Digital Commons Network^™

Sexual Assault And Online Help Seeking: An Analysis Of Survivor Disclosure And Questions After Assault, Abby Luthi Sagers

Theses and Dissertations

Sexual assault is a pandemic issue that affects millions worldwide. In the U.S. it is estimated that one in five women and one in 38 men will be victims of rape or attempted rape at some point in their lifetime (Smith et al., 2018). Sexual assault has several significant long-term effects, including negatively impacting survivors’ psychological, emotional, physical, and interpersonal well-being. After a trauma from sexual victimization, survivors face the difficult process of making sense out of what happened, what to do about it, and whether to disclose the experience to others. Reporting, whether formally or informally, can be extremely …

The Face Of God: Imaginary Space In Pickle Green, Taylor Flickinger

Undergraduate Honors Theses

A foundational premise of adaptation theory is that novels, films, theater, and any other storytelling medium can tell the same story but must do so differently. That is, each medium has its own distinct “language” with varying strengths and weaknesses inherent to its form. However, adaptation theorists have recently started pushing back on the idea that a film “can’t” do the same things as a novel, for example, arguing instead that the language of film and literature is more a result of “habits that are grounded in the history of fashion, taste, and analysis rather than in any specific technical …

A Content Analysis Of Sexuality-Related Scholarship For Sexual Minorities, Chelise Fox

Theses and Dissertations

Sexual minority individuals face disparities of treatment from clinical and medical health professionals. In particular, there is a dearth of research and training surrounding human sexuality topics for sexual minorities. Research on sexual minority groups in this area can contribute to reducing treatment disparities. Consequently, the proposed study is a content analysis of social science literature in order to gauge trends in the amount of research focused on the intersection of sexual minorities and sex research. Articles from a database search of relevant keywords were coded for several variables, including overall level of focus on sexual minorities and on human …

Understanding Relapse In Self-Perceived Problematic Pornography Users, Erin L. Rackham

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored reasons for relapse among a sample of 938 self-identified problematic pornography users. A combination of numeric content analysis and qualitative coding of responses to an open-ended question about pornography relapse revealed six main categories of reasons for relapse. The mental, emotional, and relational categories were then analyzed in detail, and this analysis revealed significant overlap of responses from the emotional and relational categories. Hence, a new category of relational-emotional reasons for relapse was created and analyzed. The findings from this study highlight the complex interactions of different types of factors driving relapse in self-perceived problematic pornography users …

Utility Of High-Definition Fiber Tractography And Eye-Tracking For Measuring Outcome In Chronic Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Hannah M. Lindsey

Theses and Dissertations

A complete understanding of the functional and structural impairments driving persistent post-concussive symptom (PCS) expression in approximately one-third of those who suffer from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is essential for the development of effective treatment strategies and improving quality of life. While traditional outcome measures, such as neuropsychological testing and structural magnetic resonance imaging, are sensitive to the severe functional impairments and widespread tissue damage frequently seen after moderate-to-severe injuries, more advanced measures that are sensitive to the subtle changes in cognitive function and tissue microstructure that may underlie persistent PCS are necessary for the assessment of recovery from …

Aerobic Exercise Alters Opioid Receptors Following Chronic Alcohol Exposure, James N. Brundage

Theses and Dissertations

Opioid receptors have been a target of pharmacological manipulation in alcohol use disorder (AUD) recovery protocols for many years. Aerobic exercise, a common adjunct in AUD recovery, is known to modulate opioid receptors (ORs) both during both acute and long term exposure. The three subtypes of ORs: mu (MOR), delta (DOR), and kappa (KOR) are all expressed on neurons in the mesocorticolimbic circuitry. Kappa-opioid receptors are expressed directly on dopamine (DA) neuron terminals in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Mu and Delta ORs are expressed on cholinergic interneurons (CINs) and GABA neurons in the NAc. In alcohol dependent rodents, KORs are …

Patterns Of Provision Of One On One Aides In Due Process Hearings: A National Sample, Joel K. Perkins, Michael Owens, Scott Ferrin, Gordon Gibb, Vance Randall

BYU Education & Law Journal

In decisions regarding services for a student classified with a

disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement

Act (IDEIA), one of the most impactful choices for an IEP

team or local education agency is whether a student should receive a

one-on-one aide to enhance the least restrictive environment. Many

parents seek such services for their children, while many education

agencies resist, claiming that that one-on-one aides are not appropriate

for a particular student and in fact may not actually provide

the least restrictive environment for the student as established under

the IDEA.

