Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Emotional Eating In Adolescents With Obesity: Case Series, Paula Dayan

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Childhood obesity remains a significant public health concern, with substantial implications for physical and mental well-being. This thesis aims to explore the intricate relationship between emotional eating and obesity among adolescents, with a focus on identifying emotional triggers and assessing their psychological impact. Utilizing a cross-sectional study design at a university in southern California, data were collected from two adolescents aged 13-18 years. Through surveys and body composition measurements, participants' emotional barriers to weight loss and readiness for change were assessed. The findings underscore the presence of varying degrees of emotional hurdles among adolescents with obesity, including depression, frustration, and …

Beyond Initial Engagement: Investigating Factors That Contribute To Continued Participation In Social Movements, Alejandro Garcia

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Historically, social movements have been important in addressing social issues and driving social change, particularly in challenging both systemic racism and structural inequalities faced by minority groups. However, these movements require sustained participation to be effective. While it is important to understand the psychological factors as to how and why one engages in social movements, few empirical studies have evaluated the psychological factors that influence ongoing participation in social movements. This study examines predictors of continued engagement in social movements among individuals who have participated in two or more in-person demonstrations. A sample of 305 participants involved in four different …

A Multiagency Approach To Animal Hoarding In Central Iowa, Gary W. Rasmussen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This research explored animal hoarding in Iowa using the qualitative method with the resource dependency theory and a case study approach. These cases were studied using multiple sources of information, from media reports in initial locating cases to court documents, to examine the results of each case. It examined how different sized law enforcement agencies’ investigations into these cases impacted the outcomes of the cases in sentencing and the use of mental health evaluations and treatments. It also explored the efficacy of how different sized law enforcement agencies investigated animal hoarding cases. The law enforcement agencies were divided into two …

Validating A Scale Of Psychological Flexibility And Inflexibility For Older Adolescents, Caleb Douglas Farley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Psychological flexibility (PF) is a skill that is related to various mental health experiences in adults. Higher levels of PF seem related to greater wellbeing. Given increases in mental health problems with youth, measuring PF and its inverse, psychological inflexibility (PI), might be useful for identifying those teenagers at risk for mental health challenges and referring them to appropriate interventions. To date, most measures of PF and PI are only available for adults older than 18, and, while theory suggests PF and PI are important for adolescent mental health, little research has examined the validity of these claims. This multipaper …

Gpr171 Modulates Mood, Consummatory Behaviors, And Morphine Antinociception In A Sexually Dimorphic Pattern In Mice, Megan C. Raddatz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Receptors in the brain influence everything from complex behaviors related to mood, all the way to simple physiological functions like the way a person moves. Receptors are activated or inactivated by chemicals or hormones that the body produces or that are created to mimic the body’s natural chemicals. Of the hundreds of receptors in the brain, GPR171 is particularly interesting because new drugs have been created to activate or block the receptor, and are being proposed for the treatment of different disorders, particularly disorders related to pain. GPR171 has been shown to affect pain behaviors, eating, and mood-related behaviors, but …

Healing Through Caring And Knowledge-Making In Everyday Food Practices Among Lgbtq+ Black, Indigenous, People Of Colour, Elizabeth Grace Wong

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Three different models are used in this study to understand how everyday food practices carry healing potential through the interwoven process of caring and knowledge-making. Daily food practices reflect a mixture of tradition and modernity— borne out of our roots and our contexts. Anzaldúa’s (1987) Borderland Theory helps us understand how this mixture is made by people who straddle two borders or worlds and contest those confines. Chavez-Dueñas et al.’s (2019) HEART model names strengthening our cultural and familial traditions and roots as part of the broader processes of building cultural consciousness and connection, and engaging in collective healing. Finally, …

Cyclical Patterns Of Self-Regulated Learning In College Students, David N. Longhurst

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Zimmerman’s self-regulated learning (SRL) model is a cyclical approach to learning where learners use several processes to facilitate learning or to perform a skill within many domains. Zimmerman’s model describes three phases including forethought, performance, and self-reflection, which occur respectively before, during, and after a task. Theoretically, these phases interact in a cyclical feedback loop in which a person cognitively interacts with a task before, during, and after the activity and continuously do so independently. This model has been the basis for several school-based intervention programs. Those programs have been studied regarding academic outcomes and efficacy; however, less research has …

