Digital Commons Network^™

The Victimization Of Heterosexual Males: A Literature Review On Domestic Violence, Chris Friendly, Christine Palmer Mph, Edd, Ches

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

Domestic violence, defined as both emotional and physical abuse in intimate relationships, is a pressing issue in today’s society. Because of its serious nature, domestic violence has become a topic of great interest and concern for many public health researchers. However, an overwhelming degree of the studies conducted by these investigators only examine the effects of domestic violence on the female population. In this literature review, 27 sources, both peer-reviewed articles and literature reviews, were previewed. Of the 27 sources, only four were specific to male victimization. This literature review highlights the research disparity between female and male domestic violence …

Gesture Development In Infants With Fragile X Syndrome, Killian R. Hughes, Jessica Klusek Ph.D., Ccc-Slp, Carsyn Butler B.A., Jane E. Roberts Ph.D.

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common known cause of inherited intellectual disability and also the most common known genetic cause of autism spectrum disorder (ASD; Flenthrope & Brady, 2010). About 60% of males diagnosed with FXS meet criteria for ASD (Klusek et al., 2014). Communication impairments are well documented in FXS and ASD; however, limited research has been done to examine early communication in FXS. Gesture use is one of the earliest signs of intentionality and can serve as an early red flag for atypical communication development, even before delays in spoken language are evident (Crais et al, …

The Relationship Between Child Externalizing Behaviors And Parental Stress In Children With Fragile X Syndrome, Erica Mazur, Majorie Grefer, Jane E. Roberts Phd

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the leading heritable cause for intellectual disabilities and the leading known genetic cause for developmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The present study examined the relationship between levels of externalizing behaviors in children with FXS and increased parenting stress in parents of children with FXS. Aggressive behaviors and autism severity were examined in 48 male children diagnosed with FXS (range 2-5 years). Parenting stress was examined in 27 of their mothers and 21 of their fathers. Increased severity of autistic behavior was associated with elevated parental stress. Greater levels of parental stress were …

A Review Of Video Game Effects And Uses, David Corso

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

Video games are versatile in their form and function. Whether they’re training doctors or offsetting Alzheimer’s disease, video games can exercise both mental and physical features, train specific skills for a number of jobs, educate players about events and phenomenon in our world, research and understand natural human processes, and they can be designed for a number of other purposes. Multiple studies have demonstrated the effects of video games on physiological and cognitive levels—positive, negative, and everything in between. This paper identifies various physical and psychological effects that video games produce, and it suggests ways in which video games can …

Harness The Darkness! Blackout Poetry And Drama Therapy For Systemic Existential Dread: A Proposed Methodology, Kerry Sullivan

Expressive Therapies Theses

This thesis explores the intersection of drama therapy and blackout poetry as a therapeutic intervention to address systemic existential dread (SED) among emerging adults. The proposed methodology is titled "Bringing Blackout Poetry to Life" and consists of five sessions designed to explore the participants’ SED and generate poetry, culminating in a public performance. By integrating elements from psychodrama and drama therapy with the therapeutic process of blackout poetry, the intervention intends to aid processing on all levels of the expressive therapies continuum (ETC), strengthen tolerance for uncertainty, and facilitate sustainable community action. This theoretical framework is supported by a wide-ranging …

Body And Size Acceptance In Dance/Movement Therapy, Kathryn Pedersen

Expressive Therapies Theses

The pervasiveness of anti-fat bias within American culture is growing due to the rise in popularity of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1s) and the current United States administration’s discriminatory views towards minority groups. With Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) being a body-based modality, it is necessary to examine the available literature to discover the theoretical orientations that are being used when working with fat populations. Quantitative and qualitative studies from both international and United States-based sources were reviewed, and findings indicated that while both the medicalized view of fatness and the body acceptance-based view of fatness were employed, United States-based research most …

Elevation, Demographic Composition, And Suicide Rates: A Municipality-Level Analysis In Colorado And Wyoming, Steven Loader

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Neural Mechanisms Underlying Jung’S Active Imagination: A Review And Hypothesis, Charles R. Fox

Journal of Conscious Evolution

Active imagination is a key technique of Jungian analysis. Despite its centrality, and its potential importance beyond Jungian psychology to the area of systems neuroscience, psychology, and consciousness studies, there are no known neurological mechanisms underlying this psychological phenomenon. There is a history of using the types of mental imagery used in active imagination to explore consciousness. The development and use of active imagination is briefly reviewed, and a case is developed that the neurology underlying active imagination would be fruitfully explored by considering it a special case of mystical experience. Active imagination primarily uses the right hemisphere processing of …

