Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Bringing A Missing Minority Into Focus: Foster Parents’ Voices And Their Impact On Foster Children’S Academic Experiences, Clair Rutherford

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Foster children face persistent educational inequities shaped by trauma, frequent placement changes, and systemic barrierswithin schools. This dissertation investigates how foster parents perceive and influence the educational experiences of the children in their care, emphasizing the intersection of advocacy, trauma-informed teaching, and institutional response. Grounded in trauma-informed pedagogy, critical ecology and curriculum studies, the study interrogates how schools both support and constrain foster children’s educational opportunities. An arts-based methodology was employed, combining fictionalized portraiture and digital ethnography. Data sources included foster parent social media posts, reflexive journalling, and researcher positionality as both teacher and foster parent. Composite narratives were constructed …

Approval Of Parent-Child Aggression As A Mediator Of Intergenerational Child Abuse Risk: An Evaluation Of Racial Differences, Casie H. Morgan, Christina M. Rodriguez, Doris F. Pu, Zoe O. Elkins

Psychology Faculty Publications

Purpose

Personal history of parent-child aggression (PCA) can predict future parenting behavior, but some effects may differ between racial groups. Black parents in the U.S. are more likely to encounter discrimination and personally experience and approve of PCA, which may account for previously reported group differences. This study examined whether personal PCA history predicted later parental child abuse risk mediated by PCA approval across the transition to parenthood, and whether effects differed by race.

Methods

Expectant parents (non-Hispanic White sample: 95 mothers with 86 fathers; Black sample: 94 mothers with 85 fathers) participated in a prospective longitudinal study, assessed prenatally …

Using Mindfulness To Manage Moral Injury In Veterans: Feasibility And Satisfaction Of A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, Michelle L. Kelley, Adrian J. Bravo, Elizabeth E. Burgin, Susan A. Gaylord, Christine Vinci, Megan Strowger, Jeffrey M. Gabelmann, Joseph M. Currier

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective

The present study assessed program feasibility and satisfaction among recent-era veterans who participated in Mindfulness to Manage Moral Injury (MMMI), a live facilitated web-based 7-week mindfulness-based program targeting moral injury among veterans.

Method

In total, 56 post-9/11 veterans were recruited with 28 randomized to the MMMI condition and 28 to the Education and Support (ES) condition. Most participants identified as being White (71.4%), male (66.1%), and had a reported mean age of 41.50 years (Median = 39.50, SD = 9.26).

Results

Among the 56 participants, 82.1% attended at least one treatment session and 44.6% completed all seven sessions. There …

Anhedonia Links Sleep Problems And Suicidal Thoughts: An Intensive Longitudinal Study In High-Risk Adolescents, Kinjal K. Patel, Jaclyn C. Kearns, Dan Foti, Wilfred R. Pigeon, Evan M. Kleiman, Catherine R. Glenn

Psychology Faculty Publications

Growing research indicates that sleep problems are a robust independent risk factor for suicidal thoughts and behaviors among youth. However, relatively little is known about how this risk is conferred. This study used an intensive longitudinal design to investigate anhedonia as a mechanism linking sleep problems and next-day suicidal thoughts in a clinically high-risk sample of adolescents. Adolescents (N = 48; M_age=14.96; 77.1% white, 64.6% female) completed an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study design for 28 days following discharge from acute psychiatric care for suicide risk. Daily sleep diaries were used to assess prior night total sleep …

Psychometric Evaluation Of A Novel Measure Of Trauma-Related Cannabis Use To Cope, Sage E. Hawn, Terrell A. Hicks, Christopher Latourrette, Anita Thomas, Daniela Chaname, Sarah Ehlke, Abigail Powers Lott

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and cannabis use disorder (CUD) are commonly comorbid and are associated with many negative public health outcomes. One plausible explanation for this comorbidity comes from a self-medication framework, which suggests people use cannabis to cope with PTSD symptoms. Despite theoretical and empirical evidence for PTSD-related cannabis use to cope, no measure of this construct exists.

Objective: We sought to address this gap by developing and validating a novel measure of PTSD-specific cannabis self-medication, which we have termed the Trauma-Related Cannabis Use to Cope (TRCU) questionnaire.

