Digital Commons Network^™

To Read Or Not To Read; That Is The Question, Christopher Latourrette, Morgan Haas

UROP Posters

To Read or Not to Read; That is the Question

Christopher Latourrette, Depts. of Psychology and Sociology, and Morgan Haas, with Dr. Jeffrey Green, Dept. of Psychology

Do regular leisure readers have a different psychological profile from non-readers? We investigated whether particular positive psychological traits (i.e., greater subjective well-being, self-esteem, meaning in life, and lower loneliness) and leisure motivational variables (i.e., intellectual pursuits or distraction source) would distinguish undergraduate readers from non-readers. In support of a larger ongoing research study exploring the psychological benefits of reading and re-reading novels, we conducted a k-means cluster analysis followed by an analysis of …

The Moderating Role Of Body Appreciation On Ethnic Identity And Condom Use Intentions, Breanna Jones, Noelle Manfredi, Calvin Hall

UROP Posters

The Moderating Role of Body Appreciation on Ethnic Identity and Condom Use Intentions

Breanna Jones, Depts. of Psychology and Sociology, Noelle Manfredi, and Calvin Hall, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Student, with Dr. Kristina Hood, Dept. of Psychology

Scholars have long explored the influence of ethnic identity affirmation, or feelings of belonging to one’s ethnic group (Phinney, 1990), on sexual health outcomes (e.g., condom use intentions; Beadnell et al., 2003). Higher ethnic identity safeguards against risky sexual behaviors (Townsend et al., 2010), such that those with higher ethnic identity affirmation reported less risky sexual behaviors. However, limited research has explored how …

Mental Health Comorbidities In Adolescents With Asd: Indirect Effects Of Family Functioning Through Youth Social Competence, Marie Johnson, Jessica Greenlee, Cathryn Richmond

UROP Posters

Mental Health Comorbidities in Adolescents with ASD: Indirect Effects of Family Functioning through Youth Social Competence

Marie Johnson, Depts. of Psychology and Product Innovation, and Jessica Greenlee and Cathryn Richmond, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Students, with Dr. Marcia Winter, Dept. of Psychology

Recent research has established the high comorbidities of mental health problems in adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD; see Strang, et al., 2012), prompting researchers to examine factors that may contribute to elevated anxiety and depression. Given the centrality during adolescence of both the family and peer contexts (Greenlee, Winter, & Diehl, 2018) as well as the stage …

Assessing Sexual Differences With The Decision To Remain A Virgin, Jessica Del Rossi

UROP Posters

Assessing Sexual Differences with the Decision to Remain a Virgin

Jessica Del Rossi, Depts. of Biology and Sociology, with Dr. Claire Kimberly, Dept. of Internal Medicine, VCU School of Medicine

In the transition to adulthood, the loss of virginity can be seen as an important step in personal development. The first sexual experience someone encounters is often memorable with a positive or negative interaction impacting sexual satisfaction and sexual communication in the future. People have different definitions of virginity which can lead to miscommunication in personal relationships, research and/or a therapy setting. People may remain a virgin till marriage due …

Moral Development Of Eco-Martyrs, Ashley Sanico, Ian Mcfadden, Victoria Bee

UROP Posters

Moral Development of Eco-Martyrs

Ashley Sanico, Depts. of Psychology and Gender Studies, Women, & Sexuality, Ian McFadden, and Victoria Bee, with Dr. Richard Bargdill, Dept. of Psychology

Over the past 18 years, close to 2,000 individuals have been murdered in attempts to preserve the natural world. Those who have carried out the killings are corrupt individuals or institutions that wish to discard and destroy the environment for personal gain and wealth. For the past two years, we have been studying these venerable Eco-Martyrs and their efforts to preserve the ecosystems and communities around them. Today, we are commenting on how …

Sex Differences In Skin Tone Predicting Depressive Symptoms Among College Students Of Color, Jenifer Rodriguez, Jenna Minter, Eryn Delaney, Chloe Walker

UROP Posters

Sex Differences in Skin Tone Predicting Depressive Symptoms among College Students of Color

