Digital Commons Network^™

Cellphone Laws And Teens' Calling While Driving: Analysis Of Repeated Cross-Sectional Surveys In 2013, 2015, 2017, And 2019, Li Li, Caitlin N. Pope, Rebecca R. Andridge, Julie K. Bower, Guoqing Hu, Motao Zhu

Graduate Center for Gerontology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Distracted driving among teens is a public health and safety concern. Most states in the U.S. have sought to restrict cellphone use while driving by enacting laws. This study examines the difference in prevalence of self-reported calling while driving (CWD) between states with different cellphone bans.

METHODS: Demographics and CWD data were extracted from state Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS) from 14 states in 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019. The state YRBS is conducted every 2 years with a representative sample of 9th through 12th grade students attending public school. States were grouped by type of cellphone law(s): no …

Preterm Birth Prevention In Appalachian Kentucky: Understanding Barriers And Facilitators Related To Transvaginal Ultrasound Cervical Length Surveillance Among Prenatal Care Providers, Anna Hansen, Mairead E. Moloney, Cynthia Cockerham-Morris, Jing Li, Niraj R. Chavan

Sociology Faculty Publications

Background: Appalachian Kentucky has higher-than-average rates of preterm birth (PTB)—a health disparity associated with increased maternal and fetal/neonatal morbidity and neonatal mortality. Transvaginal ultrasound (TVU) cervical length measurement is the best predictor of PTB risk, but is underutilized in Appalachia. This study explores prenatal care providers' TVU-related knowledge and practices, and identifies barriers and facilitators, which impact the adoption of this evidence-based technology.

Materials and Methods: This study recruited providers from three Appalachian Kentucky health care sites. Prenatal care providers took part in semistructured interviews and completed brief survey scales. Questions focused on PTB knowledge, TVU-related barriers, and suggestions for …

Are College Students’ Attitudes Related To Their Application Of Sanctions For Campus Sexual Assault Cases?, Jaspreet K. Chahal, Caihong R. Li, Diane R. Follingstad, Claire M. Renzetti

CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles

With growing attention to adjudication of campus sexual assault cases, more is known regarding students’ views of sexual assault, but little the literature focuses on how students perceive “justice” in terms of assigning sanctions or guilt/responsibility for such cases. The present study focused on understanding whether college students’ preformed attitudes and beliefs were associated with the severity of sanctions they applied across a range of sexual assault cases as well as their assignments of guilt and responsibility to the parties involved. To determine students’ attitudes and beliefs mediating effects on sanction choices, five scales (i.e., rape myth acceptance, downplaying the …

Do Gun Policies Really Protect Women? A Cross-National Test Of The Relationship Between Gun Regulations And Female Homicide Victimization, Janet Stamatel, Kathleen Ratajczak, Robert Hoekstra

Sociology Faculty Publications

Globally, firearms are the most frequent means of committing homicide with young males most likely to be victimized with guns. However, within the context of intimate partner violence and family violence, females’ risk of lethal gun violence rises significantly, supporting the need to pay more attention to firearms to reduce lethal VAW. One way to protect women from firearm violence within the private sphere is to regulate access to guns based on the risk of family violence. This study examines the extent to which gun availability and gun regulations affect lethal violence against women in a relatively large sample of …

Cross-National Associations Among Cyberbullying Victimization, Self-Esteem, And Internet Addiction: Direct And Indirect Effects Of Alexithymia, Sebastian Wachs, Alexander T. Vazsonyi, Michelle F. Wright, Gabriela Ksinan Jiskrova

Family Sciences Faculty Publications

The relationship among cyberbullying victimization, lower self-esteem, and internet addiction has been well-established. Yet, little research exists that explains the nature of these associations, and no previous work has considered the inability to identify or describe one’s emotions, namely, alexithymia, as a potential mediator of these links. The present study sought to investigate the indirect effects of cyberbullying victimization on self-esteem and internet addiction, mediated by alexithymia. The sample consisted of 1,442 participants between 12 and 17 years (M_age = 14.17, SD = 1.38, 51.5% male) from Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States. Results showed a direct …

Evaluating The Feasibility And Acceptability Of Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Insomnia In Rural Women, Mairead Eastin Moloney, Madeline Dunfee, Matthew Rutledge, Nancy Schoenberg

Sociology Faculty Publications

Background: Insomnia, one of the most common sleep disorders among women in midlife, is associated with multiple negative health outcomes. Rural Appalachian women are disproportionately affected by insufficient sleep, but their barriers to care (e.g., health care shortages, cultural norms) may prevent intervention. This study assessed the feasibility and acceptability of Sleep Healthy Using the Internet (SHUTi) an Internet-based version of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia in Appalachian women ages 45+ years.

Materials and Methods: We used mixed methods to assess feasibility (through summaries of recruitment and retention data) and acceptability (quantitatively through online survey scales and qualitatively …

Rural Caregivers: Identification Of Informational Needs Through Telemedicine Questions, Shoshana H. Bardach, Allison Gibson, Kelly Parsons, April Stauffer, Gregory A. Jicha

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and associated disorders is increasing. Rural residents in the United States have less access to memory care specialists and educational and community resources than in other areas of the country. Over a decade ago, we initiated an interdisciplinary rural caregiving telemedicine program to reach Kentucky residents in areas of the state where resources for supporting individuals with dementia are limited. Telemedicine programs involve a short informational presentation followed by a question and answer session; programs are offered 4 times a year. The purpose of this study was to explore questions asked over 1 year …

Adolescents' Attitudes And Intentions To Use A Smartphone App To Promote Safe Driving, Caitlin N. Pope, Emre Sezgin, Simon Lin, Nichole L. Morris, Motao Zhu

Graduate Center for Gerontology Faculty Publications

Purpose

Designing effective driving safety interventions is imperative as traffic crashes are the leading cause of injury and death for adolescents. Using concepts from the Integrated Behavioral Model, we investigated adolescents' attitudes and intentions towards engaging in safe driving practices and using smartphone-based driving safety technology.

