Digital Commons Network^™

I Am A "Fruit Eater": Predicting Fruit And Vegetable Consumption With Approach Self-As-Doer Identities, Melisandra R. Mclaughlin, Abree A. Dieterman, Katelyn R. Kelley, Hannah B. Dunlavy, Ashley M. Lenarz

Research & Creative Achievement Day

The daily recommended intake of fruits and vegetables is 1.5-2 cups and 2-3 cups, respectively, but only one in 10 adults in the United States are meeting those recommendations (CDC, 2019). Research on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) indicates healthy eating behaviors can be predicted by intentions and other components of the theory (McDermott et al., 2015). Likewise, the self-as-doer, an identity that aims to describe individuals in terms of doing a behavior, also predicts healthy eating. However, less research has explored how the orientation of a doer identity predicts fruit and vegetable consumption. Those with an approach doer …

Health Literacy And Behaviors Among Students In Health Vs. Non-Health-Related Majors: Implications For Substance Use, Socialization, And Wellbeing, Amelie H. Pflamminger, Erin M. Farina, Ashley Lenarz

Research & Creative Achievement Day

Purpose: College is a pivotal time for young adults in relation to new experiences and behaviors. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine whether students' major relates to health literacy, substance use, peer behavior, and mental health. Prior research found a significant difference in substance use behaviors by college major (Chen & Chen, 2020), and students in health-related fields of study showed higher levels of health literacy, while students in non-health related majors showed weaknesses across all dimensions (Rababah et al., 2019). This study aims to expand on prior research by examining the relationship between health behaviors and …

My Internship Experience At The Winona Dac, Cameron P. Shores

Research & Creative Achievement Day

The DAC is a nonprofit organization that is funded by the government. I will talk about what the DAC is and what they do for the community. I will also talk about my experience as an intern at the DAC and what I learned while I was there. I will finish by talking about why the DAC and similar organizations are important and how they do much good for the disabled community.

Friendship Center, Abigail L. Wolfe

Research & Creative Achievement Day

This is a poster about my internship experience at the Friendship Center. The main focus of my internship was a club that I created called Joyful Aging. Joyful Aging is a club that focuses on finding joy in new experiences and topics. I was also involved in something the facility called tech appointments. Tech appointments are there to help the members with any technological issues they come across.

Competency To Stand Trial Evaluations: Using Vignettes With Patients Who Lack Insight, Katelyn Fuller

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

In the United States, an attorney may request a competency to stand trial evaluation if they are concerned that their client is not mentally fit to adequately participate in their case and defense. Patients found incompetent must undergo treatment for restoration of competency, regardless of their willingness. Clinicians and psychiatrists may use vignettes, or hypothetical scenarios, to help restore competency if the patient lacks insight into their mental illness. While vignettes have been well documented in studying attitudes and awareness, decision making, and identifying mental illness, there is little to no research into their use in psychiatric hospitals due to …

The Examination Of The Relationship Social Media Usage And Self-Diagnosis Of Mental Disorders, Felicity West

ATU Scholars Symposium

Abstract

This research examines the relationship between algorithmic social media platforms and self-diagnosis of mental disorders. Looking specifically at psychopathology, the enhancements and pioneering of new algorithmic social media platforms have made the facilitation of forged disorders and exaggerated symptoms quickly widespread. The most notable example, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), has led a plethora of youth to self-diagnose and romanticize one of the most serious and rare mental health disorders recognized by the APA (Hatigan et al., 2023). This becomes increasingly problematic because it diminishes the severity and urgency for those who are clinically diagnosed with DID. To investigate the …

Psychological Science: Who’S Really In Charge? Popular Media’S Influences On Food Behavior, Chakuen W. Rambang, Amilya Bryant, Benjamin Ramer, Delvin Porter