Jenifer Rodriguez, Jenna Minter, Depts. of Psychology and Political Science, Eryn DeLaney, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Student, & Chloe Walker, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Student, with Dr. Chelsea D. Williams, Dr. Amy Adkins, Dr. Tricia Smith, & Dr. Danielle Dick, Dept. of Psychology

Skin tone, or more specifically the meaning and treatment that society attaches to skin tone, has been found to impact individuals’ outcomes, with those with darker skin tones (who experience more colorism) experiencing more negative outcomes (e.g., Norwood, 2014). However, less research has tested …

Effect Of Political Ideology, Femininity, And Gender On Abortion Stigma, Rym Yousfi, Emily Beatty, Allison Patev, Chelsie Dunn

UROP Posters

Effect of Political Ideology, Femininity, and Gender on Abortion Stigma

Rym Yousfi, Dept. of Psychology, Emily Beatty, and Allison Patev and Chelsie Dunn, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Students, with Dr. Kristina Hood, Dept. of Psychology

Abortion stigma is a negative characteristic attributed to individuals who terminate a pregnancy that marks them as inferior to social ideals of womanhood (Kumar et al, 2009). One factor influencing abortion stigma is political ideology. Conservative individuals display more opposition to abortion and hold more abortion stigmatizing attitudes, when compared to their liberal counterparts (Bessett et al, 2015). Further, individuals’ gender may impact endorsement of …

A Narrative Review Of Interpersonal Trauma, Mental Health, And Substance Use Among Lgbq College Students, Meagan Nguyen, Mar'quelle Winfield, Eryn Delaney

UROP Posters

A Narrative Review of Interpersonal Trauma, Mental Health, and Substance Use Among LGBQ College Students

Meagan Nguyen, Dept. of Psychology, Mar’Quelle Winfield, & Eryn DeLaney, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Student, with Dr. Chelsea D. Williams, Dept. of Psychology

College is a critical time for LGBQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer) individuals due to sexual identity formation and trauma exposure (e.g. Arnett, 2000; Acierno et al,. 2001). Studies have shown that heterosexism is manifested on college campuses through discriminaition and cultural norms that devalue LGBQ individuals and perpetuate heterosexuality as normative and superior (Rankin et al., 2010). Additionally, there is a drastic …

Health Disparities Among Latinx Communities: Issues Of Access To Information, Interpreters, And Bilingual Providers, Shea Wenzler, Roma Kankaria, Sydney Welles, Anubhav Thapaliya

UROP Posters

Health Disparities among Latinx Communities: Issues of Access to Information, Interpreters, and Bilingual Providers

Shea Wenzler, Depts. of Psychology and Political Science, Roma Kankaria, Sydney Welles, and Anubhav Thapaliya, with Dr. Indira Sultanić, School of World Studies

Members of the Latinx community in Richmond and the United States face challenges in obtaining equitable health care access because of socioeconomic and systematic barriers within the healthcare system. This analysis conducted by the Collective Corazón—a VCU student organization that addresses Latinx healthy equity through service and advocacy—examines the underlying causes of Latinx health disparities. Special emphasis is placed on access to just, …

Gender And Ethnic Differences In Sound Tolerance, Nicole Concepcion, Rachel Wallace

UROP Posters

Gender and Ethnic Differences in Sound Tolerance

Nicole Concepcion, Depts. of Psychology, Social Work, and Human Resource Management, and Rachel Wallace, M.S., Dept. of Psychology Graduate Student, with Dr. Scott Vrana, Dept. of Psychology

Misophonia, hyperacusis, and tinnitus are related to decreased sound tolerance (DST). Misophonia is characterized as strong aversive reactions to specific sounds. Hyperacusis is a heightened sensitivity to certain sounds below the loudness sensitivity levels. Tinnitus is a condition that includes continuous ringing or buzzing in the ears. Current research has shown that misophonia symptoms have many commonalities with psychiatric diagnoses and these symptoms result in substantial …

There's More To Sleep Than Counting Sheep: A Cross Sectional Analysis Of Sleep Health, Elizabeth Torres, Sanika Lawate, Hali Russell, Emily Donovan, Pablo Soto

