Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Psychological Richness From Shared Experiences In Romantic Relationships: The Moderating Role Of Attachment, Sae Y. Kim

Theses and Dissertations

Psychological richness, defined by experiences that are novel, complex, and perspective changing, has been proposed as a third dimension of the good life alongside satisfaction and meaning. Although prior work has focused on richness at the life level, romantic relationships may be an important context in which psychologically rich experiences occur. In Study 1, a correlational study, adult attachment was associated with psychological richness in life, such that secure attachment was positively related to psychological richness, whereas anxious and avoidant attachment were negatively associated. Informed by the results of this study, I designed Study 2 to be a 4-day daily …

Comorbid Psychosis In The General Population, Mariam Sankoh

Theses and Dissertations

Psychosis is a complex psychiatric phenotype characterized by substantial heterogeneity in symptom presentation, psychosis diagnosis, comorbidity patterns, and genetic architecture across diverse populations in the general population. Despite advances in psychiatric epidemiology and genomics, important gaps remain in understanding how psychosis symptoms and psychosis-related diagnoses manifest across racial and ethnic groups and how evolutionary genomic factors may contribute to disease risk and cross-ancestry genetic prediction. This dissertation, Characterizing Comorbidity in Psychosis in the General Population, integrates epidemiological, psychometric, and evolutionary genetic approaches to examine psychosis across diverse populations.

Aim 1 examined racial and ethnic differences in psychosis comorbidity patterns …

Internalizing Symptoms In Lgbtq+ Young Adults: Understanding The Roles Of Social Support And Resilience To Social Stigma, Chloe M. Sobolewski

Theses and Dissertations

LGBTQ+ young adults are at increased risk of adverse mental health outcomes including internalizing symptoms. The current study seeks to better incorporate strengths when modeling internalizing symptoms outcomes in LGBTQ+ young adults. The present study is secondary analysis of data collected as part of a three-wave longitudinal study. LGBTQ+ young adults (N = 250) completed baseline questionnaires assessing resilience to social stigma, types of perceived social support (i.e., family, friend, significant other), and internalizing symptoms. Moderation models were not practically or statistically significant; however, covariates (i.e., age, socioeconomic standing, and childhood basic needs) stood out in their significant contribution in …

Examining Youth Ethnic Identity And Parental Familismo As Protective Factors Against Bicultural Stress And Internalizing Symptoms In Latino Youth, Daniella Olivares

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescence is a critical developmental period marked by increased vulnerability to mental health challenges. For Latino adolescents living in the U.S., experiences of bicultural stress may heighten the risk for adverse mental health outcomes. However, cultural strengths–such as youth ethnic identity and parental familismo–may serve as protective factors. The current study examined whether youth ethnic identity and parental familismo moderated the relationship between bicultural stress and internalizing symptoms among a diverse sample of Latino youth in central Virginia. Latino adolescents (n = 60) completed measures assessing bicultural stress, ethnic identity, and internalizing symptoms, while parents (n = 60) reported on …

What’S Sleep Got To Do With It? A Mixed Methods Exploration Of The Feasibility, Acceptability, And Initial Outcomes Of Group Cbt For Insomnia In Parkinson’S Disease, Claire M. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is commonly associated with sleep disturbances, affecting up to 80 percent of individuals with Parkinson’s. Effective and accessible treatments for sleep problems in Parkinson’s disease remain limited. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi) is a well-established, non-pharmacological treatment for insomnia but has been minimally studied in Parkinson’s populations. This study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes of a group-based CBTi intervention adapted for individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Participants engaged in a six-week group intervention that incorporated Parkinson’s-specific adaptations. Preliminary findings indicated that the adapted group CBTi intervention was generally feasible and …

Positive Body Image In Postpartum Women: A Psychometric Evaluation Of The Body Appreciation Scale-2 And A Phenomenological Exploration, Taylor Vashro

Theses and Dissertations

Postpartum women appear particularly vulnerable to body dissatisfaction due to the rapid physiological, emotional, and environmental changes that occur across the perinatal experience (Baskin et al., 2021; Nippert et al., 2021). Recent studies have demonstrated the experience of both negative and positive body image during postpartum (Rodgers et al., 2024; Watson et al., 2016). However, there is limited research regarding the measurement and exploration of positive body image in postpartum women. The current study aimed to: 1) evaluate the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2), a widely used measure of positive body image in postpartum …

