Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Activism And Stress, Ashanti Laine T. Peredo, Taylor Gayton, Lalaine Sevillano

Student Research Symposium

Black women often shoulder a heavier burden of financial, social, and physical responsibilities within their families compared to non-Black individuals who do not identify as women. This increased load contributes significantly to mental health disorders and psychological distress and well as physical disparities. When compounded with experiences of racism and sexism, these responsibilities can lead to a sense of social invisibility and foster a tendency towards stoicism. This study is a mixed method study as it aims to quantitatively examine the relationship between activism, physical wellbeing measured by the Conserved Transcriptional Response to Adversity (CTRA), and psychological wellbeing among Black …

Perceptions Of Stress: A Gendered Comparison Of Undergraduates In Stem, Molly Martin

Honors Theses

Students enrolled in undergraduate universities face numerous stressors every day. Outside of stress from their academic studies (i.e., homework, studying for exams, writing papers), they also encounter daily life stressors relating to self-sufficiency, career choices, families, housing, and many other areas. While every student deals with stress coming from multiple areas of their life, women tend to place more stress on themselves than men due to social pressure to perform well and the feeling of societal expectation to have a high stress load from which to derive personal value. Within the field of Science, Technology and Math (STEM), —a field …

A Systematic Review Of Movement-Oriented Mind-Body Interventions And Psychoneuroimmunological Outcomes For Psychological Stress And Trauma, Emma Wookey

Theses and Dissertations

Objective. The mind and body are inseparable and share bidirectional influences. Psychological stress and distress related to traumatic events are significant contributors to morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs worldwide. Mind-body movement-oriented interventions have been found to benefit one's physical and mental health via down-regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic nervous system. This systematic review aimed to identify and synthesize the research on movement-oriented mind-body interventions for trauma and stress as informed by psychoneuroimmunology. The review focused on exercise, yoga, tai chi, qi gong, and dance movement therapy that target the physiological systems impacted by psychological stress/trauma. Methods. …

Item Development And Psychometric Testing Of Work Stress Scale, Andhita Ramadhania Pristiawati, Laura Francisca Sudarnoto, Angela Oktavia Suryani

International Conference on Assessment and Learning (ICAL)

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic demanded employees work from home (Ishak & Mangundjaya, 2020). The work-from-home regulation provides several advantages, including high work flexibility. However, this regulation also creates excessive workloads and requires employees to work overtime due to various challenges from superiors with short deadlines. This situation encouraged researchers to develop an accurate psychological scale to identify the employees/ working stress. The scale comprised physical and mental individual responses to managing their uncomfortable work environment. It consists of 48 items measuring four dimensions: role overload, role conflict, role ambiguity, and role responsibility. The participants responded to the items by …

Parenting Profiles In Families Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder : A Cluster Analytic Approach, Anna Milgramm

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Parents raising children on the autism spectrum frequently report high parenting stress and caregiver strain as well as reduced quality of life. With the exception of studies that examine the role of parents within the intervention context, relatively little is known about the combinations of strategies that parents use in their daily lives to support their children’s unique symptom presentations. Even less is known about how these combinations of strategies relate to parent well-being. The current study used a person-centered approach to explore profiles of parenting behaviors among 223 caregivers of school-aged autistic children, and the clusters were compared on …

Adolescent Maltreatment, Substance Use, And Self-Efficacy : A Test Of General Strain Theory Among A Sample Of Clinical Youth, Sonya Worthington

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The relationship between adolescent maltreatment and delinquency has been of growing interest to social control, social learning, strain, and family-oriented theorist since the 1980’s. While ‘social control’, ‘social learning’, and ‘traditional strain’ theories dominated early delinquency research literature surrounding the association, the past few decades have experienced a shift from these sociological theories to those more social-psychological in nature, lending much support, credibility, and acceptance of Agnew’s General Strain Theory (GST). GST offers a theoretical framework for understanding micro-level and macro level factors that influence the likelihood of delinquency. In short, GST contends some individuals engage in criminal and deviant …

