Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Trauma Exposure And Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Regional Journalists In Pakistan, Sayyed Fawad Ali Shah, Faizullah Jan, Tamar Ginossar, J. Patrick Mcgrail, Danish Baber, Rahman Ullah

Research, Publications & Creative Work

This study sought to examine work-related exposure to trauma and predictors of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms among regional journalists in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, a conflict-ridden area in northwest Pakistan. We recruited 216 KP journalists. Analysis of the surveys revealed a high prevalence of trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms. All of the participants had covered at least one trauma inducing event. Exposure to work-related trauma, active emotional coping and avoidant emotional coping were statistically significant factors associated with PTSD symptoms. This study is the first to highlight the severity of the impact of trauma on regional journalists in …

Comparing The Perceptions Of Interprofessional Socialization Among Health Profession Students, Karen Aul, Jody Long

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Introduction: Based on a review of literature, there is a gap of knowledge on how students perceive the professional roles and responsibilities of other disciplines. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of interprofessional socialization among health profession students. Subjects: Participants included 300 undergraduate and 114 graduate students from eight health disciplines: nursing, communication disorders, physical therapy, social work, radiological science, occupational therapy, clinical lab science, and nutritional science. Methods: Data were collected using the Interprofessional Socialization and Valuing Scale (ISVS-21). The participants rated 21 items about their beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes of interprofessional socialization on a …

Dress Like Me: An Exploration Of Rural Graduate Social Work Attire, Jody Long, Jocelyn Martin, Audra Pierce, Sean Creech, Stephen Guffey

Research, Publications & Creative Work

During graduate school internship training, some students wear more formal attire and others casual attire. This study’s purpose was to explore rural areas clients’ preference for graduate social work interns’ attire. Clients from internship sites located in a rural southern location were asked their attire preferences based on comfort and confidence levels, degree of warmth, returning appointments, and during a crisis. One hundred and twenty-six subjects participated in the study and responded that casual dress was preferred in terms of specific impressions. The results of the study were to build rapport; graduate social work interns should consider their clientele when …

“Invaders”: U.S. Right Wing Media’S Framing Of Muslim Immigrants, Faizullah Jan, Sayyed Fawad Ali Shah

Research, Publications & Creative Work

This study identifies and examines the framing patterns in the U.S. right-wing media coverage of the President Donald Trump administration’s ban on immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries. The study is directed by one research question: How did the right-wing media frame the ban on Muslim immigrants? A total of 53 articles (news stories, features, and opinion pieces) from two right-wing U.S. media outlets, Daily Caller and Breitbart News, were identified and included in the analysis. Framing theory served as a framework for the analysis of the data. Findings of this study show that the right-wing media used negative frames …

Impact Of School Tobacco-Free Policy And Tobacco Risk Education On Youth Cigarette And E-Cigarette Use, Vahe Heboyan, Bruce Riggs

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: Smoking rates have declined over the last half-century, however, e-cigarette use has more than tripled in the recent years. Tobacco-risk education and tobacco-free policies are critical policy instruments to help prevent youth tobacco use. This study evaluates the impact of these policies on youth cigarette and e-cigarette use.

Methods: Data from the 2013/2015 Georgia Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) is used to test for statistical differences in tobacco use status across school-based tobacco control policies and estimate their impact on cigarette and e-cigarette use. Data includes 5,285 participants representing 2013 middle school (n=2,099), 2013 high school (n=1,775), and 2015 high …

Decreasing Women's Endorsement Of Benevolent Sexism, Kelsey Berryman

Master's Theses

The aim of the current study was to reduce women's endorsement for benevolent sexist beliefs. the intervention aimed to educate women about the prevalence and seriousness of benevolent sexism. as this is a subtle and deceptively positive type of sexism, women are particularly susceptible in endorsing it (Glick & Fiske, 2001). in order to increase awareness for benevolent sexism in their everyday lives, some participants read an informational text about the pervasiveness and harmfulness of benevolent sexism in the U.S. This text was read after participants had already written about a time they engaged in benevolent sexism to elicit negative …

Understanding The Role Of Relationship Satisfaction In Social Support Provision For Youth In The Child Welfare System, Nathan Michael Lutz

