Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Religiosity, Knowledge Of Evolution, And Political Ideology As Predictors Of Attitudes Towards The Evolution V. Creationism Controversy, Nikolaus Philip Schuetz

Theses (6 month embargo)

Since Darwin On the Origin of Species over 150 years ago, evolution via natural selection has gained essentially unilateral support among scientists, with 97% of scientists agree that life evolved over time, while a mere 12% to 29% of the general public accepts evolution via natural selection. About three-quarters of the public support teaching creationism in public school science classes--a violation of the First Amendment--and a recent survey shows that just 28% of high school biology teachers advocating for evolution in their classroom, as per the national guidelines.

The present study aims to investigate and clarify certain relationships that lead …

Social Service Workers Working Social Policy: A Qualitative Study Of Social Policy, Political Culture, And Organizations, Michael Rivers

Theses (6 month embargo)

In 13 semi-structured, face-to-face interviews at a social service organization, workers were asked to discuss the problems and challenges that made their day-to-day jobs difficult. Most workers identified problems and challenges at the client-level, while secondarily discussing organizational and societal challenges. The findings in the research speak to Michael Lipsky's 'Street-Level Bureaucracy' in that the people that administer social policy on a day-to-day basis with their clients identify the most difficulties in carrying out their organizational objectives of changing their clients not husbanding material resources.

Risky Business: Prior Experience And Substance Users' Perception Of Risk, Sema Taheri

Theses (6 month embargo)

Individuals incarcerated for both drug-defined crimes and non-drug defined crimes are often substance users. In fact, the percent of arrestees in the United States that test positive for any drug at intake range from a low of 52% in Washington, D.C., to a high of 83% in Chicago, IL (ONDCP, 2011). Prior research has noted the negative relationship between risk perception and actual behavior. My study examined the influence of prior experiences and social environment on substance users' perceived risk of substance use. The sample consisted of adults indicating use of any illicit substance in the past year (N=9,277) in …

Neighborhood Disadvantage And Perceptions Of Neighborhood As Predictors Of Aggression In Urban African American Youth: A Multilevel Analysis, Edna Y. Romero

Theses (1 year embargo)

The link between aggression and criminal activity in urban, low-income African American neighborhoods has resulted in many studies examining the predictive role of individual and neighborhood characteristics in the development of aggressive behaviors. Factors such as neighborhood violence, poverty, perceptions of neighborhood danger have consistently been linked to poor behavioral outcomes in urban youth (Colder, Mott, Levy, & Flay, 2000; Sampson, Raudenbush, & Earls, 1997), whereas perceptions of neighborhood cohesion have been associated with reduced externalizing behavior in children (Silk, Sessa, Sheffield Morris, Steinberg, & Avenevoli, 2004). The purpose of this paper was to examine, through the use of multilevel …

Introversion And The Use Of Parasocial Interaction To Satisfy Belongingness Needs, Carol Laurent Jarzyna

Dissertations (6 month embargo)

Individuals usually satisfy the universal need to belong through close personal relationships (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). However, introverts engage less in the social behaviors that provide the opportunity to establish and maintain these relationships (Mehl, Gosling, & Pennebaker, 2006; Rusting & Larsen, 1995). Some evidence suggests that the close relationships of introverts are less fulfilling than those of extraverts (Berry, Willingham, & Thayer, 2000; Watson, Hubbard, & Wiese, 2000). Thus, supplementary ways of filling belongingness needs might benefit introverts. According to the Social Surrogacy Hypothesis, one such way is through parasocial interaction (Derrick, Gabriel, & Hugenberg, 2009), i.e., the one-sided …

Constructs Of Parenting In Urban Ghana, Molly Pachan

Dissertations (6 month embargo)

The current study explores models of parenting constructs in a sample of contemporary urban Ghanaian adults who are raising at least one child between the ages of five and twelve years old. Parenting practices that include high levels of responsiveness to children's needs, as well as high levels of demandingness and firm limits, have been associated with a range of positive outcomes in youth in the United States, Canada, and Western European countries. This parenting style, termed Authoritative parenting, has been promoted by public and private institutions in Euro-American societies for close to forty years. However, research on cultural minority …

