Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

"I Still Care About Her": Ambiguous Loss And Social Death In Substance-Affected Relationships, Margaret M. King

University Honors Theses

Substance use creates a ripple effect, affecting the individual as well as their family members. The struggles associated with problematic substance use result in feelings of ambiguous loss towards the substance using individual, a type of loss in which a person is still living but either psychologically or physically unavailable. This research explores the experiences of ambiguous loss in college students with loved ones struggling with substance use, examining how they are thrust into caregiving roles, experience support, and find meaning within their loss. Seven semi-structured interviews were held with adult college students who identified as having a loved-one struggling …

Meeting The Needs: Examining The Response To Houselessness In Portland, Or, Miguel Angel Lopez Paz

University Honors Theses

All across the nation, there is an affordable housing crisis that has led to many people losing their homes. In this paper, This paper examines the current response to ending unsheltered homelessness in Portland, Oregon, and the ways that this response impacts the people it is intended to serve. The current mayor, Keith Wilson, ran his campaign with a plan to expand the number of shelter beds available. This plan has had mixed results as some people have been able to benefit, while others choose not to access shelters for various reasons. Besides opening more shelters, the city has another …

The Power Of Perception: Latine Threat Narratives And Immigration Control In The United States, Nina Gallo

University Honors Theses

Despite America's rich history as a self-proclaimed "nation of immigrants," immigration policy in the United States has functioned as a tool of social control designed to systematically exclude and restrict groups of people that pose a perceived threat to national identity and safety. This perceived threat has effectively been communicated through harmful narratives that stratify immigrant communities from the rest of society. Through this framing, support for punitive immigration policies thrives. Currently, Latine immigrants and their families have been the target of discriminatory immigration policies and enforcement tactics. No work to date has synthesized the current state of the immigration …

School Counseling With Indigenous Students In Rural America: The Role Of A Counselor In Supporting An Indigenous Pedagogy Based Curriculum, Donovan Greene

University Honors Theses

Indigenous students are a huge population that are not fully supported by the school psychology field. This is primarily due to cognitive imperialism and the focus on a Western monoculture in education. This has led school psychologists and counselors feeling underprepared and lacking the tools to work with Indigenous students and as a result these  students are harmed academically and in terms of their mental wellness. This essay opens with a literature review of scholarship on school counselors working with Indigenous students. To improve relations, I suggest implementing more culturally focused interventions. Unfortunately there is a lack of research on …

Long-Covid And Cognition, Mychael Bruce

Dissertations

COVID-19 is an evolving virus that can harm the body’s respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Directly related to COVID-19 are individuals who do not recover from their initial infection, making them long haulers. Long-COVID is transitioning from a range of isolated phenomena to higher prevalence rates in patients who contracted COVID-19. Many individuals report issues with cognitive function, referred to as ‘brain fog’, that affect memory, attention, and even language skills. This literature review addresses the available research on Long-COVID and how persistent infection correlates with cognitive difficulties. It aims to explain the neurobiology of Long-COVID and how Long-COVID interacts within …

Evaluation Of Neuroplastic Changes In Psychological Intervention And Contemporary Treatments Of Depression, Taylor Severance

Dissertations

Major depressive disorder is one of the most prevalent mental health disorders worldwide. There is a vast range of treatment options for depression, with varying levels of effectiveness. Recent treatments for depression have expanded, increasing alternative treatments, and it is unknown which treatments have the largest impact on depression. This research was designed to examine the treatments of depression, with a focus on psychotherapy and contemporary treatments such as ketamine, psilocybin, and transcranial magnetic stimulation. A literature review was conducted to assess treatment outcomes and neuroplastic changes in these interventions, as well as combinations of the interventions. Data were evaluated …

Exercise Therapy For Mood Disorders In Retiring/Former Athletes, Christian Antos

Dissertations

This dissertation examined the potential integration of exercise therapy and psychotherapy as a treatment approach for mood-related difficulties experienced by former elite athletes during the transition out of competitive sport. Retirement from athletics is often associated with significant biopsychosocial challenges, including disruptions in identity, healthy routines, social support, and emotional well-being. Existing literature suggests that exercise may serve as an effective adjunctive intervention for improving mood and overall psychological functioning, though limited research has explored its application among retiring athletes within psychotherapeutic contexts. This literature review synthesized current research related to athletic retirement, neurobiological mechanisms associated with physical activity, and …