Method: The psychometric properties of the TRCU and how it …

Influence Of Time Pressure And Flood Information Type On Flood Alert Effectiveness In Driving, Katherine R. Garcia, Scott Mishler, Jing Chen

Psychology Faculty Publications

Flood alerts are a means of risk communication that alerts the public to potential floods. The purpose of this research was to investigate factors that affected drivers' understanding and actions given a flood presented through a mobile navigation application. Two experiments were conducted to examine the effects of time pressure and type of flood information on drivers' planned actions when faced with potential flooding. Participants were asked about their planned actions given one type of flood information in a driving scenario either with or without time pressure. Our results indicated significant differences in participants' behaviors across the different flood information …

Brief Videos During Informed Consent May Be Helpful For Participants' Understanding Of Study Information, Abby L. Braitman, Rachel Ayala Guzman, Kristin E. Heron

Psychology Faculty Publications

Although an informed consent process is required for all research, it is not clear how well study participants read informed consent forms and understand their content. A systematic review of medical clinical trials revealed participants had only a 50% rate of understanding for concepts of the consent process, including voluntary participation, blinding, and freedom to withdraw, with lower rates for randomization, risks, and safety issues (Pietrzykowski & Smilowska, 2021). This issue may be more pronounced for online research, with a recent study indicating half of participants report not reading informed consent forms at all (Perrault & Keating, 2017). Although increasing …

The Impact Of Peer Observational Learning On Honesty Following A Transgression, Hannah M. Sliman, George H. Noell

Psychology Faculty Publications

Parents and teachers worry about how lying affects children's development and socialization, as research links persistent lying to delinquency, aggression, and conduct issues. To investigate this, we examined two groups: Honest and Praise versus a Control Group, exploring how exposure influenced children's honesty and confession after transgressions. The study aimed to see if observing peers receive praise for honesty could promote truthfulness. Gender's impact on reporting honesty was assessed. Results showed no significant difference in honesty between the HP and CG groups; children confessed at similar rates in both conditions. Gender did not affect honest reporting. These findings differ from …

Sounds Of Silence: Using The Stereotype Content Model To Understand Perceptions Of Introverts And Extraverts At Work, Mallory A. Mccord

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper drew on the stereotype content model (SCM) to clarify cultural stereotypes about introverted and extraverted people at work to increase our understanding of the stereotype-driven process that may lead to negative responses to introversion and subsequent detriment to employee health and well-being. The hypothesis that introverted workers would be rated as lower in warmth and competence than extraverted workers was examined across three studies. Study 1 used qualitative content analyses to assess open responses that freely described introverted and extraverted colleagues. Study 2 tested the hypothesis quantitatively using established measures of warmth and competence. Finally, Study 3 tested …

Family Stress Processes Underlying Covid-19-Related Economic Insecurity For Mothers And Fathers And Children's Internalizing Behavior Problems, Joyce Y. Lee, Shawna J. Lee, Sehun Oh, Amy Xu, Angelise Radney, Christina M. Rodriguez

Psychology Faculty Publications

COVID‐19 and its economic fallout have resulted in unprecedented financial insecurity and material hardship for many American families, with a disproportionately negative impact on children and families from socioeconomically disadvantaged contexts. The current study applied the family stress model to examine the family processes underlying pandemic‐related economic insecurity and children's internalizing behaviours. Online survey data from an economically diverse sample of mothers and fathers, who experienced at least one type of pandemic‐related economic insecurity in the United States (N = 259), were collected across two longitudinal time points in the early weeks of COVID‐19: (1) 14 April and (2) 30 …

Graduate And Undergraduate Quantitative Education In Psychology In The United States: A Mixed Methods Approach, Abby L. Braitman, James M. Henson

Psychology Faculty Publications

Quantitative methodology is part of the core curriculum for training in psychology and is required of graduate students across all subdisciplines; as such, the depth and breadth of course content is a universal issue among psychology training programs. Required and supplemental quantitative content is constantly evolving with the development of new techniques or applications. Therefore, the purpose of this inquiry was fourfold; we aimed to (1) describe the current state of undergraduate quantitative education and establish a common set of current undergraduate curricular topics; (2) characterize graduate quantitative education in terms of required coursework, optional coursework, and omitted topics; (3) …

Vagally Mediated Heart Rate Variability Modulates The Association Between The Perceived Workload And The Stroop Effect On Behavioral Performance, Xiao Yang, Michael Gazzanigo, Fang Fang, Spencer House

Psychology Faculty Publications

Vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) reflects top-down cognitive processes involved in emotion-cognition integration. Using cognitive control can be effortful and increase negative affect. However, this intrinsic affective component of cognitive control has not been well studied, and the role of vmHRV in the association between subjective experience in using cognitive control and behavioral performance remains unknown. The current study aimed to examine the relationship of vmHRV with cognitive control and perceived workload in a cognitive task. Eighty-one participants performed the Stroop interference task. Participants rated subjective workload using the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) scale for congruent and incongruent …

Identifying Salient Social, Environmental, And Situational Contexts Of College Drinking: Impacts Across Drinking Outcomes, Abby L. Braitman, Jennifer L. Shipley, Megan Strowger, Emily S. Renzoni

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background and Objectives: Drinking context, such as where, why, and under what social conditions drinking occurs, is consistently associated with daily variability in alcohol use. However, ecological momentary assessment (EMA) requires very brief measurement, not allowing for as many contextual assessments as researchers may like. The current investigation examined common contextual predictors and their associations with different alcohol outcomes.