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

With mass media, consumption being very accessible, many individuals are being impacted in their daily lives. Mass media influences have had the opportunity to persuade people in their daily choices such as nutritional behaviors. With different nutritional trends on the rise, the presentation of popular media applications, such as TikTok, may have correlations to how individuals react to different trends regarding nutrition. Many videos on the platform have different algorithms that persuade their viewers to partake in different trends. In addition to popular media possibly having the impact of changing an individual's behavior, the overall understanding of nutrition may play …

Denial Of Pregnancy Or Cryptic Pregnancy, Nadia N. Shuriah, Elaine Mcfarland, Bethany Spenn, Kaisha Butz Mcmanus

BIO4960: Practicum in Biology I

Denial of pregnancy, or cryptic pregnancy, presents a complex situation where individuals are unaware of their pregnancy until the late stages of labor. This study delves into the multifaceted nature of concealed and denied pregnancies, exploring their prevalence, factors contributing to them, and their implications for both individuals and healthcare systems. By reviewing relevant literature and case studies, we aim to illuminate the difficulties healthcare providers face in identifying and managing cases of denial of pregnancy. Additionally, we stress the significance of proactive screening and comprehensive care to ensure the well-being of mothers and infants. This research endeavors to deepen …

The Evaluation Of Non-Specific Risk Indicators In Improving Detection Of Psychosis-Spectrum Liability, Thomas W. O'Kane

Theses and Dissertations

Psychosis-spectrum disorders remain a leading cause of disability for both individuals and society, with early identification and prevention efforts representing a promising avenue of research for addressing these concerns. One potential impediment to improving early risk identification is the historical focus on indicators thought to be exclusive to the psychosis-spectrum. This focus often comes at the expense of non-specific risk factors (e.g., disrupted sleep, adverse childhood experiences) which contribute to the risk of developing psychosis as well as other mental illnesses. Research suggests the inclusion of these non-specific factors may improve our ability to identify those at risk. The present …

Improving Restaurant Customer Service Through Job Aids, Madisyn Slater

Honors Theses

A key concern for restaurants is good customer service as it directly relates to repeated customers and revenue generation. Customer service plays a large role in keeping a business up and running, without appropriate customer-employee interactions, a business may cease to exist. The field of Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) has several empirically-based interventions that may help. One of these interventions, job aids, gives a brief description of what is expected and can be consulted by an employee at any point in time. However, most research uses a package intervention and has not examined the effects of job aids alone. The …

Effects Of Adverse Childhood Experiences On Predicting Patient Pain Outcomes Later In Life, Melissa Lowry

Honors Scholar Theses

For centuries, pain and pain management has been a driving force in the world of healthcare. Industries continue to strive for a deeper understanding of the mechanisms behind pain sensitivities as well as the best interventions available to overcome these mechanisms. While many of the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, recent research suggests a possible correlation between one’s personal experiences early in life and their perceptions of pain later in adulthood. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Questionnaire, designed and published in 1998, consists of 10 measures of childhood trauma that can inform healthcare providers of individuals who may require trauma-informed care …

Relations Between Prior Racial Microaggressions, Expat Motivation, And Life Satisfaction Among African American Expat Women In Mexico, Patricia Keller

Dissertations

Microaggressions refer to subtle forms of racism that occur in everyday interactions, often conveying hostile or demeaning messages. These experiences can have a negative impact on the psychological well-being and life satisfaction of African Americans. However, there is a lack of research that explores the relationship between microaggressions and the life satisfaction of African American women who have relocated abroad. Additionally, little is known of the contemporary motivations for expatriation of African American women. A review of African American historical migration, study abroad participation, and tourism lays the framework for examining recent expatriation. The purpose of this study was to …

Predictors Of Sinonasal Improvement After Highly Effective Modulator Therapy In Adults With Cystic Fibrosis, Daniel M. Beswick, Christine M. Liu, Jonathan B. Overdevest, Anna Zemke, Aastha Khatiwada, David A. Gudis, Jessa E. Miller, Adam Kimple, Jeremy P. Tervo, Todd E. Bodner, Multiple Additional Authors

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The 22-question SinoNasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) assesses chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) severity. We aimed to identify predictors of SNOT-22 score improvement following highly effective modulator therapy (HEMT) initiation and to corroborate the SNOT-22 minimal clinically important difference (MCID) in adults with cystic fibrosis (CF).