Youth Social And Emotional Development Through Sports: Skyhawks Insight, Jeremy Vincent, Michelle Van Beek

Journal of Youth Development

This study examines the impact of Skyhawks Sports Academy camps on youth participants’ social-emotional learning (SEL) competencies using an intrinsic case study approach incorporating both quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative data were gathered through SEL competency surveys and observations of coaches and qualitative data through semi-structured interviews with past and current Skyhawks coaches. A paired samples t-test analysis of the quantitative data revealed statistically significant changes in three SEL competencies: social awareness and self-management showed growth, while relationship skills declined. However, significant changes were not discovered in all categories; therefore, the null hypothesis was accepted. The observational data (scored using …

Uplifting Youth Voice Through Multi‑Level Features To Make A Splash For Positive Youth Development, Sylvia Y. Gutierrez, Kellie A. Walters, Jayne A, Fulkerson, Nancy Sherwood, Eydie Kramer-Kostecka

Journal of Youth Development

This study explored how a multicomponent health promotion program for pre-adolescent girls could be adapted to support positive youth development across diverse cultural and community contexts. In summer 2022, trained research staff conducted six focus groups with 27 girls from urban and rural communities in the Midwestern United States. Participants reviewed the original program curriculum and provided feedback on program activities, structure, relationships, and implementation strategies. Sessions were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically using qualitative software and manual review. Girls provided feedback on multiple program components, resulting in 12 themes aligned with eight established features of positive developmental …

Beyond The Page: Transmedia Storytelling To Promote Gedsi Among Youth, Clara Evi Candrayuli Citraningtyas, Gita Widya Laksmini Soerjoatmodjo, Isti Utami, - Supriyanto, Slamet Budiharjo

Journal of Youth Development

This article presents the results of an applied experimental study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of a transmedia storytelling approach in increasing youth understanding and awareness of gender equality, disability, and social inclusion (GEDSI) issues. The study involved 198 young people aged 17–25 years who were randomly divided into control and experimental groups, with a pre- and post-test design to measure changes in attitudes and understanding. The intervention was done to the experimental group through a series of participatory activities: transmedia storytelling modules, quizzes, participatory games, and focus group discussion. The results showed an increase in GEDSI understanding and awareness …

How Adults Can Bridge The Trust Gap With Youth, Dana Mitra, Ghadir Al Saghir, Ashley Boat, Jerusha O. Conner, Samantha Holquist

Journal of Youth Development

Research has established positive relationships and trust as cornerstones for successful youth-adult partnerships (YAPs), yet limited work addresses how to sustain struggling partnerships, particularly in low-trust environments. Using an explanatory, sequential mixed-methods design, this study first quantitatively affirmed the importance of strong teacher-student relationships as precursors for the formation of classroom YAPs (known here as Student Voice Partnerships or SVPs). Subsequent qualitative data explains that youth define these relationships through the lens of trust, actively assessing adults to determine their trustworthiness—a process aligning with concepts of discernment and calculation. Drawing on organizational trust and relational resilience frameworks, this study offers …

Afterschool Program Attendance And Academic Outcomesin A Vermont District, Hans W. Cabra Hernandez

Journal of Youth Development

Afterschool programs can bridge opportunity gaps by providing children with venues for learning and cultivating socioemotional skills. This paper examines the relationship between attendance in afterschool programs in a Vermont school district and two academic outcomes (the Scholastic Reading Inventory/SRI and the EasyCMB math test) using cross-sectional data from Spring 2018. Using multivariate regression analysis, this study found a positive association between afterschool program attendance and academic achievement on these tests. Moreover, the findings indicate the persistence of socioeconomic academic disparities. While the study’s design does not permit causal claims, the results suggest that afterschool programs are a valuable resource …

Relationships Matter: External Factors Influence High School Completion Among Black Young Adults, L. B. Simmons, Shawn Jones, Sepideh S. Soheilian, Chelsea Williams