UROP Posters

There's More to Sleep than Counting Sheep: A Cross Sectional Analysis of Sleep Health

Elizabeth Torres, Depts. of Psychology, Biology, and Chemistry, Sanika Lawate, Hali Russell, and Emily Donovan, M.S., and Pablo Soto, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Students, with Dr. Joseph Dzierzewski, Dept. of Psychology

Background: Studies have supported the claim that good physical health and positive affect have a lasting positive impact on the body and the brain across all age groups. High levels of activity and positive affect can boost immunity, increase life expectancy, and promote resiliency. Studies have also shown that poor physical health and low affect …

Benefits Of A Daily Personal Growth Activity: An Autoethnographic Study, Maria Ribera Sites, Carolyn Henao

UROP Posters

Benefits of a Daily Personal Growth Activity: An Autoethnographic Study

Maria Ribera Sites, Dept. of Psychology, and Carolyn Renao, with Dr. Richard Bargdill, Dept. of Psychology

The aim of this poster will be to describe autoethnographic research evaluating the benefits of a daily personal growth practice. For the past four years Dr. Richard Bargdill has taken a reading from one of the 81 chapters of the Tao de Ching as well as a reading from one of the 64 I-Ching excerpts daily. In addition, he writes his own commentary for each chapter of the Tao and a comparative American idiom …

Differences On The Use Of Emotion Regulation Strategies And Intimate Partner Aggression Between Males And Females, Natalia Rodriguez Romero, Alexandra Martelli

UROP Posters

Differences on the Use of Emotion Regulation Strategies and Intimate Partner Aggression Between Males and Females

Natalia Rodriguez Romero, Depts. of Psychology and Criminal Justice, and Alexandra M. Martelli, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Student, with Dr. David Chester, Dept. of Psychology

Intimate partner aggression (IPA) is defined as an attempt to harm one’s romantic partner via physical, verbal, or sexual means. It is crucial to determine key factors related to IPA perpetration to further understand the phenomena and reduce its prevalence in society. We explored gender differences in the use of emotion regulation strategies and IPA perpetration. The emotion regulation …

Autobiographical Storytelling In English Language Arts Instruction: Fostering Literacy And Social Emotional Development In The Elementary English Language Learner Classroom, Elysia Lin

UROP Posters

Autobiographical Storytelling in English Language Arts Instruction: Fostering Literacy and Social Emotional Development in the Elementary English Language Learner Classroom

Elysia Lin, with Prof. Mary Boyes, VCU Honors College

Given the changing cultural and linguistic profile of the United States classroom, culturally relevant teaching strategies that address individual learning needs and establish meaningful learning contexts have become increasingly important for student success. The integration of autobiographical student narratives into traditional English language instruction via storytelling represents a promising area of educational research. The present study sought to investigate the extent to which storytelling facilitates inclusivity, fosters positive social-emotional development, enhances …

The Eco-Martyrs Of 2018 And Maslow: Is Self-Actualization Only For Colonizers?, Johanna Guz-Montgomery, Ian Mcfadden, Victoria Bee, Ashley Sanico, William Purrington, Christopher Latourrette, Rachel Creed, Kelly Rios-Santos, Alan Lankford

UROP Posters

The Eco-Martyrs of 2018 and Maslow: Is Self-Actualization Only for Colonizers?

Johanna Guz-Montgomery, Dept. of Psychology, Ian McFadden, Victoria Bee, Ashley Sanico, William Purrington, Christopher Latourrette, Rachel Creed, Kelly Rios-Santos, and Alan Lankford, with Dr. Richard Bargdill, Dept. of Psychology

Every year the Global Witness organization complies and releases a list of forest, earth, water and animal protectors who have been murdered while defending the earth and people. There have been about 2000 “eco-martyrs” since 2002. Most of these persons are farmers, indigenous people, nature lovers or in other words--ordinary people. In their efforts to stop projects that would lead …

The Effect Of Amitriptyline On Biomarkers Associated With Brain Health And Drug Metabolism, Ashana Jackson, Bukola Odeniyi, Omar Hassan