Burnout Symptoms Among Millennial Teachers In India: The Efficacy Of The Emotional Self-Care Online Intervention Program (Escoip), Joby Thomas, Marc Eric S. Reyes

Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia

The experiences of millennial teachers—currently comprising the majority of the teaching workforce—have gained attention in scholarly research. The phenomenon of teacher burnout, in particular, has gained greater attention in recent years due to its grave impact on the educational system and the well-being of teachers. Thus, developing an effective online intervention program is crucial to alleviate and avoid burnout among millennial teachers. Using Conklin’s program development model, which involves three phases, (1) planning, (2) design and implementation, and (3) evaluation and program validation, this study investigated the effectiveness of the Emotional Self-Care Online Intervention Program (ESCOIP) in treating burnout symptoms …

Objects Are Subordinate To Spatial Features As Cues For Control, Abhishek Dey

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

It is well documented that people can engage in flexible adjustments of attention using context cues from the environment. The most prolific cue used to assess such context-specific attentional control in the literature has been location (or spatial features). Context-specific attentional control using object features has been less well researched and some of the most conclusive evidence of object-based attentional control comes from designs where location and spatial features cannot be used to guide attentional control. Across five experiments, I investigate the interplay between object and spatial features in their usefulness to guide attentional control when both are available as …

Social Media Among College Students, Julia Martorano

Honors Projects

Within the past decade, social media has become a huge part of most peoples’ everyday life. People use social media to keep up with old friends, to see what their current friends and family are up to, to follow celebrities, and so much more. Researchers and the general public have begun to wonder if this obsession with social media is detrimental to individuals and society. Throughout my research, I strived to answer two research questions. “How does social media affect a college student’s GPA, productivity, and life satisfaction?” and “How do celebrities and companies create social media content that drives …

Praise In The Collegiate Classroom: How Narcissism, Entitlement, Empathy, And A Desire For Fame Impact Student’S Preferences For Praise, Alexandra Crissman

Student Scholar Showcase

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between personality traits, namely narcissism, entitlement, empathy, and a desire for fame, and a preference for public praise in a student population. Past research has shown that those who are higher in narcissism are also higher in entitlement and that these rates have been rising with future generations. Past research has also indicated a negative relationship between narcissistic tendencies and empathy, inferring that those higher in narcissism tend to score lower on empathy measures. In this study, undergraduate students were surveyed online to determine scores on four measures of traits …

Who Knows What? An Agent-Based Simulation Of Indirect Learning In Teams, Taylor Mccrossan, Sabina Samipour-Biel

Psychology Student Work

While the term is unknown to most people, Transactive Memory Systems (TMS) are a mechanism through which teams of experts (e.g., surgical teams, military teams, etc.) are able to combine their unique areas of expertise to accomplish their shared goals. To develop a TMS, team members must first learn who on the team has what expertise (Peltokorpi, 2008), and together develop a “shared knowledge directory”(SKD). Meanwhile, modern technology has changed the ways that team members can work together and communicate with each other. This research examined how the process of SKD development is impacted by team members’ability to “overhear” each …

Mitigating Turnover In Healthcare: Exploring Servant Leadership And Psychological Capital, Lindsay Tsang

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, understanding factors that influence the turnover intentions of healthcare workers is critical. This quantitative correlational study explored how psychological capital mediates the relationship between perceived supervisor servant leadership and turnover intentions among Canadian healthcare workers. This study uses the Hayes PROCESS Model 4 for mediation and Pearson’s correlation analysis with participants recruited via social media. Out of 773 respondents, 648 valid responses were received (83.8%), of which the majority were aged between 24-34 years old (74.7%), were nurses (80.2%), and had tenure between six to ten years (75%). In agreement with prior literature, …

