Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Social Media & Mental Health: An Examination Of Tiktok & Mental Health Outcomes, Jessica Maddox

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The goal of this research study was to examine the relationship between amount of Tiktok use and the results of various mental health scales. The hypothesis was that increased Tiktok use would be correlated with a decrease in self-esteem, and an increase in depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and overall loneliness. Participants were recruited on Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and paid a small monetary benefit in exchange for completion of the study. There were a total of 285 participants. Correlations and linear regression analysis were used to determine statistical significance; results showed no statistical significance and none of the hypotheses were …

Investigating If Changes In Cannabis Expectancies Mediate Driving After Cannabis Use Intervention Outcomes, Sarah Nicole Elder

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Driving after cannabis use (DACU) has become an increasing public health concern specifically for the states that have legalized cannabis use. In a 2018 survey, 4.7% of U.S. residents reported driving while impaired by cannabis (Azofeifa et al., 2019). Previous research suggests that several skills are impaired following cannabis use, such as increased lane weaving, slowed reaction time, and distorted perceptions about external stimuli. This effect was seen to extend to frequent cannabis users who also demonstrated driving impairments despite heightened cannabis tolerance (Hartman & Huestis, 2013). With the increase in DACU it is crucial to understand the factors that …

The Relationship Between Mindfulness, Proprioceptive Awareness, And Interoceptive Awareness, Casey Ford

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The goal was to understand mindfulness mechanisms of emotion regulation and body awareness and how these relate to interoceptive and proprioceptive awareness. The 23 participants completed the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ; Baer et al., 2006) and the Multidimensional Assessment of Interceptive Awareness (MAIA; Mehling et al., 2012). Then, the participants completed a procedure on the purpose-built Active Movement Extent Discrimination Apparatus (AMEDA; Symes et al., 2010), a device used to measure proprioception at the ankle joint. The entire procedure took one hour to complete. Results did not support the hypothesis that higher levels of mindfulness were related to higher …

Investigating Social Support As A Moderator Of The Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Alcohol Use And Problems, Sterling Mckenzie Hubbard

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Unresolved childhood trauma, known as adverse childhood experiences (ACES), have been found previously to lead to a plethora of health disparities and increase the risk for problematic substance use, particularly alcohol use. However, protective factors, such as social support have been found to buffer against these consequences. The goal of this study was to highlight the connection between ACES and problematic alcohol use. Additionally, the aim was to investigate perceived social support as a moderator between ACES and problematic alcohol use and to examine the domains of social support and how they individually moderate the association between ACES and social …

An Application Of The Interpersonal Psychological Theory Of Suicide In College-Age Survivors Of Sexual Assault, Ava Katherine Fergerson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Sexual victimization is a pervasive public health concern that disproportionately affects college students and results in severe mental and physical health risks for survivors. Despite low prevalence rates in the general population, a national study found that 33% of survivors of rape reported suicidal ideation, and 13% actually made a suicide attempt (Kilpatrick et al., 1992). Although it is clear that survivors of sexual violence are at increased risk for suicide, knowledge is largely limited to epidemiological studies. Few studies have integrated theories of suicide to understand how and why this population is at such elevated risk for suicidal thoughts …

The Kentucky Cabinet For Health And Family Services’ Response To The Hepatitis A Virus Outbreak In Kentucky: An Idea Model Analysis, Rachel Leigh Cato

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The hepatitis A crisis in Kentucky is unprecedented compared to other states. With thousands of hospitalizations and over 60 deaths in the state of Kentucky alone, there is a need to evaluate the government’s response to the hepatitis A virus (HAV) epidemic. Therefore, the instructional risk communication messages that are being conveyed by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (KCHFS) are instrumental in the education and action plans of Kentuckians who are at risk of contracting HAV.

This study utilizes the IDEA Model Thematic Analysis Codebook as a guide to analyze the KCHFS’ risk communication regarding the hepatitis …

The Effect Of Viewing Advertisements Depicting Information And Communication Technology On Older Adults' Technology Self-Efficacy, Hollie Brianne Coleman

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are an important part of society today. Older adults often report ICTs as difficult to use and unhelpful; however, ICTs can support older adults’ ability to stay in touch with family and friends across long distances and help increase their quality of life. Unfortunately, training programs targeted at teaching older adults to use ICTs are often costly and time-consuming. The current study attempts to determine whether advertisements depicting older adults using ICTs can be used to increase self-efficacy without the use of training programs.