Master's Theses

The objective of this study was to examine kin social support and relationship satisfaction, as well as the interaction between these two variables, in terms of their association with placement stability, externalizing behaviors, and internalizing symptoms for youth in the child welfare system. Ordinary Least Squares Regression methods were used in conjunction with Poisson and Negative Binomial Regression methods. the study also examined two different methods for calculating the interaction term to determine relationship satisfaction's moderating effect on the relationship between social support and the outcomes. Results suggested that relationship satisfaction does act as a moderator when externalizing behaviors and …

The Effect Of Imagined Intergroup Contact On Heterosexism, Laurel Mertz

Master's Theses

Heterosexism and other forms of prejudice against the LGBTQ community remain prevalent across the world. Thus, the study of how to reduce heterosexism has become a much more common and necessary domain of research in recent years. Previous research has demonstrated mixed results of the effect of imagined intergroup contact on heterosexism. the current study sought to evaluate various contexts in which imagined intergroup contact would decrease or increase levels of both implicit and explicit heterosexist attitudes. I predicted that individuals who imagined winning a basketball game with a gay teammate would display more positive attitudes toward gay men whereas …

The Longitudinal Relationship Between Callous-Unemotional Traits And Exposure To Community Violence: Examining Primary And Secondary Psychopathy In Serious Adolescent Offenders, Elizabeth Sargent

Master's Theses

in youth, psychopathy is often represented by callous-unemotional traits, characterized by a lack of guilt and empathy. While justice-involved youth can exhibit such traits, less research has been done in adolescents than has been with adults in the justice system. Still, previous research supports that callous-unemotional traits in particular can predict higher risk for adverse outcomes and violent behavior in youth. Various vulnerabilities and experiences contribute to the development of callous-unemotional traits, and while some individuals with psychopathic traits are thought to have been born with an innate inability to feel empathy (primary psychopathy), others may experience psychological distress in …

Latino Parents' Acculturative Stress And Their Preschoolers' Prosocial Development: Testing The Mediating Role Of Parenting Style, Zahra Fatima Naqi

Master's Theses

Studies increasingly recognize the importance of cultural factors when studying the development of immigrant children from low-income backgrounds. There is reason to believe that parents' acculturative stress may be linked to children's prosocial development, via parenting. the present study included a sample of immigrant Latino parents of 3- to 5-year-old Head Start preschoolers (N = 28) to examine how parents' acculturative stress might be associated with children's prosocial behavior at home, as reported by parents, and at school, as reported by teachers. Furthermore, it studied whether this linkage is mediated by warm, supportive, and hostile parenting practices. Results indicated that …

Condition Severity And Parent Psychosocial Functioning In Families Of Youth With Spina Bifida: The Role Of Parental Attitudes And Beliefs, Elicia Wartman

Master's Theses

Past research suggests that parents of youth with spina bifida (SB) have worse psychosocial outcomes than parents of typically developing youth. SB is a complex medical condition that is accompanied by varying degrees of physical disability and cognitive deficits. Research on stress and coping suggests that parents' attitudes and beliefs may contribute to their own psychosocial adjustment. This study unpacks condition severity and examines the role of severity of condition-related factors in predicting parental adjustment and parental attitudes and beliefs. Participants were recruited as part of a larger longitudinal study. Information on condition severity, including type of SB, lesion level, …

Trajectories Of Adaptive Functioning Among Youth With Spina Bifida: The Influence Of Neurocognitive Functioning And Parental Scaffolding, Adrien Winning

Master's Theses

Youth with spina bifida (SB), a congenital birth defect affecting the central nervous system, are at risk of experiencing an array of psychosocial and functional deficits (Copp et al., 2015; Holmbeck et al., 2003). Indeed, previous research has documented difficulties across the three adaptive functioning domains outlined by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD): conceptual (e.g., communication, self-direction, functional academics), social (e.g., interpersonal skills), and practical (e.g., self-care, navigating health-care; Copp et al., 2015). Despite this evidence, whether or not children with SB typically acquire skills across development is largely unknown. Additionally, little is known about risk …