When The Goal Is To Be Less Stressed: A Naturalistic Investigation Of Academic And Self-Care Goal Completion, Stephanie Wells

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The demands of college are synonymous with stress for many students, with stress generally being related to academic success and posing a challenge for academic goals and self-care behaviors. Individual difference factors such as resilience and need for cognition may impact this stress experience as well as academic and self-care behaviors. Prior to the current study, self-care had yet to be studied in the same context as academic goal completion. The results of the present research revealed that students were significantly better at completing academic goals versus self-care goals and that self-care goal completion predicted completion of academic goals. Further, …

A Moderated Mediation Model : The Interplay Between Discrimination, Marianismo, Alcohol Use, And Culturative Stress Among Latina College Students, Yajaira A. Cabrera Tineo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Although alcohol use is on the rise among young Latina college students, little is known about drinking behaviors among this population. The present study sought to expand the current literature by examining (a) the mediating role of alcohol use in the relationship between perceived discrimination and acculturative stress, in addition to (b) competing models of conditional moderated mediation between perceived discrimination, alcohol use, marianismo beliefs, and acculturative stress, while accounting for nativity. Path analyses were conducted with data from 1243 Latina students between the ages of 18 and 25 from college campuses across the U.S. Mediation analyses indicated that alcohol …

Guarding Against Strain: The Moderating Role Of Nonwork Experiences In The Relationship Between Work-Related Hypervigilance And Strain In Correctional Officers, Samantha Getzen

Dissertations and Theses

Correctional officers (COs) are expected to remain alert in order to maintain safety within the potentially hostile prison environment. As a result, COs experience high levels of work-related hypervigilance (WHV), which has been associated with negative health and wellbeing outcomes for COs. This study examines nonwork experiences as potential boundary conditions for the relationship between WHV and strain outcomes. It was hypothesized that nonwork experiences (psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery experiences, and exercise) would weaken the relationship between WHV and strain outcomes (emotional exhaustion, physical symptoms and impaired sleep). Data were analyzed from 166 COs in Oregon. A series of hierarchical …

Intergenerational Embodiment Of Stress : How The Broader Sociocultural Environment Can Shape Child Growth And Development, Elizabeth A. Holdsworth

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Childhood growth has been a means of identifying systemic, material inequalities within populations. The plasticity of growth is responsive to multiple environmental factors, most notably adequate nutrition, but also psychosocial stress. Psychosocial stress can be a function of the social and political economic ecology, reinforcing power hierarchies within societies. This dissertation proposes that childhood growth can also reflect inequality in the distribution of psychosocial stress exposure through mothers’ feelings of a chronically stressful environment conveyed through maternal-infant interactions.

“Sticks And Stones”: Experiencing Microaggressions From The Perspectives Of The Victim, Bystander, And Perpetrator, Emily Halvorson

Honors Theses

For over thirty years, microaggressions have been studied for their weight on members of groups like ethnic and racial minorities, women and members of the LGBTQ community. Microaggressions are the routine, derogatory interactions like slights gestures, snubs or minor insults. Microaggressions yield physical and psychological distress to victims and communicate to marginalized groups the biases and prejudices against them harbored by majority group members. My thesis study explored factors such as quality of psychical and psychological health, physical health symptoms, occurrence of physical pain, resilience, and self efficacy and relationships with racial, gender, and sexual orientation-based microaggressions. I analyzed these …

Methamphetamine-Induced Modulation Of Anxiety/Depressive-Like Behaviors And Hpa Axis Output : Contributing Factors Within Stress Associated Brain Regions, Jason Jacobskind

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Methamphetamine (MA) is a psychostimulant drug of addiction that induces a wide range ofeffects. Among its many side effects is the potentiation of cellular, physiological, and behavioral changes in the stress response system. Upon exposure, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is initiated. This process entails many factors. Receiving input from other brain regions, the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus secretes corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and arginine vasopressin into the anterior pituitary gland. These together stimulate the synthesis and release of adrenocorticotropic hormone, which circulates via the blood stream to cause the release of glucocortoicoids, the stress hormone (CORT). Binding of glucocorticoids …