Don't Get Too Close, It Hurts: Inclusion-Of-Other-In-The-Self And Biased Evaluations Of Romantic Partners And Their Behaviors, Jacqueline Lechuga

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This investigation tested how inclusion-of-other-in-the-self (IOS) – the experience of closeness as overlapping selves – increases maladaptive biases toward romantic partners and their behaviors. Study 1 tested how the level of IOS is associated with disregarding signs that indicate that a romantic partner might be unhealthy for one’s emotional and physical well-being. Participants who were single (N = 77) reviewed four online dating profiles. Each profile was created to elicit high or low IOS and reveal a transgression committed by the potential romantic partner. Then, participants evaluated the potential romantic partner in suitability and the transgression on negativity. Study 2 …

Thieves Like Us: The Effectiveness Of A Positive Psychology Intervention On Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, And The Loss Of Compassion Satisfaction Among Peer Support Specialists, Eugene Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Two common phenomena of helping professions are compassion fatigue (CF), and decreased compassion satisfaction (CS). Literature on CF and decreased CS focuses on professionals with extensive education, training, and higher compensation. Peer Support Specialists (PSS) are helping professionals providing comparable support to clients while in recovery, and may be more susceptible to CF, decreased CS, and a return to substance use. Methods to impact these outcomes, including positive psychology interventions (PPIs), are worth investigating as they are generally inexpensive, can be tailored, and may reduce turnover and absences. The current study used the PPI, Using Signature Strengths in a New …

College Students' Perceptions Of The Student-Teacher Relationship, Lauren E. Biggs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Humans, as social creatures, pursue relationships with others to fulfill various needs. As such, when we enter school, we naturally seek to establish relationships with teachers, who act as significant individuals in our lives. In general, research has shown that students with close, warm relationships with their teachers tend to experience more favorable outcomes related to academic achievement, behavior, and social-emotional factors. Students with more negative relationships with their teachers conversely tend to experience poorer outcomes. Though decades of research have consistently shown this correlation, few studies have examined the relationships between college students and their professors. The current study …

How Others Affect Identity: The Roles Of Mere Presence, Self-Disclosure Extent, And Partner Responsiveness, Josephine Collins

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has indicated that identity is social in nature and that close relationships strengthen sense of identity, but details of this relationship are not well understood. Self-disclosure is a vital part of close relationships; thus, the present research sought to understand how talking about oneself is at play in the relation between relationship closeness and identity. In this study, 314 emerging adults (157 dyads; Mage = 19.2) engaged in an in-person interaction with either a close other or a stranger and, within this interaction, were assigned to engage in self-disclosure or a control task. Even though the closer participants …

Will These Feelings Last Forever? Examining The Relationship Between The Longevity Belief About Emotion And Avoidance, Elise Warner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests that the belief that emotions last for long periods of time is associated with greater self-reported distress intolerance and greater experiential avoidance (Warner, 2022), with limited research examining the causal link between the longevity belief and experiential avoidance. Individuals high in emotional reactivity may tend to hold greater longevity beliefs (Veilleux et al., 2019), with high emotional reactivity linked to both greater experiential avoidance and distress intolerance (Bruns et al., 2019). Thus, the aim of the current study was to examine the influence of the longevity belief about emotions on behavioral avoidance in individuals high in emotional reactivity. …

Strategies For Misinformation Correction: Evidence For The Power Of Negation, Angel Houts

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigated the effectiveness of different correction strategies for misinformation using a 2 (Source: no source, credible source) x 2 (Structure: negation, affirmation) within-subjects design with an additional control condition that had no corrections. Participants read 40 Twitter-like statements, which included 25 pieces of misinformation and 15 truthful statements, and rated their emotional responses on a Likert scale. After completing a distractor task, participants read additional Twitter-like statements across five different conditions. The first four conditions aimed to correct misinformation: negation with a credible source, negation without source, affirmation with a credible source, affirmation without source. The fifth …

