Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Examining Youth Ethnic Identity And Parental Familismo As Protective Factors Against Bicultural Stress And Internalizing Symptoms In Latino Youth, Daniella Olivares

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescence is a critical developmental period marked by increased vulnerability to mental health challenges. For Latino adolescents living in the U.S., experiences of bicultural stress may heighten the risk for adverse mental health outcomes. However, cultural strengths–such as youth ethnic identity and parental familismo–may serve as protective factors. The current study examined whether youth ethnic identity and parental familismo moderated the relationship between bicultural stress and internalizing symptoms among a diverse sample of Latino youth in central Virginia. Latino adolescents (n = 60) completed measures assessing bicultural stress, ethnic identity, and internalizing symptoms, while parents (n = 60) reported on …

What’S Sleep Got To Do With It? A Mixed Methods Exploration Of The Feasibility, Acceptability, And Initial Outcomes Of Group Cbt For Insomnia In Parkinson’S Disease, Claire M. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is commonly associated with sleep disturbances, affecting up to 80 percent of individuals with Parkinson’s. Effective and accessible treatments for sleep problems in Parkinson’s disease remain limited. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi) is a well-established, non-pharmacological treatment for insomnia but has been minimally studied in Parkinson’s populations. This study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes of a group-based CBTi intervention adapted for individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Participants engaged in a six-week group intervention that incorporated Parkinson’s-specific adaptations. Preliminary findings indicated that the adapted group CBTi intervention was generally feasible and …

A Qualitative Analysis Of Teacher-Report Modifications Of A Tier 2 Evidence-Based Program In Elementary Schools After Implementation Supports Are Withdrawn, Navneet Kaur

Theses and Dissertations

Growing literature emphasizes the importance of examining modifications (i.e., responses to unforeseen challenges and deliberate changes to a program) made by implementers to understand the long-term outcomes of evidence-based programs (EBPs), particularly after formal implementation supports, such as training and coaching, are withdrawn. Although prior research has documented that they occur during implementation, less is known about whether modifications occur once external supports are no longer available, and if so, what types of modifications are made, and the rationale for them. This gap is especially salient in school settings for teacher-delivered interventions. To address this gap, this study used semi-structured …

Family- And Cultural-Level Influences For Latine Adolescent Nicotine Use: A Qualitative Study Informing Prevention, Cindy M. Hernandez Castro

Theses and Dissertations

Early tobacco use among Latine adolescents represents a critical public health concern, with 23.8% reporting current use and exceeding rates among other racial/ethnic groups (Birdsey et al., 2023; Gaddy et al., 2022). This early initiation elevates risks for nicotine dependence and related morbidity in adulthood (Tsao et al., 2023). Guided by Structural Ecosystems Theory (Szapocznik & Coatsworth, 1999) and contemporary grounded theory analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Charmaz, 2006; Noble & Mitchell, 2016), this study examined multilevel influences on nicotine-related attitudes among Latine youth, including: (1) familial factors (i.e., parental monitoring, caregiver-youth communication), (2) cultural dynamics (i.e., cultural values and …

Examining Bidirectional Associations Between Mothers’ Beliefs About Emotions And Child Social-Emotional Outcomes, Sydney Sumrall

Theses and Dissertations

Social-emotional (SE) skills encompass the ability to recognize and regulate emotions, manage behavior to act on goals, and maintain social relationships (Abrahams et al., 2019). Parents play a crucial role in child SE skill development. According to theories of emotion socialization (ES), the beliefs parents hold about emotions shape parents’ ES behaviors, including teaching children how to understand and express feelings (Eisenberg et al., 1998; Gottman, 1996). Because emotion socialization practices are influenced by cultural values (Raval & Walker, 2019), the parent beliefs and ES strategies that best support children’s SE skill development may vary across families’ racial backgrounds. Although …

Yk-4-250, A Synthetic Telmisartan-Tempol Conjugate: Crystal Structure Of A Stabilized Free Radical Containing An Angiotensin At₁ Receptor Inhibitor, Simon Friedrich, Yali Kong, Faik N. Musayev, Milton L. Brown, B. Frank Gupton

Department of Biomedical and Translational Sciences Faculty Publications

We report the first crystal structure of the telmisartan-tempol conjugate 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-(λ'-oxidaneyl)piperidin-4-yl 4'-[(1,7'-dimethyl-2'-propyl-1H,3'H-[2,5'-bibenzo[d]imidazol]-3'-yl)methyl]-[1,1'-biphenyl]-2-carboxylate free radical (YK-4-250, C₄₂H₄₆N₅O₃), a dual-function inhibitor designed to target both the angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT₁R) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Structural analysis reveals a unique crystal architecture in which the nitroxide radical is stabilized within a sterically protected environment while preserving the telmisartan pharmacophore essential for high-affinity receptor antagonism. YK-4-250 is a novel small-molecule conjugate of telmisartan and tempol that incorporates a catalytic stabilized nitroxide radical and was rationally designed to mitigate gastrointestinal acute radiation syndrome (GI-ARS).

