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Dental Fluctuating Asymmetry As A Measure Of Environmental Stress In Nasca, Shawna L. Follis

Open Access Theses

This thesis evaluates how environmental stressors affected three groups (Nasca, Loro, and Chakipampa) that lived in Nasca during the Early Intermediate Period (ca. A.D. 1-750) and the Middle Horizon (ca. A.D. 750-1000). Using fluctuating asymmetry analysis as a proxy for developmental instability, biological evidence is assessed for differential stress levels incurred by groups occupying the Peruvian south coast. This study found high levels of stress in the Middle Horizon, supporting the hypothesis that populations living in Nasca were unfavorably affected by Wari colonizers. However, stress was found to be highest among the Chakipampa. This is attributed to Wari imperialistic occupation …

Student Stress At Cal Poly, Jeffrey Boncan Cabanez

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

Stress has major influences with students in the college environment. With the rigorous demand of work found throughout the quarter system, students are required to balance their entire lives, including academics and studying, social life and relationships, and personal health and well being.

The purpose of this Senior Project is to determine how students define stress, how each category above relates to one another, and finally some ways that students go about stress management and de-stressing. To do this, a survey was conducted analyzing student stressors, a documentary was created that told the experiences of Cal Poly students in relation …

Educators' Positive Stress Responses: Eustress And Psychological Capital, Karen Bradley

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

This study contributes qualitative support for the Positive Psychology concepts of Psychological Capital and eustress in the field of education. The research questions ask how stressors inherent in public education today may positively influence the meaning-making teachers engage in. The constructs of Psychological Capital (hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism) are explored viewing their relationship to positive meaning-making for these individuals.

The study is based on life history interviews with six teachers identified as being positively oriented in their outlook. The career trajectory of each was discussed, along with identification of successes and challenges in being a public school teacher at …

Healthy And Maladaptive Coping Strategies Among Master Of Social Work Students, Jody D. Lopez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore healthy and maladaptive coping strategies among MSW students. The data was collected using self‑reported questionnaires. A total of 47 students participated in this study. Using the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping as a theoretical framework, this study assessed stress levels using the Perceived Stress Scale. The Brief COPE instrument measured coping strategies. The study found relationships between stressors and maladaptive coping and perceived stress. The study recommends that future research on coping strategies among MSW students include greater attention to training MSW students how to deal with stress during their MSW …

Human Service Providers’ Perception Of The Quality Of Client Services Provided As Related To Their Level Of Self-Care, Joseph Ray Brinson, Luis Hernandez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study explored human service providers’ perception of the quality of client services provided as related to the providers’ level of self-care. We utilized a quantitative research approach to survey 54 human service providers from three Southern California agencies. An independent t-test was conducted to analyze the difference between participants’ perceptions of self-care by age, gender, and level of education. This study revealed a significant difference was found between gender and social care. Females are more likely to maintain an open, trusting relationship with someone who they can share their frustrations with, sustain balance in their life by pursing a …

Adapting The Job Demand/Control Model To A Team Level, Clark Calabrese

Master's Theses

A better understanding of sources of stress within a teamwork context might be gained by applying the Job Demands/Control Model of stress (Karasek and Theorell, 1990) to teams as the unit of analysis rather than only to individuals as it is conventionally done. Team performance is frequently treated as a shared team-level outcome; it seems reasonable to assume that shared team characteristics are likely to have effects on stress as well. In particular, teams are unique in their requirement for coordination between team members. Therefore, the present study proposes an adapted Team Job Demands/Control Model of team-level stress phenomena in …

Motor Variability During Sustained Contractions Increases With Cognitive Demand In Older Adults, Marnie Lynn Vanden Noven, Hugo M. Pereira, Tejin Yoon, Alyssa A. Stevens, Kristy A. Nielson, Sandra K. Hunter

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

To expose cortical involvement in age-related changes in motor performance, we compared steadiness (force fluctuations) and fatigability of submaximal isometric contractions with the ankle dorsiflexor muscles in older and young adults and with varying levels of cognitive demand imposed. Sixteen young (20.4 ± 2.1 year: 8 men, 9 women) and 17 older adults (68.8 ± 4.4 years: 9 men, 8 women) attended three sessions and performed a 40 s isometric contraction at 5% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) force followed by an isometric contraction at 30% MVC until task failure. The cognitive demand required during the submaximal contractions in each session …

