Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Combined Effects Of Parent And Teacher Involvement On The Development Of Adolescents' Academic Engagement, Nicolette Paige Rickert

Dissertations and Theses

The current dissertation includes two related studies designed to examine the combined effects of parent and teacher involvement on the development of adolescents' academic engagement as they transition to middle school. Previous studies have demonstrated the positive, individual effects of parent and teacher warm involvement on adolescents' engagement in school. However, this research is limited in its focus on only one social partner. Adolescent development is embedded within multiple, dynamic systems, necessitating the examination of both parent and teacher influences. The few studies that have examined parents and teachers together suggest that their combined effects are both cumulative (additive) and …

Systems Isomorphisms In Stochastic Dynamic Systems, Rajesh Venkatachalapathy

Dissertations and Theses

The identification of isomorphisms between disparate systems is an important focus of systems science. Such isomorphisms have not only conceptual and pedagogical value to systems science, but they also provide pragmatic value to specific disciplines by suggesting new ways to model familiar phenomena and by serving as reference models that show how even simple models can generate complex behavior. Specifically, this dissertation looks at certain classes of stochastic dynamic systems (SDS) and shows that similar equations can model phenomena in sociology and psychology. In both disciplines, what is modeled by these SDS isomorphisms is a certain type of reliability, defined …

Recruitment Marketing: How Do Wellness And Work-Life Benefits Influence Employer Image Perceptions, Organizational Attraction, And Job Pursuit Intentions?, Amy Christine Pytlovany

Dissertations and Theses

A global talent shortage is motivating employers to change the way they approach recruitment. To stay competitive, business leaders are strategizing new ways to attract employees and market their organizations to prospective employees. This research examined the impact of work-life and wellness programs on employer image perceptions (instrumental, symbolic, and experiential) and recruitment outcomes (organizational attraction and job pursuit intentions). It integrated these literatures to inform evidence-based organizational decision-making.

Study materials were developed with pilot testing conducted using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Pilot 1 (N = 40) assessed the value of 32 types of benefits across traditional (e.g., health …

Urbanicity As A Moderator Of The Relationship Between Stigma And Well-Being Outcomes For Individuals With Serious Mental Illnesses, Emily Leickly

Dissertations and Theses

During the deinstitutionalization movement in the 1960s, community mental health centers and supportive and affordable housing for people with serious mental illnesses (SMI) was concentrated in economically disadvantaged urban centers. Today, these urban centers are becoming increasingly gentrified and unaffordable for people with SMI. Affordability is no longer synonymous with urban living, and supportive housing for people with SMI is increasingly found in non-urban areas. Given this shift, it is important to understand the potential impacts of non-urban living on people with SMI. Non-urban environments provide potential benefits for the general population, including reduced traffic and increased proximity to the …

The Relationship Between Undergraduate Research Training Programs And Motivational Resources For Underrepresented Minority Students In Stem: Program Participation, Self-Efficacy, A Sense Of Belonging, And Academic Performance, Jennifer Lindwall

Dissertations and Theses

Although calls for a more diverse workforce in biomedical fields have been widespread, racial and ethnic gaps in biomedical degree attainment persist. In order to succeed, URM STEM students must persevere despite numerous challenges and stay continuously motivated on the long road to degree attainment in biomedical disciplines. Past higher education research has identified two key self-appraisals, a sense of belonging and self-efficacy, as crucial for student success. These beliefs, which can serve as motivational resources for students, include students' convictions about whether they are a valued member of their academic community and whether they have what it takes to …

Does X Mark The Applicant? Assessing Reactions To Gender Non-Binary Job Seekers, Kelly Mason Hamilton