Methods: A sample of N=528 college drinkers completed three surveys about their most recent drinking episode. This included contextual predictors (location, social context, who was present, alcohol offers, and drinking motives), as well as typical drinking outcomes (number of drinks, estimated …

Evaluation Of A 20-Item Version Of The Trauma-Related Drinking To Cope Questionnaire, Sage E. Hawn, Lauren Smith, Kaytlin Armitage, Selah Ball, Cathy Lau-Barraco, Abigail Powers, Ananda B. Amstadter

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objectives: This study sought to develop and psychometrically evaluate an expanded version of the Trauma-Related Drinking to Cope (TRD) scale, a four-item self-report tool, which was developed to address a crucial gap in self-medication research. Before the development of the TRD, no measures existed which assessed alcohol use for coping with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) specifically. Previous work showed that the TRD has strong psychometric properties and clinical utility in its ability to identify individuals with PTSD who may be at risk for developing comorbid alcohol use disorder (AUD). The aim of the present study was to develop …

Am I As Effective At Identifying Emotions As Artificial Intelligence? A Comparative Study Of Emotional Recognition, Traci R. Grove, Alexandra T. Lucas, Maryann Martin, Cathleen M. Deckers, Lulu Sherif Mahmood, Nicole Danaher-Garcia, Mark W. Scerbo, Suzan Kardong-Edgren, Janice C. Palaganas

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background

Learning conversations, or dialogues aimed at deepening understanding and reflection, are deeply influenced by emotions. Effective communication is influenced by emotional intelligence - the ability to recognize, understand, and manage both one’s own and others’ emotions. While advances in artificial intelligence (AI) offer new tools for emotion recognition, these technologies still struggle with accurately interpreting subtle and culturally diverse emotional expressions, sparking debate about their reliability and effectiveness. This article provides a comparative analysis of human versus AI recognition of emotions during an end-of-course reflective learning conversation.

Methods

Emotions during a structured post-conference debriefing were analyzed and coded by …

Parent Ptsd, Social Support And Differential Associations With Facets Of Anxiety Sensitivity, Kristen Bermingham, Christopher Latourrette, Karen G. Chartier, Spit For Science Working Group, Ananda B. Amstadter, Kaitlin Bountress

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Anxiety Sensitivity (AS), the belief that anxiety experiences have negative implications, is a prospective predictor of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and has been linked to changes in PTSD in experimental studies. AS is comprised of three sub-components: cognitive, physical, and social concerns. PTSD is moderately heritable and parental PTSD may increase risk for these AS facets both directly and through environmental influences like reduced social support.

Objective: The present study will examine whether Parent PTSD is associated with reduced social support and in turn facets of AS.

Method: Participants were recruited from an ongoing longitudinal study of college student …

Understanding The "Paradox" In Black-White Alcohol Outcomes: Examining High-Effort Coping And Health Behaviors With A Focus On Black Populations And College Students, Rachel Ayala Guzman, Abby L. Braitman

Psychology Faculty Publications

Despite experiencing more physical health disadvantages and psychosocial stressors, Black Americans consistently report better mental health outcomes compared to White Americans—a phenomenon commonly referred to as the Black-White health paradox. Alcohol research has identified another racial paradox suggesting Black Americans are at greater risk for alcohol-related problems despite drinking less than White Americans, which is known as the Black-White alcohol paradox. While both paradoxes are well-documented, few studies have examined their potential overlap or how insights from one might inform understanding of the other. Although the alcohol paradox is usually examined among older adults, it may be important to consider …

The Perceived Internalized Sexual Stigma Measure (Prissm): A New Sexual Stigma Measure For Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Individuals, Miguel A. Padilla, Lacey M. Schlappi, Evelyn S. Chiang

