakeholder acceptability. Research demonstrates that collecting data on student acceptability for mental health interventions in schools helps to understand student satisfaction, level of understanding, and if they would recommend the interventions to peers. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature to determine measures used in assessing student acceptability when receiving mental health interventions in schools. Results suggest that most studies that …

The Influence Of Community Trauma And The Behaviors Of Gang Members, Leshelle Franklin

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Although there is an abundance of research done on gang members, gang activity, and gang activity in low-income neighborhoods, there is not much research that focuses on the community trauma in low-income neighborhoods; and any relations it may have on or to gang members. Research pertaining to gang members usually focuses on how gang activity affects the lives of non-gang members living in the community. This research study aims to explore community trauma and the behaviors of gang members, from a gang member’s perspective. This research study gives insight into the minds of 10 male African American gang members, as …

Exploring The Intersectionality Between Homelessness And Addiction: A Review, Antonia Miranda

Honors Projects

The homelessness crisis and drug epidemic have been, and continue to, ravage the nation in a manner that is both detrimental to society and humanity. The correlation between substance abuse and homelessness is enormous, though not necessarily causal. The conditions of being homeless coupled with the prevalence of mental illness drastically increases the susceptibility to substance abuse and addiction. On the other hand, addiction and substance abuse can contribute to someone entering homelessness. The intersectionality between the two is frequently ignored, yet critical to address. Informed by research regarding both conditions, the implications for public policy and reform are huge. …

Long-Term Effects Of Juvenile Ketamine And/Or Social Stress Exposure On Spatial Memory Performance In C57bl/6 Mice, Israel Garcia Carachure

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Ketamine is administered to manage major depressive disorder in adolescent patients. However, the long-term effects of juvenile ketamine exposure on memory-related tasks have not been thoroughly assessed. Thus, we examined whether exposure to ketamine, psychological stress, or both, results in long-lasting alterations in spatial memory in C57BL/6 mice. Furthermore, we evaluated how ketamine and/or psychological stress history influenced hippocampal protein kinase b¬–mammalian target of rapamycin (AKT-mTOR)-related signaling, since this molecular cascade is associated with ketamine’s acute/fast-acting antidepressant properties. Male and female postnatal day (PD)-35 mice underwent 10-days of vicarious defeat stress (VDS), a form of psychological stress, with or without …

Does A Single Night Of Mindfulness Meditation Improve Sleep And Stress In Female College Students?, Koushik Thudi

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Several recent studies have shown that mindfulness-based practices have been effective in treating sleep problems. However, these studies have primarily looked at multi-component interventions that take place over several weeks or months. No studies have evaluated the efficacy of short-term mindfulness-based practices on sleep the same night. This study aims to do just that. The sample consisted of 10 students attending the University of Arkansas. All participants slept in a sleep laboratory on two consecutive weekday nights. During one night, they completed a mindfulness-based exercise. The other night, they completed a similar control task (counterbalanced). Polysomnography-based sleep data were collected …

Adolescent Perception Of Different Conspiracy-Like Scenarios, Christine Honn

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Conspiracy theories are claims that are unverified, less plausible than the mainstream explanation, and contain a malevolent actor. A potentially related concept is intellectual humility, which is a person's willingness to admit when they are not knowledgeable about a subject and turn to an expert or authority figure for an answer. I hypothesized that adolescents who are more prone to endorse conspiracy theories in general as well as believe in specific conspiracy theories would have lower levels of intellectual humility than their conspiracy-resistant peers. Participants read eight conspiratorial vignettes and answered questions about traits of the vignettes, then filled out …

Trace Dna Detection Using Diamond Dye: A Recovery Technique To Yield More Dna, Leah Davis

Master's Theses

This study aspires to find a new screening approach to trace DNA recovery techniques to yield a higher quantity of trace DNA from larger items of evidence. It takes the path of visualizing trace DNA on items of evidence with potential DNA so analysts can swab a more localized area rather than attempting to recover trace DNA through the general swabbing technique currently used for trace DNA recovery. The first and second parts consisted of observing trace DNA interaction with Diamond Dye on porous and non-porous surfaces.

