Digital Commons Network^™

College Prescription Opioid Misuse: An Exploration Of Social Learning, Social Control, And Strain Theories, Julie Murray

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Prescription opioids, when used as medically intended, can be effective in pain management. However, the consequences and costs of widespread misuse of prescription opioids in the United States are cause for concern. Prescription opioids are related to increased risk of death and injury. Young adults, between the ages of 18 and 25, have the highest rates of misuse nationally and within this age group, college students may be particularly at risk. In order to effectively curb the growing misuse of prescription opioids within college populations, we must have a better understanding of the factors that potentially lead to misuse.

This …

Early Adolescent Gifted And Talented Students And Their Experience With Bullying, William T. Allen Jr.

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Bullying, in all its forms (e.g., verbal, physical, cyber, social ostracism), is a continual problem in public schools. It exacerbates the painfully high suicide rate among early adolescent students, especially in the western U.S., with some evidence showing distinctions within the academically advanced gifted and talented (GT) cohort. Research shows GT students (GTs) are bullied at nearly double the rate of the mainstream population. Yet, quantitative statistics indicate GTs and non-GTs suffer comparable rates of trauma internalization, suicide ideation, and suicide. Some quantitative differences do start to appear with further personality distinctions. This points to a possibility that qualitative dissimilarities …

Espoused And Enacted Beliefs Of High School English Language Arts Teachers In Writing Instruction, Sydnie Schoepf

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of the current study is to explore the espoused beliefs and enacted practices of secondary English Language Arts teachers with regards to writing instruction and how these beliefs correlate with teacher self-efficacy beliefs. The study worked to build upon the literature mainly in the fields of mathematics and science in order to explore what the perceived and enacted beliefs are and how they affect the self-efficacy belief of teachers within the field of writing instruction in the high school classroom. The study used a collective case study design in order to better understand what espoused and enacted pedagogical …

Social Change Engagement And Leadership Development Among College Students, Andrew Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Young people are increasingly in the public view as agents of social change. As suggested in the Social Change Model of Leadership Development, those who develop the seven values of socially responsible leadership (consciousness of self, congruence, commitment, common purpose, collaboration, controversy with civility, and citizenship) are prepared to engage in the leadership process by creating positive social change. Findings from this study suggest that the socially responsible leadership value of citizenship was the value most consistently related to social change engagement. Additionally, social generativity, or the desire to leave a legacy for future generations, as well as participating in …

Teaching Appropriate Feedback Reception Skills Using Computer-Based Training, Seth G. Walker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Feedback is a commonly used intervention to address performance issues in a number of settings. Most research on feedback has focused on manipulating parameters surrounding the delivery of feedback. However, the interaction between those delivering the feedback and a feedback recipient may also influence the impact of performance feedback. The current study investigated the efficacy of training individuals to receive feedback in an appropriate manner using a computer-based training format. Following computer-based training, participants exhibited increases in accuracy of appropriate feedback behaviors when compared to baseline. Participants also demonstrated slight increases in performance on primary job tasks. This study extends …

Supporting Adolescent Mental Health Within School Culture And Curricula: Inviting Adolescents To Utah's Mental Health Conversation, Diana West

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Utah is facing a mental health crisis. Between 2011 and 2017, teen suicides nearly tripled in Utah and had become the leading cause of death for children ages 10-17. Educators and policymakers are scrambling to provide students with mental health supports in schools, but an incomplete understanding of the challenges that students face can make it difficult to meet their needs. Each year state agencies ratchet up awareness, funding, and the determination to support mental health initiatives, but each year adolescent mental health in Utah becomes more precarious. The purpose of this study is to change the conversation by inviting …

A Translational Examination Of Alternative-Response Discrimination Training And Resurgence, Kaitlyn O. Browning

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders often engage in severe forms of problem behavior. Reward-based behavioral interventions are highly effective at reducing levels of problem behavior and teaching more appropriate and adaptive alternative behaviors. Despite successful reduction in problem behavior during treatment, problem behaviors are susceptible to reoccurrence or relapse. Resurgence is a type of behavioral relapse that is particularly relevant to the treatment of problem behavior and may occur following the worsening of conditions of a more recently learned alternative behavior. That is, if the rewards that were used to teach the alternative behavior are removed …

Exploring The Influence Of Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (Pals) In Increasing Reading Comprehension Of Grade-Level Biology Text And Biology Self-Efficacy In Students With Learning Disabilities: A Formative Experiment, K. Lea Priestley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present study used a formative design experiment framework which does not answer a research question but addresses a pedagogical goal. The goal of this study was to determine the influence of Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) on the reading comprehension of grade-level biology text and biology self-efficacy with students diagnosed with learning disabilities. As a result of this intervention, it was expected that students would better understand biology text and feel better about themselves as a biology student.