Journal of Youth Development

To identify whether and how contextual (i.e., spiritual, educational, and cultural contexts) and relational (i.e., physical and psychological caregiving) resilience influence high school completion among Black young adults, the team conducted logistic regression and moderation analyses. The interaction between contextual resilience and relational resilience revealed that at higher levels of relational resilience, increased contextual resilience is associated with an increased likelihood of high school completion. Importantly, the findings also suggest that at lower levels of relational resilience, increased contextual resilience is associated with a decreased likelihood of high school completion among Black young adults. Themes emerging from this study highlight …

4‑H Efforts Toward Demographic Representation, 1980–2025: A State‑Of‑The‑Art Review (Part 1), Jeremy Elliott-Engel, Jeff Wayne Howard

Journal of Youth Development

This state-of-the-art review synthesizes 45 years of scholarship (1980–2025) to assess how effectively the 4-H program has worked to serve a demographically representative youth population. Drawing on academic and gray literature (n=99) sources, the review traces 4-H’s evolution from its segregated land grant origins to contemporary efforts focused on access, equity, inclusion, and belonging. It documents progress in culturally responsive programming and national diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) initiatives while highlighting persistent disparities in participation and benefit distribution. The review identifies effective strategies, enduring structural barriers, and areas where research and practice remain limited, offering a comprehensive foundation for understanding 4-H’s …

Relationships Matter: External Factors Influence High School Completion Among Black Young Adults, L. Blair Simmons, Shawn Ct Jones, Sepideh S. Soheilian, Chelsea D. Williams

Journal of Youth Development

To identify whether and how contextual (i.e., spiritual, educational, and cultural contexts) and relational (i.e., physical and psychological caregiving) resilience influence high school completion among Black young adults, the team conducted logistic regression and moderation analyses. The interaction between contextual resilience and relational resilience revealed that at higher levels of relational resilience, increased contextual resilience is associated with an increased likelihood of high school completion. Importantly, the findings also suggest that at lower levels of relational resilience, increased contextual resilience is associated with a decreased likelihood of high school completion among Black young adults. Themes emerging from this study highlight …

Youth Engagement With Rural School & Community Institutions: Implications For Future Orientation, Hannah Falcone, Cindy L. Hartman, Jayson Seaman, Andrew D. Coppens, Kate Moscouver

Journal of Youth Development

Rural youth in the United States have long demonstrated a consistent pattern of outmigration from their rural communities, often driven by aspirations for higher education and specialized careers available elsewhere. This qualitative study explores the positive youth development (PYD) experiences of youth in rural New Hampshire, focusing on how schools, community engagement, work, and experiences in nature shape their development and future orientation. Eighteen youth ages 14–19 participated in online interviews. Data were analyzed using both inductive and deductive strategies, including the application of the Developmental Systems Model of PYD. Four key themes emerged: (a) rural schools are a central …

Table Of Contents, Journal Of Youth Development

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

Fostering Developmentally Nurturant Relationships To Promote Character And Thriving: Perspectives Of Program Practitioners In Rural South Africa, Jonathan M. Tirrell, Alexa Hasse, Margaret Mackin, Elizabeth Dowling, Kirsten Olander, Roya Abbasi-Asl, Katherine Mcconnel, Thobeka Kwela, Raah Msimango, Justine Mccarthy-Martin, Tyler Howard, Angela Larkan, Richard Lerner

Journal of Youth Development

Developmentally nurturant relationships are fundamental to enabling children to thrive across contexts, including homes, schools, and communities. Such relationships are also a central feature of effective positive youth development (PYD) programming. As strengths-based PYD programs are increasingly being adopted in majority-world countries, a better understanding of how to foster and promote developmentally nurturant relationships is needed. As part of the Thanda Study of Character and Health, we interviewed 15 program practitioners about their understandings of and approaches to fostering developmentally nurturant relationships with children enrolled in Thanda programs in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Phenomenological analysis indicated that practitioners’ understanding of …

Disrupting The Time Space Continuum: Time Travel As Methodological Practice For Building Evaluation Capacity, Linetta Alexander

The Foundation Review

Dominant Western ideology limits our understanding of and engagement with time, representing it as a linear two-dimensional arrow that moves forward in one direction from the past to the future. Viewing the past, present, and future as distinct and disconnected phases can hinder the growth and improvement of organizations working on building their evaluation capacity.