A within subjects experimental design was completed using an independent variable …

Assessment Of Academic Vocabulary In Early Adolescents Using A Novel Sampling Method, Amber Cline

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study examined a method of language sampling (the Dixit Method- Science, Math, Engineering, Arts, and Math) in early adolescents with typically developing language. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the DM-STEAM in eliciting lexically sophisticated spoken language samples in the early adolescent population. To examine lexical sophistication, traditional measures of analysis such as mean length of utterance (MLU) and average type token ratio (AVG TTR) were applied along with a measure of low frequency vocabulary. To compare performance on the DM-STEAM, school standardized assessments were obtained to measure student skill in academic content …

The Impact Of A Therapist's Language In Computer-Mediated Communication, Robert E. Twidwell

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Background: Nearly 45 million adults in the United States live with a mental health disorder and only 43% of them seek treatment. One of the major barriers to seeking treatment is accessibility and can be addressed through telepsychology, or providing services with technology. With technological improvements in written communication, using computer-mediated communication (CMC; e.g. text messaging) has become more regularly used and examined in healthcare. To date, little research has focused on the use of practitioner language in telepsychology.

Method: Two samples (university sample and national sample) totaling 396 participants were asked to rate a therapist on attractiveness (i.e. likability …

Identifying Clinical Distinctions Between Nonsuicidal Self-Injury And Eating Disorders In Adolescents, Natalie Marie Perkins

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Eating disorders and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) are pervasive behaviors that typically begin in early to mid-adolescence. They commonly co-occur, resulting in increasingly negative psychological and physical outcomes than either behavior alone. Emotion reactivity and family functioning have been studied in relation to both eating disorders and NSSI. Both constructs have demonstrated strong relationships to these behaviors, but emotion reactivity appears to be more strongly associated with NSSI, while family functioning appears to be more strongly related to eating disorders. The current study sought to determine whether emotion reactivity and family functioning could differentiate between adolescents with only an eating disorder, …

Texting And Its Impact On Post-Event Processing And Symptoms Of Social Anxiety, Amanda Nicole Newquist

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study is to evaluate how individuals with social anxiety perceive a social event after a texting conversation compared to a face-to-face conversation. This review is known as post-event processing. This study included 154 participants (89 males and 65 females). These participants were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Each participant was asked to imagine a social situation where they experienced a high level of anxiety. The results of the study showed evidence that the self-reported level of trait anxiety was positively correlated with the self-reported level of state anxiety. Self-reported level of trait anxiety was positively correlated …

Practice Standards For Initial Adhd Assessment: A Review, Lauren Spencer

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

There are many challenges that come with diagnosing attentiondeficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), including shared symptoms with many similar disorders, high comorbidity of other mental disorders, and subjective bias from informant reports. Three clinical guidelines for diagnosing ADHD currently exist, published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP). However, these guidelines are outdated as they are based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) and do not include more recent research. This project was intended to update …

Clinical Measurement Of Problem Solving In Children With Autism, Megan Nicole Martin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study examined verbal and non-verbal problem skills in twenty-seven male children 10-16 years of age, twelve with autism and fifteen children who were neurotypical. The goal of this study was to assess problem solving abilities of children with autism when compared to gender and age matched peers. The twenty-seven participants completed two assessments of the Rapid Assessment of Problem Solving and one online assessment of Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices. Results of this study showed a .92 reliability of the RAPS for all twenty-seven participants. Correlation between the RAPS and RPM was .419 for all participants. The results of …

The Relationships Between Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Frequency And Suicidal Behaviors, Depression, And Anxiety: A Curvilinear Analysis, Sherry Elizabeth Woods

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) involves the deliberate damage of one’s own bodily tissue without suicidal intent. A number of psychological disorders and indicators of distress are correlated with the behavior, including suicidal behaviors (e.g. Whitlock & Knox, 2007), depression (e.g. Ross & Heath, 2002), and anxiety (e.g. Victor & Klonksy, 2014), and yet the research literature has been mixed on whether increased frequency of NSSI is correlated with increased levels of these variables. The present study hypothesized that these relationships are curvilinear. Data from a larger study were analyzed using curvilinear regression analyses, and hypotheses were partially supported. Curvilinear relationships were …

Attachment As Affirmation To Inhibit Health Risk Information Avoidance, Elizabeth C. Mccrary

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Previous research on information avoidance has revealed that people choose to avoid negative health information, but that this effect is interrupted by self-affirmation (Howell & Shepperd, 2013). The current study aimed to contribute to the field’s understanding of the conditions under which self-affirmation reduces information avoidance by using a unique affirmation: secure attachment figures. I hypothesized that activating a secure attachment would serve as the affirmation necessary for participants to choose to view their risk information for a fictitious enzyme deficiency. However, when given a choice, participants in both the experimental and control conditions chose to view this information. At …