UROP Posters

The Effect of Amitriptyline on Biomarkers Associated with Brain Health and Drug Metabolism

Ashana Jackson, Dept. of Psychology, Bukola Odeniyi, and Omar Hassan, with Dr. Elvin T. Price, VCU School of Pharmacy

High anticholinergic drugs, like amitriptyline have been linked to dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases. Chronic use of high doses of amitriptyline can lead to a decrease in brain capabilities and even negative effects on short-term memory. Expression of different brain biomarkers are also linked to various cognitive decline: Decreased expressions of PPARG and CREB1 have been correlated with a decrease in the brain’s ability to protect against aging, …

Language Skills Of Children And Youth With Schizophrenia: A Meta-Analysis, Laura Griffith

UROP Posters

Language Skills of Children and Youth with Schizophrenia: A Meta-Analysis

Laura Griffith, Depts. of Psychology, Criminal Justice, & History, with Dr. Jason Chow, VCU School of Education

Schizophrenia is a severe psychological disorder that remains difficult to understand. Since the presentation of the disorder can vary widely from person to person, there is much debate about the exact nature and cause of the disorder. Some researchers and clinicians prioritize certain symptoms above others, leading to multiple viewpoints on exactly what type of disorder schizophrenia is. In spite of these differences, one commonality among many researchers is the hope to find …

Parent-Child Perception Of Cancer-Specific Quality Of Life And Relationship To Medication Adherence, Tiara Bolden, Evrosina Isaac

UROP Posters

Parent-Child Perception of Cancer-Specific Quality of Life and Relationship to Medication Adherence

Tiara Bolden, Dept. of Psychology, and Evrosina I. Isaac, VCU School of Medicine Medical Student, with Dr. Jennifer M. Rohan, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU

Background: Medication adherence has a significant impact on health outcomes in pediatric cancer with adherence <95% indicating a significant increase in relapse risk. In recent years, the literature on medication adherence in pediatric oncology has increased. However, there is a lack of research on determining what specific factors may result in nonadherence. The current research was conducted to address the gaps in the literature regarding parent-child perceptions of cancer-specific quality of life and medical adherence. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between quality of life and medication adherence in the pediatric oncology setting. We also aim to examine the discrepancies of parent and child perceptions in cancer-specific quality of life. To our knowledge, there is limited literature on parent-child rater discrepancies in pediatric cancer studies. Methods: Children/adolescents ages 7 to 19 years old (N=139; Mage = 12.29 ± 3.44)diagnosed with cancer who were in the maintenance phase of treatment were monitored over fifteen months by using Medication Event Monitoring System devices to examine medication adherence. Parents and patients completed an assessment battery, which included a Parent- and Child-Report of PedsQL Quality of Life Inventory.. Assessments were taken at baseline, six months, and 15 months. Results: A bivariate (Pearson) correlation suggested that there was a significant relationship between parent and child reports of cancer-specific quality of life across all domains from baseline to 15 months (p<.05) We also identified three group-based trajectories of quality of life, including an optimal, moderate, and low quality of life group across 15 months. Conclusion: These preliminary findings suggested the importance of examining both patient and parent-reported cancer specific quality of life as parents and patients may not always report congruent perceptions of quality of life during cancer treatment. Future interventions should explore strategies for improving quality of life and medication adherence in pediatric cancer.

Tobacco Use Prevention: Culturally-Specific Protective Processes In College Students With Asthma, Vanessa Atra

UROP Posters

Tobacco Use Prevention: Culturally-Specific Protective Processes in College Students with Asthma

Vanessa Atra, Depts. of Biology, Psychology, & Chemistry, with Dr. Rosalie Corona, Dept. of Psychology

The African American and Latinx communities are disproportionately affected by health disparities such as cancer. Recent cancer statistics shows death rates of African American men and women at a high of 33% and 16%, respectively, as compared to Caucasian men and women1 it is the leading cause of death in Latinx individuals.2 Minority college students of this group have higher risk of developing cancer later in life; thus this study focuses on examining associations …