The third part involved applying the Diamond Dye solution by spraying it onto …

A Survey Of Knowledge And Beliefs On Child Maltreatment, Brooke R. Stettler

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Child sexual abuse (CSA) remains a wide-spread problem and challenging to prosecute in a court of law for many reasons, among these being the manner in which children disclose abuse. A recent Supreme Court ruling decided upon the admissibility of expert testimony in cases of CSA, which raise important questions about how lay individuals think about different disclosure behaviors. As such, the current study investigated knowledge and beliefs about two common CSA disclosure behaviors—delayed disclosure and recantation—in a sample of jury eligible lay persons. The primary aims associated with this study were to characterize individuals’ knowledge and beliefs regarding the …

An Analysis Of The Sophistication–Maturity Of Justice And Non-Justice Involved Youth And Young Adults, Lauren Grove

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Juvenile transfer refers to a set of mechanisms whereby a juvenile’s case may be processed in criminal court. Forensic mental health evaluators often assess youths’ risk/dangerousness, sophistication–maturity, and treatment amenability to assist judicial determinations regarding youth disposition. Of these three factors, sophistication–maturity—in which the law is concerned with the extent to which a juvenile defendant’s criminal sophistication and maturity level parallels that of an adult—has traditionally been the most challenging for practitioners to define and apply in practice. The Risk-Sophistication-Treatment Inventory (RSTI) is the only commercially available, specialized forensic assessment instrument for the assessment of youths’ sophistication–maturity. However, this tool …

The Effects Of Traumatic Brain Injury On Empathy And Quality Of Life, Nicholas James Pek

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Physical, emotional, cognitive, and social problems can all result from a traumatic brain injury. The focus of this present research was to investigate individuals with moderate-to-severe TBI who lack empathy and how that lack in empathy might impact their quality-of-life. Individuals with moderate-to-severe TBI between ages 18 and 65 (N=39) completed questionnaires including the Quality of Life after Brain Injury (QOLIBRI) and Empathy Quotient (EQ) as part of a larger study. A correlational analysis was completed between the total scores on the EQ and total scores on the QOLIBRI before splitting the participants into groups. A relationship between total scores …

Exoskeleton Gait Training To Improve Walking Adaptability In Persons With Multiple Sclerosis, Alfonse Gaite

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

There have been numerous research studies investigating the feasibility and effectiveness of exoskeleton-assisted gait training as a treatment for lower extremity motor rehabilitation in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, while most of the research on exoskeleton- assisted gait training investigate its impact on general gait and balance during ambulation, investigating the effectiveness of exoskeleton gait training in improving walking adaptability remains underexplored. The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of exoskeleton- assisted gait training compared to traditional gait training on improving walking adaptability in persons with MS. The study is a secondary analysis using data from a Kessler …

Resilience In Girlhood: An Analysis Of The Social Determinants Of Anxiety Disorders For Adolescent Girls, Maggie Sullivan '23

Honor Scholar Theses

Anxiety disorders affect twice as many women as men and often begin in adolescence or young adulthood, which is a unique period of accelerated development and identity formation. Evidence points to social determinants of health (SDH) such as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), socioeconomic status (SES), education, social media, and resilience that lead to this discrepancy. Girlhood is a distinct adolescence because girls face the effects of more ACEs, self-objectification, internalization of academic stress, and predisposition to low SES. This thesis summarizes research on the social determinants of anxiety for adolescent girls, utilizing a socio-ecological model and feminist research methods to …

Power, Pleasure, And Privilege: Defining Depauw’S Hookup Culture And Its Mental Health Implications, Reanna Stiehler '23

Honor Scholar Theses

Hookup culture is not primarily about sex, pleasure, connection, or freedom. Hookup culture is about power—how power is used, distributed, and desired. Previous work in hookup culture discusses a discourse of desire; however, the root and nature of this desire are unclear. I posit that hookup culture, as it currently exists, is strongly related to rape culture. In this thesis, I will explicate my anecdotal, qualitative, and quantitative evidence supporting this hypothesis.

The Bard’S Precursors To Psychology: Exposing Dark Sides Of Human Nature, Rebecca Parsons '23

Honor Scholar Theses

No abstract provided.