Beliefs And Practices Related To Community Water Sources: "The Specialness Of Springs", Anita Kay Westhues

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The practice of gathering water from community springs in Kentucky constitutes a rich and complex research setting for the study of folklore beliefs and practices. Local knowledge construction, nostalgia as an evaluative process, contested views about purity and impurity, the protection and retention of a “public commons,” and the crisis which ensues when infrastructure maintenance and the delivery of safe drinking water are no longer guaranteed to communities, are all relevant to this vernacular practice. My thesis explores these topics, informed by fieldwork I conducted in nine Kentucky counties, which included formal and informal interviews with individuals who have used …

Signing To Maintain Joint Attention With Children With Down Syndrome, Rachel Dauer Burns

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study examined the role of two different methods of sign presentation on signed and spoken language acquisition of toddlers aged two to four years with Down syndrome (DS). The aim of this study was to determine if a method commonly used by native signers/Deaf mothers (referred to in this study as signing to maintain joint attention (SMJA)) was more effective than the method commonly used by hearing mothers and speech-language pathologists (referred to in this study as the triangular method of signing). Both methods were compared in a within-subject design for effects on the participants’ total number of …

Examining The Relationship Between Medical Concerns And Overall Mental Health Rating, Sarah M. Wilson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

It is widely supported that there are significant, positive relationships between the occurrence of some mental health symptoms and physical illnesses. Research indicates that the burden experienced by those with a physical and mental illness are magnified compared to individuals who do not experience an illness. More specifically, one of the burdens experienced by individuals is the monetary burden of affording the necessary health services to properly manage their illness.

This study attempts to reveal a difference between mental health symptom count for individuals who do and do not experience difficulty affording health care for their physical problems. The first …

Duration Of Time Spent Playing Online Video Games, Interpersonal Skills, And Introversion Personality Traits As Predictors For Social Anxiety Symptoms, James D. Bender

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study sought to determine if time spent engaging in online gaming, interpersonal communication skills, and introvert personality traits are predictors of an individual’s likelihood of experiencing symptoms of social anxiety. A sample of 128 participants (82 males and 46 females) completed measures of demographics, interpersonal communication skills, problematic online gaming, social anxiety, and introversion. Participants were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. There were significant correlations among social anxiety and interpersonal communication skills, problematic online gaming, and introversion. There was no significant correlation among social anxiety and time spent playing Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG), a specific form of …

Mediating Factors In The Relationship Between Non-Suicidal Self-Injury And Suicide Attempt, Amanda Gail Williams

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is considered a strong predictor of suicidal behavior, although the exact relationship between NSSI and suicide is not clear. Several factors have been suggested in previous research, including attitudes toward one’s own body, thoughts and beliefs regarding death and suicide, and the ability to cause physical harm to oneself. In the current study, the researcher obtained data from 285 young adult participants who reported a history of NSSI. Two multiple mediation models were tested in which body protection, suicide-related concerns, and acquired capability for suicide were examined as mediators of the relationship between NSSI and suicide attempt …

Suicidal Ideation In Patients Hospitalized For Emergency Medical Treatment Related To Physical Trauma: Effects Of Posttraumatic Stress And Depression, Erin E. Carney

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Survivors of physical trauma may be at increased risk for developing suicidal ideation and behavior both during and after their inpatient hospitalization for medical treatment of wounds. It remains to be understood why a population hospitalized for nonpsychiatric reasons may ultimately develop a desire to take their own life. The current study sought to answer this question by hypothesizing that symptoms of posttraumatic stress (PTS) and depression during the recovery period individually mediated the relationship between physical pain and suicidal ideation. Researchers assessed these relationships in 246 patients who were receiving emergency medical treatment for wounds associated with a physically …

Effects Of Jump Training On Bone Mineral Density In Young Adult Females, Battogtokh Zagdsuren

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Physical activity is critical to bone health. However, not all physical activity has optimum effect on bone health and metabolism. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a short term progressive jumping protocol on bone mineral density in college age Asian females. Sixteen participants aged18-28 years enrolled in the study. Participants were assigned to exercise (n=9) and control (n=8) groups. The exercise group completed a two-legged depth jump from an approximate 20cm stepbench followed immediately by a maximum vertical jump using arm swings for five days per week for two weeks. Each depth jump and vertical …

Structure Matters: Examining Illness Behavior Using Parsons's Sick Role, Angela D. Byrd