The Effects Of Abused Drugs On Ferroptosis Pathways: Potential Therapeutic Targets For Substance Use Disorders, Tamara Bouchard, Brooke Russell, Liam Liyang Guo, Tina Nguyen, Yan Cheng, Yan Y. Sanders, Ming-Lei Guo

Department of Biomedical and Translational Sciences Faculty Publications

Substance use disorders (SUDs) remain major public health concerns worldwide, particularly in developed countries. SUDs are characterized by persistent neuroinflammation and synaptic dysfunction in the brain. Despite decades of extensive investigation, the detailed mechanisms underlying SUDs remain elusive. Ferroptosis is a highly regulated cell death process deeply affected by iron metabolism, lipid peroxidation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and antioxidant systems. It has been implicated in multiple neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and ischemic stroke. Recently, emerging evidence has highlighted the role of ferroptosis in drug-induced pathological changes. Various types of abused …

Canary In The Coal Mine: Race Disparities In Emergency Department Outcomes, Aimaloghi Eromosele

Theses and Dissertations

Every year the emergency department (ED) treats millions of patients who present with a diverse range of health issues. Emergency departments are responsible for a wide range of critical services, and the swiftness of patient care can result in various favorable or adverse outcomes. Research has identified sociodemographic disparities within the ED triage process, such as racial minorities being undertriaged compared to White patients for similar acute symptoms. The aim of this thesis is to determine if differences in predisposing sociodemographic factors are associated with differences in ESI assignment and time-to-ECG for patients presenting to the ED with a chief …

The Association Between Paternal Incarceration Duration During Childhood And Adolescent Aggressive Behavior And Anxious And Depressed Behavior Outcomes, Sonia Acheampong

Theses and Dissertations

Paternal incarceration has been associated with behavioral and emotional problems in children and adolescents. However, less is known about whether the duration of paternal incarceration is related to these outcomes. The present study tested whether the duration of paternal incarceration between ages 3 and 9 predicted aggressive behavior and anxious and depressed behavior at age 15 and whether gender moderated these associations. Data were drawn from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study. The analytic sample included 535 adolescents whose fathers had been incarcerated at least once between the ages of 3 and 9 (n = 286 males). Paternal …

The Relationship Of Irrational And Rational Beliefs With Achievement Anxiety And Academic Performance: A Test Of The Rebt Model, Ashley A. Abbatangelo

Theses and Dissertations

Achievement beliefs, cognitive distortions, and test anxiety have all been associated with students' academic and emotional functioning. However, relatively little research has examined how these variables relate to one another within the same model. The present study examined the relationships among rational and irrational achievement beliefs, cognitive distortions, facilitating and debilitating test anxiety, and semester GPA in a sample of 252 undergraduate students attending a private university in the northeastern United States (mean age = 19.50 years, SD = 1.62). Most participants identified as female and were enrolled full-time. Correlational, regression, mediation, exploratory factor analytic, and network analytic procedures were …

Caregiver–Child Relationships And Adolescent Externalizing Behavior: The Mediating Role Of Positive Social Development, Melody Argudo

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescent externalizing behavior, including aggression and rule-breaking, is linked to negative academic, social, and behavioral outcomes across development (Bos et al., 2018). Therefore, it is important to understand the mechanisms that explain why some youth go on to develop such behaviors. Research suggests that caregiver–child relationship quality and positive social development may protect against the development of externalizing behaviors during adolescence (Bornstein et al., 2010). However, it is unclear whether positive social development mediates the association between caregiver-child relationship quality and externalizing behavior. Therefore, the present study examined whether positive social development at age 9 explains the association between caregiver–child …

Interpersonal Relations, Social Media, Identity, And Mental Health Outcomes, Shannon Gasparro

Theses and Dissertations

The growth of social media use has been accompanied by evidence linking social media to negative mental health outcomes. The current study focuses on an underexplored area of social media: how individuals describe, structure, and interpret their interpersonal worlds in online and offline contexts, and how these structures relate to mental health outcomes. In addition, we assessed mental health outcomes separately in the social media and in person domains. Drawing on Personal Construct Theory and the eight octants of the Interpersonal Circumplex, we proposed four hypotheses, using both person-centered and variable-centered approaches. We hypothesized 1) individuals will rate those in …