Psychology Faculty Publications

Society has long held negative beliefs and attitudes, in the form of sexual stigma, towards sexual minorities (e.g., lesbian, gay, and bisexual; LGB). Sexual stigma can be adopted and internalized by LGB individuals as their own beliefs and attitudes. In LGB individuals, internalized sexual stigma can result in psychological distress such as low self-esteem, depression, shame, and feelings of rejection. However, an instrument to assess internalized sexual stigma specifically developed for LGB individuals is lacking. The present study focuses on the development of a new instrument, the Perceived Internalized Sexual Stigma Measure (PrISSM), that is inclusive of LGB individuals who …

Cellphone Separation Modulates The Effects Of Working Memory Load On Ex-Gaussian Parameters Of Choice Reaction Time, Michael Gazzanigo, Alexa Quesnel, Catalina Roldan, Xiao Yang

Psychology Faculty Publications

Cognitive effects of cellphone dependency among young adults have garnered increasing research attention. While cellphones have been identified as a distractor in daily tasks, related psychological processes remain unclear. As a potential mechanism underlying those effects of cellphones, excessive working memory (WM) load has not yet been well examined. Our study investigated the effects of the mental representation of cellphone separation on WM. Seventy-five participants (M(age) = 21.3 years; 55 females, 20 males) were assigned into three groups: the cued separation, natural separation, or control group, and completed a block of choice reaction time (CRT) task, and a dual-task block: …

Similarity May Be Safer: The Effect Of Similarity Between Speech-Based Takeover Request Style And Driver Personality On Self-Driving Takeover Performance, Keer Ma, Jianfeng Wu, Yanxi Lin, Zihan Li, Songyang Guo, Dongfang Jiao, Shihan Yu

Psychology Faculty Publications

In Level 3 automated driving, it is critical that drivers can rapidly and effectively shift from non-driving related tasks (NDRT) back to the driving task. While previous research has examined the modality, timing, and vocal characteristics of takeover requests (TORs), little is known about how the style of speech-based TORs interacts with drivers’ personality traits. This study conducted a driving simulator experiment with 49 participants using a 2 × 2 within-subjects design. Drawing on the dominant-submissive dimension of personality, we examined the similarity of personality tendencies between speech-based TORs and drivers under takeover scenarios of varying urgency (low: road construction; …

Trustworthiness And Trust: Identifying Factors That Drive Successful Human-Ai Interaction In Nuclear Power Plant Applications, Yusuke Yamani, Austin Jackson, Casey Kovesdi, Jeffrey Joe, Jeremy Mohon

Psychology Faculty Publications

Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are rapidly evolving and promising tools for efficient and continued safe operations of the U.S. nuclear power plants (NPPs). Emerging AI techniques like large language models (LLMs) are one such technology that may help personnel at existing NPPs perform work more efficiently. For example, operators may query the current operational status of a power plant via a chat interface, leveraging LLMs to access plant-related information in an interactive manner rather than manually collecting various sensor data for surveillance or work order tasks. This is a fundamental shift in the way …

Automation To Autonomy: Temporal Dynamics Of Trust And Visual Attention Allocation Did Not Evolve, Tetsuya Sato, Eric Chancey, Yusuke Yamani

Psychology Faculty Publications

Emerging work environments are expected to implement autonomy that performs various functions without human input. Previous works has shown that trust in automation is negatively correlated with visual attention allocation, indicating that trust is a dynamic construct. Moreover, trust in automation and trust in autonomy appears to evolve in similar ways. However, recent work has demonstrated differences between trust in automation and trust in autonomy within Kaber’s (2018) theoretical framework (Sato et al., 2023b). Yet, it is uncertain whether the development of trust and visual attention allocation differs between automation and autonomy. The present study examined the temporal dynamics of …

The Interacting Roles Of Attention Allocation And Trust In Highly Automated Aam Environments, Yusuke Yamani

Psychology Faculty Publications

[First slide]

Mechanisms of attentive visual processing

• Attention control
• Visual search
• Eye movement
• Aging and individual differences

Limits of human performance in applied environment

• Complex displays
• Machine operation
• Surface transportation
• Advanced air mobility
• Nuclear operation

Methods to ameliorate human cognitive performance

• Human-machine interface
• Human autonomy/AI teaming
• Human-systems integration
• Training

A Multilevel Framework For The Promotion Of Maternal Mental Health And Well-Being During The Perinatal Period, Jenn A. Leiferman, Jessica Walls Wilson, Charlotte V. Farewell, Chelsea Walker-Mao, James F. Paulson

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Depression and anxiety are prevalent in the perinatal period and may contribute to adverse maternal and child health outcomes. A focus on multilevel protective factors may be effective in promoting well-being and increasing quality of life (QOL) in the perinatal period while simultaneously reducing or preventing depression and anxiety symptoms. We tested a conceptual model that posits specific personal, social, and community factors affecting depression, anxiety, and QOL among pregnant and postpartum individuals.