Neuropsychological Functioning, Parenting Behaviors, And Healthcare Behaviors Among Youth With Spina Bifida, Lauren Kelly O'Hara

Dissertations

Objective This study was designed to examine whether neurocognitive functioning (attention and executive functions) and parenting behaviors (acceptance, behavioral control and psychological control) are associated with medical adherence and autonomy among preadolescents and adolescents with spina bifida. Methods Questionnaire and observational data were collected from a sample of 8 to 15 year olds with spina bifida (n = 139) and their mothers, fathers, and teachers. Youth also completed neuropsychological testing. Results Youth with spina bifida demonstrated impairment on measures of attention and executive function, based on questionnaire and test data. Attention, executive function, and parenting behaviors were associated with medical …

Measures Of Executive Functioning And Their Relation To Functional Outcomes In A Sample Of Youth With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (Add), Amy Marie Lyons Usher

Dissertations

The current study examined two commonly used neuropsychological assessments of executive functioning in a sample of children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch) is a performance-based, objective measure of executive functioning, and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (BRIEF) is a subjective, parent-report measure. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to establish the factor structures of these measures to determine their appropriateness with a sample of youth with ADHD. The association of these assessment tools with functional outcomes (academic achievement, social functioning) was examined to establish their ecological and incremental validity. …

A Mediational Model Predicting Adjustment In Affluent Adolescents: The Role Of Parental Perfectionism, Perceived Parental Pressure, And Organized Activity Involvement, Edin Randall

Dissertations

The current cross-sectional study evaluated the relative contributions of parental perfectionism (i.e., self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed), perceived parental pressure, and organized activity involvement (i.e,. intensity) on depressive symptoms, anxiety, substance use, and life satisfaction in a sample of affluent adolescents. Findings indicated that parental perfectionism, and specifically other-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism, is an important contextual factor negatively influencing affluent adolescent adjustment. Additionally, perceived parental pressure was found to have robust associations with adolescent adjustment and to explain the link between parental perfectionism and adolescent adjustment. Furthermore, the current study revealed a synergistic association between intensity of organized activity …

Cultural Competence--Does It Matter?: Lessons From A Mixed-Methods Study Of Wraparound Practice, Jennifer James Rose

Dissertations

This mixed methods study investigated whether caregivers' ratings of wraparound fidelity and satisfaction with the wraparound process differed based upon their facilitators' self-assessed cultural competence and caregivers' reported stress. An explanatory sequential design was used. The quantitative phase was completed first. Survey methodology was used to measure reported cultural competence, wraparound fidelity, satisfaction with the wraparound process, and parental stress. Facilitators (n=58) completed a self-assessment instrument, the Multicultural Counseling Knowledge and Awareness Scale (MCKAS; Ponterotto, 1997). The MCKAS survey yielded a 43% response rate. The MCKAS descriptive data found levels of reported cultural competence comparable to previously published studies. Telephone …

You Had Me At Helen: The Name Letter Effect In Judgments Of Humor, Jenna Ryan

Dissertations

The present study demonstrates that implicit egotism is relevant to not only letter attractiveness ratings on the Name Letter Test (NLT), but also to judgments of humor--albeit to a lesser degree. Respondents participated as "mock" judges in a simulated cartoon caption contest and evaluated writers' caption submissions for two cartoons. It was hypothesized that participants would exhibit biases toward captions submitted by writers with whom they shared a first initial letter, and additionally, their gender. A name letter effect was found in participants' judgments of humor and on the NLT. Shared gender with a caption writer--when coupled with a shared …

Empirically Supported Treatment Interventions For Persons With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And Comorbid Borderline Personality Disorder, Megan Seliga