This study examined patterns of legal provision …

Sexual Education As A Form Of Sexual Assault Prevention: A Survey Of Sexual Education Among States With The Highest And Lowest Rates Of Rape, Brittney Herman

BYU Education & Law Journal

Our Nation overwhelmingly supports sexual education in public

schools. A study by Siecus found that 98% of people surveyed support

sexual education in public high schools and 89% in public middle

schools. Unfortunately for some students, they will receive no sexual

education of very limited, ineffective sexual education, simply because

of where they live. Even if a student is fortunate to live in an

area which has or requires sexual education, this education may be

insufficient.

There have been countless advocates for sexual education.

With the rise of each new sexual education concern, advocates emerge

as if in waves. Most …

Being A Good College Student: The History Of Good Moral Character Rules In State Financial Aid Programs, 1850 To Now, Bradley Custer

BYU Education & Law Journal

Federal and state governments regulate the character of

their residents as a condition of immigration, employment, social

services, and beyond. At the state level, “good moral character”

rules have been analyzed in depth for decades, mostly as they pertain

to admission to the bar and other licensed professions. Character

requirements also affect the ability of college students to get

state-funded financial aid, but these policies have received no scholarly

analysis. According to this study’s findings, there have been at

least 50 state financial aid grant programs with character rules,

which begs the question: what does it mean to be a …

Provider Contributions To Disparities In Mental Health Care, Scott A. Baldwin, Kritzia Merced, Zac E. Imel, Heidi Fischer, Tae Yoon, Christine Stewart, Greg Simon, Brian Ahmedani, Arne Beck, Yihe Daida, Sam Hubley, Rebecca Rossom, Beth Waitzfelder, John E. Zeber, Karen J. Coleman

Faculty Publications

Objective: Disparities in diagnosis of mental health problems and in access to treatment among racial-ethnic groups are apparent across different behavioral conditions, particularly in the quality of treatment for depression. This study aimed to determine how much disparities differ across providers.

Methods: Bayesian mixed-effects models were used to estimate whether disparities in patient adherence to antidepressant medication (N=331,776) or psychotherapy (N=275,095) were associated with specific providers. Models also tested whether providers who achieved greater adherence to treatment, on average, among non-Hispanic white patients than among patients from racial-ethnic minority groups attained lower disparities and whether the percentage of patients from …

Change In Implicit Alcohol Associations Over Time: Moderation By Drinking History And Gender, Scott A. Baldwin, Kristen P. Lindgren, Kirsten P. Peterson, Reinout W. Wiers, Bethany A. Teachman

Faculty Publications

Implicit measures of alcohol-related associations or implicit alcohol associations are associated with drinking outcomes over time and can be understood as vulnerability markers for problem drinking. Longitudinal research remains rare, leaving open questions about how implicit alcohol associations themselves change over time and what factors moderate that change. We examined these questions with data from a larger study of first and second year U.S. college students. We investigated how these implicit alcohol associations change over time and potential moderators of those changes (gender, lifetime drinking history, family history of problem drinking, and class standing). A sample of 506 students (57% …

The Invisible Message, Andrew S. Gibbons Iii, Elizabeth Boling

Faculty Publications

The number and variety of messages conveyed by an instructional experience is astonishing, but most designers are unaware of their number, subtlety, and impact. Many of those messages they would not choose to send if they recognized their existence in practice. The design of invisible and abstract message structures receives less attention from designers today than those parts of the design given to more vivid, colorful, and showy surface structures. Invisible message structures work behind the scenes to produce the smooth surface performances in front of the curtain; they are seldom seen directly, but their power is indisputable. The purpose …

Longitudinal Links Between Parents’ Mental Health, Parenting, And Adolescents’ Mental Health: Moderation By Adolescent Sex, Laura M. Padilla-Walker, Hannah B. Apsley

Faculty Publications

This study explored mothering and fathering as possible mediators of the relationship between parent and adolescent mental health concerns and considered the adolescents’ biological sex as a potential moderator. Using structural equation modeling, the longitudinal links between parents’ mental health, parental psychological control, parent-adolescent connectedness, and adolescent mental health in 500 families— including 338 fathers and 500 mothers—were explored over the course of 5 years. The mean age of the adolescents (51.8% female, 69.6% European American) at Time 1 was 13.3 years. Mothers’ symptoms of anxiety directly predicted girls’ depression 5 years later. This relation was not mediated by parenting …

An Exploration Of Mental Contrasting And Social Networks Of English Language Learners, Adam T. Pinkston

Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on how applying MCII, a wish-fulfillment and goal-setting method researched by Gabriele Oettingen, benefits the quantity and quality of English language learners' (ELLs) social networks while participating in a study abroad program in the United States. This is done by instructing participants in the use of MCII, giving them weekly reminders on that instruction and the goals they set, and by measuring change from beginning to end. Analyzing the social networks of 36 English language learners at an intensive English program (IEP) after 14 weeks of instruction shows that the ELLs displayed growth in the number of …

Representation Of U.S. Minority Groups In The Marriage And Family Therapy Literature Over An 18-Year Period: A Content Analysis, Kensington Osmond