The Impact Of Problem Behaviors, Parenting And Availability Of Supports On Aspects Of Family Life In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Celia Tam

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

It is well documented that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to exhibit more problem behaviors compared to typical peers; moreover, parents of children with ASD are more likely to report experiencing greater parental and family stress. The current study set out to shed light on the ways and degree to which problem behaviors in children with ASD may impact multiple aspects of family life. The potential moderating role of family resources and perceived support, including emotional, physical, and disability-related support, along with certain parenting behaviors, was also explored. Participants included parents/caregivers of children diagnosed with ASD between the …

The Relationship Between Group Identification And Perceived Control Under Stressful Conditions, Fanshu Jin

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Group identification provides important psychological resources. One potential benefit is that it may relieve individuals’ strain in stressful situation by increasing their perceived personal control. The current research explores the different roles that group identification plays in reaction to stressful performance situations. In particular, it investigates the extent to which group identification impacts perceived control in performance contexts. It was hypothesized that activating group identification prior to performing a challenging task will bolster perceptions of personal control, thereby sustaining or improving performance. An experimental study was conducted that manipulated salience of group identification, either before or after exposure to a …

Life Satisfaction In Division Iaa And Division Iii Football Players, Krista Haunani Francisco

Dissertations and Theses

Level of life satisfaction is not something of which many sit down and take appraisal. However, levels of life satisfaction, especially low levels of life satisfaction, can have a direct effect on health. Low levels of life satisfaction cause an increase in self-reported stress. Inversely, high levels of stress cause a decrease in life satisfaction. This decrease in life satisfaction is associated with poor mental and physical health outcomes. A majority of student-athlete healthcare is centered around the physical aspects of health, with mental health just recently becoming a concern. It was apparent through the research for this study that …

The Evocative Effects Of Child Temperament On Parenting Stress And Behaviors, Laura Welch

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Despite recognition that parents contribute to child development, much remains to be clarified about ways child characteristics shape parents’ behaviors. For example, temperamental characteristics such as negative affectivity elicit more parenting stress (Oddi, Murdock, Vadnais, Bridgett, & Gartstein, 2013) and less effective parenting behaviors (Laukkanen, Ojansuu, Tolvanen, Alatupa, & Aunola, 2014). On the other hand, children’s effortful control is known to reduce psychological risks associated with negative affectivity (Gartstein, Putnam, & Rothbart, 2012) yet no studies have investigated whether this may consequently reduce parenting stress. Furthermore, stressed parents are more likely to engage in harsh parenting strategies (Martorell & Bugental, …

Big, Black, And Strong : Does Identification With The Strong Black Woman Archetype Strengthen The Association Between Racism-Related Stress And Emotional Eating?, Shantel Lorraine Powell

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Despite extensive research on the adverse impact of racism-related stressors on the health and well-being of people of color (Broman, Mavaddat, & Hsu, 2000; Carter, 2007; Klonoff, Landrine, & Ullman, 1999; Noh & Kaspar, 2003; Pieterse, Carter, & Ray, 2013; Utsey & Payne, 2000), little is known about the influence of racism-related stressors on the eating behaviors of Black women. The present study extended the limited literature on this topic by examining the possible contribution of cultural attitudes associated with the Strong Black Women archetype on the relation between racism-related stressors and emotional eating behaviors.

Affordances On Facebook, Stress, And Emotional Support, Caitlin Rose Rethwish

Dissertations and Theses

This study discusses Facebook as a social network site and a social media application. It compares perceived emotional support, general life stress, and media affordance-based stress from two participant samples - one that reported using the Facebook desktop site most frequently to reach out for emotional support, and one that reported using the mobile application.