Dissertations

The overall stigma- and gender-related controversies that surround the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) present a unique ethical mandate to the practitioner. The relationship between trauma and the BPD diagnosis strengthens the need for carefully designed treatment interventions in order to secure the benefits of trauma-focused work, while minimizing the risk of undue regression. The complexity and risk of harm introduced by a diagnosis of comorbid BPD and PTSD urges the need for clarification of optimal treatment interventions to guide practitioners. Trauma-focused therapies, particularly EMDR, tend to be the treatment of choice for PTSD; however, comorbid borderline pathology has …

A Qualitative Exploration Of The Influence Of Racism On Identity Development For African American Adolescent Males, John Corey Steele

Dissertations

The life circumstances facing African American adolescent males are reported with a fair amount of frequency by numerous media outlets in our society. Reports generally communicate negative circumstances facing African American adolescent males in the educational, economic, social, and political arenas. These sorts of life experiences have the potential to have a tremendous impact on the lives and development, particularly identity developmental process of young African American men; however, few research efforts have been devoted to specifically exploring the identity development process of African American adolescent males. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the meaning of being …

An Exploratory Evaluation Of A Culturally Specific Model Of Psychological Well-Being For An African American Population, Kyle J. Telander

Dissertations

Research related to eudaimonic or psychological well-being (PWB) has relied heavily upon the Scales of Psychological Well-Being (SPWB), a rationally developed multidimensional measure intended to assess the extent to which individuals are achieving their optimal potential over the lifespan. However, questions remain regarding the proposed dimensional structure of the SPWB, as well as the extent to which the measure is situated within a specific, Eurocentric cultural context. This study sought to explore the factor structure of the 42-item version of the SPWB when combined with items measuring constructs relevant to African Americans, including communalism, spirituality/religiosity, and critical consciousness. Utilizing a …

Internet Support Groups For Parents Of Children With Add: An Examination Of The Characteristics Of Group Members And The Impact Of Social Support On Parent Functioning, Kriston B. Schellinger

Dissertations

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood psychiatric disorders and is associated with a variety of difficult behaviors. In addition, parents of children with ADHD experience significantly greater parenting stress and psychological distress than parents of children without ADHD. However, social support is a beneficial coping tool associated with increased mental and physical well-being in those experiencing stress. Although many turn to family and friends for social support, people sometimes go outside of their immediate support network and seek support groups. In recent years, Internet support groups have become a popular alternative to face-to-face support groups. However, …

The Intersections Of Social Activism, Collective Identity, And Artistic Expression In Documentary Filmmaking, John Abraham Stover Iii

Dissertations

Sociologists have long recognized the important intersection of media coverage and social movements, but few have studied the unique role documentary films play in inspiring activism and disseminating the agendas of new social movements. With this in mind, I studied how political strategies and artistic expressions intersect within the documentary filmmaking industry. Drawing from preexisting contacts and using a grounded theoretical approach that blended extensive qualitative and supporting quantita-tive methodologies, I spent two years in the field with New Day Films, a cooperative film distribution company that also represents a unique type of social movement organization. Using interviews (N=44), fieldwork, …

Serving Through Adversity: Community-Based Nonprofits Negotiating Race, Place, And A State Budget Crisis, 2007-2011, Eilleen Rollerson

Dissertations

This qualitative study examines the ways in which the leadership and staff of four community-based organizations in a high-poverty African American community in Chicago perceived and were impacted by economic, political, and social changes in their community from 2007 to 2011. During a time of economic hardship caused in part by the state's budget crisis that threatened their very survival, these nonprofits connected residents with community institutions, government, and church in response to their needs.

Processes of acquiring resources and capital, prioritizing the needs, shifting programs and people for maximum benefit, and finally shedding expendable programs and people for the …

Juvenile Injustice: Disproportionate Minority Contact In Oklahoma's Juvenile Justice System, Patrick M. Polasek

Dissertations

Statistics show that minority overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system is not a new phenomenon. The problem, however, is not going away and might even be getting worse. In 2008, the FBI's Uniform Crime Report showed that 52% of juvenile Violent Crime Index arrests, and 33% of juvenile Property Crime Index arrests, are black youths. This occurring while black youth only accounted for 16% of the youth population. These statistics illustrate disproportionate minority contact. The question is whether disproportionate minority contact has improved, and what is influencing minority overrepresentation.

