Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Last Of Us In Therapy: How Mind-Controlling Fungi And Gut Bacteria Affect Your Mental Health, Anastasia Lyon

Journal of Pharmacology & Nutritional Sciences

The "psilocybiome" represents the mutually beneficial relationship between ourselves, our bacteria, and psychedelic drugs. This short review briefly discusses the benefits and limitations surrounding the potential for psychedelic therapy to synergize with gut bacteria to help regulate and maintain proper balance in the immune system, diet, and stress levels. Psychedelic therapy is a novel treatment strategy that has the potential to improve patient mental health, and, by identifying the types of gut bacteria present in patients, it can aid in personalizing medicine by determining how well their "psilocybiome" may respond.

Sociocultural Predictors Of White Veterans’ Attitudes Towards Va Mental Health Care, Elyssa Christine Berney

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

U.S. Veterans are less likely to seek help than their civilian counterparts despite having higher levels of self-reported distress, in part due to comparatively poorer attitudes towards seeking mental health treatment. While some aspects of cultural socialization (e.g., gender role expectations, certain types of stigma) have been established to influence Veterans’ attitudes towards mental health treatment, other aspects of health care access (e.g., trust in health care institutions or individual providers) may benefit from increased focus. Additionally, one aspect of cultural socialization that is understudied in white Veterans is that of racial-cultural socialization (i.e., whiteness). Much of the research into …

A Brief Mindfulness Intervention And Its Effect On Stress Response And Recovery: Rumination As A Moderator., Kacie Peters

Lewis Honors College Thesis Collection

It is inevitable that every human will encounter many stressors in their life, so research on this topic is generalizable to many and carries a heavy weight. While facing one small stressor may not be enough to have a significant impact, it is the degree of the stressors and the response to them that can dictate whether or not it leads to serious consequences (WHO). Stress can be characterized as a stressor or combined stressors that lead to physical, emotional, and mental strain (WHO). It is important that we know the ways in which to best recover from stress, otherwise …

Early Childhood Language And Literacy Development Programs For Autism Spectrum Disorder And D/Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing Students, Mayson Spillman

Lewis Honors College Thesis Collection

This paper examines several popular approaches in the United States for enhancing early childhood literacy and language development in two special education populations— d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing (d/DHH) students and students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In addition to examining the effectiveness of these approaches, I adopt an educational equity lens to describe how variability in implementation can impact outcomes for these children. Based on my critical reading of the literature, I offer three broad recommendations for school psychologists: (1) Carefully consider dosage and fidelity of implementation, (2) Use caution when modifying existing interventions for these populations, and (3) Increase in-service …

Body-Based Harassment And Eating Disorder Symptomology In Cisgender, Transgender, And Gender Nonconforming Individuals, Sharla D. Biefield

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Past research estimates that over 60% of adolescents and young adults report eating disorder symptomology (EDS), increasing their risk for psychiatric and physical comorbidities, substance abuse, and self-harm. EDS rates are also higher among transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) individuals. TGNC individuals also experience higher rates of bias-based harassment, than their cisgender peers. Much of this harassment is body-based harassment (BBH), such that the harassment often targets aspects of an individual’s body. The current study utilized a pantheoretical framework, incorporating minority stress theory and objectification theory, and a multi-method approach to investigate (1) if BBH increases TGNC individuals’ risk for …

1-Back Matching And Mismatching By Pigeons, Thomas Zentall

Psychology Research Data

No abstract provided.

"It's All Lateral Violence": How Sexual Minority Men Cope With Appearance Discrimination, Matthew T. Richardson

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Sexual minority men experience higher rates of body dissatisfaction (BD) than heterosexual men (Frederick & Essayli, 2016). BD is associated with negative health outcomes in this population, including eating disorders (Yean et al., 2013), depression (Blashill et al., 2016), suicidality (Grunewald, Calzo, et al., 2021), and risky sexual behavior (Goedel et al., 2017). Sexual minority men who use dating apps may be at greater risk of experiencing BD via exposure to appearance-based discrimination (Tran et al., 2020), sexual objectification, and weight stigma (Filice et al., 2019). Little is known about sexual minority men’s experiences of appearance discrimination on dating apps …

The Role Of Authenticity In The Link Between Self-Determination, Gender Minority Stress, Psychological Well-Being And Distress In Transgender, Nonbinary, And Gender Expansive Individuals, Zakary Alexander Clements

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Transgender, nonbinary, and gender expansive individuals (TNB and GE) have the same basic psychological needs (BPN) for self-determination as their cisgender counterparts yet face unique gender minority stressors (GMS) that may impact psychological distress and well-being. Authenticity is an important factor that may also affect psychological well-being and distress in TNB and GE people. Few research studies have examined BPN attainment or GMS factors and psychological well-being and distress. The role of authenticity, which is associated with psychological well-being in cisgender samples, has yet to be examined in TNB and GE people on the context of BPN attainment or GMS. …