Conceptual Concerns Regarding The Content Validity Of The Construct Of Gender Dysphoria In The Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision, Waverley Vesely

Theses and Dissertations

The diagnostic classification of gender dysphoria in the DSM-5-TR elicits a number of clinical, political, and philosophical concerns, ranging from those that are diagnostic and taxonomical in nature to those that fall within the domains of ontology, phenomenology, and hermeneutics. Part of the reason for the complexity of studying the diagnostic and nosological validity of gender dysphoria as an extant diagnostic classification is that, unlike many disorders, gender dysphoria is inextricably tethered to identity. While the recent change from gender identity disorder to gender dysphoria has nominally removed the status of disorder, in practice, both clinicians and the general population …

The Relationship Between Symptom Catastrophizing And Sociocultural Factors Among Adults With Persistent Sympathetic Activation Syndromes, Whitney M. Redemer

Theses and Dissertations

Persistent Sympathetic Activation (PSA) has emerged as a potential unifying mechanism underlying a range of complex chronic health conditions yet remains poorly characterized within biomedical and psychosocial research. Limited research has delineated how PSA manifests across diverse populations or how diagnostic and sociocultural factors shape lived experiences of this phenomenon; thus, the objective of the present study was to examine whether diagnostic certainty – operationalized as provider-confirmed versus self-suspected PSA-related diagnoses – is associated with symptom catastrophizing, and whether this relationship varies as a function of sociocultural factors. Drawing on data from a larger study aimed at characterizing the lived …

Paradox Mindset In Working Parenthood: Linking Dual-Role Enrichment To Pursuit, Success, And Satisfaction, Tengjiao Huang, Xiaoyu Dai, Chi-Ying Cheng, Angela Leung

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Managing the simultaneous demands of career and parenthood often generates tensions—particularly for women, who have historically been expected to take primary responsibility for caregiving. These gendered expectations persist, even as men increasingly express a desire to engage more actively in caregiving while maintaining their professional roles. Drawing on paradox mindset theory and work-family enrichment literature, this research investigated whether a paradox mindset—a cognitive tendency to embrace and value tensions—is positively associated with an aspiration for enrichment between work and parenting roles. In turn, this aspiration is hypothesized to predict intentions and outcomes related to dual-role pursuit. Three cross-sectional survey studies …

Visual Cues Of Human-Likeness, Not Salience, Impact Trust-Related Human-Computer Interaction, Jordan Schotz

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

As interactions with digital agents become increasingly integrated into daily life, understanding how visual representations influence social decision-making is critical. Previous research in human-computer interaction has frequently confounded the psychological effects of an agent's perceived human-likeness with the underlying visual salience of the stimuli. To address these persistent gaps, the present study systematically isolated the effects of human-likeness and visual cue trustworthiness on trust behavior while controlling for objective image properties. The present study expanded on and normed the Virtual Avatar Facial Stimuli Set (VAFSS), a comprehensive database comprising hundreds of identity-matched photographs and computer-generated avatars varying across a spectrum …

Revisiting The Foundation Of Strategic Core Theory: Informal Roles And Teamwork Roles In Work Team Centrality, Allen Thomas Shorey

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Strategic core theory makes a distinction between roles within a team that are central to the team’s workflow (i.e., core roles) and those that are not central (i.e., non-core roles) (Humphrey et al., 2009). This line of work has shown that attributes, such as job-related skill of core team members, were more predictive of team performance than those of non-core members. However, this line of work has primarily examined core and non-core roles as defined by formal taskwork roles. In this thesis, I examine patient care teams and management simulation teams with the principal conviction that (a) informal roles and …

Survivors Of Historical Intergenerational And Familial Trauma Scale For Black American Descendants Of Enslaved People: A Development And Initial Validation Study, Loryn Chás Kimbrough