In contrast to Western notions of time, Indigenous cultures of the Americas and Africa understand the interconnectedness of all aspects of being, that our experiences are more cyclical, where birth leads to death and death to rebirth. The Sankofa principle, rooted in Akan philosophy, states …

How, For Whom, And Under What Conditions: Using A Causal Pathways Approach To Support The Goals Of Philanthropic Evaluation, Drew Koleros, Sophie Bright, Dana Harrison, Megan Shoji, Tina Fletcher

The Foundation Review

Causal pathways approaches are gaining traction as evaluators seek methods that move beyond descriptive analysis to rigorously explain how, for whom, and under what conditions change occurs in complex systems. Yet there remains limited practical guidance on how to operationalize these approaches in real-world philanthropic contexts or assess their quality.

This article addresses these gaps through a case study of an evaluation taking a causal pathways approach that examines students’ experiences in four virtual and hybrid K–12 learning models. Using a realist evaluation design within a broader causal pathways orientation, the authors collaboratively developed theories of change, iteratively tested and …

Public Attitudes Toward Cascade Genetic Screening In The United States, Hadley Stevens Smith, Emilie S Zoltick, Madison R Hickingbotham, Emily S Bonkowski, Stacey Pereira, Tara A Lavelle, David L Veenstra, Amy L Mcguire, Katherine E Bonini, Leila Jamal

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Introduction: After a patient receives genetic test results that indicate an actionable health condition, cascade genetic screening (CGS) is the process of evaluating the patient's relatives for a potentially elevated genetic risk of disease. The United States primarily relies on patients to communicate with their relatives, resulting in suboptimal rates of risk communication, familial genetic testing uptake, and risk-reducing interventions. There is ongoing debate about whether and how best to inform relatives of a potentially increased genetic risk.

Methods: We conducted a nationally representative survey of US adults to assess attitudes toward informing at-risk relatives, acceptability of system-mediated communication, and …

The Political Economy Of Mandatory Disclosure: A Literature Review, Hao Liang, Hanyu Zhang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Reviewing the literature on mandatory corporate disclosure from a political economy perspective, we synthesize the classic justifications for disclosure regulations while emphasizing why voluntary disclosure often fails to achieve socially efficient transparency. We also highlight how legal institutions, enforcement capacity, and political forces shape the design, credibility, and effectiveness of disclosure mandates. Drawing on evidence from international and China-focused studies, we review empirical findings on how mandatory disclosure affects investor protection, information environments, and firm behavior, showing that similar reporting rules yield different outcomes across institutional settings. We further extend the discussion to ESG and climate-related disclosure to examine emerging …

Public Acceptance Of Meat-Reduction Policies Across Cultures: Comparing Singapore And Switzerland, Bianca Wassmann, Shu Tian Ng, Mark Chong, Angela K. Y. Leung, Michael Siegrist

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Purpose – As meat-reduction policies are discussed across the globe, many are met with public resistance. Cultural values may help explain this pushback, yet their role in shaping support for food policy remains poorly understood. This study is the first to apply cultural cognition theory to food policy by examining how cultural worldviews shape the acceptance of meat-reduction interventions in Singapore and Switzerland—two economically developed countries with contrasting cultural profiles. Design/methodology/approach – In an online survey, participants (Singapore: n = 357; Switzerland: n = 495) rated their acceptance of 11 meat-reduction interventions (e.g. taxes, subsidies, labelling). We then analysed to …

Durable Benefits Of Learning-By-Teaching For Research Question Generation Performance: A Field Experiment, Stephen Wee Hun Lim, Sarah Shi Hui Wong, Piyawan Visessuvanapoom

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Generating good questions is central to scientific inquiry. How can we improve this skill in classrooms? This field experiment showed that teaching others enhances students’ ability to generate higher-order research questions that create new knowledge. Whereas learning-by-teaching often involves delivering face-to-face or video-recorded lectures, we tested its efficient implementation via writing a verbatim (i.e., word-for-word) teaching script, exactly as how one would orate a lecture. In a research and statistical methods course, 199 undergraduates studied statistical concepts by writing verbatim teaching scripts or study notes. One month later, students’ long-term learning was assessed on a high-stakes test, whereby they explained …

Just-In-Time Brokerage: Commodifying Women’S Casual Labor In China’S Capitalist Agriculture, Hui Ma, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