Theses and Dissertations

Research relevant to the unique needs and experiences of racial/ethnic/cultural (REC) minority groups in social science literature is essential to the work of policymakers and clinical practitioners. However, the social sciences have traditionally failed to publish a sufficient number of articles that address these needs and experiences or even adequately report the racial and ethnic makeup of their samples. The purpose of this study is to provide an updated look at Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) literature and how often sample participants’ ethnicity is reported, how frequently studies focus on ethnic issues or specific REC minority groups, which REC minority …

Heterogenity In Brain Injury: An Investigation Of The Efficacy Of Qualitative Comparative Analysis In Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Cooper Benton Hodges

Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and its associated neural and cognitive sequelae are of increasing interest in military populations. Blast-related TBI is becoming more commonplace in military Service Members and Veterans since Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation New Dawn and their following conflicts. It is currently unclear whether blast-related injuries cause unique neural and cognitive deficits. The present investigation, in Study 1, aims to investigate the differences in blast-related and non-blast related TBI using traditional statistical techniques. In Study 2, this study will demonstrate the use of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) in diffusion tensor imaging data. QCA is a relatively new …

Mental Contrasting With Implementation Intentions To Lower Test Anxiety, Asena Cakmakci

Theses and Dissertations

Learning a language can induce anxiety among students. In addition, students can feel anxious when it comes to being tested on their language skills. Studies of goal attainment among health patients, students, and others have shown that self regulation through the model of Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions (MCII) can help participants reach their goals. In the current study, we sought to determine whether MCII could help learners better cope with anxiety when being orally examined in a second language. Specifically, we examined whether practicing MCII would lead to reductions in language test taking anxiety over time. We compared the …

Childhood Trauma And Attachment Theory: Estimating A Growth Curve Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And The Therapeutic Alliance, Connor C. Barham

Theses and Dissertations

The therapeutic alliance is a core element of successful treatment in therapy. Recent literature has explored variables that predict the alliance at various time points during therapy, but few studies have explored how the alliance develops over time and the factors that influence its rate of change. The current study addresses these questions by estimating latent growth-curve models to analyze how male and female partners' alliance scores develop over time and how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) impact the development of the alliance during the first six sessions of therapy. Results from these analyses show that neither men nor women's ACEs …

Making Meaning In The Classroom: Developing An Oer For Equitable Teaching, Brenton Jackson

Instructional Psychology and Technology Graduate Student Projects

The cultural aspects of teacher-child interactions are emerging as key factors in K-6 learning, especially as the diversity of US classroom increases year to year. While there is growing evidence that culturally-connected classroom interactions can enrich development and improve classroom experience, finding accessible ways to teach, measure and improve those cultural aspects of teaching has been challenging, especially because of cost and access barriers.

The purpose of this project was to turn an existing cultural teaching observation protocol (the Classroom Assessment of Sociocultural Interactions, or CASI) into an instructional experience that would be accessible to all teachers. A team of …

A Fmri Of Fear Conditioning And Auditory Looming In Autism Spectrum Disorder, David Nicholas Top Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Many autistic adults experience debilitating anxiety that interferes with their daily functioning. Atypical sensory processing and intolerance of uncertainty are cognitive processes linked to atypical limbic system functioning and impaired fear conditioning as potential mediators of anxiety in autism. A previous fear conditioning study using fMRI found atypical amygdala functioning in autism when the threat stimulus was only partially reinforced. The first aim of this dissertation is a multimethod examination of brain and psychophysiological response in autistic and in neurotypical adults during a fear conditioning/extinction task with the threat stimulus reinforced 100% percent of the time. We were also interested …

Teachers' Mathematical Meanings: Decisions For Teaching Geometric Reflections And Orientation Of Figures, Porter Peterson Nielsen

Theses and Dissertations

Teachers' instructional decisions are important for students' mathematics learning as they determine the learning opportunities for all students. This study examines teachers' decisions about the activities and tasks they choose for students' mathematics learning, the ordering and connecting of mathematics topics, and the mathematics within curricula not to cover. These decisions are referred to as curricular decisions. I also identify teachers' mathematical schemes, referred to as mathematical meanings, in relation to geometric reflections and orientation of figures and examine teachers' reasoning with their mathematical meanings as they make these curricular decisions. Additionally, based on the results of this study I …

The Effects Of Exercise On The Fasting Ketone Production Curve: A Randomized Crossover Study, Landon S. Deru

Theses and Dissertations

Elevated ketone production and utilization results in a host of health benefits. The aim of this study was to assess the rate of ketone production during a prolonged fast and to evaluate how an initial bout of exercise influences this production. Mood and hunger, along with plasma insulin and glucagon, were also assessed. In this crossover study, 20 adult subjects (11 Male, 9 Female) completed two 36-hour fasts, with one protocol requiring the subject to complete an intense treadmill exercise session at the beginning of the fast. Ketone levels were assessed via blood ketone meter and recorded every two hours. …

