Digital Commons Network^™

Pathways To Aggression: Understanding Peer Victimization In Adolescence, Makenzie H. Clarken

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Insight into aggression among early adolescents is important to understanding its predictors and consequences. In adolescence, aggression is typically related to underlying issues. Addressing this is important, as unmanageable aggression progressing past early adolescence can result in involvement in the criminal justice system. Studies show that peer victimization is associated with increased levels of aggression. Aggressive adolescents may attract victimization from their peers, or those who are victimized may respond with aggression. The current study followed a sample of 182 fifth and sixth graders over the course of the school year. Constructs such as aggression, peer victimization, and social withdrawal …

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Cbt) Benefits For Autism Spectrum Disorder, Riley Q. Thomas

Institute for Disability Studies

No abstract provided.

Are People More Likely To See Actions As Intentional When They Are Forced To Make Their Decisions Quickly? A Replication And Extension Of Rosset (2008), Andrew Elmore

Honors Theses

Rosset (2008) reported evidence of an intentionality bias, which is a key prediction of a model of human cognition that suggests that people learn to override intentional attributions of behavior, a dual-process model of intention attribution. A model that hypothesizes that when people are deprived of the time to develop deliberate thought processes, their default explanation for actions is intentional, and that this default attribution has to be consciously overridden. Rosset’s main method of testing this was by providing test sentences to participants and placing them into two scenarios where they had different levels of time to process the sentences. …

Structural Racism And Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration Among Racially Diverse Men Transitioning Into Fatherhood: An Anti-Racist Approach To Ipv Prevention, Tiara C. Willie, Sabriya Linton, Leslie B. Adams, Nicole Overstreet, Shannon Whittaker, Theresa Faller, Deja Knight, Trace S. Kershaw

Psychology

Background: Young couples transitioning into parenthood are at elevated risk of experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV), in part, due to the social and economic stressors associated with this critical time. Interpersonal racial discrimination is a known risk factor for male-to-female IPV perpetration, however few studies have examined this relationship among men transitioning to fatherhood. Similarly, structural racism acknowledges how inequitable systems reinforce racial discrimination; yet, few studies have investigated whether structural racism relates to the discrimination-IPV perpetration association. This study examined relationships among structural racism, racial discrimination, stress, and IPV perpetration among racially diverse men transitioning into fatherhood. Methods: Using …

Study Protocol For The Rainbow Austrian Longitudinal Family (Ralf) Study: A Longitudinal, Multi-Method, Multi-Rater Investigation Of Risk And Resilience Factors In Austrian Lgbtq+ Parent Families, Betty Geidel, Magdalena Siegel, David Steryl, Abbie E. Goldberg, Guy Bodenmann, Martina Zemp

Psychology

Background: Research on LGBTQ+ parent families is evolving to include a growing range of family systems, identities, methodologies, and topics. However, studies that examine minority-specific risk and resilience factors and their associations with within-family processes remain scarce, particularly outside a US-American context. Addressing these research gaps quantitatively poses challenges for researchers, because traditional modelling techniques based on (generalized) linear models are not ideally suited to capture the complexity and intersectionality of family experiences. Within this study protocol, we introduce the Rainbow Austrian Longitudinal Family (RALF) study. Its main goal is to comprehensively investigate general and minority-specific factors that affect the …

Community Perspectives On Factors Contributing To Resilience For Healthy Aging In Kenya, Linda Khakali, Everline Onchari, Maureen Ondire, Catherine Onyancha, Chinedu Momoh, Edna Bosire

Brain and Mind Institute

Background: The global elderly population is increasing and expected to double in thenext decade. Aging increases the likelihood of adversities, with resilience becomingan important aspect of healthy aging. Understanding how individuals conceptualizeresilience offers an opportunity to create contextually relevant interventions forpromoting healthy aging. This study aimed to explore adults’ perspectives on factorsinfluencing resilience in Kenya.