Inhibiting Repetitive And Restricted Behaviors In Sprague-Dawley Rats Using Propranolol: Sex Differences, Melanie M. Berry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is diagnosed when an individual has persistent deficits in social communication and restrictive repetitive patterns of behaviors, interests, or activities. Restricted repetitive behaviors (RRBs) are typically triggered by anxiety and can cause significant detriment to an individual's life. While there is no cure for ASD, there are pharmacological treatment options for the symptoms caused by ASD. Propranolol, a beta-adrenergic antagonist, is used to treat anxiety and shows promise in reducing many of the symptoms associated with ASD. This study explores the effects of Propranolol on RRBs in a sample size of …

Promoting Child Rearing For Teen Mothers Within The Foster Care System, Monic Chavez, Rebecca King

Spring 2024 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Teenage pregnancy in foster care is twice the national average, with one-third becoming pregnant by 17. There are limited programs available to assist teen mothers in foster care in developing healthy parent-child relationships and parenting skills despite their desire to break the cycle of trauma and improve their relationships with their children. The objective of the capstone program is to establish and operate a residential maternity home-based trauma-informed parenting program that assists teenage mothers in foster care in developing parenting skills and a healthy parent-child relationship by providing them with the necessary resources and support.

The Experience Of Self-Regulation Among Obese Adults During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nicholas Cunningham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obesity is considered a disease, an epidemic, and is a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases, certain cancers, poor mental health, and low quality of life. It is also a leading cause of mortality. While it is difficult for obese adults to combat their condition, it was much more challenging during unprecedented times such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Annesi’s self-regulation conceptual framework was used as a basis to ground this study. Research explains the importance of practicing self-regulation to increase physical activity. However, there is little research on the practice of self-regulation to increase physical activity and weight …

Therapeutic Benefits Of Psychedelics: Effectiveness For Addiction Treatment, Mental Health Issues, And End-Of-Life Care, Emma Roberts

Student Works

As more research is done, psychedelics are increasingly recognized as a viable option for addiction treatment, mental health issues, and end-of-life care. Studies have hit roadblocks in the past due to the stigma surrounding psychedelics that formed in the 1960s. Since then, regulations have loosened, and psychedelic therapy has become a possible alternative for those who do not find their current treatments effective (Al-Harbi, 2012, as cited in Gardner, 2019; Gardner, 2019). Psychedelics can help individuals abstain from addictions (Sharma et al., 2023). Additionally, psychedelics can be a viable treatment for mental illnesses (Nygart et al., 2022) and can be …

Exploring The Experience Of Healthcare-Related Epistemic Injustice Among People With Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Joanne Hunt, Jessica Runacres, Daniel Herron, David Sheffield

The Qualitative Report

Myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a chronic, disabling yet clinically “contested” condition, previously theorised through a lens of epistemic injustice. Phenomena conceptually close to epistemic injustice, including stigma, are known to have deleterious consequences on a person’s health and life-world. Yet, no known primary studies have explored how people with ME/CFS experience healthcare through a lens of epistemic injustice, whilst a dearth of research explicitly exploring healthcare-related injustice from a patient perspective has been noted. This qualitative study seeks to address this gap. Semi-structured interviews and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) were used to explore the experiences of …

A Phenomenological Study Exploring Pastors' Experiences Counseling Younger Congregants With Changing Lifestyles, Terry L. Skepple

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Societal norms are changing, and more young adults are cohabitating with partners before marriage, engaging in premarital intercourse, and embarking on second marriages. All these activities are contrary to historical interpretations of pastoral teachings. The problem is that pastors are challenged in adapting to provide family and marriage counseling for younger congregants. With societal changes occurring rapidly, the majority of the young generation feels that there is less relevance in pastoral teachings. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe Covenant Connections International’s mature pastors’ experiences counseling younger congregants in the Northeastern United States. Eight pastors living and working …