Encounters With Care: Mentoring Beginning Art Teachers Amid The Pre[Care]Ious Conditions Of Neoliberalism, Christina Hanawalt

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

Arguing that significant encounters with care often go unnoticed in a United States’ educational system largely defined by a neoliberal agenda, in this article I undertake a deep investigation of encounters with care that emerged in my experiences mentoring beginning art teachers. I approach these encounters as provocative disturbances that might reveal the nuances and intricacies of the entanglements at work. Through this exploration, I aim to show that these caring entanglements are, in consequential ways, run through with precarity—not only as an existential condition of life, but as a specific set of social, cultural, political, and material relations …

Empowering Latina/O Families To Navigate College Access, Maria De Jesus Cisneros-Elias, Gabriela Chavira, Karen Alvarez

Graduate Research Posters

Background

With the education crisis of Latinas/os, it is important to understand ways to increase access to college for the most vulnerable youth (Gándara & Contreras, 2009). To investigate strengths that promote college accessibility in underserved Latina/o families, the current qualitative study assessed the following: (1) Prior to beginning the intervention program and after the intervention program what forms of capital did families possess? (2) How did participating in the program change adolescents’ perception of their parents’ capital? (3) How did adolescents use agency to apply what they learned in college information intervention over time?

Methods

Latina/o parent-adolescent dyads (N …

Legal Status Effects On Parent-Child Relationships And Parent Well-Being, Isis Garcia-Rodriguez, Tamara Ribas-Camargo, Ronald L. Blackwell, Amy K. Marks

Graduate Research Posters

Despite heightened levels of parenting stress and psychological distress experienced by many immigrant-origin families in the United States, little is known about the resiliency of Latinx families, particularly in today’s political climate. This research presents the results of a pilot study examining the effects of legal stressors on parent-child relationships and parent well-being in Latinx immigrant families. Taken from the Latinx Immigrant Family Stories and Strengths project, this mixed-methods study was informed by the integrative risk and resilience model for understanding the adaptation of immigrant-origin children and youth (Suarez-Orozco, Motti- Stefanidi, Marks, & Katsiaficas, 2018). The pilot included a sample …

“How Am I Supposed To Feel?”: Social Support And Black Mothers’ Infant Feeding Decisions, Hannah M. Ming, Cecilia Barbosa

Graduate Research Posters

Background: Many of the adverse health outcomes that breastfeeding protects against disparately affect black mothers and children; however, black mothers are the least likely racial group in the U.S. to breastfeed. Black mothers have indicated that breastfeeding barriers include a lack of social support. Qualitative studies examining such breastfeeding barriers often focus on women who have unsuccessfully breastfed and fail to define the experiences of women who have successfully breastfed. This study aims to identify the impacts of social support on the infant feeding decisions of black women with varying levels of breastfeeding success.

Methods: Twenty-five black women were interviewed …

Shedding Psychological Light On The Racial Disparities In School Disciplinary Measures: The Role Of Dehumanization As A Potential Mechanism, Ebony Lambert, Nao Hagiwara

Graduate Research Posters

Schools should be safe and supportive spaces for all students, yet Black students tend to face biased treatment in the education system, which often results in harsh disciplinary measures. This research examined the role of animalistic dehumanization (i.e., perceiving others as animal- like and uncultured and denying uniquely human characteristics), in predicting choice of harsher disciplinary measures for Black students as opposed to White students. It was hypothesized that individuals who dehumanize Black students to a greater degree would be more likely to believe that Black students need to be disciplined through harsher measures. Both Study 1 (in which dehumanization …

Multidimensional Recovery Among An Opioid Use Disorder Outpatient Treatment Population, Anna Beth Parlier-Ahmad, Lori Beck, Caitlin E. Martin

Graduate Research Posters

Background: Given the current opioid crisis, recovery from opioid use disorder (OUD) warrants attention. SAMHSA’s working definition of recovery highlights dimensions that support recovery including health, home, community, and purpose. Recovery capital captures factors that support recovery within these dimensions and has been associated with recovery outcomes. Prior research highlights possible gender differences in recovery outcomes. Objective: 1) Describe and compare recovery capital among an OUD outpatient treatment population by gender; 2) Identify the relationship between recovery capital and length of time in treatment within this population.