Educational Debt: Educational Loans And The Family, Keyla Navarrete

Master's Theses

Student debt is a well-documented topic in sociological literature. It is well known that there is a student loan crisis in the United States. However, kinship or familial ties in educational debt is not as studied as individual student loans. The student debt crisis seems to reach a new catastrophic level as years pass. Yet, not much research exists that looks at external sources of financing for students such as parents, grandparents, or other familial ties. This study contributes to the literature of student debt by analyzing debt patterns across those that take out loans for themselves, their spouse, or …

Emotion Reactivity And Its Relation To Daily Affect And Sleep Experiences Among First Year College Students, Elizabeth Marie Rea

Master's Theses

Individuals with high emotion reactivity may be at increased likelihood to experience emotions more intensely, frequently, and for longer periods of time than those with low emotion reactivity. This might lead to more extreme fluctuations in their daily experience of emotion. Additionally, those high in emotion reactivity may be at risk for poor sleep. The transition to college has been shown to be a difficult time for some students, and potentially contribute to these emotional fluctuations and shorter sleep duration. However, students high in emotion reactivity might be more likely to experience the negative effects of this transition than those …

A Chronic Route?: Examining The Path Between Community Violence Exposure, Posttraumatic Stress & Juvenile Delinquency In Low-Income, Urban, African-American Youth, Kaleigh Valencia Wilkins

Master's Theses

Background: Exposure to community violence (ECV; direct victimization and witnessing) can predict negative outcomes for youth such as posttraumatic stress (PTSS) and juvenile delinquent behavior (JDB). Psychosocial reactions to violence can be different based on gender. Predictors of ECV in youth is less understood. This study aims to explore potential chronic pathways between initial ECV and continued ECV for early adolescents. The relationship between ECV as a predictor and ECV as an outcome is hypothesized to be mediated by both PTSS and JDB and moderated by gender. Method: A total of 266 African-American, sixth grade students in high crime, high …

Beyond Family: Patterns Of Kin And Fictive Kin Caregivers Among Children And Youth In The Child Welfare System, Jennifer Osborne

Master's Theses

Children and youth in the child welfare system experience significant benefits from placement with custodial kin caregivers in psychological, social, relational, and educational domains (Winokur, Holtan, & Batchelder, 2018; Vasileva & Petermann, 2018). Additionally, the extant literature suggests that non-custodial kin and non-custodial fictive kin, or individuals unrelated by blood or marriage though afforded the same unofficial status as family (Taylor, Chatters, Woodward, & Brown, 2013), also contribute positive outcomes (Smetana, Campione-Barr, & Metzger, 2006). However, little research has examined the ways in which custodial kin, non-custodial kin, and non-custodial fictive kin work together to provide social support to children …

Use Of Evidence-Based Best Practices And Behavior Change Techniques In Breast Cancer Apps: Systematic Analysis, Kerstin Kalke, Tamar Ginossar, Joshua M. Bentley, Hannah Carver, Sayyed Fawad Ali Shah, Anita Y. Kinney

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Background: Theoretically designed mobile health (mHealth) breast cancer interventions are essential for achieving positive behavior change. In the case of breast cancer, they can improve the health outcomes of millions of women by increasing prevention and care efforts. However, little is known about the theoretical underpinnings of breast cancer apps available to the general public.

Objective: Given that theories may strengthen mHealth interventions, this study aimed to identify breast cancer apps designed to support behavior change, to assess the extent to which they address content along the cancer care continuum and contain behavior change techniques, and to assess …

When “Best I Can” Is Not Enough: Welfare Managers’ Appraisal Of Clients’ Mothering Practices, Brianna Turgeon

Research, Publications & Creative Work

The “mommy wars” are a cultural narrative of conflict between mothers that amplifies the scrutiny placed on mothering practices. While mothers at all social locations face criticisms for their choices surrounding parenting, mothers in poverty lack the resources to enact many socially mandated parenting practices and contend with additional scrutiny through participation in programs like welfare-to-work. In this project, I examine the parenting expectations mothers on welfare must navigate. I use 69 semi-structured interviews with welfare-to-work program managers in Ohio from 2010-2011 to examine which mothering ideologies they encourage and discourage clients to adopt. I find that managers are highly …