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Despite extensive research documenting cultural and racialized trauma, no validated assessment tool had previously captured the intrafamilial mechanisms of trauma transmission specific to the BADEP population, whose trauma lineage is rooted in slavery. The present study addresses this gap through the development and initial validation of the Survivors of Historical Intergenerational and Familial Trauma Scale (SHIFTS), a culturally grounded instrument designed to measure the transmission of historical trauma (HT) and ongoing intergenerational trauma (IGT) among Black American Descendants of Enslaved People (BADEPs). The SHIFTS examines how HT gives rise to the continued transmission of two interrelated legacies: survival-based and trauma-rooted …

Facial Recognition And Social And Academic Outcomes Among College Students, Stephanie Lynn Chase

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Although facial recognition is a newer area of research, there is some evidence to suggest a deficit in facial recognition may be associated with poor social and academic outcomes (Dalrymple, Fletcher, et al., 2014; Diaz, 2008). There is also evidence to suggest potential behavioral overlap between poor facial recognition and ADHD (Diaz, 2008). Using a sample of 224 undergraduate students across multiple psychology classes, the current study expanded the literature in three ways. First, by finding the prevalence of individuals with facial recognition deficits among college students. Second by examining the association between facial recognition and social and academic outcomes …

Identifying Maltreatment Classes And Their Associated Psychological Outcomes From Childhood To Adolescence, Colleen Bartlett

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Previous research has consistently shown that experiencing maltreatment has significant, negative effects on youth’s psychological health; however, research on the psychological impact of maltreatment is often limited by challenges in accurately capturing children’s maltreatment experiences, as most children who are exposed to maltreatment experience multiple types of maltreatment. The present study utilized latent class analyses (LCAs), a person-centered, data-driven approach to empirically identify patterns in children’s maltreatment experiences at ages 3, 5, and 9. Maltreatment class indicators included frequency of behaviorally approximated emotional abuse, physical abuse, and neglect. Following the LCAs, associations between maltreatment class membership and youth internalizing and …

Cultural Adaptation As A Catalyst For Creativity: The Role Of Immigrant Generation And Bicultural Identity, Milena Demario

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examined the relationship between bicultural identity and creative thinking among first-, 1.5-, and second-generation immigrants across a broad range of skill levels. Creativity was assessed using the Alternate Uses Task, with fluency, flexibility, and originality combined into a composite score. Results indicated that biculturalism was a strong predictor of creativity, with both cultural distance and cultural conflict positively associated with creative performance. Cultural distance showed the strongest effect, suggesting that maintaining differentiated cultural frameworks enhances divergent thinking. Mediation analyses provided partial support for biculturalism as a mechanism linking immigrant generation to creativity, primarily among second-generation immigrants. Moderation analyses …

Self-Movement Cue Ability As A Potential Moderator For The Relationship Between Binge Drinking And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, Dominoe Anna Jones

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) has been found to co-occur in a range of 30% to 50% of individuals diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder PTSD. The current study aimed to assess whether this high comorbidity could be partially explained through a shared association with poorer function and reduced volume in the hippocampus. Self-movement cue processing, a behavioral ability previously shown to be associated with hippocampal functioning, was measured through a dead reckoning task (DRT) to test this hypothesis. The current study failed to replicate previous findings between alcohol use and DRT and alcohol use and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Performance on …

Can A "Good Jab" Lead To A "Good Job?": Teasing As An Organizational Performance Feedback Tool, Jared P. Wilson

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Performance feedback is a valuable tool for bolstering workplace performance, but the prospect of receiving feedback is often aversive, leading to decreased acceptance, increased turnover intent, and increased recipient stress. One plausible explanation for why critical feedback can be aversive is that feedback is face-threatening. Politeness theory suggests that pro social agents can intentionally attenuate face-threat while still communicating intrinsically threatening information. Pro-social teasing, a humorous form of off-record communication, is one such method, offering a potentially less aversive mode of performance feedback. A sample of 133 participants read a vignette where they took on the role of a grocery …

Replication Of The Construct Validity Of The Cas2: Rating Scale, Isabelle Joann Kurowski

Masters Theses

Naglieri et al. (2014) created the Cognitive Assessment System Second Edition: Rating Scale (CAS2: Rating Scale) to assess cognitive functioning of children based on teacher observations for use in Tier I screening purposes. The current study is a replication of Graham (2025) study that assessed the construct validity of the CAS2: Rating Scale by comparing it to the Learning Behaviors Scale (LBS). Based on prior findings from Canivez and Gaboury (2016), this study hypothesized that the Attention and Planning subscales of the CAS2: Rating Scale would be most closely related to the Attention/Persistence and Strategy/Flexibility subscales of the LBS, respectively. …