Students were separated into pairs, or dyads, with each pair having a stronger reader and a weaker reader. These dyads participated in …

Social Justice Mathematical Modeling For Teacher Preparation, Patrick L. Seegmiller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Today's math teachers face significant social and political challenges for which they receive little preparation. Mathematics content courses can potentially provide additional preparation in this regard by providing future teachers with experiences to mathematically explore social justice issues. This provides them with opportunities to increase their awareness and sensitivity to social justice issues, develop greater empathy for their future students, and serve as examples for high quality instruction that they can emulate in their future careers. This dissertation recounts the development and revision of three social justice mathematical modeling projects, and shares evidence from student work samples of the ways …

Cultural And Contextual Influences On Mental Health, Stigma, And Substance Use Among Mena U.S. College Students, Molly Mechammil

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The aim of this dissertation was to investigate whether certain cultural and contextual factors influence Middle Eastern/North African (MENA) college students' mental health, alcohol/marijuana use, and experiences with mental health stigma and help seeking. Research with MENA college students is very limited, which leaves mental health providers with limited information on how to best support MENAs. MENAs report high rates of discrimination, and other research shows that many they may use religion as a way to cope with stressors such as discrimination. I examined whether religious coping might buffer the effects of discrimination on mental health outcomes. I also considered …

A Translational Investigation Of Reinforced Behavioral Variability: Implications For Promoting Behavioral Variability In Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Ann Galizio

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Behavioral variability is sometimes adaptive and can be maintained by the delivery of reinforcement. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often show restricted and repetitive behaviors. Therefore, interventions to promote behavioral variability in individuals with ASD are needed. The present line of research was designed to inform such interventions by investigating reinforced behavioral variability from basic, applied, and translational perspectives. Each of these laboratory studies involved participants making sequences of well-defined responses, which were compared to previous responses. Responses that meet a variability contingency (i.e., were sufficiently different from previous responses) produced rewards. Studies 1 and 2 were basic experiments, …

Kudos And K.O.M.'S: The Effect Of Strava Use On Evaluations Of Social And Managerial Conditions, Perceptions Of Ecological Impacts, And Mountain Bike Spatial Behavior, Noah E. Creany

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Smartphone based self-tracking fitness applications (apps) like Strava are increasingly becoming a part of recreation experiences in parks and protected areas (PPAs). Recreation research has employed smartphone GPS tracking (SGT) and volunteered geographic information (VGI) to study visitor behavior in PPAs, but little is understood about how smartphones or fitness apps affect visitor perceptions and behavior during their experience.

The first chapter of this thesis is a literature review of recreation survey and behavior research, social-psychology and technology use theory, gamification, and mountain bike social science and recreation-ecology research. The second chapter is formatted for submission to the Journal of …

Harmonic Delay Reduction, Jay E. Hinnenkamp

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Stimuli which, during the life of an organism, acquire the ability to increase the probability of behavior that they follow are called conditioned reinforcers. The concurrent-chains procedure has been used to study conditioned reinforcement for over 60 years. During this time several different models have been developed to explain how stimuli become conditioned reinforcers. The three experiments of this dissertation introduced a new quantitative model of conditioned reinforcement (DRT_H) and tested its predictions against four existing models. The results of Experiment 1 indicated that DRT_H improves upon the accuracy of its predecessor, delay reduction theory (Fantino, 1969), …

Perceptions And Behavioral Intentions Of Utah 4-H Equine Program Leaders In Teaching Equine Safety To Youth, Katelyn M. Huffman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

There is an inherent risk associated with working with youth and large equine. The Utah 4-H Equine program is a volunteer-based program that seeks to properly educate youth on equine husbandry, this includes the topic of safe equine handling practices. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions and behavioral intentions of Utah 4-H Equine Program leaders about teaching equine safety, including attitudes, perceived behavioral controls and subjective norms. The survey instrument consisted of multiple choice, fill in the blank, and six-point Likert scale questions regarding personal demographics, experience teaching equine safety, attitudes towards safety, perceived behavioral controls, …

Exploring Park Quality In Urban Setting With Environmental Justice, Alternative Measurements, And Social Interaction, Shuolei Chen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

With rapid urbanization, urban green resources, such as parks have become important assets for quality of life in urban settings. Parks provide urban residents with both physical and psychological health benefits through various mechanisms such as physical activity and social interaction. Quality is an important non-spatial dimension of urban parks and has started to gain attention among researchers. To better understand park quality in an urban setting, additional knowledge should be explored. This dissertation studies the quality of urban parks from three different perspectives: 1) the equal distribution of park quality resources and its relationship to environmental justice issues, 2) …