An Evaluation Of Praise As A Reinforcer For Preschoolers' Behavior, Laura Perry Senn, Makenzie W. Bayles, Jennifer L. Bruzek

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Behavior analysts and educators often recommend using praise, particularly descriptive praise, despite mixed empirical findings to support this recommendation. We evaluated the effectiveness of praise as a reinforcer during a reinforcer assessment using known tasks with preschoolers in Study 1. Praise functioned as a reinforcer for 2 of 6 participants; the remaining 4 participants required additional reinforcers (edibles) to show a reinforcement effect. We then compared the effectiveness of descriptive versus general praise for acquisition of unknown tacts and assessed participants’ preference for the different types of praise for 4 participants from Study 1. Results showed the efficacy of and …

Semi-Structured Interviews: A Team-Based Approach To Design, Implementation, And Analysis, Rachel Wishkoski

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

This chapter explores semi-structured interviewing as a research method in the context of a study investigating the impact of a library workshop on faculty teaching practices. In addition to covering interview guide design, strategies for conducting interviews, and qualitative coding, the chapter shares lessons learned by a novice practitioner-researcher and suggestions for team-based qualitative research.

The Longitudinal Parallel Process Analysis Of Biomarkers Of Oxidative Stress, Symptom Clusters, And Cognitive Function In Children With Leukemia, Mary C Hooke, Daniel Hatch, Marilyn J Hockenberry, Susan Whitman, Ida Moore, David Montgomery, Kari Marano, Pauline Mitby, Michael E Scheurer, Olga Taylor, Wei Pan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: During treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), children report co-occurring symptoms of fatigue, sleep disturbance, pain, nausea, and depression as a symptom cluster. Central nervous system–directed ALL therapies also put children at risk for cognitive impairments. Cancer therapies can cause an increase in oxidative stress, which may contribute to treatment-related symptoms. This study examined the longitudinal relationships between biomarkers of oxidative stress in the cerebrospinal fluid, the Childhood Cancer Symptom Cluster–Leukemia (CCSC-L), and cognition, in children over the first year of ALL treatment. Methods: Glutathione (GSH) biomarkers of oxidative stress were measured in cerebrospinal fluid collected during treatment lumbar …

A Theory Of Fire Service Provision: With An Empirical Analysis Of Response Time, Suppression Time, And Service Output, Hyong-Gu Hwang

Senior Independent Study Theses

We introduce a two-stage theoretical framework of fire services that justifies the status of response time as a factor input. In the first stage, the provincial government distributes a budget to its cities, resulting in varied numbers of firefighters and fire engines in each city. In the second stage, each city fire department places its fire stations at spatially optimal locations that minimize expected response times. When a fire occurs, the outputs from these two stages are actualized into dispatch level, response time, and suppression time. These intermediate outputs are then transformed into inputs for producing service output, which is …

The Continuation Of Violence: Analyzing The Retraumatization Of Incarcerated Survivors Of Domestic Violence And Evaluating The Potential Of A “Trauma-Informed” Prison Model, Eliana Kahn

Senior Independent Study Theses

The United States criminal justice system emphasizes punishment, in the form of incarceration, over the rehabilitation of individuals convicted of criminal activity. While confinement is harmful to many inmates, incarcerated women are even more vulnerable to the extent that they are disproportionately survivors of domestic violence and abuse. Given this vulnerability, the primary purpose of this study is to explore the impact of incarceration on survivors of domestic violence and abuse. I aim first to analyze the ways in which punitive institutions replicate dynamics of abuse, often retraumatizing female survivors of domestic violence. I then evaluate the policies and procedures …

The Persistence Of Mixed Income Neighborhoods: A Case Study Of Neighborhood Change In Chicago, Ian Warren

Senior Independent Study Theses

This study examines neighborhood change among mixed income neighborhoods in Chicago, IL between 2010 and 2017. Previous literature has focused extensively on the process of gentrification in transitioning homogenous low income neighborhoods to homogenous high income neighborhoods. However, few studies have tested empirically if mixed income neighborhoods are a persistent neighborhood type or if they are inherently a neighborhood undergoing transition. This methodology uses data from the U.S. Census American Community Survey to utilize a logit regression which tests the likelihood that a 2010 mixed income neighborhood will transition upwards to a 2017 homogenous high income neighborhood. Additionally, ArcGIS maps …