Longitudinal Perspectives On Individual Outcomes, Family Functioning, And Social Support Among Diverse Adoptive Families, Emily Lapidus

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Given that family processes change when a child enters adolescence, it is imperative for research to utilize longitudinal analyses to capture a family unit’s development over time. This research is especially lacking amongst diverse families, such as those formed utilizing adoption or headed by same-gender parents. Utilizing both the Parenting Stress Model and Family Systems Theory, it has been shown that family dynamics are key indicators when predicting functioning within a family, opposed to family structure. Therefore, it is hypothesized that there will be no significant differences related to family processes (e.g., family functioning, parenting stress, adolescent adjustment, and social …

Birds Of A Feather: Exploring Social Facilitation Effects On Learning And Suboptimal Choice In Pigeons (Columba Livia), Peyton Mueller

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

The social facilitation effect describes a change in the behavior of an individual due to the presence of another organism of the same species (i.e., a conspecific). Many theories exist that attempt to explain why this change in behavior exists across species. A set of four experiments were executed to best explain how pigeons learn in the presence of non-competing conspecifics. The first experiment sought to replicate an interesting effect previously found in cockroaches and rats, such that conspecific presence inhibits performance early in training but facilitates it with increased training. The second experiment placed the novel response acquired in …

“Who Do You Love, And Are You For Sure?”: Black Relationship Attitudes And Partner Preferences, Chesmore Simon Montique

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Historically, research has identified Black relationships as deviant, unstable, and pathological as compared to White relationships (Frazier, 1966; Moynihan, 1965). This outlook centers on White experiences as a baseline for comparison and dismisses the cultural nuance within Black relationships. Examining intraracial Black relationship formation dynamics – specifically romantic partner preferences – using an intersectional framework seems more relevant as Black people are least likely of all races to date White people (Batson et al., 2006; Yancey, 2009). As Black immigrants continue to increase their presence in the U.S. (Anderson & López, 2018), the current research examines how cultural factors influence …

Exploration Of Factors Associated With Rural Appalachian Women's Use Of Buprenorphine Prior To Incarceration, Kelsey A. Redmayne

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

The Gelberg-Anderson Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations was used to identify factors related to buprenorphine use in general and through diversion (versus formal treatment) among rural Appalachian women using substances in the six months prior to their incarceration. This study is a secondary analysis of data from interviews completed with rural Appalachian women (N=400) residing in rural Kentucky jails. Independent variables were analyzed using chi square and independent t-tests for buprenorphine use generally and diverted buprenorphine use. The significant predictors were then evaluated through hierarchical logistic regression to explore which factors account for the most variance in general …

Victimization, Symptoms Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, And Gender As Predictors Of Long-Term Substance Use Outcomes Of Patients In Community Treatment Programs, Christopher John Penn

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Violence victimization and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are prevalent among individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs). Current evidence is mixed regarding the impact they have on substance use-related treatment outcomes and few studies have examined victimization and PTSD symptoms together in the same model. The current study will evaluate whether there is an indirect effect of past year victimization on substance use-related treatment outcomes through the pathway of PTSD symptom severity, among a subsample of 1,613 adult men and women reporting a lifetime history of victimization who participated in the Kentucky Treatment Outcome Study (KTOS), a statewide study evaluating federally- …

Prenatal Ethanol Exposure Impairs Performance On Spatial And Tactile Sequential Discrimination Task In Juvenile Rats, Caleb S. Bailey

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a set of cognitive and behavioral abnormalities that arise in ~5% of children who have been prenatally-exposed to alcohol. Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) can cause impairments in learning acquisition, working memory, response inhibition, and attentional-set shifting that result in exaggerated deficits in executive function and impairments in goal-seeking behavior. There are standard procedures used in rodent research to address some components of these deficits, but few procedures are sensitive enough to comprehensively assess such deficits. To address this issue in FASDs research techniques, we developed a procedure that requires prolonged executive function in a …

Comparing Indirect Assessment Results To A Direct Function Focused Preference Assessment To Identify Potential Reinforcers To Increase Task Completion In A School Setting, Kailee Joy Matthews

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

In the present study, a concurrent operant analysis (COA) was conducted for one elementary aged student in a publicly funded school to determine if the results yielded an interpretable outcome to identify a potential reinforcer to increase work completion. A simultaneous treatments design was used during the COA to assess choice making behavior. The results of the COA indicated the student’s choice making behavior was maintained by access to attention. An indirect measure of motivation was used as a secondary assessment to identify a potential reinforcer to increase work completion and to determine if the results would align with the …

Comparing The Efficacy Of Interventions Derived From Concurrent Operant Analysis And Indirect Assessment, Lane Marquardt