Mood And Experience: Effects Of Ostracism On Diathesis Activation, Rachel Archer

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The stress-diathesis model is a well-known but little-tested theory which states that people can possess diatheses, or vulnerabilities, to certain mental disorders such as depression or anxiety. These diatheses are activated when a person is under stress. This study examined how ostracism as a temporary stressor can trigger existing diatheses and cause increases in depression symptoms among at-risk people. Theory suggests that ostracism is likely to trigger symptoms of depression in at-risk people. This study is an extension of a study conducted by Luxton, Ingram, and Wenzlaff (2006) in which people with naturally varying levels of diathesis factors were exposed …

The Use Of Stress Reduction Techniques In Nursing Education, Jennifer S. Bauer

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Stress is a complex phenomenon that has significant effects on students which may disturb their physiological, psychological, and spiritual health and well-being. Nursing students have been identified to be at high risk for stress during their education. Stress can arise from new clinical experiences, academic load, and personal stressors (Jones & Johnston, 2006). This increase in stress can lead to the student’s inability to assimilate and learn within the classroom and clinical settings. A review of the literature provided evidence that reported a positive relationship between guided imagery and a decrease in stress and anxiety. This evidence-based practice (EBP) project …

A Mindfulness-Based Intervention To Reduce Stress In Undergraduates., Dirk Anthony Dorsel

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

This study piloted a mindfulness-based intervention to reduce stress in university undergraduates, and explore effects on psychological and biological indicators of stress. Mindfulness is “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment-by-moment” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994). The one week mindfulness intervention used audiobased mindfulness tracks recorded by Clinical Psychologist Paul Salmon. These tracks taught the basics of mindfulness. Participants were asked to listen to the tracks for 30 minutes a day for five days of the intervention. Perceived stress, self-reported anxiety, self-reported depression, heart rate and skin conductance were …

The Relationship Between Work Status And Grade Point Average, Lauren Kennington, Verdina Pilipovic

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

There is a fine line between wanting to succeed and being able to succeed. There are certain factors that one has imaged when the visions of success come along. These images include the wide range of having a good job, being able to provide for individual wants and needs, as well as continuing to have a social life. Being a student is reflected on these visions of success by how well one’s grade point average is maintained, along with his or her stress level of working and going to school, and even being able to sleep and still find time …

Stress Levels In Tenure-Track And Recently Tenured Faculty Members In Selected Institutions Of Higher Education In Northeast Tennessee, Amanda R. Carr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare the stress, strain, and coping levels between pretenured faculty and recently tenured faculty in institutions of higher education in Northeast Tennessee. Aging faculty population combined with talented people leaving the area is common in rural parts of the United States. There is a need to better understand the occupational factors within the faculty roles in order to better recruit and retain faculty in this region.

Four different institutions of higher education in Northeast Tennessee, producing 92 responses, participated in this study. The Occupational Stress Inventory – Revised (Osipow, 1998) was used …

Examining The Role Of Motivation In The Relationship Between Perceived Academic Stress And Coping Among Freshmen, Ying Dong

Theses and Dissertations

First-year college students commonly face academic stress that is negatively associated with academic achievement and persistence. It has been found that problem-focused coping (PFC) effectively decreases stress, but emotion-focused coping (EFC) exacerbates stressful situations in the long term (Carver & Scheier, 1994; Kim & Duda, 2003). Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) Transactional Model of Stress and Coping (TMSC) posits that cognitive appraisals determine the selection of stress coping. In the current study, two motivation indicators, causal attributions for academic stress and value of college education, were recognized as cognitive appraisals that were respectively placed into the TMSC to test their role …

Long-Term Mindfulness Meditation: Anxiety, Depression, Stress And Pain, Is There A Connection For Public Health?, Sara Spowart

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Long-term mindfulness meditation for anxiety, depression, pain and stress has not been adequately investigated in academic literature. The majority of literature in relation to mindfulness meditation and these ailments concerns Kabat-Zinn's Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. This is a short-term 6-8 week program that requires a licensed professional, is limited in availability, high cost, and combines other elements aside from mindfulness meditation, such as yoga, martial arts, group discussion, poetry and other teaching techniques meant to increase mindfulness concentration. Furthermore, efficacy studies, which have assessed the long-term impact of MBSR are inconclusive. Although these studies on long-term practice demonstrate a …