Mother Nature And Menvironmental Politics: Analyzing How Gendered Frames Affect Support For The Clean Air Act, Grace Montgomery

Senior Independent Study Theses

While environmental issues are becoming more significant and frequent, concern for the environment varies. Research has shown a gender gap in environmental concern, particularly in that males see helping the environment as compromising their masculinity (Brough et al. 2016, 568). My I.S. examines whether and how gendered frames shape public support for the United States’ environmental air pollution policy, the Clean Air Act. In order to connect an issue to a frame, an individual will draw upon a relevant schema and apply elements from that schema in order to understand the issue. Gender is an accessible schema that strongly shapes …

La Libertad Y Sus Acontecimientos: Un Enfoque En El Existencialismo Y El Uso De La Libertad Dentro De Artefactos Culturales, Carlos A. Hernandez

Senior Independent Study Theses

Uno de los temas mas prevalentes dentro del existencialismo es el de la libertad. Se puede discutir que la libertad no es posible dentro de nuestra sociedad, pero Savater, autor de “El valor de elegir”, nos indica que la libertad existe dentro de los reglamentos de nuestra sociedad. Savater propone que la acción es resultado de el conocimiento, la imaginación, y la decisión. Dentro de este proceso se puede reconocer los aspectos existencialistas de la voluntad, la ignorancia, la inquietud, y el azar respectivamente. Esta obra se enfoca en los tres aspectos que describe Savater como los puntos esenciales de …

Talking About Eu: The Impact Of Leaders' Discourse On Public Support For The European Union, Marco Roccato

Senior Independent Study Theses

This study asks how do changes in national political leaders’ (NPLs) discourse about the European Union affect public support for the EU? To develop an answer to this question, the research is situated in the tradition of discourse analysis, as it is better suited to understand the nuances in the discourse being presented to the population. In the literature reviewed for this project, EU-related discourse is presented as holding particular power in affecting people’s perceptions of European issues due to the historical low engagement and knowledge levels. The lack of a shared European public sphere and international conversations on topics …

Delete Your Account: A Methodological Investigation Of Leadership Trait Analysis And Its Ability To Utilize Twitter As Spontaneous Material, Jimmy Hinton

Senior Independent Study Theses

Given the important roles political leaders occupy within the international arena, it is vital that we understand the way they behave. In order to better understand a political leader, it is imperative that we analyze their personality traits. This study investigates the methodological applicability of Leadership Trait Analysis by asking the following research question: Is an analysis of social media an effective way to measure the Leadership Trait Analysis personality traits of international leaders? In order to answer this question, the study utilizes Leadership Trait Analysis to analyze the personality traits portrayed within the traditional spontaneous media (interviews/press conferences) for …

How Minority Candidates' Intersectional Identities Affect Their Use Of Race And Gender Issue Ownership Campaign Strategies, Mary ("Emma") M. Cotter

Senior Independent Study Theses

This Independent Study explores the ways in which a candidate’s intersectional identity affects their use of gender and race issue ownership techniques in their political campaigns. While prior research has studied the campaign strategies of (white) female candidates and black (male) candidates, it has not studied the effects of possessing multiple minority identities on the campaign strategies employed by black female candidates. Scholars have found that female candidates benefit from embracing gender issue ownership in their campaigns, while black candidates benefit from rejecting race issue ownership in their campaigns. I theorize that black female candidates’ intersectional identities preclude them from …

Understanding Behavioral And Emotional Responses To Frames Used By Animal Rights Organizations In The United States And France, Alysa Tarrant

Senior Independent Study Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine how varying demographics among French and American populations responded to three types of frames used by animal rights organizations: ethical, environmental, and health related. A two by three experimental design in which participants saw two images corresponding to one of the three frames was distributed. The survey measured each respondent’s political opinions, emotional response, and behavioral response through self-designed scales. The study finds that culture and political ideologies play a significant role in influencing frame response, such that the French respondents were more emotionally and behaviorally influenced than Americans, and that liberals …