Neuroanatomical Differences Across The Schizophrenia Spectrum, Casey Armata

Theses and Dissertations

Schizophrenia and Schizotypal Personality Disorder (SPD) can be conceptualized along a schizophrenia spectrum characterized by overlapping clinical and neuroanatomical features, but differing levels of symptom severity and functional impairment. Although structural abnormalities in the frontal and temporal regions are well documented in schizophrenia, there are few studies that have examined individuals with true SPD, compared to both individuals with schizophrenia and healthy controls in one study using cortical surface area and thickness (as opposed to volume alone). The present study investigated neuroanatomical differences across the schizophrenia spectrum by examining cortical area, thickness, volume, and hemispheric asymmetry in the caudal middle …

Investigating The Role Of Flooding And Executive Function On Depression And Aggression: A Moderated Mediation Model, Gabriella Damewood

Theses and Dissertations

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent, chronic, and impairing disorder, with prevalence rates estimated between 8–16%. Research suggests that MDD is associated with poor couple outcomes, including greater intimate partner violence (IPV) and decreased relationship satisfaction. Therefore, it is important to elucidate what conditions increase risk for IPV to better understand its etiology. One potential mechanism, emotional flooding, has been consistently associated with aggression but has not been examined as a potential factor in the relation of depression and aggression. Additionally, executive function (EF) deficits have been implicated with aggression, and studied individually in relation to depression, but …

Addressing Measurement Error To Improve Sld Identification Accuracy And Practitioner Confidence, Olivia S. Rogers

Theses and Dissertations

Ambiguity in cognitive test score interpretation, particularly for scores near diagnostic thresholds, presents a persistent challenge in the identification of Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD). This experimental vignette study examined whether providing school psychologists with structured supplemental information could improve the accuracy and confidence of strength/weakness classifications within a Pattern of Strengths and Weaknesses (PSW) framework. A national sample of 301 certified school psychologists was randomly assigned to one of three groups: (a) scores-only control, (b) scores with qualitative context, or (c) scores with qualitative context and statistical information, including confidence intervals and probabilities derived from Schneider’s (2022) conditional positive predictive …

Potentially Morally Injurious Events And Mental Health Among Healthcare Providers Working During Covid-19 In Italy, Luke Harrison Keating

Theses and Dissertations

Potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) are specific traumatic stress exposures characterized by violation of one’s moral beliefs by omission or commission, by witnessing others violating a shared moral code, or by perceived betrayals by trusted leaders or systems in their support of shared values. Researchers have proposed subtypes of PMIEs including moral transgressions by the self (by commission or omission), witnessing moral transgressions by others, and betrayals by trusted leaders and systems. A growing body of literature has documented negative mental health effects of PMIEs in healthcare providers (HCPs). However, important gaps in knowledge remain regarding the measurement and mental …

Relative Age In Academic Cohort Predicts Special Education Referrals And Placement In The New York City Public Schools, Sora Dembitzer

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative, non-experimental study used existing administrative data from the New York City (NYC) Department of Education (DOE) to test hypotheses about the relationship between relative developmental age in academic cohort and likelihood of special education classification for Learning Disability (LD), Speech or Language Impairment (SI), Emotional Disability (ED), or Other Health Impairment (OHI) in the NYC public schools. This ethnically diverse sample consisted of 360,741 boys (51.1%) and 345,486 girls (48.9%) in grades kindergarten through twelve. Crosstabulations were used to describe classification rates by relative age, defined as being born in first or last quartile of calendar year, and …

Live Cctv Monitoring As A Crime Prevention Method: A Case Study Of Prayer Rooms At Station X And Z, Sapta Rizki Setiawan, Mohammad Irvan Olii

Kejahatan & Keadilan: Jurnal Kriminologi Indonesia

Abstract. The use of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) technology in security systems is often passive in nature, functioning mainly as a tool for documentation and post-incident evidence collection. This article presents a case study of successful active live surveillance conducted by security personnel at the Security Operation Center of a private security company in prayer rooms (mushola) of Stations X and Z. Through 24/7 CCTV monitoring and real-time voice intervention using integrated loudspeakers, significant changes were observed in preventing theft of personal belongings of visitors during prayer. Employing a case study approach with autoethnographic methods, this research involved interviews with the …