What social processes are required not only to recruit workers, but to repeatedly assemble and deliver labor power as a usable commodity in the specific quantity, quality, and timing demanded by capitalist production? In the commercial mushroom cultivation in rural China studied here, this problem is solved through a distinctive form of informal intermediation – just-in-time brokerage – carried out by female labor brokers who organize the supply of village women’s casual labor. Drawing on qualitative field research, we show that brokerage here goes beyond recruiting semi-proletarianized rural women into wage work and revolves primarily around “provisioning”: assembling packages of …

Rethinking Ethics For An Era Of Trusted Computational Tools, Kristin M Kostick-Quenet, Meghan Hurley, John Herrington, Eric A Storch

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Computer perception (CP) technologies are poised to deliver near real-time behavioral insights with high precision. As technical barriers recede, our field's ethical focus must shift from "Can we trust the data?" to "Should we use it here, and how?" We propose a contextual ethics framework that: (1) defines the appropriate scope of CP integration; (2) advocates codesigned roadmaps to manage expectations and epistemic conflict; (3) expands evaluation beyond performance metrics to humanistic outcomes; and (4) anticipates future high performance systems to safeguard dignity, empathy, and shared decision-making in clinical care.

What To Expect When You’Re Expecting Passenger Rail: How Central Valley Communities Are Preparing For High-Speed Rail, Josephine K. Hazelton-Bpyle, Naomi Bick

Mineta Transportation Institute

Approved by California voters in 2008, the California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) project is a planned 800-mile rail corridor across California aimed at delivering intercity passenger rail service to the state’s largest metropolitan areas. This was the first voter-approved high-speed rail project in the United States and remains one of its most contentious. The first phase of the project’s construction is currently underway in California’s Central Valley, including many communities that initially opposed CAHSR. While supporters champion increased connectivity and the provision of environmentally sustainable transportation alternatives, critics contend the project’s benefits will not outweigh its environmental costs and economic disruptions. …

Long-Term Mine Planning: A Survey Of Classical, Hybrid And Artificial Intelligence-Based Methods, Nurul Asyikeen Azhar, Aldy Gunawan, Shih-Fen Cheng, Erwin Leonardi

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The aim of long-term mine planning (LTMP) is two-fold: to maximize the net present value of profits (NPV) and determine how ores are sequentially processed over the lifetime. This scheduling task is computationally complex as it is rife with variables, constraints, periods, uncertainties, and unique operations. In this paper, we present trends in the literature in the recent decade. One trend is the shift from deterministic toward stochastic problems as they reflect real-world complexities. A complexity of growing concern is also in sustainable mine planning. Another trend is the shift from traditional operational research solutions — relying on exact or …

Potential Recyclable Materials In Buildings: A Framework For Greenhouse Gas Emissions Assessment Of Residential Buildings In Singapore, Pradeep Alva, Riccardo Talami, Wanyu Pei, Goran Sibenik, Martin Mosteiro-Romero, Clayton Miller, Rudi Stouffs

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

As countries aim to reduce resource consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Whole Life Carbon Assessment (WLCA) has become a vital method for quantifying embodied and operational GHG emissions. However, few studies have conducted WLCA on an urban scale, often addressing operational or embodied GHG emissions in isolation without considering their cumulative impact. This study introduces a city-wide WLCA framework to assess the potential recyclable materials of urban building stock, using Singapore as a case study with 5915 public residential buildings. Upfront GHG emissions are calculated from material intensity and building information, while operational emissions are based on energy use …

Navigating “I” And “We”: Coupled Identity And Spousal Influence In The Physical Activity Of Older Adults, Sapphire H. Lin, Rich Ling, Sonny Rosenthal

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This study explored how established dyadic social ties—particularly spousal relationships—influence older adults’ physical activity. While social support is often viewed as a positive force in promoting health behaviours, long-standing spousal dynamics can exert both enabling and constraining effects. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 22 older adults who participated in a field experiment examining the effects of feedback from fitness trackers and spousal influence, this study delves into the relational, individual, and situational factors shaping physical activity patterns. These factors led to both positive and negative outcomes in terms of step counts, goal attainment, and a diminished interdependence in couples’ physical …