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

In this study, a simultaneous treatments design was used to conduct a concurrent operant analysis (COA) to evaluate the choice making behavior of one elementary aged student. The COA results were used as a possible reinforcer for one of the conditions for the intervention to increase work completion. An indirect assessment, Questions about Behavioral Function (QABF), was used identify a hypothesized function to the student’s lack of task completion behavior. The results from thee QABD were used as a possible reinforcer for one of the conditions for the intervention to increase work completion. An alternating treatments design (ATD) was used …

Consumers’ Responses To New Technologies In The Marketplace, Umair Usman

Theses and Dissertations--Marketing and Supply Chain

Chapter 1. This research examines whether the use of blockchain technology to back a brand’s claims (i.e., blockchain augmented claims) influences consumer preference for sustainable products. Consumers are demanding higher levels of transparency from brands and are also showing keen interest in consuming sustainable products, which includes products that promote social, environmental and economic sustainability. Recent advancement in digital technology, specifically blockchain, is offering an opportunity for brands to meet both these consumer demands. In five laboratory studies, I demonstrate that blockchain augmented claims, as compared to traditional industry practices (i.e., use of third-party labels and brand’s self-made claims), increases …

Bipolarity Of Maladaptive Personality Traits In The Alternative Model Of Personality Disorders, Alexandra Hines

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

It has been posited that extremely high or extremely low levels of any personality trait in the Five Factor Model of Personality can be maladaptive. However, the Alternative Model of Personality Disorders (AMPD) in Section III of the DSM-5 is composed almost exclusively of unipolar maladaptive traits. The lack of maladaptively low neuroticism and high extraversion fails to fully cover psychopathy; the lack of maladaptively high extraversion fails to cover histrionic personality disorder (HPD); the lack of maladaptively high agreeableness fails to cover dependent personality disorder (DPD); and the lack of maladaptively high conscientiousness fails to cover obsessive-compulsive personality disorder …

Personalized Longitudinal Network Models Of Alcohol Use: A Mechanistic Approach, Stephen Semcho

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

AUD and high-risk drinking are significant public health concerns, and prevailing diagnostic models fail to account for the within-person variability in AUD presentation and the role of functional mechanisms that maintain drinking outcomes. The ETOH Framework highlights the importance of three primary superdomains that maintain and characterize AUD – reward salience, cognitive dyscontrol, and negative emotionality. The current study was the first attempt to investigate the role of the primary ETOH mechanisms, along with positive and negative affect, on alcohol use outcomes, using a novel approach to model individual-level networks of relations over time. This study gathered twice-daily diary data …

The Effect Of Exceptionality Label On School Psychologists During The Evaluation Process, Rachel Jacob

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

School psychologists often lead the evaluation process that is responsible for identifying students with an education-based disability. They are also responsible for providing recommendations for the student following the evaluation. The current study is focusing on the variable of exceptionality label as it is a universally present variable that has the potential to affect all evaluations. Two recent studies have examined and found labeling bias on preservice educators (Allday et al., 2011; Fisher et al., 2022). This study sought to expand this research by looking at labeling bias in school psychologists. The study measured the effect of exceptionality label on …

This Is Who I Am: Identity Development And Importance Among Diverse Youth From Lgbtq+ Parent Families, Madison T. Diomede

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Although the literature on identity and related constructs among adolescents, emerging adults, and diverse populations is growing, little research has investigated identity among adolescents and emerging adults specifically in the context of LGBTQ+ parent families. The present study seeks to fill this gap in the literature by qualitatively investigating identity development and importance among diverse youth with LGBTQ+ parents. Participants are 51 youth (ages 12-25 years) with at least one LGBTQ+ parent. Trained personnel conducted remote, audio-recorded, semi-structured interviews from December 2018-February 2020. Interviews included questions about participants’ individual identities and conversations they have had with their parents about those …

Peer-To-Peer Energy Trading In Smart Residential Environment With User Behavioral Modeling, Ashutosh Timilsina

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Electric power systems are transforming from a centralized unidirectional market to a decentralized open market. With this shift, the end-users have the possibility to actively participate in local energy exchanges, with or without the involvement of the main grid. Rapidly reducing prices for Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs), supported by their ease of installation and operation, with the facilitation of Electric Vehicles (EV) and Smart Grid (SG) technologies to make bidirectional flow of energy possible, has contributed to this changing landscape in the distribution side of the traditional power grid.