Methods: Patients (n=126) taking medication for OUD at a single outpatient substance use …

Emotion Regulation And Prosocial Tendencies Mediate The Association Between Parenting Styles And Later Substance Use, Nathaniel Thomas, Marcia Winter, The Spit For Science Working Group, Danielle Dick

Graduate Research Posters

PURPOSE: Substance use is common, heritable, and associated with negative outcomes in emerging adults. Previous work suggests that parenting styles are associated with substance use outcomes. Emotion regulation and prosocial tendencies, such as civic efficacy and engagement with community or school extracurricular activities, are associated with lower levels of substance use and may represent mechanisms of the influence of parenting styles on substance use. The current study examines whether the association between parenting styles and substance use is mediated by emotion regulation and prosocial tendencies in a large sample of emerging adult college students

METHODS: Subjects were drawn from a …

Let’S Talk: A Study Of The Impact Of Gendered Racial Socialization On African American Adolescent Girls’ Mental Health, Lesley Winchester, Keyona Allen, Shawn C. T. Jones, Ph.D, Elan Hope, Ph.D

Graduate Research Posters

Internalized racial oppression in African American girls is understudied within research. As people of color are victimized by racism, they may internalize it, developing ideas, beliefs, actions and behaviors that support or collude with racism (Bivens, 1995). This internalized racism has its own systemic reality and its own negative consequences in the lives and communities of people of color. Understanding the way negative racial messages influence the mental health of African American adolescent girls allows for the development of intervention and prevention methods to reduce symptomology of depression, anxiety, and stress. In order for African American girls and young women …

For I Know The Plans I Have For You: God Locus Of Control, Spiritual Change, And Death Anxiety In Primary Brain Tumor Patients, Kelci D. Willis, Julia Brechbiel, Rachel Boutte, Laurel Kovalchick, Kyra Parker, Audrey Ann Louis Villanueva, Ashlee R. Loughan

Graduate Research Posters

Background/Purpose. Primary brain tumor (PBT) patients risk experiencing death anxiety given the high mortality rate of their diagnosis. In line with Terror Management Theory (TMT), many diagnosed with cancer utilize religion as a method of coping with the disease. However, previous literature on the relation between death anxiety and religion in cancer patients indicates mixed findings of either a negative relationship or no association. To the authors’ knowledge, no study has analyzed these two constructs together in PBT patients. The current study sought to address this gap by investigating the relationship between religiosity and death anxiety in an understudied population. …

Examining Gender Differences In Young Men And Women’S Goals For A Technology-Driven Weight Loss Intervention, Jean M. Reading, Melissa M. Crane, Jessica G. Larose

Graduate Research Posters

Background

Emerging adults (EA) are at high risk for weight gain and obesity yet are underrepresented in behavioral weight loss (BWL) programs and fare worse than their older counterparts when they join these programs. Further, even within BWL programs adapted specifically for this population, young men are particularly challenging to recruit, representing less than 20% of samples in recent trials. One hypothesis for the poor recruitment of men is that men’s goals for a weight loss program are not described in recruitment messages for these studies. Understanding whether men and women’s personal goals for participating in a weight loss program …

The Associations Between Sexual Victimization And Health Outcomes Among Lgbqa College Students: Examining The Moderating Role Of Social Support, Eryn Delaney, Chelsea Derlan Williams, Della V. Mosley, Sage E. Hawn, Danielle M. Dick, Phd

Graduate Research Posters

Sexual victimization is a prevailing public health concern that differentially impacts sexual minority populations (i.e., people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, or queer) compared with their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts (McCauley et al., 2018). Studies have shown that sexual violence is associated with depressive symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, and alcohol use (Aosved et al., 2011; Bedard-Gilligan et al, 2011; Carey et al., 2018) among heterosexual college students. However, we know less about the potential effects of sexual victimization on health outcomes among sexual minority college students. Understanding these relations are especially important because sexual minority college students …