Miracles Or Mirages? Miracle Language In Medical Communication, Thomas Yu

Senior Honors Theses

The current study seeks to understand how miracle language exists as a persuasive tool by examining the usage of miracle language in the discourse surrounding the release of Xolair for individuals with food allergies. This was accomplished by conducting a qualitative analysis of the miracle language employed by those engaged in the Xolair discourse. An extensive literature review was conducted to gain a foundational understanding of medical persuasion and miracle language, as well as an understanding of the theoretical foundations of this study. Twenty-four pieces of literature from pharmaceutical companies, and food allergy community members were chronicled and studied utilizing …

A Comparison Of Simple And Differentially Signaled Vr Exchange-Production Schedules, David Duong

Thesis Projects

Token systems typically rely on the conditioned reinforcement effects of tokens to increase responding; however, there may be additional effects and properties as well. This study aims to compare rates of responding between simple VR exchange-production schedules, differentially signaled VR exchange-production schedules, and a control condition to evaluate the operant and respondent effects that token correlated stimuli have on responding. The rates of acquisition of flashcards terms with two college students were tracked. Results indicate that the schedule of reinforcement in place had little impact on the acquisition of flashcard terms, with similar rates of responding across all three conditions. …

The Role Of Viewing Traditionally Gendered Media In Childhood On Influencing Adult Ideas Of Gender Roles And Relationship Ideology, Haille Mark

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Research suggests that the media children watch in their childhood has implications for their socialization, including identity formation, and understanding of gender roles. This study examines the role of children’s films on traditional gender roles and relationship expectations in adulthood. In the current study, female college students were surveyed to assess how the films they watched affected their “MRS” Degree seeking ideology, benevolent sexism, and traditional gender roles. Movies were coded using a scheme, which assesses themes of sexualization, objectification, agency and gender roles. A general linear model (GLM) was used to assess the association. The researcher hypothesizes a relationship …

The Lived Experiences Of Mental Health Clinicians Treating Adolescents Diagnosed With Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Gilbert Hernandez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

I Lost My Number, Can I Have Yours? Body Image Satisfaction With Sexually Dimorphic Traits Is Associated With Men's Dating Anxiety And Confidence, David A. Frederick, Tania A. Reynolds, Nikoline L. Smart, Justin R. Garcia, David A. Puts

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Evolutionary scientists posit that sexual selection processes caused males to develop sexually dimorphic traits to aid them during intrasexual competition and increase their likelihood of being chosen as mates. Evolutionary social sciences have extensively examined women's preferences for traits such as muscle mass and voice pitch, reasoning that these traits serve as cues of men's ability to provide direct benefits (e.g., resources) and indirect (genetic) benefits passed on to offspring. At the same time, body image researchers have extensively focused on the social causes and consequences of men's dissatisfaction with their muscularity and body fat. We connected these two research …

Parenting Practices And Support Towards Learning On Kindergarteners’ Behavioral And Social-Emotional Outcomes, Natalie J. Cassady

Honors Capstones

The relationship between parents and children have been found to be predictive of children’s socialization. Children’s behavior and social interactions are significant factors that shape their school experiences, which may be influenced by parents’ involvement and support towards their child’s education. This investigation studies the influence of parenting practices and parental support for learning on children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors, inattention, and social competence. This study uses data from 181 kindergarten students, in which caregivers and teachers completed various questionnaires regarding aspects of specific parenting behavior, types of parental involvement, and children’s social skills and behavior. Using multiple linear regression …

Neurodiversity In The Workplace: Organizational Approaches To Supporting Neurodiverse Employees, Madison Vasquez

M.S. in Leadership

Despite growing conversation around neurodiversity in the workplace, many organizations lack clear understanding and structured strategies to support neurodivergent employees. This study examines existing research on how organizations can more effectively support neurodiverse employees across the employee lifecycle. Using a qualitative literature review, this study addresses the research question by examining literature on neurodiversity within workplace contexts. This includes investigating common representations of neurodiversity and reviewing the strengths and challenges of neurodiverse individuals, including those who have autism, ADHD, and other forms of neurodivergence. The study also reviews workplace barriers, support strategies, and organizational outcomes identified across the literature. Key …

Exploring Identity Through Clay: A Humanistic Art Therapy Case Study With A Blind Chinese Adoptee, Virginia Jade Leicht

Expressive Therapies Theses

This qualitative case study explored how working with clay in art therapy can help support a blind man’s identity exploration. This paper addresses the problem of many traditional therapeutic approaches within the art therapy realm: They rely too heavily on visual engagement, which can limit the accessibility and opportunities for self-exploration and identity development for those who are blind. The study was grounded in current research and foundational theories based on the humanistic art therapy approach. Clay is considered an accessible medium that engages multiple senses and allows for emotional exploration and meaning making, specifically through tactile and sensory-based engagement …

Returning To Play: Play-Centered Art Therapy With Parentified Adult Caregivers, Paola Andrea Mendez Carreno