A Temporal Information-Theoretic Model Of Suboptimal Choice, Paul J. Cunningham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Humans and animals often make decisions not in their long-term best interest. In one example, called suboptimal choice, pigeons sacrifice food for food-predictive stimuli. The study of suboptimal choice can reveal insights into the role of reward-predictive stimuli in maladaptive decision-making that characterizes numerous behavioral disorders. However, there is currently little evidence that rats engage in suboptimal choice, thereby raising questions about the species-generality of suboptimal choice. According to the temporal information-theoretic model, developed in Chapter 2, suboptimal choice emerges when pigeons pay more attention to the bits of temporal information conveyed by food-predictive stimuli than the rate of food …

Development And Validation Of A Synchronous Model To Simulate Skeletal Muscle Damage Due To Spaceflight Ionizing Radiation And Microgravity, Lori M. Caldwell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Astronauts traveling or researching in space are subject to a harsh environment that includes high levels of ionizing radiation and microgravity. Ionizing radiation is dangerous to overall health because it causes double-stranded DNA breaks, increases the production of free radicals or reactive oxygen species, and leads to an enhanced risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer over a person’s lifetime. Similarly, microgravity is hazardous to astronaut health because humans require gravity to maintain a healthy heart and muscular and vascular systems.

Both ionizing radiation and microgravity have been studied individually in previous research, but there is a lack of information on …

Biological Sex As A Moderator Of The Association Of Military Sexual Trauma And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Total And Symptom Cluster Severity, Hallie S. Tannahill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a multifaceted disorder comprised of distinct symptom clusters and is commonly diagnosed in military service members/veterans (SM/Vs), particularly in those with history of military sexual trauma (MST). Evidence and theory suggest that females and males may have different traumatic responses following MST, though research investigating this association has limitations, such as modeling the sexes separately or not covarying for MST severity. The current study examined the moderating role of sex on the association of MST severity and PTSD total and symptom cluster severity. Participants were 1,161 SM/Vs (female: n = 782, 67.36%) who completed online …

Relationship Quality Before, During, And After Stepfamily Education: A Latent Trajectory Analysis, Bryan K. Spuhler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to explore the trajectories of relationship quality for a sample of 777 adult participants attending the Smart Steps: Embrace the Journey stepfamily relationship education course. Rather than assume that all program participants had similar relationship quality trajectories by averaging their scores together in a growth curve analysis, growth mixture modeling was used to allow for a variety of sub-groups (classes), each with a unique trajectory. A prevention science approach was then taken to address possible predictors of each trajectory class in order to identify the risk and protective factors that influence participants’ trajectories.

It …

Improving Identification Of Pediatric Feeding Dysfunction Among Registered Dietitian Nutritionists, April Litchford

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

All Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDN) undergo extensive training to develop the ability to improve dietary intake among individuals of all ages. Treating children (0-18 years of age) is often challenging and requires specialized training. One area that is particularly challenging is identifying children that may not be able to eat appropriately to sustain rapid growth and development. An online survey of RDNs that work specifically with children was conducted to better understand how RDNs are identifying and treating children with feeding problems. From the survey we learned that the methods and procedures used by RDNs for identifying and treating children …

Persistence Impacts On Student Subgroups That Participate In The High Impact Practice Of Service Learning, John Louviere

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The university focuses on student-centered learning experiences and encourages student success through engagement and discovery. Departments and programs within universities are organized to support this mission. A major part of encouraging engagement is retaining students and helping them persist towards earning their academic degrees. Likewise, campus initiatives, resources, and activities are intended to support these same goals.

This research investigated the impacts of service learning courses on student persistence to the next term. The research methods used for this study were intended to provide leaders of higher education with valid and reliable information about activities that contribute to or inhibit …

Club Athletes: Dietary Supplement Use And How The Registered Dietitian Can Better Serve This Population, Rachel E. Robbins

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dietary supplements are a booming business in the United States. Currently over half of Americans have taken a dietary supplement in the last year. Collegiate and professional athletes are even more likely to take a dietary supplement to get a competitive edge over their opponents. The objective of this study was to assess dietary supplement use in club athletes at Utah State University. Club athletes are non-scholarship athletes associated with a university. They often do not the same level of funding or resources that NCAA or scholarship athletes have. A survey was sent to all 401 club athletes at Utah …

Parenting Styles And Child Outcomes In Puerto Rican Families: A Comparison Of Individual And Dyadic Coding, Jeisianne Rosario Colón