In this dissertation, I examine whether minorities are overrepresented in Oklahoma's …

Moral Landscapes: Religion, Secularism, And Symbolic Boundaries, Thomas Jose Josephsohn

Dissertations

This dissertation is a comparison of three religious congregations and one secular congregation on the moral boundaries they use to understand themselves and others. Through a newly developed graphical instrument, in-depth interviews, and surveys, this dissertation shows that contemporary theories on how people use religiously oriented beliefs to separate themselves from others insufficiently capture the ideas, groups, and categories that are salient to people in making these distinctions. Ultimately, it argues that sociologists need to take into account the saliency and moralization of arguments and ideologies for individuals rather than assuming these things a priori or from fringe members of …

The Confluence Of Attachment Style, Perceived Social Support, And Role Attainment In Women Experiencing Postpartum Mood Disorders, Carrie Jennifer Feig

Dissertations

A purposive convenience sample was used in this mixed methods study. Fifteen postpartum women were given four questionnaires and participated in a brief oral interview. The questionnaires included the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the McPhee Scale, the Maternal Attitudes Questionnaire, and the Post-Partum Quality of Life. As determined by the questionnaires, a correlation was found between level of competence and level of depression such that the less competent a woman felt, the more depressed she felt. The hypothesis tested in this study was that postpartum depression occurs when complicated early attachments have not been modified by either a sense of …

Empirically Supported Treatment Interventions For Persons With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And Comorbid Borderline Personality Disorder, Megan Seliga

Dissertations

The overall stigma- and gender-related controversies that surround the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) present a unique ethical mandate to the practitioner. The relationship between trauma and the BPD diagnosis strengthens the need for carefully designed treatment interventions in order to secure the benefits of trauma-focused work, while minimizing the risk of undue regression. The complexity and risk of harm introduced by a diagnosis of comorbid BPD and PTSD urges the need for clarification of optimal treatment interventions to guide practitioners. Trauma-focused therapies, particularly EMDR, tend to be the treatment of choice for PTSD; however, comorbid borderline pathology has …

A Qualitative Exploration Of African American Men's Attitudes Toward Marriage, Rabiatu Barrie

Dissertations

The decline in the rate of marriage in the African American community has been documented in both the empirical literature and pop culture. Initially researchers postulated that the upward mobility of African American women had diminished their to marry, but studies found opposing evidence to that theory and so the focus switched to African American men. Early studies about African American men and marriage indicated that the sex-ratio imbalance, the educational disparity between African American men and women that leads to economic frailty was the major cause of the disparity in marriage (James et al 1999, Davis, Emerson, & Williams, …

A Structuralist Controversy: Althusser And Lacan On Ideology, Won Choi

Dissertations

Slavoj Zizek argues that, if Althusser was an adamant structuralist who reduced subject to a mere function of ideology, Lacan was a genuine critic of such a position, who showed how the subject can separate itself from the symbolic structure of ideology. Zizek's portrayal of the debate, however, is not only based on a misapprehension of Lacan's own theory but also fails to notice that, when the two theorists collided on the question of structuralism in the late 1960s, the issue was not the separation, but how ideology as a social practice is to be situated in relation to other …

The Relationship Between Infant Crying And Father Well-Being, Leslie Katch

Dissertations

Infant excessive crying and fussing has been linked to adverse maternal outcomes such as increased depression and stress, and decreased feelings of parenting self-efficacy. Infant crying has also been identified as the number one trigger caregivers report prior to an abusive action, placing infants who cry excessively at risk. Fathers and male caregivers have been identified as the primary offenders in the majority of infant abuse cases, suggesting a particular risk between fathers and infants who cry excessively. However, the relationship between excessive crying and fathers has not been explored to the same extent as mothers. In an effort to …

