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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Faculty Recital, Nathan Tanouye, Albina Asryan Oct 2014

Faculty Recital, Nathan Tanouye, Albina Asryan

Faculty Recitals

No abstract provided.


The Success Of Gay–Straight Alliances In Waterloo Region, Ontario: A Confluence Of Political And Social Factors, Alex St. John, Robb Travers, Lauren Munro, Renato M. Liboro, Margaret Schneider, Carrie L. Greig Apr 2014

The Success Of Gay–Straight Alliances In Waterloo Region, Ontario: A Confluence Of Political And Social Factors, Alex St. John, Robb Travers, Lauren Munro, Renato M. Liboro, Margaret Schneider, Carrie L. Greig

Psychology Faculty Research

This article outlines how gay–straight alliances (GSAs) work to connect youth with community resources, and outlines the political and social context of GSAs in Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Fifteen individuals (youth, teachers, and a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer [LGBTQ] youth service provider) participated in interviews about the role of GSAs in creating supportive school environments for LGBTQ youth and their allies. Analyses of the interview data found that, apart from providing direct support to LGBTQ students, GSAs in Waterloo Region decrease isolation by connecting youth with other LGBTQ community members, events, and resources. This article discusses how the …


Community-Level Interventions For Reconciling Conflicting Religious And Sexual Domains In Identity Incongruity, Renato M. Liboro Mar 2014

Community-Level Interventions For Reconciling Conflicting Religious And Sexual Domains In Identity Incongruity, Renato M. Liboro

Psychology Faculty Research

Two of the most unstable domains involved in identity formation, the religious and sexual domains, come into conflict when vulnerable populations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community experience oppression from the indoctrination of religious beliefs that persecute their sexual orientation. This conflict, aptly termed identity incongruity in this article’s discourse, results in a schism that adversely affects these vulnerable populations. This paper investigates the roles of religion, spirituality and available institutional solutions to propose customized, culturally adapted, contextually based and collaborative community-level interventions that would facilitate the reconciliation of the conflicting identity domains.


A Computational Perspective Of Schizophrenia, Ernesto H. Bedoy, Geoff Powell, Jefferson Kinney Jan 2014

A Computational Perspective Of Schizophrenia, Ernesto H. Bedoy, Geoff Powell, Jefferson Kinney

McNair Poster Presentations

The etiology of schizophrenia remains largely elusive, thus dampening the effectiveness of current treatment strategies. Abnormal neural migration and neurogenesis in the hippocampus have been suggested to be involved in schizophrenia (Jakob & Beckmann, 1994). A few approaches, including computational modeling, have investigated schizophrenia as a network disorder. Computational modeling uses mathematics to predict the behavior of biological systems based on the input of a set of parameters collected from laboratory experiments. In this study, we constructed a computational model to explore the ramifications of additional PV neurons migrating to an aberrant location in the hippocampus and interfering with a …


Modulatory Effects Of Gaba(B) Receptor Facilitation In A Model Of Chronic Inflammation, Michael A. Langhardt, Jefferson Kinney Jan 2014

Modulatory Effects Of Gaba(B) Receptor Facilitation In A Model Of Chronic Inflammation, Michael A. Langhardt, Jefferson Kinney

McNair Poster Presentations

Inflammation within the brain (neuroinflammation) has been associated with a number of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimerʼs disease (AD) (Solito et al., 2012). Within the brain, inflammation is defined broadly as prolonged activation of the brainʼs immune cells, known as glial cells. Excessive activation of glial cells within the brains of AD patients is a hallmark of the disease, however the mechanism by which this contributes to disease pathology is relatively unclear (Jo et al., 2014). Recently, studies have shown that glial cells, known as astrocytes, are able to synthesize and release the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA (Charles et al., 2003). Further, …


Quality Of Peer Relationships Among Children With Selective Mutism, Marielle Leo, Rachele Diliberto, Christopher A. Kearney Jan 2014

Quality Of Peer Relationships Among Children With Selective Mutism, Marielle Leo, Rachele Diliberto, Christopher A. Kearney

McNair Poster Presentations

The current study examined the quality of peer relationships among children with selective mutism. Previous research suggests that children who are selectively mute have difficulty making friends and have poor outcomes in treatment. Participants were derived from the UNLV Child School Refusal and Anxiety Disorders Clinic. An initial assessment was conducted by the Clinic therapist. The study utilized a demographic form, the Child Behavior Checklist, and the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule—Parent Version. The current study found that children who are selectively mute ranged in the quality of friendships, and this knowledge may be used to help treatment outcome.


Pre-Traumatic Factors Of Career-Related Ptsd: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Michael G. Curtis, Russell T. Hurlburt Jan 2014

Pre-Traumatic Factors Of Career-Related Ptsd: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Michael G. Curtis, Russell T. Hurlburt

McNair Poster Presentations

This paper examined and synthesized the (limited) available literature on the pre-traumatic predictors of PTSD, specifically targeting populations in which traumatic events are experienced frequently because of the requirements of their positions, i.e., firefighters, police, and military personnel. A total of 21 articles were included in the final literature review and were used to assess the current available knowledge of the pre-traumatic traits of career-related PTSD, and address potential gaps in the literature. The culmination of this research was used to create specific risk profiles for each of the high risk careers included in this review, firefighters, police, and military …