Hierarchical Analysis Of Predictors Of Public Speaking Anxiety, Ruimin Peng

Masters Theses

Public speaking anxiety (PSA) is a prevalent type of phobia that shares many similarities with social anxiety. This paper examines factors related to social anxiety and PSA. Previous literature has identified self-efficacy, perfectionism, and fear of negative evaluation (FNE) as factors related to both social anxiety and PSA. However, less attention has been given to fear of positive evaluation (FPE) and international status, although these two factors are likely related to PSA. This study employed hierarchical regression analysis to investigate the predictive power of FPE and international status on PSA, while controlling for self-efficacy, perfectionism, and FNE. FPE, academic status, …

Personality-Based Clinical Predictors Of Transdiagnostic Suicidality In Emotional Disorders, Harshini Arun

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Religiosity And Spirituality: The Mental Costs And Benefits Of Belief In A College Setting, Tyler Geis

Masters Theses

The relationship between religiosity and spirituality (R/S) with mental health has been widely discussed in more recent years. This thesis examines factors related to religiosity, spirituality, depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as how various stigmas toward mental health, mental health treatment, and mental health treatment seeking may relate to R/S and mental health. Previous literature has identified religious coping with hardship, positive and negative dimensions of sin and behavior, the structure of different religious groups, and overall spiritual wellbeing as factors related to R/S, mental health, and beliefs about mental health . However, most previous literature come to differing …

The Impact Of Medicaid Policy Limitations On Access To Eating Disorder Treatment: Uncovering The Consequences Of A System Built To Fail, Meghan Frost

DSW Capstone Projects

Individuals who rely on Medicaid face major barriers when trying to access eating disorder (ED) treatment, reflecting broader patterns of structural disadvantage in publicly funded health care. Research shows delayed diagnosis, limited access to ED specialists, and frequent denials for recommended services. These gaps occur because Medicaid policies do not match the needs of evidence based ED care, resulting in delayed or incomplete care for many individuals with eating disorders.

This issue is highly relevant to social work practice because the policies shaping these barriers are complex and difficult for clients and ED providers to navigate. Social workers across clinics, …

Suicidal Mental Imagery And Its Association With Suicide-Related Disclosure And Suicidal Severity, Elisheva S. Rosensweig M.S.

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

People utilize two different modes of cognition, experiencing thoughts as mental images or verbal thoughts. Mental imagery tends to be more emotionally arousing and vivid than verbal thoughts, and most suicidal individuals report experiencing suicidal imagery in addition to verbal thoughts. Increasing evidence suggests that suicidal mental imagery is associated with heightened suicide risk, including greater likelihood of prior suicide attempts (e.g., Lawrence et al., 2021). However, suicide risk assessments primarily focus on verbal suicidal thoughts and rarely assess suicidal mental imagery, potentially contributing to the low rates of suicide-related disclosure and challenges identifying individuals at risk. The present study …

Beyond The Identified Patient: Sibling Attachment, Burden, And Coping In The Context Of Mental Illness, Blaire Fauser M.S.

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

A “mental illness” is defined as a condition that causes clinically significant disturbance in cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior. Mental illness is growing increasingly more prevalent and has been found to not only impact the affected individual but also the broader family system. This study examined the impact of having a sibling with a mental illness on the non-diagnosed sibling. Specifically, the study focused on the relationship between siblings’ (sibling attachment), coping mechanisms, and caregiver burden. Previous research has shown that siblings of individuals with mental illness are at a higher risk of developing psychiatric conditions themselves, which is due …

Secure Base Script Behaviors In Romantic Couples As Predictors Of Romantic Relationship Quality, Ben N. Zigelstein

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

Attachment representations guide expectations about the availability and responsiveness of attachment figures during times of need. These representations are shaped by early experiences of consistent, reliable caregiving and influence how individuals seek and receive support from close others across the lifespan. Secure base script knowledge, a temporal-causal sequence of events encompassing the essential elements of seeking and receiving support at times of need, is increasingly used to capture attachment representations. Research indicates that secure base script knowledge significantly predicts the quality of self-reported and observed romantic relationships. However, the extent to which secure base script behaviors (i.e., bidding for support, …

Ethnoracial Disparities In Treatment-Seeking Among Suicidal Adults: Stigma As A Mediator, Yiming Huang M.S.