Method: Using qualitative methods, 36 adults aged 35 years and above werepurposively recruited from various communities in Nairobi County to participate ininterviews. We asked questions about their understanding of aging, adversity andresiliency. We also provided them with case scenarios of two individuals respondingdifferently to the …

Making Explanations Make Sense: Xai For Smishing Detection, Eleni Alexandra Katsarakes

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) is a key component of effective human-AI collaboration, particularly in high-stakes domains such as cybersecurity. While AI tools hold promise for mitigating threats such as SMS-based phishing (SMiShing), their real-world effectiveness may hinge not just on detection accuracy, but on whether users can make sense of the system’s outputs. As SMiShing attacks grow in both frequency and sophistication, so does the urgency of designing human-centered AI systems that support user decision-making under uncertainty. This study examined how four distinct AI explanation types - Normative (rule-based), Attributive (feature-based), Exemplar (case-based), and Recommendation-Only - influence user performance, confidence, …

Exploring The Impact Of Identity-Based Bullying On Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviors Among 6th-12th Grade Youth In Virginia, Camille N. Johnson

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) are a growing public health concern among youth. Bullying victimization is a robust risk factor for STBs and identity-based bullying (IBB) or bullying that occurs due to a person’s actual or perceived social-identity/identities that is ingrained in discrimination, prejudice, or bias, has been found to be more strongly associated with STBs compared to bullying that was unrelated to identity. The current study used data from the Virginia School Survey of Climate and Working Conditions (N=399,493) to examine associations between general bullying, adult-perpetrated bullying, and IBB with depression and STBs among 6th-12th grade youth. This study …

Unraveling The Links Between Substance Use And Academic Motivation In Higher Education, Melissa Lynn Goins

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Self-Determination Theory (SDT) posits that the quality of students’ motivation regulation (i.e., autonomous versus controlled) shapes both learning and health behavior, yet few studies have examined the relations among motivation regulation, alcohol and cannabis use, and achievement. In this study, I surveyed 459 undergraduates at a mid-sized public university in the southeastern United States. Participants completed the Academic Motivation Scale-College version 28 to assess autonomous and controlled motivation regulation, a typical-week alcohol grid, a seven-day cannabis grid, and self-reported grade point average (GPA). Results indicated that autonomous academic motivation was uniquely related to GPA; however, neither motivation variable related to …

Bridging The Gap Between Counselor Education And Trauma Treatment In Practice: A Phenomenology Of Trauma-Specialized Counselors, Ariel Hutcheon

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Trauma impacts the life experiences of a sizable portion of the population. Given that so many clients bring trauma into counseling, even when not the presenting issue, knowledge of trauma’s impact and proficiency with trauma treatment are essential topics in counselor education. This study gave voice to counselors in the field to share what they have found effective from working with clients with trauma. The researcher used a phenomenological approach and interviewed six self-identified trauma-specialized counselors who have practiced for five years or longer. The data was explicated, and four major themes were identified. The first theme was Inadequate Training: …

A Psychometric Evaluation Of The Pbss-20 Among Sexual And Non-Sexual Minority College Students, Alex Melville

Master's Theses

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Protective-Behavioral Strategies Scale-20 in a large national sample of college students containing sexual minority and non-sexual minority students. Specifically, confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the model fit with this sample, invariance testing was used to compare the model among sexual and non-sexual minority students, and construct validity was evaluated. Participants included college students (N = 1,730; M_age = 19.41) from 12 universities across the United States, who were predominantly White non-Hispanic (63.6%), identified as female (70%), and as completely heterosexual (67.6%). Participants completed demographic information and measures of …

A Quantitative Exploration Of Risk And Protective Factors Affecting The Mental Health Of Chitimacha Tribal Youth, Daphnie Vilcan-Tanner

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationships between demographics, risk factors, and protective factors with mental distress among Chitimacha Tribal adolescents aged 12 to 18. Using a Positive Youth Development framework, the research aimed to identify the prevalence of mental distress, trauma, discrimination, and protective factors, as well as their collective and individual impacts on mental health. Data were collected through online surveys completed by 73 participants residing on or near the Chitimacha Tribal Reservation. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to analyze the data. Results revealed that while trauma and discrimination collectively predicted mental distress, family and community …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of Black International Graduate Students’ Experiences In Building A Sense Of Belonging And Community At A Predominantly White Southern University, Hilda Solange George