Expressive Therapies Theses

This research investigates the impact of play-centered art therapy on parentified adult caregivers, focusing on how creative interventions utilizing elements of play can support identity development, self-compassion, and relational capacity. The literature indicates that childhood parentification leads to identity loss and burnout, but creative play can foster neuroplasticity and emotional processing by allowing adults to externalize harmful narratives that have been internalized. To explore these concepts, the author conducted four sessions over six weeks with an adult participant at a private outpatient practice in Massachusetts. Play-centered activities included free collaging, puppet-making, and clay modeling, often involving moments of parallel play …

What Learning Benefits Can Leadership Bring To Social Dilemma Situations?, Kyisha M. Walter

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Social dilemmas are ethical dilemmas that citizens, students and employees face every day. When faced with a social dilemma, an individual must work alone and along with others in a group. These situations create conflict between personal and group interests and can be easily mismanaged. Research has started to tackle the question of how we can teach people to best manage a social dilemma. The current exploratory study asks the same question with respect to leadership. Undergraduate students (N=20) played a social dilemma board game twice in groups of four, received a lesson on social dilemmas, and completed …

Exam Approach Impacts On Test Anxiety And Motivational Outcomes, Makenna Lynn Frias

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

In science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields students are facing exams with record high rates of worry and discomfort, this is known as test anxiety (Rajiah, et al., 2014). Factors such as self-concept (Simpkins et al., 2006) and views of control (Levenson, 1974) are negatively affected by examinations (the terms ‘exam’ and ‘test’ will be used interchangeably) (Spielberger, 1980). A student’s fear of failure, or how the students perceive setbacks or challenges, impacts and is impacted by test anxiety (Henry et al., 2021; Conroy, et al., 2002). Being established by the professor, the exam approach is beyond a student’s …

Exploring The Role Of Online Spaces In Understanding Young Adult Mental Health Attitudes: Internalizes Stigma, Help Seeking Behaviors, And Mental Health Centered Content, Harley Thomas

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Mental Health is an ever-rising concern in the United States, with many people experiencing some form of mental health concerns. One new tool used to fight the mental health crisis has been online content on social media sites. Few studies have been done to see the actual effect of the rise of mental health content and terminology used online, especially through the lens of those who have lived experience. We conducted an online survey via Prolific to gather quantitative and qualitative data from 287 young adults in the United States, ages 18-25, to examine their exposure to mental health content, …

Exploring The Experiences Of Adult Children Of Parents With Addiction: A Qualitative Support Group Approach, Brooke Stanton

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Adult children of parents with addiction often grow up having to navigate emotional instability, inconsistent caregiving, and long-term relational impacts that continue into adulthood. Many individuals report limited access to supportive care and spaces where they can share their stories. This capstone project addresses the gap by designing and facilitating a support group specifically for adult children of parents to build connection and healing. Through this qualitative study, participant feedback, and analysis, this project examines how structured peer support can create meaningful change for this population. The following paper outlines the development of the group, the theoretical foundations that guided …

Supporting An Inclusive Summer Camp For Children With Developmental Disabilities Who Use Aac And Their Neurotypical Peers: A Practice-Based Report, Jessica Hicks

Communication Disorders and Occupational Therapy Undergraduate Honors Theses

For my honors research, I completed an internship in an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) lab at the University of Arkansas. For most of my internship work, I helped support an inclusive AAC summer camp for children with and without developmental disabilities, such as autism, for whom speech does not fully meet their communication needs. AAC includes high-tech tools such as communication apps on tablets that serve as speech-generating devices (SGDs). SGDs were used by many of the AAC summer camp participants with developmental disabilities. In this report, I will provide background information on AAC and developmental disabilities. I will …

Limerence, Social Media, And The Reinforcement Of Romantic Obsessions Across Online Contexts, Lily Lawson

Honors Projects

This project examines limerence from both a psychological and sociological perspective. The psychological component aimed to investigates whether higher limerent scores predict greater engagement in social media monitoring behaviors related to a romantic interest, and whether these monitoring behaviors are associated with increased interpretation of ambiguous social cues-failure to obtain IRB approval resulted in limitations in completing the study. The sociological component uses qualitative observational methods to examine how two Reddit communities,  r/NevilleGoddard and r/ShiftingRealities,  reinforce limerent and parasocial romantic behaviors. Findings from the qualitative analysis reveal patterns of emotional attachment, ritualized obsession, perceived reciprocation, self-insert fantasy, and escapism across …

The Intersection Between Adolescent Pregnancy, Mental Health Concerns, Stigma, And Sex Education, Madelon Cox

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This thesis discusses research from the past two decades focused on factors contributing to an increased risk of adolescent pregnancy and the lasting impact of that pregnancy. The consequences of being a pregnant adolescent can be compounded by race, gender, socioeconomic class, and access to education. Adolescent pregnancy also carries significant physical and mental health risk for the adolescent and the child. Awareness and various interventions can help pregnant adolescents or those who may be at risk for adolescent pregnancy to support them, prevent isolation, and reduce further negative mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety.