Dissertations and Theses

The number of individuals who identify as a non-binary gender has almost tripled over the last 10 years. This growing population, and the legal protection against sex discrimination afforded to them under Title VII, puts a responsibility on employers to better understand their experiences in the workplace. The purpose of the current study was to examine how disclosing a non-binary gender identity when applying for jobs influenced hiring outcomes. Specifically, my study assessed (a) hiring managers' beliefs about non-binary gender identities, (b) how those beliefs impacted hiring managers' perceived ability to provide social support to prospective applicants, and (c) how …

"To Call Or Not To Call?" The Impact Of Supervisor Training On Call Center Employee Attitudes And Well-Being, Whitney Elan Schneider Vogel

Dissertations and Theses

Call center customer service occupations represent a growing proportion of the U.S. economy in the digital age. These roles are characterized by low control, high levels of emotional labor, and burnout. Turnover rates in call centers are often twice as high as in other industries. To combat these challenges, I delivered a supervisor-focused mental health training intervention targeted at improving supervisor supportive behaviors and employee outcomes. The indirect effect of supervisor training on employee outcomes related to perceived supervisor support, problem-focused coping, burnout, turnover intentions, and withdrawal behaviors were evaluated. A waitlist control design (N = 74) was used …

Drinking On A Work Night: A Comparison Of Day And Person-Level Associations With Workplace Outcomes, Brittnie Renae Shepherd

Dissertations and Theses

Alcohol use and misuse is costly for U.S. employers, primarily due to health care expenses and lost work productivity. Despite high costs for organizations, employee alcohol use is understudied within the organizational literature. The scant research conducted largely utilized cross-sectional designs examining differences across individuals, despite prevailing theoretical frameworks describing primarily within-person processes. This study examined the simultaneous within-person and between-person relationships between employee alcohol use and work and well-being outcomes. The separation and comparison of within-person and between-person effects is essential for the evaluation of key theoretical frameworks around employee alcohol use. Additionally, this study investigates one mechanism (i.e., …

Family Linked Workplace Resources And Contextual Factors As Important Predictors Of Job And Individual Well-Being For Employees And Families, Jacquelyn Marie Brady

Dissertations and Theses

The inextricable ties between work and family have been extensively studied, however, with both societal and organizational change there is a continuing need for organizational research to elucidate the effects work can have on family, individual, and job well-being. Through three studies, this body of work demonstrates the role of supervisors, psychological contextual factors, and workplace work-family resources for improving employee and spouse family well-being and employee psychological and job well-being. This dissertation drew upon data from the Study for Employment Retention of Veterans (SERVe) and the Work-family Health Network (WFHN). Study 1 investigated the link between a supportive supervisor …

Development And Validation Of The Workplace Mental Illness Stigma Scale (W-Miss), Nicholas Anthony Smith

Dissertations and Theses

Although 1 in 5 Americans will experience a mental illness at some point, each year people with mental illnesses continue to face high levels of stigmatization and discrimination at work. Recognizing this, many organizational researchers and practitioners have sought to improve workplaces for employees with mental illness through a variety of organizational interventions. Unfortunately, few interventions are thoroughly evaluated. One barrier to evaluating such interventions is the lack of a theoretically meaningful measure of workplace mental illness stigma. In this dissertation, I proposed to develop and evaluate such a measure (the W-MISS) based on Jones, Farina, Hastorf, Markus, Miller, and …

Integrating Work Ability Into The Organizational Science Literature: Advancing Theory And Developing The Nomological Network, Grant Brady

Dissertations and Theses

As the workforce ages, enabling individuals to work effectively across the lifespan is critical for individuals, organizations, and societies. Put simply, societies and organizations are beginning to face a "new normal" in which people must continue working later in life. Investigations of work ability (WA), an individual's ability to meet the demands of their job, is a line of research that facilitates our understanding of the factors related to working successfully across the lifespan. Although research has established that WA is influenced by a range of organizational and personal factors and linked WA to retirement and disability, a number of …

Preventing Child Sexual Abuse And Juvenile Offending Through Parental Monitoring, Kelly E. Stewart