Methods

Two-hundred and seven adolescents aged 14–18 (M = 16.1, SD = 0.8) completed a safe driving survey. A path model testing the associations between individual scores of attitudes, perceived norms, and perceived behavioral control with intentions controlling for demographic covariates was conducted.

Results

Greater intentions to drive safely was associated with greater …

A Population-Based Investigation Of Health-Care Needs And Preferences In American Adults With Multiple Sclerosis, Chungyi Chiu, Malachy Bishop, Bradley Mcdaniels, Byung-Jin Kim, Lebogang Tiro

Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education Faculty Publications

Background: Comprehensive and effective multiple sclerosis (MS) health care requires understanding of patients’ needs, preferences, and priorities. Objective: To evaluate priorities of patients with MS for their MS care. Methods: Participants included 3003 Americans with MS recruited through the National MS Society and the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis patient registry. Participants completed a comprehensive questionnaire on aspects of their health-care experiences. Results: Participants identified the top 3 health-care priorities as (1) the affordability of MS health care, (2) ensuring that non-MS health-care providers have more education about MS and how it can interact with other conditions, and …

Students’ Perceptions Of Justice: Application Of Sanctions, Guilt, And Responsibility In Campus Sexual Assault Cases, Diane R. Follingstad, Caihong R. Li, Jaspreet K. Chahal, Claire M. Renzetti

CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles

Despite growing attention to adjudication of campus sexual assault cases, little is known how students perceive “justice” for such cases. The present study examined whether victim, perpetrator, and assault characteristics influenced students’ perceptions of: whether a sanctionable violation occurred; the type of sanction to be applied; perceived severity of the sanction; proportion of guilt attributable to the victim and perpetrator; and level of responsibility of the victim and perpetrator. Fourteen factors pertaining to potential negative evaluation of rape victims were derived; thus, a non-factorial vignette survey design focusing only on each main effect was employed. 846 college students responded to …

Mentoring Multi-College Bystander Efficacy Evaluation – An Approach To Growing The Next Generation Of Gender-Based Interpersonal Violence Intervention And Prevention (Vip) Researchers, Ann L. Coker, Danielle Davidov, Heather M. Bush, Emily R. Clear

Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Publications

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided funding (U01 CE002668) to evaluate bystander program efficacy to reduce gender-based violence on college campuses (Aim 1) and to create a mentoring network (Aim 2) for young campus-based researchers interested in violence intervention or prevention (VIP). While an evaluation of this mentoring program is ongoing, our purpose here was to document the strategies used to create, implement, and begin evaluation of this national multi-college mentoring network. As each public college was recruited into this evaluation named multi-college Bystander Efficacy Evaluation (mcBEE), each college was invited to nominate a researcher interested in receiving …

Will "Social Distancing" Lead To Future "Research Distancing": A Reflection On Covid-19 Impacts On Alzheimer's Disease Research, Shoshana H. Bardach, Allison K. Gibson, Elizabeth K. Rhodus, Gregory A. Jicha

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has dramatically altered everyday life, including the field of Alzheimer's disease (AD) research. This perspective article explores some of the ways in which COVID-19 has already impacted the field, anticipates some of the long-lasting effects, and explores strategies for addressing current and future needs. Areas of impact include study integrity, regulatory and industry issues, and participant engagement. Proposed strategies for addressing these challenges include analytic methods to deal with large degrees of missing data and development of patient-centered, user-friendly, remote data collection tools and assessments. We also highlight the importance of maintaining participant well-being as a …

Studying The Longest ‘Legal’ U.S. Same-Sex Couples: A Case Of Lessons Learned, Esther D. Rothblum, Kimberly F. Basalm, Ellen D. B. Riggle, Sharon S. Rostosky, Robert E. Wickham

Political Science Faculty Publications

We review methodological opportunities and lessons learned in conducting a longitudinal, prospective study of same-sex couples with civil unions, recruited from a population-based sample, who were compared with same-sex couples in their friendship circle who did not have civil unions, and heterosexual married siblings and their spouse. At Time 1 (2002), Vermont was the only US state to provide legal recognition similar to marriage to same-sex couples; couples came from other US states and other countries to obtain a civil union. At Time 2 (2005), only one US state had legalized same-sex marriage, and at Time 3 (2013) about half …

Loneliness During Mass Social Distancing: An Exploratory Qualitative Study Of Loneliness In College Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Madeline Williams

Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a unique environment to study loneliness in college students. Loneliness has a deeply rooted history in psychology and sociology where both attempt to explain it as either a lack of physical contact, a discrepancy in one’s actual quality or type of relationships and the quality or type of sought-after relationships, or as an emotional reaction to social factors. One way that psychologists have attempted to quantify loneliness is with the UCLA loneliness scale. Previous research has focused on the conceptualization and definition of loneliness, social stress theory regarding studying mental health, and the strength of …