"Respect Is Earned, Not Given": Analyzing Masculine Honor Ideology And Dominance And Prestige-Motivated Outcomes, Norah Rose Schloneger

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Masculine honor ideology is the idea that men act aggressively or violently toward women and others to achieve a masculine reputation. Previous research shows that men higher in masculine honor seek higher status and use prestige (e.g. respect, honor) or dominance (e.g. aggression, force) to achieve it. Using a variation of the prisoner’s dilemma—a game where participants are assigned to another player that they can choose to compete or cooperate with to maximize a point total—we analyzed behavioral outcomes of said motivations for men higher in masculine honor. We predicted that men higher in masculine honor using honor-dominance motivations would …

Leading Ai Adoption In Organizations: Introducing A Behavioral Human-Centered Approach, Shane Schweitzer, Devesh Narayan, Jack Mcguire, David De Cremer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Initiatives to implement AI technologies in organizations fail at an alarming rate. We argue that leading the adoption of AI is not a simple engineering exercise but rather represents a behavioral exercise where change management principles—the process by which organizations plan, implement, and embed changes in practices—are employed. However, many AI initiatives in business focus predominantly on the AI systems themselves, assuming humans will fall in line. To solve this, we integrate ideas from change management with scholarship on human-centered artificial intelligence to offer a behavioral approach that accounts for the impact of AI adoption on humans at all stages …

Preventing Tragedy: The Role Of School-Based Mental Health Professionals In Mitigating School Shootings, Kaitlyn Bain

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

School shootings remain a critical concern in the United States, demonstrating the need for research into preventative measures within educational settings. With this in mind, the present study explores how the ratio of school psychologists and school counselors to students may affect school shootings, and if understanding these ratios can provide clarity on any inadequacies. It reviews the uses of mental health professionals in schools and the growing need for their services, while also highlighting how the use of crisis communication can be implemented into their skillset in order to reduce violence seen in adolescents before, during, and after crises …

Exploring Women’S Views On Intra-Gender Dynamics In The Workplace: A Study Of Impact And Change, Deidra L. Close

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine women’s intra-gender experiences in higher education workplaces and their perceived influence on future interactions and behaviors, as well as to explore potential relationships between relational aggression (RA) and the Queen Bee Phenomenon (QBP). Using the following research questions, the researcher examined how women perceive interactions with female supervisors, colleagues, and those exhibiting Queen Bee tendencies, as well as how such experiences influence their future workplace behaviors and interactions. RQ1: What have been the perceived experiences of women in higher education working with a female supervisor? RQ2: What have been the perceived …

Parenthood And Mental Health Among University Populations In Sub-Saharan Africa: A Cross-Sectional Study, Tuwani A. Rasengane, Ngozika Esther Ezinne, Antor Ndep, Nnamdi John Eseme, Susarah Maria Richter, Kingsley E. Agho, Ebele Gertrude Ejidike, Michael Agyemang Kwarteng, Kelechukwu Enyinnaya Ahaiwe, Nnaemeka Meribe, Obed Adonteng-Kissi, Edith Daniel-Nwosu, Mchillary Ogiemudia Osamudiamen, Ike Onyebuchi Oforbuike, Grace Obumneke Ogbonna, Isaura Ilorena D.Alva Brito Dos Santos, Okechi Ulumma Amaechi, Ugochukwu E. Uzuegbu, Khathutshelo Percy Mashige, Uchechukwu Levi Osuagwu

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background and Aims: This study examined the association between parenthood status and psychological well-being among university staff and students in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods: A cross-sectional, web-based survey was conducted across 22 universities in four SSA countries using convenience sampling. A total of 1189 university staff and students, including parents and non-parents, participated. Mental health outcomes were assessed using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS-21). Multinomial logistic regression models were used to examine associations between parenthood status and mental health outcomes after adjusting for sociodemographic and contextual factors. Results: Participants with children had lower odds of moderate depression (adjusted …

The Influence Of Valence On Action Control: A Comparison Of Simon Effects In The Extrinsic Affective Simon Task (East) And The Spatial Simon Task, Yaara Aleissa

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

People adjust their thoughts and actions in response to a changing environment every day and emotions may influence these actions. Understanding how emotion impacts action control in situations where emotion is central to the action (task-relevant) compared to when it is present in the environment as distracting information (task-irrelevant) is essential. Currently it is unclear when emotion most significantly modulates action control. This study seeks to compare how valence (positive versus negative emotion) impacts action control performance when valence is task-relevant and task-irrelevant by using two modified versions of the Simon conflict task.

The Simon task is a paradigm to …