Institutional Constraints On Investigative Oversight: Accountability And Governance Of The Investigation Supervision Bureau (Biro Pengawas Penyidikan) Of The Indonesian National Police, Mastalina Sinaga, Dhiajeng Prativi

Kejahatan & Keadilan: Jurnal Kriminologi Indonesia

Investigative professionalism constitutes a fundamental pillar of the criminal justice system; however, its realization is frequently constrained by institutional design and procedural limitations within oversight mechanisms. This article examines the role of the Investigation Supervision Bureau (Biro Pengawas Penyidikan (Birowassidik)) of the Criminal Investigation Agency (Badan Reserse Kriminal (Bareskrim)) of the Indonesian National Police (Polri) in handling public complaints related to investigative performance. Rather than presuming the existence of a unified ‘Code of Silence’, this study adopts a qualitative critical analysis to assess the structural and procedural constraints inherent in Birowassidik’s mandate as a complaint-based supervisory institution. The analysis demonstrates …

Structural Negligence And State Harm In Public Safety: The Kelingking Beach Case, Louis O. Wijaya

Kejahatan & Keadilan: Jurnal Kriminologi Indonesia

Kelingking Beach in Nusa Penida, Bali, is a highly promoted tourist destination that has been repeatedly associated with serious injuries and fatalities. Despite well-known hazards, incidents continue to occur, raising concerns about public safety governance at natural tourism sites. This study adopts a qualitative case study approach using media reports, policy statements, scientific studies on coastal risk management, and official tourism safety communications. Data were analyzed thematically to identify patterns of risk recognition, safety intervention, and institutional response. The findings reveal a recurring pattern of fatal and serious incidents at Kelingking Beach. Risk management has primarily relied on ambiguous signage, …

Neutralization Mechanisms In Protest-Related Vandalism: Implications For Psycholinguistic Crisis Communication, M. Agung Lyndardi

Kejahatan & Keadilan: Jurnal Kriminologi Indonesia

Protest-related vandalism has become a recurring phenomenon in Indonesia’s democratic landscape, particularly during large-scale demonstrations involving students, labor groups, and civil society coalitions. Conventional legal approaches that define vandalism as a public-order violation are insufficient to explain why such actions persist, why they concentrate on symbolic state targets, and why participants frequently deny moral wrongdoing. This article analyzes protest-related vandalism in Indonesia through the framework of neutralization theory (Sykes & Matza, 1957), integrating perspectives from criminology, moral disengagement theory, collective action, political legitimacy, and public psycholinguistics. Using a structured literature review of international and Indonesian scholarship published between 1957 and …

Police Integrity And The Code Of Silence (Cos): Evidence From A Large-Scale Scenario-Based Survey In Indonesia, Dr. Indarto, S.H., S.Sos., S.I.K., M.Si -

Kejahatan & Keadilan: Jurnal Kriminologi Indonesia

Issues of police integrity are not only driven by individual misconduct but are also sustained by organizational norms that inhibit the reporting of wrongdoing, known as the Code of Silence (CoS). This article reports the results of a large-scale, scenario-based police integrity survey conducted among personnel of the Indonesian National Police (Polri). After excluding responses that did not meet the honesty criterion, analyses were conducted on 57,574 respondents. Respondents evaluated six misconduct scenarios and assessed perceived seriousness, perceived deterrence (likelihood of detection and sanction), knowledge of rules, and willingness to report. Reliability tests indicated very strong internal consistency (Cronbach’s α …

Folk Devil Construction In The Symbolic Space Of The City (A Study Of Klitih In The City Of Yogyakarta), Iqrak Sulhin, Chisa Belinda Harahap

Kejahatan & Keadilan: Jurnal Kriminologi Indonesia

Yogyakarta is widely recognized as a city of culture and education, a symbolic identity institutionalized through historical narratives, political discourse, and cultural policy. The emergence of klitih—a term originally denoting aimless wandering but now associated with youth-perpetrated street violence—has challenged this image and generated intense public concern. While existing studies primarily explain klitih through causal factors such as peer influence, family supervision, and socio-economic conditions, this article shifts attention to the discursive construction of the phenomenon. Drawing on a constructionist approach and informed by cultural criminology and moral panic theory, the study analyses semi-structured interviews with government officials, law …

The Resonant Geometry Field Model: Mapping The Fluid Dynamics Of Emotion, Syntax, And Resonance, Michael J. Miller, Chatgpt (Ai~Nesbo+)

Psychology

We present a minimal field model of communication—resonance geometry—in which 11 core emotions emerge as geometric features of a shared medium rather than as discrete labels. This model extends the Theory of Communication Resonance & Intelligence Tuning (ToCRIT) by translating its qualitative constructs—resonant tethers (connection “wells” between communicators), lucid/drag zones (smooth vs resistant flow of emotion and syntax), and the Cognitive-Emotive Fracture Principle (closeness in syntax or emotion can increase risk of rupture)—into quantifiable field metrics: throughput (𝓣), rigidity (ρ), coupling (k), and hemispheric shear (α).