Trading energy among users in a decentralized fashion has been referred …

The Condom Use Outcomes And Sexual Functioning Of Young Adult Latinas: The Roles Of Intimate Partner Violence, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, And Marianismo Beliefs, Jessica Flores

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been linked to poorer condom use outcomes and sexual functioning in women broadly. Limited studies have examined these associations in Latina samples through a culturally sensitive, trauma-informed lens. A sample of 383 U.S. Latina/Latinx/Hispanic women (Mage = 25.29 years; SD = 4.44) who had a past-year intimate relationship completed a cross-sectional online survey of IPV history, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, marianismo beliefs (i.e., traditional Latina gender role expectations), condom use outcomes (i.e., condom use attitudes, efficacy, negotiation efficacy, and behaviors) and sexual functioning. Linear regression models found that past-year IPV was positively related …

Factors Associated With Successful Military-To-Civilian Transition Among Special Forces Veterans, Edward Richter

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

The purpose of this study was to explore the military-to-civilian transitional experience in a sample of Special Forces veterans. Acknowledging challenges in accessing the veteran population, most existing research on the military-to-civilian transition consolidates military occupations into a single sample. This method fails to address the intricacies that may exist within individual military occupations, especially that of U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers. Special Forces qualified soldiers represent the largest portion of all U.S. Military Special Operations Forces and are responsible for the majority of all Special Operations activities, yet their experience in transitioning out of the Army is largely unknown. …

Effects Of Video Modeling With Voice-Over Narration Versus No Voice-Over Narration, Kennedy Carpenter

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

In the current study, the effects of video modeling with voice-over narration (VMW) was compared to the effects of video modeling with no voice-over narration (VMN) when learning the acquisition of a vocational skill. Four high-school students within a public school who spent most of their school day in a special education classroom participated in the study. An adapted alternating treatments design was used to compare the VMW and VMN conditions and then a best alone condition was conducted for each participant that used the video modeling procedure that demonstrated superiority during the comparison. A modification of the inclusion of …

Polyrhythmic Pathways: Using Bimanual Coordination Research To Develop A New Framework For Practice, Performance, And Pedagogy, Christian Swafford

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This study reviews and compares percussion literature pertaining to polyrhythms and scientific literature pertaining to bimanual coordination. There exists a gap in the pedagogical approach to polyrhythms, and there is much disagreement between common instructional methods, especially when considered against the findings of several bimanual coordination studies. The purpose of this study is to reveal insight to the percussion community that the learning of polyrhythms is facilitated by the brain in novel ways, and the uniqueness of this learning process requires a rethinking of the current pedagogical approach. Percussion articles, method books, popular literature, and music scores are surveyed alongside …

The Effects Of Escalated Fentanyl Intake On Decision-Making Dynamics, Trinity Shaver

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Opioid Use Disorder is characterized partially as a decision-making disorder. Decision-making theories, such as habit theory and relative value theory, have aimed to better understand the shift in preference for drug over other alternatives. In order to compare these two contrasting theories, an allomorphic concurrent choice task will run in tandem with an escalation procedure. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were tested for choice differences in an allomorphic choice procedure. Reward dimensions, such as relative reward rate, were manipulated within sessions, and magnitude (remifentanil dose), was manipulated between sessions. To study the effects of escalated fentanyl intake on relative valuation, …

The Role Of Maladaptive Emotion Socialization In Risk For Urgency And Problem Drinking In Adolescents, Emily Atkinson

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Negative urgency (NU; the tendency to act rashly when experiencing negative emotions) is a robust risk factor for a number of problem behaviors, including early adolescent drinking. Little is known about the factors that precede the development of NU, and hence the full etiology of this component of risk. The current study aimed to investigate the possibility that childhood maladaptive emotion socialization (MES; the tendency for children’s expressions of emotions to be met with punishment, minimized, or invoke a reaction of distress from their parents/caretakers) increases risk for the development of NU. Secondarily, the study tested whether MES predicts increased …

The Effects Of Social And Nonsocial Contextual Stimuli On The Renewal Of Cocaine Seeking, Bree Humburg

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Those with substance use disorders can undergo craving and relapse when re-exposed to a drug-associated context. This study determined if renewal of cocaine seeking is differentially controlled by contexts consisting of social and/or nonsocial stimuli. Experiment 1, rats self-administered cocaine in Context A which included a social peer and house light illumination. Following self-administration, rats were randomly assigned to an AAA or ABA group for extinction and renewal. For the AAA rats, context was similar to self-administration; for ABA rats, the drug-associated stimuli (peer and house light) were removed (Context B). Following extinction, renewal of cocaine seeking was examined by …

Seeing The System Vs Seeing The Individual: How Contextual Information And Framing Facilitate Perceptions Of Structural Inequality, Derek Kahng

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

The current study investigates factors that facilitate adolescents' structural attributions. Namely, we focus on two main factors. First, we investigate if contextual information such as intergroup/intragroup comparisons and group/individual level framing of inequalities affects the likelihood of making structural attributions to race-based inequalities in academic achievement. Second, we investigate if the likelihood of making structural attributions differs based on individual characteristics, such as the individuals’ race/ethnicity, subjective and objective social status, and belief in meritocracy and a just world. Results and its implications will be discussed in the paper.