Atypical Responses To Sensory Stimuli Or Eating Environments In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Lydia Rockers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often encounter challenges in processing sensory inputs. Children with ASD may experience feeding difficulties and over- or under- stimulation during food-related activities such as eating or shopping. These have impacts on the health and well-being of individuals with ASD in childhood and throughout their lives. Further research is needed to address the impact of ambient sound levels in a retail or restaurant setting. The main objective of this thesis was to address these gaps by identifying responses to various environmental and food related stimuli. The findings of this research addressed differences in responses between …

Trauma-Related Cognitions And Discrimination As Predictors Of Maladaptive Coping Among Marginalized Maltreated Youth, Shadie Burke

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Maltreated youth are at an increased risk for engaging in direct or indirect self-injurious behavior to cope with the aftereffects of a traumatic event. These behaviors are often associated with negative health outcomes, substance use and premature death. Existing research proposes a link between child maltreatment and indirect self-harm but the mechanism into why this occurs is unclear. The present study examined two key research questions: (1) which specific trauma-related cognitions, sexual identity and cultural factors predict direct self-injurious behavior (previous suicide attempt(s) and NSSI) among marginalized maltreated youth?; and (2) which specific trauma-related cognitions, sexual identity and cultural factors …

Praying To Tiktok, Seeking The Self: How Rhetoric Reveals And Conceals The World’S Most Powerful Guru Of The Postindustrial Age, Samantha L. Gillespie-Hoffman

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Imagine a world where the most powerful leader is a wellness guru that runs an elaborate church with millions of followers. The guru is so powerful that everyone believes they can read minds and make ordinary people rich and famous. The guru controls forms of communication, media channels, consumer tastes, and what people eat, drink, say, and even think. What if this guru was not human but actually an algorithm? Does this sound like the plot of a science fiction novel? I argue that this scenario is closer to reality than most will admit. In this project, readers encounter a …

Human Trafficking Screening Tools Amongst Migrants And Refugees: Current Tools And Future Outlooks, Audra Fox

Student Theses

While various human trafficking screening tools exist to help stakeholders identify indicators and risk of trafficking, few tools are designed specifically for use amongst migrants and refugees. Via interviews with anti-trafficking stakeholders, the following qualitative study describes what tools stakeholders currently use to asses trafficking amongst migrants and refugee, and if stakeholders desire a new tool specific for migrant/refugee populations. Thematic results indicate that most stakeholders are not using validated tools for trafficking victims, let alone migrants and refugees (n=5, 38.5%). Of the total sample, 62% of participants (n=8) reported various screening discrepancies across stakeholders. Additionally, …

How Far Does The Apple Fall? Intergenerational Processes Underlying The Attainment Of Decent Work And Implications For Occupational Health And Well-Being, Baylor A. Graham

All Dissertations

Despite decades of progress spurred by the Decent Work Agenda (International Labor Organization, 1999), efforts to improve working conditions, ensure fair wages, and establish health and well-being as fundamental standards in employment practices continue to be sorely needed. The burden of inadequate decent work has demonstrated profound effects on individual health and well-being. However, the effects of inadequate decent work are rarely investigated over long periods of time and are entirely unexplored in relation to effects on children as they age and enter the workforce themselves. Accordingly, this dissertation investigated the intergenerational effects of decent work, extending beyond the immediate …

Identification And Validation Of A Measurement Of Emergency Physician Workload During End Of Shift Patient Handoffs, Steven Foster

All Dissertations

Recent increases in emergency physician (EP) workload have been identified as contributors to increased EP burnout, increased staff attrition, decreased patient safety, and increased patient admission rates. Patient handoffs have been extensively researched as critical points in patient care, with existing research primarily focusing on communication errors and interventions designed to standardize handoff communication protocols.