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Black international graduate students’ experiences navigating and developing a sense of belonging and community at higher educational institutions in the United States and particularly at predominantly white institutions have received minimal attention in scholarly inquiries, despite their cultural, intellectual, and financial contributions to host institutions and the country. To fill this gap in the existing literature, this hermeneutical phenomenological study aimed to gain a nuanced and in-depth understanding of Black international graduate students' perceptions of their sense of belonging and community at a predominantly white southern university (PWSU) in the United States. Guided by the research questions and the Black …

Evaluating A Self-Guided Cognitive Behavioral Coping Skills Workbook For Sexual Violence-Exposed College Students Using A Nonconcurrent, Multiple Baseline Design, Marley F. Fradley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

College students endorse high rates of sexual violence victimization and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Help-seeking behaviors in college students are low and may be impacted by limited financial resources, competing obligations, treatment-related stigma, and features of PTSD such as avoidance, fear, and shame. Novel opportunities for sexually victimized college students to engage with trauma-focused interventions are necessary to mitigate the biopsychosocial consequences of PTSD. In a nonconcurrent, multiple baseline trial of a self-guided cognitive behavioral workbook for PTSD, sexual violence-exposed college students (N = 6) completed a 3-, 4-, or 5-week baseline period and then utilized the study workbook for …

Elucidating Neurocognitive Mechanisms Underlying Depression-Related Differences In Executive Control Under Stress, Benjamin Swanson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Executive control under stress has been shown to be a robust predictor of psychopathology, especially Major Depressive Disorder (i.e., depression). However, the underlying neural mechanisms that might explain this association have not been examined. To address this gap, both controls (n = 30) and individuals with current or past depression (n = 30) completed a modified Stroop task under fMRI. Behaviorally, we assessed both participants’ executive control performance and their subjective affect during the task. At the neural level, we examined brain regions related to both executive-related control (e.g., DLPFC) and executive-related affective processes (e.g., amygdala, striatum), as well as …

Just Because They Can, Doesn’T Mean They Will: College Students’ Use And Non-Use Of Alcohol Protective Behavioral Strategies, Patrick Walter Mcclain

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

College students engage in high levels of alcohol consumption, which can increase their risk of alcohol-related negative consequences. To address this, researchers developed Alcohol Protective Behavioral Strategies (APBS), which are actions that students can take before or while drinking to limit their alcohol use and/or reduce their likelihood of experiencing drinking harms. However, students’ APBS use could depend on their perceived usefulness of these strategies, whether they engage in high-risk drinking, or both. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate: (1) what percentage of students (a) perceive each APBS as useful and (b) implement the APBS they find useful, (2) …

Three Funny Things: A Multicultural Validation, Jon Hook

Dissertations

This dissertation evaluated the efficacy of Three Funny Things, a humor-based positive psychology intervention (PPI) designed to enhance subjective well-being (SWB) and reduce depressive symptoms. Subjective well-being was operationalized through self-reported happiness, measured by the Authentic Happiness Inventory (AHI), and depressive symptomatology, measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). A repeated-measures design was employed across three time points: baseline (Time 1), post-intervention (Time 2), and one-month follow-up (Time 3). Participants (N = 126) represented a racially diverse community sample, including individuals identifying as White (61%), Black or African American (18%), Hispanic or Latino/a (11%), Asian (6%), and …

Identifying Alcohol Intervention-Relevant Constructs For Greek Life: Examining Across Greek Membership And Gender Among College Students, Emily Susan Renzoni

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Among college populations, students who are members of social Greek life organizations (i.e., social fraternities and sororities) drink more and experience higher rates of negative alcohol-related consequences than their non-affiliated peers. Although there has been success of alcohol interventions in general college populations, research has shown that college drinking interventions that are delivered to students in Greek life are not efficacious in reducing alcohol consumption or related consequences. It is meaningful to investigate if the content commonly addressed in these interventions, although well-documented as being linked to drinking in the general college population, has the same associations for students who …