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Although Talcott Parsons’s sick role theory, as described in 1951 in The Social System, has been severely criticized for its inapplicability to chronic illnesses, a portion of the theory is still a relevant and necessary factor in terms of understanding and treating chronic illness today. Using data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey, this study looks at the individual effects of sex, age, race, cohabitation, education and region of residence on the likelihood of chronically ill patients considering themselves limited in their amount or kind of work as an indicator of sick role adaptation. Results show statistically significant relationships …

Measuring Accessibility To Primary Care Physicians In The Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area, Sami M. Almudaris

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The growing concern for the shortage of primary care physicians (PCPs) prompted a government legislation to designate areas where shortage in the delivery of primary care services occurs. The implemented systems (e.g., HPSA, MUA, and MUP) analyze utilization of health services within confined administrative units and fail to account for spatial interactions that occur across administrative borders. This research examines the spatial accessibility to PCPs and the underlying demographic and socioeconomic settings. With the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as a study area, this study utilized data from the U.S. Census 2000 and 2010, as well as the known locations …

Impact Of Stress Management On Learning In A Classroom Setting, Pankaj Mandale

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Stress is an important feature of the lives of college students and can impact negatively on learning. The effectiveness of an in-class stress management intervention for improving course content retention was tested with a cross-over design in two introductory graduate biostatistics classes. Each class met one day per week for the duration of the semester, and was taught by the same instructor, following the same syllabus. A pretest duplicating items on the midterm and final exam was administered to all students at the first class meeting. Identical midterm and final exams were administered in both classes. During the first half …

The Blood Drive Of Wku Greek Week: Issues Of Altruism, Egoism, Integration And Separation, Cynthia Halcyone Cotton

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis focuses on the Blood Drive which takes place during the spring Greek Week event at Western Kentucky University. I primarily investigate the varying methods of negotiating issues of altruism and egoism in terms of the Blood Drive as well as way that the Blood Drive fits into the WKU Greek yearly cycle. I focus on issues of the process of identity in social Greek-letter organizations and how the process of this identity is renegotiated during the Blood Drive and other Greek events.

I interviewed people from several groups for this paper. Initially, I interviewed Blood Donor Recruitment Representatives …

College Students Who Self-Injure: A Study Of Knowledge And Perceptions Of Self-Injury, Stacey Edwards Clinard

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Archived data was utilized for the present study which examined self-injurious behaviors in a college population. College students, who engage in non-suicidal self-injury, or NSSI, were expected to evidence a higher knowledge base for the behavior than those who do not. The demographic variables of gender and sexual orientation were predicted to be over represented in the NSSI group. Further, this study examines the perceived riskiness of the behavior in individuals who self-injure, as well as their perceptions of others who engage in NSSI. The survey consisted of four sections: demographics, knowledge ofNSSI, experience with NSSI, and perceptions ofNSSI. Individuals …

Evaluating The Reliability And Validity Of The Muscle Dysmorphia Inventory, Rebecca Sue Cubberley

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Throughout the years, women have been the focus of eating disorders and body image research. With women being the focus of research in these areas, disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) have caught the eyes of researchers. With this new discovery, there has been a recent surge of research on body image issues and men. Originally termed reverse anorexia or bigorexia, Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) has gained the attention of researchers for about a decade (Grieve, 2007; Pope, Katz & Hudson, 1993; Pope, Gruber, Choi, Olivardia & Phillips, 1997).
The Muscle Dysmorphia Inventory (MDI) …

The Influence Of Preferred Attentional Focus Strategies On Exercise Induced Changes In Affect, Erin L. Heltsley

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Along with the numerous physical benefits of exercise, past research has shown that physical activity can alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression in both clinical and non-clinical populations. Yet, it has been suggested less than half of American adults exercise at public health recommended levels. Therefore, it is important to identify factors that may lead to an increase in physical activity and, subsequently, improvements in mental health. Previous research, for the most part, has neglected to investigate how preference for attentional focus strategy during exercise influences mood. In addition, previous studies that involved attentional focus and exercise have focused more …

Socioeconomic Determinants Of Hiv Status In Kenya, Kimberly Fletcher

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is one of the greatest threats to stability and development in Kenya. The country's infection rate is estimated between seven and eight percent, making it one of the highest in the world. Several studies have been done that examine subpopulations such as truck drivers, sex workers, and migrants. However, to date there is little research that examines who, across the country, is contracting HIV. Kenya's 2003 Demographic and Health Survey includes data that make it possible to determine which groups have the highest odds of being infected. The question of who is contracting …