Additional modifiers include a Ranvier–Stokes analogue (continuity punctuated by “node kicks”) and a death-gravity …

Post-Divorce Lgbtq-Parent Families: Navigating Loyalty Conflicts And Stepfamily Closeting, Caroline Sanner, Abbie E. Goldberg, Katherine R. Allen

Psychology

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate underexplored dynamics of post-divorce LGBTQ-parent families.

Background: In LGBTQ-parent families in which children were conceived in the context of a prior different-gender partnership, children experience the coinciding events of parental separation and a parent's coming out as LGBTQ. In recent decades, research on LGBTQ-parent families formed following different-gender divorce has stalled, perhaps due to the increasing emphasis on planned LGBTQ-parent families, or families formed after parents have come out.

Method: Twenty-four adults who were born to different-gender married parents (i.e., mother/father families) who divorced when one parent came out as LGBTQ …

The Relationship Checkup For Couples Facing Breast Cancer: A Case Series Design., Tatiana D. Gray, Zev L. Spiegel, Grayson G. Stevens, Weston Sharpe, James Cordova

Psychology

This study aimed to adapt and pilot the relationship checkup (RC) for young women and their partners undergoing active treatment for breast cancer, with the goal of assessing improvements in individual and relationship well-being. A case series design was utilized, following three couples from different parts of the world over the course of 1 year (2023–2024). Each couple received two RC sessions 1 year apart. For each RC, study questionnaires were administered at baseline, immediately after the RC, and 1 month following the RC. Finally, the couples all participated in follow-up interviews approximately 1 month after their final RC. Results …

Emotional Factors Influencing Adaptive Memory: An Examination Of The Role Of Valence In The Survival Processing Effect, Dailyn Q. Clark

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Encoding information (e.g., words) in terms of their survival value produces enhanced recall relative to encoding the same information in terms of its value to other schematically similar situations (Nairne et al., 2007). In the survival memory paradigm, a scenario focused on imagining being stranded in the grasslands of a foreign land is followed by the rating of individual words (e.g., orange, mountain) as to their relevance to that scenario (Nairne et al., 2007). Using an incidental test of memory, it is often revealed that memory for those words is higher than for those same words encoded under non-survival, control …

Social Class Differences Between Client And Therapist: A Grounded Theory Study Of Working-Class Clients' Perspectives, Micah Herman

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Although a substantial body of research highlights the importance of broaching differences related to race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation in psychotherapy, considerably less attention has been paid to social class, a dimension of socio-cultural identity that profoundly shapes individuals’ life circumstances, their sense of self, and their relationships with others. In recognition of our limited understanding of how working-class clients perceive and respond to class-based cultural differences between themselves and their therapists, the present grounded theory study addressed (1) how working-class clients experience and make meaning of social class differences in the therapeutic relationship and (2) what clients see …

Rethinking Theories Of Political Discourse: The Limitations Of The Deliberative-Agonistic Split, Connor Moran

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

What are “theories of political discourse,” why do they matter to political theory, and where do current ones fall short? This dissertation mines the existing resources availed by contemporary democratic theory in order to respond to the discursive challenge of “pernicious polarization,” particularly in the United States. The most comprehensive and influential theories of political discourse today have been furnished by the almost 40-year debate between deliberative democracy and agonism, both of which offer normative models centered on ameliorating the quality of political discourse.

The key finding of the dissertation is that the foundational works of the deliberative-agonistic split lack …

Academic Satisfaction Of Graduate Students In Mental Health Professions: Mediating Roles Of Burnout And Engagement, Yu Ying Li

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Academic satisfaction for students is as critical to their retention and well-being as job satisfaction for working adults; however, it has received limited empirical attention particularly among graduate students in mental health-related programs. One of the barriers to mental health trainees’ satisfaction with their academic training is burnout. The current study evaluated the applicability of Study Demands-Resources (SD-R) framework (Lesener et al., 2020) to trainees. Specifically, this study examined the relations between study demands (i.e., perceived stress), study resources (i.e., supervisory alliance and social support), student burnout, student engagement, and academic satisfaction. It also tested if student burnout and engagement …