Humor As A Buffer For Stress In Nurse Anesthesia Students, Kayla C. Forbis

Honors Theses

This simple, quantitative study was carried out on 18, first-year, CRNA students to determine if humor could act as a buffer for some of his or her perceived stress. Before an impending final exam, when stress levels would most likely be at their highest, the students were broken into three groups: a control group, a non-humorous group, and a humorous group. The students in the control group ranked their level of stress on a 0-10 scale without any other intervention. The other two groups watched a video clip, either humorous or non-humorous, while ranking their perceived stress on a scale …

Stress And Coping As A Function Of Experience Level In Collegiate Flight Students, Jennifer Kirschner, John Young, Richard Fanjoy

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Aviation as an industry requires a high degree of precision at all times. Large amounts of stress have been known to decrease performance to undesirable levels. While stress reactions and the coping skills used after encountering stressful situations differ from person to person, generalities can be made by comparing differences between groups. A large number of pilot applicants receive initial training within a university flight program each year. In order to better understand the perceived stress level and the coping skills used by these students, the current research project administered a perceived stress test and a coping skills inventory to …

Openness, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, And Family Health And Aging Concerns Interact In The Prediction Of Health-Related Internet Searches In A Representative U.S. Sample, Tim Bogg, Phuong T. Vo

Psychology Faculty Research Publications

Recent estimates suggest 60 % of the U.S. adult population uses the Internet to find health-related information. The goal of the present study was to model health-related Internet searches as a function of an interdependent system of personality adaptation in the context of recent health and aging-related concerns. Assessments of background factors, Big Five personality traits, past-month health and aging-related concerns, and the frequency of past-month health-related Internet searches (via Google, Yahoo, AOL, Bing, or some other search engine) were obtained from a representative U.S. sample (N = 1,015). Controlling for background factors, regression analyses showed more frequent health-related …

The Effects Of Shiatsu Massage On Stressed College Students, Hannah E. Daniel

Honors Theses

This research discusses the effect that Shiatsu massages can have on stress in college students. A Shiatsu massage class was surveyed to provide further research.

Mood And Experience: Effects Of Ostracism On Diathesis Activation, Rachel Archer

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

No abstract provided.

Think Like A (Mindful) Lawyer: Incorporating Mindfulness, Professional Identity, And Emotional Intelligence Into The First Year Law Curriculum, Nathalie Martin

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Workload Transitions And Stress: Changes Over Time, Erik G. Prytz

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Workload transitions are situations where operators are suddenly confronted with levels of workload substantially different from previously established levels. Workload transitions may affect the operators' state of stress and coping behaviors but previous research has not conclusively demonstrated the nature of those. The first goal of the current work was to investigate the discrepant findings of the previous literature. Two experiments were conducted where participants were asked to perform a digit detection task that suddenly shifted between low and high event rates (i.e., low and high workload, respectively). The first experiment used a large magnitude transition that resulted in a …

Perspectives Of Social Work Students On Nutrition And The Nutrition Effects On Mental Health, Diana Tran

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Nutrition is related to the mental well-being of clients. However, the nutritional views and practices of social workers in the mental health field have not been thoroughly explored. By using the post-positivist paradigm, 15 mental health social work students were interviewed for their perspectives regarding nutrition and nutrition’s effect on stress. Their main ideas were identified, connected, and organized to develop a theoretical statement. The resulting theory focused on the development of social work students' perspectives in applying nutrition into their mental health practice. The students were influenced by a variety of background factors, including their education, barriers to applying …

A Narrative Study Of The Lived Experiences Of Family Caregivers Through Different Stages Of Mental Illness, Reshma Kamal

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

This narrative study examines life histories of family caregivers caring for a mentally ill relative dealing with either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder through different stages of the mental illness. Its goal was to enhance understanding of the lived experiences of the families in question during three different stages of the mental illness which centered on mental illness as the life- course stage (Denzin, 1989). A narrative analysis of the life histories of the main caregivers through three different stages of the mental illness was conducted. They were life before, during, and after the onset of the mental illness. Family Systems …

The Relationships Between Co-Rumination, Social Support, Stress, And Burnout Among Working Adults, Justin P. Boren

Communication

Workers regularly report high levels of stress and burnout because of their daily interactions at work. Workers also tend to seek social support as a mechanism to reduce stress and burnout. Social support buffers the negative effects of stress on health-related outcomes and is inversely associated with both burnout and perceived stress. However, recent research has revealed that not all social support is beneficial. Co-rumination, or excessive negative problem talk about an issue, has been linked to increasing levels of stress and burnout. Working adults (N = 447) completed a survey exploring the relationships between social support, co-rumination, stress, and …

Mucosal Immunity, Stress, Cognition And Functional Fitness In Sedentary And Active Elderly Men, Ana M. Teixeira, Susana Teixeira, José Pedro Ferreira

International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings

Physical activity in the elderly has been shown to have positive effects on several chronic diseases and to improve immunity, mental health and cognition. Chronic stress as also been shown to have immuno-suppressive effects and to accelerate immunosenescence. Recently it as also been found that different types of exercise may affect cognition and dementia risk to different extents.