Methods: Four hundred and thirty-eight pregnant or postpartum individuals completed a 121-item cross-sectional survey composed of validated tools that assessed multilevel protective factors, health behaviors, and …

Psychosocial Determinants Of Public Transportation Use Among Brazilian And American Users: An Integrated Modeling Approach, Ingrid Luiza Neto, Hartmut Günther, Bryan E. Porter, Taciano L. Milfont, Pastor Willy Gonzales Taco, Caroline Cardoso Machado

Psychology Faculty Publications

Overreliance on cars can promote individual, environmental, economic and social problems, requiring the development of measures to reduce car use and encourage the use of more sustainable transport options. Contributing to this call, here we report a cross-cultural study conducted in Brazil (n = 312) and the United States (n = 518) investigating the applicability of the model of Bamberg and Möser in predicting the use of public transport. Results indicated the model is equivalent across samples, regarding both the measures and the relations between the variables of the model. Intention strongly predicted self-reported public transport behaviour, explaining 70% of …

Drinking Motives And Alcohol Sensitivity Mediate Multidimensional Genetic Influences On Alcohol Use Behaviors, Jeanne E. Savage, Spit For Science Working Group, Danielle M. Dick

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background

Genetic influences account for a substantial proportion of individual differences in alcohol use behaviors (AUBs). However, multiple distinct sets of genes are linked to different AUBs via uncertain causal links. Here, we explore whether intermediate neurobiological traits mediate the relationship between polygenic scores (PGSs) and multiple AUBs, with the aim to better understand processes captured by different genetic profiles.

Methods

We derived four alcohol-related PGSs in participants from Spit for Science, a longitudinal study of college students in the United States (n=4549). Using linear regression, we tested the relationship between PGSs and 22 potential mediators, including personality, …

Are Csr Incidents Truly Bad News?, Chen Chen, John A. Doukas, Rongyao Gloria Zhang

Finance Faculty Publications

We revisit whether disclosures of negative Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) incidents adversely affect firms' stock prices. While univariate tests reveal significant negative abnormal returns around incident announcements, the effect disappears once firm characteristics, industry, and time‐fixed effects are controlled for. We find no robust evidence that CSR incidents or firms' Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitments influence stock price reactions on the event day or across broader windows. These results suggest that previously documented negative market responses may be attributable to endogeneity. Our baseline results are consistent with informed trading behavior: short‐sellers do not increase activity in incident‐related stocks relative …

The Impact Of Short-Term Rental Activity On House Prices: Evidence From Coastal Virginia, Navid Safari, Lei Zhang, Timothy M. Komarek

Finance Faculty Publications

Short-term rentals such as Airbnb have grown substantially in recent years. In this study, we investigated the effect of Airbnb rentals on neighboring house prices in Hampton Roads, Virginia. We focus on three different measures of Airbnb activity to obtain more robust results. Our measures include active Airbnb listings, active listings with at least one reservation, and the sum of reservations over three different periods. Consistent with previous literature, our main results show that prior Airbnb rental activity has a positive impact on the surrounding housing sales prices. Furthermore, the localized impact diminishes over geographic space (i.e., distances greater than …

Labor Heterogeneity, Labor Adjustment Costs, And Externally Financed Firm Growth, Enxi An, Kenneth Yung

Finance Faculty Publications

Highlights

• Because skilled workers entail higher hiring and firing expenses, firms tend to retain skilled workers in the face of the high labor adjustment costs (LACs).

• The retention of skilled workers imposes inflexibility on business operations and exposes firms to cash flow shocks.

• Firms with high LACs hoard precautionary cash in the face of higher cash flow risk.

• We find a positive relationship between LACs and externally financed firm growth.

• Equity is the major source of external funds for firm growth in the face of high LACs.

• The retention of skilled workers elevates conflicts …

Transformative Impact Of Ai And Digital Technologies On The Fintech Industry: A Comprehensive Review, Soudeh Pazouki, Behdad Jamshidi, Armia Jalali, Arya Tafreshi

Finance Faculty Publications

This paper examines the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies on the financial technology (FinTech) industry and demonstrates how AI- enabled strategies are increasing the ability of businesses not only to grow, but also to better serve their customers through operational efficiencies. But as immersive as the technological advancements may be, they present challenges in connection with increasingly complicated licensing regulations and a constantly evolving technological landscape. We examine the way AI and algorithms are streamlining workflows, enhancing productivity and expanding access to financial resources for traditionally under – served populations. The paper also discusses the macroeconomic implications …