Observed Parenting, Parent-Child Aggression, And Intimate Partner Violence As Predictive Of Family Dysfunction, Paige Munshell

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Family systems theories contextualize violence as occurring across multiple levels of the family, yet much of the existing literature focuses on a single family member’s outcome (i.e., the child) and neglects to include data collected from fathers. This study examined the associations between indicators of functioning at the dyadic-level in the family system—observed parenting, Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) perpetration, and Parent-Child Aggression (PCA) risk—and later overall family dysfunction. Participants were 180 mothers and 144 of their male partners evaluated when their child was 18 months old and re-evaluated at 4 years old. Measures of observed parenting, IPV perpetration, and PCA …

Identity Salience Of Organizational Culture: The Intersection Of Racial And Occupational Identities In High-Risk Professions, Sarah Espinosa

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Despite decades of effort, issues of race and color in organizations remain unresolved. Representative Bureaucracy (RB) has been a necessary but insufficient response to these challenges. While RB promotes diversity and inclusion, it struggles to address deeper issues of equity and justice, which are seen in the persistence of police brutality, even with increased representation of officers of color. This dissertation will propose a new theoretical approach to address the shortcomings of RB, a framework for the Identity Salience of Organizational Culture (ISOC). The ISOC framework seeks to build beyond RB to explain how the culture of high-risk professions with …

Influence Of Depressive Symptomatology On Vocal Production, Olivia Taylor

Honors Theses

Language has been widely recognized as a crucial form of social connection, providing both contextual and semantic information, including intonation, pitch, rate of speech, and pauses. As mental health conditions begin to rise while mental health providers begin to decrease, research in psychology has focused on investigating other factors that may aid in the diagnosis of mental health disorders. Research has indicated that physiological factors, including vocal production, may highlight specific shifts in speech patterns or vocal characteristics. Limited research has been conducted to investigate the possible implications for the emerging adult population, despite the group obtaining the highest prevalence …

Embodied Overcrowding And Sensory Tensions: A Carceral Autoethnography Of Philippine Jails, Dwayne Antojado

Ateneo School of Government Publications

In this paper, I undertake a sensorially oriented autoethnography of two Philippine jails, illuminating the visceral textures of carceral life that conventional sociological or criminological discourses often overlook. Drawing inspiration from Jewkes and Young's (2021) examination of Kyoto Prison, I foreground the overlapping realms of sight, sound, smell, and touch, arguing that incarceration is inherently a profoundly embodied phenomenon. By weaving personal reflections, field observations, and broader scholarly insights, I reveal how overcrowded dormitories, suffocating heat, and lingering bodily odours converge to redefine detainees' spatial, temporal, and psychosocial realities in ways rarely captured by quantitative metrics. While mindful of Nelken's …

Happy Kids, Popular Kids? Life And School Satisfaction As Predictors Of Popularity In Early Adolescents, Chloe Mcbreen

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Sociometric popularity measures how well-liked a person is among peers. Life satisfaction has been positively related to self-perception and social functioning, whereas school satisfaction has been linked to stronger peer ties. This study examined how life and school satisfaction affected change in popularity over the course of a school year and how self-perception moderates said relationship. Participants included 182 fifth- and sixth-graders in Montreal, who completed 13 surveys over the school year. Popularity was measured via peer nominations at T1 and T13. Satisfaction variables and self-perception were measured via self-reports at T2 and T13, respectively. A hierarchical regression indicated that …

Gender Considerations When Examining The Association Between Military Sexual Trauma And Chronic Pain Conditions, Lily Sarfaraz

Dissertations

Military sexual trauma (MST) amongst veterans is a growing concern for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Veterans who screen positive for MST receive VHA care for any injuries caused as a result of MST, psychological or physical, free of charge. MST is difficult to track, can result in long-term disability, and the burden of illness varies across genders. Current data highlights discrepancies seen across the literature of actual detected MST cases, with rates varying vastly. Efforts to track prevalence of MST identify additional concerns over the various comorbidities seen in MST cases. When examining symptom sequalae of MST, there is …