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Parenting styles are comprised from three dimensions: warmth, autonomy granting, and demandingness. These dimensions combined form four parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful. Forty-nine Puerto Rican families with children 6-11 years participated. Families engaged in several tasks that were coded using the Parenting Style Observation Rating Scale and child outcomes were measured using the Child Behavior Checklist. Overall, parents received high ratings in warmth, autonomy granting, and supportive demandingness, and low scores in nonsupportive demandingness. There were some differences between parents, with mothers exhibiting higher levels of warmth with girls than boys, and higher levels of autonomy granting and …

Applying Sexual Script Theory To Hooking Up: A Latent Profile Analysis Of Predictors And Outcomes Of Class Membership, Mitchell R. Rhodes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to explore relationship between individuals’ characteristics, experiences, personality traits, and thought processes in the contexts of casual sexual behaviors. According the principles of Sexual Script Theory, personality traits and personal thought are creations of cultural beliefs and individual experiences. A sample of 1,142 emerging adults between the ages of 18-24 who had a hooking up experience (i.e., sexual activity outside of romantic relationships).

It was found that the emerging adults in this study could be grouped into three (3) distinct groups based upon their personality traits and their motivations for hooking up. The first …

“What Makes ‘Em Tick?” The Impact Of Parenting Style And Parent-Initiated Motivational Climate On Student Athletes’ Motivation Orientation In The Context Of Intercollegiate Athletics, Logan Kateryna Lyons

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Motivation has become a widely studied construct in intercollegiate athletics, as coaches and administrators have sought to maximize the socioemotional and performance aspects of athletic competition. While researchers acknowledge parents as having an important role in the socialization of motivation, research in this area has largely focused on sport-specific parenting practices, failing to account for the broader components of global parenting style that may influence parent-initiated motivational climates, and subsequently the motivational profiles exhibited by developing student athletes. The present study was designed to investigate the relationship among global parenting style, parent-created motivational climate, and student-athlete motivation within the context …

Teacher Questions In The Classroom: The Effects Of Using A Low- To High-Level Questioning Sequence On The Text-Based Reading Comprehension Outcomes Of Low-Performing Students, Shannon Harris Brown

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Teacher questioning may be an effective instructional procedure for building students’ reading comprehension. Strategically asking questions at two different levels, low-level (text explicit) and high-level (text implicit), may be needed to assist students to engage in higher order thinking skills.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a low- to high-level questioning sequence without or with linking prompts on the text-based reading comprehension outcomes of fifth-grade students who evidenced poor reading comprehension. A secondary analysis was used to determine whether the questioning sequence was effective regardless of students’ interest in the narrative …

How Student Perceptions Of The Online Learning Environment And Student Motivation Predict Persistence, Completion, And Retention In Developmental Mathematics Courses, Samuel K. Gedeborg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Online developmental mathematics courses have high dropout rates. The focus of this study is to improve understanding of how students’ perceptions of the online learning environment and student motivation from course design predict student drop out. This understanding will benefit faculty and institutions on student support for online developmental mathematics students.

The study included 330 undergraduate students enrolled in online developmental mathematics courses during the Fall 2018 semester at eight public universities and colleges in the Utah State Higher Education (USHE) system. Participants completed a survey with questions measuring their perceptions of the learning environment. They also completed a survey …

Dramatic Play Affordances Of Outdoor Settings For First And Second Grade Children With And Without Disabilities, Nicholas R. Leschofs

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Unstructured play is crucial for children’s development. Dramatic play is play involving a transformation of objects, actions, or self-identity. During dramatic play, children may operate at more advanced cognitive levels than they do in non-dramatic play, thereby furthering their cognitive, social, and emotional skills. Interactions among children with and without disabilities are valuable opportunities to further a children’s development.

This study compared dramatic play behaviors among first and second grade children with and without disabilities to determine which play settings encouraged children to engage in quality dramatic play. Eighty-nine six-to-eight-year-olds were observed during lunch recess daily on an inclusive playground. …

The Environmental Impact Of Immigration In The United States, Guizhen Ma

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Population growth increases pressure on the environment. Immigration may be harmful to the environment because it is the major force of population growth in the United States. However, this argument has not been supported by research findings. A few studies on this topic show that locations with higher numbers of immigrants experience better air quality than locations with greater proportions of U.S.-born residents. This research investigated the environmental impact of immigration through three independent studies. First, I tested the relationship between U.S.-born population, foreign-born population, and air quality across all the U.S. continental counties. This study analyzed the air quality …

Family Development And The Marital Relationship As A Developmental Process, J. Scott Crapo

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Despite the commonly held idea that families develop, there is not a theory in common use within the family science field that is developed specifically for the study of the development of the family. Family development theory, developed in the post-World War II era, was used previously, but an inability to be adapted to contemporary families and a lack of scientific utility have kept it from use. Additionally, research on how families develop has not considered how relationships may develop over time.

In this dissertation, I seek to address these holes in the family studies field. I do this over …