Intimate Partner Violence As A Risk Factor For Ptsd In Female Survivors Of Domestic Violence: A Meta-Analysis, Selena Tramayne

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to conduct two meta-analyses investigating the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptomatology in female survivors of domestic violence. The first meta-analysis investigated the relationship between physical violence and PTSD symptomatology while the second meta-analysis investigated the relationship between psychological abuse and PTSD symptomatology. A moderator variable, recruitment setting, was investigated to see whether recruitment setting changed the relationship between physical violence and PTSD symptomatology and/or the relationship between psychological abuse and PTSD symptomatology. For both meta-analyses, a medium to large effect size was found. Recruitment setting was not …

Image Slavery And Mass Media Pollution: Examining The Sociopolitical Context Of Beauty And Self Image In The Lives Of Black Women, Jennifer Richardson

Dissertations

The ways in which African American women negotiate the intersections of popular media, dominant discourses of beauty, and identity are rarely explored. This work brings into focus how African American women consume, understand, and make meaning of mediated images and representations of African American women. In order to inform this particular research project, this study engages a constellation of literature and theoretical perspectives and explores historical representations of African American women and beauty messages they contain. Throughout this process I examine concepts of identity formation; discuss connections between sexuality and the politics of imagery; and investigate linkages between structural racism, …

Social Cognitive Functioning And Social Competence In Children And Adolescents With Spina Bifida And Hydrocephalus: Social Cognitive Neuroscience As A Model, Caitlin Reid Roache

Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to examine social cognition in children with spina bifida and congenital hydrocephalus (SBH) and to determine whether deficits in these domains are associated with poor social competence, utilizing concepts from social cognitive neuroscience. To build upon extant literature, multi-method assessments, multi-informant data, and a developmental, biopsychosocial perspective were utilized. Distinct aspects of social competence, as defined by social performance, social skills, and social adjustment, were considered.

The current study was designed to investigate: (1) differences in social cognition between children and adolescents with SBH and the general population, (2) potential neuroanatomical predictors of …

Neighborhood Attachment Among Latinos In Low-Income Communities, Kathleen Bachtell

Dissertations

Neighborhood attachment, defined as an individual's feelings about their social commitment to a particular community, has been a central focus of studies involving space and place (Smith 1975) and community activism (Guest and Lee 1983, Crenshaw and St. John 1989) in the U.S. Yet despite the advancement of this work and a growing body of qualitative research exploring the dynamic experiences of immigrants and their descendants in particular communities, it is not clear how being born in the U.S. versus Mexico or Latin America impacts the formation of neighborhood attachment among Latinos. This limits our understanding of urban renewal, as …

Perceptions, Attitudes And Acceptability Of Hiv Testing Among Sub-Saharan African Immigrants In Chicago, Rita Ndidi Amadi

Dissertations

HIV testing is a primary strategy in HIV prevention and is associated with a myriad of benefits including positive behavior changes and enhanced access to HIV care services and support. However, African immigrants delay testing and are often diagnosed with late stage HIV infection and symptoms suggestive of AIDS. Little attention has been devoted to understanding the barriers to testing among sub Saharan African immigrants in the United States.

This cross sectional survey, conducted in partnership with African community organizations in Chicago, used multistage sampling techniques to reach this hard to reach population. It attempted to elucidate the HIV testing …

The Development Of Science Identity: An Evaluation Of Youth Development Programs At The Museum Of Science And Industry, Chicago, Sam Cole

Dissertations

The following dissertation presents findings from a year-long evaluation of informal scientific education programs at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois. Science identity, rather than scientific knowledge, was the analytic lens through which the programs' effectiveness was assessed. A goal of the Museum generally, and the programs specifically, is to increase public identification with the field of science. Science identity was assessed using a novel survey instrument and three focus groups. Hierarchical linear models found a positive relationship between time enrolled in the Science Minors program and the development of science identity. These analyses also point to …