Trauma Is A Wound: Demonstrating The Use Of Character Analysis To Practice Clinical Analysis, Madisyn Beare

Honors Projects

Evidence-based treatments of trauma require clinicians to base their treatments on the client’s specific and individual needs, experiences, cognitions, and place in recovery. Essentially, each new client is a new and unique case, and the practice of understanding how trauma may affect an individual only comes from clinical exposure.Literature provides the public with somewhat of an aid in these circumstances: fictional characters are not real people, and therefore can undergo limitless character analyses. Analyzing a fictional character allows clinicians the ability to practice their exploration of various behavioral indicators of mental health concerns while honoring the ethical code of non-maleficence, …

Brain Mechanisms Underlying The Emotion Processing Bias In Treatment-Resistant Depression, X. Fan, M. Mocchi, B. Pascuzzi, J. Xiao, Brian A. Metzger, R. K. Mathura, C. Hacker, J. A. Adkinson, E. Bartoli, S. Elhassa, A. J. Watrous, Y. Zhang, A. Allawala, V. Pirtle, S. J. Mathew, W. Goodman, N. Pouratian, K. R. Bijanki

Psychology Faculty Works

Depression is associated with a cognitive bias towards negative information and away from positive information. This biased emotion processing may underlie core depression symptoms, including persistent feelings of sadness and a reduced capacity to experience pleasure. The neural mechanisms responsible for this biased emotion processing remain unknown. Here we had a unique opportunity to record stereotactic electroencephalography signals in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex (PFC) from 5 patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and 12 patients with epilepsy (as control) while they participated in an affective bias task in which happy and sad faces were evaluated. First, compared with the control …

Mypov: Promoting Self-Efficacy And Empowerment Amongst Foster Youth, Hanah Friel

Senior Capstone Papers

Trauma is a key player in the lives of young people within the child welfare system. Adverse childhood experiences define the course of life for many foster youths prior to entering the system, and for many, exemplify their time during and after foster care. The results of this trauma are often overwhelming and far-reaching, as traumatic behaviors often take the form of distrust and dysregulation. Moreover, trauma can disrupt one’s sense of safety and contribute to feelings of disempowerment. For many, it is rare that our lives are representative of a complete lack of opportunity for self-efficacy and empowerment; however, …

Biomedical Text Readability After Hypernym Substitution With Fine-Tuned Large Language Models, Karl Swanson, Shuhan He, Josh Calvano, David Chen, Talar Telvizian, Lawrence Jiang, Paul Chong, Jacob Schwell, Gin Mak, Jarone Lee

SKMC Student Presentations and Publications

The advent of patient access to complex medical information online has highlighted the need for simplification of biomedical text to improve patient understanding and engagement in taking ownership of their health. However, comprehension of biomedical text remains a difficult task due to the need for domain-specific expertise. We aimed to study the simplification of biomedical text via large language models (LLMs) commonly used for general natural language processing tasks involve text comprehension, summarization, generation, and prediction of new text from prompts. Specifically, we finetuned three variants of large language models to perform substitutions of complex words and word phrases in …

'I’M A Pilot First, Female Second': Why Flight Deck Gender Imbalance Persists And The Case For Allyship, Kimberly Perkins, Rachael H. Merola, Sourojit Ghosh, Cecilia Aragon

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Why is there greater gender parity for long-haul truck drivers, astronauts, and paleontologists than for women airline captains? This study uses a mixed-methods approach to examine the underlying causes of the gender imbalance in the United States aviation industry, in which only 3.6% of airline captains are women. Two polls and one survey gather data from professional pilots (N=1093) on their experience with stereotyping, gender bias, and allyship. Direct comments were analyzed to shed light on the results of the survey. Results suggest that, contrary to prevailing perceptions, the persistent gender imbalance in the flight deck can largely be attributed …