The Walking Dead: Rhetorical Manipulations Of Death In Early Modern Performance, Chelsea Megan Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Death's presence on the Renaissance stage, and in Renaissance life, has been noticed and remarked upon by scholars in the past. The role of death in the early modern period was in flux due to major changes in religious and social life. During this time, the relationship between the living and dead was put into question, and the way the culture handled preparing for death began to change in significant, if subtle, ways. Renaissance drama became a stage for exploring and confronting the presence of death in life. King Lear and Hamlet remain two of Shakespeare's most enduring meditations on …

Be Good For Goodness' Sake: Parenting Practices That Promote Value-Congruent Behavior During Adolescence, Ryan David Mclean

Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that adolescence is an especially crucial time for developing habits of values congruent behavior that will persist throughout the lifespan. Past research has suggested that parents may play an important role in socializing their children, however few studies have looked at the mechanism through which this socialization occurs. The current study explored associations between different types of proactive and reactive parenting and value congruent behavior using nationally representative data from across three years during adolescence. Additionally, the current study attempted to further explain these associations through the mechanism of extrinsic and intrinsic values regulation. The current sample included …

An In-Depth Exploration Of Clinical Patterns Within Spiritually Integrated Therapy, Russell Neilend Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

The last 3 decades have seen a dramatic increase in the creation and effective use of spiritually integrated therapy (SIT) for a wide variety of client populations and clinical issues. The outcome research on SIT has increased and improved dramatically, yet process research on SIT has lagged somewhat. While valuable, prior process-oriented studies on SIT have used retrospective survey methods and asked about generalized usage rates of predetermined spiritual interventions. Rather than relying on retrospective reports of SIT with clients, there is great value and likely greater accuracy in examining session-by-session usage of SIT with clients and identifying correlational patterns …

At Ages 1-2, Will Tv Impact If I Help You? Prosocial Media, Joint Media Engagement, And Infant Prosocial Development During The Second Year, Sara Catherine Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Prosocial behavior typically emerges during an infant's second year. Because it is posited to be continuous from infancy to adulthood, and past research has identified numerous positive outcomes associated with prosocial behavior, it is important to understand the mechanisms involved in early prosocial behavior, such as prosocial media. Past research has examined the relation between prosocial media and prosocial behavior in preschool children, but no studies have explored this association with infants. The current study includes 60 infants and their primary caregivers. Data about media use, parent-infant media interactions, and infant prosocial helping was collected through survey and observational measures. …

Domestic Bliss, Or Technological Diss? Problematic Media Use, Attachment, And Relationship Outcomes, Mccall A. Booth

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how problematic media use (technoference, internet gaming disorder symptoms, and pornography use) predicted later partner relationship outcomes, operating through the mediator of attachment behaviors. Participants (N = 1039) were from Waves II–IV of the Couple Relationships and Transition Experiences (CREATE) study, a nationally representative quantitative study on marriage relationships across the United States. Both spouses completed surveys reporting problematic media use, attachment behaviors, and relationship outcomes at three separate time points each spaced a year apart. In order to test the hypotheses, three longitudinal actor-partner interdependence models with indirect paths were estimated, …

Lgbt+ Discrimination In The Workplace, Rachel Winters

Marriott Student Review

Although nearly everyone has faced some kind of unfair treatment in the workplace, members of the LGBT community often deal with much worse treatment—to the point of discrimination. After learning about the benefits of anti-discrimination policies for your employees and the company, you will realize that there is no reason you shouldn't—and every reason you should—implement LGBT-supportive policies at your company. The benefits include increase profitability, productiveness, work satisfaction, and employee retention.

Conflict Experienced By Lds Working Mothers, Sarah L. Maxfield

Marriott Student Review

This article analyzes and attempts to answer the question of what conflict LDS working mothers experience. It does this through a literature review, analyzing the different studies that have been conducted on the subject by looking at their findings, scope, and assessment of the situation. This article summarizes and extrapolates on the current academic literature surrounding working moms, religiosity, conflict, and the role of sanctification as one method of combating it.

The Impact Of Spending Time Alone On Emerging Adults' Mental Well-Being, Lisa Prescott Dixon

Family Perspectives

Purposefully spending time alone with the intention of self-care can lead to mental health benefits for emerging adults. However, when the motivation for spending time alone is rooted in the desire to be socially avoidant, emerging adults may find themselves becoming isolated and may experience increased levels of anxiety and/or depression. Effective solitude excludes any other individuals and the use of social media. As emerging adults purposefully spend time alone, they are creating opportunities for self-reflection that may then lead to the strengthened development of emotional regulation skills. The ability to emotionally regulate provides the necessary tools to cope with …