Dissertations and Theses

In this dissertation, I present three manuscripts to investigate the prevention of a range of crimes committed against, and by, youth, using parental monitoring or guardianship. In the first paper, I tested whether the routine activities of juvenile sexual offenders (JSOs) and their victims' caregivers was associated with the JSO being placed into a supervisory role, and whether subgroup differences existed in the use of modus operandi strategies between JSO supervisors and non-supervisors (Chapter II). Findings indicated that parents' need for childcare assistance predicted JSO supervisor status more strongly than perpetrators efforts to get the child alone or disruptions to …

Perceived Partner Responsiveness, Sleep And Pain: A Dyadic Study Of Military-Connected Couples, Annamarie Sophia O'Neill

Dissertations and Theses

The health-promoting influence of high-quality, supportive close relationships has been extensively documented, yet the mechanisms of this effect are less well-understood. Leading researchers have galvanized the field to test particular relationship processes and the mediating psychological processes they facilitate to pinpoint how close relationships exert their salutary effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of the intimacy process on health outcomes of sleep and pain and if this effect depends on the facilitation of psychological processes in a sample of veterans and spouses (collectively called military-connected couples; N=147). Sleep problems are highly prevalent among military-connected couples …

Relational Thriving In Context: Examining The Roles Of Gratitude, Affectionate Touch, And Positive Affective Variability In Health And Well-Being, Alicia Rochelle Starkey

Dissertations and Theses

Social connection is important to one's health and longevity. However, not only do people need others to survive, we need others to thrive. Researchers call for deeper examination of the functions and processes through which our social partners help us to prosper and thrive, such as through increased physical health and well-being. Over three studies, I examined phenomena theorized to contribute to long-term thriving including positive emotions (i.e., gratitude and positive affect fluctuation), responsive support, affectionate touch, and physical health (i.e., sleep) within the context of nursing work (Study 1) and military relationships (Study 2 & 3). Study 1 provides …

The Role Of Teacher Autonomy Support Across The Transition To Middle School: Its Components, Reach, And Developmental Effects, Julia Sara Dancis

Dissertations and Theses

Building upon self-determination theory, this study sought to ascertain the reach of teacher autonomy support beyond its well-documented impact on student autonomy and engagement to include student competence and relatedness, as well as to parse apart specific teacher behaviors that comprise autonomy support (i.e., respect, choice, relevance, coercion) and their unique influences on the multiple motivational outcomes, surrounding the transition to middle school. These questions were examined using information from 224 fifth graders, 339 sixth graders, and 345 seventh graders attending elementary and middle schools in a predominantly Caucasian working and middle class school district.

Regression analyses, predicting change in …

Exploring Obesity, Adhd Severity, And Disordered Eating Behavior Among College Students, Carolina Rozario

Dissertations and Theses

Obesity is a global epidemic because of the potential health risks. There is evidence that many obese individuals manifest persistent ADHD symptoms, and that both disorders increase risk for binge eating. Nevertheless, how obesity and ADHD may increase risk for binge eating work is unclear. Neuropsychological deficits are common to all disorders and may help to explain the relations observed. The aim of this study was to explore whether neuropsychological dysfunction, especially inhibitory control weaknesses, moderate the association between greater BMI and more severe ADHD and disordered eating behaviors. Thirty-nine undergraduate college students (27 females; Mean age = 20.77, SD …

Competition Between Veridical And Perceived Location For Visuomotor Control, Fatemeh Alhabib

Dissertations and Theses

An influential proposal holds that our visual systems use different information for perception and action. Though numerous studies utilized visual illusions, in which veridical and perceptual properties of objects differ, the evidence was inconclusive and no consensus was reached. In response priming, some evidence suggests that only physical attributes of the prime stimuli control motor responses. Across two experiments, we examined the contributions of physical and consciously perceived location to response priming, using a well-known flash-lag illusion, in which a briefly flashed disk and the moving bars appearing at the same location are perceived as displaced. In all experiments, participants …