While end of shift handoffs in hospital emergency departments (EDs) intuitively represent a transfer of patient caseload from an outgoing EP to an incoming EP, there is a fundamental lack of literature examining how such handoffs contribute to EP workload, and a similar lack of …

Narratives Of Grief And Loss From The Children Who Lost A Parent On 9/11, Ryan Sliwak

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Limited research exists on the grief experiences of children who lost a parent on 9/11, particularly how these children evolve in their grief process, including their comprehension of the loss and their evolving attachment to the deceased parent (Kaplow et al., 2018; Alvis et al., 2022). Existing frameworks often assume post-traumatic reactions without fully considering the nuances of grief experiences for these children (Chemtob, 2007; Hoven, 2005).

Two research questions guided this study: (a) How does the pre-loss relationship with the parent influence the ongoing internal relationship with the deceased parent? (b) How does maintaining an internal relationship with the …

Integrating Artificial Intelligence And Augmented Reality For Enhanced Task Performance In The Construction Industry, Aasish Chandrika Bhanu

All Dissertations

The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector, characterized by its complex tasks, often faces challenges in adopting cutting-edge technologies, a trend that can significantly hinder productivity improvements compared to other industries. This dissertation explores the emerging integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality (AR) within the AEC domain, investigating how effectively this can be implemented to potentially revolutionize industry practices. AI could be used in the AEC domain for advanced analytical and decision-making processes, while AR could be used for training, visualization, and remote collaboration.

In scenarios where construction site workers require expert guidance, these technologies could be helpful. …

4d Dynamic Spatial Brain Networks At Rest Linked To Cognition Show Atypical Variability And Coupling In Schizophrenia, Krishna Pusuluri, Zening Fu, Robyn Miller, Godfrey Pearlson, Peter Kochunov, Theo G M Van Erp, Armin Iraji, Vince D Calhoun

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Despite increasing interest in the dynamics of functional brain networks, most studies focus on the changing relationships over time between spatially static networks or regions. Here we propose an approach to study dynamic spatial brain networks in human resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) data and evaluate the temporal changes in the volumes of these 4D networks. Our results show significant volumetric coupling (i.e., synchronized shrinkage and growth) between networks during the scan, that we refer to as dynamic spatial network connectivity (dSNC). We find that several features of such dynamic spatial brain networks are associated with cognition, with …

(Don’T Fear) The Factors: An Item-Level Meta-Analysis Of The Fear Of Covid-19 Scale’S Factor Structure And Measurement Invariance, William P. Jimenez, Asiye Zeytonli, Yasmine Nabulsi, Xiaoxiao Hu

Psychology Faculty Publications

The global COVID-19 pandemic saw marked research and clinical interest in evaluating pandemic-related distress, namely fear and anxiety regarding infection and death. The most widely used and earliest developed measure of COVID-19 distress is Ahorsu et al. (2022) seven-item Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S). To investigate the factor structure and measurement equivalence of the FCV-19S, we conducted an item-level meta-analysis synthesizing 1155 effect sizes across k = 55 independent samples comprising N = 71,161 individuals. We found that a two-factor measurement model comprising a four-item Emotional factor and a three-item Psychosomatic factor exhibits better fit than the originally proposed single-factor …

Relationship Between Parenting Emotion Regulation, Parenting Style, And Child Emotion Regulation, Sydney R. Ward

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to contribute to the existing literature by investigating parenting factors that contribute to child emotional regulation (ER). Prior research suggests that while emotion dysregulation is not part of current diagnostic criteria for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), children with ADHD often exhibit greater emotion regulation (ER) difficulties compared to their neurotypical peers. Research focused on parenting has found that parent’s ability to manage their emotions within a parenting context (parenting ER) as well as parenting styles (either positive or negative) are associated with child emotional regulation skills. However, previous research has not considered the influence of both …

The Lived Experiences Of Women Working In The Construction Industry As They Transition To Motherhood, Stacy Kolegraff

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research aimed to understand women’s transition to motherhood in the North American construction industry. This study sought to understand what it means to be a woman working in the construction industry while making the transition to motherhood, experiences of re-entry into the workplace, emergent essential themes, and the way women interpret their career decisions and opportunities leading up to, during, and following their transition to motherhood. A qualitative research design was employed to analyze the complexities and dimensions of complex career decisions, and the phenomenological research method was used to understand the full extent of the problem. A total …