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

Despite the disproportionate increase in their suicide risk in recent years, ethnoracially minoritized individuals utilize mental health treatment less frequently than their non-Hispanic, White counterparts. Understanding the underlying mechanisms is crucial to identify strategies to mitigate such disparities. While mental health-related stigma has received attention as a potential mechanism, select types of stigma have been examined in isolation, leaving it unclear which forms of stigma are most relevant to the observed ethnoracial disparities in treatment-seeking among suicidal individuals. The current study assessed and examined a range of stigma constructs as potential mediators of ethnoracial differences in treatment-seeking outcomes among suicidal …

The Effects Of Anxiety On Adult Athletes And Approaches To Improving Performance And Well-Being, Taylor Glaspie-Walton

Theses and Dissertations

This systematic review examined the complex relationship between anxiety and sports performance in adult athletes, along with exploring effective approaches for enhancing both performance and psychological well-being. Through analysis of 18 studies spanning diverse sports and competitive levels, this research identifies key factors that influence anxiety responses and performance outcomes. Findings revealed that competition level, performance-goal discrepancies, and injury recovery significantly impact anxiety levels, with athletes' interpretations of anxiety symptoms proving more influential than symptom intensity alone. The research demonstrates that mental toughness and self-efficacy function as fundamental psychological resources, though their impact appears to plateau at elite competitive levels. …

Inclusive Psychology Pedagogy Is Linked To Increased Belonging And Reduced Prejudice Toward Consensually Non-Monogamous Relationships, Rose Bern, Rachel Dinero, Kate Linenbach, Amy Moors

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Students enrolled in an elective psychology course entitled Relationship Science, which emphasized inclusive curricula focused on relationship diversity, completed pre- and postcourse assessments of attitudes toward consensually nonmonogamous (CNM) relationships, relationship skills (e.g., constructive communication), and classroom belonging. Given the established literature on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer+-inclusive pedagogy, attitudes toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer+ individuals were also measured. Comparisons of pre- and postcourse assessments revealed significant reductions in stigma toward individuals engaged in CNM, alongside increased acceptance of CNM relationships more broadly. Students also reported increases in relationship skills and classroom belonging over the course of the …

Modeling Joint Visual Attention In Naturalistic Dyadic Interactions, Kuushini Thennakoon, Yasasi Abeysinghe, Bhanuka Mahanama, Vikas Ashok, Sampath Jayarathna

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Joint visual attention (JVA) provides important insight into how individuals coordinate attention during social interaction. Egocentric eye tracking enables the study of JVA in natural, multi-user settings. This work presents a multi-stage framework to identify and analyze JVA using egocentric video and gaze data. The approach consists of three steps: spatiotemporal tube-based visual similarity, gaze-guided object detection, and attention pattern analysis using the ambient–focal coefficient K. Results show that object-focused collaborative activities exhibit high JVA, with object detection capturing higher joint attention than visual similarity, whereas conversation-based or independent activities show lower and more fragmented joint attention. Analysis of K …

Susceptibility To High-Fidelity Misinformation: An Eye-Tracking Analysis, Yasasi Abeysinghe, Gavindya Jayawardena, Enkelejda Kasneci, Sampath Jayarathna

Computer Science Faculty Publications

With the rise of online misinformation and AI-generated text, understanding human perception of news truthfulness is critical. In this study, we examine visual attention and cognitive processing using eye-tracking measures as individuals read fake and real news articles sharing nearly identical structure and imagery, differing only in subtle textual changes. Using the public FakeNewsPerception dataset, we analyze advanced gaze measures, including scanpaths, AOI transitions, and luminance-corrected pupil measures, beyond basic gaze features, in relation to news truthfulness and perceived believability. Results show that, given the high fidelity of the fake news, readers exhibited comparable visual scanning patterns, attention allocation across …