The media affordance measure asked participants if perceiving a media affordance was more likely to increase or decrease their stress. In both samples, persistence was more likely to decrease stress, and personalization was more likely to increase stress. On the Facebook Desktop site, searchability was …

Comparing Stress Levels And Coping Styles In College Athletes And Non-Athletes, Melanie Martin

Honors Theses

The way individuals manage their stress levels impacts their everyday functioning. In addition to general life stressors, college athletes and college students have athletic and academic performances riding on their ability to cope with the wide variety of daily stressors. This study aimed to primarily look at the differences in stress levels and coping styles between college athletes and non-athletes. Additionally, the current research examined gender differences between the two groups regarding coping styles. College athletes did not report higher levels of perceived stress nor more positive coping styles than non-athletes as measured by the COPE questionnaire. There were significant …

Financial Strain And The Work-Home Interface: A Test Of The Work-Home Resources Model From The Study For Employment Retention Of Veterans (Serve), Mackenna Laine Perry

Dissertations and Theses

Money is consistently one of the most common and significant sources of stress in America. The American Psychological Association's annual Stress in America survey has found that money and work have been two of the top sources of "very" or "somewhat" significant stress for Americans since 2007, when the first report was released. Drawing upon the work-home resources model, this study examined the longitudinal effects of financial strain as a component of the work-home interface on a sample of 512 employed veterans from the post-9/11 era. The work-home resources model posits that contextual demands and contextual resources in one domain …

How Do Stressed Workers Make Travel Mode Choices That Are Good For Their Health, Safety, And Productivity?, Liu-Qin Yang, Brad Wipfli, Lee Cyr, Kristina Marie Currans, Liming Wang

TREC Final Reports

It is well recognized in transportation and psychology research that commuting stress has consequences for commuters' travel safety, home environment, and work performance. Little research has addressed questions involving the possible interdependence between work stress, family stress, and commuting stress: Do workers having many demands from work and family life get more stressed out from a stressful commute? Or do stressed workers try to cope with work and non-work stress by choosing more relaxing travel modes?

This proposal integrates the perspectives from transportation, psychology, and health science by focusing on the relations between commuting stress, commuting mode choice, and consequences …

How Commute Mode Choices Can Control Stress Levels, Liu-Qin Yang

TREC Project Briefs

This research integrates perspectives from transportation and psychology research by focusing on the relations between commuting stress, commuting mode choice, and consequences of such choice for commuters’ health, travel safety, and work performance. To fill the gaps in the transportation and psychology literatures, the project addresses two key research questions:

1) Under what circumstances workers experiencing commuting stress are more likely to commute via car vs. public transit vs. bicycle vs. on foot?

2) What are the different implications of choosing different commuting modes for commuters’ mental and physical health?

The Role Of Sense Of Coherence In Stressor Appraisal, Lisa Brady

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

According to the transactional theory of stress, cognitive individual differences impact stressor appraisal. Sense of Coherence (SoC) refers to an individual’s generalized perception of environmental stimuli. Individuals with a strong SoC perceive the world as more comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful and may be more likely to appraise work-related stressors as having potential for opportunities (challenges) than for obstructing personal gain (hindrances) or causing harm (threats). This study assessed the role of SoC in the appraisal of work-related stressors as challenges, hindrances, and threats. Although an individual’s SoC remains relatively stable upon reaching adulthood, there is a positive association between age …

The Role Of Resilience, Emotion Regulation, And Perceived Stress On College Academic Performance, Katherine A. Pendergast

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Stress is a common problem for college students. The goal of this thesis was to examine the relationships between protective and risk factors to experiencing stress and how these factors may predict academic performance in college students. 125 college students were surveyed twice over the course of a semester on emotion regulation strategies, trait resilience, and perceived stress. The relationships between these variables and semester GPA were analyzed using correlational, multiple regression, and hierarchical regression analyses. It was determined that trait resilience scores do predict use of emotion regulation strategies but change in stress and trait resilience do not significantly …

A Study Of Shame-Proneness, Drinking Behaviors, And Workplace Role Ambiguity Among A Sample Of Student Workers, Sarah Nielsen Haverly