This cross-sectional study compared a group of 16 sedentary men with a mean age of 74,5+10,17 years old and a group of 17 men engaged in moderate regular exercise, mean age 69,99+6,36 years old, and aimed to identifying markers involved in maintaining …

The Neurobiology Of Burnout: A Christ-Centered Perspective On Managing Stress, Fear And Depression For Optimal Teaching And Functioning, Lisa S. Sosin

Faculty Publications and Presentations

This presentation focuses on developing a bio-psycho-social-spiritual toolbox for effectively managing stress, fear, and depression to support optimal teaching and functioning. Learning outcomes for the presentation include describing the neurobiology of burn out, exploring responses to stressful situations found in the Scriptures, practicing using tools introduced in the presentation to help regulate stress, fear, and depression, and applying content and skills taught in the presentation to develop a personal bio-psycho-social-spiritual toolbox for effectively managing stress, fear, and depression.

The Importance Of Managing Psychosocial Health: A Case Study, Mary Insana Fisher, Harold L. Merriman

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

Managing the physical aspects of lymphedema requires an individual to be committed to daily treatment of this chronic condition. Performing manual lymph drainage, using compression bandaging or compression garments, exercising, and caring for the skin all take time and a high level of dedication. This commitment to self-care can be emotionally and psychologically exhausting.

When coupled with other emotional stressors in a patient’s life, successful treatment of lymphedema is challenging. We present a case demonstrating how the physical and psychological aspects of care interplay, and, when well-managed, can positively affect the outcome.

Intranasal Neuropeptide Y Reverses Anxiety And Depressive-Like Behavior Impaired By Single Prolonged Stress Ptsd Model, L I. Serova, M Laukova, L G. Alaluf, L Pucillo, E L. Sabban

NYMC Faculty Publications

PTSD is a debilitating neuropsychiatric disorder and many patients do not respond sufficiently to current treatments. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is suggested to provide resilience to the development of PTSD and co-morbid depression. Injections of NPY to the rodent brain are anxiolytic. Recently we showed that intranasal delivery of NPY to rats before or immediately after exposure to single prolonged stress (SPS) animal model of PTSD prevented development of many biochemical and behavioral symptoms of PTSD, indicating its prophylactic potential. Here, we investigated whether intranasal NPY might provide benefits once symptoms have already developed. One week after exposure to SPS stressors, …

Coping Mechanisms Utah Agriculture Teachers Use To Manage Teaching Related Stress, Rebecca G. Lawver, Kasee L. Smith

Applied Sciences, Technology and Education Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine the level of occupational stress among Utah agriculture teachers, and to determine the coping mechanisms utilized to manage teaching related stressful events. Teachers were asked to rank their level of occupational stress according to the scale used by the American Psychological Association Stress in America report. Additionally, respondents completed the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (Folkman & Lazarus, 1988) to identify a significant stressful teaching related event and further evaluate the coping mechanisms used to manage that event. Upon identifying coping mechanisms teachers utilized, results were analyzed and compared to demographic characteristics using …

Randomized Controlled Trial Of A Positive Affect Intervention To Reduce Stress In People Newly Diagnosed With Hiv; Protocol And Design For The Iriss Study, J T. Moskowitz, A W. Carrico, M A. Cohn, L G. Duncan, Cori Bussolari, K Layous, J R. Hult, A Brousset, P Cotten, S Maurer, M E. Pietrucha, M Acree, J Wrubel, M O. Johnson, F M. Hecht, S Folkman

School of Education Faculty Research

Increasing evidence suggests that positive affect plays an important role in adaptation to chronic illness, independent of levels of negative affects like depression. Positive affect may be especially beneficial for people in the midst of severe stress, such as the diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). As medical treatments for HIV have improved, the number of people living with HIV has increased, and prevention strategies tailored specifically to people living with HIV have become a priority. There is a need for effective, creative, client-centered interventions that can be easily disseminated to community treatment settings, but there are currently few established …