Translational Approaches To The Neurobiological Study Of Conditional Discrimination And Inhibition: Implications For Psychiatric Disease, Susan Sangha, Jacklynn M. Fitzgerald

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

There is a growing number of studies investigating discriminatory fear conditioning and conditioned inhibition of fear to assess safety learning, in addition to extinction of cued fear. Despite all of these paradigms resulting in a reduction in fear expression, there are nuanced differences among them, which could be mediated through distinct behavioral and neural mechanisms. These differences could impact how we approach potential treatment options in clinical disorders with dysregulated fear responses. The objective of this review is to give an overview of the conditional discrimination and inhibition findings reported in both animal models and human neuropsychiatric disorders. Both behavioral …

Racial Discrimination Increases The Risk For Nonremitting Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms In Traumatically Injured Black Individuals Living In The United States, Lucas Torres, Timothy J. Geier, Carissa W. Tomas, Claire M. Bird, Sydney Clare Timmer-Murillo, Christine L. Larson, Terri A. Deroon-Cassini

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Traumatic, life-threatening events are experienced commonly among the general U.S. population, yet Black individuals in the United States (i.e., Black Americans) exhibit higher prevalence rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and more severe symptoms than other populations. Although empirical research has noted a range of symptom patterns that follow traumatic injury, minimal work has examined the role of racial discrimination in relation to PTSD symptom trajectories. The current study assessed racial discrimination and PTSD symptom trajectories at 6 months postinjury across two separate samples of traumatically injured Black Americans (i.e. emergency department (ED)–discharged and hospitalized). Identified PTSD symptom trajectories largely …

Investigating The Bed Nucleus Of The Stria Terminalis As A Predictor Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder In Black Americans And The Moderating Effects Of Racial Discrimination, Kevin Petranu, E. Kate Webb, Carissa W. Tomas, Farah Harb, Lucas Torres, Terri A. Deroon-Cassini, Christine L. Larson

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Altered functioning of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) may play a critical role in the etiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Chronic stressors such as racial discrimination and lifetime trauma are associated with an increased risk for PTSD, but it is unknown whether they influence the relationship between BNST functioning and PTSD. We investigated acute post-trauma BNST resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) as a predictor of future PTSD symptoms in Black trauma survivors. We also examined whether racial discrimination and lifetime trauma moderated the relationship between BNST rsFC and PTSD symptoms. Black adults (N = 95; 54.7% female; …

Neurocognitive Functioning In Adults With Trichotillomania: Predictors Of Treatment Response And Symptom Severity In A Randomized Control Trial, Kathryn E. Barber, Douglas W. Woods, Thilo Deckersbach, Christopher C. Bauer, Scott N. Compton, Michael P. Twohig, Emily J. Ricketts, Jordan Robinson, Stephen M. Saunders, Martin E. Franklin

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Trichotillomania (TTM) is associated with impairments in response inhibition and cognitive flexibility, but it is unclear how such impairments relate to treatment outcome. The present study examined pre-treatment response inhibition and cognitive flexibility as predictors of treatment outcome, change in these domains from pre-to post-treatment, and associations with TTM severity. Participants were drawn from a randomized controlled trial comparing acceptance-enhanced behavior therapy (AEBT) to psychoeducation and supportive therapy (PST) for TTM. Adults completed assessments at pre-treatment (n = 88) and following 12 weeks of treatment (n = 68). Response inhibition and cognitive flexibility were assessed using the Stop …

Digitally Connected, Evolutionarily Wired: An Evolutionary Mismatch Perspective On Digital Work, Mark Van Vugt, Stephen M. Colarelli, Norman P. Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper makes the case for an evolutionary mismatch between digital work and the way human ancestors engaged in work. Psychological adaptations for producing things that early humans needed to survive and thrive, such as cognitive mechanisms for obtaining and processing food, toolmaking, and learning valuable working skills, evolved in the context of small networks of hunter–gatherers. These adaptations are central to understanding the significance of work in human evolution. Evolutionary mismatches operate when novel environments cue ancestral adaptations in ways that no longer provide adaptive benefits. We argue that digital work, although efficient and productive, is misaligned with some …