Dissertations and Theses

As many as 50% of full time students are employed for pay while enrolled in secondary education (Condition of Education; Planty et al., 2009). It is well documented that college is a vulnerable time for heavy drinking, and similarly, increased consumption among the workforce continues to rise. Student workers, who occupy both roles, therefore may be particularly at risk. The present research explored potential factors related to this stressful dual role experience, which was hypothesized to be related to increased alcohol consumption. One such factor proposed was the self-conscious emotion of shame. According to Hull's (1981) Self Awareness Model, individuals …

The Impact Of Stress On Steroid Hormones And Cue Reactivity In Smokers And Gamblers, Stephanie Elaine Wemm

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Addictions, both substance and behavioral, have been conceptualized as having similar biopsychosocial processes with different opportunistic expressions (Shaffer et al., 2004). Biological processes such as the hormonal response to stress as measured by cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and the ratio of the DHEA/cortisol may be among the variables underlying the disposition to develop an addictive disorder, regardless of whether it is a substance-based or a so-called behavioral addiction. The current study aimed to examine whether physiological and psychological reactions to stress are similar in high-frequency smokers and gamblers. The subjective (urges, cravings) and physiological responses (skin conductance and heart rate) of …

Patients' Perceptions Of Stressors In The Intensive Care Unit : A Meta-Analysis, Nancy Sohier Welch

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study reveals what intensive care unit (ICU) patients from different countries consider most stressful about the ICU experience. A review of 16 independent studies on patients’ perceptions of ICU stressors yielded 10 data sets from seven countries that met criteria for inclusion in a meta-analysis. Stressors were categorized according to three types – bodily, psychological, and physical environmental – and were selected for comparison based on their frequent appearance among the top 20 stressors in each study selected. Findings showed considerable agreement between studies. Being in pain, Having tubes in the nose and mouth, and Being thirsty were …

Vulnerability And Protective Factors Of Stress-Related Drinking: An Exploration Of Individual And Day-Level Predictors Of Alcohol Involvement, Cameron Trim Mccabe

Dissertations and Theses

Problem alcohol use has far-reaching economic, intra-, and interpersonal consequences. One particularly hazardous form of drinking pertains to the consumption of alcohol as a means of regulating stress, or drinking to cope. As such, it is critical to identify pathways through which stress-related alcohol use occurs, as well as protective factors which may mitigate the aforementioned consequences. To achieve this, I conducted three studies examining these topics at multiple levels of analysis among two at risk populations for engaging in problematic drinking: College students and military service members. Study 1 is a published manuscript examining the association between personality, a …

The Role Of Recovery From Work In Work Stress-Related Drinking, Brittnie Renae Shepherd

Dissertations and Theses

Alcohol consumption has been linked to numerous adverse health and well-being outcomes; therefore determining what motivates individuals to drink is of utmost importance. One reason individuals may drink is to cope with work demands and their associated strain. This may be especially relevant for correctional officers (COs) as this occupation has been associated with high levels of job stressors and strain and heavy drinking. Drawing primarily on the job demands-resources and ego depletion models, this study examined how emotional job demands contribute to CO exhaustion and alcohol use. Additionally, interactions between common recovery from work experiences and exhaustion were tested …

A Community Engaged Approach To Address Intimate Partner Violence Among Sexual Minority Women, Rachel Marie Smith

Dissertations and Theses

In response to a dearth of empirical literature concerning the mechanisms underlying female same-sex intimate partner violence (FSSIPV) perpetration, the purpose of this research is to inform intimate partner violence intervention and prevention strategies specific to sexual minority women. The research responds in particular, this research aims to inform a working intersectional model predicting FSSIPV perpetration, and to evaluate the face validity and construct coverage of existing survey measures related to gender, minority stress, and violence. Fourteen lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer women recruited from the greater Portland, Oregon area participated in a series of in-depth, semi-structured, open-ended one-on-one …