The Withdrawal From Afghanistan: Impacts On U.S. Veterans Who Served In Afghanistan, Nicole Wall

Dissertations

This study explored the experiences and perspectives of U.S. military veterans who served in Afghanistan regarding their views on the impacts of withdrawal from Afghanistan. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, the study explored the effects of the immediate and unexpected withdrawal from Afghanistan as it pertains to military veterans' perspectives on the purpose, value, and meaning of their previous military service, and the service of future generations. The study included 10 participants who had previously served at least one deployment to Afghanistan; each participated in a semi-structured interview via phone call, Zoom meeting, or in-person. The interview included 10 demographic …

Temporal Associations Between Social Media Use Frequency And Social Media Addiction And Depressive, Anxiety, And Insomnia Symptoms Among Hispanic Emerging Adults: Moderation By Identity Exploration And Instability And Negativity, Miguel Andres Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The number of social media users has drastically increased in recent years, and rates of social media use are particularly pronounced among emerging adults and Hispanic groups. Furthermore, emerging adults are at risk for poor mental health and report poor sleep health, and Hispanic groups may experience sleep disparities compared to their non-Hispanic White counterparts. Although many studies have assessed the associations between social media use frequency and social media addiction and depressive, anxiety, and insomnia symptoms, fewer have investigated these associations prospectively. Similarly, few studies have assessed potential moderators of these associations. Thus, the current study investigated the temporal …

Encoding Of Inferences Into Long-Term Memory In Bilinguals, Bianca Valentina Gurrola

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

When reading and listening to information, people often make inferences to facilitate their comprehension and the creation of a discourse representation. However, because such inferences are not explicitly stated, they can lead to distortions in the memory representation known as inference-based memory errors. The present study investigated the encoding of inferences in bilinguals while considering the effects of language proficiency, presentation modality, and working memory load. In Experiment 1, Spanish-English bilingual participants read and listened to narratives composed from common schemas (e.g., going to eat at a restaurant) before completing a recognition test on the details from narratives. In Experiment …

Applying The Quadruple Process Model To A Measure Of Implicit Bias Towards Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder, Erin Marie Portillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Alcohol use disorders is one of the major burdens of disease, yet it remains one of the disorders with the lowest treatment prevalence. For individuals who seek treatment for their alcohol use disorder, they may experience higher levels of social disintegration, guilt, shame, and stigmatization. Stigma is a multistep process that makes way for stereotypes, prejudice, and acts of discrimination to take place. With labels such as “alcoholic” implying negative connotation and being frequently used, the fear of being stigmatized and negatively labeled often results in delayed or entirely avoided care. Research has turned to the use of implicit measures …

Effects Of Response-Independent Food Delivery During Timeout On Timeout Punishment, Haillie Mcdonough

All NMU Master's Theses

Timeout is a signaled, response-dependent, and time limited period in which the prevailing schedule of reinforcement is suspended. Timeouts are one of the most frequently used punishment procedures in clinical and parental practices. Even though timeout is a common punishment practice, recent research suggests that implementation errors, fidelity failures, occur at high rates in practice. The present study evaluated how failures in procedural fidelity alter the efficacy of timeout as a punisher by exposing rats to conditions in which response-independent reinforcers were delivered during timeout. During baseline conditions, no timeouts were delivered and rats’ lever-pressing produced food reinforcers according to …

A Phenomenological Study Into The Experiences Of Introverted Teachers, Bambi A. Hamel

All NMU Master's Theses

Behavior management has long been a challenge for teachers in general, but there has been a lack of research on behavior management through the lens of personality type, such as introversion. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the strengths and skills of introverted teachers to facilitate positive behaviors in their classrooms, as well as challenges they encountered. In a semi-structured interview, five teachers from a school district in the Central Upper Peninsula of Michigan were presented with a specific set of questions (See Appendix C) targeting their experiences in behavior management as introverted teachers. The results highlighted the teachers’ unique traits …